Remember that time I said I was “Starting Another Blog“? No? That’s because I’m terrible about regular blogging. I could blame it on the ratcheting up expectations in higher education. Or the fact that I’m a new mommy (well, not that new anymore — Allen is about to turn 3!). Or that living in this world right now makes is hard. But I get an average of at least two requests per week about the latest tech tools. I’m going to begin collecting these questions and create blog posts to respond.

I plan to publish twice a month for a while and see how that goes. Report back or subscribe if you’d like to join me on this venture.

At an end-of-semester meeting last fall, I presented about the Center of Innovation in Education at New Paltz (CIE@NP), and shared this short video:

I also shared a bunch of digital pedagogical tools — some I already use, and some I plan to pilot this semester:

• AdobeSpark: with AdobeSpark, you can create posts, pages, and videos. I’ve had the most tech-averse students love this little tool for its user friendliness and simplicity.
• BookCreator: create digital books with, by, and for your students. Requires iPads (which are available for use in the School of Education — get in touch for more info).
• EdPuzzle: with this nifty app, you can edit existing videos to use in your teaching. You can add voice annotations, notes, and quizzes.
• Mentimeter this app allows you to create and administer digital polls. It’s so much easier to use than any of its competitors to date.
• Padlet: this virtual stick-note/bulletin board allows students to add and manipulate their thoughts in one document. Great for brainstorming.
• Slack: use Slack when you need a ‘wall’ for a project, or need to communicate frequently with a group of people.
• Remind: used in K-12 schools for seamless communication between parents and students. I’m using it with teacher candidates right now, and so far it’s great.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back in two weeks with another tool update..