I have had a great summer.  You can probably tell because I have not been podcasting as regularly as I did during the school year.  Well, I am sorry about that and I am not sorry about that.  I traveled and took time for me.  I kept reading articles and listening to podcasts but I noticed that things were slowing down a bit even for those who are the gurus of Ed Tech.  There were new ideas introduced but mostly podcasts were focusing on pedagogy and using tools that have been available for awhile.  If you are just getting into tech integration that is great but don’t think you are behind.  You are not.

 This episode will focus on student needs assessment, ideas on how to find out where your students are at and where they want to go.  I think the second part is so important and fosters an environment that could help develop other skills, like discussion and collaboration. 

Tools mentioned:

Wakelet

Padlet

Survey Monkey

Remind

Flipgrid

Welcome to Season 2!!

I discuss some tech free activities and thoughts on how to integrate tech in the process of building the collaboration skills of students.  Thanks for listening and drop me an email or leave a review on iTunes.  My email is [email protected]

Tech tools in this episode:

Glogster

MyHistro

Screencastify or WeVideo

Google Sheets

Canva

Don't forget to check out the tools available in the tech you have used either personally or in class.  It might add an exciting and engaging piece to your lesson

Closing out the year, I am looking at the things I wish would have gone better and the things that went great!  In this episode, I focus on 4 things that I should have made sure all students understood before trying to implement some technology.  These 4 are not the answer to every problem, but I found myself answering entry level "how to" questions instead of the advanced "how to".  You know, "how do I share a doc?" vs. "how does Beethoven's music differ from Mozart's?"  

I found that I needed to do some learning gap closing before assigning deeper learning activities.  I think the skills highlighted in this episode may be useful to you and your students.  

Enjoy the tech treat at the end.....yes a treat!!

Integrating tech into the classroom can seem challenging...overwhelming...impossible...even needless.  The key is not the tech you use but the method or approach you take.  There are many great tools and they do take time to get used to, but most of the time struggles with implementing tech comes from trying to do too much and the experience does not go smoothly so....it is abandoned.  In this episode, I give some ideas on how to use tech your personal use and then introduce it into the classroom or never introduce it and use it for planning and delivering content.  It is up to you!!

Tools in this episode

Google Slides

Kahoot

Quizlet

Flippity

Google Forms

Any length of video assignment can motivate and inspire students to increase their quality of work.  This podcast has suggestions of apps you can use, but also some ideas on approaches of using video creation.  If you think that a quick, unedited video has little meaningful learning in it.  I disagree, maybe the first few times you use video will be a little rough, but students learn fast and will develop their skills.  Maybe try one of the apps below before using any of the video creation tools.  Small steps!  Be patient!

Apps

Flipgrid

Padlet

Video creation

Screencastify

Screencastomatic

Tech treat

GDrive for your phone  Apple   Android

Collaborating is a great feature of digital content.  There are a few things you must do to make sure everyone has access.  This episode highlights sharing Google Drive and Suite content   Along with a few tricks for sharing anything that has a linking or embed code feature.  Time saving tips that will reduce the steps necessary to collaborate.  Utilizing these steps not only increases productivity, but also models skills all students need to develop.

Tech treat- Tour Builder

Google Calendar offers a goal setting feature that enables you to insert a goal into your busy life by answering a few questions.  Google will find times based on what you have entered in your calendar and help you reschedule and keep track of your progress.  I use this feature on my phone and haven't tried on my computer (not sure it is there to be honest).  Open your Google calendar on your phone and give it a go!

Tech treats   EdPuzzle and Playposit