Thing 17: Notability

Notability is my favorite app in the entire world!  And I'm not even being hyperbolic.  I used Notability with my kids last year in place of all paper notebooks.  We had a social studies notebook, a writer's notebook and a reader's notebook.  I love it!

One feature that I really love about Notability is that you can type and use your finger or a stylus to write and add pictures from your camera roll or the Internet all in one note.  It allows kids a lot of freedom for how they get their ideas down.  Kids who preferred to use words could easily do that; others who preferred to use pictures and label with few words could do that as well.  It's so easy to modify to your own specific needs and learning preferences.

I especially loved using Notability to create note templates for the kids to use.  It was easy to type the basic template, and then I'd write in with a stylus to make modifications for the kids who needed it.  I could then upload all of this to Schoology, and the kids could get it from there to put into their own Notability notebooks.  The thing I loved about this feature was that the modified version just looked like the kid had already added some notes in his/her own handwriting.  It really lessened the "I'm different" stigma that can come with the modified work.

The kids loved to use it for notes in social studies.  We did a lesson on how to organize notes.  They loved the colors that they could use.  They also got into the shapes and used those to help them organize as they researched.

The best feature in Notability is the cut and paste feature.  You can easily move any of your stylus written work with a simple circle and drag!  That was another lifesaver for my sixth graders.  They could easily move notes into more organized spots to help them see patterns and volume for each subtopic.

Finally, I loved using it to take class notes as we worked together.  I'd project it on the Apple TV and write or add pictures as we would go.  I could then share those class notes with the kids through Drive or Schoology.  The modeling was really helpful in that way.

I really cannot say enough about Notability and how easy it is to use.  If you'd like to learn more about it, please let me know!  I'd be happy to share what we've figured out so far (I'm sure we're only scratching the surface).  If I can do it, anyone can do it!

Thing 16: Haiku Deck

I'm a really big fan of slide shows, so I thought I'd love this app. Alas, I did not. I used it to create a haiku deck on plagiarism:

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/cdc53d7e96

I don't mind how it turned out, but I wish it could do more. I wanted to add video, use multiple pictures on one slide, manipulate the positioning of words...  So much more! I think I am spoiled by Google Slides and other slide show type apps and the such. This just didn't do it for me, and I think most of my sixth graders would just find it frustrating to use because of the limitations on their own manipulation of each slide. 

I'm curious, however, if teachers of younger grades thought this might be helpful? Maybe it would be good as an introductory slide show app?

Thing 15: Book Creator

I've been a fan of Book Creator for awhile now.  Last year I used it to help me differentiate materials for my kids.  I'd make books for notes that could be uploaded to Notability with pages that looked like this:

and this for modification:

I liked using Book Creator for this because it allowed me to make the notes look the way I wanted. Once they were uploaded into Schoology for the kids to upload into Notability, I could assign them to certain kids.  When they downloaded them, they all looked similar enough that no one really blinked twice at the modifications that had happened.

As the year went on I got better and better at these books (though I found myself preferring to use Notability when it was for notes)!  Later I made one for a geography test that had maps on the different pages.  Once the kids got it from Schoology, they could put it into Notability and manipulate it any way they chose.

The kids loved using the app as a tool for making products.  For any type of notetaking, they preferred to use Notability.  They loved being able to import photos and videos to show their learning.  We'll definitely use it with them again next year!

Thing 13: Ed Tech Blogs to Follow

A-ha! moment for me: It's about the connections.  I am definitely a cynic when it comes to all of this social media technology, so to hear Alec Couros really elaborate on the purpose of this social media as connection and relationship building was a game changer to me.  When I forced myself to examine my personal social media usage I found he was right.  I use Facebook for the connections and the relationships it allows me to have.  Mind blown.

Connections I'll definitely continue:

• Scott McCloud
• Ed Byrne
• George Couros

Here are some ideas I have for the curated sites:

• Both Smart Brief on EdTech and Edutopia were right up my alley.  I loved the quick reads on the EdTech site.  This is something that will help me to stay up to date without sucking up a lot of my time.  Edutopia is totally organized in the way I like.  It was so user friendly that I've already got myself into the PBL lists.  These are great!

Thing 11: Google Hangouts

I was part of a hangout today!  Click here to see quotes from it.  Let me tell you how it all began...

I was on Twitter (my daily commitment to one tweet and all), and I saw a post from @innovates_ed about a live conversation with the topic of primary sources being used in PBL.  I clicked on the link and learned that the hangout would go live in less than 15 minutes.  I saw the "chatroll" to the left of the hangout, logged in and waited.

I was not disappointed!  The conversation was so interesting and the resources that were offered were inspiring!  I live chatted with the speakers and other listeners.

And I even tweeted with the hashtags they said to use!

The hangout lasted an hour, and since I wasn't actually a part of it in the video sense, I could also moderate the water balloon fight my son was having outside.  It was a great experience for my first hangout.  I would totally participate in this capacity again!  I decided to follow @innovates_edu so that I can see when more of these types of conversations will happen.

One of the greatest links that was shared was http://letters2president.org/.  I've got so many ideas for how we're going to get the kids involved with this campaign, and I'd love to hear if/how others will get involved too!

Thing 14: iTunes U

For me:

• Fiction for Young Adults course: I could see this being a really awesome way for colleagues to come together around YA literature.  I like the idea of a course that would help us talk about great books (old and new) and give us a common language from which to proceed.  I didn't dig too deeply, but the idea is intriguing.  It got me wondering if iTunes U courses could count for WU credit?
• We Are Poets: Fourth Grade: Poetry: I could see myself using this in the classroom.  I've been dreaming up a poetry unit to use with kids for awhile, and I liked some of the activities in this course.  I really appreciated that the majority of the materials were accessible in the course and not materials that I would have to purchase.  I also appreciated many of the links that were included.

For a colleague:

• Consumer Mathematics: The course materials (at a glance) looked really fun and appropriate for kids in sixth grade.  The course gets kids thinking about real life math: purchasing a home, paying utilities, getting a job...  I think this could be a really fun course for a math teacher at my grade level.

With kids:

• I'm not sure I'd be comfortable using the actual iTunes U with kids, but I would love to do our own live version of iTunes U.  I'd love to have the kids create and teach their own courses.  We've done similar things with them in the past where they've taught a quick lesson, but it would be really fun to have them do a whole course!

Thing 10: Google + and Communities

I can see the possibilities with Google + and Communities, but it's a little challenging.  I made a circle for 36 Things, but not everyone that I know of in the class was part of my Google + following, so I had to go through a lot of clicking to add them to the circle.  I made another circle for my 6th grade LA/SS colleagues, but the only person on Google + was our department's coordinator, and she doesn't even teach at our school.  Again, lots of clicking to get a circle created.

I joined four different Communities: 36 Things, GEG Chicagoland, The Winnetka Experience, and Winnetka University Reflections.  For the first three of those, I could see posts, and I posted into our 36 Things Community.  For the fourth one, I couldn't see any posts.  I created a Community for 6th grade LA/SS and invited all my 6th grade LA/SS colleagues.

Possibilities:

• If our students were all on Google + and we made a community of all of them, it would be like our own personal Twitter account to post and share on.  I like that possibility a lot.
• If all our colleagues were on Google + and we made a community of all the ones in our department, it could be a great way to post and share what's going on in our classrooms.  It's the part we never have time for in our meetings and the part I find myself most craving.

Thing 9: Twitter

I'm finding myself in a love/hate relationship with Twitter.  Here's why:

Love:

• I love being able to quickly and concisely get the word out about things.  We've used it the last two years in Adventures, and I love to tweet out what's going on throughout the day.  I feel like it gives my 20 or so followers a real insight into what happens on a daily basis.  I'm really proud of our program, and I want people to see that!  As I can be a wordy person, I really appreciate that my character count is limited.  I can't spend too much time posting (You wouldn't believe the amount of time I put into wordsmithing our weekly email blast!).  
• I love being able to post an alert really quickly.  Again, with Adventures, sometimes we have to change our plans based on the weather, and Twitter gets the word out quickly and concisely when we have to do so.  It's not the only method of alert we use, but it's a great addition to our arsenal.
• Finally, I love getting to read other people's quick posts about what they're doing in their classrooms.  I find myself longing to get into more classrooms every day, but with 40+ classes running each period, I can never get to them all.  I love when my phone buzzes and I can catch a glimpse into a classroom in the building.  I love retweeting these happenings.  It makes me feel closer to the classes, kids and teachers.

Hate:

• The time suck of it all...  When I'm using this for my professional life I find myself sucked into the linked articles and videos and websites and...  I look up and it's an hour (or more, let's be honest) later, and I still haven't accomplished the one thing I had started out to do!  I am, perhaps, just not disciplined enough for Twitter!

My Twitter manifesto:

• I will use Twitter to tweet out the happenings of Adventures and of my classroom.  This will allow others a glimpse into what happens on a daily basis, breaking down the walls of our school and making the learning environment transparent to all who care to follow.
• I will use Twitter as one of the ways to get alerts out.  Combined with email, phone calls, blog posts and notes home, Twitter will be a great alert tool.
• I will use Twitter to see into the classrooms of my colleagues.  I will continue to add colleagues from inside and outside of our district so that I can be exposed to more and more great education and thinking!
• I will limit myself to one article a day.  This will allow me to continue to grow my knowledge and feed my curiosities, but it will also help me to manage my time more wisely.

