Deb Norton Tech

Some of the best tips and tricks I know are for staying organized. Watch this Chat with Deb video to see some of my favorites . Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb

Teaching students to connect globally and to recognize what is happening outside of their immediate community is so important in education today. To me, Global Citizenship means expanding and deepening our understanding of people and events from around the world. To celebrate National Library Week and incorporate Global Citizenship, watch this Chat with Deb video: Here is the presentation: Thank you to the Intel Engage Community for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

Recently, some educators that I work with, showed interested in having their students use Google Tour Builder to create a tour of locations from a historical time period. We could do this on desktops, but the teachers really want the students to be able to use their Chromebooks, which is not possible with Google Tour Builder since it uses the Google Earth download. So I found two alternatives that will allow students to build a "tour" of locations on a map and also include text, images and even video. Alternative 1: My Maps : With My Maps , students can add a marker, and then add an image to go with the marker. Students can also draw lines between different markers. One of the nice features of My Maps is that you can add layers. To display a "tour" the students can turn the layers on or off to show more or less at a time. For this tool, the students would use the extension, Screencastify to record a narrative to go with the "tour...

Oh how I love a little competitive fun. Have you ever heard of an App Slam?  It's a friendly sharing of favorite apps followed by a vote to see which app gets the most votes. Having an App Slam is a great way to have students guide and personalize their own learning and it also incorporates a lot of creative thinking and technology. Here is how it works: Students (or teachers) choose an app that they think is a winner. They then create a demonstration (video, live demo, example or other) The demo slam  is short (1-3 minutes) in length, highlights the features of the app, demonstrates how to use the app, and ends with the word SLAM. Here is a Thinglink with some awesome examples of App Slams:   and here is a popular App Slam from two young ladies who are showing how amazing Google Translate is: So as you can see, the idea is not just to share an app, but to do it creatively and convincingly. In a classroom or school, teac...

Not everyone learns the same way. We all have our preferences of how we like to obtain and show understanding of content.  This is especially true of our students.  Research shows that students who have choice over their learning can reduce dropout rates.   Click here for an example. So why not use a different learning model and try and motivate students with a personalized learning experience?  Here are three models to personalize the learning for your classroom. #1 Project Based Learning - In this model, units and lessons are set up with real life projects. Students work their way through the project and usually comprise a final project to share.  PBL often is very motivating for the student and can involve team work. Click here for more information about PBL. #2 Peer Led Classrooms - In this model, the teacher is a facilitator and the students are instructors.  Students who have mastered the content first, help other students to ...

Recently I was a big winner at the WEMTA Conference in Wisconsin Dells. My big winnings was a Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I had won until I looked it up.  Watch this Chat with Deb to see how this tablet can be used to create a flipped video: Click here fo r 4 great tips for Flipped Teaching . Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.