After a very long hiatus, I’ve started vlogging again. The last time I did anything like this, I apologized for the video being a whopping 50 megabytes. Let that sink in for a bit. In any case, the new videos are being published over on my YouTube channel, but I’ll be embedding them here as well. Here’s the first two. Enjoy.
Session 5: #Twitter4Educators, by Evylyn Quiñones Going around the room introducing ourselves and saying how comfortable we are with Twitter. I joined Twitter in March of 2007. I think I’m the old fogey here. Norms Take risks Share ideas Ask questions Have fun learning Addressing two things simultaneously: Teacher tweets and student tweets. Remember, there is a BIG audience out there. Students Family Strangers More Link sharing – URL shorteners make them manageable. Differentiating between @ and # … this is basic information, but perfect for…Continue Reading “#PUWT15 Thoughts: Session 5: #Twitter4Educators”
Session 2: Fusing Media Technology and Content in the Classroom, by Margaret Olson Starts off asking who uses social media already. One teacher is using Snapchat? Wow. David Warlick quote about technology on the 2nd slide. Oh, that takes me back. Recommends having a social media account for the class. Ratio of student/teacher content creation can vary based on the class and trust level. A great way to teach writing and language use. Students are already familiar with the technology. Video creation I love how we’re still…Continue Reading “#PUWT15 Thoughts: Session 2, Fusing Media Technology and Content in the Classroom”
Keynote: A.J. Juliani Technology “With a purpose.” “I was at a very good school district that was focused a lot on test scores” is a contradiction. “My students aren’t motivated about anything except grades!” They were motivated by a lot of things, but learning his lessons wasn’t one of those things. Started following the Google model: Students had to spend 20% of their time working on something that interested them. “How much is this worth?” “Nothing.” Everything was still standards based. Students were researching, documenting, and…Continue Reading “#PUWT15 Thoughts: Keynote, A.J. Juliani”
Session 1: Make Discussions Matter! by Jason Flanagan Presentation is online. Better yet, so is his assessment template. Started out weak. I come to sessions to be wowed. This started with “Here, read this.” Underlying concept is great. He uses a custom Google Sheet to objectively assess student led conversation and show the results in chart and pressure gauge form. I could do something similar with Class Dojo, but the data would not be presented in the same way. Which you pick would depend on…Continue Reading “#PUWT15 Thoughts: Make Discussions Matter!”
Presenting at PUWT15 today. Here’s my session. If the video turns out I’ll post that here, too.
So apparently, Chromebook manufacturers will soon have the option of making Androidbooks (not a word they used, but I guess it makes sense?). The news & commentary site re/code goes over the details, which you can read in full here. Personally, I like the idea of notebook computers running Android. Android works very well with Google Drive (like Chromebooks), which should be a surprise to no one at this point. Android already supports having multiple accounts on one device (like Chromebooks), tying app installs to accounts…Continue Reading “Android vs. Chrome in Schools? Android.”
I’ll admit, I had no idea what a grip was. Lucky for me, this video was made in 1995 and it kinda sorta explains what that job entails. My favorite part is not the useful content that I might use with my students, but rather the Klingon wearing a colorful shirt. Source: Watch This 1995 Film That Shows That A Grip Does – DIY Photography
Click through to see the whole Mashable article and several more Vine projects. Submissions included cardboard cacti, a wire desk tree, reshaped paper clips and more. Source: Recyclables become useable art in these six-second Vines This has me thinking about having students make short stop-motion animations that are “Vine-ready.” We could focus on recycling, as these do, or pick a different challenge for students to complete. Of course we’d have to make sure the music they’re using (if they use any) is legal for them…Continue Reading “Recyclables become useable art in these six-second Vines”
(Note: This is not about me leaving my current school. I love this place too much to leave.) When I first traded my paintbrushes for a computer lab 7 years ago, I was shown a written description (on paper, even!) of the Middle School course I would be teaching. The only content it covered involved Microsoft Office products. “Naturally,” the Principal said, “We would expect you to do more than this.” Naturally, I agreed. Since then, what I do in my school has only expanded….Continue Reading “Kissing the Office Goodbye”