Thing 12: ICE

Completing the Dotstorming Board triggered my memory: I have been to an ICE sponsored event before!  Last year, Kim and I attended an event at GBS that was all about design thinking.  It gave us really great ideas for our classrooms.  Encouraged by the discussion of the day, neither of us used desks last year.  We opted for tables.  Kim also tried out multiple surfaces being covered with whiteboard.  It was a really great experience to be in a room with so many educators from all over the area!

When I checked out the ICE conference materials, I came across this:

Providing an Authentic Audience

I have really been thinking a lot this summer about how to get the kids writing for authentic audiences.  I have found over the last few years that when they are writing for someone other than me, they push themselves to do much better work, and the process doesn't feel like so much of a chore.  This was a really nice slideshow to have ideas for authentic audiences with a technology twist. It made me wish I had been at that session!

Thing 8: Google Photos

I decided to do all this Google Photos work through my Adventures in Learning account.  We take a lot of pictures, and it seemed like a no brainer to me to do this work though that instead.  Once we're up and running for the school year, I can see myself also using it for the classroom.  So far, I'm pretty happy.  Here's why:

1. I can take the photos on my phone (the AIL one that I have with me 90% of the day at school), and they'll automatically update into Google Photos, and Google Photos will automatically put them into a folder for me on my Drive!  This allows for such awesome ease of access and allows me so much more flexibility whether I'm posting to Twitter (follow us @adventures36) or sending out our weekly update emails to parents.  Great stuff!
2. I'm super excited about the movie feature.  Sometimes it's really hard to pick what picture to use, and I don't want any class to feel like I forgot about them.  The movie feature is so amazing because I can choose all the pictures and it will give them each equal screen time!  I could see using this with parents to give a quick glance into what we're doing in our classroom. I can't wait to play with it more on the iPad.
3. I'll just keep rolling about the movie feature for a minute...  I could see this being a really cool way for the kids to show their learning throughout a project.  Almost like a "time lapse" movie, they'd be able to show other learners and themselves the growth they made from day one to the finale of a project.

I do have one question, and I'd love an answer if anyone knows...  How do I get my photos that are in folders on my drive into Google Photos?  I tried dragging and dropping, and I tried moving them, but neither option worked (or I couldn't make it work).  Any ideas?

Thing 7: Google Keep

I like lists.  A lot.  On my own personal device I've got lists for weekly dinners, names of Noah's friend's parents, gift ideas for myself and others.  I have a great grocery list app, a great journaling app that works as a list.  Lists, lists, lists.  I love lists!

I thought I'd really love Google Keep, but I'm not sure I do.  Yet.  I did the work for Thing 7 through my Adventures email.  I've got a phone dedicated to Adventures, so it seemed like a no-brainer.  But I'm pretty sure I set up something incorrectly because my first reminder didn't come through!  I'll have to go back into Keep on the computer and the app I downloaded to see what I did incorrectly.

Beyond that, I'm not sure if it's something I'd use or not.  I make a lot of "Sticky Notes" on my desktop, and at first I thought Keep could take the place of that.  But now I'm not so sure.  I like that the sticky notes are right in my face every time I open up my laptop.  I'd have to go through steps to get to Google Keep, and I'm not sure I'm disciplined enough to do that (too much honesty?).  Maybe if I get everything to sync up correctly I'll change my mind, but for right now I'm a sticky note fan.

Thing 6: The Chrome Book

Perhaps it is because it feels like a toy laptop my son had when he was young; perhaps it is because change is hard, but I do not like the Chrome Book I am typing on right now.  I take that back...  I would not willingly give up my laptop for this device, BUT I can see the merits of it for the classroom.  Let me elaborate:

1. The size and weight of this is perfect for kids!  The iPad is great, but its (this Chrome Book is anti-apostrophe! Ack!) either too small (without the case) or too clunky (with the case).  This doesnt (gonna scream!) seem to be much heavier than an iPad and it has a much larger screen.  Speaking of screens...
2. The screen does not have that annoying iPad glare!  No matter where we sat in my classroom either the lights or the sunlight made the iPad screens difficult to see on most days.  Most of the kids had broken their kickstand off the back of the iPad by the time they got to sixth grade, so they all ended up awkwardly finding ways to support the screen while they typed.  It was a mess!  Finally...
3. The keyboard!  My kids begged me for keyboards to go with their iPads every time we did a project, but we only had a couple sets of keyboard in the whole school!  We would hoard them for a few weeks, but inevitably another class would need them, and we would have to give them up.  Chrome Book solves this problem with its built in keyboard.

If this was the 1:1 device that the kids had, I would be pretty happy.  It allows them to do everything we do on our iPads or laptops or desktops, but it has some built in conveniences that would totally rock!  I am glad I had a chance to use it.  Now I will go back to my laptop:)