Google Education Training/Certification

Curious about Google Training or Certification? I'm looking into earning a Google Educator Certification, and during my search, I stumbled across online Google training as well.

Google Training --  The online training include a "Fundamentals Training," and "Advanced Training," a "Devices Training" to learn about Chromebooks and Android devices, and finally, a "Trainer's Training" where you can learn to become a Google Certified Trainer.

Google Certifications -- The certifications include Educator Level 1, Educator Level 2, Certified Trainer, and Certified Innovator.

I'm excited to become an certified Educator Level 1. Who's with me?

Checks for Understanding

I've recently been searching for resources on how to improve my "checks for understanding" with students. I stumbled upon an article (actually an excerpt from a book) from ASCD where a chapter was dedicated to Checks for Understanding. The chapter describes the process of checking for understanding:

1) "Feed-up" -- clarify the purpose, learning goals
2) "Feedback" -- respond to student work
3) "Feed-forward" -- modify your instruction where needed

Also, I found a great collection of ways to Check for Understanding from Edutopia.

Kindergarten Sites, Apps, Games

Here's a list from Graphite of the best Kindergarten websites, apps, or games for learning. I'm always looking for resources to share with my Kindergarten teachers who have an iPad learning center. Any other websites, apps, or games to add to this list?

Google Classroom Tools

According to Alice Keeler, here are the 10 Google Classroom tips every student wants to know. She is well known for her Google expertise, so it's no surprise this particular list is extremely helpful. It includes how to share and turn in assignments with the help of screenshots. Great list!

Differentiation Podcast

Here's a podcast I recently listened to (mostly, it's a little long): http://inservice.ascd.org/differentiated-instruction-works-how-and-why-to-do-di/
Key points: You need the right environment (growth mindset, supports, access, etc.), quality curriculum (clear learning goals), and formative assessments to establish a starting point to differentiate your lessons.

Youtube Mixtapes

I was recently asked if there was a way to create a "highlight reel" of the YouTube videos they uploaded to their YouTube channel. Here's a possible solution: DragonTape video editor. A user can create, share, and watch up to an hour of their favorite YouTube videos. Richard Byrne has a full review on his blog, Free Technology for Teachers.

Educational Webinars, Unconferences, Conferences

Edutopia released a list of the upcoming Educational Webinars, Unconferences, Conferences for the next 6 weeks. There is a wide variety of conferences and professional development to "attend," and by attend, I would suggest learning from the comfort of your couch in your pajamas. Also, once you register for one of these special events, you'll have access to view it as many times as you need.

STEM/STEAM Projects

With the creation of our Makerspaces projects, and, fingers crossed for grant money, our new STEM/STEAM lab next year. I'm digging for STEM and STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, ART, and Math) projects and resources. Edutopia has an extensive collection of resources whether you're looking for STEM, STEAM, or Makerspaces projects. Great resource!

Creating Screenshots Videos

I've documented my recent experimentation with screenshot videos for my elementary tech class. I'll get them started with some quick modeling but then I have the students watch videos of the lesson while I work with smaller groups. It's a great way to push students who understand the concepts and to work one-on-one with students who need the extra help.  Edudemic outlines exactly how to do this in an article titled, "How Teachers can use Quicktime Video Screenshots to Help Students Learn." I use a product called Snagit to create my videos but Quicktime is another great option.

Numberock: Math Videos

Here's another great YouTube channel: Numberock. It's a collection of videos for elementary students to reinforce math lessons. Here's a full review from Free Technology for Teachers.

Become a Learner

Here's an interesting website for the learner in all of us: Highbrow. Highbrow allows users to create accounts linked to your email, choose content/subjects you're interested in, receive a 5 minute lesson everyday in your email inbox. How cool is that? It's so easy to learn new things these days :-)

Here's a full review from Free Technology for Teachers.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Next Monday is MLK Day, so I'll be collecting resources for students to learn more about this influential and important figure in United States' history. According to Free Technology for Teachers, ReadWorks.org compiled "a collection of articles, videos, and question sets for teaching about Martin Luther King, Jr. Learn more at ReadWorks.

Websites across Content

Graphite recently posted a list of "great websites for learning" which includes multiple content areas. Each content area includes a list of about 5 websites, so it's a good starting point when collecting online resources for your class.

Google Tools

If you don't follow Richard Byrne, you should start today. His blog, Free Technology for Teachers, provides a daily update of free tools for teachers including his most recent post, 82 Google Tools Tutorials Videos. On his YouTube channel, he has created playlists which "include tutorials on features in Google Maps, Blogger, Google Sites, Google Classroom, Google Forms, Google Sheets, and Google Docs." Great Resource!

Free Apps

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning released a list of helpful apps available for FREE TODAY. A couple of them are for productivity and a couple are for younger students. Get your free apps today only.

Online Google Conference

Welcome back from Winter Break!! I'm ready to get back to it.

SimpleK12, an online forum for teacher professional development, hosts a Google Conference on Saturday, January 30. The webinar series show teachers how to use specific Google tools with students and the projects students can create with them. If you sign up now, you'll have access to the webinars after they air.