Shortcuts - Everybody Takes Them!

Who doesn't want a good shortcut?

Well, I have some keyboard shortcuts for you today.

Keys to Keyboard Shortcuts

• If you're working with Microsoft PowerPoint or Excel, you can check out this blog article for some commonly used shortcuts:

Save TIME with Keyboard Shortcuts - by Beth's Music Classroom.

• If you're looking for some keyboard shortcuts in Google Docs, just press Ctrl + / (Windows, Chrome OS) or ⌘ + / (Mac).  A whole list will show up for you.

I find keyboard shortcuts to be very helpful as the most commonly used ones can easily be memorized and used very quickly.

~Your not-so-techie teacher

Google Slides or PowerPoint?

Recently, I have been going back and forth between 2 different programs, not really sure which one I prefer.  I do know that I absolutely love creating products for my students, and then love listing them  on Teachers Pay Teachers!  Awhile ago, I was creating them in Microsoft Word or Publisher.  About 2 years ago, I read that PowerPoint was the absolutely best program for creating digital items.  At that time, I hadn't done much with PowerPoint at all, but I dove in head first, read everything I could about it, explored the many features for myself, learned keyboard shortcuts, etc.  I've been using it ever since to create just about every lesson and product.

However, after taking several technology graduate course, I have totally fallen in love with Google Drive.  I tried Google Slides, and although there are not nearly the same number of options, it has some positive features that PowerPoint does not have.

Here are my conclusions from my personal study and use of both.

Choose PowerPoint if:

• You are interested in a lot of animation effects.
• You are interested in a lot of backgrounds and clipart.
• You love your fonts, all 600 of them, and you aren't willing to give them up.
• You have spotty or no internet use.
• You need to add music or sound clips directly to your presentation.

Choose Google Slides if:

• You want a free product (you will need a gmail account - also free).
• You want to collaborate with others in a shared document.
• You want to see changes to a shared document in live time.
• You want the ability to leave comments or others to leave comments about your presentation.
• You will be sharing this with your students as an assignment in Google Classroom.
• You want easy, mobile access, on-the-go.
• You need access to your presentation on multiple devices.
• You want to use while on a Mac computer.
• You would enjoy having many add-ons available when creating a presentation.

Finally, I am not saying if Google Slides or PowerPoint is better, because I'm not really sure.  I think each one has a reason or purpose to be more successfully used.  Just figure out why, how, where, and what you're using your presentation for, and that should help you determine which program is best.

~Your not-so-techie teacher

Challenges for Teachers in the 21st Century

As part of the larger group of 21st century teachers, I am excited about the possibilities ahead.  Students are growing up today and being educated differently than 10, 20, and 50 years ago.  As always with change, there will be challenges to preparing our students to be productive in an increasingly-technological world.

I think one of the biggest challenges that educators today will experience is limitations.  These limitations come in many forms.  First, familiar to many districts is monetary limitations, budget cuts, and without money available, schools are unable to move forward in their technological growth.  Because of these financial limitations, students must make-do with outdated laptops and tablets or even no technology at all.  Schools are unable to purchase the adequate technology, number of laptops, etc. to prepare students.   Finally, teachers experience limitations in what they can and cannot handle, technically speaking.  Teachers need to be trained on Chromebooks or ipads before they are expected to use these in their classrooms.

Another challenge for educators today is time.  Time is valuable, and curriculum and paperwork demands make it difficult to add further topics into a jam-packed lesson.  I don’t think technology should be used as the goal to a lesson, rather it is a tool used to accomplish a goal.  For most subjects - Math, Science, ELA, Art, Music, etc. - technology is not the main focus and objective of the lesson, but it used to assist students with a science or composition project, or to do a complex mathematical formula, or present a digital Art project.  However, time is needed to teach the students how to use the technology.

Change is another obstacle that teachers face in educating the 21st century-learner.  Some teachers are afraid of or unwilling to change.  They are familiar with their old way of printing tests, creating student assignments, and running their classroom.  Technology changes everything, and the concept of the flipped classroom may look nothing like their idea of a classroom.  Some teachers, possibly because of their inadequate knowledge or their preference for familiar, are not interested in moving towards the 21st century.  However, this type of teacher will be empowering a class of tech-savvy learners with cell phones in their pocket and Facebook and Twitter on their mind.  How do they expect to gain their attention, focus, and excitement.  Technology can be used in education positively and with much guidance to motivate our students in any subject or topic.

If schools and teachers are at least willing and motivated to advance in educating young people to be prepared and productive for the 21st century, then there is hope.  There will be many more hurdles ahead of them, but starting the race is first.

I love reading quotes, and when I stumbled across this quote, it made me think and do some research.  This is a quote from 1955 by Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian professor and philosopher.  Is it that too often we are changing just the picture, putting it in the same old frame, when we should be changing the entire framework?  Are we trying to instruct and inspire 21st century learners with 20th century material?

Change and growth are inevitable, unstoppable, and unending.  I wonder what a 22nd century classroom will look like!

~Your not-so-techie teacher


(Graphics by Photo Clipz)

Exploring Web Resources for the Classroom

What internet resources are you using in your classroom?

As I was exploring of all the many Web 2.0 tools, I discovered many new resources and went deeper into some resources that I am already using.  I was amazed to see the many possibilities of using these technologies in the classroom with students, rather than just for my own professional growth, planning, and knowledge.  As an elementary teacher with limited resources, I found Google Drive to be the most beneficial tool.  Although my school district uses Google for Gmail and other activities at the high school level, it is rarely discussed when working with young students.  I was never aware of the awesome, additional features that were available to me, most of which are free.

I am excited to start using Google Forms and Google Sites in my classroom with my third grade students.  As the oldest students in my elementary building, they take the most paper and pencil assessments, and using Forms will be a tremendous time-saver with the automatic grading options.  It is also a great way to teach basic technology skills to my young students. Often students ask about a particular song, video, or composer that we studied, and they will write the name down on a paper to look up later at home.  Google Sites can be a great way to provide this information to both students and parents.  Also, parents can access my Sites page for information on assignments, upcoming projects and tests, concerts, special days, and after-school club announcements.

When working with students on biographies, poem-writing, or group projects, I plan to utilize Google Docs.  I have already created a document to use where students listen to a piece by our composer, and then add their thoughts and observations in the shared Doc and respond to their classmates’ opinions.

As I said, I already have been using Google Drive, but I realized that I am barely touching the surface.  There is so much more available to me.  For my own planning, I can’t wait to share resources with other teachers, collaborate in live-time on a project, translate parent letters for those that speak a different language, and so much more!  I am especially excited about the many music and writing add-ons and extensions that I discovered.

For me, I think one of the major advantages of Google Drive is the ability to be access files anywhere over the internet.  In any given day, I probably am using 4-5 different technological devices, and I may need to access something at home that I created at school, and it can be easily done with Google Drive.

As I look forward to another school year, I am excited about the potential of using Google Drive and its many add-ons and extensions.  I just can’t wait to share these features with my coworkers and family members.

If you want to check out Google Drive, Docs, Forms, or Sites further, you can check out my videos here.

~Your not-so-techie teacher

Setting Up Google Forms - Video

Are you interested in setting up some online lessons and assessments for your students?  Are you looking for ways to "FLIP your classroom"?

Google Forms is a great online resource, easy to create and use with students of all ages.  It can be used as a pre-test, video lesson with follow-up questions, quiz/test, or even a survey.

Check out this video that I made to help you set up your own Google Forms:

If you're not currently using Google Drive and are interested in starting, check out my Google Drive Basics video first:

On my YouTube channel, I have several other technology-help videos.  Check them out here!

~Your not-so-techie teacher

Do You Flickr? Photo-Sharing Sites

Do you Flickr?

If I was asked that question last week, I would have no clue what you were talking about! So let me tell you!

I love photography and clipart, and I often am on the search for images to use in my classroom presentations.  After perusing the various online collaborative photo-sharing sites available out there, I decided on Flickr.  I really like the look of the site, and it was very easy to sign-up, activate my account, and upload my first pictures.  I also found a large number of amazing pictures upload by other users.  I like to use pictures for a variety of purposes - personally, educationally, and commercially, so I quickly discovered the license options with every picture.  They have a helpful feature to search for pictures of certain sizes/dimensions, patterns, tags, dates, and more.  Those options ca significantly slice your search time and ensure that you find what you actually want.  Google Images also has an Advanced Search that you can specify some of the same features.

Finding clipart and photography can definitely help in student projects, presentations, and research papers.  Digital stories and movies are today’s learners common assignments.  Flickr and other sites can help students find quality photographs to add to their work.  When teaching a lesson on a geographic landmark, country, or architecture, educators can access these sites to help their students experience, gain an appreciation, and develop a deeper understanding for the content of the lesson, helping to accomplish the content standards.

I found some great pictures on Flickr.  Here are 2 that I would potentially use in a future lesson:

    

Here are 2 of my personal photos that I uploaded:

          

Maybe you've already heard of and become a member of Flickr. I'm not really sure why I've never heard of it before, so I say - Flickr, where have you been all my life?

ISTE Standards used:  6. Creative Communicator

a. choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.

b. create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

c. communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.

d. publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

~Your not-so-techy teacher

Pros and Cons of Being Social - Social Bookmarking That Is

Are you social? Do you bookmark sites online? Meet social bookmarking!

Okay, it's a little different than that. Social Bookmarking is an online resource/site that allows users to bookmark, annotate, and share your favorite sites.  Here is a list of what I believe to be the pros and cons of it.

• PROS:
1. Helpful when using different computers - at home, school, or work; on a tablet, desktop, laptop - anywhere you have internet!
2. Most are free - just download and/or create a user account
3. Easy to manage, organize, sort, and find web pages
4. Great way to share with family, friends, coworkers, students, or even the world!  You can even search for another like-minded users’ bookmarks to gain new websites.
5. Ability to tag a site with various qualifying words, making it easier to find and use later
6. Ability for teachers to share quality, trusted, and relevant sites to use for a research project; also to share with parents of students (on college prep, math/reading sites for kids, community events, teacher’s site, etc.)

• CONS:

1. Ability for spamming and “overtagging,” in order to improve search results and business
2. Requires internet connection
3. Has been recently replaced with more popular sites, like Pinterest, Google Drive, and more
4. Bookmarked by amateurs and need to test and approve each site on your own
5. Requires updating of websites, as many shut down, move, or just become inactive

Don’t take my word for it though.  If you want to try out social bookmarking, you can choose one of many sites:

• Diigo
• Educlipper
• Del.icio.us

I had heard a lot about Del.icio.us and wanted to check it out for myself and started there.  I tried to create a new account, and no matter what I did - use Google+, use e-mail, use Facebook - it said “ERROR.”  Maybe you will have better luck!  So I then tried Diigo and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.  I just needed to verify my e-mail address, and away I went saving my important sites.  I also love the annotate feature,  highlighting and adding sticky notes.

ISTE Standards used:  3. Knowledge Constructor -

b.  Evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.

c.  Curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

~Your not-so-techie teacher

What is RSS? Is It Really That Simple?

What is RSS?  Really Simple Syndication!

Actually, it is really simple!  An RSS is just a way to keep track of updated and relevant information posted on websites.  Instead of visiting a list of your favorite sites or blogs, just use an RSS feed to show you the latest updates.  I like this  helpful video (by Common Craft) that describes RSS as being Netflix, as compared to the video store.  That made sense to me!

I explored a bunch of different options with using RSS.  I think it could be successfully used in the classroom.  It is a great way to keep up to date on a research topic or current events.  If a class website, wiki, or blog is used, then students can find out immediately if anything new was posted or assigned.  Teachers, as well, can find out quickly if students posted anything to the site.  

Overall, it is a big time saver!  Want to save time?  Here are a few RSS feed readers for you to check out:

• Feedly
• Flipboard
• Netvibes

For about two years, I have really enjoyed using Bloglovin’ - a way to manage your feeds.  I use the Bloglovin’ iPad app and enjoy receiving only the alerts for the blogs that I follow.  I love reading and keeping up with my favorite blogs, and I value the musical and educational inspiration gained from them.  I had a whole list of bookmarked blogs/sites.  But with this site, I just get an alert, visit the app, and then from there, I can the latest entries, visit their actual page, and even save/file the entry for later use.  I love it!  This ensures that I never miss one of my favorite blog posts.

I have set up 3 different RSS feeds within my blog here. You can see them on the right side of the page. ---->

• Edutopia
• Teacher Tech - Alice Keeler
• Beth's Music Classroom

ISTE Standards used:  3. Knowledge Constructor -

b.  Evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.

c.  Curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

d.  build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

~Your not-so-techy teacher

What is a wiki? Web 2.0 Tools

What is a wiki?  Well, now I know!

The word wiki comes from a Hawaiian word meaning “quick,” and we could add “easy.”  Because that is exactly what a wiki is - “a Web site where anyone can edit anything anytime they want.” (Richardson - 55).

I spent some time exploring a variety of educational wikis of all shapes, sizes, and kinds, and although I feel like they’ve been around forever, I don’t think I’ve ever visited one before now.  I discovered students leaving their feedback for an assignment, inserting comments after another student’s work, and adding or deleting information.  I also found people just leaving feedback, such as a “thank you” for hosting the site.

I visited PBWiki, and thought I’d try my hand at wikis, and to be honest, I had some trouble with the site.  I had no issues with creating an account, but then could not verify my account through e-mail.  Finally, after I made it through, the site would not allow me to edit the page, so I could not add my thoughts to the group.  I thought I could just leave a comment at the bottom, but that wouldn’t work either.  I don’t know what could have been causing the problems, but after about 2 hours of having created the account, I eventually was able to edit it, adding my own information.

