Step 1: Find the GIF on Twitter

To save a GIF from Twitter, you must first locate it on the platform. Twitter users can post GIFs on their timelines or through replies, retweets. So, you need to find the tweet containing the GIF that you want to save.

Step 2: Click on the GIF

To see the GIF in its full size, ensure that you click on it to enlarge it. When you click on the GIF, it should start playing.

Step 3: Copy the GIF URL

To copy the GIF URL, right-click on the GIF and select the “Copy video address” option. If you are using mobile, tap and hold on the GIF and select “Share Tweet via” then tap the “Copy link to tweet” option.

Step 4: Go to the GIF Downloading Site

Now that you have copied the GIF URL, go to a GIF Downloading Site like EZGif or GIPHY. These sites allow you to download and save GIFs from Twitter for free.

Step 5: Paste the URL

Once you are on the GIF downloading site, look for the “paste link” or “Paste URL” option. Click on it, and paste the link you just copied from Twitter.

Step 6: Download the GIF

After you’ve pasted the link, click the “Create GIF” or “Download” option. The site should begin processing the video and allow you to preview the GIF. Once you are happy with the preview, click on the “Download” option, and the GIF will be saved to your device.

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Design

Both the Ecobee and Nest thermostats have sleek designs that fit in with modern home interiors. The Ecobee features a rectangular touch screen, while Nest has a round dial interface that doubles as its control. While design preferences are subjective, both thermostats are visually appealing and can meld seamlessly with varied décor styles.

Compatibility

The compatibility of a smart thermostat with your HVAC system is crucial for smooth operation. Both Ecobee and Nest support the majority of existing HVAC systems, including heat pumps, two-stage heating and cooling plus auxiliary heat, and energy-efficient geothermal setups. That said, though rare, certain limitations exist, so it’s important to verify compatibility with your specific heating and cooling system before purchase.

Sensors

The Ecobee includes a remote temperature sensor that helps maintain balanced temperatures throughout your home. You can purchase additional sensors for multiple rooms to achieve more targeted temperature control. On the other hand, Nest comes with temperature, humidity, ambient light, and motion sensors built in – but lacks individual room monitoring.

A primary advantage of Ecobee’s remote sensor system is monitoring each room separately to avoid hot or cold spots in the house; this feature sets it apart from Nest. However, Nest’s motion sensors provide some compensation by detecting occupancy patterns to optimize temperature settings.

Smart Features & Integrations

Both thermostats offer smart features like geofencing (to detect when household members leave or return), app-based scheduling/controls, usage reports, and energy-saving suggestions over time. Additionally, the Ecobee and Nest thermostats integrate seamlessly with smart home ecosystems like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit. This connectivity enables voice control for easy adjustments or pairing with other compatible devices.

Learning Capabilities

Nest’s main selling point is its self-learning algorithm that adapts to your preferences. Within a

week of installation, it can schedule temperature adjustments based on when you typically arrive home, go to bed, or wake up. Ecobee lacks this adaptive technology but offers more advanced scheduling and comfort settings through its app.

Price

When it comes to pricing, the Nest is often slightly more expensive than the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium. However, considering the features provided by both options, it’s essential to weigh the costs against your specific needs.

Conclusion

Ultimately, choosing between the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium and the Nest Learning Thermostat depends on your priorities. If individual room monitoring and more explicit control over scheduling are essential, then Ecobee might be your best option. Conversely, if simplicity and self-learning capabilities are attractive features for you, the Nest Learning Thermostat could be a better bet.

No matter which you choose, both devices will help streamline household energy usage and contribute to a smarter home environment.

The post Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium vs. Nest Learning Thermostat appeared first on The Tech Edvocate.

Superfetch operates by constantly analyzing your usage patterns and creating a cache of the most commonly used files and applications. By doing so, your computer can access these files and applications much faster, speeding up the overall performance of your system.

However, some users have reported that they experience slow performance due to Superfetch. This might happen when Superfetch is preloading files and applications that you don’t frequently use or need, causing a strain on your computer’s resources.

If you find Superfetch to be causing performance issues, you can disable it using the following steps:

Step 1: Press the Windows key and R simultaneously.

