iTunes Resources

I just tweeted some great resources from iTunes that could be beneficial when trying to implement some mobile device apps in your classroom - i.e. Explain Everything, Skitch, SketchBook, etc.

Stop Motion Studio Lesson Ideas by Apple Education on iBooks https://t.co/TobFYqsIse

— Benjamin Nason (@Ratkacher) November 19, 2015

iBooks Author Starter Kit by Apple Education on iBooks https://t.co/qlMArxJtwS

— Benjamin Nason (@Ratkacher) November 19, 2015

Excellect collection of lesson ideas: Apple Education on iBooks https://t.co/INQYl7sBXj #edtech #ipaded

— Benjamin Nason (@Ratkacher) November 19, 2015

Understanding the SAMR Model for Tech Integration

This tweet is an excellent example of how the SAMR model works

In edu tech course, we connect #SAMR model to the transition from Vaudeville stage to early tv to multi-camera effects to augmented reality

— Michelle Simms (@hannahsong87) November 19, 2015

My 2015-16 Building Schedule

We are off to a great start to the school year.  SAD1 is now 1to1 from grades 6 to 12.  This is very exciting!  There will be lots of opportunity to enhance learning and improve accessibility.

Now that all devices have been deployed to the students, my time is more free to help you practically implement technology into your classroom and into your curriculum plans.  Please feel free to invite me into your planning and I would love to see what we can do to continue with your curriculum plans and leverage some strengths with the use of some technology tools.

My building schedule for the year 2015-16 is as follows:

Middle School:  Tuesday, Thursday
High School:  Monday, Wednesday, Friday

This Week

This Friday will be my last day for the school year.  Because we collect the student iPads at the Middle School, I will be assisting Troy with the collection this week, so I will not be at the High School Tuesday or Thursday.

Feel free to email me with any questions throughout the Summer.  I still stay in touch with email and I would be happy to answer any questions; especially for those at the High School who are planning for 1to1.

Do You Have DCD?

I took some time today to clean up my Evernote account with unwanted notes and bookmarks and soon came to the realization that most of my saved digital content had become irrelevant to me now.  There are various reason for this.  The main reason is because when it comes to digital information, digital content, and technology...

...it's constantly changing.

What was cool and new last month, is now old hat.

The same can be said for a lot of digital consumption of information.  Eventually we become digital hoarders - collect, and collect, and collect; just in case we may need it in the future.  And, really, do you have the time available to go back and review those articles you want to read sometime?  For some of them, I'm sure that is the case.

I am discovering more and more there is a better solution for this Digital Consumption "Disorder" (DCD) (yeah, I made it up).

It is the power of search.

I am whole-heartedly convinced that the skill of search far outweighs the skill of collecting and organizing.  Services like Google have already done this work of indexing and organizing the web.  Most of the time, if I really value something I found online (and providing it is still there - some things do discontinue), I can find exactly what I need by learning a few skills and techniques on effective search.  And that's not just Google.  Most applications and services provide a search option.

I know what you are thinking!

"What if I can't find it?"

 There are some finds that are worth keeping or archiving for reference or for a later use.  And there are some great products out there that help users organized stuff like this - Evernote, Pinterest, Google Drive, etc.

Why carry the unnecessary weight of stuff that "might be useful some day"?  Chances are, if it really is valuable and effective, others have felt the same way and you'll be able to search for it again with a few key terms.  Take a look at that long list of web bookmarks  in your web browser that you have to take time to organize into folders, and be honest with yourself, would you be able to Google search for most of that content again with just a few key terms?

You can search for tons of help and tutorials on search tips and techniques.  Here's something from Lifehack to help you get started on learning the power of search.

By all means, let me know what you're thoughts are on this topic, and what have you found to be the most effective tool or skill with your digital consumption.

Meet eBackpack

Here's a great, little overview of eBackpack and what it can do.

eBackpack Teacher Guide

Be sure to check out the Quick Start Guide below in the previous post.

eBackpack Quick Start iPad Guide

Here we go!  I was surprised (and really why should I be) how much help is available on eBackpack's site.  Check out their video tutorial page.

Here is a PDF of some general info about using eBackpack.  You can download this for yourself if you like.



This PDF above is being hosted from my Google Drive.  You, also, can store documents like this in your Drive and embed them in your website, Moodle course, or classroom blog for a nice display.

PIHS Faculty Meeting Presentation on 1to1

Empower: Navigating Through

Save this PDF to your Google Drive for future reference.

