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Before you dive head-first into #teachingWithVideo, run through this list to make sure you’ve got everything in place. Preparation is key…but you already know that. #1 Thinking Phase Decide on your flipped lessons’ learning objectives. This is a critical step to achieving impactful results. Are you flipping to help the struggling students or to deepen the in-class learning? Or both? What is it that you want to improve by the end of the semester? If you get to the bottom of these questions, you’ll be able to use various teaching elements to support the objectives. Decide how you will deliver your flipped lessons. Does your school use a Learning Management System (LMS)? Do you have a classroom blog where you’d like to share the videos? Do you want to use secure video hosting service or will a public video platform be enough? Talk to your school’s tech people - it’s possible you don’t know half of the things that are available to you (and you wouldn’t be the only one…).   Ensure all students have Internet access at home. The flipped classroom approach will only work if all of your students can access the content online. Have you asked them or their parents whether they have the Internet connection at home? What are the alternatives if you run into problems? You may want to consider computer labs as a possible workaround. And remember, even if it’s not entirely obvious, there is always a way - be creative. Consider initial student engagement tactics. Change is hard. You should probably expect some kind of a resistant movement in your classroom. Not everyone’s going to be thrilled about the new way of learning. To lessen the tension and make the transition easier, consider such simple engagement tactics as watching and analysing the first video together. Making sure your students understand the new process is key, but it’s also vital to show them that flipped lessons are actually more fun than reading assignments. Make a plan B in case you need help. Who you gonna call? Every cure has a side effect. Inevitably, you’re destined to bump into some difficulties when experimenting with new concepts and (especially) new technology. That’s okay. However, to avoid experiencing more stress than it’s necessary, prepare a plan B just in case things go awry. Let the tech people know about your initiative, have their contact details on hand and create a folder of help documents to soothe the anxiety. And then you’re ready.   #2 Acting Phase Select video captioning & other edtech tools for your flipped classroom. Now that you’ve passed the initial planning stage, it’s time to take action. Your learning objectives should be a decent guiding light in the process of selecting the most suitable tools. What features will your videos need? Are you going to introduce more interactive elements such as quizzes, games or classroom surveys? Build your arsenal of edtech tools before you step out of your comfort zone, so you can focus on delivering interactive and well-structured content. Record your video lecture(s) & organize other course content. A quick Google research will tell you what not to do on the camera, but the most important thing to remember is that you’re talking to the same students that sit in your classroom. So really, there is no reason to be stressed. Video is an amazing thing because you can always record a new version if you want to (so much easier than going back in time). When you get your video lessons sorted in advance, you’ll be able to maintain a certain flow and structure. It will also enable you to create content around these lessons to reinforce the key takeaways and increase the interactivity in the classroom. Just push that button.   Draft a brief document so students know what’s expected of them. When you have your mini video lectures recorded, you will know exactly what the students should be able to get out of them. So let them know. Create a simple instruction how to watch the videos to help the students get their heads round the new process. Should they take notes? What is the main purpose of watching these lessons at home? How will it help them to better understand the topic at hand? Fun fact: it doesn’t really have to be a document - why not deliver the instruction in a video format? Plan and prepare in-class activities. So your students have watched the mini lectures at home. It’s time to find out what they learnt and how they liked it. Carry out a quick classroom survey to get real-time understanding of how your students are doing. A simple question like "what color shirt was I wearing" will give you immediate feedback on who actually watched the video. Project work, discussions, Q&A sessions - you can devote all of your time to deepening your students’ knowledge on the subject; just have several action plans prepared to safeguard yourself from the unexpected. #3 Reflecting Phase Prepare tasks to measure lecture effectiveness. No one will know better how things are shaping up in the classroom than you. Just by observing your students’ engagement with the learning material and paying attention to their questions you’ll be able to tell if the new approach is effective. However, it’s a good idea to plan out a few comparative tests to have some data to back up your findings. What exactly is improving and why? Consider post-session elements to prompt students to reflect on what they’ve learned. You know all of this. You’ve been doing it for years (or at least you know you should be doing it). So it’s just here to remind you that repetition is healthy. Don’t let your students off the hook so easily. A one-sentence essay to summarize the key points of the video lesson is an interesting pick. What seems to be easy is never easy, huh? Seek advice from colleagues who are flipping. One of the easiest ways to avoid disastrous first-time mistakes is to get your colleagues to share their failures. Ask for advice, study the processes they’ve built, copy what you like and improve what you think needs improving. I don’t want to use the phrase, but it has to be done - knowledge grows when shared. Find a way to communicate benefits to students’ parents. For starters, when kids have no other homework but to watch a video lesson, the parents are free from homework, too. I repeat - the flipped classroom model leaves parents with no homework tasks. That should be enough to shift the mood to the brighter side. Then you can use your backup data to reveal the benefits of the flipped classroom approach. Smells like teacher of the year. Good luck. Thinking of flipping your classroom? Download your free guide here to get the best advice.  

Disappointed with your current reading app? Want to shift to something better? Maybe you want to but you don’t exactly have a stellar knowledge of apps. Don’t know the first clue on what to look for, what’s good, bad or better. If that’s you, then here are a few questions to help guide you along in your search for the perfect reading app. Do you want it as simple as they come? Do you want a reading app that gives you the basics—and only the basics? Want nothing more than to be able to click on the app, read a book and that’s that? If that’s your idea of the reading app paradise, by all means, go with simple. There are a lot of reading apps out there that are pretty basic. If you like your reading experience sans the fuss and the frills, you won’t have a problem finding apps to give you exactly what you want.  Want something more advanced? However, if you love books—consume them in an almost inhumanely rapid pace—and find the idea of reading apps that are skimpy on the features sacrilegious, you might want to get reading apps with features that are more advanced. From pagination features that allow you to flip through the pages on the screen to background choices, a reading app that allows you more control over your reading experience sounds ideal. If you already own a smartphone, getting the free reading app from Nook should be easy. According to an article on Macgasm, it’s loaded with features that give you great leeway over your reading experience. And it supports embedded audio and video files so what’s not to love? What features work for you?​ The best reading experience for every person is different. So it’s got a lot to do with what you want. If you’re happy just having a portable library with you, then that works for you. No need to fix what’s broken, right? You don’t need anything more. Some though are a bit more particular in their needs as a reader. If you actually fall into the second category, you might have a reading app checklist that goes like this: Highlights Highlights help you remember why you loved a book in the first place. When you flip through the pages of your all-time faveeBooks, these are the passages that help you recreate the fun and thrill you went through with that hard to put down book, that rekindle your love for that unforgettable story or character. It also works like a barometer of your reading pleasure. The more highlights you find, the more you enjoyed that particular eBook. Adjustable font sizes This is important. Not all of us can boast of 20-20 vision. That works both ways, too. Some people really prefer tiny fonts on screen. Possibly because they dislike the idea of anyone reading over their shoulder. That especially happens a lot if your reading material is something you’d rather the world didn’t see (like trashy romance novels). Bookmarks According to an article on PCWorld, one of the best features of a reading app is that it allows you to save your place. Who wants to have to flip through pages trying to find out the exact spot they stopped whenever they get back into a book? That’s incredibly frustrating and seriously impairs the user experience. So bookmarks save the day. Searchable terms There are times when you really just want to look for a phrase or word in a book, whether to remember where you first read it or to find out when a specific event in the story happens. That’s why a feature that allows you to find words or phrasesmakes it easier for you to read the story the way you need to. Background An article on EBookfriendly also mentions that eye strain is a legitimate concern with reading apps. That’s why features that allow you to dim down the light are particularly useful. If you already work with computers, tablets and even mobile screens far longer than you want or realize, having this handy feature helps ease the strain you put your eyes through on a daily basis. Dictionary Let’s face it: some writers love to confuse us to no end by using words that no one else uses in normal, everyday human conversations. Nevertheless, you push on, determined to understand every word. You love a book that much you want to give it a chance to come alive in your head. That’s why having a built-in dictionary is great. While you often get the gist, based on context, there’s really nothing better than getting a clearer picture of what you’re reading. These are just some of the qualities you can look for in your ideal reading app. So get out there and explore. Good luck!

As a child, who was not scared of math? Or as an adult, how many have you encountered that said, "I wanted to be an engineer, but I was afraid of Mathematics"? Not all of us are born with affinity for numbers, calculations, problem solving, etc. Math will always be a challenge for any student in any educational level. At school or while doing math homework, there may be a cloud of gloom or dread looming over them while staring into space or at that dreaded task. As teachers explain a difficult concept, one may see frowns or even worse, looks of disinterest and sleepiness; some even attempt to skip that particular task. Fear or phobia of math may develop short and long-term negative effects for students, which may hold them back in their future educational endeavors, such as: Dreading and putting off doing homework Loss of focus in class Failing their exams despite studying hard Lose confidence  in  themselves  and in their abilities Not putting much thought in solving problems Avoid math courses  in college, or dropping/failing them How can one make students overcome their math phobia and be on their way to become math whiz, or algebra experts? Here are tips that you can try out: Make problems more interesting Making math problems relatable can always pique their interest to take their shot at solving them. You can look up articles on entertainment, sports, or music and incorporate elements in the problems. For example, when asking about speed, you can ask how long will Jon Snow and the members of the Night’s Watch tale to reach The Wall given their speed and distance from The Wall. Make a team challenge Team spirit is always welcome in the classroom for a group exercise can be an exciting activity for them. To spice this up, make a chain problem that each member can unlock, and they can only tag the next student when they provide the correct answer. Make it a monthly activity that they can look forward to. Be sensitive to each student’s level of math competence Like how solutions to math problems can vary, each student’s ability to solve them can also differ; an educator should not express frustration when a student lags behind. Make this your challenge in test or exercise-making, and analyze the results: Is the test too easy or hard? Did you cover all elements of your lesson plan? What can you do to improve your teaching strategies? These questions can help you handle even the most difficult students in the class — which leads to the next tip. Do not reprimand them for wrong answers Math is already hard as it is, and calling them out can be make students stressed out — which can lead to them to math phobia. Your comments should be constructive and encouraging, and make it a one-on-one talk with the student having a difficulty with math tasks. Also, motivate and cheer for them when they get problems correct. Be open to questions from students Be happy to receive inquiries from students, either for clarifications or for more info about the concept or formula. Indulge their questions albeit very simple or a bit far from the concept. Each student has different ways of analyzing a lesson, and this can give you insight on how a particular student actually learns. Don’t make them memorize; make them understand When people are asked to describe math, two words are usually mentioned: equations and formulas. While these will always be connected to math, it is not enough that they only memorize these. Explain carefully and extensively the rationale behind each equation/formula, and find ways on make them understand more how to apply them. In this way, they could identify and provide the correct equation/formula for a specific problem in their exams. Provide illustrations, cards, or other visual tools to help them better understand math problems and equations. Substituting terms that are difficult to understand with its commonly used equivalent is also an option. Ask them not to be too reliant on calculators and other devices Calculators can make a student’s life easier, but this can also promote laziness and even cheating. With the tip above saying that formulas are not everything when it comes to math, you should ingrain in them the concepts and how to apply them. However, you can make a compromise allowing them the use of calculators, only if the problem calls for it. There are many factors that can lead to math phobia. It is not only during the time that you notice a student lagging behind his/her homework or exams, schedule individual appointments with them and check how they are really doing in their academics. With your concern, you’ll not only be a teacher but also a champion in their eyes.

