When: May 4th
Time : 4:00Pm-4:30Pm Eastern Time If you're a teacher using Google Apps for Education or just an edtech savvy educator, then Eric Curts is a "Must Follow". His websitehttp://controlAltAchieve.com offers and amazing array of tips, tricks, and ideas on incorporating Google's educational ventures into your classroom for maximum productivity and student success. I will be talking to Eric about all things Google and more! Eric's Bio: Eric has been in education for 24 years, and is currently serving as a Technology Integration Specialist for the Stark Portage Area Computer Consortium in Canton, Ohio where he oversees Google Apps for Education implementation, training, and support, as well as online learning and other technology integration initiatives. Eric is an authorized Google Education Trainer and a Google Certified Innovator and provides Google Apps training to schools, organizations, and conferences throughout Ohio and across the country. He is a co-leader of the Ohio Google Educator Group (GEG) at http://tiny.cc/geg-ohio and blogs at http://www.controlaltachieve.com where all of his Google resources can be found. Eric is married with four children. More information can be found on his personal website at http://www.ericcurts.com
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When: March 29th, 2016
Time: 5:15pm Eastern Google Hangouts. I'm really looking forward to interviewing teacher Amber Brown. Amber Brown is a 6th grade World Cultures and Geography teacher in Red Oak Texas and has been an educator for eight years. She received a Master’s Degree in Education in 2012. With the help of new technology and district technology initiatives, she has been able to transition from a direct teaching style to more of a facilitator while teaching students not only content, but collaborative, research and presentation skills. Last year, Amber completed over 60 hours of professional development in technology trainings and is recognized as a Digital Fluency Master by Region 10 Education Service Center. In her district, she facilitates teacher trainings on how to effectively use technology in the classroom while maintaining rigor. Can't wait to discuss Amber's work and her thoughts on future educational technology projects and ideas. Connect with Amber at Twitter: @AmberBrownTeach For those of you who know me, one of my passions is History. Specifically, I enjoy learning about and teaching, American History. I have talked frequently that unfortunately history is NOT one of our students' favorite topics. Often I would hear my 5th grade students complain that history is boring. And truth be told many of the materials and teaching models are indeed boring. Yet today we have technology tools to make Social Studies educational powerful and engaging. I came across a great article and podcast about a social studies teacher from Florida who gamified her social studies class for great success. I quickly found teacher Beth Box's email from her school and sent her a note asking if I could talk with her. She immediately replied and we set up a time to chat. I was really honored to talk with her and learn about her amazing techniques. I have linked the articles below and embedded our chat! Teacher Turns Class into a Video Game and Now Every Student is Passing When Turning Your Class into a Game is the Only Option
In the past I have used a great Speed Geek Questions App called, Decide Now. I still love that app but I have found an online "Spinner" Dial that is similar. Here are my Speed Geek Questions using Wheel Decide
So this year for me as a professional developer I have been asked to do a lot of PD on Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and especially Google Classroom. Google has done something really special with Google Classroom. Rather than create a Learning Management System (LMS) that does it all, Google created a "workflow" that is easy to learn, easy for students to navigate, and works quite seamlessly with other Google Applications. Rarely, do I see teachers walk away from a Google Classroom workshop frustrated. Most find it user friendly and flexible enough to allow the "Edtech savvy" teacher and the "Edtech avoiding" teacher with something to work with.
So as I developed my material for my workshops I looked for some people and websites that gave me some great information. I have listed my top 5, with a runner up. Please know, I'm sure there are other great resources and people out there that I haven't listed. Their absence is most likely due to the fact that I haven't discovered them.... yet. I am always looking. So here is my list as of 2015. (These are in no particular order, except the top 2 are really the top 2.... they could be interchangeable) 1. Kasey Bell- Shakeup Learning- Kasey has some amazing Cheat Sheets and Tutorials (Kasey has a great book too) My Interview with Kasey Bell HERE 2. Alice Keeler- Fantastic Resource for all things Edtech, especially Google. Alice outlines tons of great ideas in her book. Finally found some wonderful ideas for Google Sheets! My Interview with Alice Keeler HERE 3. Google Gooru- Wonderful Email tips and tutorials 4. Mr. Svboda's Classroom- Practicing Teacher offers some great ideas. 5. EdtechNut's Google Guides- Kelly Fitzgerald: Kelly offers some really great Slide presentations that provide step by step information that is highly useful! Honorable Mention: Google's Education Blog- Google has done wonders for education. Greetings everyone!
December has been a restful month for me as I try to catch up with family time and friends. Also, I am trying to just get some more rest and ramp myself up for the New Year, which I feel will be an amazing year! I am again looking forward to working on the ISTE Standards for students Re-fresh committee as well as attending and interviewing people and the amazing Ohio Educational Technology Conference 2016. (OETC16) With that in mind I have come across a fun website, that allows you to type and as you type it puts the letters to music. So you create a composition while you type. you can also just use your keyboard to type some fun music. Check it out below. As the sleepy month of November slowly winds down, most of us have our eye on the US Holiday of Thanksgiving. In this spirit of thankfulness, I look forward to another event: the NYSCATE Conference!
This conference brings together innovative Edtech educators from across the state to share and learn about new ideas. Every year I come away usually exhausted but wonderfully inspired. I have been part of NYSCATE's Awards and Grants Committee and the host of the Coffee With a Geek NYSCATE Interviews. I love interviewing participants and presenters about their great ideas and learning. If you are going to the conference, please stop down and talk to me. If you aren't going to the conference, please watch my conference videos. Hopefully you will get a flavor for all the great happenings and people here in Rochester, New York!
As many of you know I am a Social Studies/ US History buff at heart. That was always my passion as an Elementary teacher. Thus, I am always looking at new and interesting ways to teach social studies because I think many younger children, and even older ones, have found that history was their least favorite discipline because it was, in their words... Boring! And to be honest it wasn't until I watched Audie Murphy's "The Red Badge of Courage" that I realized I loved learning about history because it was really about the great expanse of human endeavors, passions, and intrigue, and NOT just dates and events.
So in my explorations of new edtech/social studies tools I came across Zoomin. When I followed them on Twitter I got a nice note from the company and they recommended that I talk to Whitney Woodward, who was doing amazing things with the program. So my Social Studies/ Edtech mind was intrigued. I got in touch with Whitney, who was happy to chat about Zoomin and Social Studies education in general. Whitney is a recent graduate from Emporia State University and teachers at Burrton Public Schools in Kansas. She teacher 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Social Studies and "loves her job" She is from Lawrence and is married to Dustin Woodward who is also a Social Studies teacher, and is the mother of Nolan, 5 months old. I'm looking forward to chatting with Whitney to learn more about new edtech/ social studies programs!
My September Guest is Library Media Specialist Kristina Holzweiss.
Kristina A. Holzweiss hails from Bay Shore Middle School, in New York. Beyond her school responsibilities she is a a presenter, author, and professional developer. She earned her MA in English from CUNY Queens College, her MLS from Long Island University - C.W. Post, and her Advanced Certificate in in Educational Technology from SUNY Stony Brook. Kristina has created a Genius Hour program in her school library (https://tackk.com/bsmsgeniushour) and also organized SLIME - Students of Long Island Maker Expo (http://slimemakerexpo.weebly.com). In 2015, she was named the School Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal and Scholastic. She has received awards from NYSCATE and the Long Island Technology Summit. Kristina also moderates a Voxer group for educators interested in bringing makerspaces and Genius Hour into their libraries and classrooms, and blogs at http://www.bunheadwithducttape.com. You can follow her on twitter at @lieberrian. Social Networks: (twitter, facebook, websites) Twitter: @lieberrian Website: bunheadwithducttape.com Kristina's Favorite Edtech Tools: Buncee Tackk FlipGrid Blendspace Glogster Edmodo
Ok I'll admit it... I enjoy professional development. I have always enjoyed learning and I think it is essential for educators to "sharpen the saw" and get new perspectives. Being the introvert that I am, I'm not a fan of professional development where you sing songs, do cheers, and/ or do dancing. Instead, I prefer short shots of information and then time to reflect or work on the concepts provided. My good buddy Scott Merrick, along with Michele Eaton from the ISTE's Online Learning Network have created a unique professional development experience that is online, creative, flexible, and thought provoking. It is essentially a book study. We are reading the book, Grounded Designs for Online and Hybrid Learning: Trends and Technologies edited by Atsusi "2c" Hirumi. We are using a few platforms for discussion. We are using Voxer, which has become a great tool for communication both personally and professionally. Voxer is a cross between walkie talkie, answering machine, and social network. You can leave voice or text messages, as well as, files or photos. If you purchase the Pro Account you can create groups to have multi person group chats. Scott and Michelle are using this tool to post daily questions about the reading of the book. Participants can contribute their answers using Voxer or go to the Online Book Study hashtag #olnbookstudy. I am really enjoying the book, the new collaboration tools, and the conversation. Thanks to Scott and Michelle for giving me such great food for thought about Online Learning!
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the Geek
My name is Andrew Wheelock- I am a technology integrator who's fascinated with my fellow educators and their powerful uses of tech for learning. Archives
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