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Chromebooks, Cast, Jamboard & Kami: The Fearsome Foursome

Do you remember back in teacher college when the professors taught us that our proximity to misbehaving students would help squash behavior problems? I do. Well, when using our classroom technology, we are typically tethered to our laptop, desktop, document camera, etc... This is a problem, but luckily there may be a solution. Tools You'll Need Google Cast for Education gives students and teachers the ability to share their screens to the classroom projector or interactive display. Cast for Edu Set Up Cast for Edu Support Article Kami is an amazing tool that gives teachers and students the functionality of an interactive board in the palm of their hands. It allows users to a nnotate a doc, slide, pdf, image, etc… Google Jamboard is a whiteboard app that can be accessed online and as an app on your tablet of choice. It's also a very expensive interactive display, but that's not what we're looking at here. Students can create a new Jamboard, share and col
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Show What You Know

Asking students to show their work is a rite of passage for teachers.  It's right up there with nagging kids to stop tapping their pencils.  Boy, being a teacher is one big power trip, and it feels so good. Anyways, let's get focused.  Having your students demonstrate their understanding of a topic is easy if your students are using iPads.  They have the ability to write on a number of whiteboard apps with their fingers and/or a stylus.  If your students are forced to use a trackpad, it's another story.  You know how difficult it is to sign your name using a trackpad on a computer.  It's a ridiculously humbling experience.  Asking a kid to work out math problems using a trackpad on a Chromebook is absolutely cruel.  Look at this pathetic signature at the left.  I'm a grown man with decent penmanship for crying out loud!           The fact that many of our schools are switching to Chromebooks is why I'm writing this post.  Although some of our new Chromebooks ha
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Coding for Littles

Sometimes people ask me what I do for a living. And, when they do, I typically tell them I am a technology teacher. Then, I go into detail about how I am a technology coach, who works with multiple school sites and grades K-12. Let me tell you, it's a crowd pleaser and an incredible ice breaker.  More times than not, the next question is, "What do you teach kindergartners?"  My favorite response is, "Coding?" I it know seems outlandish to think that 5 years olds can learn to code, but it's true. Let's be clear, they aren't typing out extravagant code, while drinking Big Gulps and grubbing on Domino's. But, what they are learning is the foundation of programming. You've got to start somewhere, and it might as well be in the kinder classroom! Here are a few coding apps and sites that you and your students will love. Code.org - Web-based Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing
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From iPads to Chromebooks

The time has come for many of us in education. We're making a shift from the iPad to the Chromebook. This is a daunting, intimidating, scary as heck transition for teachers and rightly so. It's like when I finally decided to lose the mullet a few years ago. It was comfortable because I knew exactly how much Aqua Net was required to make my really short bangs stand attention, while that mudflap in the back waved in all its glory. But, I digress. My point is this. The iPad, much like the mullet, was fun while it lasted, but there's a new sheriff in town, and its name is Chromebook. Anyways, please help yourself to the Chromebook Survival Guide!
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PDF Mergy, I Love You.

I don't know about you, but I love me some Jason time.  Time to read self-help books, time to listen to music, and time to take long walks on the beach are mandatory components of a healthy, fresh and mindful teacher.  Well, I'm here to show you one way that technology can save you precious time to do the things that make you feel fabulous. How many times have you wanted to print student work and realized that you have to print one at a time? That is a painful process indeed, but my good friend, Emily Brunick, opened my eyes to a beautifully elegant, yet simple, website that changed my world. The website is PDF Mergy . Watch the video below, and be prepared to be amazed.
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Google Classroom End of the Year Clean-Up

In the ever poetic words of Jim Morrison, This is the end. Beautiful friend. This is the end.  It's June 4th, and summer is on the horizon. Many of you have a routine for cleaning up your physical classroom, which is super, but you mustn't neglect your Google Classroom. Trust me, you'll thank me in August when you drag your tanned, relaxed body back to school. Below you will find a few simple steps that will help clear that cloudy qi of yours. Let's get started. Tip #1 - Return all student work Once students are finished working on an assignment, they turn it in. You then look it over, provide feedback and grade the darned thing. At that point, you should return the document back to the student. Hoarding documents isn't anything to brag about, people. Make sure you return the work. Here's why. When a student turns in an assignment, you are now the owner of that document, and the student is relegated to view only rights. Once you return the work, the studen
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Keep Your Comments To Yourself?

Most of you know that creating comments in a Google Document is a valuable feature that allows teachers to provide helpful feedback to students when grading their work. You also know that retyping comments for each document is a whole lot of work. Rather than typing each comment over and over again, some of you have created a list of comments that live in a Word, Pages or Google Doc somewhere. This is cool, but you still have to toggle back and forth between windows or tabs. This is where Google Keep comes into play. Google Keep is integrated into Google Docs, which makes this process a breeze. There are a few easy steps you must take now, so that you can give more time in your day to that special person...you. Using Google Keep for grading comments is so easy! Watch the video to learn how. Google Classroom Users Well, that's fine and dandy for those of you who aren't using Google Classroom. Here's why? Google Classroom has it's own built-in comment bank
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