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Sunday, August 2, 2015
Top Posts for ccedtech - July 2015
Here are our top posts for July, 2015. Please take a look!
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Back to School Edtech Classroom Checklist, 2015 edition
Here's an article we wrote about the important items to consider to get your edtech program off to a smashing start, published a few weeks back on Fractus Learning . The orginal post on Fractus Learning can be found here.
Here's the full post, for your reading pleasure. What important items did we miss?
If you can't do ALL of this (very few can), pick the biggest hitters for your classroom or your school, and go for it!
The start of the school year brings with it more than a few ‘gotta-do’s for a classroom teacher. For that matter, if you’re also the designated ed tech “go-to person,” there are a LOT of tasks for you (and the IT team) to consider. With a technology program, ensuring that the various aspects of technology are ready for you, your colleagues and your students could be a huge task. It’s hard to envision all the aspects of tech that you might need to worry about, and if you or the team miss something, it only creates more heartburn and wasted time later.
To help your student-centered tech program get off to a fulfilling start, we have put together this checklist. Most of the items on the list will be important for you to consider. Some of these items will not apply depending on your role, your devices, and the latitude your administration and district allows, of course. In any case, reviewing this list will remind you (and your administration, tech support, teachers and others) of the needs of a highly engaging, fully functioning student-centered classroom.
With Your Administration and IT Team…
Good luck!
Here's the full post, for your reading pleasure. What important items did we miss?
If you can't do ALL of this (very few can), pick the biggest hitters for your classroom or your school, and go for it!
To help your student-centered tech program get off to a fulfilling start, we have put together this checklist. Most of the items on the list will be important for you to consider. Some of these items will not apply depending on your role, your devices, and the latitude your administration and district allows, of course. In any case, reviewing this list will remind you (and your administration, tech support, teachers and others) of the needs of a highly engaging, fully functioning student-centered classroom.
With Your Administration and IT Team…
- Confirm your ed tech budget. Hopefully, this was already done last school year.
- Update your Acceptable Use Policy. Has anything materially changed in your school’s approach? Switching to mobile devices? BYOD? A new take-home program perhaps?
- Check the mobile carts – are the devices charging? Is the timer working? Are the power supplies working? Do you have a couple of spares?
- Power outlets: are there enough outlets where the devices (on carts or whatever) will be stored? Has anything changed in your layout (or number of carts or devices) from last year?
- Device tune-up: update/refresh/re-image your tablets, laptops, and desktops. Add a website launcher like Symbaloo to your class page to make it easier for students to rapidly get to your favorite sites. Add apps to your tablets. Clean them up (don’t use harsh chemicals!), check batteries, and replace missing keys or other malfunctioning items. Do your laptops/desktops need more memory? If so, who’s doing the installation? When will it happen?
- Tune up/check your Google Apps for Ed (GAFE) policies and settings. New features hit periodically, so take advantage of them! Here is a LONG list of recent updates, to GAFE, Android and iOS apps. For instance, Google Apps admins can now be notified by email of suspicious login attempts. These improvements are happening constantly. Keep abreast of what’s new by signing up for update info from Google here.
- Confirm equipment storage location(s). Did you buy new laptops or tablets? Do you need a new cart or in-class storage unit? It’s usually not trivial to set up a new device (some are MUCH easier than others but all take time), and new carts can still take hours to get set up just the way you want.
- Review/create a procedure for “resource” check in/out. This can include carts, labs, cameras, iPads, Chromebooks, you name it. Whatever can be checked out needs to be done so in an organized manner or some chaos will ensue later. Here’s a good Google Form add on called CheckItOut that will help you accomplish this. There are other tools – search around!
- Create a Tech Boot Camp agenda to train students on application basics; start rollout early.
- Determine your go-to techie students. Get them to help (before school starts) with the cleanup noted above.
- Develop your first (or another) ed tech integrated lesson. Try to not just substitute paper and pencil; instead, try to transform your lessons in ways only technology can (student videos, flipped lessons, etc.). Learn more about the levels of technology integration by visiting the Technology is Learning site.
- Confirm all wireless access points and printers are operational. Have you made any material increases to devices? Does your network have the capacity for the bigger load? Hugely important…
- Update student lists! Google Apps for Education, Learning Management System (LMS), Student Information System (SIS), online education sites…
- For online education sites, do you have all usernames and passwords?
- Ensure document cameras, projectors, etc., are functional. Do you have a spare lamp for the projector(s)?
- Find your digital cameras. Are they charged? Create a checkout sheet.
- Develop a brief parent communication about your ed tech plans so they understand its importance. Include something about digital citizenship and home screen behavior. Subscribe to Common Sense Media, which has a WEALTH of tools to help your students grow as digital citizens. Get parents to subscribe as well! Great lessons on appropriate online behavior, copyright/plagiarism, treating all with respect, website and movie ratings, and more!
- Freshen up your class webpage! Add that Symbaloo link noted above.
- Partner up with another teacher to grow your ed tech knowledge and skills.
- Find a blog that will help you learn more about new tools, tips and techniques. Here are some good choices to start with:
Freetech4teachers - many excellent instructions and info on a multitude of free tools
Edutopia - wide variety of edtech and teaching strategies, tips, how to's
Catlin Tucker – Blended Learning - all about blending tech into a classroom
Alice Keeler – Teacher Tech - many more easy to understand edtech tips and how to's
- Add one new application to your tech tool belt. Here are some good, easy choices to add to your repertoire. They each have a “LOW” entry point – you and students can start to use them very quickly and get results FAST.
StoryboardThat – Storyboard and comic creatorAs you can see, there are quite a few things to consider. Do not be discouraged! And remember, it’s never too late. Even if you don’t have time or expertise to work on all the items above, choose the top four or five you CAN manage. They will certainly move you down the path you want to go for your students. Partner up with another competent, engaged teacher like yourself. Divide and conquer! Talk to you administrator, bring this list, and get him or her to provide some additional resources. We are confident, if you take the time to dig in some, you can do it. And your students WILL benefit. And, we know you will have more fun as you see how excited your students are to be in your high-tech classroom with engaging lessons they will enjoy!
Quizlet – Flashcard and study games that engage learners
Padlet – Collaborative whiteboard for brainstorming and planning
Kahoot! – Fast and fun game-based formative assessment. Very easy!
Good luck!
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