TexEdTech

Ed Tech and pedagogy is bigger these days and Tex is here to condence learning opportunities into bite-sized nuggets that fit educators' busy schedule.  

[texedtech]

TCEA 2022: Apple Lover’s Delight

David Lockhart aka Big Guy in a Bowtie presented a firehose session of Apple apps that are great for the classroom. Even though I’m in a Chromebook district, I found that a lot of these applications can be utilized with students on their personal mobile devices. 

- IOS is much better for creative projects and summative assessments than Google or Windows. 

- Mathpix & Photomath are two apps that allow the user to solve math problems AND gives the user every step to solve the equation. While this might not be helpful in the classroom, teachers need to be aware that students have access to this. 

- Anchor makes recording and publishing podcasts easy. This app is also an editor’s choice in the IOS store with 4.9 out of 5 stars. 

- Explain Everything is a digital whiteboarding and screen-casting app that is also very highly rated in the app store. There is a basic version that allows users to cast, record, and present; but there is also a complete whiteboard platform that include voice chat, cloud storage, and LMS integration. 

[texedtech]

TCEA 2022: Reading in a Digital World

Jennifer Wood, an Instructional Technology Specialist at Richardson ISD, presented research regarding digital media’s effect on student reading performance. She also suggested possible solutions to scaffold reading skills in order to use digital media more effectively in instruction.  

- Visuals  and color increase reading retention. Infographics are a great way to incorporate multiple literacy skills. Here are some infographic templates.  

- Reading print books and audiobooks activate your brain similarly.

-  Multi-tasking is the primary obstacle to reading digital media.

-  We tend to read (skim) digital media in an F-shape and/or Z-shape pattern. 

- Explicit instruction and comparison of annotation skills between digital and print media is essential for student literacy development.   

[texedtech]

TCEA 2022: Goal Setting : Developing assessment Capable Learners

This session was developed and presented by Melissa Quisenberry who is an Instructional Technology Specialist at Aledo ISD. She focused on developing a Wildly Important Goal (you might recognize this from The 4 Disciplines of Execution) and what it takes to achieve that goal in the classroom. My big takeaways from this session involve the execution ideas she gives after going over the development of a WIG. These suggestions should aid in the achievement of goals.  

- When developing goals (especially with younger students) start with non-academic goals or whole class goals to get students used to low-stakes goal tracking. 

- Have an accountability partner. In the classroom, this might be another student. For PLCs and content areas this could be a fellow teacher. 

- Set up your environment to make achieving goals easier. Melissa used the example of her fitness tracker and water intake apps as well as a HydraTrak water bottle to help monitor her progress. She also set up her home screen on her mobile device to have these apps on the first page when she opens her phone (see below).

- Have a visible goal tracking sheet (electronic or virtual) to make the goal tangible.