The Best Teachers Are Lifelong Learners: A roundup of online professional development resources for educators

In our fast-paced world, professional development remains more relevant for teachers than ever. Between evolving curriculums, the changes in how education is delivered, a growing focus on mental health and social-emotional learning and technological advances, teachers have a lot on their plates.

Beyond simply remaining informed on the latest breakthroughs in education and fulfilling requirements, there are additional benefits for teachers who stay engaged in their own learning. A rigorous professional development track can add to teacher satisfaction and retention, particularly in a time when schools are seeing teacher shortages. And, it’s not just the teachers and administrations that benefit from hearty professional development; research indicates that students experience significantly higher levels of achievement when their teachers engage in substantial professional development.

While in-person professional development offers unique benefits, the increase in asynchronous learning opportunities enables teachers to incorporate professional development into their schedules without missing school. It also means that the options for professional development can be overwhelming; below, we’ve rounded up a few standouts.

Google For Education

We’ll start by highlighting a few of our partners, who offer a wealth of professional development opportunities for educators. In addition to its certification programs, Google For Education delivers free online training on important topics like digital citizenship and online safety and using technology to increase accessibility in the classroom. Google For Education also runs the Certified Innovator program, which focuses on helping visionary educators develop their passion projects.

Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies partners with school districts to provide them with customized professional development. Their offerings include a suite of online training which includes courses like Authentic Student Learning & Gamification and how educators can harness social media to expand their professional networks.

Microsoft Learn Educator Center

The Microsoft Learn Educator Center hosts a range of professional development courses. Courses include Support Social and Emotional Learning with Microsoft Tools, which gives teachers tools to foster social and emotional skills and Mindfulness in Minecraft: Education Edition, which emphasizes the intersection of Minecraft and mindfulness. Microsoft Learn’s Educator Center also offers tracks on accessibility and inclusivity and student-centered learning.

National Geographic

For those interested in the sciences and nature, National Geographic offers free professional development courses for teachers. Class options include Geo-Inquiry, National Geographic’s take on project-based learning, as well as lessons focusing on storytelling and photography and teaching climate change.

Next Gen Personal Finance

Next Gen Personal Finance, an organization that promotes incorporating financial literacy and education into public schools, offers a variety of courses for teachers interested in promoting financial education. Topics include budgeting, understanding and managing credit and behavioral economics.

Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network

For educators interested in mental health and social-emotional learning, check out the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network. In partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health, they offer a free online class featuring modules covering topics like the impact of trauma on learning, mental health literacy and stigma reduction and strategies for supporting students experiencing adversity.

5 Ways Microsoft is Working to Improve Accessibility and Equity in Education and Beyond

Ensuring equity in education has long been a goal for educators. The need for efficient Internet at home during the pandemic highlighted the fact that we have a long way to go to address these disparities. Microsoft Education is trying to bridge this gap with several of their new products and initiatives. Microsoft Reimagine

Last December, Microsoft hosted a virtual event, Microsoft Reimagine. The event brought educators, changemakers and tech leaders together to share examples of inclusive education in action as well as offer resources and ideas on how to make learning more equitable. Other topics explored include the safety and security of school data, streamlining digital systems and harnessing computer science to prep students for the future. You can watch the event here.

Inclusive Tech Lab

Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab is another branch of their work to increase inclusivity through technology. The Inclusive Tech Lab is intended to be a hub where Microsoft designers can collaborate with people with disabilities in order to create more accessible, innovative, inclusive tech solutions.

Microsoft Learn Educator Center

You likely already know that Microsoft offers a hearty catalog of resources for educators. Through the Microsoft Learn Educator Center, teachers and administrators can take modules on accessibility and inclusivity. From the nitty gritty, like learning how to better use Microsoft Reading Progress to increase fluency and courses on Dyslexia to broader subjects, like creating a more inclusive classroom and teaching special education via remote learning, this expansive library is a great resource for teachers.

Windows 11 SE

Windows 11 SE retains Windows’ dependable features while streamlining its design. Based on feedback from educators who saw the need for operating systems that are simpler and can be used on more affordable devices, Windows 11 SE was created to support students and educators in blended learning environments.

Designed for grades K-8 and featuring a cloud-first operating system, Windows 11 SE aims to limit distractions so students can stay focused. While the operating system includes several teacher standbys, like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, One Note and Minecraft for Education, only administrators are able to download new apps. All the included Microsoft apps can be used offline, and OneDrive allows students to save files even when they don’t have internet access.

Windows 11 SE also includes features to support students with learning differences, like color filter and Immersive Reader, which supports students with difficulties reading. Through Microsoft Teams, second language learners have access to Microsoft Translator.

Surface Laptop SE

Designed for hybrid learning, the Surface Laptop SE comes preloaded with Windows 11 SE and Microsoft’s most affordable Surface PC to date. Battery life of up to 16 hours allows students to get through long days at school or home without losing power. The laptop comes equipped with a high-res camera for virtual meetings, and is designed to fit comfortably in students’ backpacks.

Reach out to us to discuss how Microsoft's latest tech innovations could benefit your school!

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.

Combine OneNote And Flipgrid To Make EdTech Magic

Learning today is digital, interactive and even 3D, so why shouldn’t it be social as well? Microsoft Teams, the digital hub that brings conversations, content, assignments and apps together in one place, has integrated Flipgrid into its Microsoft Teams for Education.

Flipgrid is a video discussion platform for educators and students. It allows students to share their ideas, wonderings, projects and questions in new and creative ways. This social learning app is now supported by OneNote, Microsoft’s digital notebook. Teachers add the topics, students respond with short videos, and everyone engages.

Why is this a magical match made in learning heaven?

Utilizing both Flipgrid and OneNote allows educators to use fun, engaging ways to help students retain and care about the information being presented, all in one place. It’s like throwing the best learning products into a cauldron to brew up the best edtech tools.

Flipgrid works like this:

• Grids are the communities built by educators. Once created, you receive an automated Flip Code which is shared with students. The students don’t create their own accounts, giving educators the ability to control what’s being posted and seen.

• Topics are discussion questions or prompts. These can be text-based or include images, videos, emjoi, attachments and more. Educators can add unlimited Topics to their Grids.

• Student-to-Student Replies allow students to respond to their peers within a Flipgrid Topic and participate in ongoing dialogue. Replies-to-Responses is controlled by the educator and can be toggled-on when the creating the topic.

• MixTapes can be created for student portfolios, semester showcases, project highlights, school yearbooks and student TED talks. You pick what goes on your MixTape (any Response from any of your Topics in any of your Grids) and you set the order you want the Responses to play. Your MixTapes are view-only and can be shared anywhere.

• Students can use the camera to capture and share their ideas, reflections, projects, creations, environments, experiments, imaginations and more. The app grants the user the ability to trim video, plus they work on every device, including desktops.

Because Flipgrid is supported by OneNote, all of the grids, topics and videos created will automatically appear as soon as an educator or student posts a link into OneNote. 

Since Flipgrid joined Microsoft Education, it’s completely free for every educator and student in the world. Try it out today and let us know what you think!

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 Ways to Inspire More Girls to Choose STEM Career Paths

Technology is a burgeoning career field and one that’s predicted to grow faster than any other in the United States between now and 2030, but girls still aren’t a big part of this industry. In fact, a Microsoft study shows only a fraction of girls and women are likely to pursue degrees related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects. 

That’s why Microsoft is encouraging administrators and teachers to close the STEM gap. This requires tapping into girls’ creativity, providing encouragement and connecting STEM subjects to real-world examples. 

Here are three ways you can encourage girls to get interested in STEM career paths:

1. Provide teachers with more engaging and relatable STEM curriculum, such as 3D and hands-on projects, the kinds of activities that have proven to help retain girls’ interest in STEM over the long haul. Microsoft offers products designed to ignite interest in STEM, including Minecraft: Education Edition, the 3D coordinate system, plus STEM lesson plans and hands-on activities.

2. Increase the number of STEM mentors and role models – including parents – to help build young girls’ confidence that they can succeed in STEM. Girls who are encouraged by their parents are twice as likely to stay in STEM, and in some areas like computer science, dads can have a greater influence on their daughters than moms, yet are less likely than mothers to talk to their daughters about STEM, the study found. Girls Who Code is a group that was founded with a single mission to close the gender gap in technology. It offers free after-school programs for 3rd through 12th-grade girls to join a supportive environment of peers and role models for girls to see themselves as computer scientists.

