I was so blessed to get to not only attend the #TCEA Conference in Austin, TX last week but also to present about running Twitter Chats alongside the #TXed leadership team. I was so impressed by the amazing educators who shared not only theory and tools but also real-life ideas for implementation. Here are 7 treasures I gained from TCEA:

 

Lesson Paths 

• Shared by @simplyedtech Jessica Powell
• Create a playlist of content that students can complete in the order they want
• You can include websites, videos, quizzes, text, etc.
• Easy
• Free

 

Adobe Spark Video

• Shared by @simplyedtech Jessica Powell
• Create short animated videos in minutes.
• Combine text, images, icons and themes in a presentation, then speak your voice over the story in order to create the video.
• Select from professional-quality soundtracks and cinematic motion
• Create high-quality impressive videos in minutes
• I remember using this as an app on my iPad when it was called Adobe Voice
• Love the updates since that time and that it works so great on Chromebooks for school!
• Students can use to explain a concept or present

 

Webcamera.io

• Shared by @ECCDigitalCoach Jo Jacobson, @VanAalsburgJ Jared Van Aalsburg, and @kuskeedu Mark Kuske
• Website to access your webcam and record video
• No need for extension or software download
• Parent website 123apps.com has lots of other free online tools, too!
• Great way for students to record video and show what they know

 

 

Yellkey.com

• Shared by @lesliefisher Leslie Fisher
• A URL shortener that gives you a random word instead of nonsense letters
• Example: yellkey.com/smile rather than goo.gl/h1Din6 (both random examples – not real sites)
• Specify the time frame you want to keep it active, then it expires
• Great for quickly and easily sharing a site

 

Kahoot – Challenge Mode

• Shared by @lesliefisher Leslie Fisher
• Okay, so Kahoot is not new to me – but Challenge Mode was an exciting new feature I did not know about!
• Allows you to send a kahoot quiz out to students for them to play independently
• Shows both questions and answers at same time
• Students can play at their own pace

 

 

Magic Rainbow Unicorns Add-on

• I actually came across this one in the #tcea hashtag feed during the conference
• I can’t find the original twitter post, but thank you to whoever shared this – I am having loads of fun with this one!
• Enable this Add-on to change text color to RAINBOW in Google Docs!
• Does it make me more efficient or up critical thinking for students… no…
• Do I LOVE IT? YES!!!
• Super fun!

 

Your Warm Cookie Awaits 

• Shared by @shareski Dean Shareski
• Dean shared that even though it doesn’t cost a hotel much to offer a warm fresh cookie at check-in, it is a nice surprise that makes you immediately delighted with the company and want to come back.
• It is surprisingly awesome.
• I immediately started to think, “How can I offer a “warm cookie” on my campus or at specific events that will delight and surprise my students/parents/community when they enter?”
• How can you?

 

I learned so many other awesome tools and tips, but these were definitely my favorites.

I hope you also found something to treasure in this post!

What were your biggest takeaways? Have you come across anything “surprisingly awesome” lately? Please share in the comments!