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🔬 Tech Integration Updates - Science and STEM

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With only a few minutes and some sticker labels, you can create stickers to share with your students featuring your own Bitmoji.

Order Labels

The first step is to get your labels. I used Avery 22805 sticker paper labels. They are 1.5 inch squares and come 24 to a sheet. Any square label would work.

Save Bitmoji Images

Open your Bitmoji app on your phone. Then select and save the images you want to use to your camera roll. You can also do this on your laptop by using the Bitmoji extension in your Chrome browser. Right click (Alt+click on Chromebook) on the image and choose Save Image As. I chose several positive messages and some fun images with plants and animals because I am an environmental science teacher.

Avery Website

Next, go to avery.com/print on your phone or laptop. You will have to create an account but it is free. You will type in the number of the label (mine was 22805). It will show you the labels. Select next and choose the blank design. Then insert your Bitmoji using the image button on the left hand side and size them to fit. If you do this while on Edit All, it will fill the whole page with the same Bitmoji image on all the stickers. If you do Edit One, you can put in a variety of different images. Save your project when you're done and then print from your phone if you can or from your laptop. If you created the stickers on your phone but can't print from it, you can log on to avery.com from a computer and print from there.

Other Uses

I have also used the sticker labels to print QR codes. My students scan them with an iPad and watch a video I made explaining directions or a short clip about our current content. There are endless ways to use QR codes and these sticker labels make it easy and convenient to distribute codes to the students.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019

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Make Your Own Bitmoji Stickers for You and Your Students

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With only a few minutes and some sticker labels, you can create stickers to share with your students featuring your own Bitmoji. The first step is to get your labels. I used Avery 22805 sticker paper labels. They are 1.5 inch squares and come 24 to a sheet.

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5 Google Sheets Essentials - Teacher Tech

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Get Your Students Rocking Google Sheets Spreadsheets are an essential digital literacy. Any manager needs to use spreadsheets. Students of any age can use spreadsheets; check out Christine Pinto and how she has her kindergarteners write spreadsheet formulas. Get students started by learning these key skills: Increase Column and Row Width Get your cursor between ...

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
Sponsored by Kiddom

Around October of every year, while teachers are waist-deep in curriculum, kids are thinking about what they're going to be for Halloween, and retail stores are already gathering steam for Christmas, I'm thinking about one thing: technology.

That's because every January I put out a fresh version of The Teacher's Guide to Tech, my uber-fabulous directory of tech tools. All year long, I take notes on new tools I hear about from teachers I talk to, in conversations on Twitter, and by paying really close attention at conferences. Then, from October through early January, I start figuring out which ones are going to make it into the guide. This year I added 60 new tools, and I'm so excited to share them with you.

As I have done every year since 2015, I'm going to shine a spotlight on six of the tools I added to this year's guide: They're not all brand-new, but I think each one could make a real difference in the way your students learn or the things they produce. One of them is super trendy right now, but it deserves the attention. One of them takes you into the past in a way that can be breathtaking. Three can be used in a dozen different ways and in all subject areas. And one-I would bet money on this-you're going to want to try right away.

And so, without further ado, let's begin.
flipgrid.com
OK, so this one I have to get out of the way first. Even though I don't think Flipgrid actually needs any more attention than it's gotten lately, there's just no way I'm writing a post about up-and-coming tech tools without including it. For me, this has been hands-down the most talked about tech tool of the past year, and for good reason.

So what is Flipgrid? It's an app where someone, usually a teacher, poses a question or prompt, and students respond to it with short videos. Once they've finished their video, they can leave responses to other students' videos.

This tool would be a great way to get students talking about any topic, reflect on a book or film, or ask questions about something you're exploring in class.

At a time when we are all getting less and less comfortable with face-to-face communication, preferring instead to talk through text, Flipgrid gives us a way to bring our real voices, our actual faces, our true, less-edited selves back into play.
insertlearning.com
With this tool, you can basically take any page on the Internet and turn it into a lesson. Suppose you find a great article from The Guardian that you'd like students to read, but you'd also like to ask them a few questions about it, add a bit of commentary of your own, and insert a related video. With InsertLearning, you can do all of that right on the article.

InsertLearning, formerly called DocentEDU, is an extension you add to your Chrome browser. Once it's there, turning any web page into a lesson can be done in minutes. You start with a web page of any kind, then highlight text, add notes, and embed your own questions-either multiple-choice or open-ended-that students answer right on the page. You can also embed other content like YouTube videos, ThingLink images, flashcards from Quizlet, mind maps from Coggle, even videos you record straight from your webcam.

Once an InsertLearning lesson is created, you assign it to classes of students with a special code or through Google Classroom, and student responses are sent to a teacher dashboard, where you can grade them right inside the app. You can also share lessons with other teachers, so they can copy and edit them for their own use.

I think we're getting beyond the point where we count on one platform to do everything for us. Instead, teachers are probably better off using different tools depending on what best fits the learning goals at any given time. A tool like InsertLearning would be a fantastic addition to your collection of resources for creating engaging, dynamic lessons.
bookcreator.com
Book Creator is a beautiful, flexible tool that allows students of any age or skill level to create, publish, and share online books.

Creating books using this tool can be as simple or complex as you make it. Students who prefer more structure can choose a comic book layout and insert Google images straight from the app into locked panels. Those who want more flexibility can choose a completely blank page and upload their own artwork. Students can customize the font, add shapes and stickers, hyperlink the text to other online resources, and import audio and video files.

When the book is ready to be published, the pages turn like a real book, and the audio and video play right inside the app.

This tool would also be wonderful for teacher use. You can create books and place them into either a private library-just for you-or create a public library that your students can join by using a code. Within the shared library, anyone can create books to be shared among the other members.

Book Creator really could work for any age level and in any content area: Students can create books to show how a key science concept impacts their daily lives, explore a social justice issue throughout history, study examples of math principles at work in the real world, or craft an original, illustrated story. A book could chronicle a student's journey through a genius hour project, showcase a student's artwork or photography in a portfolio, or record class memories after going on a field trip.

If you've gotten stuck in a never-ending cycle of worksheets and multiple-choice tests, introducing a tool like Book Creator could open up some incredible possibilities for students to demonstrate and share their learning.
newseumed.org
Social studies and history teachers, you're going to love this one.

Produced by Newseum, a news museum located in Washington, D.C., NewseumED houses an incredible online collection of primary sources, news artifacts, and lessons that help teachers teach media literacy, civics, and all aspects of the First Amendment, giving you and your students an up-close look at history.

So if you're looking for how a German newspaper covered Jesse Owens' win at the 1936 Olympics, you can find that. The front cover of Life magazine capturing the very beginning of a 1965 march for civil rights in Selma, Alabama? They have that. An image of Abe Lincoln without a beard? Check.

The site gives you several ways to search for content-by state, century, theme, topics, type of resource, and so on. Once you find something you'd like your students to use-a map, a newspaper, a quiz-you can share it with them using a URL that lasts for two weeks but can be renewed an unlimited number of times.

If you find a lesson you'd like to teach, handouts are there for you to download, print, or copy, and everything has been aligned to NCSS, NCHS, NCTE, and Common Core Standards.

When I first saw this site, I thought about way back when the Internet first became a thing that regular people used. We used to talk about how theoretically, you could go online and find just about any document you could think of; like, the whole Library of Congress would be on there. Except back around 1994 when I tried to find stuff, it ended up not being that easy. When I look at a site like NewseumED, that vision is starting to look more like a reality now.

At a time when the concept of "truth" has become pretty shaky, having access to primary sources has never been more important. NewseumED deserves a place on every history teacher's list of go-to resources.
autodraw.com
OK, I have to admit: This one I included just because it's so frickin' cool. Someone showed it to me on Twitter one day and I freaked out. I do think it has some educational value, and I'll get to that in a minute, but first let me just tell you about it.

AutoDraw is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to guess what you're trying to draw. You start with a blank screen, begin sketching something, and AutoDraw gives you a strip of professionally illustrated images to choose from, based on what the tool thinks you're trying to draw.

Every time you add more detail to your own sketch, AutoDraw's guesses change. When you see an image that matches what you're going for, you can choose it, then add color, resize it, or basically manipulate it however you want. If you choose to, you can turn OFF the automatic feature and just sketch without any assistance, but seriously, that feature is a thing to behold.

When your masterpiece is complete, you can automatically download it as a PNG file, share it on Twitter or Facebook, or grab a unique URL and share it that way.

So here's where I see some educational value beyond this tool just being neat-o: Images help us remember things. I've talked on this site about the value of dual coding, visualization, and nonlinguistic representation. A tool like AutoDraw fits in there: If you want students to add doodles to their notes, and they get frustrated with their own drawing skills, this tool can help. If you like to add icons or illustrations to your classroom materials, but you don't have the time to create your own or look all over the Internet for pre-made ones, this tool can help.

Beyond that, if you have early finishers in class or need something fresh for preferred activity time, giving students ten minutes to play around on AutoDraw would be great. And if students need illustrations for projects, videos, or books, AutoDraw can help them create those.

Also? Really cool.
sway.com
First we had PowerPoint. Then Prezi came along and shook things up quite a bit. Then a little over two years ago, Microsoft quietly introduced Sway, a unique platform that gives you dynamic, almost cinematic presentations that have the feel of a modern website.

You start by selecting a template, a topic, or a document you already have on your computer-or start from scratch. You work within a storyline, getting all your information typed in, images and videos inserted, forms added, and content embedded. The program is set up so that you can add content from the app without having to toggle between tabs. This includes Creative Commons images, so you don't have to worry about copyright laws.

Once your storyline is complete, you can design your Sway: Choose from a number of styles or use the Remix button until the preview of your work looks exactly how you want it. You can choose for your Sway to scroll up and down, left to right, or be presented in slides just like PowerPoint.

Sway would be another nice option for presenting your own content or offering students a different way to share their learning or produce creative projects of their own.

All the tools, all in one place.

If you're not yet familiar with the Teacher's Guide to Tech, let me introduce you: It's my encyclopedia of educational technology, a 329-page PDF you can keep on your home computer, work computer, or any device that will read a PDF.

The whole purpose of the guide is to make it fast and easy for you to navigate the world of ed tech. Once you start using it, you won't believe how much you'll learn, or how FAST you'll learn it!

Where to Get It

Single-User Licenses:
If you just want a copy for yourself, you can get a copy atTeachers Pay Teachers or on Teachable.

Multi-User Licenses:
To get the guide for your team, school, or even district, you can save a lot by getting multi-user licenses. Although these are available onTeachers Pay Teachers, I am offering deeper discounts for multiple licenses on Teachable.
Purchase on Teachable Purchase on TpT

Learn something new every week.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. You'll also get access to my members-only library of free downloadable resources, including my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading!

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One of them is super trendy. One takes you into the past. Three can be used in a dozen different ways. And one you're going to want to try right away. Come see.

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Effective communication between teachers and parents is one of the greatest factors of student success. The more teachers communicate with parents, the more parents will understand about the classroom, procedures, and their child's progress in class. While we all know that teacher/parent communication is important, it can often be difficult to put systems into place that are not time-consuming or overwhelming to the teacher. With grading, lesson planning and a personal life (yes, teachers have those too!), parent communication tends to be the first thing that falls to the side. But...what if there was an easy and quick way to update parents about classroom assignments, activities and progress?

In this two-part series, I will share two ways that I have created a newsletter to share with parents on a weekly basis. Last week, I shared how you can create a weekly newsletter using Google Forms and MailChimp. This week, I will share how you can create a weekly newsletter using Google Docs and Remind. Excited? Let's get started!

Below you will find the step-by-step directions, including GIF's, of the process for creating a newsletter. At the bottom of this section, you will also find a video that will walk you through the entire process.

Step #1: Create your Newsletter in Google Slides

Google Slides is possibly my favorite Google application. It is so versatile and can be used for more than just a presentation tool. By putting your newsletter in Slides, you can keep a running record of the information that you have shared with parents, as well as simply duplicate the slide to be used in future newsletters. Here is an example:

Click HERE to make a copy of this newsletter to use in your classroom!
Step #2: Download the Newsletter into a JPEG
Now that we have created a newsletter, we need to put it into an easily shareable version for students and parents. While you could share the link with the parents, I have found that sharing an image of the newsletter is the most accessible version. Not all parents are familiar with Google Apps and might find a Slide Deck to be confusing or overwhelming.

To download the newsletter as a JPEG, you will need to:

Go to "File"

Select "Download As"

Select "JPEG image (.jpg, current slide)"

This will download the current slide and save it into your "Downloads" folder.
Step #3: Create a Class in Remind
Once you have created your Remind account, you will need to create a class for your students and parents.

To create a class in Remind, you will need to:

Select "Create a class" on the left side of the dashboard

Name your class

Create a class code

Step #4: Add Parents to Remind
There are four ways in which you can add parents to the class:

Phone or Email Contacts - Add parents by manually adding their name and phone number.

Printable PDF's - Print and share directions to add the class.

In-Person Instructions - Share the instructions in-person for parents to add via their phone.

Share a Link - Share a link so they can join the class instantly.

Step #5: Send Your Newsletter
To send your newsletter, you will need to:

Go to the "Messages" tab

Write your message

Attach the image

Click "send"

Finally, if you want to see the entire process (from start to finish), I've also created a video of this process. You can watch it below!