Step 2: Type “services.msc” and press Enter. This will open the Services window.

Step 3: Find “SysMain” in the list of Services and double-click on it.

Step 4: In the Properties window, select “Disabled” in the Startup type drop-down menu.

Step 5: Click on “Stop” to stop the service immediately.

Step 6: Click on “Apply” and then “OK” to save the changes.

Disabling SysMain or Superfetch can have both positive and negative effects on your system’s performance. While it may help alleviate some of the performance issues, it may also cause applications to launch slower, especially if you have a lot of programs installed on your computer.

The post What Is Superfetch (SysMain) on Windows 10? And How to Disable It appeared first on The Tech Edvocate.

Handwriting fonts are digital versions of handwritten letters that mimic the look and feel of handwriting. They come in various styles, such as casual, cursive, script, and more. These fonts can be used to create practice sheets, worksheets, posters, and other materials that are visually appealing and interesting for kids.

For Teachers:

As a teacher, your goal is to provide your students with the best learning experience possible. Utilizing handwriting fonts will help make your materials more engaging for your students. Here are some ways you can use handwriting fonts in your classroom:

1. Creating Worksheets

Handwriting fonts are perfect for creating worksheets that are easy to read and follow. You can create worksheets for spelling, handwriting, and more. With the help of these fonts, your students will enjoy practicing and perfecting their handwriting skills.

2. Making Flashcards

Flashcards are an excellent tool for learning new words and concepts. By using handwriting fonts, you can create flashcards that are colorful and visually appealing. This way, your students won’t lose focus while they study.

3. Class Posters

Posters are an essential part of any classroom. By using handwriting fonts, you can create beautiful posters that showcase your teaching material. You can use these posters to remind your students of the classroom rules, as a reminder of important dates, or as a teaching tool.

For Kids:

Handwriting fonts are also great for kids. They make writing more engaging, interesting, and entertaining. Here are some ways kids can use handwriting fonts:

1. Practice Worksheets

Kids can use handwriting fonts to practice writing letters, numbers, and more. Practice worksheets are a fun and engaging way to help kids improve their handwriting skills.

2. Coloring Pages

Coloring pages with a handwriting font are a great way to keep kids entertained while learning. They can color and learn new words at the same time.

3. Thank You Notes

Teaching kids the art of writing thank you notes is an essential life skill. Show them how to use handwriting fonts to create beautiful, heartfelt thank you notes for their family and friends.

In Conclusion,

Handwriting fonts are an excellent way to make handwriting more fun and engaging for both teachers and kids. As teachers, we have the responsibility to teach our students the art of writing properly. With the help of handwriting fonts, we can make that process more interesting and enjoyable for everyone.

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K-12: Educational software is used in schools to provide supplemental instruction and support for students. This can include things like tutoring, homework assistance, and test preparation tools.

Post-secondary: Educational software is used in post-secondary institutions to provide supplemental instruction and support for students. This can include things like tutoring, homework assistance, and test preparation tools.

Some of the most popular educational software products are:

1. Learning Pathways: Learning Pathways is a suite of educational software products used in schools and post-secondary institutions. It includes things like a curriculum builder, assessment tools, and a teaching assistant.
2. Pearson eText: Pearson eText is a suite of software products used in schools and post-secondary institutions. It includes things like a textbook publisher, assessment tools, and a teaching assistant.
3. Maple: Maple is a software product used in schools and post-secondary institutions. It includes things like a curriculum builder, assessment tools, and a teaching assistant.

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Why Is the Learning Environment Important?

Several things affect student learning. Among these, the most vital is the classroom environment. A great classroom environment provides clear learning goals, relevant content, strategies to help students succeed, and opportunities to build social skills. All of these are vital to student success.

What Is a Modern Learning Environment?

A modern learning environment is one that integrates technology into learning and teaching. Thus, it gives the students and the teachers the tools they need to succeed in a physical environment. This environment, then, supports several learning styles simultaneously while promoting collaboration.

What Are the Benefits of Technology in the Classroom?

