Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the SGVCUE Tech Fest and learning from some awesome teachers. I learned a lot yesterday and wanted to share a few of my big take aways.
Create Interactive Youtube Videos with @billselak
http://www.billselak.com/2013/clickonme
While I liked the concept behind interactive YouTube videos, my favorite part was a quick tip that the presenter Bill Selak (@billselak) gave. Bill suggested adding secret phrase at end of your videos and telling students to tell you the phrase as they walk into class the next day. This seems like a fun way to see who really is watching your videos and keep kids engaged.
Getting Social – A classroom without borders with @wondertechedu
My favorite tip that Alice Chen (@wondertechedu) gave about blogging was to have students end their blog posts to encourage discussion. On my my jiu jitsu blog (www.awesomejiujitsu.com) I always do this but I never thought to have students do it. Ending with a question is a great starting point for students when making their comments.
Mobile Photography and the Classroom with @rushtheiceberg
I really enjoyed Stephen Davis’ (@rushtheiceberg) presentation. Stephen was able to finally convince me to jump aboard the Hipstamatic trend. I’ve only had the app for 24 hours and already love it. My biggest take away from Stephen was some of his lesson plan ideas. One of my biggest complaints about most media creation sessions is that they show you this great tool but don’t give examples of how to use it in the classroom. Stephen not only shared some awesome tools but he also GAVE me a way to use them. And for that I say thank you.
Slammin’ with Google with a panel of Google Certified Teachers
Lots of great slams were shared during this session. Loved learning more about Undo Send, email filters, and the YouTube Options extension. My personal favorite slam was using the Google News Archive to find primary sources. As a new ELA and Social Studies teacher I will be using this with my students ASAP. To see the Google News Archive in action check out the video below.
I would highly suggest that anyone interested in Educational Technology check out a CUE Tech Fest. Not only are they cheap (I paid $25 for yesterday! That’s cheaper than going to the movies and getting dinner!), they are also highly motivating. My colleagues and I all left the site yesterday with some new tools and feel ready to tackle some new challenges. If you attended the SGVCUE tech fest what were a few of your favorite moments? See what I did there? 🙂
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