Icon-apalooza

Last week I saw a post on A Trendy Teacher's blog that made me {oh-so-happy}!! So today I am doing some Spring Cleaning on my desktop and getting digitally organized!

I always used the colored labels for my Mac folders... and then they just turned into a dot. Boring! But now, my desktop folders can go from this:

to this!!!

Yes, you too can organize your desktop with any icon you want... And it is SO EASY!!

I started the same way that A Trendy Teacher did, with a blank slide in Keynote. I inserted a circle shape and then just put a text box over it with the name of the folder. 

Then, select both items that you want (so they are grouped together). You can do this by clicking and dragging to select everything, or by holding the Command key as you select each item. Press command-c to copy the images. 

Next, click on the folder you want to change the icon of. Click on Command-I to get Info on the folder, or control-click and select Get Info. 

Next, click on the folder icon:

And then click on command-v to paste! 

Congrats, you now have the prettiest icons in all the land! 

If you don't want to make personalized icons, you can use ANY IMAGE you want. Find the images you want from Google (or any clipart), and put them into a Keynote or document. 

Copy/Paste the same way above under "Get Info", and BAM! Personalized folders in just a few moments!

Have fun!

#BestYearEver

It's here - the week I said I would stop ignoring the Back to School ads that came out in July and start thinking about the 2014-2015 school year. Starting with an Academy 39 class tomorrow, I'll be getting organized as best I can outside of Central's walls until our return next Monday! 

I've been saving several Back to School posts from a variety of places. There have been so many good tips that I can't wait to use this year! Edutopia has been using the hashtag #BestYearEver, and you know what?! It IS going to be the best year ever! :-)

Lindsey Petlak, a featured teacher on Scholastic, recently started a darling blog called It's Elementary, My Dear. I have really enjoyed reading her blog because it's more of a "teacher lifestyle" blog with a wide variety of things, from what she's listening to as she decorates her classroom to the bargain finds she got at Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby. 

Check out her new blog:

She also has two posts on Scholastic of "The Extreme Classroom Makeover". She suggests great, practical tips for setting up your classroom to make it warm, inviting, and engaging for your new students! 

My favorite tips (that I also use) are #3: Lay on a Base Coat and #5: Start Styling. 

Extreme Classroom Makeover Part I

Extreme Classroom Makeover Part II

Edutopia also has a Back to School section with several articles for preparing for your #BestYearEver!

I really needed the one entitled "Teachers: 5 Ways to Ease Back Into School". I'm probably not the only one who needs it too :-)

One more.. BuzzFeed posted 37 Insanely Smart School Teacher Hacks. I love #4 for blue tape!

See you all soon!

Instant Classroom and TED-Ed

A little random this week, but here are two things you might enjoy!

First up is a website called Instant Classroom (thanks to Teresa G. for sharing!) It gives you an easy way to have an instant random name generator, seating chart or classroom group generator. She says that she uses it a lot for the random name generator to call on students randomly and the students really enjoy it. Thanks Teresa!

Next.. have you ever heard of a TED talk? TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by a non-profit foundation. It was formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading". TED-Ed is a new platform of TED which shares many educational videos. Enjoy exploring this fun, unique website! (They have an app too!)

TED.com is the original if you haven't seen it before. Here is one of my favorite TED Talks, by Sir Ken Robinson.

And another, Thomas Suarez, a 12-year-old app developer!

What an awesome kid! What would your TED talk be about?

Class Incentives.. Yup, there's an App for that!

Remember last year when I introduced you to the amazing TeacherTipster.com guy? Well, he's back and he's even made his own app! It's called Win a Spin ($0.99) and is an app that you can put on your personal iPhone or iPad to use with students when they earn a reward. You can customize the wheel with 6 of your own incentives.. extra computer time, sticker, pencil, recess, lunch with the teacher, etc. Then, whenever your students earn a reward they can spin to win! You can even hook it up to the SmartBoard with one of our iPad adapters so the kids can see. Check out this link for more information.. and thanks to Julie for sharing!

Another incentive app for your laptop and/or iDevice is ClassDojo. You can instantly reinforce positive behavior by rewarding students points in your free class account. You can also customize it to behaviors (think Characteristics of Successful Learners!) and when you reward the student it will show up for why they earned a point; on the flip side you can also deduct points for negative behavior. It also collects the data you put in and you can organize it for parents, report cards, etc. I think kids would love to see their little monsters up on the SmartBoard!

Lion Tips & Tricks

Most of today's iWonder will be in my email to you to help you navigate some technical glitches. But, as we are all now on Lion, here are some of my favorite things about it:

1) Mission Control

If you tend to keep a lot of things open, you can click on Mission Control and see everything you have open. You can also create multiple "desktops" and have different applications open on each. 

2) Air Drop

This is something I haven't used yet, but if you share files a lot with your team, then Air Drop is a better solution when you can't email a large file. You just open up Finder, see all the nearby computers with AirDrop enabled, and you can send files just by dragging them onto a computer's icon. AirDrip will create a network between the two computers and transfer the files for you.

3) Resume

When you shut down your computer, you can choose to save your session, so when you turn your computer back on, it restores all your windows, exactly as they were when you shut down.

You can find out more about clicking this link to a Lion/Laptop Guide.

(You'll need to be logged into the district website to access it.)

Feel free to ask if you want to learn more about them!

Welcome back!

Welcome back to a new school year! With our first week only halfway over, I hope the kids are settling in (and so are you :)

This week's resources aren't particularly techy, but I hope you find them useful as you start your year!

First, I found this picture on Pinterest of a Classroom Timeline. Throughout the year, you can take pictures and add captions to it for special events and activities you do with your students. And, it's a great visual for them to learn how to read a timeline too!

Next, this teacher posted a link to her Sub Binder Templates.. and how perfect that we all got our sub folders to update today! Check it out and see if it's something that you can use to help subs navigate your classroom in your absence. 

I also found this blog post about getting ready for Curriculum Night. She has cute freebies of the pages she uses for explaining her curriculum, classroom schedule, and parent volunteers.

And lastly, I saw this free Data Binder on Teachers Pay Teachers. What a great way to get organized right away in the year as you get to know your students!

The End is Near

I came across a couple blog posts this week that I just had to share. As the year comes to an end, we are busy wrapping up projects, packing up classrooms, and maybe even thinking about next year. Hopefully the advice I found will help you as you close the book of another school year!

Scholastic had an article entitled "Ten Things to Think About as You Pack Up Your Classroom". Here are some of the highlights:

1. Summer Homework: Try to only take home ONE basket of work to do over the summer, such as professional development books you'd like to read.

2. Start Early: Maybe you already have! Is there anything you can pack away now that you know you won't use again this school year?

3. Take Pictures: So that you can refer back to them as you arrange furniture, bulletin boards, etc.

4. Where Did You Put the Essentials?: Pack a box of items that you know you will need right away: Scissors, glue, tape, a stapler, and anything else you'll need to start setting up your classroom. Make sure it then goes in a safe place!

5. Classroom Inventory: As you pack, make a list of things you know you will need to get for next year. Then you can start the new year ready to go, without having to make several trips to Target or the teacher store.

6. Clean as You Go: As you pack away items, give them a wipe down to have them clean and ready to go for next year.

7. Level Your Books: Before packing away your classroom library, take a little bit of time to organize them. You'll be happy you did in August!

8. Use Giant Ziploc Bags: It makes things easy to see and store.

9. Organize the Cabinets: Organize and label your cabinets and storage shelves to make it easier when it comes to setting up your classroom. 

10. Purge: My favorite thing to do! Get rid of things you haven't used. The more you get rid of, the less you have to pack!

All packed up? Good, now you can do a little bit of reflecting :) In a post on Edutopia called Year-End Tech Reflections, Nick Provenzano encourages you to reflect on things you did this year and evaluate how they went. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1) What tools did you use?

2) How did you use these tools?

3) Was the tool effective in what you wanted to accomplish?

4) What tools could be removed or replaced?

5) What are your goals for next year?

Check out his post for more!

Font Freebies

A common question I get is "where can I find cute fonts"? I found a website today that has so many cute, free fonts! It is very easy to download and install free fonts on your computer. Here are the steps to take:

1. Download the fonts you want from a font website. Some great ones are Free Scrapbook Fonts, FontFace.com, and DaFont.com

2. When you find a font you like, download the file. It will save on your computer as a zip file, so "unzip" it by double clicking on it. You will have two files that look similar to this. (You can put the zip file in your trash - you don't need it anymore.)

3. Next, if you go into your Applications folder, you have a Font Book. Double click to open it, and you will see a window like this:

4. All you have to do to "install" the font is drag the unzipped file anywhere into the column labeled Font. And voila! Your new font is now installed on your computer and ready to use! You can preview what it will look like in your Font Book also. 

Enjoy and have a fun spring break!

