EdCamp Reflections

Time to come out of blogging hibernation and start writing again (more on that another time). On Feb 23rd I attended EdCamp Madison (#EdCampMadWI). It was a terrific professional experience and well worth the drive. I first heard about EdCamps at the Midwest Google Summit (Nov. '12) and the idea not only sounded interesting but it also sounded like a way to bring a conference up here to the Northwoods.

EdCamps are conferences that are participant-driven. For more information there are a number of good blog posts including Introduction to Edcamp: A New Conference Model Built on Collaboration and videos like this one from Edcamp Philly 2010.

The main organizers of our EdCamp (Jess Henze, Pernille Ripp, Kaye Henrickson, and Emily Dittmar) did a terrific job of finding a facility, getting sponsors & door prizes, feeding everyone and generally promoting an upbeat and positive atmosphere. Numerous people (myself included) volunteered to help out and fortunately the whole thing appeared to go on without a hitch.

Some of the highlights of my experience:

• I got out of my comfort zone by becoming a volunteer and ended up helping to check in attendees among other things. It's a good way to introduce yourself to people. Another way I got out of my comfort zone was to attend a TweetUp the night before at a local establishment. I was able to meet a few people in advance which made things less awkward for me the next day.
• I did not propose a session at first but that was mainly because so many good things had been proposed I didn't want to miss them. The sessions are so organic that things end up being proposed throughout the day. By lunch I had an idea for a discussion group about Chromebooks because a number of people asked me about mine. If you have anything that you're especially interested in, propose it because you never know who else is interested in the same thing.
• I gained a lot from the sessions that I attended. There were 4 session times and it was a lot easier to process the information than some conferences where you might hit 6-8 sessions in a day.
• I met other professionals who are as passionate about teaching and learning as I am.

The EdCamp philosophy is a good one and it seems to be catching on like wildfire. Upon returning home I met with my principal and proposed that we try the format for one of our inservice afternoons - he's very receptive to the whole thing. I am also in the process of getting interested parties together to organize an EdCampNorthwoods. Anyone north of 64 that's interested in helping out let me know!

Review: Samsung Chromebook

A few weeks ago I got a Samsung Chromebook. I had the opportunity to try one out at the Midwest Google Summit and it was love at first sight. I have an iPad 2 for work that I got shortly after they came out and I have battled with it from day 1 to be productive. I like my iPad a lot for some things but they are primarily recreational. My students use Garage Band on it, do some video and mostly use the apps I have for math practice. I use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, but I would rather use my computer.

The Chromebook is the first device that I've used that doesn't make me miss my desktop or laptop. I've been putting it though its paces and there's a lot of good things in this small package.

The 11.6" display is plenty large enough to open most websites and work in Google Docs. The Chromebook is small and light enough to fit into my oversized purse or my backpack.

The keyboard feels a lot like the one on my MacBook Pro and the touchpad gestures are also similar (one finger to move the cursor, two to scroll, etc.). The top row of the keyboard contains browser controls in addition to sound and display controls.

I spent a few days using it as my primary device. This works for me since I use Microsoft Office sparingly these days and I didn't need to use Photoshop (PicMonkey anyone?). The processor & RAM are enough to do just about everything I need to do including Google Docs and Moodle. I was able to crash it once with some online gaming that even my Vaio has issues with at times. Since the Chromebook loads in less than 10 seconds, the recovery time was next to nothing. 

You have to be connected to WiFi to get the most out of it, however I did sync my Google Drive with the Chromebook to use my files offline. I was able to work on my files and then sync them again when I had a connection.

The battery life is excellent. The specs say 6.5 hours and with a lot of use I had nearly 6 hours from a full charge. Last week I left it in my bag and didn't use it for a few days and the battery discharged completely without being used so that's something to keep in mind if you're going to use it a second machine/travel machine.

I'm really happy with this Chromebook and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for something more mobile than a laptop and more versatile than a smartphone or tablet. The $249.00 price tag makes it an affordable option for families looking for an additional machine or for schools looking to increase access to technology for students.

splicd.com: Easily embed segments of YouTube videos on your site

Our awesome Library/Media Specialist showed me this website today. Splicd.com lets you isolate a segment of a YouTube video and provides a link or embed information to share it. It's very easy to use which is a plus for the busy teacher who doesn't have time to do full on editing or simply wants to show a part of a video to the class.

This is a video I like to share with my class when doing Copyright and Fair Use. It's 10 minutes long and becomes difficult for my students to follow due to style. With YouTube, I can embed a link to start at a specific point in the video but with splicd.com I can easily assign an end point to the clip also.

powered by Splicd.com

I like the ability to break up the video into manageable segments. I can see using this within my Moodle lessons for younger students - showing a clip and asking a question or two to follow the clip. Another nice thing about the site is that it does not require you to start an account or give any kind of information. Go in, create your video segment and leave.

P.S. I posted this earlier today and had to remove it right away because the embedded video wasn't showing. Turns out it was our school's Internet filter. Make sure you share the splicd.com link with your Internet administrator too!

The 5 Online Organizers I Am Most Thankful For

I'm inundated with online articles and resources from news feeds, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, you name it. There is so much excellent information out there that it's easy to be overwhelmed. That's why this Thanksgiving I thought I would share my top 5 favorite resources for organizing all of it. These are in no particular order.

1. Google Chrome Browser

The ability to synchronize browsers on all of the devices that I use lets me find great websites and bookmark them no matter where I am. Of course then I can pull them up from anywhere too. Other browsers allow for synching on multiple devices but none are as easy to set up and use as Chrome.

2. Pocket (formerly Read It Later)

A simple plug-in that works with most browsers. With one click, Pocket stores any web page into a queue for you to read when it is convenient. I use this a lot in blogs & news feeds that generate a lot of content. It helps keep my Google Reader feed manageable. I save the interesting looking reads for when I can sit down with my coffee and give them the time they deserve.

3. Evernote

If you haven't heard of Evernote yet, please go to the site and check it out. This app works with almost any device. Clip a webpage, snap a photo, enter text - whatever you need and organize all within your notebooks. There is even a Chrome browser app to quickly add clips. I have to say I wasn't using this as much as I should but I am finding my way back to it.

4. YouTube Playlists

I use playlists in YouTube to keep videos I haven't watched but need to, videos for how-to and professional development, and of course videos I want to use in my online lessons or live in class.

5. Pinterest

The nice thing about Pinterest is that it is very easy to find information that I have "pinned." While I do follow other educators on Pinterest, I mainly use it to store resources I find out on the web.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Flipped Classroom (infographic)

I saw this infographic online today and thought it was interesting. Flipping classes is an excellent idea in theory. Some educators don't pursue it because they see it as something a student needs to do at home but what if you use flipping techniques as part of your blended environment? We limit the homework our students have, and many of mine don't have access to devices or Internet outside of school. That doesn't mean I'm not flipping my classes in the ways I can. Comments are always welcome!

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

The Computrtchr

The name "computrtchr" is my first AIM username from 1999. I had my first teaching job as a computer teacher, which is still my current job and it was a username I came up with because "computerteacher" was taken. Since that time I've used it on a number of online services so when I decided to start putting my professional resources online I decided to stick with what was familiar.

There are a lot of fantastic ed tech blogs online. I would never pretend to compete. I also do not intend to become one of those rebloggers who simply "curate" (my polite way of saying rip-off) by reposting other blogs. I'm warning you now, there won't be a significant amount of content here yet, but you will get some good things as I find them. This blog is also going to force me to become more of a writer (a topic for another post) and hopefully will provide you with some decent information at times and a good laugh more often than not.

My main topics of interest are online classes, blended online learning, and using online learning with young learners. 

My website is located at http://goo.gl/N54FA

(How did I do this QR code? Go to goo.gl, shorten your URL, click on details)

My favorite Ed Tech blog is Free Technology for Teachers