Mr. B EdTech Blog

Many websites, especially those created for business purposes, require a consistent footer across all of their pages. These footers often house crucial information, like an organization’s contact information, privacy policy, and more. Google's New Sites is getting closer and closer to being a great web building platform. I really wish they would add the ability to have Twitter or RSS feeds show up on the page, that is holding me back from switching everything over.

Check out this resource from Microsoft on their new hour of code tutorial from Microsoft. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12494

Activities & Lesson Ideas Exploring Black Friday and Cyber Monday from Shelly Sanchez Terrell

As Black Friday no longer seems an appropriate term, I am reporting on some things to beware of on Black Thursday. ONLINE Black Friday Safety Tips

Happy Thanksgiving! This year, I have a lot to be thankful for, including, but not limited to My New niece, who is going to turn 1 in about a month. Friends and family, Job and amazing co-workers Wonderful PLC community between Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and this blog, which this month hit over 20,000 views! and more! What are you thankful for this year?

Check out this infographic below to use as a resource for educators. Click the image to enlarge. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12481

This resource includes ideas for using Adobe Spark, but if you don't have access to this program, these ideas could easily be used with another program. Check out the resource from Class Tech Tips here: http://classtechtips.com/2017/11/05/adobe-spark-lesson-ideas-for-thanksgiving/

Thanks to all of those who attended my IETC (Illinois Education Technology Conference) presentation on Friday. For those that missed it or were otherwise unable to attend, here are the resources I shared for creating your own interactive Google Slides. https://sites.google.com/mrbwebsite.com/home/trainings/interactive-google-slides This presentation was created utilizing best practices in classroom instruction including Teachers now are the facilitators of knowledge instead of the sole source Students take an active role in learning (student-centered activities) and Students use higher level thinking skills through CREATING.

A great tutorial for those wanting to get started with Google Sheets. If you haven't been in Google sheets in the past few months, you may want to check it out. Google has made some great changes to make Google Sheets function more like other spreadsheet programs you may be familiar with. My favorite feature is the "Explore" data button. This allows you to "Ask a Question" about your data and, Google Sheets will provide the answer and the formula used to get the answer. It really makes the spreadsheet much more user friendly.

Now when you go into Google Docs, Drawings, or Slides, you will can insert images directly from a search bar that appears on the right side of the screen. If you go to Insert, then Images, If you select “Search the web,” “Drive,” or “Photos,” you’ll be taken to a menu on the righthand side of your screen that is easier to navigate and more intuitive to use. You can also drag and drop images directly from this menu into your document. For More Info https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2017/11/insert-images-more-easily-in-docs.html

https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2017/10/the-meeting-room-by-g-suite.html Hangouts Meet hardware is a cost-effective way to bring high-quality video meetings to your business. The hardware kit consists of four components: a touchscreen controller, speakermic, 4K-sensor Ultra HD camera and ASUS Chromebox. While this hardware is intended to increase efficiency of business meetings, I do see applications for this device in the Education sector as well. One use could be for setting up distance learning classrooms or for recording lessons. Another use could be for public meeting places to have video conferences with students or staff.

https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2017/10/record-hangouts-meet-meeting-and-save.html\ Now you can record and archive Google Hangout meetings to Google Drive. This makes Google Hangouts more competitive in the webinar/web conferencing market, competing with tools like Adobe Connect and GoToMeeting.

In honor of Veterans Day here in the United States, check out our "Wall of Peace" blog featuring students answering questions about Veterans, patriotism, and honoring those who sacrifice all in service of their country. https://d140wallofpeace.blogspot.com/

Check out this resource for some great Google Add-Ons and Extensions for teachers. http://practicaledtech.com/2017/10/22/practical-ed-tech-tip-of-the-week-25-great-g-suite-add-ons-chrome-extensions-for-teachers/

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2017/10/when_classroom_technology_impedes_student_learning.html Link to Education Next Article on the Study http://educationnext.org/should-professors-ban-laptops-classroom-computer-use-affects-student-learning-study/ Those that know me best better believe that I have a strong opinion about this article. After doing some research on this study here are some of the details of the study and conclusions I have based on the findings. The Study - Question: Does technology impede learning? The People - College Sophomores Enrolled in Economics The Place - West Point Time Frame - 2014–15 academic year and the fall semester of the 2015–16 academic year The Experiment - 3 different classes used differing levels of technology and were compared by test score on how much they learned. Conclusion -  ...we do not claim that all computer use in the classroom is harmful. Exercises where computers or tablets are deliberately use

Not having an administrator background, I cannot say if this is accurate. Perhaps my administrator colleagues can either affirm or deny the claims in this article. I can attest to the fact that these "Six Things" go through my head when I'm being pitched Ed Tech. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-10-20-six-things-principals-are-thinking-when-they-get-pitched-edtech It all comes down to cost I can relate to the first point in the article above, "Which of my million problems does this solve?" This is rarely the first point raised by administrators in my experience. First and foremost is cost. If it is not feasible to purchase, then it is hard to get invested in the technology being presented. A prominent example of this was a demonstration I attended on a 3D/VR interactive learning system. My personal opinion on this device was it was probably going to be $1,000 to $1,500 per device. With this in mind I thought maybe we could purchase a small set of these

In this video, I show you an add-on that will format tables in Google Docs, like those available in Microsoft Word.

A new study cites impressive learning gains and increased classroom engagement when educational games are incorporated into existing instruction. This article (linked below) is yet another example of the benefit of adding gaming elements to classroom instruction. As with any learning method, this adds to the learning experience, with or without technology. However, technology enhances and adds many more possibilities to this instructional style. 5 benefits of educational games, straight from teachers https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/10/19/educational-games-teachers/

A very informative blog post about how the current organization of education came about. This article parallels the talks by Sir Ken Robinson about how our current system of education was designed during the age of enlightenment and during the economics of the industrial revolution. Schools are made in the image of a factory, students grouped by "date of manufacture," and so on... Probably one of the key documents for K–12 education is the NEA’s Committee of Ten report from 1893. It’s often credited with giving us the alphabetic arrangement of high-school science courses—biology, chemistry, and physics. Check out the blog post here: http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12413 Check out the Talk by Sir Ken Robinson here

This resource was recently passed along to me recently and I thought I would share with you. Geographia is a website that offers resources on many different countries. This tool uses a dated, but engaging layout and offers images, descriptions, and information of many foreign countries. As a Social Studies teacher, I view this site as a content rich resource for students. http://www.geographia.com/

This article, Every Student Should Be Given the Opportunity to Teach Others , presents excellent reasons for students being able to teach. Thinking back to my own learning experiences, I best remember the lessons I was taught when I was able to present/teach others. Platforms for Students Teaching Students Screen-casting Screencastify - There are limited features in the free version, but there is enough to successfully create and present a screen-cast. Videos Record and post videos through Google Drive or YouTube. The app ShowMe , for tablets can also be a good way to create a presentation while explaining concepts. An interesting concept that you might want to try is using the Vine video time limit in having students create videos. The time limit really makes the student think about what is most important. Check out this resource. 3 Ways to Use Vine in the Classroom . Blogs Students can create a blog post for certain topics and subjects online. This can be done in a