THE STUDENTS!!!
They are the real winners because they have great teachers who are interested in giving them high quality instruction with the integration of technology. Kudos to all the teachers who responded. The students won't say it, so I will say it for them..."Thanks for working hard to create engaging, challenging lessons for me. It makes school more enjoyable, and better prepares me for my future."
A special congratulations goes out to the staff at CLAY LAMBERTON!. They had the highest percentage of participation, and will be receiving their reward in the near future. I promise...
Next week, I will be attending the Midwest Google Summit at the Dells, along with Dave, Adam and a handful of teachers. I look forward to sharing what we learned with you in the coming weeks. There are many sessions on different ways to use google apps for education. CLICK HERE to see a list of those sessions. There are some sessions that I have already selected and will be attending, but if you see something that you would like to know more about, let me know and I can either try to attend or at least get the handout materials. Also, take advantage of the published resources for sessions. You may get the gist just from that.
In other news, I AM FINALLY ON TWITTER. I actually joined in 2011, but never got hooked into it. I didn't see a point to it and didn't want to make my life so transparent. However, I have come to see the light and will be much more active. If you have tips for a novice user, let me know. I set up an account for BASD Tech, so make sure you follow me/us. Props to Dave Reich and his awesome Twitter Feed. What a great way to connect with your students!
Finally, just because the Tech Challenge is over, doesn't mean you have to stop sending me lessons or asking me for help. That is what I am here for. I look forward to diving in on the submitted lessons and working with many of you in the coming weeks.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Hey, Tech This Out.....
Name: TodaysMeet
Type: Site
Subject: Any
Grade: Probably more MS/HS
What it does: Creates a 'Back Channel' discussion for your class. In other words, its an online conversation that is going on at the same time as your presentation. Scary, I know...Keep reading.
My Take: I used TodaysMeet when teaching Science. I first prepped my class on what it was and why I was wanting to use it (add another way to get students to participate, limit repeat questions during presentation, Give peers a chance to support peers, etc). We set some rules on what should be posted (questions and comments regarding related class material), and what should not be posted (conversations not contributing to the learning of the material). Then, I set up the discussion on the site, and the students logged in with a code on their chromebooks. While I taught my lesson, I kept the discussion open on my iPad. It was way more productive than I thought it would be. It actually become a formative assessment for me as I could gauge their learning by the amount and substance of the questions they were asking, as well as the amount and accuracy of the peer responses to those questions. I would chime in occasionally into the discussion, but I really tried to let it be a student led discussion. The discussions often led to more in-depth coverage of the topic. You can leave the discussion open after class for students to continue the conversation when doing assignments or studying. Many are having the conversation anyway, why not embrace it (and monitor it).
I didn't use it everyday, and there were a few students who could not handle it and were removed from the discussion, but overall, I found it to be a beneficial tool. I highly recommend trying it out.
Link: www.todaysmeet.com
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