MC Digital Blog

Blabberize is a photo editing, voice recording web tool. Simply import an image, add “markers” to the image, record a message and bring your image to life! Go to blabberize.com to get started. It is not necessary to create an account, but to save the project, an account is needed. Click on “MAKE” at the top of the page then browse for a picture. After selecting your image, you can crop the image if desired, then click on the arrow to continue to the next step. Move and adjust the “mouth” so that it is located over the mouth of the image. This may take some adjusting. When ready, click the arrow to continue to the next step where you will add a “voice” to your image. You have 3 choices to add audio: 1. Record with a microphone. (you may have to “allow” the program access to your camera/microphone) 2. Upload a recording. 3. Record with a phone. Once the sound has been added, the project can be tweaked using the icons at

eduCanon It’s time to take those videos that students passively watch and make them interactive. With eduCanon, teachers can make their own videos or any Youtube video an active and engaging learning experience for their students. Teachers can differentiate by assigning different videos or bulbs to groups of students, and reports let you see learning needs as assignments are completed.   Create your free basic account by going to www.educanon.com   (see end of blog post for details on how to get a free upgrade to premium access) To design your first lesson, click on the design button at the top right corner. On the left hand side, you will see step by step directions for building your lesson-Enter in the title, learning objectives, grade, etc for the lesson. Search for video or enter url of desired video. Once you have inserted the video, it will show up on the right hand side of the screen. Here you can crop the video, add questions to the video, and fin

Please incorporate a Digital Citizenship/Social Awareness lesson into your curriculum prior to using any electronic devices in your classroom. I have prepared one for you that you are free to use with videos and a short quiz for students: http://bit.ly/chhssocialmedia Additional resources: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/schools.aspx http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents http://www.cybersmart.org/ http://www.edudemic.com/first-five-days-of-digital-citizenship-at-your-school/

Provided by Brandy Whitley Canned Response in GMail This tip is for perfect for those who get the same question over and over again by email. Instead of retyping the answer or searching for a copy of the answer in a previously sent message, create a response that can be saved and inserted into the message as needed. Here’s how: First you will need log into your gmail account. Click on the Settings gear in the top right corner under your name. Select Settings from the menu. Click on the labs tab. Select Enable for Canned Responses, and click Save changes. Next you will compose a new message. Once you have your message ready to go, click on the drop down arrow located at the bottom right corner of the new message. Click on Canned Responses, then click on New Canned Response. Give it a name that will make it easy for you to identify.    Now you are ready to send a canned response as needed. To insert the canned response, simply, compose a new email, cl

To add your Signature to your JCS Email: 1. Open your Google Mailbox and go to the settings 2. On the General Tab - scroll to the bottom and find the signature box. 3. Please be sure to include - Name, Title, School, Phone number, and Extension if you have a direct line 4. Scroll to the very bottom and SAVE your changes. 

An English teacher at another school in Johnston County shared this exciting app with me today.  Check out it out; it's called Quick Key , a mobile scanner! It's a free app that turns your phone into a mobile scanner. Please watch the short video below that explains how it works or click HERE to view. Quick, easy, and FREE!!! Quick Key Free $0 Free unlimited instant mobile scanning No Internet required to make, take, scan, or score a quiz Instantly see quiz results on your mobile Simple quiz builder Export quiz results to Excel Easy account setup/class list importer Up to 440 students per account

Many of us resort to Google to perform topic searches. A great alternative that I recently learned about is Sweetsearch ! Sweetsearch is a type of customized Google search engine that provides better hits for educational purposes. Sweet Search was created by Finding Dulcinea. The 35, 000 sites included in the search engine have been evaluated by librarians and research experts. Please encourage your students to use this search engine instead of Google. They will find the results to be more relevant and advertisement-free. Example: Comparison for "Shakespeare" in  SweetSearch ,   Google  and  Bing . Again, Wikipedia ranks first for Google and Bing. Also appearing prominently, again due to the specific domain names, are "Shakespeare.com" and "Shakespeare-online.com." Each of these is a well-written "passion site," one created by an individual who is passionate about the subject, but does not possess academic credentials that would enable a

Are you having trouble with your computer, SmartBoard, or printer? Submit an IT Request: www.myschoolbuilding.com If prompted, enter the Organization Account number ( 252107268 ) and click Submit Organization. Make sure you are on the “IT Request” tab.  If not, simply click on this tab to access the IT request form. Be VERY SPECIFIC! Include Room # and Computer Name (HCHHSTD…) Type in the submittal password of: password

You, as a JCS employee, are entitled to a one-time download of Office 2013 for $9.99 (download only) or $19.99 (disk). Johnston County Code: 951537B753 Please go to www.microsofthup.com to start your home download today!

To connect or import this calendar, you will need to: 1. go to your Google calendar 2. Click in the box under "Other Calendars" where it says "add a coworker's calendar" 3. Copy and paste the following info or "link" into that box: jcsnc.org_03sq3hieo1k5ic0k5okd424sb4@group.calendar.google.com    4. Press Enter You will see the "The Ship's Log of Events" appear under your "Other Calendars" section. In order to see the events on your calendar, it must be selected (it will have a colored box to the left of it, if it is selected). Check to see if September 10, 2014 2:30 Faculty/Staff Senate Meeting  shows up to ensure it was "imported" correctly.  *This calendar is purposely separated from the school webpage calendar as this one is specifically for faculty only events. If you have dates you would like for me to add to this calendar, please send me an email. 

Sponsored by JCS Digital Learning Team Chromebook Grant for JCS Teachers Deadline is October 17th! It will be awarded at the Digital Expo on October 28th in the JCC Auditorium Lobby and teachers must be present to receive or it will go to the next person!   Technology can't replace good teaching practices, but sometimes it can be a step in the right direction. A lack of  resources are often a barrier to implementation, and we want to help by investing in you and your students. We invite you to apply for a Chromebook to use this year.  Please read all the information, and click on the link (at the top of the first page) to the rubric we will use to evaluate your proposal.  The number of Chromebooks and accepted proposals will be determined by the number of submissions. Apply today@  http://bit.ly/teacherchromebook  

Provided by Pam Batchelor Google has just released Google Classroom to our domain and so far, it is showing to be a great learning management system that is simpler than Edmodo or Moodle and very user friendly. All JCS teachers can use Classroom to create an online space for your students to view class materials, complete assignments, and collaborate together.  If you have not seen this brief two minute overview of Classroom, take a look at it: To get started with Classroom, go to:  https://classroom.google.com The first time you visit the site, you may see a screen like this: Click on the "Go to Classroom" button. Once you are at the Classroom site, make sure the correct account is signed in (left side) and click on "Teacher" to request access to your account. Your account will then be verified as a teacher account within 24 hours. Once your account is verified, you will see this on the top right of your Classroom homepage: