Teaching with Twitter!

We are having a wonderful time with our Live Twitter Chats on Tuesday evenings at 7:00!  We started with just our district (and just a small group) and now we have people joining us from all over!  SO much fun to connect to other educators and see how they are incorporating technology into their classrooms.  I came across this article today, Teaching with Twitter,  and thought you would like to read it.  Lots of great information!  The following is just part of the article.  Click the link below to read more.

Why should educators consider incorporating Twitter in their teaching? 

Here are just a few reasons: 

*Extend learning experiences beyond the “walls” of the classroom 
*Bring in current events to the curriculum 
*Engage students within lecture-based instruction 
*Connect students from across multiple sections or institutions 
*Reach out to experts in the field 
*Pull the world into your classroom 
*Introduce students to informal professional development 
See more at: http://www.jasonrhode.com/twitterinedu#sthash.8YwkzYV9.dpuf

Diboll ISD Technology has a Live Twitter Chat each Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm!  Join them/us tomorrow evening!  The moderator this week is Monica Martinez, Google Certified Administrator and Trainer.  SO cool!  Use the hashtag #disdcuttingedge

10 Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom

Thanks, to Lisa Heath for sharing this!!

• Student Work Showcase: Take photos of student work and showcase for your network to see. Have your students’ parents follow along, or engage with another classroom in your school to share work.
• Student of the Week: Feature a different student in your class each week. The student can have an ‘intro’ post with a photo of themselves, and then snap photos throughout the week to share with the class. Make sure you have guidelines for the students so that the content they’re photographing is “clean” and school-appropriate.
• Class Memories: If your class takes a field trip, offers a concert or other production, or celebrates a milestone event, photograph it to remember!
• Historical Figures: Imagine how a famous historical figure would use Instagram. Have the students research a person and create what their Instagram feed would look like if it existed during their time. As an example, JFK might have posted photos of his kids, wife, boat, and places he traveled on State business.
• Literary Characters: Have the students imagine how a relevant literary characters would use Instagram. What sort of photos would Jane Eyre or Sherlock Holmes be posting?
• Reading Recommendations: Students can post photos of books they enjoyed reading for their classmates to explore.
• Step-by-Step: This will work especially well for science projects, but is applicable in other areas too. Have students document a step by step process for a project they’re working on, with a description of that step in the caption.
• Scavenger Hunt: Challenge your students to find specific things or types of things in the world around them. This activity can be adapted for nearly any subject matter, which makes it an excellent activity for all age levels and classes.
• Writing Ideas: Take photos that can be used as prompts for creative writing – such as a For Sale sign, an empty room, a busy train, etc.
• Document Progress: Snap photos of students’ work at intervals during the year.

Smart Reply!

Google will soon be able to respond to your emails for you. Sound scary? It’s not. Google just announced Smart Reply for Inbox by Gmail, which will give you 3 responses to choose from when responding an email if you don’t feel like typing out a response yourself. This is very similar to the predictive texting available in iOS, but rather than individual words, Google will be serving you complete replies. The response options are based on the content of the email you are sent as well as your past email responses you have sent.

For example, if you are sent an email saying “Can you meet up after work?” Inbox may give you optional replies such as “Sure, I’d love to!”, “No, sorry I am busy.” and “Possibly. What time were you thinking?” By looking at the way you type, the responses should sound exactly like something you would write yourself. This will be great for saving time on responses you find yourself typing out time and time again. Here is what Smart Reply will look like when it is released for mobile devices later this week.

Fakebook!

I LOVE this. Facebook - everyone is on Facebook. Even kiddos. Do you ever wonder what it would be like if historical figures or authors from the past were on Facebook? What would they say? What would they publish? Check out this "Fakebook." This was created in Google Slides and you can simply click on each area to change accordingly. What a great way to have students learn more about historical figures, authors, etc. The following is one that I started on George Washington and I'll have to admit, I learned quite a bit that I didn't already know about our First President! The students can get really creative with posts and hashtags!

(Check out Martha's hashtag to George below.)

I have posted the slides on our website here. To save one to your Google Drive, go to File -> Make Copy. 

What is a Teacher Blog?

A teacher blog (short for web log) is an online space where a teacher can share their thoughts, ideas and lesson plans with their readers. Those readers may be students, parents and even other teachers. Today many teachers are opting for a teacher blog in place of a traditional website. And... it is as easy as simply creating a document! 

Some Really Great Teacher Blogs

Elementary

Secondary

15 Fabulously Fall Free Fonts!

I promise that I post other techy things besides fonts! But....these are DARLING!  And if you have the chance, check out this blog where I got them.  It's called "I Should Be Mopping the Floor!"  Her blog is WONDERFUL!!!

You can also follow her on Twitter @ishouldbemoppin.  Her blog is WONDERFUL!!!

Shabby Fonts!

OK...so we all know how I feel about fonts!  And I LOVE anything "shabby." So, can you imagine my excitement (there may or may not have been actual squealing involved) when I found VINTAGE, SHABBY FONTS!?  And, get this...yep, they're FREE!!  Enjoy!

Pluto's Google Doodle

Everyone loves Google Doodles!  Today's Google Doodle was about the NASA Spacecraft speeding by Pluto.  You might not know that if you click on the Google Doodle, it will give you TONS of information that you can use in your classroom!

Try it today!  Just click the Google Doodle!

If you are a "Google School", I found a really great blog today just for you!  I am attending the Google Training/Certification in Austin later this month and I am SUPER PUMPED about it!  While "Googling Google" I came across this (and many other) websites that I thought you might find useful if you are just starting to learn about Google in the Classroom.
Check it out HERE.

Integrating Technology - More than Just Having Computers

Check out this great article with many resources from Education World!

Today's Google Doodle is in honor of the 155th Anniversary of the Pony Express.  In a time where our students are so knowledgeable about digital learning and social networks, immediate feedback, emails and texting, this would be a great time to educate them on the United States Postal Service! There are free kits available from the USPS on their website.  https://about.usps.com/corporate-social-responsibility/education-kits.htm

Who would have ever thought that we'd have to teach someone about snail mail! : )

I Can't Find My Doodle!

Someone told me the other day that they hated that they missed a post I had done on Google Doodles since it was in honor of someone's birthday and that day had passed.  Well, guess what kiddies?!  We're talking about the internet here - a magical land where NOTHING disappears! : ) 

By clicking HERE, you can see all past Google Doodles that include games, videos, toys, "this day in history," featured Doodles, interactive Doodles and much, much more!  Enjoy!

April is Poetry Month!



Back to School ideas for PreK-8th! Classroom Management, Prepping Students to Succeed, Encouraging Writing, Reinforcing Reading and more! Enjoy them HERE!

Check out this site for FREE PreK-12 STEM Education Resources!

What is PBL?

What is PBL?  It is NOT a sandwich. : )  Check out this video on Project Based Learning.