S’More Flip

I love using S’More!  S’More was originally intended to create online flyers but I have found that it can do so much more. The first thing that I noticed is that it was EASY to use! Simply click and add content. Even though I offer S’More training on campus, it really doesn’t take much skill. (Hint: the next training session is April 7!)

This semester I have been “flipping” my Technology for Teachers course. It has worked out wonderfully. Although I have found creating and recording my lectures quite time consuming, I do feel that overall my students are benefitting from the added 1:1 time. I use the class time for hands-on computer work and discussion.

Now I am adding S’More to the mix. S’Mores allow you to add any type of content to a decorative web page – text, video, audio, pictures, and forms. The S’More pages easily embed into our learning management system, Moodle. I end up with an attractive page that contains all the “ingredients” necessary for an assignment.

Moodle page

I usually begin with text, then video, and end with a Google form which allows me to formatively assess the learner’s understanding of the content before we begin our discussion in class. It’s a win-win!

Here is a sample of a S’More :

CLICK THIS LINK.

Sorry, sadly…S’Mores do not embed into WordPress. However, they do embed nicely into most other pages. S’Mores also provide you with analytics which can be great for the classroom teacher. It’s a sweet deal…all wrapped up in a nice package for you. (smile.)

Google to the Rescue!

We had a Jessup “family meeting” yesterday and during the meeting I let staff and faculty know the results of the training requests so far – Google, Google, Google. Google Drive. Google Docs. Google Presentation. Google Hangout. People want to know more about Google and desire to know how to use the many (many) resources available.

Amazing news today.

Google has released ADD-ONS.

These add-ons will amaze you.

In Google Docs, click the word “Add-Ons”…

Click “Get Add-Ons”…

Now browse the list and add them!  Here are a few to get you started. There are more – so go take a look for yourself!

Do you have email addresses stored in a Google spreadsheet? If so, this add-on will send an e-mail merge directly from your Google Doc.

Review AND approve changes made to your document!

Add a thesaurus to your Google document.

Easily merge Google spreasheet data into Avery address labels and name badges.

One place to discuss and see changes to your document.

Need to gather approvals or feedback? Use Letter Feed Workflows to automatically send out emails and gather the approvals you need quickly. You’ll be notified immediately when it’s approved.

“The easiest automatic bibliography and citation generator is now on Google Docs. Format in MLA, APA, and Chicago style.”

“The Bibliography Creator by EasyBib allows you to easily create a bibliography for your research paper. Automatically cite books, journal articles, and websites just by entering in the titles or URLs. Format citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago style. When you’re finished creating your bibliography, click Generate Bibliography and we’ll alphabetize your citations and add them to the end of your paper.”

Add a legally binding electronic signature.

Make sure all abbreviations in your document have been defined. This will also make an abbreviation list for you!

I love this one and have used it! Give feedback to students by highlighting and verbally leaving a message.

Want to improve your writing? Let Pro Writing Aid help you. It will check for consistency, plagiarism, cliches, redundancies, and grammar mistakes!

5 Tips for Classroom Management with Mobile Devices

I am reblogging some tips written by Jennifer Carey for technology and classroom management. She makes some very good points that I think would help our faculty such as give clear expectations and the use of the “Two Eyes Two Feet App”. Read on to learn more!

Three Ways We Save Money

While this is not a post about technology in the classroom, it is a post about technology at home! Many people ask me what we do when I tell them that we cut our phone and cable bills. This is not an advertisement – it is simply a post for what our family did. There are many other great tools out there…these are just the ones that we use!

A few years back we decided to cut some of our bills. First, we got rid of our daily paper. I loved reading the paper each morning – but decided to use the time for my devotional reading instead and I don’t miss it.  Every morning I use my YouVersion app to read the Bible. I like the extended reading plans they offer. Right now I am reading through the “Historical” version of the Bible through a year. “Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to read the Old Testament in ancient Israel? Or, the New Testament as the books were written? In this plan, the order of the Old Testament readings is very similar to Israel’s Hebrew Bible, progressing from Law to Prophets to Writings. The New Testament ordering is based upon research regarding the order in which the books were authored. Although this research is not conclusive, it may offer helpful insights to your Bible reading.”    (YouVersion)

Second, we got rid of our landline phone. This was a hard one for us. I wanted to use cell phones only, and my husband wanted a landline. Yet we both agreed that we didn’t like paying for a service we simply were not using. So, we purchased an Ooma.

Simply plug one end into your high speed Internet, and one end into your phone. Click HERE to learn more. The unit does cost $149.99 for the initial unit, but this has definitely paid for itself. We have used it now for a few years. The voice quality is great. You do have to continue to pay for your Internet service and you will be billed for state and local taxes and surcharges (ours is about $6.50 a month). That is certainly cheaper than what we use to pay for our phone service.

Finally, we saved by discontinuing our TV cable service. We wondered what life would be like without a regular TV but I am so happy we did! I don’t miss it at all. Not only do we have more time in the day (because we aren’t sitting in front of the TV!), we can still watch all the shows we would want to watch on our own time schedule by using a Roku.  Now, I must let you know that if you are a sports fan or enjoy watching the news, this may not be a good choice for you. We can only watch shows once they have aired. However, if I feel that I really need a news update, I can stream online to a local news station.

Roku streams content through your high speed Internet to your TV or monitor. We do pay a $7.99 monthly fee for  Hulu Plus  but that is certainly cheaper than our cable bill.