Are you having a hard time blogging? I know I did when I first started out. Over the years, blogging has evolved, and many new platforms and tools have b Source: www.quicksprout.com See on Scoop.it - InformationCommunication (ICT)

Don’t have a student response system in your classroom, try polleverywhere.com with your computers, mobile devices and cell phones for free

Use an about.me page for yourself as an online business card or information center or you can utilize it so your students can create an information page

Sharing photos online of our kids is practically irresistible. But what about when those kids are teenagers and adults? Will those shots of little Zoe’s bath still live on the Internet? And what about pics kids post of themselves? Source: www.att.com See on Scoop.it - FootprintDigital

Part 1 of a 2 part series on converting text to speech. We look at a Google Chrome Plug-in and a website called QR Voice

Students are now digital citizens. Their digital footprint, which is updated on a daily basis, will have a major impact on their future. Source: blog.learn2earn.org See on Scoop.it - FootprintDigital

Transform your mobile device into an e-book, and read anywhere. With an integrated dictionary and a word-list manager make the best out of your reading sessions without spending any money in other devices. Picture this: a student needs to read a tale in English. He’ll need the book, a dictionary and a notebook to write down the words he’d previously looked up. Anything more? Sure! A comfortable space, some school stuff (pens, markers…), a lamp and some silence, to say the least. Can’t we ease things up? Of course yes, through the use of mobile devices. Now picture this other scene: the same student switches on his mobile, runs a reader application, loads a previously downloaded book, and starts reading. Everything is on his palm. He goes through the pages, finding words he doesn’t understand. He long-taps on them, and a built-in dictionary pops up to show their meaning and pronounce them. The word is automatically saved in a list, which can be shared with other applications for further review, or can be printed directly from the mobile. The student does all that with just one finger. Anyplace, anytime, with no restrictions.Now, let’s do some magic in our mobiles to set things up. First of all, download and install these Android based applications:FBReader and its TTS engine (text to speech): https://play.google.com/store/search?q=fbreaderColordict and whatever thesaurus you’re interested in: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=colordictSecond, bookmark the following URL: www.gutenberg.org, you’ll need it to freely download books.And third, let’s get started. Have a look at the following video (remember you can see it in full screen, and pause it for the details). Enjoy!

Introduced is Text to Voice, an add-on for the Firefox web browser and also Announcify which allows you to turn any website into audio file. This works much like a book on CD would work, the website reads your selected website out loud

Here’s a list of the EdTech Twitter accounts that you can’t afford to miss. Source: edtechreview.in See on Scoop.it - Educational News and Web Tools

A quick screencasting (record your screen to make a movie) tutorial "how to" on an Apple Computer (Snow Leopard or higher operating system) Click here to view: Screencasting How To Screenshots

Use your mobile device to rapidly scan and print through The Cloud.Believe me, as a teacher I hate scanning things. First of all, you have to find a ready to use scanner at school; second, scan dozens of pages while bearing the annoying noise and unbelievable slowness of the scanner; and, third, edit the results in an easy to manage format (e.g, a PDF document). All of that can take you hours of hard work.Fortunately, mobile applications have improved dramatically, and through their help and the so called Cloud we can make life easier. Let me explain how to scan and print several pages just in the blink of an eye, and how to directly print the resulting PDF through your mobile.To do so you’ll need the following applications:MDScan (you have both the lite and pro versions), or a similar one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stoiktechnology.mdscanliteGoogle Cloud print: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.cloudprintOnce you have installed them have a look at this video for instructions:

It was a pleasure to speak to all of the young, pre-service teachers today at Santa Ana College’s Road to Teaching Conference. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. I am very willing to help aspiring teachers. If you decide for this to become your profession, you are joining ranks of the selfless and the very giving. Road to Teaching Conference: Using the iPad/iPod in Education on Prezi

Edutopia blogger Vicki Davis, in the first half of a pro-and-con discussion about social media in the classroom, positions it as a vital life skill and provides 12 positive examples of classroom use. Source: www.edutopia.org See on Scoop.it - InformationCommunication (ICT)

