What a fabulous day of sharing and learning at the Google Apps for Education Summit in St. Louis. My mind is literally blown! A day of everything Google, and  I'm feeling quite "Google-ly"I really enjoyed sharing in my session the different ways you could use Google Apps to communicate and collaborate with students and other educators, like Google Hangouts, Google Lit Trips, and some fun ways to create videos and presentations with the tools like WeVideo, Video.Notes, and Present.MeI had the opportunity to present... Using Google Apps to Communicate Inside and Outside of the Community from msedtechie I also walked away with an enormous wealth of NEW resources that I am so excited to share with you!Here we go!Convert all your tabs into one list with  OnetabHow many times have you had 30 or more "very important" tabs open in your browser at one time? Making bookmarks for each link can be a tedious task. Onetab is an extension for Google Chrome that allows you take all of those tabs and convert them into one list. It even makes a QR code for you! You can save the list, restore the list anytime you want, or send that list to others by sharing it as webpage. Onetab also works in Firefox. You can drag and drop tabs in your OneTab list to change their order. You can also hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key while restoring tabs and they will remain in your OneTab list (meaning you can use OneTab as a way of quickly launching a set of commonly used tabs).You will not lose your list of tabs if you accidentally close the OneTab window, if your browser crashes, or if restart your computer.To install OneTab into Google Chrome, click hereBuild reading comprehension with Informational text through Newsela Newsela is creative way to build reading comprehension with informational text that's always relevant: current events. It's easy and innovative. Newsela is free through Google Apps, and allows for unlimited use of articles. There are about 4 published articles per day on a current event. The beautiful thing about this tool is it allows you to take one article and differentiate it to up to 5 different lexile levels. All of your students can read the same content, just at the level just right for them. Amazing... The website has a bank of articles, and it will automatically change vocabulary and sentence structure.Save paper and help the environment with CleanPrintThis Google Chrome extension saves paper and helps the environment by allowing you the capability to print just what's important. It reduces page sizes, and let's you remove images. You can even delete parts of the document you don't need printed. Save as PDF, or dropbox.Watch the video below CleanPrint/CleanSave Tutorial from Format Dynamics on Vimeo.Get the chrome extension hereCreate your own gallery and share with others through Google Cultural InstituteGoogle has partnered with hundreds of museums, cultural institutions, and archives to host the world’s cultural treasures online. Explore art from the around the world, examine pieces close up, even view it in the galleries (like a "street view")Take a Journey with characters through a Google Lit Trip In simple terms, Google Lit trips are downloaded files (free) that take you on the journey of characters from famous books/novels through Google Earth. Each time a character marks a specific location, a pop-up window opens containing media, web resources, discussion questions, and links to additional information for the reader. This tool is used in a way to make a real-world connections for the students, and it allows them to have a 3D view of their reading, by visualizing the story, and traveling alongside the characters. Google Lit trips are creating engaging experiences for students.  There are ton of downloadable files, and new ones are being created everyday. Google Lit Trips can also be created using Tour Builder. Create your Personal Story with Tour Builder This online version of Google Earth, allows you to create  Lit Tours, or even your own tour. With Tour builder, there is no need to download files, all of the information is stored online. Check out this one on Anne Frank Make your videos come to life with EdPuzzleCreate the perfect lessons with videos.  With EdPuzzle, you can crop videos, (use only what you need), add your voice, embed quizzes, and open ended discussion questions. Find videos directly on the site through Youtube, Khan Academy, etc. You can also upload your own videos. You can give immediate feedback to your students, and also receive immediate data for yourself. You can set it so that students can't skip parts of the video, and the best thing is you can embed your videos to places like edmodo, schoology, blackboard, and more.Insert wording that you use a lot through Permanent ClipboardThis easy Google Chrome extension allows you to save text you use over and over, by creating a friendly name and have it at your fingertips. Click on the extension right within your google doc, and add it to the comments section, or within your google doc. Use it to store common comments on student work, or an answer template for discussion forums. Give immediate feedback with Doctupus A spreadsheet add-on for giving immediate feedback to students through Google Docs. Folder creations for students, and send an email directly to students with their grade. It works great with Google Classroom.  Create Notes synced automatically  through Videonot.es VideoNote.es allows you to annotate video, while synchronizing your notes taken within the embedded video. When reviewing the notes, just click on a line for the video to jump to the relevant part.  Videonot.es is integrated with Google Drive to simply manage, and share with students. Organize your twitter feed with Twitter Curator Twitter Curator lets you to search, save and add specific tweets right in your Google Docs window. Search by hashtags, mentions, or specific words. Make fabulous presentations with PowToonCreate some amazingly cool presentations online with a simple clickCheck out one I did    Just a few more add-onsGoogle Apps For Education is changing how we communicate with the world. Not an Apps user yet? Sign up here

