Finally, Something Good On The Radio

It was said long ago that video killed the radio star. I dunno anything about that. But, radio (ok, podcasts) are alive and well. And lucky for you there are several good ones out there to listen to online or download on the go.

I want to highlight 2 new ones. It is a little self-serving as I am the host of one and a commentator on another but I hope you will look at the content and see some value there.

Edtech Radio-My first shot at my own show. We talk about everything in the world of #edtech. The first 3 episodes focused in on the popularity of flipping the classroom and why some (myself included) don't exactly think it's the right way to go. I also did a show on how to get more out of educational technology conferences. We've got several shows coming up on topics ranging from is free always best to keeping information safe. And you can always tweet me your show ideas. @web20classroom

Edchat Radio-This is the radio home of #edchat. Each week we break down each chat and talk about the conversation. It's a great way to catch up with what we've been talking about on each chat and you can hear the opinions of the founders and moderators too.

None of this would be possible with out the BAM Radio Network. They have tons of shows and segments related to a wide variety of educational topics. Definitely check out all their offerings.

photo credit: Brandon Christopher Warren via photopin cc

The Administrator PR Machine

It seems like everywhere we turn, education is under the microscope. From members of Congress to the mother next door, everyone has an opinion on education. What we should do and how we should do it. And, to me at least, the focus is on the negative. "This is what's wrong." "Why aren't these test scores better?" "What was that teacher thinking?" 

But as someone who spends a lot of time walking the hallways and seeing kids in the classroom, there is so much good out there. I see kids doing amazing things everyday that we can share with our school community, our parents and the world. 

It's all about Public Relations. 

And while we might not think of a school needing a PR rep., its true now more than ever. The world needs to see whats happening behind those walls. The job of PR in our schools can be all our responsibility. However, there is really one person, who is well suited that we can turn to to be our PR Machine. 

The Principal.

Look at any celebrity and you might think of PR as a full-time job. For the Principal, it doesn't have to be. You walk the halls everyday and see great things. More often than not you have that powerful device, the mobile phone, you carry with us everywhere. Why not put it to use for more than just email and capture the moments during the day that can help tell your story. And doing that is easier than you think. 

Twitter-I have been advocating the use of Twitter in the classroom and for professional growth for a while now but even easier than that, it can be used by the administrator to tweet about Ms. Smith's Kindergarteners and their weather project or to tell the community about the service project the seniors did. In 140 characters you can change the way people see inside the building and give valuable insight into the good things. 

Facebook-We usually see Facebook as a place to like our game show  or store but it can be a great place to share stories from the classrooms. The principal could post photos, videos, firsthand accounts of sports stories, academic bowl victories (or defeats) and special moments. This could also be a place to invite kids and the community to share their thoughts as well. 

Instagram-With the power of our phones in our pocket, we can capture and share those moments in our day that are fun, special or just plain awesome. The Principal PR Machine can capture those moments with the flick of an app and share then with the world. 

Blogs-While a great place for reflection the blog can be a way to capture, day-by-day, week-by-week, the stories we see when we walk around our buildings. But one of the neatest projects I've seen is a school that invites, everyday, a teacher, student or staff member to share a moment of learning they remember that had an impact on them. What a great idea! Sharing with the community and being open about our learning can help change the conversation. 

Youtube-Take a look at the front page of Youtube and you will see videos there that you just have to scratch your head and wonder "who watches this stuff?" Take some video, instantly upload and you share those moments that matter and help shape the story that your school tells. 

It doesn't take a lot of skill or time to share your story. All it takes is getting out, walking around and looking for the good moments to share with the world. 

photo credit: kk+ via photopin cc

A Wrap Up Of Day 1 At #FETC

I've had the pleasure of spending time at the Florida Educational Technology Conference, better known as FETC. Held in Orlando, educators from across Florida and the world really, are here talking educational technology and learning together.

Today was filled with lots of sessions and even a presentation from yours truly. Below are the links to everything I did today.

Seeing Tomorrow, Today-David Thornburg
Notes-http://bit.ly/fetctomtoday
In this session we examined the pitfalls of purchasing technology today and how schools and districts can make better purchasing decisions.

Personal Learning Networks-Holly Atkins
Notes-http://bit.ly/plnsfetc
While I am no expert on Personal Learning Networks I do speak a lot about them and profess their usage so I enjoy to hear other perspectives on them and their creation. In this session, the presenters focused on Twitter and Pintrest. While I haven't spend a lot of time there, I can see why Pintrest is popular with educators. (And if you are looking for a more ed-friendly Pintrest like tool, check out Educlipper.)

Web Tools-Adam Bellow
Notes-http://bit.ly/webtoolsfetc
I consider Adam a really good friend of mine and anywhere I can catch him present I do because he always teaches me something new. This session did not disappoint. Amongst all the web tools shared, there were several I did not know about including Ujam, Desmos, and Fotor, each of which I can wait to dive into. There were lots of take aways here so be sure to check out the notes for all the info.

Creating Student and Teacher Friendly Social Media Guidelines-Steven Anderson
This was my session from today. I wanted to share the methods I have found with other schools and districts in creating positive social media guidelines and best practices. I try to lay out the steps that make sense but also allow for flexibility for customization. Below is the presentation along with some links for review.


The article I wrote for Edutopia and Facebook

Sample Social Media Guidelines and Best Practices

That was Day 1. Check back later on for the wrap up of Day 2 and my final thoughts from here at FETC. 

So...You Wanna Be A Good Digital Citizen

This is an update from a post a wrote a while back. I've included some new resources to check out. 

Recently, my district began a huge initiative to combat bullying/cyberbullying and to help students become more aware of the choices they make both in their face-to-face lives and their digital decisions as well. There is no one right way or right answer that will stop the problems. However, I do believe that the classroom and our schools are the places where tough conversations need to be had.

I have been collecting several resources and I want to share. By no means is this all the stuff that is out there. And some of it may work or may not. The point is to find something (curriculum, activity, website, video, etc) and start having the conversations, not just with students but with teachers, administrators, parents and our communities.

To start, I want to share this powerful video that was recently shared with me. It's all about the choices our kids are faced with everyday and the consequences of their actions.


So besides the interactive nature of the video (which is pretty neat) there are some tough issues here and no doubt these are some of the digital decisions our kids are making each and every day.

How can teachers and schools help? As with most things, education is key. Understanding where kids are in today's Digital Society can be a helpful first step. PBS did a masterful job capturing teen voices in their series, Digital_Nation. You can hear from teens themselves, parents and other experts as they discuss what it means to be a Connected Kid.

There are lots of curricula out there to use in the classroom.You can do a quick search and find lots of free (and paid) stuff. However, I believe one of the best are the lessons and activities from Common Sense Media. They have a full, K-12, free curriculum you can use and adapt to your needs. There are even alignments to the ISTE NETs, AASL, and the English Common Core.

Another way to show students the power their digital footprint has is to check out a great interactive from The Discovery Channel, Your Digital Footprint. In it users are posed with different scenarios and the site shows the impact of that choice and how their image, information and more are recorded and stored. It's more about awareness and understanding than avoidance.

Here are some more just general resources to check out.

• Open Thinking Wiki-Media Literacy-Alex Couros has curated lots of great information on a wide array of digital literacy topics like understanding where information comes from, combating cyberbullying and more. 
• Digital Citizenship Network- One of the best parts of this site are the Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship. There are lots of great links here too. 
• Own Your Space: Keep Yourself And Your Stuff Safe Online-This free ebook from Microsoft is geared toward teens and goes over many different aspects of their digital lives. 
• Understanding You Tube and Digital Citizenship- Launched recently, Google has created a series on how to be a good You Tube user, including how to protect copyrighted content, how to report misuse and more. 
• Digital Citizenship And More-Looking for more? This site has you covered!

These are just a few resources. I have many more in my Diigo links and you can find that here. I also have a post that I wrote awhile back about Taking Care Of Your Digital Self, that has more ideas on knowing about your online identity.

For me, we need to start having and keep having lots of conversations. Everyday, educators all over the country are asked to use digital tools with kids and increasingly, kids are becoming more and more connected. The earlier we start talking and the more we keep talking, again, not to just our kids but our teachers, administrators, parents and the community, the easier it will be to deal with these digital issues as they arise.

These are some of my favorite resources. What are yours? Or what are you doing to start these conversations where you are? Leave some comments below.

Formative Assessments Are Easier Than You Think!

When I was teaching science one of the best lessons I learned was about formative assessment.

In my first year of teaching I taught the way I was told to teach. Deliver content to my students, assess at the end, remediate if necessary. With that cycle, I always had kids who were behind, who never seemed like they could catch up.

I was talking with a teacher friend the summer after my first year and she suggested something simple. Put a large piece of paper next to the door. Give every student a pack of sticky notes. On the way out the door they could put their thoughts about what they didn't quite get or what they were still having trouble with. They could leave their name or not. Either way it gave valuable insight to how the students were learning but also could help shape the lesson for the next day.

What a difference that made.

The following school years that board became an important place for myself and my students. It provided them a way to tell me what they needed and a place for me to reflect on my teaching and give my students what they needed.

Now, as 1:1 and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) are taking over our schools, its becoming even easier to formatively assess what our students know and for our students to leave feedback as to what they need.

Here are a few sites and apps to help with formative assessments...

Online Sticky Notes-Just like my physical space in my classroom there are lots of virtual sticky note sites out there. Two of my favorites are Wallwisher and Lino. These provide a virtual corkboard for students to leave notes of questions or comments on their learning. They are easy to set up and free. Best part, kids don't have to have an account to leave a note and they can do it any time, anywhere. All they need is the address. (So you don't even have to be a 1:1 classroom or BYOD. The kids could do them from home.)

Backchannels-Hugely popular at conferences and other educational gathering the backchannel provides a way for participants to share in conversation while participating in learning. In the classroom they can be a way for kids to collaborate without shouting across the room. In terms of formative assessments, questions at various points through the lesson could be posted there and kids could respond. My favorite backchannel service is TodaysMeet. Again, simple to set up (all you need is a room name and to decide how long you want the room to be open). Free as well, its available any time, anywhere.

Understood It-A new-to-me service, this one is elegantly simple. The teacher creates an account (for free, 5 questions per month) and gives the students a unique address. Then during the lesson the kids can hit a button to show they understand it or they are confused. The teacher can see the results in real time. The more kids who are confused, the higher the graph. Instant feedback that the teacher can use to change the scope of the lesson.

Poll Everywhere- Another one of my favorites, simply because of the variety of uses and methods of submitting responses. Similar to the others, the teacher can create a simple feedback poll or leave the question open ended. The students can respond via text message, website or even Twitter. Again, the point here is we can capture the feedback from the students using a variety of methods, almost instantly. Another great feature of Poll Everywhere is the data analysis you get. You can export results to create more ways of analyzing data. (Like if the questions are open ended, you could export the results to put them into a Wordle to see what terms are showing up the most.)

Socrative- This one is quickly become a go-to app for formative assessments for me. The teacher creates an account and a room (for, you guessed it, free). Then the students go to the site (either through the app or through a browser), enter the room number and they see a question or a open response question to answer. I like this one a lot because of the variety of choices for questions to answer. One is even called Exit Ticket where kids can quickly summarize what they learned and tell you what they need for tomorrow.

Quick and easy, five tools you can use tomorrow in your classroom to help improve formative assessment.

These certainly aren't all. What are some of your favorite sites or apps to help with formative assessment in your classroom? Do you have a suggestion about formative assessments? Leave some feedback below.

photo credit: Technology & Social Change via photopin cc

Newly Posted Favorite Resources 01/13/2013

• Photo Pin : Free Photos for Bloggers via Creative Commons

  tags: photos creativecommons favorite

• Five Steps to Starting a Class Blog in 2012

  tags: blog blogging favorite

• Free Technology for Teachers: Five Ways to Visually Explore Wikipedia

  tags: Wikipedia favorite

• The Mobile Native: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Toolbox

  tags: byod favorite

• Over 25 Links Uncovering Project Based Learning Resources On The Web

  tags: project based learning PBL favorite

• Using Google+ To Improve Your Teaching

  tags: google teaching favorite

• Personal Learning Networks for Educators: 10 Tips

  tags: PLN favorite

• Infographic: Get More Out Of Google | HackCollege

  tags: google search infographic favorite

• Learning with 'e's: Five tools for global educators

  tags: tools favorite

• Copyright and Creative Commons | Common Craft

  tags: copyright creativecommons favorite

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

A Class You'll Be Excited To Take. #ETMOOC

It's been a few years since I last took a formal "class." My entire Masters degree was done online back in 2009 and 2010 and that wasn't all that traditional at the time. Now it is almost the norm. But I do enjoy learning and I am very interested in the ideas of MOOCs or Massively Open Online Courses and have been for a while.

If you aren't familiar with MOOCs the idea is that major universities (like Harvard, MIT, Georgetown and others) offer courses from their faculty  free, and online, for any one to take. The courses could have hundreds to thousands of students in them. There are several websites, like edX, Coursera, and Udacity that offer these courses to the masses. The beauty of this is, the topics are wide but deep. Interested in physics, computer programming  Greek History, copyright or something in between? You can find it and take it...for free...from some of the brightest minds and best universities on the planet.

So, when I saw #ETMOOC, I had to jump at the chance to take part.

What is #ETMOOC you ask?

It is a MOOC with a focus on educational technology and media. The idea is that we learn from each other and create our own paths of learning. Each week there are several topics (like Sharing is Accountability  Crap Detection, Becoming A Networked Leader) to explore and opportunities for growth and learning with everyone in the #ETMOOC community. Sessions take place in Blackboard Collaborate and are archived and repeated if you can't make the time. Also there are shared activities to do and share. A weekly Twitter chat on Thursdays will help expand our knowledge and sharing as well.

I am excited to take part and learn with and from everyone else.

You can learn more about the development of #ETMOOC in this post from one of the creators, Alec Couros. You can also visit the #ETMOOC website to learn more about what will be covered and sign up to participate. Oh and you can follow the #ETMOOC hashtag on Twitter to see what people are saying there.

The course starts next week (Jan 14) so be sure to sign up soon.