Don't Panic

I hope that when we start thinking about the vast capabilities that our Chromebooks and iPads will allow us next year, a feeling of panic and anxiety doesn't set in. Think about your classroom. Create instructional goals for your students, and we will work with the technology to support those goals. 

Examples: 

In my class I want more time to work with students

In my class I want my students to write better and provide feedback

In my class I want to assess student understanding without having to rely on grading

In my class I want students to collaborate on their assignments

Start with:

In my class...

My students struggle with...

The biggest instructional need in my class is...

Guidelines for creating these goals: 

1. Be specific

2. Focus on learning, NOT technology

3. Think in terms of a 1-year timeline.

We can then tie technology to those instructional goals. Technology is here to help you reach your classroom and teaching goals; not replace your teaching with a computer :) 

You have Atomic Learning set up with your district username and password. Use it! It's a vast resource of not only specific apps, but also pedagogical training, and more. 

http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/target-instructional-needs-atomic-learning 

Gamifying Education

As you know, a huge movement exists toward gamifying education. Everything from Legos to Minecraft challenge students to think critically while rewarding their efforts.
Some resources for gamifying different subject areas: https://askatechteacher.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/15-great-simulations-to-gamify-your-class/

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new

iCivics: https://www.icivics.org/

And the winner of the 2012 STEM award, created by two education professors: Numbaland: http://numbaland.com/

EdNak - at the intersection of education and technology

This site is pretty sweet. 

It organizes all those crazy ed tech apps you've heard about into types - collaboration, content, curriculum, etc. Shows you what the app does and ideas for classroom use. 

Swell!

http://ednak.com/ 

From the blog http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/: 

Summer is rapidly approaching, and as we all know, teachers DO NOT take the summer off! We are constantly updating curriculum, researching new teaching methods, and finding cool tools to increase engagement in our classrooms.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an EdTech GEM, Ednak.

Ednak includes dozens upon dozens of amazing educational technology tools, complete with instructions and ideas for using the tools.

Ednak is incredibly organized, breaking down tools by a variety of different categories. Learning Management System, Collaboration Tools, Content Tools, Mobile Learning tools, and so much MORE!

Ednak is so simple to navigate and 100% FREE! Teachers can create an account and can then curate and share tools.

Add Ednak to your summer “to-do” list and find awesome tools for your students!

Thanks for reading 

EDNAK