Cool Tools Duel

The final event of TCEA 2011 Edubloggercon - Two computers, four people, sharing as many free  (or almost free) tools as they can in 2 minute intervals

myfakewall.com - Create a Facebook-like profile for a famous or historical person. Must create an account to use.

corkboard.me - Similar to Wallwisher. No one has to log in. Gives you a unique URL you can share with students or colleagues

citrify.com - Free online photo editor

polleverywhere.com - instant audience feedback from cell phones

postpost.com - Will pull in your friend feeds from Facebook, Twitter. Collects everything that has gone across your feeds that day

snipsnip.it - Lets you share specific time frames of video clips. You can share a link or embed. Works with YouTube, Teacher Tube, Schooltube

quiQR.it - App which reads QR codes on your phone or creates QR codes for you (NOTE - there is a QR code on the TCEA

SplashtopRemote.com - $1.99 app for iPad. Put the desktop remote on your computer and your iPad will be able to act as a remote control for your desktop computer

360 Panorama - Camera app for iPhone - lets you take 360 degree panoramic pictures

paperrater.com - grammar, spelling check, FREE, checks for plagiarism, just paste in text, gives reading level

awesomehighlighter.com - highlight any web page and add notes, then share the link with students or colleagues

8mm Classic Camera - iPhone app - puts 8mm effects on a video

meetingwords.com - Create a public space where everyone can contribute to a collaborative document

wuifitti.com - feedback tool during meetings, uses Twitter or text messages to gather the feedback

rockmelt.com - web browser that integrates seamlessly with Facebook, Twitter, Diigo, etc

jot not pro - iPhone app that scans any image and shares it to Google Docs

Webstroyer - turn any page into a game of asteroids

PixelPipe - desktop/mobile tool for disseminating media to over 100 sites from your smart phone

jakes.editme.com/newtools - One stop shop with a suite of tools you can use

Bring Your Own Devices - How Do You Do It Or How Do You Get There?

Notes from Lone Star Edubloggercon Breakout Session at TCEA 2011. I got to facilitate this session, which means I briefly set the stage and then invited everyone in the session to share. Fortunately, there was a plethora of experience and ideas in the room!

McKinney ISD - Three high schools piloting students bringing their own devices

• AUP for guest access pops up every time someone tries to connect to their guest wireless
• Teachers now struggling with using devices which have many different types of software and limitations such as limited data plans.
• Setting up forms for teachers to survey students on what type of devices their students have so they can plan better for instruction
• Survey of parents has shown generally positive
• No staff development with teachers first
• Nothing in place yet to block 3G/4G access. Going to observe and see what happens.
• Some campuses have laptop carts they can use to supplement for students who do not have devices to bring
• McKinney ISD BYOT Advertising Flyer
• McKinney ISD BYOT Student, Teacher, and Parent Guide

Eanes ISD - Starting a pilot with their 8th graders bringing their own cell phones

• No staff development with teachers first
• Teachers who were interested initiated the project
• Now doing once a month PD sessions; instructional technology partners offer classes and tech committee teacher members will eventually get release time to offer classes as well
• Students from NJHS have formed a Campus Geek Squad to help teachers learn to use the technology - this was initiated by the students!
• For next year the idea is to go school wide and do staff development in the summer
• Estimates about 80% of students have smart phones

Independent School in San Jose California

• Did do staff development before going to 1:1
• School buys a large number of devices and leases them out to the students for $600 per year. Insured for breakage
• Software that is specific to a discipline (Ex: Chemistry software) can be purchased and licensed for the leased computers

General Observations/Questions/Notes

• Students have the technology already and would like to use it
• Teachers may not have the devices themselves - should the school provide these?
• What if we're an all PC campus and now we have to work with Apple iProducts
• Guest access may need to be segmented to protect bandwidth and protect internal network from virus, etc.
• How do we create lessons that are device neutral and account for the fact that not all students will have devices to bring? Cloud computing?
• Can districts provide a vehicle for parents to know what to purchase? Provide bulk purchase agreement?
• Monitoring appropriate use is an issue.

Thanks to all who participated in this conversation. Please post further thoughts or links to further resources in the comments!

NOTE: If you were interested in this post, you might also be interested in my May 3, 2011 post Successes & Challenges of a Bring Your Own Device Initiative

TCEA 2011 Day 2 - Edubloggercon!

OK. After a good night's sleep and smooth commute, I am ready to engage in learning again. Today is Edubloggercon, my first unconference. I've been blogging for not quite two years now, and I'm looking forward to hearing from others and seeing what they are doing with professional and maybe even student blogging.

The nature of an unconference is it gets organized on site, so I don't know what "sessions" I'll be in yet. If live blogging works out, I'll try it again today.

People are gathering and the Web 2.0 lounge is starting to buzz! Let the learning begin!