I enjoyed sharing with you these collections of resources throughout the year. I imagine there will be a few “summer editions” posted, so be sure to peruse this blog while reading online this summer!
Professional Development
The latest edition of Tech Tidbits!
IU13 IMS Summer Academy!
Looking to learn more about instructional technology topics this summer? Look no further! IU13 Instructional Media Services is offering a variety of sessions at this summer’s IMS Summer Academy!
Half-day workshops and full-day make-it-take-it sessions on Discovery Education, Safari Montage, CultureGrams, and OverDrive will be offered. (At Elanco we have/will have access to all of these services!)
Tech Tidbits – Issue #2
I hope you enjoy the next edition of Tech Tidbits!
Countdown to the holidays with this Digital Ideas Advent Calendar!
Shelly Terrell is a wonderful educator who freely shares inspiring ideas for the inclusion of digital technologies in the classroom. Check out her fabulous 31 Days of Digital Tech Integration advent calendar! This resource offers tools and tips for ways to successfully integrate technology into your classroom.
Think about how fun it would be to create a similar calendar to post for your students to use for activity choices during independent work time in math or language arts! Read here (scroll beneath the calendar) to learn how to make your own!
You can also reference this helpful post by innovative educator Kelly Tenkely to learn how to create an interactive calendar using a different service called Wix.
Happy holidays!
Google Courses for Educators – Online, Free, and a Great Learning Experience!
Free, online, courses are now available through Google in Education. These self-paced courses share content via video tutorials and activities, and allow participants to view, review, and practice the concepts taught.
Course topics include Internet 101, Google Apps for Education Overview, Google Drive for Educators, Gmail for Educators, Chrome and Chromebooks for Education.
Click here to view the course descriptions and register!
If anyone is interested in starting a small group/PLC team to engage with the online content and further develop ideas learned by meeting face-to-face before or after school or during common planning time for PIT time, please let me know! I would love to facilitate this for you!
Save the Date: Digital Learning Day 2014!
Save the Date!
Digital Learning Day ~ February 5, 2014
Courtesy the DLD media department:
Digital Learning Day will be held on February 5, 2014 in conjunction with state events and the national event hosted by the Alliance for Excellent Education at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. This powerful grassroots campaign promotes the effective use of technology to improve outcomes and achieve higher college- and career-ready standards for all students in K–12 public schools.
Digital Learning Day promotes the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to learn in a robust digital environment every day with the goal of success in college and a career. Common-sense and effective applications of digital learning should be fully integrated into all of America’s schools, libraries, coffee shops, and homes to promote life-long learning and good citizenship.
It takes less than five minutes to add your voice.
I ask that you add your voice and consider planning classroom-based activities for your students and parents to get involved. Activities and events can be as simple or complicated as you like. Feel free to use Digital Learning Day’s interactive lessons (more coming soon), host a technology fair to showcase student work, check out the teacher toolkits for ideas, or simply try something new that better integrates technology into good instructional practice. Regardless of your level of comfort with instructional technology, Digital Learning Day has something for everyone.
In addition to the national event and its related activities, all fifty states and DC are making similar plans. This is a great opportunity to use the momentum from these national and state-awareness campaigns to highlight your district- and school-level digital learning efforts to media, community leaders, parents, and local policymakers.
Most importantly, we urge you to
- add your voice in support of digital learning in schools;
- plan activities for your classroom;
- share your plans by adding your event to the map; and
- spread the word by asking your colleagues and friends to join the movement
Thank you for supporting digital learning! Please let me know if your class/team/school is planning any Digital Learning Day events! I will continue to share ideas over the next several weeks and wish to feature your activities on this blog and share with the world!
Click here to ‘Like’ Digital Learning Day on Facebook. Click here to follow Digital Learning Day on Twitter!
Here is a PDF with more information about Digital Learning Day!
Digital Storytelling Webinar
Today, 10/22/13, at 4 PM ET I’ll be presenting about digital storytelling in the elementary grades for Simple K-12/Teacher Learning Community. Registration is free! I’ll be sharing more about the tools Little Bird Tales and Storybird. I’m happy to come to your classroom to support your students’ use of these tools in their digital storytelling endeavors, and/or to meet with your team to discuss how these tools can be integrated into your classroom activities.
October is Connected Educator Month!
Last year the first annual Connected Educator Month was organized and celebrated by the US Department of Education. This year marks the second anniversary, and there are many exciting activities and events in store this October to celebrate the wonder of being a connected educator! These are the themes for this year’s event.
There are many ways to get involved with CEM. Here is the Kickoff page that lists all of the great events during the opening days of CEM. Check out the Events Calendar to find events and activities that interest you. There are also Book Clubs being organized, Twitter chats to participate in, and ways to get your students and classrooms connected!
Are you connecting with other educators, and/or getting your kids connected through global projects? I want to share the great work you’re doing! Please let me know what types of activities you’re participating in, including Mystery Skype, Global Read Aloud, etc. I’d love to showcase your project work here and share with others!
Finally, if any of you are interested in becoming a Connected Educator – the benefits are HUGE! – please let me know. I’d be happy to organize time to meet with you/your team/your school to discuss the use of social media to connect with educators around the world! I can support you in getting started with Twitter, reading some great educational blogs, and engaging with other online communities such as those in Google+!
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities!
Looking for a great way to be inspired and learn more about educational technology and other hot topics in education? Consider attending one of these fine events!
Edcamp Harrisburg, November 2, 2013
What’s an Edcamp? An Edcamp is an inspiring “unconference.” Sessions are facilitated by the event attendees. There are no pre-scheduled sessions. It’s participant-driven learning at its best! And, it’s free to attend! See the flyer below for more information, and click here to register!
Elementary Technology Conference at IU13
This conference will be held on December 3, 2013. This is a day of learning designed for classroom teachers and specialists to learn more about how to best integrate technology into teaching and learning. Sessions will be presented on a variety of topics. Please contact your building principal if you are interested in attending (or if you are interested in presenting, email me and your building principal – they are accepting session proposals!)