Twitter Chat

Give a Chat a Chance...that is a Twitter Chat!

What is a hashtag?
It is a keyword or phrase that is preceded by the # symbol.  Hashtags help connect people with similar interests. Some popular education-related hashtags can be found at this website:   http://www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/  Many hashtags have scheduled meeting times each week.  This creates a Twitter Chat.

What’s a Twitter Chat?
It is usually a weekly event where many users participate in a discussion via tweets on a specific topic, usually using a predetermined hashtag at a designated time. Larger chats can involve hundreds of participants and thousands of tweets.  If that is overwhelming to you as a newbie you can just follow the chat without tweeting until you are comfortable with the format.  Some of the chats like #edchat discuss broad educational issues while others are based on topic, content area, grade level, job type, or geographical region.  A few examples:

#enghat:  This chat for English teachers happens every Monday at 7pm ET
#mathchat:  This UK-based chat for math teachers and students happens twice a week at 8pm ET on most Thursday nights and 8:30 pm on Mondays ET
#cpchat:  The cp stands for Connected Principals.  It happens every Wednesday at 5pm PT/8pm ET 
#mschat:  Middle school topics for MS teachers happens Thursdays 8pm ET

Here is a list of more education-related chats.  http://bit.ly/officialchatlist

Why Chat?
There are many reasons to join a chat including resource sharing, networking, and contributing to the profession.  Chats give a voice to teachers who may not otherwise have the opportunity.  Chats are immediate and concise.  They provide an opportunity to connect with educators across the globe.  Chats have become the new Professional Development format.  Like a webinar, you do not have to leave your home. There are more than 150 free online PD workshops/chats a week in the twitter world.

Tips
Many times chat moderators will number their questions  with Q1 and Q2 so participants can respond with their answers as A1 and A2.  Also, free services such as TweetDeck or HootSuite can be used to link to your Twitter account  and allow you to manage tweets and chats. 

Other Resources
http://www.teachhub.com/twitter-chats-educators

http://blogs.techsmith.com/for-educators/twitter-chats-in-education/

5 Things Tech Tools Can Do That You Didn't Know

1. Travel Smarter with Google Maps

• Planning a trip using Google Maps provides users with the following features:
• Create a new map.
• Save places to stay on the new map.
• Save travel plans and transit on the new map. This will show traffic and local public transit along with the cost.
• Enable the weather feature on the new map.
• Explore the area of the new map by enabling the webcams of the street view.
• Plan the itinerary by exploring food and activities on the new map.
• Read the full article by clicking here

2. Smart Ways to Use Cloud Storage

• Just a few unique ways to use cloud storage
• Share large photo albums with friends and family via cloud link
• Family history vault
• Store owner manuals
• Create video quizzes on Google Drive
• Read the full article by clicking here

3. How to Get Wifi Free

• Ways to get free wifi
• Get free wifi from your cable company - Cox and Time Warner Cable - click here
• Tether your phone from your computer - iOS device; Android device
• Read the full article by clicking here

4. Things I Didn't Know My Smart Phone Could Do

• My smart phone is too smart; it can now...
• Measure my heart rate (iOS device; Android device)
• Detect metal (iOS device; Android device)
• Name that tune (iOS device; Android device)
• Become reading glasses (iOS device; Android device)
• Measure large objects or longer distances (iOS device; Android device)
• Read the full article by clicking here 

5. Dictate Emoticons to Your Phone

• Emoticons are so fun but did you know you could add emoticons through voice activation?
• iOS Device - turn on Siri and say "winky", "smiley", or "frowny" to get the emoticons.
• Android Device - say "smiley face" or "frowny face" to get the emoticons.
• Read the full article by clicking here 

BONUS:
5 Battery Saving Tips for your Mobile Device - http://www.edudemic.com/battery-saving-tips/

AURASMA - Augmented Reality for Your Classroom

Imagine your student holding his or her smart phone or iPad up to a book cover, as if to take a picture. Now imagine the book cover coming to life as a video of a student giving a book review begins to play. With the free app Aurasma, that’s exactly what can happen in your classroom! You can watch a short clip of Aurasma in action here and here.

Aurasma is a free augmented reality app for iOS and Android devices that allows users to layer video on top of any image. Think of it as a QR Code, but way more fun. Users can create “Auras” on their device using the Aurasma app or on their computer using the Aurasma Studio account.

Aurasma terms to know:
- Trigger Image: The picture that you want to enhance.
- Overlay: The media you layer on top of the trigger image (usually a video).
- Aura: What pops up when your device scans the trigger image.

So, how could you use Aurasma in your classroom?
- Word walls or vocabulary
- Interactive Bulletin Boards
- Book covers or specific book pages
- Posters
- Student art
- Homework or project descriptions/directions
- Virtual Tours/Field Trips

How to get started:
Erin Klein has a great step by step guide to creating Auras and using them in the classroom. You can find her site here.

Where do you see Aurasma fitting in to your classroom or school? 

Infuse Learning: A Virtual Student Response System

 I am excited to share with you InfuseLearning.  Move over Socrative, PollEverywhere, and other student response systems.  It just got easier.  InfuseLearning is the newest virtual tool for this job in the classroom.  It is empowering yet simple to use.  The online tool allows you to push questions, pictures, prompts, and quizzes to each student device.  School districts that are lucky enough to have classroom sets of mobile devices, laptops, or have a successful BYOD program set up are able to use this tool easily.  It provides a platform that allows teachers to engage every student on any device. It is not limited by location or device.  Real-time student feedback, enhanced interest, differentiation, and effective questioning are all part of this tool.

• Quick Assessment, sometimes called on- the- fly questioning, can come in the form of Draw Response, True/False, Multiple Choice, Sort in Order, Open Ended Text Answer, Numeric, and Likert Scale.
• The ability to send a weblink or a math problem to every student device is part of the Interactive tools.
• Quizzes can be created ahead of time and then pushed to the student devices.
• Quiz Results can be downloaded to a spreadsheet and saved.
• The teacher has the ability to see each student response, including how they solved the problem you pushed to them.

Teachers go to:   http://www.infuselearning.com/ to register for free.

Teachers go to:   http://teacher.infuselearning.com/ to set up quizzes and receive your student room number.

Students go to:  http://student.infuselearning.com/ and wait for quizzes and questions to be pushed down to them.

 

One side note:  It must be used with browsers other than Internet Explorer.  You can use Chrome or Firefox with no problem.  You will get an error with IE.

 

 

 

Begin the School Year with Remind101

The new school year is here so don't miss out on a great tool to use this year. Remind 101 is a safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents for free.

What makes Remind101 safe? 

• Teachers never see their students’ phone numbers, students never see theirs. Remind101 is a oneway broadcast system.

What are ways to use Remind101?

• Field trip reminders 
• Motivational messages 
• Homework/exam reminders
• Schedule changes
• School sport updates
• Staff updates such as faculty meeting reminders, weather updates, etc.

Here is a guide from Remind101 explaining what it is, what makes it safe, and best practices for using it. 

10 Quick Ways to Use Mobile Phones in the Classroom

In today's society a large majority of students own smartphones. Why not implement those devices in the classroom? While reading Edumedic, I can across an article on how to use mobile phones in the classroom.
The following tips are from that article written by Katie Lepi. I've included the 10 ways I feel are the easiest to implement with the greatest educational value. Each use listed is linked to an article, lesson plan, or source that will detail implementation of the mobile device. To see the list of 40 ways, click here.

1. Scavenger hunts:
   Smartphone scavenger hunts have proven a popular pastime for technophiles, and teachers have been known to use them to provide interactive lessons about everything from natural history to nature. It’s an easy concept to adapt!
2. Send reminders:
   Whether through text or apps like Remind 101, smartphones offer greater connectivity so teachers ensure students know when assignments are due, what materials to bring, test schedules, and more.
3. Clickers:
   Instructors who love punctuating lectures with visuals like slideshows can convert their smartphones into tools for scrolling through materials. Socrative Quick Guide.
4. Memorization skills:
   Create and distribute digital flash cards so students can stay on top of what they need to know – or, better yet, make them write and trade their own! Research suggests that fusing technology with traditional methods helps nurture memorization skills, despite stereotypes of smartphone owners as forgetful types.
5. Polling:
   Take quick surveys of what students think and want by asking them to respond via smartphone apps designed specifically for realtime feedback.
6. QR codes:
   Create QR codes and let students scan them for quick access to class materials, supplements, and anything else they might need to earn the best grades possible.
7. Storyboarding:
   Have students draw or shoot photos of sequential images and challenge them to draw up their own stories or storyboards involving both text and visuals.
8. Blogging:
   Blogging provides a wonderfully diverse tool for establishing a digital classroom, and it’s easy for teachers and students alike to post, comment, read, and follow analytics.
9. Remembering notes:
   Some teachers allow their students to snap photos of the chalkboard or whiteboard as class wraps up in case they couldn’t finish taking their notes fast enough.
10. Use educational apps:
    One of the simplest strategies for engaging students using smartphones involves taking advantage of the thousands of educational apps as supplements.
• TCEA iPad Apps - click here
• TCEA iPod Apps - click here
• Top 100 Apps of 2012 by David Kapuler - click here
• 60 Apps in 60 Minutes - click here

