Digital Storytelling Addiction

I am a digital storytelling junkie. I admit it. I can burn hours looking for great digital stories, but in my defense truly well done stories are hard to come by. I was at a Tech Apps conference yesterday and a presenter showed the video below. I have to share it as I am in looooovee with it! The creator is C. G. P. Grey and you have to check out his other videos. I am going to post more because - THEY ROCK!

Symbaloo

I am always interested in finding a better way to look at my favorites. I also want to be able to share them quickly and efficiently with my staff and students. If you register with Symbaloo you too can create your own personal internet desktop. I have included mine below to show you what it can look like. Now remember I am just getting started!

I think I may have found my favorite Prezi of all time!

Sweet recipe to solving problems on Prezi

An Ed Tech Advertisement

Proof our kids expect interactive technology

Readability

As technology becomes more and more a part of everyday life in the classroom is has become a concern for me on how we will help students who have any kind of issues with dyslexia. I taught students who needed enlarged handouts, used colored overlays over their handouts, etc. With more and more documents being projected on a wall, used on a laptop or desktop I have become increasingly concerned with how to help those students.


Fortunately there is a great tool out there that not helps with several visual issues but is FREE!! The site Readability.com has an add-on you can use to transform an article on the internet to fit your viewing needs. I have found that articles tend to be on white backgrounds with black text. This can be very hard on the eyes, especially if projecting it on a screen for the entire class. I have kids who refuse to wear their glasses so being able to quickly increase just the font size of an article is awesome! Also I love that I can hide the pictures of an article if need be.

Below I have article from the Houston Chronicle as it would normally be viewed on a standard web-browser. You will notice that is high contrast with the white background and black text. Also the font may deemed somewhat small due the current web-browser settings.












Below is the same article but the view of it has been modified by the readability add-on. I went with a black background and white text which I have heard is great from some students. I changed the font type and increased the text size. You can also take the articles and print them or save them to your Kindle (or Kindle app) for easy viewing on the device of your choice.

Curiosity in the Classroom

I just participated in a webinar for Curiosity in the classroom. The event was called "Will Robots Take Over: Out-think, Out-wit, Out-perform". There are tons of curiosity quizzes for the kids to take and I have no shame in saying that I took quite a few of them. I was going to take one just to get a feel for the quizzes and see if I would actually recommend them to teachers. Then I kept going and could kick myself for the quarter hour I spent taking quizzes! The resources provided are awesome and best of all free!!!

I love the part on Curiosityintheclassroom.com is the feature on career clips. So many kids do not even realize what fields are out there and this is a great way to open their mind up to the idea of being a Materials Engineer for example.

I think my favorite part of the webinar was the fact that hundreds of students across the country worked all together to design a robot together online via the museum of science.

The 7 Golden Rules of Using Technology in Schools

I came across this article, The 7 Golden Rules of Using Technology in Schools, over the summer and today it is really resonating with me. You really need to read this article. I am NOT kidding! Read it! I am throwing in my two cents below:

1. Don't trap technology in a room! - You do not need a computer lab or even a mobile lab to integrate technology into the classroom! If you need ideas email me! I will come hang out in your classroom and watch how/what/why you teach what you teach and offer suggestions on where technology can assist you!

2. Technology is worthless without professional development! - I will come train you (as long as you are a GCCISD employee. (If you are one of my family members or a friend you can come to me and you may want to bring someone to watch my little one :)

3. Mobile Technology stretches a long way - You can take it with you!

4. Tech tools are not just a passing fad - They are here to stay and will be a part of every facet of our lives! Just look at the kindle!

5. The new "F Word" is fear - Yes the kids will most likely know more about the technology than you do. That is good. They should know more than you so do not take it personal.

6. Money is not the problem - Some of my favorite tools on the planet are free Web 2.0 tools. In fact if it costs anything I usually go hunting on the web until I find a free version of that tool.

7. Invite every stakeholder to the conversation - The kids and the parents need to be in on this!

Animoto's got a new look!

Well I just got an email from Animoto.com, and apparently they have tweaked their interface! I have not had a chance to check it out yet. Let me know if it is any good you guys! My goal is to mess with the new interface this afternoon! The video to the changes can be found here.

Pinterest

Well I am making my first Educational Technology Board on Pinterest. This is how it starts people! You think "Oh I will just make a quick little board," and BAM! - Two hours of your life are gone! Be sure to check it out :)