Diary of a Techie Chick

Update on eBook ....

I created an interactive eBook via iBook Author for my 8th grade Computer Apps class. It has some video clips I made or found very helpful along with interactive review questions and helpful screenshots. I used the eBook this past semester with my students. The feedback from my students was very positive. They liked being able to watch, pause, rewind, and even fast forward the video clips I made. I also received high marks from my students because I had hyperlinked the videos to my classroom YouTube channel.

Now that I had a chance to use it with students I went back through my eBook and made some minor adjustments suggested by my students and added student created examples.

If you would like to view my little eBook Mrs. Wilson's Computer Apps - Let's Take Flight please click here. If you had previously downloaded my eBook via the iTunes store you should see in iBooks that is has an update. As I continue to use this book with my students I will be updating it as well as adding more resources.

I am also known as the Queen of Typos. If you see a mistake please let me know.

App / Tool of the Week ...... ThingLink

I accepted a Blogging Challenge by Manitoba Educators (#mbedchatblog) to blog at least once a month. My goal for 2014 is not to fade away but to share my experiences and reflections. With the help of the challenge and their reminders I should post as least once a month with either an app or tool I've learned about.

ThingLink is a tool to create interactive images. I learned about this tool last year but didn't really have a chance to really start using it. Since I will be presenting at different conferences this year I thought this would be a great tool to organize some of my content in a fun and interactive way. I also have plans to turn these interactive images to Augmented Reality objects too. Below is an example of a ThingLink Image.

25 of My Favorite Apps on My Personal iPad.

To make this interactive image I placed the apps I wanted to showcase all on one screen of my iPad. I then took a screenshot of my iPad. To take a screenshot hold down the Power Button and Home Button on your iPad. I like to call the Home Button the Belly Button of the iPad. I then uploaded my image to my Thinglink account. I tagged each app icon to the URL of the app in iTunes, so that you can download it easier. The Layar app is also tagged to the Layar Creator website in case you want to create your own AR objects.

Ideas for Interactive Images:

Link to Online Presentations
Link to Apps in iTunes
Link to Online Resources
Research Project and Link to Presentations, Resources, and or Video Clips
Book Report and Link to Projects

Feel free to follow me on ThingLink.

Tools to Try in 2014 ....

Technology is constantly changing and I try to learn as much as I can without overwhelming myself. I think it is important to be a life long learning and not get yourself stuck in a rut so to speak. The following list are tools I am going to try to learn more about and find ways to use them in my classroom. This is a small list of tools I would like to try. I think it is wise to keep your list short and simple once you learned what you set out to learn you can always add to your list.

New Tools to Try:

Tellagami - A mobile app that allows you to create animated video clips.
LucidPress - Lets you create Publisher Items and Sync them to your Google Account.
LiveSlide - Presentation / Learning Platform Tool
SubText - Allows Groups to exchange ideas in the pages of a Digital Text.
ThingLink - Makes your images Interactive.

Example of a ThingLink Image

Reflection of EdcampHome 2014 ....

EdcampHome was the place to be this morning. The organizers of the EdcampHome really brought it today. It was well organized, Kelly did a great job with the Google Scripts and getting everyone where they needed to go. I myself stayed on the EdcampHome page and listened in on a few sessions. I really enjoyed all of the sharing and learning that went on today. I listened in on Augmented Reality and learning how others are using Augmented Reality in their classroom. I also peeked in on the Connected Classroom. Twitter is a great way to wet your feet in becoming a connected educator. I use Twitter to connect and build my PLN. If you would like to connect with me my Twitter handle is @katieann_76. I also use Edmodo to build, connect, and to run my Global Project. I try to share my experiences by writing in my blog. Being apart of the Teacher Learning Community in SimpleK12 is another way I try to connect and share with other educators. Some teachers do find it hard to share what is going on in their classroom. My suggestion is to try one share tool being Twitter, a Blog, a Wiki and etc... Start slow and embrace your passion.

In session 2 I learned about Virtual Field Trips. I didn't realize that Google had started Virtual Field Trips via Google+ Connected Classroom and Google Hangouts. To view upcoming Field Trips or past trips visit the Google+ Connected Classroom.

During the SLAM session I learned about:

LiveSlide by Atlas Learning
Google Maps Engine
Snagit for Chrome
LucidPress - Great replacement for Publisher and Glogster
HaikuDeck

I needed this little shot of inspiration today. I was able to listen in to all of the sharing while I worked on a presentation for FETC '14, Edmodo, LiveBinders, MACE '14, and ISTE '14. It really helped me to listen in on some of the questions to get an idea what others want to know or understand.

Thanks for sharing and letting me be apart of #EdcampHome.