Motivate with Mobile Learning

http://www.redkid.net/generator/billboard/

Just step out into the school hallway during a passing period and observe how many students saunter to their next class with ear buds dangling from their heads as they listen to their iPod. Watch the student who texts and walks absent-mindedly into another student doing the same thing. Notice the student who uses a flash card app  like StudyBlue to review vocabulary or who collaborates on his group project using GoogleDrive. Mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, media players, e-readers) are an integral part of students daily lives and can be a great tool to motivate, engage, and create excitement for student learning in and outside the classroom. Mobile learning doesn’t mean the students move from place to place. It’s actually the learning that goes wherever the student goes.

Creating a Mobile Lesson

Creating your first mobile lesson can be a bit intimidating. That is why planning is important. To begin the planning process, you need to start at the end of the lesson and work your way back to the beginning. Start by answering a few questions about your lesson.

1. What do I want the end result to be? 
2. Do I want students to show mastery of a concept? 
3. Do I want the students to publish a project or share results?
4.  Do I want students to collaborate with one another? 

Once you know the ending, it’s easy to find the best mobile lesson for the beginning. Check out this wiki which will help you find the right tool to use.  

Choosing the Best Device 

For the lesson to be successful, you have to know about your students and the devices they have.

1. Do most of them have smart phones? Tablets? 
2. What about the student who doesn’t have a phone? Do enough of your students have devices that would allow you to pair students who don’t have devices with those that do? 
3. Are the parents on board?

 Give the Students Lesson Ownership 

Allow the students to help you plan the lesson. Ask them about their favorite apps. Generate a discussion (even online!) about how they would like to see their devices used. Students will feel as if they have ownership in the lesson and will be excited to contribute. Plus you and your students might learn about something you didn't know about before.

Plan and Collaborate with Others

Don’t’ plan alone! Your instructional technology specialist can help you plan and offer a variety of resources for mobile integration. For more information, check out Mobile Devices for Learning Resource Guide  at  Eduptopia.org. This 10-page downloadable resource provides the tools to get you going mobile.

Website of the Week: Catch!

Catch is a fun site which allows the user to capture anything on a website: text, photos, audio and more. The information is easily shared with others. This is a great tool for use with mobile devices. 

Class Dojo Will Put the Mojo Back Into Your Class



Behavior Management and Student Engagement Software



Whether it's the third grader that just can't seem to focus or the senior with a bad case of senioritis, Class Dojo is an interactive site that  engages those students in the classroom by recognizing positive behaviors as they happen in a fun and colorful way!  What is really great is the simplicity of the site. Using a computer or a smart phone, the teacher sets up the classes and students and then determines what types of behaviors to reward or the types of behaviors to discourage. Students accumulate points (or have points deducted) based on the parameters set. The class can be setup with reward sounds and the teacher can manipulate the class settings to create a running total or end the points for the day. Additionally. ClassDojo provides behavior-tracking analytics, dashboards and reports for parents and administrators, all at one-click. No extra data entry required! A demo class is set up so you can just copy it and move on if you don't want to personalize your class.  Teachers can get really creative with this and use it as a tool to encourage interaction and participation and make behaving in class FUN! Students could work on accumulating participation points for a grade, extra credit or class reward. It's up to you! 

 Right now it's still free so be sure to sign up today, even if you aren't going to use it until next year! Click here to join: http://bit.ly/HZT8GA

 

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Website of the Week: Niceletter

As the end of the year approaches, many of us are asked to write letters of recommendation or perhaps we need to thank a special parent or co-worker. Niceletter is a super easy site for creating different types of letters. These letters can be cover letters, thank you, or any other type of letter you need to write. Your students could even use this site to create letters of their own.  Simply fill out a template and then download it as a PDF or RTF file. Niceletter is nice and easy and FREE! Hint: Be sure to scroll down to get to the letter generator. You don't need to download anything.

Edmodo: An Interactive Classroom

Edmodo can turn your classroom into a fun, interactive, and engaged environment for students where learning is real and authentic. Watch students flourish in this social environment.

