EdTech Resources June 19 2014

Using polling tools in the classroom is probably old hat by now. There are a ton of different tools available to teachers - many of them free- and they're being put to use in a variety of different ways. From simply polling your class to get information and opinions to taking quizzes and having your ...

Twitter now supports GIFs - better late than never. Users of the social network have long requested the ability to tweet the endlessly looping animations. They got their wish on Wednesday, when Twitter announced the update via a tweet from its support team (it's your move now, Facebook).

The evolving role of the teacher as facilitator, and hands-on learning experiences that give students agency over their own education are two major trends already taking root in many schools and classrooms, according to the 2014 NMC Horizon K-12 Horizon report.

June 16, 2014 Raising a digitally savvy and responsible student does require explicit modelling and instruction on how to deal with the vagaries of Internet. In an age where everything you do online leaves indelible marks (digital footprints) that can be accessed and viewed by anyone , knowing how and what to share and with whom to share it become digital imperatives that every student should be aware of.

Investments in educational technology need to show results. As a classroom teacher, employing the right tools can reduce your workload while increasing your instructional impact. Try ExitTicket, give ...

Yesterday, I gave a short presentation on teaching with technology and primary sources. During that presentation I demonstrated how I have used Google Documents to support classroom conversations about primary source documents.

Check out this demo video to see an overview of how the tool works for teachers and students. In this video, you will learn how to set up classes and add students, create assignments, and review student work.

Photo Credit: mrsdkrebs via Compfight cc As a student I couldn't even guess what my teachers were doing when they weren't teaching. Mostly because I did not care enough to pay attention. Sure, I knew the impact some of my teachers and coaches had on me, but the teenage mind didn't allow me to comprehend what ...

At a time when public libraries are starting to offer everything from community gardening plots to opportunities to check out humans for conversations, some school libraries are similarly re-evaluating their roles and expanding their offerings. Case in point: Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

As the end of June approaches that means the annual ISTE (International Society for Technology In Education) Conference is around the corner. ISTE is one of my favorite conferences because I get to catch up face-to-face with those I haven't seen in the past year, I get to learn with some incredible educators and I get to see the latests gadgets and must haves for the classroom.

Before getting a classroom of my own, I spent two years student teaching in the classrooms of veteran teachers. I had gone to professional development sessions and seen experienced teachers share their amazing practices. But I had never seen a beginning teacher in action before.

A brief overview of how to use the iPad for visual recording/notetaking. Includes things to consider when doing this; how this is different from traditional (paper-based) visual recording; and comparisons of four tools (Ideas, AirSketch, Brushes, and SketchbookPro).

DEFINITION Visual notetaking is a process of representing ideas non-linguistically. (That's a fancy of way of saying, "drawing pictures.") Visual notetaking can include concept mapping, but also more artistic ways of visually capturing and representing ideas. On the simpler side of the visual notetaking continuum, visual notes can be used to create narrated art.

Fueled by an incredible demand in the workforce for proficient programmers and the need to teach critical thinking skills, the coding movement in schools has exploded. Furthermore, we all communicate through technology, so we should at least know the basic premise of coding because the gadget sitting in our pocket, or on our desk, should ...

Sometimes we don't always stay vigilant on checking extension permissions. Here is an easy way to keep tabs on your Chrome add-ons. http://blog.chromium.org/2014/06/see-what-your-apps-extensions-have-been.html https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chrome-apps-extensions-de/ohmmkhmmmpcnpikjeljgnaoabkaalbgc --- Want more Tekzilla? Catch a new, full-length episode of Tekzilla every Tuesday on our site! http://tekzilla.com Have tip ideas?

Nobody can "make time," but here are five smart ways to make better use of your non-teaching time with more efficiency and a lot less stress.

It is an amazing infographic and I wouldn't mind having a poster of it myself! The Socratic Process infographic was originally posted on Tics y Formacion (see link at the bottom of my post) and you may be able to find out more about it by contacting the webmaster there.

June 20, 2014 Here is an awesome infographic that chronicles the major technologies that have been used in schools along more than a century ago. It is just amazing to see all the developments schools went through thanks to the progress of technology.

Summertime is a great time for teachers to recharge their batteries a bit. After spending the entire school year encouraging students to learn, some rest is definitely in order. Beyond the quiet of spending time away from a boatload of students, it is a great time for teachers to fit in some professional development.

Chrome: Want to share an image or document you found online with others? Forget downloading and then pushing to your preferred cloud storage service-Ballloon can do it in a single click. You can download the extension at the link below. (Yes, there are three L's in the name.)

Twitter is what made hashtags matter and as far as finding any relevant, consolidated information on an event is concerned, Twitter is still in the lead. Of course, following the success of hashtags and subsequently of Twitter Trends, Facebook and Google Plus decided they were worth having around.

WordPress is not the be all and end all of website creation, as some other excellent services will prove to you. The sturdy WordPress platform continues to be one of the top choices for creating a website, and deservingly so. But, in certain scenarios, WordPress as a website solution can be overkill.

Tekzilla Bites: 5 Gorgeous Alternative Weather Apps - Patrick Norton is a weather app geek. He goes over his favorite weather apps for iOS.

Tablet use at schools in the United States is booming, and could be a key component in rethinking classroom education, as Hayley Tsukayama and Michael Alison Chandler reported Sunday. The proliferation of tablets maybe the most revolutionary addition of technology in the classroom, but the path was paved with other tools.

This article, "The Case for Banning Laptops in the Classroom", written by Dan Rockmore for The New Yorker, has been getting considerable airtime on social media this week. As a classroom instructor I can certainly attest to the power of technology to distract and interfere with student learning.