Tech+Tidbit+Archive

= These are my ideas for 2016-17 - Scroll for actual submissions to Monday Memo = Feb/Mar 17

Adobe Spark Adobe Spark defines itself as "a bit of art, a smidge of science, " and that is just what it delivers. With a gigantic collection of professional fonts, thousands of photos, layouts and icons, this powerful tool helps you and your students create beautiful social media graphics, videos, and web stories that can be shared anywhere on the web. The inspiration gallery is a wonderful place to browse for ideas, but to also help students consider message design in engaging media literacy lessons. Appropriate for grades 3-12.

Boomerang for Gmail (Extension) that allows you to send emails later and much more. Check out the extension video at the Google Store.



Add-Ons for Forms! = =

Simple K-12 PD website http://www.simplek12.com/

50+ Free Tech Tools for Your Classroom http://goo.gl/8aN7mw

https://snapwidget.com/ SnapWidget is the best Instagram and Twitter widget for showcasing your content. Used by more than 100,000 websites daily

Google Slides, accepting questions.

http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/2016/05/accept-questions-from-your-audience.html

Quizizz.com Like Kahoot, but better, because of the homework and report features.

EDPuzzle.com https://edpuzzle.com/ Save Time - Take already existing videos from You Tube, Khan Academy, Crash Course, etc or upload your own. Engage students easily - Enable self-paced learning with interactive lessons, add your voice and questions along the video. Reinforce accountability - Know if your students are watching your videos, how many times and see the answers they give.

YouTube 4EDU https://sites.google.com/site/yt4edu/

Google extensions and apps presentations https://goo.gl/nMDqez https://goo.gl/NJLKdz

Google Drawings https://goo.gl/7JMvzD https://www.synergyse.com/blog/unleash-the-power-of-google-drawings/

google googles for mobile phone

http://www.fantasygeopolitics.com/

http://promptsmart.com/

http://flipgrid.com/info/#

http://kanbantool.com/kanban-board https://workflowy.com/

http://www.voxer.com/

Evernote Simple Note Popcorn

http://www.photosforclass.com/

I came across this blog post on Twitter and found it worth sharing with you all! http://goo.gl/MMs4sK If you need a book suggestion, just ask!

http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ I put Ellie's paper in this... it was neat. I agreed with some of the suggestions not all, she was writing a persuasive letter and used many persuasive adverbs. "Hemingway" didn't like all the adverbs!

Mystery State Skype

wwwatanabe.blogspot.com - Mystery State Skype isn't a new idea, it's basically taking learning geography and placing it in a game format like Twenty Questions via Skype, by asking questions to guess the location of the other classroom. Not only does this connect students from across the country (or globe), but it also gives a context for students to apply geography with critical reasoning, collaboration, communication, digital citizenship, and information fluency -- 21st century skills. = =

Our modern language teacher found the European Word Translator, which shows translations for words across the European continent. The map uses Google Translate, which provides a great teaching opportunity to show that computerized translators are not exact or completely accurate. Our teacher mentioned he would love to see a similar map for South America. I haven’t been able to find one, but that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist.

= Archived Tech Tidbits QRcode =



May 1, 2017

Create free animated simulations with Loopy! Loopy  is a free tool for creating your own animated simulations or illustrations of a concept. This free animation tool is designed to showing relationships between two or more parts of a system. It's perfect for showing cause and effect or for showing a workflow system. For more information click here.

April 3, 2017

Online Tools to Make Learning Games
Have you had enough of Kahoot! If so, try some of these options: Flippity, Digital Jeopardy, Quizlet, Memorize.com, Vocabulary.com, Dustbin Game. Learn more about each here. Shannon

NEW! TABLETS, TABLETS, TABLETS @SWMLibrary
The library has SEVEN tablets available for checkout. The tablets can be used to record photos, video, audio, read ebooks, listen to audiobooks, or educational learning apps. I am in the process of adding apps and learning more about apps to share with you. If you would like to check one out, please visit the library. Shannon

March 27, 2016

**Google Cast for Education**
Want a way to project a Chromebook to a projector? Want to have student project their work without sharing it with you? Try Google Cast for Education. Google Cast for Education allows you to turn your computer into a wireless projector for screen sharing from another device. The teacher installs the app found at: @https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-cast-for-education/bnmgbcehmiinmmlmepibeeflglhbhlea then give your device a name and invite students to cast! Check out the support page at https://support.google.com/edu/castforedu/?hl=en#7041156.

If you need an assistance, please let me know! Shannon

Check out the Screencastify extension for an easy solution to video screen capture.

===[|BloomBoard | Resources, Credentials, & Community for Teachers] ===  https://**bloomboard**.com/

BloomBoard offers a skills-based approach to teacher professional development with free educator resources, micro-credentials, and rich collaboration tools

October 31, 2016

A Great Online Photo Editor
**Pixlr Editor** is a robust browser photo editor, for all your editing needs. Have full control over your images, including layers and effects. @https://pixlr.com/editor/

October 24, 2016 October 17, 2016 Words with Friends comes to the classroom! Words with Friends EDU is the new, free, educational version that brings game based learning to teaching academic vocabulary. It can be played through an app (iOS or Android) or on the web. Check it out here... @https://wordswithfriendsedu.com/

October 3, 2016

STEM IDEA! Want to integrate STEM activities in to your curriculum through coding? Checkout CS First by Google at @https://www.cs-first.com/

Each CS First club is based on a real-world theme and offers about 10 hours worth of lessons and activities. The different club themes aim to attract and engage students of varying backgrounds and interests. All materials are targeted at students in 4th - 8th grades (or between the ages of 9 - 14) and are free and easy to use.

If you would like to integrate CS First into your curriculum or try it on a late start day, I would love to assist you! Shannon

September 26, 2016 Notice about Google Summit

September 19, 2016

September 12, 2016

September 5, 2016 <span style="color: #212121; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Chrome Web Store is no longer fully accessible to students through their Parkway account. Students will only be able to install apps and extensions that have been placed on the Parkway approved list. If you find that students can’t install an app or extension that you want them to use in your classroom you can contact the Technology Help Desk or Shannon and it will be added. A list of already approved apps and extensions is being created. I will post that list as soon as it is ready. Shannon
 * <span style="color: #212121; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">CHROME WEB STORE IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! **

August 29, 2016 = Quick Tips for Chromebooks #2 = Ctrl and + Zoom in on a page Ctrl and - Zoom out on a page Ctrl and F Open the find bar to search current page

August 22, 2016 =Quick Tips for Chromebooks #1= Have any questions, ask Shannon!

August 8, 2016 Welcome Back! Look for the **Tech Tidbit** each week right here from the SWM Library! The Tidbit will will include a technology tool, website or integration strategy that can be used with little time investment. If you have something new you learned or an oldie but a goodie that has been effective in your classroom please email and I will post in the Tidbit for you! Also, **Technology Learning Lunches** will be back too! Look for Learning Lunch dates in the Monday Memo. Learning Lunches take place in the Library Classroom during lunch, a quick new tool or integration will be showcased and a treat will be served. Hope to see you at least THREE Learning Lunches this year to win a prize! (That's only one a trimester!) Look for our first Learning Lunch in September! Thank you, Shannon
 * What's the Tech Tidbit?**

<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Teachers can now plan ahead by scheduling announcements, assignments and questions to post at a later date or a specific time (great for the early birds who want to get a head start on school planning during the summer ;). Just look for the scheduling option when posting new <span style="color: #7759ae; font-family: arial,sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">assignments <span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">, questions and announcements. You can find scheduled and draft posts in the “Saved posts” section of your class stream, and you’ll get email and mobile notifications when your scheduled posts go live. For more information visit @http://goo.gl/0FnSlc or contact Shannon B.
 * May 9, 2016**
 * NEW to Google Classroom - S****chedule Ahead, Post Later**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif;">
 * May 2, 2016**

Summer is just around the corner and there are still some openings in the following tech development opportunities. Log in to PEERS to check them out and sign up! Spread the word in your schools as well!

