Tabaldo on Tech

Teaching with Technology in the 21st Century

Tabaldo on Tech - Teaching with Technology in the 21st Century

Monthly Archives: March 2013

Google+ Communities & Engrade

 

ToT-G+                    ToT-engrade

SITE 2013 Conference Gems

Today is Day 2 of the SITE (Society of Information Technology & Teacher Education) 2013 Conference in New Orleans, LA. I have heard some great gems, two of them I want to post today, more will follow!

Google+ Communities

If your school is using Google Apps for Education, and you (like me) have been using Google Groups as a discussion forum, I would encourage you to create a Community on Google+ and invite your students to it. You can create topics just like in Groups, but the students can interact with it more like a social media environment. They can post, comment, upload video, take video right on the spot, have a Hangout with other students online, embed YouTube and watch from within the post. The community is secure and private, only those you invite are in there. It is a great way to engage with your students in a more dynamic environment.

Still concerned about school security? The US Naval Academy just announced they are using Google Apps for Government. I think if Google Apps is secure enough for the US Navel Academy then you can feel safe.

 

Engrade

Looking for a FREE gradebook option? Here is Engrade. Engrade is easy to use and the bonus is that if you are using Google Apps for Education, and have a Google Site, you can embed the Engrade widget into the site to allow the students to see their grades. Engrade uses the student login to authenticate the user and only displays the information of the user logged in.  Schools and teachers are praising Engrade, and I think you will too.

Thanks to Dr. Robert Allen Moody (Doc) of Fort Hays State University for sharing your great work with us!

As always, please post your comments below and join in the conversation.
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Win A Classroom Makeover!

Score up to $10,000 in new classroom furniture that will turn an ordinary classroom into a learning paradise.

ToT-Hertz Furniture

Enter to win today!

Last day to enter is 4/17/13.

 Click here for more information.

Today’s 5 Fave – Apps

5 fave apps that all teachers, students and administrators need!

 

1.     EVERNOTE

Evernote-icon

Evernote is an app that keeps everything organized for you using tags and a notebook based filing system. This app is available on ANY device (computer, web, smartphone, tablet) so if you have an internet connection you can access your data. You can type directly into Evernote, upload documents, insert pictures, record audio, clip from a web browser and more. For more information on Evernote see my other posts. Continue reading →

Technology in Common Core

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/6660004183/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/6660004183/in/photostream/

There is no escaping Technology when it comes to Common Core

When it comes to Common Core, it is a fact that our students will need to be fluent when it comes to technology. Students will need to be able to navigate the web, discern important and relevant information, research, prepare and present all using the technology in the classrooms. Common Core assessments will also be taken online, so students need to know how to use the web tools available to them during testing.

So here are a few of my concern as we begin the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation.   Continue reading →

6 Steps To A Flipped Classroom (by TeachThought.com)

 

ToT6stepsFlip

TeachThought.com has just posted these steps to Flip your classroom:

Step 1: Decide which technology you will use. Continue reading →

Technology – A Time & A Place?

Pope Then and Now

Photo courtesy of NBCNews

The Announcement of the New Pope 2005 & 2013

This past week many of us watched live via the News Channels or a streaming website the announcement of the new Pope. My hope is that Catholic Schools around the nation tuned in to watch.

The photo above was posted on Facebook with this caption:

Wow – Pictures ARE worth 1,000s of word … My how time & technology change things … (not always for the better)
This happened yesterday and seeing all of the phones (and ipad ;)) leads the question: Are we too often trying to capture the moment instead of living in the moment, or, can you do both? Tell us what you think… (photo via NBC news).

Are we too often trying to capture the moment instead of living in the moment, or, can you do both?

My response was that we were “Capturing the moment allows us to re”live” the moment again and again. I think it is great!”

What are your thoughts on this topic? Were all these devices inappropriate at this holy occasion? Are we missing some of life’s precious moments because we are distracted by our gadgets? You do not have to be Catholic to see this is an interesting debate.

Please post your thoughts here.

48 Free Educational Apps Rated and Sorted by Grade Level

ToT_48 Free AppsTeachThought.com posts 48 Free Educational Apps Rated & Sorted

Thanks to TeachThought.com and Gary Toews, Education Consultant at Abbotsford School District, for putting together the following list of some of the best free educational apps, helpfully sorting them by grade level, and even assigning a rating to each as well.

 

Hack the Classroom Event coming to Los Angeles

ToT -HTCLMU

What:

Hack the Classroom brings together educators and technologists for one day events to catalyze conversations about how technology can dramatically improve education.  These events are a unique opportunity to talk about technology in schools, the challenges teachers are facing, the tools they are using, and the solutions they are working on to meet students’ needs.

Hosted by:

LMU-Seal_+_SOE

Featured sessions to include:

  • App Workshops: Learn hands on skills to help you maximize Google Docs, iPad Apps, Evernote, and more taught by educators with real classroom applications from how they use apps to hack their classrooms.
  • Big Idea Talks: Get inspired by the possibilities of technology through topics like Technology as Core Ciriculuum, Flipping the Classroom, and Teaching Programming as a Second Language.
  • Group Discussions: Use tools like Design Thinking to articulate challenges and brainstorm solutions to transform the future of education.

Additional Benefits:

  • Earn hours towards your professional development.
  • Create community with educators and technologists sharing a passion for technology in the classroom.

When

Saturday, April 13, 2013
8am – 2:30pm

Where

Conrad Hilton Center
Loyola Marymount University
1 Loyola Marymount University Drive
Los Angeles, 90045

Who

Because this event is hosted by Loyola Marymount, this Hack the Classroom focuses on K-12 educators working at Catholic schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.  Future Hack The Classroom events will be organized for other educator groups.

Why

Technology poses an opportunity to personalize education for students, improve teacher livelihoods, and help address the great challenges facing education today.  Hack the Classroom seeks to empower educators with the tools they need to “hack their classrooms” and, in doing so, transform the state of education.

Buy Tickets twitter

Found Shmoop?

ToT-Shmoop

 

Shmoop online resources look very engaging for Students and Teachers alike!

I was looking for some online resources for math and science and ran across SHMOOP!. This Shmoop site has so much to offer when it comes to resources for your students.

Shmoop will make you a better lover (of literature, history, life). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time. Don’t worry… we’ll have it back home at a reasonable hour.

With Student Learning Guides like: Literature, Bible, Poetry, Shakespeare  Mythology, Bestsellers  Dr. Seuss, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Calculus, Biology, & US History, you will also find resources like: DMV, SAT, ACT, AP Exams, En Espanol and Videos.

They offer online Teacher Resources (for a small fee ~$5/guide) as well as Test Prep & College Readiness (also for fee help.)

Our Mission

Shmoop means “move something forward a little bit.” The phrase reflects our company mission, which is to shine a little light into the dark corners of students’ minds. We believe that great and difficult concepts can be explained clearly, succinctly, and with a compelling storyline. In “telling the tale” behind seemingly intangible subjects, we humanize them and make them accessible to everyone.

Sincerely,
The Shmoop Team

 

Teaching with Technology Webinar

ToT-FoDToday my colleague, Joshua Rivera, an Educational Technologist, and I delivered a webinar to the Catholic Educators’ Forum members. The webinar was our first for this Forum, and our first together. I think we knocked it out of the park! The presentation is posted here (without audio of course) and the links to all the resources we talked about are posted below as well. Continue reading →