Infographic: MLA Format

Empower: Target Browser

Here's a PDF illustrating the Target Browser from our Empower PBE online software.  The Target Browser is the one section of Empower, I believe, that you will be using more than any other piece on Empower in our (SAD1) first year of practicing it.  This is where you can find your curriculum - all of the standards and learning targets associated with your content area.  This tutorial should be very helpful when trying to familiarize yourself with it.

BTW, this document you see above is from my Google Drive.  You can, also, embed your Google Drive documents on to your Moodle course, Google Site, or blog easily like you see above.  Ask me, I'll show you.

SAMR Model

Ok, here we go.

Here are a couple of vids (and some from Ruben himself, the creator of the SAMR model) regarding the SAMR model.

Did he say "Maine"!

Element 13: Helping Students Reflect on Their Learning

Element 12: Helping Students Record and Represent Knowledge

Element 12 from Marzano's Teaching Framework talks about the use of digital academic notebooks.  There are many products out there that work well in developing a digital academic notebook for taking notes, outlines and reflections.  One product I want to feature is Evernote.  I am an avid Evernote user and have used Evernote since Feb of 2012.

At its simplest form, Evernote is a digital notebook allowing you to collect multiple forms of digital content, from text to photos, to web links, to document files, to audio recordings, and more.  It is a powerful indexer of information.

With the ability to categorize your content into separate notebooks and label each note with linkable tags, you can thoroughly organize your digital stuff.

This is a great tool for students to use when creating their own digital academic notebooks.  Evernote also is integrated in the iPad operating system.  Users can save content from their Safari web browser straight to their desired Evernote notebook.

Because Evernote is a cloud-based product, users will be able to access their content from almost any device or computer.  Evernote is very multi-platform.  As a result of this feature, users (students) will have to create their own account using an email account as verification, so make sure you check with your Administrators first before allowing students in your class to start creating accounts.

To learn more of the potential and the power of Evernote, YouTube is literally LOADED full of thousands of very helpful tutorials.  Goes to show it is favored by many, many people.

Links:
Online Evernote account
Evernote app on iTunes

Google Drive Folder Sharing

Had to feature this tweet.  Many in SAD1 will benefit from this!

New Google Drive: 4 Easy Steps for Sharing a Folder http://t.co/EfTZRzljja pic.twitter.com/B6UgEliL5F

— Alice Keeler (@alicekeeler) May 14, 2015

Misconceptions of the SAMR Model

If you recall in my previous post in March I talked about how tech should be used to assist and transform learning, and I referenced the SAMR model from Ruben Puetedura.  I'll talk more about this model in future posts.  I am realizing more now that I do not talk about this model enough.

There can be however some misconceptions of what the model is and how to actually apply it.  I found this great vid on some of these misconceptions.

Term Weighting in PowerTeacher

Attention PIMS teachers:  for this year, we should be weighting our school year by Term Weights as indicated below.

My New Favorite Chrome Extension

If you have not taken advantage of Chrome's extensions, you're missing out.  Just like Safari's extensions or add-ons in Firefox, these tools are embedded in your browser and allow you to do functions within your browser or webpage.  I found a new extension for my Chrome web browser.  It's my new favorite.  It is called OneTab.

There are many times where I will have multiple tabs open while doing research or looking up content online.  Having multiple tabs open, not only is counter-productive to staying focused, but it can also slow down your browser's performance and speed depending on what the webpage is; especially in Chrome.  OneTab will collect all of your open tabs in one fell swoop and list them on one tab.  The list is then saved and will allow you to do more with the saved list.  I can save my list as a webpage for sharing, or saving to Evernote.  I can name that particular list, so that if I open new tabs for new searches, I am able to chuck those list into particular categories.

This extension will make my work a heck of a lot easier to sort and manage.

Be sure to check out Chrome's App Store and find a couple of your future favorites.

Marzano's Element 4: Establishing and Maintaining Classroom Procedures

Having your student involved with the establishment of classroom rules and procedures not only empowers your students to make good choices, but encourages them to invest in their own behavior.  One great way to maximize classroom involvement with all your students when creating rules and procedures with them is the use of online collaborative services.

Padlet is a FREE product that has been out for a rather long time (in the digital world even 5 years is a very long time).  It is still a very effective tool for classroom collaboration and involvement.   Padlet allows you to create an online classroom discussion on one closed discussion platform.  Visually Padlet is similar to a bulletin board where users can post their content and ideas for all of those involved on the board to see and comment to.  And, Padlet works on any device.

Here is a video walk-through of how to use Padlet.