House of #EdTech

Wakelet is working to change the way people find, organize and share information. In a world of algorithmically-driven content, Wakelet puts people first, helping them organize and find the most relevant, authoritative, and compelling content from across the web.

Tisha Poncio, Wakelet's Digital Learning Specialist, joins me for a conversation about the true power of Wakelet as a teaching and learning tool for teachers and students.

Resources:

• Tisha's Wakelet page
• Tisha's Wakelet Portfolio Rubric

How are you using Wakelet?

Pam Hubler - https://wakelet.com/@specialtechie

Amy and Dyann Storer

• https://wakelet.com/@techamys
• https://wakelet.com/@techCAREtwins

Gloriann Heikes - https://wakelet.com/@GloriannHeikes

Laura Krenicki - https://wakelet.com/@laura_krenicki

• Lemonade Learning Podcast
  • Brianna Hodges is committed to helping educators positively transform the story of school. Pulling from her experiences as a marketing & PR executive, English teacher, district and central office administrator, Bri shares how story serves as the foundation of learning, the cornerstone of culture, and the catalyst to transformation.
    • https://twitter.com/bhodgesEDU
    
    
  • Lainie Rowell is an educator, author, podcaster, and international speaker who specializes in working with other educators to find innovative and sustainable ways to transform teaching and learning. Her areas of expertise include online/blended learning, designing innovative learning experiences, professional learning, and community building.
    • https://twitter.com/lainierowell
    
    
  
  
• A refreshing look at learning, this podcast shares stories and high-impact strategies for educators. Join us for a glass!
• #LemonadeLearning

My foot surgery is behind me and I am on the road to recovery! The procedure went as planned and I will be on the mend for about 2-3 weeks.

ISTE LIVE 2021 is June 26-30, 2021 and I will be live streaming my Daily Recap Live Show on June 26, 28, 30, 2021 at 10 PM ET - chrisnesi.com/youtube

Summer Break To-Do List

1. Read those books on your nightstand
2. Reconnect with friends
3. Reconnect with family
4. Make time for that hobby
5. Get outside

Project Based Learning: Real Questions. Real Answers. How to Unpack PBL and Inquiry by Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy

The Startup Teacher Playbook by Michelle Blanchet and Darcy Bakkegard

Greenroom by Spotify

• Greenroom for iOS
• Greenroom for Android

Here are some great apps and tech tools you should dive into this summer:

• Slides Mania
• Peardeck or Nearpod
• Microsoft Sway
• Google Keep
• Canva (for Educators)
• Your LMS

Tisha Poncio - Former district-level Digital Learning Specialist with 20 yrs experience as a leader, learner, and educator who is NOW a Digital Learning Specialist at Wakelet. Tisha is a Google Certified Trainer and Social Media Rockstar running rooms on Clubhouse and having fun on Twitter.

• https://twitter.com/TxTechChick
• https://tishaponcio.wordpress.com/
• https://wakelet.com/@tishaponcio

Thank you for the continued support as I prepare for my surgery on June 16th to have a small tumor removed from my foot. I'm all healed up from the allergic reaction I had to the MRI contrast so that has been a relief.

I will certainly keep you posted as I have throughout this process and I ask that you take a moment and think of me on June 16th.

I recorded some thoughts while watching my boys at running camp. It was a beautiful day and I share my thoughts on appreciation and relaxing.

Google Takeout is a service offered by Google that backs up all of your Google account's data into one file, which you can then download. When you use Google Takeout, you'll download all your emails, YouTube videos and comments, Google Drive files, and more.

This is something districts have to enable, so check with appropriate IT personnel if this doesn't work.

https://takeout.google.com/

Wrapping up your school year for the summer is almost as challenging as starting back up in September. When it comes to education technology there are backups, sharing files, cleaning drives and accounts, updating of settings, and vacation email responses that — if not done right — can lead to problems when you return from summer break. If you have a school device, a lot of work can be completed by the IT dept. as they backup, clean, reformat, and maybe re-image devices. If you have a device assigned to you by the school that you take home, the steps may be more numerous but really, not more complicated.

