New Training Courses from Google - DigCit and Accessibility

Google has some great resources for educators at the Google for Education Training Center. Included are courses on Chromebooks, becoming a Trainer, and Fundamentals and Advanced training for using G Suite in the classroom.

They recently added two new courses that are very relevant to educators. Like the other courses, they are easy to use and excellent materials.

The Digital Citizenship and Safety Course helps teachers learn how to help their students stay safe online and become responsible digital citizens.

The Tools for Diverse Learners Training helps teachers learn how to use the accessibility features in Chromebooks and G Suite to help their students succeed.

Take a look at these two new courses, as well as the rest of the training center, and see how they can help you help your students.



Related:

Google for Education Resources 

Texthelp Announces Teach for Google - free PD to help educators use Google Edu

Texthelp, a language and literacy support software company, has just announced Teach for Google, a new, online, professional development resource for educators. It is designed to help educators use Google Apps for Education to increase student achievement.

Teach for Google has short courses containging how-to videos, tips and tricks, checklists, templates and more to help teachers not only learn about Google Apps, but how to use them effectively in the classroom.

The free version has 2 courses available as well as lots of how-to's for individual Google Apps.

The Related Videos Section has how-to videos about Drive, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms and Drawings.

You can also pay to access more courses.


Texthelp is the company behind Read&Write for Google, a very popular app used in Education.





Related:

Google for Education Resources

Google App and Chromebooks Resources - learn how to better use them

Resources to get Started With Google Apps and Chromebooks


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More Cool Events coming up from EdChat Interactive

EdChat Interactive is a new type of free, online PD brought to you by some of the same folks who created #echat twitter discussions, including Tom Whitby and Steven Anderson, who are both friends of mine and in my Personal Learning Network and great educators.

They created it as a way for educators to share and learn the best ideas, practices and techniques that are working in schools. Their events are interactive and social and very well done.

Previous events are archived on the site.

They have just announced some new events:

Tuesday, March 24 at 8:00 PM Eastern time (5:00 Pacific time)

Edchat Interactive Founders, Steven W. Anderson and Tom Whitby will conduct a fast-paced discussion on education through a global lens. Fresh off a trip to a large conference in Dubai, Steven and Tom will examine what issues face education globally and how we can think more globally about issues facing education in the US. Register here.



Wednesday, March 25 at 8:00 PM Eastern time (5:00 Pacific time)

Edupreneur Ginger Lewman will lead us in discussing Why aren't all educators embracing authentic learning-by-doing and project/problem based learning? And what, if anything, should we do about it? More here.


Related:

Edchat Interactive - a new type of free, online PD that is relevant, timely, interactive and social

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Edchat Interactive - a new type of free, online PD that is relevant, timely, interactive and social

Edchat Interactive is a new type of free, online PD brought to you by some of the same folks who created #echat twitter discussions, including Tom Whitby and Steven Anderson, who are both friends of mine and in my Personal Learning Network and great educators.

This new form of PD is relevant and timely for educators, and made to create a discussion that is engaging and helps you learn new skills and information. The online format allows for interaction, reflection and social learning.

Here are some of the free sessions coming up next week:

Seeing a Different Reality, Feb 24. 8:00 PM Eastern Discuss the use of Augmented Reality in class. Katie Ann Wilson founded the Augmented Reality for Educators group as well as the Global Digital Scrapbook project. She has reached over 100,000 educators with her blog, The Diary of the Techie Chick. Learn how to take an original student or teacher piece of work and turn it into a mind blowing interactive augmented reality project in just a few clicks. Register and/or learn More...   Customized, Personalized Learning: Is it Inevitable? Feb 26, 8:00 PM Eastern Join Milliken Award (2007) winner Sherry Crofut in a rousing discussion on personalizing student learning in the era of test score madness, tight budgets, and education technology transformation.   Some of the question we will be discussing: What does personalized learning mean?  What are the benefits; and what are the risks and disadvantages? Does personalized learning mean more work for teachers? What are some quick techniques teachers are using to hone their practices? Register and/or learn More...

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TechForum NY is October 19th - register today for great PD

TechForum NY, sponsored by Tech&Learning Magazine, is Friday, October 19th at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY (670 White Plains Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591). Registration and continental breakfast begin at 7 am with the opening keynote starting at 8:15.

Join us for a day of learning, sharing, collaboration and more. There will be a keynote address, breakout sessions, and round table sessions where everyone contributes in a discussion on the topic at hand.

