Waffle Bytes

The  MACUL  Conference  is just  a week away!  This is the third  tip sheet  in a series of 4 to help you get ready for Michigan’s largest education conference. Today I'm sharing some general tips for getting the most out of the conference. Checking In : Checking in on Thursday morning can be overwhelming!  Here are some bits of advice to avoid missing the opening keynote session (you don’t want to miss Jamie Casap - Chief Education Evangelist at Google, Inc speak on Iteration and innovation in Education!): If you come into Grand Rapids Wednesday prior to 5pm, go to registration then instead of waiting until Thursday If you come into Grand Rapids Thursday morning, registration opens at 7 am Thursday - plan to get there around that time to avoid long lines NEW! this year there will be "self-check" registration where you check in at a computer, then proceed to where your badge is printed out. Getting Help:  There are over 10...

The 2016 MACUL Conference is now just a week away! (This is the second in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to the conference.) The conference sessions are all locked and loaded...meaning you can peruse the list at your leisure.  Here are some suggestions that may help you better organize for the conference- Know What You Want : have some idea(s) of what you want to walk away from the conference with.  Use these ideas to help you plan your time so you meet those goals. It's easy to become overwhelmed with all the options, and identifying the walk-aways will make sure you take back meaningful learning.   For example, you are looking for new uses of Google Apps in your classroom, look for sessions about that.  Or, if you are involved in looking for new school purchases make sure to block out some time to spend in the exhibit hall.  Conference App : Check out the Conference app here . This year’s conference app will let y...

From Discovery Education: Save The Date Spring VirtCon 2016 April 16 | 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (ET) Join us for Spring VirtCon, Discovery Education's bi-annual virtual professional development conference. Hear from your peers around the country as they share creative ways they are using Discovery Education to personalize learning and embed digital media into their instructional practice.  Register today to reserve your spot . Why register for VirtCon:   Free, live streamed sessions Thought provoking discussions Keynotes from educators Opportunities to build your network Certificate of participation ...

There are several additional features to the updated Google Forms which I think are worth making sure others know about. The first is the appearance of the Add-on icon - If you do not see the Add-on icon, you do not have any add-ons turned on.  You can now do this under the more options menu (the three dots to the far upper right) - In addition to the ability to apply form add-ons, there are some interesting new options when viewing responses.  If you do not remember from my last post on the new Google Forms, you no longer must have a spreadsheet tied to the form - responses can be saved right within the form document.  When this first appeared, you could only see the summary of responses; now, there is a choice of viewing individual responses as well - Once looking at individual responses, you can: select which one to view with the arrows or by typing in the one you want (if you have collected usernames, you can select by username also - see 2nd graphic ...

(This is 1 in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to this year's conference.) Yes, we are attending the conference for all the great learning and networking.  However, eating is still a necessity and it is important to know where to find food...especially food that you can get quickly, without waiting in long lines!  Here are some tips and hints for dealing with that while at the conference, along with some other tidbits you should know about: Staying Hydrated : make sure you stay hydrated! there are several fountains and water coolers provided throughout the venue to get water - bring along a refillable cup and keep filling it all day instead of purchasing expensive bottled water Food at Devos/Amway : there are several cafes/restaurants in Amway; some tips about these: there will probably be 4000-5000 attendees AND hundreds of additional vendors at the venue, and everyone will be taking meal breaks about the same time - either p...

Upcoming PD Opportunities - Coding, Makering and Tinkering Workshop Join us for a morning of coding, makering & tinkering to learn what these movements are about and how they can positively impact classrooms.  The majority of the workshop will be spent exploring in hands-on stations. When:  8:30-12:30 March 3, 2016 Where:  Gifford-Schultz Building; 17111 G Drive N, Marshall Cost:  FREE for REMC 12E Educators; $10 for those outside the REMC 12E area Credits:  no SCECHs are available for this workshop More Information: more information, including a link to the morning's agenda can be found here Registration link :  fill out this quick Google form to register for the workshop. A completely online, self-paced course where you practice skills as you learn them.  YouTube videos and blog posts are used to walk you through features, then you apply this to your own Google Sites. When:  March 7-April 20, 2016 Where:  Online Cos...