In my school district our student ID numbers begin with zeros. This is a problem in spreadsheet software like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel because by default you can’t include the leading zeros in a cell. There are a few ways to change the cell formatting to include leading zeros in the cell so that your student ID numbers or other data looks correct in your spreadsheet.

Graphic organizers are a great way for students to organize and process information. Teachers can use digital graphic organizers to make learning activities more collaborative. Digital graphic organizers are also easier to share or embed in other tools. One of the easiest ways to create digital graphic organizers is with Google Drawings. The best part about using Google Drawings is there are already dozens of templates that teachers can use with their students.

Teachers are constantly managing dozens of tasks that need to be completed. I have always found it helpful to use todo lists and reminders to make sure that I complete tasks on time as well as follow up with project tasks. My favorite way to organize my todo lists is the Getting Things Done (GTD) method by David Allen. Recently, David Allen shared some of his favorite books that have informed his organization method and some advice on how to stay organized. Here are some highlights from the interview.

This past weekend I attended Ed Camp Long Island at Commack Middle School. Ed Camp’s are educational conferences where the sessions are created by the attendees. It is a great opportunity to share expertise and learn from other great educators. During the conference I attended a session where I recorded an episode for the State of Ed Podcast with Marc Isseks and other educators from Long Island. During the episode we discussed how to get started podcasting with students and other educational technology trends.

Copyright law is a complicated topic. Many teachers are unsure about when materials are free to use, how to find free materials, and what constitutes fair-use of resources that are copyrighted. There have been many examples of school districts violating copyright law and recently the Houston ISD’s Westside High School was fined 9.2 million for a copyright violation.

One of the initiatives my school has been focused on is helping students be the creators of content rather than simply consuming content. I have been supporting teachers throughout the middle school and high school as students work on classroom projects involving student produced blog posts, websites, videos, and podcasts. When focusing on these types of classroom projects teachers need to shift their thinking for how to leverage technology in the classroom.

Differentiated instruction involves adapting and modifying lessons to meet the needs of your students. Sometimes teachers get overwhelmed thinking about how time consuming it can be to differentiate instruction in their lessons. Ed Week has released several videos explaining how to differentiate the content, process, and product for lessons.

There are many reasons backchannels are a great tool during large workshops. It is difficult to answer every participants question during workshops. Sometimes participants have a question I want to answer but it doesn’t relate to what we are discussing in the workshop. Also, backchannels make it easy to for presenters and participants to quickly share resources. In these, and many other situations, it is helpful to use a backchannel to organize these questions, comments, or resources.

There are lots of great resources to teach kids of all ages about digital citizenship including free lessons from BrainPop, Common Sense Media, and Google. An important aspect of digital citizenship is being able to identify biased or false information. Bad News is a new web-based game to help students learn about and develop strategies for identifying fake news.

During my first year as an educational technology specialist I found myself constantly clarifying what my role was to administrators and teachers. Some teachers thought I was an administrator who was there to evaluate them, while others thought I was a technician who could fix their computer or printer. It is important to clarify your role as an instructional coach to ensure teachers are able to utilize your skills.