Thing 10: Productivity

The two tools I chose to experiment with were Diigo and Evernote.

Evernote took me a while to get the hang of. I could not figure out how to add images to notes for the life of me. I will need to play around with this some more and I'm sure once I download the app on my iPhone I will see the many benefits of this tool. I can not get the Evernote clipper to open at school, so I'm sure I'm missing out on a huge part of the experience here.
*Side note; I figured out the screen clipper. Very cool.

Diigo was the next tool I spent some time using. I practiced highlighting text and adding sticky notes, which I loved. However, when I went to get the annotated link from my library, the pages did not look right, almost as if compatibility mode had been turned off. That was disappointing. I'll keep trying.

I'm also going to try both tools in a different browser. I'm using IE at school, which is an old version, so that might have something to do with the issues I'm having. It was fun trying something new. I think Evernote is more user friendly and has a more attractive interface. The mobile apps are a bonus as well. Thanks!

Thing 9: Databases & Search Tools

Databases:

Several times a year, I offer voluntary professional development to staff. Recently, I presented a training focusing on the databases. The name of the training was "Finding Grade-level, Non Fiction articles using the Gale Databases.” I basically went over the new lexile levels as they pertain to Common Core and then showed teachers how to find article in their subject areas using advanced search features.
I got a lot of positive feedback form the training. Many staff members did not realize lexile ranges had been impacted by Common Core Standards.

 

Thing 8: Collaborating, Connecting, Sharing

This week we are blogging about our experience with online collaboration and sharing tools. This is very fitting as I am currently using Google Drive to collaborate with another teacher to plan a unit on the Cold War
.
To plan the project we used Google Drive and placed documents we would be using there. I also created sub folders within the folders to help us define  for the different days


When we were ready to share the project with students, we built a live binder which can be viewed here.

Click here to open this binder in a new window.