Pledge to Begin Better Next Year

Now is the time! Take the pledge to do what you can to make next school year have the best start. Here's what you can do now to help you make that awkward transition from summer to a new academic year.

• Register for professional development that will fill your bag of tricks. Give some time during the
  
  summer to make your life easier later.
• Do you need time to work on your website or blog?
• Learn how to add a Google Calendar that will keep students/parents up-to-date.
• Learn how to upload newsletters to a shared folder on Google Drive--easy and efficient.
• Customize the look. Make it personal and interesting to increase traffic to your site.
• Add a Symbaloo to your site with links to some favorite websites.
• Do you need to learn how to use your interactive whiteboard as more than a projection screen and dry erase type board?
• Learn how to use the Promethean or Smart software.
• Take time to create flipcharts or notebooks that you can use at the beginning of the year (open house, first days, etc.)
• Collaborate with your team to create interactive lessons that have students on their feet and engaged in their learning.
• Do you want to become more efficient?
• Try organizing documents in Google Drive.
• Learn to keep your email inbox tidy and easy to navigate.
• Go deeper into Google Docs so that you can create, share, and teach your students how to use them as well.
• Go through your network files now and delete the things you'll never use again.  Do you really need all 100 photos of your students from 3 years ago?
• Work on your Personal Learning Network (PLN) so that you have ideas at your fingertips throughout the year from respected sources. Click the link to go to Kathy Schrock's guide and learn how to create your own PLN. Learn how to use Google+ to your advantage.
• Plan ways to flip your classroom--yes, even in the lower grades. There are some great ways to have a modified flip for students who do not have access to technology at home. If nothing else, investigate and find out what all the talk is about!

Please add your comments and ideas for using time now to create a better start for next year.  

SXSWedu 2014

The opportunity normally presents itself once per year to attend a professional conference, and most years my colleagues and I have all attended TCEA (Texas Computer Educators Association) at the Austin Convention Center. This year, however, about half of us decided to try something new and see what South by Southwest Edu had to offer.

Here are my observations, comparisons, and conclusions from the experience:

• If you're looking for skill-enhancing sessions, definitely attend TCEA.
• If you go to SX and want to learn tech skills, go to the Google Lounge.
• If you want to consider the state of education and where it may turn, attend SXSWedu.
• At SXSWedu be careful when attending panel discussions. Many of them are sponsored and tend to lean heavily in the direction of the sponsor's product.
• While SX had some new tech product demonstrations, TCEA is the place to see what's coming out and what's going away.
• At both conferences the keynote speakers are a tossup. Some years they are informative and inspirational while some years they are only mildly entertaining.
• I appreciated being able to hear Wendy Davis, candidate for governor of Texas lay out her platform on education in a relatively intimate setting. It's important to understand what the candidates have to say when it comes to the things we care about.
• Personally, the SXSWedu film festival was by far the most enjoyable part of the experience. Each of the three films I saw was inspiring in one way or another.

So in nutshell, the two conferences serve their own purposes. The audiences have an overlap, and most educators can benefit from both. I believe that I will continue to attend both but on alternating years.

Doodles Anyone?

Are you one of those people who has to doodle to listen well? You're in good company! According to a study by psychologist Jackie Andrade from the University of Plymouth in southern England, doodlers remember more than non-doodlers when presented with tedious information. One reason Andrade offers for this increase in memory is that doodling doesn't allow daydreaming which, in turn, keeps a person from attending to what is going on. Doodling requires less brain function than daydreaming but uses enough energy to keep the brain from making a jump beyond the here and now.

Would you like to put your students' doodling to the test? It's time for Doodle 4 Google.  Here is a place where young artists have an opportunity to have their doodles published.  The theme this year is "If I could invent one thing to make the world a better place . . ." Submissions are due by March 20th, and the winner receives a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 Google for Education technology grant for his/her school.

Find out more about Doodle 4 Google here.

Cloud, John. "Study: Doodling Helps You Pay Attention." Time. CNN, 26 Feb. 2009. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1882127,00.html>. 

