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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Bit-O-Tech - Septemer 2024

The Mission is Critical

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”-Albert Einstein

As teachers open their doors to a new school year and a new students, not knowing what challenges and opportunities this year will bring, this quote resounds with me in an unexpected way. At first glance, perhaps, one might read a famous historical mind being witty or even slightly sarcastic. But after allowing it to roam in my mind for a while, this quote offers a much deeper truth and insight about our role as educators in a difficult time.  

While we, as educators, are tasked with the distribution of a curriculum to our students in our respective subjects and grade levels we need to remember that there is a much greater responsibility and privilege that has been entrusted to us. We need to remember that curriculum, lessons, assessments, projects....all of it....is but the instrument we use to help shape a person. We are responsible for the development of young minds. We can attempt to fill those minds with facts and formulas and answers but knowledge is only the beginning of an education not the end.

How to use that knowledge. That has become of critical importance to our mission as teachers of young minds. Studies tell us that a brain is not fully developed until twenty-five and that is a somewhat frightening thought when we realize the access students have to an endless stream of information that is too often accessed without guidance of mature thought and ability to process. And despite these amazing advances in technology and our ability to facilitate content to our students, the first best and most important means for them to truly "learn" comes from their personal experiences at the guiding hand of caring educator.

And while this little blog seeks to help you with tech tips, tools and a bit of fun, it is also my hope to support you in the difficult but critical task in ensuring our young people receive the absolute best "education" that our talents allow.

So with this edition, I will offer some tools and information based on social emotional learning, online safety and a little bit of mental health for you.

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SEL in Digital Life

Common Sense Media is an incredible site whose mission isn ONLY about providing student, families and schools with support to better educate and prepare young people for interacting positively in a digital world. They have an entire wealth of tools, resources, knowledge, advice for assisting educators and families in this overwhelming task. Their digital citizenship lessons are layed out very logical for every age group of student from early elementary through high school. They are easy to access and apply to your classes. You can access everything they have to offer at their Common Sense Education website.

But the main resource I want to share with you is a simple and informative information sheet developed by Common Sense called SEL in Digital Life. It is a chart of skills & dispositions progression categorized by SEL competencies and grouped by grade level.

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Social Media TestDrive

For each edition I am going to endeavor to provide a resource for a specific grade level (however, it may be applicable to all grade levels). Social Media TestDrive is geared toward middle school-aged students. It is a free website and platform designed to help teach students about key digital citizenship topics within a protected simulation of social media platforms. It offers the ability to engage in safe and responsible online communication and to think critically about the content a student can see online.

It is a transparent website that offers training for educators and a parents' section where they can try it out to see what is being taught to their children.

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Teachers Love Timers

You know it's true. Whether it's a built in widget on your interactive board, a quick setting in Google or even a coach with a stopwatch, we all love timers. I've found a pretty easy and very visual one that's simple to configure (although it does have some slick customization features). It displays large and changes colors when it's in the final countdown. And, best of all to us teachers, free.  

Check it out at https://www.aftel.net. Bookmark it so you always have access.

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Take Time to Breath

Finally, it's really, really hard to remember that we need to take time for ourselves. Living bell-to-bell and rushing to get copies made or emails replied to is the constant in our lives. It's okay to just stop and stare. In fact, it's encouraged. The website Do Nothing for 2 Minutes helps. Turn up the volume, and listen to gentle waves while looking at setting (or rising) sun. The website tells you "just relax and listen to the waves, do not touch your keyboard." It starts a timer for 2 minutes and if you move your mouse or touch your keyboard it gives you a gentle admonishing, "try again." Two minutes may not seem like a lot or it may sometimes seem like too much but when you hit these rough waters (and you will) remember to just.....take....a.... moment.

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