What I did at school today: 5/23/13

Today was our 7th day of SOL testing.  It was the first time I had to be assigned to proctor.  Two of our para educators were sick, and at this small school there aren't many others to fill in.  Since I can't discuss the test, this might be a good time to write about "Geek of the Week."

One of the main responsibilities of an ETF is to provide training and staff development for teachers.  This can take many forms.  Sometimes we have time set aside on teacher work days or at faculty meetings where we can present on a new piece of software or demonstrate how to use a resource like Glogster or an app like iMovie.  I try to offer other trainings before school, during planning times, and after school.  These are optional and tend to be very hit and miss.  To provide additional professional development information I began sending out a weekly "Geek of the Week" email each Wednesday.  In each one, I share a resource, describe it, offer suggestions for its use, and specify its location (website, app, on a network drive, etc.).  It's difficult to tell how often a tip gets explored and/or used, but it is worth the effort if even a single person learns something new each week.

Below are a few examples:

• Screen Chomp
• Poplet
• Prezi
• Wonderopolis
• Voice Thread
• Pixton
• Skype
• Edline
• Pixie
• Twitter
• Kidblog
• ePal
• Diigo
• Safeshare.tv
• Copyright friendly music
• Scanning on the copier