Resources Every Teacher Needs to Know About...

One of the biggest complaints I hear from teachers is that they just don't have enough time in the day to grade papers, commit to extra duties, attend workshops, or search the web for professional learning opportunities.  And I have to say that I agree - it is very hard to fit all of that into a busy schedule.  But one big things that has helped me  this year, is that our school district has joined SimpleK12.  

In terms of professional growth, it takes a great deal of time and many don't have that time, but the question that keeps nagging is whether or not you want to...

* Learn about the latest technologies helping other teachers excel?

* Join discussions with other educators about implementing new standards? 
* Stay in tune with what matters most in today's schools?
* Feel up-to-speed on the "latest and greatest" strategies and tools? 

All these questions are important to our roles as teachers.  Finding all of these things is a huge task, and SImpleK12 makes it a little easier by putting it all in one community.

If you answered YES to any of the above, join me inside the hottest education resource: SimpleK12’s Teacher Learning Community.

==> Create a FREE Basic Membership Today.
http://community.simplek12.com/scripts/student/courses/view.asp?lid=1003116

SimpleK12, the leading provider of 21st century teacher professional development, brings the fun, energy, and excitement back into learning.

200,000+ educators from around the world have access to SimpleK12's PD resources, information, and training ... and you can too!

Take learning into your own hands and explore the fastest-growing social network and Professional Development community for educators...

==> Create a FREE Basic Membership.
http://community.simplek12.com/scripts/student/courses/view.asp?lid=1003116

I look forward to seeing you inside the Community!

ISTE 2014

So today I head out of town to Atlanta for the ISTE 2014 conference.  I can't wait to get there.  This conference is always so full of information, I never have time to gather it all together, but I always know I will come back with some valuable information.  As always, I will be posting articles about each session I attend.  Hopefully the few of you that follow me will find this information handy.  My goal this year is to increase my postings on this site in an effort to get my thoughts down and create a knowledge base for questions that teachers have throughout the course of the year.



If you aren't familiar with the ISTE conference or the organization, I highly recommend you check it out. ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education.  Formerly known as NECC (National Education Computing Conference), ISTE has generated a large knowledge base of information regarding technology for the classroom.  Additionally, they are at the forefront of developing standards for computer science in the classroom and technology in teaching.  My primary interest is as a Professional Development teacher and Instructional Coach.

If you've never checked out their site, do so - https://www.iste.org/  .  While there, check out their standards page - https://www.iste.org/standards.  They have written standards for:

• Students
• Teachers
• Administrators
• Technology Coaches
• Computer Science Educators

All of the information on these pages is very valuable in guiding technology instruction.  Check it out.

Also, don't forget to check back here this week for my posts on ISTE 2014 Conference Sessions.

The Best Moodle Tools You've Never Used ISTE 2013

Presented by Michelle Moore
http://bit.ly/moorebesttools - slides from presentation.

Michelle's presentation is based on experience working with schools who are Moodle users. As she worked with each school she began to notice that there were tools that the schools were not taking full advantage of.

Using Moodle 2, there are several tools of which many schools are not aware. A short list she mentions includes:

Book
Lesson
Glossary
Workshop
Conditional activities

These are not plugins and are native to Moodle 2.0

Book:

When created, a book activity includes navigation buttons and a glossary.
This can be incorporated into 1.9 as a plugin. This tool allows you to provide content in chunks, it is easy to access, and easy to edit. Pages or whole books can be printed from inside Moodle. One benefit is that it provides multiple pages of content combined into one package rather than several individual page links. This reduces the number of links on a course page. It is more compatible with mobile devices as well. Students can automatically link to pages too. One step editing allows you to edit faster. No need to create a word doc, upload and then g back trough several steps to update later. Auto-linking is available for this tool, which means that as a title of an activity is created, Moodle automatically creates a link to it. Auto linking can be turned on in the admininstrator settings.

Ideas for the book module would be to include student generated content on the site. Student presentations can be created in this format. This is a great way to share public information on the front page of your Moodle site. In any case, books allow use of text, photos, video, and audio files.

Lesson:

Similar to book with additional advantages. It does show content in page format, but you can step customize the nav buttons. Content can include questions or a check for understanding along the way which can be tracked. This helps students understand what you think is important. This tool also allows self-directed learning, meaning students can choose the path they take trough the document. The biggest advantage is that this tool increases learner engagement.

Ideas for this tool include presenting student generated content, projects, or a project guide. A project guide allows new users in a course to utilize a walk-through for the course - Seamless orientation.

Glossary:

This tool is used to share terminology. This is especially useful for new users/students in a course. Also a good tool to share best practices, collections of web links, etc.... Items can be searched and rated by student users. Students can print and contribute to the glossary as well. Glossary terms are auto-linked. Glossary can be setup as a bio list of users. Use random glossary entry block to show new glossary items each day.

Ideas for this tool include we link collection, FAQs, forms database, biographies, etc....

Workshop:

Difficult to learn, but great tool. This is a peer review or peer assessment tool. Students can complete work, or answer questions, and submit to Moodle. Then the instructor can determine which students evaluate each other. The evaluation tool can be setup by the instructor. Students are forced to evaluate the number of students you determine and then the end result is that you receive a feedback grade based on peer review. Note: This tool was used in my graduate classes and works very well!
This could be used as an online evaluation for a face to face presentation.

Conditional Activities:

This item may be disabled by default, so you'll need to turn it on (admin leader). Conditions on an activity can be set by date or on completion of an another activity. Conditions can be set based on grade or performance. For instance, if a student scores 60% or below, a condition could be set to have them redo a previous activity. Wonderful for differentiated instruction or remediation. Could also be used for game play.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Does Twitter Improve Educators or Education?

I found this article (http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/6792) recently in a Tech & Learning newsletter. It asks the question: Does the use of Twitter improve education? I have my own twitter account, but I rarely read it and if you looked at my posts, you wouldn't get much out of it. What I use it for is to follow others in education so I can keep up with trends. I have done this by turning my twitter feed into a daily newspaper on paper.li. This allows me to keep up on all the education and technology news, without having to constantly bury my nose in my phone or tablet.


Read the article and see the train of thought of the author. Do you use twitter? How are your using it?

I Flipped for Classroom Technology

As a classroom teacher, the drive to find new techniques and innovations that will increase student motivation has been a driving force behind classroom purchases. As I face each new year, I find that the students I encounter are not that different from previous years, but their preferred mode of learning has changed. When I look back on the teaching methods I received in high school, I remember sitting and listening while my teachers lectured for the entire class period. In comparison to those days, I find that today’s students are more interested in classroom tools that allow them to interact with one another and learn by doing.

The concept of providing hands on experiences for digital learners is a reality today. Just within the past ten years, technology has changed to the extent that I can provide engaging activities to my students, in and out of the classroom. The disruption that has occurred with regard to technology in the classroom is tremendous. Technology has created a world where teachers can provide instruction, facilitate learning, and engage in meaningful discussion with students thanks to a variety of classroom tools and online curriculum. Students are no longer tied to the sage on the stage. They have the ability to search out new information on their own. As well, the teacher has the benefit of engaging with students on a new level as a facilitator of learning. Watch the following video to see how technology has reinvented my classroom and reinvented the way my district looks at technology: