Tabaldo on Tech

Teaching with Technology in the 21st Century

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

Evernote – A “How-To” Series (2)

Part 2 of a Series of “How-To” Videos on Evernoteevernote_logo_4c

This is the second post in a series of posts with videos on getting familiar with Evernote. If you have been thinking of a tool for managing your work flow, or just need a tool to help you with all your paper, or maybe you want a collaboration tool, or maybe you just want to be paperless, then Evernote is the tool for you! Continue reading

SymbalooEDU – A Must Have for Teachers

ToT_SymbalooEDUA Personal Learning Environment that teachers will love!

I have been radio silent for the past few weeks on the blog but not on Twitter! I have been doing many professional developments for teachers and schools (the presentations can be found under the Professional Development tab) and have done some training on many different apps and web tools. The one I ALWAYS show and spend time on is SymbalooEDU! This amazing and FREE web resource allows teachers to create Continue reading

Scratch – Coding for Kids

Coding is the future!

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When we think of our students taking a second language in school, we usually go to the defaults like Spanish, French and German. If you are lucky enough to have Japanese and Chinese that is a bonus and if the school is really progressive maybe American Sign Language is also offered. Rarely, if ever, do we see Coding as a language offered in schools. Continue reading

Open Educational Resources

oer2Thinking about Open Educational Resources?

In this day and age, web content doubles every 18 months (International Data Corporation, 2011). This means by 2020 the world will generate 50 times the amount of information it generates today. In  March of 2012,  after 244 years, Encyclopedia Britannica announced that it was ceasing production of its iconic multi-volume book sets. Britannica usually printed a new set every two years, but 2010’s 32-volume was the last.

It is understood that the content is changing so rapidly and that consumers are more comfortable with online accessibility, that it makes sense to move to the fully online environment for the information giant like Britannica.

With textbook adoptions in schools such a huge budget item, it is sometimes in the best fiscal interest to move to Open Educational Resources (OER.) I have created a page under Resources- that has some links to the OER Commons as well as other information and articles on OER.

Is you school using OER? Are you thinking about using OER? I’d like to hear from you. 

As always, please post your comments below and join in the conversation.
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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.
Don’t forget to follow me on twitterFacebook or subscribe to this blog.