Laptop Tips & Tricks

In case you missed it at our Institute Day, this week I am sharing some tips & tricks to use your laptop more efficiently. First, here is the QSG passed out at the Laptop Tips & Tricks session.

Some of the additional resources and websites included in the QSG are below:

Atomic Learning:  http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/home

Teach Parents Tech: http://www.teachparentstech.org/

Under 10 Minutes: http://www.undertenminutes.com

Learn it in 5: http://www.learnitin5.com

I also found a website called F Symbols that has shortcuts to make different symbols, like ÷, ≤, ≥, and even !

And for fun, PBS Kids Lab has over 60 games to play!

Teacher Tipster

This week Julie introduced me to an awesome teacher, Mr. Smith of TeacherTipster.com. On his website, you will find printables, links to his weekly videos, and a link to his Facebook page that you can "like" and follow his posts. Let me tell you, I was hooked after watching one video! I would love to be a student in his classroom- he is so creative and truly makes learning fun! Even though he is a first grade teacher, his tips can apply to all grade levels.

The first video I watched was an Angry Birds math lesson (I know, Angry Birds are everywhere these days!)

He also has great ideas for classroom management, like Chart Folders for those students who are always finishing early.

I also love his idea for Silly-brations! I just can't stop smiling at how awesome he is :-)

To see the rest of his videos, check out his YouTube page, go to his website, or "like" him on Facebook to receive his updates. Enjoy!

Top 10 Reasons You Should Join...

This is it- today is the day that if you are not a Pinterest addict you just might become one. Maybe you've heard of it but just don't quite get it yet- yes, it is a social site, but there are so many great things for teachers on it that it cannot be ignored as another tool to use to enhance your teaching. So, here we go!

10. It is free!

9. It is growing at a phenomenal rate. According to a Tech Crunch article, it has over "11.7 unique monthly U.S. visitors."

8. You can find others who share similar interests as you and "follow" them. There are TONS of teachers on there pinning new ideas daily! Or, follow several of your fellow staff members and friends who are members already!

7. You might be inspired to try something you've never thought of before.

6. There are How To's on pretty much any subject.

5. You can create a virtual filing cabinet using your "Boards" of all those ideas you've seen on the web but can never remember where they are.

4. Share your passions - there are so many ideas already on there, but you can add your own also! Doing something awesome with your students? "Pin it" and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how many people will like or "repin" your idea!

3. It is a visual feast for your eyes! If you're like me, then you want to get a sneak-peek at a link you are going to click on, and sometimes a Google search becomes frustrating, clicking back and forth because you aren't finding what you're looking for. Pinterest on the other hand is organized with pictures that are tagged with a short description of what it is, or a comment made by the user.

2. Bookmark your favorite websites! If you've tried Delicious, Diigo, or other bookmarking tools and haven't stuck with them, maybe Pinterest will- again, that visual image is irreplaceable!

1. Just do it- it has been life changing for those who love it! I have never been so excited about finding new ideas every single day! 

To give you a peek at what a Pinterest board looks like, here is what my Teaching board looks like:

If you want an "invite" to the site, let me know! :)

Happy New Year!

Last night I came across a new blog, The Daring Librarian, that I instantly fell in love with, mainly because of the title of the first post I saw: "10 Super Geeky Tips for the New Year". I like quick tips, and I am a self-proclaimed geek, so it sounded like the perfect post for me! Here is a basic rundown of her top 10, and check out the link for more detailed info on each.

1. Change your passwords. Yes, ALL of them. "According to CNN Tech an 8 digit password can be hacked in 2 hours but a 12 character password would take 17 years."

2. Dump your cache, cookies, and clear your browsing history in whichever web browser you use (Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc.).

3. Consolidate your flash drives. Clean out things you don't need anymore and backup the important things you can't live without.

4. Wait, forget the flash drive, try a cloud! Something like GoogleDocs, Dropbox, iCloud, etc. (Dropbox is my personal favorite!)

5. Edit your privacy settings and Facebook friendships.

6. Be transparent. What's your "digital footprint"?

7. Buy your name... domain name, that is.

8. Get Wikified. (At Central we already do this on our Sharing Place! Yippie!)

9. Build your PLN - Twitter is actually an awesome place to connect with other educators! (Follow me @iTeacherLauren :)

10. Back up your data - purchasing an external hard drive is a great investment!

Like I said, check out the original post "10 Super Geeky Tips for the New Year" for detailed descriptions of each step. She has some great ideas!