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May 2012  

Welcome to the first issue of the Matador Digital Learning Digest! To begin, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Randy Rodgers, and as of April 16 I am the new Director of Digital Learning Services for Seguin ISD. I come here from Birdville ISD, in the suburbs of Ft. Worth, where I have worked in instructional technology for the past decade. I am a former elementary and middle school teacher. I have a beautiful wife, 2 amazing children, and a very spoiled toy schnauzer, Chloe. Having lived in and around Birdville for the majority of my life (29 of the past 36 years), this is a huge and exciting life change. We love this part of the state and are hopeful of setting down

roots here in Seguin for a long time. I’m excited about the vision that SISD has for technology’s role in our students’ future learning. Throw in the people, the outdoors activities, and the BBQ, and coming here was an easy decision! My intention is to use this newsletter and a companion podcast (in the works) to foster communication between this department and the teachers, students, and administrators of SISD. I will be sharing exciting news and happenings from the campuses and classrooms of the district, district-level technology news, information on resources you may or may not already know, and tips on best practices. If you have things you would like me to address or exciting technology-related accomplishments that other teachers would benefit from hearing about, please let me know!

Newsflash Approximately 600 students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members gathered at A.J. Briesemeister Middle School on Saturday, April 21st for the SISD Technology Fair. Students shared 77 presentations, highlighting innovative ways that technology is being used in the district. Technology was used to complete tasks such as planning and producing daily newscasts, developing a wheelchair that

Students try their hands at recording a campus newscast.

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automatically detects hazards, writing and sharing digital stories, making exercise more enjoyable, and much more.

Free Internet Resources Spreaker (http://spreaker.com) --This is one of the best, most feature-packed free tools for creating and hosting online radio shows or podcasts that I’ve ever seen. The interface takes a little time to master (probably accomplished more quickly by students), but it allows users to incorporate real radio elements, such as music clips and sound effects. Shows can be recorded or broadcast live. The applications of this tool are diverse and would be valuable in any subject. Science students could create a radio show sharing up-to-the-minute news on curriculum topics, such as the environment, earthquakes, weather, space exploration, and more. Social studies students could apply a unit’s objectives to create a “readers theater” type of broadcast detailing an important historical moment. Shows can be then shared with literally a global audience. Little Bird Tales (http://littlebirdtales.com/) --This site, aimed at elementary aged children, allows kids to create and share digital stories online. Teachers can easily set up student access and control the level of visibility of student projects. Projects can include uploaded images, drawings created within the site, text, and recorded narration. This site could be used in any subject. Math students might create a how-to book explaining a concept such as subtraction with borrowing. ELA students could turn a written story into an engaging digital tale. Math Chimp (http://www.mathchimp.com/) --Site has a huge variety of interactive math games for students in elementary and middle school. No registration required. Also has free worksheets and videos.

Approximately 600 attended the SISD Technology Fair on Saturday, April 21st.

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Mobilized Learning (There’s an App for That) For this first issue, I want to share 5 free apps that no educator’s smart phone or tablet should be without.

• ShowMe (iOS only) –Students or teachers can use this app to record their writing or drawing, while simultaneously recording audio narration. The resulting video can be uploaded to the ShowMe site and shared (Account is free, app is FREE.). Great tool for creating video tutorials or, better yet, letting students create them.

• Skitch (Android or iOS) –Skitch is a useful app that lets you take a picture of your screen, whether it is showing the desktop, a map, a photo, or whatever. The image can then be marked up, text added, and shared or used as needed. Great for creating simple how-to shots of apps. (FREE)

• Dragon Dictation (iOS only) –One of the most useful utilities I ever installed. Dragon Dictation simply translates speech into text. That text can then be emailed or exported to other apps. Very handy for recording ideas on the go, and also a potentially valuable tool for accommodating special needs students. (FREE) By the way, this functionality exists as an included feature in Android devices called Voice Text.

• Evernote (Android or iOS) –My absolute favorite note-taking application, Evernote lets me enter text, images, links, even audio notes. I’ve used it to take and organize photos of handouts at meetings, meaning I don’t have to walk out with a pile of clutter. An Evernote account lets the notes be shared to my iPhone, iPad, or any Web-connected computer. (FREE)

• TED (Android or iOS) –For the unfamiliar, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks are short (5-20 minute) presentations from leaders and innovators in an incredible range of fields. If you have a few minutes and need to be amazed and inspired, this app is a must have. Great tool for inspiring our students, too, and much better for the brain than iCarly! (FREE)

Connected Classrooms The Partnership for 21st Century Skills refers to the importance of “social and cross-cultural skills” and the ability to recognize and utilize cultural differences. The International Society for Technology in Education advocates students developing “cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. Education reform leader Alan November asserts that “empathy”, or the ability to see things from another’s perspective, is the most important skill we can teach our kids. Fortunately, it has never been easier to provide our students with opportunities to connect and collaborate, to know and

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understand, and to be immersed in the lives and cultures of the far reaches of the world. The following are a few resources to explore some possibilities. All allow you to add your own requests or to simply join in with other classes looking for partners. This is a good time of year to start arranging projects for next fall. CILC (http://www.cilc.org/) --The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration site lets users register and post collaborative project ideas, which are then shared with other members. Additionally, the site offers regular emails describing new opportunities to connect with other classrooms around the world. ePals (http://www.epals.com/) --Great community of teachers and students. Lots of collaborative projects to choose from, including large, open invitation projects that can be joined at any time. Search by age, subject, or geographic region. Skype in the Classroom (http://education.skype.com/) --Nice community set up by Skype, the online telephone/videoconferencing company. Teachers who are Skype users post project ideas looking for partner classrooms.

A Few More Things… Check out this site: http://mathtrain.tv/. What you’ll find is a huge collection of math tutorial videos created by middle school students. What are your thoughts? Valuable learning experience? Useful teaching tool? Powerful alternative assessment possibilities? Could students do this in other subjects? Can WE do it?! (Hint: Yes, yes we can!) If this gets your wheels turning, and you just have to learn more, please contact me. I’d be very happy to collaborate! As you know by now, summer technology courses are now open for registration through Eduphoria. These are to fulfill the requirements for Tech Comp Day 2013, on February 18, 2013. If you are not an experience user of Google Docs, I’d encourage you to consider signing up for a Google Docs course or Everything Google. This will allow you to become familiar with the district’s great new tool, Google Apps for Education. I’ve been working on a new logo for the Digital Learning Services department, and here is the result. The design is focused on the idea that technology use should be as natural as using a whiteboard, book, paper, or a pencil (for teachers and students), and it includes a nod to the beautiful Guadalupe River. Hope you like it!

Finally, I use Twitter to connect, commiserate, communicate, and collaborate with other educators around the world. If you are a fellow Twitterer (or are wanting to kick the tires) who uses it for professional growth, I would VERY much like to have you as part of my personal learning network. My Twitter name is @rrodgers. It is a great way to share ideas and thoughts with one another and with others engaged in our great profession.