However, after that I turned to creating my own wiki.  I made it with a late-elementary/middle school class in mind, allowing students to include input on a group project, leave feedback for other’s projects, or add their own notes on a class topic.  With younger elementary students, I don’t think I would actually use wikis in my classroom.  Both subject and the ISTE standards are being taught by using a wiki.  Students are learning to be a Creative Communicator (6), as they strive to express themselves creatively using digital tools (like wikis) appropriate to their goals.  Students will be (6b) creating original works or responsibly repurposing or remixing digital resources into new creations.  Students will be (6d) publishing or presenting content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.  The class as Global Communicators (7) will be using collaborative technologies to work with each other (peers, experts or community members) to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints (7) .  These are just a few of the ISTE standards that apply to wikis in the classroom.  

If you’re looking for some ideas to use for your wiki, check out these great resources that I found:

• Fresh Ideas: Using Wikis in the Classroom
• What's a Wiki? Wikis in the Classroom
• Using a Wiki in Your Classroom for Teaching, Learning and Collaboration

If you’re looking to start your own wiki, check out these wiki hosts:

• Wikispaces
• PBWiki
• Wetpaint

Good luck!

~Your not-so-techie teacher

To Blog or Not to Blog? That is the Question!

To Blog or Not to Blog? That is the Question!

Over the past years, blogging has taken off all over the world!  Today you can find blogs on practically any topic you may want - from cooking to education, technology to interior design - you name it, there's a blog for it!
The question I am discussing in this entry is regarding teachers blogging for their students.  Can blogging have a successful place in the classroom?  Am I ready to start a blog in my classroom? Here are my thoughts and suggestions on the topic.

I've always thought that blogs could be a great resource for educators, and in the past, I have explored and actively read many teachers' blogs.  I have discovered a lot of successful ones, all of which were focused on inspiring and sharing ideas with other like-minded teachers.  So, I didn't put a whole lot of thought into teachers blogging for their students to read and respond ... until I recently did some research into it.  In Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will Richardson provides some wonderful ideas about how educators are using blogs in their classrooms today.  He listed a variety of topics and assignments to try with students.  Richardson also mentioned some specifically, one of which was Bill Chamberlain’s teacher blog (Mr. C’s Class Blog).  I spent some time exploring it and was totally amazed to see the ways he used technology to truly inspire his students.  His classes have even benefited from sharing with students from the other side of the globe.  Also, Richardson told about his own adventure, when he set up a blog for students to respond with their thoughts on a specific book.  He then contacted the best-selling author,  who agreed and enjoyed interacting with and answering questions of students.

So maybe blogging can have a successful part in the classroom.

I think that if you are asking yourself this question - "To Blog or Not to Blog?" - then you probably need to first ask yourself these questions:

• Is my school or district able to handle this?  Is my school equipped with the appropriate technology needed to "get online" with student assignments and resources?  It seems that there is a broad spectrum of schools' technology equipment across our country.  Where does yours fall?

•  Will my students be able to handle blogging?  Will they be able to read/participate at home?  For these questions, you need to consider their age, family, background, experience/level, and availability of technology.  Depending on your community, it may be difficult to give a solid "yes" to this question.

•  Do I have the knowledge, resources, and time to monitor a blog for my students?  Running a classroom blog can take up a lot of time, with the constant need for writing new material for students to read, while monitoring their comments/responses.

•  Will starting a blog encourage my students to reflect and share their voice?  Will it aid in teaching the standards in my classroom?  For most teachers who have already ran a student-focused blog, they would easily answer "yes!"  But also think about what will your blog have in it that will accomplish this - the focus, the content, the subject.

Overall, I think that blogs can have a very positive effect in the classroom.  As teachers, we see so many different types of learners each day in our classrooms, and they need a variety of outlets to express themselves.  Blogging can be one way of making learning fun and creative, while students read and share relevant information.  For myself, I have gone through this list of questions, and I will not be adding blogs to my elementary classroom, mainly because of the young age of my students.  However, I do think it can have a positive effect on today’s students when it is utilized with the right age group and with proper technology available.  I hope this helps you as you may be asking yourself, "To blog or not to blog?"

~Your not-so-techie teacher

Welcome to Little BITS of TECH FUN!

Welcome to my new blog - a place to share information and questions on technology in a simple, manageable language.  I do not claim to be a tech guru, and I definitely don't have all the answers to every technology question you may have.  But I am here to share what I know and have discovered about technology for teachers.  I will try to present it in a down-to-earth way, for those like me, who may not know all the technical terms.  Whether you are looking to incorporate technology tools into your classroom in some innovative ways or are just looking for some troubleshooting advice for your own computer use - maybe I can help!  Maybe you're just getting started with technology in your classroom, and I hope to help open the door to further use and understanding.

Thanks for reading, and stop by again sometime to check out little BITS of TECH FUN!

~Your not-so-techie-teacher