Edscape is Coming Join Us and Innovate Now

The annual Edscape Conference will once again be held at New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ on Saturday October 19, 2013.  Hundreds of educators from over ten different states and Canada descended upon my school last year to learn together and network in an effort to move their respective school cultures down an innovative path.  Edscape evolved out of the need to provide educators with relevant, meaningful professional development focusing on digital learning and innovation that was in dire need for many.  This was the case for teachers in my District as well as those throughout the Tri-State area. 

Here is a description of the conference:

As the educational landscape changes schools must transform accordingly in order to prepare all learners with the skills, tools, and knowledge to be successful in the 21st Century. This requires a shift in instructional techniques that focus on critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving, authentic contexts, and technology. Edscape is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices.  The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”. We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction.  The Edscape Conference will feature presentations and workshops by innovative educators who believe that change is essential to meet the diverse needs of all learners in the 21st Century. They will share best practices, success stories, applicable strategies, and pedagogical techniques that address the following:

• Meaningful, cost-effective professional growth opportunities to improve teaching and learning.
• Effective technology integration as a means to promote student creativity, apply knowledge, and increase engagement in the classroom.
• Design of authentic learning experiences to enhance critical thought, inquiry, problem-solving, and relevancy in the classroom.
• Essential leadership practices to articulate a vision for school improvement and begin the implementation process.

Other conference highlights include the following:

• 60 concurrent sessions
• Keynote by George Couros, an internationally-renowned educator and leader
• Featured presentations by Steven Anderson (@Web20classroom) and Shelly Terrell (@shellterrell)
• Numerous presentations by educators who routinely speak and present at national conferences including Adam Bellow. 
• Breakfast and lunch
• Fantastic networking opportunities
• An innovation lab to see firsthand some of the latest educational technology in action
• Giveaways

DONT MISS OUT AND REGISTER TODAY! Check out the schedule HERE.

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The Right Way is Your Way

I have read some very thought-provoking posts and associated commentary over the past couple of weeks focusing on how particular educators use social media.  What I have found interesting is the powerful opinions as to how one should use social media.  I think it is great that so many people have focused opinions on what social media should, could, or should not be with a considerable emphasis on specific dos and donts.  These specific methods and techniques work for them and it is important that all of us have some sense as to the why and how when it comes to our own social media use.  It is these opinions that always force me to reflect on my own use, objectives, and goals.

Image credit: http://www.somema.org/the-10-ds-of-creating-a-social-media-use-policy/

To make things clear there is no guidebook out there that educators must abide by when it comes to using social media.   Social media is like the "Wild West" in that there are no overbearing rules, which is why I love it so much.  I can be brief if I want to.  I can comment on a post or tweet if I want to.  I can share something if and when I want to.  I can follow or unfollow whoever I want at any time.  I can recommend educators to follow if I want to.  Heck, I can post pictures of my kids if I want to.  The only firm rule I would encourage all educators to follow is to use common sense when posting to the Internet and always remember your role as an educator in the community you serve. Everything else is basically up to you and your specific preferences.

This has led me to think about how I use a myriad of social media tools with Twitter being my main go to resource.  To put it simply here is how I use social media as an educational administrator and learner:

• Acquire, share, and curate resources
• Discussion forum and engage in conversations of professional interest
• Elicit feedback on ideas and initiatives I launch at my school
• Support
• Ask questions and receive answers
• Track conferences
• Digital newspaper
• Connect with practitioners as well as experts in the field of education
• Build, cultivate,and interact with a Personal Learning Community (PLN) to grow professionally and do what I do better
• Promote my work and the work of others
• Share the great things my students and teachers are doing
• Public relations
• Enhance communications

Is there a right or wrong way to use social media? I personally dont think so.  The beauty and power of social media is that it is adaptable to fit our particular needs and goals at a given time.  As our goals and needs change our use of social media will evolve.  My point here is that any way an educator decides to use social media is the right way. What are your thoughts on this? Should there be specific rules or guidelines for educators to follow in online spaces?

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Daily Inspiration is the Norm

Im not going to lie, New Milford High School is an amazing place to work.  We have fantastic students, supportive parents, a Technology Director that gets it, and a Central Office and Board of Education that provide us with the autonomy to take risks. With these elements in place the stage is set for innovation and the creation of a school culture that works for students in the digital age. Change does not happen when all of the gears are not working in concert. What more could a Principal and learner ask for in a place to work?

