Home Tags Posts tagged with "tools"
Tag:

tools

Global perspective is in your hands
Good TeachingGoogle Tips and Tricks

Five Tools for Creating Global Perspective in the Classroom

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

The August issue of TCEA’s quarterly magazine TechEdge focuses on how educators can integrate global connections and global perspective into learning to help broaden students’ experiences. Today, we’re sharing a bonus article on the theme with our blog readers. If you enjoy this article, you’ll love the upcoming magazine. If you’re a TCEA member, check your mailbox soon for your copy. If you’re not currently a member and would like to get this fantastic resource with the latest news and real stories from educators in the classroom, learn more about joining TCEA here.

The inability for a student to physically travel the globe no longer limits their ability to have global experiences. Technology provides a way to expand our frame of reference or point of view, as learners, through a lens that moves beyond the borders of time and space. These enriching experiences can come through videos, virtual tours, online live connections, and interactive activities that move learners to a deeper understanding.

Creating Authentic Experiences

A more authentic experience can take place when we bring the world to our students. Students can take virtual tours of historic landmarks and investigate global cultures and geography via virtual opportunities like Google Earth. They can participate in Mystery Skypes and build a capacity for asking high-level, probing questions of students across the country or world to reveal their “secret” geographical location. They can virtually interview students from different cultural backgrounds to identify common characteristics, explore differences, and dispel potentially inaccurate perceptions.

Building an opportunity into our instructional day to allow students to explore the breadth of the world can offer a new perspective of the environment they live in day to day. Tracy Cates, a K-2 GT teacher at Clyde Elementary said that through Mystery Skypes, her “students realize better that learning is occurring all over the world. They are sometimes jealous of the things that other schools are doing or participating in and wish that we could do those things as well. At other times, they are thankful for how things are done here in Clyde.” She communicated that she too has created global connections through the process and continues to collaborate with her Google friends through Google Communities. What a great concept: working together to make the world a better place!

Five Tools for Building Global Connections

Through ever improving technology, we can now communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere and potentially through the watch on your wrist! Students can collaborate with students down the street, across the continent, or on the other side of the world to solve problems, create projects, and form learning communities, even if they don’t speak the same language.

The walls of classrooms dissolve through opportunities for students to connect with others across the world through platforms like G Suite, ZOOM, and my new favorite, Belouga.

❏ G Suite applications provide collaboration on demand. They allow connectivity through multiple opportunities like Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets that can be shared with multiple contributors and without time zone barriers. Visit edu.google.com to learn more.

❏ Google Communities provide a platform for students to connect in multiple areas of interest and in an authentic way by contributing and consuming as digital learners inside the communities of their choice. Join today at plus.google.com.

❏ Connecting through Google Sites allows for students to create ePortfolios to show their learning and connect with others through the digital sharing of their learning. Create your site at sites.google.com.

❏ ZOOM is a user-friendly platform for video conferencing that includes features of screen sharing, document sharing, and recording. ZOOM allows for multiple participants and the ability for multiple hosts. Visit zoom.us to learn more.

❏ Belouga not only connects classrooms of students and perpetuates the opportunity for global collaborative learning and education, but it also gives students the opportunity to earn reward points and then donate them to help provide educational opportunities for students who live in under-resourced communities. People helping people through collaborative connections is truly the spirit of perspective expansion. Connect your classroom today at belouga.org.

The Value of Global Perspective

When students have an opportunity to expand their global point of view through choices in their education path, they take ownership of their learning, find their voice, and share their experiences with others. And all of this takes place in an authentic learning environment.

Students tend to take the initiative to explore other perspectives with the smallest sparks of encouragement from teachers. Now is the time to gift global perspective and connection to our students. For some, this will be life altering in a way that we can never measure with a project or a grade.

This is a guest blog by Angela Thomas. Angela is a curriculum consultant with fifteen years classroom experience and an increasing passion for meaningful technology integration into instruction.

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
Chromebook
Chromebooks

Six Reasons Why a Chromebook Is the Perfect Teaching Aid

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

The iPad has long been the first-choice device in many classrooms, but the current crop of Chromebooks seems to be shaking things up a bit.In fact, Futuresourse Consulting reports that Chromebook sales now account for over 50% of all devices sold for classrooms in the US, up from less than one percent in 2012.

