Tech Matters

⏰ Time Commitment: 1 hour even on October 13, plus time for reading the article

🏆 Points: 100 Points + Badge

WHAT IS RESEARCH RENEGADES?
Research Renegades was born to create a community within COEHS that is interested in discussing current research and learning from each other's perspective.

EVENT DETAILS

Join us on Friday, October 13, from 9-10 am in the Multipurpose room to discuss this semester's article: "Exploring student perceptions and use of face-to-face classes, technology-enhanced active learning, and online resources." Refreshments will be served!

RSVP

Click HERE to RSVP and receive a link to the article. Please try to RSVP in advance to help us get an accurate head count for refreshments.

The EdTech Explorer Program was designed with flexibility in mind. Each month, we will spotlight a handful of opportunities to earn points. These are just a few of the ways you can personalize your exploration. Check out the points menu on the Explorer Site for a full list.

We understand that you have many demands on your time, so each spotlight includes a rough estimate of the time commitment. Even if you only manage to squeeze in 10 minutes per month, by the end of the semester you will have clocked almost an hour of growth! We hope this program will encourage and motivate you on your learning journey. We can't wait to grow with you!

⏰ Time Commitment: 10 minutes

🏆 Points: 25 Points

Your voice matters! We would love to hear from you to better tailor the information we are focusing on and sending out. To earn your points, click here to complete the survey. The survey is designed where it can be anonymous. If you would prefer not to put your name on the survey, email Rebecca that it has been completed to receive your points.

⏰ Time Commitment: 2 - 3 Hours

🏆 Points: 150 points + Badge

This badge course is made up of 2 modules. Module 1 includes 12 lessons designed to cover the basics. It's the perfect introduction to forms, or a quick knowledge refresher. Module 2 includes 9 lessons which allows you to dive deeper into Advanced Forms Topics. Work through the course at your own pace. 👉 Click HERE to sign up! 👈

We've got two different ways for you to grow your EdTech PLN this month!

1️⃣ JOIN THE #EDUKATE COMMUNITY GOOGLE GROUP
⏰ Time Commitment: 2 minutes 🏆 Points: 10 points

The #eduKATE Community Google Group is a place where you can ask EdTech questions and keep up-to date with EdTech news. 👉 Click HERE to join! 👈

2️⃣ FOLLOW EDTECH THOUGHT LEADERS ON X (aka Twitter)

⏰ Time Commitment: 10 minutes 🏆 Points: 5 points for each (Max 50 points)

Here are a list of some of our favorites to check out!

X (TWITTER): KATE (@KATE_MSU), Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) , Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy), John Spencer (@spencerideas), Eric Curts (@ericcurts), ISTE (@ISTE), Holly Clark (@HollyClarkEdu), Stephanie Howell (@mrshowell24), GoldEdu (@GoldEDULLC) Alice Keeler (@alicekeeler), Todd Finley (@finleyt), Dr. Catlin Tucker (@Catlin_Tucker), John Sowash (@jrsowash), Sam Kary (@samkaryedu, @NewEdTechClass), Tony Vincent (@Shapegrams), TCEA (@TCEA), Jake Miller (@JakeMillerTech)

⏰ Time Commitment: 5 - 10 minutes

🏆 Points: 25 points

Your daily work with technology is incredibly valuable -- for both you and your colleagues. What's your "ordinary" may be someone else's "EXTRA-ordinary!" Whether it's a tool you've found useful in your teaching or a tech solution that's streamlined your productivity, your experience could benefit or inspire others! Take a few minutes at your next department meeting to do a Tech Share! To earn points email Rebecca to let her know what you shared about!

First, I know that this is only the tip of the iceberg for how tech is being used in our college, but I am a true believer that seeing how others are using technology helps to inspire us! So I wanted to highlight just a few of the ways our COEHS family has been using tech in the month of August!

Practicum II pre-service teachers in ECE created QR code-linked video directions for a science lesson, which was integrated into a larger station rotation activity. Students were responsible for designing a station, and then rotated through all of their peers' stations, experiencing them through the lens of a student.

In the center pictured below, the creators of the stations asked participants to solve the following real-life problem. Students were shown a short clip of squirrels on campus, and then were asked to think of solutions to help prevent the squirrels from being destructive. Participants had to devise creative, squirrel-friendly solutions that were shared asynchronously with peers.

Dr. Hancock completed the Digital Checklist Make & Take, adapting it to track all the steps of the research process. I love how she took the skills from this session and adapted them to best suit her needs!

Tamela created this amazing scene for the Bitmoji Make & Take and filled it with links to books that she wants to remember for her boys! Click on the image to explore and maybe pick up some book ideas!

Dr. Bloomdahl created this stunning flipbook that she is planning on including in her first email to new advisees! This resource is an amazing way to provide students with key information in one location that is easy to update! What an innovative way to use this Make & Take! Click the image to explore!

Terri Grief decided to use the Digital Flipbook Make & Take to create a project with her students. She created a exemplar, then asked each of her students to create their own. Each flap features a different genre and is an amazing way to use multimedia to recommend books and promote interest in different titles! Click the image to explore a student example!

Missy, or as I like to call her "Missy the Great", completed the Digital Flipbook Make & Take by creating an amazing onboarding guide that could be used by new employees when they start in our college. Having been here a year, I am about to lose my "new" label and I STILL need something like this in my life! Click the image to explore!

Debbie and Madison did an awesome job creating a printable version of a flipbook to be shared out at schools. Whether you're wanting to design a physical or digital flipbook, Slides is a great platform to design in!

Brenda Owen and Dee Gupton learned how to use Canva this past month by creating FUN Digital Stickers. This project is such a great way to learn so many foundational skills in this platform!

Click here to see Brenda's creation and here to see Dee's!

Locking your file will prevent anyone from editing or commenting. A file editor can unlock the file.

When a recipient selects a time they are available to meet a calendar invite will automatically be created and added to your calendar.

Many people have at least opened ChatGPT and played around with it a little bit. The longer you use it, the more you may have played around with "prompt engineering", or in other words, how you write your prompt to get the best results. There are many "recipes" out there but here is one that Missy sent me recently that I thought was really good!

1. Task- This is the most obvious part. All you have to do is give ChatGPT a task to perform. To do this, you need to use an action verb. For example: "create", "generate", "summarize", etc.

E.g.: Generate a table with fruits to eat in summer.

2. Context- This is what is often forgotten by those who write prompts. And yet it's one of the most important things.You need to give ChatGPT all the background information you have, so that its response is as precise as possible. Otherwise, its response will be general and often unsuited to your situation.

E.g.: I'm a content creator talking about artificial intelligence on Twitter/𝕏. My audience is mostly made up of solopreneurs and people who want to learn how to master AI.

3. Examples - That's the best way to get the results you want. If you already have an example of what you want to achieve with ChatGPT, give it to it for inspiration! That way, it's much less likely to go wrong and give a general answer.

E.g.: (Task) Give me design ideas for my website with an object, a color, an action and a style. For example: "A blue robot sitting on a chair in a futuristic style".

4. Persona - This method is better known, but unfortunately not often applied! It consists in giving ChatGPT a role so that it understands what is expected of it. For example, giving it a job is an excellent idea.

E.g.: You're a recruiter who's been working in human resources for 20 years.

5. Format - Now that ChatGPT knows what it needs to do, all that's left is to tell it how to present its answer. And the good news is that it can do almost anything. Whether it's a table, a list, bullet points, markdown text (with headings, paragraphs), and much more.

E.g.: Give your answer in the form of a table with 3 columns: "Type of task", "Ease", "Degree of urgency".

6. Tone- This part is optional, but I still recommend applying it. Personally, I use it all the time, as it again avoids undesirable results. Give ChatGPT the tone, style or mood with which it should write its reply.

E.g. "Use a formal, professional tone to give your answer".

Except from Paul Couvert's Newsletter

⏰ Time Commitment: 5 minutes

🏆 Points: 25 points

Email Rebecca about something you found interesting or useful in the newsletter! What did you like? What did you try? Sharing with one another is how we learn best!