#NerdyCast - @GoogleGlass in the classroom #Edchat

Here is a new #NerdyCast video with my thoughts on +Google Glass and wearable technology in the classroom. I would love to hear your thoughts on wearable technology in schools. Good for teachers and students or a privacy nightmare?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on the +NerdyCast page. Have a great day everyone!

@TheNerdyTeacher 

Tools going into retirement in my class

After some long and hard consideration, here are some tools from my class that have been forced to retire since the move to a more paperless environment and with adoption of new technology.

Stapler: The stapler used to be one of the most important parts of my life as a teacher. Students would line up and attach their work to the rubric and drop them on my desk. Every assignment would have the shiny piece of metal in the upper left hand corner. Sadly, for the stapler, there is nothing to staple in my class anymore. In class writing still happens, but I encourage students to use the paper clips. The paper clip only has a few months left before retirement, so I’m trying to get the most out of them. At any given time, I would have 3 or 4 staplers floating around the room so students could assemble their work. The stapler has been good to me, but it’s time to part ways.



Hole puncher: The stapler was all about giving, but the hole puncher was about taking. For the assignments I would forget to hole punch at the copier, the hole puncher could be counted on to help the most organized of my students. Tirelessly popping out three little circles of paper was its only job and it did it well. I would like to say he will be missed, but that would be a lie. I like the extra desk space.



The Document Camera : This guy has gone the way of the overhead machine. With the iPad2 and the Apple TV, there is nothing the Document Camera brings to the table. He sits at my desk with his head hanging down in disgrace. His stationary existence just doesn’t fit in with this mobile world. He was the most popular kid in my class for a couple of years, but now he is just another obsolete tool. I’m sure I can find a home for DC. Hopefully.

File Folders of Student Work:  The days of holding onto a student’s work in a folder in the room are long gone. A remnant of a bygone era, the file folder has sputtered out like an athlete that stayed one season too long. Dropbox has replaced physical file folders and allows for quick and easy sharing of information. The blog has also replaced the need for paper assignments that would go into the folders as well. With nothing to place in the folders, the folders have opted for retirement.

 The Filing Cabinet : With its long time companion the file walking off into the sunset, the filing cabinet sits in the corner as an icon to a time in education where a person could hold all the valuable information they needed in one neat and organized location. It was ok that access was only available during set school hours and never over the summer. Times have changed and now the filing cabinet sits as an ancient relic occasionally used to store party supplies for the holidays.

Here are some tools that are not retiring, but are very close to announcing their retirement; email, scanners, textbooks, desktop computers, single student desk, and the classroom.

What has made the move to retirement in your room?

- @TheNerdyTeacher

Doxie - The Scanner for Teachers and Students

This is the scanned cover of the Quick Start guide that came with the Doxie U. Scanner. The picture is beautiful. It looks like I just copied the page from the website. Here is some info on the Doxie Scanner. 

Tech Specs:

Scanning Modes

Color (24-bit), grayscale (8-bit), black and white

Scanning Speed

12 seconds per page (200 dpi grayscale)

Scanning Resolution

Up to 600 dpi

Page Size

From business card up to 8.5x14” (includes A4 / U.S. letter and legal sizes); sheets up to 0.75 mm thick

Connection

USB 2.0

Controls

Multi-action heart button

Dimensions

11.5" x 2.0" x 1.6" (291 mm x 51 mm x 40 mm)

Weight

10.9 oz (309g)

Power

USB powered – no external power required

Software

Free included software for scanning and sharing for any supported PC or Mac.

Apps

Works with dozens of desktop and web apps for sharing, archiving, photo editing, OCR, and more. Save as PDF, JPEG, or lossless PNG.

System Requirements

Free USB 2.0 port; Windows XP/Vista/7, or Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Here is what it looks like compared to my wireless Mac Keyboard, 

It really is the perfect size for travel. It also comes with its own travel bag to keep it secure. 

Use:

The Doxie U. is very easy to use! Before connecting the USB, I needed to go to getdoxie.com/start and download the Doxie App. Once I had the app downloaded, I connected the scanner and used their calibration sheet to calibrate the scanner. That process took less than five minutes. From there, I was ready to go. I scanned the cover of the Quick Start Guide because I loved the colors and I really wanted to see what this could do from the start. I was not disappointed. Once the the image was scanned, I was offered a host of options. 

The first options are saving the scanned document as a PDF, JPEG or PNG. If using a PDF, you are able to scan multiple pages to keep them on one PDF file.

Once I select the format, I have tons of great options. I can send it to Adobe so I can do some editing, I can send it to Evernote to store for later, send it directly to iPhoto to for later or I can just save it to the desktop. These options are fabulous, but it doesn't stop there!

I was also given the option to send the PDF directly to iTunes where it would be stores under books. I freaking love this option. As an English teacher, I could have students create stories in class, scan them to iTunes and I could upload all of them to the class set of iPad2s I so desperately want. The connection to iTunes is a wonderful addition to this excellent scanner. 

If you want to scan pictures, you are able to send them directly to Flickr. If you have random photos floating around the house of old classes you taught, this would be a great way to scan them and keep them online. 

You can also connect your Twitter account to Doxie. I sent a tweet of the Quick Start Guide. The file is stored on Doxie and I can determine how long I want it to be available for download. Anywhere from 1 week to 1 year. 

I was also able to connect Google Docs to my Doxie account and I scanned the image and sent it right over to my Google Account. I am very impressed. 

The only thing this scanner does not do is connect to Dropbox. That would have it connect to all of the place I keep documents. It is something they should look into. 

I see myself using the scanner to take my handwritten notes I make while lesson planning and scanning them into Evernote and iTunes so I can have digital copies of my notes instead of the Steno Notebook I use day to day. It will really help clean up the clutter of multiple notebooks on my desk with all of my lesson plans. I can also finally scan in some of those older documents I do not seem to have digital copies for. 

To get a Doxie U., an educator or student needs to show academic credentials (School ID) and it can be had for $119. I think this price is very affordable for what it is able to do. I've actually needed a scanner for a while but did not want to spend a ton of money and have it take up a ton of space. Now, I can take this with me to conference and scan handouts quickly and store them to my iTunes and/or upload them to Evernote so I can access all of the documents on my iPhone and iPad.

Overall, I happily recommend the Doxie U. for educators and students looking for a quick and easy way to store paper and help cut down on the clutter.

Full Disclosure: Doxie sent me their Doxie U. scanner for the purpose of a review.

Easi-Speak Digital Microphone

I was able to get my hands on the Easi-Speak Digital Microphone and I played with it for a while to see what it can do.

The microphone is very simple to use and has everything a teacher and student could need for recording short messages. It has a record button and a pause/play button. It allows the user to skip ahead of recorded tracks to find the one they are looking for. It has volume buttons and the standard on and off button. One of my favorite parts is the the string attached to the cap that conceals the USB drive when not in use. If this cord was not attached, I know this cap would be missing in 24 hours once the students got to it. 

The device fits nicely in the hand and is point and click ready to record. Once the recording is done, it can be plugged into a computer and the files are easy to pull off. I did a couple of quick recordings and found them on my computer once I connected the microphone. Another neat feature is the ability to add recordings to the microphone from the computer. I could record something from my home computer and upload it to the microphone for students to listen to. Its a nice touch to a nice piece of equipment.

The Easi-Speak also comes with Audacity for the user to download. Audacity is a nice tool to use when editing the recordings for the various projects the students and teacher are working on.

For me, I see this device being very helpful with my journalism students working on our digital newspaper, The Tower Pulse. Students could record interviews and conversations to be uploaded to the site or use as they write their articles. Students are sometimes so rushed to get accurate quotes, they might miss something else. This will allow them to focus on the interview. 

Another fun use of microphone could be story telling. Students could add sentences to a story and pass the microphone around to hear what everyone said and add their part. This would be a great way to get students collaborating on a story and end up with something funny to share with everyone. 

I could also see this microphone coming along on field trips so students can share their thoughts on the things they are seeing. This is a great way to keep students engaged and it will great something that can be shared to parents and the rest of the class.

Overall:

The Easi-Speak is priced at $69.99. That might seem a little steep, but the application possibilities are endless when it comes to this microphone. Students can record themselves anywhere they are for varied projects. While this microphone might lend it self to the lower grades more readily, I think it could prove valuable in the upper grades for a creative teacher. I would recommend that teachers in my district consider purchasing some of these with lessons in mind.

I have an extra Easi-Speak Digital Microphone available to one of my lucky readers. In the comment portion, please share with everyone one way you would use the microphone in your classroom and I will choose a winner at random.

Full Disclosure: Learning Resources sent me the product for the purpose of a review. 

@LivescribeK12 Echo Smartpen is awesome

Livescribe Echo Smartpen

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Livescribe Echo Smartpen and I'm super excited by what I will be able to do with this amazing tool. 

My first response after I started playing with the Echo was, "I'm pretty sure this pen runs on magic!"

I still believe that. Here are some of the "magical" qualities of the Echo Smartpen:

- Paper Replay

Paper Replay records what you hear and write and allows the user to replay the audio by using the pen to tap the written words. These saved notes can be uploaded to your computer where key words or sentences can be searched. The notes and recordings can be shared via Facebook, Blogs or Livescribe.com. I absolutely love the social aspect of the Echo. I want to encourage students to share notes and this is one great way for kids to do it.

- Livescribe Connect

Livescribe Connect is awesome because it allows the user to send stuff right from the paper or the Livescribe Desktop. The Google Docs and Evernote integration is genius. It makes sense to do this because this pen screams collaboration. 

- Built in speaker

The speaker is loud and clear. I was surprised at how great everything sounded from the speaker as I listened to myself. Since the pen allows the user to go back and listen to parts over and over again, it will be easy for kids to make sure they heard everything. 

- Calculator 

By using the calculator provided in the notebook that comes with the pen, I was able to do math problems and the pen would display the final total. Little things like that are awesome. I like that it allows the user to keep the pen in hand and take notes without having to stop and use the calculator on the desk. It is a very smart and simple addition.

- Audio Jack

Another simple part of the pen that is wonderfully helpful. I can see students listening to recorded sessions while in study hall or on the way to or from sporting events.

- Piano

Livescribe has some Applications you can purchase for the pen if you choose. The Echo came pre-loaded with a Piano. I was able to select Piano from the menu, draw a piano and play it! I was also able to add a rhythm to play in the background by drawing the letter "R" and tapping it. I could also change the instruments by drawing an "I" and tapping it. I was playing the flute for a bit. I'm not sure of the functional purpose of having a piano on my pen, but the technology behind was very cool. I think it could be the start of some interesting apps down the line. 

- The Notebook

The Echo Smartpen comes with the dotted notebook paper, but you can always print more of your own once you run out. I love that feature because you might run out and not have the time to order online to get a new notebook. Having a stack of extra paper will be very helpful. 

- Uses

I cannot wait to get this pen to my school and see all of the different uses I can find for it. One of the first places I'm going to integrate the pen is the special ed department. I often have various aides in my classroom that take notes for students in class. This pen could be a life saver for the aide. The aide could take the notes and record the lecture. By uploading the notes to the computer or sharing them through email, a student can have access to the complete lecture and the notes. This will help support the student after he leaves the classroom. 

I can see this used by students in my class to support the class blogging I do. As some students blog, another student could use the Livescribe Echo Smartpen. They could take it home and upload it to the class blog for the students to see and hear. It would provide another element to support the students in my classroom who might need a little extra help. 

Personally, I like to write out most of my lessons in notebooks before I transfer them over to a planner. With the Livescribe Echo Smartpen, I could buy a couple of notebooks and take notes and comment on what I'm thinking while I write the lessons. I can upload all of the lessons I create to a Google Doc and have a complete record of my lessons and what I was thinking while I wrote them. Too many times I look back at my notes and say, "Why am I doing this here and not here?" The Echo Smartpen could make lesson planning much much easier. 

These are just my initial thoughts after having the pen for about a week. I plan to write much more extensively about the pen once I get it into the classroom and let other teachers and students use them. I can't wait to share student feedback with all of you once they use the pen.

- @TheNerdyTeacher