As always, I love to hear from those of you that are reading this blog post! How do you communicate with parents during the school year? Share below!

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Creating a Class Newsletter with Google Slides and Remind

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Effective communication between teachers and parents is one of the greatest factors of student success. The more teachers communicate with parents, the more parents will understand about the classroom, procedures, and their child's progress in class. While we all know that teacher/parent communication is important, it can often be difficult to put systems into place that are not time-consuming or overwhelming to the teacher.

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A little more than a year ago I began to focus on a single question:

"Why haven't more teachers began to look into utilizing their student's devices as a portfolio of work?"

Please notice I say "more" teachers, as I know there are many amazing teachers who have created or dabble in the eBinder experiment. The question began egging me on the more and more due to my particular subject, Science. In Science we utilize an Interactive Science Journal or ISN. These spiral bound notebooks are meant to collect student work, glue in labs, reflect on the essential question, and organize student thought. In class they achieved many of these purposes, but i began asking myself "We have computers, can't all of this be collected on a computer?" I especially asked this question on binder turn in day when 150 spiral bound notebooks were turned in at once for review. Oh and don't get me started on all the pages stuck together by over gluing. Looking back, i maybe shouldn't have collected these notebooks, rather I should have had scheduled progress checks, but collect them I did. As these collections days progressed I continued to ask myself "Is this the best way."

Now as I began to become vocal about a digital ISN, many people began to take offence to my line of questioning. Some thought I was questioning their teaching or approach, this was not at all what I was doing. I was just asking questions as any scientist does when beginning an experiment. As with any class, I did not want to take away the writing component completely (especially with rocketbook, see my post HERE) , I wanted traditional writing and digital collection to have a symbiotic relationship, one in which each can benefit from one another. I believe collecting information in the written word during class is important, but so is collecting multimedia components such as pictures, videos, and vocal components to tie into your reflection later. It just so happens the only place all of these artifacts can co exist is a digital binder.

As I started my eBinder experiment I focused on one singular question "What is the purpose of any binder?" The idea behind any binder is organization, primarily collection of work, a place to reflect on their learning process, and finally recollection of what they learned for purposes of sharing or studying. This organizational structure is "Collection, Reflection and Recollection" . If we focus on this as the primary goal of the binder the creation process becomes that much clearer.

I believe one central theme of any binder is the incorporation of storytelling. As with any story there is a beginning, middle and an end. As with a story the learning process can be easily told through the eyes of one who has learned along this journey of discovery. As with every activity in the eBinder, there should also be a familiar cadence for every entry. The structure of the binder is still in need of discussion, such as how will it be broken up? Is there a separate eBinder for each class or is there a Page setup for each class? These are discussions which I believe will be an integral part of the eBinder discussion during the strand, as it is possible different districts or sites might want to adjust their own structure that works best for them.

Regardless of the structure, each post in the binder must reflect a single activity or task. If this task is part of a greater picture or lesson we can adjust the structure accordingly. For the purposes of this example I will use a eBinder created for a science class called the Digital Science Notebook (DSN) example HERE. This notebook was purposely separated by units, which all have their own overarching theme. Each unit is then separated by a task (which is a lab or activity) which has a 3 tired cadence:

You may be wondering what constitutes a Learning Artifact, please see below: (A SlideSnap is a great way for students to create a learning artifact in an easy to use template, get the template HERE )

A learning artifact (or educational artifact ) is an object created by students during the course of instruction. To be considered an artifact, an object needs to be lasting, durable, public , and materially present. The concept of making knowledge visible is a central component. The creation and display of these artifacts allow students opportunities for engagement, revision and feedback , all hallmarks of quality learning design.

While the questions may differ based on teacher preference or activity, the task section should always remain the same. Teachers may use digital guides through Google Slides (Slide Guides) or PowerPoint as a map to task completion. These guides may include digital breadcrumbs for understanding such as hyperlinks to activities, embedded videos, and Slide Snapshots of Learning or SlideSnaps ( example HERE ). These guides may also include some of the questions above to ensure students are thinking about the questions prior to finalizing them on the ebinder entry.

When created with care, and executed with purpose, an eBinder can change the way students implement "Collection, Reflection and Recollection" of their daily work.

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eBinders: A Place for Collection, Reflection and Recollection

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A little more than a year ago I began to focus on a single question: "Why haven't more teachers began to look into utilizing their student's devices as a portfolio of work?" Please notice I say "more" teachers, as I know there are many amazing teachers who have created or dabble in the eBinder experiment.

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Let's Talk About How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites!

Online student portfolios are a great way to showcase student work and show growth over time. Google Sites is the perfect tools for you and your students to create ePortfolios.

Yes, folks, we are officially dropping the "e" from ePortfolios. Since digital is part of everything we do, there is no need to differentiate. In this post, we are using the more appropriate term, "Portfolios."

Google Sites talks to all of your favorite G Suite tools, is easy to use, embed student work, and make the learning more DYNAMIC. Learn more about Dynamic Learning here, and in my book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic.

Google Sites is a natural go-to for publishing student work for a global audience, something I think is a critical experience of preparing students for the future. Learn more ways to give students an audience for their work in this post: Every Student Should Publish for the World.

Portfolios are a great way for students to not only demonstrate learning to the teacher and others but also to learn and reflect on their own growth and progress over time.

[Tweet "How to Create Powerful Student Portfolios with Google Sites by @Mo_Physics #gsuiteedu"]

What is a Portfolio?
(aka ePortfolio, Electronic Portfolio, Digital Portfolio, or Learning Portfolio)

A portfolio is a collection of artifacts that demonstrate learning and growth over time. There are many different types of portfolios, and many different ways to use this strategy in the K-12 classroom and beyond.

Portfolios are nothing new. They have been around for decades and harkened back to paper files and notebooks, but today's digital versions are much easier to manage and share.

Can you implement in the primary grades?

Implementation in the primary grades may look different from the examples in this post, but don't assume that this is just for secondary students. My friend Christine Pinto, a Kindergarten teacher and co-author of Google Apps for Littles, shares how she uses portfolios with her little ones in this post.

Below is a guest post by Mike Mohammad, a science teacher in Wisconsin, and author of the Mo Physics Mo Problems blog. Mike shares how he and his students use Google Sites for their online portfolios, and he shares examples of student work.

How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites
by Mike Mohammad

I've using portfolios in the classroom for the last five years. The portfolio process in my classroom has evolved, and I'd like to share some of my process and student creations. Whether you're looking to dip your toe in, dive head first, or already swimming in the deep end, advances in Google Sites has made the process of creating a professional-looking portfolio possible for any learner.

Student Showcase Portfolio

If you are looking to get started with portfolios, one way to start is with a showcase portfolio. A showcase portfolio is a place for students to present artifacts that show mastery of standards or skills. Showcase portfolios work especially well at the end of a term or as their final exam. It's a good place to start with portfolios as it doesn't require the regular updating a learning portfolio would.

Selecting which standards you'd like to have students provide evidence of is an essential first step as it will guide the focus of the portfolio. These standards could be content standards such as Common Core or NGSS. They could also be aligned with standards that extend beyond content such as ISTE standards.

In my first iteration of the portfolio, my students presented artifacts that demonstrated 21st Century Outcomes as outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning.

Since our district adopted Next Generation Science Standards, students were asked to present evidence for each of the eight science and engineering practices in their portfolio.

The following are some examples that highlight presenting evidence for standards:

The process of creating a portfolio is not merely putting in a title on a page and inserting an artifact. The goal is for students to be able to explain the standard they are addressing. Then, students present their piece of evidence with context and explain how it meets the standard.

For any skill or standard students are being asked to address, teachers should ensure that learners have a variety of potential artifacts from which to choose. This forces students to think about what work they did that best demonstrates that skill or standard.

Student Learning Portfolio (Growth Over Time)

Another type of a portfolio is a learning portfolio in which students track and reflect on the learning process.

The very first year I started working with student portfolios, I attempted to implement this model but had many issues with it.

The main issue was that it required the portfolio to be a place students visit multiple times per week. In the old version of Sites (Classic Sites), accessing and editing was quite cumbersome and not intuitive.

Here are examples from my 1st year of student portfolios in the OLD Google Sites:

The new version of Google Sites stores the site within Google Drive. That means it can be accessed easily like any other GSuite file. And inserting new text or files is a simple process.

In the learning portfolio, we arrange each unit as an individual page. Students place work from the unit and introduce the piece.

Also, it is a place for students to reflect on formative assessments such as quizzes. By scrolling down the page, one can track student progress through the unit assessment including final reflections on the unit.

The following portfolios are for my current students. So beyond the pages highlighted here, they are in progress.

One of the most challenging parts for students using this type of portfolio is the deep reflection that is required and seeing the benefits of reflecting on their performance. Part of a powerful reflection is not just looking at past performance, but using that as a platform to plan future action. I've been trying to tailor my student reflections to end with how past performance will affect future practice.

Learner Profile Portfolio

If a portfolio is going to be more than a file cabinet for student work, it has to not only reflect the work students do but also encompass aspects of the person that may not be evident is a classroom artifact.

As outlined by the Institute for Personalized Learning, a learner profile contains demographic and academic information. But, it also houses information on skill sets and drivers for learning. That is why I like to have students include information about their interests and aspirations on a Passion Page by incorporating YouTube videos.

See examples of student passion pages:

On the, "Me as a Learner," page, I like students to communicate their strengths as a learner and present evidential artifacts.

A digital portfolio is also a place where students can house their passions project artifacts.

I encourage my students to continue sharing their work and passions even after they leave my classroom. When students are ready to share their portfolio, they have several options. They can share the site much like they would a GSuite file giving view rights to specific individuals. If students want to publish their work, they can publish to a specific domain or the world.

Once you have decided on the style of portfolio you plan to implement with your students, and the pages they will need to create, you can walk students through the steps.

As students are learning the skills of creating a portfolio, they are learning the skills of web design. That's the power of using Google Sites for portfolios.

The creation process is something that I walk students through once, and they pick it up pretty quickly. Below are the how-to steps for using Google Sites to create student portfolios.

How to Create a Google Site

How to Create a New Google Site:

1. To create a Google Site using the New Google Sites platform, go to sites.google.com/new.

2. Click on the red "+" in the bottom right of the page to create a new site

How to Add Pages in Google Sites
For additional support, please refer to the Google Support Center for Google Sites.
Once the site is created, students can add new pages to their portfolio.

To add a new page,

1. Go to the right sidebar menu and click on the PAGES tab

2. Click on the "+" at the bottom of the menu to create a new page

3. Name the page and click "done."

Select a Page Layout

Layouts are a very powerful tool that I have students insert as they have space to insert an artifact with text a heading and descriptive text.

To select a layout,

1. Go to the right sidebar menu and click on the INSERT tab

2. Click and drag the layout onto the page

Insert Learning Artifacts

Once a Page has been created, students will use the INSERT tab to insert artifacts from a variety of sources and add text to explain the artifact.

One big thing that is easily overlooked when publishing to an audience outside of your classroom is that any artifact in their portfolio should be set so that anyone with the link can view.

The INSERT tab gives you several options. You can insert:

a text box

Embed code (This is the code you copy from another site that allows you to embed it in your Google Site. For instance, you can embed a Padlet wall.)

Images

From Drive (This is where the magic comes in! You can insert just about anything from your Google Drive with ease. Just remember to make sure these files have been shared as "anyone with the link can view," if you plan on sharing your portfolios publically.)

To insert text or objects in a page,

1. Go to the right sidebar menu and click on the INSERT tab

2. Select the content you wish to add to the page

Or you can double-click on the page to open a quick insert menu.

Publish Your Google Site

Once you are ready, click the "Publish" button on the top menu to publish your site. Give your site a name and URL, and click Publish.

Giving students an audience for their work that is outside of their teachers, parents, and classmates is a valuable experience and should not be overlooked. (See Shake Up Learning's previous post: Every Student Should Publish for the World.)

To ensure that your outside audience can view:

1. Click on the share icon next to the publish button.

2. If your site is NOT shared so that "Anyone with the link can view," click on "Change."

3. Select "Anyone can find and view."

4. Click "Save"

Are You Ready to Get Started?

There are many ways you can implement portfolios with your students. Which strategy will you try?

Looking for more ideas?

Check out this episode from The Google Teacher Tribe Podcast on Google Sites for ePortfolios.

About Mike Mohammad

Mike Mohammad has been teaching high school science for 17 years. He has been teaching at Brookfield High School for the last 14 of those. Mike attended UW Madison where he received his degree in Secondary Education in Broadfield Science and Biology with additional certifications in chemistry and physics. In his time at Brookfield Central, Mike has taught Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and General Science. He is currently teaching Physics and AP Physics. His interests in education focus on putting students at the center of their own learning experience. He lives in Brown Deer, WI with his wife.

Connect with Mike:

© Shake Up Learning 2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites

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Let's Talk About How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites! Online student portfolios are a great way to showcase student work and show growth over time. Google Sites is the perfect tools for you and your students to create ePortfolios.

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Graphic design has been a hobby of mine since I was a teenager. I've always loved the creativity of editing photos, designing graphics or creating GIFs. When I was a teen, I combined my love of graphic design and TV shows on my first website where I designed computer backgrounds. At that time, I believe I was using Paintshop Pro to design the graphics. It was a simple program but it started me down the rabbit hole of design.

