Google Keep is a great tool to use for productivity.  I learned about this over the summer.  You can access via the web or app.  It is a space where you can dump notes, photos, thoughts, lists, audio, etc.  It all links to your google account and you can share items with others.  It syncs across all devices, as well.  Check it out and get things done!

#TTTuesdays

I have a couple of Google resources for you this week.  

All of the Google Education On Air videos are archived and you can watch them on demand here.

Google Classroom can be a helpful way to go paperless in the classroom.  Watch an introduction video on how it works.  I love the fact that it syncs with your Google Drive.  I am looking into using this next year to stay more organized.  I believe all of my district is using GAFE (Google Apps for Education) now.  It would make sense to play around with it and see if it is something you think would benefit you next year.

Here is a blogpost from Kahoot about their new Ghost Mode feature. 

The keiki are wrapping up their video making units with me. We used Telestory, iMovie, and Green Screen by Do ink.  Feel free to explore these.

Tips for shooting better video:
1) Shoot in landscape mode
2) Think in shots, don’t run the camera nonstop
3) Keep the brightest light behind the camera
4) Treat your video like a still camera to avoid shaky videos
5) Zoom with your feet, don’t pinch

I am sharing a few tools with you this week.  Brand new tools to both you and I.  Staying up with the “latest and greatest” or “fad” technologies is extremely challenging.  It is important that we try our best to because our students are exposed it it just as quickly (and sometimes faster) as we are.

Periscope lets you broadcast live video to the world. Going live will instantly notify your followers who can join, comment and send you hearts in real time.  You can also make broadcasts available to replay within 24 hours.  I think the tool can be very powerful if used appropriately.  I also think that this digital tool opens up a whole new realm for cyber bullying.  Many educators are beginning to use it but when I looked into it, I found other people using it for inappropriate matters.  The reason I’m sharing this tool is so we can all A)be aware of it, because I’m sure our kids soon will be or already are and B)see the affordances and risks of certain technologies.  I hope this gets you thinking.

Meerkat is very similar to Periscope because it allows you to tweet live video.  Everything that happens on here happens on twitter.  There are no replays with Meerkat, however.  Everyone can watch the live streams on the web.

KIK is a messaging medium that many of our students are using.  I personally have no experience using it but I know that the keiki do and again, like I said, we just need to be aware.  

I wanted to share with you all how I use Twitter for PD.  I know many are reluctant to get on, but I also know that many of you are using it.  If you don’t know, there is a monthly chat that happens called #edchathi where educators from Hawaii chat about best practices, tech integration, etc.  Below you will find the link of ways you can get involved, learn, and participate. https://sites.google.com/site/edchathi/participate

Some of you have noticed that I’ve been curating things on twitter using #kshawaii #kshes and some of you have been asking about Twitter Lists.  I’m inspired by so much of the work that is happening at my school.*  

A twitter list is just a group that you create in order to view only tweets from people in that list, rather than viewing tweets from every single person you follow.  The list that I created is for me so that I can view tweets from certain groups I am connected with.  You can subscribe to lists if you would like to see tweets from those same people or you can create your own list.  

Five ways I use Twitter to learn is…

1. Ask questions!  You’ll never know if you don’t ask.
2. Read! Read blogs from educators you follow.  Read articles.  Read topics on certain hashtags.
3. Share! Sharing is caring.  Share your work, get feedback, etc.
4. Collaborate! Connect with other classrooms and teachers around the world and tweet back and forth.
5. *Take note!  I tweet, retweet, and favorite things that I like as I am learning.  Twitter is almost my way of taking notes. 

Do I tweet everyday? No.
Do I read twitter everyday? No.
Do I live and breathe twitter? No.
Do I use twitter when I’m curious? Yes.

More Free PD! (I found out about on twitter ;) )—> Google Edu On Air http://t.co/aCVYs6Q3uE May 8th & 9th (I put this in the Google Group too)

Touchcast is a great video making tool that could help with flipping in your classroom.  What sets Touchcast apart from other video making tools is that the videos can be interactive.  Students would be able to click on areas within the video while the broadcast is playing.  This tool can be very powerful in connecting with the Youtube Generation.  Check them out here to see education ideas and inspiration.  