Some of the topics: technology in the classroom, Social Media in Education, New Tools for Educators, meeting the needs of students, assessment, educational use of iPads, Evernote, Google for education, technology and special education, STEM resources and much more. I'm presenting on Evernote and Social Media in Education.

Breakfast and lunch are included in the registration fee. There are also two refreshment breaks in the morning (included) which gives you time to network with other educators and check out the vendor displays. At the end of the day, there is a reception (included) hosted by the vendors with food and drink and time to network some more.

There is still time to register and attend:

Tech Forum New York: Insight & Innovation for Technology Leaders

Friday October 19, 2012 | Westchester Marriott | Tarrytown, NY

Join Tech & Learning magazine for a day of networking and professional development.

Register today for $185 per person – that’s a $104 savings! Use code NY12GRM

Register here. Program Information here.

Hopefully we'll see some of you there.


Tech&Learning Magazine is a great resource for educators (both print and online) and is FREE for qualified educators. The website and magazine have lots of great resources, product reviews, ideas and much more. Check out the Blogs for great articles from educators around the world.

Tools for Changing/Improving PD and Meetings

Professional Development and Faculty Meetings are typically held face-to-face and many times are longer than they need to be, or too much time is spent on things that only affect a small percentage of those present. There are some tools and resources that can be used to change how and when PD and Meetings are held.


1. Google Docs/Google Drive - use Google Docs for meeting and PD agendas and shared resources. Participants can edit it in real time, or offline, for collaboration and meeting notes and minutes. Share the agenda ahead of time. Don't print things anymore.





2. Google+ - use Google+ and create a Circle for your PD or meeting groups and hold online discussions, post resources, and more, all online.



 

3. Google+ Hangouts - use this video conferencing tool to hold virtual meetings and training sessions.



4. Evernote - use Evernote to take meeting notes, prepare resources for PD, and then share all of that with others. Limit paper and make it easier to share resources.



5. Edmodo - Edmodo is a closed, private social network. You can set up groups for meetings and PD and share resources, have online discussions, and more using it.


6. EdCamp model - the Edcamp model puts the participants in the driver's seat for PD (and meetings) and allows for PD to be more meaningful.


What ideas and resources do you use for meetings and PD?

Tech&Learning announces T&L University - online PD for teachers

Tech&Learning is a great resource for educators. It is a print/online magazine, along with a great website. They also produce TechForum educational conferences (great for all educators) and Virtual TechForum.

The Tech&Learning magazine, available free to qualified educators, is released monthly and contains articles, tips, resources, product reviews, and much more.

They have just announced a new endeavor: Tech&Learning University, which provides online Professional Development to K-12 educators. Courses are on-demand and focus on topics such as Educational Technology, Effective Instruction, Educational Leadership and much more. 

It is not free, but is a great option for teachers looking for PD opportunities. The site to get started is http://www1.kdsi.org/TL%20. You start by selecting your state and then it will show you the courses available. What is really nice is that many of the courses are authorized for CEU's in your state, as well as college credits. Many other sources of PD do not actually count towards CEU requirements for many states.

Check it out, explore the course offerings for your state. 

EdCampCT Reflections and Resources

EdcampCT 2012 was held this past Friday at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT. Hats off to the planning/hosting team for another great event. And, of course, hats off to the food service team for the awesome lunch and those incredible homemade potato chips!

For those who don't know, Edcamp is a great series of free, unconferences for educators. The Edcamp model is unique in that attendees set the agenda the morning of the conference and the sessions are not led by one person, but are rather a collaboration of both the facilitator and attendees. It is a great way to learn, share, and connect with other educators. They are held all over the world.

The first session I attended was "Twitter as a PLN". This was started by a teacher who wanted to know more about Twitter and it's use in education. Most of the participants were non-Twitter users or new to Twitter. Dan Callahan and I shared our experiences, tips, and ideas on how best to use Twitter as an educator and part of a PLN, as well as some great resources, like Cybraryman's (Jerry Blumengarten) site. Many of the teachers left the session ready to get going on Twitter and expand their PLN.

This year, I facilitated a discussion on Evernote and it's use in education. There were about 25 people in the room and we had a great discussion. Participants ranged from never heard of or used Evernote to some who were experts in it's use. We discussed Evernote and it's use by teachers, administrators and students in school, features and products, tips and ideas, and much more. It was a great session.

The conversations continued during lunch and I made a bunch of notes and connections while eating.

The next session was on layered curriculum, a way of differentiating for different levels of students. A good resource was www.help4teachers.com.

The last session I went to was on Learning Management Systems, specifically Schoology and Edmodo. The discussion was all about best practices, what people have done, how they implement them in their class and much more.

The day wrapped up with a raffle for some prizes and a smackdown, were participants came up and had 2 minutes to share a resource with the group. You can see a list of all of the resources shared during the smackdown here.

Some other resources that were talked about that I'm going to look into in more depth include Pixlr, We Video and Freely.

It was a great day, filled with fun, learning, discussions, connections, and meeting some members of my PLN in person finally. I highly recommend Edcamps!

Related:

Edcamp - teacher run, awesome, free educational conferences

Professional Development for Educators needs to change

Professional Development Sourcebook - free PD resources for teachers

11 steps to planning Professional Development

Discouraged by colleagues who won't go to PD without CEUs.

Jason T. Bedell - Professional Development 2.0

Excellent Online Professional Development Resources for Teachers

Professional Development for educators is something that I believe still needs to be improved. Many educators have turned online for some of their professional development. Social media provides a great resource for educators, especially Twitter, to connect, share and learn with other educators. There are new forms of in-person professional development, like Edcamps, that are also a great way for educators to learn new things.


Check out some more great information and resources on educator professional development.

Professional Development for Educators needs to change

11 steps to planning quality Professional Development

Helping Educators Get Started with Educational Technology

Free Professional Development Resource - teacher PD sourcebook

Great Articles - Professional Development 2.0

Professional Development ideas

Virtual Summer Camp for Teachers - on demand learning for educators

The 4th Annual Virtual Summer Camp for Teachers is now available. It is being hosted through Learni.st.

The Virtual Summer Camp for Teachers provides on-demand, anytime learning for educators. The summer camp is organized by topic areas, which include: Common Core Resources, Essential Apps for Educators, Webinar and Online PD opportunities, Virtual Crafts, and even a mess hall with food and recipe ideas.

On July 24th there will be a live component ASCD Webinar. You can register for this free webinar here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/873801905

Materials from the previous three Virtual Summer Camps are available also:

Virtual Summer Camp Year 1
Virtual Summer Camp Year 2
Virtual Summer Camp Year 3

So, go camping this summer and learn some new things for next year: http://learni.st/users/MikeFisher/boards/1950-virtual-summer-camp-for-teachers-2012


Source: http://digigogy.com

Related:

EdCamp CT is Aug 10th. I'm going. Are you? You should be! (and if you can't be there in person, follow along on Twitter)

EdmodoCon 2012 - free online educational conference Aug 8th

EdumodoCon is a free, online professional development conference being held on Wednesday, August 8th, 2012. Throughout the day, teachers will share ways they are using Edmodo and other digital tools in the classroom. It is scheduled for 10:00am - 9:00pm ET (GMT -5).

If you are interested in presenting, go to the Call for Presenters site.

You can register for the conference, for free, here.

Edmodo is a great resource for teachers and students, providing a secure social learning network for classes. Teachers can host online discussions, share resources, and assign work to students.



Related:

22 Great Tips on using Edmodo in the classroom

5 Great course management resources for educators

Which Social Network should you use? Infographic on which to use when.

Some more great Android Apps for Education (including Edmodo app)

EdCampCT is Aug 10, 2012 - registration now open - free, awesome PD

EdCamp is a great series of free, unconferences for educators. The Edcamp model is unique in that attendees set the agenda the morning of the conference and the sessions are not led by one person, but are rather a collaboration of both the facilitator and attendees.

EdCamp is coming back to Connecticut this summer. EdCampCT will be held August 10th, 2012. You can register HERE. It will be held at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT again, which is an absolutely beautiful school.

I attended the first EdCampCT last year and it was awesome. It is so nice to be able to learn about topics you want to learn about in a relaxed, discussion format. It's also nice to know that if you find a session doesn't meet your needs, you can just get up and go to another one and no one's feelings are hurt because that is the model. I learned and shared my knowledge with others. It was a great day.

If you haven't been to an EdCamp yet, you need to get to one! See the related link below for more information about other upcoming EdCamps near you.

Registration link for EdCampCT - http://edcampct.ticketleap.com/2012/ 

Related:

Edcamp - teacher run, awesome, free educational conferences

Powerful Learning Practice - Day in the Life of Connected Educator

Powerful Learning Practice is a site that provides professional development and resources for teachers to implement new technologies and pedagogy to create "21st Century Classrooms." There are some good resources on the site.

They have an article entitled "A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator – Using social media in 21st century classrooms" that looks at how teachers use social media and other Web 2.0 tools to improve teaching and learning.

The infographic is interesting and has ideas for using social media in the classroom. It follows a teacher through her day as she uses social media sites and Web 2.0 resources throughout her day as an educator. Teachers can get some great ideas from this for their own use.

