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While I am still trying to gather my thoughts, explore some new resources, and figure out what activities and resources will fit in my classroom, I didn't want to wait to reflect on my experience. The Conference was literally huge. There was a record number of attendees and sessions. Some people even thought it was too big. For me, the size meant more opportunities to connect with my PLN. My favorite part of ISTE is meeting with my PLN friends and connecting with new educators face to face. The conversations in the Poster Sessions, in the Playgrounds, and during the Social Gatherings also helped to make a big conference seem much smaller. The lines for sessions were long. Many sessions quickly filled up and had to turn educators away. While this was frustrating at times, I was able to have some great conversations while waiting in line or outside of a session I just couldn’t get into. The missed sessions were also an opportunity to spend a bit more time in the Playgrounds, Posters,...

Last week I shared a tip about Setting Your Default Font in Google Docs . This week I am going to share a quick tip to set customized Titles and Headings in Google Docs.  When I am creating a HyperDoc or Tutorial in Google Docs, I love having some consistency in any Titles and Headings for that particular doc. Here are two samples where I've tried to model this idea. Google Resources for Science Empathy and Service Learning HyperDoc When I am working in a document like the ones above that have multiple headings or titles I prefer to save a little time and set some headings that I want to use throughout the document right away. It is a great and quick way to have consistent font styles and sizes throughout a longer document.  The process is pretty simple. Here are the steps. 1. Create a title or heading and set the font style and size. 2. Highlight the title or heading text that you want to use throughout the document. 3. Click on the Dropdown arrow next to "Normal text" i...

I had a great conversation with several of my PLN friends during the ICE Social at #ISTE18. We had talked about building a PLN and getting connected on Twitter. Thanks to Don Sturm ( @SturmDon ), Mia Gutsell ( @msmgutsel l ), and Robert Louie ( @mr_middle_2 ) for inspiring this quick post. Did you know that you can share your information using the Twitter App on a Mobile Device using a QR Code? You can also scan someone's code all within the mobile app. You don't have to do anything to set this up, you just need to know where it is. 1. Open the Twitter app on your mobile device. 2. Click on your avatar near the top right of the screen and you should see this menu. 3. On the bottom, you should see a half moon, a pattern of 4 symbols (this is the QR Code), and the home button. Click on the QR Code and this screen will open.  4. That image above is my code. You can test it with your mobile app if you open this on a different screen. Follow the same steps if you want to scan someon...

We are hoping that everyone attending ISTE has a chance to share their voice using our Flipgrid Share Your Why Grid at least once during the conference. There are a variety of topics and we'd love to see this become a great place for educators to share ideas and make global connections. Flipgrid - Share You Why!   (Password ShareYourWhy) The wait is finally over and ISTE 2018 is here! I am excited to be sharing and learning with so many incredible educators. Today I want to quickly share my sessions resources, notes, and schedule. My ISTE Events and Ticked Sessions My ISTE Notes My ISTE Presentation Resources If you are looking for some ISTE Tips and Resources, here are a few posts I've shared during the last couple of weeks connected to ISTE. ISTE 2018 Tips and Tricks Exploring the Expo Center and Connecting With Exhibitors Sampling Some of the Awesome Session Facilitators at #ISTE18 10 Tips for the Engaged Educator at #ISTE18 If you are at ISTE, I hope you can stop and say ...

Last week's question had some great responses! Thank you, everyone! If you didn't have a chance to respond it is ok to do so now! You’ve won a contest and your complete wardrobe will be provided and updated for the next 10 years. The catch is you are only allowed to choose 2 colors. That's two colors for everything you wear for the next 10 years. Which 2 colors would you choose to wear every day? What does your color choices say about you? This week's question is dedicated to the incredible educators attending the ISTE Conference next week. What is the 1 thing that you love the most about teaching & learning? Why? Please share your answer and your why in the comments below or using the Hashtag  #CuriosityQs . Please also share with the #ISTE18 Hashtag this week. Each Tuesday I will share a new question that I hope will inspire you to share your thoughts and maybe explore something new.  You can also share in our Share Your Why FlipGrid this week.  What Do You L...

We are hoping that everyone attending ISTE has a chance to share their voice using our Flipgrid Share Your Why Grid at least once during the conference. There are a variety of topics and we'd love to see this become a great place for educators to share ideas and make global connections.  Flipgrid - Share Your Why! (Password: ShareYourWhy)

Last week I shared a tip about Page setups in Docs and Slides. This week it will be all about setting the default font for your normal text. The default font for Google Docs is Arial. and the default size is 11.  Neither of these is a favorite of mine and I really hate changing these everytime I create a new document. I've changed my default font for all new documents. Right now, I've set my default font to Open Sans and my default size to all 12. I like change so I can't say that I won't change to something else soon. (I was a Georgia guy before I switched to Open Sans.) Here are the steps to set the default font for all your Google Documents in the future. (This will not automatically change existing Document fonts.)  Create a new document or go into a current document with the formatting you want. If it is a new document, set the font and size in the editing menu. Type a sentence with the new font settings.  Highlight some text that is set up with the font you wa...

