Honey badgers may not care, but we care that you are listening to this week’s episode of #dcsdtransforms. Thank you for joining us! This week we are showcasing Joe Zoo and Pages as our cool tools this week. Our shoutouts go to Julie Hanlin at CES, Hanna Hanlin and Laqueta Johnson at PES, and Renia Paul, Zakiyyah Stroman, Tanya Bunn, and Julie Weigand at DHS. Join us this week to hear Carla’s reaction to the honey badger. And we have some really good info about Midlands Tech Summit and the Upstate Technology Conference!
Author Archives: Mrs. Jeff
#dcsdtransforms Episode 25: The Twenty-Fifth Episode Edition!
Wow! Can you believe it? We just published our 25th episode!!! And because this is a milestone, we thought it only fitting to take a break from the routine to bring you a 2 on 1 interview with an amazing educator in DCSD. Who is this mystery guest? You’ll have to listen to find out. So please join us this week as we get to know our guest a little bit better, find out more about the history of our digital transformation, and get a sneak peek into the vision for our students down the road. Thank you for joining us and making this podcast a reality! It is because of you, our loyal listeners, that we have reached 25 episodes and have no interest in slowing down.
Ode to Bea Dupree – #ThankATeacher
Today’s #EdTechBoC challenge: Write about a teacher, past or present, who inspires you!
Everyone who knows me well enough knows that my favorite teacher of ALL time is Beatrice Dupree. Seriously….ALL time favorite. She was my English IV and AP English teacher. That woman…..whoa. She was everything to me. She was brilliant, beautiful, stately, classy – all of it. It was so obvious that she 100% loved what she did. To get excited about Macbeth…I mean….seriously….who gets excited about McBeth?
I really could go on and on about her…but in fact, I already did!
Click here for my blog post about the qualities of a great teacher.
Until the next time,
Making The Move….Literally or How to Use the Domain Mapping Tool to Connect your Edublog to Your Custom Domain
When I first started this blog, I was teaching sixth grade. When I made the transition to my new job, I didn’t want to lose the memories that this blog had, but I was no longer “surviving sixth grade”….I guess I’d “survived”…lol.
Two years ago when I first become introduced to Google Apps and we were trying to find away to get our 6th graders email accounts so they could share things that they’d created with us, I bought a domain from GoDaddy to apply for a school level GAFE.
I’ve been working off and on (waaay more off than on) to mask the “Surviving Sixth Grade” url with my “mrsjeff2u.com” domain. I’m not much of a informational text reader, so I was just like….eh….I’ll figure it out. I did…but I didn’t…ya feel me?
But after the initiation of @EdTechBoC I figured….I better figure this out! And I did. 🙂 So if you have a custom domain that you would like to use – but you don’t want start your blog all over again….here are the steps.
- Log into your Edublogs account.
- In the Dashboard, click on Tools > Domain Mapping
- Enter your custom Domain and then click “add”.
- Log into your DNS control panel. (For me that meant that I went to www.godaddy.com, clicking on Domains > My Domain > DNS Zone File).
- Configure your DNS records using the DNS configuration information on your domain mapping page.
- Click the Edit icon in the @ row under A (Host)
- Change Points to the A record IP address shown on your domain mapping page (copy and pasting is fine) and then click Finish.
- Scroll down to www. under CName (Alias) and click on the Edit icon.
- Change Points to the CName record shown on your domain mapping page and then click Finish. Please note that GoDaddy doesn’t allow you to use the dot of the end of the CName, so don’t add it.
- Click “Save Changes”.
- Go to back to Tools > Domain Mapping inside your dashboard and click Activate. It normally takes at LEAST an hour for it activate.
I Love Smore! And No, Not The Treat….
Today’s blogging challenge: What tech tool are you loving these days? Why?
Whenever I get asked the question, “What’s your favorite tool?”, I always sigh. Is it because I’m a tech geek that I have difficulty answering that question? Probably so. But it is always such a hard question for me! So I mostly have to drop the multiple names in a random name selector and have it make that choice.
So today’s choice is Smore! Smore allow you to quickly create great-looking webpages. It boasts of creating online flyers, but it’s way more than that. To me “flyer” implies that you’re creating a single-use PDF and posting it online. Smore’s flyers are not single-use PDFs….they are alive! The Smore flyers can include so many different media types: images, embedded links, even video! Creating and making changes is super easy because it’s pretty much just drag and drop.
They’ve recently created the “Educator Hive” that provides educator examples that can be viewed, adapted and/or remixed! It just launched last week and they already have or 500 submissions!
Smore could be a great way for extracurricular clubs, teams, or school organization to build simple announcement pages and/or share updates and featured news.
I use Smore for many things, including the weekly DCSD Tech Tidbits newsletter that I share with our entire district once a week. Since my format stays the same and I just add different information, I just duplicate the one from the previous week to prepare for the one that will be shared out next week. I also embed them on my blog. You can find old copies here.
Earlier this year, I used it to highlight activities completed during Digital Learning Day.
So although I will never refuse a piece of graham crackered, chocolate marshmallowy goodness – you can definitely see why this Smore is my favorite!
Until the next time,
DCSD Tech Tidbits – 04.29.16
#dcsdtransforms Episode 24: Avoid Runaway Tow Dollies
This week we will be showcasing Adobe Voice and Numbers. Our shoutouts go to Lizabeth Thompson of Mayo and Amber McCoy of Brunson Dargan Elementary school. Stay tuned to the out-takes to find out about runaway tow dollies. Thanks for joining us!
A Rainbow In the Clouds
Today’s Blogging Challenge: Share a single snapshot of your day. It can be an image, video or any form of multimedia!
Over 20 years ago, I had the amazing experience to visit the Alex Haley farm in Tennessee AND hear Maya Angelou speak. AH-MAH-ZING!
During our time with her she would break up her spoken word with a certain line….She’d sing “When it looked like the sun wasn’t gonna shine anymore…God put a rainbow in the clouds.” I LOVE that line! It frequently pops up when I’m struggling with something…and that popped up for me today.
There’s no secret about my growing frustration with the state of standardized tests in my state. Our children have taken 3 different tests in the past three years. Today I read 15 minutes of directions…..FIFTEEN MINUTES! And by the time I was done – I almost didn’t have a clue of the expectations, myself. As I walked around the room providing encouragement to my kids (I taught them last year), I grew increasingly frustrated for them. Why do we punish our children like this? Why do we punish our teachers like this? Why is it ok to wait until October to even determine what standardized test they will take….and not even fully develop it until months after that? Why do we spend months saying, “You’ll need this for the test….you better focus or you won’t pass the test….the test, the test, the TEST! And then we get frustrated when they look at us in wonder when we tell them that there’s work after the test. And for what? Because when they grow up they’re going to be perpetual test takers? Oh wait! No, they will all become test writers!
After that morning….I was definitely feeling the clouds…and out of nowhere….a rainbow appeared!
I’ve been talking to our Math/Science Coordinator about starting coding clubs for teachers and students. Dr. De Ridder-Vignone is interested in starting some all girls coding clubs. Rainbow!
Of course we still have to work out the details…but it makes me hopeful. And we all could use a little “rainbow” right now.
Until the next time,
Getting The Message Right
A couple of weeks ago, I received a message from a friend. In the message was a picture of the Promethean ActivPanel with the statement, “If we want to transform our district, we should put one of these in every classroom.”
Here’s a summary of our conversation:
Me: We’ve looked at it and may get a sample to play around with it, but going 1:1 kinda eliminates that need….
Them: The whole “Digital Transformation” doesn’t work for me. It can be another way to isolate “our” students. By “our” I mean students who make up our demographic, i.e., students of poverty. They learn best when they make “REAL” connections. I’m not talking FB, Instagram, Kik, SnapChat or Twitter, but human connections. They need human connections to be successful.
Me: The technology doesn’t eliminate the need for face to face connections. Anyone who is doing it that way is doing it wrong. The technology makes it easier for teachers to immediately assess to determine individual needs. It frees up time that can then be made for individual and small group instruction.
Them: In your room, sadly you are an exception to that rule! I go into classrooms everyday and watch as technology is used to keep students “busy” NOT “engaged” as teachers sit behind their 💻 and answer the staggering emails we get or shop online, I don’t know. I conference with students and monitor where they are online. Students have to be taught to use technology effectively, efficiently and most of all correctly. An “Acceptable Use” form at registration or when the device is issue won’t cut it, when Little Jaheem goes to White House.org and not WhiteHouse.gov and is looking at pornography. Where’s the teacher not monitoring, engaging or teaching small groups/individuals.
Me: I agree that we have much work to do! And maybe that’s educating our administrators….because that’s who I blame if those things are happening in classrooms and are not being addressed. Students AND adults need to be taught how to use technology effectively. Our responsibility is to ensure that students receive the best education possible. And the obstacles to that happen on so many levels….district, community, school. I just feel it’s important to stay focused on those that need my support the most, the kids. I understand and empathize with your frustration. I’m just making the choice to use the tools that I have access to to make that possible. I frequently think about this.
- Before the tech, teachers used “worksheets” to keep students busy.
- Before the tech, teachers sat on their butts.
- Before the tech, students cheated, brought nudie magazines to school, etc. The tech isn’t the problem.
The conversation disconcerted me. I went back to my director and asked, “Is it me? Am I sending the wrong message? What am I NOT saying that would cause people to misunderstand what I’m trying to say?”
A week or so later, I had a conversation with someone who had visited the “Flipped Classroom To See” as she was told. She was sorely disappointed. She said, “I don’t get it…” What she saw was students watching videos. No small group….no partner work…..no individual conversations with the teacher…no student creation. In trying to get our teachers to be comfortable with this change, I am sorely afraid that I have not been clear in MY MESSAGE!
So let me say this for the record…..”IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TECH! IT’S NOT ABOUT THE APP! IT’S NOT ABOUT THE VIDEO! It’s about the way these tools allow you to have more time in your classroom for human interactions between the teacher and his/her students. It’s about how we can immediately see where students are struggling so that we can immediately provide assistance and redirection. It’s about how we can differentiate our instruction so that we can accommodate the needs of all students. It’s about the way we can encourage our students to be creators of content and not consumers. It’s about creating critical thinkers who are productive citizens in their society. It’s about preparing them to be….better, stronger, smarter, more innovative. It’s about preparing them to be…..more.”
Until the next time,