Innovation 4 Everyone

Project: Kids Teaching Kids - Tips About Technology This semester I was faced with a difficulty. I joined an online course from TIGed called "Education for Social Innovation". As a final assignment, we would have to work together with our students on a project. I was not alone, other teachers from my school were participating and so was my buddy Doug, the other Tech Integration Specialist. The problem was that I don't have students of my own. Doug and I decided to pair up and work together on our project. We both agreed that one of the common problems we face involves the misuse of technology, and more specifically of social media, so we would like center our project around that. We needed students, so we turned to a grade 5 teacher for help. Mr. Trujillo was happy to let us work with his kids. We scheduled 15 mins with them on several mornings. Without giving them much direction, we decided to see where the student discussions would lead us. Day 1: We starte...

Google for Education will soon make available to the public a new educational tool. It's called Expeditions Pioneer Program. For now it's in beta, but for the last months Google for Education has been piloting this program with select schools around the world. When the call for participants launched a few months ago, my school immediately signed up. We are always looking for innovative ways to enhance education, and this seemed like a great opportunity we couldn't miss. Well we were lucky enough to be selected as one of schools to test the program in Mexico. What is the Expeditions Pioneer Program? It is a virtual reality platform designed for schools. It's an Android app that works together with Google Cardboard . The Expeditions app is preloaded with approximately 150 different places to visit. No internet required. These places are locations on Earth such as landmarks and museums; in outer space such as the Moon and Mars, and it even includes journeys inside ...

It's February 19-20, 2016.  A year has passed since we ran our first school wide conference . The second edition of Live Curious, Go Beyond was a special one. This time around we invited teachers from schools around the region to present and to attend. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive.  Once again, our group of digital teachers stepped up to the challenge and were heavily involved with the organization of the conference, not to mention their interest in running a session or two. Educators had multiple opportunities to learn about innovations in education as well as to build relationships to develop their professional learning networks. Imagine being able to learn about drones in education; the use of Google Cardboard; what is Design Thinking; the experience of a Breakout Edu session, how to use Twitter like a pro, and so much more! For the full details, visit the  Live Curious, Go Beyond 2 016 website . You can also look up the h ashtags #asfmtech, #livecu...

Did you know YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world? Yes, coming right after Google. YouTube is a very powerful tool that is used extensively by all of us when we need to learn about something on our own. This is the type of learning that is called "just-in-time" as opposed to "just-in-case". You know it will be available exactly when you need it. Millions of videos have been uploaded to YouTube and many more are added daily. With all this content, it is probable that you will eventually run into inappropriate content. So, here are 3 simple tips to make your experience with YouTube a safer one when it comes to sharing videos with students: 1. Search for videos in trustworthy sites Instead of performing a regular search, try one of these video sources that focus on education. SchoolTube TeacherTube YouTube Education YouTube Educación 2. "Clean up" the video before sharing or posting These tools will eliminate ads, surround...

If you are thinking of ways to transform your classes, then consider the possibility of communicating and collaborating beyond your classroom walls. A great resource that can help you accomplish this goal is  Skype in the Classroom . You'll find hundreds of lessons already created that you can participate in. Choose by subject area, age group, country, etc. Don't find what you're looking for? No problem. Create your own content. That's what first grade teachers did this year.  First grade teachers Ms. Mireya Almaguer and Ms. Claudia Martinez were looking for an opportunity to interact with classes from other parts of the world. Early in the start of the school year, first grade focuses on the Mapping Unit. In it they learn about such topics as directions, the compass rose, legend, and locating parts of a map. A project they work on is creating the map of what would be the students' ideal classroom or school. At this time, they were looking for partn...

We never stop learning and students at our school are no exception! Students have embraced technology as a way to assist them in their learning. With the use of various devices, kids are able to capture their learning and gather feedback that will drive their learning.  Take a look at a few examples through these very short videos: Grade 5 Class Mr. Marco Trujillo's 5th grade class took a trip into the Huasteca Canyon to meet face-to-face the forces of nature that have shaped our land. They took along iPods and recorded what they saw. Spanish Class Ms. Gaby de la Garza and her first grade students took advantage of the shared iPads to record themselves reading Spanish books that they later listened to again. Music Class Ms. Misty Flores and Mr. Ryan Branta encourage students to record their practice and check on their progress. Kinder Class Ms. Magda Arechavaleta and Ms. Miriam Campas incorporated iPods when they took their group on ...

Hi! A couple of weeks ago, the grade 5 students set out to what promised to be an exciting field trip. Very nearby the school is a gorgeous canyon. With the guidance of an expert explorer and a young geologist, each of the grade 5 groups took turns to go deep into the canyon. I was lucky to be asked to accompany one of these groups and their teacher. So, here's my story. It turns out that we were the first ones to take the trip. I had no idea of what to expect. I carried my water bottle, a light lunch, my iPhone, sunglasses, and a cap. So did the kids. They were so excited! The ride getting there was really fun, but what they were about to see I think blew everyone's mind even more. Fifth graders had been studying the Changing Earth unit. They had learned about plate tectonics, erosion, deposition, earthquakes, etc. Imagine being able to witness the forces of nature first hand. Imagine being able to see where plates have collided; where layers of earth ha...