Courtesy: Dylan Roscover

It has taken me a moment to create this post.  Like millions around the world I was devastated upon hearing of Steve’s death.  I will be honest…I cried…hard.  Those of you who know me know how I feel about Apple and the mastermind behind so many innovations that drive my passion for better opportunities for our children.  What I quickly learned was the Steve wouldn’t want me to be crying…he would want me to press on and continue to be an innovator…a Cre8tiv Mind.  He was afraid of death, he actually embraced it.  It was in the shadow of death that he was able to fully unleash his creativity for the entire world to see.  And we basked in his sunlight and even absorbed much of its goodness.   I just want to say thank you Steven P. Jobs for being you.  Your boldness has allowed me to confidently be me.

Humbly Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

A few items to share with the rest of the Cre8tiv Minds:

10 Lessons Learned from Steve Jobs.

1. Don’t be afraid to fail.
“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple (AAPL) was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005.

2. Stay in the game.
The real breakthrough moments in Steve’s career happened after 25 years of struggle. “Sometimes when you’re in the middle of one of these crises, you’re not sure you’re going to make it to the other end. But we’ve always made it, and so we have a certain degree of confidence, although sometimes you wonder.” Steve Jobs, March 7, 2008.
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” Steve Jobs interview, 1995.

3. Follow your passion wherever it leads.
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me…Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful…that’s what matters to me.” Steve Jobs, May 25, 1993.
“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005.

4. Just say no.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.” Steve Jobs, June 2003. “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” Steve Jobs, February 6, 2006.

5. Expect excellence.
No company innovates on a regular schedule like Apple. “My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

6. A master architect builds a platform upon which others are given the capacity to thrive.
Apple’s ecosystem and especially its App Store enabled creativity to flourish.

7. Love and passion come first.
Everything else will take care of itself. “My job is to make the whole executive team good enough to be successors, so that’s what I try to do.” “When I hire somebody really senior, competence is the ante. They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, Are they going to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything else will take care of itself. They’ll want to do what’s best for Apple, not what’s best for them, what’s best for Steve, or anybody else.” Steve Jobs, March 7, 2008.

8. Too many of us fail to reach our potential because of the bureaucracy that binds us.
“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?” Steve Jobs, September 1982.

9. Quality vs. quantity?
Steve understands it. “Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” Steve Jobs, February 6, 2006.

10. Progress comes from within.
“The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.” Steve Jobs, 2004.

I will be brief as the below infographic sums it up pretty well. The Flipped Classroom moves teachers from being the Sage on the Stage to the Guide on the Side. Instead of students doing homework at home…they will do it at school with the true expert, the teacher. Students instead will use online content at home such as video to introduce a concept which will then be covered more once they return to the classroom. The Khan Academy has joined in with the FC revolution and provides teachers with an opportunity to be a “Coach” via their website. Teachers can set up free user accounts and assign Khan Academy videos to their students. They can even track their progress to see if the students are actually watching the videos. Click here to learn more.

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Fliply Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

California

Texas

Illinois

Central Region:

Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma,South Dakota,  Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, Nunavet, Manitoba

East Region: 

Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island

Great Lakes Region: 

Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario

West Region: 

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories

South Region:  

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

I am currently one of the Group Leaders for the South Region.  We want you to join our groups.  If you are in the South Region, please click thislink and join us.  Our goal is to connect K12 Google Apps users within these states and provinces to learn and share from each other through community discussion forums, events, and webinars.

	Register Join this regional group
	Browse Participate in Apps discussion forums
	Resources Access Google Apps resources, FAQs, and more
	Find Contact schools in this region who have gone Google
	Meet Learn more about your local Certified Trainers

Filed under: 21st Century Technology, Google, Web 2.0 ]]> http://cre8tivmind.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/google-apps-k12-user-groups/feed/ 0 cre8tivmind http://cre8tivmind.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/cardflick-is-hot/ http://cre8tivmind.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/cardflick-is-hot/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:14:36 +0000 Cathleen Richardson http://cre8tivmind.wordpress.com/?p=273 ]]> Ok, ok, ok…we all know about my technolust with apps.  Well, today I saw Card Flick and I am loving it.  I am always digging in my laptop bag, purse, truck, lipstick case…whatever, for a business card (on a side note I just got a really hot LV card case in an attempt to not lose my cards anymore).  Anyway, I am focused again…CardFlick is a new app “coming” to the App Store that will allow you to make your own digital business cards with varying themes and then “flick” them to a nearby person.  Check out the vid.

You have to go their site: http://cardflick.co and apply to be a Beta user.  Click this link here > http://cardflick.co/e75e10 to sign up.  The more friends I sign up the quicker we will all flick!

Flickly Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

Save the date!  Edmodo is hosting a one-day virtual conference on August 10, 2011 called EdmodoCon 2011.  This conference will bring together Edmodo educators and new users from all over the world to learn, share ideas, and help all educators create an Edmodo Professional Learning Network.  I LOVE IT!

If you haven’t checked out Edmodo yet…stop and go to http://edmodo.com right now and fall in love.  Edmodo is a free and secure social learning network for teachers, students and schools. Edmodo provides classrooms a safe and easy way to connect and collaborate, offering a real-time platform to exchange ideas, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices.

Accessible online and from any mobile device via free smart phone applications, Edmodo has grown from a teacher tool into a district-wide resource as word of the free online service spreads through schools around the world.  And, did I tell you the interface looks almost just like Facebook?  The students absolutely love it!

Check out this video to learn more:

• If you are interested in the EdmodoCon event, event, join the EdmodoCon group with code: modo11.
• If you are interested in presenting at EdmodoCon, please see the call for presentations.

What’s New with Edmodo?

Edmodo has a few new features…check them out:

• PROFILE UPDATE: Now you can share your successes, interests, links to your teaching portfolio, and all of your favorite content directly on your Edmodo profile.
• CLAIM YOUR PERSONAL PROFILE URL: Easily share your Edmodo profile with your network by creating a custom personal profile URL (Example: http://edmodo.com/cathleenrichardson). To claim your personal URL, login to your Edmodo account and visit your profile page…I just did it in 15 seconds!
• THERE IS AN APP FOR THAT:  The Edmodo apps have undergone a makeover!  Download the latest version for the “A” phone or iPhone to view your profile and connect with other educators through Edmodo’s new “bump” functionality.  Click HERE to learn more.

According to Wikipedia, augmented reality is defined as:

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound or graphics. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.

And according to Cathleen:

Augmented reality combines a layer of virtualness and combines it with the real world.

If you haven’t read the 2011 Higher Ed Horizon Report, click HERE and see what it says about AR. Need more? Well, I think an example is necessary to bring this full swing. Take a look at this video from Logical Choice Technologies on their newest product, Letters alive™.

Letters alive™ brings a kingdom of 26 “seemingly-alive” digital 3D animals into classrooms with the ultimate goal of teaching children to read at the kindergarten level. The product consists of a set of 124 virtual 3D cards, software, curriculum guide, and student activity sheets. Take a virtual 3D card and a virtual animal will pop up on your screen. Virtualness + Real World = Augmented Reality.

I have been on a world tour showing off AR everywhere I go. Letters alive™ has accompanied me on the journey. Teachers absolutely love it. The features alone draw not only students, but teachers into the content. Learning doesn’t have to be the same drill and kill anymore. Innovation is the key to reviving the same old content. I am very eager to see some data on reading proficiency after a year of Letters alive™ in the classroom.

ABOVE: Teachers at the Sumner County Technology Conference in Tennessee lined up to get their chance at using Letters alive™.  A teacher from Los Angeles, California at the iSummit Conference in awe of AR.

This post is merely the beginning of my AR love affair. Creating an AR in Education website right now! I will be blogging all week about AR and I will provide the different categories of AR, examples via the computer and our beloved mobile devices, examples in education and implications for education.

Stay tuned and if you are in the Boston, MA area July 27 or 28th check me out at BLC11. I will be presenting the following session:

IS IT REALLY REAL?: Augmented Reality in Education
Augmented what? AR technology allows users to view virtual objects overlaid on a real-world context, and to control the virtual environment through direct, tangible interaction with objects tracked in the physical space. An augmented reality environment includes elements of the real world and the virtual world at the same time, but is interactive in real time. The interaction between the virtual object and the real world brings to life abstract concepts and seeks to enhance understanding. Sound interesting? In this session attendees will better understand AR and it implications in education. Learn how to manipulate AR objects via mobile devices and laptops. Discover how AR applications can enhance textbooks too have the power to engage a reader in ways that have never been possible. Take a field trip to a museum with a group of classmates and never leave the classroom. Come learn how to manipulate human organs, make letters come alive, make virtual scavenger hunts and learn how to make your own AR objects: text, photos, sound and more. Using AR applications can provide each student with his/her own unique discovery path. Don’t miss out on all of the fun!

Augmentedly Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

Flubaroo also:

• Computes average assignment score.
• Computes average score per question, and flags low-scoring questions.
• Shows you a grade distribution graph.
  
• Gives you the option to email each student their grade, and an answer key.

But the best part is that it works inside of Google Docs with Google Forms. Check this out:

Step 1: Create an Assignment

Sign into your Google docs account, and create a new “Form”. Forms are multiple-choice style surveys that you can share with anyone (e.g. via email). Every time someone fills out the form, their responses are placed as a new row in an accompanying spreadsheet.

Once you’ve created a new form, just add in the questions for your assignment. It will look like the photo below.  Be sure to include a couple questions that will allow you to identify the student (such as first name, last name, and student id). If you want to email each student their grade, be sure to also include a field for their email address.

Once done entering questions, save and close the form.

Step 2: Create an Answer Key

Open up the form, fill it out with the correct answers and submit it. Be sure to enter your name too, so you can identify this entry later on as the answer key. Not sure how to find or open the form you just created? Click here for help.

Step 3: Assign It!

Email the form to your class using the “Email this form” button at the top. Alternately, just email out a link to the form, or put the link on your class website. Click here for instructions on how to get a link to the form.
All student submissions will automatically be entered into a spreadsheet, which will look something like this:

Step 4: Grade It!

Open the spreadsheet associated with the form.  From the “Insert” menu, click “Script” (see photo below, on left).  You’ll be presented with a “Script Gallery” (see photo below, on right), from which you can install a multitude of useful “scripts”.

To install Flubaroo, type “Flubaroo” in the box at the top, and click the Search button. Alternately, you can click on “Education” in the left pane, and then scroll down to find “Flubaroo”. Once you’ve found it, click the “Install” button.

After installation, you’ll see a new menu in the spreadsheet called “Flubaroo” (it may take a few seconds to appear). Once you’re ready to grade, just select “Grade Assignment” in this menu.

Flubaroo will ask you a few questions, such as:

• If any questions should not be graded.
• Which questions are for the purpose of student identification (e.g. name, student id, email).

Which submission should be used as the answer key.

Once answered, Flubaroo will grade your assignment. This process should take less than a minute.

Note: While Flubaroo will work in any web browser, it doesn’t look too nice in Firefox. This is a known issue, being worked on.

Step 5: Review the Grades

The grades created by Flubaroo will be located in an adjacent worksheet called “Grades”, as shown:

For each submission, Flubaroo will show which questions were answered correctly (“1″ point”), which incorrectly (“0″ points), and which were not graded. If less than 60% of students got a question correct, the question will be highlighted in orangeto alert you:

The Flubaroo menu will now offer you the ability to email each student their grades, view a summary report, or regrade the assignment. You might want to regrade the assignment if more students submitted answers, or if you want to throw out a question that most students got wrong.

If you choose to email each student their grade, you’ll be given the option to include an answer key in the email. You can also include a short message to your students. The email sent to each student will include their total score, and their score for each question (with incorrect answers highlighted in red). Note: You will only be able to email students their grades if the original assignment had a question asking them for their email address.

Choosing “View Report” shows you a summary report of the grading. The report includes the distribution of grades (a histogram), and a button to email yourself a copy of the report.

AND REMEMBER IT IS FREE!   Go and install it now, I just did

Flubarooly Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

Retrieved directly from: Flubaroo Overview – Welcome to Flubaroo

Did you know that you can link your BrainPOP account to your Google Apps account to benefit from the convenience of a single sign-on? Teachers and students can access BrainPOP directly:

You can also Track and Store Student Progress

After completing any BrainPOP graded quiz, students can choose the “Send to Teacher’s Google Spreadsheet” option.  Once they do, the results will be automatically sent to a spreadsheet that will appear among the teacher’s Google docs. Within the spreadsheet, each topic the teacher assigns gets its own worksheet (“tab”), storing students’ first, second, and most recent quiz score along with their names and Google App IDs. A summary sheet is included to help teachers further customize the data. Students will only have the option of sending their answers to their teacher’s spreadsheet if the student has logged in to BrainPOP through Google Apps.  I know…I know…I know…AWESOME!

Just had to let you know.

Googlely Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

BrainPop source information: http://www.brainpop.com/apps/googleapplanding/

Well, I hope the answer is yes. This evening I will join 2 of my colleagues, Angela Maiers and Lainie Rowell in hosting a webinar: Introduction to Google Docs in the Classroom. Take a moment to view Angela’s blog post about the session and other great Google finds here.

The event information is located below. Please join us for a great Google time:

Event Registration: Click Here to Register

Date and time:

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 4:30 pm
Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)
Change time zone

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 6:30 pm
Central Daylight Time (Chicago, GMT-05:00)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 7:30 pm
Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)

Topic: Introduction to Google Docs in the Classroom
Skill level: Beginner
Lead by Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers – Lainie Rowell, Angela Maiers, Cathleen Richardson

Click here for registration and time zone information.

OBAMA: “One thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching the test because then you’re not learning about the world, you’re not learning about different cultures, you’re not learning about science, you’re not learning about math.  All you’re learning about is how to fill out a little bubble on an exam and little tricks that you need to do in order to take a test and that’s not going to make education interesting.  And young people do well in stuff that they’re interested in.  They’re not going to do as well if it’s boring.”

Ohhhh that is music to my delicate ears.  I am so sick and tired of hearing about “The Test!”  We must prepare our children for the world ahead of them and guess what…the future is not determine by bubbled-in choices.  I must give our President kudos.  My mind turns back to the evening of January 25, 2011 when Obama provided us with the year’s first State of the Union Address.  He used the word innovation or a derivative of it 10 times! 

Innovation and creativity are variables many schools across the nation do not enter into the learning equation.  It is time to stop having the conversation about how to become a 21st Century school, teacher, and student.  We are deep into 21C, now we need to figure out how to sustain and move forward.  Our children’s future depends on it.

How many of you have heard of ARPA-ED?  The President’s 2012 budget proposes to create an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education (ARPA-ED).

ARPA-ED will fund projects run by industry, universities, or other innovative organizations. Projects will be selected based on their potential to transform teaching and learning in ways similar to how the Internet, GPS, and robotics have transformed commerce, travel, warfare, and the way we live our daily lives.  Ok, close your mouth.  Sound interesting?  Let’s delve deeper.

Below are excerpts from the role of ARPA-ED: Winning the Education Future.  Feel free to hum after each one of these statements:

• Closing the gap between the potential of learning science and technology to improve student performance and its current real-world impact can transform American education.
• To address the under-investment in learning technology R&D, the President’s FY2012 budget proposes to invest $90 million to create an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education (ARPA-ED).
• ARPA-ED will complement and build upon innovative work being done across the public and private sectors, and could catalyze development of:
• Digital tutors as effective as personal tutors.
• Courses that improve the more students use them (virtual learning labs)
• Educational software as compelling as the best videogame.

• Addtionally, look at these projected outcomes:
• The Rethinking Curricula
• Providing Teachers Powerful Tools (i.e.handheld devices).  Aaaahh the growth of mobile.
• Leveraging Collaboration (a reference is made to the communities built in games like World of Warcraft).
• Targeting Job Training.  Thank you God!  Take a look at the “Top 60 jobs That Will Rock the Future” website and tell me we don’t need to be preparing yesterday! 

I love the conclusion to the report.  This is what we NEVER talk about when we urge teachers and schools to infuse more educational technology into the classroom.  Our children are bored straight.  Read this quote by author of 2011: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke: “If children have interest, then education happens.”  So what happens if they aren’t interested?  I’m just asking.

Conclusion

Leading the world in educational technology provides varied, important, and expanding benefits. It can help position the United States to compete in a 21st century economy, with students who graduate ready to fill – and create – the jobs of the future. Those same students, graduating ready for the workforce, will be better positioned to become innovators, bringing higher quality products to the marketplace which will, in turn, better educate the next generation of students. Additionally, educational technology can offer an expanding market for American exports, as countries around the world seek ways to educate their population in affordable ways. ARPA-ED is thus a key component of the country’s opportunity to out- innovate and out-educate the world, so that America can win the future.

Read the entire document here.

I am excited about the future.  It is time to stop talking about all that is wrong with education and start getting focused and excited about what is to come.  I have already started preparing my son.  Everyday, before he leaves to go to school I look deep into his beautiful brown eyes and say, “Today, baby, you are going to (and then he chimes in) out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world!“  Words courtesy of our president have now become our mantra.  He will be ready and I pray the rest of our children will be too.

INNOVATE.  CREATE.  DON’T BE TOO LATE!

Innovatively Yours,

The Cre8tiv Mind

Sources:

• Obama Discusses Pitfalls Of Standardized Tests At Town Hall
• Top 60 Jobs That Will Rock the Future
• ARPA-ED: Winning the Education Future
• 2011 State of the Union Address