NETA Wrap Up 2015

On the MOVE! First year at the Century Link center...and #neta15 did NOT disappoint. Two great keynote speakers rocked the mornings. If you are not following Adam Bellow [@adambellow] and George Couros [@gcouros] on Twitter...you should...NOW. Stop reading this and go follow them....

Welcome back! I thought the best way for me to process all the information I have learned the past couple of days is to blog. It's also a way for me to share ideas and for me to reference when next school year pops up and I find myself saying "what was that great idea/app/project that I learned at NETA in April but can't remember now?" I have those moments already-yikes!

I figured the best way to do this is to create a list with links, etc. That way it's easy to scroll through.....If you have tried any of these, good or bad, please leave some feedback/advice/comments below! Alright...here we go:

1. Virtual Field Trips....I had this on my blog last year. Great things are happening, I have found over this past year it's finding the resources that can be tough. They recommended CILC and a Nebraska based website CLICK HERE. 

2. Flipped Classrooms...I have done this several times, more so last year than this year...and have found myself in a rut. I listened to Aaron Svoboda [@Mr_Svoboda] and how he has changed his flipped classroom into more than JUST videos. He found ways to make them a little more interactive via YouTube annotations. He asks the students a question per video, and they have to click on the correct answer. The answers are linked to another video he has made [either a "sorry that was incorrect" and reteaching video OR a "correct" let's give you the next question or give you a harder question video]. They are just short videos, but they all link together. I could see this working well as a quiz review but especially in MATH. What a way to differentiate! I could see myself having a path that leads students that need remediation to more reteaching videos, and for those students that the topic is much "easier", I could link videos to more challenging questions. He uses QuickTime-Screencast to create his videos. He has videos within his videos, khan academy videos, sample problems, etc. They are different each time. He also recommended EDPUZZLE-something that was definitely discussed several times over my days at NETA.

3. Genius Hour to Awesome Hour...this session didn't quite give me a lot of new information since I have attended Jen Schneider's [@jenmschneider] at an inservice and have taken 2 CCUs over Don Wettrick's [@donwettrick] book Pure Genius. One take away is having students show their "awesome". They bring in a skateboard and show their moves or they bring their clogging shoes and show what they can do. The teacher could do this first to show their awesome/passions/interest/etc. After each student has had a chance and now understand what "awesome" is, start Genius Hour. Students could strive to be awesome at something they saw a peer do or something new. They also journal on Chatter.com. I use kidblog.org to document our journeys.

4. GreenScreens in Elementary Scene...another session that was more for beginners. I have started using this in my class and LOVE it. If you haven't downloaded Green Screen by DoInk [at least on one iPad], you should go do it...now...BEST $2.99 you will ever spend! One take away is using green tablecloths from Target for only $1/each instead of trying to roll out green construction paper every time. They have kits online too that include lights and a stand, etc. Tablecloths will work just fine for my frugal self.

5. Coding 101....I am just going to list some programs that were discussed. My students have used and LOVE Hopscotch, which is probably good for grades 5-8ish. Code.org is great to get the kids started....THIS SITE will take you to code's page to create your classroom where you can see students' progress and assign tasks, etc. Scratch Jr was recommended for primary grades, Code Academy for older kids, and of course just plain Scratch. AMAZING "TOY" for kids to use....is called MaKey MaKey. I have been searching on some sites to purchase at least one for my class. This device allows you to do fun things. I could explain them all but it will be easier for you to see it for yourself HERE. They are about $55-90 on various websites. Amazing.

6. 10 Digital Tools...and a few more...
*For those teachers that like to use Skype or Google Hangouts, they recommended THIS SITE. 
*Google slides....great tool to use for projects, etc. Download as a PDF and upload into different apps or projects.
*Flipsnack...this is a great site that makes beautiful flipping books. It can add pictures and voice recordings over those to create their own books! 
*Tuxpaint app-this is an app for drawing. It can be used in flipsnack or other book creating apps or project apps.
*Recitethis....a great site that requires NO log ins to use. You type what you want, click on how you want the design to look, and it creates digital posters. You can use it for Pages, posters, PicCollage projects, etc. It lets you download and embed them or share on social media. 
*Explee...a website that MIGHT just be the one I am MOST EXCITED TO TRY OUT! It allows you to create presentation with the hand that types out or draws out what you want it to say. Hard to explain, easier to show you HERE
*Tackk...pretty cool presentation builder
*Canva/Smore/Flickr/Chromville-good apps for various projects
*Padlet-replaced wallwisher.com; online sticky notes that can be organized in various ways-get all kids a chance to have a voice! Use as exit tickets or bell ringers or reflections, or simply a place to post their projects. Have a padlet for each individual project the class is doing. 
*StoryboardThat...makes a comic or story board and then you can turn it into a flyer, poster, greeting card, etc.
*My Storybook...totally free...kids can create their own shelves of projects. It is easy to publish and share.
*FLIPGRID.com...an awesome site where students can post video responses to questions. FUN WEBSITE!
*Edubuncee...allows you to create on digital canvas...your final project automatically gets put onto a QR code for sharing out. 
*ParaPara Animations...cool site that allows you to make animations...no log ins required.
*Hstry....this site allows you to create timelines. A teacher could send out a blank timeline and have students add content to it. They could have responses, videos, projects, etc. added to the timeline. I could see this in my 6th grade class with the different civilizations. I could assign a kid or pairs a section of the timeline to present to the rest of the class. 

7. Garrett Sims [@GTwitSims] showcased a REALLY NEAT device for iPads called OSMO. It reflects students' paper and hand as they draw....which helps them sketch and draw images from a picture bank stored in app. CHECK IT OUT HERE They are about $80 I believe, but I have found one here and there on other sites for under $50.

Random sites that I read about on Twitter via the #neta15 search:
seriouslyamazing.si.edu 
about.me 
google.com/alerts 
1secondeveryday.com THIS is a really cool site....showed a woman put together one second of every day that she was pregnant....would be a cool school year activity....genius hour project?
tweetping.net shows all tweets going on globally on map in real time
printyourbrackets.com a teacher used March madness bracket to set up a vocabulary pool with 7th grader words vs. 8th grader words.
Google Add on EASYBIB that allows citing sources to be much FASTER and EASIER
classtools.net has computer tools all in one place [timer, calculator, fakebook, random name selector, review games, etc]
Props for KAHOOT [which we use and LOVE] and also quizzizz.com which allows students to go at their own pace....also flipquiz.me is a create-your-own jeopardy game that is web based
Google Story Builder
thenounproject.com  allows you to find graphics and much more
Word Swag app allows cool fonts
Pixel Press

 

Phew...That's all I have for you right now...If you have used any of the above websites or apps, please let me know what you think of them! Thanks for reading and making it to the end. I hope you try some of these out and leave feedback below!