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Google Classroom integrates Google Apps for Education (GAFE) tools such as  Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Calendar to name a few. It then allows the teacher to distribute and collect assignments paperlessly. Google Classroom with iPads too Google Classroom is not just for Chromebooks, it's a useful management tool for other platforms such as iPads as well. For instance, one great way to collect student creations and manage the workflow on iPads is through Google Classroom. What is Google Classroom and how does it work? Why should I consider Google Classroom? Here are a few reasons why Google Classroom should be considered: It helps organize discussions, assignments, projects, or assessments online. Classroom helps students organize their projects, assignments, tasks, etc. and keep track of upcoming assignments, or assignments already turned in and teacher feedback or grades. Classroom could foster communication. Classroom saves time, especially when working with Go...

QR (Quick Reader) Codes are like bar codes to quickly connect you to text, websites, audio clips, videos, etc. QR Code Reader The device will need a QR Code Reader. My current favorite is still i-Nigma   because I've found that audiences typically do not need to leave their seats to scan the QR Code from the screen I'm presenting from, while other readers have not been as reliable. i-Nigma Available on IOS Available for Android Available on Blackberry Available for Windows   There are also QR Code Readers for Chromebooks and other devices that have cameras. QR Code Generator There are several ways to create QR Codes, however my current favorite is GOQR.me . Below are the instructions for two different ways to use it: Using QR Codes in the Classroom There are many ways QR Codes can be used in the classroom beyond quickly viewing a website. Some ideas and more resouces are listed below: From Tom Barrett's work,  40 Interesting Ways to use QR ...

How you set up and lead one-to-one is based on your vision for one-to-one. So, what's your vision? Why 1:1? How will students use the tech? For what? The purpose of one-to-one is to give the students ubiquitous access to learning. The device itself is not the purpose of one-to-one -- augmenting students' learning is. Therefore, it's essential to know what change you want to see in your district/school that one-to-one can support. What learning do you want to see, and how will technology make that possible? What does that look like?  How will the students use the technology to accomplish those goals? For me, it's simple, I want to see students using their critical thinking to create, collaborate, communicate, and contribute as digital citizens. How does 1:1 connect to and support other district or site initiatives? One-to-one is a learning initiative, and not a technology program. It should not be treated as something separate or as an add-on . ...

There's a lot more to Chromebooks and Google than meets the eye! I've been learning as much as I can about Chromebooks, the Chrome Web Store, and Add-Ons since we are a Google Apps for Education district and have Chromebooks as our One-to-One devices at our high school, and have many carts at our other campuses.  How are Chromebooks different? Chromebooks have a web based management council. This means they: update themselves; boot up in less than 10 seconds; cannot have software installed on them; can install apps and extensions through the Chrome Web Store (including a plethora of Educational Apps); can do most anything online via the Chrome browser; and, start up by logging onto the computer with their Google password, then straight into Chrome. What do we need to know about the Chromebook hardware? There are different types of Chromebooks. The one we are using in our district is the Samsung . They are light (2.42 pounds) and have a battery life of approx...

One-to-One is a learning initiative, not a technology program. It's not about shiny objects; it's about how the technology is used, and giving all students ubiquitous access to use it. Task predicts performance Students can use the same cool tool for lower-level thinking and higher-level thinking. Externally, the product may look the same (such as a presentation made with Prezi), but the learning outcomes would be quite different when they use it for higher-level thinking . If the student task predicts their learning outcomes and academic performance, then creating a learning task at Webb's Depth of Knowledge Levels 3 or 4 is the goal. How do you want students to use technology in the classroom? 9 Wrong And 8 Right Ways Students Should Use Technology on Edudemic focuses on technology, a tool, being used for learning outcomes. Some rights reserved   CC by William M Ferriter -- via Edudemic via George Couros Strong ways for students to use technology...

Formative assessment informs educators about student learning, and when done correctly, it also informs the students how to improve and move forward with their next goal. Teachers must know how to use that information to shape their instruction. We use formative assessments to drive instructional decisions such as changing the approach or changing the target content. Created with Doodle Buddy , prompted by Stem Resources visual Differentiating assessment and instruction I spent February 10th with the awesome staff at Apache Junction High School facilitating staff development . While talking about differentiating assessment and instruction , we addressed the importance of adjusting our teaching style to their learning style . For example, I'm an exceptionally visual person, and like to synthesize and put concepts together in pictures such as the one above. In school, I enjoyed geometry and calculus, but struggled in Algebra II. In fact, I took calculus as my fun electi...

One size does not fit all. Classrooms must be differentiated. Created on iPad using Doodle Buddy What does a 21st century, differentiated classroom look like? A 21st century , differentiated classroom should look and sound different from the classroom of my childhood. It also looks different from one classroom to the next, because there are numerous ways to differentiate. AJHS Differentiated Instruction: Module I on Prezi What procedures and routines help maximize learning? The foundational pieces for managing the 21st century, differentiated classroom are: Increase active student engagement Establish a positive classroom climate Establish task expectations Increase student engagement through individual accountability The presentation was created in preparation for professional development for our high school, which will go to a 1:1 learning environment in 9th grade next year. What procedures, routines, and norms help stru...

Ever wonder what math looks like in an one-to-one environment? Is it just worksheets and math problems online, or is there an advantage to learning math in one-to-one classrooms? Math in one-to-one When I was in Tina Jada's class, I saw students actively engaged, engrossed in their learning the standards at a deeper level, with a context for why they were learning and when they'd use these standards in the real world. Here's a glimpse into her 7th grade class: Different teachers, different approaches, great learning When I was in Valinda Wells' class, I saw more great learning. Her class started with a quick review for students to start on their own. After a short amount of time, Ms. Wells' showed a Screenr video modeling her solving the problems, her metacognition throughout, and how she deduced the correct answer. While she played the video, Wells was free to walk around to provide feedback, check for understanding, or guide learners if needed....

Teching it Up K-12 -- Success Stories, Part 2 In Part 1 of "Teching it Up K-12 -- Success Stories," originally presented at the Arizona CIO/CTO Forum 2011 , we focused on the importance of a learning-centric vision. Our focus for Part 2 was developing a learning culture through peer coaching . Serving others through Peer Coaching With all the professional development needed to sustain one-to-one, PBL, 21st century learning, and individualized instruction, we turned to the Microsoft Peer Coaching model developed by the Peer-Ed team. The beauty of Peer-Ed's training modules was the adaptability to our district's vision. To highlight the "collaboration" role of peer coaches, we called them "collaboration coaches." Collaboration Coaching, Catalyst for Culture Shift We tapped into full time teachers as our collaboration coaches. They focused on creating a 21st century learning environment in their own classrooms, while also working ...

We see districts who have an established learning culture, and their classrooms are filled with authentic learning experiences. How did they get there? Our story Jon Castelhano and I have the privilege of presenting at the Arizona CIO/CTO Forum 2011 on October 6th. We are going to share how our district closed the door on the 20th century and opened 21st century student-centered classrooms. Our district started teching up the classrooms with engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning, despite the financial climate we are in. The next three posts will share about our journey, and some of the key game-changers for us. The focus and the vision Our district focuses on our learners. We ask, what's good for our learners? What do they want? What can we do to improve their education? If you listen to their answers , they will tell you about our vision. Leadership Those in leadership roles in the district believe in building relationships as the foundation fo...

The Edublogs PLN Teacher Challenge #2 gives me an opportunity to ask what questions I have about PLNs and share some insight. Connecting I want to connect with innovative educators who are passionate about learning-centered classrooms. I am rewarded when I learn and can help others grow, because of the impact it makes on the students. Developing PLNs are like developing friendships. It takes time. It's easier when I have similar goals and common things to discuss, or can respectfully challenge each other with new ideas. I need to contribute as much as I take, otherwise it's an unbalanced relationship, which won't last. My One-to-One PLN Needs My job title is "Technology Integration Specialist" for AJUSD. I spend over half my time in K-12 classrooms working with students and teachers. The other half of my time is spent helping teachers with resources, project based learning, creating/facilitating professional development, and setting goals for future...