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Edtech has created learning opportunities for kids to gain valuable experiences through a teaching style that speaks their language as digital learners. Many districts are embracing a non-traditional approach to educating children through the infusion of technology--and parents are expressing a mix of emotions.Recently, I engaged in a conversation with a few parents on Facebook who expressed apprehension to this new approach to learning through technology, and how it impacted learning for their children. Most were striking it down, and calling for an end to Common Core, because in their opinion, it excludes the "basics."What technology goals does the school have this year? Is technology a top priority?Now, I would agree that there are definitely still some broad areas of concern with the implementation of technology in education, but this change is not all bad. True technology integration speaks to preparing our students to be entrepreneurs and leaders, by developing creators, critical thinkers, and problem solvers.Parents are huge stakeholders, and have an extremely important voice in the edtech discussion. As parents, we want to be a voice, but don’t always know how to begin the conversation. So, here are eight questions to get you started.1) What technology goals does the school have this year? Is technology a top priority, and listed in the district strategic plan?Each school should have specific goals related to technology that should be aligned with a districtwide plan. Perhaps a goal would be to increase the amount of devices in the hands of students and teachers within the next few years, or, creating more technology enriched lessons that reach redefinition levels in the SAMR Model that infuse STEAM based scope and sequence curriculum.2) How does the school/district communicate with parents and community? How will you receive important information? Find out whether you will receive electronic newsletters, emails, or automated phone calls. Or, find out whether information will be communicated through a district or school website, or through social media sites like Twitter or Facebook. You’ll then know what to check on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.3) What type of devices will my child be using? What type of access will my child have to technology tools? Will students have access to carts, 1-1 devices, or a computer lab environment? Districts have a wide variety of technology devices to choose from, including MAC or PC, Chromebooks, or hand-held devices. Knowing the type of device your child will have access to is key to knowing how you as a parent can support them at home.4) What digital citizenship curriculum are students exposed to? What’s your policy on cyberbullying?Will you provide opportunities for parents to learn more about raising digital citizens? What can I do as a parent to prepare my child to compete in the global society? With increased use of technology inside and outside of the classroom, it is important to educate students and parents on being good digital citizens. Intentional lessons on teaching digital citizenship through platforms like Common Sense Media and Netsmartz are important and necessary. Districts should take an active role in promoting good citizenship with zero tolerance for cyberbullying--and you, parents, can help stress that.5) What is the campus policy on cell phones and personal devices brought to the school? Be proactive and be aware of district and school level policies on personal devices. Ask for information in writing, so that you can discuss the policies in great detail with your children.6) What online tools/apps can I download at home that will help me support my child? Many schools pay for online subscriptions for learning that are also accessible to parents at home. Find out what’s available, and how you can lend your support, by providing an opportunity for your child to continue that learning at home.7) My child is interested in coding, robotics, etc.. How can the school support him/her? Many schools participate in the Hour of Code, which provides introductory lessons for students interested in coding, and usually sparks the interest of students who have not been exposed to it. Coding has many benefits for students, including creating problem solvers, creators, and analytical thinkers.8) How does the technology enhance what my child does in your classroom?What opportunities do teachers have to learn ways to integrate technology? Teachers should be able to express why they are using specific technology tools in their classrooms, and how it is helping students reach learning goals, and higher level thinking. School districts should provide ongoing learning opportunities for teachers to enhance their teaching toolbox.The true power of edtech is the ability to facilitate and extend children's awesome natural abilities and drive to... learn independently, building curious and confident learners.As strong of a proponent for technology as I am, I also understand that technology has it’s place. Technology is never a teacher replacement. The true power of edtech is the ability to facilitate and extend children's awesome natural abilities and drive to create, explore, experiment, evaluate, draw conclusions--in short, learn--independently, building curious and confident learners.The educational agenda should be to prepare our students to compete in a global society. We need to believe in developing a society of entrepreneurs, and not teaching a set of skills to get a job. If your child is at a school that is not teaching fundamentals as a starting point, and the focus is just technology, then you should meet the principal at the front door, with a letter of complaint.But before you jump to conclusions, realize that the method/process of how it might be being taught in this digital age is different than the way we were taught, and that is okay. Education is evolving, and believe me, that is a good thing. We live in a technology-driven society, and we all rely on it and benefit from it--so why do we want to go back to basics when it comes to education?Embrace it folks! Technology’s here to stay. And it’s not going anywhere--so get your questions answered.Patricia Brown is a technology integration coach, a professional development specialist, an adjunct graduate professor, and an edtech consultant. She is also an official EdSurge columnist.This post was originally posted on edsurge.com

I began to think about the 15 years in education and my various experiences. I remember being that shy little girl in my elementary class who would sometimes know the answer, or had a question, but didn’t feel comfortable speaking out. I used to experience so much test anxiety. I wish my teachers had access to the digital tools and resources available in our classrooms today. There are so many ways that kids can creatively show you their learning in a timely and efficient manner, and ways teachers can conduct assessments that take away the testing anxiety that plagues so many kids.Creative Formative Assessments Can Help: Save time assessing students. Provide and adapt digital tools for assessment that make sense and are appropriate for a particular learning style.  Help students creatively demonstrate learning in unique waysHave fun by celebrating their learning through formative assessments. We are living in a very unique and digital world, which is much different from the way our teachers accessed and shared information. Now, Information is literally at our fingertips. So why not use it. How can you prepare students for workplace experiences that don’t exist yet? As an educator in this digital age, that’s one of my biggest challenges. 20 years ago we never would have imagined that the position as a Social Media Manager would be an actual job, and just about every company or organization would need to have someone manage their social media accounts.Our students now in elementary school have never had a time in their lives where mobile technology wasn't present. Look at the most innovative technology we have today, you are literally looking at the worst piece of technology our students will see in their lifetime. One of these days, we will find an iphone 6 in the thrift store, and our kids will remember that their parents used to own one of those. Technology will only get better, because we are constantly working to make it better. As educators, we need to embrace this reality, and allow our classroom learning experiences to mimic what our students encounter everyday.The data and results that come from testing can show powerful trends about student achievement. We need that Concrete information about what students know and don’t know, so can then go back and tweak lesson plans and learning environments to better meet student needs. This is particularly important in an age when technology is constantly changing, I often wonder do the powers that be realize there are many ways our students can creatively show their learning, in a timely, and efficient manner?When we look at the old, or for some teachers the current workflow of how we assess students, and how we get work to students, it usually consists of you creating a worksheet, or finding something on Teachers Pay Teachers, and then printing it out. Next spending a few minutes, or a few hours (sometimes we come in on the weekends) by the copier. Then you  distribute papers, grade papers, then finally, return papers/ tests to students to give them feedback. Sometimes that process could be a few weeks, depending on the amount of classes and/or students. In most cases, not all cases. This method does not allow for the opportunity for students to develop those 4C’s or Super Skills - Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking.  We also don’t give students the opportunity to show their learning through their various learning styles. Here are some interesting statistics. Over 60% of humans are visual learners. 90% of the information the brain transmits is visual. The brain processes visual information 60,000x faster than text.  Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine. However when you look at classrooms across the country, specifically in urban settings, educational institutions are still teaching to the test via paper and pencils, and not tapping into the learning styles of the students in this generation. In the inner city schools the focus is constantly on testing, and skills. You hear things like, "we have to give these kids skills so they can get a job." However in more affluent districts the focus is on developing creators and producers, entrepreneurs and publishers. There are too different agendas in education based on where you live, what you look like, and how much money your parents make. How do you give your students the opportunity to develop their 4C’s?In 2015, we have the opportunity to have a new teacher workflow, in which we can push out content to our students at a rapid pace, and have students push information back to you, and you can give immediate feedback. There are very simple ways you can quickly assess students in creatively, because the emphasis on assessment in education isn’t going away anytime soon.  Even though in recent news we have heard some changes introduced by President Obama, on the No Child Left Behind policies.  But I can assure you that testing is not going away, and that’s a good thing.  So as educators let’s change the focus from tests, to opportunities for students to celebrate learning. Let’s help students celebrate learning with formative assessments that are fun, flexible and informative. There are so many Digital tools available to engage students and provide teachers with quick feedback they can use to personalize learning experiences for their students. Having a wide variety of tools and techniques at your disposal allows you to better assess student learning. This really helps our students who don’t always do well on written tests. Here are a few of my favorite digital tools that help teachers do just that.Using Quick tools like Plickers, Google Forms, Padlet, Poll Everywhere can quickly allow you access to data in a quick and fun way, sometimes so fun, students have no idea they are being assessed. Such creative approaches appeal to today’s learners. Any time you can take a tool that students use every day and use it for learning, you’ve got a win. Social Media is a huge way to incorporate technology that students use everyday in the classroom. Use Twitter to quickly and easily assess students’ learning at the end of a lesson, this can be a class twitter account, or individual accounts for older students. You can have students tweet out what they learned in class that day, and use it as an exit slip as they leave your classroom.Plickers is another great option for classrooms with very little tech available, like a one iPad classroom. You can even use your phone as a scanner. Use Google Forms to create a quiz, then have Flubaroo grade them right inside of Google Apps. Flubaroo is a Google sheets add-on that grades quizzes simply, scores them and publishes them to a spreadsheet.Poll everywhere allows you to create quick polls, and the results are instant, in word clouds, or graphs, and charts.  Today’s Meet as a back channel for discussion, or questions and answers sessions. The key is using tools that come naturally for students to grab data quickly and efficiently. What are some digital tools that you use to to assess students in a fun way? Anybody ever played Kahoot? Adults love it more than kids. I think just about every training session I attended this year somebody threw in a Kahoot game.  Kahoot is really simple,  but what sets this response system apart from other tools is that students are in competition to see not only who gets the answer right, but who answers first. At the completion of each question, it ranks the participants in order of who clicked the answer the fastest. You can add images, videos or text as questions. Students can use computers, laptops and mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones. There is also a survey feature. No need to register students: they sign into the game page with the game pin you provide. It takes minutes to set up! Another one of my favorites is Quizziz. Very similar to Kahoot,  but instead students take quiz at their own pace, and the test questions and answer choices are right on their device. I also love it because it creates these really funny memes for students to give them feedback when they answer the questions. Socrative gives immediate feedback, you have a choice in the type of questions, and you can see students answers in real time. A new one I just came across is Quizalize, it seems to be very similar to other game based assessments. Go Formative Allows you to create assignments, quizzes, etc.. and get live results right then and there. You can see the answers as students input them. Class Kick is very similar to Go Formative, where you can get real time results of what the students are working on. EdPuzzle & EduCanon are both similar sites that collects data as students watch and interact with the video. Take a video from Youtube, Khan Academy or TeacherTube and crop it to use only what you need for your lesson, record your voice on top to explain, add clarifications, or add a video introduction. Embed quiz questions along the way, to check for student understanding, track who watched the video, prevent skipping, and see quiz results through the simple to read student reports. Allow your students to create their own video lessons, to create a deeper learning experience. Students can view the videos on the website, or the app, or you can can embed the lesson on your website. It’s also a perfect tool for flipping your classroom.Are you looking for a portfolio options? The Seesaw APP Learning Journal  captures learning with photos and videos of physical work, or by adding digital creations. Students can take pictures, video, etc directly through the app, and it is automatically sent to their