Let's Talk EdTech

In today's episode, Brian blindsides Beth with an article claiming that virtual reality (VR) will be a big hit in 2023 to help students find community in schools. Listen to their hot takes on virtual and augmented reality as helpful tools for students and teachers.

Did you like this episode? Let us know by leaving a review or by sending us an email at pd@elkhart.k12.in.us.

Timestamps
0:00 Cold Open
0:30 Introduction
0:55 "Venture Capitalists say AI in the Classroom and Tech Meant to help Students will be Big in 2023"

• Read on Business Insider
• What is ChatGPT?
• Our ChatGPT blog post

1:30 Brian's hot take
2:18 Beth's hot take
2:48 What we think these companies should be focusing on

• Silent discos

3:25 Some quick ways ChatGPT could be helpful
3:55 Augmented Reality is more interesting that Virtual Reality
4:40 Blocking might not be the best approach
5:30 EdTech is a market creating hype to sell stuff

• "We need to just calm down" - Taylor Swift

5:50 Using wisdom to make good choices about tech

Brian and Beth finally sit down to talk about their favorite things in Canvas. They managed to pick different things even though they didn't talk about their choices ahead of recording, so that's a win.

Be sure to send us your favorite Canvas tips by emailing pd@elkhart.k12.in.us or by sending a tweet to @ElkhartEdTech.

Timestamps
0:00 Cold open
0:30 Intro
0:42 Beth: Modules (and Mastery Paths)

• Modules allow you to chunk information
• Mastery Paths let you differentiate tasks based on their skill

2:20 Brian: Customize your course navigation

• Update your course navigation in Settings > Navigation
• Don't forget to save

3:20 Use a blueprint or template course to set navigation for all courses in Canvas (admins only)
3:44 Beth: Embedding content into pages
5:00 Do you know any good podcasts to put in your course?
5:27 Brian: The Redirect Tool

• In your course, go to Settings > Apps and search Redirect Tool

7:00 Beth: Immersive Reader

• Only works through the browser (Chrome, Safari)

8:35 Brian: Group assignments and peer review
9:50 We're proud of our choices
10:06 What's making us happy

• Beth: Minecraft Education includes Immersive Reader!
• Brian: Die with me app

Links
The existential chat room app you can only use when your phone is dying - The Verge
Customize your Canvas course menu

Visit our podcast on the new website: https://letstalked.tech

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Billie Jo sits down with Rickie Meyers, Elkhart's Dyslexia Coordinator. Her responsibilities include screening all students for characteristics of dyslexia, working with parents and families for students showing those characteristics, and providing training and support for Elkhart staff.

Timestamps

0:30 Intro

0:48 What does a Dyslexia Coordinator do?

1:30 Rickie’s background

2:47 Characteristics of dyslexia vs diagnosis

4:00 Degrees of severity

5:10 What can teachers do?

7:55 Professional development options

9:20 Getting in touch

Links

Rickie’s YouTube channel

ECS Accessibility Resources

New!
Our podcast has a new, easy to remember website: https://letstalked.tech

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Holly, Beth, and - for the first time, Brian - spend time talking to each other about how they learn new things. In this episode, you'll hear us forget how to start a podcast, how to grow ideas into your own, relying on huge groups of like-minded people, and more.

Timestamps
0:25 We forget how to start the show
1:50 Brian clicks around a lot
2:40 Let's get on Google
3:20 Finding the best of the answers, but maybe not the perfect answer
4:00 Using specific search terms in Google
4:20 Holly's use of mega-group chats
5:10 Gold EDU Google Group
6:35 How do you choose what to focus on?
7:40 Keep a list of things you might want to look at

8:10 Avoiding adding "things" just to have more things
9:10 Short tips for huge wins

• Our favorite keyboard shortcuts

Links

Website

YouTube

Twitter

Facebook

Blog

Google Docs may seem like old school tech at this point, but there is are still new features being added and new uses for some good old word processing fun. Beth and Holly discuss when they first started using Docs and how it's still a major part of our work day to day.

Timestamps
0:40 How old is Google Docs?
1:10 Turns out we're not as old as we thought
1:45 Beth's favorite way of using Docs

• Notes
• Agendas
• Anything you need to go back to at some point
• New ways to do more than just paragraphs

2:20 The power of the "@" symbol

4:05 Create email drafts in Docs
5:30 Keeping multiple email drafts in the same document
6:00 Didn't you know you can put emojis in emails?
6:05 Pageless!

• A big, white, infinite space
• Great for things that will never get printed

7:05 Using headers for organized outlines in the left sidebar
7:46 Create bookmarks to sections in a Doc
8:55 "Preview" mode when sharing a Google Doc

• Change /edit to /preview in the URL

10:05 The fastest way to make a new Google Doc

• Type doc.new in your URL bar

10:50 Tag people in the meeting to create tasks

Canva is a free design tool you can use to make just about anything. One of the best things is that teachers get access to Canva Pro features for free! In this episode, Beth and Holly go over some of their favorite things about using Canva in your classrooms.

