Tech Tuesday for February 10

Happy Tech Tuesday everyone. I hope everyone is feeling well and has great plans for the upcoming break. I've got some great tools to share with you that will help you and your students.

EasyBib Google Docs Add-On

Getting students to properly cite their work is an ongoing issue in the classroom. While many of us had to memorize the proper format of citations in a bibliography, there are now tools available for students to use that make it easy for them to create their works cites pages. EasyBib has a Google Docs Add-on that allows users to create bibliographies right in the documents so they do not have to leave the page. They can cite, books, journals, and websites right from the Google Doc. Here is a video that walks through this cool add-on to Google Docs.

Research Tool in Google Docs

There is a great tool in Google Docs that also allows you to do research, add footnotes, and cite images. Here is a video that walks you through how to do this so you can show it to your students. 

PD Without Borders

I wanted to share one last resource with you. As part of my Google Certified Teacher program, GCTs had to create a project that is designed to improve education. A teacher from Mexico and a teacher from Canada have come together with me to create short videos to show off cool webtools that can be used in the classroom. We will be uploading 3 videos a month and I'll share those out when the become available. Here is one of the first videos that shows a very neat tool that allows users to take notes on a Google Doc while watching a YouTube video on the same page. It is called Videonot.es and it is great. Check it out!

If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Have a great day and I hope you give them a try!

Tech Tuesday for October 15

Happy Tech Tuesday everyone! I have some great things to share with you this week. Now that the school year has settled down a bit, I will get back to sharing on a more regular schedule. If you ever need help with specific tech tools, feel free to contact me and I will do my best to find a time to meet with you and lend a hand.

Crash Course

I was very lucky to get to hang out at YouTube's offices last week and talk education and technology to some really great people. YouTube is trying to create more videos that can help students and teachers deal with complicated topics. There were some great content creators at this meeting and I was excited to share some of the wonderful resources you might want to use in class, post on your website or share with your students.

Crash Course is just one of many great YouTube sites dedicated to helping explain complex topics. Crash Course has a Playlist that focuses on Chemistry, Biology, Ecology, World History, US History and Literature. They approach these topics in a fun and interesting way that some of your students are already using to help them with their work. Here is an example of a Chemistry video by Crash Course.

I think this is a great resource for teachers looking to spice up their class or website with helpful videos. I will be sharing more YouTubeEDU channels over the next few months that can be used to help the amazing things you already do in your classroom. Stay tunes!

Google Apps Tips

I wanted to share another quick site that can help you explore the use of Google Apps. This site offers tips on how to use Google Docs, GMail, Calendar and Chrome. If you have wanted to use Google more in your classroom, this is a great site to help you understand the different elements. 

Tech Tuesday for October 23

Hello everyone! It's been a while since my last Tech Tuesday, but I wanted to reach out and share some nice resources with all of you. If you check out the posts below this one, you will see some great posts on Livescribe, Turnitin.com, Evernote and Blogger. They are filled with tutorial videos to show you how to get the most out of each tool. Check them out and let me know if I can help. 

EdcampOU

There is a great conference this Saturday at Oakland University. Edcamp OU is an unconference similar to the one I host in Detroit (edcamp Detroit). It's a great day of teacher led Professional Development where you can learn many great strategies to enhance classroom instruction. This is NOT a technology conference, this is an education conference that might have some technology sessions. I plan to be there and meet some of the great teachers presenting. If you are free this Saturday, checkout EdcampOU.


Google Apps for Education

For those of you interested in learning how to use the different tools available to you on your Google Account, here is a link that will take you to many different resources on how to use them. It is a great resource that will help you figure out Google Docs, Google Search, Google Maps, etc. Take a minute and see what you can add to your classroom using these tools.

Instructional Technology Team

As part of the School-Wide Initiative, our team has been looking for ways to share technology tips with our building to better support the integration of technology into classrooms. Those posts will be tagged with "South Tech Tip" so they can be easily searchable  for everyone in the building. We will also let you know who is offering the tip so you can ask follow up questions. I also want to say that everyone is always welcome to share a cool tech tip that the rest of the school should look at. This site is a great resources for those types of tips and I want everyone to be involved. Email me a tip and I will add it to the blog for the next Tech Tuesday Update.

Thanks for your time,

Nick

Google Information and Using My Blog

With the new information regarding Google shared by the district, I wanted to remind you that I have an entire page dedicated to Google Apps for Education that you can take a look at when you have free time. It is above this post in the menu bar. It will show you the many different Google Apps that are available to students and staff and how to use them. If you have any questions, please email me and I will be happy to help. I'm free during both lunches and would be happy to sit and talk about any questions you might have.

I also wanted to share some information on using my site. As it has grown over the past few years, it might be hard for some people to find information they are looking for quickly. Here are some screen shots I hope will make the search a bit easier.

You can find information on the most used items in the district in the main menu. 

You can search my blog for specific items by using the search box on the right.

You can find some topics that have been tagged by looking at the tag widget on the right. 

I hope this helps you with looking for information and trying new things this year. If there is something you are looking for and you can't seem to find it, let me know and I will help you out. 

Thanks!

Nick

Last Tech Tuesday of 2011-2012

Good afternoon everyone. I hope this post finds you all well. I wanted to make sure I sent out the last Tech Tuesday of the year on Tuesday.

While I will be continue to explore and catalogue awesome new sites over the summer, I will not be updating the page until the school year starts. Thanks for all of the support and kind words. It's always nice to know that the site is helping teachers.

Here are some final plugs for those interested in attending a conference or getting some Grad credit over the summer. 

The Digital Teaching Series
I'm teaching a grad class online on Project Based Learning using Web Tools. If you are interested in exploring 21st Century instruction, consider taking my course.

The summer is a great time to relax, but also get needed credit hours. Here is a great program that offers online professional development from experts.

6 Week Courses

4.5 CEUs

3 Graduate credits available

The Digital Teacher Series is perfect for you if you:

• Want to dramatically improve student engagement and retention during your class
• Recognize the need to meet your “digital learners” on a new level
• Are feeling pressured to utilize district-purchased technology
• Understand your role in preparing your students to become “online learners”

There are 6 course on a wide variety of digital topics that are worth checking out.

 

Michigan Google Conference

Michigan has it's own official Google Conference set for October 19th. Registration is open and I encourage teachers that are interested in exploring what the free tools that Google has to offer can bring to their classroom. I may be biased as a featured speaker, but trust me when I tell you that this will be a valuable conference for teachers looking to learn more about Google tools. I encourage you to sign up quickly before space runs out.

Below you will find links to topics I have covered on this site. Each link will take you to posts that contain the topic I tagged them.

I hope everyone has a great summer and I look forward with working with all of you in the Fall.

Dropbox           Elementary               English               Google               Math         

Science             Smartboards            Social Media      Social Studies    Technology

I hope everyone has an awesome summer and I hope you will give some of these a try.

NP

Tech Tuesday for May 22

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying the wonderful weather we are having. I have some nice resources for you to check out if you have a spare moment.

The Digital Teaching Series

The summer is a great time to relaz, but also get needed credit hours. Here is a great program that offers online professional development from experts.

6 Week Courses

4.5 CEUs

3 Graduate credits available

The Digital Teacher Series is perfect for you if you:

• Want to dramatically improve student engagement and retention during your class
• Recognize the need to meet your “digital learners” on a new level
• Are feeling pressured to utilize district-purchased technology
• Understand your role in preparing your students to become “online learners”

There are 6 course on a wide variety of digital topics that are worth checking out.

Bloomin' Apps

Here is a great collection of apps put together by Kathy Schrock that focuses on Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. If you are always wondering where certain web-tools fall in Bloom's, this is a great place to start looking. Here is one example of Google Apps in Bloom's format.

Voicethread

Here is a great post on how to use Voicethread. This is a wonderful web-tool that students love to use. This post will help you get started. Here is a video that will explain Voicethread in more detail.

Tech Tuesday for May 15

Happy Tech Tuesday everyone. I have some great resources to share with all of you, so let's get to it.

US Govt Educator

Here is a great blog that also has links to World History and US History. Some of the information is cross posted on the three sites, but the sites come highly recommended by Mrs. Nardone at Grosse Pointe South, so I promised her I would share with the rest of you.

It's been a while since I've been in Social Studies, but these blogs have many great resources for teachers looking to engage their students in many different ways. These blogs are worth saving on your computer to view when you have some free time. There are great ideas that might be perfect for you to use next year.

Google Scholar

Here is a great site that teachers might need as they work on advanced degrees or students could use for their research papers. Google Scholar is a search engine that allows you to search scholarly papers. Seems pretty simple because it is. The link at the top takes you to a site that explains how it works and provides a link to Google Scholar. This is just another awesome tool for teachers to add to their tool belt.

Little Alchemy

This is a little fun site that would work on your SmartBoard. It will come up blocked for students, so you will need to access it from your teacher station. Using Fire, Wind, Water and Earth, you can create 270 objects. Your job is to find all 270 different combos. I played for a little bit and it's fun. I could see this being used in Science classes across the district. Check it out.

Social Media for Administrators

Do not let the title fool you, this is really for everyone. Our district has passed new policy regarding the user of Social Media. Students are using it. Parents are using it. Businesses are using it. Schools need to be using it. These blog posts were put together by my friend George Couros. Although Canadian (kidding), he is an expert in educational technology and these posts are worth reading as we enter the Social Media age in Grosse Pointe Pubic Schools.

Give these tools a try!

Tech Tuesday for May 1

Happy May Day everyone! I apologize for the long space between posts, but I've been working hard with many of the great teachers in this district on integrating technology into their lessons. I've also been putting together a Google Apps for Education resource page. Many teachers have asked about the various Google tools and I thought a page dedicated to the various Google Apps might come in handy for the district in the future. If you are a Google person, please take a moment to look at the resources for the various tools. I'm a Google Guy and I am always learning something new.

Digital Citizens 

Here is a great article on digital citizenship that teachers should take some time to read. Schools have always prided themselves with creating good citizens. The definition of "good citizen" looks very different in the digital age. How are you helping create good digital citizens in your class?

Web Tools Finder

Finding new web tools to add to your tool box can be a daunting task. There are so many out there and you are not sure if they are right for you. In this post, you will be able to see 5 sites that will help you find the perfect tool for you. This is worth bookmarking for the summer as you explore ways to integrate technology into your lessons.

Online Photo Editing Options

Mashable put together a list of 7 Free Alternatives to Picnik. Too often teachers are looking for ways to edit photos for various lessons and do not want to spend the money or the time using Photoshop. While none of these offer all of the same resources as Photoshop, they will provide what most people need in photo editing. If you are looking for more tools for students to utilize without the expense, take a look at these free alternatives for your next project.

Super Awesome Tips and Tricks for you iPad

Here is an awesome site that gives you over 40 tips and tricks with your iPad. Starting with taking a screenshot and ending with setting up restrictions, this post shares everything you need to know about your favorite tablet. You might not get all of these at once, but the page is worth saving for later.

Interactive Whiteboard Resources

Here is a list of 65 resources that will work well on your Smartboard. I did not try out every single site to see if they would play well on our computers, but there are plenty that do work and could go over well in class. Check these out and share with others when you find ones you like.

Don't forget to check out the Google Apps for Education page I created. It is full of amazing resources to help you utilize GAFE in your classroom and professional life.

- Give it a try!