What is Edmodo? (via Thomas Scheeler...follow him on Twitter @tscheeler)

• Edmodo is a FREE, secure, social learning platform for teachers, students, parents, and schools.
• Edmodo provides teachers and students with a secure and easy way to post classroom materials, share links and videos, and access homework, grade and school notices.
• Teachers and students can store and share all forms of digital content - blogs, links, pictures, video, documents, presentations, and more.

What CISD teachers and students using Edmodo have to say:

• 6th grade DIS math teacher Chris Underwood says:
• "Edmodo has been an absolutely amazing extension to my classroom. It allows for additional collaboration between students as well as keeping me in touch with my students when we are not in the same classroom. I have been looking for a platform to extend the learning beyond the time I see my students everyday and Edmodo has been the answer to that dream. This was my first year implementing it and my students have fully embraced it. I look forward to continuing to use this medium to enhance the learning that takes place in my classroom."

• 6th grade math students of Mr. Underwood say:
• "I like Edmodo because I can always get an answer if I have a question and we can talk about things that are happening in our classroom. We can just talk and communicate to grow in our relationships with our classmates. Edmodo rocks!! ~Alyssa M.
• "It has definitely helped me because I can remember a lot of times when I didn't understand our homework and I used Edmodo to contact Mr. Underwood and ask questions. Edmodo really helps me. Hopefully, we'll have a website like this in 7th grade. ~ Trinity B.
• Everyone likes it; Doing your homework with ease; Making helpful comments: Our peers are very nice; Depositing info into reply boxes; Oh my gosh, it's an Acrostic poem. ~Harry P.

• 6th grade EIS math teacher Kim Anderson says:
• Edmodo is a fantastic tool to help students connect after the school day has ended. My students immediately saw the benefit of posting a homework question and then receiving help or helping another student. I would highly recommend Edmodo!"

• 6th grade math students from EIS say:
• "It is much easier to get help and hints, and it is also fun to use.  You don't have to go in early to get help, you can use Edmodo!"  ~Whitney C.
• "It's a great way to get help on homework.  You aren't getting help from a strangers, so you know it's safe." ~Ainsley P.
• "I like the idea that you can ask for help from a teacher or other students from home!" ~Chandler H.
• "I love Edmodo because it really helps me with homework and ever since I starting using it my homework grades have been phenomenal."  ~Annie M.
• "Really simple to use, and it has helped me a lot, just like a teacher being right by my side helping me." ~Gretchen C.

Tip of the Week:

Download the Edmodo App from iTunes or the Android store for FREE. Use your mobile device to send notes, submit assignments, post replies, and check messages while away from the classroom. Click here to download the iOS app.



Website of the week:
Be sure to check out the Edmodo website to sign up for a FREE teacher account. Watch this parent presentation video to learn more about the basics of Edmodo:

Edmodo Parent Presentation

View more PowerPoint from scholar

20,000 Books in the Palm of Your Hand!

Ok. Maybe 20,000 books is a bit of an exaggeration… but would you believe 3,000? 5,000? Depending on the eReader, it is possible to carry thousands of books on a device that weighs less than one pound! That’s pretty cool! Want to customize your reading experience? No problem! You can change the font style and size to suit your needs. With the variety of eReaders and tablets on the market, it’s not a question of IF but WHEN you will read eBooks. For poolside reading, it's hard to beat a good paperback. But when it comes to everyday use and factors like convenience and portability, the eReader is the clear choice! I love my iPad. What mobile device do you use? Why did you choose it? How are you using it? Post a comment... we would love to hear from you!

Free Reading Apps: Kindle or Nook? Yes, there’s an app for that. Did you know that you can download the Nook app for iPad, iPhone, Android, PC, or Mac? Most apps can be downloaded for multiple devices. Here’s a few reading apps that are worth checking out: Nook     Kindle     iBooks     Stanza  

Free eBooks:
Project Gutenberg- http://www.gutenberg.org/
Feedbooks-  http://www.feedbooks.com/publicdomain
Manybooks- http://manybooks.net/
Open Library- http://openlibrary.org/
Google Play-https://play.google.com/store/books/collection/topselling_free?feature=topselling-free

If you have a favorite site for free eBooks, please add it to our list. Happy Reading!

Web Resources of the Week:
Want to recycle your books? Swap a book using booksfreeswap. 
Would you like more information about eReaders and free eBooks? Check out Mobile Read Wiki. 

Tip of the Week: For the iPhone or iPhone User>In Safari
Did you know… by tapping and holding the .com button, Safari will offer you shortcuts for .org, .net, .edu, and more.