Technically Trying

 Apple has been a long time "go to" for all things cell phone related for a very long time. Adults everywhere are familiar with their products, if not because they have one, then because they have seen them advertised and used by their friends and businesses.  When the iPhone first came out, it was very basic, but touted a faster experience, better access to the internet, and knowledge at your fingertips. Adults used this to help their work and home relationships. But notice I've only mentioned adults. Not children. Children are a completely different human being than adults. Their frontal cortexes aren't developed until they are 25. They react instead of plan. They are children in an adult world.  This means they are not ready for adult content . And that brings me to my post today: iOS 18 update. This was released on September 16, 2024. In the past week, there have been numerous reports of iPhone users under the age of 18 having unlimited access to anything they can...

 I was reading recently about the app CapCut and discovered that it is owned by TikTok. The app has a very TikTok feel to it with user generated videos and short clips featuring fun songs or frameworks to make your own videos. The display on the main page is similar to TikTok in that it shows a video feed of all the different videos offered on the app. Thanks to this scrolling feed, users are pulled in just like any other social media platform and can be found scrolling for hours. I also discovered that this app has a social community platform available to any user which can put younger children at risk for connecting with someone with less than desirable intentions. Unfortunately, this app in its current form has no parental controls . The only possible control a parent can put on the app is to block TikTok from being connected to the app and blocking users after  they try to connect with you.  Check out PYE's review of the app with much more in depth conversation about ...

 I came across a really cool app that I think would be extremely helpful to teachers in the classroom. The app is called "Diffit" which reminds me of the word differentiation which is exactly what teachers do in the classroom every single day. This app uses AI to generate leveled work according to their needs. So a 7th grade paper could be generated into a 3rd grade reading level. A literature vocab test could be created into ten different worksheets and interactive slides. The possibilities are endless with this program! This program seems really easy to use and free for the first 60 days. Once I went in and located our school in their list, I was able to extend our free trial out until the end of December! Diffit free trial here  - use this link to join our school! Here are some screenshots of how I worked my way around their website.      The main page of the website is very easy to read. You simply enter your resources that you'd like to work on here and the...

UPDATE: I've downloaded Frankenstein! To get any of the Lit Trips, you first have to make sure you are registered. Then you look up the title you want to have to make sure its available in their resources. Finally, you go to the GLT Shop, fill in your email and the title of the Lit Trip you'd like to use and then submit the form. They will email you a file to download and open in Google Earth. There are some really cool discussion starters on the pages when you go between locations that could help guide classroom discussions or to help study for a test. Each page of this particular trip also includes quotes directly from the book that correlate with the location being shown on the map. The table of contents allows you to jump from spot to spot without having to load each one individually. So if you're talking about a particular chapter, you can go directly to that location bookmark to show where your character is located. Overall I really like this little program and it see...

 I moved on from four years in the preschool classroom to the current Technology Coordinator position. I will be working closely with Mrs. Thoenen as we go through the school year together. I plan on learning as much as I can to help the staff have an easy and successful school year. When I find new and interesting technology related articles, I may post them here. I will also talk about any new tech additions to the school as they come around. I am very excited to be in this new position and I look forward to making the teacher's jobs easier! As much as they can be anyways... Here's to new beginnings!