EdTech How-To

Create a Document in the Cloud

2012-11-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Check out Mr. T's tutorial on setting up a Gmail or Hotmail account and using Google Drive and Sky Drive to create documents in the cloud:

Setup a Class Website Using Shutterfly

2012-10-29T07:42:00.002-07:00

Shutterfly, the popular photo printing site, has a new feature that allows teachers to build interactive classroom websites that host calendars, sign-up/to-do lists (for parents to volunteer), photos, videos, contact information, assignments, and more. When you sign up to build a free class website, you will also be given 30 free prints so you can print out your favorite class photos to share with your students (sign up here: http://www.shutterfly.com/sharepromo/).

Here is a guide to building a Shutterfly classroom website from Mr. T:

If you have your own Shutterfly class website or if you know of any good examples, please feel free to share by posting the url in the comments section.

Become a Connected Educator

2012-08-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

August is Connected Educator Month!

Being a connected educator means using web 2.0 and social media tools to network with educators around the world to seek advice, ideas, feedback, and share your own wisdom. Connected educators use their vast networks to find answers and solve classroom problems in a fast, efficient way by pooling the wisdom of the crowd.

View Connected Educator Map in a larger map

Connected Educator Month critics believe that only connected educators are learning more about being connected.

Below is an e-book you can share with your colleagues to teach them how to build a PLN and become more connected. The e-book covers key topics for engaging in online personal learning environments (information literacy, networking & netiquette, privacy & ethics), tools for building a PLN, and how to use a PLN to learn, collaborate, and discover.

Get Connected as an Administrator

2012-07-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Whether you are a brand new administrator or a veteran, you can always learn from other administrators around the world. You may face a new problem you've never seen before and if you have a network of resources and contacts you can reach out to, you may find effective solution(s) that you have never tried before.

Two popular tools for connecting are Twitter and Google Reader.

Twitter

Although you are limited to 140 characters per tweet, you can still use this tool to follow and send direct messages to administrators around the world. You can also follow hashtags to keep a fresh perspective of the happenings in the field of education. Here's a Twitter Kit to help you get started in the Twitterverse:

Administrators to Follow

Administrators to Follow wiki
Twitter for Teachers (List of Principals, Superintendents, and more)
50 Educators on Twitter

Education Hashtags

#edchat
#cpchat (connected principals)
#edadmin (administrators)
Cybraryman Internet Catalogue of hashtags
The A-Z Directory of Educational Twitter Hashtags

Quick Tip: You can use Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to keep track of your followers and hashtags on one screen.

Not convinced about the benefits of Twitter? Read 4 Reasons Administrators Need to Get Connected with Twitter and view Simon Crook's eLearning Blog: Why Twitter? A Guide for School Principals.

Google Reader

Principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and other administrators are sharing their success stories, best practices, resources, and ideas with the world through blogging. You can use Google Reader to follow multiple blogs in one organized area so you do not have to visit each blog individually to check for updates.

Here is a video to get you started with Google Reader:

Blogs to Follow

EduBlog Awards: Best Administrator Blogs
Connected Principals
Education Blogs by Discipline
Principal Blog list
ASCD SmartBrief (daily digest e-mail of the top news in education around the country)

Do you follow any thought-provoking/helpful administrators on Twitter or through a blog? Share your administrator resources in the comments section.

Build a Professional Learning Network

2012-07-07T18:29:00.003-07:00

A Professional Learning Network (or PLN) is “a system of interpersonal connections and resources that support informal learning” (Trust, 2012). You can use a PLN to find support, ideas, and feedback from educators around the world and share your expertise. You can also use your network of connections to collaborate with peers on a global scale. Building a PLN saves you time from having to find resources, problem-solve, and design new lessons on your own.

There are many tools for building a PLN. Here is an overview of the popular PLN tools for Educators:

Twitter

Twitter gives you instant access to thousands of educators. You can follow individuals (see Twitter4Teachers wiki) to stay up-to-date on their latest tweets. You can retweet interesting tweets to share with your followers. You can track hashtags to have conversations around a shared topic of interest. You can also have conversations with other educators by using their twitter handle (i.e. @torreytrust) or by sending them a direct message.

