Hold My Chalk

In just over a week I will be on the road the the TCEA conference in Austin, TX.  Just like any conference, I try to plan out the sessions I will be attending.  This conference offers a similar struggle.  Usually I find one or two sessions that are really appealing and make sure I get a seat in those sessions. Then I try to find other sessions to fill the time that I might be able to find information to take back and share with others.  This is one of the larger conferences I have attended in a while, so my struggle this time is narrowing down my choices.  I have too many options that sound appealing to me. When I get to that point I have to balance between attending sessions that are completely self serving and centered around my interests or attending sessions that will have information I can share with others when I return to school.  If it fits both, then it is a no brainer. The first day of the conference I am able to attend the Google Academy sessions...

Sending large attachments can sometimes be a hassle, but not if you have a Google account.  To easily share some of your larger files, first upload the file into your Google Drive.  You can easily share the file from Google Drive at this point and give the other person the option to view or edit the file. Another option is to start an email to the person and when you are ready to attach the file look for the Google Drive icon and it will add a link to the file instead of adding the large file that often never arrives.  Once you have shared the file, if you make any changes to the file you don't need to send a new document to the person.  When they open the link again, it will take them to the most recent version. This tip is courtesy of  +The State of Tech Podcast .  They have many other tips on various topics.  Check them out sometime.

Twitter. Every teacher should have at least one Twitter account.  If you are a classroom teacher, sponsor a club/organization, or coach you should have two.  I recommend two so you can have one that you use to follow others and use for professional development and the other for students and parents to follow that will have updates about your class or group. Remember, just because someone follows you does not mean you have to follow them back.  This is not Facebook, and this is not a friend request.  The person is simply saying they want to read what you post.  You can also control who follows you.  If someone follows that you don't recognize, check their profile.  It is possible this person is the equivalent of an email spammer and is trying to get you to follow them to send malicious links to you.  Block the person and report it as spam. I would also recommend not following too many with your classroom account.  Some suggestions might be oth...

Filing cabinets are a thing of the past! Whether you agree with that statement or not it is rapidly becoming a reality. How do you make that transition a little bit easier?  Eventually you are going to need to move all those old paper files into some sort of digital format. It makes sense to begin now if you haven't already. The benefits are many, but here are a few: 1. If there is ever a fire or you are suddenly transferred your files are not lost. 2. You can access them anytime, anywhere. 3.  You can share them instantly. Where do you begin?  First choose where you will store them. Find one or several places to store them. I am using Dropbox, Google Drive, and Evernote to store most of my files. I still put a few on external drives just to have an extra copy. Probably not necessary since each of these services has redundant backups of their data. Next begin scanning or saving your files. Many copiers have a port for USB drives or allow you to email directly from the cop...

Begin your transition to paperless by uploading all your files into Google Drive.  If you convert the files in the process, you will not use any of your allotted space and you have access to them anywhere you have internet access. To make it even better, organize it into folders and share those folders with your students (works great if you are a Google Mail school).  Then create a folder for each student to turn in completed work and share it only with the student.  Your students can then make a copy, complete the assignment and put it in the completed work folder. Now you never have to print, just open up the finished work.  You can comment on individual answers and grade all of it in the comments section of the file.  No more dragging home papers to grade, just sit down with your device of choice and get to work.

If you are using Chrome & QR codes there is a great way to combine the two and save yourself some trouble bouncing back and forth to a QR Code generator. This small icon is the Chrome extension for the Google shortener.  First go to the Chrome web store and search for url shortener or just search for goo.gl.  Next you will need to choose Extensions and find the the link for goo.gl URL Shortener.  After you choose Add to Chrome the icon will appear next to the address/search bar in Chrome.  It is now ready to use. To test it out, navigate to any webpage and click on the icon.  You will get a message saying that it is shortening the link and then a small dialog box appears.  You should see the shortened address like this one I just created: http://goo.gl/IZ4iQ.  You will also see a message about it being added to your history.  If you are signed into Chrome, you can add it to your history and keep track of all your shortened addresses insid...