Library app developers Capira Technologies and BluuBeam have separately announced the launch of micro location information services that will enable libraries to send highly targeted, location-relevant messages to Bluetooth-enabled Android and iOS smartphones.
I like to listen to music at work. I have a very task-related job, so I like having something there to help time move a little faster. But eventually, you get tired of streaming radio, even when you can customize … Continued
By The Hechinger Report
Twitter and Facebook might soon replace traditional professional development for teachers. Instead of enduring hours-long workshops
How can games unlock a rich world of learning? This is the big question at the heart of the growing games and learning movement that’s gaining momentum in
A Twitter Abbreviation Guide To Make Sense Of All That Crazy Talk
You can actually use Twitter in the classroom with Bloom's Taxonomy thanks to this awesome table that details nearly two dozen different ways to integrate the pair!
Do you know how to use hashtags? How about how not to use hashtags? This blog posts is a must read for anyone using hashtags.
"Joyce Valenza" graphite organizer guide tools technology
This is a guest post from Kelly Croy, 7th grade Language Arts teacher at Oak Harbor Middle School. The post was originally published on WiredEducator.com. My administrators have recently encouraged and required more formative assessments in my plan. As a result, I’m starting to use Edmodo a little differently and discovering that it’s a great way to integrate exit tickets. There are three features that help me conduct formative assessment in my classroom (and in ways my students actually enjoy):
Polls. A quick way to ask students what they learned after each lesson.
Quizzes. Easily assess comprehension with a few, short questions.
Notes. Start a discussion by posting a question in your groups.
When we chose to spotlight Shannon on National Library Workers Day, we had no idea how much we hit the librarian jackpot. Just recognized as a Library Journal Mover and Shaker and helping to design her district’s new library, Shannon absolutely loves being a teacher librarian and really lights up when talking about being able to make a difference by connecting with students, teachers, parents, and her community—especially with Edmodo. She feels she’s in a unique position to help students discover and follow their passions, and encourages them to find their voice within their community and share it with the world. The best thing about Shannon and her students using Edmodo in her district’s library? It’s entirely optional. The students are there and using it because they want to, not because they have to. They’re excited to learn and share their lessons with others.
Are you reaching fewer patrons through Facebook today than you were a year ago? Facebook Page posts have had a harder time reaching fans since the News Feed algorithm changes Facebook started last fall. This recent post from Ciceron sums up the impact of the changes. Last month I shared a post about using Facebook Ads to promote your library. Here are five tips for reaching more patrons through Facebook -- without spending a dollar.
In many districts, decisions about blocking and filtering online content are made without sitting down with educators to learn about their educational needs. Some technology directors take a reactive, knee jerk approach to blocking and filtering, basing their decisions on overly conservative and often inaccurate interpretations of the Children’s Internet Protection Act, without any consideration for the educational potential of various web tools. Instead of supporting and encouraging innovative teaching and learning, some technology directors discourage it. Blocking and filtering decisions should never be made by IT professionals in a vacuum, especially by those without actual teaching experience. In fact, the primary decision makers should be educators, with input from IT.
Guest blogger Tacy Trowbridge, group leader of Adobe's Education Programs, predicts that, by the year 2020, cloud-based apps and data will give students the flexibility and community to broaden their educational lives far beyond classroom walls.
Twitter chats are probably the aspect of Twitter that I find to be the most interesting and most useful. I follow a lot of different people on Twitter for a lot of different reasons
There are plenty of ways to integrate Twitter Lists in the classroom. Here are a few of the easier and more popular ways to integrate the useful tool.
You have searched out new people to follow, found some key hashtags and lurked around a chat. Now you are ready to step in.
How do you make the leap from admittedly passive Twitter newbie to ‘active’ participant? This post deals with some things to keep in mind as you work to get better at Twitter and grow your PLN.
In the digital age we’re asked to know just about everything about social media and digital services, and as informed consumers and information literacy educators we have to know more than most. But how do you share all of that knowledge with your learning community? Webcasting is one really good answer. Often it can be difficult to get students into the library for a workshop. They have so many activities competing for their time—core classes, extracurricular activities, work, and just being a kid. We’re also competing with other media for their attention—Dr. Who, radio, Internet, Facebook, games. Webcasting, or screencasting, offers you, the librarian, the opportunity to
connect with teachers, students, parents, and other community members, at a time that’s convenient for everyone. In essence, webcasting is just a recorded online presentation. It can include video and music, but most often it is just a recorded screen capture with voiceover—think Khan Academy and their instructional videos. Getting started is fairly simple, and being successful can be too, you’ll just need to follow a few golden rules.
As the word gets out about the many advantages of using Google docs, lots of teachers are becoming experts at creating and sharing documents in Google Drive – as well as exercising the “comments” and “see revision history” tools to provide student feedback on writing assignments. If you’ve rolled out Google Drive in your classes, either via individual accounts or through Google Apps for Education, then you know you can effectively employ it to share and collect assignments from your students. However, to save yourself from being inundated with electronic documents, you need to be sure that part of your lesson preparation includes effective workflow planning.