Click on the “Download Dropbox” link.

If you are using Google Chrome, the program will automatically begin to download and you will see a status bar showing you when the download has completed.

If you are using Firefox, a mini window will pop up saying, “You have chosen to open…” and it will give you the option to click on “Save File.” Click on “Save File” and you will see the program download status bar and know when the download has completed.

If you are using Internet Explorer, a mini window will pop up saying, “Do you want to run or save Dropbox…” and it will give you the option to choose “Run”, “Save” or “Cancel”. Click on “Run” and then you will see the program download status bar and know when the download has completed.

Once the download is complete, click on your Windows “Start” button and search for your “Downloads” folder by typing in “downloads” in the search bar. Be sure to click on the folder once you locate it.

Locate the Dropbox application file that you just downloaded (example, Dropbox 2.0.6) and double-click it. A mini window will pop up asking you, “Do you want to run this file?” Click on “Run.”

A new message will pop up on your screen (temporarily disabling any other window you may have open) asking, “Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer?” Click “Yes.”

A mini Installation window will pop up welcoming you to Dropbox Setup. Click on the “Install” button.

When the installation is finished a window will pop up allowing you to choose whether you have a a Dropbox account already or not. If you do and you are simply loading the Dropbox program onto an additional computer, select “I already have a Dropbox account.” However, if this is your first time using Dropbox, select “I don’t have a Dropbox account.”

Complete the Dropbox account information screen with your first and last name, email address and password (2 times). Be sure to check the box next to “I have read and agree to the Terms of Service” and when everything is finished, click on the “Next” button. You will receive an email shortly after at the address that you just signed up with.

A window will pop up asking which size you would like your Dropbox to be. This refers to the amount of Internet memory space you would like to take up for all your future files. You can always choose to purchase additional space once your account is set up but for now, simply choose the free option (2GB) and click on the “Next” button.

A window pops up asking which type of installation you would like. Choose “Typical” and click on the “Install” button. This will give you the basic default settings that you need.

The next window that pops up will give you a quick overview about Dropbox that you can choose to either “Skip Tour” or continue the tour and click on the “Next” button.

Whether you choose to Skip the Tour or not, your final pop up window will tell you that your installation is complete and allow you to click on the “Finish” button. Once you click on “Finish” the window will disappear and you are free to begin your Dropbox experience! Enjoy : )

You can now access your Dropbox by clicking on the Dropbox shortcut icon that has automatically been placed on your computer’s desktop.

The task seemed simple. Program a robot to stand from his seated position and walk to a point two feet forward and one foot to the right. Participant eyes light up and mental gears start turning. The task is fun.

Part of the beauty of having a NAO humanoid robot in the classroom is that while tasks seem easy and practical, there are complex lessons involved. The one described above involves unit conversion and the Pythagorean Theorem –– even a trigonometric equation.

Instructional Technology Specialist David Dickman was leading the session at Teq’s Digital Learning Summit in New England on Robotics in the classroom, giving many teachers and administrators their first look at the NAO robot.

“I really enjoyed working with the teachers and showing them how they could integrate NAO into their curriculum to support STEM,” said Dickman. “We got great feedback from the teachers about all the sessions we ran.”

In addition to the NAO session, Dickman and Curriculum and Professional Development Specialist David Svedlow also led sessions on Learning with the iPad, The 10 Coolest Things (that you can do with a SMART Board), and Google Apps.

Stay tuned for a Teq event near you.

In the app, you’ll begin with a setup of your class(es), students, subjects, and a comment template. Choosing a “Framework” will lead you to selecting the Common Core Standards (or others) for your grade level.  (It’s also important to note that in the setup, you can enable a passcode lock making the records stored on your device more secure.)  For teachers who are doing standards based grading, the ability to align evidence of student learning to the learning goals can be a huge advantage not only for tracking progress across time but also for reporting progress to parents.

The next step is to set up an activity with the choice of including a name, date, class, subject, topic and objective. Setting up an objective will lead you to a “lookup” where you can identify the standards that align with the activity or you can type in your own. The date for activities can be set for today or any date in the future. So, while you’re planning your lessons for the next week, you can also plan for the learning that you’ll be observing and recording.

When you’re ready to begin observing and recording your students’ work, select the activity, tap on the camera icon then take a photo.  Add your comments, check off the objective that you’re observing, check off the student name then Save.  You also have the option of simply taking photos as you observe then adding them to the activity from your Camera Roll later on.

PDF Reports can be created when you’re ready to aggregate all the results of student learning. Twenty reports are included free with an in-app purchase that will provide you with the ability to create more reports.

In addition to the single user model, the folks at theTeacherCloud are working on further updates for this app and will soon release a school subscription model that will include

• School logos and colors on PDF reports.
• Unlimited report credits
• License all classroom staff
• Centralized licensing and cost management

How do you like to gather evidence of your student’s learning progress?  Is this app right for you?

In the Large Hadron Collider lesson, designed for middle school math, students will learn about radius and circumference and how they are used to measure the size of a circle. They will learn key vocabulary and use the correct formula to measure the radius and diameter of various circles including the Large Hadron Collider. (Download: SMART Notebook, ActivInspire and RM Easiteach)

The high school physics lesson focuses on helping students learn about quarks and how they connect to the Large Hadron Collider. They will learn key vocabulary and construct protons and neutrons using the appropriate quarks. (Download: SMART Notebook, ActivInspire, and RM Easiteach)

Check back to see where the Teqsplorers are off to in June!

Do you have a question for the Teq PD team? Would you like to receive a SMART Response kit, Document Camera, admission to one of our summer PD workshops, or other Teq prizes?

On May 29th the Teq PD team will be holding a live Q and A session webinar, and we’d love to hear from you! Ask anything you would like to know about classroom technology and resources (interactive whiteboards, web tools, finding great apps, etc.). For topics we have covered, go to our webinar archive.

By submitting your questions to our Facebook page, Twitter feed, or emailing us at training@teq.com, you will be entered in a drawing where we will be giving away a variety of prizes for your classroom!

Submit your question in any of the following ways, and be sure to mention “Q & A with TeqPD 5/29″ with your question to be eligible.

• Post to our Facebook page
• Post to our Twitter feed
• Email us at training@teq.com

We will be answering questions as we get them and live during the webinar. The raffle winners will also be announced live on May 29th! Go to our Events page to register for the webinar!

Educreations is a very popular screen casting whiteboard app. 

With Educreations teachers can

• provide screencasts to the review of key concepts
• give students access to their videos on a computer or mobile device
• access a robust library of lessons from other users
• create screencasts that automatically share with your virtual classroom to “flip” a lesson
• allow students to create screencasts as a form of assessment
• have students create screencasts for peers to study or review

We have covered how to use Educreations in blogs, workshops, and webinars. See how Educreations was covered in Teq’s Top 5 iPad Apps webinar from last fall.

We’ll cover more apps on May 15th, at 4:30 PM during Teq’s iPad Appy Hour webinar. Register online here.

To see and hear more, check out this video!

What’s great about Toontastic, is that before the students even touch the iPad and use the app, you can have them storyboard and script their story — adding a crucial literacy piece for your students.

With Toontastic you can

• Create exciting digital stories
• Add a literacy component to a fun app
• Teach storyboarding with story arcs and plot diagrams
• Share cartoons via the internet to parents and students

Check out the video below taken from Teq’s Top 5 iPad Apps webinar and join us as we explore a few more useful apps for your classroom on Wednesday May 15, 4:30PM during Teq’s iPad Appy Hour.

One security concern we’ve heard about is the inability to control/monitor/disable chat (Google Talk) within Google Drive. It is a valid worry, since the lack of monitoring conflicts with many districts’ policies. Good news. Google has heard our concerns! You can now disable the chat feature in the Admin panel. Take a look at these easy steps below, and as always, you can reach out to Teq’s Google team for assistance at any time!

1.From your Google Apps Admin panel, navigate to the Settings tab, select “Talk” under the Services on the left, and under General settings, choose “Uninstall Talk.”

2. When students are collaborating in Docs, they will now see this message:

Using Kodu, a visual programming language, students of all ages can design games for the PC and Xbox. The interface is brilliantly simple, and the language is all picture-based. Microsoft has made the program available for free, so you can get started right away.

One the Kodu site, you’ll find a link to download the program, as well as an accompanying set of lesson plans and activities to use with your students. You will also find a wealth of video resources for getting started; there is plenty of support for keeping you up to speed with your soon-to-be expert students!