Top Trendy Tech Words for 2011

Through twitter, colleagues, and professional learning networks we get to hear all kinds of trendy tech words.  Here are the top ten of our favorite trendy tech words of 2011.

curate - (verb)  Gather information from the web and manage the information.  Think of an art curater getting ready for a gallery opening.  As a curater on the web you can collect information and create a great looking digital magazine in no time!

doc’n - (verb) Using Google Docs to rock a classroom! Share, collaborate, and publish!

iTot - (noun) Babies born with an iPad in their hand.  They only know the iRevolution!!

publish - (verb) The 21st century way to hand in an assignment.  Publish to the web, a blog, a teacher website, or on Twitter!

QR code - (noun)  A mysterious code that causes people to be so curious they have to scan it to see what it means!  A great way to make learning fun is to take kids on a QR scavenger hunt!

re-sync- (verb) Adding apps to iDevices.  Synch and resync are the names of the games.  Having the ability to resync your devices gives teachers the best control over what is best for their students.

teep:  (noun) Teacher friends who are on Twitter.  Think of “my peeps”, but the they are specifically teachers and connected via Twitter.

#tt4t - (noun)  Tech Tools For Teaching. The hashtag for all of our Bellevue Teeps or Tweeps!  Follow it, Use it, Love it!

validate - (verb, adjective)  1.  To make someone feel like they have been heard about a topic and that they are correct!  2.  The way people feel when they get a comment on something they publish

words with friends -  (noun)  A hugely popular online scrabble game connected to your social network.  One time I had 20 words with friends going at a time!  Never a dull moment when waiting to pick up a kid from piano!

Be An Expert In What You Have

The Christmas season is a time to consider, to ponder, to take a moment to rethink some goals and choices.  I know for myself I have declared 2012 the year of savings and more fitness.  As I become a more ardent user of my much-loved iPad I am beginning to realize that purchasing apps and using apps requires the same amount of consideration.

Everyday I get a great little email from one of my Scoop.it pages by John Evans that I follow.  A recent email had a list of the best APPS of 2011 by @coolcatteacher.  When I first began following this particular Scoop.it page I always got excited to view the newest APP or the top ten must have APPS, or how about the best Notetaking APP ever!  I’d eagerly click on the link and read through the review of the apps and, more often than not, download the app.  

What I discovered after this frequent routine was that I already had what I needed on my iPad.  As so often is the case there are multiple apps to do one task-take notes, edit photos, create a voice email, dictate notes.  During the Christmas season we are all bombarded by so many choices from food, gifts, bargains, and which parties to attend.  It’s important to be considerate in what you choose.  We often have more than we need.  The question becomes, “Does what I have work for me?”  If the answer is yes, then stop downloading repetitive apps.  Become an expert in the few you have.  

I still love getting that little email from Scoop.it, but now I am more careful and considerate as to what I dump onto my iPad.  I use Evernote, but I like Notability for the doodling capabilities.  But really, why do I need to doodle on my notes?  I can doodle on Doodlebuddy.  I use Flipboard for my reading and social media collections so I don’t need to get Zite.  We live in a culture of more is better, but personally being proficient in less makes me feel content.  

Merry Christmas to all of our readers!  Thank you for taking the time to read what we think is a valuable blog and stay considerate in your choices. 

Skype in the Classroom

Skype Resources

Skype is a free downloadable software that lets you do voice and video calls combined with instant messaging for free. The possibilities of Skype to flatten your classroom are endless. Here are a few ideas followed by resources you may be interested in!
1.Interview authors, astronauts and other amazing individuals from around the world.
2.Collaborate with classrooms, businesses and more in multi-disciplinary projects.
3.Explore a volcano, rain forest, or history museum in virtual field trips with experts in the field or even share your field trip experiences with others.
4.Practice conversational foreign languages with native speakers.
5.Provide additional support for students needing extra attention or unable to come to class.
6.Invite a guest lecturer from leading educators and experts from anywhere in the world.
7.Explore foreign cultures first hand with classroom to classroom video conferencing.
8.Broadcast a performance or project to parents and families unable to make it to school.
9.Access and share professional development opportunities with educators on the go.
10.Collaborate with innovative educators to plan units, lessons, and more.


Resources:
1. Using Skype at School for Dummies: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/using-skype-at-school.html

2. Skype in the Classroom. This article offers help on ways to set up Skype, tips for finding other teachers on Skype, technical obstacles, and more. http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/05_06_articles/skype-in-the-classroom.html


Here are a few ways to connect with others using Skype in classrooms and to promote education.


1. ePALS. Sign up for a free account here, then find other teachers and classes around the globe using Skype. http://www.epals.com/


2. Skype an Author Into Your Library or Classroom. This site will connect schools with authors through Skype. Short sessions are free, while longer sessions are subject to a fee set by each author. http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/


3. Skype in Schools. List yourself or find others in this directory just for educators seeking Skype collaboration. http://skypeinschools.pbworks.com/w/page/11008318/FrontPage


4. Skype in the Classroom – The EduSkypers Phonebook. Scroll through these comments to find other teachers from around the world looking to connect through Skype. The most recent are at the very end of the list. http://skypeintheclassroom.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/lets-build-a-community/#comments


5. Global SchoolNet. This organization works to connect teachers and students around the world through forensic science programs. Browse to find something of interest or start your own project. http://www.globalschoolnet.org/


6. Around the World with 80 Schools. This teacher is hoping to connect schools around the world through short Skype sessions. http://langwitches.org/blog/2009/01/03/around-the-world-with-80-schools/


7. Skype in the Classroom. Join this community to find other teachers seeking Skype connections.
http://maculspace.ning.com/group/skypeintheclassroom


8. Mixxer. This group helps connect language learners seeking partners to practice their language skills via Skype. http://www.language-exchanges.org/


Teachers and parents can benefit from Skype in the classroom, too.


1. Professional development. Teachers can use Skype to access professional development opportunities, such as watching conference presentations.
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/03/02/podcast231-global-voices-using-synchronous-and-asynchronous-voip-applications-for-worldwide-classroom-collaborations/


2. Share students’ work with parents. Let parents get a first-hand look at what their children are doing with Skype.


3. Conference with parents. Whether a parent has to miss a regular conference or a concern comes up that requires speaking with a parent, Skype can provide an opportunity to connect with a parent that may not otherwise be available for a conference.


4. Innovative teacher uses Skype and Wikis to involve parents. See how this teacher helped share information with parents using Skype and the PBS program, Growing Up Online.


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_1_frontlinebrgrowinguponline_2008-01-23


5. Collaborate with other teachers. Who says Skype has to be fun just for the kids? With Skype, teachers can collaborate on ideas, projects, and more.


http://coordinator2.wordpress.com/2007/05/13/skype-for-teachers/


6. Share travel experiences. If you will be traveling during the school year, arrange for your substitute to connect with you via Skype and you can share the experience with your class.


7. Receive teaching feedback. Have an experienced or mentor teacher watch you teach via Skype and receive valuable feedback.


8. Be available to students. If your school is suddenly closed for a while or if you want to set up conference hours for students, use Skype to allow students to contact you.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/25/nation/4188033&sec=nation


9.Bring busy parents into the classroom. A busy parent who has knowledge to share with the classroom may be more likely to be able to make the time for a presentation if she or he can do so with Skype rather than having to leave work and come to the school.

Collaboration Gone Global

It all started this morning with a tweet to @mr_fines, a Kindergarten teacher in my PLN on Twitter.  Within minutes, Mr. Jon Fines, was tweeting back lots of great technology lesson ideas to use with K-kids.

At that moment, collaboration went global and energy surged! You see, my colleague Jenny and I had been researching and surfing the web for ideas for half an hour  before we tapped the Twitter network.  When Fines chimed in, it was energizing, like a firework exploding with bright colors in a dark sky.

Our exchange went like this:
“I teach them to open Word,  increase font size, change font, then type the letters of the alphabet in order. Keyboarding+ Letter Assessment,” Fines tweeted.

“GREAT ideas!!! Thanks so much! We have Paint and Word, so will give that a try. Any Christmas ideas?” I asked.

“This is one of our Christmas favs. I use on IWB but PC's are great http://sprintsweets.com/ &http://bit.ly/8YSLHV is also a fun one,” Fines replied.

“You made my day!!! I LOVE these sites!!! Can't wait to share them with the kids this afternoon!!! Thanks for SHARING!!! Merry Christmas!”

“You're welcome. Anytime. Feel free to share. Meant to tweet that in regular stream. Have a great Christmas!”

After the Twitter collaboration, we were all fired up! Literally in fifteen minutes, I had three different, fantastic activities for my students!  Amazing!  It would have taken me hours to search the web just hoping to stumble across these great tools.

It continually amazes me how powerful the Twitter network is and how a simple Tweet can ignite  a lesson idea that is used right away.

Great QR Code Social Studies Project

Recently, I had the opportunity to help out with a great Social Studies project created by 4th grade teacher Mrs. Sharae Geldes (@SGeldes) from Two Springs Elementary School and I was so impressed!

She started by creating another page in her WEEBLY webpage called Tour The South and made pages with links to different places in the South and clues on each page.

She created QR codes on a Google QR creator of each page and printed the QR code.  She put those QR codes on a bright green paper backing and hung them all over the school for students to find.I helped by bringing a couple of iPads along & my iPod touch for the kids to use and of course being support and team-teaching with her.  Mrs. Geldes put her students together in groups of 3 or 4.  Armed with their IPads or iPod the students started around the school on the QR code scavenger hunt of the South.   THEY WERE SO ENGAGED!  and having a great time!  

As they went from Code to Code they had to write down specific information about what they found at each stop which they would turn into Mrs. Geldes at the end of class.

The following week my Colleague Ann Feldmann (@techiefeldie) and I returned to help with the project some more and have the students review the Weebly page.  Then in the computer lab Mrs. Geldes told them to pick one place out of the 10 that they would like to go to.  We fired up Google Earth and took the kids there and in most instances we were able to use street view and cruise around the actual places, buildings, & historic sites within the project.  The kids loved it!

I was struck by a couple of things within this project that Mrs. Geldes created and I assisted with:  once again students were engaged with the influence of technology within the lesson.  Making Social Studies come to life!

Finally, Mrs. Geldes spent some time to put this together, but she made this lesson so much better for the time she invested for her students.  Kudos to her!

I enjoyed being a part of it and am excited to take a project like this to others in the district.

Twitter and What To Do with All Those Resources!

When people ask us where we get all of our great ideas, 9 times out of 10 our answer is Twitter!  When you follow people on Twitter and build your connections you will become bombarded with ideas, thoughts, links, and opportunities for professional development.  One of the things we hear as trainers is “I don’t have time for Twitter” or “I don’t know what to do with all of those tweets!” 

We’d love to share with you some solid ways of using Twitter and organizing resources that you will inevitably and thankfully be exposed to.  First, register for a Twitter account at twitter.com.  Once you’ve done this you will probably want to use a different platform like Tweetdeck to organize your friends, mentions, and direct messages as well as certain hashtags like ours, #tt4t.  Tweetdeck is an open site at BPSS.  Tweetdeck allows you to create columns that helps to organize the information coming in.  Using hashtags allows you to follow certain topics related to your interests.  Check out this site that lists all of the educational hashtags you might want to follow.

Second, don’t expect to read every tweet that might fall into your tweetdeck columns.  There is just no way to keep up with it all of the time and that is o.k.  Some people set aside some time each day or week to check in and see what is going on with the people you follow.  You also might become aware of weekly online chats and that would be a time to check in and be a part of some excellent edchats!

Third, use a tool like ReadItLater add-on button to your internet browser.  It is a free download and only takes a few seconds to load.  This favorite little tool allows you to literally read something later.  This is helpful when you click on a link from a tweet but might not have time to read it right away.  Once your link is in the readitlater column sitting on your browser you can go back to it when you have more time to sit and read all those great articles!  Then you decide if it’s a page you want to bookmark for good or just check it off your read it later list and it magically disappears.
 
Using Twitter really helps build your own professional development!  If you don’t want to tweet, then don’t, but at least take some time to check it out and follow a couple of people.  It’s like having a ton of smart people at your disposal.  When you are in need of some ideas, direction, or just want to connect with someone like you Twitter does the job and does it quick! 

Being Fully Present

As a technology facilitator of K-12 teachers I am often struck by the lack of engagement of some of our participants.  I know that teachers are swamped with so many demands that to them life feels like a juggling act on a unicycle going full-speed ahead.  I get it- I did it for fifteen years.  I remember how dog-tired I would be at the end of a long and emotional day.  Friday’s were like heaven when we could slow down a bit, watch a video- relevant of course- play some games and just work a little less.  It reflects negatively on teachers, I know, but let’s be real.  Being ON all the time is exhausting and sometimes our kiddos need a break as well. 

Having said that, I’ve experienced training session where people show up to technology training without a charged laptop, or a stack of papers to grade, or unfinished online business.  I’ve often heard negatively charged sighs of exasperation when presented with a new tool.  Or how about the ever-complaining comment of “I don’t know what my password is!”  And yes, it would be easier if everyone had a chip imbedded that would log you into every site automatically, but also a little bit scary! 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone was fully present in the moment, whatever that moment may be?  Whether the moment is a required training, or having a conversation with a loved one, or being in a public place, being fully present enriches your personal and professional life.

I recently came across a couple of articles that struck a chord with these thoughts.  There are actually specific behaviors you can practice to increase being fully present and listening in the moment.  It kind of goes like this:
Be helpful by finding ways to participate or help out a neighbor, family member, colleague, or service provider.  You will feel good about your behavior and you will impact another life, if only for that moment.
Be curious by asking thoughtful questions.  Your questions might spur on further conversation that will increase your own learning and show that you genuinely care about the other person or the topic on which you are being trained. 
Being available is another way to say, “Hey, I am here right now.”  It shows that you are engaged in the moment.  You can show you are available by tweeting regularly, showing eye contact in person, nodding your head, or using those simple phrases like “Oh” and “Ah”.
Be respectful.  Even if you feel reluctant to learn a new tool or feel frustrated by overcoming a personal obstacle, stay positive and avoid negative comments directed at the person in your midst.  Negative comments that aren't heard by everyone delivers negative energy into the room. 
Have fun!  Life is too short to not have fun in your daily activities.  Laughter truly is the best medicine!  It is also infectious.  One of the things I love about my job is that we laugh!  A lot!!  It eases tension and gives us some perspective.

I love it when I come across a person who is present in the moment and positive about what is happening around them.  It is one of the common threads that I experience with my athlete friends.  Yes, sometime we are uncomfortable, but we get through it with a positive attitude and enjoy each moment that we are given.  Being fully present lifts your spirits and pushes you to be your best as well!  Let’s all practice being in the moment!  Who knows, you might just surprise yourself!