The Next Einstein

One of my all-time loves is the game of soccer, so naturally, when I became a high school mathematics teacher, I approached our soccer coach and said I wanted to coach. Up until this year, the boys played in the fall and the girls played in the spring, so I was able to coach both. I volunteered for two years with the boys before being hired as the JV coach when the previous coach stepped down, and started as the JV coach of the girls in my second year teaching.

One year, the girls' squad had a game that was an hour and a half away, so we stopped at a restaurant for dinner on the way home. While waiting in line, one of the freshmen mentioned that she felt she was a genius. She was goofy and from time to time said some interesting things, and she did have a pretty good head on her shoulders. But we all liked to have fun, so I jokingly asked her how to spell "genius."

"G-E-N-I-O-U-S!!! GENIUS!!!" she belted out as proudly as she could. Unfortunately, we had to inform her she was incorrect, and we all had a good laugh. She was slightly embarrassed, but she could take a joke (and really dole them out, too). But she followed this up by saying, "Whatever, you guys! Anyway, I'm going to be the next Einstein!"

Now this is truly a statement that was meant to say that she wanted to do great things, and anyone that puts their minds to it can totally do so. But this statement left me thinking, and I replied, "Why be the next Einstein? Why not be the first Stevens?"

She laughed, but I told her I was serious. Einstein had done his thing. Why follow in his footsteps when she could go off on her own path and forge new ideas for this world like we hadn't seen before. It's the kind of conversation that you love to have with students, but you're never sure if you get through to them or not.

Fast forward a few months, and this student shows up in my classroom with a folded up piece of paper. She drops it on my desk and runs away. I'm unsure about opening the paper, but as I unfold it, I find a photo of Einstein with "The first Stevens" written on it. This is the type of thing that I hang up on the bulletin board by my teacher desk every year along with old photos and notes of thanks from students and parents. These are the pick-me-ups that I need day in and day out, especially with the way education is changing and the frustrations that come with the changes.

It is years later, and I still have that printed out photo. Students ask me why I have photo of Einstein hanging on my board, and I tell them the story about not being the next Einstein, but the first YOU. It's one of those things that students will file in the backs of their brains, and probably won't think about for years, if at all. But I Stevens got it, if at least just for a short time.

I wonder what great thing she is working on that will change this world. I truly hope she does become the first Stevens.

Halfway through Monday of ISTE 2012

Holy cow, what a day it has been here at ISTE. Already I have met Mayim Bialik, received a free TI N-spire CX CAS from Texas Instruments, and rekindled old connections and made new ones, and it's only 2:30 (wait, I haven't eaten since breakfast)!

I started the morning In the Texas Intruments session, as I was invited as a VIP to the session for submitting a question for TV's Blossom/Amy Farrah Fowler (Big Bang Theory) and was wowed by a demonstration from two educators that work extensively with the N-spire in their classes. Jeff Lukens, a math teacher, said it great when he said, "The first thing that you have to look at on a graph is WHAT is being graphed. That is literacy." Talk about really getting it, and how he was able to use the technology to get the hook into his students is definitely a plus. Of course, Dr. Bialik had a better quote in her response to Lukens' question, "How did you get the temperature to go down?" when she said, "Took it out of my armpit." of course, Lukens had mentioned that many of his students will place the probe in all sorts of places to record temperatures just before that.

After getting my picture taken with Mayim, I headed for the vendor floor. My first stop was at the booth of my favorite find from last year, the crew from Desmos, home of the wonderful free online graphing calculator. If you still have not checked them out, do it! They also have take to the many pieces of art that users (mostly students) have created using the calculator, so if you're looking for a way to hook kids on math, look no further. Did I mention it's free? And that CEO Eli Luberoff is one of the most enthusiastic entrepreneurs you'll ever meet, and that I have the privilege of presenting with him and Team Desmos at the Edmodo booth tomorrow?

And speaking of Edmodo, they were my second stop of the morning. I learned my lesson a few years ago that if I want the new Edmodo shirt, I had to stop there early! The booth was packed, and that has to be tantamount to the great service they offer and continue to expand on. Have you been able to explore the apps that they are integrating into groups?

After Edmodo, I zipped across the vendor floor to the booth of one of the tools I have been using the longest. Poll Everywhere has finally come to ISTE! It was great being able to connect with the great people And hear about some of the new ideas they're bringing, including a wonderful way to moderate responses on open text responses. Make sure to ask them about it.

And of course I couldn't forget the amazing people at PartStock Computers. They sell reconditioned PC's as well as HDTV’s, projectors, and other accessories, but being from an Apple district, we haven't been able to give them any business. What's that?! I learned this morning that they have reconditioned MacBooks and iPad 2s (wifi only), so I have some paperwork to pass off to my tech department when I get home!

There's always a surprise on the vendor floor, too, so I was happy to run into ChromaGen, a company that Helps those of us with dyslexia and color deficiencies. And an even bigger surprise was how interested so many other attendees were in learning about them.

I've made it about halfway through the vendor floor, and I'll be doubling back to revisit all of these booths and better learn about others that I missed in the next two days. I highly recommend that everyone that can either stops by the booths for these companies or visit their sites to learn more about them. They're all on twitter, too, so you can connect with them that way, too!

For now, it's time to refuel with some food, and remind myself that I'm only halfway through the day!

