ICT Technology Day

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For the ICT Technology Day.  I am so grateful I was invited to be a part of it. 

The presentation from Kevin was motivating, inspiring, entertaining, thought provoking …insert other positive descriptors here.

I had the pleasure of participating in the two session facilitated by Jeremy: ePortfolio and My Media.  It left my head spinning but definitely got me reinvigorated and thoughtful about what next year might look like.  I am also grateful I had the opportunity to play around in tldsb.elearningontario.ca  (A great tool that pulls it all together…not intuitive enough for me but that’s o.k. it just means I need to book some time with Tina! …anyone care to join me?)

As wonderful as the presentations were today, I also appreciated the opportunity to network with colleagues.  I have yet another list of apps I need to install and websites I want to check out.  I thank the folks who shared them with me and wish now to share them with you:

(I’m just going to list everything that was in my notes from today.  Not all of them are new but I appreciated the reminder J)

Apps:
Haiku Deck (presentation tool)
Google Alert
Photogrid App (creates photo collages)
Thinking Blocks (Math)
Gizmo (Yeah!)
Music
Ocarina (Smule.com)
Garage Band (free)
Voice Band
Harmonica
Pocket Guitar

Websites:
tldsb.elearningontario.ca
kevinhoneycutt.org    (duh!)
Café Press.ca
Spoonflower.com
getkahoot.com
staff.tldsb.ca/ict/index.php/software  (It looks so pretty now!)

Help!! My autocorrect changed the cord progression App Kevin recommended.  I can’t seem to find it on his website.

padlet.com with all devices

In my plan I had stated that I wanted to use the iPads as engagement/consolidation tools. One site that I have been using a lot is padlet.com. Good news, this site (not an app) is free, and is accessible on all devices as well. I've set it up by getting an account for myself (free) and then pre-setting up some of the wall for use.

For example, when doing a Think-Pair-Share, students will have the iPads in front of them for the "share", use the qrcode scanner app (free) and then be navigated to the site. They then share their work and I encourage other students to expand upon each other's posts/notes (see ionic vs. covalent TPS wall). They can post images or graphics. I'll have the 'wall' loaded on my classroom computer and have the digital projector displaying the wall. Since I have an account and created the wall, I can edit, reposition or remove posts made on the wall.

I did a consolidation/check-in where students posted their "I feel..."s and "I need..."s after the second day of mass to mole to particle conversions. It was really just a glorified ticket out of class, but I think it was good because it was anonymous and students out loud stated that they were relieved that they saw others were struggling with grasping the content. As a teacher, it was great to be able to visually scan the notes and see where people were. Some students posted more than one comment which was good. I often struggled to get students to even post one post-it note on ticket out of class activities.

Examples:
I vs. C Share:
http://padlet.com/wall/ip22fbi0b0
I feel.../I need...
http://padlet.com/wall/nwmxrbhtv8