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certification
ChromebooksiOS Tips and TricksProfessional Learning

Fall 2016 Online Certification Recipients

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Whether it is via a shared cart, 1:1, or BYOD, many teachers and students have access to iPads and Chromebooks to the extent that these are now common tools in their classrooms. Sometimes, though, it is easy to feel as if you know some of the basics, but not all that you need to really start using it as a powerful instructional tool. TCEA has developed two self-paced, online certification programs to help build these skills: the iPad (Level 1) Certification and the Chromebook (Level 1) Certification. These certifications are designed to help busy educators who don’t have time to attend optional after-school training, but do want the knowledge and skills to be adept users of the tools while earning 18 hours of professional development credit.

Each certification consists of self-paced modules to gain basic understanding of the device, pedagogical considerations when integrating the device in various settings (1:1, BYOD, shared cart, etc.), and introductory tutorials of some of the basic tools/apps that can be used on the device to engage students across the content areas. As a capstone to the online certifications, each participant develops a lesson plan that is correlated to specific content standards and integrates the device and tools/apps.

We would like to congratulate the graduates of the Fall 2016 semester who have earned the iPad (Level 1) Certification and/or the Chromebook (Level 1) Certification.

Certification graduates include:

  • Kayla Burgoon of Lubbock ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
  • Veronica Castillo Baca of Harlingen Consolidated ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
  • Veronica Castillo Baca of Harlingen Consolidated ISD – iPad (Level 1)
  • Kizuwanda Christie of KIPP – Chromebook (Level 1)
  • Scott Firenza of Lubbock ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
  • Laura Howard of San Angelo ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
  • Jackie Johnson of Seminole ISD – iPad (Level 1)
  • Stephanie Trook of Lubbock ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)

Learn more about these certifications or contact Ashley Weiler at aweiler@tcea.org . Group discounts are available for districts/campuses who want to register a group of their educators as a cohort; contact Dr. Bruce Ellis at bellis@tcea.org for more information on group discounts.

 

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Two females staring at a Chromebook screen
Chromebooks

Best Practices for Learning in a Chromebook Classroom

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

As we all have discovered by now, Chromebooks can be an amazing tool for students of all ages. But to make sure that they help kids learn what they need to, take a look at these best practices.

Best Practice #1 – Establish procedures before issuing Chromebooks.

“Figure out which toys your friends can play with,” I remember my mom saying to me before a sleepover with classmates. “And put the ones you don’t want to see damaged, lost, or stolen away.” It’s advice that I took to heart and shared with my own children before they had friends over.

Setting ground rules can certainly help you avoid trouble and heartache down the line. The advice is definitely worth taking when it comes to inviting students and staff to use any kind of device, even durable Chromebooks, in your classroom, library, or school. TCEA member Erin Laughlin (@MrsErinLaughlin) recommends that you consider your responses to questions like the ones below:

  • How will students be issued Chromebooks?
  • How should students be advised to transport Chromebooks?
  • What happens when there is a substitute teacher in the room? Will students be permitted to take advantage of the Chromebook?
  • What should be done when a Chromebook suffers damage?

In response to the last question, one teacher in Fairfield ISD during their Eagle Leadership Academy,pointed out that damage had occurred to a school-owned Chromebook issued to a student. “What did you do?” I asked, wondering if the student was to be forced to reimburse the district or forced to replace the device. “We made sure it wasn’t malicious and then just worked to get it fixed or replaced. No action was taken since this was an accident.” Erin also suggests having rules like these in place:

  • No food or drinks should be in sight when Chromebooks are out.
  • Carry Chromebooks with two hands at all times.
  • Do not get a Chromebook if teacher is out of the room.
  • Nothing should be on the desk except the Chromebook unless told otherwise.
  • Students should only be on websites assigned or approved by the teacher.
  • Have students and parents sign a statement saying they will abide by the rules.
  • Have reasonable consequences for students who aren’t following the rules; taking away the Chromebook should be your last resort.

As you might imagine, some common-sense suggestions include assigning a student to be in charge of the Chromebooks, ensuring monitoring of issuance and receipt of devices by class members. Consider including a Google Form to let students report how a Chromebook was damaged. Be sure to label your class Chromebooks so they will be easy to locate in case they leave your classroom. Finally, Kim from Fairfield ISD suggests that the teacher and students get in the habit of plugging in Chromebooks correctly so they are charged for the next group.

Best Practice #2 – Teach Chromebook basics along with digital citizenship.

“You can’t issue students devices until they’ve had digital citizenship lessons required by E-Rate.” These lessons also ensure that you can discuss important issues about caring for other people’s equipment.

In my experience, students often take great care of equipment issued to them when there is a culture of care cultivated in the school as a whole. Keys aren’t ripped off keyboards in classrooms where the teacher makes every effort to care for his/her technology and assigns students the jobs of cable management, removing dust from devices, and cleaning keyboards/screens.

Every device brings its own challenges, and Chromebooks are no different. Providing an overview of Chromebook and Google Apps tips ensure that students feel confident in using new technologies, rather than frustrated.

Best Practice #3 – Promote collaboration.

“My two favorite tools for a 1:1 classroom,” I shared at the recent Tots and Technology Conferences that took place in Galveston and Frisco this past summer, “include Nearpod.com and Seesaw.com.” Each provides tools for sharing your screen with students and collecting their work.

Nearpod serves as a presentation and eyeball management tool for you, pushing your screen out to all student Chromebooks. Seesaw serves as a digital portfolio that collects students’ digital and physical work in one virtual space that is easily shared but manageable.

Let’s quickly explore some other top tips for promoting collaboration:

  • Quiz tools: Other ways to engage students include quizzing tools like Quizizz.com and Kahoot.com. Quizizz allows students to log in with their Google account and all completed assignments are reported and available in Google Classroom.
  • Easy video assessment: Use tools like EdPuzzle and/or FlipGrid to take already existing videos from YouTube, Khan Academy, etc. You can also put your own online, adding your voice and questions to create an interactive video lesson. You’ll be able to see how many times your students watch the video or attempt a question, as well as the responses given.
  • Share web links with Google Tones: Facilitate the sharing of complex uniform resource locators (URLs) using Google Tone.
  • Take screenshots or record video screencasts: Use tools like the Nimbus Screenshot/Screencast extension for Google Chrome to quickly capture your screen for a flipped lesson or explanation.
  • Use Google Classroom to create a virtual classroom presence for students, blending in Google Calendar and YouTube videos to facilitate online learning.
  • Use badges in your classroom: TCEA member Joe Camacho (@CamachoEdTech) recommends setting up and issuing badges to celebrate student learning and sharing. Students can learn Google Apps tools such as Sites, Classroom, Forms, Docs, Drawings, and Slides, as well as other tools in use like DocHub, Flubaroo, Edpuzzle, Kahoot, Quizizz, creating screencasts, and Padlet.

Another neat tip for promoting collaboration and sharing comes from Erin Laughlin again. She suggests creating a “shark tank” in your classroom, having older students create products that are evaluated by younger students serving as “the sharks.” Older students pitch their solution to a problem using Google Hangouts, bridging the distance between their classroom at one campus and another. Of course, this activity can also be done at even greater distances. If that is of interest, consider the Connecting for a Cause website, where students create a Google Sites web presence that represents their cause.

Interested in learning more ways students can collaborate in a Google Apps-powered classroom? Drop me a tweet @mguhlin and request an in-person workshop.

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Chrome
ChromebooksGoogle Tips and Tricks

It’s a Chrome World!

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

For those educators using the Chrome browser, life is good. Add-ons and extensions abound that allow you to individualize the web experience however you want, for both yourself and your students. That makes Chrome a powerful tool in any teacher’s tool belt.

To make sure you have the best tools available, here are some Chrome goodies that you may want to add.

Picsho – Create photo galleries for you and your students to use from the millions of photos shared on social media each day. You can search by social network and by hashtag to find exactly what you need and remove any questionable images you don’t want.

Usecubes – Create pixel art from your imagination and share them with the world. You can even 3D print them, if you want.

