The beginner’s guide to Chromebooks in the classroom – from Jennifer Carey 

This post first appeared on Daily Genius. In 2014, Chromebooks surpassed iPads in the world of education. There are a variety of reasons for this: economic needs, more “laptop like” feel, and the ubiquity of Google Apps for Education in schools. If you find yourself the owner of a new Chromebook, you’ve probably noticed that it’s not quite a laptop, but it also isn’t a tablet. Chromebooks are actually their own unique tool outside of these categories. They are just different enough that they can require a little time to get used to. Here are some quick tips to help…

3 Things Great Teachers Do with Technology – from Tom Daccord 

This post first appeared on eSchool News. Too often, we see teachers putting the proverbial cart before the horse. They find an app or tool they like, so they introduce it in their classroom. The students might find it cool and engaging—but if the teacher hasn’t defined whythey’re using that tool, its integration has no clear, educational purpose. If, instead, you begin with a learning goal in mind and choose apps and devise activities in support of it, then you’re on a path to meaningful technology integration. To help educators develop a vision for using technology in their classrooms, here…

Explore the World with the Google Cultural Institute – From Jennifer Carey 

This post first appeared on Free Technology for Teachers. I am a big fan of the Google Cultural Institute; it’s an amazing repository of Artistic Masterpieces, Wonders of the Natural World, Historical Artifacts, and more. By using it as a repository of digital materials, it’s an easy way to access cultural content from around the world in my classroom. I can pull up a high definition image of Van Gogh’s Starry Night and use its powerful zoom features so that students can see the impasto brush strokes. We can explore the Street Art of Sao Paulo with a Google Street…

Chromebook Creation: Slides, Thinglink & Snagit – From Greg Kulowiec 

This post first appeared on Free Technology for Teachers. With Chromebooks being adopted as the 1:1 tool of choice in schools throughout the country, it is helpful to note that there a number of options that allow for student creation that go beyond the suite of Google tools. One example of this creative potential takes advantage of a staple in the Google Apps library, Slides, and works in combination with Thinglink as well as the Chromebook screencasting option from TechSmith, Snagit. In the image below, the process is outlined where a student could create an image or poster in Google…

Weekly Resources for the New Year 

[View the story “Weekly Resources to Kick Off the New Year!” on Storify]

5 Ways Administrators Can Use Google Apps – from Jennifer Carey 

This post first appeared on The Daily Genius. One of the most powerful ways that administrators can encourage their faculty to adopt new technologies in their classroom and curriculum is by modeling effective application of new digital tools. With Google Apps for Education, there are many tools that are helpful for administrative tasks, providing a number of ways to effectively model technology usage on a daily basis. Create a Shared Google Doc for Faculty Meetings Use Google Docs to create and share meeting agendas. Not only will it prep your faculty for meetings, but they can use the document to…