ISTE 2012: San Diego

Today is the beginning of the real ISTE 2012 experience for me, even though I have been following the #ISTE12 hashtag on twitter for weeks already, and I've connected with many ISTE attendees already in airports and all around San Diego. This is, by far, the busiest and most beneficial week of the year for me on both a professional and personal level.

Allow me to explain. This morning, I browsed through the conference program (thank goodness for the new iPad app!) and have put 74 different sessions in my planner. I figure I might make six is those sessions, but I will go back and find everything I can about the other sessions online after returning home. This does not include any of the pay or pre-register sessions, as I don't need to pay the extra cash or reserve a spot I may not use when someone else might really want to be in that sesson. I'll find info about them, too.

But, basically, my ISTE plan is as follows:

1. Begin by going through the conference program and highlight all of the sessions I want to attend.
2. Almost totally ignore my conference planner as the conference progresses for all of the following reasons below.
3. Learn something new in the opening keynote that makes me want to further explore that concept.
4. Connect with old friends all throughout the conference, at receptions, at lunches, at dinners, on the conference floor, via twitter, etc.
5. Connect with new friends all throughout the conference, at receptions, at lunches, at dinners, on the conference floor, via twitter, etc.
6. Spend way too much time on the exhibit floor connecting with exhibitors and learning about the new things they are bringing to education and how I can utilize the ideas in my classroom.
7. Have my submitted question answered by Mayim Bialik at her session Monday at 8:30 AM after it was selected by Texas Instruments to be asked.
8. Co-present with Desmos at the Edmodo booth Tuesday at 11 AM on the integration of their online graphing calculator to Edmodo Apps.
9. Participate in a new learning experience that pops up on a whim.
10. (Before and after the conference) Exploree San Diego and all that it has to offer. I have already toured the USS Midway, and I plan on hitting a beach before leaving.

By the end of this week, my non-educator friends will be fed up with my twitter and Facebook feeds being filled with way too much from ISTE, much of which they often state that they have no idea what I'm talking about. On the other hand, my educator friends that could not make it will ask for more. To both groups, I wish I could give you what you want, but you'll have to settle for what I give you.

But here's to another week that goes by way too fast with way too much information. Here's to a week of furthering my craft as a teacher (what's that about summers off?) that will continue the whole way into the school year with preparation and reflection as I try out new things.

And as the week winds down, I'll begin trying to figure out how I can gets to San Antonio for ISTE 2013.

My Loved One - A Student Showcase

Today at PETE&C was the student showcase, and I saw one where the students just blew me away. The project itself wasn't all that exceptional. It was a good project, but one that I had seen variations on before. But it's never been the technology or the end product that ever truly amazed me anyway. What caught my attention was the students that were presenting. These students wanted to share what they did. They were proud of the fact that they could talk about what it meant to storyboard, create a voiceover, and edit a video. They talked about how they were preserving their family's history for the future. They compared some of the hardships their loved ones went through with what they are seeing in their lives. And these were elementary students. Boy do I wish I were in that school district! When it all boils down, we need to remember why we attend a conference like this. Yes, it helps us to build our own knowledge base and expand our PLNs. But why do we do that? For our students. Which is why it amazes me that every year, the student showcase only receives a small portion of the overall attendees. We need to let those kids know that we care what they are accomplishing, and inviting them to present is the first step. But we need to go and listen and encourage and appreciate what they are bringing: enthusiasm, engagement, and new ideas. So next time you attend a conference or have the opportunity to allow students to share, do it. You won't be disappointed. And to the students from Blue Bell Elementary, thank you. You made my conference!

PETE&C 2012

Check out the Cover It Live below to follow along with the goings-ons at PETE&C 2012!

The Cell Phone Questions

If you have stumbled upon my randomly-updated blog, then you have most likely come around to hear of some of the things I have to say about the usage of cell phones in the classroom. Out of the group leaning that way, many will have stumbled due to a project that is assigned to them for graduate school, and while I absolutely love the program that said school is using, I am disappointed that they have given a project of such low order thinking in a program that is supposed to promote higher order thinking skills. I have mentioned this to a few of the people that I know that are professors in the program, but still, the project has not changed.

So, even though I am starting out somewhat ranting, please know that this is meant as constructive criticism. So, let's start with what I see as issues to a project that states "Find a teacher that has used cell phones in class and ask them questions about the following things." These questions will be posted below. In 2008, I would say that this would be a very beneficial course of action to follow, as the use of cell phones was so new, there was nearly nobody doing it. I received a ton of inspiration from Liz Kolb when I saw her at NECC in San Antonio (NECC is the old name for the ISTE Conference), and I dove right in. I started using Poll Everywhere with one of my classes, and the kids were so enthralled by having a reason to follow the rules that they immediately turned their phones off and put them away so they wouldn't have them confiscated for accidentally having them ring in class. They now had a reason to follow the rules, so I went to my principal to ask for permission to use cell phones in my classroom (the old "ask for forgiveness" routine). So, if this idea has been around for over three years, why are we still asking questions about starting to use them in schools?

Now, I know that there are still many schools out there with a zero tolerance policy. In my classroom, my policy is, "If you're getting all of your work done, then why would I care if you send a quick text message? It's a lot less disturbing than yelling across the room!" Yet many are still shocked that I would allow such a thing, but you know what? This is the world our students are living in and need to prepare for. They need to learn how to balance all of the different tools they have available and to properly utilize them to be productive. When I see a kid texting in class (and getting all of their work done), I often have a short conversation with them about ways they can use the device more productively by challenging them in new ways. For each student it's different, and they each get a different idea from our discussions. If a student is just on their mobile device (cell phone, iPad, iPod, etc.) and not being productive, they first get a warning, then the device is confiscated. A privilege has been abused, and a consequence handed out. So I'm not just that teacher that allows free use of the devices. And in my flipped classroom, it's a privilege that works out pretty well.

So we are now in a time where we aren't just talking about cell phones, but mobile devices. So the fact that this project is still only asking about cell phones is disappointing to me. Why aren't all mobile devices included? And why is it still a low-level project? I have had hundreds of emails from students in the same program ask the same questions, and I often am bombarded by twenty or so emails all within 3 days. Having to answer the same questions over and over is monotonous on my end, and I am sure that the instructors have seen the same answers over and over. I feel bad that there are times in the year that I do not have time to respond due to other obligations, and some students are left searching out other avenues. I have suggested that I could to a short recorded video for the program and answer the questions that way, or even have a time mutually set up to do a synchronous web interview or webinar, but alas, this university (again, I am not bad mouthing the university. I really, really do like what they offer, and recommend the program to many) has not agreed.

So, I do want to help spread the word of integrating cell phones and mobile devices in the classroom. I also want to be able to keep my sanity and not have time for anything else. I also want to prove a point that a new higher-order thinking project needs to be designed in place of the current one to provide a better educational opportunity for these graduate students, and, in turn, their students. These graduate students are tasked with "interviewing" me through email. Well, I am going to respond to all of the questions I get from this program here in this post. If you have questions beyond these and have a genuine interest for integrating mobile devices into your classroom, I will respond. Just be patient. I am a full time teacher, and my students and duties do still come first, but I will get around to further questions.

So, here are some of the most common questions I receive.

1. Does your school currently have a policy on cell phone use?Our policy states that all mobile devices should be turned off and out of sight unless given permission to use in class by the teacher for educational purposes. As I allow a pretty lenient use of the devices in my class (as stated above), I consider being able to be more productive while multitasking to be a very educational purpose, as that is a 21st Century Skill our students will all need when they move beyond high school. 

2. How long has this policy been in place?I think it changed sometime in 2009. I was actually a rule-breaker when I first used cell phones with my students to gather evidence of their learning by utilizing Poll Everywhere. The policy was that all phones needed to be turned off and out of sight during all school hours. Period. But I knew my students all had them, so why not utilize them in a more effective way? After piloting, I approached my principal for permission, or, if things took a turn against what I did, for forgiveness. 

3. What are the consequences for students who abuse the policy?We are to confiscate the device and take it to the office to be held there for one week. A student may have a parent come to the office to retrieve the device in exchange for serving time in a Saturday detention. I am not a big fan of this policy, as we don't take away a student's voice box if they speak out of turn, but I really don't have many issues where I have to enforce the policy either. And when I do have to enforce it, it's usually pretty warranted, and does lead to an educational discussion with most of the students affected. 

4. How did parents react to the use of cell phones in the classroom?My students' parents were ecstatic! It used to be that they were paying large sums of money for students to be social and to entertain themselves with the devices. Now, for that same price, not only are they being social and entertained, but they are being productive (and learning how to be more productive)! Who isn't happy about getting more bang for their bucks? On top of that, parents can receive updates through text messaging services (used to use TextMarks, now use Celly) including assignments and notices about upcoming assessments. 

5. What do you do for students that do not have their own cell phone or text messaging plan?Luckily for us, we were part of a grant program known as Classrooms for the Future (CFF) that provided technology and instructional support for our core secondary classrooms, so there is a computer cart in my classroom that students have access to. Any service that I have used with cell phones can be accessed on those computers, or students could share their cell phones. If there was an issue of recording audio, often a computer or land-line could be used in place of a cell phone. I always make sure to say, "If you don't have your cell phone today..." instead of, "If you don't have a cell phone..." as I don't want to point out that a student may not have this all-important piece of social status (flair), and it seems as if they just kept it at home, in their locker, or they could choose to state that they don't have one. 

6. Could you briefly describe a project your students completed utilizing cell phones?The project itself really had nothing to do with cell phones other than for delivery. I wanted my students to have a better understanding of quadratic equations, so they researched a way that quadratics could be applied to something they enjoyed. As research commenced, students narrowed down their topics, and some even learned about some higher level mathematics that they would not see in the classroom setting that school year. One student dabbled into Calculus years early, another moved into some Physics, all through the gateway of quadratics. A few years earlier, I would have had students write a report on their findings. Instead, students wrote a script, submitted it, discussed it with me, did more research and experiments, revised, and resubmitted, all before the cell phone came into play. Once the script was approved, students recorded the script through a phone call using a service known as Yodio and the project was done. See my class wiki for the projects. There are so many different services out there now that allow for recording like this, and be aware that you might find a service you like one day that might be gone the next or charge you for use.
So, in the end, this wasn't a cell phone project. It was just a project that integrated cell phones. As the students knew they'd be using cell phones, they were excited about the project. By connecting to something in their own lives, they were even more excited. So here is my higher-order project assignment for you: What can you do in your classroom to better reach your kids, where integrating mobile devices is not the purpose of the project, but a way to enhance it.

So for all of you that are here just for your graduate course, here are the answers to the questions you were probably going to ask. For those that were unable to benefit from my knowledge prior to this post, I am sorry I couldn't help. As educators yourself, I am sure you understand how precious time is for me. And for anyone who wants to know more, feel free to contact me! Maybe we could have a full conversation on twitter, via Skype, over email, or even face-to-face.

