#HourofCode

Do you want your child to be a thinker? Of course! Do you want them to be an out of box thinker? Indeed. Do you want to stretch your child's thinking in a way that can help them in any area of life they choose? Then challenge them to learn code. I know that if I had at my fingertips, what these children have now when I was their age, it could have been a whole different world for me.

It's not often that I am impressed with things, but the program being rolled out by code.org during Computer Science Education Week is impressive. They have the support of some of the worlds most identifiable leaders and trendsetters. Take a look.

Code.org has put together a simple and effective way to show kids that coding is easy, once you get the hang of it, by using what they can relate to...Angry Birds. Genius! Their challenge, called the Hour of Code is to provide an opportunity for every student across the country to try computer science for one hour during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 8-12). They have programming games for all ages, including games for the younger kiddos. Whats more is that they offer a self-service program that goes beyond the Hour of Code and encourages educators to teach students coding basics in the classroom or as an after-school activity. Even cooler is that code.org has written the lessons to go along so all you have to do is figure how to light the spark.

Here are some ways to include coding in your school day:

1. Take them to the computer lab and show them this video. Then, let them explore.
2. Provide a link on your Blackboard site or another site your school uses. Here are some:
• Angry Birds
• Coding (Unplugged)
• LightBot
• Tynker
3. Encourage your technology specialist or someone interested to hold a Coding Club.

I hope everyone finds some way to include the Hour of Code into their schools and classrooms. Please share any awesome ideas and ways you are spreading the word about computer science. 

Cool App: Educreations

Teachers are always on the lookout for great apps they can use in their classroom. One of those apps is Educreations. Read the following article SmartBoard, Make Way for Educreations, by Katrina Schwartz, from the online publication MindShift. Teachers like this app for many reasons, here are few:

1. Student/Teacher usability
2. Students can make inquiry videos
3. Practice reading fluency
4. Presentations
5. Teachers/students can explain a process
6. Embed this app into your flipped classroom

To learn more about how this app can be used watch these tutorials.

Google Apps: Docs

Last week members of the FCPS community attended the Google Summit. Two days of keynotes, breakout sessions, and networking. The focus was Google Apps for Education. If you are unfamiliar with these tools watch this short video to get a glimpse into their genius.

The Fairfax Summit was full of great sessions demonstrating how to incorporate these apps into the classroom but, the task of implementing can be overwhelming. Where do we start? Before we get started, let me say, in my opinion due of the sheer size of Fairfax, larger technology initiatives take a bit longer to take shape. So, the advantage for us is to preview, collaborate, brainstorm others' ideas until our county gives us the green light. Believe me, there are tons of people all over the world using these apps to collaborate, research, present, and share ideas in an efficient way. In my opinion, Google Docs changes the game for teachers and students. So, back to my original question: where do we start? The answer: start small. This post will explore practical uses for Google Docs in the classroom.

My expectation is that students in grades 4 through 6 should be using Google Apps for if no other reason than to prepare them for what they will be using throughout their education. In fact, some students may already be using them. It is our job to develop their skills early so we teach them the right way to use these magnificent tools.

Google Docs is one application within a core of several apps Google offers. The other apps include Google Forms, Sheets, Presentations, and Drawing. We will cover these application in future posts.

Practical Uses for Classrooms
Create and share a documents

1. Write a collaborative story. One student writes the beginning...second student writes the next paragraph...and so on...
2. Write a Choose Your Own Adventure Story
3. Collaborative brainstorming- every idea is included.
4. Classroom newsletter
5. Reading Response Journals

Practical Uses for Staff

1. Staff meeting agendas
2. Grade level notes
3. School plan document
4. Create a Google Doc for a lesson plan, share it with other teachers.
5. Try translating a document to give to non-English speaking parents.

In summary, I hope this post gets you thinking about the possibilities of Google Docs. This is an amazing piece of technology that will motivate and engage students to write, think, and learn. If you aren't convinced yet, take a look at this video that shows the power of collaboration.

Cool Apps: Too noisy in your classroom?

Project the app onto your SmartBoard!

Picture this: It's language arts time in your classroom. You have a small group at your back table discussing the latest assigned reading. The "gallery" as I used to call the students who were outside of my small group are working diligently with their Daily 5 activities. If you are anything like me, any spike in volume from the gallery is a distraction to me and the students in front of me who are trying to focus. Now the kids can monitor their classroom volume with this cool app. Evenmore, you can project the app onto the SmartBoard and set a decibel level that is appropriate. This puts the responsibility in the hands of the students. This is a cool way to manage your classroom volume level during workshop times.

Follow me on Pinterest to find other cool apps for the classroom. 

The power of QR codes in the elementary classroom

QR Codes are simple, motivating, cool, engaging, and will change your classroom environment forever. I know...a bold statement, but that was my experience using them in my 3rd grade classroom. One of the purposes of this blog is to share small and simple ways to implement technology into your classroom. Sometimes folks don't know where to start, hopefully, this will start you off on the right foot.

