Who has been blogging for a decade!?!

It has been quite sometime since I posted on this blog, and for good reason. I have been busy! Over 10 years ago I started this instructional technology site to share my learning from my master’s program at the University of Wyoming and my adventures as an instructional technology director for a school district. Life has thrown a few curves into my life’s plan along the way, but I still find myself in education but at the classroom level. Last summer, I gained new employment teaching world geography at Johnson Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was able to bring my family back to my home state and to leave the Sand Hills of Nebraska behind after almost a decade living there. My new exploits have brought me from teaching 8th grade American History to 7th grade World Geography, and I have spent most of the year developing a website and learning tools that can be found at http://oxpower.org (http://geosearcher.wordpress.com). I continue to use Quia (http://quia.com) for building most of my tutorials, the old and trusty Content Generator tutorial creator software, and make most of my presentations for students via Prezi (http://prezi.com). The summer, then school year, has flown by with a major move, and getting accustomed to a new school, students, and staff, but I feel right at home in my native state. The fall allowed myself and my family to attend almost every Wyoming Cowboy home football game, and we even caught a basketball game when the Cowboys were at home for the CBI tournament that they eventually won! I recently purchased a new computer (Mac Mini), and have been transferring and setting things up to keep rolling with technology (I shall share my adventures with that soon). So, there is an update for those that care, and for those that may have thought I had fallen of the face of the earth!

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My new project…in the works

Embedded Tech a Division of Hokanson’s Instructional Technology

This is the beginnings of a plan to provide services to the educational community. Stay tuned…

WWI Online Games…

I have shared a few of these WWI online simulations and games before.  Enjoy!

Trench Warfare Game

Over the Top (Canadian Perspective)

Warfare 1917

Trench Mission

The Western Front Simulation

World War When?

The Great War

Dogfight Aces

The Red Baron 1918

10 Essential FREE Android Apps…

Android apps are plenty, and I have had the past couple of years to decide on what I consider to be the most essential. I am a low end user, purchasing economical devices for classroom use and, in the case of my phone, a StraightTalk ZTE Rapido LTE device. In these situations you don’t have access to much storage space; so, I have narrowed my usage to the following apps (all FREE):

WPS Office (Kingsoft): My go to app for reading and creating documents as needed. Yes, Google Drive is there too, but I really like WPS Office on my devices.

AVG AntiVirus & AVG Cleaner: Great antivirus detection and a cleaner to free up space when I need it.

Camera360: Solid photography app to make your phone camera full featured.

AccuWeather: In the Midwest it is nice to know what is on the horizon. This app provides you with all the information you need.

Chrome: First choice browser.

Dolphin Browser: The browser I use when I need to employ Flash for classroom use.

Amazon Kindle: This is where most of my books are; so, it’s nice to have access on multiple devices.

Facebook: Allows me to connect with family and friends.

Jewels 2: My favorite handheld game. Infinity mode is the best.

Walmart: Savings Catcher saves me money each time I go to the store.

Raspberry Pi 2

The History of the Learning Management Systems (LMS)…

I am doing a trial of an LMS called Canvas.  MOODLE was a great open source solution but is no longer an option in my current district.  The following is a little history on the LMS for your perusal…

“Toys as Teaching Machines”

Great article at hackeducation.com on the history of the Speak & Spell…