1. Clean out your documents
2. Back up your files
3. Take out the trash
4. Learn it or Lose it
5. Update software
6. Clean up your desktop
7. Clean up subscriptions
8. Change alert frequency

As we head into Summer 2021 I want to invite you as you reflect on the school year that was -- to contribute a Just Give It A Try story. This is the segment of the show where you share something you tried that worked or maybe it didn't work out as you thought. Your story will help every member of this community continues to learn and grow together.

Thank you in advance for sharing and I look forward to hearing and sharing your stories.

This episode's VIPs are AJ Bianco and Stacey Lindes. Stacey and AJ are no strangers to this podcast and together we recently hosted and released the 100th episode of PodcastPD.

I couldn't be more proud of the podcasters and content creators that Stacey and AJ have blossomed into.

PodcastPD started as a blog post on a now-retired blog of Stacey's. It morphed into a Twitter chat and a live stream during a Twitter chat to a full-blown podcast that we love creating.

AJ also launched his own podcast, ReflectED back in June of 2020.

@StaceyLindes @AJBianco

And if you're not also listening to PodcastPD, what are you waiting for? Go to podcastpd.com/go

Update! Thank you to everyone who reached out after the news I shared at the end of episode 178. The follow-up to that bit of personal news took an interesting turn my surgery had to be postponed because I experienced a delayed allergic reaction to the MIR contrast which I need to have done as part of the pre-op procedure. That lead to fighting off a massive full-body rash which I am almost done treating. The new date for my surgery is June 16 and I will certainly keep you posted about everything and I sincerely appreciate all the well wishes. It means a lot.

What Is Blended Learning?

• Blended learning is what we need to focus on as we enter the post-pandemic lockdown world of 2020 and 2021. We need to reevaluate the human component in the learning experience. A blended learning approach ensures that students are engaged and driving their individual learning experience. This approach also helps cater to the individual needs of the learner, every student has a unique learning style and a blended approach is more likely to cater to those needs than a traditional classroom teaching experience.

Why Is Blended Learning Important?

• Blended learning is important because it breaks down the traditional walls of teaching, ones that don't work for all students, and now with access to present-day technologies and resources, we can tailor the learning experience for each student. Blended learning also offers flexible time frames that can be personalized to each person, offering them the ability to learn at their own pace.

Benefits of Blended Learning

1. Blended learning makes education more accessible
2. Teachers can become more engaged with their students
3. Blended Learning is more fun for everyone

Tools for Blended Learning

• Learning Management System
  • Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, Edmodo, etc.
  
  
• Online Texts and Resources
  • OER Commons, Project Gutenburg (60K Free EBooks), Planet EBook (free EBooks)
  
  
• Tools To Create & Organize Video Content
  • YouTube, Google Drive, Flipgrid
  
  
• Video Content
  • Smarter Every Day, YouTube Learning, Veritasium, AsapSCIENCE, Crash Course or Crash Course Kids, MIT Open Courseware, MIT K12 Videos, Bozeman Science, PBS Idea Channel, Numberphile, Vimeo Instructional Videos
  
  

Scott Nunes - Teacher, coach, #MIEExpert, #schoologyamb, Google cert. lvl 1 & 2, @wakelet amb, #cccue board, @nearpod cert., host of @tntedtech & @EducationToday8 #podcast!

https://www.tntedtech.com/ https://twitter.com/mrnunesteach

I am now 40 years old.

I began this journey on April 27, 1981, @ 12:01 AM

It was 56 and partly cloudy in New York City. As far as I can tell it was a beautiful sunny day that saw a high of 67.

It was a perfect day.

Since that day my life, like yours, has been far from perfect or normal - whatever that even means.

The older I get the more difficult it is to clearly remember specific moments from my past - weird for someone who teaches history and is interested in the past.

As I was preparing this episode I first thought about taking the approach that after 40 years I don't really know anything. But the more I thought about it I realized I know an awful lot. Like I've talked about here before it's my experiences that have taught me so much.

I have screwed up and failed so many times you might wonder how I am even still here after I share some stories from the last 40 years. And that's what I am going to do. I have some stories I want to share and I believe through my experiences you will be entertained and educated.

This episode contains four stories - one from each decade I've been here.

Changes to Google Workspace storage

• https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2021/04/google-has-announced-that-its-unlimited.html
• https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2021/04/changes-to-google-workspace-storage.html

10 Ways to Harness the Power of the Chat Function

• 1. Chat me.
• 3. Thank students and acknowledge their chats.
• 4. Prepare prompts.
• 7. Monitor the chat.
• 10. Download chat as an artifact.

Nathan Nagele - a husband, father, and teacher. Nate is currently a middle school technology education teacher in the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system. Nate has been teaching since 2009 and has served as a teacher, educational technology coordinator, department chair, and mentor.

He loves teaching students and teachers about technology and how to use educational technology to get the most out of their classroom experience.

Connect with Nate - http://nathannagele.com/

In this conversation, Nate and I talk about what we've each learned over the last year and we reflect on what we would do differently.

Tim Cavey - Tim is an 8th-grade educator and vice-principal in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In 2019, he completed a Master's of Educational Leadership degree through Vancouver Island University, and the 2020-2021 school year was his 20th in education. My MEdL program re-invigorated his passion for education. His favorite education topics include the 5Cs, design thinking, growth mindset, inquiry, PBL, visible learning, and strategic uses of technology in education. Tim's Master's thesis focused on the tremendous power of asynchronous professional development media, inspired in part by his podcast, Teachers on Fire. On the Teachers on Fire podcast, Tim profiles agents of growth and transformation in K-12 education. He chats with inspiring educators to bring you their highs and lows, passions and goals, and the voices and influences that are shaping their thinking and inspiring their practice. In the fall of 2020, Tim began streaming these conversations on the Teachers on Fire YouTube channel as well. He launched the podcast in March of 2018 without knowing much about the technical side of podcasting. Growth has been steady, and the reach of the show continues to build month after month. As he continues to learn, improve, and connect with other educators, he has enjoyed playing a part in professional learning across North America and the world. https://teachersonfire.net/

The Weight of Repetitive Tasks by Seth Godin

My thought in this episode is inspired and based on the blog above.

Welcome to the 2021 House of #EdTech Final Four. This year's episode and event aren't as elaborate as 2020 but I did put a fun spin on the content as I share four education technology tools/tips for your students but I also share four for you!

Think of it like the NCAA tournament and the NIT together.

• Creativity
  • Students - Book Creator - https://bookcreator.com
  • You - Social Media - IG, T, TT
  
  
• Communication
  • Students - Leverage Your LMS
  • You - Talking Points - https://talkingpts.org/
  
  
• Collaboration
  • Students - Wakelet - https://wakelet.com
  • You - Skilled Space - https://skilled.space
  
  
• Critical Thinking
  • Students - Blooket - https://www.blooket.com/
  • You - Podcast Listening
  
  

Tim Belmont - @tbelmontedu

Tim is all about EdTech, Language Arts, and he is an ISTE & Google Certified Educator.

• Knock Knock Who's There? - Thanks for checking out the podcast!
• The Pod Journal - Planning your podcast episodes can be overwhelming. Staying organized will save you time and energy. The Pod Planner will help you organize your ideas, reflection, and podcast planning goals in one place. The Pod Journal will take you through 100 episodes of your podcast!

• Don't Be Boring! Yes, it's that simple.

• MyInstants.com - Proceed with caution with this soundboard tool. Use it in your classroom and virtual or hybrid in your Meet and Zoom calls.

AJ Bianco and I had a conversation about the last year and what we've learned both as a classroom teacher from my POV and from his vantage point as an administrator.

Connect with AJ:

• @AJBianco
• ReflectEDPodcast.com

Cheri Dotterer - Cheri is an international dysgraphia consultant, author, and speaker who trains child development professionals to recognize invisible learning disabilities to help students overcome trauma and shame associated with their disability and rewrite their story through grace. She is the author of Amazon Bestseller's book Handwriting Brain-Body DisConnect is an occupational therapist for 25 years with a private practice in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Alvernia and Misericordia Universities and has been an adjunct and guest lecturer. Cheri and her husband of 30 years have two adult children.

She encourages you to embark on a journey to rewrite the story of today's children. Look into their future today through research, professional and personal development.

Connect with Cheri Dotterer

• https://www.cheridotterer.com/
• https://twitter.com/cheridotterer

• Knock Knock Who's There? - A new podcast hosted created by my oldest son and me.
• The Pod Journal - Planning your podcast episodes can be overwhelming. Staying organized will save you time and energy. The Pod Planner will help you organize your ideas, reflection, and podcast planning goals in one place. The Pod Journal will take you through 100 episodes of your podcast!