Last year, I attended EdCamp Los Altos. My goal was to really listen to what the educators had to say, and to try to understand what problems they faced every day. Boy did the EdCamp deliver! Given what we’re trying to help teachers with at Edusight, I was attracted to two sessions - making assessment meaningful, and reinventing the parent-teacher conference. Here are the top 3 things I learned about how teachers can make assessment more meaningful every day! Purpose: Start with the End in Mind Assessment for the sake of assessment is futile - the goal of assessment should be to inform instruction, rather than to check a box. Begin with thinking about what skills your students should display to demonstrate mastery, and assess to understand how progressing along this path. The results of assessment should dictate how you adjust your lesson plans and instruction to shepherd students further along the path to mastery. Assessment then, should be ongoing and informative. Instruction should adapt to results. Assessment should rarely be the endpoint, but rather a regular checkpoint along the path to mastery. Focus on Process: Knowledge Isn’t Always the Goal Increasingly, knowledge isn’t what we strive for as educators. Students knowing what will be on the test and memorizing concepts to prepare is a phenomenon of the past. Assessment should not just test knowledge, but also process. Are students understanding how to apply concepts? Can they communicate what they’ve learned effectively? Are they able to think critically about new information on the concept, and synthesize what they’ve learned well? The minor word of caution is that there is some value to memorization and knowledge-based learning, especially in early foundational concepts (e.g., multiplication), so even though a knowledge should not be a focus of assessment, a complete departure from assessing knowledge is also not recommended. Student Self-Reflection: The Power of Metacognition A really powerful tool in making assessment meaningful is student reflection on their own performance. Whether it’s self-reflection or group discussion on each others’ work and the meaning of what they learned, students benefit tremendously from looking back and identifying specific things they did well, and specific things they can improve upon. Self-reflection also provides the additional benefit of building character. Students learn to give and receive feedback and constructive criticism; to be tactful and respectful in giving, and to be open and receptive while receiving. Students are empowered by self-reflection, and having them clearly outline what they learned and what they need to work on also provides a framework for accountability! While I could never do justice to the depth of discussion in that room, I hope the brief lessons outlined provide some food for thought for how you can make assessment meaningful this year! How do you make assessment more meaningful? Share with us on Twitter, or Facebook, or shoot me an email at vikram@edusight.co. Until next time! Vikram

Download Listen in a New Window iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Leave a Review Clammr It Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast Leave a VoiceMail Jeff sits down with Vikram to discuss why Edusight is simply the best standards-based portfolio to help teachers document student achievement. About Edusight Edusight is a standards-based portfolio to help teachers document student learning with grades, notes, photos, and audio/video comments. Use Edusight on the web to manage assessment, grading, and standards seamlessly (includes Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards, and state standards). Edusight Notes for iOS lets you capture learning evidence in the classroom as it happens - quickly take a note or record a video of students as they learn, tag standards, and instantly add it to their portfolios! All of this evidence comes together in beautiful, easy-to-digest student portfolios that can be shared with students, parents, and administrators in real time so everyone is engaged in improving student learning. Why Edusight? Edusight is used by over 140 schools and districts across North America, including schools in New York, Chicago, California, and Ontario. Edusight is available for individual teachers for free - always. For schools and districts who wish to manage Edusight at an organizational level, we offer premium subscriptions which include features like SIS integration, reporting modules, teacher collaboration, and administrator dashboards. Educator Feedback "The best designed gradebook I have ever encountered." - Mike R., Instructional Leader at a top Canadian private school "What used to take me 2 weeks to learn takes me 15 minutes with Edusight!" - Maria A., kindergarten teacher, Brooklyn public school "Edusight is SO MUCH EASIER TO USE than my last gradebook." - Stacy I., high school teacher, Palo Alto charter school Current Features standards-based or traditional gradebook iOS apps (iPad / iPhone) to document notes, photos, audio and video standards tagging for all evidence of learning simple student portfolio student / parent web access analytics and data visualization for teachers, students, and parents Edmodo Single Sign On and roster sync shared data across school accounts, allowing teachers to collaborate when working with the same students across classes (premium feature) administrator analytics (premium feature) Integrations with other systems - e.g., SIS / LMS integration (premium feature) Upcoming: Google Classroom integration Links of Interest Web: https://edusight.co Twitter: @edusight Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edusight Email: hello@edusight.co YouTube Walkthroughs: http://bit.ly/1J1tYaI Customer Testimonial: https://vimeo.com/123037422 Additional Information Launched September, 2014 As of July, 2015 - 2000+ teachers, 10% weekly growth Vision: to help everyone in K-12 education make better decisions with data Imagine K12 Fall 2014 cohort Based in Toronto, Canada, with customers across North America Official vendor for NYC Department of Education and Chicago Public Schools About Vikram Vikram was born in India and lived in Chennai and Toronto before earning a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. Always passionate about teaching, Vikram spent years tutoring and teaching his peers throughout high school and college. After working with Fortune 500 executives as a consultant, helping them find insights in data, Vikram decided to use the skills he learned to help teachers in the classroom, founding Edusight in 2014. Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

Download Listen in a New Window iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Leave a Review Clammr It Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast Leave a VoiceMail Jeff sits down with Sue Ann Towle to discuss the new Pearson Tell, a brand new interactive assessment experience for English Language Learners.  About Pearson Education Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. For more information about Pearson, visit http://www.pearson.com. Links of interest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pearsonplc Twitter: https://twitter.com/pearson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PearsonEducation Sue Ann Towle, Director of Channel Management, Pearson As Director of Channel Management for Pearson, Towle is responsible for securing, fostering, and expanding relationships with product channel partners based on geography, focus, or market for nine Pearson assessment products. She proactively assesses, clarifies and validates partner needs on an ongoing basis and leads solution development efforts that best address end-user needs while coordinating necessary internal resources. In her role as product manager for WriteToLearn, a popular fully automated online literacy tool, Towle was focused on all aspects of sales, marketing and support for the product including product strategy and competitive and marketing analysis. She has conducted hundreds of product presentations at numerous ed tech conferences including ISTE, IRA, ASCD and NCTE. Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