Technology has many benefits in the classroom for both students and teachers. For one, it helps to prepare children for the future. Another reason is that it helps teachers to connect with their students. It helps to incorporate different learning styles. It also improves collaboration among students and teachers. Rather than being a distraction, as you’d think, it encourages active participation and, therefore, creates an environment that’s more engaging.

How Does Technology Change the Learning Environment?

There are benefits and drawbacks to technology in the classroom. However, the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks. Because technology provides an avenue for such flexibility in the field of learning, and because it’s an essential building block in bringing about collaborative learning, it is a means by which our students can work more collaboratively. You see, with technology, students can better research subjects, learn specific skills, and share their ideas.

Do We Learn Outside of the School Environment?

Indeed! Students do, and should, learn outside of the classroom! Evidence shows that it can help improve student engagement and classroom behavior when learning takes place outside of the school. It can also raise achievement.

Ways to Take Learning Outside of the Classroom

There are many ways to take learning outside of the classroom. These include: taking a field trip, studying abroad, taking technology outside of the classroom, field trips that are complete with learning experiences, allowing the students to assess field experiences, and requiring the students to research further on the experiences they had on the field trips.

But We Can Also Build Modern Learning Environments Outside of the Classroom!

Modern learning environments are being built outside of the classroom in schools across the states. K—12 schools are taking learning out into the hallways, into the cafeteria, and into the libraries, and more!

How Do We Build an Effective Modern Learning Environment Outside the Classroom?

No effective, modern learning environment is ever a one-size-fits-all. However, they may possess (but are not limited to): collaborative or conversational lesson plans; one-to-one technology programs or student devices; outdoor and indoor learning environments; collaborative room layout; significant partner and group work; a culture of curiosity and positivity; presentation technology (an example of this would be interactive whiteboards); and flexible options in seating (an example would be having yoga balls, standing desks, and bouncy bands available).

Conclusion

As you can see, the right learning environment is vital. The modern learning environment is where it is. And outside the classroom is the place to be! Now it’s your turn! How will you build your effective modern learning environment outside of your classroom?

The post K–12 Modern Learning Environments Can Be Built Outside of the Classroom appeared first on The Tech Edvocate.

One of the realities of working in schools as an IT professional is that other stakeholders often do not differentiate technology roles. IT professionals recognize this is not unique to schools. When someone from “IT” appears, they will be asked to troubleshoot or resolve problems they were not expecting and that they are not prepared to resolve. IT professionals find it necessary to tactfully explain that they have higher priorities at the moment or that they do not have the skill or the authority to solve their problems. Further, IT professionals sometimes find it necessary to explain why some problems have not been resolved.

The IT departments in schools comprise a wide range of professionals who are managed by the chief information officer. Each IT professional applied specific expertise to fulfill specific roles for specific audiences (see table 1). Schools are organizations in which the titles applied to IT positions are very inconsistent. In some schools, a “technology coordinator” may serve as the chief information office (as I define it below), while in a nearby school, a technology coordinator may serve as a technician. For this reason, clean and accurate job descriptions are necessary to ensure qualified applicants apply and are hired.

Technicians

Technicians are the professionals who have one of the most important roles in school IT system operations; these individuals are the face of the IT department to most members of the school. A technician is likely to spend their day troubleshooting and repairing end-user devices, including desktop computers, laptops, Chromebooks, printers, and other peripherals. Because these professionals spend their time interacting with teachers and learners, it is important they have good customer service skills and are good at interacting with teachers when they are in stressful situations and with frustrated students.

On those staff with several technicians, the group can be very interdependent; they work together on solving problems, and they share what they have learned about the systems and the users of systems. By documenting the repairs that they make (ideally in a ticketing system), technicians contribute to the emerging knowledge of the IT system and help identify those devices that need to be replaced. As professionals who understand IT and who observe users interacting with it the most, technicians are also the first to identify potential problems that are emerging and unmet needs that the CIO and other professionals must plan to address.

Technicians may be hired with a wide range of qualifications. One can develop the expertise they need to be a successful technician in many places other than traditional higher education. Many schools IT technicians are hired and begin work as they are completing their education, or they complete formal education or earn industry credentials while working.