Several years later, I started a blog on Tumblr under an alias (yep - I was one of those nerds!) where I edited photos, designed graphics and created GIF's based on my favorite TV shows. Yes...I know. It's extremely nerdy. But, I absolutely loved the creativity that it gave me. If you are interested in checking it out, the blog still exists but it is in a semi-permanent hiatus.

Over the last ten years or so, I have primarily used Adobe products for design - particularly Illustrator or Photoshop. At some point I would love to get back into designing for fun but "real life" has somewhat taken over the last five years, as well as the fact that I try to blog about education on a weekly basis. Nowadays, I use my graphic design skills within my current job, as well as side projects such as this blog and BoostEDU. I never thought I would be using these skills in my regular day-to-day job but it is interesting how a hobby has turned into something that I use in my career. I think my main takeaway from this experience is that you should never prevent students from exploring their hobbies and sharing their knowledge in ways that are meaningful to them. Their hobbies and passions are teaching them skills that could be useful in their future endeavors - so try to find ways to incorporate it into your classroom!

Anyways, now for the real reason that you are here and reading this blog! If you are interested in getting your students started in graphic design, here are 10 web-based applications that you and your students can use in the classroom:

General Graphic Design Tools
1.) Adobe Spark
Since the majority of Adobe products are only available on PC or Mac, students aren't able to fully experience the power of their tools on Chromebooks. However, Adobe has released some great web-based tools, particularly Adobe Spark. Adobe Spark is a free online and mobile graphic design app. With this app, it's easy for students to create images, videos and web pages with little previous design experience.

Canva is one of my favorite web-based applications for graphic design. In fact, all of the graphics for my blog posts are made through Canva. Sometimes I just don't have the time to pull everything into Illustrator to create a design. Canva offers an easy-to-use drag and drop feature to create designs for the web or print. In addition to this, they also have a ton of free templates, photos, and graphics to use within your designs.

Vector-Based Design Apps

Pixlr, Gravit Designer, Vectr, and Desigyner are web-based applications where students can edit photos and create designs. In a similar way to Photoshop or Illustrator, Pixlr utilizes layers which is a great concept to teach students interested in design.

"With an impressive 2 million+ combinations of Free effects, filters and overlays to get creative, PIXLR turns every mobile device into a complete mobile photo editing tool that works best for simple tweaks right up to the more creative edits. Now you can edit your photos from wherever you are."
4.) Gravit Designer
"Gravit Designer is a full-featured free vector design app right at your fingertip. It is available for different platforms including Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome and the Web."
5.) Vectr
"Vectr is a free graphics software used to create vector graphics easily and intuitively. It's a simple yet powerful web and desktop cross-platform tool to bring your designs into reality."
6.) Desygner
"Desygner is a free graphic design software with thousands of ready-made beautiful templates which can easily be tweaked, shared and printed in minutes."

"Online create stunning vector Graphic design with YouiDraw Drawing, Logo Maker and Painter. It's like Adobe Illustrator but it works on html5 canvas."

Just For Fun Applications
8.) Piskel
Piskel is a web-based tool for creating pixel art. While this will not create the quality of graphics of the vector-based tools above, students absolutely love designing 8-bit looking images. By creating layers, students can even transform their pixel art into GIFs!
9.) Sumo Paint
Sumo Paint is a web-based tool where users can edit photos. It has a similar look to the vector-based tools above and offers filters, brushes, shape tools, image manipulators and more.

Fotojet is a web-based tool for graphic design, photo collages and photo editing. It has a multitude of templates, resources and tools for students to create high quality images.

How do you use graphic design in your classroom? What tools have you used to bring out your student's creativity? Share in the comments below!

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Graphic design has been a hobby of mine since I was a teenager. I've always loved the creativity of editing photos, designing graphics or creating GIFs. When I was a teen, I combined my love of graphic design and TV shows on my first website where I designed computer backgrounds.

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Looking for some quick and easy reviews to make sure your students are paying attention in science class? Here's is a list of short question-and-answer topics that can be used in any general high-school level science class. These can be used for general topic review, pop quizzes, or combined for a subject exam.

Week One - Biology

1. What are the steps of the scientific method?

Answer: making observations, forming hypothesis, experimenting and drawing conclusions
Continued Below...

2. What do the following scientific prefixes mean?
bio, entomo, exo, gen, micro, ornitho, zoo

Answer: bio-life, entomo-insect, exo-outside, gen-beginning or origin, micro-small, ornitho-bird, zoo-animal

3. What is the standard unit of measurement in the International System of Measurement?

Answer: Meter

4. What is the difference between weight and mass?

Answer: Weight is the measure of gravitational force one object has on another. Weight can change based on the amount of gravity. Mass is the amount of matter in an object. Mass is constant.

5. What is the standard unit of volume?

Answer: Liter

Week Two - Biology

1. What is the hypothesis of biogenesis?
Answer: It states that living things can only come from living things. Francisco Redi(1626-1697) did experiments with flies and meat to support this hypothesis.

2. Name three scientists that did experiments related to the hypothesis of biogenesis?

Answer: Francisco Redi (1626-1697), John Needham (1713-1781), Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799), Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

3. What are the characteristics of living things?

Answer: Life is cellular, uses energy, grows, metabolizes, reproduces, responds to the environment and moves.

4. What are the two types of reproduction?

Answer: Asexual reproduction and Sexual reproduction

5. Describe one way in which a plant responds to stimuli

Answer: A plant can angle or move towards a light source. Some sensitive plants will actually curl their leaves after being touched.

Week Three - Basic Chemistry

1. What are the three main subatomic particles of the atom?

Answer: proton, neutron and electron

2. What is an ion?

Answer: An atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons. This gives the atom a positive or negative charge.

3. A compound is matter composed of two or more elements chemically bonded. What is the difference between a covalent bond and an ionic bond?

Answer: covalent - electrons are shared; ionic - electrons are transferred.

4. A mixture is two or more distinct substances that are mixed together but are not chemically bonded. What is the difference between a homogenous mixture and a heterogeneous mixture?

Answer: homogenous - The substances are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. An example would be a solution.
heterogeneous - The substances are not evenly distributed throughout the mixture. An example would be a suspension.

5. If household ammonia has a pH of 12, is it an acid or a base?

Answer: base

Week Four - Basic Chemistry

1. What is the difference between organic and inorganic compounds?

Answer: Organic compounds have carbon.

2. What are the three elements that are in the organic compounds called carbohydrates?

Answer: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen

3. What are the building blocks of proteins?

Answer: amino acids

4. State the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy.

Answer: Mass is neither created or destroyed.
Energy is niether created or destroyed.

5. When does a skydiver have the greatest potential energy? When does a skydiver have the greatest kinetic energy?

Answer: Potential - when he is leaning out of the plane about to jump.
Kinetic - when he is plummeting to the earth.

Week Five - Cell Biology

1. Which scientist is given credit for being the first to observe and identify cells?

Answer: Robert Hooke

2. What types of cells do not contain membrane-bound organelles and are the oldest known forms of life?

Answer: Prokaryotes

3. Which organelle controls a cell's activities?

Answer: Nucleus

4. Which organelles are known as the powerhouses of the cell because they produce energy?

Answer: Mitochondria

5. Which organelle is responsible for the production of protein?

Answer: Ribosomes

Week Six - Cells and Cellular Transport

1. In the plant cell, what organelle is responsible for the production of food?

Answer: Chloroplasts

2. What is the main purpose of the cell membrane?

Answer: It helps to regulate the passage of materials between the wall and its environment.

3. What do we call the process when a sugar cube dissolves in a cup of water?

Answer: Diffusion

4. Osmosis is a type of diffusion. However, what is being diffused in osmosis?

Answer: Water

5. What is the difference between endocytosis and exocytosis?

Answer: Endocytosis - the process that cells use to take in large molecules that can not fit through the cell membrane. Exocytosis - the process that cells use to expel large molecules from the cell.

Week Seven - Cell Chemistry

1. Would you classify human beings as autotrophs or heterotrophs?

Answer: We are heterotrophs because we gain our food from other sources.

2. What do we collectively call all the reactions taking place in a cell?

Answer: Metabolism

3. What is the difference between anabolic and catabolic reactions?

Answer: Anabolic - simple substances join to make more complex ones. Catabolic - complex substances are broken down to make simpler ones.

4. Is the burning of wood an endergonic or exergonic reaction?

Explain why.

Answer: The burning of wood is an exergonic reaction because energy is given off or released in the form of heat. An endergonic reaction uses energy.

5. What are enzymes?

Answer: They are special proteins that act as catalysts in a chemical reaction.

Week Eight - Cellular Energy

1. What is the main difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?

Answer: Aerobic respiration is a type of cellular respiration that requires oxygen. Anaerobic respiration does not use oxygen.

2. Glycolysis occurs when glucose is changed into this acid. What is the acid?

Answer: Pyruvic Acid

3. What is the main difference between ATP and ADP?

Answer: ATP or adenosine triphosphate has one more phosphate group than adenosine diphosphate.

4. Most autotrophs use this process to make food. The process literally translated means 'putting together light'. What do we call this process?

Answer: photosynthesis

5. What is the green pigment in the cells of plants called?

Answer: chlorophyll

Week Nine - Mitosis and Meiosis

1. Name the five phases of mitosis.

Answer: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, interphase

2. What do we call the division of the cytoplasm?

Answer: cytokinesis

3. In what type of cell division does the chromosome number reduce by one half and gametes form?

Answer: meiosis

4. Name the male and female gametes and the process that creates each of them.

Answer: female gametes - ova or eggs - oogenesis
male gametes - sperm - spermatogenesis

5. Explain the differences between mitosis and meiosis in relation to the daughter cells.

Answer: mitosis - two daughter cells that are identical to each other and the parent cell
meiosis - four daughter cells that contain a varying combination of chromosomes and that are not identical to the parent cells

Week Ten - DNA and RNA

1. Nucleotides are the basis of the DNA molecule. Name the components of a nucleotide.

Answer: Phosphate groups, deoxyribose (a five carbon sugar) and nitrogenous bases.

2. What is the spiral shape of a DNA molecule called?

Answer: double helix

3. Name the four nitrogenous bases and correctly pair them with one another.

Answer: Adenine always bonds with thymine.
Cytosine always bonds with guanine.

4. What is the process that produces RNA from the information in DNA?

Answer: transcription

5. RNA contains the base uracil. What base does it replace from DNA?

Answer: thymine

Week Eleven - Genetics

1. Name the Austrian Monk that laid the foundation for the study of modern genetics.

Answer: Gregor Mendel

2. What is the difference between homozygous and heterozygous?

Answer: Homozygous - occurs when the two genes for a trait are the same.
Heterozygous - occurs when the two genes for a trait are different, also known as a hybrid.

3. What is the difference between dominant and recessive genes?

Answer: Dominant - genes that prevent the expression of another gene.
Recessive - genes that are suppressed.

4. What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?

Answer: Genotype is the genetic makeup of the organism.
Phenotype is the outward appearance of the organism.

5. In a particular flower, red is dominant over white. If a heterozygous plant is crossed with another heterozygous plant, what will be the genotypic and phenotypic ratios? You may use a Punnett square to find your answer.

Answer: genotypic ratio = 1/4 RR, 1/2 Rr, 1/4 rr
phenotypic ratio = 3/4 Red, 1/4 White

Week Twelve - Applied Genetics

Week Twelve Science Warm Ups

1. What do we call the changes in hereditary material?

Answer: mutations

2. What are the two basic types of mutations?

Answer: chromosomal alteration and gene mutation

3. What is the common name for the condition trisomy 21 which occurs because a person has an extra chromosome?

Answer: Down Syndrome

4. What do we call the process of crossing animals or plants with desirable characteristics to produce offspring with the same desirable characteristics?

Answer: selective breeding

5. The process of forming genetically identical offspring from a single cell is in the news a great deal. What do we call this process. Also, explain if you think it is a good thing.

Answer: cloning; answers will vary

Week Thirteen - Evolution

1. What do we call the process of new life evolving from pre-existing lifeforms?

Answer: evolution

2. What organism is often classified as a transitional form between reptiles and birds?

Answer: Archaeopteryx

3. What French scientist of the early nineteenth century put forth the hypothesis of use and disuse to explain evolution?

Answer: Jean Baptiste Lamarck

4. What islands off the coast of Ecuador were the topic of study for Charles Darwin?

Answer: Galapagos Islands

5. An adaptation is an inherited trait that makes an organism better able to survive. Name three types of adaptations.

Answer: morphological, physiological, behavioral

Week Fourteen - History of Life

1. What is chemical evolution?

Answer: The process by which inorganic and simple organic compounds change into more complex compounds.

2. Name the three periods of the Mesozoic period.

Answer: Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic

3. Adaptive radiation is the rapid expansion of many new species. What group probably experienced adaptive radiation at the beginning of the Paleocene epoch?

Answer: mammals

4. There are two competing ideas to explain the mass extinction of dinosaurs. Name the two ideas.

Answer: meteor impact hypothesis and climate change hypothesis

5. Horses, donkeys and zebras have a common ancestor in the Pliohippus. Over time these species have become different from each other. What is this pattern of evolution called?

Answer: divergence

Week Fifteen - Classification

1. What is the term for the science of classification?

Answer: taxonomy

2. Name the Greek philosopher that introduced the term species.

Answer: Aristotle

3. Name the scientist that created a classification system using species, genus and kingdom. Also tell what he called his naming system.