The tools I am sharing with you this week fall into the genre of design thinking.

City X Project  is a design workshop for creative problem solving and design thinking.  This workshop is a great introduction to 3D design and supports Maker Education and STEM learning.  My fourth graders are in the middle of this project right now.  Some 3D design softwares that students can get on their iPads include AutoDesk 123D and Tinkerplay.  A good web based program to use is Tinkercad.

Pixel Press Floors  is An app that enables you to create your own video game by drawing on paper.  This app supports the design thinking process and is easily relatable to academics such as story elements and mathematics.  It is possible to design in app, as well.  They also have lessons and an educator mailing list.  My second graders are using this in Technology class to learn about Design Thinking.  

DID YOU KNOW?
You could be using Google Docs for collaborative student note taking.  I know many of you share things between teacher and student on Google Docs, but are you maximizing the potential for collaboration and having students create and share with each other?  

A tool I wanted to share with you this week is Sphere.  I heard Jim Sill talk about the Ricoh Theta camera during his keynote at Hawaiʻi Island Technology Conference last week and I immediately knew I would share Sphere with you this week.  

The Ricoh Theta is a camera that can capture 360 degree pictures.  Sphere allows us to capture 360 photos on our mobile devices and iPads.  Third and fourth graders have used Sphere during our Global Collaboration units in my classes.  Students were able to share spheres with other schools and view a collection of spheres from around the world.  This app uses the technology of augmented reality because when you hold up the device and point it in front of you, it will display what would really be in front of you as if you were standing in the middle of Paris looking at the Eiffel Tower.  As you spin, the experience moves so it is like you are actually standing in that part of the world.

Here are some of our favorite spheres….
The Heart of Campus
Sydney
Paris

The other great perk is that Sphere is FREE!  

I was presenting at MACUL over my spring break and one of the ideas I needed to share with you was the idea of having digital parent volunteers.  For those of you who are blogging in your classes,  you can have parents sign up to read and comment on other students blog besides their own child.  I thought this was a neat idea for those parents who may not be able to come help in the classroom but would like to help in some way.  Also, the students who may not have any comments from their parents or peers could still have public feedback.

Here is the Thinglink for the resources from my presentation at the conference on Augmented Reality. Below you will find links to the various AR tools with a brief description of how I used  them in my classes this year.  All of these tools involve the technology of Augmented Reality aka AR (a digital layer on top of something real).

ColAR app Used for creative writing with Kindergarteners.  Also used in the past to learn about Chinese New Year.

Crayola Color Alive Used for creative writing with 1st graders.

PBS Kids Shape Quest Used for math lesson with 1st graders.

Chromeville Used for creative writing with 2nd graders.

Sphere Used for global collaboration with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders.

Aurasma Used for Technology Museum with 3rd Grade and book talks and other classroom projects with 5th graders.  In the past have augmented genius hour questions in collaboration with @WeverWorld, as well as augmenting our bulletin board outside of the classroom.

Daqri Used for interactive knowledge showcase with 5th graders.

I know many of you already have your systems in place for lesson planning, but I thought I’d share this tool with you anyways for maybe something you can use next year.  All of your lesson plans are digital.

Planboard is a great place to do your lesson plans because you can sign up for free using your Google+ account.  This tool allows you to share your schedule with others, set off days, attach files for your lesson plans, allows you to add standards to your lessons, and it makes it easy to edit.  

I am looking into using this tool in the future because having my lesson plans available to me digitally is important.  I am also a very visual person and the color coding of the classes really helps me, as a specials teacher.  I’ve had my system in place of creating my hard copy of my lessons, creating a template, printing them off, filling them in, and keeping them in a binder.  This tools would help eliminate a few steps in my process and allows me to still print off my lessons when I’m done planning so that I still have my hard copy (should technology fail).

DID YOU KNOW?
You can conduct research within Google Docs or Presentations.  If you click on Tools at the top and then click Research, you can find information, images, quotes, citations, and more, and then quickly insert them into your document.