Video On How I Use Socrative In My Classroom

I was getting ready to review for an Economics test the other day and just randomly decided to pull out my iPhone 5 and do some recording of how I was using technology in the classroom.  I stayed home with my ill son today so I had some time to throw the footage into iMovie and share it with you. I think most teachers know what Socrative is and what it can do; I just think many of them are too busy to try an incorporate it into their classroom. Hopefully actually seeing how a real teacher uses it in a classroom will encourage them to give it a try. One thing I forget to mention is how the students know the correct answer. In this example I verbally tell them the answer to the question and we then discuss and review the concepts with that question.  

Easy To Use Calendar Template

I can vividly remember the last time I tried to create a document using Microsoft Word.  My cursor would not go where I wanted it, using tab would result in moving down a line, and auto numbers were appearing everywhere.  I can also remember hurting my hand from punching my desk and cursing the name of Bill Gates at least 5 times.  I remember thinking there had to be a better way. From that moment on I swore I would never use anything Microsoft again and since have used Google Docs (Drive) exclusively. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life! Sure Google doesn't have 249 bells and whistles for a Word document but who needs all that? Below is a very simple easy to use editable calendar template Vertex42 made. You can also embed this calendar on a blog or website. You can find the 2013 calendar here. Need another kind of template? You can search for any Google Document templates here.

I, Pencil: The Movie

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE politics and economics. This year I am teaching economics at the high school level and am enjoying it immensely.  We had already watched some older  I, Pencil videos and discussed how amazing free markets operate when left to their own devices. This is a brand new video that I think will communicate this idea even better, especially to special education students.  I plan on having my students watch it this week. It's simple enough to play even at an elementary level but so complicated and deep that well educated adults can garner knowledge and a deeper understanding of economics from it.

Using Lino for Project Based Assessments

Last year I used Glogster exclusively as a medium to have my students create project based assessments in my social studies classes.  It can be a great service but I just had too many issues with glogs disappearing and our school had a new firewall that was not allowing pictures to be uploaded. I had a couple options of what to use but decided to go with Lino because it was simple and allowed for a google sign in. (All the students at my school have a student Gmail account.)  So far Lino is working out great for my classes. The students can post sticky notes and explain the concepts we are covering and add photos to illustrate the concepts they have learned. They could post videos but most of those are blocked at our school. I have my students turn in their assignments on my class Moodle page by embedding the link to their board on a forum I created. What you see below is how they show up in the forum.Click on the pictures below to open the entire Lino board.

Types Of Economic Systems

economic part 2

Teacher Goals for Evaluation Process

Last year the Michigan legislature decided to change the way teachers are evaluated. (Avoid political discussion now) If you are unfamiliar with this you can read more about it here at MASA.  I created my goals today and wanted to share them with the hopes it might help others or to get feedback as to how mine might be improved. Feel free to comment on the Swag Teaching blog, Facebook, or Twitter.

Content Goals:

My Consumer Finance class will go up an average of one grade level by June of 2013. This will be measured by using the Star Math test which showed on 9/10/12 they are currently at a XX grade level which is the XXth percentile.

Professional Goals:

I will use Moodle to deliver class content, measure student learning, and facilitate the use of project based assessments in my Economics/Government classes this year by making at least 3 entries for each chapter. This will be measured by the number of entries per chapter on my class Moodle page in June of 2013.  Link Here

 

Must Listen For All Teachers & Parents

I randomly came across a podcast posted by a friend on Facebook done by This American Life. The podcast throws aside the usual union and political debates that have plagued education for decades, and it focuses specifically on HOW students learn and WHAT they should learn. I HIGHLY recommend every teacher and parent to listen to this podcast here.

Common Core App added @Swag Teaching

I am constantly having to look up Common Core standards online to cut and paste them into my IEP's. Another common time that teachers need to access them is to cut and paste them when doing lesson plans. You can now easily access all of the Common Core standards at Swag Teaching by using the app on the right of my blog. Just click on it and it will pop out and you can select the subject and grade level you need. Here is the HTML if you want to add it to your own site.

<div id="_MC_ccapp_widget"><script src="http://www.masteryconnect.com/learn-more/cmsjs/widget.js"></script></div>

Current Events Remixed with Hip-Hop

     Technology has made it easier than ever to stay current on news and events from all around the world. Even though technology is taking over every aspect of our life, it seems as if many students are still disconnected and unaware of major current events that take place. A simple easy way to keep them up to date on a weekly basis can be done by using Flocabulary.  They take the headlines from all around the world and put them into a short fresh eye catching rap. (Usually between 2-3 minutes) I like to use it to start discussion on Fridays in my Economics and Government classes. It could also be used to generate ideas for a short writing assignment in ELA classrooms. They also offer other free rap videos on various topics as well as a paid subscription service for even more videos. 

Schoology as another option vs. Edmodo

I have an Edmodo page but have not used it extensively. I get that it's like Facebook and think it could be used for discussions and such but I just don't see the LMS (Learning Management System) anywhere on the website. I can set up an actual class on Moodle; I view Edmodo as a communication platform. My dad (also teacher) has been on this Edmodo kick so I figured I would give it a look again and as I was googling I came across Schoology.  It looks to combine the LMS of Moodle with the platform and communication of Edmodo. I will be playing around with it as I start this school year and report back.  Below is a great chart that compares the advantages of Schoology over other LMS programs.  If anyone has any experience, suggestions, or comments about Schoology please let me know below.