Answer: Carolus Linnaeus; binomial nomenclature

4. According to the hierarchical system of classification there are seven major categories. Name them in order from largest to smallest.

Answer: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

5. What are the five kingdoms?

Answer: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia

Week Sixteen - Viruses

1. What is a virus?

Answer: A very small particle made up of nucleic acid and protein.

2. What are the two classes of viruses?

Answer: RNA viruses and DNA viruses

3. In viral replication, what do we call the bursting of the cell?

Answer: lysis

4. What are the phages called that cause lysis in their hosts?

Answer: virulent phages

5. What are short naked strands of RNA with similarities to viruses called?

Answer: viroids

Week Seventeen - Bacteria

1. What is a colony?

Answer: A group of celss that are similar and attached to one another.

2. What two pigments do all blue-green bacteria have in common?

Answer: Phycocyanin (blue) and Chlorophyll (green)

3. Name the three groups that most bacteria are divided into.

Answer: cocci - spheres; bacilli - rods; spirilla - spirals

4. What is the process by which most bacteria cells divide?

Answer: binary fission

5. Name two ways that bacteria exchange genetic material.

Answer: conjugation and transformation

Week Eighteen - The Protists

1. What type of organisms make up kingdom Protista?

Answer: simple eukaryotic organisms.

2. Which subkingdom of the protists contain algal protists, which contains fungal protists and which contain animallike protists?

Answer: Protophyta, Gymnomycota, and Protozoa

3. What structure(s) do Euglenoids use to move around?

Answer: flagella

4. What are cilia and which Phylum is made up of one-celled organisms that have man of them?

Answer: Cilia are short hairlike extensions from a cell; Phylum Ciliata

5. Name two diseases caused by protozoans.

Answer: malaria and dysentery

Week Nineteen - Fungi

1. What is a group or network of fungal hyphae called?

Answer: mycelium

2. What are the four phyla of fungi?

Answer: oomycota, zygomycota, ascomycota, basidiomycota

3. What are the land dwelling zygomycota often known as?

Answer: molds and blights

4. Name the British scientist that discovered penicillin in 1928.

Answer: Dr. Alexander Fleming

5. Name three common products that are the result of fungal activity.

Answer: Ex: alcohol, bread, cheese, antibiotics, etc.

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Begin the School Day With These Science Warm Ups

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Looking for some quick and easy reviews to make sure your students are paying attention in science class? Here's is a list of short question-and-answer topics that can be used in any general high-school level science class. These can be used for general topic review, pop quizzes, or combined for a subject exam.

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Thank you for making a copy of this Forms template! Feel free to customize to make it work for you and your students. If you have questions, contact me at mari.venturino@gmail.com or @MsVenturino. I'd love to hear how it's working with your learners!

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matt miller graphic organizers, venn, fishbone, frayer

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matt miller graphic organizers, venn, fishbone, frayer

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Ed Tech

Sometimes, we just need some help organizing our thoughts - students AND educators.

Paper versions of graphic organizers can do a nice job of that. But by making them digital in Google Apps, they instantly become customizable. Multiple people can collaborate on them in real time. They can be shared with a link, embedded in a website or downloaded as an image file.

In short, digital graphic organizers are more versatile.

In Google Apps, there's a highly powerful yet highly overlooked app called Drawings. It gives users a blank canvas where they can add text, shapes, lines, etc. When done, they can save their work as image files or PDF files and can add those images to documents, slides and spreadsheets.
Drawings can be the virtual page where students can gather and process their ideas.

I used to shy away from doing a lot of graphic organizers because it's hard to design them in Google Docs; the moment I learned that you could change the page set-up to 8.5 x 11 inches, my world CHANGED. Now I rarely use Google Docs to make *anything*; I use Google Slides by default because I can add more graphics and have better control of the overall configuration. - Amy Nolan, high school English teacher, Commerce, Texas

Creating graphic organizer templates with Google Drawings

As Amy mentioned above, Google Slides can be used to create these as well as Google Drawings. The difference - Drawings focuses on one single page; Slides has multiple slides, which allows for multiple pages.

I've created 15 of them (see links below) that can be copied, saved, changed, tweaked or completely redone to fit your needs and your students' needs. We have added 10 more that were created by the Ditch That Textbook community and shared with us for this post.

It took me about 90 minutes to make 15 of them so that averages out to six minutes each. (Some were more time-consuming than others, and I got faster at making them as I progressed.)

Sharing your Google Drawings graphic organizers
Once you've created a graphic organizer (or have saved one of mine), there are a few easy ways to get them to your students:

If you use Google Classroom, create a new assignment and choose the option to deliver a copy of your graphic organizer to each student.

You can copy the URL (link) to the graphic organizer and deliver it to students via a class website, SeeSaw etc. You can also make a shorter, easier URL to type with URL shorteners like Bitly and TinyURL. (Check your Internet filter to make sure your shortened URLs come through. I've found that TinyURL works in most schools' filters.)

Using the blue "Share" button, click the "Get shareable link" button and set the document as "Anyone with the link" at the top and "Can view" at the bottom. That way, students won't be able to change your original copy and will have to make a copy of their own.

PRO TIP: When you copy a URL (link) to any G Suite file, it probably says "view" or "edit" at the end of it. If you change that word to "copy", it will force whoever opens that link to make a copy of the file instead of opening your file. That's another trick to keeping your original version from being altered. (If you assign it through Google Classroom, you won't need to do this.)

Here are 25 graphic organizer templates that can be used for many different subject areas and grade levels.

Feel free to make a copy of any of these google drawings templates and adapt them for your own use:

Question: What other graphic organizers would be useful to create in Google Drawings? Can you share a link to a graphic organizer you've created so others can use it, too? Leave a comment below!

Looking for even MORE G Suite resources?

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25 FREE Google Drawings graphic organizers - and how to make your own

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Ed Tech Sometimes, we just need some help organizing our thoughts - students AND educators. Paper versions of graphic organizers can do a nice job of that. But by making them digital in Google Apps, they instantly become customizable. Multiple people can collaborate on them in real time.

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As always G Suite is adding features and updating interfaces. Some pretty big changes are coming to Google Classroom for Fall 2018. The Stream is no longer your one stop. That has been moved over a tab to "Classwork." Instead, the Stream is where notifications and announcements go. Settings have been consolidated, and the About tab is gone.

Online Workshop

For $20 I am offering an introduction to Google Classroom using the new beta features. One of the best ways to learn Google Classroom is to experience it as a student. This workshop will go through using Google Classroom as both a teacher and a student. You will want to create a sample class to try out the new features.

alicekeeler.com/goslow

Stream, Classwork, People

There are 3 new tabs: Stream, Classwork, and People.

Organized by Topics

The Google Classroom team heard your request to be able to organize the assignments. The Stream is no longer where you build assignments. In fact, you can not move or organize the Stream at all. On the Classwork tab, you will click the Plus button in the bottom right (note from the Google Classroom support page that this icon will change to a Create button at the top of the Classwork page) to create a Topic. You can no longer create anouncements from the Plus icon. These are created on the Stream and only show in the Stream.

Done Counts Hidden

Personally, I love the Done/Not Done counts in Google Classroom. This helps me to respond more quickly to students completing work. To view the Done/Not Done count you now need to click on the Classwork page and click on the assignment. Please send feedback in Google Classroom with the comment of CLASSROOM BETA to ask for them to be visible without clicking.

Greyed Out

No longer do students see a green checkmark when they have completed an assignment. Instead, the assignment is greyed out on the Classwork page.

Your Work

Students can view the status of their assignments by clicking on "Your work" from the Classwork page.

Consolidated Settings

Classroom settings are now all in one place. Click on the settings cog at the top right to set a class description, reset the class code, allow for students to post to the Stream, display the class code, enable guardian summaries, and show deleted items.

Loss of About Tab

Instead of an About tab, all resources and assignments will be located on the newly created Classwork page. Create an About/Resources topic as a place to post your syllabus and other materials. There is now an About link in the header that will allow you to quickly display the class code.

Back Arrow Removed

This is a change I'm excited about. The back arrow has been removed and replaced with the class title. This is consistent with every website on the internet that you click on the site logo to return to the home page.

Tip: take advantage of your BROWSER back arrow. It's what you thought the Classroom back arrow did anyway.

Send Feedback

Remember, these changes are in beta right now. Unless you have requested beta access you won't be able to see the new interface until the Fall. Changes are certainly coming and will be influenced by your feedback. Click on the question mark in the bottom left corner of Classroom and choose "Send feedback."

Start your feedback comments with CLASSROOM BETA.

Please only ONE COMMENT per feedback submission. Google Classroom tags each feedback comment and it is a challenge when more than one idea is shared.

Be Specific. Explain WHY you need a feature to be the way it is.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018

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A Peek at the New Google Classroom - Teacher Tech

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Google Classroom Will Be Different For the Fall As always G Suite is adding features and updating interfaces. Some pretty big changes are coming to Google Classroom for Fall 2018. The Stream is no longer your one stop. That has been moved over a tab to "Classwork."

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Create an Avatar for Chrome - Teacher Tech

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Set Your Chrome Avatar This week I was assigned 2 new G Suite accounts and there is no avatar. I have a generic A in the upper right hand corner. Google Drawings Yes, you can just upload a photo you have. However, if you don't have a photo you can create an avatar in Google ...

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Classroom Strategies, GSuite, Technology

Google MyMaps is one of my favorite Googley gems! And, it doesn't always get the attention it deserves. It's easy to use, can be accessed from any mobile device, and it's versatile for a variety of academic and fun uses.

If you're brand new to MyMaps, here's a quick intro video.

Start with a purpose:

What are you hoping to share? What do you want your students to get out of this experience?
My purpose here is to show off how awesome MyMaps are, and how collaborative maps can add authentic student engagement into your classroom.
Before we dive into classroom ideas, let's play! I invite you to add your name & a favorite place to this map. There's also a layer to add in your university. Use the description to share a bit about why you love this place. Remember to customize your pin!

MyMaps in the Classroom:

MyMaps pair really nicely with HyperDocs and the 5E lesson model, and can fit in at any point in a lesson sequence.

I'm lucky my friend Austin Houp shared out a collaborative MyMap with me last year, all about natural disasters. It was perfect timing, as my students were working on natural disasters projects in science! My students, along with students from all over the world, added in projects on different natural disasters. They loved clicking through the pins and seeing the information, pictures, and links to external projects created other students! And, knowing they were sharing with the world, they took extra care in their work.

Additionally, my AVID students have plotted their college projects on a MyMap, making it easy to share resources with peers, other classes, and potentially other AVID classes at other schools.

Since my oldest students at my current school are juniors (class of 2019), I've made a MyMap to track where they head off to college in a year. It'll be awesome to keep adding to this map throughout the years. They want to keep in contact with me because my class food rule is "no eating or drinking (other than water) until you have a college degree!" - and, I promise if they come back after they've graduated, I'll buy them lunch and we'll eat together in my room.

The more advanced tools on MyMaps, such as drawing lines and polygons, is perfect for practicing perimeter and area, calculating distances, or reinforcing measurements.

MyMaps for Fun:

MyMaps is great for personal use, especially planning trips, marking places I've been, and sharing favorite spots. I use a MyMap to track which states I've been to in the US -I still have a long way to go (16/50 as of May 2018), but it's fun to change the pin color and switch it to the "Where I've Been" layer.

In summer of 2018, my friend Nick will be visiting San Diego for a few days, and we have a MyMap of San Diego places to visit.

My Next Steps:

Next year, one of my goals is to connect with at least one other classroom to collaborate on a map project! Anyone want to join me? Specifically middle school science or any level of AVID.
What are your favorite ways to use MyMaps for fun and in your classroom? Leave a comment below, I'd love more ideas!

Classroom Strategies

"Kids do well if they can." -Dr. Stuart Ablon

I recently watched the TED Talk " Rethinking Challenging Kids-Where There's a Skill There's a Way" by Dr. J. Stuart Albon. His phenomenal message helps us shift they way we approach behavior challenges, by empowering students with the skills to do well. We can teach these three skills: flexibility, frustration tolerance, and problem solving.

It's incredible to watch a student shift from being a tuned-out behavior challenge to one who turns in their work and asks questions! When I approach a student with empathy, work on skills, and set them up for small successes, it's amazing what happens!

What is Restorative Practices?

Restorative Practices is an approach to discipline where there is a high level of control and a high level of support. Individuals are encouraged to uphold community expectations, and when they don't, they are held accountable for their choices. We "restore" an individual to the community after a trust-breaking incident through forgiveness and making different choices.

I highly recommend these two of the books: Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians, and Administrators and Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning. I've been using these ideas consistently, both dealing with minor incidents in the classroom and larger issues between students.

It is about our mindset, rather than rigid practices. We build a community of empathy, every single day-my kids know I've got their back, even when they make poor choices. Far more frequently after a 1:1 conversation with a student, it ends with a "would you like a hug?" rather than consequences.

Here are some of the strategies I use as I've implemented Restorative Practices in my classroom:

Daily Check-in Form

Every day I check in with my students through their daily check-in and warm-up questions ( read more here). This gives me an excellent read on the class at the very beginning, and I can prioritize students' needs.

When I notice a trend with a student, such as things are overall a "1" for more than a single day, I will find a ways to loop back to that student multiple times during class, making casual conversation, complimenting them, or asking general questions. If a student tells me something in the "anything else I need to know" question, I will speak with them privately about what they shared.

This has allowed me to make quick personal connections with each student in the first 5 minutes of class.

Student Behavior Log Reflection

When minor incidents happen in class, I use progressive consequences to address them: warning, behavior log, change seat, referral. Rarely do we get past a behavior log! Although, for larger or more serious issues where a student is interfering with our safety or productively, we will skip to a referral.

After a student receives a warning, the next step is a behavior log. Students fill out this Form ( Make a copy) at one of the computers in our room, then sit back down. The majority of behavior log entries are for a forgotten or dead iPad (no warnings, automatic behavior log) or off-task behavior, especially chatting.

When students take responsibility for reflecting on how their choices impact our wider community, they usually make immediate changes. Occasionally I'll have a quick follow-up conversation with the student, either during class or just after. This gives me an opportunity to listen to their thought process, and how they will take ownership of their actions.

Restorative Circles

Our favorite part of Restorative Practices is the use of circles! My students and I use community-building proactive circles for check-ins and to share the positives in their lives. At the beginning of the year, we do circles almost every Friday. As the school year progresses and we get busier, they seem to get pushed to the side and happen every couple weeks. Students have grown accustomed to our talking piece, a small stuffed penguin-it signals to all to listen and be respectful to the speaker (some do need a reminder, or two!).

We ask a variety of questions in circles, some I come up with and others are student suggestions. Here are some examples:

If you could have any superpower, what would you have and what would you do with it?

What qualities make a good friend?

What was the best part of your week?

What is one goal you have for next (week, semester, year, etc.)?

Many of my quietest students feel confident enough to contribute in the circle, especially towards the end of first semester. If a student wants to pass their turn, they are allowed to; although their neighbors usually encourage them to share something.

Other times, we need to use circles for restorative conversations. In these circles, something major has happened that we need to process together then figure out a plan for moving forward.

We go through the following restorative questions together:

What happened?

Who was affected by this?

What needs to happen to fix the harm caused?

This year, two of my classes made poor choices with subs, both in my class and in our other teamed classes. I took the majority of a block period to have students write their answers to the restorative circle questions, followed by a lengthy circle discussion. Many students talked about how some students' behavior was disruptive or disrespectful, and they felt embarrassed that our subs had a difficult time keeping the class under control. The students who were responsible for more outright acts of defiance listened, contributed on a surface-level, but I could see the gears working as they heard their peers talking about behavior. That is powerful! Since this specific circle in early February, I've had fewer sub behavior incidents-they're not perfect, but they're more aware of their actions.

I love that my classroom is a community where all are welcome! How have you implemented Restorative Practices in your classroom?

Classroom Strategies, GSuite, Technology

Class presentations are a lot of fun, and it's essential to give students the experience of speaking in front of others. Very early on in my teaching career, I realized it was difficult to keep presentations flowing, because in the transition time between presenters, students saw this as an opportunity to chat-and they had a tough time settling down again. Repeat this 30+ times, and we have one frustrated Ms. V.

Around the same time I decided to have students start to provide peer feedback for student presentations. They would fill out a Google Form (here's an example or make a copy) after each presenter. Yes, after. I expect their iPads "apple up" on their desks while their peer is presenting, both as a sign of respect and to eliminate other distractions.

Unintended results! Off-task behavior between presentations was almost nonexistent! Students had something meaningful to do between the time it took for the presenter to sit down, and then next student to get up and connect their iPad.

One of the things I'm working on with students is how to write feedback. I'm realizing that I need to provide more sentence frames to help students share what the student does well, and what they can do to improve. I've used TAG Feedback, and it has helped!

This peer evaluation form has been such a big hit, that now I'm tasked with creating copies for all our AVID teachers when we do presentation projects.

Below are some tricks I've made data analysis even easier!

Conditional Formatting
I use conditional formatting on Sheets to change the fill color for each rubric level. I can glance at the spreadsheet, and see overall how peers feel the presenter did.

Form Values
Form Values is an incredible add-on for Forms. It creates a template spreadsheet where you can create lists that can then be imported into a Form for a multiple choice, checkbox, or dropdown question. I use this for my class lists, so I don't have to constantly type in names into the "my name" and "presenter's name" questions.

RowCall
RowCall is an add-on for Sheets that takes all the unique values in a column, and creates individual sheets for each value. The way I use it is to separate each student presenter into their own tab. Then, I can quickly see how each student did, without having to sort or filter the main sheet. In the past, I've printed each student's tab. Lately, I've asked students if they're ok if I share the whole spreadsheet view only with all students (via Google Classroom), and I have not had any objections. They like seeing their own feedback, and also learning from how their peers were evaluated too.
I'd love to hear how you use peer feedback in your classroom!

Classroom Strategies

This is the third blog post in my Mastery-Based Grading series. The first post, My Journey to Mastery-Based Grading talks about the why's and a little bit of the how's, and the second post, Tracking Data in Mastery-Based Grading discusses how I keep track of student data.

Many have asked about example Mastery Tasks, and what this looks like in my classroom. I'll be entirely honest that this post is a little intimidating to write, knowing I'm not the only one who does Mastery-Based Grading, and I still have a lot to learn. But, you know what, that's the best part! I model a growth mindset for my students in that I am always learning and finding ways to improve.
Day-to-day in the Classroom
Our day-to-day doesn't look too much different than it did before. However, I am more focused on the end product as we do lessons, labs, and activities. In my first post, I detail the overall Mastery-Based workflow in classroom instruction.

Since I don't grade anything other than Mastery Tasks, many have asked how I hold my students accountable for their classwork and homework. For homework, that's easy-I don't assign homework (except on the very rare "if you don't finish it in class, it's homework!"). For classwork, I do a mix of stamping and checking work before students can leave. Even the prospect of being dismissed 30 seconds after their friends is enough to motivate students to get work completed correctly before the bell. Additionally, after a while, most students realize that what we do in class is directly related to our Mastery Tasks, and therefore will benefit them.

If you're thinking, "this will never work for my students/my school!" please stop for a moment to reconsider. My school is one of the lowest performing in our district, we have attendance and behavior challenges, and parent engagement is almost non-existent. But. My students work hard, because I believe in them and we have created a classroom community where they are safe and supported. I rarely have behavior challenges in class, simply because my students believe they can succeed.
Planning for Mastery Tasks
With my PLC, we start with our Next Generation Science Standards, and try to distill down exactly what my students need to know and do. The Crosscutting Concepts and Science and Engineering Practices guide us to the "how" of mastery. Since writing Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) paragraphs is one of our essential skills in science, many of the Mastery Tasks have students write a CER based on a lab or activity. Other Mastery Tasks are videos, lab reports (usually using Google Slides), or digital/analog creations such as comic strips or mini posters.

The rest of my 7th grade science PLC has not implemented Mastery-Based Grading...yet! They are interested, and are hoping to introduce it next school year. The 8th grade science teachers are using it, so thankfully I'm not entirely alone.

That being said, many of my Mastery Tasks are still common assessments, even though they are graded slightly differently.
Example Mastery Task
Below is a screenshot of a Mastery Task on Google Classroom. Attached to the assignment are instructions, the Doc students will edit, and sentence frames to support struggling students (provided on the day of the lesson to specific students, then added to the assignment later to help students with revisions).

Students did a lab on the Law of Conservation of Mass, where they mix baking soda and vinegar in a flask with a balloon over the top. This lab was glued in students interactive notebooks, and students wrote the first draft of their CER in their notebooks.

Then, students traded notebooks with a partner, and used 3 colors to underline the claim, evidence, and reasoning. They also identified how their partner did based on the rubric. This was both an informal assessment of the partner's CER and of the grading student's ability to identify claim, evidence, and reasoning. When students received their notebooks back, they then went to Google Classroom and typed their CER into the Mastery Task Google Doc.

This Mastery Task came about a week after another CER on chemical reactions, where almost every student initially earned an In Progress grade. This led us to add in the additional draft, peer feedback, and finally their Mastery Task draft.

I love mixing in analog projects as well, such as One Pagers and 11×17 mini posters. While watching "The Lorax" movie, students analyzed it for how humans impact ecosystems and created a One Pager based on what they learned. You'll notice there's a spot in the corner for a stamp. This allows me to check the One Pager in class and stamp it. Then, students take a picture and submit it to the Mastery Task. If I see a stamp, I know it's automatically Mastery. If there isn't a stamp, then I know I need to check it (zoom in a bit, usually), and provide feedback either way.

Some Mastery Tasks are entirely skill-based. I have chosen to include notebook checks as Mastery Tasks because my students are working on their organization skills. They self-check their notebooks and answer a few reflection questions, then turn in pictures of both. I know some teachers may disagree with this, but it's what works for me and my students.

Each 18 week semester comes down to about 20 Mastery Tasks. It's not always one per week. Some weeks have none, while others have two.
Advice for getting started
Don't be afraid to jump in and try! Use an assessment you already have, add a mastery rubric, ask students to complete the assignment, provide feedback, and allow them unlimited opportunities to revise and resubmit their work. Take it one step further by asking students for feedback on how to improve the assignment, and what lessons or activities were helpful in preparing them for the mastery task.

As I said in my first post, one of my next big steps is using One-Point Rubrics, simplifying the feedback process, and allowing me to give more targeted and individualized feedback. I love that I can grow as a teacher as my kids grow as students!
What was do you use to assess mastery in your classroom?

Classroom Strategies

I recently blogged about how I've implemented Mastery-Based Grading in my 7th grade science classroom. There have been a lot of questions and words of encouragement, and I'm loving this discussions.

All that has led me to write a few follow-up posts. This one is more of the nitty-gritty how-to's that have worked for me. I hope I can help some of you keep better track of your students' grades for Mastery-Based Grading!

I use Google Classroom + Jupiter Grades (fairly traditional gradebook) + this spreadsheet to keep track of my students' progress and grades. I know that's a triplicate of each grade, but each place serves its purpose within the resources available at my school. So, I don't mind a couple seconds of extra work if it benefits my students.

In this post, I'll break down how each is used in my workflow.

Google Classroom

All Mastery Tasks are posted in a Google Classroom that all 3 of my classes are enrolled in. It's personal preference-for me, it makes it a bit faster to grade all my students at once, rather than separate classes. As I said in my original Mastery-Based Grading post, I also have separate Classroom for each class, where I post announcements and classwork (all ungraded).

Each assignment is assigned a topic based on unit, and I try to put in as much of the instructions into the assignment as possible-this helps absent students or students doing their revisions.

On this particular assignment, I also attached sentence frames (thanks for making them, Amy!) after the original assignment. During class, we passed out sentence frames to students who needed the writing scaffold. I attached them after the first submissions for students who earned an In Progress grade, and needed to revise and resubmit.

I change the point value on each assignment to be out of 1. I provide feedback on the assignment in private comments and/or within the assignment (if in Docs or Slides), then enter the corresponding numerical value. A 1 = Mastery (M), a 0 = In Progress (IP) - this is a binary on/off signal, not a point value.

After I've graded an assignment, I return it to the students. If they earn Mastery, they don't need to do anything. If they earn In Progress, they need to read my comments, revise, and resubmit. Sometimes this takes many cycles of feedback before a student earns Mastery!

Jupiter Grades

Jupiter Grades is an online gradebook that our district pays for, and all teachers at my school use. (This is a loaded sentence. We have Infinite Campus for grade reporting, but I find the gradebook difficult to navigate. I only use it to post progress & final grades. We also have Canvas as an LMS, which has its own gradebook. So many options...)

I post M and IP grades in Jupiter because this is where students and parents check their grades.

Google Sheet

Here's where my nerd shines through. I have a massive "Mastery Student Data" spreadsheet where I track my students Mastery and In Progress. Generally students don't see this spreadsheet, unless I call them up to show them their row.

I love the quick visual of how a class is doing, who is missing multiple assignments, and the total number of masteries per class. All this gives me quick data on which students need more help and attention, and which students are ready to move on.

It's super easy to customize data for what I need to know about my students. For example, I can create additional columns where I add student tags, such as EL or IEP or GATE. Then, I can use filters to check on how subgroups are doing. Or, I can create graphs for how a specific class is doing on an assignment, unit, or overall-then, I can copy & paste this into our daily Slides for some whole-class data analysis.

My Sheet also calculates students' current grade based on how many Mastery (green) vs. In Progress (yellow) + missing (gray).

All it took was a little conditional formatting and a lot of formula-ing to make this magic happen.

As much as grading is a tedious and sometimes frustrating process (like those assignments when only 8/86 students earned Mastery...yeah, that has happened...last week!), looking at this nerdy spreadsheet brightens my day.
How do you keep track of mastery data in your classroom?
PS. Stay tuned! Next week's blog post will talk about creating and implementing Mastery Tasks, and feature examples!

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Classroom Strategies, GSuite, Technology Google MyMaps is one of my favorite Googley gems! And, it doesn't always get the attention it deserves. It's easy to use, can be accessed from any mobile device, and it's versatile for a variety of academic and fun uses. If you're brand new to MyMaps, here's a quick intro video.

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I love teaching middle school, especially 7th grade. The kids are goofy, energetic, and super squirrels (...squirrel!). They're also pre-teens, and trying to fit into the limbo world where they're not quite kids, but not quite teenagers. Many of my kids have faced challenging family situations that preoccupy their thoughts while in school.