I have shared a few posts connected to ISTE 2018 over the last several weeks, including ISTE 2018 Tips and Tricks , The Awesome Session Facilitators at #ISTE18 , and  The ISTE Experience - Exploring The Expo & Connecting with Exhibitors .  Now the really good stuff is here for me to share and for you to explore. I hope there is something here for everyone. ISTE is an incredible is sometimes overwhelming conference and appreciate all that everyone is sharing to help make it a great experience.  I've scoured the social media and the world wide web to bring you some of the best tips and tricks I've found connected to this year's ISTE Conference in Chicago. Here are some of the highlights of my exploration.  If you are not following the incredible educators connected to these posts, you should be!  Here are some of the highlights of my exploration.  I am sure I have missed some great posts, ideas, and resources, so please leave me a comment ...

Last week's question had some great responses. If you were able to share one thing that is an essential component of you being you, what would you share? What makes you, uniquely you? This week's question may not seem as deep on the surface, but you may need to take some time for to consider to how your choice impacts the impressions you will make on the world around you. You’ve won a contest and your complete wardrobe will be provided and updated for the next 10 years. The catch is you are only allowed to choose 2 colors. That's two colors for everything you wear for the next 10 years. Which 2 colors would you choose to wear every day? What does your color choices say about you?  Please share your answer and your why in the comments below or using the Hashtag #CuriosityQs . Each Tuesday I will share a new question that I hope will inspire you to share your thoughts and maybe explore something new. If you have a great question that I can ask, please DM me on Twitter . Full...

The best educators are not content to do the same old thing year after year. Innovative educators push their thinking by engaging in social media, exploring blogs, attending conferences, and exploring the newest generation of educational books. We've created a site to organize and share some great books connected to teaching and learning. Each month we will feature a new book from our PLN. Have an idea for our next book of the month? Please share in the comments below. The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock & Heather Hundley Created by teachers for teachers, this is the ultimate guide for unleashing students’ potential through creative lessons, empowering messages and innovative teaching. The Growth Mindset Coach provides all you need to foster a growth mindset  classroom, including: A Month-by-Month Program Research-Based Activities Hands-On Lesson Plans Real-Life Educator Stories Constructive Feedback Sample Parent Letters Studies show that growth mindsets result in higher ...

Last week I shared a  tip  about Outline View in Google Docs. This week it will be all about page setups for Docs and Slides. Creating a HyperDoc, Tutorial, or other activity using Google Docs? Maximize your creative space with Page setup .   Did you know that you can set the margins and page size in Google Docs to maximize the space you have on each page? My default Page setup for Google Docs is Paper size 8.5" x 14" and margins are all at 0.2. (Some people go 0 on the margins but I like a bit of an edge on my docs.) You can find the "Page setup" options in the "File" menu in Google Docs. You can get help here or by watching this quick video tutorial .  Bonus: You can still print the page if needed. Everything is automatically shrunk to fit the page size you are printing.  Google Slides is a great presentation tool, but it is so much than a presentation tool. Slides is a great resource to create memes, infographics, and more.   When creating ...

The skills connected to collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity are essential for all students. The best classroom activities engage students in content while providing opportunities to practice the 4Cs in learner-centered environments. The best professional development also models the 4 Cs for staff. We've created a free flipped PD HyperDoc to connect educators to 4 Cs resources and experiences. Let us know what you think in the comments below.  Developing a Future Ready Classroom with the 4 Cs HyperDoc Share Your Learning Experience Learn something new? Have a resource to share? Maybe a question? Please engage in the conversation using one or more of these resources. Padlet - Collaboration Padlet - Communication Padlet - Creativity Padlet - Critical Thinking Flipgrid - Share Your Why

" Embrace your uniqueness. Time is much too short to be living someone else's life. " Kobi Yamada 4 weeks ago I got rolling with a curiosity question of the week. You can learn more about my why in this  post .  Last week's  question  had some great responses.  If you could only choose one television series box set to watch during this time, what would you choose? Why? Here is this week's question. I am hoping we can all dive a bit deeper into what makes us unique.  If you were able to share one thing that is an essential component of you being you, what would you share? What makes you, uniquely you? Please share your answer and your why in the comments below or using the Hashtag  #CuriosityQs .  Each Tuesday I will share a new question that I hope will inspire you to share your thoughts and maybe explore something new.   If you have a great question that I can ask, please DM me on  Twitter . Full credit will be given for all...

Many people insert a table of contents when working with larger Google Docs. This can a great way to provide viewers with an overview of the document and help them get to where they need to be, but there are a few drawbacks. The table of contents sometimes eats up too much valuable space on the first page of the document. The table of contents is only visible on the first page and the creator either needs to create a link to return to the table of contents in the document or the viewer needs to scroll back to the first page to access the table again. For these two reasons, I prefer the document outline feature. The outline opens in the space on the side of the document and remains open as you scroll through the resources. The document outline can be accessed in the view menu and like a table of contents, it is connected to headings created in the document.  You can learn the in and outs of the document here .  Google also has an excellent help video embedded in Docs....