Another First Day

It's hard to believe that I have just completed my ninth first day of school as a teacher and twenty-seventh first day of school overall. The first day has always been a whirlwind for me, and it never feels as if there is enough time to do that which I had planned. Some periods I met for less than 30 minutes, another met for the full 42 minutes, and I saw my 9th period kids for all of 3 minutes. I often wish that we had a different set up for our first day, but when all is said and done, there really isn't much you can do different from what we are doing with what we need to do. In the end, it's just a matter of dealing with what's given.

And, of course, that is the problem I am facing this year. As of today, there will be 178 student enrollments (some students come 2-3 times a day) that roll through my classroom on even days and 161 on odd days (my study hall numbers vary), and I am wondering how I will meet the needs for each of these students. Each of these kids is going to have a different need that I must meet and adjust for. How will I be able to do this?

Luckily, working in a flipped classroom will make up for some of the necessary adjustments. Students will have a choice in how to receive the information to apply to the content. They could view a podcast where they can see problems and hear me talk about the topics. They could work through the slides for the podcast without the audio and try to figure out the steps and create reasons why those steps work. They could take the notesheet and work on filling it in by trying things out and verifying it afterwards. This is a process that worked quite well with my Integrated Math 2 students last year, and I'm curious to see how it works not only with my Geometry students, but in classes that are as large as they are. The big question is will I be able to assist the students that need it in class, or will I not be able to get around to them? Will they step up and collaborate as I envision they will? Time will tell.

In order to deal with both the sizes of my classes and the potential for collaborative learning, I've adjusted the way my classroom is set up. No longer will I arrange in rows and columns, but instead in clusters that allow for students to better work together with those around them and allow for me to move around the space. I had used a very similar configuration last year, and it lent itself quite well to work in the classroom.

The next question is how do I adjust for assessment (or should I even do so)? I would love to be able to trust my students so that they do not borrow work and answers from each other and truly see what they know and don't know, but we all know high school kids, and the temptation to look at another's paper is something that is difficult to overcome. I don't have the time to adjust desks for every assessment, and different classes will be assessed on different days, so how do I account for this issue without driving myself crazy?

The importance of reflection and what it means to be a teacher

All too often, I find myself running from one place to another, often feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. There are days where I am moving constantly from the moment I wake until I am finally able to fall back asleep. I am sure there are many more teachers out there that find themselves in the same position every day, as well.

Yet I find that when I get a chance to look back on what has passed, I find that there are many things that I have missed, be it some of the connections I used to make with my students or a better way to get my content through to my students. This is such an important part of who I should be as an educator, but by not taking the time to reflect, I miss the chance to grow.

One week from now, my classroom will be full of students once again. That means I need to be at the top of my game. Anytime I am with students, if I am giving any less than my best, then I am not doing my job. That is the pressure of being an educator, and that is what I knew what I was getting into when I enrolled in the math education program at Millersville University back in 1998.

This push to remember to reflect comes from a summer where I attended two weddings where former students of mine were getting married. These two students were class officers for the class that I co-advised, which also happened to be ther group of students that started high school when I began teaching at A-C. Through planning prom to announcing some names at graduation, I grew quite close to those two students, and as the bride of this couple was looking to become a teacher, I was also able to give advice toward doing so. They are such a fun couple, and I was so pleased to know that they wished for me (as well as many of my colleagues) to celebrate their special day with them.

The second wedding was this past weekend, also for a couple from the same class. I knew that these two former students had also thought highly of me in their time here, and I was able to help them and their families through some difficult times. The bride from that couple gave me a thank you card while she was a junior (I keep all cards, photos, and other keepsakes given to me by my students), and I just happened to reread this card today as I was setting up my classroom. She thanked me for the help she received, but there was one statement that really hit home, where she wrote, "Thank you for being someone I trust. And the only person who has never let me down." How powerful a statement is that? I don't know of any other profession where such an impact can be made on a young person. Again, it was an honor to be able to celebrate their wedding day with them.

Of course, I have many other letters and thank you's from parents and students that I reread or post to remind me why I became a teacher. I need the reminders that the long hours are worth it, especially in today's climate where teachers are being blamed for many of the ills that we face. Well, I say, blame away. I will ignore those statements and continue to fight for what I know is right for my students.

So this year, even though I only have 12 graphing calculators for my class of 32 students, I won't complain about it. I will deal with it. I will press my students to try and find a solution to the problem, as I know there are other tools out there I can use, such as the Desmos, Inc. free graphing calculator. I will continue to work on my flipped classroom by trying new things, work at making more connections to the real world, and reflect on what works and what doesn't. And I will remind myself that my willingness to do things differently and trying to make math interesting is what made me a good teacher in the past, and continuing to incorporate those ideas will help me grow into a great teacher.

Zen.do - A Great Way to Study

Often, students may find it difficult to study for quizzes and tests, especially for those that are for things such as the periodic chart or assessments that are heavy on vocabulary. Most students do find flash cards to be helpful, but often it takes a lot of time to complete them. And the students would need to have flash cards to make them on.

This is where Zen.do comes in! Zen.do is a new service that allows for a user to create flash cards directly from their notes. The first step is to create a free account so that you can not only create, but save and access your flash cards at a later date. Once an account is created, there are three simple steps to take to create your flash cards. These steps are shown in the photo below, and will open up for you when you go to create a new set of flash cards.