The CIO plays a role in ensuring the technicians who are working in the school receive professional courtesies and the ongoing support they deserve. Good CIOs support technicians as they develop their knowledge of technology, and they serve as mentors and models as technicians develop customer service skills and professional dispositions.

Technology Integration Specialists

For decades, school leaders have recognized the need to provide IT training for teachers and to help them learn how to teach with IT. The professionals responsible for organizing and presenting in-service professional development for educators have used a variety of models for delivering learning experiences for teachers to learn how to use technology. In recent decades, technology integration specialists have emerged as a specialty within the teacher populations, and one of their most essential roles is to model and co-teach technology-based lessons in classrooms with students and teachers present. This represents an important change in how teachers learn to teach with technology, and these individuals fill an increasingly important role on school IT teams.

Traditionally, teachers’ professional development in technology-rich teaching resembled all school-based teaching as it occurred outside of the “real world.” Students are separated from the situations in which they will communicate, create, and collaborate to learn how to do so; teachers were removed from classrooms with real students and real curricula to be educated on how to use computers and how to learn how to teach with them. While the technology and the curriculum were the same during professional development and teaching, the dynamics of students who are engaged and learning is missing from those types of professional development experiences.

Technology integration specialists are almost always licensed teachers who began their careers as classroom teachers but who pursued additional training and education to add this certification to their portfolios. Just like all licensed educators, their individuals must maintain their licenses, and most could return to the classroom if needed. Because they are educators, they pose difficulties when it comes to supervision and evaluation. While they are often viewed as part of the IT staff, and they work closely with those professionals, it is inappropriate for a CIO who is not a licensed educator to supervise and evaluate licensed educators.

Data Specialists

Schools store vast amounts of data in databases. The expertise necessary to run queries of the database so that queries about correlations and performance can be answered requires much expertise. This work includes creating scripts that produce tabular and graphic reports that are used to justify decisions made by school administrators and teachers. In addition, regulatory agencies have increased the data reporting requirements for schools in many jurisdictions that have accompanied calls for accountability associated with laws enacted since the beginning of the 21st century. As a result, schools have begun hiring data specialists as the amount of data, and the sophistication of the databases has increased. The need for this professional arises from both the skills necessary to manage the demographic, health, behavioral, academic, and other data that is housed in sophisticated databases and the increasing demand for data-driven practices.

These professionals represent one of the first ventures into the field of educational data analytics by schools. Teachers seek to apply the methods of data science to predict student performance. It should be noted that advocates for data analytics argue these methods hold much promise for improving education, but those claims have not been documented and observed by scholars in the field. Regardless of the degree to which the data are affecting teaching decisions and long-term and desirable learning outcomes, schools are expected to gather and use data, so the need for data specialists is expected to increase.

Web Masters

Almost every school maintains a web presence. These serve as an important venue for sharing information with a wide range of internal and external audiences. Those who are responsible for managing school websites know the most important information that can be posted on the cafeteria lunch menu. Most school websites provide information and announcements about curriculum, staffing, athletic and extracurricular events (including practices and rehearsals and meetings), governance, and other school activities.

Whereas teachers often maintained classroom web pages in previous decades, those have largely been replaced with Google Classrooms (or a full learning management system) or a page integrated into the student information system. These are spaces where students find resources and assignments, parents and students can see grade reports, and all can access the classroom news and announcements posted by the teacher. Once these spaces are configured, school IT professionals, including the webmaster, will not usually post information on classroom spaces.

Many schools are integrating other platforms into their web presence as well. Often interscholastic athletic leagues will ask (quite insistently) that all members use the preferred platform to set schedules. These schedules can be embedded in the web pages of member schools, and they can facilitate reporting of standings, scheduling of officials, and otherwise managing the participation of the school team in the competitions. As only one or two individuals in the school need access to post to these sites, they usually handle that without intervention from IT professionals. Once the webmaster has included the embed code for the schedule on the school website, changes made by the athletic director automatically appear on the school website.

One of the more challenging aspects of managing a school’s web presence is handling images of students. This is especially true on social media. Once images are posted to the web or to social media, the person who posted them loses all control of them. Some maintain that once consent has been secured from parents, then school employees can post images for any purpose. While this may be legally defensible, it can be argued that children cannot give consent, and they are the individuals who may be most at risk because of information or images shared on the Internet, so all adults should be very cautious when posting images.

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Educators Don’t See It as Necessary

Many of the educators of today are still the educators of yesteryear. And, really, yesteryear isn’t that long ago. Our world has changed a lot in a small number of years. As such, these educators believe that technology in the classroom is more of a hindrance than a help. This is a correct assumption in a few cases. However, EdTech, as I said, goes a long way toward improving the learning of our students today.

So what can be done about this? Administrators need to help their teachers to understand that technology is slowly transforming the classroom as it transforms our world. Educators need training on the benefits of technology in the classroom. At this point, they will see it for the asset it is. 

However, educators do need to be trained on how frequently to use technology and when not to use it. EdTech can become a hindrance if used incorrectly and at the wrong times. At this point, it can become an obstacle rather than an asset.

Educators Receive No Training

Many educators find themselves in a classroom where they are told, “Use this technology,” yet they are not trained on how to use it or are trained insufficiently. Training takes money, and schools are strapped as it is.

Rather than merely throwing new EdTech at teachers and expecting them to throw it back out at the students, the administration needs to invest the time in training their teachers in the technological advances as they happen. Administrators can do this through staff meetings, one-on-one, or through an LMS.

Educators Receive Inadequate Training

The educators who do receive the much-needed training on new technology often receive it in the means of “this is how to work this piece EdTech.” They learn where the “on/off” button is, how to make images appear, and how to reset it for another student’s use when what they need is training in how to use it to teach their students. This, of course, leaves the teachers grasping for answers as to what they are to do next.

Those training the teachers should be pedagogical experts rather than technical gurus. This way, the teachers can receive instruction and examples on using the technology in the classroom. During the training sessions, the teachers should also have time for hands-on learning to practice using the new technology in an educational setting.

The Technology Isn’t Integrated

Many educators who have the proper training are reluctant to use technology in the classroom because their syllabus doesn’t incorporate the EdTech into the curriculum. Instead, they must find extra places to stick it, adding extra work on the students and adding extra time in where there is no time to spare.

When administrators order new technology for the classroom, they also need to purchase new syllabi that have the EdTech integrated into the daily learning schedule in a way that it will help the educator and students to achieve their goals for the day.

There Are Unrealistic Expectations

It’s easy for the EdTech salespeople to give the administration and the teachers the false impression that just placing their technology in the classroom will transform the learners into a classroom full of overachievers. In trying to sell their EdTech, they push the propaganda that the addition of this technology will magically transform education as they know it classroom by classroom.

The truth is that technology will merely give the educators another tool—a better tool, with which to teach their students. It will not magically turn students into super kids. It takes work on the teacher’s side and an understanding of how to properly use the education in the classroom.

Administrators can tackle this problem by being careful not to set these unrealistic expectations. They can also train their educators, helping them to understand the amount of effort that must be put into the use of EdTech to get the most benefit out of it. This way, the teachers will not have unrealistic expectations either.

Conclusion

Yes. Some educators are still reluctant to use technology in the classroom. Given these obstacles, can you blame them? However, there are ways to combat these reasons that I presented in this article. If administrators and educators stand together to tackle the problem, then we can conquer this reluctancy.

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What does the shifting data center ecosystem mean for education? Let’s take a look!

What It Means for Schools 

Core data centers are becoming obsolete in the education space in favor of distribute networks that can provide computing for schools close to users. Instead, they are using edge computing, which unlocks numerous opportunities.

While an investment, the edge ensures more excellent connectivity, availability, and efficiency and lowered operating costs and service requirements. Most important to the school’s budget, it is driving down the capital costs.

What It Means for the Students

According to the report, there will be a lack of IT professionals come in 2025. That’s only about four years from now! The good news is that many K—12 schools are looking for ways to integrate IT into their curricula and classrooms. Therefore, there is a good chance that there will be plenty of IT-trained students to fill these open spaces.