RSS Readers

RSS readers allow you collect the latest news and updates from blogs and websites in one organized area. There are tons of blogs written by educators. These educators share best practices, new ideas, success stories, classroom resources, and other valuable information that can help you improve your teaching skills.

Here are some blog lists to help you find blogs to add to your RSS reader:

Ning

Ning is a social networking platform that provides various features including profile pages, blogs, instant chat, discussion forums, and groups to join. The education-related Ning sites provide a space for educators to connect on a small or large group level, build a network of colleagues, and share resources.

Preventing Information Overload

There are many other networks you can join (see List of Networks) and tools you can use, but I recommend starting small. Start with one tool and build up. Set a goal (I want to learn one thing this week that I can use in the classroom) and a time limit (I will visit my PLN Tues/Thurs for 20 minutes). Take time to reflect on what you learn and think about how you can implement the new idea(s) into your teaching. You can also set a goal of learning about one topic (i.e., flipped learning) to limit your scope of information that you read through.

Trust, T. (2012). Professional learning networks designed for teacher learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(4), 133-138

Setup an iPad

2012-07-01T10:47:00.002-07:00

iPads can be engaging and interactive learning tools. However, it is up to you, the teacher, to set them up to facilitate student learning. With the thousands of apps available, where do you start? Can you sync multiple iPads at once? Here are some tips to help you get started:

First, check out Mr. T's Apps for the iPad Interactive pdf:

Where to Begin

Sync your iPads using Apple Configurator ($30) or setup one iPad and then clone the rest of the iPads to match the first one
Use whiteboard to draw a number or take a picture of a number and set this as the background of the iPad so all of the iPads are numbered (also write the number of the iPad externally - on the iPad and the case)
Buy a screen protector for each iPad.
Buy a case for each iPad
Setup an Apple ID (buy a free app and setup your ID without using a credit card)
Turn off in-app purchases (Check Settings->General->Restrictions, You may have Allowed Content: In-App Purchases set to Off)
Read How to Use Your iPad Securely to learn how to set a passcode on the settings
Setup folders on your iPad (i.e., Math, English, Games, Science, e-Books):

Finding & Evaluating Apps

Find and test apps to place in each the folders on your iPad. Look for apps that will reinforce the content you teach or engage students in higher-order thinking about the content (i.e., creating a movie to demonstrate how the content can be applied to a situation).

iPad App Evaluation for the Classroom

Find Funding for Tech

2012-07-01T10:12:00.002-07:00

With budget cuts, staff layoffs, and teachers being forced to pay for classroom supplies, you may have put your technology dreams on the back burner. Don't despair - there are ways to get funding for technology for your classroom. Below is a list of websites that provide grant opportunities and contests that can help you transform your classroom for 21st century learning.

We Are Teachers
This website offers contests and grants for teachers to win technology prizes (i.e., share your best interactive whiteboard lesson plan and win a cash grant, iPod touch, and tech gift basket). If you join the community, you will receive a weekly e-mail with information about the latest grant and contest opportunities.

Grant Wrangler
Grant Wrangler is a popular website that displays grants for K-12 teachers. Check out the STEM section to see if there are grants that you can apply for to get tech equipment for your classroom. You can also subscribe to the biweekly bulletin to receive the latest grant opportunities in your e-mail inbox.

Edutopia
The Edutopia weekly e-newsletter features a grants and resources section for K-12 teachers. Edutopia also has a Grant Information: Resources to Get You Started page that lists government grants, technology donation programs, corporate/foundation grants, and additional grant websites.

More Grant Sites

School Grants - provides a list of grant opportunities by geographic location.
K-12 Grants
K-16 Education Grants

Grant Writing

It may seem intimidating to write a grant proposal. Here are a few resources to get you started:

Connect with Parents

2012-06-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Communicating with parents is essential to a healthy classroom. It's important to keep parents up-to-date with what is going on in your classroom and remind them about important events/deadlines.

Here are a few technology tools to help you connect and communicate with parents:

Texting

Texting is a popular way to communicate with parents, since almost every parent has a cell phone. Richard Byrne put together a great list of 7 online tools you can use to send text messages to students and parents, check it out: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/7-services-for-sending-group-texts-to.html

Twitter Hashtag

You can use Twitter to send updates to parents. If you would like to keep your Twitter profile personal/private, you can use a hashtag (#) for your class instead of asking parents to "follow" you on Twitter. Share your hashtag (i.e., #DCelementaryroom101) with parents and they can use that hashtag to communicate with you and see your school-related updates.

