…you.

Is it a coincidence that “Teacher Appreciation Week” appears on our calendars just as we begin the “countdown” to get us through the last frenetic days of May?

I think not.

Rather than a “tip” this morning,
I thought I would share a site, sites that are offering “freebies” to show their appreciation.

I’m postponing my “traditional” tip to get the word out,
so you don’t miss this chance to add to your resources,
if not for this year,
as something to place in a folder for summer planning for next year.

I found this through a suggested link for a free “persuasive letter writing unit” offered by The Wise Guys.

Investigating further,
I discovered a “Blog Hop” for all levels that are participating in a
“Teacher Appreciation Jackpot”.

So…

I invite you to click on each image to search through the sites that are linked on the bottom of each page,

and “hop the blogs” that are participating to let you know that you, Dear Reader, are appreciated.

Whenever I think of “sharing” anything,
for a “nano-second” the phrase “chair-sharing” pops into my head.
It’s a connection that I can’t “shake”,
and is so old that my students cannot even relate to it.

Years ago,
when my children were young,
and Sesame Street was just as young,
the “Golden Hour” was when they sat transfixed watching our local PBS channel and their favorite show.

I seldom watched the skits,
(I knew my alphabet, how to read, and my numbers),
but I listened while I used my “Golden Hour” to clean, pick up, and do the dishes.

Over and over again, I heard Bert and Ernie as they solved life’s little problems,
and reinforced the lessons I tried to teach my children.

With a house filled with children,
“sharing” was an absolute.

So, today, on this rainy Sunday,
I would like to teach you something about “sharing”.

ScreenLeap.com

It’s free,
instant,
with nothing to download,
nor to join,
web-based,
and easy.

You can share your screen, or part of your screen with another computer, a tablet, or a smartphone.

With an email, that contains a link or a code,
all that is needed is a quick “run” of a java app,
and your screen is instantly and clearly shared with anyone else.
You also have the option of texting the code and link to a smartphone.

Once the “share” has started, you can pause the share, and resume it.

What a quick alternative to creating “screen-shots” when all you want to do is “share”.

Check it out.

Sharing is a good thing.

So…
everyone is posting those “vintage” pictures.

It seems ironic that, while advances in technology have made digital photography an amazing form of art, one of the most popular apps recently purchased by Facebook, was developed to make those digital photographs look like the product of a 1950’s camera.

If you are one of the many who like the look of vintage photos,
this site is for you.

Also,

…since the “picnik” is officially over,
this might be the site you choose to use as its replacement.

Pixlr.com is a website that offers free online web-based photo-editing options that include applying a “vintage” look to your favorite photo.

This site includes so many options, that we invite you to explore it on your own.

There is also “an app for that”,
(both iTunes and Android).

On this rainy Sunday,
why not listen to an “Oldies” music station,
and turn some of those photos into something your grandmother would have loved…

April is “Poetry Month,
and with rain in the forecast,

(It IS April…)

why not help your students start their personal “Poetry Anthologies”.

The website www.readwritethink.org is an old friend,
and can make the task fun and easy.

When searching the theme, “Poetry”, the site offers 163 results,
including online tutorials, templates, and guides to many types of poems:

• Acrostic
• Catalog
• Diamante
• Haiku
• Rebus
• Riddle
• Shape/Theme
• Sports

as well as lessons to identify and teach poetic terms:

• Alliteration
• Assonance
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Rhyme
• Simile

Need more help?

www.creative-writing-now.com

offers a list of poems that students will enjoy adding to their poetry collections
and a page filled with “how-to’s”.

It includes a free downloadable Microsoft “Sestina” template that can be used to guide your students’ writing.

(I know! I didn’t know what a “Sestina” was either!)

So, if you’re looking for something fun to teach,
and something fun for your students to learn,
try poetry.

It just sounds like a “Spring Thing” to me…

Just the other day,
Shannon and I explained what an “f2f” friend was,
and now here is another “text term” to add to your “tech-vocabulary”. 

“p2p” 

Peer-to-Peer is how you will use JustBeamIt,
making transferring large files up to 2GB quick, quick, quick, and easy.

You no longer have to upload and attach a file to an email wondering whether you have exceeded your file-size limit,
and wait for the recipient to receive and download it.

This is for quick “must-have-now” files that need to be sent immediately.

The site directions are:

1.)   Drag in a file (or select one) to “beam”. 

2.)   Share the link, keep your browser open. 

3.)   The file is beamed to your recipient once they open the link. 

JustBeamIt is for transferring from source-to-destination only, and no file contents are recorded or stored on their servers. 

If you close the file before the file is downloaded on the other end,
the link will be broken, and the file will be gone. 

The little video below demonstrates the simplicity of JustBeamIt. 

We hope you have a wonderful Easter filled with blessings, family, and sunshine,
and your week follows filled with the same.

As many of you know,

I’m back in the classroom.

My “anchor” was thrown over the side of my little “retirement boat” when I agreed to finish the year for a very special friend who discovered that she was expecting her first baby.

