Tuesday Tech Tidbit

Today's tech tidbit comes from technology integration specialist (and edtech legend) Eric Curts from the Stark Portage Area Computer Consortium (SPARCC). Curts publishes an edtech blog called Control Alt Achieve , in which he explores many creative ways to integrate technology into key curriculum areas.   Earlier this year Curts explored some of the best kept secrets of our ubiquitous web browser, Chrome.  There are actually a lot of tricks under the hood in Chrome that you can tap into to improve your efficiency.  In his blog post Chrome Can Do That?! Curts demonstrates some of the following tips and tricks that you can use right away to improve your web browsing experience: Pinning tabs Icons and emojis for bookmarks Bookmark folders Reading lists Making QR codes Google Lens image search (way cool!) Live captions Keyboard shortcuts To see tutorials on how to do these and other Chrome tricks, visit https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2023/02/google-chrome-can-do-that...

Wordwall is an amazing website that allows teachers to create custom interactive activities for students.  In the free account, Wordwall includes 18 types of interactives.  These activities include: Match Up Quiz Group sort Random cards Random wheel Matching pairs Find the match Open the box Gameshow quiz Anagram flash cards Missing word Rearrange words Word search Maze chase Labelled diagram Crossword True & false Wordwall includes over 54 million activities already created and shared by other educators.  Activities can be shared with students as an assignment for the entire class to complete live. The free account allows you to create 5 resources.  Of course, subscription plans are offered that allow you to create even more resources.   To check out Wordwall, visit https://wordwall.net

This week I am presenting you with a challenge.  For many years we have been using Google Docs for all of our word processing needs.  Since moving to the iPad, though, we have discovered that the Google Docs mobile app is severely lacking in formatting options and advanced word processing features.   Hiding in plain site is an app called Pages.  This app, made by Apple, is installed on all of our iPads.  Pages is a robust word processor with an intuitive interface and all the advanced word processing features we miss.  Since Pages is designed specifically for the iPad by the same company that made the iPad, it is a seamless experience. Some folks are afraid to use Pages because they feel it doesn't offer features such as collaborative editing, footnotes, and version history.  These features are absolutely included in Pages!  Plus, Pages offers a lot of multimedia options.  Inserting images on Pages is a smooth experience compared to Goog...

Artificial Intelligence resources are being developed at break-neck speed.  My head spins as I try to keep up with AI.  Dan Niessen, a technology integration specialist at NEOnet, recently released these AI resources to help teachers understand and evaluate classroom applications for AI.  While the reputations of resources like ChatGPT have been tarnished due to the capability of students to use AI for academic dishonesty, there are actually a lot of practical and useful applications of AI in the classroom.  It's definitely worth a look. Futurepedia is a collection of AI tools that is updated daily.  Within Futurepedia you can browse 700+ AI tools in 40+ categories like copywriting, image generation and video editing.  Prepare to have your mind blown!  I bet if you take a few minutes to browse through categories that interest you, you will stumble upon a new tool that will improve your workflow significantly. Futurepedia offers both paid and free re...