Step 1: Title you document - This is done so that you can keep your flash cards organized. This can be very helpful for studying throughout a chapter. Older flash cards can be studied in preparation for a test or even the final.
Step 2: Create flash cards as you take notes - This can be very easy to do, especially if teachers provide notes in a digital format. Just copy and paste the notes, delete that which is not needed for studying, and add a hyphen and an answer. Whatever is placed beyond the hyphen will be on the back of the flash card, while whatever is places before the hyphen is on the front.
Step 3: Save and review - Once this is done, your flash cards are ready to go.

As this is still a new service, it doesn't yet have all of the features one would prefer to really take advantage of using flash cards as a study device, though they are working on them. Among the features in development are the option of being able to share flash cards (great for study buddies or for teachers that want to provide them as extra resources to students who are struggling), the ability to add pictures, and a mobile app for access on the go!

For more, visit zen.do and play around to make your own flash cards!

UPDATE: It appears that zen.do is now Study Egg. You may have noticed that if you tested the link above. I'm looking forward to checking it out this year, and I'm excited that they have an iPhone app, too!

PETE&C 2011 Cover It Live

PowerTeacher Gradebook: Quick Launch

Pearson, the provider of our Student Information System (PowerTeacher), is constantly updating the product it provides us. This is both a good thing and a bit of a pain. Like, when you try to launch your gradebook, you have to scroll the whole way to the bottom of the page after reading all of the updates (which have been listed for months) 

before you can launch your gradebook!

Or do you really need to scroll? Pearson did listen to some of the complaints of having to scroll through all of that text, and they have provided us with a "Quick Launch" button. I refer to it as the "non-scroll launch." You can do this in two simple steps while signed in to PowerSchool.

1. Click on the "Gradebook" button in the left pane.

2. Click on the "Quick Launch" arrow. This does the same action as clicking on the "Launch Gradebook" button at the bottom of the page, though it saves you from having to scroll.

I think this is a step in the right direction to speed up the process of opening our gradebooks quicker. I would be happier if the "Quick Launch" button was on all pages. But we can only hope, for now.

Goodbye, Delicious!

Big news yesterday on the tech front! It was announced that Yahoo! would be eliminating around 600 positions, and in the process, eliminate a series of services, the most important in the field of education being Delicious. [Update: Yahoo! appears to not be closing down Delicious, but selling it. Still, it is important to remember to create backups of things you want to keep around.]

This is big news for those of you that use the service. Delicious was one of the early sites that allowed for social bookmarking. Instead of just bookmarking a site for you to visit at a later time, Delicious allowed for bookmarking online, so you (or any number of friends/colleagues/students) could also access the same bookmarks anywhere in the world, as long as they could get online. After reaching great success, Delicious was bought by Yahoo! But now Yahoo! seems to be ready to drop the service. There is a possibility that customer feedback might force them to keep the service a bit longer, but don't hold your breath. So, if you use this service, now might be a good time to back up your bookmarks and upload them to a new service. Steps will be provided after an exploration of an alternate service.

One service that could act as a replacement to Delicious is a service known as Diigo. Diigo, like Delicious, allows for bookmarking and sharing over the web, but it also includes a few features, including groups. The use of groups allows you to not only share bookmarks in your own list, but also in a list that you share with others. I use one with other Pennsylvania instructional coaches (formerly CFF), educators on Diigo, and there is even one for virtual manipulatives for math.

If you are working with students and want to easily share a series of links to websites, creating a group in Diigo is one great way to do that. Create a group for your classes by period or by content area (government, geography, etc.) and allow the kids to not only access the links, but also share with the group as well. When bookmarking, remember to enter tags to help organize your bookmarks and also add short descriptions to provide information as to what can be found on the site. If sharing with a group, just select that group when sharing.

Below is a screenshot of how you would bookmark in Diigo using their new Google Chrome extension.

You can find extensions for various browsers here. You will notice in the screenshot that there are also options to bookmark a site as private (only you see the bookmark) or to read later. Other tools allow for open discussion of items on the page. You can highlight important text (again, both privately or publicly) as well as leave a sticky note to share ideas about the content with other readers.

So the real question now is how do you get your Delicious bookmarks into Diigo? You can follow along with Diigo's instructions, or follow the screenshots below.

1. Sign in to Delicious. Select "Settings" in the upper right hand corner of your screen.

2. Select "Export/Backup Bookmarks."

3. Export your bookmarks. This will create an HTML file that will allow you to import your bookmarks into Diigo. Make sure you do not change the extension on the file, and be aware of where it is being saved.

4. Sign in/create a Diigo account (it's free!) then select "Tools."

5. Select "Import from Delicious (HOT)" from the list on the left. This is a feature that is being used quite a bit since the announcement.

6. Select your HTML file that you downloaded in step 3 and click the "Import Now" button.

You will now have all of your bookmarks saved in Diigo. Diigo also offers an educator account here. You can upgrade an existing account if you did not know about this. While in the educator account, you can create class groups there. Learn more about the educator account here.

YouCanBook.me: Efficient Appointment Booking

One of the new things I have going this year is a way of booking me for instructional technology coaching. I am using a service known as YouCanBook.me to help keep appointments with teachers and staff more organized by allowing people to see the times I am available for collaboration, planning, just-in-time professional development, co-teaching, and a variety of other needs that go along with my instructional technology coaching.