Teaching the last five weeks of the school year in what was my own classroom, 

in my own school,

teaching the same curriculum,

(Well, sort of…)

seemed very doable.

Until the doctors decided that bed-rest was required for the expectant mother.

The five weeks turned into eleven, as in a full quarter, of what is the most beautiful spring I can ever remember.

The hardest part of this teaching assignment has been working without the technology that I had in place,

and the connections that I had built with parents that were used to support and enable student achievement.

Last Thursday, my dear friend was scheduled to deliver her new baby boy.

All day we checked our text messages, Facebook updates, and emails.

Finally on Friday, we received pictures and a text announcing the arrival of a beautiful red-haired 8 pounds 5 ounces baby boy. His mother had to have an emergency C-section, but good news prevailed with Lucas Kyle’s arrival and the news that everyone was healthy and happy.

It was checking my texts that made me think about a student that I had last year.

His mother would not answer phone calls from “unlisted” numbers, which is how our school number appeared to the Caller ID.

One day, Alex suggested that I “text” her.

“That is the only way my dad can get her.”

As reluctant as I was to text a parent from my personal cell, I felt it was worth it.

I can honestly say that the impact texting Alex’s mother had on his success in my classroom was amazing.

So, finally, I present this “tip” for my morning “Sunday Sit, Sip, and Sync” post.

Kikutext is one site that would be on the top of my list for implementation in my classroom.

For years I had emailed parents daily, and it was one way that enabled communication and connection that helped foster student achievement and growth.

Email, however, is no longer the only option, nor is it the best use of technology in terms of communicating.

Both Shannon and I check our email on our phones,

and a text will be answered much sooner than an email or a “call-back” from a message left on our voice-mails.

Just this Friday an important note went home from the nurse’s office,

and if I had Kikutext set up and running, I could have sent a text to parents notifying them to expect the note before their students got on the bus.

Students, in turn, would know and expect that they would be responsible for delivering the note, and expectations for student accountability would be raised and reached.

Kikutext is

• free,
• and easy to use.
• It is web-based, so teachers can type and send texts from their school computers.
• Parent contact information remains private and cannot be seen by anyone but the teacher.

The little video will explain a bit more,

and after watching it,

I encourage you to check out Kikutext and give it a try.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

I’m planning on a bike ride and a visit to my favorite garden center.

Whatever your plans are, I hope it includes unplugging and enjoying the day so you can return tomorrow fresh and motivated for your kiddos.

“Little Bird Tales” is a site that supports and encourages digital storytelling for younger children.

The only thing necessary is
an email address to create a free account,
a microphone,
and an imagination. 

Teachers can set up an account to generate a “School Code” which provides a platform to manage teachers, classrooms, and students.

Stories can be illustrated using uploaded images, but it also provides an “Art Pad” that allows younger students an easy way to create original pictures to illustrate their personal stories.

Stories can be embedded into class websites and easily shared with families. They also have the option to purchase the stories as an mp4.

This little video will provide more information,

and after viewing it,
we invite you to take a minute to visit  “Little Bird Tales”.

Other additional questions can be answered on the FAQ page.

Hours of staring at a computer monitor has its downfall.

“Eyes Relax” is a free download that can help solve our tendency to “hyper-focus”. It was developed by “Mech” out of Portland, Oregon as a personal utility tool. He is a software programmer and felt the need for a tool that would remind (force) him to take the breaks he knew were necessary. The comments, both on the homepage, and on his blog, will validate the usefulness of this download, as well as its security.

I have downloaded and tried other programs, and this one, by far, is the easiest and least intrusive.

Another application, in addition to the benefits to our personal health, would be its use with children. An option to generate a “Password-Protected Parent Mode” allows an adult to schedule breaks while children are using the computer. During these breaks, the computer is “locked”. This is a “time out” that is seriously necessary for the health and well-being of our children.

Take a minute, head over to http://themech.net/eyesrelax/ and schedule some breaks.

I have about 15 seconds before MY screen will go black,
and I plan on refilling my coffee cup,
and taking a break.
You deserve the same…

While formatting backgrounds and colors,
I want elements to match and compliment.

When opening up my color formatting options,
I’m directed to “More Colors…”,
and I have the option to enter the coding to get the precise color I want.

One tool I have found to be invaluable is the
“Instant Eyedropper”.

A free download, this little web tool quietly hangs out on my Windows Taskbar.
When I need to know the exact color of a pixel, I  just click on the icon
and drag it to the pixel. Once I have hovered over the pixel,
I release the “eyedropper”,
and the color code is automatically copied to my clipboard.

Next, I just enter the code into my formatting options,
and I have the exact color I am looking for.

The color codes this tool supports are:

• HTML
• HEX
• Delphi Hex
• Visual Basic Hex
• RGB
• HSB

With this little tip, we hope your Sunday is filled with color…
the colors of spring, that is, with only nine days left until that day!

This week I thought images would be the best way to show how I handle the tangles that ensue with technology.

I am sure there are many other options that can be purchased
and some that look a lot more sophisticated and chic,
but this all works for me.