Currently browsing tag

1:1

Live In the Now with OneDrive for Business

By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato A year ago, many people using Office 365 for Education were really angry at OneDrive for Business. When Microsoft made the official switch from the public OneDrive to the Business Version, things were not good. People forget the development most products follow. They forget …

Ecosystems and Widgets

              By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato The term ecosystem is normally used in reference to biological communities. When people think about ecosystems they often visualize the different organisms and activities that coexist to maintain a balance of sustainable life. As human beings, we …

My Summer with the Surface Pro 4

By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato I rarely do hardware or software reviews. Patrick Cauley, here at IT Babble, is much better at those. However, I did swap my Apple Macbook Retina for a Surface Pro 4 for the summer. After the use and abuse, I can …

Software in a Suitcase vs The Learner Profile

                By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato The Problem Curriculum in a Suitcase, this is a common term and point of discussion in international schools. For anyone not familiar with the reference, it addresses the common practice of teachers arriving at …

How Dirty is Your Data?

By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato My basic rule for data is, unless there is a life and death scenario unfolding, bad or unclean data is not going to be used. I have yet to encounter a situation where releasing data, which will eventually wreak havoc throughout the …

A CONTINUUM OF LEARNING

  X           By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato School administrators are often faced with complex decisions about curriculum, assessment, and the oversight of both. There is a myopic condition that can occur as conversations lead people into a spiral of good intentions …

Understanding The Cloud

  By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Cloud computing is one of the most difficult concepts to explain to people who spend most of their time working with children, running a school, and monitoring educational processes. Cloud computing is difficult to explain because it is imbued with …

Are You Ready for VR in the Classroom?

By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Virtual Reality (VR), has changed more in the last year than it has in the last decade. The cost of using VR, and the various solutions, are prompting many people to start piloting VR applications in the classroom. Many of these VR …

Measurement in the Change Process

By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) is a leading global advisory, brokering and solutions company. They did an extensive study on change management. In the study they state immediately and without hesitation, … Continue reading → Source: IT Babble Blog and …

Episode 130 – Gboard

Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about the new Gboard iOS keyboard, Chrome and virtual reality and the 20% project. Check out the show notes below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes and Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app on your phone or tablet. Gboard a. …

Students making their own gradebook in Google Sheets

In my last post I talked about the importance of grades being transparent for all stake holders involved. One idea I recommend is having students build their own gradebook in Google Sheets (or any spreadsheet program). This gives them significantly more insight in how grades actually work, behave and gives …

Grading should be transparent!

Good day reader. Today, I’m going to write an opinion piece about something near and dear to many of our hearts – grades. I believe that grades should be transparent. Doesn’t that sound nice? You bet! it does but what does it mean? Here is what I’m talking about. Of …

AI is coming!

Let me introduce you to Dewey a new AI for schools. He’ll tell you all sorts of important information-you just need to ask. Is this real? No, Dewey’s not real, but I think someday AI will find itself in schools and be a part of the everyday process. Artificial Intelligence …

Episode 129 – Objection!

Tim and Patrick talk about our new robot overlords, Remix OS and the new Gboard for iOS. Check out the show notes below. As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. The workers mass extinction begins: a. Link: …

Episode 128 – Robot Food

Tony, Tim and Patrick talk about robot restaurants (check the show notes), an educational island, more info on Android and Chrome OS merging, Open 365 and displays in every classroom. Check out the show notes below for more info. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, Podomatic or …

STUCK in a an Authentication Loop being Pwned

By Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato There are two things you never want to happen. #1 – You never want anyone to gain access to the root user or super user account of any system or piece of hardware. Even an air purifier or printer can be …

Episode 127 – Safety First

Tony, Omar and Patrick talk about safety videos in school, visual curriculum standards and smart watches for kids . . . done right. Check out the talking points below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting …

Episode 126 – Fat websites

Tony, Tim and Patrick talk about the increasing sizes of web pages, learning management systems vs. class websites and some email etiquette. Check out the talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. The average …

Episode 125 – Virtual Reality Anyone?

