Into the Driver's Seat

by Richard Byrne

"Back in January I published a guide to using backchannels in the classroom. Shortly after I published that guide Wallwisher changed its name to Padlet. This weekend I updated the guide to include the Padlet name as well as some updated directions. The guide includes ideas and directions for using Padlet, Socrative, and TodaysMeet. You can download the guide here and view it as embedded below."

Posted by Jeff Dunn

"These free courses are all designed to help you get that little bit of extra knowledge so you can know what to look for in future apps, be able to quickly decide if it’s right for you, and you’ll simply know more than your students. For a couple minutes, at least. All these courses are from a side-project I’ve been working on called Modern Lessons. It’s a free online school for teachers and other education-lovers. Enjoy!"

"Whether you're an individual making your own or a facilitator helping others to make theirs, here's a set of how-to guides that we hope you'll find useful. We cover the technical, the editorial, the storytelling, and more. We hope you find these guides useful. Happy storytelling!"

by Blake Waldman

 

"Edmodo recently released a new look for their website. Many times when a website changes there’s a ton of confusion about old features, new features, and where everything is now located. Not with Edmodo!The simple and clear design makes it easy to navigate between all of the tools. So there shouldn’t be too much confusion for existing users, and teachers who want to learn how to use Edmodo for the first time are met with a sleek and simple interface.

 

"Here are a few videos on how to navigate the new Edmodo site, and how to use the basic features for anyone interested in learning to use Edmodo in the classroom."

by Silvia Tolisano

 

"I shared a very successful collaboration between our Art teacher and Language Arts teacher in a previous post titled Transliteracy: QR Codes and Art as well as at several conferences and workshops I was leading in the past few months. To follow up on several requests by teachers and workshop attendees, I have created a easy step-by-step how to guide /info-flyer, if you would like to record your students and create QR codes to point to these audio files.

 

"The examples screenshots are from  Garageband (on a mac) and AudioMemo on the iPad. You can of course record the audio with any other app, program or device you have and are comfortable with using, editing and creating an mp3 or wave file."

by Vicki Davis

 

"QR Codes(Quick Response Codes) are just barcodes. There is nothing fancy about them.

"Just like the grocery store clerk uses barcodes to look up the product and scan the price into the computer, your mobile device or computer can look up QR codes to:

take you to a website, read some text, give you a phone number, or generate a text message.

"QR Codes are barcodes of information that hardlink the physical world with the online world. They are considered a form of simple augmented reality.

"QR Codes in the Classroom 
For the classroom teacher, they are valuable for three reasons:

They can save us time.They can save paper.They provide a link to mobile devices that help students do their homework and follow along.

"This Post.
This blog post is divided into three parts. First, you have to be ready to use QR Codes, then you have to teach the students. Finally, we learn seven ways QR codes are being used in the classroom RIGHT NOW."

by Colleen Lee

"One of the greatest boosts in my teaching career has been the development of my Twitter PLN/ALN (as per a previous post – mine isn’t just “Personal” it’s an “Active” Learning Network). It has been amazing for me to see who I have followed, what their interests are, and more importantly who their contacts have led me to.  But even judicious building of an ALN/PLN can lead to a large, and unwieldy stream of tweets. Especially as many of those I find key to my learning often participate in their own chats."

by Richard Byrne

 

"A Complete Guide to Using Blogger In School covers everything from blogging terminology to blogging activities to the nuts and bolts of using Blogger. You'll learn where to find media to use in blog posts, how to use media in blog posts, and get ideas for media-based blog posts. You'll also learn how to set-up your blog for multiple authors and how to manage comments."

by Neil Norton-Cormier

 

"Have you ever considered hosting your own livestream? Do you have a pet topic you’d like to run as a livestream show, or do you just want to stay connected with a large group of acquaintances who you connect with over a certain topic? Whatever you want to show the world, it’s time to read “On Air: Set Up Your Own Online Broadcast” by author Niall Norton-Cormier. This free guide tells you all you need to know to get started streaming."

by Miguel Guhlin

 

"Ok, so I had this really interesting email from Janie:

I saw your discussion on the TCEA forum and would like to look at the epub version of your App Smasher's Guide.
I am embarrassed to have to ask, but can you tell me how to get it into iBook on my iPad?
I tried just clicking on it from the post
I tried downloading and emailing to myself. (too large for my gmail)
I tried putting it in my dropbox
I tried putting it on my GoogleDrive
I looked at the iBook store

"Jumpin' Jehosophat! That's a lot of work. Watch this video on how to get free The Definitive App Smashers Guide."

by Vicki Davis

 

"Flipboard is a phenomenal reading app for the ipad and was the big reason I begged my family to give me one for my birthday.

"However, because so little content is really produced FOR the flipboard, you have to know how to add it. You only get two screens of content (for now) so use it well."