Tech Talk for Administrators

Many educators depend on their PLN for ideas, updates to programs & apps, answers to difficult questions, etc. For this presentation, I used Twitter and Google+ to reach out to educators from around the world to generate ideas.

Build your own PLN on Twitter. Whether you're a lurker or a heavy-duty Tweeter, you will discover some of the best PD ever!

Twitter Lingo:

• # (Hashtag) - Twitter Hashtags are a way to categorize tweets by a keyword or phrase. Searching Twitter by a Hashtag can be very helpful when you are looking for ideas!

  The Complete Guide To Twitter Hashtags For Education

  The Best 100 Education Hashtags for All Educators on Twitter

• @ (at) - The at symbol connects to Twitter usernames. It is placed at the beginning of a username. For example, @corderj is the username for Janet Corder.
• RT (Retweet) - Retweeting is a way to send out someone else's tweet to the people who follow you. You can retweet word for word or you can add a comment to the tweet.
• MT (Modified Tweet) - A Modified Tweet is similar to a Retweet, but some of the words have been changed.
• DM (Direct Message) - This is a private conversation between the sender and the recipient and it cannot be seen by others.
• PLN (Professional Learning Network) - Your PLN is the group of people you rely on for your learning. Tweet out questions or ideas and you will be surprised at the helpful responses you will receive from your followers.
• Twitter Chats occur when a group of people tweets about a specific topic using the same hashtag (#). By using the same hashtag, participants can all follow along and respond to questions posted by a moderator. The chats are at a specific time and usually repeat weekly. Click here to find a Twitter Chat that interests you.

Favorite Administrator Hashtags and Chats
#cpchat - Connected Principals

#edadmin - School Administrators

#SATChat - dedicated to supporting school administrators

#EdLeadership - Educational Leadership

#SuptChat - Superintendent Chat

Ideas for Using Twitter in Your School or District:

• Hold regular Twitter Chats where teachers can share their thoughts and ideas for implementing the skills in their classroom that were taught in the PD session(s).
  
• Use Twitter to share events, awards, congratulations, etc. with your school, community and stakeholders to keep them informed.
  
• Create challenges for your staff to encourage them to use Twitter. For example, tweet a short video of a student explaining a math problem, science experiment, etc. Of course, giving prizes/rewards will help motivate everyone!

Read More:

How to Participate in a Tweet Chat by Janet Fouts

Why Schools Should Care About Social Media

Twitter For Schools: 8 Strategies For Success

Using Twitter for Professional Development

The PLN Matures. The Progression of the 21st Century Personal Learning Network

Administrators can use Smore for a variety of activities. Smore is especially useful as a parent newsletter! This easy-to-use website has a pricing structure that needs to be considered before you begin. The free version allows you to create 3 flyers. The paid Educator version gives you unlimited flyers and has several educational backgrounds and is $79 per year.

Tutorials:
Smore User Guide
How to Use Smore

Examples:

Happening at Hutchison

School Board Notes

In the Loop with the Sup!

Alice ISD

Monday Memo from Rice Elementary, Plano

HEB ISD, Harrison Lane Elementary

Coastal Middle School

Oak Ridge High School

Tech Tips from Goose Creek ISD

ThingLink allows the user to upload an image and create interactive links to text, music, video, sound and weblinks. Free and paid accounts available.

Examples:

Sewing Machine

Peter and the Wolf

Concord High School

Welcome to Mentor High School

School Map

Administrators, Librarians, and Counselors

Slides/PowerPoint Templates

SlidesGo, Slides Carnival, Slides Mania and SlidesPOP have a large selection of free Google Slides and PowerPoint backgrounds. My latest find is from 2 high school students who are creating Google Slides Templates. You can find their templates at My Perfect Presentation.

There are over 1000 fonts available in your Google Apps and on June 2nd, 60 new ones were added!

To add more fonts to your Google Apps:

1. Select More Fonts from the drop-down menu next to the font listed in your menu bar.

2. Type in the name of a font or use the various filters.

FYI...

