Favorite Finds

Last week I had the opportunity to attend some great sessions at the TCEA Conference. I enjoyed collaborating and learning from technology leaders through the face-to-face sessions I attended. I also enjoyed being able to follow fellow conference attendees on Twitter as they shared resources and information using the conference hashtag, #TCEA15. It was especially beneficial to debrief with fellow Dragons and talk about how to apply the knowledge and ideas we gleaned. Carroll ISD was well represented by Teachers, Coordinators, Principals, and the Technology Department.

As we reflect on our learning, the Instructional Technology Team, along with other TCEA attendees, will be sharing some of our “favorite finds”—web sites, apps, and ideas—with you over the next couple of weeks. I hope you will find an idea, resource, or web site that inspires you to try something new. 

Here are my Top 3 Favorite Finds:

• Innovation Day- The idea of an Innovation Day is so exciting as we strive to teach our students to take ownership of their learning. What better way to do this than to plan a day in which they can work on anything they want!
• An entire day is dedicated to self-directed learning.
• Students can work on ANYTHING THEY CHOOSE.
• Students must show evidence of their learning.
• Teachers are the guide on the side.
• Workspaces are organized by interest groups.
• NO GRADES are taken.
• NO AWARDS are given
• Plickers (free) Not enough devices in your classroom? Plickers is a simple, formative assessment tool that allows teachers to use their mobile device to collect data without the need for student devices. Students respond using downloadable response cards. Response cards, Apple and Android apps are all available on the Plickers web site.
• Post-It Plus App (free) I love post-it notes for brainstorming and collaboration. Now with the app, you can have the best of both worlds. You have the visual and kinesthetic appeal of the physical post-it notes. And with the app, you can easily scan all the post-it notes to digitize your ideas. Once scanned, you have the ability to organize them digitally and share in a variety of formats!