EdTech Tradeshow Survival Kit: Tips for Creating a Valuable Experience

EdTech Tradeshow Survival Kit: Tips for Creating a Valuable Experience

Because the world of educational technology is ever evolving, keeping up with the latest is integral to modern education. Attending professional development events, such as tradeshows and conferences, is one way to stay informed about the latest and greatest gadgets and programs in the field. 

If you’re headed to an event this year with your school or teaching team, we have a few pointers to ensure that you’re getting the best and most worthwhile experience. 

1. Have a goal in mind.
   Just like with classroom teaching, it’s wise to begin with a clear objective. So, ask yourself: what are you hoping to glean from this event? Perhaps it’s tech integration ideas, perusing newer and better devices, or even working on forging some networking opportunities. Decide what you want to get out of the event, and put your focus on accomplishing that goal. 
   
   
   

2. Get familiar with the schedule. 
   While some PD events may have a fixed schedule, others will allow for more flexibility in accordance with your goals. Take a look at the event schedule beforehand so that you’re familiar with what’s happening, when, and where. For a tradeshow experience, do some preparation beforehand and research which companies may have what you’re seeking.
   
   
   

3. Come with questions.
   At both conferences and expos, experts will be at the ready to help assist you. If you’ve done some advance research, you’ll be in the right place to get your questions answered.
   
   
   

4. Check out the event map.
   Your time is valuable, and you don’t want to spend it trying to find your bearings. Just a few minutes of planning time could save many more later on; so, make sure to take a look at the event’s map on their website before attending.
   
   
   

5. Bring the right gear. 
   Chances are, you’ll be hauling some stuff. Between your own personal device, brochures and other learning materials, you’ll need a quick way to transport it all. Use a comfortable backpack or a rolling bag to optimize comfort for the long day. Plan to wear a comfortable, business casual outfit and sensible shoes: for a tradeshow especially, you can expect a good amount of walking. 

Tradeshows, conferences, expos, and other events are crucial to professional development. In these spaces, teachers and administrators can learn best practices for technological integration, participate in interesting sessions, and have hands on experiences. By using our guide, you’re likely to end your day with helpful takeaways and great memories.

School’s Out, Professional Development Is In

Once the last bell rings and the lockers empty out, it’s time for teachers to enjoy some “me” time and fit in a little professional development. There are a lot of avenues to take from conferences and workshops to work-on-your-own certifications.  

Become a Google Certified Educator 

The Certified Educator program is offered at four levels, a Google Certified Educator Level 1, Level 2 and Google Certified Trainer and Innovator. Each level requires varying degrees of dedication on your part. Each of the four levels (Google Certified Educator Level 1, Level 2, Google for Education Certified Trainer and Google for Education Certified Innovators) has a course and exam you must pass to gain certification. Google for Education Certified Trainers and Innovators must also submit an application. You can either work on your own to go through these levels or work with a Google Certified Trainer for face-to-face instruction. 

Bring Coding to Your School 

Code.org partners with more than 120 school districts to bring computer science to your district. Besides teaching students how to code, Code.org offers professional development workshops for teachers and administrators. Workshops can be geared to those without any prior computer science experience. Administers can set up K-12 educator workshops by contacting a regional partner. 

Join the Microsoft Educator Community 

Microsoft’s Educator Center offers training and resources, badges and certifications. Take a course, master a Microsoft product, view your achievements and connect with others. There are also options to attend on-demand or in-person training and events.  

Take a Free Digital Media Course 

KQED Teach offers free, hands-on professional learning opportunities that are focused on digital media. You can build skills in digital storytelling, data visualization and critical media. The courses are free, take about six hours and qualify for a PBS Certified Media Literacy Educator. Sign up from the website. 

Sit through a LIVE Webinar 

EdTechTeam, the global network of educational technologists that works with more than 250 contractors worldwide, features both LIVE webinars and archived webinars on its website. Topics covered include “Chromebooks for Tools for Creativity,” “Innovative Strategies for Teaching Science” and “Ok Google, How Safe is My Data.” Most of these webinars run about an hour.  

