Technology for the Classroom

Find out how teachers, students, and schools can use a free security book, OwnYourSpace: Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online to teach teens effective Internet security in a Q&A with Linda McCarty and Fran Staniec.

Taft High School in Chicago is one of the schools leading the pack by creating lesson plans and teaching their freshmen important safety measures. For example: how to create safe passwords, how to configure a secure Facebook account, Antivirus installation and software updating, responsible posting for ALL devices, Antibullying, and Internet safety.

Staniec will talk about how they use the free Own Your Space books to create lesson plans, learning about security. Ask yourself: are your students ready to hit the ground running when it comes to security and entering the professional world?

Join in learn how to engage students. See you on the 24th!!!

*Any teacher who wants to download the book prior to the webinar can download the book for free at ownyourspace.net

We are on the cusp of important changes in schools today. There is an national effort to update and unify national standards with the Common Core State Standards. With the advent of the tablet, we are finally seeing a computing device with a form factor and price point that opens up important possibilities in classrooms. More importantly, schools must change or face losing millions of students due to a level of disengagement not seen in generations. There are real opportunities out there to bring important ideas up close for kids in ways not previously possible. This talk will review the central issues and highlight specific approaches centered around technology and 21st century skills.

With mobile devices becoming more prevalent in the classroom, it is no wonder that many educators are looking to these devices to improve the learning environment. Add a flipped classroom strategy, inverting the traditional teaching methods by delivering instruction online outside the classroom and moving "homework" into the classroom, and there could be huge potential for learning and growth. But firstly, we have to solve how iPads, or other mobile devices can transform the classroom and what if a flipped strategy was also applied. In this webinar, we will discuss these two key issues in three essential questions: why integrate iPads, why the flipped model and how these two things go together to create a dynamic learning environment.

Teacher evaluations are a time-consuming and paper-extensive process for many schools and districts. However, it doesn't have to be. New technology is making it easier for school districts to complete teacher evaluations online in an automated process to free up educators and administrators alike while reducing expenses.

Learn how automation can:
- Improve the professional conversation between teacher and evaluator
- Reduce the Principal's workload of collecting and analyzing data
- Provide transparency into the process from administration to staff
- Meet the state requirements for teachers that are unsatisfactory or need improvement

With mobile devices becoming more and more readily available in the classroom, educators have the opportunity to expand their teaching tools with technology. Teaching Table is a set of digital math manipulatives designed for the IPad that allows educators to create interactives examples to share with their students. Attend this presentation to hear the results of Teaching Table's survey of iPad and other technologies' usage in the classroom, the challenges these educators currently face and how Teaching Table's digital math manipulatives help to extend the versatility of the iPad in math lessons.

For more information about Teaching Table or to sign up for their Beta version, check out their web site at www.http://teachingtableapp.com.

Current students of all ages are immersed in technology before they ever reach school. There are a wide variety of devices available for teachers to use in classrooms, but how can educators maximize their learning benefits when teaching reading?

Learn how technology can:
- Increase learning
- Get students engaged in lessons
- Maximize learning time
- Track data

In this webinar, you will learn how to engage your students in math class via technology including various Web 2.0 tools and social media. Enhance class discussions with Twitter, increase learning time via screencasts and voice threads, and engage students with collaborative tools like Poll Everywhere. Come learn how to USE technology in your class!

Dr. Peter Jeschofnig, Director of the Institute for Excellence in Distance Science Education and Linda Jeschofnig, CEO of Hands-On Lab’s Inc. have been engaged in distance education for over 20 years and are the authors of Teaching Lab Science Courses Online. They will review current best practices in online instruction, including topics ranging from Course Design, Student Engagement, Discussion Boards, and Alternative Assessments, to Academic Integrity. They will also discuss how these practices are used in teaching laboratory science courses fully online.

This webinar highlights similarities between two philosophical approaches to learning by exploring not only the implementation of social media within distance learning environments, but also the impact of mobile technology on traditional instructional and learning methodologies.

The overall goal is to identify correlating social influences that impact a student’s capacity for learning in any environment and investigate new methods of distance learning instruction utilizing social media and mobile technology.