Knowing things are sometimes distracting outside of class, whether it is friends, family, or both, I start my class with a warm-up. This is usually a silent individual activity that activates prior knowledge, or asks students to review what they learned last class.

In April 2015, I changed the way I did my warm-ups. And I had major positive results. Immediately.

I implemented the Daily Check-in Form. I still called it a warm-up, but the purpose expanded to ask students about their day.
Before we continue, please fill it out here.
Your warm-up questions are:

1. Who do you teach?

2. What made you interested in this blog post topic?

3. How do you currently start your class periods, meetings, or workshops?

Ok, now that you filled it out, let's continue. (If you didn't fill it out, go back and do so. It's good for you to actually go through the experience, not just open up the link!)

When students arrive for class, they line up in 2 silent, straight, and smiling lines outside. I invite them in, and they walk in silently (we don't do it right, it's back outside to do it over), and begin their warm-up on their iPad. I have a set of Slides for each lesson, and the first Slide is always the warm-up questions.

I reuse the same Form everyday and for all classes. At the end of the week, I hide the previous week's rows on Sheets.

Three check-in questions with running averages.

I know some of you are asking, why are you SO strict on coming in silently? Two reasons: First, it helps my students settle in and make the transition to class time. Second, it helps me setting in and make the transition to teaching. I use that time to take attendance, quickly check in with individual students, and skim their warm-up answers.

From this daily warm-up, I have learned many essential things about my students, from death of family members or arguments with friends, to excitement over weekend plans or their deep love of tacos. These are things my students may have been too shy to tell me, or I likely would not have taken the time to listen to their needs.

Screenshot of the Sheet. I use conditional formatting

to make it easier to skim how students are feeling.

If there's a concern, I'll pull the student aside during class and chat privately about what they shared. If they rank their day as a 1, then I'll make sure I make it over to their desk more frequently, offer a friendly smile, and start a conversation. (I don't take them aside, unless they show additional signs of being upset or stressed in class.)

The day I first implemented this warm-up, I learned that my student's uncle died the week prior. Over the next three weeks, she lost three more people close to her. Because she willingly shared this with me, I was able to support her emotionally in class, and refer her to our counselors for additional support. I am 100% positive this prevented serious behaviors in my class, because she had struggled all year with attitude and off-task behavior.

When I present at conferences and workshops, I often start my session with an identical Form-I ask about participants' prior knowledge on the topic and goals for the session. I feel like this helps me connect to my participants in the limited time we have.

I'm grateful for this simple tool that has helped me build community in my classroom!

Love this idea? Here's the Form template.

Have fun with the Form, make it work for you, and please share!

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

[CC BY-NC-SA]

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I love teaching middle school, especially 7th grade. The kids are goofy, energetic, and super squirrels (...squirrel!). They're also pre-teens, and trying to fit into the limbo world where they're not quite kids, but not quite teenagers. Many of my kids have faced challenging family situations that preoccupy their thoughts while in school.

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warm up questions on forms - really good

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warm up questions on forms - really good

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Spirling is an important technique to make learning sticky. Keep a list of questions or problems in a spreadsheet, randomly choose 5 questions, push to Google Slides and have ready for the morning warm up. I coded the ability to do this automagically.

Template

alicekeeler.com/spiralreview

Look for the Spiral Questions menu next to the Help menu.

It may take a few seconds for the menu to load. Once it loads choose "Setup."
Note that you will need to authorize the script. Click on the link that says "Advanced" and then underneath that click on "Spiral Questions (unsafe)." It is safe, I coded it myself. Google has not reviewed my code so they are not vouching for me.

Google Slides Created

A Google Slides presentation is automatically created when choose Setup. The link to the Slides presentation is in cell A1. Click on this to open. Notice it is blank.

Add Your Questions

Once you have setup the spreadsheet you can add your questions to column A. 5 questions are automagically added to the Google Slides, you will want to have at least 5 questions. You do not need to do anything. The 5 questions will be randomly chosen on an interval. Your blank slides will populate with your questions.

Bookmark the Spreadsheet

Since the idea is to automatically create a spiral review list of questions you will want to regularly add to the list. Suggestion to bookmark the spreadsheet to allow you to easily come back and add new questions.

Add More Questions

Spiral review involves revisiting topics/questions. You will want to keep adding new questions to the spreadsheet as you teach new content. This allows you to easily come back to those questions by presenting the Google Slides.

Link to the Google Slides Presentation

Notice the link to the Google Slides presentation in cell A1. Click on this link to bring up your warm up slides.

Every Hour Refresh

To keep the spiral review fresh, it will automatically display a new 5 questions every hour. This allows you to use the exact same Google Slides over and over to share 5 questions with students. Without effort, you are ready to give a new 5 questions.

Manually Refresh

If you would like to manually push new questions to the Google Slides, use the menu and choose "New Spiral." Note that this does not refresh the timer. It will still choose 5 new slides every hour automatically. If it changes when you did not want it to, use the version history to restore the Slides back to the previous questions.

Presentation Mode or Published Mode

When presenting the questions, the presented slides do not change. Pressing escape to leave presentation mode may reveal 5 new questions if it has been an hour. If you use the same presentation all day in presentation mode it will display the same questions.

Using the File menu to "Publish to the web" will allow you to embed the slides on a website. When students or parents visit the website they will see a new spiral review every hour UNLESS they do not refresh the website. Just like presentation mode of Google Slides, published mode slides do not change until refreshed. Notice the embedded Google Slides above. Leave this website up and come back in an hour. The same 5 slides will be displayed. If you refresh the page though, you will see a different 5 questions.

In this animation, I am using the Spiral Questions menu to manually push 5 random questions to the Google Slides. Remember though, this will automagically happen every hour.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018

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Automagically Create a Spiral Warm Up - Teacher Tech

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Spirling is an important technique to make learning sticky. Keep a list of questions or problems in a spreadsheet, randomly choose 5 questions, push to Google Slides and have ready for the morning warm up. I coded the ability to do this automagically. alicekeeler.com/spiralreview Look for the Spiral Questions menu next to the Help menu.

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The New Google Sites is a tremendous improvement over Classic Google Sites. So much so, that it is now easier than ever to create a site. Before, I would rarely create a site for much more than for an organization or event. But now, because of its ease of use, I create sites for everything from school events to professional development workshops.

One thing I've found that I love to do is create scrolling banners. Anyone can easily create a scrolling banner for a Google Site by using Google Slides. To learn how, watch the tutorial below. Then when ready, use the embed feature on Google Sites to add your banner to your site.

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Create A Scrolling Banner for your Google Site

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The New Google Sites is a tremendous improvement over Classic Google Sites. So much so, that it is now easier than ever to create a site. Before, I would rarely create a site for much more than for an organization or event.

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As the school year starts to come to a close, a couple of things are certain.

Student motivation will be soaring high. (Not!)

Reviewing previous content get more and more important.

There are lots of ways to make review engaging, but my students have always responded to review games. They get the competitive juices flowing, and they put a new premium on knowing your stuff inside and out.

With the Olympics coming this summer, I'm reminded of a review game that created excitement in my classroom - in Olympic proportions!

In my classes, we called it the Spanish Class Olympics.

When the end of the year comes around, I love using review games. My students love them, partly because they need a little extra incentive to study.

I figured ... why not package several days of those days together in one amazing uber competition?

Here were some of the pieces of that epic experience:
(Note: Remember, you don't have to use the whole experience as it is here! Customize it, add/remove/change games or even use one individual review game all by itself.)
1. Theme music - This really set the tone. Every day, as students walked in the room, I played the NBC theme music for the Olympics: Bugler's Theme by Leo Arnaud.

2. A leaderboard - Gamification is a hot topic in education right now. When we can bring game elements into learning, it can be very motivating for students. I created one in Google Drawings and updated it every day. We used three teams because the math seemed to work well for the class sizes and the arrangement of the games. The winner of each game got five points; second place got three points; and third place got one point. Any of these suggestions can be modified to fit your class best.

Next, I pulled together some of my students' favorite review games. Some had a tech component ... others were paper-based or used lap dry-erase whiteboards. There's a good chance you've heard of one or more of them ... but maybe not! I always love seeing what other teachers do in their classrooms, so this is a peek inside mine. Here are some of my favorites (feel free to substitute your own favorite games):

3. Game: Trashketball - That's a combination of a trash can and basketball. (I'm from Indiana. Basketball is life.) We set up a trash can at one end of the room. Using pieces of string, we created shooting lines for different point values. We split the class into three teams. Working together, they answered questions. If they answered correctly, they got a point and got to choose a line to shoot from ... the farther from the trash can, the more points they were worth. Over time, we added lots of new rules (i.e. lifelines like "step" - take a big step forward before shooting - and "reshoot" - shoot a missed shot again).

4. Game: Row wars - This is a fast-paced small-group game that can get the adrenaline pumping!

If I had a class of 18 or more, I divided each team into two smaller teams (in the chart below, Team 1 became Team 1-1 and Team 1-2).

If I had a class of 17 or fewer, we just kept the same three teams.

Teams would sit down in columns. Each team needs at least three players, and if there are more than three, they can sit behind the other players on their team and sub in and out during each round (more on that later) ...

I distributed a slip of paper face down to the first person from each team (and they wrote their team number on the back). For each round of the row wars game, I picked five words for students to define. (This game works well for basic recall questions ... anything that can be done quickly!)

The slip of paper looked something like this ... (except I put the vocabulary words in place of "round 1 word 1", etc.)

When I said "go" ...

the first person on the team flips the sheet over, looks at the questions, answers one (just one!) and passes it back to the second person on the team

the second person answers one (just one!) question and passes it back to the third person

third person answers and passes up to second person

second person answers and passes up to first person

first person answers the final question and puts the slip of paper on a chair or desk in front of their group (the yellow squares in the diagram above)

Here's how the scoring works:

First team done: 6 points. Second team done: 5 points. Third team done: 4 points. (And on and on and on.)

Each incorrect answer subtracts a point from the total.

You can't get a negative score.

Tally the scores and add them to the team's running total. Play as many rounds as you'd like (we usually play six).

When the game is over, determine a winner:

With 18 or more students: Add the scores of the both sub-teams together to get the team's final score. (i.e. If Team 1-1 had 16 points and Team 1-2 had 14 points, add them together for a final Team 1 score of 30.)

With 17 or fewer students: The team's final score is the team's final score. 🙂

5. Game: Flyswatters - This is another fun one to practice vocabulary or quick questions. Display a grid of terms on a projector screen (or write them on sticky notes and put them on the board). It looks something like this (fill in your own terms, of course) ...

You'll need two flyswatters. I've always kept several in my room just in case one is misplaced or if one breaks during an exceptionally lively game. (It has happened!)

Ideally, this is a two-team game, where a student from each team stands on opposite sides of the projector screen. When you call out a definition, the first player to swat the term gets the point. (In Epic Review Olympics, just rotate the teams at the screen ... Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 3 vs. Team 1 and on and on and on ...)

When a team swats the correct term, it gets a point. I will print a sheet of the terms and use it for two things - to cross off terms as I call them AND to tally score for the teams. (If you want to go through the terms twice, put a line through the word the first time and then put an X through it the second time.)

6. Game: Kahoot! - More and more teachers around the United States and the world are getting to know this great tool. Kahoot! ( getkahoot.com) lets you turn multiple-choice questions into a game show in the classroom, complete with music, a leaderboard and students ringing in with answers.

You can create Kahoot! games with your own questions OR you can search the millions of games created by teachers, students and others. (Hint: If you find one you like but want to change/remove/add content to it, duplicate it to your account and make whatever changes you want.

When I've played this with students, each student has played through independently (not grouped into teams). When the game was over, I would figure out what position the top three finishers were for each team by downloading the final results in a spreadsheet (an option at the end of the game).

Example:

Team 1's three best finishers were 2nd, 4th and 7th

Team 2's three best finishers were 1st, 5th and 6th

Team 3's three best finishers were 3rd, 8th and 9th

Add the places for all three teams (Team 1: 2+4+7=13, Team 2: 1+5+6=12, Team 3: 3+8+9=20).

The lowest score is first, next lowest is second and highest is third. (In our example, Team 2 is first, Team 1 is second and Team 3 is third.)

If you're looking for more of a team effort, Kahoot! has a "play by team" option. When you load the Kahoot! game, choose the "team" option and let the group work together from one device per team. This is a great option for classes without one device for each student or, again, for more teamwork.

7. Game: Your ideas - You can play Epic Review Olympics with as many games as you'd like. Feel free to use the four listed above, or remove or add as you'd like!
Do you have a review game that your students get excited about? Please describe it in a comment below. Let's gather lots of options together in the comments section. If we do, we'll have a great list that we can all use to make our Epic Review Olympics games even more epic! For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:
[getnoticed-event-table scope="upcoming" max="15″ expanding="false"]

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End the school year with Epic Review Olympics (free templates!) - Ditch That Textbook

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The end of the school year is high time for review. Make your experience EPIC with the review to end all reviews! As the school year starts to come to a close, a couple of things are certain. Student motivation will be soaring high. (Not!) Reviewing previous content get more and more important.

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Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year here at Alta Sierra Intermediate School. I am pleased to be teaching science this year focusing on students achievement and engagement within an immersive laboratory setting. This year students will learn Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy using the latest tools and techniques available to us here in the ASI Science Department.

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Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone. Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip to start inventing the future.

