Free Photo Resources, Social Media, and Parent Teacher Conferences... in Education Today

Some interesting ideas I discovered recently about free photos, using social media in a school district, and improving parent teacher conferences...

People, Woman, Coffee... Meeting / Pexels / CC0 1.0

20 Free Stock Photo Resources
http://www.picmonkey.com/blog/free-stock-photos/
from the PicMonkey blog at http://www.picmonkey.com/blog/

PicMonkey--my favorite photo-editing tool--recently shared 20 Free Stock Photo Resources. Some of the sites you probably already know (Flickr, Pixabay, Unsplash, ...), but others are new (to me, at least).

• Albumarium

• Magdeleine

• Negative Space

• Pexels

• Free Food Photos

• KaboomPics

• and more

(Be sure to read the licensing notes.)

Social Media Explained (with Donuts) / Chris Lott / CC BY 2.0

4 Steps to Mastering Social Media
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/10/05/master-social-media-753/
from eSchool News at http://www.eschoolnews.com/

A school district superintendent shares how his district successfully uses social media to improve community engagement.

Read about the strategies he uses:

• Develop a plan

• Tell your story

• Encourage dialogue

• Avoid pitfalls

Parent Teacher Conference / Innovation_School / CC BY-NC 2.0

5 Resources for Parent-Teacher Conferences
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/parent-teacher-conference-resources-matt-davis
from Edutopia at http://www.edutopia.org/

Are you pleased with how your parent-teacher conferences went this Fall? Would you like to modify your approach a bit? Check out the resources gathered by Matt Davis at Edutopia.

The tips include ideas for principals, teachers, and parents. Topics include measuring student progress, questions parents should ask, conference forms, and much more. I think you may likely find some good ideas here.

K12 Online Conference 2015 is Virtually Unstoppable!

www.k12onlineconference.org / www.youtube.com/k12online / @k12online / #k12online15

When is the K12 Online Conference 2015 scheduled?

• The pre-conference keynote is available Monday, October 12.
• The dates for the remaining sessions are October 19 to October 30.

What is the cost?

• It is free. Period.

How do I register?

• You do not register for this conference.

 
How do I know what's happening?

• Follow the blog at http://k12onlineconference.org/
• Follow on Twitter at @k12online
• Keep an eye on the 2015 conference schedule at http://k12onlineconference.org/2015-schedule/

 
Can I view previous year’s presentations? 

• Yes... http://k12onlineconference.org/category/2014/

There's so much happening... How do I catch it all?

• Catch up with the conference sessions as you have time. Links to the presentations are available on the schedule page (http://k12onlineconference.org/2015-schedule/). You can also view the presentations on YouTube.

Don't miss this opportunity for outstanding professional development for teaching and learning with instructional technology!

It's back! Connected Educator Month is here again.

Connected Educator Month 2015

Connected Educator Month (http://connectededucators.org/) is here again... and there are many opportunities to learn and to connect with other educators.

How can you participate? Why should you participate?

• Check out the Connected Educator Month calendar (http://connectededucators.org/calendar/) to discover the upcoming activities that you want to join.
• Help spread the word (http://connectededucators.org/supporter-toolkit/).
• Join the Book Club (http://connectededucators.org/book-club/).
• Use edConnectr (http://edconnectr.connectededucators.org/#), the new service to connect with other educators.
• Examine videos, links, and other resources (http://connectededucators.org/briefs/) to help you and your district connect all year long.
• Learn about other connected educators through their profiles (http://connectededucators.org/innovations/connected-educator-profiles/).
• Read the blog (http://connectededucators.org/innovations/).
• Listen to Connected Educators Radio (http://www.bamradionetwork.com/connected-educators/) on BAM Radio (http://www.bamradionetwork.com/).
• Get involved at the Connected Educators website (http://connectededucators.org/).
• Follow Connected Educator Month discussions on Twitter (https://twitter.com/) at #ce15

Educators around the world participate in professional development opportunities as part of Connected Educator Month. Developed by the U.S. Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov/) and its partners, this initiative offers activities to educators at all levels. The expanded partnerships and enhanced programming in 2015 should reach even more educators.

Highlights of Connected Educator Month in 2014 included:

• hosted 800 events during the month,
• mentioned on 6 million web pages,
• reached educators in 139 countries and
• every two days counted 15 million tweets.

For more information on Connected Educator Month check out...

• welcome videos from Office of Educational Technology Director Richard Culatta and Digital Engagement Strategist Sara Trettin for 2014 (http://connectededucators.org/welcome-to-connected-educator-month-from-the-office-of-educational-technology/) and 

• the post (http://smartblogs.com/education/2012/12/07/building-connected-educator-month/) and video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOE2kWyhqMo) by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (http://smartblogs.com/tag/Arne-Duncan) (who hosted his first Twitter (https://twitter.com/) chat as part of the 2013 celebration).

See previous posts I have written about Connected Educator Month:

• Lots of Good Information for Educators This Month (http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/search/label/%23ce14)
• Connected Educators Benefit From and Inspire Others (http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/old-school-room-catherine-snodgrass-cc.html)
• Connected Educator Month. All month. All free. All around the world. (http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/connected-educator-month-all-month-all.html)
• Good Opportunities for Learning Online (http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2013/09/good-opportunities-for-learning-online.html)

Virtual Field Trips, Making Banners, and IFTTT Recipes... in Education Today

Some interesting ideas I discovered recently about virtual field trips, making banners, and IFTTT recipes...

School Bus / Marobl (Pixabay) / CC0 1.0

Ten of the Best Virtual Field Trips
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/04/07/ten-of-the-best-virtual-field-trips/
by Meris Stansbury
http://www.eschoolnews.com/author/mstansbury/
April 7, 2013

These virtual field trips cover a variety of topics.

• Learn about the Arctic.
• Maintain a travel journal as you choose which of a list of countries to visit.
• Use Google Earth to travel with literary characters.
• Learn how Hershey's makes their delicious chocolates.
• Explore the Louvre... including some rooms closed to the public.
• Climb Mt. Everest.
• Tour the Museum of Natural History.
• View panoramas around the world.
• Visit the moon or Mars or the White House.

Virtual field trips save time and money.
Add the fact that they are interesting, fun, and engage our students.
If you have not used virtual field trips recently, you may want to check this article for some very good ideas.

YouTube Banner / Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

How to Make a Banner
http://www.picmonkey.com/blog/make-a-banner/
by PicMonkey Staff

I use PicMonkey to edit my photos.
I also create collages and simple cover pages with it.
This article shares ideas for using PicMonkey to make banners.
When might you want to create a banner?
How about...

• Facebook cover?
• YouTube banner?
• Twitter header?
• Instructions for student projects?

The instructions include:

• backgrounds (plain or patterned)
• overlaps for graphics text design and tips, and
• suggestions for "standing out from the crowd."

Check out their examples... then try making your own banner!

IF... THEN... / Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

11 Great IFTTT Recipes for Tracking NASA News, Photos and Space Exploration
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2982819/web-apps/11-great-ifttt-recipes-for-tracking-nasa-news-photos-and-space-exploration.html#tk.nl_pcwbest
and
5 Handy IFTTT Recipes for Gmail Users
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2955339/web-apps/5-handy-ifttt-recipes-for-gmail-users.html
both by Liane Cassavoy
http://www.pcworld.com/author/Liane-Cassavoy/

Have you have tried IFTTT yet? IFTTT automatically makes connections between apps that would take you several steps to accomplish manually.

You may want to check these IFTTT recipes:

• Track the International Space Station.
• Have NASA's image of the day sent to you automatically.
• Find the cell phone you misplaced in your home.
• Save Gmail attachments automatically.
• And more...

Have some fun with IFTTT. :)

Exit Tickets, Math Centers, Parent-Teacher Communications, and Tools for Student-Centered Classrooms... in Education Today

Some interesting ideas I discovered recently about exit tickets, math centers, parent-teacher communications, and tools for student-centered classrooms...

Exit Ticket / Phil and Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

Back to School: Put Exit Ticket Strategies to Good Use
http://edblog.smarttech.com/2015/08/back-to-school-put-exit-ticket-strategies-to-good-use/
by Heather Lamb
http://edblog.smarttech.com/author/heather-lamb/
August 18, 2015

Do you use an exit ticket strategy in your classroom? Or have you thought about trying the idea? Do you ask your students to write reflections about what they learned in class that day? Some teachers ask for answers to particular questions. Others use clicker systems to gather their exit ticket data.

Why do we use exit tickets? They help us to learn what our students have learned. And they ensure that we hear from all our students.

In this article Heather Lamb discusses exit ticket strategies. She also provides examples.

Math Partners / WoodleyWonderWorks / CC BY 2.0

6 Ideas for Creating Math Centers
http://dailygenius.com/math-centers/
by Beth Holland
http://dailygenius.com/author/bethholland/
August 17, 2015

Learning centers are useful in classrooms. They give students opportunities to work independently or in groups. Centers can be used when students need to review skills. Teachers can differentiate the content and skills their students are practicing. Learning centers are often a good way to help students use technology as they explore, review, and solve problems.

View the video provided with this article to see math centers in action. Read how teachers create math centers using technology (SMARTBoards, screencasting, Explain Everything, Book Creator, Padlet, Popplet, ...) I think you will find some useful tips from Beth Holland.

Communication is the Key / Sebastien Wiertz / CC BY 2.0

Successful Parent Teacher Communication Tips: 3 Important Times We Have to Talk
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/parent-teacher-communication/
by Vicki Davis
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/bio/
August 19, 2015

Vicki Davis shares ideas to help parent-teacher communications be more effective. Read her tips for communication at the beginning of parent-teacher relationships, ongoing through the school year, and when problems arise.

Emma High Fives at In and Out / Julie Jordan Scott / CC BY 2.0

5 Fabulous Tools That Will Make Your Class Immediately Student Centered
http://blogush.edublogs.org/2015/08/24/5-fabulous-tools-that-will-make-your-class-immediately-student-centered/
by Paul Bogush
http://blogush.edublogs.org/about/
August 24, 2015

Paul Bogush share 5 tools to help your classroom become student-centered. He tells how to use these tools and why to use them. No reveals here! This is an article I suggest you read... and it is worth the read!

Homes, Apps, Websites, and Tools... in Education Today

Some interesting ideas I discovered recently about calculus-inspired homes, apps, education websites, and techie tools...

An Integral Part of Calculus / Dan Bach / CC BY 2.0

Calculus Inspired a Millionaire Mathematician's Curvy Home

http://www.ulive.com/video/millionaire-mathematicians-curvy-home-was-inspired-by-calculus

Can calculus can help you build a beautiful home?

Dr. James Stewart integrated his home in Toronto, Canada into its environment using calculus. Stewart is the author of many calculus textbooks used in the US and in Canada. His lovely home is known as the Integral House or the house that math built.

Be sure to view this video example of using mathematics in "everyday" life!

Student iPad School - 175 / Brad Flickinger / CC BY 2.0

From Classroom Word Games to Dynamic Graphs, There's an App for That

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/From-classroom-word-games-to-dynamic-graphs-theres-an-app-for-that-320969911.html

Three educators share apps they use to help their students learn. One educator teaches middle school mathematics; another teaches second grade. The third is a librarian. The apps they suggest work well with a variety of subjects  and student ages.

The educators are Cathy Yenca (Texas), Erin Klein (Michigan), and Shannon McClintock Miller (Colorado).

The (very interesting!) apps they recommend are:

• appoLearning
• Book Creator
• Canva
• Casper Focus
• Code
• Desmos
• Livescribe
• Nearpod
• Osmo
• Tackk
• Whatwasthere

Education Website / Pixabay / CC0 1.0

Forty... Now Fifty Educational Websites for Your Summer 2015 Toolkit, Parts 1 through 5

http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/9650

• Part 1...
• https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/part-1-forty-educational-websites-for-your-summer-2015-toolkit/

• Part 2...
• https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/part-2-forty-educational-websites-for-your-summer-2015-toolkit/

• Part 3...
• https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/part-3-forty-educational-websites-for-your-summer-2015-toolkit/

• Part 4...
• https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/part-4-forty-educational-websites-for-your-summer-2015-toolkit/

• Part 5...
• http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/9650

The author...

• names each app
• lists key features/benefits and
• provides the URLs in this list of educational websites.

This list is a treasure chest to explore!

Technology Tools / Pixabay / CC0 1.0

What's New: New Tools for Schools

http://www.techlearning.com/resources/0003/whats-new-new-tools-for-schools/69512

This article provides lists of software, online resources, apps, and hardware to examine. The items listed vary from tools for teachers to tools for districts. Individual teachers and administrators both may find some useful ideas here.

Free Images and Online Presentation Ideas... in Education Today

Some interesting blog posts I discovered recently about free images and creative online presentation ideas...

Female User Icon / http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/10678 / CC0 1.0

Free People Icons for E-Learning
http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/free-people-icons-e-learning/
July 7, 2015
Tom Kuhlmann
http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/about-tom/

Tom Kuhlmann shares how to access free people icons from a variety of sources. But he does more... he also shares examples of how he has used such icons in his work... and he provides instructions about how to properly attribute the icons. Nicely done!

American Flag / Sharon & Nikki McCutcheon / CC BY 2.0

Over 60 Free Stock Images
http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/60-free-stock-images/
July 14, 2015
Tom Kuhlmann
http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/about-tom/

Tom Kuhlmann (again) shares how to access free images for use in our work. This time he also tells how to edit these images.

Presentations / Peter Morville / CC BY 2.0

10 Creative Online Presentation Ideas for eLearning Professionals
http://elearningindustry.com/10-creative-online-presentation-ideas-elearning-professionals
June 18, 2015
Christopher Pappas
http://elearningindustry.com/elearning-authors/christopher-pappas

Pappas share presentation ideas that will engage your audience. He does not simply list tools for creating presentations, but rather he gives advice about how best to engage your learners with those presentations. His blog post is a hub from which you can access many good ideas. This article is a must read for anyone who wants to improve his/her online presentation skills.

Are You Attending the ISTE 2015 Conference? If Not, Visit This Site!

What an interesting week this has been. Our family room was flooded for the first (and I hope the last) time ever. And I taught a week-long workshop about creatively using SMART Boards with a group of talented and hard-working educators. This week definitely had lows and highs. I must also say that even though getting the water out of the family room and cleaning afterwards is not fun, I realize how blessed we are to have had only a few inches of water in the room rather than several feet of water as I have seen on news shows that reported flooding from other storms in other parts of the country.

ISTE Standards for Teachers / Denise Krebs / CC BY 2.0

Since we are still cleaning, today's blog post is just a short note about an excellent site that I visited as I have researched ideas for this Summer's workshops.

T&L Live @ ISTE

http://tltechlive.techlearning.com/

If you are not at ISTE 2015, you probably wish you were. I do! Tech & Learning describes this site:

Tech&Learning Live @ISTE2015 is a curated social media hub that will deliver highlights of the world's largest edtech events as selected by Tech&Learning Media Group's team of journalists.

Read about both the tools and the news of using edtech with our students. My favorite quotation so far is:

Our students' dreams are bigger than the standards we have to cover.

(Sorry that I cannot tell you (yet!) who said that. The post had a photo of the speaker, but I do not recognize her. If anyone can tell me who to credit for that quotation, I would appreciate it.)

You'll find suggestions on attending (and preparing to attend) an ISTE conference in addition to teaching and learning ideas and tools... and lots of links to follow.

Be sure to visit and explore T&L Live @ ISTE
http://tltechlive.techlearning.com/

It's Time to Organize Your Photos!

 

189/365 Memories (+1) / martinak15 / CC BY 2.0

Melanie Pinola tackles some tough issues that arise when we decide that we want to organize our photos:

• clean up duplicates
• automatically share photos
• sync and sort photos
• tackle family photos
• future-proof photos
• put all photos in one location
• use a folder- and file-naming structure that works

She provides suggestions for organizing our photos with links to "how to's" for each suggestion. Pinola makes very good suggestions to handle the challenges of organizing our photos. Well done!



Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Messy Photo Collection
http://lifehacker.com/top-10-ways-to-improve-your-messy-photo-collection-1707830539
May 30, 2015


Melanie Pinola
http://kinja.com/MelaniePinola

Teaching Mathematics (Free Online Assessment Tool and 3 Act Tasks), Content Chunking in eLearning, and a Virtual Tour through a Cave... in Education Today

If you are interested in these topics--virtual tours, teaching mathematics, and/or content chunking--then you may find useful ideas in these posts.

Hang En Cave 6 / Hugh Derr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Take a Virtual Journey through Vietnam's Massive Son Doong Cave
http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/30/8691739/son-doong-cave-vietnam-tour
May 30, 2015

Lizzie Plaugic
http://www.theverge.com/users/lizzieplaugic

National Geographic created a virtual tour of the Son Doong cave, one of the world's largest caves. This cave is so large that clouds can form inside it.

The tour uses text, a site map, sound, zoom, and sharing. You can manipulate the 360-degree image to explore inside the cave. Be sure to also click on the link to the video shot inside the cave by a drone.

Math Wordle Bulletin Board / Enokson / CC BY-NC 2.0

Tap into Teen Minds
https://tapintoteenminds.com/knowledgehooks-free-gameshow-assessment-tool/
May 30, 2015

Kyle Pearce
https://tapintoteenminds.com/about-me/

Check Out @Knowledgehook’s FREE Gameshow Assessment Tool!
A Free Gamified Clicker Tool With Ready-Made Content!

Pearce explores this free online assessment tool that can be used as a game show with questions already prepared... or with questions that you have customized. He shares screen shots and pros and cons of this product that is in beta production. Using your own questions is one of the pros; the fact that only Canadian provinces are listed at this point is one of the cons. He believes this product has much potential.

I tried playing the game both as a teacher and as a student. It was easy--as a teacher--to modify the questions. It was fun--as a student--to play on my smartphone. In the classroom you can project the questions and possible answers for all to see. Students can play as long as they have access to a web browser.

This assessment tool is promoted for reviewing mathematics. However, I agree with Kyle Pearce. There is very good potential here for other subjects as well.


Also... while you are visiting Kyle Pearce's blog, be sure to check out the 3 Act Math Tasks at https://tapintoteenminds.com/3act-math/. Scroll to the bottom of the page to access more than 100 3 Act Math Tasks and related resources. (For more information, see a previous post I wrote about 3 Act Math Tasks (http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2014/09/3-act-tasks-in-classroom.html).)
 
These resources are enough to make me wish I were teaching mathematics again!

Chunking / Phil and Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

6 Advantages of Content Chunking in E-learning -- An Infographic
http://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/advantages-of-elearning-content-chunking-infographic
May 29, 2015

Chinthakunta Krishna
http://blog.commlabindia.com/author/krishnac/

Krishna explains what content chunking is and then presents an infographic to list the importance of using it in elearning (or online learning). Is an infographic necessary to list six items? No. But, it is a good visual tool if you are sharing the idea with others... and I think it's a good reminder to myself to take advantage of chunking when I'm creating online courses.