Goo Create – Take Usecubes up a notch and use this artist-friendly HTML5 tool for creating interactive 3D images.

Rizzoma Topics – Help engage all of your students in the discussion and learning with this great extension. You can post polls, as well as documents and images that students can comment on.

Animaker – Animated Video Maker – This extension is lots of fun as students create animated videos by dragging and dropping characters.

To really ramp up your Chrome game, consider taking the online Chromebook Certification (Level 1) course.  The course emphasizes the use of the Chromebook in the classroom and includes both Chrome and Google Apps tools.

Itch – The Scratch Teacher Dashboard – If you are having your students program using the free language Scratch, then they will love this extension. It provides tutorial videos that play as students try what is being shown in Scratch.

MindMup – This is an excellent mind mapping tool that integrates with Google Drive or Dropbox. It also includes real-time collaboration. Another excellent brainstorming tool is Coggle. It includes many of the same features.

Piktochart – Create amazing infographics that really tell the story with this easy-to-use extension. Some free templates are provided (more than 300 with the Pro version) and you can publish the completed work to social media or download it as a graphic.

Robust Audio Recorder – Capture up to three hours worth of audio stories, vocabulary practice, reading, interviews, and more with this simple extension.

Padlet – The web version comes to Chrome as a powerful extension, combining visual bookmarking, videos, notes, images, and more in a collaborative environment.

If these aren’t enough extensions for you, join us the first Thursday of each month for Get Your Google On webinars (free to members) and discover more. Or check out the tried and tested Chrome apps that TCEA recommends in this extensive list (also free to members).

 

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Google
ChromebooksGoogle Tips and Tricks

Updates to Google Classroom, Forms, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

As another school year gets ready to begin, Google has announced changes and updates to a variety of its offerings. Most of these are welcome and will make learning a little bit easier this year.

Google Hangouts on Air

The first announcement came yesterday when they let us know that, effective September 12, they will be discontinuing Hangouts on Air and are instead encouraging people to move to YouTube Live or their new Duo app (available free for Android and iOS). While this may not be something to thrill your heart, it will help to combine two products into one and make it easier to schedule and host video conferences/discussions.

Google Classroom

For Classroom, Google now includes summaries of student work that can be automatically shared with parents by teachers. The summaries (or classroom announcements) can be sent daily or weekly, depending on what you prefer. This will make that home/school connection even stronger. There are also a few updates to the Classroom mobile app. Now it will allow you to annotate documents, turning them into whiteboard-like screens. You can use the annotations to mark papers, grade assignments, highlight mistakes or excellent work, and demonstrate concepts. In addition, the teacher can now add topics to posts and allow students to filter their own streams for topics of interest to them.

More Google Goodness for the Classroom

Google has also released Cast for Education, a free Chrome app that lets educators share their screens wirelessly to a projector. This is another great way to make the teacher more mobile and get him/her away from the front of the room while teaching. It’s very easy to use. Just install the app, give your device a name, and invite your students to cast. A GAfE account is required.

For Forms, Google has now added the ability to include images in questions or in multiple-choice answers. This is especially great for math, social studies, and science educators who want to have students focus on complex concepts that resonate better in graphics than in text.

If you’re using the Google virtual reality program Expeditions, you’ll be delighted to discover more virtual field trips have been added. Using smartphones paired with inexpensive cardboard viewers, Expeditions brings the world to your students with more than 200 trips now available.

Google continues its strong support for teaching and learning. And we definitely appreciate that!

 

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research
ChromebooksContent AreasDigital LiteracyGoogle Tips and Tricks

Making Student Research as Easy as Candy

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Teaching students how to take the tremendous amount of information and data that is available to them on the web and then do something useful with it becomes a little harder every day. Information overload, plagiarism, finding exactly the right content and then remembering where you found it, correctly citing sources — these make research projects of any kind difficult for both students and teachers.