individual portfolio.Brainrush: allows you to create and share your own games. Brainrush has four quiz-like game templates to choose from, including options for flash cards, labeling/sorting and hotspots diagram matching. You can upload your own images and add your own text. The even cooler feature is that Brainrush automatically differentiates the assessment based on the answers the student gives. Here's an example: say a student labels certain states incorrectly on a map. The quiz will automatically assess the student on those missed questions until they achieve a higher accuracy rate.Jeopardy Labs: Have you ever tried creating a Jeopardy game from scratch using PowerPoint? What a daunting task! Jeopardy labs simplifies the game creation process, allowing you to focus on creating challenging questions, rather than making sure links work. This online game website allows you to create your own template online, or browse their library for templates made by others.So now let’s start talking about ways our students can show what they know in more creative ways. Let me warn you, you might have to step back a little bit and let students explore.  If you have mobile devices, you can allow students to have unique projects.  Why not let students create simple projects through video projects, blogging and images. Awhile ago, I wrote a post on 5 minute projects with iPads. here are a few of my ideas. Have students tell stories with pictures using various apps. here are just a few apps to try. Or why not have them make their pictures talk? If you want to get real fancy, why not APP smash with PicCollage, and Thinglink, or PicMonkeyLet students blog with Kidblog or Blogger  We are currently participating in a Blogging East to West challenge with our elementary students. Creating quick video projects  through iMovie, or 30 hands,  or iBooks, with Book Creator. Is a sure way to get students to show all that they have learned. Also using Microsoft Sway, Adobe Voice, or Adobe Slate, or Even Google Tour Builder to tell stories about places they have been, or places they have learned about. Instead of focusing our time and energy complaining about systems we can’t change, we educators can flip the script and use more innovative ways to collaborate and use formative assessment as a natural and ongoing part of a student’s daily workflow. I recommend trying different options to discover which works best for the structure of your classroom and the level of your students. There are so many options to choose from, so choose the one that works best for you. Let’s captivate students, and get them excited about learning. What other digital formative assessments do you find most effective? Check out more ideas here

Now we are all professionals and have never actually done this during a PD session (well I hope not) but I have certainly had the feelings to do so.. So here we go, my top 10 ways to deliver the worst PD ever.. and no particular order…. One of the worst experiences is listening to a non-educator telling a teacher what they should and should not do in their classroom. If you are going to train teachers, you should have experience with instruction.Have you ever sat in a 3 hour PD where the speaker read each line of their 175 slide presentation of text verbatim? then included images that weren’t relevant to the slide, and animation that made you dizzy? nah me either.Sit and Get PD where the participants never get the opportunity to try it. No opportunity to play with the tools, and explore. This is really powerful for kinesthetic learners. The speaker does not engage the learners. No opportunity for discussion or collaboration. Speaker makes assumptions, and doesn’t know the audience. Learner never gets the opportunity to reflect and discuss.There is nothing worse than receiving training on a tool that you don’t have access to, or will never get to use. Training teachers on a product that is not in the school or district budget, and getting teachers excited about something they will never have.Trainer using outdated technology to present, or presenting on a topic that is obsolete and not needed. Ex: using a overhead projector, training on a product that is old and has replacement.One of my big ones: Not having any prizes or incentives for teachers.. Teachers LOOOVE to win prizes, and we like to snack too.Mandating that teachers attend a specific training, and never surveying them to ask what they need, or what they would like to learn.The trainer may be engaging, fun, and even entertaining, but if the topic has no relevance to you, it's still a waste of time.and finally, One size fits all PD- professional development that is not differentiated by content, expertise, grade level or delivery.  Why is it that we constantly stress the need to differentiate learning for our students, but bundle all teachers into the same learning environment. Why are we constantly revamping educational programs but we deliver the same PD for teachers? So how do you do that?Instead of "professional development," we need authentic, personalized "professional learning opportunities" that improve workflow and foster creativity. They should allow for teachers to make connections with content, and most importantly each other. Teachers need the same level of engagement as students, and they are more engaged when they participate in professional learning opportunities that give them ownership, and a personalized experience. Teachers need choice just like our students, and experiences that enhance and develop the 4C’s: critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration.What I have found is many teachers get overlooked and fall through the cracks just like our students, resulting in poor implementation in the classroom. Meeting this challenge is a huge task.Teachers need the opportunity to collaborate, they need to have a sense of ownership in their learning, and they need to feel valued. Their professional learning should be personalized. Most districts don’t have funding to send teachers to national conferences, or to host keynote speakers, but instead have found ways to revamp the look of Professional Learning to meet the needs of their staff in non-traditional ways. Here are few of the unique ways educators are given opportunities to expand their learning environment through creative measures.One PL strategy that seems to work well are Edcamps. based on an unconference model. these are free discussion based sessions., and they are happening all across the world. The participants create the schedule and topics by writing their ideas on sticky notes, index cards, or whiteboards. The topics are organized into sessions. You attend the session your write down, and become the facilitator by leading the conversation. Participants can use the rule of two feet, and float between different sessions depending on their needs.Saving time by emailing information ahead of time, creating videos, and online courses to disperse information. The time during PD can be spent on what matters most, tutorials and setups are sent ahead of time, so the focus of training can be on the integration and curriculum planning. Setting up accounts, logging in, and basic tutorials. Online communities are a perfect way to expand learning and your personal learning networkGamification relates to applying game thinking to a non-game context. Teacher execute challenges, level up and and complete competitions to earn recognition, in-house certification. Gamification can personalize learning for teachers. Prizes, Teachers can show their learner through a quiz, performance task or implementation in a lesson.Our district has created a leadership academy for teachers. this year long training model creates a small cadre of about 15 teachers that learn and work together. They connect across district grade levels and content. Other opportunities for collaboration is through cafe, tech talks and playdates. These are just informal sessions that educators can meet up to talk about whatever they want. Setting learning goals that are individualized for teachers is ideal because it puts them in charge of their professional development. Teachers can choose how they they want to meet their goal, rather it be by attending a conference, workshop, or online tutorial, or face to face. Teachers set goals, and can create PLC’s with others with similar or the same goals. Create a survey using a simple Google drive or survey monkey survey.The key to successful PD is creating professional learning experiences that support teachers to make learning faster, long-lasting and transferable. Changing the way we view professional development as a whole can certainly create impactful learning experiences for teachers, which has a domino effect in the classroom.What works for you? 

What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear "Academic Reading?" Personally, I have flashbacks from my undergrad days lugging around the 1,000 page plus Norton Anthology of English Literature.When I ask my students, they typically use words like "boring, business" and/or "scientific" to describe what they have to read in their IEP/Test-Prep classes.That the material they have to read is uninteresting or even boring doesn't really surprise me: honestly, who really wants to read academic texts?Does it really have to be like this?However, just because the material is boring, it doesn't mean the class has to be. Instead of just telling students to read and answer a list of questions, how about we make it a little more interactive, social, competitive and (gasp) fun?Read more »

In most cases, my eLearning authoring tool of choice (Articulate Storyline), is relatively stable. I know I can depend on it. In most cases, all of the people in my network of colleagues are stable (!?), and I trust them. I’ve been fighting with a new quizzing concept for a few days, and have spent hours debugging and checking, yet still I could not bottom out why a series of quizzes, (10 in one course, everyone only takes one from a selected stream, all pointing to a final Results slide that submits to the LMS), was failing. For an 80% pass rate I was getting Fails of 77.77%, and passes of 88.88%. All very weird. Wondering if this really was a bug after about 3 hours of testing I asked a colleague if they could have a look. They found the error in about ….ooh……6 seconds. Something that had been staring me in the face for 3 months was incorrect, and I was too close to see it. Articulate Storyline, (and now Articulate Storyline v2), give me almost everything I need to create online learning for clients, and I was almost at that point of dis-trusting it, however, sometimes all it needs is a fresh eye from someone who you trust totally. Trust your product, trust your network, and you can solve most issues.

Somehow, based on "Social Appeal", this little blog reached #2 in the rankings at http://elearningfeeds.com/top-elearning-blogs/ So - I just wanted to say THANK YOU to anyone and everyone that might have looked, circulated, retweeted or any other social thing. Hugely appreciated. I’ll try and keep useful and provocative (?) thoughts coming.