Have a great idea for summer professional development? Share it in the comments below! 

Maximize the Immersive Technology in the Classroom

Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) provide students with stimulating environments that add tons of educated value. For example, utilizing these cutting edge educational technology tools allows students to see far off places and visit times they’d never be able to experience in reality. There are hundreds of adventures each classroom can take. Before you decide to add this new tech to your school (and we think you should) check out these ways you can use it in the classroom and beyond to maximize its learning potential and justify the expense.

Use it For STEM Learning

The fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics can be opened way up with VR and AR. Scholastic has an entire curriculum dedicated to integrating VR into STEM lesson plans. These areas are ideal for VR and AR since students can travel far beyond our solar system or down to a cellular level. Concepts go from imagined to real. Imagine being able to teach your science students about how a volcano works then virtually traveling inside one as it erupts.

Use it For Professional Development

The best thing about an exciting new form of learning is sharing it with your staff. Training staff and teachers on VR and AR equipment not only creates buy-in, but they now get to add it to their professional development. Use experts (bring them there virtually with Skype), take webinars, hold onsite demonstrations or use your OneNote Staff Notebooks as a collaborative space and resource library to develop the VR and AR skills throughout the entire school.

Getting excited about new technology is great, but knowing how to implement it to its fullest is even better! Ready to integrate this newest edtech in your school? We can help. Contact us today.

Data Analytics Make Schools More Effective!

Is this program working? What about that software? Data tells the story of how successful the processes you’ve put in place are. A recent report from the Data Quality Campaign shows K-12 school districts need to invest in training administrators in data analysis.

Why Examine Data?

The report shows using data improves students’ academic outcomes and should be a goal for administrators as well as teachers, parents and even state policymakers. Administrators that can effectively use data can understand trends, examine professional development and personal needs, and marshal resources to support student achievement. 

To do this, administrators need to have the right tools including access, time, training and common understanding. Once they have the skills they need for data analytics, they can use their existing technology make the entire process come together.

Spreadsheets

Both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel can aggregate data on student learning, administrative tasks and other types of classroom performance factors. The data can be sorted, divided, highlighted and filtered in an endless array of possibilities.

OneNote

OneNote can help teachers track all-important student data with Classroom Notebooks. Administrators can use it the same way with Staff Notebooks. Not only does OneNote put all the information into a collaborative space, the information can easily be shared with parents. Engaging parents in the story that data tells about the school, helps with both successes and challenges, according to the report.

Presentations

Providing teachers and district staff  with ongoing training on effective data use helps them recognize how valid it is for their schools. Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides were both made for presentations. Besides being able to easily add information into these programs, they make everyone – from novice to expert – look like a pro.

Security

When gathering all this student and staff information, it’s imperative to keep it safe. The privacy and confidentially of each student and adult is a priority that Microsoft OneDrive’s security measures can handle. It offers a two-step verification protect and support to help protect your information.

Schools and districts are most successful when adults have the data to see the full picture of their students’ learning needs, according to the report. It is suggested school and district administrators need to model and support effective data use at every level, including as part of classroom instruction. What are you doing to support data analytics in your school? Share with us below.

Plan Your Winter Break Now

Winter break is almost here. For a few short weeks, the halls will quiet down and emails and phone calls will slow to a trickle. While this time promises a moment to relax, it is also a mere speed bump until the next semester and the accompanying laundry list of to-dos. But before that busy time comes, take a moment to set goals and expectations for things you want to accomplish during these precious few short weeks. 

Here’s what we suggest:

Attend a conference.

Conferences, or any other networking opportunity for that matter, are a great way to recharge your batteries over winter break. EdTechTeam hosts multiple events, like summits, bootcamps and workshops across the United States, that unlock the mysteries surrounding G Suite for Education. If none are near your school, you can bring one there. If winter break travel doesn’t appeal to you, or a conference isn’t available during your days off, take the time to look at the ones you might want to attend and put them on your schedule for next semester.

Research devices.

Grab a blanket, some hot cocoa and tuck in with a good wish list for your school. Winter break is an ideal time to read reviews and compare the benefits of the devices your school could use most. Wondering about the differences between all the different Chromebooks? Now’s the time to dive in and do some research. Catch up with our blogs by re-reading this one about choosing your next Chromebook. Or, go to the source. Microsoft Education lists all of its budget-friendly devices here. And, Google For Education’s website has information about the tools the tech giant is currently offering, including G Suite for Education, virtual and augmented reality and digital tools and apps.

Complete budgets for next year.

This task may not be tops on your list of fun things to do over winter break, but think how much better you’ll feel when it’s done? Also, you can budget those items that you’ve been researching all break. A helpful tip to getting your edtech approved is to have a plan for its use. Also, consider the cost of old vs. new tech, noting that new tech has less maintenance costs and is more efficient. 

With your winter break list of to-dos ready to go, you’ll be able to enjoy some rest and relaxation. Let us know what your plans are winter break, and if we can help.

Microsoft Teams For Education: Are you on board yet?

Microsoft Teams in Office 365 Education is just into its second year since launching in June 2017 and is being touted as one of the best ways to further classroom engagement, strengthen professional learning communities and streamline staff communication.

 Microsoft Teams puts everyone on the same page, especially if they aren’t always in the same room. Microsoft Teams works off one central platform where everyone can see what everyone else is doing. You can upload and share any Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, SharePoint and Power BI) and also comment on others’ work. Teams is also a complete chat and online meetings solution allowing users to host video, audio and web conferences and chat with anyone inside or outside an organization.

Teams For Education

Educators have used Teams to transform the learning experience at schools. Its uses are many.

• Microsoft Teams allows any virtual student or collaborator to participate via webcast and encourages collaboration across classes.

• Teams Assignments helps develop a digital classroom. Content, conversations and assignments are all in one hub so students can sign in, get started and begin connecting with each other.

• Rubric grading is also being introduced into Teams. Your teachers can create, store and apply rubrics to assignments to make it easier for students to get feedback. Not only does this help students improve their work, but it is a consistent way for your teachers to grade.

• With Microsoft Forms, a teacher can quickly add a quiz for students to complete and return. Plus Teams allows educators to keep track of feedback and grades.

What’s New?

Microsoft Teams is the fastest growing business app in Microsoft history. It is currently being used in more than 325,000 organizations, 87 Fortune 100 companies and is available in 44 languages. It only makes sense that Microsoft will continue to expand this valuable tool.

• Page locking in OneNote assignments. The pages of the student will now automatically “lock” as read-only when the due date/time passes. The teacher can still edit and annotate these OneNote assignment pages with feedback.

• Mute all students. Educators can now pause students from posting in the conversation tab.

• Join codes. Teams allows administrators to create a simple code for members to join a class, PLC or staff team, making it easy for many people to join a team all at once. Display the code in ‘projector mode’ so that everyone in the room can see it.

• Reusing a team as a template. Teachers can reuse an existing team as a template when creating a new team, then customize what they want to copy over: channels, team setting, apps, and even users.

• Archive teams. Safely store a Class, PLC, or Staff team content in read-only mode. Easily reference archived teams while setting up a Teams experience for the next school year. 

Love Microsoft Teams for Education? Let us know how you use it in the comments below.

Try These Webinars For Professional Development

Webinars have become a popular method for professional development and for good reason; they offer direct contact with an instructor, give you the ability to interact with an audience and save traveling time and expenses. It’s no surprise there are plenty of webinars out there to choose from.

Here is a great list, from some of the best groups, organizations and companies out there, to get you started:

• EdTechTeam, the global network of former teachers turned educational technologists, not only has live webinars educators can pre-emptively sign up for, but archived webinars from this year and past are available as well. Educators can learn “Empathy in the Classroom,” “Chromebooks as Tools for Creativity,” and “Pathway to Google Certification.”

• ASCD, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development which represents more than 114,000 educators, lists free webinars on its website that address timely and relevant topics like student engagement, classroom technology and instructional strategies. Topics include: “Building Students’ Problem-Solving Skills Through Complex Challenges,” “STEM by Choice: Embedding Career Challenges in Classrooms and Communities” and “Shifting Our Thinking About Educational Technology: How to Place Tasks Before Apps.”

