Bit-O-Tech - October 2024

We're All Learning Together

"If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are." 

-Master Shifu, Kung Fu Panda

It feels like we just left summer but here we are well into fall.  The temperatures seemed to have finally cooled and the fall colors are starting to emerge.  By this point in the school year I'm sure all of you are settled nicely into your routines and are most likely nearing the end your first quarter.  I've always struggled with the notion of "routine."  I love it.  I love structure and knowing when and where things are happening.  But I also can be easily bored with too much routine.  

This reminds me of a scene in in the movie Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams plays an unconventional teacher named Mr. Keating at a private school.  In this scene, Mr. Keating hops up on his desk and tells his students that “Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. Even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try.”  In my work, I am challenging teachers and students to try a new way of doing things whether it is by adopting a new application or integrating new strategies into their existing education technology such as EduProtocols.  And it can be daunting, uncomfortable or even irritating.  

The hard part, for a teacher, is that none of us wants to look foolish in front of our students.  So we are often apprehensive about using new tech or tech-based ideas.  Especially once we've gotten this far into the school year.  So let me introduce you to Laurie Guyon, an Integration Specialist for Schuylerville Central Schools in New York.  I could list her certifications and accomplishments but it would take the rest of this post.  She's darn near done it all when it comes to educational technology integration.  

But she has developed some ...

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Best Practices for Integrating New Tech

1. Learn alongside your students

When Guyon first led her sixth graders through Hour of Code, she had never written a line of code in her life. They learned it together — and discovered a hidden expert in the room. An English language learner who rarely spoke to anyone became the day’s hero as he walked around the room and helped his peers troubleshoot their code. 

By becoming a co-learner, teachers empower students to take charge of their own learning while also modeling the habits of a lifelong learner. For educators who feel outside of their depth with technology, simply saying, “Let’s learn it together” can lead to powerful experiences.

2. Thinking in mini-lessons

Students don’t get better at something by listening to a teacher deliver a lesson. The real learning happens once they start practicing the skill. Breaking subjects down into 10-minute mini-lessons followed by an activity or practice period helps make learning more digestible and gives students the opportunity to try out new information right away.

3. Make connections 

Learning to code may not seem like an obvious fit for an English classroom, but Guyon quickly saw its value — and didn’t hesitate to point it out to her students.  

“Kids never want to rewrite and fix their work, but when they have a robot on the floor and it’s not moving, they’re going to rewrite until they get it right. Now they see the purpose of editing — as long as you bridge that correlation for them. I’d tell them to think of it like code, and then it was a lot easier to get them to edit their essays.”

4. Allow time to explore 

When teaching a new technology to either students or fellow educators, Guyon doesn’t deliver much instruction beyond how to log in. Then she sets them free to explore. Once they’ve had time to play around with the app and figure out how it works, she starts building the lesson from there.

“A lot of times it’s just a matter of getting out of the student’s way,” she says.

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Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Drive

I love keyboard shortcuts.  I've always been a "keyboarder" rather than a "mouser" so once
the hands hit the keys, I get annoyed when I have to remove them to do things.  The problem is keeping track of them.  There are the standard ones that are universal across all things (copy, paste, delete, save, etc) but then there are ones specific to applications.  

I bet you didn't know it but Google Drive has a plethora of keyboard shortcuts.  I'm not going to list them all here because that would be counterproductive.  Instead, I'm going to give you a couple that I found myself using the most and then where to find the complete list of them so you can explore on your own and find the shortcuts you want to use.

I recommend 12 to 20 meaningful interactions with these shortcuts within the next week in order to make them more of a habit.

Rename a Folder or File

Windows/ChromebookOS & macOS press F2

I am always dragging or uploading something into my Google Drive and I always prefer to rename the file to match my way of organizing things.  The F2 key automatically brings up the renaming window.  Whether it's a folder, file, image, or anything else.  If it's your item in Google Drive press your F2 key and you can rename the file any way you want.  Although, keep in mind some keyboard require you to press a function key to access your function keys.

Move Items

Windows/ChromebookOS press ctrl + alt + m

macOS press command + option + m

I am ALWAYS moving things in my Drive.  If I create a new file or upload files from elsewhere, I am moving them into folders or out of folders or creating new folders for new items.  This shortcut is huge for me.  Make sure your folder(s) or file(s) are selected and press the correct key combos above.  The move files window appears.

Extend Selection

Windows/ChromebookOS & macOS press shift + arrow key

If you're in list layout, select an item, hold down the shift key and press the up or down arrow key to continue selecting items above or below.  If you're in the grid layout, you can also use the right and left arrow keys and go any direction you want.

If you want to see ALL of the Google Drive shortcuts, while you're in the Drive window press Ctrl + / (Windows/ChromeOS) and Cmd + / (macOS).

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Looking for Quizlet Alternative?

I recently helped my daughter find a new notecard/flashcard alternative.  She was a big Quizlet fan but several of the features she cherished went behind a paywall.  Because this is what I do, I found her a free alternative.  I might've found all of you a free alternative.

Enter Knowt (https://knowt.com/).  It even advertises itself as "The BEST Free Quizlet Alternative."  And from everything I can tell, it lives up to its claim.  However, there is a paid version.  I don't think there's every not a paid version anymore.  But Knowt's free version does quite a bit.  Students can, of course, make their own flashcards.  But there is a learn mode which helps them organize and setup a studying plan based on when a test is and what they have to learn.  There are unlimited free practice tests, free image attachments to flashcards, flashcard formatting and spaced repetition mode.

There is also a robust teacher side to all of this where you can create and roster classes, assign study decks, track student progress, search and use flashcard decks from the Knowt library and a great deal more.  

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Teachers Doing Great Things with Tech

I'd like to begin featuring teachers who do great things with technology education or who integrate tech tools into their regular instructional practices.  This month I'd like to feature Allison Bentley.  Allison is a STEM and Math teacher at Archbold Middle School.  I've known Allison for several years now and am continually impressed with how she not only teaches STEM and technology but uses the tech tools at hand to supplement her instructional practices and enrich her students' experiences.

Allison has created the Archbold Middle School Digital Citizen License Bureau using Google Sites.  In her "license bureau" students go through 9 areas of digital citizenship formatted in a digital escape room environment.  Students view and complete the lessons entering the required information to unlock each area.  Once they have unlocked all areas they are awarded their Digital Citizen License.

This is a fantastic approach to engage middle schoolers.  The lessons include digital rights, commerce, literacy, security, law, communication, access, health, and etiquette.

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