Bloom into EdTech: The Blog

Technology is changing the way our students learn, read, and obtain information. We need to create a curriculum that nurtures this way of learning. We need to help our students to learn how to close read both digital and print as well as close read video and imagery. We need to teach students how to connect and collaborate on a global scale to create effective multi-media pieces that reflect the world in which we live. Padlet  is a great, free (with paid subscription) tool to enhance collaboration and communication by creating a digital wall of ideas to reflect about a particular topic. For example, I have used Padlet with my 4th grade students and have connected with classrooms around the world to create a collaborative project.  How do you connect with classrooms around the world?  Sites such as ePals , Edmodo , Google+  are just some ways to connect! Or you can contact me personally- I am always up for a collaborative project! Not...

Can I tell you how excited I am? It is such a great honor that I have been selected the Certified BrainPOP Educator of the month for March 2017! If you have been following me on Twitter  or this blog, then you probably already know how passionate I am about using BrainPOP! I love the many features, like Make-a-Map, Quizzes, the ability to assign movies, and so on that it provides. I am now in love with BrainPOP's new feature, Make-a-Movie. {I will be demonstrating that feature for you shortly, as well as provide you with a lesson plan} For my complete interview, hop on over to BrainPOP here . Happy teaching!

If you are an avid lover of Google Keep like myself, then you are really going to appreciate the fact that Google has embedded this note-taking app into their GSuite products! You can access Keep right from the "Tools Menu" of your Google Doc.... and easily embed your Google Keep notes and images.  Keep is now also available as part of the GSuite products and can now be found in the Google Apps menu. This feature would be great to use with your students- especially if they are on a field-trip and they are using handheld devices to take notes and images about what they have learned using the Keep app. Later, they can document their adventure in a Google Doc! Install the Google Keep extension and use as part of a students research project to bookmark various Websites and have them easily refer to Websites as they are typing their report! What else could you use this tool for in the classroom?

Hello! Just a really quick and simple post that I wanted to share. I created the above Google Login Cards for the students at my school from Google Slides. Grab a copy for yourself and edit the information to fit your class needs!  Grab your copy here!

If you haven't noticed by now, I am a huge fan of project-based learning; and anyway you can incorporate an easy-to-use app that is applicable across the board- I. Am. In! Toontastic from Google is one of those tools! And best part of it all it is free! Use this 3D story-based app to have you or your students draw, animate and narrate their way to the top of the class. Equipped with an idea lab to help your students begin the journey or have them create a 3 or 5 part guided story or 5 part science report. Did I mention this was free? I love how the creators at Google prompt their users throughout the story but explaining the different elements in a fun and exciting way. Personally, my children have been glued to my cell phone creating stories on how much I need to go on vacation... I was even able to download it to keep for a future reference! Anyway, any great story always should start with good planning. The last thing you want (or need) is having your students come u...

Math. I have to be the first one to admit that it is not my strong suit. I only could wish that they had math applications like the ones listed below for me as I was growing up. Who knows- maybe I could of been a mathematician? Who am I kidding? My right side of my brain is a little bit more dominant. Anyway- here are some tried and true math games that you can bring into your classroom (or home). Most are free with paid versions. Splash Math - Is a great game based math site for students in grades K-5. With fun, interactive customizable math games, what kid wouldn't want to practice their math facts to improve their score? They also have apps available for free and to purchase in iTunes. Prodigy - I was first introduced to Prodigy at a NYSCATE conference back in 2015. I was handed a flier and spoke to the representative for a matter of 15 minutes. I went back to my hotel that night, logged in and played math (yes, me) for about an hour. I was hooked. Prodigy is grea...

Omigoodness- no way! The moment that I have been waiting for: you can now insert videos from your Google Drive into Google Slides!!! Why is this so exciting?  For starters, say your students spent hours creating a "how to video" or they created a video just in general, and they do not have the ability to have a YouTube Channel, this is a great way to embed their videos into Google Slides! For educators or trainers like myself this is also a great way to share information with your faculty and staff. I often create videos that specifically pertain to my fellow educators at my school. Inserting videos from Google Drive into Google Slides would be a fabulous way for me to create a library of my "in-house" videos for an easy one-stop location. How would you use this new feature?

Roses are red, Violets are blue. Here are some coding sites just for you. Wow. Sorry. I couldn't help it. It's that time of year again. Where we fall head over heels in love. Why not this year- fall in love with coding? Here are some ideas to get you and your students started! From Tynker: On Cloud Nine Create a Valentine's Card From Google's Made w/ Code: Fall in Love with Code From Thinkful: Code a Valentine's Day eCard

Animoto is a great tool to use as an educator. At my school we use it religiously every month to showcase what we have been up to at our school to our families. Animoto can be just as powerful in your classroom as well. Students can use the tool to produce digital stories, explanation videos or powerful presentations. You can use it as a way for your students to create a gift for their families around special occasions such as Christmas, Mother's Day or graduation. I have created a tutorial that I use with my professional developments. Please feel free to use it for yourself by clicking here . Don't forget to check out my Website, Bloom Into EdTech  where I organize all my tutorials in one neat place! How do you use Animoto in your classroom?