How Candy Helps with Research

If you’re using the Chrome browser, however, there is a new extension available that will solve many of these digital literacy problems. Candy styles itself as “the flexible and visual way to organize the best things from the web” and it’s true. Once the extension has been added, students can researchconduct their research as they normally would. But as they collect information that they need, they are now able to highlight the data, drop it onto a “Candy card” with automatic site location and citation, and then organize the ideas into a “Storyline” to reveal connections and find answers. Candy cards can be dragged and dropped into different orders, which is fabulous for organizing the final draft, and the contents of each card are searchable. Once the research is complete, the Storyline can be exported as a text file with just one click.

What’s Great About Candy

researchInformation and quotes from any source can be Candyed, including websites, social media, videos, images, and more. When you’re ready to insert the Candy cards into a document, the original source comes with it, making citation simple, complete, and automatic. To help students throughout the project, a teacher can ask that the Storyline in digest format be emailed to her to look over. Candys can also be shared via email and social media and inserted into blog posts, which is great for student blogs.

To the left is a sample Candy Storyline on 2015’s Hurricane Patricia. Each of the green sections is a separate Candy card. There is no limit to the number of cards that can be attached to a Storyline.

I really believe that this Chrome extension is one that all students in grades 4-12 should be using on a regular basis because it makes the whole research process much easier to manage and to understand. Simple to use, free, and makes life easier — the perfect candy for the classroom!

 

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flipped
BYODChromebooksEducational TrendsiOS Tips and TricksMicrosoftPodcasts

Flipped Learning Tools (and a Bonus Podcast)

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Amazingly, someone (names changed to protect the innocent) wrote me yesterday with this request about flipped learning:

This is Rachel from Jeremiah Middle School in a large urban school district in San Antonio, an admirer of your mad tech skills. Here’s the scoop: I am in need of a quick and fast mini-lesson on the topic of “flipped lessons.” The teachers are now being asked to compose several flipped lessons for the upcoming year. If you can tell me what information I may be able to instruct the staff on, it would be greatly appreciated.

What Is Flipped Learning?

If you are not familiar with flipped learning (#flippedlearning Twitter chat is nice to get caught up), here is how I describe it to others:

In a typical flipped classroom, students listen to pre-recorded video lectures before class and perform other learning activities in class. In this flipped structure, students are exposed to material before class via videos and readings, and they attain deeper knowledge in class via activities. Why would you want to go to the trouble of doing flipped learning? Because the research says it works. I like to point folks to 10 Published Findings and Studies that offer qualitative and quantitative results in support of flipped learning, as well as Sophia Learning’s Flipped Classroom online course (free!). And keep in mind that flipped learning can work with students of any age.

Overcoming Technical Obstacles

Unfortunately, many teachers who are uncomfortable with technology to begin with get hung up on the technical aspects of flipping the classroom. Here are some practical suggestions for helping them in professional learning:

1) Show teachers how to storyboard their content first, then create a video about their lesson with the tools they have on hand. All the tools are free to get started. (A few of my favorites appear below.)

2) Keep videos short, 5 to 10 minutes max (shorter is better). You can always create more videos. Think “bite-sized chunks” that students can nibble on their way to/from school, sitting somewhere waiting for an adult to do something, or during the gap in a basketball game on television or in person.

3) Figure out where the videos will be posted. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT question to get answered before you start encouraging teachers to start sharing flipped video lessons. If you’re using Google Apps for Education, you have unlimited storage. If you are using Microsoft OneDrive for Business/Schools (Office 365 through your district), then you have one terabyte of storage space. If you are using YouTube, no problem. Video hosting is VERY important because it has to be accessible by both staff and students.

4) Plan for intensive classroom activities, and don’t be surprised if part of your class needs to watch the video in class (set up a pod of computers or devices where that can happen) while the rest of the students wrestle with a real life application of the flipped learning.

flipped

Arden Curtis

Listen to Practitioners

In a hallway at the annual TCEA Convention & Exposition, you can learn a lot if you stop to chat with folks. One person that I met during the TCEA 2014 convention was Arden Curtis (@ardencurtis), a ninth grade biology teacher at the time. This was an off-the-cuff conversation that yielded quite a few insights into flipped learning. Be sure to listen to practitioners like Arden.

