Miss what you ask? Why the CSTA Webinar presented by Beth Ziesenis, Nerdy Best Friend, on May 12, of course!

A special invitation was emailed to you on May 1. I opened the email and registered for it immediately! I wanted to know about apps that would help organize my life.

I was prepared to view it at school on May 12 and would you believe it, the school network decided on that very day to slow down to a crawl and I was unable to view the webinar. Never fear. I received another email that announced that it has been recorded. You can access the webinar at http://csta.acm.org/Communications/sub/Podcasts.html.

I viewed the recording and took notes about her suggestions. Some of the apps I plan to try out are listed below.

An app to control my email called 10 minute email. It is an email address that lasts 10 minutes so you can use it to sign-up for information that you only want one time. You can find it at: 10minuteemail.com

Create graphics using Canva. You can use it to create posters. I hope to have my student groups next year create a posters containing graphics to help the other students understand computer science vocabulary. This might be a great way to do it.

Utility: Is the problem with my school network or it is a problem for everyone. I can check that with downforeveryoneorjustme.com . I am sure I will be trying it out at school shortly.

Video post cards: I saw this demonstrated and I immediately thought Open House next school year – perfect. I will video a few of my students this year and have them introduce the class to the parents.   The app she suggested was PicPlayPost. You can get it from Google Playstore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flambestudios.picplaypost&hl=en or

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/picplaypost/id498127541?mt=8

Want to stay ahead of your students with tech? Then Product Hunt is for you.   It is a Reddit for new software and apps.  You can view it at http://www.producthunt.com/

The last app I plan on trying out is Office Lens. You can take a picture of a document, business card or whiteboard and the app will straighten it out and upload it to Microsoft OneNote. You can do your own edits because the app runs it through OCR.

These are the apps that I selected from the webinar that I want to try out. You should view the webinar to determine if there are other apps you might like to try out.

Beth also set up a Google Form to crowdsource apps. If you know of apps that are your favorites you can add them to the Google Sheet using the Google Form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LmQ1NI0uWIO021kFDVnysSz9kgnIDg5Jc52jr2N65Pk/viewform

You can view the apps that CSTA members have suggested at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K4IHUOmbpGZawUPxfMepE3z_1063LibAPjuF_YFgQ10/edit?usp=sharing

I want to hear from you about your thoughts regarding the webinar or apps that I have selected.

Myra Deister
CSTA At-Large Representative