iPads Mania

Planning with a teacher in preparation for an iMovie trailer production brought us to mapping out the methods students could acquire material.

Our district is starting the process of using Google Hangouts with staff.  Since the Google Hangout requires a Google + account, our district is not ready to open this to staff just quite yet.  It will happen, and it will be great for communicating in a geographically large district, holding staff meetings with smaller groups, and helping staff with technology and lesson planning.  It will also be a positive as it works on laptops and iPads!

To start the process and test some settings, our learning support team of library media specialists and technology support teachers conducted our first hangout.

Six educators, five buildings, one Google Hangout.


While we aren't ready for complete unveiling to staff yet, we will get there, and it will be beneficial!

See some Google Hangout Resources:

Mrs. Brylski decided that this year she would use todaysmeet as a backchannel for discussion during Food, Inc. (Used Twitter last year for backchanneling) She became familiar with todaysmeet when she used it for a discussion tool among students in different classes.

See what we did.
 

Mrs. Heck is creating some mathematics videos for a student who is unable to attend school at this time.  Using SMART notebook, Bamboo Connect Pen, SMART notebook video recorder, YouTube, and her blog the student has a personal tutor that understands the content.

Mr. Landers is culminating a science experiment by having students choose what presentation tool is best for their data.  Spending a morning with the content teacher prior to class allowed us to determine the choices that students could have.

During class, we emphasized with students that using a tech tool, "because you may have used it in the past" is not a great reason for using the tech tool this time.  Students were asked to investigate each tool so that they could decide the best tool.

The teacher took care of the content, while I, as a learning support teacher, was able to assist with some technical difficulties, mainly setting up Glogster accounts and other accounts for students.  It is always beneficial for two teachers to be present in a classroom of 26 students.

See the exact list of tools with link and document created for students.

See the choices that students had.

Through this blog post, I learned about the Trading Cards app. It is a fantastic app for so many content areas.  The great thing about being a technology integration specialist is that I can find resources and share them with so many people.  Immediately after learning about the app, I contacted one of our U.S. History teachers in our high school. We quickly established how the app would be integrated and moved forward.

See app tutorial:


See the app in action with students and teacher!

Chrome Extensions
How to get there, and what to do!


Reading and Writing Supports for the Chromebooks

AdBlock

Readability

Quietube

YouTube Looper

CiteLighter

Cite This For Me

Google URL Shortener

Trash Can

Black Menu

Awesome Screen Shot & Annotator

Evernote Web Clipper

SpeakIt!

Voice Search

Gmail Attachments To Drive (options)

Google Dictionary

Incredible Start Up Page

Tab Cloud

Send From Gmail

Free Resource
Keyboard Shortcuts
ctrl-shift-T (reopen last tab)

TrapIt! has been a game changer in helping me find resources for staff.

A teacher recently asked what Geometry apps are available on the iPads.  I replied with this...

Today, Mr. Mihalski and Mrs. Gulan provided the challenge of a Three Act math problem.  In preparation for this, I filmed the actual activity and used Camtasia to place the (Dan Meyer) timer and video together.  The students used iPads to review, investigate, and discuss the problem at their own pace.  The great thing about this was that it was messy.  Questioning and not giving was the theme by the teachers so that the students did the work!  It also begins to give students (even though they don't know it) the skill of explaining mathematical reasoning which will be an important skill when the Common Core State Standards SMARTER balanced assessment takes place in the future.

Once the video was created, I presented it to the teachers in the format of an email.
Below are the directions that the math teachers and I developed.  The questions are anticipated questions that we thought the students might come up with.  The math teachers determined the math that transpired from the footage, while the technology integration specialist delivered the video for classroom use.

Act 1: Show this video Students may need a slow version

Could have made my own, but this tutorial says it all.


Why Every Teacher Should Be On Twitter

Twitter Chat Schedule
Add Twitter Chats To Your Google Calender
Explanation of Educational Twitter Chats

Twitter reads

Social Media: Teachers Should Be Excited

The AP Human Geography teacher wanted a different method for students to learn the content.  We chose Todaysmeet.com to create a quick and easy way to collaborate between class periods.  The teacher focused on the content, while I focused on the logistics of the technology tool.

Students were paired up with another student in a different class.  The learning environment created in todaysmeet.com was simply made by using initials from the students in the class.

We took a hint from Twitter chats by using Q1 and A1 for questions and answers between the two students in each class.

See the process and the reflection by the classroom teacher.

Friday, November 16, 2012 brought a historic event to our school district.

One week prior to Friday, our staff were informed of our plans to have a #raidercamp.  A website was created complete with a short video to explain everything.  We also asked staff to create a Twitter account so that additional information can be learned while not in a session.  Having Twitter accounts for our staff will now lead to more opportunities to explain to staff how powerful Twitter can be for a Personal Learning Network.

For one half of a day, our teachers experienced an #edCamp.  We called it #raidercamp.  Two sessions with 24 different topics suggested by our staff.

There were no keynote speakers, no teachers in charge.  Individual learning by teachers based on topics suggested by teachers.

The entire district staff gathered in the high school auditorium to accomplish three things.

• Quick description of an #edcamp
• Suggesting topics
• Building a schedule

Huge "thank you" to our technology department.  We had over 300 educators on our wireless network without one trouble!

Improvements:

1. Map of high school either on edCamp site or through email prior to camp.
2. Talk about and emphasize "independent learning". Let me explain, as educators we ask students to be independent learners.  In fact, we encourage it!  However, some teachers were adamant about how they wished there was an "expert" in the sessions.  There isn't always going to be an expert present when learning.  Having the discussion with staff about how this is an "independent learning' situation may be helpful to understanding the format of the sessions.

Today, Mr. Rodal set up his Google Voice account in under 15 minutes.  His thinking was to create a different tool for students to reflect on readings that occur in his history class.  Setting up a Google Voice account allows for connection to our school phones.  Also, most students have cell phones with them and can reflect during class or after school.  We will also be able to set a deadline for the assignment as each voice mail is time stamped.  In addition, and probably the great addition, Google Voice will transcribe each message.  This way the instructor can listen or read the response.  Furthermore, the teacher can click on the TEXT link under the transcribe voice mail and send the student a quick text message to the phone in which the original student message was sent from.

Now that the initial set up and brainstorming has taken place, I can't wait for the implementation with students.  Hear from Mr. Rodal on how EASY the process was!



Additional Google Voice resources here and here.

Today is our district's first #edcamp .  We are #raidercamp
It also provided me with an opportunity to create an ...In 20 Seconds Twitter sign up video!

Here We Go!

Now this was awesome!

Several teachers attended the Midwest Google Summit on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  I only attended through Twitter via #mwgs and while I learned some things, I am now receiving emails from teachers with links of resources they learned about at the Summit.

How cool is that!  Teachers come to me for technology resources and ideas for implementing them, but NOW they are sending me links.

Exactly what we want.  Our school district wants teachers who are SPARKS in the educational atmosphere.  When this happens, the teachers take ownership.  After all, it is everyone's school.

I am thrilled that teachers send me links that I will be able to pass on to other teachers.

Maybe the teaches should be the Technology Integration Specialist consider themselves a #techcoach

By the way, You Google Wrong & Google Quick Guide are just some of the resources teachers have shared with me.

In the final installment of a World Issues on the iPad, students need to upload their creation with the instructor.

In steps Google Drive.

Modeling implementation of technology came full circle yesterday with the teacher that I taught the tech to now teaching her students.

Let me explain.

On October 31, our science teacher wanted to use iMovie and Skitch with two classes to demonstrate the transfer of matter.  She had never used either tool, but believed the use of these tech tools helped engage and solidify the concepts.  She believed that they helped so much that she wanted to implement the tools with other classes that she taught.

