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

Schoology 101 - Setting up your course with folders

As you know, Schoology is our new Learning Management System (LMS). I have heard from many teachers at the high school that are feeling overwhelmed with yet another new initiative.

Understandable.

Please know that Schoology is something we are vested in and dedicated to, making the most of this robust resource for our teachers.

Nowthen...

Remember to use our proprietary site to login as you are able to log in with your Gmail credentials: pierz.schoology.com

The main page that opens up is Updates that will be pushed out by administration - updates, news, etc, as well as Updates from any blogs you follow. You may also notice a number next to your

Subscriptions (a place where you can access all the Schoology-based blogs) on the left. All Schoology users are automatically signed up for the Schoology blog (not of my doing, but that of Schoology). There is a lot of good information and teacher-shared resources, questions and thoughts here. You, too, are able to post questions and answers on this blog.

To create your Course:
From this main area, find the Courses tab at the top->Create.

You will be prompted by a pop-up screen to begin filling in your course information. Don't worry about Course or Section Codes. You will want to name your Course Section, however.

Remember, create one Course and then you will be able to Copy the Course and assign different section numbers without having to re-create every. single. section.

You will want to organize your course by Folders. I recommend the first folder be labeled something like Course Information where you'll house the syllabus, your course hours, and your contact information. From there, you can organize with folders by course unit...weeks...chapters...

Organizing each section by folder helps keep your assignments in order and allows you to use the Student Completion function. As you start to add Resrouces to your Course Folders, you'll see the Student Completion check box. This allows you to determine which components of that folder need to be completed first, second and so on.

We will be reviewing much of this during our summer training days. In the meantime, if you're so inclined, Schoology->Help Center is full of helpful videos. 

Project-based learning resources mother-load

If you find yourself wanting to integrate a project into a lesson, but not sure where to start, look no further than that fantastical resources at bie.org. Search by subject area, grade level, common core standard, and even the level of media (interactive or view-only?). 

BIE.ORG

Using Twitter with hashtags

Twitter is a lot of...noise. Hashtags work like magnets (love that analogy) to pull in all relative content to a single feed. Explained better here: http://www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/

Note the plethora of hashtags recommended in the article. Twitter is a great place for professional development, curriculum/class resources, ideas, strategies.

I'd also love to create a hashtag for Pierz Schools, and get everyone involved in taking pictures of their day, their sporting event, their extra-currciculars...and use Twitter to display our school pride.

To Tweet out something great about Pierz Schools, use the hashtag #PierzPioneers!

Download YouTube videos to save your sanity

YouTube is awesome - millions of videos on a plethora of subjects at your fingertips! The bad? The creators of that content can pull those links at any time, leaving you scared, alone, and wondering where to turn...

No fear.
This quick video will show you how to download your favorites. Save them to your Google Drive for anywhere/anytime access.