Save Time Watching Long YouTube Videos by Speeding Up The Feed

If you know me, it should come as no secret that I watch quite a few webinars and tutorials on YouTube. YouTube has always been a powerful resource to help me to learn and grow.

I do have one problem with watching these videos. Sometimes I don't have enough time. This means I might sometimes skip something important or just not be able to finish.

Recently I discovered the power of YouTube Speed settings. Most people can listen and learn faster than people talk. YouTube has a solution for this. If you click on the Gear Icon when watching a video, you can choose to speed up or slow down the video. 

YouTube does a nice job of adjusting the sound so you don't feel like you are listening to the Chipmunks. 

I typically use the speed of 1.5 when watching. I would recommend experimenting to see what works best for you. Try it out and let me know what you think?

There is also a Chrome Extension that you can use to adjust on the fly. 

Digital Resources to Support Math Educators and Students

“Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.”
Albert Einstein

We are working on updating our web resources for different subject areas. This week the focus is on Math Chrome and G Suite Resources for K-12 teachers and students. This is the working document:

Digital Math Resources for K-12 Teachers & Students

If you have suggested resources or ideas can you share them with us?

• Add a comment to this Math Resource Document.
• Or post in this Collaborative Padlet.
• Or add a comment at the end of this post.

10 Great Hashtags Educators Should Be Exploring

Funny, but this is not the power of hashtags for educators! Hashtags for education are one of the most powerful tools connected to personal learning networks. 

What are hashtags?
Have you ever searched Google by using quotations to refine your results? Hashtags on Twitter work about the same way. A hashtag is the # symbol followed by a word or phrase. Two of the most popular educational hashtags are #edtech and #edchat.

A hashtag search will default to "Top" tweets connected to the hashtag. The top tweets is a good starting point, but I recommend clicking on "Latest" to get the most from your search. You can also click on "People" to connect directly with educators associated with the hashtag. 

Why use hashtags?
Hashtags allow Twitter users to narrow down results. When attached to your post they help other interested users to find what you are sharing. Educational hashtags have the power to connect educators to important conversations and educational trends.

If you are interested in a topic, there is probably a hashtag that can help. Here are 10 of my favorite hashtags connected to teaching and learning. This is by no means a complete list. There are many other great educational hashtags. My goal for this list was to provide some variety. Please feel free to share your favorite hashtags in the comments below.

#DigitalCitizenship - Educators and organizations sharing ideas and resources to support student digital footprints and online etiquette. Educators connected to this hashtag believe that all students need help to create and maintain a positive digital resume. #digcit is another popular digital citizenship hashtag. 

#KidsDeserveIt - This hashtag exists today to be a source of inspiration but also to be a place where ideas and opinions are brought about that may challenge the way things have always been done. Connected to the book Kids Deserve It.

#tlap - This hashtag offers inspiration, practical techniques, and innovative ideas that will help you to increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. Connected to the book Teach Like a Pirate.

#edtechteam- Originally connected to the EdTechTeam Summits, this hashtag is a place where educators share valuable resources and ideas connected to edtech, learning spaces, Google for Education, and much more. 

#InnovatorsMindset - This hashtags challenges the status quo and asks educators to explore how teachers can bring a new more innovative mindset to their classrooms. Connected to the book Innovator's Mindset. 

#GSuiteEDU - Connected to G Suite for Education. This hashtag brings some of the best and the brightest educators together. While the focus is on Google, there are many other great resources and ideas shared. It is not just a Google hashtag. 

#ditchbook - This hashtag brings together educators who understand that technology is changing the world and so must our classrooms. Connected to the book Ditch that Textbook.

#pbl - Brings together educators interested in project based learning. 

#onesmallthing - Based on the simple idea that a BIG impact comes from focusing on one small change at a time. Connected to Teacher 2 Teacher Website (#T2T). 

#hyperdocs - Brings together educators using HyperDocs as a tool to support student-centered learning enhanced by edtech. Connected to the HyperDoc Handbook. 

There is also a great deal of value in following the hashtags of different educational conferences during the conferences. ISTE, ASCD, ICE, and FETC all conferences that have very active hashtags before, during, and after the conferences.