3. Create inclusive classrooms and workplaces that value female opinions. It’s important to celebrate the stories of women who are in STEM right now, today. Girls Who Code offers lesson plans on that focus on Women In Tech to showcase women who are excelling in STEM fields. These lesson plans introduce middle school students to female role models, like Dr. Ayanna Howard, roboticist, and spark the interest of girls to pursue computer science.

Keeping girls engaged in STEM starts when they’re young and needs to continue through high school. Encouraging them to succeed goes a long way to keeping them on the STEM path until after college. Have you found a way to inspire young girls about science, technology, engineering and math? Share it with us in the comments 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.

5 Steps To Getting A Guest Speaker On Skype

Skype in the Classroom’s guest speakers can help bring learning to life for your school’s students. Imagine this scenario, a couple of your classrooms are studying Ancient Greece and to enrich the experience a guest speaker, located in Ancient Corinth, Greece, speaks to the students, via Skype, about current excavations and describes how Greece looked in antiquity compared to the present day. And this is just one example. There are hundreds of volunteer guest speakers from around the world that are available to speak to your classrooms via Skype. These guest speakers are experts in every subject area you can imagine as they are authors, scientists, engineers, zookeepers, etc. Getting them in front of students is a snap as well.

Follow these five steps to bring a guest speaker into your school’s classrooms.

1. Sign Up On The Microsoft Educator Community. This is the portal for all things Microsoft Education. You can apply to become a Microsoft Innovative Educator, earn badges, points and certificates and check out courses and resources available to educators. The sign-in is at the top of the page. If you’re not a member, there’s also an option here to join the Microsoft Educator Community.

2. Get a Skype Account And Add Your ID To Your Profile. Skype is available on desktop, mobile, tablet, Xbox and wearables. It offers free voice and video calls, plus there’s a paid version.

3. Complete the Skype in the Classroom section on your Microsoft Educator Community profile. This is located under your Required Information (name, email, time zone, country, etc.) on your profile. Travel back to the Skype in the Classroom page for more information on: the lessons, collaborations, virtual field trips, and mystery Skype.

4. Go to the Find Guest Speakers page on Microsoft Educator Community. Type in the type of speaker of you’re looking for or scroll through the speakers listed on the page. You can also filter the speakers by student age group, subject, skype availability, country or language.

5. Choose one of the Guest Speakers and request a session. After you decide on a guest speaker, simply click on their name and you’ll be directed to their detailed profile. Once there, you’ll find a “Request A Guest Speaking Session” button. Check out their field of expertise and achievements they’ve earned.

Skype in the Classroom is a fun way to make learning relevant to your school’s students. It connects them with the rest of the world with the push of a button. Have a success story about Skype in the Classroom? So do we.

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.

Stay On Top Of Software Trends

Educational technology changes so fast that it is essential to stay “in the know.” One of the ways to do this is to subscribe to an educational video series. Video series are popular with viewers for a variety of reasons – most of the content can be consumed in short bursts, they are usually free and can be viewed on your own time. You can find these series on YouTube or linked into a providers webpage. There are a lot of great video series out there, but here’s a couple we recommend that will keep you up-to-date on everything ed tech.

What’s New In EDU

This video series from Microsoft Education talks all things technology and education. It is the best place to hear announcements, like the annual Bett show, plus learn about the latest Microsoft products and how to use them. Want to learn more about new Microsoft 365 free lifetime device licenses? What about new affordable Windows 10 devices for the classroom starting at $189? What’s New In EDU has all that information and more. Each episode runs about seven minutes but What’s New In EDU also offers a rundown of the show in the notes, in case busy educators don’t have time to watch. Use #MicrosoftEDU to find it on Twitter.

EDU In 90

EDU in 90 is a video series from Google for Education. It runs new episodes three times a month and each covers important topics for educators and administrators, like product updates, new programs and resources for the classroom. Want some quick tips about Google Team Drives and how to use it for your educators? Do you want to know more about Google Expeditions? You can find these topics and any more at EDU in 90. And, contrary to its name, each video is about two to three minutes long. Subscribe to EDU in 90 from the Google for Education YouTube Channel, and follow along the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #EDUin90.

EdTechTeam’s LIVE Webinars

EdTechTeam is a global network of educational technologists. Its core team works with more than 250 contractors worldwide to provide the best in professional developments, online learning, books, Apple Professional Learning and more. The website features LIVE webinars, plus archived webinars. Topics covered include “Chromebooks for Tools for Creativity,” “Innovative Strategies for Teaching Science” and “Ok Google, How Safe is My Data.” These webinars run a little longer than the others, at about an hour.

Is there a video series you can’t live without? Tell us about it!

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.

Professional Development 101

Professional Development is hardly one-size-fits-all because every one of your teachers has different needs that must be met. Tackle professional development in a new way by thinking outside of the box. Try these ideas, based on what districts across the United States are doing: 

• Unconferences
  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.

TIP: Have the MIEE and GoogleEIs at your institution do the talking, not the administrators. Have breakouts using Google Sheets and Google Hangouts.

• Personal Learning Community

Personal Learning Communities, or PLCs, are a group of teachers with a shared interest or mutual commitment. Administrators can choose the focus, like hybrid teaching models, and allow teachers to sign up for the PLCs they align with most.

TIP: Use Google Team Drive, to keep everyone in the loop. You can drop information in about each PLC and share with your team.

• Choice Boards

Choice Boards offer a menu of professional development options for teachers to pick and choose from; the amount would depend on your district. This method allows you to meet your teachers’ individual needs, instead of addressing them in a group setting.

TIP: Create a DIY bingo board with Google Sheets or Docs. Or, go old school and draw it up on a white board then use Microsoft Office Lens to digitize it. This app trims and enhances to make notes on whiteboards and blackboard readable on your mobile device.

• Personal Action Plans

Personal Action Plans allow individual teachers to set their own learning goals, including an action plan to achieve them.

TIP: Try Microsoft Sway. This digital storytelling app helps create professional, interactive designs with images, text, videos that can be easily shared with just a link.

• Peer Observation

With peer observation, your teachers take advantage of the best source of professional development available to them, each other. Teachers shadow then follow up with colleagues about applying what they’ve learned in their own classrooms. The best part is if they have questions, the answer is down the hall. 

TIP: Suggest Microsoft OneNote to take notes or draw up quick ideas. This tool has a variety of ingenious uses and each note is stored on a phone, pad or laptop and accessed from anywhere

Got some great professional development ideas? Share them with us and include which tech tools you used to knock it out of the park.

8 Podcasts Every EdTech Enthusiast Should Subscribe To

Podcasts are one of the best sources of information about educational technology available today. These digital audio files are like radio for the Internet. They can educate, inform and entertain us, but on our own time. Each podcast contains multiple episodes which can be downloaded onto our phones, laptops and other devices.

There are more than 500,000 active podcasts on Apple iTunes alone and many of these are geared towards educators and administrators. With so many listening options available, we’ve done the hard part the narrowed down the top eight podcasts about educational technology you should be listening to today.

1. 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 both students and teachers. Episode lengths range in length from 3 minutes to nearly 40 minutes.

2. Google Teacher Tribe - This weekly podcast is designed to give K-12 educators practical ideas for using G Suite and other Google tools. It’s hosted by Matt Miller and Kasey Bell, who also share helpful tips to keep administrators on task.

3. 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. Episodes range from quick, resource editions to longer interview editions.

4. Cult of Pedagogy - Hosted by Jennifer Gonzalez, this podcast covers teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform and education technology. Episodes range in length from 10 minutes to an hour. It’s a must for anyone looking to make their educators to be the very best.

5. Microsoft Innovative Expert Spotlight Series Podcast – Each episode of this podcast features a Microsoft Innovative Educator that showcases how they are transforming their classrooms through 21st-century teaching styles. It is hosted by Jeff Bradbury. Each episode runs about a half hour, and is perfect to listen to before you walk into a team meeting.

6. EdTech Situation Room -  This is both a weekly podcast and live Wednesday evening webshow. It’s hosted by educators Jason Neiffer from Montana and Wesley Fryer from Oklahoma. The duo analyzes current tech news and how they can make education better. Episodes run about an hour long.

7. EdTech Bites - Host Gabriel Carrillo sits down with educators and innovators once a month to talk educational tech trends over dinner. This podcast allows him to bring together his and every other educational administrator’s two passions, food and educational technology. Episodes range in length anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

8. EdTech Rewind Clint Winter and Lee Green invite their friends to get together and discuss what’s going on in the world of educational technology. Episodes are about 45 minutes to an hour. For long drives home where you have to come up with an agenda for your educators – yes, this is the one.

We love these podcasts about educational technology, but if you know of another that you can’t believe didn’t make this list, let us know.

Go-To Tools for Presentations: When to Blog and When To PowerPoint

The goal of a presentation is to effectively convey information that allows the audience to remember what has been said. That being said, there are several options as to how to give a presentation, specifically for a final project. For students, presentations can be given as individuals or groups, or for educators in seminars. The best tool for the job depends on whether the presentation will be visual or verbal. 

When to Blog 

Blogs are definitely the ideal verbal tool for presentations. They are becoming increasingly popular for e-portfolios, offering students the opportunity to review, communicate, assess, archive and display their work - including blogging for projects and presentations. Google has a great Keyword Planner tool that allows the writer to enter seed keywords and receive a list of suggested search terms. Microsoft’s Windows Open Live Writer is another solid option.

There are several pros to using blogs in presentations:

• Blog writing is informal, unlike academic writing. This style takes the pressure off students and also allows them to speak their audiences’ language. Blog, or web log, style is typically relaxed, which makes it comfortable and easy for students.

• Blogs allow for comments. Students can get feedback from peers, educators and even parents about their blog.

• Blogs are published. The students’ work is online and can help educate others about their opinion.

• Blogs can easily be linked to social media. Blogs are almost made for social media. A student’s project can easily be shared or linked to the school’s social media account.

There are also some cons:

• A blog doesn’t allow the student to practice his or her speaking skills. In today’s world - where it is a struggle to compete with online and handheld distractions for students’ attention - there aren’t as many real-world opportunities for students to practice their speaking skills.

• Blogs aren’t conducive to group projects. It can be hard to track who-did-what if only one blog is uploaded. Presentations give an entire group the opportunity to participate, even those that aren’t the strongest writers.

When to PowerPoint

When the presentation goal is to be visual, the presentation needs to be done in PowerPoint. Microsoft’s presentation software allows users to create fluid, cinematic motion in one click. Slides can be duplicated, morphed together, moved, etc. 

There are definite pros to PowerPoint: 

• PowerPoint is the standard when it comes to professional settings. It’s been offered in Microsoft Office versions for more than a decade. It’s highly-recognizable.

• PowerPoint can improve presentations. The software’s ability to use animations and images is a definite plus. Even basic shapes can enhance data and help get the point across.

• PowerPoint slides can be easily distributed. The slides can be printed or emailed. They can be uploaded to the cloud or saved on a flash drive.

Yet, there are also some cons to PowerPoint:

• PowerPoint requires some time to learn. There are a lot of options, which can seem overwhelming to users. Also, novices could put too much information on slides, ruining the entire purpose of using PowerPoint – which should be to enhance a presentation. No one wants to sit and read slide-after-slide. 

• PowerPoint could be riddled with technical difficulties. The computer could stop working, power might be lost to the outlet or the overhead display doesn’t work right. These might seem like conditions that can be avoided, but you never know what can happen in a space that is unfamiliar.

Follow us @AreyJones for more great tech tips.

Seek Mentors Out On Twitter

Twitter is more than tidbits of daily news and tweets about trending television. It is a great source to find like-minded people in your field and even a mentor.

Twitter influencers, experts, thought leaders and kindred spirits can help improve your teaching by supplying information and ideas that you can put into practical applications. Once you find someone to follow, you can build on that virtual relationship and use them as a mentor, either virtually or face-to-face.

Figure out who you’d like to follow.

The first step is to actually figure out who’d you like to follow. Sounds easy. But, the Internet is a BIG place and Twitter is no exception.

Use Twitter’s search to seek out influencers and people you want to follow. Type your keywords in the top search. You can also use Twitter’s filters and Advanced Search to search locally, which gives you a better opportunity for an in-person meeting.

You can try these five hashtags to get you started.

1. #GoogleET, #GoogleCE, #GoogleEI

2. #MIEExpert

3. #SkypeMT or #MinecraftMentor

4. #GoogleTeacherTribe

5. #STEAM

A search for these hashtags brings up the top results, but also people tied to them. This is a really easy way to start following an influencer and possible mentor. 

If you’re still having an issue finding who to follow, search through your other social media platforms. How many people do you know that use just ONE form of social media? You can increase your chances of connecting with a mentor if you can overlap social networks. 

Prepare to take the next step.

Once you find someone to follow that is mentor-material, do some research and learn as much as you can about them. Start a virtual conversation or check out any podcasts or blogs they have to find common areas of interest. Do they seem comfortable sharing their knowledge? If so, continue on.

The approach.

Build a rapport with your potential mentor. Promote their tweets, ask for their advice, comment on their blogs and so on. Treat the virtual world as you would the real one and get to know them slowly. The key is to build a dialog and show you have something of value to contribute. 

When you’re ready, email the influencer and simply ask if they would be willing to act as a mentor to you. Email works great because it is - literally - the electronic equivalent of a letter. It is more formal than a DM but not so formal as a mailed piece of paper.

Once you create and facilitate that online relationship, you can decide both decide if, when and how you want to meet in person. Even if you never get to that stage, there’s so much powerful information out there that just following posted advice provides a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. Reach out to Arey Jones for more advice on your professional development.

7 Microsoft PowerPoint Tricks For Every Day This Week

As a staple of the Microsoft Office suite, PowerPoint often gets a bad rap, mostly because it’s associated with speeches, presentations, and seminars--and they aren’t always the most exciting events (to put it mildly). Since it’s estimated that PowerPoint is a key software on over one billion computers worldwide, it’s safe to say slide-based presentations aren’t going anywhere.

The question, however, isn’t where PowerPoint can go; it’s what PowerPoint can do to make those presentations even better.

Here are our favorite Microsoft PowerPoint tips to make sure your presentation goes smoothly.

1. Launch your PowerPoint presentation with one click. To start your presentation off quickly and cleanly, all you need to do is save the file with a .PPS or .PPSX file extension and save it to your desktop. Instead of nervously launching from editing mode or from your email (for all the world to see), all you’ll do is double-click and get on with the show. (Keep your desktop free of embarrassing distractions for full professional effect).

2. State your case in black and white. PowerPoint presentations are meant to be an aid to your presentation--not necessarily be a word-for-word account of it. To keep them from being a distraction, press “B” or “W” on your keyboard to make the screen black or white. This will help your audience focus on you and what you are saying.

3. Doing a demo? Get a screenshot. If you need to replicate the feel of your computer screen while giving a presentation, use the PowerPoint Screenshot tool on the Insert tab. It will give you a thumbnail of each window you currently have open. Simply select, resize, and click--and it will automatically be inserted on your current slide.

4. Animate charts. Turn charts and graphs from boring to mindblowing with animation. Once you’ve set up the chart or graph as you need to, head to the Animations tab to turn on the Animations Pane. Pick an animated effect, add sound, adjust timing and, most importantly, change the “Group Chart” options from “As One Object” to “By Category.”

5. Employ Kiosk mode. For presentations that don’t require an active speaker, you can set the presentation to play in Kiosk mode, which will play it on a loop, no human required. You can also output the entire slide deck to a video format.

6. Duplicate without the CTRL C + V. Instead of quick keys to copy and paste reused elements, go one step lazier--hold the CTRL key while you click and drag on the element you want to multiply. Great for elements as well as entire slides.

7. Be zen with Venn. Venn diagrams are a useful visual aid, but they can be a pain to make--unless you know how to Merge Shapes. Simply layer your pre-created shapes as you want, head to the Drawing Tools, and select “Merge Shapes” from the menu. This feature also makes light work of inserting pictures and text into shapes and vice versa. 

There are so many ways to do more in Microsoft PowerPoint in less time. We can help you figure them out.

18 Excel Formulas and Functions for 2018

You already geek out over Excel’s amazing functionality and its features in Windows. Maybe you’ve already used it to create a calendar template. Maybe you color code your personal budget targets. Maybe you already use it to track student progress, grades, test scores, attendance, and days until your next school holiday. We’re not here to judge. We’re here to help you make the most of what this powerful spreadsheet application has to offer.

Basic Conditional Formatting

When you’re dealing with a mountain of data, conditional formatting can help you find specific information quickly and visibly by color-coding cells that match specific criteria. For instance, you can highlight any student who has missed more than three days of class or any test scores that fall below passing. Learn more here.

Formula-based Conditional Formatting

And sometimes, just a basic highlight isn’t enough. Sometimes you want your spreadsheet to help you identify the next step in your process, like setting up a conference with parents or an email to the student. Formula-based conditional formatting can help with that. Here’s how.

=SUM(): The first function you learn really adds up.

You already know how to add up cells in Excel, but did you know you can hit CTRL + [Cells you want to add] to instantly add them to an equation? This is a fast way to add across random columns or rows.

=SUMIF(): For more selective sums

Sometimes you want to add and gather data in a different way. The =SUMIF equation will look for certain data in a table and add similar items together. This could be helpful if you track attendance by day of the week and want to learn which days most kids come to class.  Learn more here.

=COUNTIF(): Add up occurrences of a value.

=COUNTIFS(): Add up occurrences of multiple values.

The COUNTIF() function allows you to count how many times a certain criterion occurs in your specified range. For example, if you add a letter value grade to each assignment, you can use the COUNTIF() equation to count how many As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs a particular class or a particular student has. Use =COUNTIF(Where do you want to look?, What do you want to look for?).

More information on COUNTIFs here.

=AVG(): The average formula for above-average teachers

The average function works similarly to =SUM in that it allows you to grab the data within a column or throughout a sheet. If you use average test or homework scores to finalize grades, the =AVG function adds up (and divides evenly).

=MIN(): Find the lowest number in a range

=MAX(): Find the highest number in a range
This is a great way to find the range of cells quickly and accurately, especially if you are grading on a curve, or want to quickly obtain the range of test scores for a given exam.

=LEN(): Count characters in a single cell.
Never misjudge your Twitter character count again. This function will count the number of characters in a specific cell. Great for writing assignments with text limits.

=RANDBETWEEN: Generate a Random Number

Need help picking which student goes first with a presentation? Enter the RANDBETWEEN equation. Simply type =RANDBETWEEN(1,100) and it will return a completely unbiased whole number between 1 and 100  just like that.

=ROMAN: Convert to Roman Numerals

Perhaps not the most useful of formulas, but when C, V, L, and I are Greek to you, it can be a useful tool. Use =ROMAN(Destination cell with number you want to convert).

=ROUND(): Do a one-handed round-off

The =ROUND function allows you to round off numbers to a specific digit. Use =ROUND(number, digit) as the equation, keeping in mind that “0” digit will return a whole number, “1” returns to the tenths, and so on. =ROUNDUP() and =ROUNDDOWN() are equally fun, and further explained here.

=YEARFRAC(): Compare a date range to the entire year.

=DAYS(): Count the number of days in between two dates.

=NETWORKDAYS()

Still counting down to the end of the year? Excel can take the work out of that, too. Use =YEARFRAC(start_date, end_date, [basis]). For example, =YEARFRAC(1/1/2018,5/31/2018, 1).  Learn more about the calendar basis here. For the number of days or actual work days, use =DAYS(start date,end date) or =NETWORKDAYS(start,end) respectively. Place your date values in cells for increased flexibility and celebrate further with conditional formatting. 

These are our favorite Excel equations so far in 2018. Which ones did we miss of yours? We'd love to know and talk more about education tech, especially when it comes to Microsoft.

5 Ways to Strike the Right Keys (And Keyboard Shortcuts) This Semester

While we wish life outside technology offered this sort of efficiency, it’s nice to know that these quick keys are there when we need them. They won’t solve all of your woes this semester, but they may create a little more time to make them easier to handle.

