Category: Blog

In this video tutorial, I go over how to create Google Docs quickly without going to your Google Drive. This works for Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, and Google Sites as well. These can all be created within your web address without having to go to your Google Drive. Make sure you comment, like, share, and subscribe for more EdTech and Food content! And don’t forget to share this video with your students as well. Buen Provecho!

This past summer, I toyed around with the idea of hosting a 2 vs. 2 Rocket League Tournament. It was intended for educators to get together with a family member to game together in the spirit of ol’ fashioned fun. Well, it didn’t really go down like I planned. At the time, Rocket League was a paid game and most people who reached out never played it. Well guess what?! Rocket League is now free on all platforms and what a better time to play with a family member than during the Winter Break of this global pandemic! So here it is… Rocket League 2 vs. 2 Tournament… January 2nd, 2021 at 2pm CT. Get together with your child, nephew, niece, cousin, step-son, mother-in-law, distant second cousin’s nephew, or anyone who you could game with. The game is free on all platforms and requires an Epic Games account (Epic…the ones who host Fortnite). This is all in the name of fun in the educational community. If you are interested, fill out the Google Form below with your information. We’ll see you online and do not forget to subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already done so. Stay safe!

“I want to be a YouTube when I grow up!” If you have children at home, more than likely, you’ve heard this. And more than likely, your children are gaming this summer. And whether you want to accept it or not, there are many benefits to gaming online. There’s a huge gaming community and some of these gamers aren’t old enough to vote but are bringing in more money in eSports than we are as educators. If you’re like me, you’ve played some games with them and probably realized that your child can now outplay you! No worries. Remember that the purpose of games and gaming in general is having fun. And that’s what I’m inviting you to. A fun tournament.

Saturday, July 11th at 1pm CT, I will be holding a 2 vs. 2 parent/child Rocket League tournament. I invite any mother, father, aunt, uncle, or guardian to team up with your son, daughter, niece, or nephew and join. Here are the requirements:

With recent school closures all over the country, I decided to reach out to Tisha Poncio and Jacob Luevano to put together some resources. We connected, put together a list (that’s not too overwhelming) and connected. We streamed this through Periscope and recorded the conversation as well. A full list of resources is available on Tisha’s blog. Click the link to see these and check out our discussion on YouTube below as well.

Click here to view our list of resources

For the past 4 years, I’ve been obsessed with consuming podcasts. If you were to go through my subscriptions, you would find a variety of different genres from education, hip-hop, comedy, and parenting. I could confidently state that I now to the majority of my learning through my headphones. I learn while I type, drive, cut the grass, wash the car, and walk. That last one…walk…I’ve been brewing an idea for a couple of years now and I’ve always put it on the back burner until now!

#PedometerPD Is Born!

That’s right, Pedometer PD. What is it? Well, let’s break it down. Pedometer: An ancient device that counts your steps and motivates you to be more active (NOT a device that measures your pedos!). PD: professional development, making ourselves better ________. I wanted to bring something different to our educators in the realm of professional development. But first, I needed to get approval from my directors to give teachers credit for listening to a podcast while walking the track at one of our district facilities. I did not want it to stop there though. I wanted a way for teachers to share what they learned from a podcast in a not-so conventional method. This way, they could reflect and put together an implementation plan to make their classrooms a more engaging environment. Once I wrapped my head around this, I began executing my plan! My directors loved the idea and were in full support of this. First, I booked a district facility from 4:30pm-5:30pm for our “course”. Knowing that was taken care of, I curated a list of podcast episodes that gravitated around student engagement. I put these into a Google Doc and typed out detailed instructions for installing a podcast catcher app, searching an episode, and downloading it to the device. Next, created a Synth Podcast for reflection. Participants would answer a set of reflection questions in the form of a Synth podcast. This way, I could promote using podcasting in the classroom! Lastly, I put the course in our digital catalog so it would be discoverable by anyone in our district. Before I knew it, people signed up for the course!

#PedometerPD Day!