There are a number of reasons the Chromebook has achieved this meteoric success in classrooms. It combines reliable everyday performance, low cost, and access to vast online resources, resulting in a comprehensive and intuitive learning experience. Moreover, although the iPad offers a user-friendly interface and millions of educational tools in the App Store, Chromebooks give students the feel of a computer’s ecosystem at an early age, while offering teachers more laptop-like functionality.

If you’re on the fence trying to discern what product to enlist as your primary teaching companion, here are a few reasons why a Chromebook should be at the top of your list of options.

1. Chromebooks save money

Chromebooks have a lot going for them, but the biggest strength they have over other education-friendly devices is their low cost, making them more feasible for 1:1 initiatives. In addition to low initial cost to purchase, these products have been proven to require significantly less management time and money than traditional Windows PCs or Macs. Chromebooks are easy to set up, support, and troubleshoot because they don’t require sophisticated and expensive software packages. The overall result is savings that continue long past the initial purchasing phase.

2. Simple is good

While they may look like mainstream notebooks, Chromebooks are stripped down to offer just what educators need. They trade away enterprise processes, extensive features, and large hard drives for a miniChromebookmalistic environment, which is not too taxing to the hardware. This approach allows for speedier boot times, fast browsing, and quick update installation. Therefore, teachers won’t have to waste as much valuable time waiting for the computer to start up or perform simple tasks like opening web pages and loading documents. And, despite their simplicity, there is no shortage of apps and features designed specifically for students and teachers.

3. Long battery life

Thanks to a light operating system and power-efficient internal components, a Chromebook can hold a charge for a whole day. This means you won’t have the worry about your device running out of juice in the middle of class. This reduces the amount of time you as an educator will have to spend managing power issues and, therefore, allows more time for meaningful teaching.

4. Easy sharing

Two children sharing a Chromebook. Every teacher in a school can have a computer but, when it comes to students, some institutions may find it hard to give each child his/her own device. Because everything on Chromebooks is stored on the web, they can be passed around from one learner to the next, with no direct trace of what a previous user was doing. All you need to do is use guest browsing, which is easier than setting up an entirely new user account, as is typically the case with Windows and Mac.

5. More security

Not many teachers complain about the iPad’s security, but that is hardly the case with PCs. While the vulnerability of Windows to malware is well known, recent cases have proven that the Mac OS is not much safer.

If you want guaranteed security but more functionality than what iPads offer, there’s no better choice than a Chromebook. Chrome OS provides nothing for a virus to attach itself to, which makes it one of the safest avenues with which to access the internet. It also comes with a multi-layered protection scheme, which includes automatic security updates, sandboxing, and verified boot and data encryption, as well as an easily-accessible recovery mode where you can restore the operating system to a known clean version. With a Chromebook, you can breathe a little easier, knowing your and your students’ data is well protected at all times.

6. A gentle learning curve

We live in a rapidly advancing world and, as such, it’s essential that learners grasp computer literacy skills at a young age. Tablets, particularly iPads, provide an excellent stepping stone for kids to learn a thing or two about modern technology. But when they get to middle school and acquire typing skills, there’s usually a need for something more advanced. For this purpose, Chromebooks are a great choice. Unlike Windows computers and Macs, they offer students a nice introduction into the PC world without appearing too complicated.

Conclusion

Even the best Chromebooks on the market are not without downsides. Support for applications is limited, performance is not enough for demanding tasks like video ediGirl using Chromebook in the classroom. ting, and they’re not really useful when offline.  However, for many school environments, a Chromebook is the easiest, most practical, and most economical way of teaching, promoting student engagement, and extending digital education beyond the classroom.

This guest post was written by Vigiliance Chari, a freelance writer currently covering tech news and gadgets at LaptopNinja. Chari is an international presenter and published author. 

 

0 comment
1 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
work smarter cover image
Google Tips and TricksLeadershipMicrosoft Tips and TricksProfessional Learning

Learn to Work Smarter, Not Harder

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

workplace study statsDo you find that it is hard to get everything done on your to-do list? That you don’t delegate some tasks because you want them done a certain way and you don’t have time to train someone? That anticipating a day off causes more stress because you know that it means there is less time for you to accomplish the same amount of work? Join the crowd. According to research, being stressed out at work may be more common than you think. Join us at the Productivity Tools for Leaders and learn how to make better use of your technology, time, and people so that you are more effective in your work.

