Thing 10: Google+

I initially dabbled in what Google+ was offering when it first launched a few years ago.  At the time, though, it was still very early and very few people seem to be using it.  Again, I was using it as an extension of my personal life (mainly connecting with friends around the world).  However, since joining ISM and seeing how connected our school is through Google and their suite of apps and programs, I am becoming more and more interested in Google+.  For the complaints I had about using Twitter professionally, Google+ eases some of them.  During my day-to-day life at school, I am connected to Google almost constantly.  I leave my email open and work through Google Drive often, so Google+ is a more natural extension of my professional life than logging into a Twitter account would be.  I can imagine Google+ becoming another Google product I use daily.  I think the trick is finding communities that key into my interests as an educator.  For this activity, I visited the links given in the activity description and ended up joining a few communities.  One of these already provided me with a neat online tool I had never heard of: Thinglink.

I played around with making a screencast using Google Hangouts earlier in the year, and it was a neat experience.  I can really see Google Hangouts as another neat tool to use.  If I didn't have Skype, it would probably be a great way to connect with friends and family around the world.  I could see using it in the classroom too, if I didn't teach 12 year olds that is.  I wish that our kids had access to Google+ and Hangout, as I think they could be neat extensions of our classroom learning.  Despite that, I can see myself using Google+ more and more this year!

Thing 9: Twitter

I have used Twitter in my personal life for a little while.  I mainly use it to keep up-to-date on a variety of interests and hobbies.  I find it to be a great way to self-curate the media I want to consume.  Twitter tends to be my go-to place for world events, technology news, hobby-related information, sports highlights, etc.  It provides me with a quick shot glance at the world at large, and from there I can drill down further if I want to.  I use it to keep in touch with some friends back home too.  I have used Hootsuite on mobile before, but I am cell-phone dumb now so I no longer use it.  I don't really enjoy being quite that connected either.

I haven't used Twitter for professional learning or as a professional community, but I do see the advantages.  The D123 video was great, and it definitely got my interested in the idea of having a professional Twitter account.  I like keeping my personal life separate from my professional, so I would need to manage two separate accounts if I create a professional one. Colleagues don't necessarily need to read my angry tweets about how poorly my favourite hockey team is doing, and my friends don't need to read about classroom planning.  Having said all that, I don't know how soon I will create an account for professional reasons.  As it is, I don't tweet a lot.  I mainly use the platform to passively engage with my interests outside of my professional life.  In creating an account for the teacher side of my life, I fear I wouldn't contribute enough to keep me motivated to continue using it.  My interest is piqued, but I'm not quite there yet.

Thing 8: Digital Storytelling

I have toyed around with digital stories before, but never in any great detail.  I think that students could get a lot out of a project that lets them create digital stories.  The biggest problem is access to technology that allows them to create these sorts of projects.  However, our students will usually have the access required.  I can see using this type of activity in a few ways over the course of the next school year.  We have several assignments in Grade 6 where we encourage students to complete them in more non-traditional ways (ways other than slideshows).  I could see showing students examples of these digital stories to help them think outside of the box.  I don't imagine doing this sort of thing consistently in my personal life, as I don't really see a purpose there.  At any rate, it was/is a neat project.

Here is my example:

Thing 7: Infographics

Third Culture Kids Where is home? | Create Infographics

I had a good time making the inforgraphic on Infogr.am.  I think that the site is incredibly easy to use and visually appealing.  I was able to play around with it, and I never once felt that I didn't know how to do something.  I had it crash on me, but the site automatically saves what you do so I didn't lose any of my work.  Learning to read infographics is an important skill, and it is one that we are trying to teach in Grade 6.  I think that a greater focus on how to access the information contained behind to beautiful visuals found in most infographics is an important skill for young students to learn.  I would like to use this program to get the kids actually making their own infographics too, as I think making them will give the kids insight into how to read the content to understand the purpose.   Very useful website!

Thing 6: Organizing and Saving Content Online

I briefly used Evernote several years ago, but I didn't stick with it.  I am someone who loves using technology, but I am frequently finding myself to be a luddite when it comes to many organization programs.  Similarly, I prefer to write stories by hand, initially, rather than on the computer using a program like Scrivener (despite my terrible printing).  For me, typing on a computer lacks  something that I get from writing notes down on a piece of paper.  I am slowly transitioning away from this, but I don't know if I will ever be able to do so completely.  I tried to start using Evernote again, and I ran into the same issues that I had before.  It just doesn't seem to fit my lifestyle.  I forced myself to clip items, make notes, type ideas and thoughts, but at the end of the day I rarely referred back to these things.  My life and the way I use the internet just doesn't seem to be conducive to a program like Evernote.  Yes, I am one of those people with several thousand tabs open.  I am typing this in a tab that is one of many in a browser window I have dedicated to this course.

Pocket serves me better than Evernote.  I like the simplicity and lack of features of pocket.  Evernote is a bit bloated.  However, I run into the same issue with Pocket as I do with Evernote.  I am not a clipper.  I just don't do it, and I have tried.  I think that both of these programs are great for students, though.  If they existed when I was in university, I may have found a better use for them.  Next year, I can see introducing Pocket (since it is the simpler of the two) to my sixes during their research projects.  It is intuitive enough, and with a little demo I could see them clipping/saving articles that they want to read more fully later.

Thing 5: Screencasting

I have played around with screencasting before, but mostly through Google Hangouts.  Screencast-o-matic is pretty easy to use, but I had to download the program due to the Java problem that Alicia mentioned.  The interface is simple and purposeful, and it is a very easy-to-use program.  The one caveat to that it that the screencaster has to be well-rehearsed.  This particular screencast is one I made for the beginning of next year, highlighting two websites (classroom blog and Common Sense Media) that I want parents to know about.  It wasn't the first one I made, and it probably won't be the last.  Practice makes perfect when doing screencasts, as it is very easy to lose track of where you are, or what you are saying or doing.  There are a couple of issues with this one, but it is serviceable for the moment.

As a practice, I like screencasting.  However, I am unsure how frequently I will use it in class.  It is probably best used as a flipped classroom or review tool.  I can imagine covering a topic, or introducing one, and then posting screencast tasks or instructions on the blog, and having students watch and complete them at home.  I think that could be a valuable tool for repeated experiences with the material, and, hopefully, it would help it "stick" to a greater degree.

This week I posted comments on Rena and Neil's blogs.

Thing 4: Online Quizzes & Student Response Systems

Kahoot! is a simple, intuitive program, most of the time.  The process of making a quiz is not demanding, nor is it complicated.  However, I think that the developers need to expand the abilities of the program and focus on what it is trying to do/be at its core.   You can't create a variety of question types, but you can add video for some odd reason.  If you create a question and then make a second one, the program forces you to delete or enter in information for Q2 before you can go back to the first one (which I needed to do in order to adjust something).  It is a minor quibble, but it is part of a larger usability and interface problem.  I think there might be too much flash and not enough substance here.  As it stands right now, Kahoot! is almost too basic for me to use, but I could see my students using it to work together on review or other activities.  My quiz can be found here.

Socrative is a great program, however it has its own set of frustrations.  Currently, they have two versions of the program/site running: the "classic" one and a beta.  If you create a profile and quiz within the beta version, no one can open the quiz unless they too navigate to the beta website.  The beta site can be accessed by going to b.socrative.com and not socrative.com.  I spent quite a while trying to figure out this odd issue.  

Having said that, the beta version is great.  They have added another feature (true/false questions), and the design is beautiful.  The site is intuitive, clean, and does exactly what I want.  I love the idea of using it as a review tool or a brain break activity.  The exit ticket idea is nice, but not as necessary for Grade 6 students (some of whom don't have phones).  I really like creating tasks in in Socrative, and I plan on using it more frequently in my teaching.