YouCanBook.me connects to your Google Calendar to view times when you are busy and shares times you are available through a webpage or widget (see below). To set up, you must give permission to YouCanBook.me to access your Google Calendar. You might want to create an account specifically for use with this tool, as opposed to a personal calendar you may already have set up within Google. Remember, you can copy events from one calendar to another if you like.

Once the connection is made, you have a lot of options you can set up for use. You can choose when bookings can start and end, and how long they will last (the free account provides for 15, 30, and 60 minutes) and what days are available. You can also add events directly to your Google calendar and list them as busy so they do not appear in your possible booking times. On the booking form, you can add and delete various fields for use (the Captcha field will remain to help ensure you are not spammed). There is a confirmation notice that is sent, and reminders are an option, as well. When a booking is made through YouCanBook.me, it sends you a notification and creates the event for you in your Google Calendar.

This tool may not help out many high school teachers, but you might be able to think of a use for it. This is definitely a great tool for other tech and instructional coaches out there to help manage their time.

To see how teachers can book me, click here or view the embedded calendar below this post. I will delete any events readers create in my calendar, so feel free to try it out to see how it works.

Finds of the Week: May 24-28

Since I began blogging, I have been sharing great resources that I have stumbled across or that have been shared with me. But I often forget how important it is to remember that when you are thinking about integrating a tool into your classroom that you are doing it to help enhance your lesson, and not just to use it for the sake of using it. I have offered some small suggestions on how some of the tools can be implemented, but that doesn't mean that there aren't uses out there that haven't been thought up yet. I often need to remind the teachers on my staff that I am available to discuss these types of issues, even if it is only on a limited basis, being a half-time technology integration coach.

During a meeting with a teacher, we will look at the lessons the teacher has identified and discuss what the goal of the lesson is and then determine what, if any, technology could be implemented. There will be times where technology will take away from the lesson and integration won't be recommended. Of course, implementing a new technology could be a bit unsettling for a teacher who may not be completely familiar with the particular tool, but I am also available to go in and coteach in their classroom with them. Again, I am only available certain periods in the day, and if absolutely necessary for one of my teaching periods, there is always the possibility that I can get a cover for my own classroom. Our elementary teachers have another person available to them, but I also let them know that I can assist them with finding resources for their classroom if they give me enough time to find what they require.

So whether you need some resources, you want to have someone to bounce ideas off of, or you need some "just in time" training, make sure to use the resources that are available to you in your tech directors, tech integration coaches, and librarians!

And speaking of resources, here are some great finds for the week!

1. Google Docs Self Grading Quizzes - The end of the school year. A time of finals. And having to get senior grades in immediately. And waiting in line at that Scantron machine! Here's Google Docs to the rescue! Through this Screencast-O-Matic, a wonderful educator (I wish I knew who he was so I could give him proper credit) has shared how anyone can use Google Forms and Spreadsheets from Google Docs to create a self-grading multiple-choice quiz or exit ticket. There is a slight learning curve to setting up your spreadsheet and form, and you have be a little familiar with using formulas within spreadsheets, but once you have it set up, it is a breeze to use. And you can even let your students know what their grade is as soon as they submit their answers. Talk about immediate and timely feedback! As a bonus for you, you get a breakdown of how each question was answered in the summary for your form.

You can view the screencast below or click on the link above to see how to set up your own form and spreadsheet.

2. bomomo - Here is another site that's for our art teachers out there, or for other teachers that want to get that creativity shared with their kids. I don't have much of an artistic talent, but knowing some of our students, I'm sure they can come up with some extraordinary pieces of art with a tool like this.

Bomomo is a free web app that works in Firefox, Safari, and Chrome (and I'm told in many other browsers, too) and allows a user to get to work as soon as the site loads. There is a level of experimentation that goes along with using the site, but this experimentation also can lead to so interesting discoveries. When you have created something you like, you can save it as a low or hi resolution jpg.

3. Quizinator - Have you ever left your laptop at school, created a quiz or worksheet on your home computer, and then forgot to save it to a flash drive or email it to yourself? Or what if you want to share with other teachers? Quizinator is a site that allows you alleviate these problems and even to make it easier for you to create a multitude of worksheets and quizzes. With Quizinator, a bank of questions is kept from questions you enter, and you are able to select the questions you want and rearrange them using drag-and-drop. Once your document is complete, you obtain a PDF version for printing or posting online.

Quizinator has stated that they will always be free, but they are planning on adding premium features on top of what is currently offered. You can follow them on twitter (@quizinator_en) or read their blog for even more information and ideas. This resource was shared on twitter via @thadhaines.

Find of the Week: May 17-21

A day off on Friday meant I was unable to get the weekly blog complete. But wait! Here it is (just a few days lat). I think next year, I'll spread out the postings and post when a great tool or resource is found or shared. In the meantime, here is on great resource for the end of the year!

Cybraryman - This site was shared with me a few months ago, and I have taken my time perusing the site as there is A LOT to see. The Cybrary Man (real name: Jerry Blumengarten, or @cybraryman1 on twitter) has done such a wonderful job of gathering, identifying, and sorting so many great resources.

We begin by looking at the resources he has collected for parents. On this page, Cybrary Man provides resources that help parents deal with a wide variety of concerns, including how to deal with bullying, parenting tips, and communicating with children.

There is a selection for students, too. Here, resources are shared for the various subject areas, as well as tips for selecting the right college, study skills, test preparation, and connections to sports.

Of course, as an educator, you'll find plenty of resources for yourself, too. These resources are organized by job title (administrator, counselor, librarian, new teacher, etc.), grade level, or content area. One of the best parts of the site, especially here at the end of a school year, very well could be the Teacher Tools area, where you'll find things such as awards, certificates, and teacher comments.

Just exploring the resources Cybrary Man has provided could fill up the remainder of your school year and summer planning. Check back often, as many of the links will change, with old ones going away and new ones popping up.

Finds of the Week: May 10-14

This week, we look at some resources for our non-core area teachers.

1. Music4Education - This is a great site that provides sample lessons and resources for music teachers. The sample lessons are provided in a variety of formats, from Word documents to websites. Of course, as with any sample lessons, they can be tailored to fit the needs of your classroom.

The provided resources are through delicious. These are resources that have been collected by a music teacher. As they are on delicious, you can take advantage of the features of social bookmarking.

2. RealAge Videos - RealAge has a great collection of videos that can be used in both the FCS and Health classrooms. Among the collections of videos are videos for healthy eating, cooking tips and techniques, fitness, workouts, YOU and your body, and beauty and skin care.

RealAge isn't just videos, either. There are plenty of resources for helping you to live a healthy lifestyle. These resources can help with a multitude of lessons across content areas.

3. Keyarts - Pennsylvania has its own arts education space with Keyarts. On this wiki, you can find resources for the various arts, including dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. There are so many ideas on the site that help make connections to 21st Century education, grants and funding, and opportunities for students.

As we all know, the arts aren't just for the arts classrooms, and they are very essential to the core curriculum areas. Keyarts has a section on the wiki that shows connections to Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as what arts integration is all about.

Finds of the Week: May 3-7

This week, we focus on some content-specific resources for the four core areas: English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

English

Vaughan Memorial Library Tutorials - Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada has created a collection of tutorials for helping students learn about proper research, how to evaluate websites, how to harness the internet for searches, how to find sources, and how to avoid plagiarism.  For each tutorial, it begins stating why the information being presented is so important for our students to know, followed by what will be covered, and how long it should take to get through the tutorial (each are listed at 10 minutes).

These tutorials can be great resources for teachers to share with students as they progress through the research and writing process for research papers. Students are able to self-direct themselves through the tutorials as they work through the situations that are presented. These could also be great conversation starters for a classroom discussion on the issues. Just keep in mind that a few of the tips presented in the tutorials deal with the Vaughan Memorial Library and how to access materials there, as the tutorials were created for the library.

Math

Shodor Interactivate - One of the best ways to get students to comprehend mathematics is to allow them to discover some of the ideas and patterns in a hands-on manner. This can often be a difficult thing to do with some concepts, and that is where Shodor.org comes in.

There are many different ways to navigate through the interactives, as this guide shows. They are organized in groups by content areas: Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Modeling, Discrete, and Other.

When you choose an individual interactive, you will see four tabs: Learner, Activity, Help, and Instructor. For Learner, it gives an overview of what the interactive is and ways it can be used in activities and discussions. The Activity tab is where you try things out. Help, well, gives you a little help, explaining how the interactive works and what each part represents. The instructor tab gives some links to help connect to some state and NCTM standards, as well as a few textbooks.

Science

PhET from University of Colorado at Boulder - Math isn't the only subject that benefits from having virtual interactives to work with. There are many areas in science where they can be helpful, too, and that's where PhET comes in! PhET provides a collection of simulations that run through Java on your computer and include simulations for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth Science (and math, too). If intereted in working with these interactives, you can design your own lessons or work from lesson ideas on the site.

Social Studies

Wanderlust - There once was a time where much of the world was disconnected and unknown. It was a great time for exploration and wonder, adn Wanderlust helps today's students explore these ideas. From Magellan's circumnavigation to Amelia Earhart's unfinished flight, even fictional travels such as Around the World in Eighty Days, students can explore the facets of the voyages and explorations.

Finds of the Week: April 26-30

1. More Etherpad replacements - This was touched on a few weeks ago with Primary Pad and Typewith.me, but more and more Etherpad replacements keep popping up. Here are a few more.

TitanPad - TitanPad has the same interface as you would have seen with Etherpad, which is the same interface as Primary Pad and Typewith.me. You can instantly create a public pad for use and a random URL will be generated. You can invite others to work on the real-time document with you and see their edits as they type. Like the others, it does not save automatically, so make sure to periodically press "Save" so your work does not disappear. You can view old saved revisions and use a slider to see how the document developed over time. Before leaving the pad, make sure to copy the URL so you can return to the document at a later time, or export it in one of many formats (HTML, Word, Text, PDF, etc.).

Sync.in - Sync.in also has the same interface as you would see with the other Etherpad replacements, although it has more of a Web2.0 look and feel to it. There is also a pro account ($2 per user per month) where you have a little more control over who can access the documents, as well as search and filter through them. There are also fewer options for exporting and no importing options as you would see in the other replacements. (Shared via @ozge on twitter.)

As time goes by, there should be even more Etherpad replacements that arise, as the source for Etherpad has become open since (obtain information here) being acquired by Google. You can view a listing of many through etherpad.org.

