Yes, I understand that this blog is the home of the tech-savvy teachers, but, tech-savvy is more than fixing broken hard drives, integrating great apps in your classroom and managing your email with ease.  You need to know what you and your students are trading for access to all of these amazing technologies. In light of the NSA shenanigans, there is a heightened sense that those that use technology are leaving a significant digital footprint.  I’m not talking about the obvious digital footprint, like those unfortunate photos from that conference is Las Vegas.  Our engagement with websites, email, apps and the like are drawing clear pictures of our inner-world for others… at best, they are using the information to sell us more in the consumer-industrial complex, but, there may be a darker downside. I am intrigued by Julia Angwin’s new book, Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance (available in hardcover or on the Kindle platform from Amazon).  She makes a compelling case that there may be much greater data mining than we ever understand by simply searching the Internet, playing games on our phones or even sending private emails. I am only a couple chapters in, and I am hooked.  We owe it to ourselves and our students to have a full picture of this.  I am not convinced, yet, that it will change classroom practice for me but I do think we need to think carefully about our engagement with technology and how we ask our students to do the same. There is an excellent excerpt on NRP’s site to get you started.

The NCCE Nominations Committee is soliciting nominations for the following Board of Directors offices: At-Large Representative ESD Representative The term of office for each position is three years and begins July 1, 2013. The NCCE Board of Directors meets four times a year and all approved expenses are reimbursed by NCCE. The Nominations Committee will develop a slate of two candidates for each position from the nominations received and will submit that list to the NCCE Board of Directors for approval prior to the Annual General Membership Meeting on Friday, March 11, 2013. If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else for one of the above listed positions, you can find more information and nomination forms at www.ncce.org.

Although I am a self-proclaimed tech-savvy teacher and nerd, I don’t always defer to technology as the answer to problems, education or otherwise.  I have witnessed the failed promises of too many quick fixes in professional development seminars, faculty meetings and inside the pages of educational magazines and blogs. However, I am motivated to utilize technology in a classroom environment by witnessing how technology is helping drive revolution.  I’m not talking about the classroom revolution that inspires t-shirts, keynote speakers and hashtags… I’m talking about actual revolution.  We are witnessing a stunning era of revolution around the world.  On the heels of the Arab Spring, a movement that was fueled in no small part by text messaging and social media, we have reports from journalists from the quickly deteriorating situation in the Ukraine.  Where are these reports being shared?  Instagram.  Check out this amazing photo essay in Newsweek, featuring photos like this: There is a potentially unlimited number of drivers of the current world unrest: authoritarian government, hunger, inequality, or pitfalls of globalization.  Further, Jon Evens of TechCrunch offers this driver: social media. He argues, in part, "To some extent, social media accelerates protest simply by getting the word out. It’s no longer possible for authoritarian governments to control what their citizens see and hear by clamping their iron fists down on newspapers and television/radio stations, unless they want to shut down the Internet and phone services entirely…and not even tyrants want to time-travel back to the 20th century that badly, unless they absolutely have to." What’s that have to do with education?  Everything.  Don’t get me wrong: I don’t believe that our educational system is an authoritarian government that needs a revolution (sorry… that might lose me some keynote addresses ) but I do think that teachers and schools alike must acknowledge the power of these technologies and harness them to empower students.  We need to help students tell their own stories involving the content and themes we know they must embrace to lead the next generation.  If we don’t, they will tell the stories anyway.  The technology empowers them to do so, with or without us. How do we know the technology has this power?  The powers-that-be are against it:   PM Erdogan of Turkey in June 2013: "Now we have a menace that is called Twitter… To me, social media is the worst menace to society." — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 21, 2014   So, what are you doing to shepherd these revolutionary technologies?

