Mr. B EdTech Blog

It seems paradoxical, but the most boring classrooms tend to be the ones that are full of technology – and little else. The worst ones I’ve been into are those in which 30 or more computers are crammed into rows, allowing no room for note-taking, let alone collaboration -- despite plenty of evidence indicating that kids learn better by working with others, at least some of the time anyway. https://www.ictineducation.org/home-page/8-elements-of-a-stimulating-computing-classroom

Book Creator is open-ended, creative and cross curriculum. Create your own teaching resources or have your students take the reigns. Combine text, images, audio and video to create: Interactive stories Digital portfolios Research journals Poetry books Science reports Instruction manuals ‘About me’ books Comic adventures Take a look at the link below for information on how this has been released for Chromebooks. https://bookcreator.com/2017/02/book-creator-coming-web/

A flipped classroom approach to using video for igniting student discussion and engagement. Available on iOS, Android, Chromebook, and all major browsers. If you have not used this resource before, feel free to check it out here:  https://info.flipgrid.com/

GoGuardian recently released this video featuring a school district that compared chromebooks with laptops and iPads. In a short, but to the point statement, the speaker explains why Chromebooks are the preferred device based on his experience.

Having great content is important when delivering a professional learning opportunity but it is not enough. What is also important is to ensure opportunities are well organized and leave participants feeling they got exactly what they came for. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12223

A backchannel is a space where students can post questions, respond to prompts and participate in a discussion without raising their hand. You might set up a backchannel for students using the free tool Today’s Meet or have older students set up a Twitter account and tweet using a shared hashtag for a virtual class discussion. If you haven’t used backchannels before you may want to check out this post for a quick overview. So what does this have to do with BrainPOP? BrainPOP is a favorite resource for helping students dive into a range of topics. Read more on the link below. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12230

One of my biggest challenges at the beginning of the year, as a teacher was trying to learn students' names as quickly as I can. This is quite challenging for me as I can barely remember the names of my own family members at times. This article below offers 2 great tools and resources to help teachers learn their students names. This is an essential skill for teachers to have for making a personal connection with their students. http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2017/08/10/nameactivities/

From one of my favorite bloggers, Adam Schoenbart, check out this Assignment Calendar Google Doc. How do you keep your assignments, lesson plans, and resources organized for you and your students? With so many different options, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12222

This is an interesting slide share on a presentation from Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano a Globally Connected Learning, Educational Consultant, Coach, and Mentor. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12221

Check out the link for a bunch of great resources for incorporating the upcoming solar eclipse in your lessons. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12205

This article has an interesting editorial on technology use in education. Article Preview and Link Digital transformation is disrupting every industry, and education is no exception. Global investment in edtech companies is increasing rapidly, with some reports predicting a total of $252 billion in investments by 2020. Investors aren't the only people recognizing the importance of technology for education. Educators and students are flocking to solutions that enhance their experience while reducing the high price associated with higher ed. In fact, research shows that 70% of students want their universities to update their digital options, https://www.inc.com/drew-hendricks/3-ways-technology-is-empowering-educators.html

Check out this awesome resource for teachers to see what Google has updated since the end of last school year. ...(provided is) an overview of 18 updates to Google Forms, Classroom, Earth, Expeditions, and YouTube. http://practicaledtech.com/2017/08/13/18-g-suite-updates/

Check out this article below for some great resources and rationale for adding gamification to curriculum and instruction. With the proliferation of the wide range of EdTech tools that we have seen in recent years and the widespread popularity of games (whether video, sport or board) among students, it comes as no surprise that many are seeking ways to introduce new and innovative EdTech games into their curriculum. While intuitively it can almost seem like a cop-out to throw a game at students and expect them to learn, when well-designed it really can be an effective instructional practice . Here are seven reasons gamification through EdTech can be useful, and resources for designing a program that maximizes these potential benefits. http://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/07/7-reasons-and-resources-for-edtech-gamification-in-education/

Google sheets is a very powerful, although a bit basic when compared with the industry standard Microsoft Excel. Google Sheets Add-ons add some of the advanced features of other spreadsheet programs into Sheets. These add-ons have allowed me to completely move away from Excel for all data entry. We ...selected for you the 8 most popular applications there. Using these add-ons will enable you to: Create graphs and forms and write complex math in your sheets Create and modify a planning schedule for project management in a spreadsheet; easily scaffold, manage and assess students projects in Google Drive ...see the article below for more http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2017/07/8-google-sheets-add-ons-every-teacher.html

As the first day of school approaches, many teachers are getting their classrooms ready and looking over plans for the first days of school. One item to review is the classroom syllabus. Take a look at the resources and ideas for giving your classroom syllabus a "much needed makeover." http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2017/07/28/syllabusmakeover/ One idea I am going to try with my online class syllabus this year is to make my syllabus an info graphic. The article linked above gives many resources to make this task a bit easier than starting from scratch for me. There are also other great ideas in this article as well.