TCEA is offering a full-day workshop that will help you with these very issues. The workshop is designed specifically for administrators at both the campus level and central office. Join us on June 15, 2017 at the TCEA headquarters in Austin for a day packed full of helpful information that you can implement the next day at work. You’ll be able to choose from a variety of concurrent sessions  to tailor your learning to best meet your needs. You’ll be inspired and motivated throughout the day, enjoy a good lunch, and  leave with handouts from all the presentations (not just the ones you attended). Our learning experience strands include:

  • Doing More with Technology – Sessions focus on features and tricks to help you make better use of technology that you commonly use.
  • Time Management – Sessions focus on best strategies and tools that you can choose from to help you better construct your day and accomplish the tasks on your to-do list more effectively.
  • Empowering Staff – Sessions focus on strategies and tools to deal with different personality types, improving customer service, and even how to work with “difficult people.”

This event is only $125 for current TCEA members and $174 for non-TCEA members. Fun and relevant learning, lunch, and continuing education credits are all included. Bring your favorite device and let our experts help you master the tricks you learn.

Register at this website today as space is limited. If you have questions or would like more information, contact me at bellis@tcea.org or by phone at 512-450-5396. We look forward to seeing you here and hearing the successes you experience as you start implementing what you learned!

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
writing
Content AreasLibrariesWeb 2.0 ToolWriting

Celebrate National Writing Month

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

November is National Novel Writing Month and can affectionately be referred to NaNoWriMo. As Ernest Hemingway once said, “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” Whether you want to become an accomplished writer of novels or just need to improve your writing skills, here are some online tools tailored just for you. Also, if you are an English, reading, or writing teacher, consider using some of these tools with your secondary students.

NaNoWriMo Website

Yes, a robust website has been developed and dedicated to helping folks improve their writing skills as they learn to share their story. NaNoWriMo.org has pep talks from authors, regional groups to facilitate meeting other budding (and recognized) writers, as well as support to help you plan out your novel. Besides using it to develop your own story, secondary teachers may find this a perfect resource for those students who find writing to be a great expression of themselves.

Wridea

Wridea may be the perfect tool for you if you are the type of person who likes to keep a notebook of ideas. As a digital version of your notebook, Wridea will let you organize and share your ideas with others. You can even share ideas with friends and have them vote on their favorites to help you choose the best idea to run with.

oTranscribe

If you are like me, I’m not able to write for very long before it seems laborious. At that point, my sentences (and thoughts) start getting very succinct…possibly too much so. For people like us, there is a tool called oTranscribe. Though not as good as having someone else transcribe for you, it allows you to upload an MP3 or video and play it so that you can type in the area provided. To make it nicer, you can adjust the speed of the audio to match your typing speed. You can use any device to record your audio or you can use a free online tool such as Online Voice Recorder.

SpeechNotes

SpeechNotes is a simple speech-to-text tool that will type what you say as you speak into your microphone. Power-users will find the voice commands handy for making the process even more effortless. You are able to type as well, although you’ll probably find the transcription to be very accurate and easy. SpeechNotes also allows you to set the language so you can speak in a language other than English and have it transcribe in that language. When done, upload your file to Google Drive, save as a Word document or text file, or send it as an email.

Rewordify

If you are trying to write to a broader audience, it is important to consider your writing vocabulary and examine it for readability purposes. Rewordify is a simple tool that will examine your writing for you and make suggestions based on your preferences. You can have Rewordify automatically swap out higher vocabulary with simpler synonyms or show the suggestions within the context of the writing itself. You can paste your text in the tool or paste a URL for it to examine a specific web page.

Hemingway App

The Hemingway App is another simple tool that gives you feedback on your writing. Besides calculating the readability of your text, it will also make highlights for you to consider revising, including sentences that are hard to read, possible adverbs to remove, suggestions for simpler text for various phrases, and a check on your use of passive voice. If you like stats, you’ll find that it gives you the basics stats regarding counts for paragraphs, sentences, words, characters, and letters, as well as how long it will take the average reader to read your text. While the online version is free, a desktop version is available for purchase if you want to work without the need for Internet connectivity.

Additional Resources

If you find that you are looking for even more writing tools, then consider checking out one of the following lists:

I’ve shared several tools to help you in your journey of using technology to support your writing and hopefully make it more enjoyable for both you and your reader. We’d love to hear from you; post your comments below and tell us what tools you use to help with writing or even your favorite author to read.

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
BYOD
BYODContent Areas

Five Math Tools for the BYOD Classroom

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Between lesson planning, parent conferences, and grading homework, you may find that you have little time (or energy) left over to look for great tools to help you teach math in your BYOD classroom. Don’t fret! I’ve pulled together five of my favorites that you might like to try.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

Manipulatives are great to use when it comes to helping students bridge concrete concepts into more abstract reasoning. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives has developed a strong collection of manipulatives and simulations to help your students do just that.

Place your mouse over the intersection on the grid of the grade level of your students and the content/skill you’re teaching, and you’ll be served up a nice list digital supports that your students can use right away. Locate the specific tool and then share the link with your students. Your device will need to be Java-friendly to make use of these tools. If your device or browser is not Java-friendly, then consider Math Playground, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s iTools, or, if you have an iOS device, try Virtual Manipulatives!.

Wolfram-Alpha for Mathematics

Known for their research and content, Wolfram-Alpha will help students visualize and better understand math concepts by allowing them to adjust calculations to see the effects. Though elementary math is covered, this tool is better suited for secondary students. And if you like how Wolfram-Alpha presents math concepts, you may want to check out their main landing page to explore additional options.

MyScript Calculator

Calculators abound on the Internet. But what sets MyScript Calculator apart is that it actually interprets your handwriting and converts it to the appropriate math expression. This is a handy compromise when you want your students to practice writing expressions (as opposed to just tapping buttons) to reinforce the formula or theorem. You can find the MyScript Calculator app for both Android and iOS devices.

Geoboard

Geoboards are handy tools when having students learn about finding area and/or perimeter. And, as fun as that might be in and of itself, many students find shooting the rubber bands at each other even more entertaining. Here are several geoboards that solve the rubber band problem and still encourage students to explore the relationship between area and perimeter.

Math Learning Center’s Geoboard is a good tool that runs in your browser, gives you multiple colors of rubber bands, and even allows you to swap out boards of different sizes and shapes. With many other features, this is a great tool for elementary math teachers to use. You can also access it as an app on your iOS device, your Chromebook, or your Microsoft tablet.

Doodle Buddy

Though not thought of as a math app, Doodle Buddy can be a excellent tool to support math instruction. Besides having students illustrate their problems using the drawing tools and stamps, they can also use the Dots and Boxes background for work with area, perimeter, plotting, and basic graphs. And don’t underestimate the power of students taking a photo to use as the background on which they draw, illustrate, and/or diagram. You can find Doodle Buddy in the iOS store as well as the Microsoft store.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a “math person,” you can still help your students acquire a passion for math by integrating various technology tools. And since your BYOD classroom will have a variety of devices to run these tools, consider sharing this list with your students. Even if one particular tool isn’t available for every type of device in your room, your students can branch out and find many similar ones that still allow them to practice the skills and demonstrate mastery as they think like mathematicians.

What other online tools and apps have you found helpful in teaching math? Drop us a comment below and become part of the conversation of sharing. We’d love to hear from you.

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
Connected Educator Month
Good TeachingLeadershipProfessional Learning

It’s All About the Connections We Make

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

With school now underway and students knowing their routines, it’s time to catch up on connecting with others and growing professionally. Since October is Connected Educator Month, it’s a perfect time to remember that you have needs as well. To help you get connected to some awesome educators that can help you maintain your enthusiasm throughout the year, I’ve selected five of my favorite resources.

Connected Educator Month Resources

The obvious starting place is the calendar of virtual events that you might want to join throughout the month of October. There are multiple events every single day, many of which are free and can be attended from anywhere in the world. You can also follow the hashtag #ce16 to discuss connectedness with other educators.

EdCamp Calendar

Sometimes the best professional development happens organically and without a formal schedule. If that sounds interesting to you, then let me encourage you to check out Edcamp’s calendar of upcoming events…possibly in a town very near you. You’ll have a chance to learn about relevant topics from folks just like yourself who are on their learning journey of using technology to make a difference in their classrooms.

