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Generate Instant Pear Decks

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  I’ll keep this short as the video explains most of you. Any new educational technology can be complicated to dig into from scratch as you attempt to align it to learning outcomes.  Well, a new feature that Pear Deck has introduced has taken a giant leap forward to help educators do just that.  Before we jump into the new features, if you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck and why my students and I consider it the #1 EdTech tool that helps their learning, check out the video in the previous blog post.   But if you are more concerned with why you should even dive into Pear Deck or learn about this new AI generation of Pear Deck sessions to a learning target, check out the video below. Like I said, I’m keeping it short so you have time to watch the video. If you have questions, please contact me at mohammam@elmbrookschools.org or the Pear Deck Learning team at support@deck.peardeck.com . Also, check out the amazing Stacey Roshan's video on this update. 
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SLATE Day 2: A GAFE Summit in 60 Minutes

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The second day of SLATE is only half a day.  We had a great closing session with Dr. James Rickabaugh. I feel like I’ve discussed his book in a few previous posts including a wonderful Video Q & A with him. This video quality isn't great but the quality of the information is.

I attended a session by Rita Mortenson that blew me away.  Rita is the Educational Technology Coordinator for Verona Area High School. Her session was titled Google Tips and Tricks to Know Before Your Students Do.  It was filled with so much stuff I did not know that I am excited to bring to my classroom.  The presentation is below.  I’d love to run through some of my highlights.



Savefrom.net:  This extension allows users to download videos from YouTube.  It is currently blocked by my district.  I hope we can change that soon. If you are interested, you can get the extension here: http://en.savefrom.net/user.php?vid=387#download

Drive Template Gallery: Move you and your students beyond the basic templates with this app.

Lucidpress for Education: Lucidpress has free accounts for education both educators and students. Just a fantastic suite of templates for building powerful digital documents.

Slides Carnival: Have your learners go beyond the overused templates found in Google Slides. Templates should not be tired.  Sometimes I feel that way whenever I open up a student created slideshow.  I look forward to bringing this new resource to bear and require students be more intentional in their design choices.

Chrome Music Labs: I don’t want to tell you too much, because I’m going to be introducing my students to this next week now that I’ve discovered it.

For Math Teachers: Apps, extensions and add-ons.  These were curated by Eric Curts and his blog Control Alt. From elementary to AP level, there’s something for everyone.

Honestly, there is so much here that you could go through the slides and have your personal GAFE Summit.  Save it for a over the winter break where you can’t get outside and dig deep into the presentation.



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