The Setup One of the first tasks I was asked to accomplish upon starting my new positing of Technology Integration Coordinator was to create a series of PD courses for the new school year.  My mission was simple.  Teacher takes a PD course, and then they need to have a customizable certificate generated for them … they also needed to have a survey at the end of this process. How did I accomplish this? First I must confess that my original plan was not the best.  I created individual forms, individual surveys, and this lovely process took me just over 6 hours.  I then reached out once finished to my Google Trainers Voxer group to see if there was an easier way for this.  This was the moment of clarity when several amazing Google minds all shouted at me… USE AUTOCRAT!!! In typical TeacherCast fashion, I knew this was time for me to do a podcast on the topic.  It was then that I was introduced to Trevor Beck from the great country of Canada who took me under his Google Wing and showed me how this process actually works. Video 1: Using Autocrat to Create PD Certs This process of creating PD Certs through autoCrat is simply awesome.  Teachers can also use it to create Student of the Month certs, something I am heavily advocating in my new school.   Video 2: Using formMule to create Surveys In this second video, Trevor shows us how to use formMule to round out the user experience with a PD Cert and user feedback survey.   What Do You Use autoCrat and formMule for? Are you a fan of the great work that Andrew Stillman does? If so, leave a comment below sharing how you are using these two awesome Google Add-ons.  We would love to hear from you.  Also don’t forget to tweet @AStillman below. Did you see the AWESOME Google Addons that @AStillman created for us? #Autocrate #FormMuleClick To Tweet

Take a quick look at the world around us; the TVs are slimmer than ever before, the mobile phones have gone smarter and tablets are here to replace those big desktop computers. Everything has come under one single finger-touch of the user. Things are not done the same way now like they used to be a few decades ago. Wearable technology is growing with each passing day, increasing convenience and feasibility in every field and for every person. Times have also changed when it comes to wearable technology now. The growth of wearable technology is gaining extreme popularity after the extensive use of laptops and smartphones. Below is the list of wearable tech that will show you the positive impact it has made in the world and learn how you can take advantage of it, especially in your school: 1. Google Glass Google glass has been recognized for changing the means of future education. Because of its cutting edge device, the process of learning for both the student and teacher is speeded up much smoother. Teachers can now capture video or photos and can share them with their students. Google glass also helps in making your very own short documentary about the subject being taught, which helps in enhancing the story telling in the classroom. It even has a wonderful feature of recording attendance by using facial recognition and even sends report cards to the parents directly that keeps the parent-teacher communication connected. 2. iPods iPods in classrooms increase the learning time and has a wonderful feature of creating tutorials that you can hear later. It is a very useful tool that has benefited the students from iPod’s multimedia, flexible features and its mobile capabilities. Students can always use it for calculators, maps, storing audio books and much more. 3. Smart Watches Smart watches have been very useful in education and are the most accurate information displaying device. It has an extremely simple and a wonderful system that lets the students send messages to their teachers if they are too shy to ask out loud. The teacher than sees the question on the watch and answers as a general question rather than naming a particular student. It is also used as an alarm or remote for reminders. If there are any changes made in class or assignments, then the students are noticed through the smart watches. 4. Productivity Wristbands These are wireless wristbands that are excellent when it comes to Physical Education. It helps in keeping the track of sleep quality, feedback of progress, number of walked steps and everything else related to student’s personal metrics. 5. VRG This wearable technology has surely taken entertainment to the next level by providing a realistic 3D experience. This is even used by the teachers to record videos that help them explain how to solve a particular problem or explaining about a chemical experiment. Students can even perform and share their video after recording that helps their teachers assess them individually with more care. 6. GoPro It is a high definition small personal camera that can be easily mounted anywhere and worn too. Students are extremely excited to learn from GoPro since it gives them a wonderful platform to research and explore. Students can use this camera to take pictures during their class for presentations and projects. This device is an excellent choice for the classroom. Wearable technology has been introduced for everyone involved in education to discover, learn and lead in this fast moving world. It is entering in our daily lives steadily and has especially increased the excitement to study. Make the best use of these mind blowing wearable technologies in the classrooms and take your education to the next level. About Eileen Burton: Deems herself as a tech nerd, Eileen Burton is a small town person with a lots of passion for everything tech. She’s also a professional consultant for now working with an elite education consultants that help clients who want to buy academic assignment.