My Moodle Page

I am by no means an expert but I have made it quite known that I love Moodle and truly believe in this day and age every teacher should be getting ready for blended learning by making sure they have their own Moodle site for their classes. (Having an Edmodo site would be fine as well). Unless you are at a school where every student comes to school everyday, nobody ever loses a paper, and all students pay attention during the entire class you seriously need to consider getting a LMS (Learning Management System). Not only do these help students immensely but they can be huge time  savers for teachers. Ever heard these questions? "Where is that handout", "what is our homework", "what did we do Monday". The answer to all of these could be "It's on Moodle!!!". Yes, there is a little more up front work that goes into getting them off the ground but after that maintaining them is quite easy.  I am by no means  to the point of running my class daily on Moodle but I feel I have a good start. I am going into my 7th year of teaching and have yet to teach the same content year to year. Assuming things stay as they are in my current position I will get to "reteach" the same content in 3 years from now yet I still consider having a LMS for all my classes to be necessary.  If you are a general education teacher who gets to basically teach the same material year to year then this should be a no brainer.  I am linking to my moodle page with the hopes that someone will find it useful or at least help them generate some ideas, when it prompts you to log in just "Log in as a guest". I have some good links and have collected some educational YouTube videos in one place so you don't have to search through all the garbage.   My US History Moodle site and my Algebra 1 Moodle (as you can see I didn't get much done on my Algebra Moodle, FYI the content is suited more for gen ed MS than HS.)

Voki: Put some swag in your lesson presentation!

There are many websites out there that allow you to create a speaking avatar that can then be embedded or linked on a website or blog.  My preferred website for this is Voki.  Voki highlights these 4  features offered by their website.

1. Motivate students to participate
2. Improve message comprehension
3. Introduce technology in a fun way 
4. Utilize Voki as an effective language tool 

It can also be translated into 25 different languages if you are working with ESL students. A few things that make Voki unique is that you don't even need to create an account to make an avatar. If you want to save your work you will need to create a free account. I can tell you from my personal experience that my students (who are in high school) loved these avatars.  They would always ask me to replay them in class even after weeks had passed.  I post them to my moodle site in the main page or embed them in a specific lesson. Here are a few examples of how I used them. I also plan on having an AI student create one today when I tutor him.

Summer Tutoring

I had the privilege this summer to tutor a student with Autism  with the hopes of enhancing his technological skills. I know we are always told that students in this digital age know all about technology because they use Facebook and have an iPod. While those are great tools and fun to use, they are very elementary when it comes to the skills and knowledge students need to be successful in our ever changing digital world. I have found that a vast majority of the students I have taught during my 6 year career to be very unprepared when it comes to the digital skills they will need to be successful after high school. The first goal I wanted to accomplish was to get him accustomed to manipulating digital files. Pretty basic stuff like searching for, downloading, and uploading pictures and music. I used the site We Video, which allows the user to make videos online with their video editor. It functions and feels a lot like the older iMovie from Apple. I had him create a very short video about anything he wanted to keep his interest level high. He chose to make his movie about Transformers; I will be posting the finished project soon. We grabbed some Transformer theme music to add to the movie from YouTube by using YouTube - MP3. I have also used Make It Mp3 in that past. Those are the best YouTube to mp3 sites I have found. Practice and Enjoy!!

Make custom animated banners for Moodle, Websites, or Blogs

Want to make your Moodle, Blog, or website banner stand out to your students? This is my preferred method to have custom animated banners and pictures. Follow these simple steps to create a banner similar to the one above. 

1. Use Keynote, PowerPoint, or any other program that allows you to insert a picture and type over it. Design how you want it to look with text and pictures.

2. If using a Mac cut out that picture by pushing Command+Shift+4 all at the same time. This will give you a cursor and allow you to select the part of the screen you want to make into a picture. If you are using a PC try this link from Lifehacker.

3. Now that you have your picture go to Lunapic. Upload your picture and then play around with all the 100's of effects they offer. Once you find one you like download your custom animated gif and upload it to your website, moodle, or blog. 

4. Sometimes a site won't read your gif image. In that case I like to use Use.com to host my picture. This allows me to get the HTML of the picture and post it on my website.  Below is another example from one of my co-taught classes. 

Visual Bookmarks ANYWHERE!!

If you are not using Symbaloo shame on you!  The days of sifting through endless bookmark lists on your browser should be over. Symbaloo is a web based visual bookmark tool that allows you to access your bookmarks from any computer in the world. Best of all you can have multiple screens or "mixes" as they call them. Put any bookmark wherever you want it, upload your own picture cover, and even share it with friends. I have created a webmix that should be very helpful for teachers at Greenville but should also help any one else who wants a one stop place for the best of web 2.0 sites. So go to Symbaloo and subscribe to my webmix by using this URL

http://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAABuvrEXcAA42ACoeoNw==

My First Post

I know the end of the school year seems to be a weird time to start a teaching blog but this is about the first time all year I have finally been able to breathe.  I would first like to thank Richard Byrne for keeping me informed on all the latest technology and inspiring me to share my knowledge and experiences when it comes to teaching. If you do not follow him at his blog you are truly missing out.  The second person who has greatly inspired me to become a better educator is Matinga Ragatz. I had the great fortune of working with her for a summer to develop a social studies blended learning model for GRPS. Matinga was teacher of the year in Michigan for 2010-2011; I ran into  her at MACUL this year and she is now working on starting schools in Africa. Worst case scenario this blog will be a way for me document my experiences and growth as a teacher for myself. I hope to use it as a way to share my lessons and technology ideas with my colleagues  at Greenville. But perhaps, just perhaps some other teachers out there may find it useful and informational to better help them improve their educational delivery. Only time will tell!!!!