• Education Week offers both free and premium webinars. If you act fast, all webinars are accessible for a limited time after the original live-streaming date. Live viewers also receive a post-event confirmation email to prove participation. Topics include: “Reducing Chronic Absenteeism With School Climate and SEL,” “Maximizing Conference ROI” and “The Role of Ed Tech and Professional Development in Driving Personalized Learning.”

• Google for Education offers several webinars to watch live and on demand on Education On Air. Just sign into your Google account and hit play. Courses include: “Integrating G Suite with Instructional Tools,” “Back to School with Google Classroom” and “Google Data Studio: Build Custom Dashboards with Ease.”

• Microsoft Learning Consultant Program is hosting a Webinar Series throughout 2018. Session topics include: “Build it, make it, know it! Design thinking with Minecraft:EE and more,” “World changers unite! Level the playing field with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Translator” and “Won’t you be my neighbor? Skype, Teams and O365 building global communities.” Additionally, past webinars are available to view by following the links attached to those topics.

Webinars are awesome and cater to all interests and budgets, i.e., free. Attend a webinar that left you inspired? Share it below!

3 Steps To Become A Microsoft Innovation Expert

Looking for ways to promote professional development? Help your teachers become Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts. A MIE Expert is the last rung on Microsoft’s Innovative Educator program’s certification ladder. The journey starts by becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator, then there’s also an option to become a MIE Trainer, and finally with earning the MIE Expert certification. These education specialists are skilled at integrating technology in the classroom. MIE Experts work hand-in-hand with Microsoft to lead innovation in education, advocate for the effective use of technology in the classroom, share ideas with a global network of peers and become thought leaders in the EdTech space. 

Joining the program is easy. The self-nomination tool is open year-round. Your teachers can nominate themselves at any time but the announcement isn’t made until August when Microsoft posts the official list. 

• Step 1: Make sure to join the Microsoft Educator Community and complete your profile. Keep in mind, you will need to submit the URL to your public profile as a part of the nomination process. You can find your URL by going into Edit Profile and looking under “basic information.”

• Step 2: You must earn 1,000 points on the Microsoft Educator Community and become a Certified MIE Once again, you must be a Certified MIE to become (or stay) an MIE Expert. Although you do not need to be a MIE Trainer to become an MIE Expert.

• Step 3: Create a 2-minute video or Sway that answers the following questions in a manner that creatively expresses what makes you a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert. To share the video/Sway in your nomination, you will need to post it somewhere that allows you to create a URL to share it.

The questions are:

1. Why do you consider yourself to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert?

2. Describe how you have incorporated Microsoft technologies in innovative ways in your classroom. Include artifacts that demonstrate your innovation. Your examples should demonstrate that you have cultivated a strong 21st century teaching and learning environment.

3. How have you impacted the learning and growth of your colleagues? Have you reached beyond your classroom to coach/support other teachers in their growth?

4. If you become a MIE-Expert, how do you hope it will impact your current role in the next 12 months?

Once these three tasks are completed, the educator simply fills out this self-nomination form. MIE Experts have access to all sorts of opportunities like, professional and career development opportunities and certifications, speaking, training or coaching colleagues, participating in focus groups for Microsoft products, testing new Microsoft products and collaborating with innovative educators around the globe. Help your teachers get the most out of their knowledge of technology in the classroom and earn this badge of honor.

Take Your PD Virtual

Professional development connects educators and is necessary to build relationships and gain trust between administrators and teachers. But these interactive sessions of professional growth don’t always have to be in-person. Virtual PD is an ideal option for schools that don’t have the budget to cover travel expenses, guest speakers or consultants. Plus, it relieves the logistical headache of trying to schedule one PD session that works for everyone’s schedule. No wonder the idea of virtual PD is becoming a reality for many administrators.

Here’s how to make it work with for you.

1. Choose Your Weapon. Nearly every tablet, laptop and smartphone are equipped with a quality camera and microphone, putting the tools you need to video conference literally in the palm of your hand. All you have to do is choose which platform to use: Skype or Hangouts? Google users will find using Hangouts is second nature. Hangouts works for one-on-one conversations or group chats – up to 100 people. Plus you can add photos, maps, emoji, stickers and GIFs. Microsoft’s Skype is one of most well-known, most used video conferencing tools. Skype is also optimized for newer Android devices that allows it run faster and uses less device resources. Both of these platforms easily connect with their own networking groups like MSFT Edu #TweetMeets or #GoogleEI on Twitter.

2. Prepare Well. Make the most of your virtual experience. Choose a quiet space and make sure you have headphones or earbuds at the ready. Grab some drinks and snacks before you settle in. Block off time on your calendar so others know you’re busy; act like you are driving to a conference and thus can’t attend any last-minute meetings or appointments. Plan out the sessions you want to attend ahead of time.

3. Follow Up. Professional development is only as good as you want to make it. Take notes about the PD session and add them to your OneNote Staff Notebook page or blog. Or, go one step further and try collaborative note taking with a shared Google Doc. Once the PD is over, complete any evaluations and check if a recording of the session will be available for later use. Search out Twitter feeds in relation to the PD and follow anyone who has interesting perspectives about the discussed topics. 

Virtual PD is cost-effective, schedule-friendly and gives you access to collaborators, experts and consultants that you may not have had before. Are you a virtual PD convert? Let us know in the comments below.

Get These Free Tools From Microsoft

Free is always good. And, it’s even better when something that’s free is also super useful. Microsoft has three free tools for educators we think you should take full advantage of as they will organize staff and enable professional development. 

Flipgrid

Flipgrid announced last summer that its recent partnership with Microsoft means it will be free for all educators and students. Flipgrid is a video discussion platform used by tens of millions of PreK to PhD educators, students and families in 150 countries. It works on Chromebooks, iPads, iPhones, PCs and Android devices.

What’s special about this software is it has tons and tons of uses, including how administrators can use it to engage their professional learning network. Flipgrid can build community among staff and create conversation beyond small talk. Just returned from a conference and have something to share? Take a few minutes and use a grid.

The best part is if you already had Flipgrid, it was automatically upgraded to Flipgrid Classroom this summer. And if you bought it, no worries, Microsoft is prorating every educator who upgraded to Classroom last year.

Microsoft Teams

Organization is the name if the game. Get the entire team on one page with Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft teams is the tech giant’s complete chat and online meetings solution. With it, you can create collaborative classrooms, connect in professional learning communities and communicate with school staff from a single experience. Host audio, video and web conference or just chat with any staff member in your building, Microsoft Teams makes it all easily attainable. Oh, and it’s free.

What’s more is this handy tool is also integrated with Office 365 apps so you can easily co-author and share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and SharePoint files. It is customizable and pairable with a phone system.

Microsoft Translator

Today’s school culture can include students and parents who speak another language besides English. When you can’t employ enough translators or bilingual teachers, download the free Microsoft Translator app.

The app works on any device to allow you to start and join a translated conversation. Microsoft Translator can translate more than 60 languages and its camera capabilities translate text in photos and screenshots. Voice translation mode allows you to have conversations with parents and students who speak a language other than English.

These three free Microsoft tools may be just the tech you need to make the new school year run as smooth as cafeteria pudding. Which ones are you planning on integrated into your school this semester? Share in the comments below.

How Virtual Reality Helps Education

There’s been a lot of talk lately about virtual reality and integrating it into the classroom. Is it all lip service or is there any substance behind this new type of immersion learning? While virtual reality or VR may seem a little Back to the Future Part II, its benefits make it deserving of a closer look. It can take students places they’d never be able to go in reality – an African jungle, the solar system and back in time to the creation of planet Earth.

Yet, some administers are still getting pushback from those that think VR is a silly idea. So we came up with some ideas to get teachers, parents and students on board with VR.

Teachers

Introduce this technology to the teachers in your school who are eager to experiment with new technology. Once they apply it in their classrooms and see how awesome it is for students, they’ll start to share their knowledge with their peers.

Remind teachers that technology is the future. Did they ever think Chromebooks would replace paper and pencils? 

Put together a quick presentation via Slides or PowerPoint outlining VR’s benefits. Be sure to highlight these attributes:

• VR allows students to travel all over the world without leaving the classroom.

• VR helps develop empathy as students can personally witness communities in crisis.

• VR enables students to experience different careers through the eyes of a surgeon, soldier or other professional fields.

• VR allows students to explore the human body and see how our anatomy works.

• Students can create and share their own VR content.

• It promotes curiosity and wonder.

Parents

Ask teachers to demonstrate this tech to parents during conferences and other one-on-one meetings and school events. Set up the machine so parents can use it themselves.

Encourage students to describe this tech to parents. Since students can create and share their on VR experiences, make it a project for students to give as a presentation for parents. 

Add VR field trips to parent newsletters. “This week our fourth-grade class is traveling to the International Space Station. No permission slip required.”

Students

VR education is new and exciting and students will naturally want to be a part of it. Many teachers recalled seeing that spark and excitement the first time a student goes to Jupiter or learns about pollination by getting up close and personal with flowers and bugs.

Students like have already had an experience with VR through VR games and VR headsets. VR ed tech is just another extension of the technology they’re already familiar with.

Virtual reality not only helps students keep up, but stay ahead in a world that’s learning faster every day. Contact us to see how we can help put this new technology into your teachers’ hands.

How to Be a Google Certified Educator

Tech tools for education are as essential today as pencils and paper. If you’re an educator that knows how to use tech like Google Apps for Education in the classroom there are programs that offer certifications for this ability. One of the most recognized is the Google Certified Educator program, which was designed for educators and classroom teachers who demonstrate proficiency using Google for Education tools.

Why should you be a Google Certified Educator?

The Certified Educator program not only validates learning, but it offers several other benefits as well. Being a Google Certified Educator means:

• You gain confidence with digital learning strategies and Google tools.

• You gain access to content that’s focused on classroom integration.

• You can create a paperless classroom.

• You can increase student digital learning.

• You can measure your impact.

• You can engage in professional growth and leadership.

• And, you can increase efficiency and save time.

Now that you’ve decided become a Google Certified Educator, the next step is determining the level you should obtain certification in.

What level of Google Certified Educator should you be?

The Certified Educator program is offered at four levels, a Google Certified Educator Level 1, Level 2 and Google Certified Trainer and Innovator. Each level requires varying degrees of dedication on your part. According to Google For Education,

• Google Certified Educator Level 1 and 2: Level 1 status indicates that an educator is able to successfully implement G Suite for Education into their teaching practice in order to enhance teaching and learning. The Level 2 status indicates that an educator is able to successfully integrate a wider range of Google for Education tools and other technologies in order to transform their teaching practice.

• Google for Education Certified Trainer: Google for Education Certified Trainers are passionate and driven education professionals with a desire to help others transform classrooms with technology. Whether you are a school’s go-to technologist, a stellar classroom teacher or an enterprising consultant, anyone is welcome to apply for membership in the program.

• Google for Education Certified Innovator: This is designed for education thought-leaders who create new and innovative projects using Google for Education tools.

Once you decide what level fits your teaching style and time commitment, the next step is to study and take the exam.

How do you finally become a Google Certified Educator?

Each of the four levels has a course and exam you must pass to gain certification. Google for Education Certified Trainers and Innovators must also submit an application.

• Google Certified Educator Level 1: Work through the Fundamentals course and take the GCE1 exam.

• Google Certified Educator Level 2: Finish the Advanced course and take the GCE2 exam.

• Google for Education Certified Trainer: Go through the Trainer Learning Center, take the Trainer Essentials exam and submit an online application.

• Google for Education Certified Innovators: Finish the Advanced course, take the GCE2 exams and submit an online application.

You can either work on your own to go through these levels or work with a Google Certified Trainer for face-to-face instruction.

Deciding to take that next step to become a Google Certified Educator can help you take your classroom and learning experience to the next level and show your dedication to ed tech. How many levels have you gone through? Tell us in the comments below.

Tackle Productivity Head-On With These 5 Tech Hacks

Time. It’s always something you need more of, especially as school administrators. Your days tend to be full of improving instruction, managerial tasks, delegating and creating a climate where kids want to learn. That’s a lot to pack into a single day. Good thing there are lots of tech hacks that can get help get you organized and STAY organized.

Here are 5 tech hacks you should be using every day to boost productivity:

1. Use Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft Outlook has tons of productivity and time management tools. You can use it to set appointments and remind yourself of tasks with the Calendar. You can also organize your schedule by day, week or even year. Outlook Calendar has these fun, colorful sticky notes that you can drag anywhere on your screen. Don’t forget to list the times you aren’t available – lunches, personal development time and vacations. This hack helps to keep your staff updated about your time too.

2. Set a daily reminder to check Microsoft Teams and Google Tasks. Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365. It contains chat threads and online meetings. Make it a point to come in every day and check Chat and note any meetings that may have popped up so you’ll never have to scramble at the last minute. If Google is more your thing, the same rule applies. Google Tasks can only keep you on, well, task, if you use it on a daily basis.

3. Set up email filters. Whether you use Gmail or Outlook, filters are wildly available. With filters, you can automatically sort your emails and move them into folders. You can filter messages by subject line, sender, large attachments, etc. and even send canned responses. If you’re not filtering your emails, you could be missing the important ones because they’re lost in all the junk that’s littering up your inbox.

4. Download a personal dashboard extension. This can be a real timesaver, especially if the first thing you do in the morning is look at your laptop. Wake up knowing your to-dos, the weather and even add words of inspiration.

5. Keep your digital workspace tidy. It’s easy to let general digital housekeeping duties fall to the wayside, especially when you’re busy. But, if it takes you forever to wade through your files, folders or desktop to find what you need, skipping clean-up tasks won’t do you any favors. Set a reminder for the end of each day or week to clear out your downloads and desktop.

Put these hacks into practice and you’ll be on your way to your most productive year yet! Let us know how it goes in the comments.

Administrators: Here is your Summer Reading List

Whether you’re hitting the road this summer or just lounging by the pool, a great book can really enrich the experience. Why not make it one that puts you ahead of the game with education technology for the fall term? Wondering about Chromebooks, G Suite or Google Classroom? Brush up on your knowledge or even demystify a topic with a paperback. We’ve chosen a couple guides for mastering tech in the classroom that are a must-have on your summer reading list.

4 Books to Read on EdTech

• The Chromebook Classroom: If you’re considering Chromebooks for your school, you need this guide by John R. Sowash. It gives a fast, clear roadmap for turning a new fleet of Chromebooks into rich learning tools for a single classroom or an entire district. The Chromebook Classroom is the perfect companion for any educator just getting started with Chromebooks, or one that’s looking for new ways to boost their students' learning through technology. Buy it here.

• The Google Infused Classroom: This paperback, by EdTech experts Holly Clark and Tanya Avrith, is perfect for any educator looking to use technology in the classroom. It is filled with practical ideas and strategies about using G Suite. It focuses on 20 essential Google tools that will help your teachers learn to incorporate into their classrooms. Buy it here.

• Shake Up Learning: This book by Kasey Bell is divided into three parts to help educators explore why they need to shake up learning with technology and what changes you can have your teachers make in their classrooms. The book also includes ideas for lesson planning and tips on digital learning, plus free downloads. Buy it here.

• 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom: Educators Alice Keeler and Libbi Miller have answered one of the most frequently-asked questions with this book, “How can I effectively implement digital tools in the classroom when I don’t fully understand them myself?” It offers a thorough overview of the Google Classroom App, including how to create a paperless classroom, set up a Google Classroom, share announcements and offer virtual office hours. Buy it here.

Dive into these books this summer and then put them in the staffroom this fall to share with your teachers. They are a great resource for anyone who wants to successfully incorporate technology in education. Have another great read that’s changed your thinking? Share it below!

Why Administrators Should Use OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is changing the way students learn and teachers stay organized. But, did you know it is also ideal for administrators who need to keep everyone on the same page and make sure processes run smooth?

 OneNote has a lot of moving parts, but its main purpose is organization. It keeps everything in its place and has a place for everything. Once you use it, you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it.

Staff Notebooks Are Where It’s At

Throw the binders away. OneNote’s Staff Notebooks have everything you need to improve your school’s efficiency. It streamlines communication, keeps tracks of meeting agendas and minutes, and allows you to post faculty teaching assignments and professional development trainings.

Staff Notebooks contain three parts: a collaboration space, a shared content library and a personal workspace for every staff member.

• Collaboration Space: Everyone in your school or on your team has access to view and edit the content found here. This is a perfect place for to post staff meeting agendas, discussions and brainstorming. You can ask faculty to work together on initiatives and projects and to post their ideas for guest speakers and events.

• Content Library: Here you can add content for the staff leader to view. Add pages for professional development, data analysis workshops, school calendars and schedules - basically any information that would normally be sent out over multiple email attachments. It’s also organized and searchable.

• Personal Workspace: Use this space for communication between yourself and staff members. Parent communication notes, student support team information, lesson plans and evaluation and observation reflections can all be organized and kept here. You can also search and find multiple documents over multiple years.

OneNote’s Tools Make It All Come Together

Not only are OneNote’s features, like Staff Notebook and Class Notebook, awesome for educators, but the practical tools built into the design are mind-blowing.

• Add Any Content: Text, images and video can be added to any page and can be enlarged and minimized while presenting live, with a pinch and zoom. Plus, OneNote is an infinite canvas that expands at-will.

• Digital Inking: This is just one of the many ways you can add content to a page. You can project the device and annotate text, including highlighting words and lines. Plus, there are handy “Ink to Text” and “Ink to Math” options.

• Available On Everything: OneNote can be accessed on a variety of devices – PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and even Chromebook. It updates in real-time, so multiple devices, i.e. a phone and laptop, and can used simultaneously.

• Saving Is Automatic: Everything is always saved when you work in OneNote. There are no buttons to click; ideal for teachers and staff who need to refer to the information later.

Do you love OneNote as much as we do? Tell us in the comments!

3 Steps on Becoming an Education Expert

Looking to step up your game as an education administrator? There are several opportunities available online to further your educational acumen. From watching webinars to joining networking groups, you’ll never be at a loss for new opportunities to learn. To help you get started on your journey, we’ve scaled down the process. Here are three steps to becoming an education expert.

1. Watching and Listening. There are tons of podcasts online you can subscribe to to further your educational knowledge. Here are just a couple that we love: The Press Release by EdTechTeam – This podcast dives into the minds of innovative and creative educators and shares the best ideas in education with a focus on technology, innovation and empowering students. Google Teacher Tribe - This weekly podcast is designed to give K-12 educators practical ideas for using G Suite and other Google tools. Chromebook Classroom Podcast - This podcast explores how Chromebooks are impacting the K-12 classroom. It is hosted by Google Certified Trainer John Sowash, who invites guests to chat about their Chromebook Classroom experience on this monthly show. Cult of Pedagogy - Hosted by Jennifer Gonzalez, this podcast covers teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform and education technology.

You can also join the Microsoft Educator Community where you share feedback with peers and become a Certified Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE).

1. Find a Mentor. Twitter is a great source to find a mentor. Use Twitter’s search to seek out influencers and people you want to follow. Once you find someone to follow, you can build on that virtual relationship by promoting tweets, asking for advice and commenting on their blogs, and then simply ask if they would be willing to act as a mentor to you, either virtually or face-to-face.

2. Use your own Resources. Tap into your own teachers, MIEEs and GoogleEIs and use them as resources for professional development. One way to do this is to hold an unconference and ask them to speak. An unconference is a grassroots conference where the content is provided by the attendees, not outside experts. Don’t think of them as unofficial events, rather bring unconferences in-house as the official professional development. You can also create Personal Learning Communities, or PLCs, which are a group of teachers with a shared interest or mutual commitment. You choose the focus, like hybrid teaching models, and allow teachers to sign up for the PLCs they align with most.

Start with these three steps and you’ll be on your way to becoming an education expert in no time.