New iOS 11 Coming Soon #MussleBytes

Get your Apple game face on!

The newest Apple iPhone and iPad operating system, iOS 11, will be released soon! There are some wonderful new features ranging from functionality and productivity to security and safety. If you haven't heard about these updates yet, get a glimpse straight from Apple - Apple iOS 11. TeachThought has a nice overview of these features too - Apple Introduces New iOS 11 Changes For iPhone & iPad. This post, 11 iOS 11 Features for iPad Educators by Jonathan Wylie, Digital Learning Consultant, breaks down eleven features of iOS 11 in several short videos. He also provides a chart listing which devices will run iOS 11. So many of these new upgrades are going to be great for teachers and students. Which features are you most looking forward to using?

Make A Difference #AppSpinner

Inspired by Bill Ferriter and George Couros

NEW Make a Difference #appspinner inspired by three insightful and thought provoking blog posts... Technology is a Tool, NOT a Learning Outcome by Bill Ferriter and Building Relationships Through the Use of Technology and The Timespan and Impact of Empowerment by George Couros.  Our ultimate goal for our kids should be to empower them to lead fulfilling lives and to make the world a better place. By focusing more on the why and how in education rather than the what, our students will be better prepared to take on whatever life may throw at them. How will you challenge your students to make a difference?

Children of ALL ages CAN do amazing things if we provide a little
guidance then step out of their way!

Photos By Bill Ferriter, The Tempered Radical

Link: Make a Difference #AppSpinner

Until next time... follow your treasure map!
Sydney~

Pirate Treasure: Resources & Hooks #AppSpinners

The #TLAP fleet and crew have grown exponentially since my first reading of Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. You definitely should put this amazing book on your summer reading list. It is filled with inspiration, laughs, and captivating ideas to make your classroom a memorable experience for your students. And as we all know, engaging typically equals greater learning.

Twitter introduced me to "Captain" Dave Burgess and the #TLAP crew. So many crew members have been inspired to write books expanding the original pirate code. DBC, Inc books provide a wide range of inspiration and resources for all levels of educators. These educators are on fire for learning and helping fellow educators, but most importantly doing what is best for students. After reading several of these books, you will realize that you want to revisit important key points, ideas, and activities. So... why not create an app spinner for these wonderful books?! 

The problem is keeping up with the speed at which these new books are written and released. Teach Like a Pirate Edu Resources Part 1 and Part 2 app spinners include books I have read, but there are so many more in the pirate bookcase. Most of these books also have a Twitter hashtag (#) and chat. I included them on the app spinner for each book where applicable. 

  

Teach Like a Pirate includes several chapters devoted to presentational hooks to reel in your students to your lessons and content with a WOW factor. Perfect for a Hooks app spinner! Spin away with twelve of my favorite #TLAP hooks. There are more than thirty discussed in the book that will no doubt lead you to brainstorming your own unique hook ideas!

Buncee App #Booksnap https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/ba1ebd81e15644b784f01a74802e37fc

 

#AppSpinners Links:

Pirate Edu Resources Pt. 1

Pirate Edu Resources Pt. 2

#TLAP Hooks

Show What You Know: Apps

Show What You Know: Products

Google Apps
Seesaw via @Ryan7Read 

Until next time, follow your creative compass!

Sydney~

#AppSpinners Google Style

Just sitting on the back porch enjoying the lovely summer evening and designing a new app spinner...Google style. You can't design app spinners and not think Google Apps! I was especially inspired today by the EdTechTeam coming into town for the South Plains Google Summit hosted by LubbockISD. Googlely ideas are overflowing!

Use this app spinner to app smash Google tools for professional learning, to review concepts, design new learning activities, or have students explore, practice, and show what they have learned. I hope you and your students enjoy using these as much as I'm having fun making them.

Get your own GSuite App Spinner here - https://goo.gl/qbEneN - Select File and Make a Copy.

Treasure clue to next #appspinners idea........... think pirate and resources!

Until next time...let your compass be your guide!