Listen to Podcast of Arden Curtis (@acurtisteach),
9th Grade Biology Teacher, Veteran Flipped Classroom Teacher

Flipped Learning Tools

Looking for some quick tools to get started?

  1. Microsoft Snip: If you are on a Windows computer, then give some serious consideration to Microsoft Snip, which allows you to snap a picture of your screen (e.g. a technical diagram, student work that needs feedback, whatever) and then record audio as you annotate it. To get an idea of how this works, play the short Snip I recorded .
  2. “When I started to design technology training for our district, I knew that to reach all the members of our school community, I would have to offer multiple delivery methods. Screencasting was a perfect solution for that as it affords teachers and students the chance to learn at their own pace.” – Dr. Roland Rios (@drrios), Fort Sam Houston ISD. If you’re exploring flipped learning, the word “screencasting” is one you will hear often. As Dr. Rios points out, screencasting affords teachers and students the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Here are some commonly used screencasting tools:
    • Chromebook and/or Chrome-friendly tools that work for any computer that can run the Chrome browser, including Chromebook, Windows, and Mac:
    • Windows/Mac Computer: TechSmith’s SnagIt+Camtasia Studio. I highly recommend SnagIt ($29.95), as well as Camtasia Studio ($179.90) if you need higher end video capture and editing. These are the tools that Arden, featured above, has used.
    • iOS/Android: Reflector 2 app + one of the solutions shown above. For Android only, try AZScreenRecorder

Are you an iPad fanatic? Lots of people are and these devices make for perfect flipped learning platforms. With iOS devices, give serious thought to one of these three apps:

  • Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard. This is my must-have app on iOS devices. There is so much you can do with the app, yet it has a deceptively simple starting point for those unfamiliar. You can find tons of tutorials online. This app is available for Chromebooks, too. A different version of Explain Everything, known as the Collaborative Whiteboard, offers hosting for videos at a price.
  • Touchcast. This free app makes green screen, flipped learning, video newsletters so easy. While it may be initially complex because of all the options, I have no doubt a short session and time spent watching others use it will get you ready to create flipped learning for your students. It is well worth learning all the bells and whistles in this app. Ample tutorials are available.
  • Educreations. This free app has long been on the preferred list for teachers and students. Not only is it easy (view tutorial), but it solves the problem that many educators don’t want to deal with in their particular district: where to host the video created. Educreations will host content, of course, offering additional features at a price.

Finally, since flipped learning involves working with video files, I must share some tips on the technical process of dealing with it:

  1. Choose a screencasting tool that allows you to export directly to MP4 video format. This is the most commonly used video format and works with all devices. Anything else will just result in headaches. MS Snip, TechSmith’s SnagIt/Camtasia, ExplainEverything, and Touchcast allow you to do this without much fuss.
  2. The new HTML5 friendly video format is also known as WebM and you may need to convert from that format to MP4 to easily share the file with others. Nimbus Screencast and Screencastify are both Chromebook apps that will save to WebM. You may need to rely on a web-based video converter to get these videos to MP4 format, depending on where you host them. YouTube, though, will accept WebM format.
  3. Take advantage of video conversion tools like the cross-platform Miro Video Converter, FFMPEG GUI, and AnyVideoConverter, to get video the target “codec” you want or need. For a web-based converter you do not have to install (great for Chromebooks), use Online Video Converter.
  4. Decide ahead of time where you will publish your video. The best solutions include Google Apps for Education (GAFE) Drive since you have unlimited space, OneDrive for Business (Office 365), or YouTube. You can also set up your own video hosting solution or take advantage of one like Vimeo.

But, wait, there’s more! Once you have your video recorded and ready for students to access online, you may want some way to determine if they have watched it. Mix in a Google Sheet Reflection with a Flubaroo feedback form that triggers when they submit something, an Excel Online Survey form that allows them to submit their reflections, or have them create something online, anywhere. Virtual spaces like Google Classrooms, Microsoft Classroom, Edmodo, Diigo Outliner (free for educators), and Sophia Learning all offer ways to help structure flipped learning content. You can also combine tools like OneNote with Microsoft Sway embedded in OneNote pages to create a virtual “closed space” or an open one, depending on what the culture of your teaching and learning environment.

