Edit the Master slide

Ever want to make changes on all your slides?  Consider using editing the master slide. Please see Richard Byrne's blog post (Free Technology for Teachers) and his step-by-step video here.

Google Classroom Videos

Google just recently shared this comprehensive list of Google Classroom tutorials.  These are not the basic yet more advanced topics (how to give meaningful feedback is one example).

Ever want your students to turn in multiple projects?

Sometimes with choice boards, your students might have several projects to turn in at once.  If you are looking for an easy way to keep track, you might want to consider a Google Form and have the students upload the files.  Please see the video for directions. Please remember to change the size of the file upload.

Student E Portfolios

 

I’ve always been interested in using Google Sites as a showcase for student work.  In the beginning, Google Sites were cranky and not really user-friendly.  But with the rollout in the past few years of the New (as opposed to classic) sites, it would be a workable tool.

In this video by Sam Kary, he outlines the steps to create both a class site (with links to all the students- this is something I would leave for the teacher) as well as a student site.  I liked the use of reflective text so the student could explain why they were proud of the work.

I would love to try this with a class- just let me know!

Modifying the Chrome QR Code

Now you can modify the automatic Chrome QR code!  Please see this blog post from Alice Keeler.  You will be able to change the code from view to forcing a copy by modifying the QR codes.

Make a QR (right from Chrome)

In the latest version of chrome, you can generate a QR code right from the search box (a.k.a the  Omnibox).  Please see Alice Keeler’s post here (and she will also work you through how to update Chrome).

Prep in the Green Room

Like the Green Room on TV (where you can check your appearance and audio), Google Meet now has this option before you join a call. 

According to Google:

With this new feature, you can enter meetings confident that your technology is working and that you’ll appear the way you want to others.

For example, you can catch issues like:

• An unintentionally muted microphone

• A secondary display monitor with a missing headphone or speaker connection

• Other audio issues, such as poor sound quality, audio that’s too loud, or your microphone amplifying background noises

Before you join the call, select Check your audio and video

:

 Then you can check your options as well as make a short video clip. 

Close the window and then you can join the call.

New name for G Suite

Google recently announced several new products in their G Suite offerings. Now instead of 2, there are 4 options.  While I have listed the descriptions below, it is important to remember that if you have the unpaid version (like we do), you want to look for the word Fundamentals.  I know Google is going to roll upgrades during the next year- it doesn't indicate Fundamentals- it will not be for our platform.

• Our free edition G Suite for Education will be renamed to Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals.

• Education Standard builds on Education Fundamentals to provide institutions with enhanced security, greater visibility, and more control to make online learning even more secure.

• The Teaching and Learning Upgrade builds on Education Fundamentals or Education Standard to enhance educators’ instructional impact with enhanced video communication, enriched class experiences, and tools that guide academic integrity.

• Google Workspace for Education Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education) builds on Education Fundamentals, Education Standard and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade.

Rainbow Drawing- The Scratch Off Version

 

Leave it to Eric Curts to remind me of a favorite childhood activity on Jamboard.  In his video, he walks you through the process and you can make your own.  But, as Eric says, it is very time-consuming- so I would take advantage of his templates which you find here.

Listen to Gerry

Fast forward to 22 minutes to see Gerry or use the link in the text.

You’ve seen him on YouTube- Gerry  Brooks and his educational philosophies.  This week he presented the keynote at the virtual Kami conference.  Get a coffee or tea, relax, and take 30 minutes to view his presentation. I found his message encouraging and inspiring.  If you use the embedded YouTube video- fast forward to  22 minutes (And then don’t forget to turn off the switch- this will make more sense after you watch his session).  The video is here . I would love to read your takeaways in the comments.

Clean up your extensions!

Check out the puzzle piece with your extensions and perhaps you can “unpin” ones that you don’t use all the time.  For step by step directions, please see Sarah Kiefer’s blog post here.

Show me the answers (50 math problems)

Special thanks to Kayla Hughey (from the Facebook group Teachers Teaching With Tech) for this interactive slide deck.  Maybe a copy and decide which ones to assign to your students.  Click here to make a copy of Kayla’s work and let the math begin!

Google Attendance Form and Tracking

 

Eric Curts has created a Google Form/Spreadsheet where he has built in a pivot table that will summarize and sort the data.  This will work for us since we don't have the Enterprise version with the built-in attendance form.

Just make a copy and then post the link for the form in your Meet (or WebEx) call.  Please see his blog post here (the link to copy the material is in the post). His video will help you with any questions.

Helping your students get organized

This article from Edutopia (from Crystal Frommert) gives some concrete suggestions to help students set (and achieve) their goals.  I think the structure would help your students  (and maybe some adults as well!).

The New AutoFit function in Google Slides/Drawings

If you want to have your text automatically adjust to fit the size of the text box, this new Google feature is for you.  Here is a video from one of my fellow Google Trainers (Tom Larson).  It will explain how to set up preferences and what will happen on the slides.