The Northwest Council for Computer Education is hosting its Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington this year between March 12 - 14. We can’t wait to welcome you to the biggest Ed Tech event in the Northwest. We are proud to announce the NCCE 2014 Mobile App is available for the conference again this year! Download it now to get all conference-related information in the palm of your hands. Here’s what you can do with the NCCE Mobile App: - View sessions and add relevant ones to your own calendar - Take pictures with the I (heart) NCCE logo and don’t forget to send them to us - Get directions to various conference locations - View exhibit hall and convention center maps - Read Speaker bios - Be Social with Facebook and Twitter - Contact Us Check it out today and let us know what you think! Special thanks to our Bronze Sponsor, Crescerance for being our partners in successfully making the NCCE Mobile App a reality. Download it now:  

Building on the success of last years summits, NCCE and the Washington Office of Public Instruction are offering a FREE summit focusing on Open Education Resources.  The use of (OER) has exploded in the K-20 sector over the past few years and this summit will look at the role of OER in the changing educational landscape.  A vast team of OER experts will focus the day around the following topics: Why Open Educational Resources? Locating resources for your grade band and content area. Review instruments for determining quality and Common Core Alignment. Implementing OER in real world classrooms Technology considerations for wide scale OER distribution Agenda: 9:00   - Welcome and overview 9:15     - Keynote: Importance of OER in changing educational landscape 10:00 - Group work: Effectively locating resources 11:00  - OER and Common Core 12:00 - Lunch and SMART Technologies display 1:00    - Group work: Mini-review 2:00   - OER in the classroom case studies 3:00   - Panel: OER and digital distribution and access Only 40 seats Available!  Register Now Sponsored by SMART Technologies  

Are you looking for ways to bring innovation and new technologies to your classroom instruction?  Do you have creative, out-of-the-box students that are not fully engaged in classroom learning?  Perhaps you want to get them involved in hands-on technical learning but are not sure how?  NCCE has the solution for you!  We have invited Table Top Inventing, a division of Windy Ridge Innovation, to bring a classroom MakerSpace to NCCE 2014.  A MakerSpace brings together all the best elements of hands-on learning and exploring with all of your senses.  Let you curiosity go wild with 3D printers, blinking lights, 10 minute micro-projects, robots, and more. Come play in the MakerSpace Garage; tinker, touch, try, explore, MAKE! 3D Printing Explained: 3D printing or Additive manufacturing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.  3D printing is also considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes). From: Wikipedia 3D Printer in Action: Make sure you plan a stop to the Makerspace garage in the Exhibit Hall at NCCE 2014!

We are just days away from the start of NCCE 2014 in Seattle and if you haven’t downloaded the NCCE Conference App yet, now is the time! Why the conference app?  It is your connection to information about the conference.  As a tech-savvy teacher, you can have one-click access to the conference schedule, information about speakers and exhibitors and a means of planning your conference experience. Start your engines! I am showing off screenshots from my Android phone, but the app is available on all major platforms: iOS, Android and Windows Phone.  The splash screen says it all… let’s get ready to go! The Main Drag The main screen is your key to conference information.  This weekend, you should review General Information and About NCCE and learn about services available at the conference and the team working hard to put this conference together.  Most of the information information is located under the (1) conference schedule and information about the (2) featured speakers and keynoters. Plan Your Conference Experience Our favorite part of this app is the schedules.  You can bring up lists of workshops, sessions and summits, and see the schedule: Want to know more?  Click on the title for details:   Even better, click on the + to add the session to your device’s calendar.  Yes… you can use your mobile device to plan your conference experience… which was exactly what we are doing this weekend! Want to connect with feature presenters, like Katie Kotynski?  Click on their bios for more information, including Twitter handles: At the bottom of every screen, you will find a great guide to other conference information, including the conference wiki, information about our great partners, and even a built-in map to find your way to the convention center in Seattle: Have questions throughout the conference?  Click on Contact! We are excited to offer this amazing resources to enhance your conference experience.  Make your conference better by downloading this weekend and plan your experience now. Seattle is ON!

Conferences can be overwhelming.  Usually in a good way with the burst of new ideas, energetic people, and inspiring stories.  The other side is trying to process all the new knowledge, keeping new resources straight, and battling brain overload.  One of the ways NCCE is here to help is by offering a one stop shop for all those resources and in turn new knowledge.  The conference wiki contains all of the resources used in the summits, workshops, and sessions.  Presenter contact information and social footprint are also included.  This should help calm some of the anxiety some experience by feverishly taking notes during a summit, workshop, or session.  By making the resources available you can focus on processing the information, building connections, and spend your time thinking about how your new knowledge can be implemented in YOUR classroom.  I challenge conference attendees with this task: 90% of the notes you take should be about how your new knowledge will enhance YOUR classroom/school/district.  Then, using the wiki in combination with your notes, you have a roadmap for enhancing your job!  I am looking forward to connecting, learning, sharing, and having fun with all of you - let’s have a great NCCE 2014!

The Tech Savvy Teachers have touched down in Seattle and are ready for another great NCCE conference!  As with every conference there are some actions you can take as an attendee to maximize the experience for yourself and everyone attending.  First off, wireless: Look for: NCCE_RACE_FANS Password: NCCE14Fans!    The technical staff at NCCE does an outstanding job of providing wireless coverage at the conference.  With that said, we need your help to make sure everyone can have the wireless access they need.  One of the best things you can do is make sure you only have one device connected to the conference wireless at a time.  Connecting your phone and then putting it into your pocket wastes access and holds a wireless spot that someone else could be using.  Some other reminders: ·       DO NOT create any MiFi or personal hotspots ·       Personal hotspots will be turned off ·       Streaming will be monitored and limited   Remember the 5 Minute Rule for all workshops: In order to fairly accommodate all hands-on workshop participants, the five-minute rule will apply.  Those that have re-registered for a hands-on workshop must arrive at least 5 minutes prior to the start of the workshop. If not, the seat will be opened to attendees.  Those who did not pre-register for a workshops are encouraged to participate in a workshop where space is available.   If you are going to be using a Chromebook lab or participating in any Google workshops or sessions: If you are going to be attending a session/workshop in the Chromebook lab, be sure you have a Google account created PRIOR to the conference. Download these apps before you at the conference: Evernote Sketchio Word Wizard Montessori Crosswords Pages Book Creator Story Kit Pic Collage Skitch iTalk Popplet Keynote iPad 2 or later: iTalk, i-nigma Android: Voice Recorder, i-nigma Windows 8: Dictaphone, Scan Garage Band iPadio (free app in iOS & Android markets) Pocket WavePad (free iOS & Android app) Google Earth Google Chrome Algebra Card Clutter Cover Up (solving algebraic expressions) Diamond Factor Flabido (soon to be Action Grapher) Function Mystery Machine Hop the Number Line Lion Grapher Linear Model Math Flyer ($0.99)/ Slope Slider (free/basic version of Math Flyer-iPhone and iPad) Point Plotter Submariner Algebra Tortoise and the Hare Algebra Inequality Graphe   Join the conversation online!  We will be tweeting under @NCCE_edtech @techsavvyteach @mikegusto throughout the conference.     Conference Hashtags Official                                                       #NCCE2014 Exhibit Hall MakerSpace                         #makerspacegarage   Summits Teacher-Librarian                                   #ncce2014TL The Maker Movement                             #ncce2014maker Information Technology                         #ncce2014IT Open Educational Resources (OER)      #ncce2014OER               Key Twitter Handles Keynotes Eric Sheninger               @NMHS_Principal Gary Stager                    @garystager Featured Speakers Joe Dockery                   @doc2designs Katie Kotynski               @kkkkatiek Jeremy Macdonald        @MrMacnology Jeff Utecht                      @jutecht   Tech-Savvy Teachers Jason Neiffer                 @techsavvyteach Mike Agostinelli             @mikegusto   Heidi Rogers                  @Heidi_NCCE I hope you all have a great conference!  Jason and I will be around throughout the week.  Tomorrow we will be posting all the sessions and workshops we will be leading.  We look forward to meeting you and would love to hear what you would like to see on this blog in the future.

Thank you to everyone who attended our 30 in 60: Great Tools for Tech Savvy Teachers.  This years set of tools runs the gamut of K-20 tools.  We have added a few hardware recommendations in addition to all of the online tools and apps.  We will be making a few updates to the livebinder below after the conference but I wanted to make sure everyone had access now.  As always feel free to use in your own presentations to your district!