GarrisonSites

MN Google Summit

2013-05-10T19:29:00.002-07:00

I'm honored to be a part of the first ever MN Google Summit!

YouTube

Gmail Efficiency

Apps 25+

What do Great Leaders Do Differently?

2013-05-10T19:13:00.002-07:00

Eye on Education posted this great infographic from Todd Whitaker's book, What Great Principals Do Differently (2nd Edition): Eighteen Things That Matter Most.

The ideas here really apply to all leaders, be they classroom teachers, principals, coaches, managers or administrators.

How many of these leadership traits do you embody?

TED Talks Education

2013-05-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Set aside 55 minutes to watch Ramsey Musallam, Bill Gates, Geoffrey Canada, Sir Ken Robinson, John Legend and more discuss their best ideas for education. Then take action.

Watch TED Talks Education on PBS. See more from TED Talks Education.

Brisbane Summit

2013-04-11T12:30:00.002-07:00

Garrison Presentations

Day 1:
Docs 101: A Getting Started Guide to Docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations and Forms
Maps For Assessment, Collaboration and Understanding
Gmail Efficiency

Day 2:
50 Google Apps Tips, Tricks and Sites

Apps Hive - March 2013

2013-03-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

The Apps Hive is one of the great collaborative ideas to come out of the Twin Cities Metro area Instructional Tech scene. Brilliant.

Apps Hive Resources:

Google Apps 25+

White Bear Collaborative Notes

The Mad Video and Weavly

2013-03-01T09:27:00.001-08:00

The Mad Video allows you and your students to add links, questions, background info and more to YouTube videos. You can even track the video analytics.

Teachers can use it to clarify existing videos with additional information, embed questions and link to related videos. Students can use the service to add their own understanding to YouTube videos. This is a great tool to being remixing YouTube videos for own purpose.

Once your video is created you simply embed it in your website.

Give yourself 15-20 minutes to play with the site. You'll easily learn the process and think of several great classroom applications!

h/t @followmolly

If you like what you can do with The Mad Video and are looking for ways to truly remix YouTube videos, check out Weavly. It lets you mix and mash from any Video while adding music, transitions, editing controls and more.

Esri - ArcGIS

2013-02-27T19:50:00.001-08:00

I love mapping tools and feel they are perfect for...math lessons, book reports, earth science, social studies, assessments of any kind, LMS... Therefore, it is not surprise that I love esri. It is a

In less than 5 minutes on the site I learned that the average age in my little neighborhood is 34.8 years. That's cool.

Beyond amazing facts, you can build maps with your own data.

You could build an entire course around this site. What will you and your students create?

A Quarter of a Million Page Views!

2013-02-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

GarrisonSites just topped 250,000 pageviews!

Thanks for your support and interest in my take on instructional technology over the years.

GarrisonSites has always been a sporadicly updated blog. The main purpose is to create a platform for presentations and a place to compile resources for educators. I will continue to add resources that I find intriguing innovative and amusing.

Please keep sending your suggestions, questions and feedback.

-Mark Garrison

Cometdocs

2013-02-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

Google Drive seems to meet nearly all of my document filing and sharing needs, but one hates to but all of the proverbial eggs in one basket, and one tool - even one as comprehensive as Google Drive, is not always the best tool for the job. Luckily there are other tools out there to meet your needs. Welcome to Cometdocs.

The new version of Cometdocs is an all-in-one document management service of the highest order. Using the new Cometdocs, users can now convert, store, transfer and share their files online easily and free of charge

According to Erica Perkins of Cometdocs, users can now:
1. Safely store their documents online
2. Convert them between popular document formats (HTML, PDF, Word, AutoCAD, XPS, etc.
3. Share them anonymously or publicly without intrusive ads.
4. Transfer large files to others via email.

I've used it to transfer pictures and other large files with great success. I'll keep playing around with it as I come across the need to convert and transfer large files.

Let me know what service(s) you use to transfer and convert files.

TPCK

2013-02-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

What does it take to be an exemplary teacher these days? There was a time when content knowledge was probably enough. Then a solid foundation in pedagogical approaches proved to make for much more effective and engaging teaching. Now, these elements are still critical, but to be truly effective a teacher needs a strong balance of content, pedagogical AND technological knowledge.

