January 30, 2013

How to Use QR Codes in Your Yearbook



Find out how to add QR (quick response  codes to your yearbook to make it interactive, engaging and fun!





If you have questions, leave a comment or ask us on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/PicabooYearbooks

January 23, 2013

Adding Stickers and Text to Your Yearbook




Enhance the look of your yearbook by adding stickers and text to the layouts. This tutorial shows you how!





If you have questions, leave a comment or ask us on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/PicabooYearbooks

January 16, 2013

How to Create Backgrounds for a Yearbook


How to use and create backgrounds in Picaboo Yearbooks revolutionary new yearbook tool.





If you have questions, leave a comment or ask us on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/PicabooYearbooks

January 10, 2013

Technology in Education: What Every Teacher Should Use


Technology is everywhere these days.  It is important that technology be used to its best ability in education.  It can give the students more opportunities to grow in today’s new fast growing lifestyle.  


Using technology in education is helpful in that it can be useful for teachers to connect more with their students and make learning more fun.  Technology is constantly changing, so it can be hard to keep up, especially if you’re not very tech-savvy.  Here are a few of the many tools you can use as an educational tool for teaching in the quickly changing digital world we now live in:

Like Facebook, this website connects classes online to help learners with resources.

Wikispaces
Share lesson plans, media, and classroom content online with your students, as well as have them build their own and edit information.


This a useful website for questions that you need answers to, as well as provides great topics for in-class discussion.

With Khan Academy, you can learn anything for free!  It provides tons of videos on various topics.  Teachers often use this as a supplement for their classroom materials.

Kerpoof is a website filled with creative fun games that aid in learning.  It also provides lesson plans for teachers to use in their classrooms.

Teachers, get organized!  This is a great and useful tool to help you organize all of your lesson plans.

A new and improved way to easily create presentations.  It will help you organize and share your ideas in less time.

Find inspiration on teaching interesting topics that you may not have thought of yourself.

Go paperless!  With this website, you can bookmark, highlight, and take notes digitally!

LiveBinders
Forget going to Staples, buying a 3-ring binder, and carrying that heavy thing around with you all day.  This is an online binder, which can be organized faster, and clearer than your old-school binder. This is better in that you also could share and collaborate your binder with others, including using the virtual whiteboard!

January 09, 2013

How to Upload Photos to Picaboo Yearbooks


Pull photos from anywhere on you computer or the web to document the very best of your high school or middle school experience. This tutorial shows you how!





If you have questions, leave a comment or ask us on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/PicabooYearbooks

January 03, 2013

Social Media in our Schools: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly


Social media is taking over the world.  Everyone is using it these days, so what about using it in school?  Will it broaden your learning, or just distract you from it?  There are numerous pros and cons about this touchy subject.  The debate continues to go on.  Here are some pros and cons of using social media in the school system:


Pros-
Communication Outlet for Students and Teachers.
Having trouble with a homework assignment?  No problem!  Just log in your computer and ask a classmate or teacher for help.  No more stressing out about whether or not you’re doing something wrong.  Social media will be an outlet for increased communication among your fellow peers.

Educational Tool
Technology is growing fast- we need to grow with it.  Social media keeps you up to date on what is happening every second in the world.  Students and teachers can use this as an educational tool to help them learn, collaborate, discuss, and interact about the most current events.

Networking/ Future Employment
Social media is being used in almost every, if not all companies these days.  When a student graduates, they need to possess the skills and knowledge of social media to compete in the job market.  Finding a job is tough- make it easier by knowing your way around the internet.  Networking is crucial.  With sites like LinkedIn, students can post their resumes, research companies or schools and connect with job seekers and employers.  Following businesses and professional organizations on sites like Twitter and Facebook can help you stay updated on opportunities for your future.

Cons-
Distraction in the Classroom
Social media can be a major distraction.  It can become an addiction- especially with sites like Twitter and Facebook, it takes your mind off what is happening in class and can give a student more ways to act up and disrupt their learning.

 No Face-to-Face Communication
Using social media can take you away from real life, face to face interaction with people.  When you neglect face to face communication, you may become uncomfortable when a certain situation that calls for it comes up.  If you are so used to interacting online in social media, what will happen when you have a face to face interview?  You may not be prepared for it.  It can take away your ability to be able to express yourself in front of others and damage personal relationships.

Cyber-bullying
There have been many reports of cyber-bullying.  Students can take advantage of social media in a negative way.  Since it is easier to pick a fight when you are not in front of the person, things can get very dangerous.  Harassment can emotionally affect a student and discourage them in the worst ways.  Teachers need to be aware of this when considering bringing social media to the classroom and set ground rules in order to protect students and prevent harsh things like this from happening.

January 02, 2013

How to Edit Pages Using Layouts


Not sure how to design your yearbook pages? This tutorial shows you how to simply and easily use layout templates to set up your yearbook pages.





If you have questions, leave a comment or ask us on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/PicabooYearbooks