This is my 30th year to teach and man, I've seen a lot of changes take place over those years.   I have to admit... I was very concerned about all this "newfangled" technology we were going to have to do this year, but I've really enjoyed it!  And when it works, it's even better!!

I don't really have any new student apps or sites to share with you that haven't already been shared. So I think I would like to share with you some tools I've used to help on the teacher side.

#1.  Google Classroom   - This is something that has MANY parts to it and I'm gradually learning more about it.  Thank the LORD, that my daughter used it in her classroom last year!  She, Lee Hattaway and Jacque Prather, have been my go-to people for help.  I think it will take a while to master, but it's exciting to see the emails that pop up on my phone after students have worked on assignments or announcements that I've placed in Google Classroom. And when they come to school and say, "I watched the video on classroom last night" or they ask a question right there in the comment section, it's exciting!

#2. http://safeshare.tv/ - This is a great site to make those YouTube videos free from inappropriate commercials or viewing of those weird videos on the sidebar.   You find the video you want on YouTube, copy and paste it into the safeshare site and it will create a new link for you to paste to whatever/wherever you need to put it.

#3 Facebook - I've created a class FB page called Bulldogs of 406.  You can join if you'd like to see what I post there.  This in mainly for parents, but I have had parents post pictures of science experiments they did at home with their child.  I post pictures of the notes from my board for the day, calendar happenings from the SMORE Kellye sends us.  I post videos to help parents understand how I'm teaching math, and from day-to-day I post pictures of students doing activities in the classroom.

#4 Showme.com - I have made videos of me doing and explaining how I am teaching a math concept, and then I send the link to the parents to watch.  I've had many comments that it really has helped at home.

#5 Google Extensions - These are little things that you can place on the toolbar beside the address window.  The one I use the most is called Ginger.  It's a grammar checker.  When something is not grammatically correct it will highlight it and when you hover over it, it will give you a correction and you can click on it and it will automatically fix it.  I use it for parent emails, FB, this blog...
Go to the Google Store and click on Extensions on the left hand side.  There are TONS!
Move It is one that you set the amount of time before a screen will come up and it will tell students what activity they should do.  For example, you can set it for 20 minutes and every 20 minutes a red MOVE IT screen will come on and say something like "Move your arms in big circles 20 times forward and backwards."  When you hit the finish button it will go away for another 20 minutes.

Here's a blog from a tech coach about some extensions.  He even screen casts how to find the extensions:  http://tommullaney.com/2015/10/21/8-google-chrome-extensions-for-students-with-learning-needs-and-everyone-else/

There you go... I'd say try safeshare for sure... It's easy!  If you need any help with any of the others, I'd be glad to help. Just let me know.

Wow, you really CAN teach an old dog new tricks!!