Diary of a Digital Learning Coach

It's testing week here in Texas and most of us educators are feeling a bit like: After all, the following is very true: image created at  https://imgflip.com That being said, since State testing has the tendency to "test our limits", I bring you a refreshing resource that can be used to help your learners vocalize and identify their social and emotional needs.  After all, if we feel this way, our learners must be drained also.  Whether your kids tested or not, our learners' world holds a lot more stressors than our world of the past. Click the link below to learn more about how to use a premade set of slides with Pear Deck to gather information from learners. Watch the quick clip to learn more about how to use Pear Deck OR come partner with me, your DLC to get a quick tutorial! https://app.peardeck.com/share/view/4dj7xr I'll be the one in the hallway, monitoring the bathrooms. Stay strong readers! How do you address the social and em...

Happy almost Thanksgiving, friends!  I encourage you to take the time you'd usually use to read this to go show someone some gratitude.   In the meantime, I can't leave you hanging on a Tuesday so enjoy this visual on how to use a really awesome screencast Chrome extension.  I love that it is a one click way to create and share screencasts! Click here to interact with the image below! Who knows?  Maybe you'll love Loom so much you'll send me a link to your screencast in the comments!

This post originally appeared on megankozar.weebly.com and was written by my teammate,    Megan Kozar   I am so excited to share a new creative collaboration tool from Google called Jamboard! The Jamboard app works like a digital whiteboard BUT it allows multiple people to work on the same "Jam" at one time and gives you the ability to insert content from the web and/or Google Drive.  You can create a new jam or join an existing one to take collaborative notes, share project ideas, or teach a new idea live. Users do not have to be in the same room together to work inside of a Jam! https://jamboard.google.com/   Note: Google has made a physical board called a Jamboard that works with the Jamboard app. The Jamboard app can be used as a stand alone tool without the physical board.      Learn how to use some of the features in the Jamboard app by watching the quick 5 minute video! ...

Early this school year, Schoology advertised a new feature which goes at the top of my 2017 "game changers" list.  After months of using the force copy trick  to share links in Schoology,  we finally learned that Schoology was adding a tool that could do it for us.  We could assign a Google Doc to learners directly from Schoology, have it make an individual copy and let us interact using comments and all we love about docs within Schoology. A few of us jumped on it and then pulled out some of our hair when it didn't work the way we needed it to.  (Cue Digital Learning Truths #1 and #2 from above.)  After working with Schoology support on our struggles and applying some patience, we recently tested it again...and it works!  (Cue Digital Learning Truth #3) Now that we know it is working, let's learn how to use it in under 3 min!   First, make sure your learners' Schoology apps have been updated and that they are running iOS 11....

I'm working on a post for later this week that is a combo of reflection and ideas for us as we move into the holiday time of year.  It's not quite done yet, but I figured that while you are anxiously waiting, you might still want to learn something today.  Thank GOODNESS for awesome teammates! Let's link up with my fellow DLC, Megan Kozar , to learn about some awesome time savers in Google Crome! Chrome Shortcuts by Megan at the Lightbulb Lab Do you share our love of Google Chrome?  Tell me what features you can't live without in the comments!

Are you looking for some options to create digital newsletters?  Check out the Google Drawing linked below for some great ideas! https://goo.gl/uvNQTu  Special thanks to Amanda Rogers for this great resource!

Welcome back to Teach Me Something Tuesdays!   In this weekly blog series, I try to share something I've learned, discuss new ideas or strategies, and/or showcase something I have been working on in classrooms. I typically share these on Tuesdays to hold myself accountable and give you something to look forward to midweek! My past few days have been spent easing into the new school year with my team.   During the course of the work we have been doing, I learned 2 very random, but awesome things that may seem small, but have changed my efficiency in BIG ways! Sometimes its the little things right? So, did you know... that if you click on someone's picture at the top of a Google Doc, it will take you to the exact place in the doc where they are working???? Click the picture of the person at the top right to locate them. I can't believe how helpful this has been as my team collaborates on a long doc to reference where someone else is!!   Or, did you kn...

It is the last day of school here in Texas and boy did we earn our summer!  I'll be blogging through the summer, but possibly not as often so make sure to sign up on the top right to have the posts emailed to you.   As we pack up our school lives and head for the pool, I want to provide you with a quick tip to help your brain remember important things after summer ends.   My team recently did our last #CISDCHAT of the year about a tool called Google Keep.  Since it was a crazy time of year, I wanted to make sure you, my readers, benefit from the learning even if you did not get to chat with us.   What is Google Keep? Keep is an online space that syncs across your devices for sticky notes, to do lists, reminders and everything else your heart desires organizing. How do I use Google Keep? Our team found this video from Matt Miller at www.ditchthattextbook.com to be really helpful in learning to use it! How can Google Keep be used i...

Once upon a time, I took some 2nd graders on a trip to Ellis Island.  We observed details about Lady Liberty and then explored the actual buildings where many of our ancestors were processed as they came to America. No, we don't live in New York and no, I did not write a grant for traveling. But we did have an immersive experience in a place some of us may never get to visit. Last week, I launched a Pryor Takeover to explore something I had never used before.  I borrowed my friend, Suzanne Saxon's class and used the Google Expeditions app to guide her learners through the experience.  We did it only with our iPads using full screen mode to access the 360 view, no Google Cardboard was even needed. There are a ton of expeditions from which to choose.  We could have gone to the Space Station, the Great Barrier Reef or even the San Diego Zoo if it fit our instructional needs. Since Suzanne's class will soon be simulating a trip to Ellis Island as part of a st...

I am beyond lucky to work with some other amazing Digital Learning Coaches.  Last week, our Google project team produced an outstanding Webinar.   I attended it mainly because I wanted to support them and what I got from it was so much more.  I learned a ton about Google Forms, Drawings and Slides...even though I felt pretty proficient in them already.   Sometimes learning surprises you.  It did for me that night.  So often we think, "yeah, I already know that tool" when we have only scratched the surface of what learning design potential can be there.  Luckily, my mindset was open and because of that, I was able to see some things in a new light.   So today for TMST, I urge you to take time to check out the Webinar recording.  Fast forward what you know, but be open to learning what you might not.   https://coppellisd.adobeconnect.com/p4n0e7dwf63/   After viewing the recording, I'd LOVE to design with you with some ...