Student Portfolios

The other day, before the beginning of the Professional Development meeting, several of us were talking about student portfolios.  While Google Sites would be my first choice, Richard Byrne shares this and several other options in this blog post.  I know many folks are using the Class Dojo portfolio feature in your classes.

Take your slides to space

Looking for a new slide background?  Check out this new slide format from Carnival Slides.  You can download the slide set and use it in either Google Slides or PowerPoint.

The ultimate guide to reusing assignments in Google Classroom

While I have toyed with reusing assignments in Google Classroom, after reading this article from Alice Keeler, I got started!  For the upcoming class on Digital Interactive Notebooks, I built a Classroom and filled it with assignments.  Now I can reuse these assignments any time I want.

Learning through images

I saw this blog post and thought this would be a great addition to the Digital Interactive Notebook class I am preparing.  Special thanks to Frank Baker for his post Teaching Visual Literacy: Images and Propaganda.

Classroom (looking to delete)

Before you end the school year and delete this year’s Google Classrooms, you might want to read Alice Keeler’s post here.  Because you can reuse assignments, you might want to keep one section of a class or build a classroom to serve as a digital file cabinet.

More from DE- how learning happens

In their continuing series, here is round 4:

In this Top Ten series, we showcase SOS instructional strategy alignment to each of the six phases of the McREL model, helping educators choose the appropriate classroom tactics for aiding the acquisition and recall of information.

This week, we feature Phase 4: Make Sense of Learning, which focuses on helping students make sense of learning by making connections to previous experiences and knowledge.

Please see the entire post here.

What are we doing today?

This was probably my least favorite question in the classroom (followed by “I’m done, what do I do now?”).  Alice Keeler has some great suggestions in this blog post to assist your students.  Try numbering assignments (and linking to them), creating a daily agenda message in STREAM (see her suggestion to duplicate the tab to make things easier), and consider adding a video message.  While I realize we are closing in on the end of the year- I see this as a trial period when I can experiment and fine tune things for the next year.

A teacher’s thought on extra credit

So what are your thoughts on extra credit in class?  Do you agree with John Stevens (in his post here) that it really only benefits the rich?  This is a guest post on Alice Keeler’s blog.

New from Carnival Slides

Just in time to chase the rainy days away, Carnival Slides has introduced a new presentation template.  Please click here to access.

Convert your phone to a clicker!

Once I had a remote control for my presentations (who knows where it went!).

 Now I use the Chrome extension Remote for Slides.  Just add the

extension to your Chrome browser and add the app to your phone.  

When you open Google Slides,

you will now see near the present button.  

Once you select it, you will get a code to enter on the app.

Inserting photos to slides (in less than a minute)

Recently I tried a new Slides Add on (Photo Slideshow).  While it currently only works from photos in your Google Drive, I just uploaded over 40 images and in less than 30 seconds, each one was on its own slide in my slide show!  Think how much time this could save!

Here’s the sample I created (I used a sample of slides from this year’s Sayreville University classes). For landscape images, it fills the entire screen- for portrait ones, you will need to center if you would like.

For additional information and to view Richard Byrne's step by step directions, please click here to view his blog post at Free Technology for Teachers.

Myths, maps, and legends (from the English View)

Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) has shared a website that allows you to explore English myths and legends with a map feature.

Please click here for the blog post.   The site is a Map of Myth, Legend, & Folklore.  This could be interesting in world history classes as well as literature classes or for your students you just love to explore maps!

Voice typing

Have you ever wanted to use your voice to type in a Google doc? It's easy -  just click Control s and voice typing will appear. In fact, I'm using it now to type this blog post.

I know some folks want the kids to type and I understand that. But if you have learners who are struggling, that have the information in their heads but just have trouble getting it out through their hands, then perhaps voice typing is for you.

Thinking about using it as a draft and then editing. This works in Docs- and will work in the speaker's notes in slides (but not in the slide itself).

For more information, please see Alice Keeler”s blog post here.

Mystery Skype

Do you teach geography?  Have you heard of Mystery Skype?  Think of 20 questions with a webcam audience.  Only yes or no questions and the first team to guess the other’s location wins.  Please see the NPR article here.  I would love to try this- seems like a great way to get students engaged and thinking. Want to see what it looks like in real life? Check out this video here.

Sharing Youtube videos (Safely)

Ever want to share Youtube video without having any suggested videos appear?  Alice Keeler has the answer! You can embed the video in Google Slides and use the format option to customize the video.  See complete directions here.

Pull a paragraph

What if you could….