Sydney~

The Invasion of the Fidget Spinner

"At first glance, everything looked the same. It wasn't.
Something had taken possession of the town."

Dr. Miles J. Bennell, Invasion of the Body Snatchers

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1956bodysnatcherscast.jpg

One of the best things an educator can do is build a strong rapport with students. What are students interested in, watching, and listening to? What games or toys are popular? When you have invested in your students you can then use the answers to these questions to build a bridge to educational content or life lessons. Enter the fidget spinner!

Like most schools around the country, our campus has been invaded by these spinning alien type objects... fidget spinners. Some students are using them to help them focus. Some students are just having fun with them! That fun, without a purpose, can often lead to distracted students and frustrated teachers. Since these little spinners have captured our student's interest, how can we harness that fun and enjoyment in a positive educational way? 

If you have spent any time on social media or curation sites, you no doubt have run across posts about fidget spinners. There have been many great ideas created for integrating spinners into the classroom. A few of my favorites involve spinning then practicing upper/lowercase letters, letter or blend sounds, math facts, or sight words until the spinner stops. Other ideas involve analyzing the spinner itself through STEM or STEAM projects. 

One of the members of my amazing online PLN, Ryan Read, created a 3D paper app dice that has grown and evolved over the last few years into an amazing app smashing tool for classrooms.  You can check out Ryan's various app dice creations and read about his two year app dice journey here... https://goo.gl/weKJs9.  Inspired by and spinning off of (I couldn't resist!) his app dice, I created a spinner version which I am calling #appspinners. 

My first app spinner attempt, Show What You Know Apps #1, is a compilation of the most popular apps students and teachers used on our campus this year with the addition of a few that we need to try this next school year. I began putting things together in Google Drawings, using free image resources. My original idea was a design that could be printed and laminated, but a nice design result is that the app spinner can also be opened on a tablet for a paperless environment. To select a single app, use a corner piece of a sticky note as a pointer on one of the spinner sides. Or better yet, app smash by using all three sides of the spinner and the three apps where the spinner stops. 

The creative bug took over and I continued creating with another app spinner, Show What You Know Products.  This one is product and task oriented rather than focused on specific tools.  Giving students more voice and choice is so important and this way they can select their own tools and media whether is be tech, no-tech, or a combination of both.  

I can't wait to see what new app spinner ideas come together over the summer! Let's change the classroom mindset of fidget spinners from alien invasion nuisance to integrated rapport building tool. 

Grab your #appspinners here:
Show What You Know Apps #1
Show What You Know Products

Where will your creative compass guide you?

Sydney~

Blogging Buddies Begins

I Must Confess blogging and I have not been close buddies. There were good intentions and excitement that led to numerous Pinterest pins about blogging, planning, and organizing ideas but... more often than I would like to admit, life and really laziness, have distracted me from the job at hand.

Thanks to my PLN on Twitter, I ran across the ISTE Blogging Buddies challenge. We are organized into groups and tasked with following a few basic guidelines. 

• Blog at least once per month. 
• Offer feedback to all others in your group on at least one of their posts per month.
• Practice best digital citizenship. 

My Hope is that blogging will become less of a chore and more an act of professional discovery and reflection. I am going to further challenge myself to post at least twice a month, although once a week seems more ideal. We will see!? Knowing that someone will be reading and commenting adds that extra bit of accountability. Summer break is going to be a great time to set this new blogging routine.

As with many transformation processes, there is a BEFORE photo.
So, here's to this renewed adventure!

Educator Appreciation Week

Look what I walked into when arriving at school today! What a great way to kick off Educator Appreciation Week!

Star Light, Star Bright

This April, I received my STAR Discovery Educator welcome kit. My first experiences with Discovery Education (DE) came while working towards my master's degree via Wilkes University. The Board Builder and Spotlight on Strategies are two of my favorite DE features.  We may be close to the end of this school year, but I'm already looking forward to the 2017-2018 year and helping teachers and students feel the warmth of the Discovery Education light!

Letting my learning compass guide me! Where will your compass take you?
S~