Whether it’s a piece of writing, a Vocaroo audio file they can send you the link to or a video reflection they can post on YouTube, flipped learning reflections can empower students to become consumers and creators of academic content.

 

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ChromebooksOnline Tools and Apps

3-2-1 Action! Screencasting Tools

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

Screencasting is an easy way of making recordings in your classroom. Whether your students create screencasts for project-based learning or you create them for flipped learning, you’ll love these ideas and tools for enhancing your teaching.

 

Ways Teachers Can Use Screencasting

There are many ways teachers can utilize screencasting in the classroom. Check out a few below:

  • Flip your classroom – Create content videos for your students
  • Demonstrate how to complete homework
  • Create training videos for staff or students
  • Explain to your sub what the students are to do for the day
  • Introduce material if you are out; your sub can show it
  • Make screencasts of your student’s presentations in order to showcase them
  • Create screencasts for parents about a big upcoming student project

 

Ways Students Can Use Screencasting

Likewise, there are many ways students can utilize screencasting in the classroom. For example:

  • Show understanding of taught material
  • Teach others how to do something
  • Show off work
  • Illustrate concepts or solve problems
  • Create voice-over images or screencasts that tell a story

 

 Ways Administrators Can Use Screencasting

Screencasting isn’t just for teachers and students. Administrators can utilize it too. This would be a great way to model technology use as well as show support of technology. Some ideas include:

  • Share information with parents
  • Flip faculty meetings
  • Explain a concept to your staff
  • Give school updates

 

 Screencasting Tools

There are many good screencasting tools available today. Below are just a few of my favorites:

  • Jing – Jing is free, but you must download the software to your computer. It can record up to five minutes at a time. You have the option to either upload the finished screencast to screencast.com or download your video to your computer.  Jing captures still images and video.
  • Screencast-O-Matic – This tool is free and you can either download the software or record directly from their website. You can record up to 15 minutes at a time and it allows a webcam picture in the recording. The videos are saved in either MP4, FLV, or AVI format or can be directly uploaded to YouTube.
  • Snagit Chrome Extension – While the desktop version of the Snagit program is not free (unless you are a Google Certified Trainer), the Chrome extension is. The extension allows you to capture great-looking screencasts with just a few clicks. (Update: Tech Smith recently announced that the Snagit Chrome extension will no longer be available. An alternative Chrome extension to try is Nimbus Screenshot and Screencast.)
  • Screencastify Chrome Extension – Screencastify is a simple video screen capture extension for Chrome. Just press record and the content of your tab, webcam, or desktop is recorded.

 

Just Try It

Why not give screencasting a try? Your screencasts don’t have to be very long or perfect. It is actually recommended that you keep them as short as possible and only stick to one subject per screencast. So create one today!

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Seesaw
ChromebooksiOS Tips and TricksProfessional Learning

Collecting, Curating, and Sharing with Seesaw

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for an easy to use tool that makes collecting, curating and sharing student work from tablets simple? Then Seesaw is a solution worth exploring.

At the Tots and Technology Conference held in Galveston, Texas in June, TCEA member Brittany Adcock shared her experience using Seesaw, which bills itself as a student-driven digital portfolio solution. Seesaw works on Android and iOS devices (e.g. iPads), making it an incredible tool to simplify and streamline content sharing by students. In the past, students and teachers encountered limits to their sharing. The app works quite easily (check tutorials online) in this way:

  1. The teacher creates an account on the Seesaw website, setting up a class.
  2. The teacher prints out a flyer emailed to her by Seesaw containing a QR code, then hangs that flyer on the wall where students will be working.
  3. Students who are ready to submit their work open the app on their device, select the “I’m a student” button, and then scan the QR code on the flyer. They will then be given a choice to add a variety of content, including video, audio, text, web links, or images/video from the device’s Camera Roll (iOS).
  4. Once students have submitted their work, the teacher can decide to approve it for inclusion in the Class Learning Journal, which is viewable by all students in the class today.

Teachers can also create a Seesaw-based blog, and adding content to the website is as easy as clicking a globe beneath a student’s creation.

In her presentation, Brittany (listen to this interview with Brittany as she shares her insights at TCEA Tots) describes Seesaw in the following way:

A digital portfolio that collects students’ digital and physical work in one place. Everything is organized, making grading and conferences easier! A space that each student can “own”  with built-in tools that make it easy for them to capture learning, reflect, and learn new skills. A parent communication tool that seamlessly shares what’s going on in your classroom and builds a strong school-home community.

seesawblog

We Are StoryMakers Seesaw based blog. Are you sharing your students’ work with a global audience?

After exploring Seesaw in the context of professional development sessions for adult learners, here are three ways that my session participants took advantage of the app:

  1. After creating paper slide videos, learners saved those video creations to their Camera Roll. These were shared via the Seesaw blog (view blog created with products from a Lubbock workshop on Tablets in the ELL Classroom, as well as the Becoming a Storymaker pre-conference session).
  2. Since learners were working in Star Trek-themed teams, they submitted their work to “Away Team: Janeway” (a reference to Captain Kathryn Janeway from Star Trek Voyager television series; other captains included Captains Archer, Kirk, Hernandez and Uhura). This organized student work by their group, rather than just an individual submission.
  3. Students created content with PicCollage, web links, and Notes and then submitted it.

A versatile solution for collecting work on tablets, TCEA member Karen Balbier (El Paso ISD) shared that she uses the app to collect work from participants in her professional learning sessions, and in turn, asks them to share their K-12 students’ best work for inclusion. An innovative use of a technology intended for students, adapted for adult learners, Seesaw is a sensational tool for facilitating collecting, curating, and sharing work created on tablets.

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Chromebooks
AndroidChromebooks

Some Chromebooks to Embrace Android Apps in June 2016

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

My Acer C740 Chromebook is my go-to device for on-the-go blogging, writing, and creating, supplemented by my multimedia mobile studio in the form of my iPhone 6 Plus. That is why I was thrilled to read that my Chromebook will support Android apps starting after June 2016. For schools and staff that have Acer Chromebook R11, Asus Chromebook Flip, and the Google Chromebook Pixel (2015), you need wait no longer than June.

My top picks for Chromebooks (check out these two comparison charts, as well as the End of Life chart) include the following and are supported for Google Play Store and Android apps:

  • Dell Chromebook 11 – Both the 3120 (11 inch monitor model) and 7310 (13 inch model) will be included in the Google Play Store launch. These are fantastic for schools for students and staff respectively.
  • Toshiba Chromebook and Chromebook 2 – These wonderful Chromebooks, which mimic an Apple Macbook Air, are also supported.
  • Other vendor Chromebooks included are Acer, Asus, CDI, CTL, HP, and Lenovo.

Note: I recommend 4 gigs of RAM for any Chromebook; extra RAM gives Chromebooks the little “oomph” you will need to get the job done, especially as you delve into audio and video.

What does that mean for Chromebook users like you and me? Here are some ideas:

  • The ability to get and use Android apps will enable powerful alternatives such as:
    • CloudMagic for email
    • Aldiko ebook reader for non-DRM ePub formatted ebooks
    • Microsoft OneNote for note-taking
    • Hi-Q MP3 Recorder for audio recording
    • Secure Space Encryptor (SSE) for file/email/text encryption
  • The ability to play strategy and “maker” type games like MineCraft and Clash of Clans (which provide a fun, competitive way to build up an empire).
  • Access to a host of Android apps for education, expanding the Chromebook’s viability for younger grades and students, making it the de-facto choice for schools on a budget (and who isn’t?) and Google Apps for Education (GAFE) integration.

 

Many have often viewed Chromebooks as intended for “older” grades, choosing iPads for younger learners. Chromebooks that can run Android apps will be a significant game-changer, especially when you consider the Asus Chromebook Flip (pictured below) at $279.