- Have your students turn in a paragraph on a doc in Google Classroom,
- Pull each paragraph into a spreadsheet (so you didn’t have to open each document, just one spreadsheet),
- Provide individual feedback to each student,
- Push the feedback to the top of each student’s document.

And all this from one spreadsheet?  Think about exit tickets, quick formative assessments- the options are endless.

Well, you can- just use the coding Alice Keeler has shared.  Here’s the link to her blog post (and it would like, I would be glad to help).

Parent Tool Kit

Here’s a free resource from NBC and Pearson that supports everything from health, social-emotional growth, academics and more.  I saw this previewed on TeachersFirst this week. Please click here to access the site.

Chromebook Short cuts from EDU in 90

Here is the link.

Here is the link.

Here are two short Google EDU videos demonstrating Offline, searching, windows display, Microsoft editing, screenshots, and Cap lock.  What would you choose to share with your students?

If you are looking for inspiration

The 22 State Teachers of the Year share their most important lessons.  You can access their short clips (two minutes) here.

Happy Mother’s Day

Adorable and awesome- that’s what you get when you combine sincere preschoolers  (and their artwork) with ChatterPix. Probably the best Mother’s Day card their moms have witnessed.  Special thanks to my friends at Project Before. (Here’s the link).

The Essential Question

Close reading is a term I hear all the time.  This guest blog post from Barton Keeler helped me see the value of crafting a great essential question!  While Barton is a high school educator, I think the suggestions would apply to any grade level and encourage critical thinking with our students (and not just reading for the "right" answer).

It’s that time of year

Even though the school year here in New Jersey has a good two months to go, other areas are counting down to the last day of the school.  I’ve read several blog posts on the end of the year video reviews. Here’s one from Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) that explains several good options.

Make your letters in multi-colors

Here’s an easy formatting technique I recently saw on Facebook.  You can customize your word art in Google Slides. Special thanks to Kris Szajner for his video.

The Ripple Effect of a Teachers

Here's an inspirational video from Matt Miller (Ditch that Textbook) showing the reach we have as educators!  Please see his complete blog post here.

The Z-A game

While I think I watch a fair amount of BBC produced television, I will admit
I wasn’t familiar with the game show Z-A.  In this game, words are revealed
(the letters start from Z and end at A, hence the title). There is a clip on the
ClassTools site if you want to see how it is played. Now ClassTools has a
way to create your own!

Not only does your team want to be the first to guess the words- there’s
also the connection.  What do they have in common or which is the odd
word out? Here’s a link to a sample I created. This are all made in
Classtools.net.  You can save and edit later and share with url or
embed code.  Here’s the complete write up from TeachersFirst.

Music in the classroom

When I was teaching 5th grade, I always played classical music as the students entered the room.  It was calming and they begin to associate it the classroom routines. Here’s another example of an educator using music to help transitions with younger students.

Make timelines a game

Which came first? Or in this game, did the event on the right come earlier,
later, or in the same year? You can import a file, paste in the data, or type.
LIke all ClassTools, you need to save the url if you want to edit at a later date.

Here’s a link to a sample I created. This are all made in
Classtools.net.  You can save and edit later and share with url or
embed code.  Here’s the complete write up from TeachersFirst.

Need a new start for class?

Now that the end of the year is almost in sight, are you finding your “Do nows” getting a little stale? Matt Miller (from Ditch that Textbook Fame) has a series of easy to implement classroom starters.  Please click here for his post.

Choice Boards for you?

Several years ago, during my introduction to hyperdocs, I learned

about choice boards.  I’ve bet you’ve seen them- think about tic-tac-toe

or bingo type board filled with a variety of assignments.   You might know

them as menus completed with differentiated learning opportunities.

Kasey Bell has a free ebook that will take you through the process.  
Please click here to access the material.

More keyboard shortcuts

Need help opening and closing tabs?  See Alice Keeler’s recent post on Control + t (new tab) and Control + w (closes the tab).

Determining Fake News for Grade 6-12

Over the weekend, I read this blog post from Richard Byrne (from Free Technology for Teachers) about Checkology.  The free version of the sites offers many lessons plans and activities to help students read and think critically about a variety of media formats.

New in Google Classroom

Now you can filter by topic in the Classwork page.  The image above is a list of topics for one of my classes- you will find it on the left-hand side of the classwork page.  For all the details, please see Alice Keeler’s post here and here.

End of the year (or semester) projects!

Matt Miller (From Ditch that Textbook) recently shared a variety of student project options. From websites to infographics- there is something for everyone.