Tech Coach Log: 2.24.16

Successes

Wednesday was very successful.  I helped a new teacher take the Google Classroom plunge.  After some early hiccups, this teacher ended the day with a good grasp on how to use it.  From there, I assisted a Spanish teacher in using Google Forms to create rubrics for student Spanish presentations. In addition, I was able to inservice high school social studies teachers in using Doc Hub in order to have students do DBQ assignments digitally.  After school, I conducted a seminar for teachers to learn to use the Snagit Chrome Extension to create screencast videos in preparation to build flipped lessons.

What I learned

It appears I jumped the gun as a Google Apps Admin.  I enabled Hangouts to open automatically on startup.  While a handful of teachers use it, the majority were perplexed.  I haven't trained enough students to use it responsibly.

Twitter Ed Chats

Ed Chats are a great way to connect with innovative and engaging teachers around the country and world.  To participate, click here to view a calendar of upcoming Ed Chats.  

Ed Chats are labeled by a unique hashtag.  Most chats last an hour.  To participate, include the unique hashtag in each of your posts.  The moderator will pose a series of prompts and questions that begin with "Q".  For example, question 1 is posted as "Q1:"  To answer, type "A" and the question number. For example, the answer to Q1 would begin with A1.  Questions and answers follow this pattern.  

Don't be afraid or intimidated to jump in.  Moderators usually ask those who join to introduce themselves in the beginning.  

How do you find Twitter Ed Chats?  First, check the schedule on the link above.  Then go to Twitter.com or your favorite Twitter client or app.  Search the hashtag and follow along.  You may need to refresh the page to stay current throughout.   Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are very good Twitter web clients for managing your Twitter account(s).  For mobile, I recommend Hootsuite, Fenix, Buffer and Plume.  (On the computer, I like to use Hootsuite.  On mobile, I prefer Fenix.)  I save the hashtag search as a column.  This allows me to only see posts using that hashtag.  

Below is an Ed Chat column from Hootsuite showing #connectedtl

Below is an example of searching a hashtag using the Twitter web client

Have fun connecting and learning with Twitter Ed Chats.  I sure do!  Message me or leave a comment if you have any questions on this topic!