#TechTipTuesday - Blogging

With #NaBloPoMo just around the corner I thought it may be helpful to share a few quick and easy blogging tools to check out.

Blogger: Where this blog is created and hosted through is brought to you by Google, a great free Google resource that is easy to use with a full range of customizablity, widgets and more.

Tumblr: A micro blogging tool built on the foundation of community. You build a blog, post to your blog and follow other blogs. Tumblr is also easy to setup and has a wide range of visual customizations.

Wordpress: A free tool that has been around for awhile. Loads of customization which may require a higher skill level to fully take advantage of.

Blogger and Wordpress tend to be open on more conservative filters where tumblr may not.

These are just 3 different blogging platforms, there are a bunch more. So if your blogging using a different tool please share it in the comments. 

OR

Post a link to your blog!

Happy Blogging

#FunAppFriday -WordBrain

Prepare to lose yourself in the highly addictive spelling game that is WordBrain!

For all of you who enjoyed Words with friends and or 2048, be sure to check out this little gem that combines the best parts of those two games.

But you don't have to take my word for it...

WordBrain by MAG Interactive
https://appsto.re/us/kggpQ.i

#TechTipTuesday -NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner.

Get yourself or your learners prepared to write all November long.

Check out http://nanowrimo.org/ for details or check out the young writers program that aligns itsel to NaNoWriMo

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/educators

Not interested in writing a Novel? It's a great time to start a blog or dust off the one you started a few ears back. The key is to create, connect, and share #NaBloPoMo 30 days, 30 posts!

Idea Wall

1. Have each student share one post each day to your blog! 

2. Share daily what is happening in your learning space.

3. One chapter created by each stud met each day in November.

4. Video/Photo Blog, a quick look each day at the learning going on.

5. Ask the learners what  they want to do with this opportunity!

6. Have your teachers post each day to the school blog.

Share what you might try this year or your own ideas to the comment section in the blog!

#TechTipTuesday - Online Broadcasting

Last week I shared information about Podcasting so this week I thought we may visit the wide world of Live Streaming.

There are several great tools to use out there now, in fact, I wrote up a blog post about

Periscope, Meerkat, and Google Hangouts.

These week I am encouraging you to download Periscope or Meerkat and check them out.

Even if you do to want to Live stream yourself, or your class there are a loads of great broadcasters out there that you may want to check out.

+Tony Vincent has compiled a great list of broadcasters on Periscope, be sure to check out the list here: http://learninginhand.com/broadcasters

Check out his periscope broadcasts here: https://www.periscope.tv/tonyvincent

Happy broadcasting!

Periscope 

iOS

Android

Meerkat

iOS

Android

#TechTipTuesday - Podcasting

Podcasting has become very popular these days and I thought I might share a few tools with you that will help you to start experimenting.

Top 3 things you will need

1. Microphone

2. Editing software

3. Hosting service

1. If you've a smart phone you've got a microphone built in it, and it's a great one to start with before you make a financial commitment to a separate microphone. Most laptops also have a built in microphone that you could try as well.

2. Audacity is a great free tool that many professional Podcasters use to edit their podcasts. You can download it here: http://audacityteam.org/

The software allows you to cut and edit easily by selecting what you want to remove using the familiar tools of highlighting and deleting.  It is also jam packed full of strong audio enhancing tools when you are ready to try new techniques.

3. Host your audio! SoundCloud is a great free platform that will let you host your audio Podcast. Create an account (if you've a Google+ account, you can use Google to log in) and upload your audio. You can then embed your posts or direct people to your souncloud page to listen to your podcasts.

For more details about getting your SoundCloud podcast on iTunes, check out this helpful guide: 

http://help.soundcloud.com/customer/portal/articles/1209292-can-i-podcast-with-soundcloud-

Before you begin your podcasting journey you'll need one more thing, probably the most important thing: 

AN IDEA!

Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing:

Book Chats

Read your parent email/blog post/ newsletter 

Have your learners  share what they've learned this week

Read your learners work (short stories, poems, etc.)

The best ideas will come from your learners, ask them to decide what to share and set a regular schedule for sharing it.

I look forward to subscribing to your podcasts in the very near future!

Already have a podcast?

Share a link to it in the comments or share what tools you like to use!