Mobile Device Support for SMART Notebook

A look at the interface for Extreme Collaboration.

While skimming through The Whiteboard Blog, I recently read about a great add-on for Notebook which will allow students to send ideas directly to the SMARTboard using any web connected device...yup even phones.  The Extreme Collaboration add-on, which is currently in beta, allows for a number of collaborative uses such as brainstorming, class polling, questions, and more.  So it must be really hard to setup and get running, right?  Actually it wasn't...taking only a few minutes from download to testing it.  To get started click here to download a special Notebook file with directions.  Once you have installed the add-on you will see it in the Add-On tab in Notebook.  You will need to activate the widget with your e-mail address, follow the simple directions and you're good to go!

Some of the highlights of the Extreme Collaboration Add-On include the ability to collect responses anonymously or by student name.  You can even have students sign in with a username and password before they submit.  Once started, you can control how many responses each student can submit and how they will be organized on the Notebook page.  Creating a class list was very simple however I did not see a place where you could batch upload a class using a .csv file.  This is something that would need to be included in order to make creating classes less time consuming.

Now What?

Teachers who are using the board everyday in their classroom have often voiced that they would like to see a more collaborative component to using the board with students.  SMART seems to have answered the call through the use of this widget.

Lingt Language

One of the most import parts of learning a foreign language is the ability to comprehend oral language as well as speak with proper pronunciation and diction.  My experiences with this piece of learning was completed in a dingy, outdated language lab...not some of my finer memories.  Today there is a much more accessible way for teachers to help students with speaking and understanding a foreign language.  It is called Lingt Classroom.

Lingt Classroom is an online learning environment where teachers can build personalized assignments incorporating voice, video, images, and text.  Students can then access those activities online from any internet connected device.  Students complete the activity and submit their work.  Teachers can then review the student responses and submit specific feedback.  Even better is the teacher's ability to manage all of the assignments and classes as well as share the content.

With Lingt Classroom you can work on a number of important language skills.  Some of the ways it has been used include spoken dialogues, dictations, pronunciation practice, oral examinations or diagnostics, reading practice, image or video commentary and more.

Now What?

Signing up on Lingt Classroom is free and something that every foreign language teacher should at least check out.  For those schools who do not have a state of the art language learning lab this could be a suitable replacement.  The ability to create your own multimedia lessons and save them for use with other classes in years to come is a tremendous time saver.

Twitter for Teachers - Advanced Tips

So you're approaching pro status on Twitter.  You're bragging to your friends about how many people are following you, using it everyday to help inform your class discussions and communicating with people from around the globe.  For the Twitter user who "has everything" let's take a look at some ways to get even more out of your time using Twitter.

Apps

Official Twitter App:  If you haven't already gotten the official Twitter app (FREE), you should do so...immediately.  Excellent way to tweet and stay informed on the go with all of the features available in the web-based version.  Android | iOS

Tweet Deck:  Tweet Deck is a great app that you can use on your device or desktop.  Use it to organize your feeds, filter your tweets, schedule post-dated tweets, and more.  Great for teachers looking to follow several conversations for class or in class in real time.

Tweet This for Chrome:  A cool little add-on for Google Chrome which makes tweeting web content a breeze.  Once Tweet This is installed you simply click on the Twitter icon within Chrome and it will Tweet the page for your followers.  You can also see at a glance how many people have tweeted the page.

Twuffer:  Twuffer is a Twitter buffer which allows you to pre-write and post-date Tweets.  Great for those who want to setup reminders or tweet time sensitive information.

Trends Map:  Trends Map is a visual display of topics that are trending locally and around the globe.  You can select a country and see what people are talking about or find popular users.

Other

Direct Messages:    Using Twitter alone (no fancy app necessary) you can send a direct message (think instant message) to another Twitter user.  Pretty cool feature when you don't want to have a full conversation publicly.

Lists:  Lists are a great way to filter all of the information that is coming into your feed.  For example, you can create a list for your friends, teachers you follow, etc.  In class you can use lists to follow certain users and share with the class.  You can also subscribe to other users lists which can help you to grow your social sphere without having to do the legwork.

Twitter for Teachers - Hashtags

In my opinion the power of Twitter lies in using hashtags.  You can use hashtags to search news items, follow trends, join a conversation, or even create a private space for your class conversations.  Without this ability, Twitter is just a bunch of people talking.

Now that you are tweeting and participating in the community of Twitter, it's time to take a look at how you can use these hashtags to your advantage.  Remember that when you post a tweet you can include hashtagged information (e.g. #techmessages) and your tweet instantly becomes searchable by the millions of people on Twitter (or simply your class).  A social studies teacher can follow  the presidential campaigns with their class by using #obama or #romney and read the timeline of tweets.  Another great way to search hashtags is to get involved in a conversation rather than just follow information.  As a foreign language teacher I could search #langchat to get ideas about what other teachers are doing in their classroom or better yet, I could tweet "Anyone have any ideas for a culture project using video #langchat" and then sit back and wait for the responses.  Even administrators can get in on the fun by searching #edadmin to find conversations about administrative topics.  The sky is the limit here.  For more examples of educational Twitter hashtags check out Alan November's list.

Another great way to use hashtags in your classroom is to develop your very own hashtag.  Anyone can do it and by creating your own hashtag, you are essentially starting your own conversation.  For your class you could start #shsphysics and share it with your class.  That night for homework have all of your students tweet a question about their homework and use the special hashtag.  Now in class the next day, you can bring up Twitter and search #shsphysics and see the questions.  Very powerful.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the last installment of the Twitter posts where I will share some great tips for moving beyond the basics of Twitter.  Included will be an overview of different apps to help you track all of this new information, an explanation of direct messages and lists, as well as how to tweet multimedia content and links.

Twitter for Teachers - All Things Tweeting

So here we are...you decided to "get a Twitter".  You have created your account and included some bio information.  Maybe you even followed a few people or searched around to see what others were saying, but you haven't dared to send out your first tweet to the world.  Let's do it together.  It's really a simple thing to send a tweet.  I mean...you can only send up to 140 characters at a time, how hard can it be.  Well, you can also include a hashtag (#) or tweet at (@) someone.  You can include links or pictures too...so I guess it can be pretty intimidating.  Let's review all of the different ways to share your thoughts (for the purpose of simplicity this post will cover tweeting from the Twitter website):

Basic Tweet:  Up to 140 characters of text...nothing more, nothing less

Picture Tweet:  When you click on the tweet button, you have the option to include an image with your text. At the bottom of the tweet box you will see a grayed out picture of an image.  Click this button to include a saved image from your computer.  If you are on the go using the Twitter app, you can even snap a picture to include in your tweet.

Retweet:  You see something you like on Twitter and you want to share it with your followers...hover over the tweet with you mouse and choose retweet from the menu that pops up on the bottom of the tweet.

Reply:  You can also hover your mouse over a tweet to reply to that tweet.  This will automatically include the name of the person who originally tweeted the tweet (confused yet?) and then you can include your own thought in reference to the original tweet.  Replies will appear under the original tweet in the original tweeter's timeline.

Using @:  Also called an "@ mention" is when you tweet in reference to another user.  For example, if someone wanted to tweet about me so that I could see it they would tweet "Thanks @mikeoberdick for the tip about SMARTboards".  I would then see this tweet in my timeline in the @ Connect section.  This is a good way to interact with users specifically.  Note:  These tweets are still visible by everyone.

Using #:  A hashtag (# or shift 3) is a way to group tweets.  It makes them searchable.  If I want to know what is going on in the world of the Yankees, I could search on Twitter for #yankees and I would be able to see all of the tweets with that hashtag association.  For educators there are lots of hashtags to follow and they are broken out by subject area.  Check out this great resource which will get you going as you look to use Twitter as a resource.

