5 ideas for using Google Hangouts On Air

If you're an innovative educator, by now, you have probably tried Google Hangouts which let you conduct a video conference with up to ten people / locations FOR FREE! This by itself has terrific potential for teaching and learning tool. 

I explained here ways the following ideas could be put to use in the classroom:

1)  Take a class without having to be in the same place.

2)  Invite an audience to a performance.

3)  Invite others to perform/discuss with you.

What you may yet to have tried is livestreaming your Hangout and capturing it via YouTube. This is known as Google Hangouts On Air which takes something that was already awesome, and makes it even better. 

You can see what it is here:

You can find out how to set it up here.  

You can discover five great ways to use it for education below.

The 411 for coordinating a Google Hangout On Air

If you thought Google Hangouts were cool, you’ll find Google Hangouts On Air even cooler.  Check em out here.

Hangouts on Air are truly awesome, but coordinating them is tricky and takes some careful planning.  As educators, you’ll want to be especially aware of this because if you are not careful, you can have a situation like the one my friend Angela Maiers shared with me recently. Though it is funny it retrospect, it certainly wasn’t when unknown men joined the Hangout she was conducting and were less than professional.  Not only was it disruptive to the Hangout, but it rendered the recording useless. You can avoid embarrassment, chaos, and appearing unprofessional and unprepared by following these recommendations.

3 ways to decrease the teacher dropout crisis

Guest post by Eric Williams @ewilliams65

Ron Maggiano, an award-winning teacher in Virginia recently announced his retirement, stating, “I can no longer cooperate with a testing regime that I believe is suffocating creativity and innovation in the classroom.” Maggiano is not alone. In an ongoing blog post, Lisa Nielsen uses text and video to tell the story of teacher dropouts. The stories of teacher dropouts share a common theme, a concern for the impact of high stakes testing.

Advocating for education reform is one way to decrease teacher dropouts. But don’t stop there educators.

1)  Share stories of students doing meaningful work with value that extends far beyond preparation for success on standardized tests. Share these stories with your colleagues and others with whom you learn.

Coding: What Goes Around Comes Around

How connected is your school? Take this quiz to find out.

In our Web 2.0 world, schools can communicate, connect, interact and engage like never before.  As we leave 2013 behind and move into the 2014 school year it is time to think about how we will replace the one-way communication of the backpack note home with a truly interactive and connected experience for the school community.   This quiz will help you take a look at where you are so you can think about where you want to go. Digital interaction helps us break down barriers, bring communities together, and develop and improve the critical relationships we want to cultivate within our school communities.  

The hottest posts that everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of pageviews. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired, share it with others by clicking on one of those little logos below and/or leave a comment.

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5 ways to use Pinterest as a creation tool for lea... May 3, 2013,	3766
4 Ways to Provoke Change In Our Education System May 23, 2013,	3313
The packet-driven classroom May 19, 2013,	2428
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Could PBL be the Solution to Education Reform? May 14, 2013,	1931
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What's your digital footprint? Take this quiz and ... Apr 9, 2013,	1260