Deb Norton Tech

Teachers Who Share Are The Best Kind of Teachers I get to work with many different teachers in our school and beyond.  Almost every one of these teachers are passionate, caring and truly want to do what is best for students. It is rare to find a teacher who doesn't fit this description.   What I've come to realize is that the teachers who share with others are often the most reflective in their practice and have strong pedagogical knowledge.   Personally I love to share with others. The idea that together we are better is an understatement. Building a culture of sharing with each other is a goal that every school and district should embrace.   So without further adieu, here are a few ways that teachers can share.  Social media - Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest or Instagram These are excellent places for teachers to consume and learn. If you have something to share with other teachers, I highly recommend you twee...

How was your week? Mine was very productive and energizing! We held our first ever North High School Poster Sessions for PD. This idea is one I have envisioned for a while now, and it was a highlight to see my vision come true. Here  is a promotional video for all of the sessions that were presented by our own North educators and technology coaches.  Kudos to all! I listened to two podcasts this week. One was titled, “Be a Good Forgiver”.  I LOVED the message from this one. The act of forgiveness in leadership and life makes you a better and stronger person.   If you have just 10 minutes, I highly recommend checking this one out. The second podcast was titled, “Moving from Feedback to Feedforward”.  The message from this podcast was to change our practice of giving feedback, which is a reflection of the past to giving feedforward, which is a focus on development in the future. I learned a lot from this one and I like th...

Happy halfway mark everyone!  Let the second semester begin! Here is a presentation I put together on two incredible apps. Quizalize collects very helpful data on student results from a quiz and Padlet has many unknown features. Enjoy! Remember my post about creating a smart home ? Well here are some more possibilities to add to my wish list. I’ve spent quite a bit of time this past week putting these tips to use. I’m thinking about ordering this to fix all of the broken things I have lying around. From my broken charging cord for my phone to the missing tassel on my wallet. 4.3 out of 5 stars is a good rating in my opinion. This week st udents in the Innovation Lab shared that these are the kinds of quizzes they like to take. This looks like a helpful close reading checklist for our students. Downloadable and ready to use. Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Friday Everyone! Are you interested in having a smart home? Here are some purchases I’ve made to convert our home into a smart home. I know, I'm a bit of a techy person. Alexa Echo Dot  - This device connects to the voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant service called Alexa from Amazon. Here is a video showing some of the ways that it works. Insignia Smart Plug - When you plug something into this plug, you can control it via the app on a smartphone or other device. And then you can connect the smart plug to your Alexa for a voice controlled outlet. Think how fun it was for us to say, "Alexa, turn on the Christmas tree" and the tree lit up. Philips Dusk to Dawn LED light bulb .  We put these bulbs on the front of our garage so that we never come home to a dark house. They are super bright and work like a charm! This year our goal is to save up for a video security camera . If you have any recommendations on a go...

Happy 2018 Everyone!! Here are some interesting finds from perusing through the web. Certifyem.com This addon for Google Forms lets you add a certificate to a quiz. If a person takes your quiz and passes with a certain percent (set by you) they will earn a certificate that is emailed to them. Here is my certificate I earned from passing a quiz (don't look too closely at my score :-). This would be a neat way to acknowledge student achievement, staff completion of a survey or provide a reward for a club or sport. It always more special when you receive a certificate for a reward! I love organizing and finding ways to store things. Since I consider myself a DIYer, doesn’t this look like a great idea? This week a Bomb Cyclone hit the East Coast. Apparently this is like a winter hurricane! Also, Niagara Falls froze and the images are spectacular! Do you make a New Year’s Resolution? This year I’m going to try the #OneWord2018 idea. My #OneWord2018 i...

Thank You Special Education Teachers! Before I was a technology integrator, I worked in a 5th grade classroom along side a special education teacher every day. We had students in our classroom with every type of disability. Now that I have become a technology integrator, I continue to spend time with special education teachers in their classrooms. Probably because I have a comfort level with them and also because I know that I can learn a TON from watching these talented teachers work their instructional and classroom management magic. I think any educator that is struggling with managing behaviors in their classroom, or with meeting the individual needs of each of their students, should spend some time learning from special education teachers. Here are some of the most important take aways that I have learned from working with special education teachers. #1 - Get to know your students well and find out what makes them "tick". When a student is challenging...