At this point you should be all set to send out your first tweet.  A great way to get started would be to ask a question using an @mention or a hashtag.  If I'm looking to get some tips on how to use Evernote I might tweet "Anyone have any tips on using #evernote for notetaking? #edtech".  This will hit two subject groups which will give me a better chance of getting a response.  You can also tweet to a user to ask them a question like "Hey @brandtschneider, any tips for first time Twitter users?".  Now get out there and tweet!

Twitter for Teachers - Getting Started

So you decided to take a leap into the Twitter pool?  Great...let's start by creating an account.  There are a few things to consider as you go through the process.  Initially, you will only need to include your name, e-mail and a password on the homepage.  Once you click on "sign up for Twitter" you will be taken to a page that will also ask for a user name.  This username will be your new "handle"...kind of like the CB radio monikers.  Please note that that people will be able to find you by using your name, e-mail or username in their search.  It is a good idea to use your actual real name (unless you are in a witness protection program) when you sign-up.  For your user name you can use your name, class name or something completely creative.  Once you have chosen your username (you can always change this later), click on "create account".  A short introduction from the Twitter Teacher will get you acclimated to your new social networking neighborhood.  During this process you can choose to follow some other people, search for people you know and add some flair to your profile.  This last step is really the most important because it will help people to get a better understanding of your purpose on Twitter.  So now that you have an account what should you be thinking about as an educator?

Things to consider regarding your newly created account...

• Biography Information - Be sure to include as much information about yourself as you are willing to divulge.  Including a link to your own website or blog as well as some bio information will help like-minded people connect with you.  It is also a good idea to include a picture and your location as well.  If you are unsure about any of this...play it cool and then you can update later down the road.
• Tweet Privacy - While you are getting started or if you plan on using your Twitter account solely for the purpose of your classes you can choose to protect your tweets so that only those you approve will see your tweets.  This is a good way to try it out while you get a feel for how it works.

Now that you have an account created it's time to get tweetin!  Check back tomorrow for a quick overview of how to tweet including the use of #s and @s.  Doesn't make sense?  It'll all make sense tomorrow.

Twitter for Teachers - To Tweet or Not To Tweet!

For many teachers Twitter is like a swimming pool.  There is the initial hesitation because the water will be cold even though we know it will be refreshing.  Once the decision is made to enter the water, there are those who do the "toe-dip", those who ease each body part in slowly and then those people who run up to the pool and jump in over the side.  This is very similar to getting started on Twitter.  As a teacher, you're not sure about using it for school because of your fears involving social media in the classroom.  However, you hear how other people are using it and it sounds very intriguing.  Once you overcome that obstacle, you may dip your toe by following a few people.  You may slowly ease into it by searching hashtags (#).  Finally, after the water warms up you will be tweeting 140 characters at a time as a part of the "conversation".

For the sake of readability...this topic will be broken up into five posts, with a new post appearing each day this week.  Today's post will be about why educators have turned to Twitter.

In it's simplest form, Twitter is a user sharing a thought (up to 140 characters) with the world.  In the classroom you can use Twitter to do much more, such as...

• send out reminders to your students and/or parents
• follow other users and learn from them
• tweet questions to the universe looking for feedback
• use hashtags to join a conversation
• share updates such as pictures, links and more with your followers

The list goes on and on.  If you would like to read more about how teachers are using Twitter in their classroom you can check out this Teach HUB post which has "50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom".  If you are somewhat intrigued by this social phenomenon, check out tomorrow's post which will review setting up and account and things you should consider as an educator. 

Google Spreadsheets Commenting

Last week Google made an announcement which seems to be long overdue.  For a while, comments have been something available in Google documents but not in spreadsheets.  This is no longer the case.  The next time you are working with a Google spreadsheet or the results of a Google form, you will see the ability to add comments as well as include notes for single cells.  These two features are very useful and easily applied.  To add a comment to a cell, choose Comment from the Insert menu.  To add a note, it's the same process but instead choose Note.  A comment is denoted by a yellow triangle in the top right hand corner of the cell while a note is represented by a black triangle.  In addition, a cool feature is the ability to comment directly to another user by typing a plus sign followed by their email address, like this: +johndoe@google.com. That person will then receive an email with your comment.

Now What?

Creating a conversation in spreadsheets allows multiple users the opportunity to discuss the results or add notes for other users to view.  This is a great way to increase collaboration among students who are working on a shared document or spreadsheet.

Nearpod

Nearpod is a FREE iOS app which allows teachers to share and sync with the student iPads in their classroom using wi-fi.  Teachers can use this app to deliver their lessons or even share a student's iPad with the rest of the class.  In addition, teachers can use Nearpod to create quizzes and polls and view the results in real time either individually or whole class. As a bonus...once you create your account you can then upgrade your account to their silver membership for FREE!  As a silver member you can create up to 10 multimedia presentations using Nearpod's content creation tool, attend live webinars, and export your detailed student reports.  From within the teacher app you can even access other excellent presentations for use with your class.  Click here to download the teacher app.

Now What?

If you have a classroom set of iPads this app is a must have.  It reminds me of the SMART Synchroneyes software which I used in my classroom while teaching computers.  The best application, in my opinion, for this software is the ability to share other student's work with the class.  It's also a great way to get immediate feedback from students.

Soshiku

Soshiku is an organizational website that I found out about on Free Tech 4 Teachers.  It is geared toward older students looking to organize their classes and assignments. It made me think back to my stubby little assignment notebook that I used to carry around all day everyday writing down my homework.  Once registered on Soshiku, students can add their courses, assignments and even receive e-mail or text message reminders before each assignment is due.  Adding content is easy on the go using SMS text messaging.  You can also add dates and assignments from a PC/Mac as well.  The feature that stood out to me on Soshiku was the ability to partner up with someone else and share the management of content.

Now What?

With school being so fast paced, it's important for students to have a way to track everything in one convenience location.  The ability to use texting and e-mail to add assignments makes it nice and easy to stay on top of coursework.  For students with a lot going on outside of school this is a nice easy way to stay on top of everything.

Ask The Owls

Ask the Owls is a new service for teachers to connect with students online.   Ask the Owls is set up so that any teacher who has a background in any area can share that knowledge with the world in an online virtual classroom.  Signing up as a teacher will get you the designation of an "owl".  Once you are registered you will need to create a short course description that will be shared with the community.  You will also need to upload your handouts for the course and then schedule a time for the class to meet.  To teach a class you will need a webcam and a microphone.  During the broadcast of your class there is even a chat box so that your "students" can use it while you are presenting.

If you are looking to share your course on Ask the Owls you can choose to keep it private for just your students or you can open it up to the public.  For those of you looking to learn rather than teach you can search the community listings and sign-up for as many courses as you like as long as there is space available (currently the max is 10).

Now What?

Ask the Owls seems to be a great way for teachers to learn some new skills (summer pd?) or share their knowledge with others.  This would also be a great way for someone who is tutoring students outside of school to manage the transportation issues that sometimes get in the way of meeting up in person.

Weekly Technology Assignment 6 - Wallwisher

For this week's assignment we will take a look at a website called Wall Wisher to create a bulletin board where students can post sticky notes with text, images, and video in response to a topic that you select. I love Wall Wisher because it allows every student's voice to be heard and gives them a chance to see what their classmates are thinking/saying kind of like blogging, but without the extra steps.  Check out the assignment and tutorial below for more information:

Website: Wall Wisher

Activity:  As a homework assignment have your students respond to a topic or question that you post to a board.  For example, if you are studying algebra, have the students create their own problem and put it on the board as a sticky note.  The next day in class you can choose three problems from the student's sticky notes and make the initiation of your class more engaging.  If you are studying a historical time period or event, ask the students to give their opinion on something you are discussing.  This is a great springboard for discussion the next day in class.  To see how other educators are using Wall Wisher check out this collaborative document.

Example:  Preserve the Planet

Tutorial: 

Poll Everywhere

I wrote about Poll Everywhere a while back and have since revisited the site to find some great new changes.  Just recently they have allowed for images and equations to be used in their polls.  Check out the video below to learn more about those changes.  What I also found to be pretty cool was the PowerPoint integration.  On the Poll Everywhere site you can download a PPT file which has your poll embedded in a slide which will update in real time.  This would be excellent for those teachers looking to embed a poll into a PPT presentation that they already have created.  The best feature about this site is the ability to text in an open ended response.  This would be a great way for students to ask their own questions rather than just answer yours.



Image Support for Multiple Choice Options from Poll Everwhere on Vimeo.


Now What?

Class polling sites are popping up like weeds right now on the web and that means that it is even easier to get a pulse for your classroom during instruction.  Poll Everywhere is a great tool for formative instruction and the texting feature and PPT export makes it the best available option in my opinion.

Class Tools

A while back I wrote about a site (view original post) where you could create a fake Facebook page called Fakebook.  It's a great site and very easy to use without an account or registration.  I happened on to the site again to find that there are some other really great resources on there besides the Fakebook tool.  Below are three other really great resources for you to check out and use in your classroom:

Random Name Picker: Use this site to select students to answer a question in class or use it as a vocabulary game using words from your word wall.  Check out the video clip below to see how it works:




QR Code Quiz Generator:  Really easy way to create a scavenger hunt or quiz using QR (Quick Response) Codes (those barcode looking things you see everywhere).  To create a quiz simply type in your questions and the QR codes are generated for you so you can print and hand out or post around school.  If you would like to create a QR code of a website or other content, check out jlj l.  Click here to see a sample quiz using the QR code quiz generator.

Post It!: Upload an image and then you can label it with sticky notes.  This would be a great way to handle diagrams and labeling but I also found it be useful as a shared corkboard ala Wallwisher or corkboard.me.  Check out the corkboard below and add your own sticky note to the coversation.

Click here for larger version

corkboard.me

Corkboard.me is a great site which requires very little setup or maintenance (which teachers love).  It is essentially a virtual corkboard or "wall" which allows for people to post sticky notes and images.  There is no registration or account setup involved and you can be up and running in seconds.  Below is a picture of a board that I created to generate ideas about how to use Corkboard.me. Click here to access the board and leave an idea.  Although this is a simple concept, the possibilities are endless.

Now What?

Corkboard.me is a great site to use in your classroom when you want to give each of your student's a voice in a quick fashion.  Create a wall for your students to post ideas about your chapter's essential question or the characteristics of the main character in a book they are reading.  The bottom line is that  Corkboard.me  provides an excellent springboard for class discussion.

List.ly

List.ly is a website which allows you to create lists about anything and then share them with others to have them vote on the content.  This would be a great way to quickly share a "Top 5" list with your followers on Twitter or friends on Facebook.  Creating a list with List.ly was very simple and took no time at all.  For each item in your list you add a hyperlink (or not if there isn't one) and then give a title and description (optional).  Your list can then be shared socially or with a link.  At that point, your list viewers can interact with the content and give their opinion.  Check out my "Top 5 Cloud Storage Sites" list and vote for your favorite:




Now What?

This could be a good way for you to curate the web for your students or even better have them pull content for you.  Students could also share five websites, images, video, etc. as a demonstration of an understanding of a topic.

Wiffiti

Wiffiti is coming soon to education and I believe that it will make a big splash in classrooms where phones are allowed to be a part of the learning experience.  Teachers want the ability to get immediate feedback from students.  We have come up with several ways for this to occur (response clickers, web based polling, real time collaborative documents) but we have yet to discover a way to incorporate text messaging...until now.  The first site which allows students to text in comments is here with Wiffiti.  Currently their site says that they will be undergoing a major overhaul in the upcoming weeks.  You can request an invite to their beta testing and until then try it out with what is currently on the site.  Wiffiti appears to be a major breakthrough in that the student's cell phone number is never displayed, users do not need to create accounts (a name is given to them when they first text in) and their is a moderation feature which keeps inappropriate content out of the conversation.  Students can even upload images and the teacher can pull in content from other sources (twitter so far).  Below is a screenshot of a discussion board from a history classroom:

Now What?

Once this is off the ground and running, students will be able to text in thoughts and comments during class which can be displayed using a projector.  This will ensure that everyone is in the conversation and because it is private without names, students can feel comfortable sharing their questions and ideas.

Quiz Me Online

Quiz Me Online is a great site where students can interact with course content in a controlled study environment.  Students can meet up with friends called "study buddies" and study for tests or post questions and/or comments to a discussion board for study groups.  The first thing I noticed about Quiz Me Online was how much stuff they offered.  Most flash card sites like Quizlet and Funnel Brain offer some of the these features but not all of them.  Quiz Me Online offers quizzes, flash cards, study guides, notes, study groups, study buddies and messages.  Signing up is fast and easy as is getting started.  I can easily see the benefit of creating a class on Quiz Me Online and posting course study materials for them on the web.

Now What?

If you are looking for a way to organize your study guides and create some flash cards for students to use while studying online Quiz Me Online is a great solution.  To get started you might want to create some public flash cards and share the link with your students.  Once your students create an account they can join your class and also create their own study groups with their study buddies.

Hall.com

Hall.com is a site that I've written about before and it seems like they have been busy in the past couple of weeks.  The last time I visited Hall.com, it seemed like a great place to poll your class and provide a chat room type of environment for your students to work.  Recently they unveiled their "war room" where users can now chat and collaborate together in real time in a much more powerful way.  Some of the new features on Hall.com include group chatting and instant messaging,  video chat, file sharing, file collaboration (up to 100 users at once), desktop notifications of @user messages, and more.  Check out a screenshot below of the classroom interface:

Now What?

Hall.com reminds me of a Google Hangout but with a much more "educational" spin.  Students can use this space to work together on just about anything and the chat feature enables them to work closely together.  This could also be a great way to allow your different classes to work together on one unified project.

Top 3 Social Classroom Sites

These days students are running out of excuses for being unaware classroom assignments/information.  With the creation of Learning Management Systems such as Finalsite and Edline, students have the opportunity to keep up with class and their grades even when they are not in school.  For those of you looking to use a Learning Management solution (to post homework, important dates, study guides) such as Edline or in addition to Edline, here are a few of my favorites:

1.  Edmodo is a great site for teachers looking to create a centralized hub for their students on the web.  Within the class environment, teachers can post discussion questions for students to respond, ask questions and have students vote for their response.  On Edmodo students can even submit assignments (any file type as an upload) to the teacher for grading and then as the teacher you can turn around and grade the assignment for the student to see.  Edmodo also offers teachers a calendar option where important dates can be shared.  Another feature of Edmodo is that parents can also have access and see what their child is working on in school.  I really like this site and can see it being more and more widely used in the near future.  Check out the video below for more information...




2.  Collaborize Classroom is another space for your class on the web.  The purpose of this private online community is to give your students a place to engage in online discussion, assignments, and activities.  As the teacher you can create a discussion as a yes/no question where students justify their position but you can also have them offer their opinion in the form of a forum which allows for student discussion on a topic or question.  With Collaborize Classroom you can also include images, video, etc. for students to use in their reflection of your discussion starter.  This all happens right within your private learning space on Collaborize Classroom.  Check out the video below for a great demonstration of how this all works:




3.  Wikis and Websites are another great way to get your class online.  There are so many options to review before finalizing your choice but I can tell you that my favorites for their ease of use are definitely Google Sites and Wikispaces.  Using Google Sites you can create a website where students can access all of your class materials.  You can also incorporate other Google apps such as docs, calendar, forms, etc. which will allow you much more flexibility with your site.  Google also gives you the freedom to edit the code for the page and include widgets from third party sources to enhance the functionality of your site.  Being that they are so popular, you can also find a number of excellent tutorials online for Google Sites in order to get your classroom up and running.  Wikispaces is another excellent place for fostering a web-based classroom.  Using Wikispaces you can create a site similar to a website like a  Google Sites but you can also create a discussion board and give students the ability to manage their own part of the website.  For more information about how to use Google Sites check out this tutorial.  For a great look at Wikispaces you can visit this walkthrough which has more information.