You can also embed live updates from your hashtag on your classroom website: Twitter Live Feed Widget (put your hashtag in the "Search Query" box and test it out).

Classroom Website

Build a classroom website to share updates, assignments, photos, projects, and more. See the How to Build a Classroom Website post to create your own site.

Online Magazine

If you create a weekly newsletter to send home to parents, spice it up by creating an interactive online magazine instead. All you need to do is to save your word document as a pdf and upload the pdf to Issuu. Issuu will do the rest. You can even embed your Issuu magazine on your classroom website.

How do you use technology to communicate with parents? Share your tips and advice in the comments section.

Get Computers for Your Classroom

2012-06-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

There are a few ways to get your own computers for your classroom:

Read Educational Technology Guy's Tips for Saving Money and Finding Free Resources for School
Ask parents and craigslist members to donate a computer or monitor to the classroom
- In June, July, and August, post on craigslist, asking for anyone to donate computers or computer parts to a classroom. Also note that anything helps: keyboards, mice, headphones, and monitors. You should offer to have students write letters and send pictures to the donors. Donating to a school is excellent charity.
Buy used computers($50 - $300) for the classroom
- Search websites (craigslist, Newegg, TigerDirect) for cheap used or refurbished computers.
Buy new netbooks($250 - $300)
- The only technical difference between a laptop and netbook is that a netbook does not have a CD/DVD drive. The additional differences due to their build are netbooks use less power and have a better battery life while being slower, smaller, and lighter.
Apply for a grant (Donors Choose and ClassWish) or make a Wish List (Amazon)

Read 11 Tips for Securing Grants to Enhance Education

Setup Computers, Networks, and External Devices

2012-06-24T17:16:00.002-07:00

Learn how to setup your PC computer, laptop, network, and connect different devices to your computer in this PowerPoint designed by Mr. T:

Desktop vs. Laptops

Desktop Pro's: Faster, Ethernet, Bigger monitor
Desktop Con's: Require a set spot and power, require a monitor, bulky
Laptop/Netbook Pro's: Slower, Mobile, Light-weight, Wi-Fi, No additional monitor
Laptop/Netbook Con's: Needs to charge, More fragile, Wi-Fi (if none exist), Laptop carts are expensive

Hardware

Monitor for desktops, preferably LCD (thinner than bulky CRT's)
Mouse, preferably optical, maybe even USB and wireless
Keyboard, any will do
Headphones, have children bring their own, or provide over the ear ones (not in the ear)
Microphone, optional, laptops have them built-in usually
Other Options: Multi-User Computers, where you have 5 monitors and accessories, but only one computer with 5 video cards ($350 + cost of a desktop computer) http://eztechcomputers.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=7233

Software

Operating System (OS): Windows XP is just fine, though Windows 7 is better. Mac OS X is good. Linux is ok if you're used to it. Important links: How they work and About them.
Word Processing: Microsoft Office is expensive and requires a key for each copy. Therefore, I would recommend the free software that comes with the computer and Open Office (which is free). It's limited, but still works well. openoffice.org
Web Browsing: Very important, needs parental guidance security. Recommended: Internet Explorer (widely used, more functionality, parental controls). My favorite: Google Chrome (fast, sleek, and simple), but no parental controls.
Free Utilities for Windows

Networks

Having an internet connection for your classroom computers is EXTREMELY important. Without the Internet, you are very limited (typing, word processing, graphics, etc...).
Ethernet: Wiring, consistent connection, fast! Perfect for desktop computers, because of the limited range. Desktops need to be ~5ft (or extended) from power outlet and an Ethernet outlet (or hub).
Wi-Fi: Wireless, connection can interrupt, routers are temperamental, slower. Perfect for laptops/netbooks. Wi-Fi is mobile internet.
Find out what your school has. Look for the Ethernet outlets (look like wider phone outlets). Test out the wireless with a laptop/netbook. Also, ask the front office or the district technology employee about Internet connections.
Here are some links about networks: Guide for K-12, Networks (In-Depth), and Made It Guide.
Check out LifeHacker's Know Your Network: The Complete Guide

Solve a Tech Problem

2012-06-23T20:00:00.001-07:00

You finally decide to give the laptop cart a try to have your students write a collaborative story using Google Docs when all of a sudden three laptops show errors, two laptops won't turn on, and one freezes. What do you do?