Chromebooks

 

Event Announcement: How do you envision using Chromebook and the rich ecology of Android apps to transform teaching, learning, and leading in your space? If you’re coming up short on answers, consider attending the TCEA Chromebook Academy July 28 and 29, 2016. Register online and earn 12 CPE hours.

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iPhoneography
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iPhoneography: Image Editing on the Go (With Any Device)

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin
If you’re like me, your phone may be the best camera you own. In this blog entry, we’ll quickly explore some tools and the special effects that are possible on your device.

Join the ongoing TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) SkypeChat via your mobile device or online. Explore and share concepts at the intersection of teaching, learning, leading. and technology!

Creating and sharing fabulous photos may best be achieved by following a simple three-step process. These strategies can also be used, though, to edit existing images, such as those found in the Library of Congress. For example, the Library of Congress recently released a World War I collection including:
  • The Stars and Stripes – This collection presents the complete 71-week run of the World War I edition of the newspaper The Stars and Stripes.
  • World War I Sheet Music – From 1914 through 1920, the Library of Congress acquired more than 14,000 pieces of sheet music relating to what ultimately became known as the First World War.
  • World War I Posters – This collection makes available online approximately 1,900 posters created between 1914 and 1920.
  • Newspaper Pictorials: World War I – This online collection is drawn from three primary sources.
There are several more collections available that serve as rich sources of images usable in the classroom. Still, some of the best images are those photos we take in teaching and learning situations.

Step 1 – Take Fabulous Photos (adapted from this site)

Who doesn’t love a bit of mystery?  Here are five take-aways from this awesome video on taking fabulous photos:

  1. Include an interesting subject (person, animal). While you can focus on nature shots, an interesting subject can add an air of mystery to all types of photos.
  2. Don’t be afraid of silhouette photos. These are photos taken against the light, such as sunrise or sunset. Often, these are photos with the light behind them, making the photographer unable to clearly see the subject’s face. When taking these photos, hide the sun behind the subject.
  3. Include shadows in your photos, perhaps even focusing on the shadows more than the subject(s) who cast them.
  4. Take photos from a unique angle. A selfie stick can be helpful.
  5. Strive for simplicity. Try to take photos that are distraction-free and have a central focus.
Some examples of great photos appear in the video 7 Little-Known Tricks for Taking Incredible iPhone Photos.

Step 2 – Explore Great iPhoneography Examples

Many photographers are choosing to take and edit pictures on their mobile phones, necessitating the new term “iPhoneography.” You can find great iPhoneography resources and online communities that provide examples of this approach.

In the podcast Encouraging Learning with Mobile Photography, a part of Vicki “CoolCat Teacher” Davis’ Every Classroom Matters podcast series, veteran photographer and teacher, Meri Walker (@iphoneartgirl) shared some tips. You can see some examples online in this video slideshow of her iPhoneography gallery.

Step 3 – Edit and Share Your Photos

Since this blog entry is about editing and sharing your photos, you can find a variety of apps below that provide “on the go” image editing, but you also have access to image editing solutions that you can use on your computer. My suggestion is that you find the image editing tool that is easiest for you and that you are most likely to use on a regular basis.
For image editing, considering the following, depending on where you want to edit images:

Mobile Apps Available:

Camera Replacement Apps

iOS Image Editing Apps

Android Image Editing Apps

Computer/Browser-based Image Editing Apps

For sharing with others, try these cloud storage outlets:
  • Google Photos (and Google Drive) – This provides free cloud storage and incorporates the PicNik editor, which is easy. This is my favorite choice since I am not a professional photographer.
  • iCloud Photo – This provides unaltered storage of your photos in the cloud but can be expensive.
  • Microsoft OneDrive – Although not designed for photos, it is fairly easy to save photos to it.
  • ShutterFly – Another location that offers a wide variety of services, such as photo books, cards, and gifts.
Finally, you probably do not need any more apps, but you may find mobile device apps are easier to work with than their desktop or browser-based cousins.  As you consider different apps, remember that there are some other great ones out there that make editing easy. Don’t be afraid to share your favorites in the comments.
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