#EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter | May 10

The latest #EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter is here!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! In this week's Trending Topics, don't miss the opportunity to join TCEA (Texas Computer Educator Association) for FREE today! Check out the info about our next Slow Twitter Chat and why Twitter can be such a #gamechanger for educators. 

In this week's Canvas Connection, learn how you can add custom links to your course navigation.

Our Tips & Tricks include an easy way you can check your email messages for any possible Accessibility issues, how to change the color of hyperlinks, and a super easy way to create a graphic celebrating your experience as an educator!

Our Campus/District Shout-Outs highlight the exciting things happening with students and teachers at Bryson, Boswell, Chisholm Trail, Gililland, and High Country.

#EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter | April 26

The latest #EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter is here!

In this week's Trending Topics, introduces Wakelet, a powerful collaboration tool for students and educators, a list of upcoming Summer Learning opportunities and an invitation to submit a quick survey to help us prepare for upcoming Twitter Chats.

In this week's Canvas Connection, learn how you can temporarily mute an assignment grades and comments for students. 

Learn how you can pin your closest contacts to your taskbar in this week's Tips & Tricks.

Our Campus/District Shout-Outs highlight the exciting things happening with students and teachers at Creekvew, Wayside, Saginaw Elem, Remington Point, Bryson, Lake Pointe, Greenfield, and High Country.

#EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter | April 11

The latest #EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter is here!

In this week's Trending Topics, we celebrate our Golden Hashtag Winners, highlight resources that make Global Learning more accessible for all, and a reminder that there are more devices coming to a campus near you!

In this week's Canvas Connection, learn how you can adjust your speed grader settings and easily create hyperlinks in your course.

Our Tips & Tricks are simple changes you can make on your taskbar and computer calendar. Don't miss these!

Due to testing, we don't have as many Campus/District Shout-Outs as usual, but be sure to check out Wayside students completing a Digital Breakout unit as STAAR review and check out the great things happening during Science CLCs.

#EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter | March 29

The latest #EMSISDITs Tech Talk Newsletter is here!

In this week's Trending Topics, learn how you can participate in this week's Slow Twitter Chat and grow your own Personal/Professional Learning Network.You will also learn how you can SPARK creativity using Adobe Spark. We also share the latest video in the Technology in the Classroom series.

We've doubled-up the tips in our Canvas Connection. Learn how to have your files display fully within the Canvas page, rather than just a link and how you can use the Peer Review option in your Canvas Assignments.

Our Educator Spotlight shines the light on exciting things happening in EMS ISD. This week, we spotlight Mr. Mayhan (EWMS), Sallee Clark, and Jeni Long (Instructional Techs.)

This week, we share an easy keyboard shortcut for OneNote in our Tips & Tricks section.

Campus/District Shout-Outs highlight students, staff, and administrators from Greenfield, Saginaw, Northbrook, Bryson, and Wayside.

LiveSlides: PowerPoint Add-In

Looking for a way to seamlessly embed live websites into your PowerPoint Presentations? Check out the LiveSlides add-in.

Here are a few of the great benefits we have seen from this download:

*Offers live content to be inserted into your PowerPoint
*No embed codes
*Any link will do
*re-sizable and movable on the PowerPoint slide


Ideas for use in the classroom:

*Live Twitter Feed - Insert your live twitter feed.  While you are teaching, the students can see what is happening with your hashtag!  Have them ask questions or make comments during the presentation.

*Padlet - Have students ask questions or leave comments on the padlet while you are teaching the content.

*Skype call - Want to have a skype call and information on a powerpoint? Try using LiveSlides

*Blog link - Have the participants comment on a blog, while you are teaching the content.

*Poll Everywhere - Students can answer poll with their cell phones or iPads during the presentation.

*AnswerGarden - Students can ask questions and leave comments



Here is a quick video tutorial on how to download and use LiveSlides.

Want to download the add-in so that you can use it today?
Click Here for a quick tutorial video!     Click Here to download!

Are you using Liveslides?
Let us know how you use this nifty add-in in your classroom!

Twitter Slow Chat Opportunity

Have you experienced a Twitter Chat yet? They are a great way to connect with other educators on Twitter to talk about a pre-determined topic through a series of questions and answers on Twitter. They typically last about an hour or so, and although they happen pretty much anytime throughout the day or night, most educators participate in a chat in the afternoons or evenings on your own time.

The Instructional Technology team at Arlington ISD is going to shake things up a bit and host a Twitter Slow Chat. There will be only one question a day for a week. Anyone that would like to participate can follow the hashtag #arlingtech and answer the question anytime throughout the week.

Topic: The 4 C's (Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Conclusion)
When:  January 26-29 (one question a day)
Where: Twitter
How: Search for #arlingtech to see the question and answers. Feel free to add your own answer, but be sure to include the hashtag. Go ahead and add #emsproud too! Follow @AISDITD for all of the information, and while you're there, be sure to follow us too ... @EMSISDIT

We (as in non-AISD educators) have been invited to join in. This will be a fun, stress-free way to participate in a Twitter Chat. If you want more information, watch this short video from Marcus Miller, the Coordinator for Instructional Technology in Arlington ISD. 

Contact your district Instructional Technology if you have questions or need help participating!

We're Social!

If you're reading this on our blog, you already know that "we're social!", but did you know you can also get the latest EM-S ISD Instructional Technology news on Facebook and Twitter? 

LIKE us at facebook.com/emsisdits or follow us at twitter.com/emsisdits for announcements, tips, tricks, and tools that will make your life a little easier and your classroom a little more exciting.