3 Tools I Use to Communicate a Message

​     As an Education Technology Specialist and someone who loves sharing out to the broader education technology community, you have to things that allow you to communicate your message. You have to have places where you can exchange ideas and put yourself out there. To do it, though, you need some great tools. This blog is meant to showcase the ones that I use consistently in my work. I love them all, but if you find just one that works for you, it makes this blog worth it!
     Now you may be reading this and thinking, "Well I am just a teacher." That does not mean you don't have anything to share. Many of the best ideas, resources, and tools come from teachers who tried something cool in their class, so maybe this will help you to get that idea out there.
      I think you could also look at this regarding your classroom. The easiest way to get in good with your parents is to be good at public relations. All of these tools can be great ways for you to communicate with parents and let them know what's going on in your class. You could even use them as the basis for your student digital hub.

My 3 Favorites
Touchcast (touchcast.com)
     I am a massive fan of this app. It's an Ipad only app, but it is my absolute go to for video production. It's one of the apps I still use consistently, and both my successful Google Innovative Educator video and my hopeful Apple Distinguished Educator video were both made on this tool.
     The idea behind this tool is to bring video and the web together. It does that by first giving you a secure video platform to record, and recording is as easy as pressing the record button. I have found the video quality to be pretty good, and if you use a mic plugged into the headphone jack the audio is crisp and clear.
     It brings the web part into the app by using their innovative Vapps. These are seen within the platform as video apps, and it puts interactive web content in your video. Those Vapps show up in your video as new style graphics, and they allow the user to use things like websites without ever leaving the video. You can have these Vapps be websites, online video, photos, cloud services, and much more. It makes the video a box of internet content that only requires the user to go one place. 
     What's even better is that Touchcast is a video tool that has every other thing that you would want in video production for free. Touchcast has annotation features built in. It as a green screen built in. It has a teleprompter built in, and it also has several other functions built in. 
     From a standpoint of what you can do in the classroom, this tool is so multi-use. To start, it can be an excellent way to share awesome strategies. I use it as my main video component on my site, and with it's Youtube one button touch I can publish higher quality videos to Youtube easily. I think from a classroom communication standpoint it could be an amazing way to do a PR show for your parents. It also is an excellent way to do a flipped classroom type presentation, especially when you take the teleprompter into account.
      Finally, Touchcast is ideal for students. It's easy to use, which makes it fantastic for video projects. Students can easily record, use the teleprompter, and best of all have green screen all for free. Even young students can use it because if you don't sign into the app, you can just download the video to the camera roll with no broadcast options.

Weebly (education.weebly.com)
     Of course having a website is an amazing way to communicate. It gives people a place to land on and access resources that they know will always be there. This can be a way to get your ideas out there, and it can also be an excellent way to do that Public Relations that you know are becoming so important. Last but not least, I actually prefer this over a learning management system because it gives me more control. 
      From a delivering ideas standpoint, the way to start is with a blog. Blogs allow you to provide long-form explanations of your idea in a narrative format. I think the biggest thing that throws people on this is a lack of Grammar confidence. Well, my secret (I am doing it right now) is to use Grammarly which allows me to check my grammar quickly. I also highly suggest paying for the upgraded version as it lets you check things like overused words. You can use Grammarly through the app, or you can use it with a chrome extension that checks your text online. 
      The other piece I use all the time on Weebly is HTML embed. HTML Embed allows me to grab a gobbledygook code from another tool or site and embed it where it shows up directly on my site. I use this all the time to both organize and bring in tools that I use as a model. One of my favorites is Symbaloo because it allows me to put an organized tile based format with things videos.
     From a student standpoint, I prefer this over every LMS because it gives me amazing control. I can organize things in the way I want, and I can create different pages for different groups. One of my favorite pieces was to put a page on my student site with all the pertinent information for parents. It made that PR piece easy as they knew where to find what they need. The other piece is that I can embed almost any learning tool into the site where it cuts down places for students to have to go. Some of those tools include Symbaloo, Touchcast, Nearpod, Padlet, and much, much more. LMS's can't do that.

Twitter (twitter.com)
      As I try to get my message across, I need a tool to both expand my scope and deliver short-form messages. That's where Twitter comes in. There are so many social networks out there, but the education community on Twitter is HUGE.  There are also several ways to connect with people. It can also be an excellent way to connect with both students and parents. The Twitter can drive your short form communication, and we all need that right?
     When I look at Twitter, the first thing I use it for is to get my message out. This all starts with building a community. You have to get out there at conferences and other events and meet people. Not only can they become connections, but they can also become fast friends. You also can meet folks through Twitter chats. These are set times on a hashtag (usually a topic or region you are interested in) where a moderator has a discussion. You then make those connections through discussions. Start with Cybaryman's Twitter Chat Schedule (Click this link) to find a chat that works for you.
      The second step to me in crafting a message using Twitter. I think this goes to two steps. The first is establishing your unwritten Twitter rules. Will you add things that are political? Will you use the account as your personal account and tweet things such as replies to companies and sports? I think there is no perfect answer for this; it just depends on you and your audience. 
     The second step that I use is tagging people and hashtags that will help me get the highest reach on whatever my message is. My first step in that process is creating an image that allows me to use the picture tagging feature on Twitter. Adobe Spark is a great way to create those images. It can give you well done beautiful images quickly. You then add that to your post, and then you use the tagging feature to add ten friends. This is a significant step to expand your scope because many Twitter users don't even look at their timeline. They just look at notifications, and this puts it right in that stream. Of course, you can also add hashtags to expand that scope even more.
     While those steps work well to get you edtech message out, they could also be applied to your classroom. You can use Twitter a short form place to connect with both students and parents. You can have a class account which publishes all the great things in your classroom, but I would make sure that you don't put student faces in the account just to ensure privacy. Another way yu could use it would be to have a class hashtag where you could post assignments, reminders, and much more. I used to use to post my Bell Ringer and Exit Tickets as Google Forms to make data collection easy.
      I think with Twitter people get overwhelmed by trying to learn it. They also get overwhelmed with the bad of Twitter.  I think if you are just getting started on Twitter, sit down with an educator who knows the platform. They can help you cut through the weeds and get things to where you want them to be!

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