Get your free pro account
https://canva.com/education

• Log in with your school info

Timestamps
0:45 What is Canva?
1:30 What can't you make?
3:05 Removing image backgrounds

• Also check out https://remove.bg

3:45 Font pairing to make your stuff shine
4:00 Use the jillions of pre-made templates
4:45 Embedding things from Canva

• Check out the video

5:55 Using frames to make your images the right shape
6:10 Students can join your Canva class
7:15 Presenting right from Canva - including recording!
8:41 The third kind of carrot

Billi Jo interviews Elkhart's Elementary Media Specialist, Lindsey Walters. She shares what she does day to day, how she uses the library to engage teachers and students, and ways you can interact with your librarian to expand on class instruction.

 0:00 Introduction
1:00 What does a media specialist do?
1:52 Developing a curriculum for the library
2:58 Technology in the library

4:12 Curating materials for teachers and students
6:22 Partnering with the local public library
8:04 Book tasting and guided reading circles
10:48 Indiana's read aloud committee
12:19 Reading as "windows, mirrors, and doors"

 Links to check out

• Scribble bot kits
• Read Aloud Book Awards
• Sora by Overdrive
• Elkhart PD
• Elkhart Instructional tech blog
• Find us @ElkhartEdTech on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Billie Jo and Holly talk with Dodie Norris, the Elkhart elementary math coach, about a huge project they just finished. If you're using Math Expressions, you now have access to a complete set of Quick Practice slides you can use with your students. This saves you the time and energy to make your own and lets you get started now using quick practice routines in your class.

Blog post announcement
Classroom slides by grade level

What's making us happy this week?

• Billie Jo: Slides templates in Google Slides for consistency
• Dodie: Optimal potatoes
• Holly: Our laptop docks also charge our computers

Do you use Seesaw? In this episode, Billie Jo and Holly bring their favorite things about Seesaw to discuss. You'll hear about the new Seesaw Library, how to manage communication with families, and some tips on using Seesaw Groups with your students to make life easier.

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

1:15 Billie Jo is driving the Seesaw wagon

1:26 Tip 1: Seesaw Library

3:00 Daily routines in the Seesaw Library

4:22 Tip 2: Seesaw Groups

6:20 Can you use emojis on groups?

6:50 Tip 3: Scheduling activities like a boss

8:17 Tip 4: Seesaw Messaging

9:42 An actual example of Announcements vs Conversations

10:27 Open lines of communication between teachers and families

 DON'T MISS THESE LINKS

Video: Using Student Groups in Seesaw

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Facebook

Blog

Keyboard shortcuts can make your work more efficient and help with common tasks. Beth and Holly go through their favorite shortcuts and discover the magic of using "cut" instead of "copy/paste."

Here's a handy reference sheet of everything we discussed - and more!

1:30 - Insert a hyperlink

2:10 - Cut text

3:20 - Toggle open tabs in Chrome

4:00 - Open a new Chrome tab

4:30 - Open a link in a new tab

5:00 - Switch between open windows or programs

6:15 - Reopen a closed Chrome tab

6:55 - Make a window full screen

7:55 - Select all content

8:55 - Emoji picker

9:55 - Screenshots

11:25 - Undo a change

11:50 - Closing a Chrome tab

12:30 - Go back to the last page in Chrome

 Links to check out
Elkhart Instructional Tech blog
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube

Beth and Billie Jo bring their biggest personal pet peeves they face in their Google accounts. Beth is converting all of her tab titles to emojis. Billie Jo explains what "carbon copying" is.

1:40 - Calendar event documents

3:15 - Too many tabs in Chrome

5:08 - Workona (Chrome Extension)

6:20 - Going to google.com to start a search

7:05 - Reply to all in Gmail

8:25 - Using “bcc” over “cc” in emails

10:20 - Managing your bookmarks bar

What’s making you happy this week?

• Taylor Swift tickets
• Seesaw Youtube link tip

There is more than one way to send a message in Google. Google Chat is built right into Gmail and allows you to get in touch with someone without having to send an wait for an email to come back.

Billie Jo and Beth go over where to find Google Chat and then why you would choose to use Google Chat over email. You'll also hear Beth get excited about names you can give your Chat Spaces with your PLC team. 

 Tips:

• Where to find your chat
• Creating groups
• Creating spaces
• Searching for everything in spaces
• Beth's space name suggestions for all situations
• Google Chat conversation summaries are pretty slick

What's making you happy?

• Billie Jo: 99 Math
• Beth: Gimkit 2D assignments mode

Links

• Googlify your PLC processes
• Elkhart PD
• Elkhart Instructional Technology blog
• Find us @ElkhartEdTech on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Billie Jo and Beth share their four favorite tools within IXL. Why would you care about each of these and what difference do they make in your classroom?

1. IXL Quizzes
2. Live Classroom activities
3. Assigning skills for students
4. Adding audio support (check out Teaching Settings on your account)

Links

• Googlify your PLC processes
• Elkhart PD
• Elkhart Instructional Technology blog
• Find us @ElkhartEdTech on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook