FETC 2017

I'll be presenting a poster session at the FETC Conference on Wednesday, January 25, 2017.  The session title is Borderless PLCs with Edmodo.  If you're attending and haven't registered yet, visit this page to save $30 on your registration fee.

Adobe Education Exchange: Professional Learning for All

Did you know the Adobe Education Exchange provides all kinds of free options for professional learning?  Several options for learning are available as you can attend live events, participate in collaborative courses, or take a self-paced course.  Personally I've just passed the halfway point of the Adobe Train the Trainer collaborative course.  I've also completed a couple of self-paced course and one other collaborative course.

You'll also get the added benefit of expanding your Personal Learning Network.  As I've worked my way through the Train the Trainer course, I've made several great contacts and connections that I'll put to good use in the future.

Check out the Adobe Education Exchange and see what you can learn!

North Carolina's Digital Learning Plan

If you haven't seen this article in eSchoolNews, North Carolina has published a digital learning plan for their state.  

This excerpt from the article should entice you to read the full article as well as review North Carolina's digital learning plan.

Like every state, educators in North Carolina are struggling with complex demands around digital learning.

In the era of personalized learning-meets-BYOD, and with a big push on 21st century skills, districts and education leaders can still feel pretty isolated as they work out where to go next. And conveying their needs to state legislators, who often have the power to regulate funding and set the pace for any statewide digital initiatives, can be yet another challenge.

This plan has the potential to be a road map for other states to educate legislators, educators, parents, and other integral stakeholders key to creating a digital learning plan.

EdmodoCon 2015

Every August Edmodo hosts EdmodoCon, a free conference on best practices for Edmodo.  By attending EdmodoCon, one can learn:

• new or better ways to use Edmodo
• new features in Edmodo
• collaboration with other Edmodo users

EdmodoCon takes place on August 4.  This year I'm excited to hear Rachelle Wooten, a fellow Edmodo Certified Trainer and Microsoft Innovative Educator.   Register at https://edmodocon.com/ and follow on Twitter at #edmodocon.

Digital Enhancement Training Day 1

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) chose to offer Digital Enhancement Training this summer at 3 locations statewide.  Being someone who is always looking for new opportunities to learn, I readily jumped on board and signed up for the 2 day session in Bowling Green, KY.  While I have racked up several technology certifications over the past few years, I haven't found anything to help me bring all of these technologies together in a cohesive well-constructed system to present to teachers.  I've basically had all the puzzle pieces, but needed help putting it all together.

After day 1 of this training, I'm well on my way to putting the digital instruction puzzle together.  Day 1 offered the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on improving my presentation skills, learn even more new tools, and how to more effectively use the tools I thought I already knew how to use.

There are far too many new tools and tips to discuss in one post, so I'll be writing more on them as the weeks go by and I've had an opportunity to explore them.  The first one I'll really be looking into is Plickers, an assessment system that only requires a printed and laminated sheet for each student and a smartphone for the teacher.

I'm looking forward to day 2, and the next 12-15 months of this project.  I'm excited to bring this learning back to the teachers in my district.

Are You Prepared for Your Digital Afterlife?

A colleague of mine sent this infographic to me in an email.  While perusing it, some of the content got a chuckle from me, but if you really consider the content of the infographic, are you prepared for your digital afterlife?  Over the past few years I have spent a considerable amount of time building my online presence and have a considerable number of accounts.  But what happens to the information in those accounts and the accounts themselves when I'm gone?  It's not something I've ever considered, and hope to have a lot of time left to consider it.  This really makes you think and gives you ideas on how you can plan for your digital afterlife.

KySTE 2014 Spring Conference

From March 5-7, 2014 the KySTE Spring Conference will take place at the Galt House in Louisville, KY.  For my money, the KySTE Spring Conference is the must-go conference of the year (at least in KY).  This year I'll be leading 3 presentations at the conference, so if you're attending the conference, please come see me!

It all begins Wednesday afternoon at the Pre-Conference TRT/TIS thread where I'll be talking to Technology Resource Teachers and Technology Integration Specialists about Edmodo and their role as a TRT/TIS.  This will be my first statewide opportunity to share what I learned in the Edmodo Certified Trainer training.

Bright and early Thursday morning (8 am), I begin the day leading an Edmodo Birds of a Feather session.  After an opportunity to attend a session, I'll be right back at it leading a session on Simple K12's Teacher Learning Community (TLC).  The TLC offers a chance for teachers to receive PD in their PJs.  In fact, that's their slogan!  Since the addition of their free option, I don't mind advocating the site now.

If you're attending KySTE and any of these sessions interest you, please come by and learn more!

FlipQuiz: Free Gameshow Style Boards for Teachers

Have you been using Jeopardy templates in your classroom for years?  Many of the existing templates are cumbersome and difficult to use.  However, FlipQuiz changes all of that. 

FlipQuiz is a FREE Gameshow style board for teachers.  The template is easy to navigate and easy to edit.  The gameplay is smooth and user-friendly.  FlipQuiz also allows you to save all of your Games to edit later.  Did I mention it's free?

Create your free account today and start playing games with your students.