Mirror, Mirror

I’ve been searching for ways to mirror my iPad on to my computer, and then my Smartboard, particularly with apps like Class Dojo. I’ve noticed my students love the ability to see performance in real time.

The wonderful Leslie Fisher posted a quick video of how to do this with Yosemite, but unfortunately it only applies to iPad 3 or items that work with lightning cables and Mac computers. I’m not too hip and stuck with an iPad 2 and our school works off of PCs, so I was forced to find other options. I stumbed upon Tony Vincent’s Learning in Hand blog. He posts 10 different ways to hook up any iPhone or iPad to a projector and includes a bomb diggity infographic comparing and contrasting the different methods. I’ve combined some of his free tips with some research of my own.

Must try:

Free

iTools

It’s free! Once you download to your PC it’s super easy to manage.  Lets you control your screen remotely.

Yosemite

Let’s you connect your iPad/iPhone to your computer and share your screen. Only possible on computers running Yosemite (Mac).

Paid

AirParrot

$14.99 to download. You’re able to mirror just one application or your whole screen. Can be shared over Chromecast, via Apple TV, or through Reflector. You’re also able take over multiple screens at once. Great for classroom instruction!

Mirror 360

$14.99 to download. Ability to share to Chromebooks. Wireless sharing from your seat to the whiteboard.

Know of any other free, easy tools to mirror an iPad? Drop a comment, I’d love to learn from you!

Spicing Up Google Slides

I love Google Slides. Slides is one of the ways my students receive information. While I love the ability to collaborate using Google Slides, I’m not in love with the measly 20 templates I have to choose from. Quite frankly, they aren’t the most visually appealing.

In an attempt to spice things up, I stumbled upon Slides Carnival. They offer 36 beautifully designed themes that are sure to make your presentations even more bomb diggity. Check out some of my favorites:

Chat, Connect, CoffeeEdu

I am not a morning person. Very few people are able to get me up, dressed, and chatting at 6 in the morning. Alice Keeler is one of those people. My favorite moment from ISTE 2015 was actually an event that was not on the ISTE official schedule: #coffeeEDU. I knew little about what  #coffeeEDU entailed, but what was the worst that could happen? Stuck in Starbucks with a coffee? I was in.

Once I arrived I totally bought in. #coffeeEdu is the epitome of an unconference. There are no scheduled topics and never lasts more than an hour. My #coffeeEDU colleagues chose to discuss teaching tech in PD.

We broke into small groups of 4 to 5 people. Our group, made up of educators from 3 different countries, shared successes, failures, and tips. Each gained something from others’ unique experiences. In my opinion, it was the most organic version of learning and growing.

#coffeeEDU worth the early rise to be inspired, collaborative and fed caffeine #ISTE2015 pic.twitter.com/8xhlnM63O1

— Jane Ellem (@janeellem) June 30, 2015

Interested? Come to a Delaware #coffeeEDU.

Who: Any educator!

What: Drink coffee, build your PLN, teach, and learn.

When: 6 a.m. November 23

Where: William Penn High School’s Penn Bistro

Can’t make it to this one? Text @decoffeeed to the number 81010 to sign up to join my Remind class. You’ll get reminders about future #coffeeEDU events in the area!

Remind Releases Group Chat

If you haven’t jumped on the Remind fanwagon yet, do so immediately. I’ve been using Remind, formerly known as Remind101, since my days as a student teacher. It was a great mode for me to send out homework reminds, school updates, and basic reminders to my students. I loved it from the start. Students dealing with block scheduling no longer forgot books or homework. It opened a communication line from teacher to student , albeit only one-way, it was a game-changer.

One of the biggest complaints from my students was that Remind wouldn’t let them reply back to my reminders. Of course, Remind came up with a solution for that. Recently, they released their Chat feature allowing teachers to start chats with individual students. This summer, they took it up another notch and released the Group Chat.  If you haven’t checked it out, put it on your list of must-dos before the school year. Here’s some tips to get started :

1. On the app, a new Chat tab appears next to Home.

2. Click the plus sign in the word ballon to start a chat.

3. Select up to nine students, parents, or teachers. What’s great is the safety and security of individual Chat still applies: message history is always available and numbers are always kept private.

4. Be sure to set up your preferences as a teacher. In settings, you can turn on your office hours for the best times people can chat with you (Note, people can still start chats even outside the office hours, but will be notified they are doing so). In settings, you also have the ability to decide if students or parents can start chats with you. Students can only start chats with you,  and only a teacher can start a group chat.

***Students who don’t have the app can also start individual chats by responding @Chat to any remind number.

How can you use this in the class? Try using this feature to hold discussions with a student and his parents. Discuss deadlines, plans, and ideas with members of your PLC. Help a group of students struggling on a homework assignment. I’d love to hear ways you plan to use these group chats in your class!