Google Communities Help You Grow

It's time . . . do it now!  Click You+ at the top of your Gmail screen to join the increasing number of educators growing and learning in Google Communities.

By completing your profile in Google+, you become eligible to participate in Google Communities. What is a community?  A Google Community is a virtual gathering of individuals who build relationships around a niche or a topic of interest.

After completing the Google+ profile, look for the house icon at the left side of the screen labeled "Home" and click.  Drop down to the green Communities icon and click.  on this screen, you can begin to search for specific communities in the search field or browse the many communities listed.

Reasons why teachers should participate in Google Communities:

1. Make new connections. Communities you meet and learn from others with similar interests whom you might have never met before or who may have never noticed you otherwise.  Be noticed!
2. Integrates with Google tools such as Drive, Docs, YouTube, Google Earth, etc.
3. Allows you to share content including photos, documents, videos, links and more.
4. Have live Hangouts to discuss and meet live with others in your community.
5. You can edit your posts at any time.
6. Only community members can comment on posts. With the mention of a member's Google Plus name in the post, that person will be notified of the comment (+John Doe).
7. Categories allow you to post to particular topics.
8. Create "events" within the community and invite other members--know who will and won't attend.
9. Users with inappropriate intentions can be removed by a moderator.

The best community members share relevant content that initiates discussion, and participate in conversations by offering comments and 1+s on posts.

Google Tools for You and Your Classroom v.1

It's always amazing just how many tools are available from Google.  Sometimes I look at one and think, "Where was this when I was in the classroom?"  At other times, however, I look at one and think, "How is this helpful, or I can do this much more easily using another format." 

Take a look at the tools I showed staff yesterday in our afternoon meeting.  Try them out, take 'em for a spin around the block and see what you think!

1.  Computational Thinking Tools - This is probably not what you think.  What you should think is "looking for patterns."  Lessons and examples provide ideas for the classroom.
2. Custom Search - Students get the look and feel of a real Google search but only with links that you provide.  Learn how with this YouTube video.
3. Google Chart Editor - Create and share charts and graphs.  Chosse a type of chart, then plug in your information.
4. Google Correlate - This is an ineresting place to find search patterns that follow trends.  It's fun, but how to apply in the classroom . . .
5. Google Earth Engine - So much data brought together in one place to help us visiualize changes and trends with the Earth!
6. Google Logo Maker - This is your vanity license plate for a search engine. 
7. Google Sky - Look at the galaxies, at the Moon, and at Mars.  There are so many different ways you could bring this interactive into lessons.
8. Teach Parents Technology - Someone at home always asking you how to do something on the computer? Here's you answer that provides "a tech support care package".  If you're the one needing assistance, you can watch the videos from the folks at Google, too.
9. What Do You Love - Here's a place to bring all of the information together on a topic of your interest:  videos, discussion groups, books about, blogs, pictures, and the list goes on.
10. Zygote Body - Not exactly a Google tool any more, but started by Google, this is a place to learn more about the human anatomy.

Have you ever used any of these tools personally or in your classroom?  Let me know in the comments section below.

Become a Search-Smart Internet User with Google Tips

Today a simple Google search can help you to quickly find exactly what you need if you know the best methods for searching.

Here's how to find . . .
Weather--Type "weather" followed by the city and state, zip code, or city and country.
Time--Type "time" and the name of the city.
Calculation--Enter the calculation you'd like done in the search box.
Unit Conversion--Enter the desired conversion into the search box.
Synonym--Place a tilde (~) immediately in front of your search term.
Definition--Type the word "define", a space, then the word you want defined.
Spell Checker--Simply type a word into the search box, and it checks for the most common spelling.  The "did you mean . . .?" result indicates an alternate spelling choice.

Want to know the name of a song or some words to a forgotten song?  Just type in the lyrics you know, using an asterisk (*) in place of the missing words, and Google will find your song.  Try this one, and let me know in the comment section below what you found.  "* * is in my ears and in my".

Many more search features are available.  To learn how to use them, click this link to become a search-smart Internet user.