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" When schools lift the ban on cell phones, they need to decide if they want to embrace the use of student devices for learning. If they do, it doesn't "start" with inviting devices into the classroom.  It starts in student's homes.  What better way to help parents understand the instructional value of cell phones than to use these devices to strengthen the home-school connection?  Cell phones provide a terrific means for connecting with parents. Teachers can begin using phones to develop and strengthen those relationships. This can provide a foundation and help develop understanding around the benefits and value of cell phone use in general and later for use with students. "

"[This is part of the Infographic Design Series. Check out the other posts!] Good visual arrangement for infographics is putting together graphic and visual elements in a manner that draws your reader's attention. The key to achieving simple, elegant and attractive content are ample whitespace and a well arranged layout. What is whitespace? White space is as its name defined-space that is unmarked in a piece of infographic or visual representation. It could be margins, padding or the space between columns, text and icons and design elements. Whitespace matters to create visually engaging content A page crammed full of text and images will appear busy. This makes the content difficult to read. It makes you unable to focus on the important stuff too. On the other hand, too much of white space can make your page look incomplete. It is always crucial to remember visually engaging content is usually clean and simple. Here's an example of what I mean. whitespace-matters Understanding common infographics layouts help ease visual arrangement Infographic layouts refer to the arrangement of your visual elements and your content. When you begin working on a piece of infographic, you should have a story to tell hence, you will need to select a layout that best suits your story. Using the right layout will ensure good readability and convey your message well. We have put together a cheat sheet for your quick reference to the right arrangement to use, here are six common ones you can quickly work with. Infographic Layout Cheat Sheet Useful Bait: Works well with most types of data. Rather than focusing on design, it works more for practicality, thus making it easy to read. For instance, a reference sheet where you can print it out and use it over and over again. If your content has many subtopics to a main subject, this layout enables you to segregate them into clean chunks that are easy to consume. Versus/Comparison: This layout is typically split vertically to

"What does being a 'digitally competent' teacher mean? Does it mean using laptops, smartphones, or tablets in your classroom? Does it mean finding new and interesting ways to use those devices along with apps and web tools?  What level of expertise with technology constitutes 'competent'? Or does the concept encompass more than that? Do things like digital citizenship, acceptable use policies, digital footprints, and privacy concerns ring a bell. Just like in real life, being well-rounded is important when you're addressing technology use. Having the ability to say, use an laptop isn't really enough. The handy infographic below explores what it means to be a digitally competent teacher."

"YouTube has been around for quite a long time. You'd think that, by now, we'd have got the hang of it. Yet most of us are pretty passive users - watching videos when they're emailed to us or we spot them on social media. We see a link, click and sit back. Hardly any of use use the playlist facility, for example. Those of you who use YouTube to host your own video, and channels, really ought to get with the programme on this one. Playlists allow you to organise you users' viewing - you can place videos in a logical order so that things make sense. And the videos auto play, so that your viewers will follow the programming you've given them, and watch for longer - and it's that viewing time that seriously helps in the optimisation (fundability) of videos on YouTube."

"When used effectively, iPads can develop thinkers and problem solvers. They can be used to transform learning inside and outside of the classroom, and offer limitless opportunities. Many educators are effectively integrating technology in the classroom using iPads to achieve the 4C's, or "super skills," that digital learners need to compete in our global society. But in order to do that, the focus has to shift from apps to content: that's when true redefinition takes place. When my district rolled out our iPad initiative in 2012, teachers thought they needed specific apps for every content area. Eventually, we ended up with literally thousands of apps in our portal. This was extremely overwhelming, difficult to manage, and eventually, a turn-off for teachers. Are you ready to adjust your teaching for this new learning revolution? Let me take you inside the idea of SAMR with a helpful metaphor: Starbucks. The simplest way I know to describe the levels in the SAMR model is using a visual created by Tim Holt, who uses Starbucks as a unique way of looking at the model."

"Analogies are one of the best kept secrets in education. Often used as multiple choice question items or as warm-ups to begin a lesson, analogies are use teaching and learning strategies because of their flexibility, ease of use, and tendency to force cognitive load on students. I use them constantly in my classroom, primarily due to their grab-and-go format. Any place, any time-verbal, drawing, exit slip, discussion, one-on-one, whole class, group work, begin class, end class, abstract or concrete thinking, analogies are imminently useful. They're also everywhere-debates, commercials, sitcoms, poetry, hip-hop, video games. What's not to love?"

"In our three gr. 8 classrooms, students have learned the process of 3D printing using dual extrusion (printing with 2 colours) using a Makerbot Replicator 2X. Last year, due to the large number of students we had using the printer, we needed another to keep up, but this time we chose an AirWolf 3D HDR printer for a few reasons: cloud based slicing via Astroprint, larger print size, and the ability to print with a wider range of materials. Added bonus - the tech support help from AirWolf3D is excellent. While I've posted some examples of how our students design and print using dual extrusion with the Makerbot, my teaching partner, Marc Westra, and I quickly learned the process was quite different using an AW3D HDR - like taking the elevator instead of the stairs. Here's what I learned over the Christmas break, and what we'll be teaching our students…"

"Teachers are always on the lookout for ways to foster questioning skills in students. First of all, let's define our subject. At skillsyouneed.com the topic of questioning is covered succinctly in this article. It asks us to consider why we question things. So why do we? We question to gather information. It helps us learn. We communicate and understand others through questioning. It helps us explore the world we live in. We also test acquired knowledge with good questioning skills. They are skills that serve us in school and in everything beyond it. Curiosity and questioning are what keep us interested and engaged in life."

