Google Tips!

https://www.google.com/get/googletips/

I consider myself to be a Googely kind of guy. I live in Google, work in Google, play in Google, and I know more than I should about the products/services available there. I know if I could just sit down with everyone in my system for a day or two, I could drop my knowledge of Google off with them, and they would be able to see how much easier it would make their lives/jobs.

I think I need the pensive thing that Dumbledore used in Harry Potter... That would be the way to get all the information out there! Just suck it straight from my head and drop it in other people!

On second thought... That looks like it might hurt... 

Since the pensive isn't really a reality, and people don't necessarily have the time to sit down with me for a couple of days, I became uberexcited when I saw the release of Google's latest help tool, Google Tips! 

Google Tips takes the concept of flash cards with the Google question on one side and the answer on the other. Click on a question you have and then it gives you the answer! It's fantastic! 

Click on the question you have, and it will take you directly to a resource to answer that question. This doesn't replace direct, hands on instruction, but it goes a long way in that direction. I have already learned a few easier ways of doing some things through the tip sheet. Bookmark this site and go to it when you have a Google question... I don't think it will let you down! 

https://www.google.com/get/googletips/

Hour of Code

Hour of Code is happening this week and Floyd County School's own Jaki Day is up and running with her 3rd Grade Kaleidoscope students. If 3rd graders can figure out how to code, anyone can figure out how to code.



If you are looking for more information on the week of code, be sure to check out http://csedweek.org/. How are you coding???

Teaching Children about Digital Security

More and more information is being released about the major security hack of Facebook, Gmail, and LinkedIn (see Dec 4th post "Hacking Social Media and Password Security"). In my post, there is some basic information about password security, most commonly hacked passwords, and some brief topics about creating better passwords. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that parents need to teach their children about digital security. As you talk to your children about the big issues in life, be sure to add in topics pertaining to their digital footprint. Although, we, as parents, may not accept or understand why our children think so highly of their digital life, our lack of understanding does not give us a free pass to ignore the significance of proper training for them. What they do now online WILL come back to haunt them some day. Parents are catching on to Cyberbullying, releasing too much personal information, and inappropriate selfies, but most of us forget the huge issue of digital security. Improper training can lead to unwanted postings to social media in their name, and the ever rising issue of youth identity theft. Here's some topics for discussion:

• Password security (creating secure passwords)
• Sharing of passwords with friends
• Not logging out of visited websites on public computers
• Updating passwords every six to twelve months
• Password keeper apps ( @keeper is great free app with paid advanced features)
• Writing passwords and keeping them in secure locations such as parents filing cabinets

Hacking Social Media and Password Security

If you are one of the millions of Americans with a social media account then you may be in need of a password change. According to several media sources, over two million user accounts have been hacked. Massive data breaches like this remind us to warn people about password protection and security strength. This is the perfect time of year to update your account passwords. As you plan your new family budgets, fitness plans, and other life goals for the New Year, go ahead and add updating your passwords to the list.Try making an eight letter phrase with one capital letter,and one number. Try avoiding pet names, birthdays, and sequence numbers. Most common hacked passwords are "password" and "2468". 

ReadWrite: 2 Million Passwords For Facebook, Twitter And Others Stolen In Massive Data Breach.

Edmodo!

Several teachers in our system have been experimenting with Edmodo over the past few months. Edmodo is sometimes called the Facebook of education. It is a teacher friendly way to create assignments and communicate with students and parents. Within a matter of minutes most people figure out how the whole process works.

If you are interested in using Edmodo with your students, please do the following:

1. Get the consent form signed by students and parents, click here for a copy of the consent form. Edmodo is a bit better to use with older students, primarily grades 6 through 12. Regardless of the age, please get the consent signed so parents know you are communicating with their children via an online service. 
2. Contact lgreen@floydboe.net in order to receive your school code. This attaches your account to the Floyd County Schools Edmodo account. 
3. Create an account at floydboe.edmodo.com. It is important to use this exact Edmodo address as it attaches you to the Floyd County Schools Edmodo account. If you already have an Edmodo account, you will be able to enter the School Code when you login at floydboe.edmodo.com. 

Once you have done all three steps you are good to go! You can create quizzes, post assignments, and communicate with students and parents through this incredible FREE tool! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

If you would like a little assistance with using Edmodo, a great cheat sheet can be found by clicking here. 

References:

Med Kharbach. "A Great Edmodo Cheat Sheet for Teachers ~ Educational ..." 2013. 3 Dec. 2013 <http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/08/a-great-edmodo-cheat-sheet-for-teachers.html>

More Computers or Better Use of Computers?

We need more computers!

Ask the majority of teachers (and Principals) what they want in the classroom, and this is the typical answer. Yes, computers are a great resource for great teachers to use in the classroom; however, do we need more or do we need more training on how to use the computers and resources we already have in our buildings? The age old debate of quantity versus quality with a 21st century spin. According to a 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation study, teens today spend 7 1/2 hours a day consuming some form of media via televisions, mobile devices, and video games, so it is very easy to understand why schools are so starved for more technology in the classroom. Students are being asked to power off when they enter our doors. Floyd County Schools continues to look for creative ways to integrate technology into our schools by bringing in initiatives such as BYOT, Collaborative Learning Centers, and Interactive Whiteboards. There are many wonderful success stories of school districts that implement mass numbers of computers for student use in the classroom and at home. Many have been successful such as Richland 2 School District in Columbia, SC, and Forsyth School District in Forsyth County, Georgia. Unfortunately, for every one that is successful, there are many that are not. Take a quick look at a recent article excerpt about LA Unified School District in California pertaining to their rush to answer the demand for "more computers". 

Why aren’t teachers using the iPads in class? The survey suggests that they don’t really know how. Training has been minimal. Apple, the manufacturer, provided one day of iPad training. Pearson, the London-based textbook company that provides the still-just-partially available curriculum for the devices, provided only two days of training.

School district officials told the Times they now realize that teachers need additional training on how to use iPads and how to manage classrooms of students who are using iPads. They have also recommended giving teachers iPads six months before students receive them.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/12/02/l-a-schools-ipad-giveaway-continues-to-be-a-hilarious-epic-disaster/#ixzz2mLXe4UXg

LA's iPad push is a great example for districts like FCS that are continually searching for the appropriate device for our stakeholders, and the proper way to train our teachers how to use these devices to support student achievement. Having thousands of computers is great, but if we want to create transformative lessons for our students, we need to make sure we analyze all possible scenarios needed for a successful roll out.