The EdTech Connection
Making the connection between ed and tech: 06 May 2019
Thank you!
But I want to make sure that you know that I really do appreciate all of you: the time you give, the money you spend, the encouragement you provide to each other and to your students. They may not always show it (the colleagues or the students LOL), but they appreciate you too.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! May it be filled with coffee, chocolates, lunches, and everything else your heart needs to make it through the end of the year.
Tools to Inspire Students with Chromebooks
Google for Education put together a document that I just recently found with 60 tools to use with Chromebooks. I won't go over the whole list (you can see it by clicking on the link above) but I wanted to highlight some of my favorites.
The list is divided into four categories, so I'll share my favorite for each one and how I use it.
Content creation tools: Adobe Spark is a collection of three tools enabling users to easily create graphics, videos, or webpages. The graphic option is similar to Canva, and the webpage is similar to Sway, so I don't use these as much. What I love is the video option! There's no need to be a professional to create a professional looking video. PLUS, Adobe has updated their privacy policy so that now it is a 4 on Ed Frameworks and schools can provide consent.
Literacy & numeracy tools: Not surprisingly, Texthelp's Chrome extension Read & Write is on the list and is one of my favorites. I use this to provide oral feedback to my students or to have them practice reading aloud.
STEAM tools: I'll be completely honest and admit that I haven't used ANY of these tools, but I am super-intrigued by Flat.io, a tool that allows students to write music together. If any of you music people out there have used or decide to use it, please let me know what you think!
Communication & understanding tools: I use SO MANY of these, it's hard to pick just one, but I'm going to go with the one that I use that I think is less well-known. Edpuzzle is a way to embed clarification or checks for understanding INTO a video shared with students. You can use any video at all and it's super easy to use!
Remember to check out their full list at the link above!
Angela Burgess
Forsyth County Schools, GA
Check out previous newsletters on my profile page!
Email: aburgess@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/forsythk12.org/mmeburgess/home
Location: 1120 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, GA, United States
Phone: 770.887.246 203371
Twitter: @MmeBurgess