I have not blogged about the special needs blog that I am following in a while because there was not much going on. That is why I was excited for this weeks post. A teacher named Adrien just attended the CEC 2014 convention (Council for Exceptional Children). The most exciting part of the convention for her was the session she attended on video modeling to teach transition skills to teens moving into the workplace. The videos can be accessed by the cell phones or iPods and can be used as to access continued support that students may need. Since so many teens need support this is a great way for them to feel normal while accessing the information...with technology of course! http://www.cecreality101.org/2014/04/adrien-geeking-out-on-transition-at-cec-2014.html#more

8 rules of Facebook posting

Following Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher on Twitter has been extremely useful. She "re-tweeted" an article about having teens on Facebook. I found it particularly interesting because Facebook is the one social media outlet that I use daily for personal reasons and business. I thought the 8 tips in the article were not just useful for teens. Adults also need to follow these rules. One topic in particular that I have strong feelings about was complaining. So many people use Facebook to complain about their friends, job, teacher, team etc. I am always so shocked when I see people do this. I am Facebook friends with my oldest child and I would never post something that I would not want him to read. It keeps me in check! http://moreinmedia.com/teen-on-facebook-discuss/

Twitter...Simpsons predict future technology correctly!

I am finding Twitter to be quite useful. Love History in Pictures @HistoryInPix and think that I will always keep my account (even after the class is over) just to receive the great info that I could pass on to students. The tweets are always entertaining and for those who think that history is boring, it is the cool facts and photos that could change their minds. For example there was a tweet tonight about "21 Times the Simpsons Predicted the Future" and many of them were about technology related items of today...hilarious and scary at the same time!

http://a1.ahfunny.com/stories/comedy/21-times-the-simpsons-predicted-the-future/18

LBJ Speech

In the US History blog I am following, a teacher named Ken Halla posted a video that he found on Twitter of Lyndon Johnson announcing that he would not be running for re-election. It was one of the most shocking presidential speeches in history considering there are many who believe that he had JFK assassinated. I have loved watching presidential speeches since I was a child.

Storify

The US History Teachers blog that I follow is a constant source of information pertaining to technology. This week, a teacher named Ken posted about Storify. Using Storify, you can collect things from Twitter, YouTube, Google+, websites, etc. and create a storybook that you can edit later. Check out this video!

Twitter continued

I found that once you are following someone on Twitter, they recommend other people for you to follow. Some of those people are obviously from my email contacts because I actually know them. Others are people that the few that I am following happen to be following. Today Twitter made a recommendation of ClassFlow because that is someone Vicki Davis follows. ClassFlow is a "revolutionary cloud-based platform that makes lesson planning more efficient and lesson delivery more dynamic". It basically allows you to use technology to enhance the learning of your students. I read about interactively and collaboratively teaching the students from anywhere using handheld devices. I think that this is a really cool website and want to share it.