Good morning from Helena, Montana, the Queen City of the Rockies!  The Tech-Savvy Teachers are at our alma mater, Carroll College, the host of the Extended Learning Institute.  XLI is an annual event aimed at K-12 and higher education teachers, professors, instructional designers and others that support digital learning in and around Montana and the Pacific Northwest. Today, we are presenting a new session, "Building Better Online and Blended Classroom Discussions by Design," a topic they we have been working on over the last 12 months as we work with Montana Digital Academy’s faculty on pushing students to be better online discussion participants.  We strongly believe that better design and high expectations can bring much better discussion forums to online and blended learning classes everywhere! Here are our slides: We will be presenting an extended and enhanced version of this presentation next week at NCCE in Portland!  It is not too late to join the fun!  Also, if you are interested in bringing the Tech-Savvy Teachers to your district, region or state to discuss and design better online and blended discussions, contact our friendly professional development staff to discuss and book! The post Slides: Building Better Online and Blended Classroom Discussions by Design appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

This week in Keep Kids Coding, Kiki features Code Maven, a visual coding platform that gives immediate feedback to student coding commands. Code Maven is: Code Maven from Crunchzilla is an interactive tutorial that focuses on action. Code changes immediately yield visible results. Projects start with simple boxes and colors, rapidly progressing into exciting experiments with simple animation and fractals. Important programming concepts like variables, loops, conditionals, expressions, and functions are introduced by example. Code Maven is a gentle and fun introduction to programming concepts. It is a first step in learning to program. It is not intended to teach all of computer science and programming. CSisFun lists Code Maven as an intermediate level program as students are using real Javascript within this program. Code Maven does a great job of giving step by step directions to quickly teach the basics of Javascript as Kiki shows us: Kiki will be at the 2015 NCCE conference in Portland, Oregon March 18-20! Kiki will be at the Gaming/Coding Summit, one of the Make your Future Summits at NCCE 2015!           The post Keep Kids Coding! Code Maven appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

With less a week away until NCCE 2015 in the City of Roses, we are happy to announce the many opportunities to engage with Microsoft at NCCE where Microsoft is an exclusive tier 1 sponsor this year! Free Two-Day Teacher Training Workshop As previously announced, before the conference begins, NCCE and Microsoft will team up to offer an excellent free, two-day Microsoft Teacher Trainer Workshop event March 17-18, at the Doubletree Portland. There, you can learn more about the expansive toolset offered to teachers and schools from Microsoft with a focus on taking your professional learning back to your school, district and state. Get registered today. All attendees will walk away with a Microsoft Innovative Educator badge and completion certificate. Microsoft at NCCE 2015 At our conference`, we have over 20 sessions and workshops dedicated to Microsoft tools, including offerings from both Microsoft and NCCE trainers: 30 Free Microsoft Tools in 50 Minutes 30 Windows 8.1 Apps in 50 Minutes Blended Learning with Office 365 Blended Learning: Setting the Stage for 21st Century Classrooms Coding Across the Curriculum Empower Yourself with Office! Flip Over Office Mix Fostering Tech Talent in Schools Free Tools Exploration Free Tools for Flipped Learning Game-Based Learning with Project Spark In the Mix Keeping Track of Student Data with Excel Let’s Get Connected — Learn, Grow, Contribute Office 365 for Education Office Sway — Create an Interactive Canvas OneNote and Presenting the Class Notebook Tool OneNote-The Ultimate Tool Re-Invent Your Student Interactivity and Productivity at Your Campus with Office 365 The Making Flipped Classroom Videos Windows Walkabout Also this year, NCCE will use OneNote as a platform to publish conference workshop information and allow attendees to access notes, slides and other materials after the conference. Of course, Microsoft will also be on the vendor floor to answer your questions, experience a Windows device, or get a sampling of how OneNote, Skype and several education apps can help build your classroom learning! Microsoft and NCCE throughout the Year! Just like NCCE’s year-round commitment to delivering high quality professional development to teachers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, Microsoft partners with NCCE in delivering workshops, ranging from brief introductions for you and your staff on the Microsoft toolset for schools, to extensive two-day workshops on building innovative learning environments to inspire your students and teachers to collaborate and create. Contact NCCE for more information on bringing Microsoft trainers to your district! The post NCCE <3s Microsoft! appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