If a software company wants to give its product away free to educators, that’s a good thing for schools, teachers and students, right? After all, there’s not a lot of money in education budgets these days. And if software companies—along with their visionary, deep-pocketed investors—now find it fashionable to give their products away so as to show a large user base and good growth numbers, isn’t this a boon that works in educators’ favor? Many companies give away products that educators can use for free. In a so-called "freemium" model, some of these companies offer premium versions with expanded features if you pay a little money. What do these services have in common? They all start out free, and students and teachers can quickly adopt them without requiring buy-in from administrators and districts. On the surface, free sounds good. Teachers get easy access to try stuff without any centralized budgetary or IT approval required. In most cases, users just create a user ID and log in. If they want to add student and parent access, they just create additional accounts, also for free. But IT professionals and school administrators we speak with tell us they’re starting to worry about the very real risks and pitfalls associated with free systems in education for five main reasons: 1. Free systems usually aren’t very robust Free solutions in education are usually relatively simple technology. The feature set is designed to minimize support costs instead of supporting sound pedagogy. So, district and state grading schemes, stranding, streaming, state standards and more are simply non-existent. Support for school or district wide reporting and data analysis is absent. And what region doesn’t have unique assessment and reporting standards? 2. Free systems aren’t integrated with district systems Free systems are typically not integrated with the school or district main student information system (SIS), the identity management system that controls logins across multiple applications (e.g. Microsoft’s Active Directory), or any attendance database, report card system or resource scheduling system. Sometimes there’s no data sharing of assessment results into your online gradebook. It’s hard to connect to systems like this and do it in an elegant way, so very few free tools do. 3) Free systems often push the administration burden to teachers Because they’re not connected to district systems, free sites typically have no knowledge of which students are in a given class or school. Teachers are often left with the challenge of inputting students and classes for a gradebook or student rewards system, for instance, and removing and adding students as they come and go. When it comes to parent communication, some teachers take on the burden of running their own email lists, managing updates themselves as parents and their email addresses change. Some technically advanced teachers even attempt websites for individual classes and resource sharing. Teachers shouldn’t be shouldering these additional responsibilities! This opt-in nature also makes for inequity across a school or district. Students with the keen teachers get access to the cool tools, but other students are left out. Often, teachers in the highest-need schools are already overwhelmed. The last thing they need is to become experts in CSV files or email service provider list management. When you add up the number of hours it takes for teachers and administrators to manage "free" systems, how free are they, really? 4) What’s free today might not be in the future - or may even be GONE How can you budget to maybe have to pay at some point for a tool you count on using today for free? What if there’s no money in your budget the year the vendor decides to start charging? What do you do? Stop using the system? The freemium model is not working for everyone. Many companies that are giving their software away—and their investors—are waking up to the fact that freemium is great when it works, but it doesn’t actually work all that often. If a vendor doesn’t find some way to make money, no matter how much capital they’ve raised, their funding will dry up and they’re going to end up out of business. In other words, even the most well funded companies need to crack the revenue code, and not all will. And that’s going to lead to even bigger headaches for schools that will cost even more to fix. Companies need revenue to continue development and to support existing installations, i.e. to survive. 5) You may find yourself paying an unexpected price Users of social media like Facebook have been learning the old saw, if you’re not paying for a product or service, you’re the product. While there are guidelines in education and laws in many countries worldwide aimed at protecting student data, even big companies like Google that should know better have made mistakes. Now, if Google can mess up, how many other companies may cut corners as they try to monetize teacher and student information because that’s their only path to revenue? At some point free solutions can suddenly come at an unexpected cost. That cost may be through licensing fees, fees for upgrades, or service fees. Maybe advertising you may not want. Or perhaps that cost comes in the form of lost data when a company goes away because it couldn’t stay in business and refused to give you a way to export your data. District IT personnel sometimes get involved, but not always for the reasons you might think. IT staff are increasingly being called on to police teachers’ applications to mitigate school districts’ legal exposure. How many well-meaning teachers understand the potential for litigation for accidentally sharing a student’s academic information with someone they thought was a parent or guardian? Or maybe who was a parent at one time, but isn’t any longer after a court ruling? Teachers shouldn’t be expected to shoulder the added burden of knowing about and managing critical information that the school office or district is already managing. It’s only smart for educators to look carefully before tying themselves to free or freemiumservices. Schools and boards will forego free software for the right software. For instance, 29 New York City schools opted out of a free Department of Education-developed data management system in favor of a paid one. And users of free systems move over to our social learning and education engagement system, Edsby, all the time. The take away here is clear: "Free" solutions can cost your school or district real time, real money and real results. When looking for future systems, place special emphasis on platforms that integrate with your district-wide legacy applications, such as student information systems, so that teachers aren’t shouldering the burden of data entry. And last but not least, plan for properly managed school or district-wide rollouts to ensure that all students and teachers get the benefits of modern tools, not just the early adopting teachers and their students. About Scott Welch Scott Welch is Co-Founder of Edsby, a commercial all-in-one application for K-12 school districts that offers attendance, lesson planning, social learning, gradebooks, parent engagement and more. Details at www.edsby.com. An earlier version of this article was originally published in SEEN Magazine.

Download Listen in a New Window iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Leave a Review Clammr It Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast Leave a VoiceMail Jeff sits down with Mary Jo Madda and Michael Winters to discuss how EdSurge is one of the BEST resources for educators on the planet!  Learn how EdSurge was founded and how it operates today. About EdSurge EdSurge is a news and information company focused on the intersection between education and technology. EdSurge readers and fans are edtech entrepreneurs, educators, investors and education policy makers who are interested in technology K12 and Higher Ed. EdSurge has keynoted with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, hosted an edtech video chat at the request of The White House, is one of TED’s top "education blogs to follow," and in 2013 was awarded "Most Influential Community Builder" by GSV Advisors Links of interest https://www.edsurge.com/ @EdSurge @MJMadda @mjwints Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

Download Listen in a New Window iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Leave a Review Clammr It Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast Leave a VoiceMail Jeff sits down with Jon Roepke to discuss the 2015 line up of products from Belkin.  Learn why Teachers and Schools are using Belkin Products to redefine the traditional classroom today!  About Belkin While the majority of companies in the education hardware tech space focus on one particular area, Belkin looks at a classroom trying to integrate technology and asks the question - how could we make this easier for the teachers and students? Our solutions address collaboration (Table stage stands and stage app), protection (AirProtect Sleeve) and connectivity. For more on how our technology enables a next-gen learning environment, click here. Education is near and dear to the heart of Belkin’s Founder and CEO Chet Pipkin.   Chet dedicates several hours of his day on EDU issues. Chet’s extensive nonprofit work revolves around youth, education, and closing the achievement gap. He is a founder of the DaVinci family of charter schools in Hawthorne, CA. The schools include a campus for STEM, Design, Communications, and a new model for K-8 education. He was also instrumental in planning Internet access to all California public schools as a member of the California Education Technology Task Force. Items Mentioned on Todays Show Adapter Kit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6dRDnvFkVs Air Protect Always-On Sleeve for Chromebooks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97EG4BFQBQU Belkin Education Hero Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsWXpft_fJw Links of interest http://www.belkin.com/us/ http://www.Twitter.com/Belkin About my Guest Jon Roepke, Director of Product Management for Belkin’s Education division, leads the creation and fulfillment of Belkin’s Education strategy and award winning product line focused on enabling seamless integration of technology to enhance the learning experience. Jon spends time partnering with schools to better understand the challenges they are facing and uses that knowledge to define and develop solutions for next-gen learning environments. In his role at Belkin, Jon is directly responsible for primary research, roadmap development, and solution delivery for K-12 and secondary education markets around the world.   Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

