Do the Two Step to Protect Your Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box Files Cloud storage of files is one of my favorite aspects of the modern Internet. Cloud storage services make it easy to access all of my important files from any computer and most mobile devices. And for students cloud storage eliminates the I forgot my flashdrive excuse for not having an assignment ready for class. The potential problem with cloud storage, and any other online service for that matter, is having your account compromised. One way to make it more difficult for your account to be compromised is to enable two-step authentication. Two-step authentication for a Google account requires entering a verification code that Google sends to your cell phone. If you're a Dropbox user you can activate two-step authentication for your account. Other than Google Drive, Box has become my favorite cloud storage service over the last few months.
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: Teachers Easy Guide to The Most Important Web Tools in Education When it comes to using web resources with our students, time plays a decisive role.It is next to impossible for a busy teacher restricted by curriculum constraints, day to day lesson preparations, assignment corrections, to mention but a few of his chores, to effectively search the web and find the adequate resources to share with his/ her students. Most people just do not have the time to learn all these technologies and some educators pick just one or two websites of interest and start exploring them. This is definitely not the right thing to do particularly if you want to leverage the huge potential of technology into your classroom.There is, however, a simple roudabout to this problem. Look for educational technology blogs ( such as the one you are reading now ) and subscribe to their feeds to stay updated about the latest web tools to use in your instruction. 1- A List of The Best Video Editing Tools for Teachers 2- A List of The Best Digital Story Telling Tools for Teachers
Free Technology for Teachers Using Dropbox in the Classroom When I mention Dropbox to friends and colleagues, I usually get one of two responses – a knowing smile and nod, or a puzzled and quizzical look. Whether you know what the program is, you have likely heard the name. But really, what is Dropbox? Dropbox is many things — a multifaceted tool that’s so powerful, you’ll continue to discover new ways to use it. But the short and sweet of it is this: you can use it to store and sync documents and files across computers, tablets, and smart phones. How Dropbox works So, how can you use Dropbox as an educator? Additionally, many applications that you likely use (Evernote, Things, 1Password, Elements, to name a few) have a Dropbox sync option. Using Dropbox with students In addition to making your life a lot easier, Dropbox can be a great teaching/learning tool – and this is why I introduce it to my students. You can call this folder anything. Next, you will get the window shown below. Once you have invited students, this becomes a “Shared Folder.”
My Resource Cloud For Dyslexic and Visually Impaired Students, a Free High-Tech Solution Digital Tools Teaching Strategies Thinkstock By Lillian Mongeau Elizabeth is a college freshman who has severe dyslexia that makes it impossible for her to decipher printed materials. But a few months before starting college, Elizabeth discovered an online library called Bookshare.org, run by a small non-profit called Benetech. “My life changed as I entered the world of accessible literature,” Elizabeth wrote on Bookshare’s blog. For Elizabeth and the millions of students who are “print disabled” — meaning they have trouble reading because of dyslexia or vision impairment — many textbooks are not available in an audio format or in any other format that’s easily accessible. “I would hear about a book and remember thinking, ‘I wish I could read that,’ knowing it might be available in a year and a half. It’s not that Benetech invented accessible literature. “We want books in a format everyone can use,” said Betsy Beaumon, vice president of Benetech. “Now is the opportune moment,” she said.
Applying The 40/40/40 Rule In Your Classroom I first encountered the “40/40/40 rule” years ago while skimming one of those giant (and indispensable) 400 page Understanding by Design tomes. The question was simple enough. Of all of the academic standards you are tasked with “covering” (more on this in a minute), what’s important that students understand for the next 40 days, what’s important that they understand for the next 40 months, and what’s important that they understand for the next 40 years? As you can see, this is a powerful way to think about academic content. Of course, this leads to the discussion of both power standards and enduring understandings, curriculum mapping and instructional design tools teachers use every day. But it got me thinking. Not (Necessarily) Power Standards And it was an enlightening process. First, note that this process is a bit different than identifying power standards in your curriculum. Power Standards can be chosen by looking at this standards that can serve to “anchor and embed” other content.
