The Tech-Savvy Teachers are in Bozeman, Montana this morning for the 2015 Southwest Montana School Services Tech Summit!  Today, we are presenting on podcasting in the classroom and wanted to share our slides: We love this technology and topic!  If you are interested in having us customize this presentation for your district and technology needs, please contact NCCE to book! The post Slides: Join a Revolution: Podcasting in the Classroom appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

The final countdown is on for NCCE 2015 in Portland! The NCCE family is thrilled to welcome Richard Achee, Google’s Strategic Partner Manager, who will be on hand discuss Google’s vision for transformation of education through technology. Richard recent sat down with me and Mike to discuss Google Apps for Education, Chromebooks and a look at Google’s future vision for education. Mike: Many districts we have worked with over the past 12 months are trying to decided between Google Apps for Education or Office 365. In your opinion what are the key differences between the 2 platforms? Richard: In terms of looking at Google Apps for Education and Office 365. Most schools are making the decision on: One of Google Apps for Education’s  distinguishing characteristics is that is 100% cloud based. There is nothing installed on the device itself. Office 355 has a subset of functionality that requires a desktop solution. The first fundamental decision is do we want to install an application on the computer? Do we have the resources to do that? Philosophically is that how we want to manage our IT assets? What are the tradeoffs? There are pluses and minuses to each approach. One of the reasons people choose Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks is you don’t install anything on the device. The reason that is an advantage is if you can’t install anything on the device you’re not getting viruses, spyware, malware. You don’t run into the update issues, patches, and those sort of maintenance items. Chromebooks with Google Apps For Education is really a paradigm shift in deploying applications. Whereas, Office 365 is a more incremental step to the cloud in some ways. When we talk with teachers and districts is it always come down to collaboration. One of Google Apps for Education advantages is how easy it is to collaborate in Google Apps. Why is that important? Schools are transforming the way they are teaching. Flipped classrooms have been effectively around for decades but now we have technology that allows to flip at a very high level. You can really redefine the task of whatever you are teaching. Because the grassroots movement already exist, what we find is that many teachers are already using Google Apps in their classroom and they may have already set up their own domain. It would be a good idea for a district leader to look at first what are the teacher using today, because they most likely have rouge deployments in their district already. Jason: There is an active campaign from some of Google’s competitors to suggest that other cloud-based services are safer with personal data.  What does a teacher, district or parent need to know when picking a service to trust with their educational data? Richard: Today more than 40 million students, teachers and administrators rely on Google Apps for Education to learn, communicate and work together more efficiently. And protecting the privacy and security of our users — including students — is a top priority and we work very hard to maintain the trust of our customers. If you look at our service level agreements, there are no ads in Google Apps for Education services and we have no plans to change this in the future. . Additionally, K-12 Google Apps for Education users signed in to their Apps for Education accounts do not see ads when they use Google Search. I definitely recommend everyone spend time to look at the terms and conditions of their contract and hold your vendors accountable. Many of the decisions Google has made over the years is based upon the feedback given by users. This is one of many reasons I am proud to work for Google, the integrity with which they listen and respond to customers based upon feedback. One of the cornerstones to Google’s philosophy is to put the user first. I see this everyday with Google Apps for Education, both in terms of privacy and security as well as improvements like Google Classroom. Classroom was 100% driven by teacher feedback. Mike: What does it mean to be a Google Educator and can anyone achieve this certification? Richard: If you use your favorite search engine and search for Google for education there is a section on training. There are really two levels of training. Level One describes the basic: How to use Google Apps. Level Two is how it is applied in the classroom. There is also the Google educators group. These groups are made up of many Google certified teachers that discuss best practices, lesson ideas, and how they are using Google Apps in the classroom. These communities are extremely valuable for getting teachers beyond the certification level to specific use cases that will help them in integrating Google Apps into their teaching. Mike:Let’s talk about Chromebooks in the classroom.  Development and redevelopment of software assets in the educational space is very slow, how do you see teachers striking a balance between using Chromebooks and still be able to utilize web based tools built in javascript, Adobe Shockwave, or other older frameworks? Richard: We have tackled this problem in a few ways. First, we look at the developers themselves and see if we can get them to move away from these older technologies and onto HTML 5. People are moving away from older technologies for a reason, there are some challenges with these these older technologies that will not go away. The second thing is to look at the strategy of the school. What are the legacy apps that the school needs to migrate from or find alternatives? Many have found that there are similar apps, or often better apps available through the Chromebook. Finally, some schools have setup a virtual desktop environment to allow access to legacy apps on Chromebooks. Jason: If I am starting at square one and want to consider Google Apps for Education and/or Chromebooks, what are the first steps? Richard: Engage a partner to get you started with Google Apps. What are your learning outcomes? Now look at devices. Ask yourself: Are we just going with Chromebooks or are there tablet solutions that make sense? We have found that tablets have been most effective in the K-2grade levels and from 3rdand beyond Chromebooks have been the best fit because students need a way to easily type. It is not an either or discussion, it is usually a mix of both. When you make a hardware decision, if you go with Chromebooks, get "white glove" service. That means the Chromebooks will be delivered already setup on your domain so you can just roll them out to students. This makes for a much smoother process. It is all about Professional Development. This will be the difference between a mediocre deployment and a highly successful one. This PD needs to be an ongoing effort and it is going beyond the point of "just getting it" to the point where your teachers can teach others. Richard Achee is sponsored by Troxell Communications.  Please visit him in the Troxell Booth #512 on Thursday and Friday. It is not too late!  Register right now for NCCE in Portland.  Click here to find out more and join your colleagues and the Tech-Savvy Teachers in Portland!   The post Interview: NCCE Presenter, Google’s Richard Achee, on Making the Case for Google Apps for Education appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