"Over the years, many of us have personally experienced the growth of technology in today's classrooms. Instead of taking notes, students are now occupied by surfing the Internet, scrolling through Facebook, and messaging their friends on their smart phones, tablets, and laptops. Instead of focusing on the instruction, teachers are constantly required to interrupt class in order to remind those students again and again, that class time is for learning, not texting. However, as today's students are using more technological devices, it is imperative that teachers have access to the resources to keep pace with the growing tech culture. The use of smart phones, tablets, and other tech items in the classroom do not necessarily have to have a negative impact on student achievement. On the contrary, the increasing accessibility and growth of technology presents teachers with the unique opportunity to take advantage of those once distracting gadgets, and use them to facilitate academic achievement in new and innovative ways. In this capacity, teachers do not need to be constantly fighting for student attention, but can freely accept it, by introducing a new educational environment that will automatically encourage student participation. Below are some resources that teachers may find useful when attempting to implement technology into their classrooms, separated by 5 common areas that are increasingly important for teachers, and for an effective learning environment-Organization, Project Based Learning, Class Management, Presentations, and Assessment. "

"Many languages use accents and diacritic marks to change how a letter or vowel sounds. Accordingly, you may find it useful to know how to type accents and diacritical marks on a Mac using the keyboard. This should be particularly useful for users who also type or write in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Greek, but obviously this applies to many other latin language scripts as well. Modern versions of Mac OS offer an exceptionally fast way to type letter accents, and it's quite easy to use. "

""I don't like math," my students commonly say. The alternative high school in rural Colorado where I've been working for the last two-and-a-half years serves students ages 14 to 20, who come to us when they have not done well in traditional environments since we have more freedom to use creative instructional methods to meet their needs. Thinking about that comment, I used to ask myself, "How would the students' attitudes toward math change if there was an opportunity to experience a different side of math, one that involved hands-on learning, promoted teamwork, and ended in a product to be proud of?" I thought I could use Rubik's Cubes to facilitate camaraderie among my math-anxious and math-eager students, based on my own love of the popular puzzle. And after learning about students creating mosaics of historical figures, famous landmarks, and animals out of the cubes, I saw a way to promote critical thinking and algorithmic problem-solving."

In this day and age, teachers need to use every resource at their disposal. With distance learning being something that doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, one of those tools may very well be YouTube. This platform is a great place to create a video that corresponds with your curriculum for your students to access them at any time.  If you are going to use the platform, there are extra considerations that need to be made. There are also YouTube features every teacher should know how to use before posting those educational videos. Below we are going to take a look at those and why you should use the platform. Let's start with that question first.

"School days might seem as if they move at a glacial pace after winter break. The spring and summer breaks seem too far away, and whether students are learning in-person or online, they could use a bit of fun. Teachers can use TED-Ed Lessons to liven up long days and highlight students' different personal interests. The TED-Ed platform is especially cool because educators can build lessons around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk, or YouTube video. Once you find the video you want to use, you can use the TED-Ed Lessons editor to add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources. Use these TED-Ed Lessons for brain breaks, to introduce new lessons, or to inject some fun and engaging conversation into your class. "

"10 Tips for Teachers Using Evernote - Education Series"

"Evernote is a great application for educators. It's usefulness can range from planning a course to delivering a lesson plan to capturing feedback after class. I experimented with using Evernote while I was teaching courses at San Jose State University. It proved to be an excellent classroom companion. Here are some ways to use Evernote to achieve your teaching goals."

"Evernote is definitely one of the apps I use everyday. It helps me stay organized and scales up my productivity. However, the app has even more to offer when used with other partner apps. These apps are particularly useful in expanding Evernote functionality and in providing you with a richer and organized experience."

"In this post I've selected some examples of work that the pupils have produced in the World War 2 topic using their iPods and iPads to demonstrate and enhance their learning. It also includes the apps the pupils used and a brief description of the lesson. Any digital work the pupils created on their iPods was saved to their individual blog space http://6aclasswall.posterous.com. This meant any content the children had created on their iPods could be deleted once it had been posted to the blog, saving limited space on 8GB iPods. The pupils used a QR code in their World War 2 scrap books to link to their digital work on their blog space if this was appropriate."

"For a devoted Google Drive user like myself having Google Drive on my iPad is a must. Last week I had some questions from readers about how to use Google Drive on their iPads. This weekend I put together a short guide to using Google Drive on your iPad. The guide is embedded below. I am using Scribd to host the document and you can download the guide from Scribd."

"Nearly all kids learn how to count using their fingers. But as kids grow older and math problems become more advanced, the act of counting on fingers is often discouraged or seen as a less intelligent way to think. However, educators, parents and students who frown on kids for using their fingers may be cutting short a greater opportunity: the strengthening of brain networks. Stanford professor Jo Boaler writes in The Atlantic about the neurological benefits of using fingers and how it can contribute to advanced thinking in higher math."

"Don't get me wrong - given my Twitter ID it's a given that I believe very strongly in using technology to support and enhance learning. The OED states that an evangelist is "a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching", so ok… I might not be doing the Christian faith bit, but as an 'ICT Evangelist' I do believe that technology has the power to change our world and certainly the learning that takes place in our classrooms and beyond. There's a problem though. There is a dichotomy of experiences, skills, beliefs and abilities when it comes to using technology in our classrooms. It's written in to the United States Declaration of Independence that, "all men are born equal", but it's certainly not true when it comes to the experiences that our students receive in their lessons at the hands of some of our teachers and that's before you even think about entering technology into the equation."

"Flickr is a great image hosting website that you can use to store and share your images. Flickr is also a powerful image search engine where you can find images others have posted. As a teacher, you can probably use this platform with your students to look for pictures to include in classroom projects. However, not all pictures are free to use and as we have mentioned in our Copyright Section here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, there are certain conditions under which you are allowed to re-use people's images but only for non commercial purposes, these conditions are mostly included under a Creative Commons License."