Congratulations to 2019 NETA Contest Winners from ESU 8!

NETA recently announced their 2019 Contest results and several winners reigned from ESU 8.

Congratulations to the following:

Ashley Pischel, O'Neill High School

Teacher: Kevin Morrow

Jiya Chaudhari, O'Neill High School

Teacher: Kevin Morrow

Julia Emme, O'Neill High School

Teacher: Mike Peterson

Award winners will be recognized at NETA's Spring Conference, held March 28-29, 2019 in Omaha, NE. A complete list of the 2019 NETA Contest Winners can be found here. 

10 Ways to Transform Student iPad Workflow

http://neta18.weebly.com/10-ways-to-transform.html

In a recent NETA 2018 presentation, co-presenter Ann Feldmann and I shared 10 simple ways to reach all learners with built-in iPad features- designed to take learning in your own hands!

Accessibility features were not created merely for learners with disabilities. Rather, with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, all students can be empowered to customize and streamline their own personal workflows.

“Designing learning for all empowers every single student.”
-Ann Feldmann


 Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. 
~Chinese Proverb

"iPad accessibility helps each student be in charge of their own, best learning… for a lifetime."
-Katie Morrow 

The following videos are screencasts to illustrate the slides on the digital handout found at: http://neta18.weebly.com/10-ways-to-transform.html

UDL Guidelines: Provide multiple means of Engagement

1. Assistive Touch

  

 2. Airdrop

3.  Split Screen + Notes

UDL Guidelines: Provide multiple means of Representation

4. Speak Screen & Speak Selection 

5. Dictation & World Languages

6. Scan & Annotate

7. Screenshot & Annotate

UDL Guidelines: Provide multiple means of Action and Expression 

8. Assistive Touch

9. Screen Recording

10.  Sketch in Keynote

 

Building Word Wizards with Creation Apps (NETA 2018)

Building Word Wizards with Creation Apps (NETA 2018)

Use the power of iPad to transform students into vocabulary wizards in the K-12 classroom. Learn about 10 creation apps that will move your students from consumers to creators and empower them to expand their word wizard skills. Walk away with ideas and apps to use immediately in your classroom. Bring your iPad and create some ‘magic’ along with us.

Fall NETA Round-up

NETA (Nebraska Educational Technology Association) held its Fall Ed Tech Conference last week in Kearney.

As always, many great resources and words of wisdom were shared.  You can view the sessions and more at their Sched site here: https://2016nebraskafalledtechconference.sched.org

Tina Sauser and NPS's Becky Miller compiled their take-aways and shared through an after school tech meet-up at Norfolk Public Schools.

Here is their presentation to share with other interested educators:

https://goo.gl/Juz95J

Full STEAM Ahead!

You’ve heard of STEM, but how can we add STEAM power to our students’ educational environment? Join us to learn how ESU 8 has developed STEAM summer camps to enrich students’ experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Learn great ideas for any teacher or administrator looking to incorporate enrichment programs, clubs, or activities for their school or classroom.




STEAM Activities - Google Site

Heidi Rethmeier's STEM Site

Connect Your Classroom: with Global Collaboration Projects

Connecting, Communicating, and Collaborating are essential skills for today’s learners. How can we create classroom experiences that apply these skills on a global level? Discover the simple and practical possibilities of incorporating global collaboration projects and platforms for your school.

Impact Your Audience: Presentations That Rock!

Are students disengaged with your traditional presentation design? Are staff members turned off by your presentation delivery? Find out ways to improve your next presentation, whether for professional learning experiences or everyday classroom instruction. Explore concepts in layout & design, strategies for engaging your audience, and presentation techniques used by some of the world’s best speakers. Make your next presentation rock!

Resources to accompany “Impact Your Audience: Presentations that rock!”

Curated by Katie Morrow

Impact Your Audience: Presentations that Rock! from Katie Morrow

Books

• Brain Rules by John Medina
• Resonate by Nancy Duarte
• Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
• The Pin Drop Principle by Lewis & Mills
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek

Free for iBooks

• Design Secrets Revealed by Keri-Lee Beasley
• Keynote for Mac Starter Guide from Apple Education
• The Joy of Professional Learning by ADEs

Presentations About Presentations!

• The Art of the Presentation (Sound of Music references)
• 10 Things Your Audience Hates About Your Presentation

Recommended Media Sources

• Pixabay (CC0 licensed content)
• Unsplash (CC0 licensed content)
• Noun Project (icons)
• Open Clipart
• Slides Carnival (free slide themes & templates)
• Dafont (fonts)

Additional Resources

• 15 Golden Principles of Visual Hierarchy
• 7 Best Public Speaking Tips from the World’s Best Speakers & Presenters
• 7 Storytelling Techniques Used by the Most Inspiring TED Presenters
• Why your tech-obsessed presentation stinks- and how to make it better

Tools for Audience Interaction

• Formative
• Tricider
• All Our Ideas
• Padlet
• Twitter hashtag & schedule Tweets
• Mentimeter
• Todays Meet

Keeping current with ed tech opportunities across Nebraska

NETA (Nebraska Educational Technology Association) has recently made some exciting announcements that can benefit any Nebraska educator.

First of all, annual membership in NETA is free.  That's right: Zero dollars.  No matter what subject area or grade level you work with, everyone should consider signing up.  The only difference between the current free membership and the paid $35 annual membership is a printed newsletter.  But by signing up here anyone can receive the same information and announcements in digital format for no cost at all.  This is something that I highly recommend and a great way to stay current with the ever-changing field of educational technology in Nebraska schools.

Secondly, NETA has made some changes to its many contests.  And now that they offer free membership to the organization, anyone can enter!  There are contests for students and for teachers and some open categories, all designed to highlight the great things that Nebraska schools are already doing with technology (as opposed to creating an entry specifically for a contest).  Entries are all submitted digitally and winners receive a free NETA Conference registration plus substitute reimbursement for the two days of the April conference(held April 21 & 22 in Omaha), a really great experience for any educator. For teachers there is an app smashing contest, lesson idea contest, video contest, grant and ISTE attendance opportunities. Student contests include logo creation, graphic imagery, infographics, and more. Read more about the NETA Contests, including the submission deadlines, by visiting this link.

An exciting opportunity exists for us in Nebraska this upcoming summer as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is holding its annual conference in Denver on June 26-29, 2016.  For many of us this offers a way to attend a high-caliber international conference without having to purchase a plane ticket. To make travel even more feasible, NETA is looking into possibly sponsoring a bus, with various pickup/drop off points across the state. If this is something you are interested in, you can fill out this form to learn more. If you aren't interested in coordinating travel with others, consider attending on your own. You can read more about ISTE 2016 here.

Another technology-related resource to take a look at is a pre-recorded free webcast from Nebraska Department of Ed on digital citizenship appropriate for all to view:
NCompass Live: Your Digital Footprint: Managing Your Online Identity

Finally, if any school has a group of students doing really great things with technology, considering inviting them to share at the NASB (Nebraska Association of School Boards) Student Showcase. Held like a traditional vendor or project fair during their yearly conference, students would man a "booth" and share firsthand their expertise with educational leaders from across the state. This offers valuable experience in presentation and communication for our young people, as well as an opportunity to showcase the positive learning happening with technology in our schools. If you are interested in signing up, please visit this form.