Twitter Chat Schedule

We all have special hashtags that we like to follow for a stream of great resources and ideas. But do you have any favorite Twitter chats that you really enjoy? If you don’t, or if you would like more, consider looking at TweetReport’s Twitter chat schedule. Sort by topic, day, or time to find the most relevant one(s) for you. And, if you run your own Twitter chat, drop the information into their database so others can find it and connect with your group.

Best Web 2.0 Applications for 2016

And finally, who better to help us connect than Larry Ferlazzo himself. Check out his Best Web 2.0 Applications for 2016 to discover his newest favorite tools that you can use. You’ll find some great ones to share with your peers as you talk about engaging students and livening up lessons.

TCEA Social Community

If you are a TCEA member, then you should already know about the TCEA Community groups that can help you connect with like-minded educators. If you are not a TCEA member, then just know that this is one of several great member benefits of joining TCEA. Subscribe to the groups that meet your needs; ask questions, swap ideas, and share resources. And you can even create your own group if you find that the one for your niche is missing.

Regardless of the content and grade level you teach, you are sure to find some great educators to connect with using one (or more) of these five resources. What other resources do you use to connect with educators? We’d love to hear about them. Just leave us a comment and share.

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
Chrome
Educational Trends

Oh, the Possibilities with Chrome Experiments!

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I was playing around the other day and wandered across the Chrome Experiments website. The next time I looked up, four hours had passed. That’s how unbelievable this site is.

What Is It?

Chrome Experiments is an open-source project started by Google in 2009 to showcase web-based technologies like JavaScript, HTML5, WebGL, Canvas, and more. It’s now become an open source community where developers can submit their own projects. While all of that is great, what makes it so amazing, at least to me, is the fact that just a few years ago, we would have had to have separate software pieces for each of these experiments. Today, they can all be run in the same Chrome browser software that we use to search the web and do email.

The experiments are available to everyone. There are more than 100 projects, with more being added every day. You can filter them by date, popularity, and technology, which makes it easy to get lost in the sheer wonder of what smart people can do with innovative technology.

What Makes Chrome Experiments So Amazing?

Past experiments that have gone on to have a life of their own and that you may have heard about or used yourself include the Zygote Body, a detailed 3D model of the human body; Google Gravity, where what goes up must come down; Chrome Music Lab, which is a wonderful way for children to learn all about music (a site that I liked so much I wrote a separate blog about it); and Browser Talk, where your browser takes on a persona and talks to you. But they are eclipsed by some of the new creations coming out of the site. I’ll share just a few of my favorites with you:

  • 100,000 Stars shows you the real location of nearby stars. You can zoom in and out and see some pretty neat visualizations of space and distance. The music playing in the background is also great.
  • Typatone creates music while you type. Once you’re done typing, it puts the notes selected by your keystrokes into a beautiful song. (I must confess to playing with this one for a long time!) Downloading a song costs $0.99. But you can embed the song into a website at no charge.
  • WebGL Water Simulation allows you to play with the properties of water. You can cause ripples and waves, move a sphere in and out, and much more. I found this so fascinating that it led me to doing research on how waves function. A similar experiment is Fluid Particles.
  • Ancient Earth provides a way of looking at how the physical features of the Earth have changed over millions of years. The site includes a ton of information about each age and makes it easy to jump to different time periods or events, like the first coral reefs or dinosaurs. This experiment really helped me better understand the evolution of the Earth over time, making a complex subject simpler.
  • Inspirograph is just like the old toy that I played with as a child. Using different sized gears, you can create wonderful artwork.
  • Webcam Toy has more than 70 filters that you can apply to photos you take with your webcam. I can easily see this being used by students to create avatars of themselves or just to express mood for a particular piece of writing.
  • GeoGuesser is a geography and deduction game for one or multiple players. It shows you a photo from Google Maps and asks you to guess its location. You are awarded points based on how close your answer is to the actual location. This would be good to get students thinking about what they see, what clues can they gather from the photo, and what conclusions can they draw.Chrome
  • And finally, there’s the Peanut Gallery. Strange as it sounds, this experiment lets you create silent film clips with your voice. Select from a set of classic film clips and then add your own voiceover, which is turned automatically into text on the screen. This was so much fun! But I can also see it being used by students to create summaries of learning, creative book trailers, and more.

Do yourself a favor and spend some time playing and learning with the Chrome Experiments. But if you do, make sure you don’t have anything scheduled for several hours.

