ISTE 2016 - Honorable Mentions or for Further Research

As always there is way too much information at tech conferences to the point of shutting down (that happened to me in Atlanta at my first ISTE conference). Focusing on trying to get a specific number of ideas/tools has really helped keep me grounded (make no mistake though... I am still overwhelmed but at least I come back with things to focus on).

I have to prioritize my notes but there are always items that are left over that deserve an honorable mention...or at least a blog note so I don't forget them.

These are:

www.brainrush.com - A FREE web tool for teachers to create games to be used in the classroom

You can create your own games or use premade ones. The site allows the teacher to associate their own voice with correct answers.

https://www.edu.buncee.com/home - I heard Buncee mentioned enough times that I made a star next to it in my notes to explore when I have time. It looks like it is a place to make and store lessons to share.

https://awesome-table.com/ - Awesome Table came up a few times as well. Apparently it is a web application that displays data from a Google Spreadsheet into various types of nice views. It looks a bit complicated (thank goodness for YouTube videos) but it had some potential in my world.

How To Festival - I ran past a poster session and stopped to listen to the presenter talk about a "How To" festival her high school puts on showcasing student talent (from harmonica playing to cracking a whip).The point is to pretty much showcase the awesomeness of the student body (which I thought was a fun idea). I am "bookmarking" it because I think it has potential as an alternative to a technology night. I was thinking rooms where students show parents "How To" do various things on the computer.

Ergotron Sit/Stand Classroom Desk (click to see the desks in action in a classroom) - I saw this on the vendor floor and actually spent two days trying to win one (I didn't). It is an adjustable desk that allows students to adjust the height very easily. It has a deep pocket for a water bottle and a pencil and tablet holder. A hook on the back can hold a backpack and there is an optional bin system that can be purchased to hold books. They are pricey - $350 when bulk ordering ($550 for just one) so it may not be financially feasible to outfit an entire school (or even classroom). Our district has several schools making over their media centers into "maker spaces" which is where I thought these cool desks might fit in.

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Digital Citizen Cards

This project idea came from a monthly challenge put out by Adobe Express. We have the free EDU version deployed in our district and I thought this might be fun to try with a class. I liked that there was a prize element where the students could win a classroom set of hero cards and it tied in with Digital Citizenship Week (October 17-21). I teamed up with an elementary technology lab teacher and we decided to try it with one fifth grade class. We looked over the available templates and decided we liked the layout of the 6-8 template the best (because they had to list advice for staying safe online). One of the best things about these Adobe monthly challenge templates is that they can be modified. The revised template can then be sent to students via a link or through Google Classroom. All the templates for this challenge Adobe gives you a sample template with sample wording but we wanted students to come up with their own wording. Neither one of us was ke...

Picture of the Day - Activity

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Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Activity

I saw this activity at a science conference years ago and haven't had a chance to use it in a classroom until this week (mainly because I didn't teach weathering, erosion, and deposition). It is a great way to reinforce the definition of the weathering, erosion, and deposition in a highly kinesthetic manner. Basically you break the students up into groups of three. One group is "Weathering" another group is "Erosion" and the third group is "Deposition". Add tape to the back because you are going to stick them to the forehead of the children in each group. The "weathering" students get a sheet of paper that is their "rock" they will be breaking down. At the start of the activity the "weathering" students will start ripping tiny pieces of their "rock" and handing it to the "erosion" students. The "erosion" students will be running their tiny piece of "rock...

Notebooking, Teaching, and Technology

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