Makers Wanted! Intel's American's Greatest Maker

Makers Wanted!

Do you want to be a star of a television series? Do you think you got what it takes to build the next amazing device? How could you impact education with a Million Dollars?

Apply to be American's Greatest Maker Intel Presents America's Greatest Maker.

America's Greatest Makers Challenge Intel, in collaboration with Mark Burnett, United Artists Media Group and Turner Broadcasting System are teaming up to bring a national Makers' Challenge to television. Students are encouraged to submit ideas for either wearable technologies or smart connected consumer devices powered by Intel® Curie™, a button-sized computer. Intel engineers will help bring the ideas to life and may be featured on a television show airing in 2016. 

Deadline: October 2, 2015 Award Amount: $1,000,000 grand prize Eligibility: All entrants must be legal residents of the U.S., 15 years of age or older 

How to Apply: The application process is conducted online via the America’s Greatest Makers website at www.AmericasGreatestMakers.com. Applications can be submitted directly using the application link or sent via email to americasgreatestmakers@gmail.com. 

The following information will be requested: 1. Project Description: A detailed description of the concept, including the motivation and inspiration behind the idea, market need and how the idea will benefit the public. 2. Image/Optional Video Submission: Applicants are required to upload an image that accurately represents their team or product. Individuals/Teams may also submit a video pitch that tells the story behind the idea and why they want to be a part of the challenge. 3. Team Size: Each team is limited to four core members or fewer. 

Video: The Writing Process using Google Drive

Writing is an incredibly important and marketable skill. The process of teaching and learning writing has traditionally required the use of copious amounts of paper. With Google Drive, writing can be a near paperless activity.

Click here to find the Instructional Technology Specialist serving your campus. 

Kidblog moving to a pay only model - consider Blogger

The once "kind of free" Kidblog is moving to a pay only model in September.

From the kidblog pricing page:
Beginning September 2015, free trials are active for 30 days - upgrade for unlimited access

Another free service bites the dust. The service will now cost $29 per teacher per year. This is not a huge amount but with district, campus and personal budgets stretched thin, every additional expense seems daunting.

There are other options available. Austin ISD is a Google Apps For Education (GAFE) district. GAFE provides an array of tools for staff and students to use including Blogger. If you are considering student blogs for your classroom, consider Blogger. 

Students already have accounts they can access through Google Drive.

From the AISD Cloud, launch Google Drive.

Once Google Drive has loaded, open a new tab and type blogger.com.

There are ways to set your blog to private.
In your blog settings, set both privacy options to No.

Reader access can also be restricted. 

Also is settings, the blog can be set to only allows authors to read or allow all those added.

Using group lists, such as campusname.students@grp.austinisd.org, can make the process quick.

Instructional Technology would enjoy the opportunity to help you get up to speed with Blogger.

Logging into SchoolNet for the First Time.

New Austin ISD teachers are starting to login to Schoolnet. Some are experiencing difficulty.

To avoid this, new users should set their campus as their default institution, not Austin ISD.  When the correct campus is selected, the Teacher role will auto populate.  The document below explains the process.

Paperslide Videos (updated)

After having several discussions lately with teachers about easy and highly engaging student products, I have spent a good bit of time talking about the Paperslide videos that we have shared with a good many teachers over the past few years.  We liked it so much when we first heard about it in 2011 that we posted a story about it on this blog.

Since the post was being shared so much lately, I decided to update the broken links and repost the story.  Among the fixed links would be Dr Lodge McCammon's online resources which he has also updated and made even easier to use.

Please check out our old story (with new information) to see how a very simple piece of technology can engage students quickly and get them deeper into the content you are teaching.

Paperslide Videos! Easy Way To Use Tech AND Show Learning!

Have you used paperslide videos in your classroom?  Leave a comment below with your experiences.