The great thing is that during yesterday's implementations, SHE DIDN'T NEED ME!  She felt confident from using the tools in other settings to simply not need any support.  She spent about seven minutes showing some features of iMovie and then let the students discover how they were going to use the app.  She also used the assistance by a student who had used iMovie!

Perfect!

I really feel that our district is teaching teachers in the correct manner.  Providing guided assistance so that they teachers become SPARKS to future teaching and learning!

Our anatomy teacher wanted all of the students' Skitch images in one place so that he could evaluate them.  He chose Dropbox.  He created one username and password and a few folders for the entire class to use.  A positive about Dropbox is that it can link and unlink with the iPad with ease.

See the process.

I used the Disp Recorder app to create a tutorial on recording voice on Explain Everything.

Easy, Awesome, and once again allows me to be in two places at one time.

I recently purchased the Disp Recorder app.

It is a Game Changer!

Disp Recorder allows for complete recording of your iPad screen and all the movements within.  There was no lag time and worked beautifully with many options for exporting.

I chose to use the Disp Recorder app to feature the iCab Mobile app.

Today, our Spanish teacher provided the steps for students to take an assessment using their cell phones and Google Voice.

See the process

Google Story Generator could be an incredible creative writing tool for teachers.  No log in required, but could be used to save information.

See My Example

*iPad Users!  Video works on an iPad, but no audio.

Today our Lunch N' Learn topic is YouTube.  Most of my information relates to computer/laptop aspects of YouTube, but I wanted to provide some information about YouTube on the iPad.

Recently, the native YouTube iPad app was removed.  Jasmine provides an alternative viewing option for YouTube videos.  This includes logging into a person's YouTube account.

To provide this information for our teachers, I created a seven slide presentation using the Haiku Deck creation app.

I liked the Haiku Deck app (FREE) as it was simple, yet provided an eloquent presentation for the information.  I didn't like the fact that I needed to create an account.  This adds one more step for students that takes class time.  I do like the fact that a student can "sign out" of the app.  This is extremely important as more than one student is using the iPad.

The sharing options are limited to email, Facebook, Twitter, and export.  The export option would be ideal if it was to the camera roll.  It's not.  It is simply an email.  This requires another step as students would need to set up their email on the iPad.

After emailing it to myself, the document opened in my Google drive.
I am able to share it through the "big blue button" that states share in my Google drive.

View It

The email option provides a live link which can be emailed.  However, when the email pops up, a public link is present.  This provides many features:

• Sharing

• Download

• Embed

View another great example.
@sjgorman used the Haiku Deck for her iPadsummitusa.org presentation.  She chose

Overall, it seems to be a viable option for creation of content on the iPad.
View another tutorial of Haiku Deck.

YouTube: Not Just For Silly Stuff Anymore

This warranted an immediate blog post!

I am finally making my first iBook.  As you know, I am a huge "upload it to YouTube" person as it is a great place for actual video from our classroom to be stored.  With that being said, I would like many of our YouTube videos in our iBooks as interactive aspects.

Enter iBooks Generator!

Place any YouTube or Vimeo url into the generator and it creates a .zip file that can be downloaded.  This .zip file contains an iBooks Widget.  Simply drag it into the iBooks page you want, edit the text, and instantly you have a YouTube video as an interactive feature to your book!

View a video of how to create the widget.  Get the iBooks Generator!



Let the fun begin!

Some features have changed when using Google as your search engine.

View what they are on a computer ( will try to complete an iPad version soon)

Some resources for accomplishing this task:

Today, I will be leading a SMARTER Balanced discussion and prep for mathematics teachers.  Immediately, I thought of the new tech tool, SQWORL!  This tool allows for multiple URLS to become one URL.  The benefit of SQWORL is that a visual thumbnails are present with the link and a description.

VIEW THE SQWORL of SMARTER Balanced Assessment 
Resource Includes:

• History of SMARTER Balanced
• Company Making SMARTER Balanced
• Wisconsin's DPI FAQ
• SMARTER Examples
• SMARTER Prep Questions
• DAN MEYER's Geometry & Algebra Curriculum

One negative: All of the thumbnails are not being grabbed from the resources.  Hoping over time that thumbnails will show up.