The face of education is steadily changing. Where it was once restricted to only the classroom or the odd homeschooling instance, the classroom has officially expanded its borders and has not only entered the age of the internet, but has brought new opportunities to students who would have otherwise gone without or experienced substandard education in their area. One thing that the educational system has alays been aware of but mostly unable to address has been the inability of rural students to attend quality educational institutions either as a result of their distance from the school or as a direct result of the district lines that have bound schools for decades. The walls are coming down however, and now videoconferencing, such as that offered by BlueJeans, has made it more than possible co communicate across the state or even across the country if someone desires. An Educational Opportunity As we enter the digital age, videoconferencing becomes more prominent. It has gone from the bulky proprietary software that it once was, and has become something far greater. These days, we can use our videoconferencing technology to communicate not only across the world, but across different platforms. Do you remember how difficult it was to interact with computers that ran different operating systems many years ago? There were many problems, obviously, but now, with the innovations provided to us by cloud software, we are able to beat those incompatibilities and provide a better way of bringing the software to multiple platforms from Android, to Mac OS, and even Windows. The best part about this cross compatibility, is that it stretches to several different devices. So what does this mean exactly? It means that most students will not need to be given devices in order to connect to the conference. In fact, most people keep tablets in their home today, and they have become far less expensive than they were just one year ago. Tablets, however, are not the only mobile devices that the software will work with. Smartphones from all platforms can utilize the necessary application and broadcast the video to any location. It is more inclusive than ever before and far more interactive than it used to be.  Bringing the Students Together What does an interactive video experience mean exactly? How much does it change the educational landscape? Videoconferencing is capable of bringing the worlds together by allowing a live teacher on screen catering to both students in her classroom as well as students outside the classroom simultaneously.  The software available today allows the teacher to not only communicate with the remote students, but also send them homework assignments and even show presentations simultaneously so that they receive the full benefit of the educational instruction. Another welcome feature is the ability to record each and every session so that students will have the opportunity to revisit what the teacher said at any given time. This is the power of videoconferencing and a capability that we have needed for many years. We are living in the future, and it doesn’t stop there. Remote Teaching Taken to the Next Level Imagine a future where a teacher can instruct remote students in a classroom without meeting them in real life. Imagine a classroom where the teacher isn’t even on the same continent as the students. Just let that sink in for a moment. One of the greatest concerns that the educational system has had in the past, is that some student, somewhere, might be the next great inventor or perhaps the one that invents a cure for cancer, but could not afford a proper education. These innovations may seem expensive on the surface, but in reality they drive costs down. Teachers will be able to do more, see more, and impact more lives than ever before. If that’s not a great innovation, then we don’t know what is. Get Prepared This is without a doubt the way of the future and it has already been implemented in some of the greatest institutions around the world, including Harvard School of Business. The question now, is how far it will go and what changes will be made. It’s time for education to become prepared for the next phase and truly launch a program that leaves no child behind. Right now the software is capable of providing a clear image to any environment and it even allows conferences that encompass thousands of users at a time. While it might not be employed in such a way at a school just yet, the future is definitely becoming brighter, and it won’t be long before the face of education is changed entirely. The only question now, is where you will be when the future begins and we leave the past behind. 

Dear reader,      I should have been the first one out there with this review, please accept my apology for the lateness of this review. In August my favorite robot maker relaunched Sphero SPRK, with a new app and a special SPRK edition robot, optimized for education. Let’s take a look. The Robot:     This is the good old Sphero 2 with an "invisible jet" makeover. The clear shell allows you to see the see all the inner workings of the robot. There is also an animation in the app called "Inside Spero" that labels and identifies each piece of the robot. This transparent makeover is great for STEAM learning as students and teachers can talk about all the components that had to be assembled and designed to make this possible. The toy editions and the BB-8 robots certainly capitalize on the mystery of the "self-guided" ball, but in the classroom we need to be able to show how the machine is responding to the commands. And then we teach our kids to talk to machines, they become the machine whisperers.     The robot ships with a ruler and a protractor, awesome tools for robot whispering. The Interface:     The SPRK interface is a welcome update from the former combination of the Drive app with all of the distractions and Macro Lab. The SPRK interface is a very capable programming interface that works like other block-based interfaces. The language does not cascade across the screen, but confine itself to a narrow column. This is very tablet-friendly design.     With access to the accelerometer outputs and the ability to create variables, this platform significantly extends the Sphero into upper grades math and science applications. I can’t imagine doing a force or acceleration lesson without putting this new functionality to the test.     Clicking the data field on each block, from heading, to brightness, to color, launches a tool to help the user make the right choice. The raw motor block informs the user that "4095" is the largest acceptable number. The app is full of these meaning rich contexts that give the user the information needed at the time it is needed.     In addition to the sophisticated yet simple programming interface, there is a no-distractions drive utility within the programming interface. I love this because it means I can ask my students to drive their robots back when they are done instead of running after them like a puppy at a tennis match.     I am looking forward to using a few of the lessons and STEM challenges published on the SPRK website. So far this year, the first grade has painted with Spheros, but we have not programmed with them yet. The SPRK app successfully makes advanced programming more accessible for younger students and adds functionality that makes the robot relevant to learning through high school math and science.

  "I hate writing, I love having written" Dorothy Parker Writing is an endless re-association with my own limits and shortcomings; the things I can’t explain become the things I don’t yet understand. In college I thought that as I got better at writing I would get faster, perhaps make fewer mistakes. Neither of these things really happened. I write more slowly than I am comfortable with, and I make mistakes, large and small. Writing a dissertation was maddening because I hardly knew if I was making sense most of the time.  So when I decided to write a book about programming to learn in the elementary grades, I was excited about the challenge. In this case, the excitement tasted a bit of fear and dread. When I started writing I really struggled with the difference between blog-voice and book-voice. I had to stop writing small informal pieces, but those are how I stay connected to my audience. My responsive audience helps me make sense, and I can write to their needs and questions. So at the beginning of the project I felt like I was writing alone and in the dark. I had read about Grammarly on Alice Keeler’s blog and got in touch with them to see what a premium Grammarly account could do to help me with this project. Works With Chrome Grammarly works as a Chrome extension (correcting my writing as I work in Evernote), an add-on for Microsoft Word, and as a web interface. My writing process shows my age and early training. I write out my thoughts in my illegible longhand in a journal.  The second step is to redraft the ideas into a word processor. Generally I add at least 20% to the text as it moves from paper to screen. Often this is when I try to more fully explain and connect ideas. This is where my process grinds to a confused halt. I am really bad at proofing my own work, I can do it but it is something I basically dread. Grammarly was the perfect tool for this point in the process. Grammarly helped me fix issues and taught me about avoiding them moving forward. The contextual explanations within the suggestions help users make informed decisions about how to edit the problem area. Click To Tweet Improving Your Writing Grammarly can operate as unobtrusively as a spellcheck, but the full proofing interface is much more capable and complex than a red squiggly line. Grammarly has a robust selection of writing styles to fine tune the feedback. As a writing teacher, I love this feature because it makes it easy for kids to see the different demands that different styles require. Even though there are a million options in this program, I didn’t get distracted by how cool this platform was, I dialed it into my audience and got to work improving my writing. My biggest surprise was the plagiarism check, it busted me! Don’t worry, it didn’t figure out that I get all my ideas from Jen Roberts and Vicky Sedgwick. The plagiarism checker busted me for lazy cliche writing. I happened 3 times at the beginning of apragraphs. My intros were really poorly written and the program found more than 7 words in the same order.  Each time the "source" reported was a post from a facebook group. I was confused at first because I had never visited these groups. Then I realized I had been busted for lazy writing. I had to laugh, and then rewrite. Free Advice . . .  Writing is hard, and for me putting the text in front of the first readers is especially tough. The response of the first readers can decide if I burnish a piece, or simple burn it. As a writer, I need that response to be on the idea level. A bunch of notes on grammar just kills me. Grammarly helps by taking small, distracting grammar issues out of the document before I share it with my first reader.

