February+16


 * Mac Basics**
 * Accessibility
 * Navigation tips


 * Sharing - Google +**


 * Book Discussion**
 * Discussion Forum. For today, you were to pull from each chapter a passage, paragraph, sentence, etc. that provoked your thinking and write a short reflection on how it engaged your thinking in general.
 * "As with any revolution, there will be gains and losses." Respond to this prompt with what you believe to be the gains and losses of the technology revolution, offering evidence from the book and your own life experiences.
 * How do new technologies compel us to rethink issues of assessment and equity?

The // **BIG QUESTIONS** // to answer as we learn about each new technology:
 * Continue your work with new technology tools for learning**
 * 1) What are the "affordances" and "constraints" of the technology? In other words, what does the technology allow us to do or prevent us from doing? The answers to this question might be "messy." This fundamental understanding is important to answer the next questions...
 * 2) What new skills do we need to teach students?
 * 3) What will I need to do differently in terms of how I teach in the classroom? How will teaching and learning look different?
 * 4) How does the technology help me to foster creativity, innovation and some of the other 21st century skills?
 * 5) What are some ways I can use this technology in my classroom?

Continue developing your understanding of technology tools with either new Google tools outlined in the course text //Retool Your School...The Educator's Essential Guide to Google's Free Power Apps// or web 2.0 tools outlined below//.// In groups of 2-3, choose a technology/tool to investigate for the week. Your investigation of the tool will include two parts: (1) use the tool! Try it out. Experiment. Create. (2) Locate resources online that show how other teachers are using these tools for real learning in the classroom. Once you have tried the tool out and discovered some new resources, on your blog, write about your REFLECTIONS to the question above (post prior to class on Tuesday) and be prepared to share your learning verbally with the rest of the class on **TUESDAY**. You should share new resources in your blog post and on Google+.

__//Additional Tools//__
 * RSS
 * Social Bookmarking
 * Twitter
 * Podcasting
 * Gaming
 * Thinkfinity
 * Prezi
 * Skype
 * Wikipedia
 * iTunes U


 * Further Discussion of the Application Project**
 * How are you doing with next steps?
 * What questions do you have at this time?

//For reference:// How to Grow A Textbook
 * Start with an outline
 * Grab a virtual binding
 * Unpack and publish your traditional documents
 * Grab a few solid updating tools
 * Grab books for solid, more stable content
 * Grab databases and database essays, articles and chapters
 * Grab the right search tools
 * Grab your own presentations and shop for the best of others
 * Grab a couple of pathfinders
 * Grab some film
 * Grab some open source curriculum
 * Grab some student work
 * Grab some other stuff - see below


 * For Tuesday, February 21**


 * Sharing:** Post any interesting articles, videos, findings on the Internet, etc. to the Google+ stream.


 * Read:** Read Chapters 9 & 10 in //Rethinking Education...// Post in the discussion forum as per previous classes; we will discuss February 23.


 * Application Project**: Continue piecing together your virtual textbook chapter.


 * Technology Tool**: Work with your chosen tool from the //Retool Your School// text or links above. Discover online resources that help you learn more about how teachers use this tool in the classroom. Write your weekly blog post as outlined above. Include links to resources and post those links to the Google+ stream. This rubric will be used to assess your blog post.

** Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 21, 7:00-9:00 PM** ** New Topic: Sharing Technology Tools, Q&A on Application Project**