The good news is that more and more often students are presenting at education conferences. The bad news is that they’re doing a poor job and it’s their teacher’s fault. Don’t be a teacher who let’s your students give a bad presentation. Before you have your students present make sure you’ve prepared them with these tips.I want more »

Looking for a terrific Thanksgiving week activity that teens will love? Facebook brings us their "Say Thank you" video tool. Students can let Facebook auto generate the video, or they can put some thought into selecting meaningful pictures and posts to customize the video. This is a great activity because it opens up the conversation about digital citizenship. Conversations like:What makes a good friend?Do you like how your portraying your friendships online?What kind of friend are you?What do you like about how you share your friendships?What might you do differently after thinking about this?Why is important to say thank you and express kindness in social media?What are some other ways we can let people know they are appreciated?Here's a sample of what a video looks like:    Not only is this a fun conversation starter, it's a great way to look back on those in our lives and how we share these memories with others. Want to give it a try?  Visit https://www.facebook.com/thanks then pick a friend and give it whirl!_______________________________________________________________________________Want to do an activity for preteens or use a tool that's not blocked in many schools? Check out the Thanksgiving template from +PowToon http://ow.ly/EK3Id. It provides a fun way for students of all ages to share what they are thankful for this week.

Thanksgiving is a great time to think about and celebrate giving. The best teachers are the best givers, but not all teachers believe in giving. In fact some teachers think it is unfair to be expected to share their hard work. I was reminded of this recently during a conversation among innovative educators who were discussing how much they enjoy the opportunity to share best practices and materials across schools. They shared stories of going to other schools where they learned from other teachers with an area of expertise that they wanted to get smarter about. They discussed stories of teachers coming to their school to learn from their teachers.They shared all sorts of great things that result from sharing. Because our district has developed and identified expert teachers in a number of areas (i.e. Digital Literacy, PBS resources, Google Apps for Ed, etc) the ingredients for this to occur are plentiful. Fortunately, teachers in many schools are reaping the rewards and students are benefiting. Unfortunately, at other schools, great ingredients don't always find their way to such favorable outcomes. This happens when you work in a culture where teachers don’t want to share.I want more »

Innovative educators are sharers of their craft. As such they present a lot. When they do, they’re asked to share their tech requirements. It’s surprising that this is still a question as needs are standard. If you present or if you arrange for presenters, below is your list.  ComputerHigh speed and less than three years oldA place to projectA modern projector and then make sure you have…AdaptersHDMI, Apple and or whatever new device comes along. Find out what the presenting device needs (if they are not using the one at the facility) and get it. ORA flatscreen television that can connect to a deviceWiDi, Apple TV, Chromecast, AirTameI want more »

Whether workshops, panels, keynotes, or classes there is one mistake presenters should never make. It is a mistake I learned to never ever do from a wise lady early in my career. I've heeded this advice and seen the negative ramifications of those who do not. Ramifications such as a frustrated, unsatisfied, and anxious audience as well as less than favorable reviews and feedback. Additionally, when presenters, don't heed this advice, the chances of their audience incorporating what they've learned into their work, decreases.Fortunately, if you remember this one piece of advice, your future presentations will be brighter and your audience will leave more satisfied. The advice is…I want more »

The best way to control your digital footprint is to purchase a domain for your site.  Doing so is cheap (only about $15 a year) and easy, but which site should you use?Don’t drive yourself crazy.  Just pick one of the suggestions below and get on your way to taking control of the digital identity you want.  I want more »

The next time someone shares with you another piece of shock journalism with claims that research says if kids use tech they'll get fat and stupid, arm yourself with this piece (10 Points Where the Research Behind Banning Handheld Devices for Children Is Flawed) which debunks that research. If you don't feel like reading it, it says this: The research cited against technology use for youth focuses on passive television viewing or addiction to video games that are usually of violent nature. Of course video game addiction and passively intaking information for hours on end is bad for anyone. In those cases the problem is usually not the technology, but rather the lack of a responsible adult guiding these young people.However, when young people have responsible parents and teachers in their lives, this does not describe what most young people do with technology. When responsible adults are involved in and understand the digital lives of young people, great things happen. Below is an arsenal of material that explains how today's youth are using technology effectively.  Pick a few of your favorites. Then share, and shift the conversation from lamenting about "kids today" to celebrating the wonderful things young people are doing when given proper support and access technology.  I want more »

Innovative educator Samantha Stouber uses the NYCDOE student-friendly social media guidelines as part of her efforts to teach digital literacy to her students. The guidelines provide a roadmap for to use digital media effectively.  For parents and staff there are guides. For students, the guidelines are in infographic format. As a reminder, Stouber printed out the guidelines and infographic to create this great visually teen-pleasing bulletin board.  Need some attractive reminders for your class? Visit the social media guidelines infographics and print them out for your classroom.Here are some close up pictures of the board:I want more »

Happy holidays innovative educators. Since educators across this country and beyond are with their families, I'm keeping today's post light and letting you know that beginning in 2015, The Innovative Educator blog is launching "Thowback Thursday," which means I will share posts that mattered in the early days of this blog.  To launch this, I share the very first post of "The Innovative Educator" blog.  What excites me more than the post, are the very first people to comment on the blog so please check that out.Written: March 19, 2008.  Topic: Why I was inspired to start a blog.Who might be interested: Any educator considering starting their own blog. Favorite excerpt: "Something I’ve learned from these experts is that if you want to be taken seriously, you have to have a digital footprint. It’s not enough to talk about the work you do, do the work you do, and spread the work you do. Even if it’s in one of the world’s largest school systems. To be taken seriously, you must become a more formal part of the conversation."Reader question: What might inspire you to start or contribute a guest post to a blog.Post: The Innovative Educator takes its first stepI’ve spent as long as I can remember being an educator, student or both, passionate about authentic, meaningful, fun, and relevant schooling. In first grade my school informed my mother that I spent most days sleeping and they were concerned I had a learning disability, though in those days, I believe my teacher told my mom she thought I was "retarded." Frantic my mother took me off to UCLA medical center for a battery of tests where they advised my mother and my school that I tested much higher than average in all tests and my issue was boredom and under stimulation.Read the rest at http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/03/innovative-educator-takes-its-first.html 

Looking back at 2014 I've come up with a few edtech resources I have relied on most for teaching and learning. Check em out and share yours.1) Google Apps Never worry about accessing or backing up your work with Google Apps.Whether you’re creating a doc, slides, spreadsheet, Google Apps provide the best collaboration and sharing tool out there for your work.  Sync your drive and work whether you’re connected to the internet or not.  Frequency: Daily2) Social MediaFacebook, Google Communities, Yammer, Edmodo and Twitter are my go to platforms to connect with other innovative educators inside and outside my district. Favorite hastags are #BYOD #BYOTchat #StuVoice #TLChat #EdChat. Favorite groups are The Innovative Educator and Google Educator Groups.  Frequency: DailyI want more »