4 Weeks Till ISTE 2014!

I am officially 4 weeks away from getting on a plane and heading down to Atlanta for ISTE 2014.  Lets just say that I am a little excited.  One, I love to learn and connect with others and conferences allow this to happen so easily.  Two, I have never been to a national conference before…

Using Social Media to Continue the Learning

When I started using Twitter in the classroom, it was to more easily connect with my students and share out information.  I used it to send reminders about upcoming class work or to share out links to resources they might find useful or interesting.  Students would tell me that they would actually click the links…

Why I used Technology in my Classroom

While many people easily embrace technology use in the classroom, there are many who wonder why anyone would.  They are not sure why they should learn how to do something new or change what they have already been doing.  For me it was simple, technology was an easy way to transform the learning that was…

Start a Virtual Book Chat

One of the advantages to having books available on electronic devices is the ability to quickly share out key ideas and statements in order to start or continue a discussion.  I have seen many groups try to start an online discussion about something they were reading and by using the digital form of that book…

Create a Google Site Template

Having students create a Google Site is an easy way for them to share out what they are learning or creating.  Sometimes you may want to give them a way to get started quickly and even help organize the information for them.  You may also want to use a gadget or have a certain layout…

The Red Pen vs Digital Feedback

When I started teaching I was given some advice from a veteran teacher to keep away from using red when correcting assignments.  They said it was because students had viewed the red pen as being negative and instead we should be focusing on helping our students improve, not just telling them what they got wrong.…

Google Form with Video to Increase Class Time

Time seems to be a big thing that almost all teachers wish they had more of.  The thing is though is that there are things that we can do to make it so we have more time with our students in class.  When I flipped my classroom it wasn’t so I could spend less time…

Curriculet for Reading Comprehension

There is an ever increasing list of digital tools that can be used in the classroom to assist students when it comes to reading and comprehension.  These tools allow for there to be assistance built into the texts and resources made readily available to assist students as they become better and better readers.    …

Thank You Google

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day and Google may have given us teachers a great gift, Google Classroom.  This might be the best teacher appreciation gift I get today, even better than the buy 1 get 1 free deal at Chipotle.  A free, easy to use LMS that incorporates Google Docs and should include some great…