Resources for the Budding Connected Educator

As educators, we live in a very exciting time for our profession. For the first time in history, we have the ability to connect with others from around the world to discuss all aspects of education, without having to leave our schools or homes. There are many tools available to us that can provide personalized professional development... Here are a few of my favorites



Twitter:
   - Great video from Eric Scheninger on the value of Twitter and social media for learning (follow him @nmhs_principal)
  - Collection of Education hashtags from @cybraryman1






Edmodo: Outstading platform for creating a secure forum for sharing information, ideas, successes, and failures.  There are also professional pages you can follow.







Pinterest: for visual learners, Pinterest offers a great opportunity to share, curate, and organize information found on the web. Follow other pinners or search for topics of interest.










Blogs: Many progressive educators have outstanding blogs.  I highly recommend reading the following blogs:
  - Eric Scheninger
  - Brad Currie
  - Create-Ed
  - Scott Rocco
  - Vicki Davis



  Zite: With so much information available online today, it’s increasingly difficult and time-consuming to find the content we want. That’s where Zite comes in. Zite evaluates millions of new stories every day, looking at the type of article, its key attributes and how it is shared across the web. Zite uses this information to match stories to your personal interests and then delivers them automatically to your iPad or iPhone.

QR codes in the classroom

I was first introduced to QR codes at last year's ASCD conference.  They were everywhere.  In addition, I had the opportunity to learn from other educators how to use them in the classroom. 

Today, I had the opportunity to share QR codes with the staff at my school.  Instead of the standard sit down lecture training that permeates current PD, I chose to send my staff on a QR code scavenger hunt!  Each team of two teachers was given a map of the school (with locations marked), a set of Cornell note sheets, and an iPad.  The rest is pretty self-explanitory.

During the debrief after the exercise, teachers shared some great ideas on how they would us QR codes in their own classrooms.  Ideas included museum walks, webquests, stations activities, and paths to additional resources.  A few teachers even explored ways that students could use QR codes in their course materials, including QR code works cited pages, links to student-created online media, and links to blogs or other student writing samples.

Below are the links used during today's training:

QR code generator

Using QR codes in the Classroom

5 uses of QR codes in the classroom (livebinder)

12 Ideas for Teaching with QR codes

Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites

10 Great ways that Educators are Using LiveBinders

The power of Prezi

 

 

Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas and the connections between them. The result: visually captivating presentations that lead your audience down a path of discovery.

 

That's how the folks at Prezi decribe their presentation application, and I have to say that it's a pretty good summation of what it can do.  The first time I used Prezi was for a presentation on the analysis of test data and survey results.  The presentation had to show the connection between various independent pieces of data, and possible solutions to identified concerns.  This is where Prezi shines... if used correctly, it can visually show relationships and connections in ways that PowerPoint cannot.  You see, while PowerPoint is very linear, Prezi allows for non-linear narratives that can clearly show complex relationships and multiple outcomes or solutions.

 

To learn more about Prezi, be sure to view the resources located on the Prezi site.  I hope to share how others have used Prezi in their classroom to support student learning in future posts.  If you have used Prezi in your classroom, please share your experiences in the comments section.

Google Earth

For those not familiar with it, Google Earth is an incredible web application that allows users to have "the world’s geographic information at [their] fingertips." 

I've created a youtube channel dedicated to Google Earth that I hope will help users to become familiar with the application.  Topics covered in the videos include:
  - Basic Navigation tools
  - Adding a placemark
  - Adding an online gallery
  - Creating a KMZ file
  - Adding image overlays

In addition to the youtube channel, I will be posting updates and teacher feedback on this blog.  I hope to share how others have used Google Earth in their classroom to support student learning.  If you have used Google Earth in your classroom, please share your experiences in the comments section.

Welcome!

Welcome to WNYEdTech, a blog dedicated to technology integration and innovation in education. I joined the education community about 8 years ago, after spending time as a professional photographer. While I enjoyed taking pictures, the job left me unfulfilled. I considered a few different career paths, but ultimately my wife convinced me to try teaching. I had previously taught rock climbing at a local gym, so I knew I enjoyed working with kids and sharing knowledge and experiences. That decision proved a critical turning point in my life. Within days of starting my student teaching, I knew without a doubt that I was meant to be an educator.

Even before I started my career as an educator, I knew I had a passion for technology and innovation in education.  After a trip to the 2012 ASCD National Conference in Philly, I encouraged my school to purchase iPads for student use... little did I know that with those iPads came a new responsibility... technology integration.  I knew that I needed support if I was going to be successful, so I started building my Personal Learning Network (PLN), joined Twitter (@javarob75), and began planning the first Edcamp in western New York for spring 2013 (@edcampbflo). And that's just the beginning!

This blog is an open journal for me, an opportunity to share all the discoveries, insights, and visions that I experience on my journey. I am also looking forward to comments and questions readers might share. Thanks for joining me and I hope you enjoy reading the posts as much as I enjoy writing them!