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
Google letters against a blue sky atop a building
Google Tips and Tricks

App-Smashing Google Tools

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“How do you blend tools to solve a real-life problem?” That’s a question that pops up often for me. A popular concept from using iPads is “app-smashing,” which involves taking what you made in one app and dropping it into another. Usually, this results in a refinement of the initial product, enhancing it with audio or video. You can do the same with Google Apps tools.

Let’s consider these real-world scenarios which may all be solved by combining key Google tools such as Sites, Forms, and Sheets:

Classroom Scenario:

Students have asked how they can know who else has signed up to attend an after-hours, academic field trip. To automate the process, create a Google Form to capture student registrations, which are saved to a Google Sheet, and those responses can be displayed on a Google Sites location.

District Scenario:

Staff have a variety of questions regarding a new initiative. They want to make sure you, the administrator, are getting the responses. To eliminate email traffic (after all, who needs more email?), you want them to fill out a Form with their question. Then, you and your team are able to record your response in an additional column. Both their questions and your responses appear in a Google Sheet housing the responses.

Solution:

Create a sample Google Sites location that provides some background information on the event, has the Forms link, and displays the responses (as well as any additions you have made). Share the link via social media or email the link to the Sites location to those who need it.

Let’s walk through what this might look like:

Step 1 – Create the Form and Sheets spreadsheet for responses.

To begin, develop your list of information queries. For example, in the case of the classroom scenario, you might want to include queries like the following:

  • Your First Name
  • Your Last Name
  • Your District Email
  • Staff or Student?
  • Attend Field Trip?

Once the person has completed the form, they would be shuttled off to the Google Sites location that is to be created in Step 2. In truth, you could probably complete Step 2 first to get the link or just come back and edit the form. Another key component of this step is to create the Responses form and designate where those responses will appear in a Google Sheet. To verify the form is working, submit a fake response. Once the response has been submitted, you will notice that the Responses Google Sheet has placed your responses beneath a column corresponding to the information queries.

After the last column in your responses, add another column entitled “Status.” In this column, you and/or your team will update the status of each form submitted. In the case of questions, you can type a short response, being sure to set the format for the column to “wrap text.” You will also want to set up notifications on your Google Sheet featuring the responses to the Form so that you receive an email every time the form is completed. Here’s one example with data partially blurred to protect the innocent:

Step 2 – Create the Google Site

Create a Sites location with three tabs to include the following:

  1. Home – This tab is your “Welcome” screen that allows you to provide background information for visitors to the Google Sites location.
  2. Ask for Help – This tab includes a link to the “Ask for Help” Google Form. The form is actually embedded in the Google Sites page, enabling visitors to fill it out and submit it without having to leave the Sites location.
  3. Check Status – This tab features an embedded copy of the Google Sheet which houses your responses.

Once your Google Sites location has been created, you can share it with others, even using a URL shortener to make it easier to share.

As you can see, you can add even more information to your Google Sites. But this makes it easy to quickly capture and share information and questions without being inundated via email with people’s requests for assistance. It also more quickly organizes the information for your review and externalizes it so that anyone you designate can look it up via Google Sites. This eliminates people calling or emailing you repeatedly to ask for the status. And it helps create a knowledge database that facilitates information sharing with interested individuals.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
administrator
Google Tips and TricksiOS Tips and TricksLeadership

Four Tools Every Administrator Should Be Using

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Being an administrator can be hectic at best and chaotic at worst. Whether you are an administrator on a campus or serve at the district level, there are tools that can help you be more organized and confident as you strive to juggle all the demands and tasks that come your way. Here are four I recommend, all of which I’ve used and found helpful.

Pomodoro Technique – If you are like me, multitasking usually means that I end the day with lots of things started, but few finished. This technique is the opposite of multitasking and helps keep me focused. The Pomodoro technique is a strategy in which you focus on a task for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break. After several 25-minute blocks (pomodoros), you get a 15-minute break. The goal is to work as focused as you can to accomplish the task in as few pomodoros as possible. That’s perfect for the busy administrator.

Lifehacker posted a tutorial on the Pomodoro technique that you might find handy if you’ve not investigated it before. When things move from hectic to chaotic, I usually pull up the app and work to move through it. There are many Pomodoro tools out there, but here is my recommendation for each platform: Android, iOS, Chrome app or extension, and web.

