TCEA Take Aways in a Nutshell!

Back from a great week of learning at TCEA!  There is so much to share from spending a week with so many innovative thinkers!  It can seriously be overwhelming!  So, on the car ride home we took a few minutes to share some of our take aways that were on the top of our brains at the time.  Take a listen:

An Apple A Week Podcast Series: Perfect Pages

We have another episode of An Apple a Week podcast series!  This week Alli and I invited our fabulous team member, Megan Kozar, to lend her voice to the podcast to share her thoughts and experiences with Pages.  Check out her full blog post here.

I first started using Pages on my personal home computer when I did not have access to Word.  I use Google Docs all the time, but there have been many times when I needed something on the desktop I was work at.  So I was thrilled to start playing around with a lot of the formatting features.  Then, I started using Pages on my iPad a little more.  It is free!!!  So why are learners not using this amazing tool and always default to Google Docs?

One piece of Pages that really has me championing for the product is the template gallery!  There are so many professional templates ready to be used!  Have your learners select a template so they can focus on the content.  Then they can have all kinds of fun using the formatting features to make their products personalized!

Listen to the podcast to hear our conversation.  How can you challenge your students  to use Pages in your classroom in the next few upcoming week?  And don't forget to share your voice on the Apple in Education, We say YES! Flipgrid.

Infographics for the Classroom

I love graphics!  I love looking at an image to see what information is being communicated.  From reading my blog, you also know how much I LOVE Google Drawings!!  Drawings is my "go to" for most things!  Lately I have suggested to educators to have learners create infographics for various projects in their classrooms.  Our leaners have access to iPads and unfortunately Drawings is not available to be used on an iPad.  So, what other programs do I suggest?

How about Pages?  Pages is *FREE* for users on iPads!  It has some very powerful options when you are wanting to add shapes and text.  It is also does not require wi-fi and can be downloaded as a PDF.  Quick and easy!

How about Canva?  Canva requires wi-fi and learners can log in using their Google account.  There are preset templates and there is freedom to customize your graphics.  Canva can be downloaded as an image or a PDF.

How about PiktoChart?  Pickto Chart also requires wi-fi and learners will need to log in using their Google account.  There are many templates perfect for creating infographics, but you can also customize your work!  PicktoChart can be downloaded to Photos.

How about Pic Collage?  Is there anything Pic Collage cannot do?  Ha!  Ha!!  Pic Collage does not require wi-fi or a log in.  This tool is is easy to navigate with suggested templates or create freestyle layouts.  Pic Collage can be shared as an image in Photos.

When learners are beginning to work on a project I have this graphic to help them decide where to start:

After learners have completed their work I have this graphic to help them export their image for sharing:

Have you asked your learners to share their learning through infographics?  If not, why not try it now?

An Apple a Week Podcast Series Continues with Keynote

We did it again!  The next episode of the An Apple of Week podcast and blogging series are live.  

What do you know about Keynote?  I use it...sometimes.  After recording this episode with Alli I want to spend more time looking at the creative pieces that make Keynote unique.  I think I see collaboration in the near future!

Listen to learn a little something about Keynote and add to the Flipgrid!  I know you have a great idea to share!  Or, do you know something else that is mind blowing?  Share that too!

 

I also talk about the option to scan a document using the native Apple Notes app.  How timely!  An educator came into my office just this afternoon asking about an app to scan documents.  When I demonstrated how Scan Documents works she was thrilled to see how easy it is and not have to download another app!  I will put together a very quick demonstration of how it works and share ASAP!

Taking a leap!

So I did something today that I have never done before and it was fun!  I started a podcast to share with educators.  I have been dragging my heals about creating a podcast because it seems like a really big commitment.  The amazing team I work with encourages us to find the fun!  So, I found the fun and took a leap out of my comfort zone!

Last week I read a blog post by one of my teammates, Alli Pryor, about a blog series several of our team members would be contributing to for the next few weeks.  The focus is on how and why we are using Apple products in our classrooms.   I got excited!  I wanted to contribute somehow.  This week I was working on another project where I am exploring podcasts and learned from Amanda Lanicek and Amanda Mask about Anchor.  And then I had the bright idea to bring these two together!

Now all I had to do was convince Alli we could do this along with all the other million things we are always working on.  So, the two of us took a leap together and landed on our feet.  Check out our first episode here...

Access? How can I remember all the passwords?

Having so many usernames and passwords is very overwhelming as an adult, how in the world do we expect our children to keep up?  I become frustrated when I cannot remember my credentials and have to reset passwords again and again.  Leave the frustration behind!  ClassLink allows users to log in one time and have access to all of their web based resources.  It's a miracle!

Learners can download the Coppell ISD ClassLink app from self service.  They can also access it from the Student page of the district website. 

Once the app is downloaded and you are logged in, you have instant access to everything! 

I have also found if someone is having an issue logging into a particular website or app, if they use ClassLink the issue is usually resolved immediately.  So, it's something to keep in your back pocket when someone is having log in issues. Try it out and see how you like it!

Game Changer!

It is so exciting to see educators embracing strategies to make a difference in their classrooms.  The district I work for is in their 3rd year of implementing a learning management system, Schoology.  We are using the enterprise version of Schoology.  At the secondary level, all educators house everything for their learners in this one location.  Oh, how I wish I had a tool like this when I was in school! It's a game changer for learners!  Everything thing you need to keep up with dates and assignments can be found in one place!  Skip turning through pages and pages in a notebook with dividers that hopefully didn't fall apart while you are walking in crowded hallways from class to class.  With Schoology, learners are able to access everything from their phone, iPad, or laptop.  Yes!

But the real game changers occur when we move beyond the basics of a learning management system.  How can this tool transform how you communicate with your learners?  How can I be there for each of my learners when they need help?

Our foreign language educators had a game changing moment for her learners and was so excited to share with me what she did.  This past summer she had taken time to learn some of the more unique features of Schoology.  She was preparing her learners to present to their classmates  using only Spanish at the beginning of the school week.  At the end of the previous week she asked her learners to use the Schoology audio recording feature to practice their presentation before hand.  Over the weekend, as learners where adding their recordings the educators was able to provide immediate feedback!  As a learner asked for help for the pronunciation the educators was able to bridge all space and time!  What a difference this made for the presentations in class!!

It's so exciting to see educators and learners embracing tools to make the learning experience personal, relevant, and timely!  How are you using technology to connect with your learners?