It can be found at their site:
http://plpnetwork.com/2012/05/07/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-connected-educator-using-social-media-throughout-your-day/

Related:

Social Media in Education - connect, share, learn, communicate and more
Twitter, Google Plus, and Facebook - a nice comparison
Which Social Network should you use? Infographic on which to use when.

Edmodo - free social learning platform expands and improves

10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have

10 Important Skills Students need for the Future

Edcamp Livebinder - info, resources, links and descriptions

Edcamp is a great series of free, unconferences for educators. The Edcamp model is unique in that attendees set the agenda the morning of the conference and the sessions are not led by one person, but are rather a collaboration of both the facilitator and attendees.

Carolyn Jo Starkey has created an excellent Livebinder about Edcamp.

In the Livebinder, she has binders on what Edcamp is, how to plan one, how to finance one, presentations about and from Edcamps, participant feedback and links to articles, blogs, and webpages about Edcamp and improving professional development for teachers. It's a great resource for anyone wondering about, attending, or planning an Edcamp (or other PD ).

Upcoming Edcamps:

April 14, 2012 edcamp Vermont
April 19, 2012 edcamp Luleå
April 21, 2012 edcamp COEDTech
April 21, 2012 edcamp NC
April 28, 2012 edcamp Boston
April 28, 2012 edcamp Denver
April 28, 2012 edcamp Prince George
May 3, 2012 Upper Valley edcamp
May 5, 2012 edcamp Bham
May 5, 2012 edcamp Detroit
May 5, 2012 edcamp NYC
May 6, 2012 edcamp Saskatoon
May 12, 2012 edcamp Milwaukee
May 12, 2012 edcamp Okanagan
May 12, 2012 edcamp Wine Country
May 19, 2012 edcamp Philly

Related:

Livebinders - Organize Materials in Online Binders / Notebooks

Social Learning Summit - free virtual conference April 21, 2012

Professional Development for Educators needs to change

Professional Development Sourcebook - free PD resources for teachers

11 steps to planning Professional Development

Discouraged by colleagues who won't go to PD without CEUs.

Jason T. Bedell - Professional Development 2.0

Free Online Education Conference April 25 - 26 2012 - great opportunity for PD

SimpleK12, a great resource for educators, is sponsoring a great free online Education Conference Wednesday, April 25th - Thursday, April 26th, 2012. Topics include Google Earth and Maps, Free Web Tools, Google Plus, Social Networking, Blogging, Student Projects, iPads in Education, Digital Writing, Curation, and much more. The conference runs for 24 hours so you can attend at anytime, from anywhere.

Learn something new without the need for travel or money.


(And don't forget that the Social Learning Summit - free virtual conference is April 21, 2012 )


View a full list of topics and register here: http://simplek12.com/tlc/webinars/#OEC


Conference Flyer:

Related:

Social Learning Summit - free virtual conference April 21, 2012

EdCamp CT is 8-10-2012! Great, free PD for educators

Edcamp is a great series of free, unconferences for educators. The Edcamp model is unique in that attendees set the agenda the morning of the conference and the sessions are not led by one person, but are rather a collaboration of both the facilitator and attendees.

EdCamp is coming back to Connecticut this summer. EdCampCT will be held August 10th, 2012. You can sign up here to be notified when registration opens. It will be held at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT again, which is an absolutely beautiful school.
 

  I attended the first EdCampCT last year and it was awesome. It is so nice to be able to learn about topics you want to learn about in a relaxed, discussion format. It's also nice to know that if you find a session doesn't meet your needs, you can just get up and go to another one and no one's feelings are hurt because that is the model. I learned and shared my knowledge with others. It was a great day.

If you haven't been to an EdCamp yet, you need to get to one! See the related link below for more information about other upcoming EdCamps near you.

Related:

Edcamp - teacher run, awesome, free educational conferences

Edcamp Leadership - a great unconference for school leaders -

Edcamp is an excellent professional development model for teachers. It is teacher run and teacher organized and is always highly rated by participants. There are some great Edcamps coming up around the country too, and you can find out more about them here.

Now, Edcamp is coming for educational leaders. The very first Edcamp Leadership is being held on Thursday, July 26th at the beautiful, modern Foundation for Educational Administration (FEA) Administration Conference and Training Center located at the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA) headquarters building in Monroe Township, NJ. Click here for images of the conference center. Click here for directions. It's free!

Doors open at 8:00 am with registration, breakfast refreshments, networking, and session-building with your colleagues. This is when you can sign up to lead a session, prepare for the day’s events, and meet some new friends. At 9:30, the organizers will kickoff the unconference and Edcamp Leadership will get underway! 

Sessions will be 50 minutes in length, and there will be 10 minutes in between each to allow participants to get to the next room and continue casual conversations following sessions.
Lunch will be provided.

Edcamp Leadership is a free unconference for school leaders devoted to K-12 education issues and ideas. Its goal is to assemble forward-thinking school administrators, board of education members, classroom teacher leaders, parents/community members – anyone interested in K-12 education – for a day of conversation, reflection and inspiration.

Edcamp Leadership is being organized by some very dedicated and talented educators and educational leaders who have also organized Edcamps. 

If you are an educational leader, you can't afford to miss out on this incredible day of learning. 

Find out more and register here: http://www.edcampleadership.org/

Remember, it's free!

Social Learning Summit - free virtual conference April 21, 2012

  

Discovery Education's Discovery Educator Network runs a variety of professional development sessions each year. These are usually online sessions with live meet-ups also planned. For this Spring, they are doing something different instead of the normal Spring Virtual Conference. The DEN is partnering with Classroom 2.0 to present the Social Learning Summit. Steve Hargadon, of Classroom 2.0, and the DEN are working together to organize the event which will be held Saturday, April 21st. The event is free.

More information can be found on the DEN blog and Classroom 2.0 sites, including how to submit a presentation proposal. Stay tuned for more information.

The conference theme is the use of social media and Web 2.0 in teaching and learning, and we are calling for proposals immediately at http://www.SocialLearningSummit.com. To be kept informed of the latest conference news and updates, please join the Classroom 2.0 network. This will also allow you to correspond with the presenters and other members, and to comment on sessions and discussions. 

Sessions will be 30 minutes in length, and can focus on practical classroom application or pedagogical frameworks or both. Please do not submit a session if your are a vendor or a vendor representative. Whilepresentation proposals will be accepted through April 7th, session acceptances will start to be issued on March 26th, at which time presenters will be given a chance to use a scheduling calendar to pick an available time to present. All sessions will be held in Blackboard Collaborate (previously Elluminate), and training sessions will be available both "live" and in recorded form.

Related:

Discovery Educator Network - great resources and great addition to any PLN

25 Free Resources from Discovery Education

2011 Discovery Education Spring Virtual Conference

Professional Development Sourcebook - free PD resources for teachers

The Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook is a great resource for teachers and administrators. It is published twice annually, for free, and contains a huge amount of resources.

Each issue includes articles, news, tips, ideas, research, resources, a calendar of professional development activities and more, all about professional development and continuing education. The back of the sourcebook is a type of yellow pages (even though they are white) with a directory of products, services, resources, and more related to professional development and continuing education. The directory is organized by type, topic, and subject area.

The Spring 2012 issue just arrived today and is focused on "instructional efforts that, against difficult odds, are showing signs of success in bringing reading and writing to life for today's students." Articles include using improv to inspire students to write creatively, differentiation for readers, turning teachers into literacy coaches, improving writing instruction, using older students to tutor younger students, reading fiction, Common Core issues, formative assessment, and much more.

 

Past issues have dealt with reaching special needs students, ways to do professional development with no budget, social networking and social media in education, Web 2.0 resources for PD, real world learning and authenticity in education, ELL issues, as well as making professional development more interesting and timely for educators.

Back issues are also available online.

It is from the publisher of Education Week, which also publishes Teacher Magazine and Digital Directions. All three are also great resources for educators.

You can apply for a free subscription to the Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook.

I also wrote another article about Professional Development and resources.

The site has back issues online, as well as a ton of articles and resources, ranging from assessment and discipline, to PBL and PLN's, to administration and ELL/EFL. This is definitely a site to add to your favorites.

EdWeek Teacher Magazine: http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/03/education-week-teacher-free-resources.html

NASA Simulation based Aerospace Resources for Educators

NASA's Simulation Based Aerospace Engineering Teacher Professional Development Program is a program geared towards helping educators become skilled in teaching engineering concepts. The program includes education materials, teacher internships, and industry and higher education partnerships. The program offers US STEM teachers the opportunity to work beside NASA engineers and mentors. It is focused on aeronautics modeling and simulation and teachers explore cutting-edge technology, aerospace engineering concepts, and develop hands-on lessons.

The site has lessons from previous sessions that teachers can download and use. The lessons include the simulation and lesson plan. The resource section has downloads, information on simulations, more lesson examples, and other STEM resources and links.


Related:

More great educational resources from NASA

STEM Resources for Educators and Students