Deb Norton Tech

Happy February everyone! I love L O V E and always look forward to this month. Spring is on it's way! Here are some February tech backgrounds for you.  February is also Black History Month. Here is a useful collection of the best websites to teach and learn about African-American History from Larry Ferlazzo.  I learned a nifty little trick from a fellow tech guru and I have to share it with all of you.  Did you know that Google Maps lets you adjust zoom with just one finger?  The shortcut is simple, just double-tap the maps interface, but instead of lifting your finger after the second tap, you leave it touching the screen. Then swipe up to zoom out and swipe down to zoom in. Now I can say goodbye to awkwardly holding the phone while trying to use two fingers to reposition the map while also trying to hold the dog leash or my shopping bags. By the way, this also works on Apple Maps. Often these little shortcuts make my day! The site Take Me Back To allows you to ...

  My friend Trisha Louis shared this collection of health and fitness gifs and they are awesome! These are so useful for any teachers teaching phy. ed. or health classes. Of course I had to choose a baseball example to show you.  ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Last week I talked about Wordle and how this word game has taken over the Internet. Well, I'll admit that I'm hooked and enjoying trying to solve the Wordle each day.  I even have a friendly comparison happening between myself and a colleague at work.   This week I discovered that there is a site which allows you to make your own Wordle. It is called " Word Rodeo ".   With word.rodeo , you can choose how many letters you want the word to be and copy a link to share your Word Rodeo with others.   Here is a link to a puzzle I created. Can you solve it? I also came across this Waklet collection of Wordle variations . I warned you that I am a bit addicted.  This is a helpful...

In the blink of an eye, the first week of October is already behind us! Are you feeling the stress of time moving too quickly? I saw this post on Twitter this week and I had to take a deep breath to consider  how quickly everything is moving. This past week I worked with several of my colleagues to find ways to help with tech integration and work flow productivity. Here are a few ideas that I suggested. Perhaps one of these ideas will help you as well. Page Marker Extension - Lets you write on top of almost any webpage and download to save the annotations. Tab Resize  - Split tabs to split your screen easily and then regroup the tabs back to one window when you're done. Sir Links A Lot  - quickly generate a URL for a Google Document (or slides, sheets, drawings etc.) to force a copy, share a preview, create a template or make a PDF. Use the notes section in Canvas for tracking virtual students or other important data.  And one of my colleagues, Michelle, shared...

Hello! How was your week? The weather in Wisconsin has been perfect this week and I'm loving getting outside each day to enjoy it. My goal has been to walk at least 2 miles each day and I've held to that almost every day this year since January 1, 2021!  It has helped me with stress management and energy levels.  Here is a little peak at a few things that have made my week. 1. A few teachers have asked me what type of wireless mouse I recommend for a Chromebook. I like the Logitech brand. One teacher shared with me that she purchased this mouse and this usb adapter and she loves it! 2.  I watched the new Cinderella movie over the weekend and I loved how Cinderella is portrayed as a girl boss who aspires to be a fashion designer. To top it off the cast members are amazing and music is so perfect and enjoyable! I've been listening to the playlist on Spotify all week. I highly recommend this modern remake of Cinderella.  3. I listened to a few podcasts this week....

Happy Fall Break friends! I'm sending this out a day early since we have Friday off this week. This is a much needed break to be able to rejuvenate and take a breath. Here is where I plan to spend my day off . Links and Loves: If you are a Canvas user, you might be interested in checking out the new content editor . New features include a more condensed intuitive look and drag and drop images. You can turn on the new editor in the setting of your course. It's been a full week of innovation and fun in our Innovation Lab. Follow me on Instagram to check out our Innovation Lab Highlights .  Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers is planning a FREE online conference for educators in December . I just registered to present and/or attend. I love these types of learning opportunities! I always get inspired. As we approach our first self-care day of the year, I found this article on, 5 Ways Teachers Can Manage Stress and Overwhelm .  Remember to ta...

Happy New Year Everyone! Image Credit Do you have any goals for the year 2019? Have you heard of #OneWord365 ? This movement has been around for a while now and the idea is to choose just one word to focus on every day all year long. This one word sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. My #OneWord365 is C r e a t i v i t y ! Recently I’ve take up a few creative projects. I have been learning brush lettering , which is a type of calligraphy.   I also have been learning how to use Instagram to its full potential as a way to share and connect with other techy people like this teacher does. I’m also determined to learn more about and become better at the Cricut machine. January is known for getting organized. Here are 10 ways to declutter your digital life in 10 minutes. I would like to tackle one of these each day for the first 10 days in January. Wish me luck. 🍀 Do you use Flippity.net ? There is an update . You can now create 5 diffe...

Pinterest - Seriously, I use this for so many different interests in my life. Healthy recipes that I want to try and healthy recipes that I have tried . Storytelling apps , Sphero , and a few of my favorite tech people: here and here .  I can always find some great inspiration to keep me busy in the Pinterest App. Evernote - My days would not be as organized and put together without this app. It works seamlessly on all of my devices. Whether I'm saving content from the web or making my grocery list, this app is a life saver. The ability to record an audio note is awesome. And I love the Web Clipper Extension ! Audible - I have a 45 minute commute to and from work each day and I also travel a lot in the summer. Need I say more? Here are a few of the books I've enjoyed over the past year: Dark Places - Gillian Flynn The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins Leaving Time - Jodi Picoult A Long Walk to Water - Linda Sue Park The Silent Sister - Diane Chamberlain The ...

This summer I started using an app on my iPhone called Instagram .  Instagram is used to take and share pictures.  Not that I needed to use yet another app for sharing things socially, but I kept hearing about this app from friends and from my Google Reader RSS.   So I downloaded the app and I was instantly in love with Instagram .  As soon as I signed up I found several of my friends and family who were already using Instagram and I started seeing the photos they had taken. Taking a photo is fast and fun.  Right after I take a photo I can choose a filter to trasform the look and feel of my photo.  I can then post my photo to Instagram .  I can also choose to share my photo with Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.  Here are some screen shots from Instagram:  This is a picture my son took and shared, which I can view on my Instagram.  Here is a picture I just took.  I can change the filter at the bottom and then all...