Thanks to the hard work and research of folks like Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers, you have more free resources at your disposal than you could possibly imagine and you really don't have to pay for stuff like what's pictured in the screenshots below just to 'teach paperless':[Subscribers: visit teachpaperless.com if you can't see the pics.]

Just wanted to thank folks for nominating my post Why Teachers Should Blog for the 2010 Edublog Award for 'Most Influential Blog Post'.Personally, I'm not that into awards. Actually, I take that back. I do watch the Oscars telecast every year. But that's more a habit than anything else; I like production numbers, what can I say? But as far as awards themselves go, I'm relatively ambivalent.What I like about the annual Edublogs Awards, however, is not so much the awards themselves, but rather the nomination lists. Those nomination lists serve as a compendium of a lot of good writing and a lot of the most positive activity to have occurred over the course of the year. That's not to say that the lists represent everything, nor is it to say that everything in the lists is uniformally of the highest quality. But it's nice to see what our peers have nominated -- and it's nice to see that our peers have nominated. In other words, in these busy times, it's nice to see folks actually taking the time to offer up props to edubloggers where ever they may be and what ever they may be writing.Check out those lists. The grab-bag starts here. Take a bit of time to look over all of the blogs. It's striking to see just how much quality thinking and serious debate is going on. Kudos to all you bloggers out there.

A little news on changes at TeachPaperless.com...I started this blog back in February of 2009 for the purpose of writing about what life was like working as a teacher in a paperless classroom. But swiftly, this blog surpassed my capacity as a single writer to produce articles, let alone keep up with comments and conversations. And so, starting next week, TeachPaperless will become a collaborative blog.I've got a small team comprised of some of the most engaging minds in education and educational technology, and our plan is to share, learn, debate, and keep this conversation moving. I think we're in for some exciting times in terms of the purposes, practicalities, competing philosophies, and pedagogical punditry of and about education in these times and I'm going to be happy to introduce you to the folks who soon will be sharing their thoughts here at TeachPaperless.- Shelly

Dearest Readers, I am happy to announce the following folks as the first round of new contributing writers to TeachPaperless: Steven W. Anderson, David Andrade, Andrew Coy, Michael Grzelak, Mary Beth Hertz, Mike Kaechele, Steve Katz, John Spencer, Shelly Terrell, and Jose Vilson. This group brings a wide range of expertise in tech, teaching, and learning as well as a variety of perspectives and experiences. I'm thrilled they've agreed to sign onto the new team and I'm excited about what sorts of conversations will develop here and beyond. Give a shout out to the new writing crew and be sure to follow each of them on Twitter as well as on their own blogs.Towards new conversations,Shelly

It's that time of year again.This year, I've designed non-exams for my Human Geo students that will assess their ability to apply what they've learned over the course of the year to real-world problems using full open access to the Net as well as collaboration with their peers during "exam time".Here's the note I sent out to them today briefly explaining what they'd be doing while other kids are pouring over Scantrons and writing five-paragraph essays. Let's not call it an 'exam'.Instead, let's call it your final projects in Human Geography.Basically what you'll be doing is choosing from among a menu of options of mini-projects related to each of the topics we covered in class. You will complete several mini-projects and you may choose the assignments that appeal to you the most. For each mini-project, you will write a short explanation of why the subject matter resonates with you.Here's a list of the topics:1. The Post-9-11 World2. Regionalism and Language3. Forced Migration: War, Famine, Natural Disasters4. The Changing Environment5. Food and Us6. Regional Conflict and Cultural Effects: Israel & Palestine / Afghanistan / India & Pakistan / Tibet7. AIDS in Africa8. The Rwandan Genocide9. South Africa and the History of Apartheid10. The G-2011. US / Mexico Relations12. Immigration in Western Europe13. What is a Country?14. Religion and GeographySome of these mini-projects will be individual and some will be collaborative with other students. Everything will be done online and you will have full-access to the Web.To prepare, go back over each of the topics we covered this semester and re-read your blogposts. Get together with friends and talk about the topics and help one another think about them. If you don't have time during the day, Skype is a great option.