This episode is all about virtual reality, mixed reality and augmented reality headsets and the impact we think it will have on education in general. Only one topic but a lot to talk about! Check out the talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on …

Awesome Office 365 Signatures with HTML

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato The process of implementing branded email signatures has changed in the last few years. Most companies have definitely moved on to simple clean designs. The days of the big banners are thankfully gone, the few remaining hold outs are probably filtered …

Episode 124 – “Schank” Education

This episode, Dave, Tony and Patrick talk about Roger Schank’s approach to education, Nintendo’s gaming workshop for kids and the Adidas tracker that is making its way into classrooms. Check out the talking points below. As always be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app …

Episode 123 – Safe Space

Tony, Tim, Patrick and Omar talk about Sugata Mitra’s educational vision, safe spaces and more. Check out the talking points below. We also had some technical difficulties around the nineteen minute mark (yeaaaa Skype!) so there is a little editing that went on. As always you should subscribe to us …

Episode 122 – Tim’s Walkthrough Adventures

On this episode, Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about curriculum mapping and how to do it the right way and Tim’s exploration into classroom walkthroughs. As always, be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us on your mobile device with your favorite …

Episode 121 – Mike Tyson vs. OneNote

Today, Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about OneNote, how Eisenhower stayed organized IFTT and IpMan 3. Check out the talking points below. As always, make sure you subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app on your smartphone. OneNote – …

Creating a Surface Area Calculator in Google Sheets

In my post about the benefits and the possibilities of using spreadsheets in middle school math classes, here are the instructions that I used to get my students started on spreadsheets. If you want it to download the PDF then click this link HERE! You can find it electronically by …

Programming with spreadsheets – START NOW!

I’ve heard a lot of math teachers comment (to me personally) how difficult it is to integrate math into their classes. Most of the time these teachers just use apps on iPads or use websites like IXL, Mathletics or more to have students practice skills and then track the students …

Episode 120 – Everything Buckets!

On this episode, Tim, Tony, Omar and Patrick talk about so-called “everything buckets” like Evernote and OneNote and talk about Matrix style learning. Check out the talking points below. As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app. Avoid …

Curriculum Mapping, Your Biggest Mistake

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Curriculum mapping is not a mistake. However, schools seem to make the same mistake over and over when implementing and using curriculum mapping tools. How do I know? Because I always hear different people, from different schools, make the same statements. …

Episode 119 – Dave’s Nightmare

Tony, Tim, Patrick, Omar (yes-he’s back!) and DAVE talk about VR, Amazon’s educational announcement and children’s advice to parents about social media. Check out the talking points below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app …

Episode 118 – Parlez Vous Xerox?

Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about OneDrive at great length and the new Xerox translation service. Check out the talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. OneDrive Can Now Scan Your Whiteboard or Documents, …

Episode 117 – Rating everyone!

Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about another good Chrome extension (Papier) and about the people rating app: Peeple. Check out the talking points below! As always subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app. Chrome extension – Papier a. …

Happy Pi Day!

I’ve been teaching math for the past month and since today is Pi day – 3-14. I thought I would share a fun little clip you could (or could not) show your class. Source: IT Babble Blog and Podcast

Episode 116 – I did the Hour of Code! Now what?

On this episode, Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about the Hour of Code and what happens afterwards and how has Google changed the way students learn. Check out the talking points below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using …

What is Important is Seldom Urgent

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Before jumping into this post, here is some background on former President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower who developed the methods discussed below. I found an excellent synopsis for those unfamiliar with his legacy and prominence: Eisenhower was the 34th President …

Episode 115 – Did you say rasterbate?

Tony, Tim and Patrick take on Kiddle.co, the Rasterbator and share what podcasts we listen to. Check out the talking points and links below. As always you should subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. 1. Kiddle.co – …

Episode 114 – Tony uses IE6

Tony, Tim, Dave and Patrick talk about Chrome extensions and Remix which is Android as a desktop OS. Check out the talking points below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. New for all you …

Episode 113 – A.I. is scary!

This episode Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about ET for the Atari and how awful it is, what is coming next for computing and a VR update from Tim. Check out the talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or on your favorite …

Rasterbation: Just as Fun as it Sounds!

Have you always wanted to print off amazing infographics but they only want to print off so small that you can’t read it? Or have you ever wanted to create amazing displays or artwork using images spanning multiple sheets? www.Rasterbator.net is for you. This strangely named software is: completely free …

Beyond Hour of Code

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato A friend emailed me to get some ideas for his IB Computer Science (IBCS) class. We had recently discussed The Hour of Code, and how it was a good activity, but it was not deep enough to accomplish anything real. I …

Episode 112 – Frown face

Today we are joined by Omar, Tim, Tony and Patrick as they discuss about an interesting observation by Tom Whitby and whether old fashioned classroom management is as effective as these new fangled apps. Check out the talking points below. As always be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes, …

Episode 111 – Wrong!

Tony, Tim, Omar and Patrick discuss Tony’s post about how everyone is Ed Tech has it wrong, 12 tools you need to survive and why the FBI really needs a teacher’s help. Check out the talking points below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic …

There is More to Learning than TEDTALKS

            I like TED TALKS. I even have the channel loaded on my Roku Box. However, lately I have noticed people think TED TALKS is not just a source for inspirational summaries, but is in fact all they need to watch in order to understand …

Episode 110 – #Tim G Treebeard

This episode Tony, Dave and Patrick talk about the crappy WiFi in The White House and people claiming hashtags from Twitter and putting them on their resumes. Check out the talking notes below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us …

About Me..Fairly Painless

I am normally not a big service or product reviewer. However, after setting-up a new About.Me account, I have to say the free subscription is easy and painless. If you are like me and work on multiple websites, have many social media accounts, etc, this service is a good way …

Episode 109 – Fancy water

Tony, Dave and Patrick are back after the Chinese New Year delayed the podcast and it is a great one. They talk about the future of photography in school, an educator’s workspace and about a new type of communication app that is free to use. Check out the talking points …

Google Drive – Get 2GB of free storage!

Today is #SaferInternetDay (yes that is a thing). Google is encouraging people to check their security settings which isn’t a bad thing. It only takes two minutes and Google will reward you with two free GB of extra storage on your drive account! That’s pretty fantastic. Once you’ve gone through …

Episode 108 – Trademark Tim goes to Graceland

Tim, Tony and Patrick are discussing Trademark and intellectual property issues in schools and the WriteLab service that helps improve student writing. Check out the talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app. Intellectual Property …

Episode 107- Groundhog Day

Tony, Tim and Patrick get together and babble about some great ed tech issues. Check out the talking points below and happy Groundhog day. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. The Future of Big Data Analytics …

Start At the Wall

Holidays are a very interesting time if you work in technology leadership or support. Ideally, people want to have some time-off. Therefore, making a list of essential projects to finish starts months before the holiday plans. Then a list of “what to do if” scenarios needs to be created and …

Episode 106 – Save Tony

Today we discuss why Tony is missing, is Sesame Street on its way out and should schools even consider purchasing iPads now that Google Chromebooks make up more than 50% of devices in US schools. Check out the show notes below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us …

Episode 105 – Passwords!

Tim, Dave and Patrick discuss ergonomics in classrooms, passwords and Amazon within schools. Check out the talking points below! As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app. Ergonomics – Students and Teachers a. Link: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/124981/20160117/stand-up-desks-in-school-may-improve-students-brain-function-study.htm b. Link: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/1/59 …

Episode 104 – Tablet teacher

Tim, Dave, Tony and Patrick will talk about putting screens on teacher’s heads, iOS 9.3 and the big updates it has for schools and some more announcements concerning VR in schools. Check out the talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe …

Freedom VS Structure

I left it alone. Everyone was using it. Everyone had the permissions needed to customize their space. So I left it alone. I set some guidelines. I spoke to everyone about best practice. I even made exemplars and samples so people could have a visual representation of what best practice …

Our favorite Chrome Extensions/Add-ons

At IT Babble Chrome is our browser of choice for its speed, its auto updates and the myriad of fantastic add-ons you can … well add on. These add-ons give Chrome various different functionalities and we thought it would be nice to share our favorites with you! We discussed these …

Episode 103 – Star Wars the Force Awakens

Yep, we give a quick, quick review about the latest Star Wars film. We also lament on the passing of David Bowie, talk about our favorite Google Chrome add-ons, a quick and dirty how to on podcasting and a quick PSA. All in all, it’s a packed show. Check out …

Episode 102 – The Perfect Propaganda Machine

Tony, Tim and Patrick discuss censorship and what it means to classrooms and the amazing Endless Mini. Check out the show notes below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app! 2015 was the year ‘censorship’ lost …

Episode 101 – 3 Out of Toaster

This episode Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about what we expect from 2016, Thinga.com and if video games should be taught. Check out the talking points below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. Educational Technology …

Episode 101 – 3 Out of Toaster

This episode Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about what we expect from 2016, Thinga.com and if video games should be taught. Check out the talking points below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app. Educational Technology …

Get crap done!

Now that the 2016 is right around the corner it is time to start making some resolutions of organizing yourself a little better and being more effecient. So someone out there created a To-Do list app comparison chart. Yeah, it is huge, but if you’ve never used one before, this …

Get crap done!

Now that the 2016 is right around the corner it is time to start making some resolutions of organizing yourself a little better and being more effecient. So someone out there created a To-Do list app comparison chart. Yeah, it is huge, but if you’ve never used one before, this …

Episode 100 – Omar returns!

Omar returns for the 100th episode of IT Babble as we discuss people using podcasts instead of exams, students who fail and some holiday no-no’s. We will be off till January so everyone enjoy your holidays! Check out our talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow …

Episode 100 – Omar returns!

Omar returns for the 100th episode of IT Babble as we discuss people using podcasts instead of exams, students who fail and some holiday no-no’s. We will be off till January so everyone enjoy your holidays! Check out our talking points below. As always subscribe to us on iTunes, follow …

Episode 99 – Kazakastan?

Today, Tony, Tim, Dave and Patrick talk about Kazakhstan’s control over the Internet, tracking students using GPS and how IBM needs to rethink hairdryers. Check out the talking points below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or search for us on your favorite …

Episode 99 – Kazakastan?

Today, Tony, Tim, Dave and Patrick talk about Kazakhstan’s control over the Internet, tracking students using GPS and how IBM needs to rethink hairdryers. Check out the talking points below. As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or search for us on your favorite …

Episode 98 – Tim Down Under

Welcome back everyone. Today, Tim, Dave “The Wave”, Tony and Patrick talk about lesson planning, drones and Quigley Down Under. Check out our talking points and resources below. As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app. Quigley Down …

Episode 98 – Tim Down Under

Welcome back everyone. Today, Tim, Dave “The Wave”, Tony and Patrick talk about lesson planning, drones and Quigley Down Under. Check out our talking points and resources below. As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app. Quigley Down …

Episode 98 – Tim Down Under

Welcome back everyone. Today, Tim, Dave “The Wave”, Tony and Patrick talk about lesson planning, drones and Quigley Down Under. Check out our talking points and resources below. As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us using your favorite podcasting app. Quigley Down …

Behaviour, Non-Negotiables, and Devices

I had a meeting recently about some behaviour issues related to students using iPads. These meetings are not unusual for me, or anyone who manages technology. For that matter, this is common for anyone working in education. Students have “things” and “do things”. Everyone has issues with behaviour. During the meeting, …

Behaviour, Non-Negotiables, and Devices

I had a meeting recently about some behaviour issues related to students using iPads. These meetings are not unusual for me, or anyone who manages technology. For that matter, this is common for anyone working in education. Students have “things” and “do things”. Everyone has issues with behaviour. During the meeting, …

Episode 97 – Dave the Wave!

Once again we have a full panel as Dave, Tim, Tony and myself discuss the hot topic gaming in education and our thoughts. Check out our talking points below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or listen to us on your favorite podcasting app. Microsoft …

Episode 97 – Dave the Wave!

Once again we have a full panel as Dave, Tim, Tony and myself discuss the hot topic gaming in education and our thoughts. Check out our talking points below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or listen to us on your favorite podcasting app. Microsoft …