Latest Piedmont PD News includes info on National Board Certification, Discovery Place's professional development offerings for teachers, new quick PD's on handy efficient tech tricks to save you time and storage space: like the quickest way to upload to Google Docs, how to convert and embed a powerpoint, How to make a QR CODE ,chromebook and computer troubleshooting info, etc Other Ed News from Around the Web:
Big Philosophical idea of the week:
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Here are useful resources for the latest news in GAFE- Google Applications for Education Google Classroom is a new Edmodo-type learning management system and Google Slides is now available on ipad. Below are details Google Classroom:![]() Intro and instructions for students http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/student-introduction-to-google-classroom Intro and instructions for teachers http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd/how-to-use-google-classroom-teacher-instructions Basic tour, including a Rollout Video herehttp://www.google.com/edu/classroom/ Google Classroom Thoughts so far: It's not perfect yet, but ultimately this should be a great feature for your class, especially as it gets more integrated features. Good points:
Please send your feedback and suggestions for features to Google .( The bottom right of the teacher Classroom page has a "feeback" button. Please use it to request features YOU need) Basic intro of Google Classroom in 7 easy steps-
Using Google Classroom with iPads: http://www.edudemic.com/ipads-with-the-new-google-classroom/ Google Classroom Presentation Slides by Geeky Gafe Girl via Jacob Standish These two images are the view as a teacher and the view as a student of the same page. ![]() My Online staff and PD area. For convenient in the classroom folder I place an electronic copy of the staff handbook here and copies of all those email attachments that teachers may need later but not have space to keep. Easy access when needed from home or phone, areas to comment and share, and no more full email. Google Slides:Google Slides is a presentation tool instead of PowerPoint. It lets students work from home without Powerpoint and also lets them collaborate. This link includes templates and instructions http://d97cooltools.blogspot.com/p/google-docs.html?m=1 NEW! Slides is now an iPad app Many teachers have been disappointed that students can't work on their presentations if they are using iPads. The Google slides app is a step toward equalizing the options of working in GAFE across devices. this is a good blog review about the new powerpoint-type app's uses and limitations http://jonathanwylie.com/2014/08/25/review-google-slides-for-ipad-is-now-available/U My last post was all about GAFE ---I introduced how to log into google classroom and announced the Google Slides app here http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/news-and-thoughts/google-classroom-omg _ This post is a bit more about Google Apps - I just did a great training. First with Jake Standish and today with Heather Nussbaum of CMS I took lots of photos of what I found most useful for teachers or students using Google Docs for Research and Translation and Google Classroom for Sharing files and assignments: ![]() This photo shows how easily students who use Google Drive (GAFE) can search for images and articles related to their papers. They can do it all within Google (docs or slides) and the citations are placed in MLA or other format automatically! I wish so badly that this existed when I was in school !!!!! Such a time saver! Here's my second summer book report (blog report) on the best of what I've been hearing about education: If anything you read below inspires you or if you just want to get a head start on your PDP next year, click here: http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd/take-charge-of-your-professional-development ![]() All You Ever Needed to Know about Personalized Learning http://pl.cmslearns.org/ Amazing Personalized Learning site that explains the direction CMS is heading and offers all the latest tools in one spot thanks to Jill Thompson. (Note the shout out to Piedmont on this page as Ms. Newburger transforms the media center into a 21st century makerspace showplace. ) ![]() Mr. Parkins' Summer Faves: If it's recommended by Mr. Parkins you know it's good. Try the links below for a few easy ways to go 21st C. this school year- invite a backchannel or other audience response into your usual lessons- it increases engagement, participation, feedback, and some even make instant data graphs for you. To start, all you do is call one of these up on the projector and invite students to participate via their BYOT devices or chromebooks or ipads. (You will get a code or address for them to join you) www.socrative.com www.mentimeter.com www.todaysmeet.com www.polleverywhere.com Speaking of BYOT, Mr. Parkins also recommends If you have a smartphone or tablet try Apps Gone Free- download it in your app store - saves tons of money and lets you try new apps to get new ideas of how to use i-devices in the classroom. Share this with your students as well. Speaking of Students, besides remind 101 there is a new site people like called Remind.com https://www.remind.com/ Things I Read that Made Me Think:
Things I Saw that Made Me Think:
![]() When you've finished our summer reading book, I've had a crazy amount of tabs open on my computer of things I've been meaning to share this summer. Here they are: Summer Roundup of Great Links to check out: (volume 1)The 1st three headings below are ISTE-found links from my fellow PD Facilitator, Nicole Cathey. She attended the international superstar of ed tech conferences, and shared these off the top of her head when I asked her about the most useful takeaways of ISTE:
ISTE 2014 Session Notes: Attendees at ISTE shared their notes for you and placed links on this google doc. Scroll through it and click on the topics that interest you to read that attendee's session notes! Great way to share! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s_3d2sbkFbhD2P5D7Ap54YaywfI6qF26tt9QXiE7qH8/edit#gid=0 "21 Things" Sites: If you go no farther this is a fun site to poke around 21Things for Teachers. They also have a "21 Things" site for administrators and for your students! Adaptive Learning: An algorythmically adapted personalized learning geared toward test prep site, called adaptive learning from Knewton. The site is connected to microsoft and Pearson. A lot of the info I found while researching is written from a business end (covered by Forbes and the economist) and higher ed stuff like their GMAT review course and there weren't a lot of teacher written reviews that my google was finding but this is an older review of the site as well as grockit-which sounds interesting http://www.hackeducation.com/2011/10/17/big-bucks-for-adaptive-learning-platforms/ Now here are a few links I've been holding that others have shared on Twitter: Teaching Students to Ask the Right Questions: I personally think nothing you can teach is more important than this for students' futures: http://rightquestion.org/education/ Another fantastic article about the importance of questioning as an oft-overlooked skill http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/why-its-imperative-to-teach-students-how-to-question-as-the-ultimate-survival-skill/ Making and Creating Resources: Being a maker teacher is about interest in students creating, not just regurgitating. You do NOT need techy skills or enginnering skills yourself, just a mindset to let students create and build and design. 4 Steps to Becoming a Maker Teacher http://gettingsmart.com/2014/05/4-steps-becoming-maker-teacher 7 Tenents of Creative Thinking http://www.edutopia.org/blog/7-tenets-of-creative-thinking-michael-michalko PBL Clearinghouse This weebly site is a great clearinghouse for all things PBL (project based learning) - it takes you from step 1 what is that? as far as you want to go. http://learnpbl.weebly.com/ If want to learn about PBL for free, you can pick a project you'd like your students to try and a class here at PBL university- some classes are full already but you can still get ideas and learn more about the projects, PBLU LAST BUT NOT LEAST>>> Design Thinking! Along the lines of Making, Design Thinking is really taking off so here is some info on that in the classroom. How to Apply Design Thinking in Your Class - Step By Step http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/how-to-use-design-thinking-in-class-step-by-step/ I love KQED Mindshift, so here is everything tagged design thinking on that site http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/design-thinking/ |
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AuthorLisa Gurthie is the PD facilitator at Piedmont IB Middle School. She specializes in tech and arts integration, interdisciplinary holistic education, and unschooling school to reconnect academia to real life. One day she will modernize her "about" page. She curates this blog for the professional development convenience of the teachers at Piedmont, but the editorial comments are her own. Categories
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