Not enough Hashtags for you? Explore these resources to find even more great Educational Hashtags.

• 100 Education Hashtags for Teachers and EdLeaders
• Cyberman's Educational Hashtags Page
• A Useful List of the Best 100 Education Hashtags for All Educators

Just a bit more Twitter fun!

Digital Literacy & Citizenship Resources

“If you are on social media, and you are not learning, not laughing, not being inspired or not networking, then you are using it wrong.” ― Germany Kent

The only constant in this world is change. The world that many educators grew up in does not exist for our students today. We are connected to the world like never before, but the world also has unprecedented access to us. Navigating the digital world is an essential skill for all learners.

ISTE Student Standard 2: Digital Citizen Students recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.

I believe that it is important for educators, students, and parents to recognize that we all have a digital tattoo. Something is added to our digital tattoo almost every time we are online.  I like this analogy because once we share something with the digital world it is very hard to erase it, just like it is hard to remove a tattoo. Good or bad, our online resume is part of us now and in the future.

I believe all educators have a responsibility to help our students become digitally literate and my PLN has been helping us organize resources to support all students now and in the future.

__________ Featured Books Connected to Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy

• Digital Citizenship in Schools: Nine Elements All Students Should Know
  This new edition includes the nine elements of digital citizenship and how to incorporate them in the classroom along with lesson plans and professional development activities designed to instill digital citizenship concepts.
• Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities
  In Digital Citizenship in Action, you’ll find practical ways for taking digital citizenship lessons beyond a conversation about personal responsibility so that you can create opportunities for students to become participatory citizens, actively engaging in multiple levels of community and developing relationships based on mutual trust and understanding with others in these spaces.
• Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership
  Equipping students for their future begins by helping them become digital leaders now. In our networked society, students need to learn how to leverage social media to connect to people, passions, and opportunities to grow and make a difference. 
• Fact Vs. Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of Fake News
  Fact vs. Fiction provides educators with tools and resources to help students discern fact from fiction in the information they access not only at school, but on the devices they carry in their pockets and backpacks.

__________ Featured Digital Citizenship & Digital Literacy Resources

• Be Internet Awesome - Google's Digital Safety Resources for the classroom and home. Pear Deck has partnered with Google to create an interactive curriculum connected to the Be Internet Awesome resources. 
• Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship - Empower your students to make safe, smart, and ethical decisions online.
• Google Digital Citizenship & Safety Course - Learn how to stay safe online and equip your students to become responsible digital citizens with this free and interactive course.
• ISTE - Digital Citizenship - Articles and resources connected to digital citizenship in schools. 
• Resources - Safety Center - Google - Google and their partners have compiled a short list of helpful resources for getting to know the web.
• Common Sense Education YouTube Channel - Videos include tips on teaching with technology, lessons on digital citizenship, and ways teachers can protect students’ privacy on social media.
• Google’s Applied Digital Skills - Ready-to-use video lessons teach digital skills that have immediate, real-life application.

__________

Additional resources and a Digital Literacy Video Playlist can be found on our Digital Learning website.

Wicked EdTech - Digital Learning

What resources will you use to support digital literacy and citizenship in your classrooms?

Resources to Support Creative Student Voices #StudentVoice

Student Voice is no longer relegated to the traditional methods and pedagogy. Powerpoints, class discussion, writing, and drawing still have an important place in our classrooms, but they cannot be the only way Future Ready Teachers and Students engage in content. EdTech today provides students and educators with incredible resources to engage Student Voice. 

Today, Student Voice needs to be connected to a range of skills and connected resources including images, text, audio, interactive components, and video. The web and Google Apps for Education can provide students and teachers with a wealth of resources to flip the traditional a presentation model on its head.

The resources connected on this page are commonly used in education and are typically free. This is by no means a complete list. We’ve selected and categorized some of our PLN's favorite resources to support Creative Student Voice.
Most of the resources in this document have interactive help tutorials built into the resource. Additionally, a quick YouTube search will provide some nice tutorials for teachers and students.

Creative Student Voice Resources Document

Please feel free to share your favorite resources in the Padlet linked in the Document or in the comments section below.

Drawing	Video Resources	Images & Infographics
Presentations	Interactive Whiteboards	Audio