More Ideas on organizing your Google Classroom

Vicki Davis (CoolCatTeacher- you sign up for her newsletter here) recently shared her ideas for organizing topics in your Google Classroom (she was talking about the 100 topic limit).  Here are Vicki’s suggestions:

The simplest way to fix the limit on 100 topics in Google Classroom is one of these options.

Option 1: organize OLD items by month.

Make a topic for a month that is past – like December or November – and move everything in there in order.

Option 2: Organize OLD items under Archive – prior semester.

Or just make one and call it Archive. And move everything in there for last semester and start again for this semester.

Option 3: Streamline topics.

What I’ve started doing is having a today, tomorrow and yesterday for a day and then prior to that I’ve been making weeks and putting the items in order by week.

Remember you can just click the 3 dots and rename the days to do this and you can delete old topics you no longer need.

Here's a video on how I do this in my classroom now - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jkOz0K2PEvdHiqgv-vReZsilpzQJE5IX/view​

I’m doing option 3 because it means I won’t have a problem with the topic limits because I’m organizing as I go.

Math in Pictures

Those of you who know me have realized that I am a very visual learner (and it must be genetic- ask me about my daughter in the brownie aisle at Wegmans!).  This blog post by Kristen Acosta from Edutopia has several ideas for using images in math (at various grade levels).

Happy Valentine's Day

 

See what a talented class can do with ChatterPIX and their Valentine's Day wishes for their families! Special thanks to Kathleen Mc Dade and her class for sharing.

Google and Black History Lesson Plan

As part of the last Google newsletter, I saw this set of Black History lessons. All lessons use Google tools from slide presentations to flyers.

Co-Teaching in Google Classroom

BrainPOP now offers a co-teacher feature.  While it has been out for a few weeks, it wasn’t working exactly right- but now things are good.

Just log into BrainPOP, go to your dashboard, and select a class.  At the top right you will see a link to invite a co-teacher.  Fill out the form and the added teacher will receive an email invitation and be able to join your class!

The Adventures of Victor and Franky Boy

I recently received this email from Kelly DeAraujo (English/Special Education, Vernon Township High School).  Kelly attended my NJEA virtual session last fall on digital storytelling using Adobe Spark (and Storyboardthat).  It is with her permission I share this:

I am writing to share with you the digital storyboard created by my Grade 11 English pullout resource class. We read an adapted version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and then wrote our own adaptation by turning it into a children's story. All of my students really enjoyed the creative process! We plan on sharing it with our elementary students in the district.

Many thanks to Kelly and her students for sharing their work! Please feel free to share comments with her students.

Looking for Valentine’s Day ideas?

TeachersFirst shares their curated list of Valentine's Day ideas.  All about Chocolate had some interesting facts (who knew tiny flies are involved in the pollination process for cacao?  I would explore the sites before sharing them with students.  For example, Word Hearts worked well (but I needed to save it as a screenshot). 

ScreencastifySubmit + Google Classroom

If I’ve been in your classroom the past few weeks (or if you have attended Thirsty Thursday this year), you have heard me rave about Screencastify Submit.  And now it has gotten even better.  

The integration with Google Classroom is complete.  So you can add your Submit assignment into your classroom even easier.  Please see the blog post here for the details!

BrainPOP and Black History Resources

 

Here’s a recent newsletter from BrainPOP with suggestions and teaching resources for Black History lessons.

Black History Activities (for February and Beyond)

 

We Are Teachers shared 34 activities to celebrate black history. From primary sources, art, and living museums- there are a wealth of ideas!  Please click here for their ideas.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

(I’m sorry- I forgot who shared this on Facebook and cannot find it!)  Here are slides your students can create their own valentines.  While there are designed to cut and print, you could also use them digitally.

Please click here to create a copy of her slides.

Famous African Americans

I saw this site reviewed in Teachers First (you can see it here) and it looks perfect for grade 6-12 students. You will find biographies from  A. Philip Randolph to Zora Neale Hurston and many more in between.  Each article includes an image but there are advertisements.  You might want to extract information from the site before sharing it with your students.

PBS and Black Leaders Resources

 

PBS recently shared this site with information on Black leaders.  You might want to consider for Black History Month (or any history time!).  They have selected notables from a variety of genres- journalism, poetry, sports, and more!

Creating a puzzle reveal in Google Forms

I saw this on Facebook last night- as you answer the quiz, pieces of the puzzle are revealed.  Basically, it is a form (with data validation so you need to get the correct answer) and each section has a question.   Here is one I created if you want to try it!

While I used the template provided, it still took me a little while to create the images (with the puzzle pieces on top and then many screenshots).    I had not used the sketch pad feature in Sketch.io.  You do not need an account to use this site.  If you use the template, just add the questions and then replace the images with your photo reveal.  The first part of the video will walk you through the process.

Here are some resources:

YouTube How To from Teaching It

Template with  12 questions from Teaching It

My Template with 4 questions