 
Easy PD for the Busy Educator
Becoming better at our profession is something that we all want and need to do. However, finding the time for our own learning can be difficult. Luckily, TCEA can help with its many hours of free professional development available to members.
Lunch and Learn
Grab your lunch and join us in this weekly webinar series offered every Wednesday from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central. This 36-session series focuses on new tools and resources for the classroom. Topics range from advanced features of Google to new educational apps to amazing websites for learning. If you cannot attend the live webinar at the time it is offered, you may register to receive a link to the recorded version and watch the session, with full resources, any time you wish. Either way, each webinar counts for CPE hours. You can view the complete schedule of webinars for this year here.
Get Your Google On
Join us every first Thursday of the month for a power Google webinar customized for experienced Googlers. These fast-paced sessions are focused on elevating educator's skills to enhance educator productivity and student learning. All of these webinars are recorded for later viewing.
Legislative Update
Find out the latest educational happenings from Washington DC, the Texas Legislature, the State Board of Education, and the Texas Education Agency once a month as TCEA attends meetings and then briefs you on the news. This webinar series is offered from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Central each month and is free to members. These webinars are also recorded for your viewing convenience.
Cafe con TCEA
For our members who speak Spanish, we offer monthly technology tip webinars from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central. The complete list of topics is available here.
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iTCEA Learning Conference
Ready to go beyond "cool apps" and experience how the iPad can be used for deeper learning in the classroom? The new iTCEA Conference on Saturday, October 19 will provide interactive, hands-on activities based on a few key, free apps. The conference will be held at Texas A&M International University in Laredo.
TCEA professional development staff will model the use of the iPad  for content creation and the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. You will not walk away from this experience overwhelmed with hundreds of new apps; you will walk away with a clear understanding of how to manage and use the iPad with students for personalization and true mastery of the content.
Teachers, librarians, and administrators will benefit from this detailed approach with time for reflection and planning for next steps. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration is $59 for members and $99 for non-members (which includes a one-year membership in TCEA). Register today and innovate teaching and learning in your classroom!
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Three New Tech Tools for Your Utility Belt
As an educator today, you need to have a bevy of technology tools available to help individualize learning for your students. Here are three new ones that you should know. And they're all free!
GoSoapBox is a web-based clicker tool used by educators around the world to keep students engaged and gain real-time insight into student comprehension. You can easily create formative assessments that can be accessed by students on any device and make class more interactive with live polls. Students can use the Confusion Barometer to let you know if they're getting the concept or not. A free teacher account is required, but students only need the "room number" to join the tool.
If you're tired of watching your students' PowerPoint slideshows, have them use Movenote to add video and sound to them. Movenote works with Google Drive, Microsoft mail, Gmail, and Google Docs and on any device. Students open Movenote inside their email program, prompting their camera to automatically be activated. They then add their content (from any document type) and begin recording themselves talking through the information. This is a wonderful tool for the flipped classroom and for having students showcase what they've learned in a particular unit of study. Free registration with an email account is required. If you are a Google Apps for Education district, there is a simple add-on available in Google Drive. There is also an app for iOS devices.
Trello is the perfect tool for organizing anything, from a group project to a science fair to a band trip. Working on iOS, Android, Windows 8, and the web, Trello allows you to brainstorm ideas, set to-do lists, add photos, monitor progress, and keep everyone informed with the latest details. It works especially well with Project-Based Learning activities and group work. Trello does require an email address to register.
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Get Deals on Two Cameras from Digital Wish
Digital Wish just negotiated wicked-good discounts on yearbook/ photography cameras and also on document cameras, which TCEA is happy to pass along to you.
Yearbook and photography camera for only $72.95 - The X400 is GE's highest quality Power Pro line of cameras. All the latest technology is built in to this wide-angle camera including a 15X optical zoom, 14 megapixel sensor, High Dynamic Range, and low-light 3200 ISO for impeccable low light photos. The camera has 13 MB of internal storage and slots for SD/SDHC memory cards for pictures and video. These are new cameras with open packaging and full warranty. The regular price is $129.95, a 44 percent savings. See it here.
Half Price HoverCam Document Camera - It's also a scanner, a video recorder with built in microphone, and a high-resolution web camera for distance learning. It includes a second camera for picture-in-picture. Hovercam is exclusively offering Digital Wish members over 50% off their street price of $259 for only $129 each. Find out more here.
Other deals on new technology equipment are also available.
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Free 3D Software for Texas Schools
With the new 3D printers that are now available, more and more schools are diving in to 3D software. TCEA has been granted the exclusive rights in the state of Texas to provide free licenses of SketchUp Pro to all K-12 educators and students. The 3D modeling software, normally $495 per license, is easy and intuitive, allowing anyone to model in 3D quickly and accurately. Using 3D models, designers can make more informed decisions, communicate project details, and share ideas with colleagues and customers to reach a common goal.
SketchUp Pro also includes LayOut, a 2D documentation and presentation tool for professionals. LayOut combines 3D models with text and 2D drawing elements to create design documents, construction drawings, and compelling digital presentations.
The free licenses are available in the following formats: - Licenses for individual Texas school lab networks (Windows and Macintosh). These licenses allow up to 300 simultaneous users on any given network.
- Licenses for imaging and installation on multiple laptops that need functionality both on and off of the school network (i.e. students with a laptop assigned to them).
- Licenses for stand-alone computers (Windows and Mac) for Texas educational non-networked machines. Please note that this is not a networked lab license and will not run on a network.
The license is good for one year and may be renewed each year after that. The license may not be shared with other individuals. To receive a free license, complete this form. You will then be emailed information on how to download and install the software.
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Technology Literacy Assessment
TCEA and Learning.com will continue to partner to offer a free Technology Literacy Assessment for all eighth grade students in the state of Texas. The assessment evaluates technology literacy for required STaR Chart and NCLB reporting. The assessment is aligned to the TA-TEKS and provides measurable data based on state-wide results.
You may now sign up for the 2013-2014 assessment. The deadline to request participation is February 14, 2014. To learn more about the assessment, deadlines, and training dates, please visit this website.
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Share Your Screen Easily
If you need to quickly share your screen with someone else, or even a group of people, try the basic/free version of Join.me. This instant screen casting website is very fast and simple to use.
The "presenter" must first download a small file to enable sharing; this happens only the first time. Once that's done, he/she gives a URL to the rest of the group that will enable them to see his/her screen. The presenter can give control of his/her computer to a participant and even send files to them. The participants may follow along on a computer or iOS or Android device. Up to 10 participants may join in, making this a great tool for quick staff development on how to do something specific with a technology tool or for showing a group of students your expectations on a particular website or game.
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Do You Symbaloo?
Symbaloo is a free online bookmarking site to organize all your favorite web resources in one easy-to-access place. TCEA now has a webmix on Symbaloo. Be sure to add us to your Symbaloo and have free professional development and resources at your fingertips!
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UPCOMING EVENTS | |
September 5
September 9
September 11
September 12
September 16
Discover more exciting events
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A DAY DEDICATED TO CAMPUS LEADERS
Principals and campus leaders will convene for a special day of professional development dedicated to supporting technology integration efforts and providing tools and resources to streamline and ease daily tasks. The specially-planned day will feature a series of presentations dedicated to the challenges you are faced with ranging from policies and procedures to professional development and instructional management to changing the culture of teaching.
Join other campus leaders eager to collaborate for future growth and gain insight for continued success at the Campus Leadership Academy, held during the TCEA 2014 Convention & Exposition. The fee is only $257 and includes access to the Academy and five full days of outstanding learning opportunities. Registration opens September 5. You can learn more here.
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GOOGLE TIPS - GMAIL
Here are some quick tricks to make you a power Gmail user!
Undo Send
Did you send an email to the entire school that you meant to send to your friend? Or did you forget to include an attachment? Don't worry, Enabling the Undo Send lab will allow you to retract your message for up to 30 seconds after sending.
To enable Undo Send:
- Click the gear in the top right of your Gmail screen.
- Select Settings.
- Click the Labs tab.
- Find the "Undo Send" lab and select the Enable radio button.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Canned Responses
Save tons of time by creating canned responses to use when you need to send similar email responses out to a number of people over time.
- Click the gear in the top right of your Gmail screen.
- Select Settings.
- Click the Labs tab.
- Find the "Canned Responses" lab, enable it, and save.
To create a canned response:
- Click "Compose" to create a new email.
- Type the canned email. Consider bolding or highlighting anything that will have to be changed in future versions of the response.
- Under the Subject heading of the email, click "Canned responses" in blue text.
- Click "New canned response" and name your response.
To use a canned response:
- Click on "Compose."
- Click on "Canned responses."
- Click on the name of the response you'd like to use.
- Change any information in the response that needs to be modified.
- Send the email.
Get to Know Who You're Emailing
Add the free Rapportive app to your Gmail and see details from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter next to your contacts' profiles. This can be really handy if you email to a lot of people that you don't know that well. And the app doesn't slow your Gmail down at all.
Schedule Your Emails
Another free tool to add on to Gmail is Boomerang, which allows you to schedule emails to send at a later time. The app also reminds you to follow up important messages after a certain period of time if you haven't had a response.
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