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Episode 137 - Blogging, Books, and RSS Changes It’s Friday, September 28, 2012 and welcome to episode 137 of Tech Talk for Teachers. I’m Tom Grissom and I'm Cindy Rich. Right Click Here to Download MP3 (30 minutes 57 seconds) In this episode we talk about a blogging project with 34 students and some of the issues we run into with using wireless Internet connections. We also talk about the National Book Festival that was completed last weekend in Washington, D.C. and we finish up with a couple of useful Technology Picks of the Week. Take a look at the brand new site, Congress.gov http://beta.congress.gov/ for federal legislative information. This beta site is exciting for educators that teach social studies or current events and are familiar with THomas.gov. Technology Picks of the Week. Tom's Pick Sound Cloud http://soundcloud.com/ Cindy's Picks Safeshare.tv http://safeshare.tv/ That wraps it up for episode 137 of TechTalk4Teachers. Show n...

Well, I was able to borrow 15 iPads and begin our literacy work.  It was a HUGE success.  The kids were so engaged on what was happening.  It was a moment where I just stood there and let the learning happen.  I did encounter a few issues; however.  Two of the station activities did not work with the iPads.  The first was due to a block from our internet filtering system.  I built this activity at home, so I was unaware of how the blocks might impact our lesson.  Also, one activity runs on flash.  Remember my earlier post about how iPads do not run flash?  Yep, I forgot my own advice. I guess I thought it ran through YouTube.  So, what I did was make that one station into a laptop station.  For the website that was blocked, I simply downloaded the short story I wanted them to listen to right into iTunes and they were able to enjoy the story.  So, my take away from this is: 1) QR codes immediately engage kids.  2) Our ...

Hi my friends! I have created a reading activity that includes the use of QR codes.  I will be using this with my 5th graders tomorrow.  I wanted a way to review "what good readers do" while checking in on the skills they have mastered and the ones I will be sure to focus on in the next few weeks.  Feel free to use it!  It was super easy to make. Let's walk through how I made this lesson. QR Codes and Great Readers   I first chose the topics/focus of my lesson.  I was actually inspired by this "Good Readers" poster I found on pinterest.  It did not link back to its original home.  I cannot find its  author, so if anyone out there knows who made this,  let me know so I can give credit to him/her. I then decided to make a QR code activity that reviews/assesses these skills.  I created questions that I wanted the students to answer.  I then found websites that would allow them to practice those skills.  For example, I chose v...

Episode 136 - We have the technology and we can use it It’s Friday, September 14, 2012 and welcome to episode 136 of Tech Talk for Teachers. I’m Cindy Rich and I’m Tom Grissom. We are changing things up a little bit. TechTalk4Teachers is moving to a bi-monthly format.     Right Click Here to Download MP3 (36 minutes 29 seconds) In this episode we talk about the all the technology available for teachers and students to use to create amazing projects. We also have a couple of useful Technology Picks of the Week. Technology Pick of the Week Tom's Pick Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch USB Slate http://www.wacom.com/en/products/bamboo/bambootablets.aspx Cindy's Pick Hero GoPro Caneras http://gopro.com/ Keep on Learning!

Hi friends! Well, the first week of school is now over.  The kids were ready to go, and I was excited to bring some new ideas into the classroom.  So, of course, I wanted to share those ideas with you.  The first is QR codes. QR codes are the new bar codes that can be read through free readers on smart phones and tablet devices.  You can also read them on your laptop.   You will start to notice these square codes on all sorts of products that you buy--like shampoo, coffee, breakfast cereal and much more.  QR Codes are easy to create--and even more fun to read.  It feels like a high tech treasure hunt. Here are my suggestions for apps to use QR Codes QR Code Readers For your iPhone/iPad: AT&T Reader or Red Laser QR Code Reader/Generator For your laptop: Esponce Reader and Generator Here is a video that shows QR codes in the classroom.  Coming up on the next post...I will be attaching some QR code lessons I plan to use in my classroom....

Ok, so not really steal.  Teacherspayteachers.com is an online marketplace where you can buy and then download lessons, units, posters, or even super cute clip art created by teachers all over the world.  It is super easy to use and very addicting.  I have purchased many fabulous things that have become part of my classroom routine. For instance, there are several QR code lessons for easing yourself into integrating QR codes.  What are QR codes and why would you ever use them?  Tune in this week for a crash course in QR codes.  In the mean time, here is a link to this amazing gem. Click here:   Teachers Pay Teachers There is also a similar site called Teachers Notebook.  It does not have quite as many resources, but I have found some great items there as well.  Here is a link for that site. Teacher's Notebook