Tech Tuesday Archive 11

Tech Tuesday after school help will be pushed to tomorrow as I have a meeting.

Tech Tips:

-Twitter Contest continues! https://www.smore.com/s2hbh 1 more week to go! I'll draw a winner next monday.  So many more tweeters over the past couple weeks and I've seen a lot of things that are going on that I would never hear of otherwise.  

-If you are using Chromebooks - try to enforce a couple things with the students:

1.  Individual users should log in and out of the computer.  I've had several students who have siblings obviously using the computers at home, but logging in to gmail and other google services while the primary student is still logged into the Chromebook.  This is causing issues when the students are trying to log in to certain google services.

2.  Tell the kids to restart their chromebooks once in a while! Some kids seem to have no idea that there is a power button and, very honestly, restarting once in a while solves a lot of common issues.

3.  When using an app, if there is the ability to log in using their google login (Like a blue/red "G" button next to a facebook/twitter button) then you should tell the kids to do that.  It makes logging in during future sessions much easier.

- This article made the rounds on social media a few weeks ago, you may have seen it: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cris-rowan/10-reasons-why-handheld-devices-should-be-banned_b_4899218.html

-But if you do read it, I encourage you to also read this response: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-nielsen/10-reasons-why-the-resear_b_5004413.html  

As a science teacher, I believe we can't promote ideas that aren't properly researched.  Extreme headlines get attention, unfortunately, whether it is our students reading or our peers.

I'm as guilty as the next person for thinking cell phones, video games, etc have a negative effect on the younger generation.  But when I sit back and see my 8 year old doing his spelling homework on an iPad and he wants to do it 3 extra times just to get a faster time, or when he knows more geography than I do because he's been managing his soccer team on FIFA '15, or he talks to his cousin, daily, who he would normally see every couple months, I see the flip side to these arguments.  We can't get caught up demonizing those things that are foreign to us.  At some point we have to embrace the change and realize it's not so much that its a difficulty to face, but something new that we have to learn more about.

As always, questions, comments, and concerns are welcome!

Have a great week everybody! See you on the Twitter!

Tech Tuesday Archive 10

Shortest email yet (I can sense the sigh of relief)

Hour of Code - Hope it is going well.  More videos popping up daily and a whole section in the Apple App store as well (Likely on Android's too, if you're one of those...;) Share those successes on....

TWITTER: The contest is underway and some are Tweeting their way to the top! What contest you ask? THIS one: https://www.smore.com/s2hbh

For simplicity (read: my sanity) I'm only counting original tweets, not retweets.

One more week to go - the more you Tweet, the more chances you have to win!! Elementary teachers and Oaklyn - would love to see you join! Use those hashtags #CHSonegoodthing #CPSonegoodthing #OPSonegoodthing

Standings:

rollcollsbowl 6

MsYucis 5

CollsArt 5

WonderWhitman 5

rsmithcms 4

mrfieldmanchs 4

CHSgraphix 4

PierceCollsDeca 3

And a bunch more with 1-2 tweets.  Keep em coming!    

Tip: Thanks to Mr McKinney! ListenCurrent.com - FANTASTIC resource with current events, do nows, lesson plans, assessments tied to Socrative and short radio episodes the kids can listen to.

Have a fantastic Tuesday! I'll be in 121 after school today for help.

Tech Tuesday Archive 9

I heard a rumor people needed Cliffnotes to get through the last email so I'm attempting to make things a bit more concise.

I'm out today, so I'll be available tomorrow after school for tech questions.  I've heard a lot about organizing your google drive and managing the huge amount of documents that are being shared with you.  I will try to offer you some advice.

Tips:

1.  Hour of code is coming next week - more info to follow.  Would love as many people to try this as possible!

2.  Thanks to Chuck Karns for this - thinking of going paperless? There are lots of apps available on your smartphone that will "scan" documents by using your camera and converting them to pdfs.  I started using "genius scan" from the apple apps store and it's very easy - and you can easily share directly to your google drive.  

