Deb Norton Tech

This Chat with Deb demonstrates three Chrome Apps to use for the Beginning of the School Year.  My World - Student Interest Inventory Connected Mind - Mind Mapping Tool Pic Monkey - Photo Editing Tool For additional ideas check out this slide show : Do you have a favorite app for the beginning of the school year?  I'd love to hear about it. Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this post.

Are you getting ready for a new school year? Perhaps you're setting up your classroom or office. Maybe you are thinking of lessons and activities for your students.  If you are like me, you might be considering purchasing a few gadgets to start the new year. Here are a few of my recent purchases. one , two , three , four 1.  Earlier this summer I was driving on my way to a Google training and needed to stop for gas. And what do I find right by the check out? A selfie stick. I just had to have it. And let me just say, it has been so much fun.  Look for a blog post on selfie sticks very soon! I paid $11.99.  2.  I have a 45 minute commute to work each day, and the traffic can get a bit hairy. This cell phone car mount is perfect for keeping me updated without taking my eyes off of the road. I've been using this for about a week and I'm really happy with it. The suction cup sticks well to my textured dashboard and the cell phone does not move or shi...

This past week was spent getting things ready for another year in the classroom.  My co-teacher and I met to lesson plan (thank you Google Docs!) and also went into our classroom to get things organized and decorated. It used to be that I would spend the majority of August in my classroom decorating and organizing, but things have changed over the past 20 years.  Today I spend most of my time at home on the computer getting things ready for our 1:1 laptop environment. Let me share with you some of the ways I have been getting ready. #1 - CSV file - I create a Google Spreadsheet with student names, email, a common password and usernames.  I can then download this Google spreadsheet as a CSV (comma separated values) file.  This saves me so much time in setting up accounts for my students.  I type everything in once and then can use this information to set up most of the accounts for my students. Here is a peek at the spreadsheet.  I won't show any ...