Soft Technology

In our district, we wanted to spend as much money as we could on Chromebooks, and though we thought the Chromebook cart was mighty spiffy, it was also mighty expensive, so teachers have found all sorts of creative off-label ways to store Chromebooks. I hope to publish several more photos and ideas, so stay tuned! If you have a great storage solution, please let me know in the comments or contact me using the contact form on this blog. I'd love to feature your creative solution. I'm not sure whose great idea this was, maybe Mrs. Brenda Schultz herself! If it was yours please let me know and I'll be glad to edit this entry to give you all the credit this great idea deserves! Here are some organizers similar to the one pictured above. 

Part of transitioning to being the "guide on the side" is helping students become more reliant on each other and themselves than on you (the teacher). The Question Slip is a great option to wean students off your nurturing care and help them become more self and team reliant. Here's how it works, after ALLLL the directions are given, and you have asked many times if there are any more questions, and every hand has gone down, you hand out THE QUESTION SLIP, perhaps two per team. When I first tried this technique, I made a ton of copies and meticulously cut them all apart expecting to use many pages of slips per day. I handed them out, with a bit of trepidation but a lot of hope. Throughout the day, I waited to receive a returned question slip . . . but it almost never happened. In fact, I don't think I ever made another set of copies in my teaching career. However, I heard lots of great conversations, like this one (fictionalized with truthiness): Albert: "Hey,

Do you have ideas that should be added to this list or do you notice something that needs to be changed? Please let me know in the comments and you will see the document form of this list change accordingly. Here's the Google Doc version of this file.

The term "Analog" means pre-digital. For example, the wristwatch that has dials and gears is an analog watch. Analog Twitter is non-digital Twitter. This kind of activity is usually used with students too young to participate in the "real thing," without adequate access to technology, or by students learning how to Tweet. To do the Analog Twitter Project , print out the Mr. Stickman's example Tweet here  (seen above) and use it to teach your students about the Tweet, then print out the templates for Tweets here and have students get busy composing some Tweets.  Create a space in your room (or even better, outside your classroom in the hallway) for the Analog Twitter Feed wall. You can use this sign to advertise the space. Hang your student's Tweets on the Analog Twitter Feed Wall. After many Tweets have been posted, give students a few Favorite and Retweet Stickers to use, then have them go into the hall and read through the Tweets. After they've read

I've been a die hard iPhone fan for years, but for my 41st birthday tomorrow I decided to get a Galaxy Note 2. The iPhone withdrawal pangs have almost stopped now, so it is with barely shaking hands that I write . . . I like the Galaxy Note 2. I'm impressed. Here are the features that won me over. I don't even understand why I like some of them, but sometimes these things are more about how one feels than what one thinks. 1. I like the way the water ripples on the home screen when I unlock the phone. You can sort of feel it. It's cool. I can show it to people who have iPhones and they feel sort of jealous. 2. I like the way you see the icons at the bottom on the unlock screen and can open the application you want as you unlock the phone. For example, let's say I want to unlock my phone because I have a text message. The text message icon on the bottom of my phone has a little 1 on its edge. I can touch, hold, and drag up on that icon and instead of being taken to th

Every year I make a Web 2.0 Tools Prezi for the Tech Ninja Conference at the local Region 6 Education Service Center. Below you'll find this year's version of the presentation, greatly pared down from past years. There are getting to be so many great tools that it's more important to know which ones are best than it is to know which ones exist. Hope you enjoy it! Web 2.0 Tools 2012 on Prezi Preview for email subscribers:

I am inspired to write this vision by John Maxwell’s book Developing the Leader Within You , specifically the chapter entitled “The Indispensable Quality of Leadership: Vision.” I realized that what my WOW! Academy probably does best is to convey a vision, but I can’t offer that to every teacher right now, so I thought I would write a little story to try to convey some elements of what, in my mind, is our goal in this education shift we seek. I have to admit I borrowed heavily from a backward glance at my own classroom experiences, which have attained a rosy glow from years of time passing between me and them. If you are my former student, then know that while some details are accurate (yes, that’s you Jenni), others are brought in for a purpose. Justin really did drive the principal out of the room, but not quite as sweetly as in this story and not in this same class. It’s November in Mrs. Stein’s class, the week before Thanksgiving. The bell has just rung to go to the next class, ye

Introduction to Google Drive presentation. Please comment and let me know what I should add! Also check out this doc from my Twitter friend Rae: Google Docs Basics Rae Fearing @ RaeFearing Ed Tech Coordinator, Former Bio Teacher, Leading Edge Certified, M.S. Science Education Crescent City, Ca  ·   http://edtechyness.blogspot.com/