I'm filled with excitement as we move beyond the four walls of our classroom to build our Personal Learning Network (PLN). What is a PLN? Watch this fabulous 2 minute interview of Steven Anderson explaining the difference between a PLC and PLN, and its power. Our Growth In the past year, almost 70 AJUSD educators joined Diigo to start sharing resources. Approximately 100 AJUSDers subscribed to blogs in Google Reader , and roughly 30 educators started Twitter accounts, including me . One-to-One We started moving to a one-to-one environment at Cactus Canyon Junior High (CCJH). Our professional development (PD) throughout the year focused on pedagogy, which naturally included differentiating instruction with technology. Therefore our PD modeled our beliefs. Skype Beyond 4 Walls When we focused on engaging students with authentic purpose, we discussed blogs. There were three PD options for our CCJH educators tiered to their needs. Since this is so new to u...

I love this project because it takes their 1st grade science standards and marries them to the reading, writing, and fluency standards. Students had to research their animals, write riddles, work on fluency, and topped it off with digital illustrations and publishing . Google Docs Drawing Ms. James' students were introduced to the netbook cart and Google Apps Drawing during this project. They loved using the shapes, layering them, and adding color. Collaboration VoiceThread allows others to comment on the project. I was amazed at the comments left by an elementary grade student. This added another dimension to the students' original project. It added a digital audience. Fabulous! Click here to view Part 2 of their Riddles on VoiceThread . Thank you Ms. James for allowing me to collaborate with you on this project. Thank you for allowing your students the opportunity to appropriately integrate technology for learning. 

Recently I read a post by Nick Sauers titled, "Common frustrations with one-to-one ." He found that those who were frustrated with one-to-one had issues with lack of professional development, and weak infrastructure. To his second point, I have to say kudos to our Tech Department because I don't know of any infrastructure issues because everything was exceptionally planned out. To his first point, I have learned a lot about the professional development needed in a one-to-one environment. Adjusting the Professional Development I had been training them in one swoop -- so one training of this or one training of that. Those who were tech savvy, needed that one time of show me the basics and I'll figure the rest out on my own. Well, that was the minority. There were several who would ask me some basic questions about technology integration, and it became clear to me what needed to happen. They needed small doses over a continued amount of time. Ongoing, Small ...

The TitanPad wiki was introduced to me back in September by Nick Sauers during our One-to-One training. What I liked was the immediate setup with no accounts needed, the way it color-coded who wrote what, the easy viewing of the revision history, the options to place passwords on it, and the built in "back channel." TitanPad Wiki used in our Reinventing PBL book study class Process of Introducing During our 4th class , we divided chapter 5 into sections ( jigsawed it ), and wrote down what what struck us about the section. After modeling it as a class, we were able to divide and conquer the remaining chapters for our next class. High School Teacher Tours TitanPad After seeing how easy it was it implement, AJHS teacher, Sandy Rollefstad, chose to do this with her AP Biology kids. Her students had a great experience with this. Here's the example of our "Chat" or built-in "Back Channel". She said the first day there was discussi...

Disclaimer : This is not an all encompassing list, nor is it Rocket Science 302. It’s just Tracy’s list for her peeps based on where I see them right now. Furthermore, this list was developed because Lisa wanted to set “10 Tech Goals” for herself over break, and she asked that I email her 10 ideas for goals. So, below is my list and I thought it might benefit others to post here. This list might be out of date in one minute after I hit publish, but as of this exact moment in time, here is my top 10 list for where to set your goals for tech integration. (Note tongue in cheek, but hey, ‘tis the season, right?) First steps: 10) Choose one platform to have kids go to as soon as they walk in the class. IE: Moodle (or Google Apps, GradeBook Wizard, or your Website – see Tracy's SchoolWorld Site as an example of one). Then start using that platform on a daily basis. IE- Lisa chose Moodle . She will have kids do a “Before you Read” Forum post, and a daily post to go with each chapter....

I started with my 4 year old's experience with my iPhone and am moving on to general information. Later, I'll blog my 9 year old's favorites.   The best site I learned about is I Education Apps Review . It breaks Apps into categories which makes it easy to check out! What did Mansfield Independent School District have to work through to get their iTouch initiative started? 1) Why iTouch? State Tech Standards dictated that all Primary have touch screens, so it was the biggest bang for the buck. They also started it as an ESL initiative and then as a Special Ed initiative, in addition to their one-to-one initiative. 2) Purchasing considerations? They had to get quotes for iTouch devices (8G), skins, covers, 20 unit sync/charging stations, and apps. (They found out after-the-fact that you can purchase them with a built-in screen cover for $5 and they wished they had done that). They would use a PO to buy bulk purchases straight to Apple which would automatically qualify t...