This Friday we’re going to have 300 fourth graders participating in a day long “tech camp” for kids. Led by the fourth grade teachers and some tech-savvy colleagues from our county-wide instructional technology group, the students will have a chance to explore applications, create digital stories, and “play with a purpose” with a lot of the technology we have in our district. Special thanks to Matt Karsten for having the idea to give it a try, and leading us all through the experience.
To be fair, there’s a lot of nervous energy floating through the elementary building that will play host to the event, as we’ve never tried to tackle something like this before. It’s positive nervous energy, and we’re hoping the students and the teachers all come away with some good experiences. Personally, I’m hoping that it will serve as a catalyst for conversation surrounding technology in the building, and our district; how far do we push technology for the sake of using technology, and how do we create regular opportunities to explore new tools and tech in a playful manner. I’ve led lunch and learns, after school gathering, and small conversations during planning times, but they’ve all been met with limited success.
As for the rest of this week’s Tech Direct Chat podcast, we address some Chrome vs. Firefox questions, wrestle with how to permanently delete Google Docs (hint, don’t do it if you’re not sure who is still using it), and we have a moment of silence for the passing of Leonard Nimoy. That and the usual half-witted banter between Pete and myself takes place.
Timestamps for this week’s questions:
1:05 What has Pete been up to today?
3:00 What are your thoughts about the upcoming 4th grade technology day?
5:50 What is Pete going to be teaching students during the 4th grade technology day?
7:20 Should Ben evaluate Pete’s ability to teach?
7:38 Is it in the works that all high school classrooms will have interactive whiteboards?
9:17 Pete just can’t answer a straight question.
10:05 What’s the difference between Chrome and Firefox? A listener is having a hard time making Chrome their “go to” browser after years of Firefox use.
13:18 Can I delete items from my Google Drive? If so, how so I go about doing it?
15:20 Be careful before deleting files in Google Drive that you’ve shared with others!
16:40 How does someone get added to the MCS Classifieds email list?
17:23 Why does Pete get to bring his dog to school?
18:23 Stump Pete!
20:13 A moment of silence for Leonard Nimoy
20:24 JW asks, what is your favorite guitar intro, and can you play it for us?
Tech Director Chat – Live Long and Prosper
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