I commented on these blogs:

Meg

Courtney

Thing 3: Mind Maps, Diagrams, and Flow Charts

Both programs were new to me, so I am glad to have had some time to play with them.  For both, I looked at how it could be useful for my students and myself.  I think that Lucidchart is a full featured program that probably has too much functionality for what I, or my students, would need.  I can relate it to Photoshop.  I need to be able to edit my photos, but I don't have the need of all of the complexity or depth of that program.  Similarly, Lucidchart has a lot of options that simply clutter the working space.

On the flip side, I think that Mindmup is a great alternative.  It is simple, intuitive, and it does what I, and my students, need.  Visually, it is much nicer looking (both the program and the final products) than Lucidchart.  I could see my students using this to help them brainstorm for their upcoming short stories, or their essays earlier in the year.

I posted on the following blogs:
Pao V
Bill Laulo

In Grade 6, we have a unit where the students learn about different types of governments and societies.  Their performance task sees them working together to create their own ideal society and then justifying it.  This MindMup is an example of the prewriting they do before writing their essays justifying their choices.

Government: Theocracy on MindMup

This Lucidchart was created as a simple example of a story string.  Grade 6 students are exploring short stories in their last unit of the year, and they will be creating their own story strings.

Thing 2: Chrome Apps and Extensions

I have been playing around with Google Chrome for years now.  I tend to appreciate an uncluttered browsing experience, so I limit the amount of extras I tack on.  Here are some of the apps and extensions that I've tried recently:

Apps:

Hapera Teacher Dashboard: This is a handle little application that lets me quickly get to Teacher Dashboard.  I use TD frequently in class and at home.  It lets me get a pulled back view of what my students are doing, and I can drill down into each individual document.  This is a great tool for monitoring progress of students while they do extensive writing.

Pixlr Editor: This is a handy web app for messing around with pictures. Pixlr has a few different versions of their editing program, and all are neat.  This one has the right amount of functionality for me, but their whole suite is great.

Google Finance: This is one that isn't necessary for teachers in the classroom, but it is great for teachers (and everyone else) at home.  My wife and I have begun to invest in order to secure our retirement, and this is a simple way to monitor our portfolio rather than having to login to our brokerage account.

Extensions:

Currently:  This is a very simple little extension.  Once installed, whenever you open a new tab it will display the current time and a weather forecast.  The design is elegant and simple.  Good for anyone.

Any.do: This is an embedded to-do list.  Once installed, you can easily add things you need to get done.  The power here can come from its function in Gmail.  You can easily add items to list list within the Gmail client.  Great for teachers and non-teachers.

Save to Google Drive:  This is a great extension that lets you save screenshots or photos directly to your Google Drive account.  This extension isn't going to be one you always use, but it is handy to have there.

I commented on Adam Winton and Neil Freeman's blogs.

Thing 1: VoiceThread

Here is a a short VoiceThread that I have created to use with students while they work on their Relocation Guides in Social Studies.  We have used these revision techniques before, so this VoiceThread will work well as a reminder.

The VoiceThread program is a neat one, but I'm not sure how often I will use it.  The item I created is useful for students, but we often don't have access to computers.  In terms of actually creating the piece, it was fairly intuitive and simple.  However, one issue I had was having to upload text.  I couldn't find a simple way to create a "slide" with some words on it.  Instead, I had to convert it to a picture (I used PowerPoint) and then upload the image.  A slide functionality would help with the over all creation.  I can see myself using this if I really plan it out and my students have consistent computer access.  Otherwise, I can't see it being overly functional for me.  A flipped-classroom approach could make this tool more useable.

The Introduction

This blog will serve as an organizational tool for the course 11 Things on a Jeepney.  My name is Jeff Phillips, and I am an English and Social Studies teacher in Grade Six at International School Manila.  My wife and I moved here at the beginning of the school year, and we are both very excited to be here.  We haven't traveled extensively yet, but one of our favorite places has to be Legaspi Sunday Market.

I have always had an interest in technology, and since I became a teacher I have looked for ways to integrate tech tools into what I teach.  The most difficult part about integrating technology into the classroom is keeping up with what's new.  From Class Dojo and Edmodo to Explain Everything and Pages, I have tried to incorporate many tools to help students interact with their learning in a way they understand.