Giving Back to Future Teachers
Last week I was asked to present at the Future Educators Association (FEA) State Conference at Grand Canyon University (March 1-2, 2012). I’ve been asked in the past to do workshops for students, adjunct faculty and residential faculty, and I always take the opportunity to teach technology skills. So this opportunity was no different. The focus of the 45 minutes session which I presented with my colleague Sue Glascoe, MCC math faculty, was our three favorite tools. I use many software tools just to help me organize and manage my online teaching life. So this workshop focused on my 3 most valuable tools that help me do just that. I demonstrated how to use Google Apps, including Gmail, to create forms, contact groups and filters for classes to create a well managed teaching environment. A second tool that I shared was Google Voice, a tool that allows for me to give students a phone number where they can both call and send text messages and allow for me to manage who, what, when, where, and how I receive those messages. The last tool I covered was audio podcasting tools for reminders and brief updates for classes using AudioBoo and iPadio. My workshop demo page is located on my wiki: http://drcoop.pbworks.com/w/page/27251733/3tools
I was surprised that there were only two technology sessions during the conference, but I guess that’s better than none. We did our session three times, so we touched a good number of future teachers. I had a great time presenting with Sue, and we both know that being examples and modeling how we teach with technology will fuel future teachers to be creative and step outside the box and try new things in the classroom.
Although this is outside my 6 hours of accountability for my Friday, I think my time was well spent and more valuable than anything I could have done while on campus sitting in my office.
Diigo Links for the Week (weekly)
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If you have a PDF file that you need to display on the web in HTML, than this website is exactly what you need. PDF files were not designed to be displayed right in browsers, and sometime converting them to HTML is the best way to display them. Using this service, the process couldn’t be easier.
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College teachers are always on the lookout for better ways to interact with their students. With technology bringing numerous innovations every day, teachers have a lot of interactive options to choose from. One of the best options available is a website called Coursekit, a free to use web service for teachers and students.
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How to Use Gmail’s Advanced Search Features & Create Filters – How-To Geek
“Gmail’s a Google product, so of course it has powerful search features. But some of Gmail’s search features are hidden and don’t appear in the Search Options pane. Learn Gmail’s search tricks to master your massive inbox. You can also create filters from any search you can perform. Filters automatically perform actions on incoming emails, such as deleting them, applying a label, or forwarding them to another email address.”
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“Effective online instructional practices may be applied to online and blended college courses. Carefully orchestrated online discussions support learning well beyond the limited face-to-face course time. Students gain greater depth of academic understanding and leadership skills if cooperative learning groups use research-based process and structure .”
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INTRODUCING ONLINE COMPONENTS TO A CLASS: HOW TO INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS