Mr. B EdTech Blog

Very Interesting article about Teen Interactions online. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships/

Teacher Login and Setup:  https://getkahoot.com/ Student Page:  https://kahoot.it/#/ This is the hot app that I see being used in a lot of classrooms ranging from Kindergarten to College Classes. This was even used in my Graduate classes. A great method for adding gaming elements to your formative assessment in your classrooms (or next professional development session). Even fun to play other quizzes that other teachers make. Works on any device with an internet connection and web browser; Tablets, Chromebooks, and Computers. Video Tutorial

Don't have a device in every student's hand? Use Plickers for formative assessment with your iPhone or iPad. A great way to instantly assess student's understanding and focus your instruction on the class's or student's individual needs. Video Tutorial

This is a good article previewing some seldom known features in Gmail. http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/03/technology/gmail-better/index.html This list includes: Pre-sending and sorting messages Scheduling Appointments Tracking Readers To-Do Lists Accessing Gmail offline Getting Gmail to Text you ...and more

This article got me thinking about how quickly classroom tech and methods have changed just in the last 15 years. http://online.purdue.edu/ldt/learning-design-technology/resources/evolution-technology-classroom Projectors/Interactive White Boards: Early 2000s My introduction to a SMARTboard was in 2003, when a teacher received one through a grant. I remember hearing my teachers in high school complain that they could never get access to the projector cart. Only one teacher was savvy enough to hook up his Windows 2000 Gateway into his "massive" 32 inch TV. That was also the first time I saw a teacher use PowerPoint for notes, although I could not see much from the back of the room. Modern Smartphones: 2007 Apple unleashes the first generation iPhone , the first totally touch screen phone with apps specifically available for mobile. My first Smart Phone was a 2009 Samsung Omnia running Windows Mobile OS. I remember hooking it up to a TV and running PowerPoint thr

Is your Chrome Up-To-Date? Keeping track of all of the updates to Chrome is a daunting task, however here are some tools to help ease the pain of the many updates to Google Chrome Browser and Google Chrome OS (for Chromebooks) Chrome Release's History Blog http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.com/ - Shows the different versions of Chrome Beta and Stable Releases Google Apps Status Dashboard http://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=status - Shows if Google has reported issues with any Google App from Drive, Docs, Calendar...etc. Official Google for Work Blog http://googleforwork.blogspot.com/ - Contains news stories and updates about Google for Work (/Google for Education) I also recommend following Google Apps on Twitter

Great slide share I found today! 15 Free Mobile Apps for Math Practice and Improvement from Monica Burns

Windows 10 was released last week. Have you made the upgrade? Reviews of Windows 10 (from TechRader)  http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-10-1267364/review You can upgrade anytime within a year to receive Windows 10 for free (when upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1) New laptops will automatically come with Windows 10 starting this week, granted that there are still plenty on the shelves that will have Windows 8.1. Remember, once you upgrade, you can't go back unless you reinstall a previous version of Windows... meaning you will lose anything not backed up elsewhere from your computer. Information Sources: http://www.twice.com/news/laptops/5-things-know-about-today-s-windows-10-release/58021 http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade