Be a better Google Searcher

That’s what you will be after you read Alice Keeler’s post.  She shares her top five favorites to help you be more productive.

Table Top Texting (and more!)

In this blog post from Discovery Education, see how Hugh McDonald uses this SOS strategie as well as some of his suggestions for classroom implementation.

All you need to know to code!

TeachersFirst has gather a wealth of resources all related to coding in the classroom.  While some might be familiar, it is worth a look.  Please click here to see their resources.

Play with your shapes in Google Slides

Now you can enhance your shapes with a drop shadow or a reflection.  I added the purple shadow behind this image.  You can change the color, transparency, and angle.  Please check out the slide presentation by Mrs. Drasby here for her complete directions.

Everything you need to know about YouTube Playlists

Need to save something to your playlist?  Need help finding your playlist?  Check out Alice Keeler’s post here for the answer to all your questions.

#CelebrateWithDE – Cyber Monday

 From the latest Discovery Education Blog:

Happy Cyber Monday! On November 17, 2017, people everywhere will celebrate the special deals you can find online. While so many people are going online in search of goodies, we want to encourage our students to go online in search of the good: safe, accurate, secure, and – yes – fun and fascinating things. Use the selected resources below or the CyberMonday Digital Integration Kit (US subscribers only) to highlight cyber safety and security on Cyber Monday. Share your student work with us at #CelebrateWithDE.

Finding student work in Google Slides

Alice Keeler is always a source of great information.  In this blog post, she shares how you she can quickly find student slides in a collaborative process.  While I use the Control F key to find data in spreadsheets all the time, I hadn’t thought how I could use it in this context.

Now the images are back in the sidebar

When Google was first rolled out in the district, some folks might remember there was a search option that added photos to the sidebar.  A few version later, this was gone.  But now it is back.  Click (in docs, drawings or slides) on Insert- Images- and a drop-down menu will appear.  Select search, and the search bar will appear and your images down the side (please see my screenshot below).

Too early for snow?

Not in Mrs. Swierczek’s class.  On Veterans Day, her students used this SOS strategy to share their knowledge about the history of the day.  Check out all the SOS options in your Discovery Education account (Select Professional Learning and then Strategies and Resources.)

Digital Worksheet?

When I hear this I cringe!  Alice Keeler has posted several suggestions to improve your activities.

We are thankful

This morning I visited Mrs. Abrams’ class.  With her students’ original artwork, they shared how they are thankful using ChatterPIX- this is a great start to the holiday week.

All you need for Thanksgiving!

TeachersFirst has an exhaustive list of Thanksgiving resources.  While it is too early to cook the turkey, there is still time to find Thanksgiving ideas!

SOS- Eye Spy

Here’s a new SOS- I think you could use this in any grade and content.

SOS: Eye Spy

Eye Spy

PDF  and Video Versions

Visual literacy is the ability to interpret and make sense of visual information we encounter, including but not limited to information found in photographs, drawings and paintings. According to the article “Reading Images: An Introduction to Visual Literacy,” by Melissa Thibault and David Walbert, “The visually literate viewer looks at an image carefully, critically, and with an eye for the intentions of the image’s creator.”

In order to develop visual literacy skills, students need structured opportunities to revisit an image multiple times as they carefully analyze it, noticing details and nuances that help them understand the context of the picture. The Eye Spy strategy scaffolds students through a structured analysis of an image, helping them see details that they would otherwise miss.

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Materials: digital image, projector, timer, paper, writing utensils

1. Introduce this strategy to your students by explaining that they will be looking closely at an image for several short periods of time. Set the ground rules by explaining that you will give them specific things to look for, and that when the timer goes off they will be asked to write down what they’ve seen.
2. For the first viewing, set the timer for 10 seconds and reveal the picture.
3. Ask students to look for what the picture is about or what is happening in the picture.
4. When the timer goes off, cover the image and have them quickly jot down their thoughts and observations.
5. Have students quickly pair and share. Circulate through the room to encourage discussion.
6. Move on to the second viewing. Set the timer for 15 seconds and show the image again. This time ask students to look for more details in the image, such as:
• Who are the different people in the picture and what are their roles?
• What are they doing?
• What event is taking place?
7. When the timer goes off, cover the image and have students quickly jot down their thoughts and observations.
8. Have students gather into groups of four and quickly share.
9. Move on to the third viewing. Set the timer for 30 seconds and show the image again. This time ask students to look for even more details. Prompt students with questions such as:
• What is the setting?
• What else do you see in the frame other than the focal point of the image?
10. When the timer goes off, cover the image and have students add to the notes they’ve already taken. Encourage small groups to debrief what they’ve added.
11. Move on to the last viewing. Set the timer for 45 seconds and show the image again. This time, ask students to look for evidence that helps them make inferences about what they see in the picture. Scaffold students by asking questions such as:
• Why do you think the photographer took the picture?
• What do you think is the story behind this picture?
• What meaning did the photo have at the time it was taken?
• Has that meaning changed for today’s audience?
12. Wrap up the exercise by asking students to discuss their ideas with the whole group. Be sure to have them justify their insights by using a sentence frame such as: “I think ……… because……….”

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This strategy promotes the use of a carefully scaffolded process that helps students notice the details, foreground, and background of an image, as well as taking in the action, characters, and point of view of the image’s creator. Multiple viewings with specific things to look for will help students learn to view images with an analytical eye.

Extend this strategy by combining it with SOS Get Venn-y With It (CDN Version). Have students use the structure of this strategy to compare two similar images.