Kohler has centered his extensive TPACK research on the topic around this graphic. Noting that transformative teaching and learning happens when all three of these elements are present.

Technological

Pedagogical

and

Content

Knowledge

You can read more about it on http://tpack.org/. Check it out. You'll learn something useful.

The graphic above, and the research behind it, are a tremendously helpful for teacher to keep on hand while lesson planning, adopting a new curriculum, planning staff development and collaborating with colleagues.

Understanding that teaching in the 21st century requires a balance of these skills is a great validation for teachers who are technologically savvy and an important reminder for those who have held off on integrating technology into their classroom.

That said, one can not hope to master every technology tool available. It is not the point nor is it the goal of TPCK. The idea is for a teacher to be grounded in all three areas. To be aware of available resources. For example, a great primary document (content), a mix of small and larger group class activities (pedagogy) and the seamless use of available technology.

Moreover, we must all know where to look for assistance, support and fresh ideas when needed. If your areas of strength are content and classroom management, you can trade your ideas with someone whose tech bubble is larger, and vice versa.

TPCK is a framework that can help ever teacher improve their craft.

Lifelong Learning

2013-02-24T08:35:00.001-08:00

In 1967 Walter Cronkite previewed the home office of the 21st Century. His short piece ends, "With equipment like this in the home of the future, we may not have to go to work. The work would come to us. In the 21st century it may be that no home will be complete without a computerized communication console."

Now all of the tools he previewed (news, weather, stock updates video phone, video monitoring) are embedded in the average smartphone. It made me think he should have said, "In the 21st century it may be that no POCKET will be complete without a computerized communication console."

Cronkite's prediction is cool, but it does not even begin to comprehend the power of today's devices. This brings me to my main point.

20 years ago a teacher could master the overhead projector and be pretty set in terms of classroom technology. Now we can't begin to master all the possible tech tools.

We need to be lifelong learners.

We need a working a knowledge of technology integration possibilities, resources to help us discover and implement new ideas, tools to implement the plan, and the solid background in content and pedagogical knowledge that have always been required for great teaching.

What we need is TPCK.

Google Apps Tricks and Resources

2013-01-30T13:09:00.004-08:00

Google Apps users. Here are five resources for you that will boost your Apps knowledge and make you more creative, connected and productive.

Google Gooru creates excellent and extensive video tutorials for Google Apps users. Their videos will fit the needs of new and veteran Google users alike. Teach your colleagues to check the site to answer Apps questions and to learn more about the seemingly limitless Google Apps possibilities.

Fans should also install the Gooru Chrome Extension. It is a quick shortcut and it will remind you each time a new video is uploaded.
MakeUseOf assembled this top 10 list of Google services you should use. It is worth a read even if you never make it past the first service, Account Activity.
BlogTehnika focused their Google top 10 list on tricks. Learn how to remotely sign off of your Google Apps account plus 9 more cool tricks.
Think With Google produced Susan Wojcicki's interesting piece on the Eight Pillars of Innovation. Read it and think about how you might employ her insight to make changes to your classroom, school or district.
Alice Keeler wrote up these easy steps for adding a Favicon to your Google Site. This is an easy way to boost your credibility.

Wistia

2013-01-20T13:27:00.000-08:00

Wistia is a video hosting service - think of a YouTube-like service where you control all of the sharing, analytics and security. You can host up to 3 videos at a time for free. It is a great tool for teachers, but not just because of their hosting service.

The best use of Wistia from a classroom perspective is their outstanding video tutorials. Check out their Learning Center and Blog for simple ideas that will help you and your students can make better videos today.

The Verge 2012

2012-12-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Technology progressed at an amazing rate in 2012.

Thank You TIES Participants!

2012-12-16T19:56:00.003-08:00

Fun times at TIES this year! Thank you to the hundreds of you who packed in for 50 Sites and Youtube in the Classroom. We had a great time!

I've come across a few new tech ideas this week that you might find interesting

ChromeBooks for State Testing
Ask 3 - It's like a collaborative Educreations
Weavly - YouTube mash-up tool
TCEA iPad Apps sorted by subject and grade level

Subtext

2012-12-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

50 Sites guests Sara Speicher and Julie Walthour reintroduced me to Subtext today. It is engaging their students and getting the two of them fired up!

Check it out (especially if you have iPads in your classroom). You and your students will be fired up as well!

TIES

2012-12-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

Please join me at the 2012 TIES Conference for the 5th year of 50 Sites in 50 Minutes.

This year's presentation features all new sites and an engaging take classroom technology integration. Plus, I crowd sourced a portion of the talk. Guest speakers will be featured.

Fun will be had!

50 Sites in 50 Minutes - Monday 2:25, Nicollet B/C

I'll also be presenting Youtube in the Classroom with Molly Schroeder. Tuesday 1:20, Nicollet A

I'll see you there!

Meograph

2012-12-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

Are you a 4-dimension story teller? 50 Sites guest Carla Haaven is. She is a fan of Meograph. Check out her short video from the SuperHero tech conference.

Meograph is a digital storytelling tool for educators and students. It makes it easy to combine video/audio/pics/text/maps/timelines/links into contextualized stories in 10 min with no multimedia training.

Educators around the world are using Meograph to teach lessons, and assigning students to create their own.

When Moegraph co-founder Misha Leybovich saw that Carla had submitted a 50 Sites video he kindly added his own.

Igor Khayet says, "Misha has developed a technology that will revolutionize the way we tells stories. It has significant applications within the education..."

Who to Follow on Twitter

2012-12-08T22:10:00.002-08:00

If you are new to Twitter and want to use it to create your own PLN you need to follow the right people. But how do you find them?

Check out these education-related Twitter discussions.

Follow the interesting contributors then take a look at who they follow. Pretty soon you'll have your own personal learning network!

Research with EasyBib and Google

2012-12-08T22:03:00.002-08:00

50 Sites guest, Seth Salenger, knows that Easybib is a great, free tool for citing research. He's right.

If you are a Google Apps user you should also join Stacey Behmer in taking advantage of the research, photo and citing features built directly into Docs and Slides. Watch her SLAM video to see how it is done.

TrendsMap

2012-12-08T21:46:00.001-08:00

How does 50 Sites guest Eric Simmons keep up with the latest world news? He rocks Trendsmap and you should too. It is a real-time mapping of twitter trends across the globe and it can be a great source for the most current of current events.

YouTube With No Related Videos & an Embedding Trick

2012-12-08T21:34:00.002-08:00

When you link to a YouTube video you always get the related videos at the end. This can be a distraction at school.

Next time you click on the Share button you get the video URL choose the Embed option instead. Unselect "Show suggested videos when the video finishes" and then copy the embed code.

It will look something like this:

Next, just copy the URL out of the embed code: http://www.youtube.com/embed/s_21p14TAXM?rel=0

That "rel=0" will make sure that no related videos pop up at the end of the video.

While we are on the topic, it is also worth noting that you can stick any URL in place of the YouTube URL in those embed codes. I use them whenever I need to embed a site or page element into my blog. Simply adjust the height and width to fit your needs.

Finally, try right clicking on a youtube video and select the "Pop Out" feature.

YouTube Create

2012-12-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Xtranormal, WeVideo, GoAnimate, Magisto, Vlix and the YouTube Video Editor all linked to your Google account and all in one place. Yes. Welcome to www.youtube.com/create!

Visit the site, then use it to transform the way you deliver content and assess your students.

While you are in there test out the upload page where you can record directly from your webcam, Google+ Hangout and even create a slideshow from your pictures!

Minute To Win It

2012-12-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

Need a great opener to engage your students, or a fun activity to pull them back together? Check out the Minute To Win It YouTube treasure trove. These scores of videos are just what you were looking for!

Edu Gurus

2012-12-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

In 2010 I was lucky enough to be a part of the first (and so far, only) Youtube Star Teacher program. We focused on the reasons behind using video in the classroom and the art of making it great.

Since then, YouTube has been further establishing its place as a leader in education. In October they announced the 2012 YouTube Next EDU Gurus. These educators are firmly creating a place for themselves as leading YouTube educators. They are using YouTube to create a global classroom and sharing their passions and knowledge about everything from linear algebra and science topics to speaking Japanese and the history of art masterpieces.

Bravo!

Take a look at their collective work and you will have a much bette understanding of the power of YouTube in the classroom.