Remember Ken Jennings?  Ten years ago, Mr. Jennings set the record for the longest winning streak ever on the syndicated television gameshow Jeopardy!  Since his long streak in 2004, he moved Seattle, appeared on other gameshows, and holds the crown for the all-time leading money winner on gameshows in the United States. Jennings has a lot to say about a topic near and dear to a tech-savvy teacher’s heart as he was, arguably, "replaced" when he was beat by the IBM mega-intelligent super computer Watson in a series of mental sparring matches in 2011.  Watson is an amazing invention, and can answer questions posed to it by natural language.  If you didn’t see the matches in 2011, it is certainly worth your 20 minutes to see this machine at work: As of late, Watson has retired from gameshows and is focusing its efforts on assisting the medical community with diagnosing disease. I recently stumbled upon Jennings giving a TED talk at a TEDx conference at SeattleU.  He talked about the experience, and reflects on a world where his skill, being a "know it all," is being replaced by technology.  I think this discussion is very relevant to classroom debates about the role of teachers and teaching in a world with rapidly evolving technologies. Enjoy!  

Much like the iPad in 2010, the ChromeBook is finding a home in budget-conscious classrooms across the country.  I certainly understand the lure: they are cheap, quite functional and incredibly easy to mange with Google’s excellent set management tools. However, we are getting an increasing number of questions from classroom teachers concerning what to do with these devices.  The inexpensive price makes classroom sets and 1:1 environments a more likely reality, but, in many cases, training is scarce and some otherwise excellent tech-savvy teachers struggle to re-envision their great lessons with the more limited platform. Don’t misread my statement: I love the ChromeBook, and minus a couple of necessary apps, I could likely live on the ChromeBook, and have managed to do so in a number of occasions. So, Mike and I are working on a list: what are the best web-based apps, plugins and other delights that can work in the Chrome-only environment? We have our existing favorite apps:  Evernote‘s web-based interface works well in the environment;  the Google Apps for Education Suite provides enough functionality for the vast majority of computing needs; and there are even excellent media-apps like Spotify, Pandora and even Plex that are all Chrome winners. BUT… what are your go-to apps, either ones that you use in Chrome on your laptop or desktop or apps that YOU use in a ChromeBook environment that help make this device more functional? Comment here, tweet us on Twitter, give us feedback on our form.  We will be compiling this list over the next month for release with a commitment to keep it updated. Thanks for sharing! Feature Photo by Alex Washburn/Wired

VICE PRESIDENT OF CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION & ASSESSMENT DISCOVERY EDUCATION Shanika Hope, PhD is Vice President of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment for Discovery Education. She is responsible for providing leadership in the development of instructional resources including assessments and professional development content that underscores the role of digital content and technology in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the new assessment systems. She serves as a thought leader and leading expert for the business in the areas of curriculum, standards, assessment and adult learning theory. Shanika has been with Discovery Education since 2010. Prior to joining the company, Shanika served as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the District of Columbia. Additionally, she managed and supported more than three dozen DC public schools and public charter schools in various capacities. Additionally, she served as a teacher, principal and school turnaround specialist. She holds a PhD in Education and an MS in Math and Science Education from Old Dominion University and is a member of Phi Delta Kappa and ASCD. Scholastic recently feature an article written by Shanika entitled: Assembly Required: PD for a Digital Age Workshop FA88 - Teachers, Technology And the Common Core Presented by:

NCCE is honored to have Eric Sheninger keynote our annual conference this year.  We asked Eric to share his thoughts on digital leadership.  His thoughtful insights lay a great foundation for what digital leadership looks like in today’s schools: Digital Leadership Effective leadership is extremely important in any system, but it is even more imperative in schools if we are to provide all learners with a world-class education. This education has to be relevant, meaningful, and applicable. At New Milford High School, we have been working for the past four years to transform our culture to one that is primed for student engagement, learning, and achievement. It is my hope that this book will provide a framework for other educators to begin the change process that will ultimately lead to transformation. We all have the capacity to lead no matter what position we hold. So how would one define digital leadership? I think it is important to first look at the concept of leadership in general. Wikipedia defines leadership as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Kevin Kruse defines it as a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. Both of these definitions highlight the importance of social influence. This leads me to ascertain that social media can be an invaluable tool that educators can harness to move schools, learning, and the profession forward. Leadership is no different today than it was years ago. The only difference is that style and focus need to change with the times if we are to accomplish the lofty task of preparing students for a dynamic world that is more social and connected as a result of technology. Leading in a way that supports the status quo, standardization, outdated practices, and misconceptions related to technology, not only does a disservice to our students, but also renders our schools and profession as irrelevant. Digital leadership takes into account recent changes such as ubiquitous connectivity, open-source technology, mobile devices, and personalization. It represents a dramatic shift from how schools have been run and structured for over a century, as what started out as a personal use of technology has become systemic to every facet of leadership. Digital leadership can thus be defined as establishing direction, influencing others, and initiating sustainable change through the access to information, and establishing relationships in order to anticipate changes pivotal to school success in the future. It requires a dynamic combination of mindset, behaviors, and skills that are employed to change and/or enhance school culture through the assistance of technology. The basic tenets of leadership are still valuable and needed for our schools to succeed. However, the changing times as well as society’s reliance on technology demand an evolution of leadership practices to create schools that our learners deserve, and need, to succeed in today’s world. It all begins with trust. Digital leaders must give up control and trust students and teachers to use real-world tools to unleash creativity and a passion for learning.  The time is now, whether you are a district, building level or teacher leader, to boldly move schools forward in the digital age. Only then will we be able to create and sustain a digital learning culture that is relevant, meaningful, applicable, and provides all students with the skills to succeed. For those looking to begin this journey or take your work to the next level, please check out my book that has just been published.  I believe that the The Pillars of Digital Leadership will provide you with a solid foundation to take enhance and improve your ability to lead meaningful change. The forward was written by Yong Zhao and the book itself has been endorsed by some of today’s most prominent thought-leaders. My book can be accessed using these specific links: Hardcopy (Corwin Press) Electronic eBook (eBooks) - PDF replica of the print version and can be viewed on almost any device except Kindle. Kindle (Amazon) #DigiLead  —- If you want to talk about digital leadership at anytime I have created a hash tag. My hope is that we can use this on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and Facebook to extend the conversation and our learning on this topic.  Feel free to use it to ask me questions, acquire resources, or just to chat openly about how we can all become more effective leaders in a digital world.

Students understand very little about nutrition.   This may or may not be a surprise to you, but I was completely shocked.  I see 135 students everyday and maybe 3 have a working understanding of nutrition.  I am troubled by this because it is obvious to me that students are filling themselves with whatever is available and not spending any time thinking about: Should I be putting this into my body?  In my preparation for this particular unit I polled my students to see where they are eating.  About 75% answered that they get at least 2-3 meals every week from fast food establishments.  McDonald’s classifies people who frequent their restaurant once a week as "Heavy Users".  Under that classification 3 out of 4 of my students are fast food Heavy Users.  Now combine that with the fact that almost none of them put any thought into what they are eating and the foundation is set for some serious nutritional issues. A tech savvy solution: I stumbled upon a great site that can help your students start to think critically about the fast food choices they are making.  The website is called Drive Thru Diet and it is maintained by Wake Forest Baptist Health.  The site gives you the choice of 21 popular fast food restaurants.  Once you select a restaurant you are given a list of choices of what you would pick for a meal (The screenshot below shows the high school version of myself picking at McDonalds…yes I have grown in my nutritional understanding) After you click on the button "See Our Healthier Choices" you are shown a breakdown of the total Calories, Fat, Sodium, Carbs, Sugar, Fiber, and Protein in the meal.  The site also suggests Healthier Choices you could substitute in your order.  The site goes on to tell you the Healthiest options the restaurant offers. This site is serving two purposes:  The first is it gives students the opportunity to think critically about what they are eating.  The second is it gives us a jumping off point to talk about Calories, Fat, Sugar, Etc.  I hope you find this site as useful as I have.

Many of the largest EdTech companies in Europe released their predictions of what will happen in the e-learning space in 2014.  Their top 12 trends are listed below: Big focus on user engagement From MOOCS to "Selective Online Courses", or SOOCS Widespread adoption of BYOD strategies The rise of data and analytics to drive adaptive learning programmes Mobile casual & informal learning apps Peer-to-peer learning platforms Increased use of video and immersive learning environments Emergence of learning record stores Increased focus on rewards, certification and accreditation Large media corporates actively investing in e-Learning Continued growth in online-enabled private tuition Growing adoption of technology as a delivery mechanism on government-funded vocational skills training market Do you agree with the focus on a greater emphasis on content, user engagement and peer-to-peer learning?  Share you comments below and read more about this press release here.

  Jamie Jarvis Jamie Jarvis is a 7th grade social studies teacher and former district teacher-of-the-year at Lewis & Clark Middle School in Billings, Montana.  Willing to try anything to engage the middle school student, his classroom is alive with inquiry-based learning aimed an immersing students in real-world lessons in the Social Studies.  Most recently, Jamie’s classroom laboratory has produced advanced learning environments utilizing gamification and platforms like schoology to organize his active classroom.  Jamie recently sat down with NCCE to discuss some of his best advice for being a tech-savvy teacher. Name:  Jamie Jarvis Location:  Billings, Montana Current jobs:  7th grade Social Studies teacher at Lewis & Clark Middle School, Lead Teacher for US History at Montana Digital Academy, Educational Travel Guide for Global Travel Alliance. Current computer:  MacBook Pro Current mobile device(s):  iPhone, iPad One word that best describes how you teach or work:  Enthusiastically  What apps/software/tools can you not live without? I love my Zite app!  For those of you familiar with Flipboard, Zite is basically the same thing.  However I am partial to Zite when it comes to professional development articles.  As for software I could not live without Schoology.  Schoology is a dynamic learning management system that adapts to any educational environment. Using Schoology’s engaging tools, teachers can create custom courses, pace students individually or in small groups, and differentiate instruction. It is a comprehensive cloud-based LMS that ensures student engagement and will increase achievement in your class. Share with us a time when you failed in your teaching or learning pursuits.  How did you persevere? Are we talking about my failures for just this week?  Or should I go further back - LOL!  I firmly believe that the word fail is not a bad word.  In my life and in my classroom F.A.I.L. means First Attempt In Learning; and that same lesson of perseverance is what I continually model/ teach my students.  As teachers I think that many of us believe that if we can’t do something perfect in a lesson that we should then look for another avenue - I disagree with that thought process.  Of course we are going to make mistakes and possibly have failure in our classroom.  But, I think that part of being a good teacher is reflecting on what caused the failure, then making adjustments so the lesson is better the next class. Other than your phone and computer, what gadget can you not live without? My Apple TV!  Our family "cut the cable cord" 2 years ago and has never looked back.  My wife was terrified at first, but now with the Netflix app we "binge" on many of our favorite shows.  :)  Not to mention catching other weekly shows through the Hulu app on the Apple TV.  I highly recommend "cutting the cord" for convenience and saving money on your cable bill. What browser do you use regularly? Google Chrome (Firefox when I need to use Screencast-o-matic for creating screencasts) As a tech-savvy teacher, what everyday thing do you feel you excel with/at versus other teachers/administrators/mentors?  Adapting What is the best teaching advice you have received? Rigid-Flexibility…have a solid plan in place, but when the situation calls for it be flexible enough to change and roll with the given situation. What are you currently reading? In my current rotation I have three books:  Drive by Daniel Pink, The Last Man by Vince Flynn, and For The Win by Kevin Werbach & Dan Hunter.  I like to keep three books in the rotation in order to keep things fresh - I am reading Drive & For The Win for ideas about gamification and how to motivate, and The Last Man is part of a series of basic espionage / action books. What fantastic tech-savvy educator would you like to refer to us? Desiree Caskey - Interim Technology Director (Billings Public Schools) & Technology Integration Specialist [Editor's Note: We could agree more.  Desiree? ] Any parting thoughts you would like to share with our readers? Start small.  Don’t think that you have to have a lesson or unit in which technology is the center.  Just like any teaching tool you do not want the technology to drive your lesson.  I take a blended approach to technology in my classroom.  My guiding thought with blended learning is this - will the technology used in this lesson improve student learning and inform my teaching. When it comes to technology in education don’t be afraid to jump in and experiment.  You are not going to break anything so give it a shot.  In many cases you can simply "Google" your question and most likely find direction from an online resource.   You could also look at starting your very own technology PLC before or after school where like-minded teachers gather to help trouble shoot/learn about how to use technology in the classroom. Here is a great B.Y.O.D. site called Kahoot (https://getkahoot.com/) easy to set up, great for formative assessment, and your students will love it!  When I use it in class students are having fun, cheering, competing, and most importantly learning - give it a shot! [Meet-a-Tech-Savvy Educator is a regular feature on the NCCE Blog.  Know someone we should feature here (maybe you)?  Contact us!]

