Sketchboard - The endless online whiteboard

In today's world, are you only working from one location?  Or are you working from home, office, co-workers office, coffee shop, etc..,?  Exactly...right?! I know, I read your mind because we always seem to be working from various locations and multi-tasking with students and colleagues.  However, it seems like there is a tool missing to get our point across to others at times.

In the past, local meetings were easy to explain and you received quick feedback with face-to-face interaction.  However, in today's world our remote meetings can sometimes be hard to explain or visualize.  We want to continue to be productive, but we are still somewhat limited with chat applications, screen sharing, and even shared documents.  Our students are also facing these very same issues.  If you are feeling this very same way, then I want to encourage you to give Sketchboard a try!

Sketchboard

If you are looking for collaboration with visual representation for teams, then you need to check out Sketchboard.  It is an endless online whiteboard that has an endless list of possibilities that can work for students and teachers alike.  Are you also a Slack fan? You can also visual message on Slack with Sketchboard.

Check out the YouTube video for a quick overview and some key features.

Can you imagine what your students could create or the productive workflow for remote meetings?

The sketchboard interface has many options to choose from to create your workflow:

Sketchboard Pricing: Click here for more info.

Here are a few examples of the pricing options below: (You can also request educational pricing)

• Free - Up to 5 Users - 3 private boards - Unlimited public boards
• Personal: $7/month 1 user
• Organization: $9/month per user
• Team: $36/month - 7 users

I hope that you will find this tool helpful in your next collaborative meeting.

Create Custom Google Search

Create Your "Own" Google Custom Search Engine

Do you have students turning in research papers with unreliable sources?  Are they spending countless hours trying to find sources for their paper?  You can create your own Google Custom Search Engine and have students searching within specific websites that you choose.  This saves time and helps them stay on task.

Where do I begin?

1. Go to: google.com/cse
2. Create New Search Engine
3. In the 'Sites to Search'
• Add the URL/pages you want to include in your search engine
4. You can get fancy and add URL patterns
5. Select the Language you want
6. Select 'Advanced' if you want to Exclude URLs
7. Click 'Create'
8. You can grab the code to embed in a website or the link to share with your students

You can always go back in and edit your search engine (add/delete sites and change any of the above info)

Motivate 2 Educate

"Get motivated by others and pay it forward by motivating the world!! You never know who is watching!!"- Brooke Hall

When was the last time you felt motivated about teaching?  When was the last time you felt motivated about technology in your classroom?  If you haven't been motivated lately, you need to join in on the motivation happening across the world!!  I have met so many educators so alive and motivated to educate students.  It's very infectious and gets me motivated.  It's happening right here at home in our state of Indiana.

 I am constantly being motivated and encouraged by so many people all over the world through technology and the connections that I continue to make!  I want to challenge and encourage you (educators, parents, students, etc..,) to join social media and build your PLN today.  Allow others to see where your learning lives.  We live in a world where millions of people can connect, share, collaborate, and impact others minute by minute. Remember the things that are possible with technology...

• Your learning is important and sharing something that you learned today, might just be what someone else is looking for
• A student's portfolio/resume has no limitation and they could land the career of their dreams
• A classroom can connect with a another classroom across the world to communicate and learn about and share their culture
• Take a virtual field trip with your class
• Collaborate on the same Google Doc for a group project
• Create opportunities for students that would not be possible without technology
• Stay connected and up-to-date on the latest tools and resources
• So many more opportunities just waiting to be explored...

Build your PLN: (Join today)

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