I created a tour using Tour Builder and I highlight how I used it.  If you haven't had the chance to check out this tool, take some time and do it.  This is a great tool for delivering content and letting students develop their own.  This is a great tool to use as your first tech integration experience.  There are examples of what a tour looks like and the interface is user friendly.  Lot's of extras too once you get going.  

Tech treat is Photos for Class.  Search and cite school appropriate images with this tool.

I attended the Michigan Association of Computer Users and Learners Conference at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.  I learned a lot and was part of a presentation about Tech Coaching (more of a panel discussion).  I have whittled down the things I learned to a top 5.  I put links below as needed.  I wanted to send a BIG Thank you to my District for paying my registration fee.  I appreciate the support!!

Richard Byrne's session on Formative Assessment--Dotstorming

Kasey Bell's session Stranger Google- Tools from the Upside Down- Notable Women

Leslie Fisher's session Adobe Gone Mobile-Some Adobe apps work with Chromebooks now!

Tech coaches and leaders discussion of ISTE standards- They used slido.com for audience question submission

Tech treat--check out OER....Open Educational Resources...here is a link to OER Commons.

In this part of the interview, Jodie and I continue to compare the two groups of tech users- natives and immigrants.  We find we belong to both groups and most people do too.  What do you think?  Does it matter in the end?  We talk about solving problems horizontally and look back to the time technology came into our lives and how these experiences help us currently to integrate tech and help teachers and students harness the power of technology.   Jodie shares a great story about a conversation with an administrator who wanted all teachers to use tech right away.

 FYI- I received a phone call toward the end and I left that in, so be ready to jam to my cool ringtone!!

This is the last of a 3 part series on discussion in the classroom.  I highlight and review the pieces of tech you can use to help engage students in a classroom discussion.  Check out the tech and remember these are great tools, but you are the professional that decides whether to use them.  Face-to-face discussion/communication is the focus.  Integrating these tools can be as complex or simple as you and your students require.

Tech for Fostering Discussion:

Google Forms                Twitter           Answer Garden           Pear Deck         Padlet

Don't forget to check out these books:

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing  by Daniel Pink

 The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity; Paperback; Author - George Couros 

In this episode I talk about the next things I did in fostering stronger discussion skills.  Some students are intimidated by students that speak up so easily; so I held a discussion on more general questions that everyone could answer and gave them the opportunity to communicate online and in person.  The questions worked well for me and maybe they will for you too!!   The questions focus on getting groups "in-sync" and I found them in a book and on Twitter.  Just did some research and got a lot of ideas, I listed some of the resources below.

Resources from this podcast

Edutopia article Bringing all students into the discussions

Edutopia article Scaffolding student reflections

Discussion guidelines from Edutopia 

Univ of Maryland Teaching and Learning Transformation Center

Tech treats- Research resources and On-line Journals

American Educational Research Journal

Empowering Teaching Excellence- Utah State University

EdSurge

TeachThought

In this first part of 3 podcast episodes, I reflect on the first steps I took in developing the discussion skills of my students.  Researching articles, books and Twitter led me to using certain types of discussions and developing questioning styles.  The articles listed below are a few I found helpful and the tech treats are great for engaging students.  You might note that this podcast is not heavy on tech integration but it did help with engaging students and gathering data.  

Students do not know how to discuss class content and I wanted to help them develop these skills.  Through discussion deeper learning occurs.  Tech is a great tool for teachers to use for researching and developing discussion styles/types, as well as students to use to begin developing their discussion skills.

Edutopia Bringing All Students Into Discussions Discussion guidelines available in this post.

Edutopia Scaffolding Student Reflections + Sample Questions

George Couros 5 questions to start out a class or year.

Jennifer Gonzalez The Big List of class Discussion Strategies

Tech tools to use 

Google Forms- collect, save and review answers to questions.  Develop that relationship!

Twitter- Broadcast a discussion or have your students do a broadcast on their own.

Answer Garden- Ask a question and let students see the answers appear in a word tree/cloud.  Great discussion starter!

Are you utilizing blended learning? This method of educating demands tech integration, but may not be the right thing for your students.  I give you a run down of different blended learning models (complete with my philosophical meanderings) and focus on using Google Sites as a tool for creating meaningful learning.  You may be ready to try blended learning or a flipped classroom,  your students may need a blended classroom environment...now what?  Decide which model may work best and create a Google Site to help facilitate learning.  Better yet,  let your students create one!

Find out about Blended Learning Models at Blended Learning Universe.

Click here to create a Google Site

 In my 40th episode, I look at some articles about what reflection is and why it is important to utilize it in your classroom.  I also give a few suggestions on how to integrate tech to start and complete the process.  Reflection is an integral part of creating meaningful learning experiences.  Think about how this might meet the needs of your students!

Articles

Tech tools

Google Forms 

Doc to Form Add-on