So this year I am doing TWO (one of them twice!) presentations... I have embedded them below - as well as links to some useful resources... Please let me know what you think - especially if you are there watching me/falling asleep/avoiding eye contact!
1. Resources for Creating a Purposeful Digital Footprint
Create your own Playlist on LessonPaths!
And if the pretty visual of resources above doesn't work for you, here is a list of the links!
Reviews & Age Ratings - Best Movies, Books, Apps, Games for Kids: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/# Center on Media and Child Health: http://cmch.tv/ Thinkuknow: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ ConnectSafely | Online Safety: http://www.connectsafely.org/ Family Online Safety Institute: https://www.fosi.org/ Digital Citizenship Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Digital-Citizenship-166749830146929/?ref=bookmarks Digital Citizenship @ GWA - Blog: http://gwadigitalcitizenship.weebly.com/ 2. Designing Learning Presentation (lunchtime keynote)
And here are some great sites to continue the conversation...:
Rethinking the Classroom – Research – Herman Miller The 7 Styles Of Learning: Which Works For You? - Edudemic EdTech Solutions - Teaching Every Student: It's Not About the Tools; It's About the Possibilities Student-Centered Learning Environments: How and Why | Edutopia Designing Learning That Matters | Edutopia New Teachers: Designing Learning Environments | Edutopia How the Maker Movement Is Moving Into Classrooms | Edutopia Study Shows How Classroom Design Affects Student Learning | Co.Design | business + design Makerspace Resources | Renovated Learning How the Maker Movement Is Transforming Education
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A very brief overview of the steps taken since May:
To access documents & examples referred to in this presentation, please click here
Key successes
Can you think of any other advantages/benefits that I have forgotten?
For the past year I have been wrestling with the current 1:1 iPad set up at my school and have devised the following 'appflow' infographic - this is Version 2 (see Version 1 here). I tried to take the apps that the students currently use (removing a LOAD of the content based ones) and create the workflow of 'absorption', preparation/creation and presentation along with a few 'must-have' tools. I have tried to organise the student workflow to help both students and teachers organisation and planning.
Part of my inspiration came from an EdTech Conference in Jo'burg where Sabba Quidwai showed us the awesome work that Steve Bambury has done with the Chemistry of Combos. I have used Thinglink to link each app icon to information about how it can be used - click here to see this Appflow on Thinglink. Please PLEASE give me feedback - let me know what you think! This is a complete draft and I would love some suggestions and feedback. I want it to be a go-to source for all teachers and students from G3+ in our school... Let me know what you think :) Doug Peterson of 'Off the Record' fame created this amazing Symbaloo of loads of creative commons image resources. This is a perfect go-to resource for students who need high quality images. I decided to take these sites and add them to a Google Custom Search to make it easier for students to search for specific images - I hope Doug doesn't mind! I have embedded it below - not perfect but a start - let me know of any suggestions. How can we improve this? Leigh Cassell recently posted this excellent Prezi below from Jana Scott Lindsay on the Digital Human Library Blog, "Learning with Technology". Two things from this; FIRST, follow the blog - it's great! SECOND, this Prezi is well worth a look... :) Maintaining a positive Digital Footprint is an essential skill these days and although many of our students role models (celebrities, musicians & even politicians!) fail miserably, it is our duty as educators to support them and ensure that our students are able to make good choices... This site, created in collaboration with Kimberley Leiske, a counselor from GWA Dubai, shares topical discussions, thought-provoking videos and useful links to other resources in order to support us all. Have a look!
