Everything online is NOT true!

Have you come across this image in your Facebook feed?  This was something I saw shared more than once around Jan 1st and Jan 2nd.  People were sharing this image, thinking "how cool is this", without realizing 1-1-2017 was on a Sunday.  It's so easy to click "share" that we forget to use common sense sometimes.

Children and adults are presented with mountains of information on a daily basis. From the news to our social media feeds to our friends and family, information is everywhere.  Some many people (children and adults) have gotten into the "It's online, so it must be true" mindset, that images like the one above is shared and liked without doing a simply check on the calendar.

We have to teach our students (and ourselves) how to determine what is true and what isn't online.

Three Great Places to Start
The first place teachers can go to find some great critical evaluation, is at Kathy Schrock's Critical Evaluation website. This website provides some great resources and information teachers can use to better prepare themselves and their students when it comes to evaluating information online.

A second resource teachers should check out is November Learning.  Alan November provides some great resources for teachers on information literacy.

Of course the Digital Citizenship Curriculum by Common Sense Media provides lessons for grades K-12 that include evaluating information online. These are a must in every classroom!

Four Answer Worthy Questions
(1) Does the website have an author and/or publisher?
(2) What is the URL?
(3) Is the information current?
(4) Is the information reliable?

The four questions above are a great checklist when evaluating websites and the information they contain.

Does the website have an author and/or publisher?
You want to find the author and/or publisher of a website. Is the author and/or publisher a reliable source? Don't think just because you find the author's name that the information is reliable.

What is the URL?
The extension of a URL can tell you alot!  Extensions like .edu (education) and .gov (government) are for specific groups. Extensions like .com (companies) and .org (non-profit) can be purchased by anyone.

Is the information current?
Look for a date. When was the information posted, updated, or created?

Is the information reliable?
As you read the information, think about the author's purpose.  Are they trying to sell you something or push you toward one view vs another?  Also, try to find the same information on a different site. This will help you cross reference the information.

Being a critical evaluator of websites and information can help ensure you are not sharing images like the one so many did just a few days ago!

Do you have any resources you use to evaluate websites?  Share your resources with us!

eva

Digital Citizenship Week

Next week is Digital Citizenship Week.  Although this topic should be taught 24/7, we can use next week to stress the importance to education stakeholders like parents and community members. 

If you do a Google search for digital citizenship resources, you will come up with some great resources! Below are some I have shared with fellow educators.

The number 1 resource is Common Sense Media! If you have never explored the Common Sense Media website, stop right now and check them out! CSM offers a free, K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum. The lessons are 45 minutes each and provide teachers with a guide for how to discuss the topics in the classroom. The curriculum is constantly evolving to include resources in multiple languages and meet the various standards. The lessons focus on 8 topics:

~ Internet Safety
~ Privacy & Security
~ Relationships & Communication
~ Cyberbullying & Digital Drama
~ Digital Footprint & Reputation
~ Self-Image & Identity
~ Information Literacy
~ Creative Credit & Copyright

Another resource I came across this week is iKEEPSAFE. This is a resource I will explore more for sure! Click on the "educators" section to find PD and curriculum resources for K-12.

Teaching Digital Citizenship is another resource I have found that provides lessons for grades 4-8 on the following topics:
~ Communication & Collaboration
~ Digital Citizenship
~ Privacy
~ Media Literacy
~ Cyberbullying
~Ethics/Copyright
~ Information Literacy

If you are in search of a game, check out Webonauts Internet Academy from PBS. Common Sense Media also have some great online learning resources for students in grades 3 and above.

Edutopia and  Edudemic also provide a list of resources K-12 teachers can use to discuss digital citizenship in the classroom next week!

Do you have any digital citizenship resources you plan to use next week? Share them with us!

Breaking Down the Classroom Walls

If my lessons and activities only include the textbook and items within the four walls of the classroom, I have put my students at a disadvantage!  Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, provides a great description for moving beyond the textbook and classroom.

We want our students to be the ones doing the innovative ideas. We want our students to be the ones doing the creative thinking.

In order for this to happen, we have to go beyond the classroom walls and textbooks. By going beyond, you are exposing your students to the world around them. They are able to gain a global perspective of their environment and how our actions can effect others.

Going beyond the classroom walls can seem overwhelming, but with the right tools and knowing where to look, you can start toward that path!

One great way to go beyond the classroom is with virtual field trips.  Now, before you dive into a virtual field trip with your students, think about the following:

(1) Have you explored the site?
(2) Do you have a "path" prepared?
(3) What will the students discuss along the way?

Don't start a virtual field trip without exploring it yourself! Make sure you have an end goal in mind. What do you want the students to walk away from this virtual field trip with?

Virtual Field Trip Idea #1
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History -- cost is free

Students can explore the museum through a self-guided tour using panoramic and up-close images. You can easily get lost in this museum! This resource could be used in multiple subject areas and throughout all times during a lesson. Science is of course the obvious choice, but think about ELA and descriptive writing as well. 


Virtual Field Trip Idea #2
Museo Galileo -- cost is free

This museum is located in Florence, Italy! Students can explore the virtual museum through videos and images. The rooms include the Science of Warfare and Galileo's New World. Of course, this museum has science and history written all over it! You can also explore the library collection as well.


Virtual Field Trip Idea #3
National Parks -- cost is free

In a 2008 blog post, Richard Byrne talks about creating a National Parks virtual tour. Although it would be great if we could actually take our students to National Parks, it is not always an option. You can also watch this 12 minute video on how to create tours on Google Maps.

Google Maps has so many great uses in the classroom! Students can plan out trips, explore areas all over the world, and see what it looks like beyond their city limits.

Virtual Field Trip Idea #4
The National World War II Museum -- cost $100 per video conference

This is a real-time video conference on a selected topic from the museum. Although this does have a cost, I have heard from middle school teachers this is worth it!

Virtual Field Trip Idea #5
The Rosa Parks Museum -- cost is free

This is a 360 degree view of the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, AL. This tour provide students with a view of the different areas in the museum.

This virtual tour is part of Alabama360.  You can also find virtual tour of Helen Keller's birthplace and the USS Alabama.

Do you have a favorite virtual field trip resource? Share it with us!

Swimming in a Sea of Blog Posts

There are so many great edtech blogs and bloggers, that you can quickly feel overwhelmed.  You could bookmark every blog, but what fun is that? 

I was a Google Reader user, but alas Google discontinued the service and I had to find another way to organize and curate all of the blogs and bloggers I follow.  That is where Feedly came in!

Feedly allows you to organize all of your blogs into one location. You can group blogs into collections.  For example, I currently have two collections - admin blogs and education resources.

You can change how the blogs appear on the screen. I like having them in chronological order.  You can also click on a specific blog and view a list of those blog posts.

To add a blog, you simply click on the "Add Content" button and type in the blog URL.  From there, you can select which collection or group you want this blog to be apart of.

Blog posts can also be shared out via Twitter and Facebook (just two examples) within Feedly. I frequent the share to Twitter so I can share what I'm reading with the PLN.

This is just scratching the surface of Feedly!  This is a great resource curate and share out blog posts. Check it out!

What's Your Story?

On Tuesday, this reflective Tweet came across my feed.  It made me think, what are we doing as educators to promote our story, our students, our district? Are we doing a good enough job promoting all of the great things happening in education?

You can call it "telling your story" or "branding yourself" but they both mean the same thing - sharing with others what is happening in your world.

Social media allows educators to quickly and continuously share the great stories and events happening in their district.  Social media is also the avenue used to express negative and frustrating stories. While we want to be transparent, we don't want to sit back and let others tell OUR story.

So how do you share the awesomeness of your district?

In my district, we starting using the hashtag #BeGreat and #BeGreatPGSD on Twitter and Facebook. We also encourage our educators and administrators to share stories via social media, including the arts, academics, athletics, and moments of greatness. Every school has a Facebook page, as well as out district and several departments. We use these pages to share information, like holidays and upcoming events. We also have moments of greatness, including recognition of students, educators, schools, and groups.

Social media isn't the only way you can promote your classroom, school, or district. You can tell your story through newsletters, yard signs, billboards, and even shirts. At the beginning of this year, we have great community support - showcasing our "Be Great" theme on billboards.

 

Every year, the entire district receives a t-shirt for our beginning of the year convocation. These shirts can be seen all over the community through the year and helps promote our district. BE GREAT! was this year's shirt. You can still find previous shirts in the community, including 100%, Destination Graduation, and #1.

 

READ! READ! READ! This year, our superintendent stood outside local businesses promoting reading at home. He, as well as several administrators, gave out packets to parents with resources for reading at home. This simple act of promoting reading in the community shows our passion for students learning and the commit we have in the community.

