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Our latest blog posts…
My Best Failure Yet
I've heard it time and time again in the Tech Coach role, "It's perfectly acceptable to fail." I don't take failing lightly, so this is hard advice to take. But I did it. I failed. And it was wonderful. I am working in a fourth grade classroom with an extremely...
Tech Tip Tuesday: Stop Right-Clicking on Google Images
…Modeling courteous and legal behavior for students is an imperative for teachers as students develop digital citizenship. Students are watching what we do.
Glue, Glitter and Gold – Part 2 (2017)
The providers of technological glitter will continue to produce it. New and fancier glitter will continue to catch our eye. We will continue to be lured by the latest tech tool, app, website, device. But the glitter we use today will be the stuff of tomorrow’s digital landfill.
Tech Tip Tuesday- New Google Classroom Interface
For those of you who use Google Classroom, you may have noticed that it looks a little bit different than it did last school year. Google is seemingly always changing it's products for more of a user-friendly experience. Here's a quick lowdown of some of those most...
Glue, Glitter, and Gold – Part 1 (2017)
Sometimes technology’s the glitter. The glued-on afterthought of desperation designed to captivate “kids nowadays”. All the while–running just as fast as we can to stay in the same place–we’ve searched and sought, learned and prepared, thinking it necessary to become the expert in everything that happens within our realms in order to maintain relevance.
Doing What Doug Digs
At the beginning of the school year, teachers had the wonderful opportunity to engage in conversation with Dr. Douglas Reeves at Stout Middle School. During this time, Stout teachers Marla Wiacek and Julie Wooton shared with Dr. Reeves the activity they have done...
Happenings at Haigh
My last Technology Integration Partnership, or TIP, occurred at Haigh. Teachers Anne Joachim (3rd grade) and Erika Izbicki (4th grade) very graciously agreed to share their classrooms with me so that we could work together to infuse their classes with some new...
Tech Tip Tuesday- Screencasting
For this week's Tech Tip Tuesday, we are going to talk about some nifty uses for screencasting, specifically with Screencastify. What is screencasting? Screencasting is when you record what is happening on your whole computer screen, one tab, or just your webcam, and...
Tech Tip Tuesday- StudentSites
Did you know that we have our own blog site for students? It's called StudentSites and you can find it at https://studentsites.dearbornschools.org/. What is StudentSites? StudentSites is a blogging site for our students. It can be used as a publishing tool for...
Tech Tip Tuesday: Don’t tell mom your password
As any teacher knows, there’s often a direct correlation between the things we emphasize and the things students find significant. And we often show emphasis by the way we model behaviors. For instance, we speak in complete sentences, use proper punctuation and spelling when we write on the board, say please and thank you, and the like. These are some of the areas in which students like to take short cuts, and in the long run it will pay off.
When it comes to technology, however, there are shortcuts we like to take–and even encourage students to take that will eventually and inevitably be harmful to students.
Tech Tip Tuesday- Recording in Moodle (iLearn)
Let's Hear it for the Recording Tool! One of our favorite tools in Moodle (iLearn) is now built right in! The recording feature allows you and your students to record voice and add it right into your Moodle course! Why is this important? Because the possibilities...
Tech Tip Tuesday- Using Google Keep for Feedback Comment Banks
Since we have been focusing on the importance of timely and actionable feedback, we wanted to share another quick, simple way to provide feedback using Google Keep. In cases where you find yourself providing the same feedback for the same errors over and over,...
Teaching our Students the Importance of Actionable Feedback
As teachers, we know that providing feedback to students is extremely important to their success. Timely, actionable feedback provides students with the necessary tools they need to improve their learning. Now, that lesson is being passed down to our students at...
Tech Tip Tuesday- Using Bitmojis for Fun, Friendly, Informal Feedback
Since we have been talking about feedback, we wanted to share a fun way to provide some feedback to your students. What is a Bitmoji you ask? Well a Bitmoji is an avatar that you can create to look just like you! You can check them out and create your own...
Technology Integration Partnerships
This year, as in years past, Amy and I will be available in buildings on a regular basis to support teachers and students in their needs with regard to technology use. We will also begin to develop our Technology Integration Partnerships with teachers and students, in which we will be working alongside teachers and students on a curriculum unit basis to help develop, plan, and co-facilitate instruction that integrates technology for increased student opportunity and learning.
Tech Tip Tuesday: Hotkeys for Teachers
Inspired by the sweltering heat of the past few days of school, I thought I’d share a few shortcut keystrokes. You may (and should) be familiar with some, but others may not be as familiar. Here are a few hotkey combinations that every cool teacher should know…
Time, Talents, and Passion (Bob is back.)
After a long summer of uncertainty and hesitation about my career goals, as well as a few weeks of trying it out, I have requested to end my Administrative Internship and return to my previous position as Technology Coach…
…Let’s continue inspiring kids to use technology in productive ways, educating lifelong learners for success in the 21st century, and celebrating our manifold successes in opening doors to new and greater opportunities for learning in a digital world.
Using Chromebooks Doesn’t Have to Be a Gamble
As we get started with a new school year, teachers in classrooms across the district are dealing with a few dozen factors every class period that cause them anxiety. One of them is the mere act of signing out and opening up the Chromebook cart. But it doesn’t have to feel like a gamble every time students use technology. I thought I’d offer a few practical tips to help the use of Chromebooks in your classroom go more smoothly.
Tech Tip Tuesday: Using Google Keep for Badges
When your students meet a certain learning goal, what better way to acknowledge that than to issue them a badge? You can create badges in Google Drawings and then upload them to Google Keep, where you can then insert them into Slides or Docs and provide instant...
Get Your Moodle (iLearn) Course Ready for the New School Year
If you use Moodle (iLearn) with your classes, it probably still contains students and their data from the previous year. In order to get your course ready for the new school year, it is wise to reset your course. This simply means that you are unenrolling all of the...
Free Money for Your Classroom!
Please read the following about a new initiative we learned of while attending ISTE this year, the #TeachersAreProfessionals movement. This initiative is focused on provided teachers with $250 of FREE MONEY to use in their classroom ANY WAY THEY CHOOSE. No receipts,...
Technology for Lifelong Learning
Our Goal
The goal of instructional technology coaches is to help teachers become effective at using technology to provide the most technology-rich, positive learning environments possible. To this end, we believe effective teachers…
- Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.
- Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments.
- Model digital age work and learning.
- Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.
- Engage in professional growth and leadership.
from Standards for Teachers.