LiveScribe Pen – When I’m in meetings, I can take notes or I can listen and process what is being said, but I can’t do both well at the same time. In those cases, my LiveScribe pen has come in handy. Using special paper (which you can download and print for free), I can take notes while recording audio. The written notes and audio are synced, so tapping on a place in my notes will jump to that part of the audio. I can then download data from the pen to my computer and the handwritten notes and audio (which are still synced) are on my laptop for later review. There are several versions of LiveScribe pens available, but I’ve found the base model to be more than adequate. It’s such a good tool that my college children have confiscated it for their own class work.

Flipboard – My job requires that I stay up-to-date on many topics. I find that searching the Internet, using Pinterest, or visiting my trusty go-to sites is too time consuming. That’s where Flipboard comes into play. I can use the iOS, Android, or web version to create a customized ezine of topics and sites that I want to keep up with. It pulls a fresh list of updated information every time I open it. While I follow several specific sites using Flipboard, identifying topics that I’m interested in has been even more beneficial. Besides reading fresh content, I can easily share articles and posts from within the app. I can definitely say that I use Flipboard on a daily basis.

Chrome Browser – I use many great Chrome apps and extensions, but here is a short list of some especially for administrators to get you started. You can find more by searching the Chrome Web Store. You can also check out Diana Benner’s post, Chrome Apps You Can’t Live Without, for more specific tools you might want to try.

  • Goo.gl URL Shortener – With just a click, I get a shortened URL of the website I’m on copied to my clipboard so I can share it with my staff or others. If I’m logged in to Chrome, it will remember the shortened URLs and track how many clicks each receives, which is handy if you are sharing with parents, teachers, etc.
  • Send from Gmail – This handy extension creates an email with the name of the website as the subject line and a link to it in the body so that all I have to do is add the recipient’s email address. I usually tweak the body of the email so the recipient knows why I’m sharing the website. Many times, though, I’ve used this to send myself a link to a website that I want to come back to, but don’t have time for right then; it will be in my inbox when I am ready to look at it.
  • Print Friendly & PDF – This clever extension creates a distraction-free page of the website I’m on by stripping out the ads, background, etc. so that I get a cleaner page that I can print and/or save as a PDF. If you are one to print websites often, this will reduce your toner costs. You can also edit the page down so that you only print what you want.
  • Screencastify – This Chrome app is handy tool to use when I need to explain how to do something online or on the computer, but I need more than words to make it clear. Using just the free version, I can record screencast videos up to ten minutes in length. This tool is great for those just-in-time trainings that we do when someone asks a simple question, but the answer may be more cumbersome and not so straightforward.

 

Regardless of which tool you use, I think you’ll find these will help you be more efficient with your time and still be able to share important information with those you support. Do you have a tool to add to the list? I’d love to hear about it. Email me at bellis@tcea.org and let me know.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
BYODChromebooksContent AreasDigital LiteracyGood TeachingGoogle Tips and TricksiOS Tips and TricksLeadershipLibrariesMicrosoft Tips and TricksRoboticsSTEM/STEAMWeb 2.0 Tool

Summer Learning at Its Best for Elementary Educators

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Looking for a great learning experience this summer that will enhance your teaching skills and energize you at the same time? Then look no further than the TCEA Tots and Technology Conference, an event so popular that we are offering two this summer. Join us in Galveston on June 12-14 or the next month in Frisco on July 24-26 for workshops and sessions that are designed by elementary educators for elementary educators.

With all the choices you have this summer to get ready for the fall, here are the three biggest reasons to attend one of our stimulating Tots and Technology conferences this summer:

  • Attend sessions and workshops designed especially for educators and administrators integrating technology with 3 year olds through fifth grade;
  • Network with other like-minded educators to expand your resources for the new school year and get tons of hands-on, relevant, classroom-ready ideas and activities to implement in your classroom; and,
  • Earn up to 17 hours of professional development credit for meaningful learning targeted to your needs.

 

Sessions and workshops for these events will be posted April 1, so you can plan which sessions to attend and coordinate your schedule with friends and colleagues. Get support from your administrators about the value of the Tots and Technology conference by downloading and sharing this template with them.

If you are an elementary educator or work with elementary educators, join us for a great learning experience. Find out more and register here. If you have any questions, contact Peggy Reimers at preimers@tcea.org. We look forward to seeing you in Galveston, Frisco, or both locations.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts