Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Last Few Months...

Hi all!

I have been quiet, but the school year was wrapping up and things get very hectic. You know how it is! Here are some highlights of the last few months and some things I have been geeking-out over:

Kahoot! 


This is an awesome web-tool that makes formative assessment FUN! You can create your own "quiz" or choose from the large number of those already created. It is device agnostic and runs like a quiz show. Kids are given "kahoots" (points) for answering correctly and quickly so the competition really ramps up. At the end of the game, the teacher can download the data of the students' achievement and use it to inform their future instruction. Kahoot! has been used by my teachers from 6th - 12th grade and the kids LOVE IT!

Here is Kahoot! being used in a 7th Grade Science classroom:

Here is the YouTube channel for Kahoot!

Google Leadership Symposium


On Good Friday, I had our region's Google rep contact me wanting to collaborate with my school district. They wanted us to host a Google Leadership Symposium where approximately 80 school leaders would come together and talk about technology and revolutionizing the classroom. So, in 3 weeks, we designed, organized, and hosted the symposium. It was an exciting event and we received a lot of good feedback. Here is the site for the event!

Kearney Public Schools Summer Technology Courses


My colleagues and I are currently watching over our district's Summer Technology Classes. We are in charge of designing, scheduling, and supervising this event. This is two weeks of learning and sharing that has become a valuable part of the culture at Kearney Public Schools. Teachers can take classes for pay or credit through University of Nebraska-Kearney. Here are our offerings this year:

  • 21st Century Learning/Technology Integration
  • Quizlet
  • Beginning Google Apps
  • Intermediate Google Apps
  • Advanced Google Apps
  • Google Chrome
  • Beginning Google Sites
  • ePortfolios
  • Moodle
  • Safari Montage
  • Tech Tools for Formative Assessment
  • Mimio
  • iPads in the Elementary Classroom
  • iPads in the Secondary Classroom
  • iBooks Author
  • Kidspiration
  • YouTube
  • ...and more!
I hope you have an awesome summer! I will still be here sharing cool things I am learning and using. ON TO ISTE 14!

Have a happy day!