I really want to take a moment {a non-endorsed, free speaking moment} and say how much in love I am with Canva . I seriously use it for everything. From making advertisements, newsletters and brochures for my school (both as an educator and with the students) - to using it with my blog and Web design. Honestly, if you are new to Canva, it definitely warrants a look and see. Below is a tutorial that I have written for an upcoming professional development. Please feel free to grab a copy for your self! Link to GDoc. Preview of Tutorial:

I am so excited to announce that I have been officially accepted as a Google Certified Trainer! I was even going to write a speech for this moment, but there no words that will scream how excited I actually am! {I am just kidding about the speech part....maybe.} How did I get started? How did I end up here? I sat down a few months ago and generated a five year plan for myself. I posed the question: Who do I want to be com e? Since then, I generated a list of items I want to accomplish to become the person that I envision to be five years from now. Among the list of accomplishments are: developing my leadership skills continue to educate myself and grow in the field of emerging media obtain a series of certifications to valid my love for educational technology The list above is of course only a snippet of what I desire. Since I sat down and envisioned myself 5 years from now, I went back to college and enrolled in the Educational Leadership Master's program ...

Internet Safety concepts are sometimes hard for the younger student. Below I listed  a few of my favorite resources. Video: Story: ABCya's Cyber Five Video:  Faux Paw's Adventures in the Internet (Oldie but Goodie) Game: Webonauts BrainPOP Jr.'s Internet Safety What's you favorite resource?

If you haven't heard by now, there is a new feature in Google Classroom that I have been longing for: assigning individual assignments! {You can read all about the new update features here. } Released in January 2017, you can now assign students in your classrooms different assignments as well as questions. I have been using this feature for over a week to give it a test run- and it is everything that I have been waiting for! Some examples of how I use it: My fourth graders are currently working with a school in India on a project about pollution. The teacher in the school in India initiated the project by creating Padlets  that discussed the causes and effects of pollution in India and shared it with us via two blog posts to look over and comment on. I did not want all the students to gravitate to the blog post that contained the padlet with more videos and less text articles. Using Google Classroom's new feature, I simply divided the two posts strategically as t...

About a week ago (postponed due to weather), I presented an after school training for the parents of the children of whom I teach. I like to do that now and then as I feel that there is great value in keeping our parents (valued stakeholders) current with what their awesome sons and daughters are doing in their classrooms. Especially with technology. I feel like it bridges the gap between home and school. I also feel like it eases their minds in case they need to help their children on an assignment. Only if I could help explain math.... Anyway, below is a presentation that I provided my parents. Feel free to grab it for yourself and make adjustments. I also provided them with "training" Google usernames- so they could experience GSuite for Education themselves. I can attest that they had a lot of fun experiencing GDocs and the features of sharing and commenting.  {Maybe a little too much for that matter!} The parent participants even experienced what it was like to t...

Below are two quick video tutorials from two of my favorite tasks from Wizer.me . You can find more of a detailed tutorial from my blog post  here . Both the Draw and Fill in on an Image task offer a plethora of robust ways to make your digital worksheets come to life! Enjoy!

A few months ago, I was sent on a quest that was initiated by my middle school science teacher to find her an easy-to-use digital worksheet creator that will grade for her. That is where I stumbled upon Wizer.me. So, if you are on the hunt for an application where you can create, share and grade digital worksheets; look no further than Wizer.me ! I have been an advent user of this application myself for a few months now and love the features that this platform keeps adding! I find that if I get myself involved with the app, understand it and fall in love with it- the easier it is to share it with my staff. Although the list does not stop here, below is a list of some of the perks to creating a digital worksheet in Wizer.me: Ability to assign your Worksheets to Google Classroom, Edmodo or with a link. Promotes collaboration as Wizer.me has an abundant amount of "Community Worksheets" that educators can share with one another. Question options, such as fill in the ...

Below is a lesson that I conduct with my third graders each year to help them understand how to use Google Docs more efficiently. It's all about sharing caring and commenting, because that's what thrid graders do best! G O O G L E  Docs Understanding Google Docs Objectives: How is Google Docs like Microsoft Word? What is a benefit of using Google Docs? How can you use Google Docs? How can you use Google Docs in a group project by sharing? How do we make comments, share, insert images, word count and spell check? Assignment 1:  Opening,   Comment i ng  and sharing-  because it's caring! Open a new Google Doc and title it: Assignment 1 Teachers, discuss with your students that you will be having a "round robin" writing experiment with Google Docs. Instruct them to write an intro paragraph for a story (we are more focused on the process and not the product here). This story can be about anything! You will be given 5 minutes. If you finish th...