Wayne Rodolfich, Pascagoula-Gautier SD Superintendent

Stewart Smirtwaite, Trent Lott Academy Principal

Every action is telling your story. Every action is showcasing the awesomeness in your district. Every action is providing stakeholders with a glimpse at what happens in our schools everyday.

If you are not sure where to start, below are two great resources to check out!

BOOK - The Power of Branding: Telling Your School's Story

PODCAST - Telling Your School's Story: Why, How, Tools

How are you sharing your story? How are you branding your district? Share your ideas with us!

professional learning is everywhere - just have to know where to look

I continually go back to Brad Currie's blog post, 100 Minutes a Week. The post talks about how you can spend just 20 minutes a day on professional learning.  Take a moment and read the post! I frequently have to remind myself it just takes 20 minutes.

Read a book, follow a hashtag, watch a webinar, read a blog post, and listen to a podcast.  Five simply ways you can gain personalized professional learning!

Lets look at each one and some go-to resources for each.  Of course, take some time and read (or reread Brad Currie's blog post above).

(1) Read a Book
New books are published everyday and just like textbooks, some are outdated the moment it hits the shelves.  I have come across a great series of books published by Corwin Press.  These are the Connected Educator series.  The books are quick reads, but full of useful information. I started with The Relevant Educator and find myself going back to it often as a reference.  Check out the Connected Educator's Series by Corwin Press.

(2) Follow a Hashtag
I have been on Twitter since 2009 and I haven't looked back!  I am able to connect with edtech gurus 24/7 and gain endless amounts of personalized learning.  A hashtag on Twitter is like a divider in a notebook.  Everything related to science goes behind the science divider in my notebook.  Think of hashtags like dividers.  There are hashtags for EVERYTHING and there are new ones created everyday.  One great place to check out is hashtag list on Cybrary Man's website. Don't let the list scare you, find your interest and go from there!

(3) Watch a Webinar
Webinars are great. I can watch from anywhere and if it is pre-recorded, I can pause and rewind. You can find webinars on sites like SimpleK12 and edWeb. Educational companies will also host webinars related to the product. These are helpful if you are thinking of making a purchase.

(4) Read a Blog Post
Blogs are great. Blogs are a way educators can share their failures, successes, and "verbalize" ideas. You can find classroom arrangement ideas, themed units, and thought provoking topics on blogs.  Some blogs, like Fifth in the Middle, provides lists of blogs by state.  You can also find some great blog suggestions here. (shameless plug for my Pinterest board) If you find yourself starting to follow a variety of blogs, take a look at Feedly. Feedly puts all of your followed blog posts in one location.

(5) Listen to a Podcast
Podcasts are my go-to resource when I have to drive alone. It is a great way to learn new ideas and forget about the fact you are driving somewhere for three hours!  Now, don't forget that you ARE DRIVING and if you need to write something down, pull over! I have the Podcast app on my phone and I am currently listening to Edchat Podcast, Edtechchat Podcast, Satchat Podcast, and Every Classroom Matters. A great list of Podcasts can be found on the BamRadioNetwork website.

That is a lot to digest!  I had a participant ask me during this year's MECA (MS Educational Computing Association) Conference how do you not feel overwhelmed.  If you go 100% on each suggestion, you will start to feel overwhelmed and want to through your hands up.  Find one or two that really click for you.  This is what is so great about personalized learning.  You pick the learning avenue!  If Twitter is your thing, then drive into Twitter.  If you are a visual learner, podcasts might not be for you.  You get to decide!

Did I miss a great resource?  Please share!

eva

Chrome Extensions for Teachers and Students

 I have several Chrome Extensions that I have downloaded and use, but these are three of my favorite Chrome Extensions!  Do you have a favorite?  Share them with us!

SnagIt

I am a big fan of SnagIt. You can clip images and take videos from within your browser.  Everything you do saves automatically to Google Drive.  Want more information on SnagIt, check out the resources below.

~ SnagIt for Chrome

~ screencasting with SnagIt

MoveIt

MoveIt is a great resource for teachers to get kids up and moving!  MoveIt provides quick movement breaks on the intervals you select. The movements include pushups, arm rotations, and wall sits.

 

Clearly

Clearly is part of EverNote.  Clearly allows the user to remove the "extra stuff" on a website for an easier read. You can also print out the easier read. This is a great resource for teachers who want to use current web articles, but want the students to focus on the article and not the side ads.

What is your favorite Chrome Extension?