#teachagtech -> Teach Ag!! Technology Tips, Part 2 and the Signing Off as the PSU TeachAg! Tech

As my time as the PSU Teach Ag! Tech comes to an end, I have truly enjoyed posting and interacting with fellow agriculture educators.  At the heart of anything I develop, is the hope it can be of use to some of the hardest working educators I know.  We are innovators, counselors, coaches and our students' lifetime advisors.  I have truly appreciated the opportunity to serve in this manner and hope to be help in the future.  You can find me resuming blogging activities on my personal blog:  www.elearninag.com .

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Teach Ag! Technology Tips Part 2:  Here is the second installment logging entries from the TeachAg E-mail Blasts located here.  There is a great deal of information here that can hopefully help you in your classroom.  

Using Mindmapping Tools to Connect Concepts

Implementing Technology in the Classroom with the SAMR Model

Using BrainPop to Expand Classroom Learning 

Using Games to Reinforce the Classroom

Using Wordpress to Create Student Portfolios

Using Edshelf to find Web and App Tools

Graphite’s Top Tech Tools for Formative Assessment

Using Plickers for Immediate Feedback in the Classroom

Screencasting for a Blended Classroom

E-Learning Opportunities to Supplement Your Classroom

Newsela to Help with Assessing Student Reading Level

Find a Formative Assessment Tool in Kahoot!

Yours in the Quest to be a Tech Savvy Aggie,

     

Diane Glock-Cornman

PSU Teach Ag! Technologist
@DGCornman
+Diane
elearninag.com

Pinterest:
Being Mrs. C - TeachAg Pinterest Board
Agriculture and Essential Apps Pinterest Board

#teachagtech -> For the Love of Nearpod

For the Love of Nearpod

For the Love of Nearpod...Awesome Presentation and Formative Assessment Tool!

We are surrounded by apps, new technologies and constant reminders of better tools for our classroom.  It can be overwhelming.  However, every once and a while, a platform truly does deliver what it promises.  Nearpod is one I have come to trust and appreciate as an effective tool in the classroom.  Nearpod takes ordinary presentations and makes them interactive.  You can use Power Point Presentations you already have developed and use them in Nearpod (they just need to be converted to PDF format.)

Here is a short video on an introduction to Nearpod:

Here is a video on the teacher's perspective in Nearpod using an animal science based presentation:





Here is a video on the student's perspective in Nearpod as the teacher is presenting a "Live Session":





You have many options when creating your Nearpod to add various forms of assessments.  You can do open-ended questions, polls, drawings, and quizzes.  The following video will help with showing you the various options within Nearpod:



I hope this great interactive tool can help diversify your teaching techniques.  I know I have enjoyed planning lessons around using Nearpod and increasing the engagement of my students.

Happy Nearpod'ing!

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If you have specific needs regarding technology in your classroom or have additional questions about Nearpod, please feel free to connect with me via the TeachAg! Technology Help Ticket

Yours in the Quest to be a Tech Savvy Aggie,

     

Diane Glock-Cornman

PSU Teach Ag! Technologist
@DGCornman
+Diane
elearninag.com

Pinterest:
Being Mrs. C - TeachAg Pinterest Board
Agriculture and Essential Apps Pinterest Board

#teachagtech -> Family Friendly Apps for these Holiday Times

Family Friendly Apps for the Holidays (and Classroom Too)

Cornman and Glock Family Spread - Thanksgiving 2013

Family Friendly Apps for the Holidays (and Classroom Too!)  Every year it seems the holiday season approaches more quickly.  I remember being told as a child, "enjoy your time now because time goes quicker as you grow older."  Sadly, I see this happening and can attest to the adage "times flies as you get older".  So I see time spent with family and friends as becoming more precious every year.  I hope during this holiday season, you are able to spend it with loved ones.  Thanksgiving is the holiday in which we travel the most, so the odds are good you will be able to see family you haven't seen in a while.  I know around this time this is when board games or puzzles were dug out to keep that healthy competition alive within the family dynamic.  If you make your way through some of the "old school" games and want a few fun alternatives, I thought it would be fun to show you a few apps you can use both in the classroom, but also just to have some fun.

The first app is colAR.  This is a 3D coloring app where drawings become 3D images.  They basically jump off the table at you and many are animated.  It truly suspends your concept of reality...or basically lets you step back and have a good chuckle.  Besides having fun with family, this can be used within the classroom directly as with the animal cell print out or as an interest approach for a creative project.  I especially like the "Dot Day" printable where you can draw anything within the circle and than once the you open the app and point your camera towards the paper you just drew on, it will animate the "dot".  {If you would like additional info on the Dot Day printable, please se this site from FableVision Learning.}  Go to the colAR website and scroll down for printables for your personal or classroom use.  At a later date, I will post about a more sophisticated app dealing with virtual reality.

Here is a video on what you might experience with colAR app:

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The second app I would like to show you is Sock Puppets.  This is live animation app that allows you to voice record role playing situations.  At home, it could be a fun way to interact with family or ask a child to clean up their room.  At school, it could be a way for students to demonstrate they understand a concept via the role playing app.  It is easy to set-up and record.  You pick your characters and setting and than click the red record circle to record your voices.  If you need a tutorial, here is a YouTube video to guide you.

Here is a screenshot of the screen to record your voice prior to animation.

Another great live animation app is PuppetPals 2.  In this app, you can actually take a picture of yourself and use it as one of the heads of the interactive characters.  This is yet another opportunity for students to demonstrate understanding or to exchange information in a fun and interactive manner.  Here is a trailer on YouTube about PuppetPals 2.  

I hope these ideas can help in your classroom and add a bit of fun with family.  

All my best to you and yours during this holiday season.

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If you have specific needs regarding technology in your classroom, please feel free to connect with me via the TeachAg! Technology Help Ticket

Yours in the Quest to be a Tech Savvy Aggie,

     

Diane Glock-Cornman

PSU Teach Ag! Technologist
@DGCornman
+Diane
elearninag.com

Pinterest:
Being Mrs. C - TeachAg Pinterest Board
Agriculture and Essential Apps Pinterest Board

#teachagtech -> Using Socrative in the Agriculture Classroom

Using Socrative to Engage Students in the Classroom

Using Socrative to Engage Students in the Classroom.  All agriculture educators are constantly juggling the living mechanism we know as agriculture education.  We manage many facets involving with the FFA, classroom instruction and SAE.  Tools that can be instantly and easily incorporated into the classroom are incredibly important.  Socrative is one of those tools and was introduced to me by my teaching colleague Neil Fellenbaum upon arriving at Penn Manor several years ago.  It is easy to create formative assessments to gage student understanding and provides a multitude of avenues to assess student learning.  It also allows you to collect student data to be used to differentiate instruction, regroup for review or be confident for a summative assessment.  I have used it many times as the "ticket out the door" or to do fun games to review for a test.  It is a very easy platform to use.  When you sign up, you receive a "classroom" number that is unique to you.  Students log on and use your classroom number to gain access to whatever challenge you place before them.



Here is an overview video on Socrative:






How to Create a Quiz:






How to Run a Quiz:




When you are finished with any type of evaluation, you can have reports sent or stored in many forms:




This is merely an introduction to Socrative.  As innovative educators, I'm sure you will find creative ways to incorporate this platform into your classroom.

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If you have specific needs regarding technology in your classroom, please feel free to connect with me via the TeachAg! Technology Help Ticket

Yours in the Quest to be a Tech Savvy Aggie,

     

Diane Glock-Cornman

PSU Teach Ag! Technologist
@DGCornman
elearninag.com