We are surrounded by cellphones, TV's, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles. We are consuming that technology like never before - to stay connected, to keep in touch, to communicate and to socialise. We recognise that this is different from when we were young and therefore we are able to USUALLY (with exceptions - anyone played Candy Crush!?) separate ourselves and maintain some semblance of balance. Our children are different. They know no different. Their role models - including parents, peers and celebrities - are using using technology all the time and children see this as normal. Without boundaries and guidance these 'digital natives' will struggle to find a balance. SO how do we - as good parents - manage this? Here are my suggestions - things that I strive (it's not easy!) to follow with my son & daughter: 1. SET EXPECTATIONS THAT APPLY TO THE WHOLE FAMILY Different rules for different members of the family will not work. Any expectations have to be agreed upon by parents and siblings alike. They need to see you agreeing with the rules that you are setting them. Practice what you preach! 2. MAKE THE AGREEMENTS TOGETHER If you involve your children in the discussion they are much more likely to agree to the consequences. They will have ownership on the decisions made especially if it was them that suggested it in the first place. It's a team effort! 3. SET LIMITS Whether you limit the time or the frequency, boundaries need to be in place. No matter what, you are still the parents and consequently, still should be making the decisions that are best for your kids. This should be a given. No means no! 4. EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES There are so many other exciting, fun, interesting things to do as a family that do not require technology. Trust me - there is - you just have to search it out. Whether it's a trip to the park or the zoo, or quality family time building, making or playing something, you'll soon realise that technology is not the only option... 5. THINK ABOUT THE 'WHERE' Access to technology needs to be monitored. When it is accessed behind closed doors, you - the parent - are no longer in control. Cellphone, laptop and iPad use should be limited to public areas of your home where a quick glance is sufficient to ensure the appropriateness of the site or game that they are playing. 6. THINK ABOUT THE WHERE... AND THEN THINK AGAIN I see kids on iPads in cars, restaurants, parks - all over the place. The iPad is seen as the new babysitter. And it's a damn good one too! However, we should still be in control - technology isn't the only answer; a novel, a toy, a game, a sketchbook are all great alternatives as is conversation. Real time, two way, verbal communication that doesn't involve thumbs, electronic devices or a wifi signal :) Ultimately, we are teaching our children what is right and what is wrong. We are teaching them how to behave and how to make good choices and even better decisions. This is not about technology this is about basic parenting. Did YOUR parents tell you that you had enough TV, that you weren't allowed out to play until you had done your chores, that you had to put the comic down until after you had eaten? I bet they did - and I bet YOU did as you were told...! What do YOU think? What have I missed? And what do you agree/disagree with...? Here is the presentation (my first Haiku Deck - great stuff!) I made to introduce this to parents from our school:
Another excellent meeting - in fact, as Syed rightly said, it was more like a conference with so much sharing of excellent practice across the network - thank you to all that were present, apologies to those who attempted to join my failed Google Hangout and, above all, many thanks to the generous hosts at The Westminster School - Dubai... Facebook: groups and security settingsScroll down to see another post regarding this along with a comparison between the advantages of Facebook Groups, Pages or a regular Blog... Please click here or scan the QR Code to the right to request to join our ICT Network Facebook Group Please
Sites created by us!(a work in progress - send me the ones I missed!) Other amazing sites and resources(a work in progress - send me the ones I missed!)
Someone flagged an eSchool News post from way back in April, "Ten of the best virtual field trips" written by Meris Stansbury. It reminded me of a couple more go-to sites when I want to virtually explore the world - the next best thing to actually being there! Here are THREE online sites that are visually stunning (watch out though - these sites are genuine time stealers but are so worth it!) and can be used as a teaching resource in most subject areas... 1. Airpano
2. 360Cities
Google Maps - Street View
Enjoy rediscovering our world...!
Another successful meeting kindly hosted by Mario and the rest of the team at Winchester School Dubai (Oud Metha) – thanks again for your hospitality! We had 13 attendees in total - an increase in the last meeting…! Minutes:
Syed from The Westminster School, Dubai enthusiastically shared his iBooks Author created interactive 'textbook'. This prompted a lot of discussion about the use of iPads in the classroom especially in a BYOT environment AND the limitations of having device specific resources as opposed to cross-device options like Adobe DPS. Some interesting discussions... :) Google Drive, once again, was a highlight of discussions - from the youngest to the oldest students! We discussed the sharing and collaboration features, auto-save, the ability to access - and edit - from any device and many other positives from our experiences. Tony shared a Process Journal from his school (created as a Google Presentation) where students could add images, videos as well as written work in a format created by the teacher. So basically an online workbook - amazing potential! Any Other Business?
