December 2020
2020 has felt never-ending in many ways. We can all recall what we were doing last March before everything shut down, and our lives changed overnight. However, we are finally entering December - a time of hope and renewal. 2020 has not gone as planned, but you have made it. You have picked up a myriad of online teaching skills and had many successes with your students. Teaching students online? No problem! You have taught students under extreme and difficult situations. Thank you for all that you have done to ensure Oklahoma students have access to a quality education! Have a wonderful, restful holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you in 2021!
Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC)
To say that these are unusual times in education would be an understatement. With the unpredictable impact of COVID-19, educators across the country have had to pivot constantly. One of the most noted education technology conferences, the Future of Education Technology Conference, FETC, has not only made the transition to a virtual format but has also decided to make it FREE for all to attend!
January 26-29, 2021
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Why you may want to attend FETC:
- Innovative keynoters will share their top strategies, tools, and insights on education technology and its impact on students, staff, and entire school communities.
- The conference will feature diverse speakers who are all revolutionizing the way students learn, teachers teach, and entire school systems operate; there is no better group to share their stories. Be captivated by their stories, expand your thinking with new perspectives, and gain creative strategies to take back home!
- The Virtual Expo Hall will provide access to the newest products, innovative systems, leading service providers. It’s one of the best places for administrators, educators, and technologists to learn more about the latest and greatest solutions and find the resources you need to navigate issues related to COVID-19.
You can register to attend FETC here.
Video Formatting in Google Slides
Did you know that Google Slides will allow you to not only share embedded videos in slides but that it also allows you to format these videos? You can clip a video by setting a start and end time and even mute the audio. To learn how to format videos in Google Slides, watch this short five-minute video tutorial created by ShakeUpLearning.
YouTube Videos- Ad-Free and Full Screen
While it was easy for me to find many educational videos on YouTube, I was often hesitant to share them in class or with students because of the ads that appear on the side. These ads were often not appropriate for students, and I resorted to using tools such as ViewPure to filter out extraneous information. Recently, I learned an even easier way to filter YouTube videos. When sharing or using a link for a YouTube video, add a hyphen (-) after the letter 't' in the URL. This small change will make the video ad-free and present the video automatically as full screen.
 Digital Escape Rooms
With the transition to distance learning, many teachers have used digital escape rooms to engage students while promoting problem-solving skills. Digital escape rooms use technology to lead players through activities or scenarios to solve a puzzle. Individual activities provide players with clues to unlock digital locks. While many pre-created escape rooms are available online, it is relatively easy to create your own using tools such as Google Forms or Google Sites. Matt Miller recently shared some tips and tricks to creating digital escape rooms as well as links to over forty free escape rooms on his blog.
Link to Text Fragment
Many of us share website links with others daily. What if a website you share contains large amounts of information, and you want to direct people's attention to a specific section or sentence? It is now easy to do now with a relatively new Google Chrome extension: Link to Text Fragment.
Once you have installed the Chrome extension:
- Go to a website you wish to share.
- Select the text that you would like to call to attention.
- Right-click on the words and choose "copy link to selected text" from the popup menu.
- You will receive a link to the site where users will see the selected text briefly highlighted in yellow.
You can see a short tutorial video and download this free Chrome extension via the Chrome Web Store.
Since our December education technology meeting occurs over the holiday break, we will take a break and instead resume the monthly meetings on Monday, January 24, from 3:30-4:30. The topic for the January meeting will be: Share your Favorite Ed Tech Tool. Whether it is a tried-and-true tool or one that has recently become a favorite, take a little time to learn more about tools that others across our state have love!
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