3.  December Twitter Contest - Loads of you have joined Twitter and it's been awesome to see.  Many of you were right on the cusp, but never took that last step - in an effort to encourage continued growth and participation, I'm offering this contest for the month.  Keep tweeting or finally join and you're entered for a prize to be given out just before Winter break. For those not in the high school, we've been using the hashtag #CHSonegoodthing and it's been great to see all the positive moments happening in our school.  I encourage all the elementary teachers to use the tag #CPSonegoodthing and the Oaklyn teachers to use #OPSonegoodthing.

Details for the contest can be found at this online flyer I created using Smore, a really easy service you may want to try to make online flyers:

https://www.smore.com/s2hbh

Questions? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Tuesday all, see you online,

Tech Tuesday Archive 12

Sit back, kick back and indulge in all the tech greatness in this week's email!  As always, I'm available after school today, room 121, for panther college credit, to go over google apps, classroom, Twitter, kaizena, doctopus/goobrics or anything you have questions about.  No question too big or too small.  Come by and say hi!  Also a big welcome to our Oaklyn colleagues - I hope these tech emails give you some helpful advice.

Tech Tips:

1.  On Saturday, I attended EdcampNJ, and it was really awesome. If you follow me on Twitter, my feed was lit up as I tried to quote all the great stuff people were dishing out. Teachers and administrators alike had a great day together.  If you've never heard of an Edcamp, check out this page from Edcamp Philly:http://www.edcampphilly.org/about/  While not entirely tech related, there is a lot of tech encouraged.  I'm already registered for another in South Jersey in March - I would love if some of you would join me! http://www.edcampsouthjersey.com/  Also, special ed teachers, I heard of one specifically devoted to special ed, and you may want to check it out:http://edcampaccessnj.org/

2.  http://www.teachercast.net/  This is a phenomenal resource that I've used a few times.  The creator, Jeff Bradbury, did a presentation on Saturday and he lives and breathes this stuff.  Check his blog and video resources if you want almost any kind of How-to for educational tech stuff.

3.  Twitter PSA - Do you know the difference between a tweet and a direct message?? A direct message is NOT public, like a text to that individual.  Everything else you write on Twitter is completely and utterly PUBLIC.  Apparently the Twitter CFO still needs this lesson... http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattlynley/a-top-twitter-executive-just-had-a-massive-direct-message-fa#.vwM5lDQvp

4.  I mentioned last week the #hourofcode.  The tech department and I have discussed trying to host this global initiative during Computer Science Education Week, December 8-14.  Click the link and watch the video: http://hourofcode.com/us  I've also attached an information sheet about the initiative.  We would love to get as much participation as possible.  

Lastly, the tech department has graciously put together some of their own tips for all of you.  See below for a message from Chad Meyers and avail yourself of the google group they have created for us.

If I don't see you, I hope you all have a chance for some relaxing time with your loved ones this week.  Even I will shut down and stop tweeting for a few days

=======================================================================================================

Hi all!

This week IT is carving a small space out of Dan's Tech Tuesday for a few updates.

For those of you with short attention spans:

    1. Chrome opens a new program for every new tab. Try closing some of them if you are experiencing slowness. Use SHIFT+ESC while in Chrome to see what is eating up your system resources.

    2. We're pushing out a Chrome browser update this week. You will need to restart in-district and you should receive it.

    3. Have questions? Ask questions, get answers, and discuss anything technical with Colls IT in our Google Group "Ask IT"-

               http://goo.gl/Q1Xw1Y

First in this list is a power tip for the Chrome browser and Chromebooks. Chrome opens a separate process for each running window, tab, extension, and plugin for stability and security reasons. The downside to this functionality is increased memory usage. If your computer seems slow, you may just have too many Chrome windows/tabs open. Try closing some to speed up your browsing. You can see all of the resources Chrome is using by selecting a browser window and then holding SHIFT and pressing ESC. You can even close them right from this new window by selecting the process and clicking "End Process."

Second to note-- A Chrome browser update will be pushed down to your laptops over the next week or so. There are security fixes and a battery life update in the newer version, which were much needed. Please be patient if your computer takes a little longer to boot up while it installs this necessary update.

