Deb Norton Tech

Chat with Deb Digital Citizenship Watch this Chat with Deb Video Blog about conversations we should have with our students as well as laws and policies that are helping to protect our students.  Here is the presentation that goes with the video. Do you have certain topics, activities or resources that you use to teach students about digital citizenship? Please share with us.

What I'm Learning This Summer I've always been a life long learner. I crave information and I love to learn and try new things. With that said, here are some of the ways I've been growing as a learner and gaining valuable knowledge in education and technology.

Chat with Deb about Learning with Data -  Working with big data is a 21st Century skill that many employers are looking for. Data is all around us, and using big data to determine programs and the future of education is prevalent in education today. In this video blog, I share several great resources and sites for using with students of all ages to teach them how to find, chart, graph, analyze and interpret large data.  If you are interested in a specific tool or site, look at the timestamp below the video. Timestamp: 0:28 - Knoema - A Data Atlas for finding large data 2:13 - Create a Graph - an awesome tool for entering data to make a graph or chart 3:32 - A New Feature: Insert charts and graphs in Google Docs and Presentations 5:23 - Wolfram Alph - A Computational Search Engine - The search results are interesting and graphically displayed 7:08 - Fusion Chart - Charts made with Java Script 8:17 - Data Stories Podcast - Podcasts are my new jam ...

Moonshot Thinking  Sustainability and Next Generation Innovators This Chat with Deb is going to help you understand what Moonshot Thinking is and will also show you ways to support Moonshot Thinking in your classroom. Supporting Resources: A great example  of Genius Hour Projects Genius Hour Thinglink Design Thinking blog post Google Proof Questions blog post Thinglink VR interactive video Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this blog post.

Career Readiness - A Topic Close to our Family

VR =Virtual Reality  This Innovative Technology is an Amazing Experience Perhaps you've heard of Google Cardboard or the VR View-Master ? Perhaps you tried out Google Glass or worn a virtual headset of some sort?  If not, chances are you will in the near future.  Check out this Chat with Deb to learn more about this innovative technology called virtual reality.  I wanted to try something new for this month's Chat with Deb, so I decided to use Powtoon .  Enjoy! Click on the image above to load the slideshow.

Take some time to have some holiday fun with these sites. Holiday cards, snow line and decorating cookies are on the agenda. Watch this Chat with Deb to see some great sites to share with your students for a little holiday fun. Sites shared in this video: Free printable cards Snowline Cookie Decorating Build a Snowman Another Build a Snowman Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb post. 

 Explained in Just 10 Minutes  This week we celebrate Computer Science Education Week and along with that Hour of Code. For many educators, committing to doing an hour of code with our students can take us a bit out of our comfort zone because we haven't experienced coding before. Well, fear not, this Chat with Deb video will take you through an hour of code activity and help you to feel knowledgeable about what to expect. And it will only take about 10 minutes of your time. Here is the URL to the website with all of the Hour of Code activities - www.nortonaasd.weebly.com For more information on Hour of Code check out - www.code.org Let me know if this video was helpful and if you decide to support the Hour of Code with your students. Thanks for watching and for all you do in the classroom. Deb

DocentEDU - Add Meaning and Purpose to any Website  Insert a Quiz question, YouTube Video, Discussion Question etc. DocentEDU is a marvelous tool for enhancing any website to become more interactive and meaningful.  Teachers can gather important assessment data when the students view  DocentEDU  content on a website. Watch this Chat with Deb and view DocentEDU in action. If you decide to use DocentEDU , let me know how it goes. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you to Intel Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

Formative is one of my favorite tools I've ever shared for assessing students. The feature that makes Formative stand above others is the ability to award points and give feedback in real time. There is also the ability to view students while they are being assessed. Another amazing feature is the ability to add questions and content onto any file such as a word file, pdf, or image. This is a game changer!  Watch this Chat with Deb video and see all the of features of Formative . If you decide to use Formative, let me know how it goes. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you to Intel Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

October is Connected Educator Month. How do you stay connected with others in the education world? Skype, Twitter, Facebook or Google Hangouts? There are multiple ways to connect with others and learn from one another. Watch this Chat with Deb and see a few other possibilities that might be new to you: Resources shared in this video: Periscope Bloglovin Connectededucators.org How do you stay connected with educators from around the globe. Please share. I'd love to hear about it.   Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin How do you promote creativity in your classroom? This Chat with Deb will show you several digital creativity exercises that you can do with your students. Here is the presentation from this video with all of the digital resources. Do you have an idea to share for promoting creativity with your students? If you do, please share.  Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this post.

Recently I was asked to suggest a tool or site for holding an online discussion with students.  Google Classroom offers a discussion option that works really well. However, some teachers may not be using Google Classroom or are looking for an alternative. TitanPad is a nice alternative. It allows the teacher to save the discussion and also has a cool replay feature. Watch this Chat with Deb and see it in action. Do you have a favorite tool or site for holding an online discussion? I would love to hear about it! Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb. 

In this Chat with Deb, I've put together a series of short videos highlighting 10 Google Doc Tips and Tricks that you may not know about.  I'm pretty sure you will thank me after you have watched the videos.  These tips and tricks are some of my favorites. Intro and Tip #1 - Web Clipboard Click here the for Google Doc. Tip #2 - The Paint Roller Click here  the for Google Doc. Tip #3 - Page Setup Click here  the for Google Doc. Tip #4 - Emojis Click here  the for Google Doc. Tip #5 - Math Equation Tool Bar Click here  the for Google Doc. Tip #6 - Speech Recognition Click here  the for Google Doc. Tip #7 - Tag Cloud Generator  and  #8 - Texthelp Study Skills Add-on Click here  the for Google Doc. Tip #9 - Publish to the Web and  #10 - Personal Dictionary Click here  the for Google Doc. Do you have a favorite tip or trick with Google...

Let's think about Literacy in a Digital World Free literacy resources and high-quality online activities to help students respond to literature.  What I love about RWT: Save your work as a RWT file and open it at a later time. Student choice is built into many of the activities How to videos are available  Search by learning objective - Start with the goal in mind Free Printables  Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

Writers are going to love Grammarly and Creativity Portal! In this Chat with Deb, you will learn about two great tools for writers. Grammarly is a site and also an extension that can help with checking grammar as you write almost anywhere on the web. Creativity Portal is a site with exercises and resources for teachers and student who write. Here are a few additional features of Grammarly: Toggle sites on and off: Find synonyms: Check a word definition: Thank you to Intel Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

In May we focus on Connected Parents and Families.  In this Chat with Deb, I show two sites for connecting and communicating with students, parents and peers.   Here are the links to the two sites shared in this video: Bring.it YouCanBook.me Thank you to Intel's Teachers Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

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 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.