Thursday, January 15, 2015

Microsoft tools

As more and more teachers are using Microsoft tools for their teaching and learning I thought I would post some links to some sites I find useful for my teaching practice.

On a side note if you are not on Twitter you should - the best, free professional development tool.

Twitter:

@MSNZEducation
@Microsoft_EDU
@OfficeMixTeam
@Office365


Site/Blogs:

NZ Education Blog - Microsoft in the NZ education sector
Microsoft in Education
Office Mix
Lesson plans on a range of subjects :I am going to adapt this 'Literary' lesson plan for my students
Teacher resources 


YouTube:

Microsoft in Education is a channel worth subscribing to.

Here is a video worth a watch put up by 'Microsoft in Education' with Sir Ken Robinson talking about about the role tools play in creativity and how this can transform education:





As you can see there are a heap of Microsoft resources out there and probably more than just these.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Teacher Cast


Through @Microsoft_EDU I came across a brilliant team called TeacherCast. My previous post is about a video they created on OneNote. I have now just had a walk through their website and have come across a wealth of information on all sorts of categories. There is a youtube channel, livebinder gallery, blog and the list goes on. 

A video worth watching is on 'Curation tools for the classroom' - however it is worth speeding through the first 10 minutes of chat and introductions.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Back to School...Almost

As a teacher in New Zealand our summer holidays are still happening but as every teacher across the world knows at some point before school goes back, work needs to be done.

Today was the date I had decided to start thinking about the new school year. I have had a lovely break, enjoyed the sun, time with family and the holiday period. But today was the day when I thought I would ease myself back into a new school year full of new possibilities.

So, for the first time all summer I hop on to Twitter; my favorite place to start. The latest tweet was from Microsoft.




Armed with my coffee and toast I clicked the link and I get a video on YouTube on OneNote. Whilst I knew most of what they were discussing it was still a very helpful refresher and a way to to get the cogs in my brain working again. What was good was seeing what other subject teachers are up to and how I can use OneNote more efficiently (about half way through the video). I was particularly interested in how to incorporate my lesson plans into my content without it seeming cumbersome.

I recommend following @Microsoft_EDU on Twitter as a place to start.
I also recommend Microsoft NZ  on Twitter @MSNZEducation
Checkout the Microsoft OneNote Teacher Podcast
Checkout Teachercast  and on Twitter: @JeffTeacherCast @TeacherCast