Finally, the IT Department is happy to invite you to our Google Group "Ask IT!" Please feel free to ask any IT or tech-related questions that may be outside of the scope of curriculum-use. We hope you take the opportunity to learn from and participate in any discussions that crop up, but even if you don't, the information gathered will benefit you in the form of a FAQ we'll be posting once we have enough info.

Here's the link:

https://groups.google.com/a/collsk12.org/forum/#!forum/ask-it

... And a shorter version:

http://goo.gl/Q1Xw1Y

Thanks and have a great Thanksgiving!

~Chad Meyers

IT Dept, Collingswood Public Schools

Tech Tuesday Archive 8

First, a welcome to all of the elementary folks.  I'm Dan at the high school, and I hope you find these emails useful.  If you are having an issue with utilizing applications of technology in your room, please give me a shout.  If I don't have the answer I will try to find it for you.  I'd also be interested in what types of applications you are using at the K-5 level vs. what we are using over here at the 6-12 level.  

I'll be sending out a survey next week regarding technology use and how to best help all of you out.  Please consider taking a few minutes to fill out the form.  I'm just trying to gauge how to best improve Tech Tuesdays and in turn give you the best feedback I can.

I will be available after school for general questions and I would still love to show people doctopus/goobric and kaizena for online grading.  HOWEVER -  I will be in the third floor hallway supervising my juniors as they decorate their hall.  Don't worry - Multitasking is "in" and we can still get plenty accomplished.   

Tech Tips:

-Padlet - Install "padlet mini" from the chrome web store.  This is a cool app for brainstorming/collaborating.  You can drag and drop little post-it like notes and jot ideas down.  You can add pictures and weblinks as well.  I had my kids each create a wall describing an analogy between an animal cell and something of their choosing (a school, citizens bank park, a shopping mall etc).  

-ClassDojo - many of you may use this app already.  I think it's great.  I used it last year but stopped this year only because it fell under the category of "There's only so much time...".  I think it would  be a great app to use if you are dedicated to using it every day.  Its a behavioral tracking application - many students last year were excited to receive "Dojo points" and though I only scratched the surface, the parent interface seemed extremely useful.  For those that have been using it or are interested I would encourage you to read both of the following articles.  The New York Times wrote a not so favorable article a couple days ago.  I know, you're all shocked - negative press for the teaching profession.  Can you imagine?? If you read the article, please also read the response from Classdojo, especially point #3 - Everybody I have talked to about using Classdojo has emphasized the positive reinforcement aspect of it.  But, I suppose it is an important reminder that with increased use of technology, there will be another thing to criticize, so take precautions and use common sense.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/technology/privacy-concerns-for-classdojo-and-other-tracking-apps-for-schoolchildren.html?_r=0

https://www.classdojo.com/nyt

-Twitter - For those on Twitter - please check out the lists below.  The first is a list of Educational Twitter Chats that occur every week.  If you've never participated in one, I highly recommend it.  Within 15 minutes you have the chance to share a few thoughts, meet contacts from around the country and get some positive feedback.  One I would highly recommend is #BFC530 - known as the breakfast club, they chat every morning at 5:30am (yes, am) for 15 minutes - it's short and quick and there are a ton of great people to meet there.  The second link includes a pretty exhaustive list of educational hashtags.  Once you start joining some of these talks and you build up your contacts, you have a group of people to bounce ideas off of - referred to in the Twittersphere as your PLN (Personal Learning Network).  December will bring my Twitter contest - if you haven't joined yet, get on it!

http://goo.gl/SCGTRb  

http://cybraryman.com/edhashtags.html

-#Hourofcode - http://csedweek.org/ - Check this out and let me know if interested.  Just learned of this and I'm curious.

That's it for today - Have a fantastic rest of the week everybody

Tech Tuesday Archive 7

Hello all -

So while I was mumbling under my breath yesterday afternoon in frustration over the state of our internet connection, I was really unsure of what to offer all of my colleagues in terms of any technology tips today.  By its very nature, technology is utterly, often mind-numbingly, frustrating.  Murphy's Law reigns supreme, especially when you have a perfect lesson planned that is dependent on technology.  But this is not new - My first years teaching saw many times in which the bulb went out on the overhead projector at just the wrong time.  Mr Gillespie has told me of all the times his hammer and chisel went missing and he couldn't give his students their notes.  But he just kept at it, having his kids put their slates away for the day and doing his best to keep them engaged.  I heard Mr. Eboch talking about how many carrier pigeons he went through his first year to try to get his report cards delivered - it sounded maddening!

So the best advice I can offer you today is to keep the faith.  Take it from a Red Sox fan from the Pre-"Red Sox Nation" era, things will get better (Hopefully in less than 86 years).  It will improve.  Things always do.

-A relevant tip that I thought should be reiterated: Chromebooks work offline!  If your class needs to type something or create a presentation, they can still do so without being online.  Just tell the kids to go to the wifi icon on the bottom right of the screen, hit "connected to colls-wireless" and then hit the blank wifi icon that pops up.  This takes their Chromebook offline and they can open google docs to complete work, uploading later when they have a stronger connection.  This has the side benefit of improving the wifi for you because they are no longer using it!

- I've been reminded over the last week that while our kids are "digital natives" they are not yet fully "digital citizens".  What I mean is that a common misconception is that because our kids are constantly glued to their phones, people think that they know how to properly use them for productive purposes.  Alas, snapchatting and tweeting that "I'm so bored #bored" is not the most productive use of their globally connected digital devices.  All kidding aside, even if you think you don't know very much about technology, you still have skills to help our kids become more proficient in their use of tech.  Writing a proper email, not copying things directly off the internet, using scrutiny in what they believe... these are skills we as adults take for granted, but that kids today need as much help as ever to improve at.  

-Shout out to Ms. Maguire for teaching a lesson on proper email etiquette with her students.  This is a perfect example of what I'm referring to in the above point.

So - I'm not throwing any new offerings out there for Tech Tuesday today - I know people are struggling just to keep up right now.  I will be here after school in room 121 to help with: Google docs, Classroom, Twitter, or anything you need help with.  As a reminder I have preps during E, F and H and when I'm not doing student council stuff (emails to follow...) I'm more than happy to help you, even if it is to tell you to breath deeply and count to 10.  My cell number is below if you don't have it and you want to send a quick question.

Have an awesome rest of the day everybody,

Dan

P.S. To my middle school colleagues - I should have clarified last week why I was including you.  Also, for those that don't know me, I'm Dan, I teach science and I'd love to help you use more technology.  While Matt is still running tech tuesdays for you guys at some point that will stop and I wanted to make sure that there was still a forum for you to try to get help and tips for more tech use.  In addition, we as the high school often keep to ourselves and vice versa and I thought it would be good to cross those imaginary lines in the library once in a while.  Hopefully you find my tips useful and I welcome any feedback you may have.

Tech Tuesday Archive 6

I realized after writing my email last week that in my sleep deprived stupor, I never formally announced the birth of my and Kathy's son, Finn Thomas Whalen.  In the world of Facebook and texting I just figured everybody knew the details.  Mom and baby are doing well.  So well, in fact, that they hang out all night together!  So as a proud papa, I'm including my (most recent) favorite picture of the little guy.  

So, what's new for technology this week?  Today, I'll be doing a tech Tuesday on 2 assessment tools to help with grading work that is submitted to you electronically.  I mentioned the first to my science colleagues yesterday - Doctopus and Goobric.  It takes a little work to start using but once you are set up it makes grading work that you have on your computer very simple, using rubrics.  English teachers, especially, if you like using Rubrics, and you are using chromebooks, you will benefit from this tool.  As usual if you have other concerns please come by and ask and I'll do my best to help you out.  

The second tool is called Kaizena and its really cool.  If you tire from constantly writing comments on students' work, this is a nice change of pace.  Kaizena allows your students to submit their work directly to you electronically and allows you the ability to add voice comments that the students can then review later.  