The following is my lesson from my workshop: Candy is Dandy! Feel free to use this with your students or for professional development. The follow link will bring you to the lesson in Google Docs. If you go to file, make copy you can freely edit and make your own. Enjoy! Description: Have you wanted to learn about Google Apps, but didn’t know where to start? This hands-on workshop will focus on Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and Forms. You will get to participate in the lesson as the tools are being taught and leave with a weeks worth of lessons! http://bit.ly/googlecandy The post Candy is Dandy! Cross Curricular Lesson using Google Apps appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Good afternoon! I am thrilled to be in Eureka, Montana today for their now second annual "GoogleFest," working with teachers from in and around the region. Here my my slides for today’s presentation, "Join a Revolution: Podcasting in the Classroom GOOGLE STYLE:"   Join a Revolution: Podcasting in the Classroom GOOGLE STYLE from Jason Neiffer The post Slides: "Join a Revolution: Podcasting in the Classroom GOOGLE STYLE" appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

NEW AT NCCE 2016! DIGITAL BUG & TECH-SAVVY TEACHERS, NCCE SUMMIT FEATURING GOOGLE FOR EDUCATION NCCE is partnering with ESD 112 to host a brand new summit at NCCE 2016! You are invited to submit a proposal for a 50-minute session here. Sessions will be accepted until July 31st. If you have any questions, you can contact Kristina Wambold at Kristina.wambold@esd112.org or Jean Bengfort atjbengfort@ncce.org.      The post NCCE Summit Featuring Google Apps Call for Proposal appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