Makerspace at NMHS

You know what else I love? The fact that there is so much going on these days at NMHS that it is near impossible for me to know all of the great things taking place. This is where my incredible teachers come into play. Not only are they working extremely hard to adjust to the many new mandates enacted in NJ, but in the face of this adversity they have not departed from what makes NMHS a special place to teach and learn.  Instead of shying away from taking risks to improve professional practice, my teachers have readily embraced the autonomy they have been provided.  Not only are they innovative and consistently redefining teaching and learning at NMHS, but they readily share their great work on a routine basis. Below is a snapshot of some of their latest work with students:

• Mr. Devereauxs AP Biology class used the apps iMotion HD and Stop Motion Studio to create stop-motion videos showing the process of meiosis. They used iMovie to put voice-overs into their videos to describe the process. 
• Mr. Groff’s US history classes piloted Paperlet, a new educationally based technology platform where students create digital stories that incorporate various multimedia elements including video, sound, and image files. The students worked with Mrs. Fleming on new Google Chromebooks in the library to design their e-books. As part of the pilot program students made recommendations to Paperlet designers on needed changes and enhancements, which were immediately made to improve student experiences. 
• Mrs. Chellani continues to search for new ways to make the learning environment more engaging and interactive for her students. In addition to playing a review game of jeopardy via the Smart Board in her Calculus classes, she decided to have students use an interactive whiteboard on their phones by downloading the sketchpad app. As opposed to final answers being submitted on paper, Mrs. Chellani had her students use the app to submit the final answers. The learning process was much more enjoyable for the students through the use of the game and much more relevant to them through the use of the phones
• Students in Mrs. Groff’s Voices in Poetry and Prose classes have been reading independently since the beginning of the school year. They choose their own books to read based on their interests and reading levels. Students then worked with Mrs. Groff and Mrs. Fleming to create book trailers on their favorite books. Students will use WeVideo, Windows Movie Maker and other available technologies to create their videos. These trailers were then loaded onto an NMHS book trailer.
• Mrs. Fleming provided opportunities for the students and staff (and the district) to participate in Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code. Students were invited into the media center to used the computer programming tool Scratch to create interactive holiday cards. In addition, Mrs. Fleming collaborated with Mrs. Haskill’s math class as they used coding to create various things including creating their own games.

This is but a small sample of what is happening at NMHS.  Each day I can start my morning off with a bang by stopping by our digital journalism class to see what The Lance is up to.  I count my blessings everyday that I work in a school where daily inspiration is the norm.

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Google Nexus 5 is here everything about the Nexus 5

Google has yesterday announced the Nexus 5. The most leaked smartphone in the history is finally here. Nexus 5 has top notch specs. And a great OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) Camera for brilliant performance.

You can buy the Nexus 5 on Google Play starting from $349.99 right now (Google Play link)

Design

The Nexus design is not the best but it is quite impressive, it looks similar to Googles 7" inch tablet the Nexus 7 (2013). It made of poly-carbonate plastic with matte finish instead of glass what we seen in the previous Nexus the Nexus 4. But it would not disappoint you.It is light weight and thin. It weighs around 130g and about 8.5mm thick. It not the thinnest and not the lightest phone but it still does the job.

It comes in two colors black and white. The white Nexus 5 has black front with white back. There is a large camera eye just above the vertical Nexus logo. The power button is on the right side of the phone and the volume rockers are on the left side of the phone. The speakers are placed on the front of the device just like the HTC One but not two speakers.

Display

The Nexus has very sharp 5" inch full HD display. It has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels with the pixel density of 445 ppi. 

The display uses in-cell touch Googles famous display technology, which means there is no gap between the display and the touch, which make the touch more accurate and responsive.

Processor and Ram

As we told you the Nexus 5 got top notch specs. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Processor is powering the device. The most fastest and latest processor from Qualcomm. It has 2GB of Ram.

Storage

The Nexus 5 comes with two storage options 16GB and 32GB. There is no micro-sd card slot for storage expansion because Google hates mico-sd card slots. Google prefers Cloud backup instead of micro-sd card.




Camera

The Google Nexus 5 comes with an 8mp (Mega Pixels) Camera with a single LED flash, same pixel size as the previous Nexus. But now the Camera is made by Sony, and it has OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) which prevent photos from getting burred and create great blur free photos.It features a HDR+ mode will enhance the camera performance even more. It also has an 1.3mp (Mega Pixels) Front facing Camera, which also capture videos in 720 HD. The front camera is enough for video chats.

We have got some sample of the camera you can see the sample posted below.

Android 4.4 KitKat

The new version of Android debuted with the Nexus 5. The fastest Android version ever,also brings some new camera features like auto-awesome feature and many other. Nexus 5 is first device which comes with the latest version of Android Pre-installed. It also has huge system optimization which will bring low memory usage to the device.

Battery

The Nexus 5 has a 2300 mAh Battery. There are many smartphones which have more battery than the Nexus 5. So dont expect brilliant battery performance, the battery performance would be average. Just like the Nexus 4 the Nexus 5 also has wireless charging built-in but wireless charger will come in the box you gotta buy it as a accessory for about 50$ bucks.

In the Box

• In the Box you find a standard micro usb charger (not wireless charger).
• The Smartphone Google Nexus 5.
• Some Booklets etc.

Remember you will not get any kind of headset in the box, you gotta purchase it separately.

Price

The price of the Nexus 5 is 350$ for the 16GB variant and 400$ for the 32GB variant. It is available to buy at Google Play store.

We can say It is fastest Android device ever.

Are you willing to buy the new Nexus 5?

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