• Think about readability for students with different needs.

• Anything kids need to read goes into Sniglet, Lexend Deca, or something similar. Please don't use fancy a's or curly t's!

• You can search the More Fonts options under Show to find Sans Serif fonts, which are easier to read.

See a list of fav fonts at bit.ly/favfonts1

Tutorial for installing fonts - bit.ly/moregooglefonts

The Best Google Font Pairings + More Design Tips for Teachers blog post by Hello Teacher Lady

Choice Boards are becoming very popular in classrooms, so why not model this amazing teaching strategy with your faculty/staff?

• Laura Cahill (@engageducate) recently wrote a blog post about a choice board for summer PD. Included in the article is a link to an editable copy of her board. Why not take Laura's Choice Board and create one for the fall?
• Amber Teaman's choice board, "Self care for principals…it should be a priority!" can be downloaded on this blog post.
• Natalie Davis also created a Summer PD that can be found here.
• Best Practice Group Choice Board (File, Make a Copy) by Nick Donato
  
• Tic-Tac-Toe Your Way to Teacher Choice: A New Model for PD by Debra Campbell & Michael McDonough
  
• Nearpod PD (File, Make a Copy) by Janet Corder & Angie Bakke (@corderj & @angiebakke)
  

SmallPDF and PDF Candy - includes a range of free and useful online PDF tools

gzaas! is a website that you can use to display full-screen text messages. It's a great way to share a web link or welcome message with your class or audience.

1. Type in your text.
   
2. Click the gzaas it! button and select font, colors, backgrounds, styles and more.
   
3. Click the Share It button if you want to create a link to your message or just display the image through your projector.
   

Be careful if you are displaying a URL that is case-sensitive because some of the fonts are in all caps.

Crafty Text is a Chrome Extension that also allows you to display your text in full-screen mode.

The following tutorials will introduce you to some great tech tools that are available for scheduling appointments and meetings.

• How to Schedule Appointment Slots in Google Calendar by Richard Byrne
  
• Google Keep and Google Calendar
  
• Introduction to You Can Book Me
  
• Sign Up Genius Introduction
  
• How to Use Calendly
  
• Using Doodle for easy group scheduling
  

How do you get feedback from your entire staff? Here are a few of our favorite tools:

Padlet - There is a yearly cost if you want more than 3 Padlets, but this just might be one tool that is worth the $.

Nearpod - You can now make a 1 Slide Nearpod, so the Collaborate Board is a great option for hearing from every staff member. The Collaborate Board is part of the Silver (free) version of Nearpod.

Wakelet - Free and easy to use

Linoit - similar to Padlet

Dotstorming - Only 1 board for free

Mentimeter - Quickly gauge what your staff members are thinking with this tool. The free version allows you to have 2 questions per presentation.

Want to quickly create a Google Doc, Slide, Site or Form? Just type one of the following and you will be ready to create!

• doc.new
• sheet.new
• form.new
• slide.new
  
• site.new
  
• jam.new

Administrators can use these two Chrome Extensions to easily create videos and screencasts.

The Screencastify Chrome Extension offers free and paid accounts. Educators can apply for a free Loom account by clicking here and completing the application process.

• Create video updates for staff & parents

• “Flip” staff meetings

• Record Announcements

Unscreen can be used to easily remove the background from short videos and convert them to a .gif. Add these .gifs to your Slides, google docs, etc. to engage your students!

The free version allows you to upload a 5-second video.

1. Open unscreen.com.
2. Click Upload Clip.
3. Locate your video clip and click Upload Clip.
4. Click Download.

Supported formats: .mp4, .webm, .ogg, .mov and .gif

Tutorial with a great example: bit.ly/unscreentutorial

Do you need to remove the background on your latest selfie? Remove.bg does the trick! It currently only works with pictures that have people in them. Photo Scissors is another site that also removes the background from photos.

Pixabay and Unsplash are great websites to find free pictures from anywhere in the world.

