Google Docs New Integrated Research Tool

Google Docs has many useful features for helping students develop writing skills. When I recently opened a Google Document to plan a teacher training on Using Google Docs to Facilitate a Writing Workshop I was pleasantly surprised to find a new and powerful integrated research feature which couldn't be easier to use. Just pull down the Tools menu, click on Research and search for information in the research pane that appears on the right side of the screen. Users never have to leave the page.

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Back to School With Google Docs

Last year all of the students in our school district received Google Docs accounts and I was kept quite busy all year getting students up and running and then finding innovative ways to use the tools for learning. Upon reflection,if I got the opportunity to do it all over again there are three things I would make sure to do at the start of the year to kick off Google Docs. 

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ThingLink & Mentor Mob: Nice Integration Feature

Last week I learned that the folks at ThingLink and MentorMob had done some work together to integrate their tools, making it possible to embed a MentorMob playlist directly into a ThingLink graphic. After experimenting a bit I decided to remix some of the content I've been using for years to teach digital citizenship and the result is the creation of Avatar Adventure. For me, the exciting part about designing this learning activity was being able to create something that other people could understand and use. And yes, I certainly learned a lot as I was designing the activity.

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Avatar Adventures: An Interactive Learning Opportunity

I created an interactive learning experience designed to provide students and teachers with opportunities to focus on digital citizenship while engaging in constructive play. I hope many will enjoy using it, contributing to it and interacting with it.


Many thanks to those who have already contributed content!

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10 Minute Tech Tools on Pinterest

A few years ago I decided to wind up the school year by offering busy teachers the opportunity to collaborate with me to learn to use a powerful tech tool in 10 minutes or less. I must admit the idea was appealing to many teachers at that very busy time of the year, and it actually generated a lot of interest. After all, who doesn't have 10 minutes to learn to use a new tool?

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Top 10 Tech Tools: An Interactive Graphic

With so many free and user friendly tech tools available for teachers, it's hard to know where to begin to put together a list of the best tools for teaching and learning so I decided to take a look at my own resources to determine which tools I use the most. Rather than posting another running list of tools, features and uses, I decided to present the information visually, through an interactive ThingLink graphic. I used the new colored nubbins available to make it easier for visitors to explore areas of interest more efficiently. 

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Explore the World - Google World Wonders Projects

If you can't visit the great wonders of the world in person, Google's new World Wonders Project can get you pretty close. The World Wonders Project is an interactive website that uses the same street view technology used in Google Maps to allow visitors to explore many of the wonders of the world. In order to allow virtual visitors to get off the beaten path, Google used tricycles with cameras to explore territory closer than cars can go. In addition to exploring the World  through the amazing street view technology, Google provides factual information, stunning images, 3-D models and YouTube videos right on the page.

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21st Century Research & Information Fluency on Scoop.It

Scoop.it is a free and user friendly content curation service that allows users to collect information about a topic of interest and display it as an attractive visual magazine. The handy bookmarklet allows users to add content to a magazine with the click of a button while browsing the web. Users can follow others with similar interests and rescoop posts from one person's magazine to their own. Scoop.it also generates suggestions that match your interest. This is an efficient way to share content. 

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Wallwisher Senbazuru - A New and Improved Digital Wall

Wallwisher is a free and user friendly online tool that allows users to create a digital wall of multimedia sticky notes. In addition to text, the notes can include images, links and videos. Create a wall, then invite others to add stickies.

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Vokis in the Classroom

Summer is a time for constructive play. You might want to have a bit of fun and try creating a talking avatar with My Voki. Once you see how easy it is to create one, you have the rest of the summer to figure out how to use them in your teaching.

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A Day of Learning

The folks at SimpleK12 are hosting several Days of Learning this summer featuring free webinars for educators which are certainly worth exploring. I'm excited to be hosting one again on June 20th that will continue to explore digital differentiation with a focus on using multimedia tools to support all learning styles. Please join us!

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An Interactive ThingLink Launcher Unveiled

Check out this fantastic interactive graphic created by the folks at ThingLink featuring contributions from real users. Keep creating and sharing!

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