Problem solving skills are essential for effectively integrating technology into the classroom as a learning tool (Remember Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will).

Here are some tips from years of fixing computer problems to help you get started with your problem-solving venture:

If a technology device stops working, turn it off, wait 10-30 seconds, and turn it back on (surprisingly, this fixes many problems). If your computer is frozen, hold down the power button until it shuts off or pull the plug as a last resort.

Accessory problem (i.e., keyboard not working?), unplug the usb cord and plug it in again. Also, try plugging it into another usb port. Then restart the computer.

Frozen program? Computer running to slow? Hold down control-alt-delete (PC) or command-option-escape (Mac) to force quit the program (force quit all other programs that you are not currently using to improve the speed of your computer).

Search! If you see an error message, it is more than likely that other people have also experienced this same error. Copy the entire error message and paste it in to a search box (Google, Yahoo!, Bing). Make sure to wrap the error message in quotation marks (i.e., "error 1505: computer setting false") in order to get results that match your exact error. Scroll through the search results and see if you can find a solution (typically posted in a discussion forum).

If you come across a problem you can't figure out (i.e., how do I get out of the forced presenter mode on the new PowerPoint?), type in your question or keywords for your question in a search box and see what comes up. Discussion forums and FAQ pages are a great place to look for answers.

Ask for Help. Post your question in Edmodo's Computer Technology subject community. Post your question on your social media sites or on a discussion forum.

Laptop Trick - if you have a laptop that won't turn on, hold down the "eject" button (i.e., like you are ejecting a CD/DVD) while pressing the power button. Also, try holding the power button for 10-20 seconds.

Blocked website - if you have a great lesson plan that revolves around a website and you get to school only to find out it's blocked, try adding a "s" to the http part of the url (i.e., https://) and then typing the url.

Here are some helpful problem-solving advice websites:

Do you have a problem solving tip that works for you? Please share it in the comments section.

Build a Classroom Website

2012-06-23T19:11:00.001-07:00

Most students and parents expect teachers to have a class website nowadays. A classroom website is a good place to post assignments, grades, updates for parents, resources for students and parents, and any other relevant information. Visit the K-12 Tech Tools wiki to find resources to share on your class website.

Developing A Classroom Website

Classroom Website Tools

There are a couple different types of tools available for building a classroom website:

Website Guides

Building a Classroom Website (Google Sites)

Classroom Website Examples

Flip a Classroom

2012-06-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Flipping the classroom or flipped learning is the act of recording lectures for students to watch outside of school and reserving in-school time for activities, discussions, and projects that reinforce the content from the videos.

The Flipped Classroom: Getting Started

Screen Recording Tools

Most screen recording tools have a 5-minute limit (except Atomic Systems). These tools are good to use for recording a voiceover with a PowerPoint or on-screen demonstration (i.e., how to use Wolfram Alpha for Calculus).

Digital/Video Cameras

You can also use a video camera or digital camera on a tripod to record your lesson. You can import the footage into iMovie to edit and upload the video to a video hosting website (some of the websites, like YouTube, allow you to edit movies after you upload them). For more information about videography, visit: http://edutechdatabase.wikispaces.com/Cameras+&+Video+Tools

iPads

Use your iPads to record lessons. There are apps that record your voice as you write on the iPad (great for demonstrating how to solve a math problem).

Find Pre-Made Lessons

There are thousands of lessons already available online. Save yourself time and have your students watch a lesson from one of the following websites to learn content:

More About Flipped Learning

Here are some websites to help you learn more about flipping your classroom:

Learn how to create customized Ted Ed or YouTube videos for your students: http://blog.ted.com/2012/04/25/flip-it-a-new-way-to-teach-with-video-from-ted-ed/

The Flipped Classroom blog post with ideas and tools: http://gradpost.ucsb.edu/tools/2012/3/14/the-flipped-classroom.html

Five Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-best-practices-andrew-miller

Various tools to use for flipping the classroom and filming lessons: http://digitalsandbox.weebly.com/flipped-classroom.html

Join the Ning Flipped Classroom Network to connect with educators around the world who are flipping their classrooms.