I have received two questions via email and social media over the last two weeks on reviving dead hard drives.   My first question is always "are you using a cloud-based service to back up your critical data?"  If you aren’t, there are some nerdy tricks you can use to try to salvage data. I was interested in this episode of the TWIT.tv show "Know How" that covers this specific subject.  It is an excellent review, even if you don’t have a pending hard drive disaster. But, remember… you can’t beat a backup!

My grandmother wanted to sell her Windows 8 laptop and asked me to help her.  Being the kind grandson I am, I helped get it ready to sell on Ebay.  As I was getting the laptop ready I thought this would make a great post!  (A short aside: My grandmother has decided that Windows 8 "was a bit much" and is sticking with her Windows XP machine…scientific: no; funny: yes) Anytime you would like to get rid of a device the best practice is to restore the device to its factory settings.  Windows 8 makes this process fairly easy if you know where to look: How to Reset Your PC: Open the Settings charm (swipe in from the right and tap Settings or press Windows Key + I), and then select Change PC settings. Tap or click the General category, scroll down, and tap or click the Get started button under Remove everything and re-install Windows. Your next decision will be the type of cleanup operation - Thoroughly or Quickly. The Thorough disk cleanup operation removes all the files from selected disk(s), deletes all the installed applications, and makes data irrecoverable, whereas the quick cleanup option simply deletes your files and installed applications.  If you have the time (6-8 hrs) Thoroughly is the best decision.   That is all you need to do and the computer will be completely restored to its original settings.  If you are planning on selling the machine a few other tips are: Take pictures of the screen before you restore it - this show the screen is functional Take a picture of the Windows ID and System information - again this helps give confidence to the buyer Here is the listing complete with pictures and a restored laptop ready for sale: eBay on my website by Auction Nudge  

Digital storytelling is a great way to engage student learning while offering a powerful assessment.  Digital storytelling is the use of a digital device to tell a story.  A comic strip, movie short, recorded audio, or digital flipbook are all examples of digital storytelling.  This post focuses on apps for creating short movies.  Before we get to the apps, I have a great example of digital storytelling in Math.  This middle school student created a digital story about Adding and Subtracting Integers.  Think for a moment of Bloom’s Taxonomy:  This is a great example of the synthesis level of understanding. On to the best apps for Digital Storytelling.  These two videos created by Epic Tutorials give some great tips and recommendations of apps to use when creating movie shorts.  These videos focus on the preproduction and filming stages.  Enjoy!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NCCE 2014 just wrapped and a constant theme throughout the conference was the idea of being connected.  Connections are key to any successful person, but in many professions the connections are automatically put in place.  Think of any CEO of any company in America.  They have a board to guide them and staff to fill specific tasks and to be experts in one piece of the overall company.  I was really struck by this during my surreal time in the Rose Parade.  Watching a successful company work an event of this magnitude really opened my eyes to the built in connection structure of business.  There were handlers to make sure people were where they needed to be, people coordinating drivers to pick up and drop off, publicists to shape the messages going out in real time, social media people tweeting and facebooking, and the list went on and on.  All of these connections were prebuilt to make sure that the company and everyone involved was successful. Now contrast that with being a classroom teacher.  Think if the classroom had all those built in connections.  The reality of teaching is, from morning bell to the end of the day, sometimes it feels like  you are on your own.   Unfortunately not as many connections are built into the traditional school model. That system has created the isolation many teachers feel everyday. Thankfully, technology can play a role in solving this problem.  Participating with other teachers online, building connections, asking questions, pushing yourself to be better: This is all possible through social networking.  By connecting with other teachers you start to build a network of people to push, give ideas, collaborate with, help, and inspire you.  Networks are the key to breaking the feeling of isolation. So how do you jump in?  This is a common question and I will answer with an invitation.  Montana educators are in their fourth week of a Twitter Educational Chat.  I can vouch for the group and tell you they are an amazing group of educators who care about their profession, the students they teach, and helping  others in the group maximize their potential.  The group meets on Tuesday’s at 8:00 pm MST for one hour.  You can view all the past sessions to get a sense of the discussions and the people active in the group at https://sites.google.com/site/mtedchat/  The hour is broke down into five questions with about 10 min per question for people to respond, share, evolve. The next question/statement: But I am not on Twitter?  I have two options for you: #1 You don’t have to be on Twitter,  just go to https://sites.google.com/site/mtedchat/ and watch.  The drawback is you won’t be able to join the conversation, but the amazing part is you will get to see everyone’s thoughts and will learn something new that you can use in your classroom.  Don’t get caught up in the fact that you haven’t explored Twitter yet, just watch and learn. #2 Go to Twitter (On the WEB or download the app iOS, Android), Sign up for an account.  PRO Tip: Give some thought to your username (aka Handle).  Mitt Ray wrote a great post on some things to think about when choosing a Twitter Username.  Once you have your account setup go to Tweetchat.com to join the #mtedchat.  Tweetchat a great website that will make participation much easier.  Make sure you login on the upper right hand side of the screen.  Once logged in, type the hashtag #mtedchat in the upper left hand corner.  This will show all the Tweets that people have added the hashtag #mtedchat to somewhere within the tweet.  Tweetchat has a pause feature to help if the rush of tweets starts to come too fast.  Don’t worry about reading everything, just read what you can.  You will see the first question has a Q1 at the start and then people answering Q1 will start their tweet with A1 (Answer to question 1).  This patter will repeat through Q5.  Look for @mikegusto and send a tweet like: @mikegusto This is my first #mtedchat You had me at Connected Educator! Below is a screenshot of Tweetchat with a recap of the information you just read: You do not have to feel isolated in your classroom.  This is just one of many ways to fight the disease.  It is a difficult time to be a teacher, but you are not alone.  I am inspired and reinvigorated about my profession every time I take part in an ed chat.  I hope to see you Tuesday 8pm MST… I have a lot to learn from you. As always share your comments and thought below…  