Tech Tips:

-Twitter challenge! Yes, I'd like to get more of you on Twitter.  I'm not giving up! Starting after Thanksgiving through Christmas break, I'm going to run a contest for anybody who sends out a tweet.  Winner gets a gift card somewhere.  I promise.  Those of you who were close to joining Twitter, but never did, or those that still would like to, please see me at a tech Tuesday or another time that you have free.  It is easy and takes very little time and I would argue it has the potential to provide the best professional development you can get.

-Thank you to Jeanine Motta - great resource for free videos, check it out:  http://www.watchknowlearn.org/

- Great new extension I discovered this morning: Search the chrome web store for "OneTab": If you have tons of tabs open, it will collapse them into 1 without losing anything and free up a lot of memory for you.  Good stuff.

Lastly, just wanted to say hey to the middle school - I'm including you in this message in case it proves helpful.  I have to touch base with Mr. Saul but wanted to start including you in what I'm sending out right now.  

If you are coming today, we will probably meet across the hall from my classroom as there is another meeting in my classroom today.  

Thanks for listening, have a great day and enjoy the 4 day break

Tech Tuesday Archive 5

Due to meetings after school there will not be a tech Tuesday meeting today.  I'll pick things back up next week.

A few tech tips for the week:

-100 tips/tricks for google chrome.  You are bound to find something useful:  http://www.chromestory.com/google-chrome-tips-and-tricks/

-This is a really cool infographic on note taking in the 21st century classroom.  I've thought a lot about how kids will/should take notes once they receive their chromebooks.  Some of this information may prove useful in helping students decide what method is most effective: http://www.teachthought.com/technology/note-taking-in-the-digital-classroom-a-blended-learning-approach/

-It's no secret that kids like to multi-task and that they may even be "good" at it.  Regardless of your stance on whether or not they should engage in the practice at all, it is as important as ever to teach kids how to focus and battle the world of constant distraction.  2 small things that you can use and teach the kids to use are the chrome extensions "Time Tracker" and "Stay focused".  Time tracker shows you a log of how much time you have spent on certain websites (I've spent almost 22 hours on Google docs since the end of the summer...).  Stayfocused is even better for staying on task: You can designate how much time to "allow" yourself on a certain website.  10 minutes to shop on Amazon a day, for example.  There is also a "nuclear option" in which you shut down access to specific websites and there's NO WAY TO CHANGE IT.  I don't know about you, but I'm as thankful as ever that the internet was not what it is today when I was in college.  All-nighters would have been far more frequent.  So, for a kid that knows that Twitter and Instagram are going to distract them, they can nuke them for a certain time to get their work done.  Lastly, there is an option to face a "challenge" if you want to change any settings.  You have to copy a body of text before being allowed to change anything.  Here's what the default text states:

"The procrastinator is often remarkably optimistic about his ability to complete a task on a tight deadline; this is usually accompanied by expressions of reassurance that everything is under control. (Therefore, there is no need to start.) Lulled by a false sense of security, time passes. At some point, he crosses over an imaginary starting time and suddenly realizes, "Oh no! I am not in control! There isn't enough time!"

Pretty cool.  Of course you first have to get a student to understand that they won't always be able to stay focused and that maybe these tools will help them.  

- Edcamp NJ is an "unconference" that will be in central Jersey in a little over a month.  The idea of an Edcamp is that its free, anybody can present, and there is no set agenda.  You can hop around to talk/learn about whatever is most pertinent to you.  Although not all of the topics are "tech", a great number of them will be.  If you check out the site they have a listing of last year's topics.  Like I said, it is free, and it is on a Saturday.  I've tentatively registered myself (everything I have planned for after the baby is born is tentative...) and if you are interested here is the link:

http://www.edcampnj.org/

Lastly, I'm going for 48 hours of no complaining... and I'm spending the ENTIRE DAY with Mr. Walsh today!  Have a great day everybody,

Tech Tuesday Archive 4

Happy Tech Tuesday.  I'll be here after school today to talk about Chromebooks and the upcoming distribution to students as well as Google Classroom (I've found some quirks over the past week).  If you have questions about submitting lesson plans through Google we can cover that as well.  Let me know if you plan on stopping by.  In addition, several people have asked about meeting up during the day. I have prep F and H today, so if you would like to stop in and ask some questions let me know and we can meet.  I also have prep E and so if one of those periods works for you, shoot me an email and well can schedule something at a later date.  

