Waffle Bytes

  The 2015 MACUL Conference Call for Speakers  Share your experiences and knowledge with MACUL attendees - apply to be selected as a 2015 MACUL Conference Presenter. Don't wait until it is too late! The Speaker Proposal Form has been updated and additional preparation time may be needed. The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2014 . Please review the following resources before beginning the online applications. Session Submission Information - This year's conference will feature several session types & a variety of strands - which is best for you? Speaker Proposal Planning Worksheet - Use this document to help plan your presentation prior to completing your online submission Conference Session Review Rubric - This rubric is used to select sessions Once you have reviewed the above documents and planned your session, use the MACUL 2015 Speaker Proposal Form . Primary presenters receive a reduced conference rate of only $50!

October 25th, 2014 : Free Day of Professional Learning Coming to you LIVE from Discovery Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, we present the  Discovery Education Streamathon ! We're taking you back to the 70's with a telethon-style, day-long virtual professional learning event. Join thousands of educators across the world for this free "idea-sharing" marathon where we will get you diggin' some new, groovy ways to integrate Discovery Education into your instruction. Host a 70's bash at your district pad to watch live-streamed presentations by the Discovery team, cool videos and other edu-tainment. How to Participate Register to attend  the Streamathon LIVE from your own home. Browse the current list of Streamathon viewing parties below to find a location in your area. Don't see an event in your area?  Host Streamathon at your own district pad ! Share the love! Tweet about the event using the has...

This year Calhoun ISD and  Jackson County ISD, will be offering 3 distinct Technology in Learning courses designed to help educators learn ways to implement technology in their classroom right away.  Registration for the first session is open! Developing with Technology for Learning October - November 2014 Developing with Technology for Learning is a course designed to help educators explore and begin applying web tools that enable them to develop their ability to communicate with students and parents with a web presence.  This is a blended course - a majority of the work will be completed online, along with a mandatory face-to-face session that occurs after the course has started.  Important Course Dates - Course Start Date: October 15 Face-to-Face: 4:15-6:45 October 20 Course End Date: November 18 30 SCECHs Available - Optional($15 fee) Face-to-face location options: Calhoun ISD - Registration Ann J Kellogg Elementary (Bat...

One of my Google Accounts has access to the "new" look of Drive.  There are several key differences that are worth noting if you are changing over!  Here are 5 of the ones I think will impact people the most. 1. New Look with Breadcrumb trail - the look of drive has been updated (new fonts, shadowing of window, etc), but the best part about it is the addition of a breadcrumb trail so you can see where you actually are if you use nested folders.   2. Adding files - this has been reordered a bit so it is more noticeable that you can actually upload files into your Drive.  Also, the three most use choices pop right up, the remainder fall under a "More" choice.  This can be slightly annoying for those that use some of the "More" options often. 3. Change from "Shared with Me" to "Incoming" - strictly a naming change; when people share documents with you, they now go into a folder called "Incoming."  (I think it ...

A very recent update has been the option of how documents are shared with others.  In addition to a new look, there is another choice. As for the look, some of the verbiage has changed, an icon is different, and users have the option of easily changing between the different options that are available for them.  There is an icon of a pencil in the upper left corner of the document (on the end of the toolbar) that can be selected now.  Clicking on this gives the options of Editing, Suggesting and Viewing the document - Any that you as the user are unable to use will be grayed out.  Formally there was not the ability to change between views - you either had editing rights, or the top of the document said "View only." What do each of these look like? Well... there isn't much actually difference in how the document looks in the editing and viewing options and they function the same as they did previously: It is the new option of Suggesting that is the real...

Join us on November 12 th  to  Elevate Learning & Leadership !   The West Michigan Education Leadership conference held at Kent ISD is an opportunity for area leaders to gather together to share and learn. The first leadership conference was held last fall and there were over 150 leaders throughout the region in attendance. This conference allows educators to learn from one another and to share strategies and programs that are demonstrating success. There are so many amazing things happening locally, we need  a  venue to collaborate. This years sessions include: Dream Big with School Improvement - Barb Johnson, Karla Hill and Kari Anama (Byron Center) Pillars of Digital Leadership - Dr. David Britten (Godfrey-Lee) “SI SE PUEDE” Latino Students can Succeed in School - Dr. Manuel Brenes (San Juan Diego Academy) Growing Your Own PLN - David Simpson (Forest Hills) Rockford Action Model for Success (RAMS): Strategic Planning Process - Dr. Mike Shib...

Is this a question you have ever needed to answer?  If so, this is the website for you! When you go to the site, a script does a browser check and then tells you want browser and browser version you are currently using.  A majority of the page just gives a nice simple explanation of what your browser does for you. It does customize by the browser you are using - here is Chrome: Here is Firefox: And here is Safari: A nice little tool when you need to know your browser!

From Discovery Education - tour of the National Archives Register Today  for Of the People: Constitution Day 2014 September 17 at 1PM ET On  September 17 at 1:00PM ET , virtually transport students to Washington, D.C. for a tour of the National Archives and an up close look at the Constitution  with U.S. National Archivist  David Ferriero . Register to view the 30-  minute Live Stream: Constitution Day provides a great opportunity for classrooms across the country to learn about the document, as well as the National Archives. Students will take a short tour of the National Archives, learn about their document collection, and how historians are actively using primary source documents in their research. Students will also learn about the Constitution through a document analysis strategy that reinforces the skills needed to read, write, and think like a scholar. Hosts David Ferriero Archivist of the United States Additional...

Wheel Decide Wheel Decide is a free spin the wheel web 2.0 tool.  You can either create your own choices for the wheel by selecting to Make/Modify Wheel, or Browse Wheels to see existing wheels.  Very easy to use tool that can be set up literally in seconds. There are all sorts of applications for this in the classroom - from learning randomness in the math classroom, to assigning students to groups/topics/tasks, to making a class choice.

(From Discovery Education-) Celebrate National Manufacturing Day with this Exclusive Live Event SAVE THE DATE October 3rd, 1PM EST /10AM PST   In celebration of National Manufacturing Day, Alcoa and Discovery Education invite you to a  LIVE Virtual Field Trip on October 3rd at 1PM EST/10AM PST  from Alcoa Davenport, a high-tech aluminum manufacturing plant on the banks of the Mississippi River. Students will be given an exclusive tour of the plant , where Alcoa employees will share a unique perspective on the new face of manufacturing and showcase the cutting-edge technology in the industry today. Join us  as we tour the aerospace flow path to see where products are manufactured for major aircrafts, including the wings for  Air Force One  . Students will also tour the Auto Treatment Line that showcases state-of-the-art technology and innovation at work. Along the way, students will be introduced to members of...

So, it isn't really a functional update, but it is one that is going to be popular - the ability to customize your form theme.  Why?  It's about branding - finally I can create themes that are branded to my organization or projects.  Not only is that valuable for those that are filling out the form, but it is valuable for me so at a glance I can know what the form is associated with.   Here is how it works -  1. You click on the Change theme button on the toolbar.  A menu of themes will appear on the right side of the window. 2. Pick the theme you would like to customize by clicking on it (you can use the Basic, or you can find a pre-created theme that is close to what you want to use).  When you click on it, a new "Customize" option pops up underneath the name. 3. Clicking on the "Customize" brings up a list of items that can be changed on the theme.  Click on any of the items to begin customizing.  4. As yo...