iPad Pilot

My school district implemented an iPad pilot in 3 classrooms this year. Our iPad pilot teachers and I are blogging about our journey. Stop by and check it out: ipadsinschool.blogspot.com. Sign up to follow our blog and get updated each time a new post is added.

Check out this Glog that highlights a few of the ways our teachers and students are using iPads to enhance teaching and learning.

Create Your Own Google Search Story

Telling Search Stories with Google « Kyle B. Pace

Have Students Send Video Greeting Cards This Year

Free Technology for Teachers: Have Students Send Video Greeting Cards This Year

Why You Should Be Doing More with Google Earth

Google Earth can be used in infinite ways at all grade levels across all content areas. Chances are you are under-utilizing this amazing resource. I recommend that all teachers, regardless of subject area or grade level, spend 5 to 10 minutes each day using Google Earth for a daily geography lesson. It's hard for children (and adults for that matter) to develop a sense of where they are in the world. Google Earth can help them do that. I've done several Google Earth model lessons in classrooms recently. Each time, students are wowed and fully engaged. And each time, it's obvious that students lack an awareness of where they are in the world and knowledge of geography terms.

You don't need a teacher's manual or curriculum guide to teach with Google Earth. Simply look for ways to incorporate Google Earth into topics you're already exploring with your students. Visit the location of a current event. Explore the setting of a historical fiction text. Calculate the distance between locations. Use historical imagery to go back in time to a significant historical event. Locate the birthplace of a famous historical person. Take a virtual trip before you go on a field trip. Explore constellations, the Moon, and Mars. Use the weather layer to explore and predict weather patterns.

Imagine what could happen if you devote 5 to 10 minutes each day to exploring the world in Google Earth. Daily exposure to and work in Google Earth can help us raise a generation of learners with a global perspective.

Check out these resources to learn more about integrating Google Earth into daily teaching and learning in your classroom:

Directions for creating a Google Earth trip in Google Maps

Google Earth Across the Curriculum from Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne, www.freetech4teachers.com)

Google Lit Trips (virtual trips of settings of great works of literature)

Confessions of a Reluctant Techy

Guest Post by Andrea Ward

Currently I am the technology coordinator at my school.  A few years ago I would never have expected me to be here.  Why?  Because I don't always like technology.  I was anti-texting for a long time.  I was anti-MySpace and other social media.  I was anti-blogging.  I was anti-smart phones.  I have reluctantly found myself taken in by the siren's song of technological benefits.  In general, I still pick Lucille Ball over Amy Poehler.  I choose Buster Keaton over Adam Sandler.  I choose Pride and Prejudice over The Hunger Games.  I like the old stuff.  I don't like new stuff.  But here I sit writing this technology blog.  How did I get here?  3 things I have learned over the past few years have brought me a long way.


1.  Try it, You'll like it.
(Your mental soundtrack may not have gone there.  However having a 2 year old, my mental soundtrack will never be the same. I felt the need to share.)  On to the actual content of this post.  One of the first Instructional Technology presentations that I remember wasn't focused on the classroom.  I remember the Instructional Technology coach telling us that if we use it personally, we will use it in the classroom.  Something like that anyway.  I first heard this and did nothing with it.  I thought there were some neat things with Google, but I didn't want to change everything I was doing.  However, I couldn't resist.  I had to try it and I loved it!

Now I use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader, Google Earth, Google Maps, YouTube, Blogger, iGoogle, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Google Images, Picasa, Picnik, Google Books, Google Scholar, Skype, Google Calendar and more.  I'm excited about SlideRocket although I have not used it yet. I do not use them all in the classroom or for teacher learning purposes.  In fact Twitter, Google Reader, and Blogger are about 98% personal.  I follow 73 people on twitter and at least 55 different blogs.  Only 3 of those are education related.  However, I now use Glogster, Prezi, Wordle, and Google Earth in the classroom.  I'm open to learning and using other things.  So try some new things, you'll like them.