First, a little background knowledge. QR stands for "Quick Response" Code. A QR Code is a direct link to a specific place on the internet. They are used by cameras and mobile devices. You may have seen them at restaurants, department stores, city streets, or even in your school. They are everywhere! They look like this:

The Basics of Blended Learning

Now, how do you create one of these bad boys? It's pretty simple. My favorite site to create QR Codes is the website qrstuff.com. This short video shows you how to create a simple QR Code.

Now that you know what QR Codes are and how to make them it is time to share simple and effective ways to implement these cool codes into your classroom.

A Cool Way To Use QR Codes

Scan Me!

Expand your word study program. As a teacher I struggled to nicely fit all of my spellers into 3 groups. (Can you hear my sarcasm?) I wanted to expand a bit but I didn't have the time so, I used QR codes to help me. Here's what I did: Prior to the week I was delivering word study instruction I would prepare a YouTube video for my highest group. These students were stronger spellers and they didn't need as much support, however, they still needed to grow, learn, and build their vocabulary. I attached the video to a QR Code and gave it to them with a copy of their words. Using the iPads or other mobile devices the kids watched the video while I was meeting with my other groups. An added bonus was if the kids forgot how to sort their words they could return to the video at anytime.

More to come...

How do I prevent the research pane from popping up in Microsoft Word 2007?

Today's question is: How do I How do I prevent the research panel from popping up in Microsoft Word 2007?

This one was a doozy. A colleague was working in Microsoft Word 2007 and was using tables. While working with tables she encountered the annoying research panel. Whenever she would clicked anywhere in the document the research panel would pop up. It would prevent her from working within her document  After closing the pane and returning to the document the pane would return rendering her helpless. An endless cycle. After some "research" (ha ha) I came across this solution that worked beautifully. In a nutshell, I went into the VBscript editor and disabled the research panel completely.

Follow these steps:

1. From Word, press Alt-F11 to open the VB Editor. 
2. Press Ctrl-G to open the Immediate Window.
3. Type this line and press Enter: 

Application.CommandBars("Research").Enabled = False

How do I create a "distribution list" in Microsoft Outlook 2010?

Today's question is: How do I create a "distribution list" in Microsoft Outlook 2010?

Just when employees started to get used to Microsoft Office 2007 many schools in FCPS are upgrading to Microsoft Office 2010. One of the tools that is used most often by teachers and administrators is the distribution list tool in Outlook. Microsoft decided to change how people create distribution lists or as they call it now a "New Contact Group." Provided is the link that takes you through the steps of creating and editing a Contact Group (formerly distribution lists), or watch this video to help you.

Update: Using Gmail with the iPhone 5

Yesterday I shared my angst with receiving gmail on the iPhone 5. A lot of this is my own problem. I like things a certain way and when it doesn't work I drive myself nuts trying to get it the way I want. Eventually, I bang my head against the wall long enough I find an alternative way. My biggest issue with the change brought upon by Google is that I have to wait minutes to receive emails. For some, this isn't a big deal, but I am an email junkie and want emails the moment they are sent. Call me crazy! I started using the Google's Gmail App today and from what I have seen I notice that it has a clean interface and I receive push notifications the moment an email is sent. I am happy with my new setup...for now.

Using Gmail with the iPhone 5

I recently upgraded to an iPhone 5. Let me start by saying that I am a fan of Apple products for the simple reason that everything syncs and communicates between devices. If it weren't for this connectivity I may be swayed to try something new. Just sayin'. Anyway, upon upgrading to the 5 I noticed that I stopped receiving Gmail to my phone. I had my phone settings restored. As for my email settings I used the Microsoft Exchange feature to pull my Gmail, contacts, and calendar from Google to sync with my iPhone for instant push notifications. Come to learn that as of January 30, 2013 Google discontinued their Sync service. You may also recall Google's decision to cut ties with their Reader service as well. I guess the abolishment of Google Sync was in the mix of this"winter cleaning." The confusing part is that some folks who have a 5 still receive push notifications from Microsoft Exchange. The reason is if someone purchased the 5 prior to the January 30th date they were grandfathered until their next upgrade.  

There is hope! You are still able to connect your iPhone to your Gmail, calendar, and contacts, however you don't go through the Microsoft Exchange option, instead you must use the Gmail option. Here is a link to set yourself up to receive your email, calendar, and contacts. Going this route will connect your Gmail and calendar, however, you have to connect your contacts separately. Also, instead of receiving push notifications the moment you receive an email. Your iPhone will "fetch" email every 15 minutes. Not a huge deal, but for someone that is an email junkie, it causes a bit of an issue.

I wonder how long until Apple loses its hold on the mobile connectivity market or has it already?

A New Beginning

I love new beginnings. It is a time to start fresh. I am stepping out of the classroom as a teacher and stepping back into the classroom as a school based technology specialist. It was during this school year that I realized that I was energized by integrating new technology, specifically, mobile devices into the classroom. At the same time I was becoming lethargic and burnt out by the daily tasks that a classroom teacher endures. That's topic for another blog post. I knew at that moment this was my new path.

Fast forward: I will be the SBTS at Floris Elementary. It is an exciting time for me and I am eager to get started. One of my goals as a new SBTS is great create a space to share my ideas about technology inside and outside of classroom. I also want to create a portal to learning and understanding. I want to take away the fear of trying new things and new forms of technology by showing teachers how they can integrate technology easily.