• A Little Bit More on Clubhouse
  • Mondays/Fridays - PodcastPD 7-7:30 AM EST
    • Monday - The Drive In
    • Friday - Weekend Week in Review
    
    
  • Tuesdays - Club House of #EdTech 10-11 PM EST
  • Thursdays - EdCamp Clubhouse 7 PM EST
    • Lisa Dabbs, Bonnie Nieves, Rachelle Dene Poth, Tisha Poncio, Stacey Lindes, and AJ Bianco
    
    
  
  

• Word Counter - Knowing the word count of a text can be important. For example, if an author has to write a minimum or maximum amount of words for an article, essay, report, story, book, paper, you name it. WordCounter will help to make sure its word count reaches a specific requirement or stays within a certain limit.
• Text Giraffe - FREE LOGO MAKER! Customize your own free logo, use the logo designer for anything you want! Wide variety of logos to choose from.
• WordMark.It - Did you ever find yourself going through a list of fonts, in a drop-down menu, trying to find the right font? Only to find out that the font doesn't even look good with your text?
• Talking Points- Communicate with families in their home languages to build strong partnerships all year long. Join the millions of teachers and parents who already use TalkingPoints.

4 Cs - Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking

• #1 - We Must Foster Creativity
• #2 Communication Is Key
• #3 Foster a Success Through Collaboration
• #4 Inspire Critical Thinking with Education Technology

Find a creative way to communicate to me you listened to this episode and understand what I've shared so we can collaborate and put some critical thought into how we can both get better at this thing we do.

Melissa Aveling - Australian secondary Mathematics teacher for over 10 tears. Mel has taught in her home country of Australia, Taiwan, and she currently teaches in Columbia at an IB school. She loves traveling, hiking, photography, waterfalls, and tennis.

She's active in Global GEG and she frequents many of the places I speak live which I greatly appreciate.

Kumospace.com

• Free immersive video chat built for groups
• Say goodbye to boring video calls. Get started in 10 seconds.
• Used by teams @ Google, Facebook, NASA and more!
• Break free from breakout rooms
• Spatial audio enables multiple simultaneous conversations in the same space. Just like IRL.
• Customize your space
• Rich illustrations, interactive apps, and customizable environments delight guests and sponsors alike.

What is Clubhouse?

• Clubhouse is an invite-only audio platform -- iOS only as of Feb. 2021 -- where users can start conversations, listen in to conversations, and network. When you open the app you'll find one spot to search for users or clubs (which are like affinity groups) you'd like to follow, and a calendar of upcoming events based on the interests you selected when you first signed up. You can see what rooms other people are a part of, jump around to listen in, and raise your hand if you want to be invited up to the stage.

What is the value of Clubhouse for Educators?

How I am using Clubhouse?

• I have spent the last month mostly lurking
• I have started to host rooms - One of my first was literally called, Talking EdTech while Waiting for Tacos
• I am exploring my interests
• I am getting the opportunity to listen to conversations and engage in conversations that I wouldn't normally get the chance to jump into.
• It's like a 24-hour per day conference and really resembles EdCamp. Anyone can start a conversation and you can leave a conversation at any time.
• Yeah, this might be trendy but I don't think I've ever led you astray, and I promise that you will get value.

Clubhouse Tips for Teachers

1. If you can get an invite from someone GET IT! Why Not?
2. Listen
3. Explore ALL your interests
4. Connect and follow people who are interesting to you
5. Get involved and raise your hand
6. Start a conversation

How are others using Clubhouse?

• Tisha Poncio
• Bonnie Nieves
• Don Sturm
• Eric Guise
• Lisa Dabbs

Final Thoughts

Of course, with any social media platform, success will come down to the quality of content. For people like you and me, the conversation needs to be practical and useful. Clubhouse is in its early days, and it remains to be seen what 'quality' looks like on this platform. Still, there certainly seems to be an opportunity to democratize discussions around education — at least until the same old voices grab all the eartime.

Resources

• How Educators are Using the Exclusive Social Media App Clubhouse - EdSurge; Monica Burns, ClassTechTips.com

• Trish Hinchman
• Technology Integration Specialist • Google Certified Trainer • Adjunct Professor in Ed Tech • Presenter • Learner • Wife and Mom of 2