Waffle Bytes

GOOGLEFEST PRESENTED BY MACUL, GOOGLE, & CDW-G  Registration for this upcoming opportunity is now open! Attendees will get first-hand knowledge from Google Experts, CDW staff, and multiple Google Certified Instructors and Google using teachers using Google tools that include: Google Apps for Education (GAFE), Forms & Scripts, Classroom, Sites, Google Play, and much more.  10 Chromebooks will randomly be drawn as giveaway! When : September 21 Where : Lansing Center; Lansing, MI Registration : $89 (includes continental breakfast and lunch) Other : First 250 attendees to register will get FREE parking. More Info : https://www.smore.com/cr8df-googlefest-is-coming

There are still spots available at the Microsoft Symposium! Microsoft and MACUL are pleased to provide this opportunity to Michigan teachers.   The day will provide a mix of Microsoft employees and local educators, and includes topics like Minecraft in Education.  The day's agenda is below. When : August 19, 9:00-3:30 Where : Birmingham Groves High School Registration : $50 (includes lunch)

Registration for the MICCSS MOOC is now open! Audience : K-12 ELA & Math Educators and Curriculum Leaders Course Duration : 4 weeks - July 14, 2014 to August 15, 2014 Cost : Free (optional - 20 SCECHs for $10 fee; you MUST register prior to July 11 to be eligible for SCECHs) Registration : http://www.solutionwhere.com/remcam Course Information : This is a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Michigan educators to help build awareness and share implementation strategies for the MI Common Core State Standards (MICCSS).  It is an online course - all work will be completed online using Moodle.  The course will be moderated and facilitated by instructional leaders around the state.  Participants are expected to participate in forums and submit weekly assignments.

Fresh from the 2014 MACUL Conference, some Friday Finds to listen to on your mp3 or other audio player!  These are both audio recordings of sessions that took place during the MACUL Conference last week. Both are well work listening to (in my humble opinion). First up -  Issues & Ales: Closing the Digital Divide in Education This site has the audio recording done during the MACUL Conference, and lists the panel members participating.   Second -  #michED Podcast 7: Voices from the Community This site has the audio recording from the #michED panel held during the MACUL Conference.  (If you are a twitter user and haven't checked out the weekly #michED chats, you really should!  Even if you cannot join them, back reading the discussion can be a great way to stretch and grow.)

Last night I had about 5 minutes to hop on Twitter and catch the tail end of the #MichEd chat.  During those few minutes I had the following exchange with @techsavvyed (Ben Rimes) and @bushjms (Jeff Bush): In thinking of that conversation as I was tucking in Thing #3 at our house (at the back-scratching phase with lots of time to just think...) and some other chatter at the end of the chat time, it occurred to me that it should be re-iterated that there are many ways to grow from the Twitter educational chats that occur.  So, here's my list in no particular order. 1. Read the archives when they are convenient to you Often we have family and work events that take place during the chat times.  You don't have to totally miss out just because you couldn't be there "live."  You can do a Twitter search for the chat if you miss it by a little (this is what I do post-tucking my kids in many evening).  Another option is finding out if the educational cha...