The hope is that our schools will continue to provide the necessary IT training that is focused on IT and computing. For this to succeed, schools must make this a part of their modern curriculum and use every opportunity possible to build computing proficiency and encourage IT activities across the student’s schedule. 

Schools must also nurture the soft skills in students that are valued by IT pros. These include problem-solving and critical thinking. These and the hard IT skills will encourage students into this field. 

There is a problem, however. Most schools do not receive federal and state funding to keep up with the technology curve.

However, schools do have help through a nationwide program called Code.org! This program is dedicated to bringing more access to computer science to the schools. Their goal is to get more women and unrepresented minorities to participate in computer science.  As of now, there are one million teachers using Code.org, and 30% of students in America have accounts with this resource.

What It Means for the Teachers

These changes can be difficult for those teachers who don’t like change, those who are used to teaching without technology. Education technology, however, is the goal of today and the tool of the future. You must put technology on your priority list. If you need help with it, talk to the EdTech coach. 

For the EdTech coaches or IT professionals in the K—12 space, contact the infrastructure experts and industry IT. Ask them about the most efficient and cost-effective ways to teach the students about the data center technologies. The future of IT depends on it. Let’s use edtech to create zones of learning.

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What Is Student-Driven Learning?

Most traditional learning is made up of lectures and memorization. Student-driven remote learning takes those lectures and either complements them or replaces them with learning guidance and active learning strategies. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator, whose job is to create an atmosphere conducive to independent student learning. This better engages the students, helps the students retain what they learn, improves understanding, and helps students achieve more.

The Characteristics of Student-Driven Learning

There are ten characteristics of student-driven remote learning. These ten things set it apart from traditional education. These characteristics are:

1. The teachers work the hardest.

• The students learn from each other.

• They learn through being actively involved and experiencing things firsthand.

• They take what they learn and apply it to genuine, everyday experiences.

• Teachers offer directed, frequent, and prompt feedback.

• Teachers encourage their students to explain what they have learned to other students.

• The students are encouraged to engage regularly in communication among themselves.

• They understand the subject and why they are learning it.

• They are given tablets or mobile phones on which to learn.

1. Student-driven learning produces a higher degree of engagement.

The Advantages of Student-Driven Remote Learning

There are several advantages to using a student-driven approach to learning in your remote classroom. Here are a few:

• As I’ve already mentioned, it increases the rate of knowledge retention.

• Students also find learning to be more fun in a student-driven remote classroom.

• The students’ participation level is higher than it is with traditional learning.

• Their performance level is higher.

• The students find learning more fun when they are in a student-driven classroom.

• Students work together better.

• Student-driven learning helps students to develop problem-solving skills further.

How Do You Promote Student-Driven Learning?

There are several ways to promote student-driven learning in a remote classroom. Here are a few ideas:

• Always be searching for ways to further integrate technology into the learning experience.

• Utilize breakout rooms to group students together for projects and to enhance collaboration among your students.

• Allow your students to be leaders.

• Let your students take part in the decision-making process.

• Use interactive videos and slides. Pedagogue allows you to create your own interactive videos for use in the classroom.

• Let your students take part in scoring the student assessments.

• Rather than having a classroom where the rules drive the students’ behavior, create a thirst for knowledge and mutual respect in your students. Let that guide behavior instead.

• Create projects that will carry on beyond on lesson.

• Rather than handing out homework, assign learning-based projects that are engaging and fun.

Exploring New Ideas

So what kind of specific things can you do to make your classroom student-driven? Here are some examples:

• Break the students off into breakout rooms and have them quiz each other on what they have learned.

• Break the students off into breakout rooms and have them go over their quizzes together, reviewing their answers. 

• Have a brainstorming session.

• Present an issue. Allow your students to discuss it. If they lack the information to have an informed conversation, send them in search of it.

• Let the students create a quiz for the other students to take. They can use a site like Google Form, Survey Monkey, or Microsoft Form.

• Have the students design an experiment.

• Have a Q & A session.

• Hold a debate between students.

There are so many other great ideas out there. Just remember, you are the facilitator. Engage the students.Let the students lead as you continue to explore new ideas for student-driven remote learning.

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