Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Tech Tuesday - Google Chrome



Here are a few tutorials that cover the topics we talked about at Tech Tuesday on Google Chrome:

Managing Tabs


Bookmarking


Chrome Store


Monday, September 22, 2014

Great site for interactive board - ABCya

Need a great educational game site that has activities for students at their own computers as well as activities perfect for an interactive board? Try ABCya.com!

This website groups games by grade level and offers K-5th grade activities. Some are designed for students to use a keyboard, while other games can easily be played on an interactive board. Break students into groups and play as teams. Setup this site on a student computer in the classroom for a center. Bookmark it on the desktop of your computer lab machines. There are lots of way to use this engaging educational games.

And just because it says it is designed for elementary students doesn't mean that middle school, high school, or adult learners won't enjoy this site! Try a game and see what I mean!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Tech Tuesdays

Beginning on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, Bay City Instructional Technology will host sessions in the Bay City Junior High Library from 4-5 pm. Each session will address a different tech tool for use in the classroom. Visit the Training page on our website (www.baycityedtech.wix.com/site) for more information and to register for a session.

And email Jennifer Wyatt with future session ideas jwyatt@bcblackcats.net


Friday, September 12, 2014

Connecting Classrooms

I remember being a student and having a pen pal in France. It was arranged by our teacher and we each got a student to communicate with. Of course, our only contact was writing letters and maybe they would send us a picture so we could see what they looked like. It was an interesting experience to learn about culture and language.

With the help of technology, we see students connecting with other students in new and exciting ways. Watch this video below for a creative way for students in Brazil to practice their English speaking skills.



Schools are using Google Hangouts and Skype to connect classrooms across their district, the country and the globe. Conversations between teachers start on message boards, twitter, and other social media. That correspondence develops into connecting classrooms for single meetings, scheduled projects, and long term collaborations where video conferencing is only a small part.

Connected Classrooms with Google has created a hybrid virtual field trip & connected classroom opportunity. Classes can participate in live events where they can interact with the presenters and other connected classes using Google Hangouts. Or since each event is recorded with Hangouts on Air, classes can watch previously recorded events.

Here are a few I really love:

Jim Henson's Creature Shop

Dog Sledding Thru Google Glass

I also really love the Mystery Skype project where you connect two classrooms and they have to guess where each group is located.

Here is what it can look like in the classroom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZdMnkWHG7s

Challenge yourself to connect with another classroom this year. Try another school in the district or another district in the state. Open up the world to your students this year.



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Virtual Field Trips

In these times of rapidly changing technology, the world has become a very connected place. No longer does your budget have to be a stumbling block for bringing great experiences to your students. Instead, using virtual field trips can bring these life-changing experiences to you.

What is a virtual field trip?

Virtual field trips come in many shapes and sizes. Some are video tours that are shared online for anyone to view. Some have an interactivity to them that allows the participant to customize their experience. Still others may include a completely live viewing and interactivity with the presenters. Virtual field trips can happen in the lab with each student using a computer, in the classroom projected from the teacher's computer or presented to a large group via video conferencing equipment.

I have added links to some great Virtual Field Trips on the Bay City Ed Tech Resource page:

http://baycityedtech.wix.com/site#!page4/cfvg


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Drinking Starbucks and Eating Elephants

I am convinced that I could work from a Starbucks. It is the perfect office. Coffee? Check! Snacks? Check! Comfy seating? Check! Free wifi? Check! Now let's ignore the fact that I would have to actually purchase coffee and snacks to make it my office and thus be paying them to work from their comfy seating and use their free wifi. Anyways, Starbucks is my office for this lovely Sunday afternoon. And this Grande Mocha Frap Light is quite yummy! (The barista did ask me a crazy question though. Did I want whipped cream on my light coffee. Of course I would like it but wouldn't that defeat the purpose of making it light!?! It's like eating a cheeseburger with a Diet Coke and expecting the absence of calories in the drink to somehow impact the calories in the cheeseburger.)

So we have finished week two of the 2014-15 school year. I know it has been wild and crazy in the tech dept! Hopefully we will all get into a groove and rock this new school year.

I have always been one that gets excited about change. I love new things, new ideas, new technologies. Some people love change and challenge, while others are happy with the status quo and fear change with a passion. Some people may fall into the gray area between those two extremes, but my experience is that when it comes to change, it is very black and white.

I have been really excited by recent developments. Several teachers have said they created and used Kahoot quizzes in their classes this week. I saw a class use GoNoodle. I have watched teachers doing great things and wanting to learn more. That's awesome! But some of you may still be a bit uncomfortable with bringing more technology into your world.

Like most mothers, my mom is a wealth of wisdom. She is a career educator too and many people have told us we are two peas in a pod when it comes to our drive and ambition. Needless to say, she is my go-to-gal for advice. Countless times her advice to me is "Jennifer, you eat an elephant a bite at a time." I think this mantra is appropriate for our current journey to put more focus on integrating technology in the classroom.

When you look at any organization, the usage and acceptance of technology will be varied based on the age of the members, their experiences, background, and access.  Some members are ready to jump in with both feet whiles others are not. It's like eating an elephant. Some people have a baby elephant to eat while others have a tough old bull elephant to chew and digest. Both scenarios are possible. The number of bites and the effort in chewing them is the only difference.

It is my belief that each person is capable of being successful on this tech journey. It won't happen overnight. It may not happen in a single school year. But it can happen as long as we keep taking bites together.

Pick one new tool and use it this week. Pick a new tool and use it the next week. Keep trying a new tool a week (or a month) and continue to take those bites. They won't all be successful. You have find a tool that is not right for you and your students, but at least you tried it. And remember that I am here to help as we journey together. Email me, call me, contact me and I will happily assist as best I can.




Friday, September 5, 2014

Homework Dropbox with Google Forms & a Challenge



As promised here is a video tutorial on how to create a homework dropbox for your students' online projects:


And here is the challenge! Go to www.classtools.net and create something. It can be anything from the Classtools.net site. When you have finished creating your project, click the floppy disk icon to save it and follow the prompts to get the URL to the finished project. Turn in your project on the form below. The best projects will be shared on this blog next week. Good luck & have fun!!!

BCISD Classtools.net Challenge Submission Form

Thursday, September 4, 2014

BCHS Tech Time with Jennifer Episode 1

Here is the presentation (that didn't work during the faculty meeting!):



Classtools.net (www.classtools.net) is a free site for you and your students to use. I really like the following parts of this site:

Random Name Picker: Use this tool to create a way to pick students for presentations, questions for review, homework assignment, etc. Here is an example: http://www.classtools.net/widgets/fruit_machine_6/4nsqf.htm

Classroom Timer: Set the timer and bring in a YouTube video to play in the background. You can also set timers to run in a sequence or at the same time. Here is an example (made especially for Mr. Townsend) http://www.classtools.net/timer/?to=1&t1=Classtools.net%20Countdown%3A%20Click%20to%20edit&l1=709&s1=youtube--709---i6wNgg5kq4&

Arcade Game Generator: Turn your review questions into a game and let the students decide what game they want to play. Here is an example: http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_60/Sample_ZNFLS.htm

Also look at the Twister, Fakebook, SMS Generator, Brainybox, Timeline Tool, and more!!!