Techie Tuesday - Version 1.6 - Audioboo and Feature Techie of the Week

Welcome back, all!  I'm hoping that by now you are getting a little more familiar with your iPads.  I know you are not "Techie Pros" and I do not expect you to be.  I would not consider myself a "Techie Pro" either.  I prefer the term, "Techie Enthusiast".  Learning new technologies takes a certain time commitment that not everyone has at this moment.  We have been "blessed" with some snow days as of late, so I am hoping you have taken a little bit of time to get familiar with your iPad.

When working with your iPad, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the capabilities, shortcuts, uses, apps, etc. In fact, some of you might feel like doing this to your iPad.

IT IS OKAY TO BE OVERWHELMED!  How many times have you said that to one of your students in class???  Just take a deep breath and prioritize your needs/wants for your classroom.  What is the main activity that wish you could make more streamlined and easier?  If you have an idea, there is an app for that. You just have to have an idea of what you want to do, and don't hesitate to ask!

Audioboo is a recording app that can be used in so many ways in the classroom. ”Schools and universities around the world are embracing Audioboo as the easiest, most effective way to give teachers and students a voice.” The corresponding website has education channels, examples, and some great ideas. The app is available for iOS devices and Android devices and has an Edmodo app as well.  (Credit:  www.lastbackpack.com)  This past week I had my PreCalculus classes record something they remembered about exponential or logarithmic functions from when they took Algebra II.  This would be a pre-test before we started the next chapter.  Then they shared their recordings with me, which I put into a ThingLink image.  The classes really enjoyed the final product as they were able to listen to their classmates recordings.  (There may have been some ribbing going on as well.  Ha!)  The goal is to revisit these recordings at the end of the chapter to see if the students can add to their original knowledge.

Here are some other great ideas for using Audioboo in your classroom are:

• Students read a book and record a review.
• Music students record practice time.
• Foreign Languages record fluency practice.
• Teachers record assignment feedback.
• Social Studies have student recite the Preamble.
• Computer teachers have students create step-by-step instructions of how to create something using Microsoft Office.
• FACS teachers have students record how to follow a recipe.

What could you do in your class?

FEATURE TECHIE OF THE WEEK:  Mr. Painter

I'm excited about the prospects of more technology in my classroom.  As educators, we can never become complacent or approach an "I've got this teaching thing figured out!" point of view.   At this point, I've taken a "no fear" approach. I'm experimenting with new apps on the iPad everyday. I'm trying not to allow the technology to intimidate me. Some of the apps I like, some I don't. Some of the apps that I DO like, may not be ideal for my classroom yet.

One thing that I am excited about is the prospect of shifting all of my written assignments to digital submissions. I really like Evernote, Dropbox, Pages, and Top Note Pro for student writing in a digital environment.  None of these apps are perfect, but they do coordinate nicely together, providing plenty of options for both student and teacher. My hope for later this year or next school year is to operate in a digital environment where my students can easily submit writing to me and I can effectively annotate/grade their work digitally.  

Techie Tuesday - Version 1.5 - Digital Learners--Students, and Teachers

Good day to you all!  Sorry this is a little late for your Tuesday, but I figured better late than never, right Lance!  I'm hoping that you are staying safe with all this wonderful snow we have been having.  I think an email from Cindy really sums it up for everyone.

Well, with all your "FREE" time, take the time to brush up on some of your technology!  Last week I mentioned the wonderful website/app named ThingLink.  I know a couple of you have looked into it and have found how interesting and useful it is for the classroom.  I decided to give my PreCalculus classes an activity that required them to create their own ThingLink.  Below are a couple of their finished products.

(Created by Destiny D. and Edgar E.)

(Created by Luke S., Nick L., and Derek C.)

I'm trying to create more activities similar to this so my students can show their creativity.  If you have not seen the Model Schools Rigor/Relevance Framework, you will notice that this activity falls into a higher category than just memorizing content.

NEW to the Techie Tuesday blog post!  I am going to start having a "guest" post each week.  My goal is to get a teacher in our building or corporation to share an interesting app or website they use in class.  These posts can include a success story, or better yet, a failed attempt at implementing technology in class.  Some times these are the best stories!  Sharing a "fail" can help a teacher learn how to make adjustments to what is a neat activity.  Remember, it is okay to fail, and to let the students see you fail.

FEATURE TECHIE OF THE WEEK - Mrs. Desiree Swaim

"Quizlet is a FREE app with flash card sets for all different subject.  I can type in "Mitosis" in the search bar and many different sets will come up.  I set up review stations and use Quizlet at one of the stations.  Here students can study key terms in Quizlet.  They can quiz themselves in the 'Learn' feature or study in the 'Scatter' feature.  You can also save your favorite sets to use from year to year.  Students can also get this app on their smartphone or ipod."



Thanks for sharing, Dez!  I'd like to add that you could have students create THEIR own flash cards through this website as well!  Next time you think about having the kids create flash cards for class, have them try their hand at creating digital flash cards using Quizlet.  Much more fun, and accessible, for the students.

Techie Tuesday - Version 1.4 - ThingLink and Action Movie FX

Welcome to the 4th installment of Techie Tuesday!  Today I would like to cover a couple of apps that are quick and easy to use.  I like to use them both for class AND for fun!  Please share how you think you could use them in your classroom.

1.  ThingLink (FREE) - Thinglink is a neat app AND website where you can make picture images interactive.  This is a pretty cool way to give more meaning to a picture.  Have you ever wanted to explain a picture in more detail?  With ThingLink, you can insert text, links to other webpages, or YouTube links into your image. Wow!  Talk about powerful!  Here are 65 ways in which to use Thinglink.  This past weekend I created an activity for my PreCalculus students to do in class (if we ever return).  My hopes is that this is a fun, yet engaging activity for my students.  I mean, it has to be better than doing a worksheet or math problems out of a book, right?!?!  Well, we will see.  My goal is to have students start creating and synthesizing their knowledge in more ways than just paper-and-pencil and quizzes and tests.  I believe ThingLink can help students develop 21st Century Skills and increase their enthusiasm for learning.  Whenever I get into graphing, this is one of the areas I really enjoy using ThingLink.  (I really need to use it more.)  Below is an example about "Fun Facts of Europe".  How could you use ThingLink in your classroom?

2.  Action Movie FX (FREE) - This is a fun app for the iPad and other Apple devices.  I first used it for personal uses before I used it in the classroom.  (Yes, I started by blowing up family members so they might get the hint about talking too much.)  Have you ever had one of those days in class when the students just won't stop talking?  It doesn't matter what you do, they just can shut it.  Well, this is where I decided to introduce it to the classroom.  

Believe it or not, the students actually got the hint and stopped talking.  There was another day when the students were really struggling with the topic in class.  So I decided to share this video later that evening.

I have also used Action Movie FX in a couple of my math music videos and even over this past Christmas Break.  Oh man, some days I have too much time on my hands.  Feel free to share with everyone else how you can use Action Movie FX for your classroom, or yourself.  :)

Web Tools 2.0 -- What Web Tools?

This past Wednesday I was lucky enough to join a few colleagues for an in-service hosted by John Kuglin in Monticello, Indiana.  This will mark about the 10th different time that I have participated in one of John's presentations.  It all started back in the fall of 2011 when I joined a fellow teacher of mine for the "Indiana Educators 10 Days Project".  Instantly I was engaged!  I felt I could see a way to make my subject of high school math not so boring and monotonous.  Since that first day I have been in contact with John through email and through other presentations that he has presented.  Each time I participate and then leave one of his programs I always feel invigorated and ready to take the education technology world by storm!  That is...until I get to my school computer.

As an example, after one of John's in-services last year I learned how to incorporate YouTube videos (blocked at my school) through multiple different outlets.  However, here were my results:

• TedEd (website is not blocked, but one cannot view the YouTube videos = Blocked)
• Popcorn Maker (same as above)

This year I have enjoyed losing the filter battle to these wonderful web sites:

• Thinglink (Blocked)
• EdCanvas (Blocked)
• Weebly (Blocked)
• Cover-It-Live (Blocked)
• Google Docs (Blocked)
• Anything Google except "Search" and "Images" (Blocked)

Who really blocks all of the GREAT things that Google has to offer?  I was hoping to use Google Forms this year with my Flipped Lessons so I could get a quick survey of how the students felt they understood the lesson's material.  Yeah...not so much.  I have since moved on past this unfortunate non-use of Forms.  I figured I wouldn't miss it.  That is, until I read this article by Kevin Brookhouser.  It was titled, "10 Sentences Google Apps Teachers Never Hear".  Man did that make me even more frustrated.  I felt (and still feel) like I am missing a boat here.  But then I realized, it isn't me that is getting hurt.  I'm not the one that has to learn to collaborate, create, and share knowledge with strangers all around the globe.  Nope, the ones that will be hurt are my students.

I guess I'll just have to keep teaching mathematics the same way, each day, every year, because math never changes.  It was dry and boring when I was in high school and it is still dry and boring as I teach it now.  I'll keep sticking with the teacher-led direct instruction from the front of the class.  My classes will still learn math the same way as their mother and father, or older sister and brother.  By the wonderful method of "drill-and-kill" worksheets and 20-25 problems from their book.  And then I will assess them through a standardized test at the end of each chapter.  Yeah...that's the ticket!  

At this moment, I feel very disenchanted and held back because of our school's filter.  There have been numerous times throughout this year that I have spent a couple hours at night creating something "engaging" and "exciting" for my students so we can get away from the drill-and-kill worksheets and book work during class.  I'll double-check that I can open it on my computer first.  If it opens (50% of the time), then I will pass it along to my students and they will try the activity on their student laptops.  Success rate = 25-40% of the time.  Therefore, my overall efficiency rating is about 25%.  Awesome!  Excellent!  I'm so glad I can take time away from my kids at home to create something for my kids at school only to have it blocked.  Ugh......

I guess I wouldn't be so frustrated if this was an issue with other area high schools.  There in lies the problem.  Plenty of other schools have the ability to pull these resources from the web.  However, we are not.  Why is that?  Even more upsetting is I never get a full fledged answer from any of my administration.  

Frustrating...

Nonetheless, I will keep forging ahead in education technology.  I will keep looking for new and innovative ways to engage my students.  Not because I have to, but because I want to.  I want to find that resource(s) that makes the kids want to come to my math class.  I want math to be as exciting as an elective class to attend.  Therefore, I WILL continue looking and creating and trying, and looking and creating and trying, and so on.  I'm sure there will be more failures along the way and more battles to fight against the dark tyranny of school networks and filters.  But not because I  have to... but because I want to.