It. is. go. time. NCCE 2015 in Portland, Oregon is here!  We hope to see you this week for collaboration, learning and FUN! Click on the link below if you want to start planning now by downloading the conference program NCCE 2015 Conference Program The post NCCE week is here! Download the conference program now! appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

NCCE 2015 is here and whether you are a long time attendee or new to this great conference, your Tech Savvy Teachers have some destination recommendations for your free time in Portland. By no means is the a comprehensive list, but rather a list of destinations Jason and I are sure to hit this week. Voodoo Doughnut One of a kind doughnuts you will not find anywhere else. For those of you who have never been to Portland, this is a must stop! The Voodoo Doughnut story Locations   Ground Kontrol Ground Kontrol is a classic arcade mixed with a full service bar, one of the greatest Tech Savvy combinations of all time! It has a great atmosphere and the mix of retro and modern games that will keep you busy for hours. At some point we will be getting our nerd on at this classic joint! More Info on Ground Kontrol Conveyor Belt Sushi If you want a unique dinning experience on the cheap, look no further then a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. We have been to two in the Portland area, one that is close to the convention center and one that is not. For those of you that are new to this marvel of modern dining, there is food (sushi) moving on a conveyor belt in front of you the whole time you are dining. You grab what you want and eat. There are usually 3-4 different colored plates ranging from $1 - $3 each. At the end you stack up your plates and that is how much you owe. Expect around $10 - $15 total. Sushi Ichiban is close to the convention center (24 NW Broadway) or if you want to get out of downtown check out Sushi Track in Wilsonville, OR. Fry’s Speaking of Wilsonville, OR, our fourth destination is Fry’s electronics. For you big city folk this might be something you take for granted, but for us Tech Savvy Montanians this is a must stop (Fry’s has neglected to build a store in Montana). Gadgets, circuit boards, computers, and other electronics span the endless rows of this mecca for the tech savvy. More info and location     So there it is! Now you know the hot spots of the Tech-Savvy Teachers when we are not at the conference. Post a picture on the comments section below of your destinations away from the conference! We look forward to connecting with everyone! Enjoy #NCCE2015 The post 4 Tech Savvy destinations at #NCCE2015 appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Below are slides from our presentation "Building Better Online and Blended Learning Discussions by Design" by the Tech-Savvy Teachers, Jason Neiffer and Mike Agostinelli at NCCE 2015 in Portland, Oregon!   We’d love to connect with you on this topic!  Ping us on Twitter, @techsavvyteach and @mikegusto. The post Slides for "Building Better Online and Blended Learning Discussions by Design" for NCCE 2015 appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Below are my slides for my NCCE presentation, "Tracking the Blended Learning Trend" for NCCE 2015 in Portland, Oregon!   Connect with me on Twitter to discuss my presentation! The post Slides for "Tracking the Blended Learning Trend" @ #NCCE2015 appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Click below for our 2015 "30 in 50: Tools for Tech-Savvy Teachers," presented by the Tech-Savvy Teachers at NCCE 2015 in Portland, Oregon 30 in 50: 2015 Tech Savvy Tools for Tech Savvy Teachers The post LiveBinder for: "30 in 50: Tools for Tech-Savvy Teachers" appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Below are the slides to support my presentation, "Google Classroom: Simplicity in Execution" from NCCE 2015 in Portland, Oregon! If you want to engage with me on this amazing tool, find me on Twitter at @techsavvyteach.  I am also available for this or a customized training in your school, district, region or conference! The post Slides for "Google Classroom: Simplicity in Execution" from #NCCE2015 appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Here are my slides to support my presentation on using Google Classroom for professional development at NCCE 2015 in Portland, Oregon! The post Slides: "Google classroom: Elegant, Simple Professional Development?" for #NCCE2015 appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.