Jason and I are excited that we are starting to receive some questions from our readers.  Remember, at the very top of the page there is a link entitled "Ask a Tech Savvy Teacher".  Clicking on that link will bring you to a form where you can submit your question.  We have some additional questions we will be wrapping together in our next Ask a Tech Savvy Teacher podcast.  We love being able to help, so please keep the questions coming.  On to the question….drum roll please: Why do people start tweets with a period?   Great question!  This trend has become more common place in 2014.  The answer requires a bit of background so bear with me: When you start a tweet with a users hashtag, Twitter interprets that tweet as a reply to the user.  For instance: @techsavvyteach is a great Twitter handle In this statement I want to proclaim this vital piece of information to ALL my followers. The problem is Twitter is interpreting this tweet as a reply t0 Jason.  Twitter will only show this tweet in people’s streams that have followed both Jason and myself, not all of my followers.  (AKA: Common Followers)  So to make this proclamation to everyone of my followers I have to add a period in the front.  And now you just became a little more Tech Savvy.    

Today’s post is a gift for Mac users that follow our blog.  Have you ever had a bunch of picture you needed converted to .jpeg format?  If so, I have small program that will take a folder of different picture files and automatically convert them all to .jpeg file and build a folder on your desktop to put them all in.  I used a program on the Mac called Automator.  If you like tinkering with things, Automator is a fun way to make some basic tasks automatic.  This is a great program to show students.  Share the link above with them and set them loose.  If you just want the function of converting many picture files at once into the .jpeg format, download the Automator program to your desktop.  Once downloaded and unzipped, you just need to drag the folder of pictures you would like to convert to the Automator icon and the rest will happen, well, automatically. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/529536/Covert%20to%20Jpeg.app.zip  

Microsoft announced this week that OneNote, the note-taking and information-gathering application, is now available for free on all platforms, including the newly-released OSX version. The news was met with a positive response from Mac users, vaulting the application to the top of the Mac App store. As you may know, the Tech-Savvy Teachers are devoted Evernote fans.  We presented twice on the topic at NCCE 2014 in Seattle, and have covered the software a number of times on the blog. However, with this new, value-priced edition to the marketplace, OneNote seems positioned to become a value alternative to Evernote.  OneNote is as cross-platform as Evernote, available on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.  OneNote integrates well with the Microsoft suite of tools, still the dominate player in office software across all platforms.  For teachers in districts with a heavy Microsoft preference, this might be an easier sell than allowing installation of a third party application (although, to be clear, there is practically no risk in adopting and using Evernote!). Mike and I are keeping a close eye on this platform and have started looking at some of our recommendations and training materials to see if OneNote can stand up to the incredible function of the Evernote platform.  Stay tuned.  :)