10 Tips for Supporting Students with Special Needs in #RemoteLearning is a blog post by Jake Miller (@JakeMillerTech) highlighting tips that he curated from other educators.

IdeaBoardz is a collaboration tool that allows users to collectively brainstorm (similar to Padlet). Users can “like” posts from their classmates/colleagues. You can create your own board, indicating the number of sections (columns) you would like the board to have or you can use one of their pre-made formats.

1. Login to your account and click Create My Own IdeaBoard.

2. Fill in the information about your board and click Create. Under format, there are pre-defined formats or you can create your own.

3. Share the URL with your students.

4. Students open the board and click on the green plus sign to respond. They can comment and vote on other posts by clicking in the bottom left corner of the note.

5. You can search for topics on the board by using the search filter in the top left corner.

6. Click the Export button to save your board as a PDF or Excel spreadsheet.

Flipgrid is a video response tool that is used to create discussions between all students within your classroom. Teachers post a topic or question via text or video and the students respond to the prompt. Why not try using Flipgrid in your staff meetings to gather input from all attendees? Outside of meetings, Flipgrid can be used to reflect on an article or chapter from your book study, give every employee a chance to share new ideas or have faculty members introduce themselves to each other, students and/or parents.

Inspiration: End of Year Faculty Meeting Reflection Using @Flipgrid

A Flipgrid Fliphunt is an engaging way to get your students moving and having fun while exploring the curriculum. It is basically a video-based scavenger hunt using Flipgrid. Follow the creator of Fliphunts, Kathi Kersznowski - @kerszi.

• You can find Fliphunts by subject area at this community crowdsourced grid. Click on the bar under the banner to access the various topics.
• Also, search the Disco Library (at the top of your Flipgrid page) for Fliphunts!

Examples and Ideas:

• Conference Fliphunt
• Geometry Fliphunt
• Skeletal System Fliphunt
• Staff Fliphunt
• Geometric Scavenger Hunt
• Parent-Teacher Conference
• Zoo Fliphunt
• Student Conference
• PE Fliphunt

Blog Posts:

• Let's Go on a Fliphunt with Kathi K!
• What’s A #Fliphunt?
• Let's Go On a Fliphunt

*Get rid of paper agendas by using a QR Code to take teachers directly to the agenda.

*Shared Notes in Google Docs allow your staff members to have access to the notes at any time and anyone can add to the notes.
*Create a LiveBinder for a campus notebook - meeting notes, schedules, fire drill info, dismissal charts, duty schedules, or relative websites could be kept and accessed during meetings and easily referenced throughout the year.

• High School Example
• Elementary School Example
• Title I Forms Notebook

Google:

• *Use Google Keep for sharing lists with different teams or individuals on your campus.
  
• *Use Google Classroom as the portal for all staff mtg agendas and landing space for everything that staff needs throughout the year. They could also use the stream to post questions or facilitate discussions.
  
• *Google Forms and Sheets for things like Classroom walkthroughs, RTI paperwork, failure reports, lesson plans. Google sites for an information hub.
  
• *Staff GoogleClassroom weekly communications, items to be turned in easily tracked, staff meetings not dominated by info, info pushed thru GC! Weekly Newsletter also published here. Everything accessible, don’t have to search email!
  
• *Google Drive to set up systems for continuous improvement and collaboration.

*Create QR codes to hide answers around the room or building that have video or website clues to training material or meeting information.

*Post a question in Voxer prior to the meeting to get staff thinking about the topic(s) of the meeting. You could also do this on Twitter. Then allow staff to respond before the meeting or after as a way to reflect on or share knowledge gained or thoughts.
*Create a Symbaloo webmix of important websites, PD sites, etc.

Shana Ellason of Ft. Worth ISD created this webmix of sites that includes tools that can be used to engage your staff members during meetings or professional development.

Here are some other examples of how schools use Symbaloo for their staff:

• SHS Staff Tools
  
• Texas Assessment Program
  
• Staff Desktop

*Use Skype for an Interview with prospective teachers. Make sure that they are in their room and ask them to give you a tour of their room.

*Add @AppleEDU iBook Elements of Learning, the focus of our recent Twitter chat book study series #lovethatbook

*Tech tools: MS OneNote, Forms (like Google surveys). Model use of tech: being proficient in the use of these forms to read & share data.

*Smore for newsletters

*Class Creator helps schools streamline their student placement process.

*Use iMovie or any other video creation tool to create information videos for your staff.

Heather Patterson (@pinkpatterson) Lamar Consolidated ISD, Texas

Amber Teamann (@8Amber8) - Crandall ISD, Texas

Roland Rios (@drrios) - Ft. Sam Houston ISD, Texas

Kari Murphy (@karimurphy) - Deer Park ISD, Texas

Jennifer Williams (@JenWilliamsEDU) - Consultant, Florida

Dr. LaShera McElhaney (@drsheramac) - Southwestern Assembly of God University, Texas

Cori Coburn-Shiflett (@coburncori) - Georgetown ISD, Texas

Dwight Goodwin (@scout2i) - Grapevine ISD, Texas

Knikole Taylor (@knikole) - Consultant, Texas

Joe Marquez (@JoeMarquez70) - CUE, California

John Bimmerle (@J_Bimmerle) - Sulphur Springs ISD, Texas

April Riley (@April_Riley) - Aledo ISD, Texas

Heather Kilgore (@TechyKilgore) - Commerce ISD, Texas

Cari Sturch (@TigerCurriculum) - Commerce ISD, Texas

Natalie Arnold (@Pi4MrsArnold) - Northwest ISD, Texas

Lee Hattaway (@l_hattaway) - Wylie ISD, Texas

Charles Cooper (@Thrasymachus) - ESC 11, Texas

Courtney Kofeldt (@CourtneyKofeldt) - PA Leadership Charter School, Pennsylvania

Dianne Leoni (@LeoniDianne) - Hillsborough Township Board of Education, New Jersey

KC Testerman (@kctesterman) - Canvas, Pennsylvania
David Dyer (@cdaverun13 ) - AISK, Kingston, Jamaica
Monica Burns (@ClassTechTips) - Consultant, New York

Amy Roediger (@AmyRoediger) - Mentor Exempted Village Public Schools, Ohio

Jeannine Freeman (@TechTimeWithJ9) - Fort Sam Houston ISD, Texas

Rodney Turner (@techyturner) - Consultant, Phoenix, Arizona
Todd Nesloney (@TechNinjaTodd) - TEPSA, Texas

Shana Ellason (@sellason) Ft. Worth ISD, Texas

Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) Casady School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Lisa Langston (@PrincipalLang) Ft. Bend ISD, Texas

George Couros (@gcouros) Edmonton, Canada

Don Jacobs (@Don_Jacobs) Royse City ISD

Kevin Worthy (@kworthy11) Royse City ISD

Tony Vincent (@tonyvincent) Council Bluffs, Iowa

Jessica Johnson (@PrincipalJ) Wisconsin

Brad Gustafson (@GustafsonBrad) Wayzata, MN

Adam Welcome (@awelcome) Lafayette, CA

Justin Tarte (@justintarte) St. Louis, Missouri

Aaron Hogan (@aaron_hogan) College Station ISD, Texas

Robin Ryan (@robinryan_gcisd) Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Texas

Todd Whitaker (@ToddWhitaker) Columbia, Missouri

Eric Sheniger (@E_Sheninger) Cypress, Texas

Kristy Owens (@KOwens_BFND) - Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Jared Stevenson (@eduk8r_Jared) - Pflugerville ISD

Craig Klement (@craigklement) - Garland ISD

Angela Smyers (@AngelaSmyers) - Irving ISD

Christi Morgan (@ChristiAMorgan) - Sunnyvale ISD, Texas

Janet Corder
www.j2training.org
janet.corder@gmail.com

@corderj