Education on Air: It Takes a Teacher

Over the past weekend, Google for Education hosted its second annual Education on Air conference. This conference did not meet in a physical location, but instead, broadcast all sessions over the internet and recorded them for future viewing.

Overall, there was a star studded lineup of presenters, including Dr. John Hattie and Dr. Jill Biden along with many more. While I did not have a chance to participate in the full conference, I did pop in for a few sessions and was very impressed and surprised with the quality of the professional development that was being offered. With sessions around the globe, I encourage you to check out some of the sessions and materials that are available.

You can find the video and the materials at the Education on Air site.

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Chromebook Shortcut of the Week - 10/14/2016

This weeks shortcut of the week is to help you project your Chromebook. Due to resolutions, your Chromebook will likely default to the “Extended Screen” mode. If they happens, you will see your desktop background on the screen upon plugging in your Chromebook (your Chromebook needs an HDMI connection, if you need a cable, I can get you one!). In order to change this, you will use the “Ctrl + Full Screen” button. This will quickly switch between the two modes, allowing you to switch back and forth. A quick word to the wise, the extended screen is usually to the right!

#GoOpen Michigan Reflection

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a REMC and MDE event on Open Educational Resources (OERs). This event was the launch of a new #GoOpen push within Michigan schools. While OERs have been a part of our school and an option, little has been done to truly push these into the classrooms. The #GoOpen Summit was put on to launch a new initiative in Michigan. Michigan will be launching a database of OERs created by and used by Michigan teachers. This is incredibly powerful. The beginnings of the site can be viewed on this MDE page . The biggest part of the website, something that has been missing from so many OER databases is the fact that these resources will be evaluated before publishing to ensure their openness and their quality. Some of the biggest takeaways from the event is the reminder that there is a significant difference between an Open Educational Resource and something that is free on the internet. The difference comes in the restrictions on use. Some resources, su...

App Highlight - Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a relatively new app from Google's Area 120. It is available on both the Android and iOS operating systems. In this app, you complete challenges through writing bits of JavaScript. I like to compare it to Duolingo, the popular language learning app. It is free and allows you to work on the puzzles at your own pace. This is a step up from the Blockly coding that has been popularized by Hour of Code and Code.org. The best part is, you get nearly instant feedback and multiple tries to master the material. While this will not get you a Silicon Valley coding job by itself, it will definitely start you down a path that allows you to start growing your coding skills. It is really worth checking out. Learn more at here .

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