2. It isn't all or nothing
Often with technology, we can get overwhelmed.  We hear of so many tools we can use and at some point we just shut down.  We don't see how we can use it all, so we don't use any of it.  We should NOT be thinking this way.  It isn't all or nothing.  Pick and choose what you would like to use, what works best for you.  I recently heard Jayme present alternatives to PowerPoint.  She showed us Google Presentations, SlideRocket, and Prezi.  I personally wasn't excited about Google Presentations.  Prezi is one with which I am comfortable.  SlideRocket is one that I have not used, but I'm excited about what it can do.  I don't need to use them all and love them all.

Another example is Jayme's "Getting Organized Online" presentation.  She showed us Symbaloo, ReadItLater, Wunderlist, and LiveBinder.  Symbaloo and Read it later are some that I might use.  LiveBinders seemed a bit overwhelming, so I'm not going to try it right away.  Wunderlist got me excited, but it isn't available for Blackberry.  So I'm working with EverNote and Cozi.  I might like them, I might not.  Now some of you are overwhelmed with the number of links I added and different things I mentioned.  Sorry!

3.  Don't be lazy!
I use Prezi too much.  I have gotten lazy about technology that I can use for me personally or for my classroom.  I have become satisfied with what I already know.  I haven't tried to learn new things.  Recently, I was listening to a fellow teacher list various presentation tools, XtraNormal, Voki, SpicyNodes, etc., etc.  And yes, I'm using etc. because I don't remember them all.  I should know about some of these!  I'm the technology coordinator and the extent of my creativity is Prezi!  I have become lazy.  Don't get satisfied with what you already know or you won't be learning anything.  And as teachers isn't that the point, learning something new.

So now you have 3 easy tips of how you can become more techy.  Go click on a link above and try something new.  There are lots of people around willing to help you out, including this reluctant techy.

Blog post written by Andrea Ward, Spanish teacher at Newton-Conover Middle School and member of NCCS Tech Team

5 tips for staying safe on the web

Using Podcasts for Teaching and Learning

Tips and Tricks: Teacher Podcasting Strategies

The following are tips and tricks for curriculum integration strategies for teacher use of podcast technology. Tips and tricks for creating a podcast include:

• recording lectures – for greater mobility, teachers can wear wireless microphone during lectures. This strategy is ideal for students who miss a class due to sickness, school field trip, and other reasons.

• class newsletter distribution – saving paper for take home parent newsletters, a newsletter podcast is placed on a class website. This trick gives parents access to the newsletter 24 hours day, with internet access. Helps eliminate or reduce the problem of students who never seem to get the newsletter home.

• test and exam study guides – are placed on a class website (web page, blog, or wiki). Allowing students the ability to access these study guides 24 hours a day; from anywhere they have internet access.

• lesson plans for substitutes – entire or partial lessons are available on class website for substitute teachers to use in class. Subs must follow the lesson plan provided for the day and students view the work as coming directly from their teacher; not just busy work.

• creating virtual field trips – these podcasts are invaluable for supporting lectures, class work, and providing students with research resources. These are especially helpful during periods of tight budgets and student field trips are not possible.

• problem solving activities – a weekly or monthly puzzler or brain teaser as an audio podcast. Students have to listen carefully to the words and vocabulary used to figure it out.
  

Lesson Planning: Student Podcasting Strategies

The following are podcasting strategies for students using podcast technology. Students create podcasts for:

• project based learning activities – students create a podcast for demonstrating their research artifacts in support of a project based learning activity. Examples are recording interviews with experts, visuals of research resources, visual research site, etc.

• field trips – students create a podcast of specific aspects of a zoo or museum during a field trip. They then use these podcasts to support completion of assignments or posting on the class website for others to view.

• everyday concept applications – for example students use for demonstrating where they observed specific curriculum concepts outside the classroom. This strategy provides a means of alternative assessment for teachers to determine level of student understanding.

• class projects – which students embed in multimedia presentations or interactive posters using a web 2.0 tool such as Glogster or WallWisher.

• completion of assignments – for example recording data collection techniques, science experiments, and modeling a specific content concept being studied.

• debates – student debate regarding a specific topic is recorded as a podcast and posted on a VoiceThread for other students to add their comments and opinions regarding the debate.

• how to’s – students create a podcast for how to accomplish specific tasks. Examples are steps for completing algebra problems (math), complete research in the library or online, key elements of an essay (language), recreate historical events (social studies), and determine the characteristics of a biome or habitat (science).

Benefits of Podcasts: Advantages for Teaching and Learning

So what are the benefits of podcasting (audio and/or video) in classrooms? Podcasts offer the ability to:

• reinforce concepts studied in class for both auditory and visual learners.

• reinforce writing and reading skills as students prepare their own podcast scripts.

• increase parent communication.

• conduct alternative assessments of students, beyond the traditional tests and reports.

• provide another teaching and learning strategy for helping students be successful in the subject they are studying.

When creative ways are used to integrate podcast technology in lessons, both teachers and students gain from this tool. Because the curriculum drives podcasting, teachers have another tool in their toolbox to help their students learn. Students develop a greater understanding of concepts and connections between concepts, because they are more engaged and willing to learn. Teachers are also provided with another alternative means of assessing student learning beyond traditional methods.

Read more at Suite101: Creative Ways to Use Podcasts in the Classroom | Suite101.com http://david-r-wetzel.suite101.com/creative-ways-to-use-podcasts-in-the-classroom-a271334#ixzz1b3GFB36m

Interactive Teaching & Learning with MimioStudio Notebook

MimioStudio Notebook includes many easy-to-use features that enable you to create interactive, engaging lessons in a short amount of time. If you've used your Mimio Interactive whiteboard mostly to interact with websites or display resources, you and your students are missing out. Try creating an interactive lesson using these tools from MimioStudio Notebook:

• Screen clipping lets you clip images and/or text from websites and documents to include in your Mimio lesson. 
• Lock objects in place so students can't accidentally move them around during a lesson.
• Insert pictures, videos, files, and hyperlinks to include additional content and resources in your lesson.
• Use items from the Gallery to increase your lesson's interactivity. Try a few of the Tools and Templates to allow students to get immediate feedback during a lesson. Or insert a Graphic Organizer from the Gallery to organize student learning.

Click here to download a sample Mimio lesson and see these features in action. 

Five Funky Flickr Tools for Teachers

Five Funky Flickr Tools for Teachers

This article has 5 super easy and creative ways teachers can use Flickr in the classroom. Click the link above to learn how you can use Flickr for poetry and story writing, spelling, sequencing, and picture book creation.

Why It's Okay to Be Addicted to Pinterest

If you haven't checked out Pinterest, you should. However, you should proceed with caution. You might just get addicted.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. It lets you organize and share stuff you find online. You can browse other people's pinboards and follow your friends. Repin what others have pinned to their boards, pin things you find online, or create your own pins by uploading digital pictures or videos. Click here to read more about Pinterest.

I've used Pinterest for a few months, since some friends convinced me to check it out. I actually planned my daughter's 4th birthday party based on the great ideas I found on Pinterest. I've mostly used Pinterest for personal interests, but several of my friends pin school-related ideas. A colleague recently shared an article with me in which a teacher describes how she uses Pinterest to find literacy ideas.

Click the link below to read the article.

Angela Bunyi: Finding Literacy Inspiration: Why It's Okay to Be Addicted to Pinterest | Top Teaching

My favorite thing about this article is the way the author describes replacing outdated lists of links with visual pinboards. There are so many possibilities for creating and organizing ideas onto pinboards. Create a pinboard for each subject area or topic you teach. Pin classroom management ideas. Find new blogs to read and people to follow.

Happy pinning!

(Thank you Cierra Winstead for sharing this article with me! And thank you Michael Lemke and Brooke Simpson for sharing your addiction to Pinterest with me.)

SimpleK12 Webinars

SimpleK12 is an educational resource site that offers FREE webinars for teachers on a variety of technology topics and tools. Most webinars take place after school hours. SimpleK12 webinars are open to anyone who wants to attend. Registration is simple, and participating is even simpler! Just register ahead of time and log in to the webinar to learn about ways you can integrate technology in your classroom.

Upcoming webinars:

• Save Time and Simplify Your Grading
• Supporting Bloom's Taxonomy in a Digital World
• Saving Time with Innovative Web Tools
• 30 Tools in 50 Minutes
• Create Differentiated and Online Lessons with Screencasts and Audio
• Digital Storytelling Using the iPad
• Google Sites: Web Sites Made Simple
• Interactive Sites for Your Interactive Whiteboard
• Make Google Forms Work for You (I'll be presenting that one!)
• 3 Keys to Having a Successful Blog

Click here to read descriptions and register for these free webinars. Bookmark this site and check back often as new topics are added. 

Balancing Technology and Pedagogy « Molehills out of Mountains

Balancing Technology and Pedagogy « Molehills out of Mountains

So, is technology a “superman” for public education? Probably not on its own…but it certainly has a role to play. Click to read a short but interesting article about finding a balance between technology and pedagogy.

Twenty Everyday Ways to Model Technology Use for Students | Edutopia

Twenty Everyday Ways to Model Technology Use for Students | Edutopia

Get Connected with Skype

Interested in bringing other students, authors, and experts into your classroom? Get connected locally and globally with Skype! It can take just a few seconds to make a video call to another classroom, author, or expert anywhere around the world.

You can access Skype from your Shortcuts folder. If you've never used Skype, you'll need to set up an account first. Once you set up your account, you can add contacts by searching for an email address, name, or phone number.

If you're new to Skype, I would love to help you get started. I can help you find contacts, brainstorm ideas, and give you a tutorial. I'd also love to be in your classroom for your first Skype conversation to help you get connected.

Check out these awesome resources for using Skype in your classroom.

Click here to access Skype in the Classroom, a free community to help teachers use Skype. There are currently 16,457 teachers on Skype in the Classroom, many of whom have set up projects and are looking for other classrooms to Skype with. You can join Skype in the Classroom by signing in with your Skype account.

Click here or here to find authors who are willing to Skype with classrooms for free.

Click here for checklists and tip sheets to help your first Skype conversation go smoothly.

Click here for 50 ideas for using Skype!

Please get in touch with me if you're interested in using Skype and would like a little support. I'd love to help you get started!

5 Ways to use Google Earth when Teaching (from guest blogger Andrea Ward)

Google has many wonderful tools available to us as teachers.  One of my favorites is Google Earth.  I am going to give you 5 ways to use Google Earth.

1.     Using street view
Warning!  Street view has changed from last year.  The little yellow man icon that has been used on Google Maps is now used for Google maps.  So now instead of clicking on the street view layer, you only need to grab the little man above the zoom bar on the right.  Hover over the street view you would like.  If the streets are outlined in blue, then street view is available.  Drop the little man on the street you would like to see. Click along the yellow line to walk/ drive along the street.

2. Using Layers
There is SO much in the layers I couldn't possibly begin to discuss it all.  The very best thing you could do is play around with it a lot.  Look through the titles of the layers.  To do this you must scroll through the layers and click on the + because there are other layers in that group.  Click on the box beside the ones you find useful and see what you can find.  A few that might be interesting: Ancient Rome 3D, Shipwrecks, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Weather.  These can be used in History/Social Studies classes, Science classes, and Foreign Language classes.

3. Using Pictures
When you zoom in to particular places, you see icons of a photo.  The blue ones are regular photos that have been uploaded by people all over the world.  I have yet to find an inappropriate one.  However, I have found some that are not in the exact right spot.  They are generally near the right location.  The red photos are 360 panorama photos of a location.  These can be particularly useful when viewing the interior of famous buildings.  It is difficult to find the same photo twice.  The best solution I have found is to double click on the photo.  It will bring up a website.  Save that website to your bookmarks.

4. Using Sightseeing Tour
 A tip I was given recently is the sightseeing tour option.  When the 3D building option is turned on, you can click on the Sightseeing Tour option.  This is listed on the left side under the places option.  When both options are clicked, there are 7 to 10 options.  Some are the Titanic and the Eiffel Tower.  When you click on it, it will fly you to the area.  The 'building' will appear in 3D.  You can then click on the building and get information, photos and related websites.

5. Using the toolbar on top

There are several useful tools at the top of the map screen.  The pushpin icon is a placemark.  You can add a placemark to anywhere on the globe and go back there quickly.  You can add several of them in a city or country and go on a virtual field trip.  The second one is a polygon.  You can add a polygon to highlight a specific area of the earth.  The third is a path.  You can add a path to go from one location to another.  It will show up in Street View and the other layers.  The fourth icon is Image Overlay.  You can put an image on top of the satellite view.  This could be useful when discussing the before and after of a place in history.  The fifth icon is Record a Tour.  When you record a tour, you can automatically go from one location to another without clicking on it.  This could be useful if there are places you visit often in a specific order.  The sixth icon is Historical Imagery.  When you click this a slide bar will show up.  Use this slide bar to move backward and forward in time to see how places change over time.  The seventh icon is to show Sunlight across the Landscape.   This can be moved backward and forward in time.  It is set for 24 hours and the time is the one on your computer.  You can change this in settings.   The eighth icon is Space View.  By clicking this you can go to the moon, the stars, or Mars.  The ninth icon is a Ruler.  You can quickly measure the distance between 2 locations with a variety of measurements.  The tenth icon is Email.  You can mail an image, a placemark folder or other items.  The eleventh icon is Print.  You can print an image, search results, or a placemark.  The twelfth icon is Google Maps.  This will switch your view to Google Maps.

Final tip:  Play around with it.  There are so many items available to you that will enhance your teaching. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

Blog post written by Andrea Ward, Spanish teacher at Newton-Conover Middle School and member of NCCS Tech Team

Want to Win an iPad?

Enter the Prezi Zoom Back to School contest! Create a Prezi demonstrating what you're excited to study this year and you you plan to use Prezi to facilitate the open exchange of ideas in your classroom. One Grand Prize Winner will win a new iPad with the Prezi Viewer. Three runner-ups will win 1 year Prezi Pro licenses. The contest deadline is October 15, 2011. Winners will be announced on November 1st. Find Prezi on facebook to enter the contest.

Contest Guidelines:

• Your Prezi should showcase a “Lesson” about the ideas you are excited to explore this year. It should teach people about your subject.

• Best Use of the Prezi Functionalities: How can you use the possibilities of Prezi in innovative ways to best illustrate your concepts?

• Most Fun! How can you use Prezi to show just how excited/ passionate you are.

• Most Liked: Spread the word and get people to ‘like’ your prezi!

Classroom Technology Makeover Contest!

eInstruction is hosting its 5th Annual Classroom Makeover Video Contest. Enter for your chance to win a $75,000 classroom technology makeover!! To enter the contest, have your students help you make a short, creative music video demonstrating how you and your students use technology to enhance learning in the classroom. Contest entries are due October 21st. On November 9th, five finalists in each grade category (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12) will be selected and voting will start, wrapping up on December 5th. One grand prize winner for each grade category will be announced on or around December 12th. Click here to read more or submit your video! Click here to read about the technology to be awarded.

Introducing Technology to Your Students

If you are planning to use technology tools as important components of your teaching and your students' learning this year, this is the time to begin teaching students how to use those tools. You may be planning to use a wiki to organize your students' learning, Glogster to let your students show what they know, Edmodo for students to communicate, or Wallwisher for idea sharing. Go ahead and use those tools in meaningful ways so students begin to get familiar with them and understand your expectations for their use.

Many technology tools that you will use for learning later on can be helpful in beginning-of-the-year tasks right now. A few examples:

• Use a polling site now to vote on classroom rules and later to take quick, informal assessments of student learning (www.polleverywhere.com)
• Use Wallwisher now to find out what students know about a topic and later as a word wall (www.wallwisher.com)
• Use Glogster EDU or Popplet now for students to introduce themselves and later as a reading response tool (http://edu.glogster.com, http://popplet.com)
• Use VoiceThread now to conduct a scavenger hunt around the school and later for peer sharing of student work (http://voicethread.com)

Giving your students experience with those tools now will make teaching and learning with them so much easier. The time you spend now teaching students how to utilize tech tools will save you a lot of time later on.

Ms. Simpson, 5th grade teacher at South Newton, is participating in the iPad pilot program this year. We've spent time this week training students how to do a variety of tasks that they will be doing on a regular basis once the iPads arrive. We are planning to continue training students on the iPads so they can be used as a seamless part of classroom instruction. Ms. Simpson won't lose any instructional time later on because her students are already developing the skills they'll need.

If you're wanting to introduce and teach some technology tools to your students but don't know where to start, I'd love to work with you. I can help you brainstorm ideas, plan lessons, teach the tools to the students, or support you in any other way. Please let me know how I can help you jump-start your students' learning with technology.

Get Free Stuff for Your Classroom!

On April 15, 2011, a kindergarten teacher from Florida posted a project on Donor's Choose. She requested $2,700 to purchase a Mimiovote class set, which is the student response system (clickers) made by Mimio. By August 19th, her project had been fully funded by 91 donors!

Richard Byrne, author of the Free Technology for Teachers blog, recently shared 7 sites where teachers can get free supplies or funding for classroom projects. Click here to read the article. Below are the 7 sites he recommends. If there are tech projects you would love to do with your students but you don't have the equipment you need, consider posting a project to Donor's Choose or check out one of the sites below. I'd love to help you write up a proposal.

Donors Choose
Classwish
iLoveSchools
Giving Getting
Grant Gopher
Go To Freebie
Target Field Trips

Starting Off the Year with Technology

Welcome to the 2011-12 school year! As you begin planning for the school year, I encourage you to think about where technology fits into your planning process. Do you add technology to your instruction as an after thought, or do you integrate it into how you plan for teaching and learning within your classroom? If your tendency is to do your lesson planning first and add technology second, then this is the time for you to think about what your classroom could potentially look like if you integrate technology all along the way. 


Now, I'm not suggesting that you change the way you do everything in your classroom. If you're just beginning to think about how technology can transform your teaching, then you need to start small. Choose one traditional learning task, project, or assessment and think about how you might turn it into a technology-based task. I would love to meet with you to help you think through how to do that. 


There are many ways that I'm available to support you this school year. Take a look at the word cloud at the top of this blog to see just a few of the ways that I can help you integrate technology into your teaching. In addition, we have formed a team of teachers who are available to provide instructional technology support to you within your building. These teachers make up the NCCS Tech Team. These teachers will be leading district-wide technology trainings throughout the school year. They are also available to support you through collaborative planning, model lessons, and resource sharing. Your Tech Team member and I are here to help you use technology to impact teaching and learning in your classroom. Below are your Tech Team members.


Conover School - Jeremy Ross
Shuford Elementary - Cindy Geddes
South Newton Elementary - Julie Bowman
Thornton Elementary - Mandy Cobb
Newton-Conover Middle School - Andrea Ward
Newton-Conover High School - Jessica Faltermeyer
Newton-Conover Health Science High School - Jody Dixon


The Tech Team and I will use this blog to share ideas and resources with you each week. If you would like to receive email notifications each time the blog is updated, please enter your email address in the "Follow by Email" box in the upper right corner. You can also access this blog anytime from the NCCS home page. Click on Departments - Technology - Jayme's Tech Tips for Teachers. 


I hope your start to the new school year is a smooth one. Please let me know how I can support you. I look forward to working with you this year!

10 Tech Commandments

The Tech Commandments

What is your favorite Web 2.0 tool for teaching and learning?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

5 Conversations I Don't Want To Have Anymore

Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org: 5 Conversations I Don't Want To Have Anymore: "Source: http://conversationsinsocialmedia.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/conversation.jpg Meditating on the crazy stuff people do from day ..."

77 Web Resources for Teachers to Try this Summer

Richard Byrne, author of the Free Technoloy for Teachers blog, compiled 77 web resources for teachers to check out over the summer. Spend some time exploring and playing around with these tools. Remember to email me if you'd like to get together this summer for a training, a refresher, or to plan for using technology in your classroom.


Click on the book below to view in full screen.

Introducing the Tech Team

Congratulations to the following teachers for being selected to be part of the NCCS 2011-12 Tech Team:

Conover School - Jeremy Ross

Shuford Elementary - Cindy Geddes

South Newton Elementary - Julie Bowman

Thornton Elementary - Mandy Cobb

Newton-Conover Middle School - Andrea Ward

Newton-Conover High School - Jessica Faltermayer

Newton-Conover Health Science High School - Jody Dixon

NCCS - Amanda McRary

These teachers will be model classrooms for instructional technology and will facilitate district-wide technology trainings on a variety of topics during the 2011-12 school year.

Summer Online PD Opportunity

All educators are invited to attend the Reform Symposium Online Conference, a three-day global online event, focusing on best practices in 21st-century education. This amazing event, featuring world class keynote speakers and other educators who often present in major conferences worldwide, takes place July 29 through July 31, 2011. You can attend this online conference from the comfort of your home or anywhere you have Internet access, and it’s FREE!

This remarkable conference gives you the opportunity to connect with educators and professionals in the field of education worldwide. Over 4,000 educators from many countries attended our conference last year, and more than 8,000 are expected to attend RSCON3. This year’s focus is on presentations that will discuss best practices in education, integrating technology, the impact of social media and much more.

The conference includes 12 Keynote speakers, over 60 thirty-minute presentations, three panel discussions and a one-hour technology “Smack Down” - an exciting session where participants show off their favorite technology tool in rapid-fire 2-minute sessions.  Join for one session or as many as you like! 

You can view the flyer online here: Reformsymposium.com/rscon3-flyer. 

Introducing the "Tech Tips for Teachers" Blog

Welcome to the new Tech Tips for Teachers blog! Each week, I'll post an article to support you with technology integration in your classroom. Topics will be related to ways you can use technology tools to enhance teaching and learning. Guest bloggers will also post articles occasionally. If you are interested in being a guest blogger, please let me know know.

Use the "Follow by Email" section on the right to sign up for email updates. Each time I update the blog, you will automatically get an email update sent to your inbox. If you don't want to get email updates, you can bookmark this site and check back regularly. I'll also include a link to this blog in my Teaching with Technology Glogs.

In the future, if you're trying to find a previous blog posting, you can type a keyword into the "Search this Blog" box to find it. You can add comments to blog updates in the Comments section below each post. I encourage you to add comments if you'd like to share examples of ways you're using technology in your classroom, pose questions for other blog readers, or share your own strategies and resources for instructional technology.

I wanted to let you know that Edutopia is publishing a weekly Summer Professional Development Blog series. Check in regularly throughout the summer for updates.

Stay tuned for the first official blog post next week which will be geared toward resources to help you with planning for technology integration over the summer.