Blog Archives

Picture That!

10/31/2016

There are so many classroom technology projects that can start with something relatively "low-tech" of a photo (I say "low-tech" as most of us are comfortable taking photos).

The November posts will feature a few tools/ideas that use photos and I hope you will be able to "picture" how you could is them.

Fotobabble
www.fotobabble.com/

Free account signup
Available online or iTunes

Very simple to use:
1. Upload a photo
2. Record
3. Share

Limitations:
No editing (just have to re-record)
Around a minute of recording time

Picture That!
5 Ideas for Using in the Classroom
Ideas from I Learn Technology

What are your ideas?

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It's in the News

10/26/2016

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There are a lot of crazy things going on in the world and local news, but this is about something more local. No, it is not the McPherson Sentinel either....zoom in closer.

It is your district's technology newsletter! Delivered once a month conveniently to your email box (if you are a certified employee of USD 418). It features three sections: tech help, tech training, and tech updates.

Miss an issue? No worries! Take a look under the "Help Desk" tab on this site, past issues are located under the Tech Times Newsletter section.

It is one way to keep "in the news" of the technology department help and happenings.

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A Bit Emoji-tional

10/17/2016

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Emojis are all the rage right now. If you haven't noticed just take a walk around Walmart. Everything from jewelry to pillows!

🗣 Emoji Defined:
A small digital image or icon used to express an idea, emotion, etc.,
in electronic communication.

And maybe you have used a few in your own electronic communications. 😃
There is something about these little images! 🤓🤐😍😉

Emoji in the classroom -- A "new" sticker for student's digital work
One of the memories I have from childhood is stickers! I loved stickers -- especially the scratch-and-sniff!! Truth be told I had a nice collection at one point.
But how do you create the same experience with today's digital environment?

Use when giving feedback!
I love this idea from The Techie Teacher
and an example is on the left with a Google Slides project.

Use to add a little pizazz to folders like below. It also can make them easier to find!

Bring the love of emojis to your computer for easy use with Emoji Extensions

Emoji Keyboard
EmojiOne

Personalize the emoji-tion

Take the idea of emojis a step further with Bitmoji and create a cartooned version of yourself. There is even a Chrome Extension for Bitmoji - see it here.

Bitmoji is a free account. The first initial personalization of your emoji could be time consuming. Decisions from hair, eye, jaw, nose, and more...and shapes to colors of each. But once you have your person, you have a library of virtual stickers to use (like the one to the left)!

And here is a great example from The Techie Teacher of using this personalized version with feedback (right).

Note: Julie found that she couldn't insert the Bitmoji into the actual comment box, but she was able to drag and drop it right below (as shown on the right).

Extra: Bitmojis are also available in Gmail for even more emoji fun.

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Google Draws Me In

10/10/2016

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Of all of Google's apps, Google Drawing is one of my least known and used. I know you can upload a picture and annotate on it.

This is a great way to add to an existing image. Add arrows and lines to give directions or more information.

Plus you can do some basic photo editing:

Image cropping
Image filtering
Image labeling & commenting

But there is much more to Google Drawings than this!

Create your own banner for documents
This is how I created the top banner for the Tech Newsletter that is sent out once a month.

Create a custom header for Google Classroom
You can also create your own banner/header to use with Google Classroom! Check out Shake Up Learning's How-to! This would be a great way to personalize Google Classroom!!

Below are some great ideas and templates for integrating Google Drawings into your classroom.
(Credit Eric Curts @ Control Alt Achieve)

Math
See more math ideas here

Interactive Clock Face Template
Click to get your own copy of the template

Tangram Shapes Template
Click to get your own copy
See post in full with activities

Language Arts
Compare & Contrast
Character Description
Story Maps
Main Idea & Details
Cause & Effect
Sequence
Question Chart
Sandwich Chart
Word Study
See all here

Googlink: Using Google Drawings like a Thinglink

Learn how here

Did you get drawn into the idea of using Google Drawings?
Just incase you need a little more convincing or to draw you in more....here are a few more resources!

10 Ways to Use Google Drawings In the Classroom
5 SUPER Ways to Use Google Drawings
Create Historical Facebook Profiles with Google Drawings

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Presto Chango

10/4/2016

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Have you ever wished to have the text off of a picture, PDF or handwritten note in a typed document?
Did you think that the only way that you could achieve such a feat would be to start from scratch re-typing the entire thing?!

Google Drive to the rescue! The OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature in Google Drive can convert an image of a physical page of text into an editable Google Doc!

Presto Chango!

From Handwritten

To Google Doc editable text

As you can see in the above example, the conversion isn't perfect...especially from this handwritten note. However, it is much more accurate with a PDF. Take a look at the process below in the animated GIF.