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Weekly Tech Tips 30 August 2020

 Dear Friends!


Last week we looked at some apps to help teachers increase productivity in their inboxes and calendars. In my opinion, the reason for increasing productivity is really just to save time that can then be spent making fun impactful lessons and providing students with specific timely feedback. Tech can be a great tool for all of these tasks. This week we continue with a few calendar and Keep smashes as well as a site that can make social media pages for fictional and historical characters.


Weekly Tech Tips


Below I have used Google Keep to turn my syllabus into a checklist. By copying my detailed syllabus into Keep and then selecting the Add Checkboxes feature I made my syllabus a list that can be checked off as the year’s lessons progress. In the image below I have used the sidebar on Google Docs to bring up the checklist alongside my daily planner. As I plan and complete lessons I can check off the syllabus items to help me insure complete coverage. This could work well with standards like CCSS as well.


This Week’s Apps and Resources


Here is that social media site for use in your classes. If anybody ends up trying this please share the results. It sounds like a hoot. The link is to a video that shows how to use it

Fakebook for English, History, etc…

https://youtu.be/NmBS_G2kHd4


This project is awesome. I love Open Educational Resources (OER) not only are they priced the way knowledge and information should be (FREE!) they are of exceptional quality. I think I have already written about Openstax in this newsletter. These books are often open source as well which can mean that errata are handled quickly and by the consensus of a large user pool. CK - 12 has more subjects and levels than Openstax. PLUS they have a truly wonderful Adaptive Practice page for students struggling or in need of a refresher. 

CK - 12 (OER Science, Math and Social Studies Books and Materials

https://www.ck12.org/teacher/

Browse a list of titles

https://www.ck12.org/fbbrowse/?_ga=2.52124713.1255321630.1598586088-2098007870.1598586088


This Week’s Courses, Tutorials, Webinars and Talks


Here’s a useful tip / tutorial if you are digging the simple but powerful uses of Google Keep. It integrates almost everywhere!

Linking Gmail Calendar and Google Keep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgp73l1MGaI


I leave you this week with some inspiring words from the recently deceased Sir Ken Robinson. I fell in love with this guy the first time I watched him speak on TED Talks. The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote that his TED Talk is the most viewed TED Talk ever with nearly 67,000,000 views:

Do Schools Kill Creativity

In the tributes this week I came across this quote and wanted to share it here:


“When you stand there with your children, your class, what you do next is the education system so far as they’re concerned… And I know it’s layered, but as you start to engage them, you are the system and what you do next is up to you.” Sir Ken Robinson (Ed Week 2018)


Words to live and teach by.


That’s it for this week.


Have a good one.


Scott

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