The official day was January 23rd, 2020. I arrived at our facility early, scoped out the walking paths, printed my sign in sheet, and was patiently awaiting participants. As they arrived, they signed in and I made sure they all had a podcast catcher app and an episode downloaded. As soon as all participants were present, we began walking. I was able to get in 2 miles in the 45 minutes allotted. We met up at the end of the session and I clarified any questions they had regarding the Synth recording for feedback. We agreed that 1 week would be enough time for them to get these reflections to me before I submitted my final attendance. The feedback was incredible! They loved being able to be outside on a perfect day and be able to learn about their craft while being active. I have received their Synth responses and they have some great ideas on how to increase student engagement. I responded to all of their Synth recordings and have another Pedometer PD setup for February 26th. I’ve already got people signed up for it and the word is spreading. I plan on keeping this as a monthly course and going with a different theme each month.

All in all, I would say this was a success and I really feel that this idea is going to grow exponentially. I love learning while I’m active and I feel that with the different media outlets that we all learn from, why not recognize podcasts as a true learning outlet? I’m really looking forward to next month’s session and I plan on outdoing my previous 2 miles. Let’s. Do. This.

January 23rd #PedometerPD Podcast List

• The EdTech Bites Podcast-Episode 37: Heather, Seesaw, and Raising Cane’s
• The House Of EdTech-Episode 129: Flipgrid For Assessment
• InnovatEngage-Episode 2: Technology Doesn’t Drive The Lesson (Digital Breakouts)
• The Cult Of Pedagogy-Episode 118: To Boost Learning, Just Add Movement
• Educational Duct Tape-Episode 22: John Sowash, Chromebooks, Video on ChromeOS, Adobe Spark, WeVideo, Screencastify, & Tech Integration Advice

I was first introduced to Nearpod in 2012 through my good friend, Nick Trakas. We were a two-person Ed-Tech department in Florence, Arizona and always looking for new ways to integrate technology in our schools. He showed me Nearpod and had me download the student app on my 16gb iPad 2 (remember when Nearpod had a separate Teacher and Student app???). It blew my mind. I couldn’t believe that he was able to get immediate feedback from me and control the presentation on my device. This led to an immediate bias to Nearpod which led me to eventually become a PioNear.

I was on Twitter one day minding my own business when wham! #flipgridfever is all over my timeline. I didn’t know what it was and started to raise an eyebrow. I then saw something shiny under the table and forgot what I was doing on Twitter completely! A couple of months later at an edcamp in our district, Flipgrid came up and I suddenly remembered seeing that along with #flipgridfever a few months before. We played around with it some at that edcamp and that summer, I had caught the fever. I even contemplated getting the logo tattooed on my neck… just kidding. I did however become a Flipgrid Student Voice Ambassador as well as a Flipgrid Certified Educator.

As the school years move along I’ve found myself app smashing different tools with one another to have students and teachers create projects that incorporate technology in meaningful ways. I found myself consistently using the same two apps. You guessed it, Nearpod and Flipgrid. This led to bigger and better projects with teachers, EL students, GT students, and administrators as well! I even created a YouTube video last year showing how to do this. Check it out!

It’s pretty evident that I love me some Nearpod and Flipgrid. I’m an ambassador for both and have taken my expertise in both to various conferences in and outside of my district. I know folks at both companies on a personal level and have had some great conversations with both parties…separately. I would however, like for my two friends to meet up and shake hands. And when they do, I have a request. I (along with thousands of other edtechers) want top see a Flipgrid integration built into Nearpod and a Nearpod integration built into Flipgrid. Perhaps this could come our way in the form of a Google Chrome extension, a complicated code written in the background of each tool, something! Please! We need and want this soooo bad. I’d love to be a beta tester and give input whenever needed. How about you? Would you enjoy this? Do you think these two tools should shake hands and share in this worldwide edtech playground?

I’ve entered The EdTech Bites Podcast in the My Rode Cast Competition. This is a worldwide competition for any and all podcasters. The prizes? New Rode gear! Rode will be choosing various shows based on content, quality, editing, and the ability to leave the listener wanting more. So please vote for my show using the link below. Voting ends March 20th, 2019 so please vote now and help spread the word!

Vote For The EdTech Bites Podcast!