Using @Evernoteschools for Lesson Planning Since I started this Experiment to use Evernote in every aspect of my classroom, I wasn't really sure what I was going to discover. I was sure there would be some way that Evernote was not going to meet my needs and I would be forced to add another tool to my chest while I continue the experiment for the school year. One way I was weary of was lesson planning. Here is a shot of my desktop version of Evernote. Within the notebooks for the specific classes, I have scanned and uploaded various assignments I had in paper form only and added them to new notes. Since all of my students will have Evernote accounts, I can easily share the assignments with the students in specially created notebooks. I have also created notebooks that contain notes on tech tips for using the various tools. One of my favorite parts of lesson planning in Evernote is the ability to tag my notes. As I look at the set up, I have to say the best part is the fact I do not need to re-invent the wheel a year from now.
22 Top Blogging Tools Loved by the Pros Do you blog? Looking for exciting new tools to simplify the blogging experience? If so, keep reading. We decided to get the scoop on today’s hottest blogging tools. We asked 22 pros to share their favorite new finds. #1: InboxQ Mitt Ray @MittRay A great blogging tool I discovered a few months ago is InboxQ. InboxQ lets you create campaigns with different keywords. You can work on these questions and come up with better blog topics in your area of specialty. When people type in questions with these keywords, I get an update. Use InboxQ to find the questions people are asking on Twitter. Mitt Ray, founder of Social Marketing Writing, author. #2: Content Idea Generator Rich Brooks @TheRichBrooks The Content Idea Generator (v2) is a Google Doc that will automatically find news and related stories for your blog from a variety of sources… everything from Google News to Reddit, from tweets to public Facebook updates and more. You can get started here. Rich Brooks, president of Flyte New Media. #3: Diigo
The 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen By You 100 Web 2.0 Tools Every Teacher Should Know About 44.24K Views 0 Likes We're always trying to figure out the best tools for teachers, trends in the education technology industry, and generally doing our darnedest to bring you new and exciting ways to enhance the classroom. But I wanted t... 20 Free and Fun Ways To Curate Web Content 23.98K Views 0 Likes What's the best way to organize it all into at least some reasonable manner? It’s Time To Crowdsource Your School’s Social Media Policy 12.53K Views 0 Likes Every school has a different policy when it comes to social media. 14 Edtech Integration Tips & 20+ Resources for the School Year 4th post in a new series: PLN Tips 4 Teachers and Goal 17: Integrate Technology Effectively of The 30 Goals Challenge for Educators “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” ~ Bill Gates I have been integrating technology with students since 1997. Maybe you’re new to integrating technology or just need a few pointers. More Tips & 20+ Resources Beyond the first tip of connecting online and learning from other educators, I offer the following tips from my PLN, which are in no particular order: Tip: Assess if you need to use the technology. Tip: Have a back-up plan in case the Internet doesn’t work. Tip: Get ideas from other teachers. Tom Barrett’s Interesting Ways Tip: Make sure the technology supports higher order thinking skills and learning objectives. Kelly’s Peacock Digital Blooms Tip: Determine which is the best technology that will support that lesson. Tip: Prepare, get the knowledge, and reflect!
Tips for Augmenting Whole-Class Discussions with Collaborize Technology can enhance academic conversations, says Anna Des Roches, a community development officer for Collaborize Classroom. The American Association of School Librarians (AALS) agrees, naming Collaborize one of the "Top 25 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning in 2012." Blake Wiggs, a history and language arts teacher in North Carolina, often uses Collaborize to efficiently "organize classroom participants and sort their contribution to the discussion." He likes that he can integrate audio or video clips and widgets into the discussion pages. Nico Saldana, a high school world history teacher, uses Collaborize to increase student participation: "Nobody can check out of a conversation because everyone is writing." Collaborize: The Basics The free online Collaborize Classroom platform allows teachers to create password-protected multi-media discussion prompts in a couple minutes and has iPad and iPhone apps available. Four Discussion Types on Collaborize Credit: Collaborize Classroom
Moving to the cloud: how wrong can you be? Three years ago, in my first term after moving to a new school, I was told by an administrator that cloud computing would fail. Another administrator mentioned at a parent meeting that he didn't believe in a 1:1 programme because there was no evidence that technology enhanced learning. Alarm bells started to ring. I knew I'd made a bad move and was in the wrong place. Two years ago, after becoming a Google Certified Teacher I wanted to introduce Google Apps for Education at the school. One year ago, in the first month of school, I announced on social media that I was looking for a new job. How wrong can some people, some schools be? Here's an interesting infographic about going to the cloud from Online Colleges. From: OnlineColleges.net Photo Credit: Bowl of Clouds by Kevin Dooley, 2008