Cloud Printers ease people's lives as you can print from any devices connected to the Internet in an easy and clean manner.Setting up a Cloud Printer is a really easy thing if you know how to do it! To set things up we need a printer connected to a computer (let's call it PR), and another computer from where to print (CL). Both have to be connected to the Internet.1. In PR install Google Chrome: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/2. Then, open Chrome and set up a Google account for PR (you can call it myprinterserver@gmail.com, or the like).3. Install the Google Cloud Print plug-in (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/print-using-google-cloud/ffaifmgpcdjedlffbhenaloimajbdkfg)4. Go to settings, and type in the search box "print". The option will appear immediately. Chrome will search for all the devices, your printer included. Select what interests you most (you can also add mobile devices, Google Drive...).5. Now, in PR navigate to: https://www.google.com/cloudprint. You should see the previously installed printer. Click on the printer and push the sharing button. In the new window add your regular gmail account (the one you'll be using in CL).From that moment on, everything’s set up in your "server". Both the computer and the printer should be switched on in order to be able to print. It’s not necessary for Chrome to be opened all the time.6. In your regular laptop do the same as in #1, #2 and #3.7. Open your Gmail and you should see a post inviting you to accept the printer. Open it and click on accept. Once you have done that you should see it on your Chrome’s settings (point #4).8. Install the Windows plug-in, so you can print from any program (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/cloudprintdriver).Let’s try it!9. Open Chrome and navigate to some site. Click on print. Google Cloud Print should appear.10. Do the same with another Windows application. Click on print.To clear things a little more check this video:

On a frigid Saturday morning, droves of educators gathered in West Hollywood, CA at the The Center for Early Education to talk technology and education, all for FREE! Yup, this was an un-conference called EdCampLA, where participants are invited to post 45 minute sessions on something they are passionate about and lead a discussion, how-to or just sit back and enjoy all of the great information being delivered. The following is a second look at wonderful presentations, ideas, resources and thoughts that I was fortunate to be part of! EVERNOTE Evernote was the first session on my agenda and in un-conference fashion, the speaker had posted the session on Evernote but wanted to learn more about it, rather than lead the session, and quickly, educators chimed in about their experiences. Just like that we had a full blown discussion on Evernote. Evernote is an online based product that can store notes, documents, audio and much more. Use it with students, share information anywhere, anytime from multiple devices. Resources: @nerdyteacher for hands-on experiences using Evernote Laurence School has great resources for teachers regarding Evernote artsonia art online gallery for displaying kid’s art (can also monetize) Apps! App Differently This was the second session of the day for me and as the title states, apps! Jo Ann Fox (@appeducationfox) moderated this discussion and many apps discussed. Below is a small list and some of their attributes. See the image below for a more comprehensive list of apps that were discussed in this session. My favorite by far was MyScript Calculator (see video below) -madlip app- free version gives you 15 seconds of audio. Have students make a talking book cover using -imovie app. Use to make trailers with your content -explain everything -haikudeck -bugsandbuttons, bugsandnumbers, etc (for lower grades) -imotionhd for creating stop motion movies -remind101 - a single directional text for parents and students (can set up groups and for field trips ) -vintagio (for silent films) -creative book builder -pickplaypost (create collages) idea: take pictures that relate objective, make collage and explain -myscriptcalculator (Microsoft version is mathmatica for PC). My favorite of the day (see below) -join.me (cost?) -commoncorelookfors -camscanner Apps mentioned in a session at EdCampLA MyScript Calculator Demo The 1 iPad classroom John Stevens (@jstevens009) and Eduardo Rivera led this session on how they use a single iPad in the class to teach 8th grade and 9th grade algebra respectively. They utilize both Apple TV and/or the Reflector app to connect their iPads wirelessly to create an interactive and collaborative experience. Here are a few of the apps and resources they recommended: -www.appsinclass.com -haikudeck -educreations and explaineverything (.99) -appshopper (track apps for pricing) -class dojo for participation -Jumbo Stopwatch -teacherkit -wordcollage Subtext After a great lunch I headed off to John Omekubo’s (@jumekubo) session on Subtext. Subtext is an app that allows students and teachers to collaborate on the same book. Students can be invited to a group by their teacher and then both parties can interact by asking questions, tagging and highlighting text , adding resources for the students and much more! Below are a few ideas and resources to support this app. -readlist.com: turn web articles into chapters -make an epub file -ipadbootcampforstudents.com -ipadbootcampforteachers.com -ipadbootcampforparents.com Slam! The day culminated in a Slam session, where educators stood up and presented their favorite thoughts, apps, websites or whatever they wanted to reflect on, from the day’s events. My favorite is listed below. I actually stood in line to present my slam of the day(MyScript Calculator) but @jstevens009 beat me to the punch, SLAM! video 514.mov for playing youtube - upload any video from google using google docs Here are some other links that might be useful for finding information on sessions that I did not attend or did not cover in this blog post. You can also peruse the EdCampLA website to search for specific information. Thanks to all of the folks @EdCampLA for a great day! EdCampLA EdCAmpLA Blog EdCAmpLA Wiki

In the beginning, there was the worker. He (or she) had long stretches of time for focused attention, as well as limited access to media. Times have changed -- but has your training? Take a look at how technology has significantly altered the attitudes and behaviors of the modern learner. 

As students and teachers are allowed and empowered to write about what they are interested in and what stokes their passions, paper blogs might eventually leap off the page. Source: www.scoop.it See on Scoop.it - Educational News and Web Tools

Knowing a bit of HTML can make a big difference when configuring your LMS, site or other things.The magnificent educational platform called MOODLE lets us insert a great bunch of things inside the courses. It goes the same with Google Sites, despite they are more strict with some tags.But when we want to improve things a bit more we need to know how to hack it, i.e, how to embed generic things from any other website. Have a look at the video below in order to learn the secrets of embedding.Note: the iframe tag showed in the video is the following one. Paste your URL in the SRC label, and change the width and height to fit it.<iframesrc="YOUR_URL_GOES_HERE&embedded=true"style="width:400px; height:500px;"frameborder="0"></iframe>

Today I was blessed and touched by something really remarkable. I was invited to attend an Eagle Scout Court of Honor Ceremony. What was really special about this ceremony was that two of my former students were receiving the highest honor a Boy Scout can attain, Eagle Scout! Statistics vary, but only 2%-4% of the boys that venture into Boy Scouts, end up achieving Eagle Scout. You might ask what this has to do with technology, and for the most part, absolutely nothing. However, it has everything to do with being a teacher and providing students with every ounce of effort that we have. You see, I do not think these two students reached this honor because I single-handedly made the difference in their lives to push forward and attain such a great honor, but what I do know is that I gave them everything that I had in the classroom. I was a role model. I preached and portrayed consistency and effort. I made sure to work hard so they could make up their minds for themselves, who I was, and whether or not they wanted to take a little piece of me and place it in their life portfolio. I am so proud of these two young men and as they continue to shape their lives, I have a small piece of their courageousness in my life portfolio. It keeps me going and your personal triumphs in education, no matter how big or how small, should keep you going to provide small pieces of yourselves to the students that you serve. Technology is the tool that I use to engage, promote, excite and ultimately deliver content, but it is the embodiment that you put on display each day that makes a difference. Congratulations Sean and James! It was my honor to have shared part of my life with you. Mr Diaz. Do you have a story that you would like to share?  

Choosing an eLearning vendor partner is a big decision. The way you arrive at that big decision will most likely involve a Request for Proposal (RFP) and may even include a Request for Information (RFI). What’s the difference between these two tools? And how do you know whether you need to use one or both?

Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. Source: www.ascd.org See on Scoop.it - Educational Books and Scholarly Articles

I recently watched a TED Talk video, titled "Math class needs a makeover," by Dan Meyer. It inspired me to re-think the way I teach my students in 6th grade. You see, we have had one formula for teaching kids, for as long as I can remember, the math T.E. (teacher’s edition). I use it everyday, whether it be to plan my lessons or to go over the homework problems. Somewhere deep inside me, I know that I am better than this. I am the planner and the person in charge to decide how my class is going to learn content for the day and synthesize it for it for a lifetime. Now, no one expects students to remember every last breath that a teacher makes in an effort to explain content, however, the process and the journey should very much be a appreciated and highlighted to the fullest extent. I could go on and on, but you have to buy in and work that much harder to get the results that you wish for. Simply wishing is actually not enough, so put your hard hat on and work to improve your craft so that students become the thinkers that we long for them to be. I am along with you for this journey, for I am a teacher who is constantly looking for avenues to improve my skill set and more importantly, the skill set of my students! Watch the video and let me know if you think that you need to make a change in your instruction?

CODING: a key for brain development, fun, gamification and gamecodization.These days plenty of words are being uttered about the importance of computer programming teaching at school. It is indeed important, but this post goes not about that, but about what choices we have as teachers to conduct it and about my conclusions on what programming languages should be used to teach coding in secondary school. And these thoughts are mainly based on: 1st, my own experience as a Computer Scientist; 2nd, my experience as a teacher of LOGO; and, 3th, a throughout analysis of several programming languages.That said, some good features a PL should have are:An easy syntax, closer to the human language one (pro BASIC, con C).A loose variable declaration system (pro BASIC, con LOGO).An IDE (integrated developing environment, so you can have full control of the code, its execution and debugging).A rapid way to execute the code (avoiding compilations, assembling...).Lots of resources/libraries.If you do a quick research on the Internet, you'll find that not many of the recommended languages fulfil those features. Python, Java, even Logo have complex syntaxes and the learning curve could be harsh, not to speak about the bad experience for students.So, my nominees are:Scratch: visual, doesn't need any previous programming skills, attractive, shareable, kid-oriented (#3, #4, #5). Logo: great for geometry and spacial intelligence, similar to robot controlling, but using its full potential can be difficult for the students (#1, #3, #4).Basic256: really easy to learn language, it even has sprite control functions for game developing (#1, #2, #3, #4). Visual basic 6: an old but still used language, the concept of "objects" can be worked, real application development, utilization of controls like windows, buttons, textboxes and so (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5).Now, the next stage should be to decide what concepts should be taught to your students. More on that in the next post.Note: some interesting books to have a look on.So you want to learn to program? Basic 256: this is the official book, so nothing is left out.Help your kids with Computer Coding. Scratch: very visual and easy to follow; the book’s format is absolutely attractive. A-must!Logo programming language: I wrote this book, so feel free to use it for your lessons, but take in count it’s written in Basque.

Evaluate these thoughts: Legislation destroys creativity Standardized testing has become an obsession The thought has been to learn things in school that lead to jobs Industrialization has shaped modern education For math and science, the question is asked, "how can we make it better." For art, there needs to be a space created for dialogue and discussion to even take place. Why? Our current system is obsolete Promote innovation and creativity Education+Culture+Commerce Organizations are having trouble with complexity Promoting creativity is a bottom line imperative For most of human history we have led local lives and communicated primarily with those around us. Today we act differently Technology is in its infancy Within the next ten years, computers may go from algorithms to rewriting their own operating systems We direct people to jobs we believe will be available Misconceptions: Only special people are creative We can’t wait to change education, children cannot postpone their lives There are three types of people (trying to change education): Immovable: you are never going to change their thoughts, do not bother Movable: might be able to be persuaded Movers: those who create change Create the right conditions Encourage students at what they are good at Special knowledge is a complex set of disciplines Do attempt to teach "academic disciplines" through the arts, because what you are saying is that art is not academic and then not worthy to stand side by side next to such things as math and science. Not seen or heard Sir Ken Robinson in action? I highly recommend the following talks: Changing Education Paradigms   Schools Kill Creativity Two books I am reading: Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative   The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything