This short episode is a preview of what you can expect during season 4 of The Chromebook Classroom podcast!
Season 4 begins on August 1st! This year my goal is to post weekly episodes in four different formats:
There are four ways you can support this podcast:
Thank you for being my Chromie homie! Look for episode 1 of season 4 on August 1!
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Thanks for listening to The Chromebook Classroom Podcast. Get all of the resources mentioned in this episode by visiting Chrmbook.com/podcast.
You can connect me, John Sowash, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The school year is officially done. We did it! Nice job.
The next school year is still a ways away; no need to think about it…not yet anyway!
July is a month to chill, relax, reflect, and recharge! ⛱🍹
The end of the school year also concludes season 3 of the Chromebook Classroom podcast!
But don’t worry, season 4 will start in August!
Rather than bombard you with new ideas for your classroom, I thought I would introduce myself.
I’m the guy behind the microphone!
Here are 10 quick facts about my life that will explain my perspective on education, business, and life!
The show notes for this episode are pretty awesome. You'll get to see 10 photos of my life, including some really old ones! 😂
Show Notes: chrmbook.com/s3e13
Google has been trying to combine the ChromeOS and Android ecosystems since 2016.
Is this the future of Chromebooks or a bad idea?
While I am a HUGE proponent of Chromebooks, I have been very sluggish to recommend running Android apps on a Chromebook.
Here to change my mind about Android apps on Chromebooks is Tom Mullaney, Digital Learning Coach at Carroll Middle School in Raleigh, NC.
I have been following Tom on Twitter for some time and have seen him putting out a lot of content on his blog and Twitter on how he is using Android apps on his Chromebook.
This should be a solid conversation!
Show notes and links: chrmbook.com/podcast
As part of my daily routine, I scan dozens of blogs, visit a handful of Facebook groups and skim through Twitter. The goal: find the most helpful resources, tools, and articles that I can share with my teacher friends (that’s you!).
Here are my top 10 links for June 2019!
For show notes and resources on teaching with Chromebooks, visit http://chrmbook.com
My guest is Dave Stuart Jr., high school social studies teacher, author, blogger, and father of 4 from Cedar Springs, Michigan.
I sat down with Dave to talk about how he uses Chromebooks to teach social studies, but our conversation quickly grew into a broader conversation about how technology is changing learning and our responsibility as teachers to respond and adjust to these new challenges.
Dave is a deep thinker who truly wants to help students learn and help teachers achieve satisfaction in all consuming profession.
Dave has summarized some key principles he uses in his classroom in his new book, These Six Things: How to focus your teaching on what matters.
Show notes and links: chrmbook.com/podcast
Are you sick of lugging around paper assignments for grading? I may have a solution for you!
Like all English teachers, Jennifer Kipfmiller is faced with the difficult task of grading hundreds of student essays and written assignments. While many ELA teachers are comfortable using technology to assign and receive student work, the grading process usually takes place on paper with a red pen.
Jennifer and the English department at John Glenn high school set out to figure out a way they could provide hand-written feedback to their students electronically.
The solution involves a special Chromebook and the Android version of Google Classroom. Listen in for the full story!
Show notes and links: chrmbook.com/podcast
As the school year winds down, it's time to start thinking about closing out the year and preparing for next year.
In addition to cleaning out your physical classroom, It’s a good idea to organize your digital classroom.
I have selected five quick tips to help you start your digital spring cleaning.
If you want to get serious about organizing your digital life, sign up for my FREE, self-paced online course.
For show notes and resources visit Chrmbook.com/podcast
Every six weeks or so Google releases a new version of ChromeOS, the operating system that runs your Chromebook.
Many of these updates are pretty boring and consist primarily of technical, behind-the-scenes elements that don't have a direct impact on what we do in the classroom.
That's not the case with ChromeOS version 74 which is rolling out to devices this week. There are four updates that have the potential to impact your classroom:
Visit the show notes for this episode for a complete changelog and resources on how to update your devices: http://Chrmbook.com/chromeOS74
The Google Certified Educator program is a wonderful way to increase your ability to use tools like Drive, Classroom, Forms, and Calendar in the context of the classroom.
My guest is Lissa Brunan, middle school teacher, adjunct professor, and technology trainer.
Lissa and I recently took the level 1 and level 2 exams. During this episode, we share our experience, talk about the types of questions we received, and provide practical tips so that YOU can pass your certification test as well!
If you are interested in becoming a Google Certified Educator, this episode is one you won’t want to miss!
For show notes and links visit https://www.chrmbook.com/s3e9/
Danielle Kline has been teaching high school math at Cardinal Mooney Catholic School for five years. Danielle has embraced technology in her classroom, taking advantage of tools like Google Hangouts, Pear Deck, Google Classroom and Forms to teach algebra in a blended learning environment.
I have had many conversations with math teachers regarding the integration of technology in the classroom. While I think technology CAN be used in mathematics courses, I pose the question to Danielle to get her perspective.
Danielle has had success using Kahoot, Google Classroom, and Forms with her students. The secret is taking screenshots of graphs and equations rather than having students actually type or draw out the solution to the equation.
Danielle also shares how she grades student work through a combination of digital and paper-based assignments.
If you teach math (or support math teachers), this is an episode that will provide a TON of value and ideas.
For show notes and links visit https://www.chrmbook.com/s3e8/
Google has been hard at work improving and refining the accessibility features of ChromeOS. In this episode, we take a look at these features and how we can use them to support the needs of our students.
I am joined by Robin Pegg an expert in the field of adaptive and assistive technology who has worked with teachers and students for more than 20 years.
Together we explore and share ways that you can use the accessibility features of your Chromebooks to remove barriers to learning.
For show notes and links visit https://www.chrmbook.com/s3e7/
The internet can be a distracting place...
Recently, a teacher approached Laura Cahill looking for a way to help her students stay focused when working through digital assignments.
Laura had just been granted early access to Google’s new Locked Quiz feature for Google Forms and she decided to see if this feature could be repurposed for a lesson.
Episode Resources:
Is a Chromebook tablet a good idea? That’s the question that we will attempt to answer on this episode of the Chromebook Classroom podcast!
My guest is Marcus Mead, director of instructional technology for Glen Lake Schools in northern Michigan. Marcus oversee the Chromebook program in Glen Lake which recently added Acer Chrome Tablets to its existing collection of Chromebooks.
For show notes and links, visit chrmbook.com/podcast
Google Forms might be my favorite member of the Google family.
In this episode I am sharing five ways that you can design better Google Forms!
Each spring I teach a 5 week Google Forms masterclass through Google Classroom. This course is for anyone who is familiar with forms and is ready to become a form master!
Last spring I offered this course for the first time and the feedback was outstanding:
"I was a casual user of Forms, but I was not using the data that I had collected to it's full potential. Now I am writing better Forms so my data is of higher quality and I am better able to analyze the results so I'm making decisions based on data...not just giving surveys." - Laura Foreback, middle school teacher
This course is perfect for classroom teachers, tech coaches, and school administrators!
Head over to chrm.tech/forms for details!
Audio projects aren’t as common as image or video projects, but that doesn’t mean that audio isn’t a great option! Because they lack a visual element, audio projects are easier to create and require more attention to the core content of the assignment.
Engaging audio requires creative writing and planning, making audio projects a great option for writing focused classrooms.
This episode features classroom ideas and tools for recording, editing, and publishing audio projects in your classroom.
Featured Tools:
For more tips and lesson ideas for Chromebook Classrooms visit chrmbook.com.
Over the past 50 years, Bob Gregory has been a school teacher, a church pastor, a school principal and an education resource supplier in Australia and around the South Pacific region. He officially retired in 2015 and in 2016 became the education manager for Transform Cambodia, an NGO dedicated to helping the children of Cambodia escape poverty.
In this episode you'll hear how Chromebooks are being used to give hope to more than 3,000 Children in Cambodia.
For show notes and links, visit chrmbook.com/podcast
Google Forms gets "Locked mode" and it's an exclusive Chromebook feature!
Locked quiz mode prevents students from accessing opening new tabs or accessing unauthorized digital content.
In this mini-episode I break down everything you need to know about locked quizzes!
For more details on this new feature, including a video overview, visit http://chrm.tech/lockedquiz
Note: As of December 6, 2018 the locked quiz feature is only available to a small number beta testers. I anticipate that locked quizzes will become available to all G Suite for Education users in January 2019.
With Chromebooks in your classroom, exploring remote and exciting parts of the world has never been easier!
Joining me on this episode of the podcast are Kim Randall and Kelly Kermode, two wonderful and well traveled educators, and authors of Bring the World to your Classroom.
Visit chrmbook.com/podcast for links, resources, and tools mentioned in this episode of the Chromebook Classroom Podcast.
How do you make math interesting for a middle school student?
Eric Marcos has been helping students create instructional math videos since 2007. These amazing (and entertaining) videos have been watched by more than 1.6 million students and teachers from around the world.
Eric teaches in Santa Monica, California and also runs mathtrain.tv where you can find all of his videos.
Visit chrmbook.com/podcast for links, resources, and tools mentioned in this episode of the Chromebook Classroom Podcast.
How do you help teachers develop new skills and grow as professionals?
Andrea Derrick has developed an impressive digital learning program to encourage the staff in her district to develop new skills. This comprehensive, detailed program helps teachers regardless of whether they are just starting to use technology in the classroom or are an advanced user.
Chromebook web filtering is should mean more than just blocking bad websites. Bharath Madhusudan, co-founder of the web filtering company Securly, shares how his company is working to keep kids safe on the web by using machine learning and natural language processing to prevent cyber bullying and self-harm.
How do you teach world language in the age of Google Translate? Bethany Thompson (@bthompsonEDU) began teaching French 19 years ago. She has personally observed the impact that technology has had on the classroom. These challenges and opportunities aren’t unique to world language, however. They also impact math and many other subject area. This conversation is filled with practical ideas for embracing change and challenge students to be critical thinkers.
When you listen to my conversation with Bethany, I think you will be impressed by some of the creative, non-traditional ways she is using common tools like Google Docs, Presentation, and Google Forms. She isn't using lots of language-specific apps and extensions. Instead, she is applying readily accessble products in some creative ways.
We’re heading across Atlantic ocean today to learn how Chromebooks are being used in the United Kingdom! My guest is Mark Allen, a long time IT director and technology specialists who has worked with hundreds of schools in England.
Mark and I discuss many things including the pros and cons of requiring all students to learn how to code, concern over Google’s data collection practices, and strategies for encouraging schools and teachers to adapt to new technologies and teaching tools.
It’s always interesting to hear perspectives from different countries and cultures. That certainly emerges during my conversation with Mark.
In an effort to better understand the specific challenges and needs of teachers, administrators, and instructional coaches, I created a survey and asked for specific feedback on challenges related to implementing technology into the classroom.
In this episode of the podcast I am sharing the final results of the survey.
My challenge to you is to take this information and begin thinking about what you can do to remove these barriers in your school.
Send me a tweet (@jrsowash) and let me know what you plan to do!