On a Google + Searching Mission

Today, I was on a mission to see if you can archive Google+ posts in a community. In the process, I found a few gems I had not previously known about Google+.

1. You can install the Chrome extension Do Share and, through that, you can schedule your Google+ posts!

2. Google+ Ripples - You can see the impact of one post you have made. You can see how far the post has spread and to whom it has spread to.

3. Authorship - You can link anything you create on the Web to a chosen Google + profile.

Though, I still have not figured out how to archive Google + posts in Communities I own, I intend to help my staff recognize the link between Google+ and Web curating. With ripples and authorship, users can see the impact of their social presence on the Web. And, this is a new way of thinking. Before, we posted something to the Web and it was just that - a post. Now, it is part of our Web identity and Web presence. If we help teachers understand this fine difference, how will that impact learning and the way students function online?

Debuting edtechconnection.org

After spending time to re-vamp the Site, edtechconnection.org, we are back and ready to connect teachers and entrepreneurs in order to give students and teachers a voice in product development. The goal is to have educators fill out a Google form, citing what needs they have in the classroom. Entrepreneurs will fill out a form citing what products they have expertise in. Then, educators can look through the developers and make connections for product development and developers can find areas to beta text. Win-win!

We will also follow-up with hangouts on-air to document the collaboration and classroom innovation to ensure products are teacher and student driven.

Interested? Be sure to visit edtechconnection.org and make some connections!

Looking for tool suggestions

I'm a lover of all things Google and that's no secret. And, I love the ability to publish a Google sheet within a spreadsheet while hiding the others. However, the aesthetics of it are not always pleasing. So, in a fearful attempt to expand outward, I'm looking for other spreadsheets that may integrate with Google that are more aesthetically pleasing for Websites.

Thoughts?

As Web developers, do we go for a consistent tool even if it isn't as aesthetic or do we go for a combination of aesthetic tools?

Austin Area Education Outreach - Want to help?

This spring, the Austin, TX area is hosting a variety of outreach programs for K-12 students and staff to get more savvy in anything from programming to theater. These are all best practices. Though some may fall under the edtech umbrella, I would consider all just best practices.

So, check out the following events happening in Austin, TX area over the next months and spread the word! The goal is to connect these events and communities so knowledge is collaborative and information is shared.

March 29: Challenging Perceptions
Join area girls in Bastrop, Texas as they participate in engineering activities and build teamwork and life skills.

March 31-April 4: #warriorcode
Event is full of teacher-sourced problems that students develop script/code/app solutions for. Product demos are created and students/staff vote on winning solutions.

TBD April date: GEGCENTX launch
Google Educator Group Central Texas (GEGCENTX) will launch in April to connect educators in the area with Google updates and collaborative learning. Join the community today to start collaborating!

April 30: EdTech Action: Getting Involved in Austin's Schools
Join Edtech Austin in a discussion of outreach programs focused on edtech in the K-12 school system.

May 3: Playdate Austin
Students and staffs "play" to learn and share knowledge. All learning will be done with a twist: student-led

May 24-25: Austin CodeDay
Come solve problems together and join Austin in CodeDay!


October 25: RRISD Ninja Academy
Student-teaching strands as well as ninja belt strands make this one-day conference a unique chance for teachers to learn. Follow them on Twitter @rrisdninja

Do you know of others? Tweet me @christyfenne and I'll add them to the greater list! 

Edufocused

As I've become more and more committed to the EdTech (assuming that is what we'll call it) scene, I've realized my focuses have become scattered. When I first entered the scene in 2009, I was focused on digital literacy and citizenship as a high school English teacher. Even this blog is still called Literacy 2.0 in honor of that initial focus. However, after I transitioned out of the classroom and into the role of tech director and instructional tech specialist, my focuses have expanded.

And, that's the question, as a "specialist," should have have one or two main focuses that I consider myself a near expert in or can I pursue multiple interests, only being knowledgeable in each? When I think of some of the icons in the field, I realize they are associated with one aspect of EdTech - not with many. I, on the other hand, am interested in digital literacy, EdTech developer and teacher merging, student voice, digital storytelling, GAFE - to name just a few.

So, if it is important to narrow down the focus, how do you become "edufocused" to avoid burnout and to contribute a lasting input to the field?

If I do not have a focus, does this impact the teachers I serve? Does it overwhelm them? How can we work more collaboratively so that, if I have a question on 4th grade science, I have an easy place to go? If we have a focus, can we develop hives or communities of innovation where we work together to share ideas?

Let's get edufocused!

Is Your College Degree Worth It?

Last week during SXSWedu, I attended a screening of Educaution, a film bringing attention to the student loan crisis.

As a former teacher of juniors and seniors, I often faced the college question: which way to do you steer students? To a university, a community college, a technical school, or to career? However, at the time, the question always focused on the student's strengths and abilities - not finances. When I was a senior in high school, I applied to a variety of universities - some more expensive than others - and I believed that degrees from some universities would steer me to better jobs and better-paying jobs. However, what I did not realize at the time was the cost.

Had I chosen a more expensive university, would I have earned a better job (considering my career as a teacher)? The filmmakers mention that there is over 1 trillion in U.S. student loan debt. That number is astronomical. They also mentioned that, due to their 100,000 dollar debt, they have decided to withhold marriage and starting a family. These are life decisions that have been affected because of their debt. They also note that students graduating are not stimulating the economy any more because of the debt. And, this - to me - is the largest problem. It's a combo - college is too expensive and the degrees students are earning are not preparing them.

Five years removed from college, do your employers focus on where your degree was from or if you had a degree? I would argue for the latter. In my interviews, my employers have focused on the quality of work, my willingness to learn, to innovate, to create, and to work as a team member. And, these skills are not specific to any one university.

So, as we guide students down the college path, what should we tell them? Should we tell them that they may enter a debt that may take years to get out of and that their job may not be tied to where the degree was from? Do we tell them that life is more than a university? Do we shift our focus in college guidance?

How can we shift this? How can we produce the innovators, the creators, the team members, the learners without putting them in a life-altering debt?

Check out Educaution's Facebook page and Website to learn how you can help!

Revamping the Google Action Plan and Changing the World

Last summer, my life changed.

I met a group of educators so passionate about changing the world that I could not help but try and make a larger impact.

It started when I sat down next to Stephanie Cerda (@Ms_Cerda) at our #brewcue leading up to the 2013 Chicago Google Teacher Academy. As I turned to say, "I'm Christy Fennewald from Austin, Texas," she stopped me and said that she, too, was from Austin, Texas. And, from there, my life as an educator changed.

During the three short days the crew of #gtachi spent together, @Ms_Cerda and I realized that educators and students need a place in the drivers' seat of edtech development. Too often, edtech products are created and forced to fit into classrooms. Teachers say, "I love this tool but I have to find out how to fit it in my curriculum." And, that is not what we want to hear. We want teachers to say, "I need this to do...." In the prior example, teachers are centering their teaching around a tool that is bound to change. In the latter change, teachers and students are driving product change and are impacting the market.

With this belief in store, @Ms_Cerda and I set out to change the edtech world with our project, EdTech Connect. The premise is simple: Teacher fill out a Google Spreadsheet to list the things they want to see in edtech. Developers fill out the Spreadsheet to list their skills. Then...BAM! Ed Connects with Tech! Of course, we will follow up with the connections, provide support, and make sure teachers and students have a constant voice.

After attending SXSWedu, I realize more than ever how important this is. We must change the EdTech development cycle and give teachers and students the primary voice. Check out our project and while you're at it, fill out your needs! And, if you're looking to add more Ed into SXSWedu, check out this spreadsheet created by Lindsay Own and Stephanie Cerda - and add in your session ideas!