by John T. SpencerI first heard about the tragedy in Tucson, not from the CNN or Fox News, but from a direct message sent by a politically-active friend who was attending the Giffords gathering.  While the television news sputtered around trying to offer details (first claiming that she was already dead, because, you know, you have to be the first at something, right?), I found myself reading Google News, piecing together Facebook posts, e-mailing friends and reading Twitter updates. I turned the television off when they kept repeating the same information, circling the same grocery store in their helicopter and all with the same peppy intonation they would use to announce the final score of the Suns game.  While I couldn't see the "expert witnesses," I could keep up on NPR's website and then ask medical questions to a friend of mine who is a trauma surgeon.Meanwhile, I engaged in philosophical conversations about speech and freedom and safety.  I watched the tone turn ugly at times and I found myself caught up in it for awhile as well.  Yet, when we learned of the nine year old girl, it all changed.  It became sad, really sad.So, I blogged.  I probably put things up too fast, but it's where I went.Students messaged me asking if that was the same Gabrielle Giffords we had interviewed in class.  Others asked whether this was all part of the same racist, anti-government, white supremacist movement that seems to be growing in our state.  The minute they announced the suspect, I began searching Twitter (nothing there) and then YouTube, where I was able to see each of Loughner's videos.Then I turned it off.  All of it.  I took a break from Twitter and from Facebook and from YouTube and Google News and Blogger and I walked outside and played baseball with my sons and we had dinner as a family and unlike the tragedy of the news, today felt real.  It didn't feel like I had simply watched a movie.The process was messy, but I was a participant (albeit interspersed between games of Hide and Seek or water coloring).  Perhaps it's simply a throwback to the back porch.  However, I felt empowered to find sources, sift through information, ask questions and piece together a more complex story than the cyclical loop of CNN.  I made mistakes along the way (shaking my fist at Palin), but at least I had a voice. So, how would I handle that in the classroom? I wouldn't handle it.  I would grieve with the students and ask questions and we would blend social media and face-to-face conversation.  We would share - share our emotions, our thoughts, the information we find, the bias we see and together we would try to piece together the story and how it relates to our own.Still, it's not something I could organize.  It's not something I could plan in advance.Every child is social in different ways and every child will choose different methods of maneuvering social media.  What's important is that we have netbooks and access to social media.  My students are learning, not only how to maneuver it, but how to think critically about information as they use social media.

by Mary Beth Hertz First of all, thanks to Shelly for inviting me to join the conversation here on his blog. It know it will prove to be a powerful experience.  As the title of this blog is TeachPaperless, I figured I'd start things off with a post about my effort to cut down on the use of worksheets and paper at my school. You might think that this would include things like document cameras, Google Docs, e-readers and iPods/iPads, but my first step involves getting my staff to use...wait for it....an overhead projector.My school has desktops from 2002, no wireless, no laptops, only one projector between two buildings and no library. While we are paving a path toward a technology-infused school, I know that if my teachers aren't using a simple overhead projector, putting any other technology in their classroom will not change the way they teach. I sent this email to my staff:Happy Tuesday everyone!I have noticed recently that many of you have overhead projectors, but not everyone is using them.  This is a great piece of technology that can create some fun and engaging lessons and activities for your students.If you are not using the projector because the bulb is broken, please let me know and we can get you a new one.  If you are not using it because you don't have any transparencies, let me know. I have a box of transparency paper that can be fed into a copier like regular paper.If you are not sure how to incorporate an overhead projector into your lessons, here are some ideas:1) use a blank transparency to have students complete math problems in front of the class. The larger screen will ensure that each student can see his/her process2) project a piece of writing and have the students come up and add editing marks/make changes3) project a piece of writing and have the students grade it according to the PSSA Writing rubric4) teaching time? Use a transparency of a blank clock and have students come up and add hands to show what time it is5) teaching money? Use inexpensive transparency coinshttp://www.shopbecker.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ItemNumber=LER42816) Teaching addition, subtraction? Use manipulatives on a blank transparency and have students show how to add two numbers, subtract, etc....7) create a graphic organizer as a class using a blank Venn Diagram, etc...  Keep the transparency so you can pull it up whenever the students need it8) Create a cloze activity and have students come up and write in the missing words9) Instead of a worksheet, do an activity together as a class10) If you have info/vocab you need the kids to have, project it while they are workingLet me know if you have any questions, and let me know if you need help making transparencies or would like to borrow an overhead.Before I clicked 'send,' I sighed. I never thought I'd ever send an email like that.So why do I want to share this experience? I think that with all of the talk of integrating technology and using less paper in the classroom, we need to remember that there is a huge digital divide that affects these kinds of changes.  While we have plans to bring in more technology, we have to work with what we have for now.  We are not alone.  There are schools all over the country and all over Philadelphia, I'm sure, who face the same challenges. School looks to my students the same way it looked to me when I was their age over 15 years ago. (and we had overhead projectors!) Many of my teachers borrow the projector to use once a week or so, but that does not change what they are doing every day all day in their classrooms.  It also does not change the fact that, for my students, school is like an entirely different world than the world they leave when they enter the school doors. Another thing this email brings to light is that a tool is a tool, it's how you use it that counts. Many of the activities listed above would also be found on a list of recommended activities for an Interactive Whiteboard, which costs thousands of dollars more. Putting tech in the classroom will not necessarily change what teachers are doing in their classrooms.  Teachers who are expected to teach test prep will not find the time to create podcasts or allow students to explore ideas as a class or on their own, even if the classroom is fitted with a projector and laptop.  They will use it the same way they would use an overhead projector.Still, I hope that my teachers do begin using their overhead projectors....and then crave more. I pray that we are able to purchase LCD projectors for each classroom. I dream that my teachers will be able to open up their classrooms to the world and that worksheets will become a thing of the past.For now, we'll work with what we've got.

written by Andrew Coy.Every educator and student should know HTML.To me, this is the digital equivalent of saying: "Every student should be able to write an essay." And in truth, their are a lot more similarities between these two than differences. An essay is nothing more than a mode of communication -- an attempt to convince, prove, or at least argue a point of view. A blog post (in many ways) is an abbreviated, relaxed, at times more personal, and more interactive younger brother to the essay. Interestingly enough, however, whereas an essay has an audience of 1 (the teacher) -- a blog post has an audience of potentially millions physically anywhere.And blog posts are written in HTML, which makes using HTML the equivalent of knowing how to use Microsoft Word (or OpenOffice, or Pages, etc.). HTML is how you put your thoughts on digital paper. And as this blog suggests, teaching is possible without paper -- a fact society is demonstrating every day in more areas than just teaching.But if you have missed opportunities, have yet to get around to it, or simply haven't know where to start learning HTML, then now is a good time to change that.HTML has been around since the web -- in fact, HTML is the web. Tim Bernes-Lee proposed the idea in 1989, created the framework shortly thereafter and over the past 20+ years it has proved to be the most flexible, simple, and enduring means of organizing the web. As Wikipedia puts it, "HTML elements form the building blocks of all websites."The good thing about HTML is that everyone who uses it, puts things out on the web -- which means there are nearly endless amounts of resources at your disposal. I have highlighted 5 ways you can start learning HTML for free.W3Schools.com W3Schools.com is how I started learning HTML. Their site is a bit cluttered with advertisements perhaps, but nothing outdoes their Try it yourself » feature. They understand that there really is no better way to learn than by doing. And at each step of learning HTML W3Schools does a great job of breaking it down with "Try It Yourself" examples. Similarly, their reference section is also excellent. I still find myself there on a regular basis when I have a question. And if you get into more coding, their CSS, PHP, JAVASCRIPT, ASP, and SQL tutorials are also worth a visit.WYSIWYGIf you have a blog (such as Blogger, WordPress, or the like) than you know that they have typically made it is easy to bold or underline text with a simple button. You may have also noticed there is usually a tab to toggle between "Compose" mode and "HTML" mode. The great thing about this is that you can learn HTML simply by going back and forth -- changing one thing in the "Compose" (WYSIWYG) mode and and then looking to see the HTML code behind it.Online BooksIf you are the type that just wants it spelled-out in a book, there are plenty of options for you. You don't even have to leave your computer or spend any money. Simply use something like Google Books to find one that is free. I found this "Basic Guide To HTML" by Jesse Dallas without much trouble at all (just limit your search to those with "full view only" to narrow your results). is a very simple to follow, thorough, and surprisingly not outdated option.YouTube ItPut the power of YouTube to work teaching you how to code HTML. It's easy; is great for the visual learners; and will make sometimes complex steps much simpler to understand. While there is certainly a lot more out there in text, and the text is much easier to search and use as a quick reference, sometimes there is nothing better than watching someone else walk you through the steps while explaining them to you in plain english.(another example video)Friend / LibraryFinally, if nothing I've suggested works for you, find a friend, check out your local library, or see if there are classes near where you live. Maybe you just need someone right there explaining it, or a book to hold, or a class to make you accountable to someone.ConclusionThe great thing about learning HTML is that it empowers you to put your ideas out there in front of the world while simultaneously freeing you from the confines of the little buttons on any given website. You can resize images, add tables, change font colors, and do whatever else you want all with simple commands that don't take too much to learn. Once you have learned HTML, your ideas do not need to be confined to the single-space Times New Roman with 1.25 inch margin defaults that the essay was before you learned how to use Word/OpenOffice/Pages.

by Steven W. AndersonCross Posted At The Web 2.0 Connected ClassroomThis week on #edchat our conversation centered around Professional Development. Specifically, what are some of the roadblocks that prevent teachers and administrators from engaging in PD. Pretty deep huh?There are lots of ideas out there as to why teachers don't want to engage in PD. Many times the PD, when it is required, isn't meaningful. When I was in the classroom I was part of a team that helped to decide the direction our PD at the school level would take. That was always a lot of fun and we always had positive experiences because the teachers had a voice and role in what we would be doing. On the flip side, at the district level, teachers rarely got to choose the direction of the PD. Now, I understand, working at the district level there are just some things that we need to do PD on for on reason or another. But what has seemed to work well for us are buffet offerings. Several of our divisions like Title I, Social Studies and others have taken whole days and run them like a mini conference. There are sessions to choose from and the only requirement is that you attend a minimum amount of sessions for the day. Even better, teachers are the ones in charge of decided what will be presented and there are some really great offerings. Time is always a classic complaint. As a person who conducts a lot of PD for teachers I hear this one more than I like. There never seems to be a good time. Mornings, before school are bad. After school is bad. Saturdays are bad. Ideally the solution is on-demand, anytime PD. Great! There is a solution for that. Social Media. Look at #edchat. Teachers come together for an hour and talk about various topics, get ideas, take them back to the classroom, reflect and many blog about their experiences and learn from others. Perfect PD! Or look at the Reform Symposium. Last Saturday there were 18 sessions, 2 keynotes and tons of great learning. Everyone who was there, didn't have to be there. They wanted to be there. They attended the sessions they wanted to and spent their own time doing it. The problem is, if the vast majority of educators tried to turn in that time for credits or renewals on their teaching licenses, they would be denied. But why? With the right steps in place (like opportunities for reflection and practice) on-demand, real-time PD could take a huge time and budget burden off of districts. However, one theme that came up again and again was maybe too much blame was being placed on teachers and district administrators. Maybe "bad" or "ineffective" PD is the result of poor design. What can those that design PD do? K.I.S.S. Keep it simple..well you know the rest. Often, especially in technology professional development those that do the training try to cram in every little thing into a session. I can't tell you the number of sessions I have sat in on various products where the trainer tried to explain any and all details about some tool or program. Now, I love technology. I live, eat, and breathe this stuff. But most teachers are completely different. Most are content specialists. They know what they teach backwards and forwards but when it comes to learning technology they really have to take their time. And we try to pump too much information into their brains all at once the likelihood of them shutting down and not using what we are teaching is very high. If possible we have to focus on one thing at a time. I am always an advocate of looking at one thing for 3-6 months to a school year. We can really dive in, spend lots of time talking about the ins and outs of the tool or resource. Of course there might be people that don't need that much time but you probably know who that is by now anyway. But taking lots of time on very specific topics leads me to my next suggestion.Reflect. Reflect. Reflect. By taking it slow and spending lots of time on one specific tool or resource we provide times for all involved to do some reflection. As a trainer what I do is never perfect. There is always room for improvement. One of the tenets of instructional design is taking time to reflect on what works and what does not. By taking it slow we get the opportunity to take a step back every now and then and see what is going well. What is working? What isn't? What do we need to cover again? What would I do differently the next time? Is there someone who needs some extra help? I never would have been able to help my teacher with her webpage had it not been for the simple reflection I did after the first training. And the reflection is important for the teachers as well. They get to really think about how this new tool or learned skill fits in to their classroom and with their kids. They also need time to soak it all in. Even if what we think we are presenting is as easy as copying and pasting there has to be some time for reflection. And reflection leads to play.Play Everyone needs some time to let loose and play. The fact is, often, in PD there is not enough time for play. Time isn't taken for play. There is usually some time to mimic but not really play. Teachers who are learning new tech skills as part of PD desire more time to just get in and play. Not during the actual PD but afterwards. Teachers need to have time to go back to their classrooms and get their hands dirty. But they need that support of the trainer. We have to be available and offer follow-ups and 1-on-1's. We can't send our teachers back to the classroom with some new skill and not check on them or simply follow-up. Would we do that to our kids? Doubt it. Why do that with teachers.So the time to play leads to reflection. And we would have neither had we not taken it slow and kept it simple.There is no doubt that teachers need PD. And there is no doubt there is meaningless PD out there. But we can begin to make it better and have a greater impact on our teacher learning.What do you think? What was the most meaningful PD to you? Why was it that way? If you design PD how do you make sure it is effective? Leave some comments below.Now get out there and learn something!Image From Flickr CC

by Shelly Blake-PlockA reader writes:There was an interesting article in the New York Times regarding the use of iPads in schools. Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University is quoted: "IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning." Cuban also believes that rather than spending money on new technology it should be used to train, keep, and find the best teachers available (Hu, 2011). Would you agree with Cuban’s statement that the novelty of technology will wear out sooner or later?  I would somewhat agree with Prof. Cuban. If we were living in 1983.In those heady early days of educational technology and computers-in-schools, it was all about hardware and software. Technology was a matter of spending enormous amounts of money to create a relatively weak digital facsimile of the analog/physical world.And so kids like me who were fortunate enough to have a small computer lab in our school learned quickly that a math game that was lame on paper was just as lame on the computer. Especially when we could go home and play Atari.As for the specific case of the iPad, it's hardly an ideal device if you are looking for a catch-all. I'm especially concerned about the closed nature of the system and the emphasis on sales at the app store and on iBooks. But it is a device that speaks to several of the important features of our time, most importantly: mobile and accessible instant Internet connectivity. And I would argue that to see the iPad as a fad is to miss the bigger picture: the iPad only exists within the context of a mobile-connected world. That mobile-connected world is not a novelty; that's a paradigm and a reality.Furthermore, the paradigm and reality of a mobile-connected world has nothing to do with the institution of education, per se. The mobile-connected world isn't a new ed tech gimmick. It's a cross-cultural societal shift. And I'm not blind to the fact that that shift itself has got a lot of money riding on it; but our personal feelings about how culture is changed don't change the fact that culture is changed. Too often we try to raise a barrier between the classroom and the world; I think that defeats the potential of either to grow.Now, I certainly think Larry Cuban realizes that the world has changed with the coming of the Internet, smartphones, and myriad social technologies. I think his point was that it's silly to think of the iPad as a singular tool which will change education. Instead, he wants us to focus on teacher training and retention. And I completely agree with him. Furthermore, Larry Cuban obviously realizes that there are differing values derived from differing technologies and there are also going to be many tech dollars wasted on schools that don't have teachers trained and qualified in the use of those technologies for learning purposes.In fact, I see the whole issue of teacher preparation tied to a bigger reality of creating a new educational paradigm to meet the needs of a new societal and global paradigm. In other words, we've got to up-end the way we prepare and support teachers if we ever want to change the results in our schools.I don't want to spend money "training" teachers how to do the things that educational institutions are currently doing. Rather, I want to develop teachers who are comfortable and savvy moving education forward into a future where the physical and the digital are augmented in a variety of ways; where schools themselves are mobile and hybridized environments merging the digital and the f2f in teaching things relevant to the lives and futures of their students' potential and authentic experience in a globalized world; and where the point of education is not simply to pass a test or get a job, but to empower individuals and community in celebrating creativity, innovation, beauty, and human capacity.All of us want our students to succeed. And we should learn from and develop our pedagogy based  on the experiences and research of the past. But we should not do so with a blind eye to the realities of the present. Barring catastrophe, the new connections are not going away; even given a catastrophe, the seed of instant global connection has already been planted in the human psyche. It is now part of us. And it won't be long [IT WON'T BE LONG] before every student -- regardless of the neighborhood they live in or the employment status of their parents -- will be connected. We have to live up to that reality as educators. That means that we need teachers to engage in a relevant way with the digital reality -- to bring their humor and compassion and expertise to it; we need to support teachers in making this move -- above all they need time and they need to feel like they can explore and experiment without fear of being 'wrong'; and we may have to look with a keener eye at just what it is that we call 'novelty' -- because in every innovation (and every failure) there lies a deeper context.