Tablets and Smartphones and Laptops – Oh, My!

There are so many devices to choose from for your classrooms. Sometimes it is really hard to know what makes one a better choice than others. And by “better,” I mean a better fit for your educators’ and students’ needs, because that’s really what will determine what is the right device for you. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring the top reasons why you might want to choose one type of device over another. In this post we’ll focus on Chromebooks.

Getting Up and Running on Classroom Technology Doesn’t Have to Break the Budget

Professional development is an integral part of a successful ed-tech implementation in any classroom. Teachers must know how to use these technologies so that they can engage their students effectively. Many companies and websites offer webinars, workshops, and online or in-class courses to help train teachers to be proficient with educational technologies, but many of these training sessions come at a steep price. With a little searching, it’s possible to find a plethora of groups and websites offering free training resources. To save you time, we have compiled a list of some of the best of these free resources.

The 15 tech training resources below can get you off to a great start supporting your teachers’ ongoing professional development activities.

My History Classroom, “Redefined”

Throughout my teaching career in a semi-urban district outside of Cleveland, Ohio, I have tried to inspire my students to achieve more by bringing my knowledge and passion for Social Studies into my classroom. However, as many of you have probably noticed, history is a topic that simply does not grab 21^st century learners. Today’s students are accustomed to working with mobile devices, glancing at quick headlines, doing Internet-only research for projects, watching short YouTube videos, and reading and composing social media buzz. When today’s tech-savvy students are presented with traditional textbooks, worksheets, and magazines that are older than they are, they quickly become disengaged learners. It’s for this reason that several years ago I began a personal quest to “redefine” my instructional strategies, methods, and materials for the 21^st century. The end result is my highly successful paperless classroom!

How to Find and Get the Most Out of Your Next Ed-Tech Conference

When you hear the word “conferences,” you probably think of parents waiting outside your classroom to discuss their child’s progress, report card, and perhaps behavior or academic issues. Now think bigger. 

Find the Conference That's Right for You
The education technology conference business encompasses local, regional, and national shows, and it’s alive and well. Attending these shows is a great way to pump up your skill set, connect with new colleagues and experts, and recharge your batteries. This graphic on 2015-16 ed-tech conferences and its two-page printout show you when and where you can find a conference. With so many on the list, chances are you can find at least one that’s convenient for you. 

Strategies for Everyday Instruction

In the 1989 movie Back to the Future II, Marty McFly time travels (in style!) to October 21, 2015. The movie treats us to a vision of the future that includes self-tying shoes, futuristic outfits, flying cars, and hovering skateboards. Of course, now that we’ve caught up to “the future,” we know that the movie got a lot of things wrong. But there are a few things that are actually pretty close to reality: e.g., Lexus apparently has made a prototype hoverboard . . . and how about those Cubs?! While no scene in the movie features a classroom, I wonder what the screenwriters would have done with such a scene.

Learn ways to help you make lessons that are easy on the eyes and the mind!

Do you sometimes find yourself wanting to create a lesson that will wow, but end up just staring at a blank screen? Don’t worry – it happens to all of us. Maybe it’s writer’s block, a creative road block, or you’re just plain stumped. When that happens, following these 10 tips can help you get you back on track and on your way to creating a truly great lesson. They center around 5 key areas: interactivity, aesthetics, instruction, originality, and collaboration.

20 Tips for Encouraging Student Collaboration

As you’ve no doubt noticed, collaboration is a hot idea these days in both schools and the workplace. Encouraging students to learn from one another not only facilitates positive interaction; it also gets them ready for the future. Collaboration can be fun, since it’s a good break from the one-sided learning model. But sometimes you need to take steps to ensure maximum engagement from students. Read on for 20 effective tips for encouraging collaboration.

Ideas worth spreading about education, technology, and more

The nonprofit Technology, Entertainment and Design (known as TED) is “devoted to spreading ideas,” according to its mission statement. How does it do that? By recording and posting online thousands of talks on many topics, given by experts in different fields.

TED began its work in 1984, but it has lately seen an explosion in popularity. Currently it has a worldwide following.

TED offers a wide range of talks devoted exclusively to education, and many of these talks deal specifically with education technology, including how best to integrate technological innovations in schools to engage students everywhere. All of these talks are available online.

Learn How a Few Simple Steps Can Encourage Collaboration in Your Classroom

We often forget how much the physical classroom and its tools can shape what we do and how we do it. We “fail to notice the ways in which space constrains or enhances what we intend to accomplish.”* While the word “makeover” may sound like a dramatic transformation, it only takes a few small changes to make our classroom spaces much more collaborative. Those small changes can be very impactful to learning. Here are just a few ways you can give your classroom a “collaborative makeover.”

Remember these key things when assessing and reassessing technology changes in your school

Before you spend precious budget dollars on new equipment, it’s important to take the time to answer some critical questions. You don’t want to see the equipment sitting in a corner unused because teachers aren’t comfortable using it, or aren’t able to use it effectively to engage students. There are many different facets to examine when choosing new or different classroom technologies. When we implemented a pilot program at Donald McKay School with Mimio, we started by asking ourselves the following key questions: