Mr. B EdTech Blog

Wearable technology has taken off more recently. I have personally noticed a lot of co-workers, friends, and family wearing FitBit watches. One person I know has the Apple Watch. Is wearable technology going to take off this year? I predict that in the education setting, this is not something that will take off very soon.  Wearable tech is largely an accessory for other existing technology. For example, you apple watch's communication functions become useless without an iPhone paired with it. Here are some articles articles about wearable tech. Its origins, and its current drive in the market. http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/21/wearables-drive-the-component-technology-innovation/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/24/tracing-the-roots-of-wearable-technology/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/10/a-periodic-table-of-wearable-technology/

I love the digital age we live in. I am constantly on the lookout for EdTech tips and tricks. Many areas of social media make it easy for me to find information from others on what they are doing in the field of EdTech. This list has a lot of great resources for you if you're looking for videos on EdTech. I also plan to start posting more videos to my YouTube channel as well in the near future. 20 YouTube Channels for Eductators http://www.shakeuplearning.com/blog/20-youtube-channels-for-educators/

Why do EdTech People React Strongly to Skepticism? http://www.learningspy.co.uk/technology/why-do-edtech-folk-hate-to-be-questioned/ This is an interesting blog article that hits home with me personally. I tend to react to criticism fairly. when I agree with the criticism being made. However, in the EdTech field, I do tend to react strongly against those who are skeptics. I agree that technology is not "THE" answer that solves all of the problems in Education, in fact it creates a huge issue with money, since most technology is not inexpensive. Technology does have the potential to create richer and deeper learning experiences across a vast array of ability levels and personalities. To make technology work, it takes a great teacher to utilize technology in effective and appropriate ways. For those that say "Technology" is fine for others, but it has no place in "my" classroom, I respectfully disagree. One of my favorite definitions of technology ...

http://www.bit.com.au/News/415256,5-new-google-apps-features.aspx This article overviews some of the new features for google's apps that launched this year. I have enjoyed the additional file formats available in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. Overview of the "New" Google Forms More Information Google Apps Updates Blog:  http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/who-needs-handwriting/ I heard this podcast today. Brings up an interesting question to debate. However, I personally do not think that we will stop learning how to write by hand. It is a great jumping off point to learn how the text is written before learning how to type it out.

10 Tools to Strengthen Relationships with Students and Parents http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/10380 This article has a compilation of various tools used by teachers to communicate with students and parents. Tools I've Used (From the list): Students Edmodo , Google Classroom Parents Remind , Google Sites , Our School's SIS Message Center (Skyward)

If you are a Techie in a school district participating in PARCC, you are undoubtedly aware of all of the work that goes into making Computer Based Testing work. Here is a collection of resources I have for PARCC testing (some are specific to my school in Illinois). Parcc Website  -  http://www.parcconline.org/ Parcc Manuals and Training  -  http://parcc.pearson.com/manuals-training/ Avoset  - Searchable Support Guide:   http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home Parcc Technology Guidelines  -  http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/administration/technology Pearson Access Next (Teacher/Staff/Techies Login Page)  -  http://pearsonaccessnext.com/  - For Illinois:  http://il.pearsonaccessnext.com/  - For Training Site:  http://trng.pearsonaccessnext.com/ Setting Up TestNav  - Setup TestNav on Chomebooks: https://support.assessment.pearson.com/display/TN/Set+Up+TestNav+on+Chrom...