2. What Should I Read Next? - Many times, teachers really struggle to get students to read for pleasure with all of the other options available to them (TV, internet, video games, etc.), so when you get a student to start reading, you want to keep the momentum going. But what should you suggest for them? What Should I Read Next is a site that will help you (and your students) find more books that fit any reading style. You can search by book title, author, or ISBN. For example, I just finished reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, so I did a search for that book and received this list of books I might enjoy. On the list, I can click on the American flag, and I am taken to Amazon where I can check the summary of the book and purchase it if it catches my fancy. With students, you can use this tool so they can find recommendations for books to sign out of a library. (Shared via Michelle Krill on Diigo.)

3. Astronomy Picture of the Day - NASA posts one picture each day with an explanation as to what it represents. Links are provided to give further explanations as to what specific concepts are. An archive of previous photos is kept, as well.

Working with these photos could be a great warm up for a science class to discuss to science behind the photos. In a language arts class, the photos could be presented to the class with a short writing prompt to open up creativity and a connection between science and language arts.

Photos are archived the whole way back through June of 1995. As you browse the older photos, you will notice a difference in the quality of the photos. This could lead to a discussion of technology and how it has progressed through time.

Finds of the Week: April 19-23

1. Online-Stopwatch: Let's start with a simple tool this week that has many uses: a stopwatch. This is a great tool that you can use to project on the board while students are doing individual or collaborative work. And there are a multitude of different timers you can use, including a full screen stopwatch that you can use to count up or down, an egg timer (watch the sand as it counts down), a countdown analog clock timer, and, if you want an explosive time in class, a bomb countdown timer. You even have the option of creating your own timer with custom sounds, and you can specify the time that would be on it for starting every time! For example, here is a bomb countdown with a sound more fitting that always counts down from one minute.

As an added bonus, this site has an online clock (an analog that can display Arabic or Roman numerals or digital) for class units where you are working on time or Roman numerals. Online-Stopwatch even allows you do download the timers, or even embed them in a website or blog!

2. Tagxedo - Tagxedo is an alternative to Wordle for a place to create a word splash. Tagxedo is in very early beta stages, and hasn't even been around for a month yet. I wanted to share this site last week, but there were still a lot of bugs that went with it, so it wasn't quite yet ready to be shared. There were issues with trying to upload new shapes to match the words into, issues with adjusting colors, and you couldn't save at that point, though you could always take a screen shot (Command-Shift-4 for us Mac users).

But this week, things have changed! Working with shapes is working wonderfully, adjusting colors works well, and users can save! At the right is an example of words from last week's finds in the shape of a key.

Word splashes are great ways for students and teachers to analyze speeches, written essays, and selected reading materials to help identify patterns in writing and concepts of emphasis.

3. Wolfram|Alpha - Wolfram|Alpha is a relatively new search engine that doesn't work like the traditional search engine. Wolfram|Alpha is a great resource for when you are looking for up to the minute data, such as the current price of a stock (here is current info for AAPL). When in an economics class, you can take the data readings from the same time each day and compare the differences, leading into a converstation as to why it may have gone up or down. For any stock, just type in the stock abbreviation in the search bar, and the information comes right up.

The best way to learn exactly what Wolfram|Alpha could do for you or your classes is to try different things out. The examples page gives you many different ways to use the information aggregated at Wolfram|Alpha. You can enter your birthday to see what events happened, including when the sunrise and sunset were, important mathematical and scientific revelations, and exactly how long ago your birthday was. Wolfram|Alpha even gives an answer to the age old question of, "Which came first? The chicken or the egg?" Of course, you might not agree, but that's a new discussion.

For math and science teachers, Wolfram|Alpha can be a very handy tool for exploring how to solve complex equations, as the search engine is built from Mathematica. This example shows how to integrate an indefinite integral. Many might look at this as a way for students to cheat on their homework, and it is true that some students might use it as such. At the same time, many once thought that using a calculator or computer should be considered as cheating, but the advancement of being able to use tools such as these help us all press on into a deeper understanding. Always remember that the tools are there to help enhance the learning, but the students will still have to demonstrate their knowledge. If they just use Wolfram|Alpha for the answers and not the learning, it will show up on their quizzes and tests.

Finds of the Week: April 12-16

1. PolyVision Wikispace - Many of you are already aware of this site, especially those of you that have received PolyVision training at school. The resources on this wiki are just links to interactive websites (some that will be reviewed in the future) and are organized into subject areas: Science, Math, History, and English. There are also links for best practices of interactive teaching with 10 interactive teaching tips, as well as connections to 21st Century Skills.

Some sample lessons are also provided, broken down by grade level: Elementary, Middle school, and High school. The RM Easiteach lessons link has the same resources broken down by subject area. There is even a link to download a Jeopardy template for use within RM Easiteach, which is the interactive software that comes with each Polyvision board. 

2. 8 Wonders of the Solar System - Here is a great little site for anyone interested in space. This site offers an artist's rendition of what we would see when we finally master space exploration and are able to visit the other plantes and moons in our solar system. Take a look at the imagery, it is simply amazing. A few links about the unique situations are also provided for your learning pleasure.

3. Storybird - Storybird is a site that is set up for digital storytelling, but instead of creating your own photos or art, you create a story based around artwork that his readily available on the site. There is a wide array of artwork available on the site.

Utilizing this site in class could lead to many different possible lesson. You could create a Storybird that only has the artwork and no text and see what creative stories you get from your students. You could create the story first and have your students provide the story. Or you could just allow the students to use the available artwork to make their own Storybird. Here is an example of a Storyboard so you can see what it's all about.