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 29th January - anyone like to host? Let me know! Maryam, a colleague from Winchester - Dubai, shared a thought-provoking video with me yesterday (see below) and it has inspired me to collate several of my favourite "educational technology" clips. I have brought them together here - and below. What have I missed? What would you consider to be the some of the more inspiring or thought-provoking videos to do with education and technology? Please share as a comment to this post! Welcome! AGENDA/MINUTES: 1. Introductions: great to see you all. I hope you found it to be a productive and useful first meeting of the year! We had representatives from Winchester-Dubai, Westminster, GWA-Dubai, New Millennium School, Winchester-Jebel Ali... An involved and enthusiastic mix of educators with lots to share! Please leave a comment to share more thoughts, ideas and resources that I may have missed... :) 2. Wishes for the year: - what do YOU want to achieve? - what would you like to get out of the ICT Network Meetings this year? - how should we share our work with the wider community? 3. Sharing: Great job guys! Lots of sharing! 4. Next meeting (Tuesday 26th November) will be held at GEMS Winchester School, Dubai (Oud Metha) AND... one last thing: the easy way to make the GLG work for you!
Thanks again for joining us! Please leave a comment to share more thoughts, ideas and resources that I may have missed from this session... :)
There are many more tools which do a similar job - like Pic Collage, Fotor & Tagxedo - Click here for a previous post with other similar tools!
I get really frustrated when it presentations take longer to prepare for than they do to actually present. With the following tools, that no longer needs to be the case - these LITERALLY take MINUTES to create professional looking, high quality products... the only slow part is uploading the photos - but remember you can resize them first...! With a ComputerAccessible from your browser, www.fotor.com is a 'no registration required' photo presenting tool. It is VERY easy to use and there are lots of features to keep you busy. Throwing together these photos took less than 60 seconds. With an iPadA colleague in school showed me this yesterday. Since then I have probably already made TEN collages and none of them took more than 60 seconds! Pic Collage (also available on Android) is the easiest - and most effective photo presenting app I have ever used. Special MentionsOf course, we can't avoid other great photo editing and presenting tools.... My other favourites are Animoto (be sure to sign up for an education account).
What am I missing? What do you use...? I am presenting once again at the GWA PD Share Day. Last time I looked at some of my favourite Web2ools:
This time I want to look at a few other great Web2ools as well as revisit some old favourites... :) Google Drive has SO many possibilities and many GWA teachers are starting to experiment with it's features. Edmodo is a great venue for a 'chat room' with your students and/or parents. It is completely controllable and private to who YOU want to share it with Padlet is such a simple concept and so easy to use and set up. It's basically an online 'corkboard' that students and teachers can share ideas and answers I just found Fotor a few days ago thanks to Richard Byrne at FreeTech4Teachers (great site by the way!). Looks amazing for presenting photos simply and effectively... And here are some more GREAT tools to experiment with: Create your own Playlist on MentorMob! Today I presented to a group of PYP & MYP teachers and leaders from across the Middle East about integrating Web2.0 Tools (Click here to find out more). As nerve-racking as it was, I think it went well...! We explored a variety of Web2.0 Tools including Prezi, Padlet, Animoto, Tagxedo and Socrative among others. Below is the Prezi that I created to introduce the session: I've been contemplating whether or not to post this - even though I am proud of the accomplishment, I know nerves got in the way of the first one & a half minutes of my performance - and it makes me cringe each time I watch it! BUT it was a great learning experience and as long as I forget about that first section (I advise you skip it!) AND THE AWFUL "MOVEMBER!", presenting for the prestigious TEDx was an honour...: |
About MeHello, I am Tony Potts, Primary Assistant Principal at the American International School of Lusaka, Zambia. Please feel free to ask me ANY questions...
I was previously a tech integration specialist, ManageBac Coordinator, iPad Coach & ICT/MYP Design Teacher in the same school and before this I was the PK-12 Director of Digital Learning, ICT Coordinator, teacher and technology integration specialist at GEMS World Academy, Dubai. Blog RollHere are some of the sites that I have been involved in creating:
Digital Citizenship Little Bytes GWA Dubai Tony Potts If you would like to receive a notification if this page is updated, please click here
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My 'favourites!'This is a Top 5 list of blogs that I follow on my Google Reader - so where I get to know what I know - HIGHLY recommended:
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