I’m not one for being video-taped.  So the idea of being “live” in a Google+ Hangout is scary for me.  But in playing around with the options, I saw that I could just put a still picture of me as opposed to a live video feed.  Having said that, I do like the idea of seeing other people live during the conversation.

Today was #edcampHOME.  I originally signed up to attend, but I got flustered with trying to figure out how to join the session.  I spent quite a bit of time this morning reading the posts in the edcampHOME 2013 community and I think I now understand how to join the sessions.  Of course, I still have to get over my hang-up about being on live video…so for now, I’m just watching the hangout live on YouTube which is very informative.  It’s nice to see like-minded educators with the same thoughts and concerns. I can see that Google+ Hangout can be a valuable collaborative learning tool especially since everyone in the hangout can video a YouTube video, share screens, send chats, etc.  It’s definitely a different way to collaborate with educators.

I suppose at some point, I’m going to have to get over my trepidation with being on video, but for now, I think I’ll just watch the live hangout.  One baby step at a time.  =)

I was perusing the Assignments feature in MBC, toying with the idea of possibly adding in a poll for my students to complete.  They are in the first phase of their Ethical Issues discussion assignment and tonight the initial post is due by 9PM.  I figured that the traffic would be high today so maybe a poll would be a good thing to put in there.  But…I don’t want my students to be off-task seeing that the initial post is due tonight AND they should be working on the benchmark review since the district benchmark is tomorrow.  I don’t need to get them distracted.  I’ll post a poll tomorrow while they are testing.  =)

Back to MBC’s poll feature…I didn’t realize that we could add multiple choice, multiple answer, short answer, essay, and even accept attached work within the Assignments page.  What a great tool!  I just gave a short PD introducing MBC about a month ago and this would be a great follow-up!  I just wish that we had more free time at work because I think that teachers want to learn how to use the tech tools we have, but they simply don’t have time between meetings, interventions, and tutoring.  Every single day, there is something going on that keeps the teachers on campus till well after 3PM.

But I’m going to experiment and explore the Assignment feature with my students because if I can figure out how to use this, I might be able to offer more of a blended program for my students next year.  Every year, no make that every semester (I teach a semester course), the number of students who have a smart phone or access to the Internet at home increases.  It may not be by much, but it’s pretty significant considering that we are a Title I school.  =)  If teachers are creative enough…they can integrate technology projects for students to complete outside of the school day.  It can be done…because I’ve been doing it for several years now.  And with each new update for the various tech tools and websites that we use, I’m finding that we’re able to do so much more which makes the planning and the learning more fluid and exciting.  =)  Technology rocks!