Teacher resources
What You Might Have Missed in June
Here are the most-read posts for the month of June:
- 10 Classroom Management Tips You Don’t Want to Miss
- 11 Classroom Blogging Tips You Don’t Want to Miss
- OneNote–the all-in-one digital notetaking, classroom app for educators
- Need Tech Next Year? Start Here
- Is the Socratic Method Right for Your Class?
- How the Frayer Model Helps Thousands Learn Vocabulary
- 3 Important Books for Kids
- Need a New Job? Here’s What You Do
- 6 Tech Activities for Your Summer School Program
- 15 Skills Teachers Can Learn this Summer and Use in Next Year’s Classroom
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 20 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, CSG Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thriller series, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days.
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Read the most popular articles
Find favorite articles in one spot–the Ask a Tech Teacher Hall of Fame. These are the ones we heard about the most from you, were reposted and referenced, and had the biggest impact on your classrooms. It includes topics on classroom management, digital citizenship, the future of education, how technology blends into the classroom, and more.
Subscriber Special: June
Last Chance:
Summer Learning Classes
BOGO — Buy one class; get a friend in for free
June 14-June 17 only
Need a New Job? Here’s What You Do
You’ve been teaching for five years and love what you’re doing. You consider yourself darn lucky to be working with colleagues that are friends and a boss who always puts your needs first. Most of the teachers at your school have been there years — even decades — and you have no doubt that, too, will be you. So, you don’t bother to keep your resume up-to-date or expand your teaching skills other than what is required for your position. In short, you found the square hole that fits your square peg.
Until the day that changes. There are dozens of reasons, from new bosses who want to shake things up to your husband gets a job in a different state. The only good news: Your boss told you already, giving you time to job hunt for the new school year. For many schools, if they’re going to make staffing changes, early Spring is when they start looking for the new people. For you as a job hunting educator, this becomes the best time of year to find a job.
Digital portfolio sites
Rather than a two-page printed document that can be lost and serves only one user, a digital portfolio posts your resume online, in an easy-to-understand format. This makes it more available, transparent, robust, and quickly updated. This is the modern resume, tells future bosses you can use technology as a tool, and can give you an edge in a competitive job market. It organizes your qualifications, evidence, and background in one easy-to-reach online location. Interested parties can check it without bothering you and decide if the fit is good. You do nothing — which can save the disappoint of sending out a resume and getting nothing but silence back.
Here are suggestions for digital portfolio sites:
What You Might Have Missed in May
Here are the most-read posts for the month of May:
- Why Blended Learning Fits Your Class, 3 Issues to Think About, and 5 Easy Ways to Begin
- 9 Must-have Tools for Ed Conferences
- ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0–A Versatile, Easy-to-Use Math Program
- 19 Ways Students Keep Learning Fresh Over the Summer
- Studying for Finals: 5 Collaborative Online Methods to Try in Your Classroom
- 2 Webtools You Can Learn This Summer to Differentiate Lesson Plans
- Can an AI Save the World?
- How Great is MS Office Mix
15 Skills Teachers Can Learn this Summer and Use in Next Year’s Classroom
It’s summer, that time of rest and rejuvenation, ice cream and bonhomie. Like the American plains or the African savannas, it stretches endlessly to a far horizon that is the Next School Year. It represents so much time, you can do anything, accomplish the impossible, and prepare yourself quintessentially for upcoming students.
So what are the absolute basics you should learn this summer that will make a difference in your class in the Fall? Here are fifteen ideas that will still leave you time to enjoy sunsets and hang out with friends:
Learn how to handle basic tech problems
You probably know the most common tech problems faced last year (like hooking digital devices to the school WiFi, this list you might face running a tech-infused lesson, or this one students might face using technology). These are collected from students when they tried to use tech for class projects, parents when their children couldn’t finish their homework because of tech issues, and members of your grade-level team who wanted to use tech for a lesson plan but Something Happened. Know how to solve all of them. If you need help, add a comment at the bottom. I’ll give you some ideas.
Last Chance for this College-credit Class
MTI 562:Â The Tech-infused Teacher
MTI 562 starts in one week–Monday, June 5th! Last chance to sign up. Click this link; scroll down to MTI 562 and click for more information and to sign up.
[gallery type="square" ids="52726,52727,52728,52729,52730,52731,52732"]9 Must-have Tools for Ed Conferences
It’s summer, time for teachers to recharge their cerebral batteries. That could mean reading, going on field trips, spending time with online PLNs, or taking calls from family members who usually end up at voice mail. For many, it means attending conferences like ISTE and NEA to learn how the heck to integrate technology into their lesson plans. If you aren’t a veteran conference attendee, you may wonder what you should bring. That’s a fair question considering learning is no longer done sitting in auditoriums nodding off to the wisdom of a guest speaker behind a podium. These days, you might be asked to scan a QR code and visit a website, access meeting documents online, interact digitally, or use a backchannel device to share your real-time thoughts with the presenter. Besides a toothbrush and aspirin, what should you take to your upcoming conference? Here are five tools that will make you look and act like the Diva of Digital:
Besides a toothbrush and aspirin, what should you take to your upcoming conference? Here are five tools that will make you look and act like the Diva of Digital:
Google Maps
Some conferences take multiple buildings spread out over several blocks, and depending upon the number of attendees, your hotel may not be around the corner from the Hall. Bring the latest version of Google Maps on your smartphone or iPad, complete with audio directions. All you do is tell it where you’re going, ask for directions, and Siri (the voice behind the iPhone) will lock into your GPS and hold your hand the entire way. If friends are looking for a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts near the conference, Google Maps will find one. If you want Chinese, use an app like Yelp to find one patrons like (although I’m becoming a tad leery about Yelp. Anyone have a good alternative?)
Conference App
Most educational conferences have one. I find these more useful than the conference website. They are geared for people who are manipulating a digital device one-handed, half their attention on the phone and the rest on traffic, meaning: they’re simple and straightforward. Test drive it so you know where the buttons are, then use it to find meeting rooms, changes in schedules, and updates.