I like big grids and I cannot lie. The great thing about grids is they help students understand the space they are navigating robots through. I set up a small group to work with the bee bots. This grid had 15 cm squares and was 20 squares by 20 squares. The construction took about an hour. Bee Bot When building a tape grid you want to do a good enough job that it works. But that’s about it. You can only leave these on the floor for about a week. After that time, the tape becomes really difficult to lift. So don’t kill yourself over making it absolutely perfect. Aim for serviceable. The next grid I constructed was for the wonder workshop robot competition. If you have a Dash and Dot  robot or you’ve been thinking about getting one, you should look at this contest. The grid allows everyone to program for the same challenges. So the programs my students write ought to be able to be used by students at other schools. WonderWorkshop Competition Grid 6 Protips for Tape Grids: 1. Use a straight line on the floor to start 2. Set up top and bottom lines first, and then set up left and right side 3. Mark measurements on the side and a ruler in the middle 4. if you cut the edges instead or ripping them they last longer 5. Don’t leave tape on the floor longer than a week 6. Let the kids pull the tape up  

In The Beginning…. After 8 wonderful years in our home, we have decided to move closer to my new school district.  This couldn’t be more exciting a time for my family and I.  One of the great things about this is that I will be able to create a brand new podcast studio for TeacherCast and have the opportunity to create even more content for you to enjoy. Video 1 In this first of several videos on creating a podcast studio, we examine how the TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Studio looked before the move.  In later videos, I will be walking you through the process of transforming a basic spare bedroom and turning it into a broadcasting studio.  If you are reading this post and it does NOT have the links and product descriptions yet… please check back later.  I will be adding these as we progress through the video series. Thanks for watching … Please share with your podcasting friends!   Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

This morning as the week got underway I asked Megan, STEM coordinator, what the second graders were learning. When she told me Pangaea, I immediately started thinking about how to get the continent shapes into a programming environment the students were comfortable with that could accommodate rotating and moving the piece around. ScratchJR is the open studio app the students have worked with the most, and it is one of the best choices currently available on the iPad. Once I decided to use Scratch Jr the challenge became importing the shapes. I tried taking a picture against a white background, but it wouldn’t work. Eventually, I decided to DRAW them by hand, and this also was not easy. Scratch Jr smooths out the lines drawn in the character studio. I discovered I had to draw small sections to keep the shapes correct. The shapes! this was a real challenge. I am not a talented artist, but I found a good solution. I placed the paper model I had on an iPad open to the character studio in ScartchJr and used the grid to hand copy the shape on another iPad. Once the shapes were set I used the camera import to take a picture of the name of each continent. This made it possible the label each piece. In class, we watched a couple pangaea animations and films from this playlist my favorite was this video with the solid 1985 educational broadcast production values. We asked the students to work in pairs and gave them the challenge of programming the continents out of Pangea mode and into their own position. We had a world map at the front of the room, but it was a map with countries labeled, not continents. Students worked to get it right and many made several revisions. Programming Pangaea with @scratchjr pic.twitter.com/laacxTtgcl — Sam Patterson (@SamPatue) October 26, 2015

As my classroom studio gets finalized, I am figuring out how to set up and film for demonstration and instruction. Here are 2 videos that document how I make my one-live-hand style puppets.  These puppets are great to film with and I find their hands make them very expressive and engaging. Please reach out to me with questions about puppet building in general or this build specifically. How to Pattern and Sew a Live Hand Puppet How To Finish A Live Hand Puppet  

The educational market is a challenging sales target because the users are not the buyers. School administrators make decisions about which checks get cut to whom. This is where the Apple versus PC debate happens. This is where Chromebooks or iPads happens, and these are decisions that can shape education.  Teachers rarely have the input needed to direct the conversation and when the time comes to spend our own money for a device to use at home, the menu is often limited by what we have used at school.  Linux operating systems are more accessible than ever and most are available for very little money. There was a time when Linux was only used by super geeks and hardware hackers, but modern versions of the software run well on less powerful computers. Why Linux? At my school, we are slowly decommissioning our circa 1995 distributed computing pc intranet and windows server. We have eliminated our 2 computer labs and have an amazing Makerspace. We have a bunch of older PC’s that are not ready to upgrade to windows 10. We don’t know how much they will be used and the idea of licensing software for all of them to have them site is not going to fly. Installing Linux on these machines will allow us to get the machines ready for almost all the use he students demand. Even if we never used the resident software available, the computers work well as a desktop Chromebook. My current favorite build is ElementaryOs. I installed it on my Lenovo Thinkpad x140e. The machine came with windows 7, and I originally installed Ubuntu. Most of my use of this machine is writing with Google docs online or offline with Libre Office Writer. There are multiple desktops and I can switch between them easily, like a Mac os. Although I wouldn’t use this option on a student device, there is good encryption built in. The Software center gives users access to many of the Linux programs available including Gimp, a photoshop-style photo editor. For less that the price of an iPad, this machine has all of the functionality of a laptop with built-in camera and microphone. The Linux platform supports programming completely, and occasionally requires it. With Google all things are possible. Sometimes when I am working on a Linux machine and I discover I need to run a JDK file from the command line. This is usually because I need to start the Minecraft Edu server. Without fail, I open Google and type "How to launch a JDK file in Linux." I read the 3rd or 4th post down and follow the directions. This is the only uncomfortable point for me, but I think if I play more of Terminal quest on the Kano computer I will become more comfortable with working at the command prompt. Stick With Me For My Journey Does this sound like something worth exploring? Do you have an old computer? Here is a page that explains how to make a boot-stick that will allow you to run or install Linux on an existing machine. Give it a try and drop me a note to share your progress. I am going to try for a server next, I am dreaming of an intranet of Pi computers, and that is going to take a good deal of Linux. I will post my progress as I go and hope that you will share your own learning adventures with me.  

I have an hour before class and the trash can is already full of tape. The first thing I did was take up the full floor tape grid from last week’s offline programming and dance lesson. That grid was just about a roll and a half of tape. And took about 15 minutes, it was fast because I used the existing tile lines. As soon as the old grid is off the floor I start planning 9 robot golf holes. As the teacher in a makerspace I am responsible for setting the stage for learning and exploration. With the furniture out of the way, I can transform the classroom into a game board, a soccer field, or a golf course. All learning starts on the floor, and a well-constructed learning context can keep the students focused and engaged with each other. When we ask students to solve physical challenges in real space we encourage active learning and communication. All spaces can be transformed with intention and tape. Learning is temporal, it exists between people, intangible. Blue tape honors the shifting nature of learning by not leaving the adhesive behind. Respect is a 2-way street and blue tape requires you change it up and keep learning fresh, or it will become sticky and difficult to work with. I think I spent an hour and a half stripping the old tape off the floor and putting down the new golf course. The lesson went great. The fourth-grade students used the SPRK app to program the balls from the "tee" to the "hole." I used short pieces of tape as tees, the students discovered how important it was to return to the same start point each time. For a few of the holes I used 4 ramps to make a raised cup, but on most holes I just outlined the hole with tape. This did make the hole more challenging because the students had to account for the momentum of the robot. By the end of the second class, the Spheros were beginning to flash red, and their speed and handling performance does decrease as the battery is about to die. The students worked in pairs and had much success. Some of the holes were much more difficult than I anticipated, so I adjusted them as the kids played. I invite you to apply to become Blue Tape Certified educator by commenting on this post with your own awesome uses of the next best thing to Harold’s purple crayon. Please feel free to reach out with questions and ideas.  

The more I collaborate with great teachers the more I am convinced that teaching is a team sport.  I am lucky this year because I get to work with Megan, the STEM coordinator for the lower grades as well as 8 other problem solving roles.  Megan and I share many students and we work to integrate our work whenever possible. One good idea can make my week Neither of us has time for real meetings, but we make good use of out time.  This week Megan gave me my best robot lesson yet.  It came in a text, I think she was riding the train home.  Looked at the text in the evening and only focused on it again around the time I took this screenshot. I was planning for the second grade class that begins at 8:30. Balance, Forces, Sphero on an incline.  Oh, I was all over this. So I set up as many multi-user inclined surfaces as I could. even re-purposing a decommissioned smart board.  When I started prepping for class I thought I would just use the white board.  It was bad, so bad I had to take a picture.  Obviously at some point in the morning my coffee kicked in and I actually made a slide deck to help the kids focus.  (they got really excited when they heard Spheros were on the menu.) We paired the students up and had them explore the various planes, including a small personal white board and a plastic block. The energy in the room was awesome, and the students really experienced dynamics of power needs and an inclined plane.   One of my favorite moments was when a student explained that if they used the whiteboards at a shallower angle the Spheros could make it farther up the ramp.  This was just an "into" activity for the force unit, we didn’t spend much time on vocab, we got to the heart of understanding inclined planes. The robots allowed us to quantify our exploration, as one of the students observed "We could go up that ramp at 30, but the other one we couldn’t do even at 100." What science concepts could you explore with robots?  Leave a comment and let’s make some plans together.  

Even if you have always looked past Raspberry Pi microcomputers as too complex or too geeky, yesterday’s announcement of a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero is worth investigating. While this might not impact Apple’s market share overnight, it does raise the question is an iPad the right $700 to spend per student? Of course $5 does not get you everything you need to have a full computer, there is no monitor, keyboard, or mouse. What do you get for $5? here are the specs from the website: A Broadcom BCM2835 application processor 1GHz ARM11 core (40% faster than Raspberry Pi 1) 512MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM A micro-SD card slot A mini-HDMI socket for 1080p60 video output Micro-USB sockets for data and power An unpopulated 40-pin GPIO header Identical pinout to Model A+/B+/2B An unpopulated composite video header Our smallest ever form factor, at 65mm x 30mm x 5mm Will a Raspberry Pi Work In My Classroom? What could this computer do in a classroom? The Raspbian operating system is trim and powerful. Students in this operating system can use LibreOffice, a full document processing suite. From spreadsheets to word processing and presentation slides, all standard document creation functions are available. Document creation is the number one pain point I hear about from the middle school staff. The student each have an iPad, but it is not uncommon for the teachers to check out the mac or PC laptop carts to facilitate document creation.  The Mac cart is 24 Mac Book Airs, the PC cart has 24 Lenovo Thinkpads. While this is a good solution for our school, each of these carts cost over 20 thousand dollars to outfit. The advent of a $5 microcomputer could bring the cost to connect students down significantly while also introducing students to the world of open source computing. Talking Pi-Tech Many of the programs I use to teach programming (Scratch, Turtle Art) are available in Raspbian and any of the web-based tools I use are also accessible (code.org, playcodemonkey.com).  Beyond this, Python and Arduino are native in the operating system And the right now I am exploring the possibilites in these machines. I have set up a small network and am trying out PiNet, which could be described as Google Classroom pi computers. It might be that Classroom will also run on these machines, I will have to see. How will we best use these small computers in schools? I don’t know that anyone is sure yet. I feel a potential pivot towards access. If that rings true with your values, get your hands on a Pi computer and see what you can do with it. Share your questions and inspirations here on MyPaperlessClassroom and we will shape a more connected future of education together. How do you see a $5 Computer being used in YOUR classroom? Let me know: @SamPatue