Tech News/Tips:

- News - Google announced last week that all GAFE (Google apps for education) will soon have access to Google Drive for Education - The big news here is for us teachers is that it will have UNLIMITED storage (let that inner hoarder yelp for joy).  You never have to worry about deleting anything.  There are some perks administratively as well that could aid in bullying prevention.  Read more here:  https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-09-30-google-s-drive-for-education-offers-unlimited-file-storage-compliance-tools

- Most of you know about viewing a document's revision history, which helps a great deal in seeing how much work a student has put into a project, especially when it is a group project, as well as seeing when they completed that work.  What many people may not realize is that Chromebooks, to a small extent, will work without the internet.  That's right.  If a student's house gets attacked by hackers the night before your lab report is due (yes, that was used on me already this year) they can still type it and save it and upload it the next day under our hacker free CPS internet. https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/3214688?hl=en

- Along the same lines, lets just say a student came in and said that "Google didn't work last night!".  There is a way to actually check.  Bookmark this link:http://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=status This is the Google App status dashboard and if you ever need to check on the validity of the student's argument.  If you check that link and go to 9/25, you'll see that there was a service disruption on 9/25. It may not happen often, but it helps to know for sure.  

-Lastly, here is a link to an article I read over the weekend that I thought shared some important ideas.  If you're not a smartphone user/tweeter/facebook poster this may not be relevant to you, but for many of us that use technology constantly there is a definite struggle to maintain focus and to "unplug".  The author gives up social media for a year and writes about his experience.  I think it's a balanced look at an increasingly problematic lifestyle dilemma.  If you've ever thought, "I have to stop looking at my phone" (yes, believe it or not, it's not just students that have this problem) then give it a read:http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/media/Reboot-or-Die-Trying.html

Tech Tuesday Archive 3

I have to cancel today's tech Tuesday due to a doctors appointment.  I will plan one for next week as we inch closer to the distribution of the Chromebooks.  I was informed last week that for any tech Tuesday you attend you will receive Panther college credits, so if coming down to my biology room full of cool animals to talk all things Twitter and Google hasn't been enough motivation, now you have some more.  

Instead of our after school meeting, here are some "tech tips" that you might find useful:

1.  Kahoot - I've used this a couple times and the kids love it.  Basically, you make a quiz online (or find a pre-made one, there are a bunch) and project the questions. The kids can join using their phones, and their phone acts as a buzzer.  It's not without some glitches and the wifi has to cooperate as everybody is using it, but for the most part it worked well and the kids seemed to get something out of the experience.  I've attached a very short video of my class completing a question during our first Kahoot quiz.  Which brings me to tech tip #2...

2.  When shooting video on a cell phone, if you intend to upload them at some point to a computer, it is preferable to shoot while holding the phone horizontally.  Think about the difference between movies on VHS in the 80's and movies now in widescreen (God help me if some teachers out there are too young for that reference).

3.  Lastly, as we move toward working more and more digitally, our students will (hopefully) be communicating with us via email more often. I'm sure many of you have received emails from students that leave a lot to be desired.  I know I have.  I adapted a list I found online that was posted as a guide for writing to your professors.  Share this with your students the next time you get an email that starts with "Hey" and includes a winky face.  All kidding aside, we need to prepare them for writing more professional emails.  

You'll have to be logged into a school account to view:

https://docs.google.com/a/collsk12.org/document/d/1On7xVC8RPkcZfTAs1hsiK1JtMUT3Rxar_XC8KxCyhTY/edit?usp=sharing

Along the same lines, you may have recently seen this YouTube video blow up online:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNc8F9tqzY

Don't forget, if you have any questions or concerns regarding using tech with the students let me know and I'll try to help you out.