Google Camp- July 12, 8:00-3:00, Central High (for those getting started with Google) @https://goo.gl/JYjvQp

Google Academy- July 25, 8:00-3:00, Central High (see flyer below) @https://goo.gl/N4JMyE

Innovation Playground- July 11, 8:30-11:30 or 12:30-3:30 OR 8:30-3:30, Central High @https://goo.gl/gIaGF4

Adaptive Assessments with Google Docs- June 28, 8:30-11:30, South Middle @https://goo.gl/PcuVpH

Flipped/Mastery Classroom- June 16 or July 22, 8:00-11:00, South Middle @https://goo.gl/Ff6zHO

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif;"> Google Academy Flyer - sum 16.pdf - Google Drive drive.google.com


 * April 25, 2016**

**MakerBot Replicator 3D Printing in the Southwest Middle Library**
"What's that noise in the library? What are you making? Can I see?" These are just some of the questions coming from students and staff this week when visiting the library. Well, what is it? It is a MakerBot 3D printer, it will be visiting the library through May 6th and is open to anyone wanting to try their hand at 3D design. This link: @https://goo.gl/afQ1be has instructions to help you create or modify a current design. Just save your design to print on an empty USB drive and bring it to the library to print. Have fun! Shannon


 * April 18, 2016**

**Save to Google Extension**
Easily save interesting webpages to Google with the new //Save to Google// extension.


 * One-click save:** Click the "Save to Google" star extension to save webpages for later viewing.
 * One spot for webpages and Images**: Your saved webpages and saved images from Google Image Search with live together at google.com/save.
 * Organize your Images:** Add tags to organize your saved webpages and images.

To add the extension: Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for Save to Google extension. If you need help please see me. Shannon B.

April 4, 2016 Google tone

Broadcast any URL to computers within earshot. code format="C-b-p-j-Oa" <span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: 'Open Sans',arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Google Tone turns on your computer's microphone (while the extension is on) and uses your computer's speakers to exchange URLs with nearby computers connected to the Internet. You can use Google Tone to send the URL for any web page, including news stories, pictures, documents, blog posts, products, YouTube videos, recipes—even search results. Any computer within earshot (including over a phone or Hangout) that also has the Google Tone extension installed and turned ON can receive a Google Tone notification. code

====<span style="color: #696969; font-family: Arial,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around the world. Explore cultural treasures in extraordinary detail, from hidden gems to masterpieces. <span style="color: #696969; font-family: Arial,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none;">[|Create your own galleries] <span style="color: #696969; font-family: Arial,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;"> and share favorite finds with friends. To learn more: ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;">Video: @https://youtu.be/LzMXbvBsALo
<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">

<span style="color: #696969; font-family: Arial,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Presentation: https://goo.gl/zZnPjz
Mar. 21, 2016 http://nonfictionmatch.weebly.com/ - A HUGE collection of student friendly nonfiction text. We set up our students for success when they can analyze and make sense of nonfiction text. This is how reading changes over a students education:


 * What type of nonfiction reading
 * grade 4: literary 50%; informational 50%
 * grade 7: literary 45%, informational 55%
 * grade 12: literary 30%, informational 70%

Feb. 15, 2016 Shannon Shafer,back from METC, shared with me some educational websites that might be of interest to you and your students.

Check these out: NY Public Library/ - The New York Public Library digitized collection, great primary sources. PBS Kansas City US Election Site - A complete storehouse of information about elections, past and present. Fantasy GeoPolitics - A site for Fantasy world politics - structured just like fantasy sports. Play as a class!

Feb. 8, 2016 Did you know you can use your voice to type on a Google Doc.? Choose //Voice Typing// in Tools, then click the microphone to record. Words will then appear on your Google Doc. See image below for instructions or contact Shannon B.
 * Google Voice Typing Tool **



Jan 30, 2016 Blendspace!

At Tech Tuesday this week, participants learned about Blendspace. Blendspace is a great place to collect website, videos and documents related to a central topic. You can add your own text to any Blendspace you create. Once you have created an account you can search thousands of Blendspaces created by other educators. Checkout Blendspace at www.Blendspace.com or learn more about Blendspace at this Blendspace https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/TJjWGHrSuhtuMA/edit. Any questions, see Shannon B.

Jan 25, 2016 Monday 25, 2016 Professional Development Opportunity

EdCampSTL is coming February 6, 2016 8am - 3:30. It is a free one-day conference at Pattonville High School. "EdcampSTL brings together those interested in learning and sharing more about best practices in education in an "UNconference" format. This innovative format allows the knowledge and interests of those in attendance to lead the conversations of growth." For more information http://www.connectedlearningstl.org/edcamp/.

Jan 11, 2016

Breaking News Template <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Check out <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">@http://www.classtools.net/breakingnews/ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> for a breaking news template students can use.

<span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Flubaroo is a free add-on tool for Google Sheets that helps you quickly grade multiple-choice or fill-in-blank assignments that you give through Google Forms. It’s more than just a grading tool, though, Flubaroo also: <span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Learn more about Flubaroo at []
 * <span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Computes average assignment score.
 * <span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Computes average score per question, and flags low-scoring questions.
 * <span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shows you a grade distribution graph.
 * <span style="color: #283769; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gives you the option to email each student their grade, and an answer key.

Nov. 9, 2015 =NEW Google Forms Interface=

I know you read about this in my October 26, 2015 post, but I thought it was worth printing again. Google Forms has been updated! <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;"> You can __try the new look for Google Forms__ here<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 15.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">! With the new interface, you can:
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-family: Roboto,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Add beautiful-by-default themes or upload an image to theme your form
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-family: Roboto,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Create or respond to Forms easily on mobile devices
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-family: Roboto,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Get quick insights from at a glance response analytics

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 15.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">The updated look was designed to save time and effort. Start by adding some questions and personalizing your Form with a new material theme. Easily add an image or switch between different question types.

November 2, 2015

**PhotoMath App! You must check this out!**


<span style="color: #1899cb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Photomath <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">, a smart phone app that uses the phone’s camera to help solve math problems. It seems like something out of the future, an app that will complete math homework, with the steps to follow. There are limitations of the app and so it might not always be the most helpful to our students, but that would be a great opportunity to show students the benefits and drawbacks of technology. You really need to check this out, at the link above there is a super video explanation.

October 26, 2015 Google Drive Updates
 * Google Docs has a new “voice typing function”. Check it out under the Tools menu in a doc.
 * Lots of beautiful new templates are available in Docs and Slides. Click on File, New, and From Template in Docs or Slides.
 * Revision history has changed completely. You can now see much more detail in the revisions and exactly what was edited. Click on File and See Revision History.
 * Google Forms is about to get overhauled. You can test drive the new version at []. New features include new templates, a cleaner format, and accessing the Form and Responses all in one place.

October 19, 2015 =<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Wonderoplis = @http://wonderopolis.org/ Wonderpolis posts a "wonder of the day" which includes a video and an article with speech enabled by ReadSpeaker. Students may click highlighted words within an article to find other related wonders, take a brief multiple-choice quiz, vote from one to five stars and leave a comment. This site is unique in that children, parents, teachers. schools, and families all contribute content. All content is archived and can be searched by most recent, most popular, grade, subject and category. Wonderpolis is sponsored by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL).

October 12, 2015 =A New Google Add-On: AutoCrat= Check out AutoCrat add-on for Google Sheets. It allows the user to merge data from Google Sheets in a variety of ways. Very handy tool. This add-on can be especially powerful when combined with Google Forms. Upon submission of the form, AutoCrat can be configured to automatically email the merged information in the form of a PDF or Google Doc to an email address collected within the form or designated in the AutoCrat set up process. Let me know if you need any help! Shannon Get AutoCrat and Video Explanation Five Ways to use AutoCrat in Education

September 28, 2015 Share to Classroom Chrome Extension, A MUST HAVE ! This new extension for Google Chrome will allow teachers to share web content with the entire class with just a click of the button. You can push the link to students, create an announcement or assignment. Both teacher and student need to have the extension for this feature to work.

September 21, 2015



Check out what your Public Library has to offer!

Did you know that September 18th is National Read an ebook Day? The St. Louis area public Libraries offer several downloadable and digital materials to enhance the electronic library experience. With a valid library card, patrons have the option to download many electronic resources such as ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, etc. Here are links to more information: St. Louis Public Library: [|__http://www.slpl.org/slpl/library/downloadables.asp__] St. Louis County Library: [|__http://www.slcl.org/emedia__] St. Charles City-County Library: [|__http://www.youranswerplace.org/elibrary__]

September 14, 2015

= World Digital Library = @http://www.wdl.org/en/ The world is at your fingertips at the World Digital Library, a cooperative project of the Library of Congress and UNESCO, as well as other organizations around the world. Visitors can access books, journals, manuscripts, maps, photos, films, and sound recordings by location, time period, subject matter, type of artifact. original language and contributing institution. They can also embark on a cultural journey through timelines, interactive maps, and themes, and access additional information such as bibliographic and publication information, physical description, topic and related subjects.

Go Explore the World through Time with World Digital Library!

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">September 7, 2015 =**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">Online Geography Games **= =<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;">Checkout these two geography resources, <span style="color: #1899cb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;">SmartyPins <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;"> and <span style="color: #1899cb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;">GeoGuesser. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;"> SmartyPins asks geography focused trivia questions, which are answered by placing a pin on the Google Map in the correct place. It’s a fun way to test your geography knowledge. GeoGuesser shows a panoramic image and asks you to decide the location based context clues. A great way for students to test and apply their global studies knowledge. =

April 27, 2015 = Storyboard That! = Incorporate Digital Storytelling into your lessons, projects or just for fun! At @https://www.storyboardthat.com students can easily create digital stories or comic strips that can bring stories or information alive. The site offers an extensive image library and flexible layouts. The program is intuitive and simple with a drag and drop interface. The completed storyboards can be downloaded into images, a slide show or embedded. Storyboard That has an educational licenses as well. Check it out! Here is an example:

April 20, 2015 =FREE Templates for Google Slides= Slide Carnival at http://www.slidescarnival.com provides templates to use for Google Slides. Go to the site, select the template from one of the many themes and click on the "Use this presentation template" button under the presentation button. It will open in Google Drive, once in drive make a copy, title it, and save.

April 13, 2015 Check out all the Google Opportunities this Summer! District Tech Tuesday in June and July - Check out PEERS for all courses offered (full day and half day opportunities) See attached are flyers for more information or ask Shannon B!
 * It’s Google Time! **
 * July 21st (8am – 3pm) July 28th (8am-3pm) **

March 30, 2015

Plickers
Plickers is a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices. All the teachers needs is the Plickers app on their device and a "plicker" card for each student, shown below. Check it out at @https://www.plickers.com/



March 23, 2015

Tween Tribune
Check out this great resource called Tween Tribune and it's produced by the Smithsonian. It has a plethora of high-interest non-fiction, current event articles for students to read. It's free and it changes frequently. There are three different grade-level tabs you can choose from (K-4, 5-8, 9-12). Each article has at least four different lexile levels to choose from as well, so students can read the same article, but at their level. Also, there is a critical thinking question at the end of each article for students to discuss or answer. Check it out here:

http://tweentribune.com/

Feb. 16, 2015

Common Core App!
"View the Common Core State Standards in one convenient FREE app! A great reference for students, parents, and teachers to easily read and understand the core standards. Quickly find standards by subject, grade, and subject category (domain/cluster). This app includes Math standards K-12 and Language Arts standards K-12. Math standards include both traditional and integrated pathways (as outlined in Appendix A of the common core) and synthesizes Language Arts standards with the Corresponding College and Career Readiness Standards (CCR's)." From Apple App Store.

Feb. 9, 2015

Blendspace!
At Tech Tuesday this week, participants learned about Blendspace. Blendspace is a great place to collect website, videos and documents related to a central topic. You can add your own text to any Blendspace you create. Once you have created an account you can search thousands of Blendspaces created by other educators. Checkout Blendspace at www.Blendspace.com or learn more about Blendspace at this Blendspace @https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/TJjWGHrSuhtuMA/edit. Any questions, see Shannon B.

Jan. 26, 2015
=Introducing the Redesigned Google Drive= If you have moved to the new redesigned Google Drive and it looks like this: take a look at the video at @http://youtu.be/VQ0bgh73fU0 to walk through the new look,user-experience improvements and new functions.

Need a Movie to Teach a Lesson?
I just stumbled across an interesting website, @http://www.literacyshed.com. It has a wealth of short movies to use in teaching all subjects with lesson plans and/or suggestions on how to use the video. Most of the movies are animated.

Jan. 12, 2015 =Need images?= Do your students need pictures for a presentation? Try Photos for Class @@http://www.photosforclass.com/. All images are Rated G, have Creative Commons Licensing and have automatic attribution (citation) when you download the image. What could be easier? Any questions: Ask Shannon?

Dec. 15, 2014 =Destiny Quest - Connect with your Library!= Did you know that the library has a new online catalog? Did you know your students are trying to connect and recommend books to you through the new catalog? Did you know that there is an online app for the library catalog and you can check what you materials you have out from the library on this app? I didn't think so......

1. Choose Southwest Middle School. 2. Choose Destiny Quest from the left side tabs. 3. Log in (Located in upper right) with your Novell log in. The opening screen will show your "friend" requests and reviews. Now you can search for books, check your account and request books.
 * To Access Destiny Quest Online**: @https://parkwayschools.follettdestiny.com/

1. Download and install the **Destiny Quest** app from the App store or Google Play. 2. Launch the app. 3. Enter the the Southwest Middle Destiny URL http://parkwayschools.follettdestiny.com 4. Select Southwest Middle. 5. Enter your Novell username and password. 6. Tap Log In
 * Destiny Quest App**

Dec. 8, 2014 =**E-Books are Available from the SWM Library on your Phone, Tablet or Pad.**= 1. Download and install the **Brytewave K-12 Edition** app from the App store or Google Play. 2. Launch the app. 3. Enter your NOVELL username and password. 4. Enter the Follett Shelf URL: __http://wbb10119.follettshelf.com__ 5. Select the "Stay Logged In" box is you are on a secure device. 6. Click Log In. 7. Choose My Library at the top, allow time for books to load. Choose a book to checkout, checkout and you are ready to READ! >I suggest downloading the book to your device so you do not need wifi to read.

If you have any questions please contact Shannon B.

Nov. 24, 2014 =Class Response Systems - Online= Looking for an alternative to Senteo response system for your class? Look no further than the web. The following class response systems are housed on the web and can be used with any device or computer.
 * __ **Poll Everywhere** __ - www.polleverywhere.com Poll Everywhere is a polling site. Teachers can poll students and see immediate feedback as the results are posted. Questions can be embeded into PPT. The free site only accepts 40 responses at a time.
 * __**AnswerGarden**__ - @http://answergarden.ch AnswerGarden is very similar to Poll Everywhere in that it is a polling site that can be used across platforms. The difference is the format. AnswerGarden is meant for more open-ended questions. When a teacher asks a question in AnswerGarden, responses come back in a word cloud format.
 * __ **Socrative** __ - www.socrative.com Socrative is easy to set up and features formats such as multiple choice, true/false, quick quizzes, short answer and polling. Results can be viewed online in a Google spreadsheet or an Excel file. Teachers set up their accounts and students simply sign into the teacher's "room" to answer the questions. If you haven't used Socrative in a while, take another look, it has a new interface and many more features.
 * __**Kahoot**__ - @https://getkahoot.com Kahoot is another student response system where teachers can create quizzes, discussions, or surveys for students to answer and respond. Kahoot supports HTML 5 and Flash-based tools, this goes a long way to making this online tool and other device agnostic. Kahoot has a drag and drop feature when it comes to creating questions for student response.

Nov. 17, 2014 =FIND= Find what you are looking for quickly on a webpage by: 1. Pressing ctrl+F (a small search box will appear in the upper right corner) 2. Type in the search box a word or words you want to search. The words will be highlighted. 3. Scan the site for the highlighted words.

Any questions? Ask Shannon B.

=**12 Effective Ways to Use Google Drive in Education**= See the whole article at @http://www.edudemic.com/12-effective-ways-use-google-drive-education/

Nov. 3, 2014 =Pic4Learning= <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #545454; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thousands of copyright free and copyright friendly images and photos for teachers and students at @http://www.pics4learning.com/

Oct. 27, 2014

=Quick Tips for Chromebooks #3= To take a full screenshot on a Chromebook: To take a partial screenshot on a Chromebook

Oct. 20, 2014 =Quick Tips for Chromebooks #2= Ctrl and + Zoom in on a page Ctrl and - Zoom out on a page Ctrl and F Open the find bar to search current page

Oct. 13, 2014 =Quick Tips for Chromebooks #1= Have any questions, ask Shannon!

Oct. 6, 2014 =Comments in Google Drive= Within your Google Drive the //Comment// feature found next to the //Share// button connects comments to specific parts of your document. So, when placing a comment be sure to place your cursor and highlight the text you are referencing. Feedback and peer editing are now easier thant ever to incorporate into lessons and projects with COMMENTS! Questions? Ask Shannon B.

Sept. 29, 2014 =Discovery Education Teacher Access/Log In= Discovery Education contains instructional material, resources, videos and assessments to accelerate student learning. You may search for instructional materials by Curriculum Strands or a general keyword search. There are so many wonderful resources housed here, a new resource I really like is the Global News Wrap-up that is posted at the end of the week and posted on the Home page in the upper right corner. The Wrap - Up in whole is usually under 4 minutes, but their is the option to show it in segments so you do not have to show all of the Wrap-up only stories of interest. This could be an alternative to CNN Student News or a quick way to compare news. Is there bias present in either report? Do they focus on the same newsworthy stories?

In order to access Discovery Education you must enter through this URL @https://pkwy.discoveryeducation.com or through the SWM Library Webpage > Databases/Articles > Discovery Education path. Once on that page you may enter by logging in with your Novell username and password. You must see Parkway Schools at the top of the log in boxes or your Log In will not work. If you need any help learning or using the resources of DE please contact Shannon B.

Sept. 22, 2014 =Apps for Recording Audio on Chromebooks= If you need to record audio on your Chromebooks, there are two factors when deciding what app to use. How long do you need to record and does it need to be editable? Some highly reputable resources are Twisted Wave, Audioboo, and Vocaroo. Thanks to B. Bass for this list, any questions ask Shannon B.
 * **Twisted Wave** - Similar to Audacity. Record, edit and export to Google Drive. Recommended for Chromebooks. @https://twistedwave.com/ - choose Online for the Chromebook!
 * **Audioboo** - easily create and share audio messages on Android or iPhone devices. @http://audioboo.fm/
 * **Vocaroo** - Another free, no account necessary short audio recording service. @http://vocaroo.com/

Sept. 15, 2014 = **Google Keep** = == Google Keep is an app that helps you quickly create, access and organize notes, lists and photos with Google Keep. All your notes are automatically stored in Drive and will appear on all your devices that you are signed into Drive. A great way to save to do lists from computer to computer to device. Any questions, ask Shannon B.

Sept. 8, 2014 =<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Managing Multiple Google Accounts = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Having multiple Google accounts is commonplace in today's world but managing those accounts can be tricky. Luckily Google Chrome can help you manage them by letting you login to multiple accounts and easily switch between accounts loaded in separate browser windows. Switching accounts in this way has made my online work so much more efficient and easier, and you get to pick fun icons for each of your accounts! This short video will show you how: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">@https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-rMikb9104&feature=youtu.be <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'lucida grande','Segoe UI',Tahoma,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">. <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 2835px; width: 1px;"><span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 2835px; width: 1px;">---Send Personal Attachments---This item contains the following personal attachments: 'Modified copy of Literacy Night Flier.pptx' Do you want to attach them?---Yes No Cancel ---