Gadget-A-Go-Go!
or How Flickr Slapped My Smugmug!


I’ve given this every year since 08 & every year I think of dropping it –But it’s always a hit & all cool new gadgets keep coming out that excite me! Teaching is NOT about the Gadgets – it’s about the kids & content…but gadgets are cool! And with the right gadget in the hands of an engaged student & inspired teacher – magic can happen! So let's talk tools & toys!

Amazon with free super saver shipping usually wins. But sometimes if you just gotta have it NOW!…Just make sure to check the online price & availability at your local Best Buy store, and do print it out, & bring it with you! Go to the customer service desk & ask that they honor that price. Otherwise you could end up paying more? And Target? Yeah...they have great deals, too!

It pairs with your iPad via Bluetooth. It can be viewed either landscape or portrait…the keyboard feels right and the case is strong enough to drop on cement ---AND M.C. Hammer says it’s great….what more do you need? Less than $100!

I have so many USB charged stuff it ain't funny...so having extra adapters & chargers around makes life grand! Check Amazon for this great trio of handy adapters & chargers. I’ve bought this on Amazon for a .01 cents (plus $2.50 shipping) and I’ve bought it for $2.99 plus FREE shipping - either way it’s a great deal!

A 4G LiveScribe pen can do SO MANY cool things in the hands of a creative kid or teacher! Read my previous blog posting for ideas like the PenCast book reivew pictured above - PLUS…my inspired 6th grade Math teacher Liz Zinger just won a LiveScribe PenGrant and our kids are going to create pencasts with math problems worked out & explained by kids then posted to the web for on demand audio & visual help! SWEET!

Using Skype in the classroom or library is opening the world to authors and subject area experts! Find a way to make it happen!

I wrote a whole blog posting about this….but if you’re a serious reader you need a Kindle (large for a beach vacation – small for airline travel). An iPad is just so much more than a reader – and the Kindle is a must for those who read for hours!

Damn, you Cisco! Stoopid, Stoopid Cisco!!! They are NOT thinking about the education market! Schools use cameras like these for student projects, field trips, video diaries, video book reviews...anytime we want to put into the eager hands of kids a reliable, sturdy and yes...not super expensive device that let's them have the freedom of creative expression....AND then upload it easily for movie making - or the web - Flips are awesome products...I am so flippin annoyed! (pun intended!) But srsly, GAH!

I’ve written several blog postings about how to use an iPod touch Gen4 in the library & classroom. Search my blog for them or start with clicking on the QR code above….or ok…here ya go!

Sometimes parents or visitors don’t’ show up when the cool stuff is going on in your school library or classroom – fix that by taking action pics & display them prominently with a digital photo frame with a motion sensor to save electricity! Great for back to school night! Promoting your program is not showing off – it’s sharing with the community!

The Cloud is here! Give it a shot by joining Dropbox – Are you a teacher? This secret squirrel link --> Dropbox loves schools! will get you (and me!) extra space when you join. After you join, if you are an educator you can get double the credit for referrals. That's 500 MB per friend that you invite will get you right to the .EDU account…yeah, it’s a total pyramid scam of Dropbox goodness! Adore you Gina Hartman of METC_CSD for hooking me up with this! Using the Magic Pocket: A Dropbox Guide (published by MakeUseOf) - PDF !

I loved me some Smugmug - it was the shizzle (yeah, I went there) back in 2004... I still adore the gorgeous BLACK background...but then came Flickr and well...it won me over. There are SO many lovely, wonderful, social media connected features of Flickr that it's hard NOT to love it!
And I pay for it...Yup! My PRO account is worth every bit of my $29 yearly fee. Now if only they would go for the ability to have a lovely black background, I'd be ecstatic!

For buying information for the Gadgets check out my Gadget-A-Go-Go wikipage, check out the Web 2.Oh! Tools wikipage for links to online tools, and always - when you are curious if I've written about something use the search bar - I use it myself ALL the time!
Here's the Slideshare full peso...
Gadget A-Go-Go
View more presentations from gwyneth jones
What are your favourite Gadgets & Web 2.Oh! Tools? I love your ideas & comments!
Oh and two toys....not educational but just geeky fun!
The orig Ollie the Twitter bird in Rotocast Vinyl for $19.99 designed by the awesome David Lanham (who drew my fav monocled avatar) and the plushie version for only $12.99! I'll take both, please!



Cheers dears! Tweet Tweet!

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 23, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    I love the idea of using a digital photo frame. Serious outreach potential for back to school nights and library card sign-up drives. We post our activities to facebook but having a changing display that is portable definitely has some great potential for showing our worth and what we do.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Makerspace for Little or Nothing

Image
Makerspace for Little or Nothing You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to start a Makerspace area. You don't have to have a designated room or rip out bookcases. You can even have a Makerspace on a cart! When we have testing in our Library, I put all our Makerspace stuff on an AV cart and roll it into our server room.  This post evolved from a previous post called Makerspace Starter Kit Updated where I had some of these idea, but I felt that it deserved it's own expanded post. You can take baby steps into the Maker Movement.  I've been saying that for 7 years or so....long before I blogged about it, I tried it out. Yeah, sometimes I try things on the sly to see if they are blogworthy for you! Now....having said that..... WARNING: Controversial Opinion Ahead.  I'm not 100% sold, even after 7 years of talking about the Maker Movement, that it's something that's here to stay and not just a fad. Even though I've (without knowing it!)...
Keep reading

Makerspace Starter Kit Updated

Image
Three years ago I shared my Makerspace Starter Kit with you or what I was buying to boost our Makerspace area using four empty Library study carrels that no longer held desktop Macs.  That post has consistently been one of the most viewed posts every week for years and years - with more than 83 THOUSAND views, gee whiz! (Crazy, right?) So, I thought maybe it was time to update it!*  Since then, I've had some major Makerspace successes and a couple dismal (and expensive) Makerspace failures!  So, here's the latest for ya'll with the good, the bad, and the bloody awful! Our MHMS Makerspace How it works: Kids can come in before the 1st period late bell rings, during lunch, or when they've finished their work in class to explore, craft, and create in the Library Media Center. It's not a "class" or an organized offering. It's a free form optional offering of constructivist learning and creativity! It's not as big as some and it hasn't tak...
Keep reading

Curating the Happy for Your Future Self

Image
Teacher Tip #112 Teacher Self-Care:  Create a Happy Folder In my School Library Media office desk I had a manilla folder where I carefully tucked all the hand written notes from kiddos & parents to read on a rainy day. I also SHAMELESSLY would first tape them to my office door (let the other teachers internally writhe with envy!)  Nah, really just to keep me motivated and also show the kiddos I appreciated their heartfelt little notes!  But.....before I tucked it away tenderly or taped it to my door, I took a picture of it and uploaded it to Flickr. A digital Happy Folder that pays back dividends of warm fuzzies and motivations for your future self.  Because, let's not kid ourselves, being an educator right now is HARD.  Start this habit NOW.  Don't be like me and wait 10 or 15 years. OK, some of that was because cell phones and digital cameras weren't as handy and as ubiquitous back then. But do your future self a favor, there will be days w...
Keep reading