Gratitude

While there is always time to be thankful, this time of year seems to make folks more reflective.  You could use this TED-Ed lesson with your students. Enjoy the video!

Want more fonts?

Need that right font for a presentation or document?  Try adding web fonts to your selections.  Eric Curts provides step by step direction on where to find and how to add these fonts.  Please click here for this post.

Thanksgiving and Kahoot!

From this morning’s mail:

Kathy James shared this: “Kahoot has a cute Thanksgiving Day game set up.... we played it yesterday.... kids got a laugh and kept fact checking. The answers were right but surprising.”  This might be something you can use next week- access Kahoot and you will find several games.

Using the Filmstrip

No, I’m not talking about old-fashioned technology but rather the preview of Google Slides you see on the left-hand side of your screen.  More than just a list of your slides, there are many features you can use.  Check out this post from Alice Keeler for all the details.

Looking for a great interactive resource to engage your students?!? Check out this NEW interactive board created using Discovery Education's brand new STUDIO!  Make the board editable and share the link with your students so they can collaborate and edit within the board.  I would love to see example of student work, so please post a comment with your versions of the board.

Thanksgiving Story: Digital Integration Box

This digital integration box focuses on one of the classic stories of an early Thanksgiving feast shared by the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims. It is appropriate for all grade levels. We've curated video, text, and interactive resources about this classic Thanksgiving story and added effective instructional strategies that support literacy development and student learning.

Literacy Focus: The activities in this lesson focus on summarizing.

Instructional Strategy: Six Word Story

Happy #DENsgiving​

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Jannita Demian

Getting started with Sheets

Worried about exploring Google Sheets?  Get started with Alice Keeler’s blog about using =.  She provided several easy ways to get started- please see her post here.

20 Questions (with Google)

Can you guess the animal?  All you need is a microphone (and you only get 20 yes or no questions).  Visit Google’s Mystery Animal page and try your thinking skills.  Want more ideas on how you could use this in your classroom?  Please see the blog post from Eric Curts. (Warning- I think this could be addictive!)

Shout it out!

Shout it out! is one of my favorite new SMART Notebook activities- it gives voice to all students.You will find this under the SMARTLab (the little blue monster). Here’s a quick video. (Just as an FYI- everyone has access to this latest SMART Notebook via your virtual desktop.)

More from SMART Labs

Here’s another video showing a SMART Lab activity.  This time, they use the dice to select the next students- but your students could complete this activity on their own device as well.  This reminds me of the older sorter activities.

More from StoryboardthatStory

Here are the latest teacher resources from Storyboardthat!

Have you seen our new Illustrated Guides? We created some new concepts with one cell storyboards. This is perfect for Mythology, Biographies, Innovations, Astronomy,Shakespeare Plays, Literary Genres & Elements.

Another way to use Google Drawings and Slides

Matt Miller (from Ditch that Textbook fame) has shared great step by step directions to create digital activity sheets using slides/drawings.  Here’s a sample (and he does have ones you can copy or create your own).

Please click here to see his post.

Google Tour Builders

I really love this product- and Eric Curts step by step directions are all you need to get started! Think of Google Earth with an easier interface and you can add images, text, and links!  Please click for the link to his webinar (take the quiz at the end and earn PD credit!).  Want to just explore- click here to see Google Tour Builder. Don't have time for the hour session or just want a quick overview? Check out the video by Ryan Bradford below:

Want to create your own Google Logo?

Caileigh Fazzini shared these links that will allow your students to code and create their own

Google logo!  Here’s the link with the video and instructions and the scratch to create!

Make your own turkey

Eric Curts (from make your own snowman fame) has shared another slide presentation just in time for Thanksgiving.  Have your students use Google Slides to create their own turkey and then have them write about their creation.  The complete post is here  Special thanks to Beth Kingsley and Kelly Costa for sharing.  Here’s the turkey I created,

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Whatever your questions about Google Forms

Alice Keeler answers it in this post.  From creating response spreadsheets to reusing forms- everything you need is here!

Remember this tune from the summer?

Now pop music can help your older students understand the evolutionary process.  Special thanks to Patti Duncan (@yoyosciteach - one of the most awesome science teachers I know) for sharing this on Facebook.

Send your students to Mars

Here’s some information on a virtual field trip to Mars!  Explore the Mars Base Camp experience.   Want some details- keep reading:

Travel to Mars Without Leaving Your Classroom! Introducing: Mars Base Camp Experience Discovery Education and Lockheed Martin are excited to introduce Mars Base Camp Experience, a new digital exploration from Generation Beyond delivering the wonder and complexities of deep space travel directly to your students. Showcasing the work of scientists and engineers from around the world, Mars Base Camp walks students through past milestones of the space program and provides an interactive look at all of the innovations required to make the challenging trip to Mars a success. Learn about the journey to Mars, how engineers work to keep astronauts safe and what they expect to encounter along the way through a simulated walk through the logistics required when planning for the ultimate trip. Feeling Inspired? Enter the Generation Beyond Video Challenge for a Chance to Win $10,000! Future innovators in grades 6-8 can enter the Generation Beyond Video Challenge to show us how they would design a habitation module on Mars Base Camp. Challenge window closes on December 14, 2017. Learn More Extend the Experience: Virtual Field Trip available on demand.  Still curious? Check out our Space Week virtual field trip, now available on demand. Meet the STEM professionals shaping the future as we take students behind the scenes at the state-of-the art Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center exploring the newest innovations in deep space exploration. Watch on Demand Visit  www.generationbeyondinschool.com for standards-aligned resources designed to inspire students with STEM concepts leveraging the principles faced by innovators tackling the variables of space as they innovate the future.