See how our English Department is allowing students the freedom to create an Explain Everything on a world issue that they are passionate about.  Several students had extensive training with this from last year.  They became student leaders and QUICK about creating it.  They still enjoyed the app, but it wasn't about learning the technology tool.  It was about using the technology for learning and solidifying a concept.

Thanks to a great innovative idea by one of our teachers, Amy Tubbs, our Datamation iPad cart has improved.  The frustration arose when the slots for the iPads would not match up with the chords.

View how she improved the cart.

As you know, the iPad doesn't come with a native calculator.  Yesterday, a student needed a calculator while using the iPads in math class.  We really didn't need the power of a graphing calculator while completing these problems, so we simply typed the problem in Google.  I knew that Google would perform the computation, but I didn't realize that a calculator key pad would become an option.

Now I know, and you do, too!

If an emergency arises in our school, you can place a call in a few steps on your phone.  This call will be immediately sent to a person(s) in our school who will find the help that is needed.

View the steps to placing a call.

To create a sound recording on a computer, a microphone must be attached or built into the computer and you will need a preinstalled program.

See how it can be done.

After two meetings and about an hour and a half of planning, this activity came to fruition today in class.  We used the Scan app, which seems to be the fastest app in the land.

See the process and the teacher's reaction.  The teacher was able answer students' questions on an individual basis, because each student was a different pace.

As our district moves toward cloud based software, PicMonkey may come in handy for students and staff.  I created the picture below in about 10 minutes.

Today's Lunch N' Learn revolves around features found in Google's word processing.







Google Lesson Plan Search

Our Environmental Science groups had a work day to continue development of their "Area of Concern" videos.  Through the tremendous preparation and hard work by Mrs. Stainton, experts in the field of concern were brought in.

While students discussed their projects with those students, Mrs. Stainton and myself continued to provide resources and support for the other groups while the developed their plan.

One meaningful conversation that I had was with a group that is creating a Common Craft video.  I showed them how the common craft videos are set up.  Students are also discovering the possibilities with the Green Screen FX app, which they will be using.

See the learning environment.

Last week, one of our teachers explained how the "Menu of Learning" works in her class while she uses iPads.  This week, I was invited into see how Mr. Krause uses the "Menu of Learning" with computers.

Thanks to our great staff at PHS sharing ideas and resources helps our students achieve success.

The Psychology students had a number of options to demonstrate how they know the parts of the brain and its purpose.

A fantastic demonstration of Think. Question. Create. was demonstrated my two gentlemen who obtained an app that help them recreate the brain's parts.  This app was downloaded onto their personal mobile device.

In addition, students needed to create terms and their definitions, I demonstrated how to use the search feature in Google documents to make the learning more efficient.

Thank you to Mr. Krause for giving students great options for learning.

Our library media specialist, Joe, has really transformed the atmosphere.  While we don't have music playing all the time, one students was overheard saying, "I came in because of the song, now I see a book." Check out the set up.

As previously documented, I have found a way to be in more than one classroom at a time.  Earlier this week, a teacher wanted me to provide insight into iMovie.  I was already booked with another teacher.  I created the video below knowing that she would play it in front of her students.  She did, it was perfect, and I was in two places at once.

After meeting with the math teacher initially to present the idea that I thought about after viewing this blog post and another meeting after the teacher created five instructional videos, the QR code activity is ready to be unveiled to the students next week.

The teacher used a Word document combined with SMART video recorder, YouTube, and a QR code generator (Google URL shortener & Kaywa) to create the activity.  Students will use the SCAN app for discovering the video instruction.  This activity will allow for students to learn at their own pace through the use of an iPad.  It will also allow the teacher to spend time with students who may not understand the concept.

We recorded the process on how to get this done!
See it!