Find what you are looking for, instantly.

Want to know when an internet article mentions a certain concept or name? Hit CTRL + F. This Find function will not only tell you how many times the word or name occurs, but it will also highlight them throughout the document. Use the F3 key to toggle in between mentions. Want to find something in your files? Use the WINDOWS + E quick key to search File Explorer.

Want to use this quick key to find something more valuable? Give it a whirl. Click CTRL + F and type “sanity” in the field. <--See? Win.

Go back in time.

I’m guessing you already know the ever-useful CTRL + Z quick key to recover previous material and undo the most recent change.

Add to the time traveling ability while also eliminating the minutes (hours?) you spend moving your hand down to the trackpad or mouse to hit the back button on your web browser by using the CTRL + LEFT ARROW instead. Use the time you’ve saved to close the 13 tabs you aren’t using (and CTRL + SHIFT + T to open them all again).

Improve your vocabulary.

We all want to keep our conversations and papers engrossing, succinct, and perspicacious, which is why it’s nice that a thesaurus is just a SHIFT + F7 away.

Be in two (or more) places at once.

When you want to output your screen to a projector, broadcast to a wireless display or connect to one or more external monitors, you can find all of your options with the WINDOWS + P command. It will bring up an interface screen that will provide you with display options, all at the click of a button.

Start over.

We all need a do-over button once in a while, and your Windows machine has several to choose from. CTRL + R will refresh your browser. CTRL + ALT + DELETE will restart your computer. There’s also the handy power button quick-key for when you really feel like shutting down.

Want to learn how to save time with your educational technology in other ways? We can help with that.

Five Onederful OneNote Tips for Teachers

Microsoft’s OneNote is basically today’s version of a Trapper Keeper; it organizes topics by subject, has a place to store the pictures, videos, and freeform ideas may otherwise fall through the folds, and, bonus, it can be duplicated, shared, locked, and loaded anywhere. For teachers, it means being able to pull every component of a lesson plan together, from quizzes and writing prompts to resources, reading lists, and class notes.

One thing is for certain, the more you learn about OneNote, the easier it becomes to teach. 

Make Note-taking a Team Sport

OneNote gives teachers the ability to frame out a lesson and let their students fill in the gaps with the note-taking. By sharing a note with the entire class, students can access, contribute, and collaborate in real time--and long after the class bell rings. Password protection for notes makes it all the more secure.

Go beyond typed notes.

OneNote allows you to “make a note” of something in almost any medium. Video, images, audio, digital ink--all of it can be noted, recorded, linked, saved, and shared in the OneNote platform. You aren’t limited to an 8.5” x 11” sheet, either; its infinite canvas ensures you’ll run out of ideas long before you’ll ever run out of room to put them on. Creating new sections is easy--and you can even color code them by subject, note type, or student.

Teach in the moment.

Have you ever had an “aha!” moment in class and wished you could share it more readily with your students? Enter OneNote. With its immediate syncing capability across devices, you can take a picture with your mobile phone and add it instantly to your presentation, allowing you to teach and collaborate with your students in real time, just in time.

Embrace your own teaching style.

One of most empowering aspects of OneNote is that it’s not just one thing, nor does it confine its use to one tool. “Learning is messy,” says Tom Grissom, the Director of the Instructional Technology Center at Eastern Illinois University and contributor to the Microsoft Education blog. “OneNote provides the free-from tools to help you--and your students--think through it.” he notes that OneNote excels at “gathering artifacts for learning” while also allowing the information to be redistributed and assimilated. 

Get it all down and get it all done.

OneNote is the perfect bucket in a brainstorm. It speaks Google tools as a first language; you can toggle between Google Docs, Google Sheets, and even Google Forms as part of your lesson planning and classroom management practices. And, since you can take it with you wherever you go, you never have to worry about losing a great idea or missing an opportunity to interact with a student because you aren’t at your desk. OneNote lets you check notes, grade papers, send assignment reminders, share videos, and inspire a new generation of learners with a few clicks. 

How do you use Microsoft OneNote in the classroom, along with other Microsoft technology? We've got a few ideas.