As of September 1, NCCE will begin providing full-service E-Rate support for schools and libraries that are seeking federal assistance on eligible telecommunications, Internet access, and hardware expenses. Schools seeking guidance with technology planning, RFP development, and preparing forms or bid materials as part of the E-Rate program will now be able to receive assistance through NCCE. For additional information on all of the E-Rate services that are available, please go to NCCE’s website at ncce.org/e-rate. The key to this new service is the appointment of Eric Chambers as the new E-Rate Services Director.  Chambers brings with him more than 8 years of experience and leadership in working with school districts to apply for E-Rate funds and supporting them with technology planning. Most recently, Eric was the Director of Evaluation, Planning and Development for Northwest Educational Services District 189, where he successfully designed and implemented a funding program that resulted in generating over $5 million in revenue for Washington schools. "Eric is a high-energy leader who will be an asset to our abilities to provide professional learning opportunities throughout our organization’s membership. His record for guiding, directing and executing the E-Rate process for schools is impressive." said Heidi Rogers, CEO/Executive Director. "With Eric’s expertise in such crucial areas like funding technology initiatives and Wifi, we are looking forward to providing these services to assist schools." "I’m really excited to be joining the NCCE team—the innovative, forward thinking, and entrepreneurial spirit practiced here clearly benefits our educational community," said Chambers. "That alone would be enough to be excited about, but to also have the opportunity to expand work I did at a local level across the entire region was something no reasonable person could pass up." "This is another step in fulfilling our mission," comments Richard Snyder, NCCE board president. "Eric will be a great resource to schools and districts that are helping students and teachers use 21st century technology. The partnerships that he will form through his leadership and knowledge will directly impact student and teacher success. We couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity." The post NCCE can support you with E-Rate thanks to Eric Chambers! appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

We hope you can join us at NCCE 2016 in Seattle, WA February 24 -26th! The post Registration Now Open for NCCE 2016! appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

The Zoombinis have finally made there way to touch screens! You may remember these blue creatures if you taught or were a student in the 90’s. Zoombinis is a logic based puzzle game where you have to move the creatures, each with distinct attributes, through puzzles while avoiding the evil Bloats. Deciding how to use the distinct attributes of the Zoombinis to make it through each challenge is the key to this puzzle game. If you are looking to add a logic based puzzle game to your list of apps for students, this deserves a look: Only you can deliver the Zoombinis from the clutches of the evil Bloats, who have seized control of Zoombini Isle! Guiding the Zoombinis to their new home will require your best creative and logical thinking, as the way ahead is perilous. Solve fun and challenging puzzles and explore a strange land packed with memorable and quirky characters. Playing Zoombinis teaches and reinforces valuable life skills, including deductive reasoning, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, and more.   The post Logic and problem solving with Zoombinis on iPad and Android appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

Happy Friday from the Tech-Savvy Teachers! Fall means more than football and back-to-school, it is smartphone release season!  Technology companies ranging from Apple to ZTE have released or will release new phone models in time to upgrade during the holiday season. One trend that continues in the "smartphone arms race" is the higher and higher resolution on new models of smart phones.  Many high end smart phones come at resolutions that are far higher than even larger monitors sitting on your desktop. These screens might be beautiful, however, the proliferation of high resolution screens is seriously impacting battery life.  I know this well: my otherwise awesome 2014 LG G3 Android-based phone can’t get through a workday with even light use. For me, this means that I need to carry a charger with me and often plug in my phone a few times a day. One tip I heard from a colleague that works for me in my pursuit of a charged phone: your phone charges faster turned off, or, in a pinch, in airplane mode! The modern smartphone contains many hardware tools that provide advanced functionality.  The tools that use the most battery include the LTE/cell radio, the Wifi radio, and GPS hardware.  These tools are turned off in airplane mode.  If you couple this with keeping your screen off during a quick charge, you can move your battery back into mobile mode and be on your way! How’s your cell phone battery life?  Hit us up in the commons below or let us know on Twitter! The post Tech Tip: Use Airplane Mode for a Faster Charge! appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a screen recording must be worth one million! We have been using a new app that is a game changer in the world of screen recording and it is called Recordit. Here is what makes Recordit life changing: It is free It works on Mac and PC exactly the same It records and creates a gif image Number 3 is the big one. A an image file now you can attach the image in things like email and text without having to send a teacher or student to an external website. As an example the following image file shows just how easy Recordit is to use: Check out Recordit at: http://recordit.co/ and download it today!   The post Our new favorite FREE screen recording app Recordit appeared first on NCCE's Tech-Savvy Teacher Blog.