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QuiverVision are world leading Augmented Reality specialists with a focus on cutting edge color technology, providing high quality engaging experiences for all ages for some of the most recognisable brands in the world.

Our flagship app 'Quiver' is available on iOS, Android and Amazon

The Quiver App combines physical coloring from "back in the day" with state of the art augmented reality technology

Coloring pages have never been so much fun!

Coloring books will always be popular because they allow children to apply their own artistic vision to templates of their favourite characters, items, and places.

Now with Quiver children can bring their unique coloring creations to life in extraordinary 3D augmented reality. Characters literally leap off the page, entertaining both little and big minds.

Quiver Education content is designed around topics as diverse as biology, geometry, and the solar system.

Why use Quiver in the classroom?

Coloring is a much loved and long-established classroom activity. Coloring aids the development of fine motor skills, reduces stress, and provides creative expression. Quiver builds on this by using 3D augmented reality to bring flat coloring pages to life. Through interactive features, narrations, facts, and quizzes, we've extended the Quiver experience, introducing educational themes that will both engage and excite students, and complement classroom lessons.

Do you have an exciting project?

We collaborate with all sorts of creative people to develop leading-edge AR solutions. The possibilities are endless, and we'd love to explore some of them with you - to give you a taste of what is possible click on the "Learn more" button below to see a few projects we've worked on.

Sign up to receive updates. You won't want to miss out on any of our exciting new products.

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QuiverVision are world leading Augmented Reality specialists with a focus on cutting edge color technology, providing high quality engaging experiences for all ages for some of the most recognisable brands in the world.

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digital assignments in classroom-good info

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digital assignments in classroom-good info

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Don’t miss out on one of the BEST things about blended learning and managing assignments online! Save yourself valuable instructional time and that oh so elusive teacher sanity by packaging your assignments so that students have EVERYTHING they need in one place.

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As teachers become more and more accustomed to using New Google Sites as their website platform of choice, it's important to not forget that our students can easily use this essential application for their projects as well. Since relaunching Google Sites in 2016, I have seen Sites being used as a Website Platform, Newsletter, Flipped Classroom Tool, and so much more. In this weeks video tutorial, we take a look at some of the basic concepts that you should be teaching your students when it comes to getting a New Google Site created and published. For additional video tutorials, please subscribe to our TeacherCast YouTube Channel and join almost 10,000 subscribers today!

In this post, I'll show you:

How to create a New Google Site

At the moment the quickest way to create a website using New Google Sites is to point your browser directly to https://sites.google.com/new. From this point, you will see all of your other New Google Sites. Click on the plus button on the bottom right to start a New Google Site project.

Another way to start your Google Sites project is to start from Google Drive and click on NEW - Google Sites.

How to create and customize a page header

To change your page header, click on the text box and adjust your text as needed. You can use the blue circles to adjust the width of any text box or object in Google Sites.

How to add text to your website

There are two ways to add text to your Google Site. The first way is to click on the TEXT button on the upper right. The second way is to double-click anywhere on the canvas (webpage) and click TEXT. From this point, you can type inside of your text box and move the box where you want on the page.

How to add images to your website

There are several ways to add images to your Google Site. One of them is to simply drag an image from your desktop onto your canvas. Another way is to click on an image in Chrome and drag it into the canvas. Both of these methods will work fine. In this example, we will use the IMAGE option on the top right and locate an image from our Google Drive or Google Photos.

How to add Google Docs, Sheets, Slides etc... to your website

As long as you adjust your sharing permissions on your Google Docs (Sheets, Slides, etc...) beyond "Private," you can embed any type of Google File onto your website. One way to embed your Google Doc is to click on the Google Application name on the right-hand menu. This will then bring up a menu in reverse order from the items you last viewed. The reality of this section is that it is nothing more than a filter for whatever application you are interested in embedding. The quickest way to embed anything from Google is to simply copy the URL and while inside of Google Sites click the paste button (Control or Command - V) and it will automatically be inserted into your canvas. Remember to open your sharing permissions or else your site visitors will not be able to see your item.

How to add additional editors to your Google Site

When adding additional editors, you must make sure you are clicking on the proper settings. It is very easy to create a website that allows your end user (site-visitor) to access the edit version of your site. To add a collaborator, first, click on the "little person" icon on the top of the window.

Next, you can invite individual users (email addresses) to become contributors to the website (allow them to edit) by adding their emails in the text box.

If you click on the "Draft" section, you will see the traditional Google Sharing Settings menu that allows you to open or close your website to the public. My strong suggestion is to NOT mess with this section. If you set this part to ON, it means that anyone who visits your website has the ability to !

If you click on the second section in the above picture "Published" you will see a new series of options where you can publish your website, but only allow a certain user or group of users see the published version.

How to publish your website

When you have finished your website and ready for prime time, click on the blue Publish button on the top left. From this menu, you can create a unique URL for your site. It is important to note that after publishing, you can always go back and change your website as many times as you wish. The public will only see the update once you hit the Publish button an additional time.

Share your New Google Sites with us!

This year, I will have the privilege of working with hundreds of teachers in my district and across the country on their Google Sites projects. I would love to see what you are doing with New Google Sites? Please share some comments below and leave us a link or two to showcase on future blog posts.

For more information and additional resources, please check out our Google Sites handbook today!

About the author, Jeffrey

Jeff Bradbury, creator of TeacherCast, and father of the famous @EduTriplets is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology at Westwood Regional School District. Thanks for checking out TeacherCast today. Please take a moment to find me on all of my Social Media channels!

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How to Teach Your Students "New" Google Sites - TeacherCast

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As teachers become more and more accustomed to using New Google Sites as their website platform of choice, it's important to not forget that our students can easily use this essential application for their projects as well. Since relaunching Google Sites in 2016, I have seen Sites being used as a Website Platform, Newsletter, Flipped Classroom Tool, and so much more.

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Matt and Kasey share some of their favorite Google Docs tips and tricks! Learn from us and share your own too.

Google News and Updates (6:07)

Featured Content (13:08)

Matt's favorite Docs tips and tricks:

Kasey's favorite Docs tips and tricks:

Resources

Google Teacher Tribe Mailbag (29:20)

On The Blogs (34:00)

Ready for some summer PD? Do you want to travel and help other teachers learn how to use Google Apps in their classroom? Do you want to get your foot in the door as a consultant, trainer, or present at national conferences? Want to make a little extra cash in summer training teachers?

This is the e-course you have been waiting for-the course to help you on your journey to becoming a Google for Education Certified Trainer!

Becoming a Google Certified Trainer was one of the best decisions I ever made, and it transformed my learning and my career! This self-paced, e-course includes EVERYTHING you need to know to pass the Trainer Skills Assessment AND complete the application requirements, including:

30+ Video Lessons (including the archive)

Private Google+ Community

The Ultimate Google Certified Trainer Planner and Checklist

VIP BONUSES!

Tips & Tricks

7 Hours PD Credit (certificate and badge!)

and much more!

Watch the videos on this page to learn more about the process and this course.
(Please note: This course does NOT include preparation for Level 1 and 2. I am working on a new set of courses to support this here.)

Ask questions or share your feedback

Please Connect with Us

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which we have an affiliate relationship. We may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links

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Our Favorite Google Docs Tips & Tricks - GTT017 - Google Teacher Tribe Podcast

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Matt and Kasey share some of their favorite Google Docs tips and tricks! Learn from us and share your own too. Google News and Updates (6:07) Featured Content (13:08) Matt's favorite Docs tips and tricks: Kasey's favorite Docs tips and tricks: Resources Google Teacher Tribe Mailbag (29:20) On The Blogs (34:00) Ready for some summer PD?

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Flashcards on index cards can be useful, but creating them can be a drag. Plus, there's the trouble of carrying them around.

What if students could create flashcards as a CLASS, keeping only the best ones to use for practice?

Oh, and what if they added their own IMAGES to those flashcards?

That's at the heart of Flashcard Factory by Pear Deck, a neat FREE tool to let students "crowdsource" the flashcards they'll use to study.

Check out this tutorial video, which walks you through the steps ...

Create the list of terms

Invite students to collaborate

Collect student images and example sentences

Vote for the best ones

Create a Quizlet flashcard set with what students created

Add the flashcard set to Google Classroom

Skip forward to the times below to see any idea in particular:

1:02 - Start by going to Pear Deck

1:27 - Create a new vocabulary list

2:35 - Launch the Flashcard Factory

4:00 - Students create flashcards in the Flashcard Factory

6:00 - Go to "Quality Control" to approve/reject student images and example sentences.

7:25 - Export your set to Quizlet

8:44 - Why this is great ...
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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Create flashcards WITH students with Flashcard Factory

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Flashcards on index cards can be useful, but creating them can be a drag. Plus, there's the trouble of carrying them around. What if students could create flashcards as a CLASS, keeping only the best ones to use for practice? Oh, and what if they added their own IMAGES to those flashcards?

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Posters. Advertisements. Graphic organizers. Comic strips. Image annotations. Flyers.

Google Drawings is like your digital poster board - or a big digital piece of paper. When students use it to create something with what they've learned, some very cool - and very memorable - learning can happen.

The basics of Google Drawings are in plain sight: add lines, shapes, text and images to your drawing. Edit and move them until they're perfect.

However, some of the best features aren't as easy to spot - unless you know what you're looking for!

This post introduces you to five of my favorite features of Google Drawings that you may have missed.

Use these timestamps to skip forward to certain parts when you play it in the video above ...

OR, you can just watch it on YouTube (click here).

1:19 - 1. Use lines to arrange items on the page perfectly.

2:52 - 2. Insert a video in a Google Drawing

4:10 - 3. Insert pre-designed diagrams.

5:46 - BONUS: Resize the canvas by grabbing the corner.

6:48 - 4. Add a gradient background.

7:27 - 5. Use word art to make titles stand out.

10:45 - BONUS: My favorite keyboard shortcut to use with Google Drawings!
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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5 Google Drawings features you (probably) don't know about

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Posters. Advertisements. Graphic organizers. Comic strips. Image annotations. Flyers. Google Drawings is like your digital poster board - or a big digital piece of paper. When students use it to create something with what they've learned, some very cool - and very memorable - learning can happen.

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Welcome to the a new world of technology integration. This class will expose students to the skills they will need in the modern workforce as well as prepare them for jobs that have not yet been invented yet.

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Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird...it's a plane...it's Google Slides!

Google News and Updates

During episode 24 Matt and Kasey made it known that sometimes there just aren't many if any updates to speak of. No sooner did they utter those words and Google went crazy with a number updates!

Featured Content

Google Slides is a cornerstone application of G Suite and recently Google added a number of features to improve functionality and usability. Some of the features mentioned were long-time requests by users like you and others were bonus add-ons that were unexpected.

Slides now features Google Keep integration

New Add-ons...

Unsplash - Every Unsplash photo is high-res and completely free to use for commercial and personal purposes.

Adobe Stock

Shutter Stock

the Noun Project

Pear Deck

Features...

Linked Slides

Slide Sorter

Insert Diagrams

Skip Slides (during presentation)

Apps Scripts

Resources
Official Google blog post announcing Slides updates
Google Teacher Tribe Mailbag

Dena Dellere (@DDellere) tweeted about her use of Google Classroom for a recent technology-related in-service at her school in Oklahoma. "Each topic is a Session."

Using GC for 17-18 Tech Inservice. Each topic is a Session. Genius idea from our Business T to clear GC clutter. #gttribe #OklaEd

- Dena Dellere (@DDellere) October 5, 2017

Sam Mora, via SpeakPipe, from Arizona, uses Screencastify and is looking for a way to blur sensitive information in the videos she creates.

Christina Smith Rivera, from Colorado, works with teams of Student TechXperts. Her students provide PD for students and staff members at the school. She is looking for ways to connect her student tech leaders with other groups throughout the United States.

On The Blogs

Ask questions or share your feedback

Please Connect with Us

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which we have an affiliate relationship. We may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links

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Google Slides Gains New Superpowers - GTT025 - Google Teacher Tribe Podcast

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Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird...it's a plane...it's Google Slides! Google News and Updates During episode 24 Matt and Kasey made it known that sometimes there just aren't many if any updates to speak of. No sooner did they utter those words and Google went crazy with a number updates!

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For years (centuries ... really, millennia), students have had access to paper. And with that, they've been able to gather their ideas and turn them into static, two-dimensional images.

To put those images in motion ... well, that's been trickier over time.

Technology made that possible with the creation of animation software. (Although who never tried making flip-book animation in the corner of their notebooks while bored in class???)

Animation software can be expensive and tricky to learn.

Here's the great thing ...
You don't need animation software today.
You just need a free digital tool that everyone has access to.

Google Slides. (Yes, PowerPoint and other slide presentation tools will work, too.)

With a few steps and some creativity, Google Slides can become a powerful animation tool that most students -- little to big -- can wield.
In this post you'll see ...

how to create stop motion animation with Google Slides

how students can present it to each other (or a larger audience online)

how it can be used in the classroom

some cool example animations

This is cool! How do I do it?

Basically, you're going to create a slide. Then duplicate it and move something. Then duplicate that new slide and move something.

Over and over and over again. When you're done, you'll flip through the slides quickly and it'll look like your creation is in motion!

Want to watch the whole thing in video? I created this great tutorial video that will walk you through the whole process (below).

Or, if you're short on time and want to cut to the chase, t he step-by-step is below the video!

0:45 -- Create your slide animation

9:20 -- Ways students can present their animations

18:07 -- Bitmoji in slides animations

20:05 -- Draw your own images for animations

23:00 -- Examples from the classroom
1. Start out by creating a blank Google Slides presentation.
(Trust me ... if you've never done this before, you'll want to create one while I show you the steps. It's fun.)

(Go ahead ... click here to create a new Slides presentation ... I'll wait here 'til you're done ...)

See, that was easy, wasn't it? No loss of life or limb, even!

I like to clear all the stuff off my slide to have a blank canvas. You can use the "Layout" button in the toolbar (when you don't have anything selected).
2. Start designing the first slide.
Your animation will consist of LOTS of slides, but the hardest part is creating the first one. This will be the basis of the entire animation.

Create your first slide. Use whatever you need: shapes, lines, text, images ... whatever!

I created my first slide (below) out of lines and shapes.

(Note that line is three points wide (thickness) and NOT a three-point arc in basketball.) (Sorry ... dad joke ... can't help it!)
3. Duplicate your first slide.
When you have your first slide designed, the hardest step in the whole process is over!

Right click (or two-finger tap with a Mac laptop or Chromebook) the thumbnail of the first slide. Then choose "duplicate slide."
4. Move something on the second slide to start the animation.
Decide what you're going to animate. You'll start your animation by moving the object(s) slightly in the direction you want to animate it/them.

The more you move that object, the bigger the object "jumps" each time you advance to the next slide in your animation.

Bigger "jumps" mean less slides and faster animation.

Smaller "jumps" mean more slides and smoother, slower animation.

For this animation, I selected the person in my slide and did a big "jump" by hitting the right arrow key about three times.
5. Duplicate your second slide.
Same deal as before. Once you're done with that second slide, right-click it and duplicate it.
6. Repeat this process over and over again until your animation is complete.
Wash, rinse, repeat. It takes as long as it takes to finish your animation ... you decide!

Note: When you duplicate slides, make sure you ONLY duplicate the last slide. For the animation to look right, that's the only one you can modify, too. If you realize you need to change something in a previous slide, you'd better delete all of the slides after it and start them over.

But how can I make my animation even cooler?

Ooh, this is where it gets fun. Here are a few ideas:
Get creative with the characters you create.
Notice that I was just moving my character slowly to the right -- and that his arms and legs weren't moving.

I started moving his arms to make it look like he was waving ...
Add some text with the speech bubble callout.
Characters can interact with each other in animations, too!

You can use the callouts under the shapes tool to add speech bubbles and thought bubbles.

However, if you only put a speech bubble on ONE slide, you'll probably advance past it quickly. That makes it hard to read the text the character is saying.

Here's a trick:

Start with the speech bubble on one slide. Duplicate the slide.

Add one word. Duplicate the slide.

Add the next word. Duplicate the slide.

Here's an even BETTER trick:

Want to add a dramatic pause? Put a couple (or more) duplicate slides in without changing ANYTHING on them.

When you're advancing your slides to create your animation, you'll keep clicking through slides ... but nothing will change. It's a way to build in a pause without having to stop clicking.
Add images.
Many of my examples are heavy on shapes, lines and text. But you can pull regular images -- photos, clipart, icons, whatever -- into your slides as well!

In fact, there's a type of image that is SUPER fun to add to slides animation.
Do you even ... Bitmoji?
Creating a Bitmoji ( bitmoji.com) cartoon character of yourself to add to slides animations is a lot of fun.

Students could create their own Bitmojis, too. Know this, though:

Terms of use says users should be 12 or older.

There are some inappropriate Bitmoji images.

An alternative for younger students:

​Create a Bitmoji account.

Design the character to look like some of your students (skin tone, hair, other features).

Download some Bitmojis they might like to use and save them in a shared Google Drive folder. (Create the folder, put the images in it, click the "Share" button to get a link to that folder and make sure anyone with the link has access to it.)

Change the appearance of the character so it looks like other students.

Download some Bitmojis.

Continue until all students have Bitmojis that look like them.

Give students access to the folders through Google Classroom or your learning management system (Canvas, Schoology, etc.).

It's kind of time-consuming, but it can be SO much fun -- and if you do it once, it's taken care of for the rest of the year. Plus, this means everyone is within Terms of Service ... you're the only user of the app (not the students), and once the images are created, students that use them aren't considered users.
Draw the images for your animation.
Use a sketching tool like the Paper app by FiftyThree for the iPad or Adobe Draw or Procreate. Sketch your images there and use them to move across the screen!

I drew these sketches to incorporate in a presentation I did on Google Slides. Notice that there are only three versions of my character: one where the front foot is raised, one where the back foot is raised, and standing. It took three sketches to do this whole animation ...

(Apparently, the standing one didn't make it in the image ... oops! Just know that he walks on the screen and then stops and stands.)

Great! We have animations. What do we do with them?

You have a few presentation options. Let's go from easy to geeky ...
Option 1: Have students present to each other on their own devices.

Students finish their animations.

They partner up.

They press the "Present" button on their devices.

They flip through their slides as someone else watches.

Easy peasy. Very little prep and VERY low learning curve.

It can get much cooler, though ...
Option 2: Create a video of the animation with a screen recording.
By taking a video recording of the screen while students flip through their animations, they can capture their animations more permanently -- AND add voice narrations!

Any kind of screen recording tool will work, and there are lots of options.

My favorite tool to do this is Screencastify ( screencastify.com). It's an extension for the Google Chrome browser. The free version has LOTS of good features.

Plus, you can upload videos directly to Google Drive. (That's the money shot, if you ask me!) From there, students can turn work in to Google Classroom or a learning management system with just a few clicks.

A one-click install will put a Screencastify button in your Chrome extensions in the top right corner of your Chrome browser. (Might make sure that students are able to download it, too, before making big plans.)

Once it's there, you can start recording videos of their screens. One option: have students work in pairs with one flipping through slides and another reading a script ... Screencastify can record your microphone!

Before students start recording, here's how I would set up the slides for recording ...
Click the dropdown arrow next to the "Present" button. Present with "Presenter view" and then close the speaker notes window.
Why? This displays the slides in full in the space below your web address bar and bookmarks in your web browser. If you're using Google Chrome, this also means you still have access to your Chrome extensions, which is perfect for using a screencasting tool like Screencastify.

Present in presenter view (and close the speaker notes). Start recording. Flip through the slides to animate them. Narrate with voice if desired.

NINJA TRICK: If you add a webcam video of yourself to your screencast using Screencastify, you can move the webcam video around during recording. That's a nice option to keep it from covering up something important. However, you can have some fun with it ... use it to add yourself into the video! Move the webcam video into the video and point to something in the video OR talk to the characters in the video. Extra creativity!

When you're done, click that Screencastify extension icon in the top right of your browser again. There's an option to pause or stop the recording. Stop the recording and it immediately starts to upload to Google Drive or YouTube (you choose).

Once the video is done and uploaded, you can display the video OR share it online with a link, through Google Classroom or in many other ways.
Option 3: Have Google Slides auto-advance slides for you
To this point, we've only talked about advancing slides with the arrow keys or the space bar. However, if you want to automate that -- and make sure the animation advances at a uniform speed -- it's possible!

You'll create a published link to the slides and adjust the speed for auto-advancing slides.

First, go to File > Publish to the web ... and click the blue "Publish" button. (Don't worry ... doing this won't mean you'll have random strangers show up in your file because you "published" it. It just makes it easier to display and share with others.)

You'll copy the link for sharing that it gives you. Paste it into a new browser tab, but before you hit "enter" to load it, do the following:

At the end of the link/URL, you'll notice it says "delayms=3000". (Your number might be different.) You can adjust that number -- the lower the number (amount of time between slides in milliseconds), the faster the slides advance.

Try a number and see how fast the animation moves. If it's too slow or too fast, adjust the number and hit "enter" to load the page again. Once you have it how you like it, you can copy that modified link and share it however or wherever you'd like.

Wow, amazing! How can I use this in class?

There are SO MANY potential uses for slides animation.

History and English/language arts: Retell a story or an event from history by animating the characters.

Math: Show how you'd work a problem by moving the numbers around on the screen.

Science: Show the processes or concepts you're studying in motion.

PE: Show strategy or rules for sports you're studying. OR, take a burst of consecutive photos while performing a sport and add them to slides to animate those photos.

Here's an example slides animation from history (click here to open the Google Slides file): the start of the Battle of Little Big Horn. This one is pretty rudimentary, but by doing that, it can be created pretty quickly. This one was done in a matter of minutes!

Here's an example from science (click here to open the Google Slides file): Students in Chris Baker's science classes were learning, among other things, the sodium potassium pump that has to do with muscle contraction. They animated the whole process start to finish, and it looks pretty good!

This video isn't by a student, but it's a fun example of what's possible with slides animation!

The sky is the limit with Google Slides animation!
How could you use animation in your class? If your students have done it, how did it go? Do you have any advice -- or links to student work? Please add a comment below and tell us! For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events: Contact us by e-mail!

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Learning in motion: EASY stop-motion animation with Google Slides

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For years (centuries ... really, millennia), students have had access to paper. And with that, they've been able to gather their ideas and turn them into static, two-dimensional images. To put those images in motion ... well, that's been trickier over time. Technology made that possible with the creation of animation software.

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Maps are a fundamental part of everyday life. Even if we don't pull paper maps out of our car glove compartments anymore, we still rely on GPS and digital directions.

Without maps, we're lost.

With maps, we can clearly see how widespread or concentrated our data and content is.

Maps touch practically every content area and grade level.

MyMaps, a somewhat unnoticed app in the Google Apps suite, lets students create their own highly customized maps to share with others and display. (Teachers and schools can create them, too!)

Below is an example - a MyMaps map I created with everywhere I've presented this year (as of the publication of this post) ...

The connections to curriculum are innumerable. Students can create their own maps displaying all sorts of content. In this post, I'll list 20 ways to engage students in content with MyMaps. But first, here are some of the app's finer points:

Drop pins anywhere on a global map

Add pins from a search in the search box

Add information to pins (title, description, photos, etc.)

Choose the kind of pin you'd like (by color or different icons)

Draw lines or shapes over maps to help viewers interpret content easier

Adding pins to different layers let you organize and turn certain locations on and off

Create maps by importing data (Google support page with instructions)

Zoom to the view you prefer and set it as your default view

Share maps via link or embed them in a website

Want to see it in action? Check out this tutorial walk-through video I created on YouTube:

Wondering how you might use this in your class? Here are some ideas ...

1. Important locations in a historical event - Have students plot locations on a MyMap, filling in additional details as well as historic or current photos and links to more information.

2. Setting of a novel, short story or other literary work - Where was the story set? Instead of dropping a single pin there, plot the different locations that show up throughout the story.

3. Calculate rate of travel - As students learn about calculating distance/rate/time, have them choose locations and calculate the travel time to get there. They can add pins to those locations and show their work in the description of the pin.

4. Create a map-based timeline with layers - Studying content over time? Have students plot events or locations of each decade (or year or century) in a different layer. When viewing, you can turn off all layers except one to see that time period ... or see all of them together with all layers turned on.

5. Plot locations with certain environments - Seeing locations with different climates and vegetation can be clearer with a MyMap. Students can add pins of different locations with pictures and description of how they're different.

6. Log important or historic locations in an area being studied - Studying a certain location? Before digging into your content, have students do some preliminary Internet research and create a MyMap with their findings. They'll be better prepared for your unit of study!

7. Turn statistics into a visual aid - Looking at the top 50 cities for obesity or fitness? Studying population statistics? Add that data to the description. Then use the "individual styles" option on the layer you're editing to make the pin's color change based on the data.

8. Map where alumni are going to college (or have graduated) - Show how far from home students are studying, have studied or will be studying with a MyMap.

9. Provide parents with an interactive map for a field trip - Give parents clear, interactive information about your trip with a MyMap. Plus, they can click the "Directions to here" button right from your map!

10. Display locations with WiFi in a school district - If not every student has Internet at home, provide a map of locations with free WiFi in the district.

11. Make a pinboard of locations where your class has Skyped - Does your class do Mystery Skype games? Use Google Hangouts to provide virtual guest speakers or field trips? Create a MyMap of all the locations you've video called.

12. Log locations where political candidates have visited - Want to see who's campaigning where? Create a layer for each candidate and pin the locations where they've stumped.

13. Identify locations where animal species live - Animal units get a whole different dimension when students can see where they live. Add details and photos to those pins, too.

14. Create map layers with different forms of government - Create a layer for each type of government, and add pins to those layers to see where the democracies, monarchies, oligarchies, etc. are.

15. Take standard mapping activities to the next level - Do you already do some form of mapping activity? Find ways that the MyMaps features listed above could take it to the next level.

16. Display where students' families live - As you're getting to know new students, pin their home locations on a map. It will give insight into the most-represented and least-represented areas of your district that you might miss otherwise.

17. Make a map of where authors you've studied are from - Pin their hometowns. Add biographical information, other books, etc. in the description as well as photos of the author and/or covers of their books.

18. Map how words are different in different locations - Is it a lift or an elevator? An apartment or a flat? In Spanish, is the word for "peanut" cacahuate, cacahuete or maní? Create a word usage map.

19. Create a map with locations of school sports opponents - Athetics departments can provide a great service to parents with a map of other schools. Parents can get directions or contact information.

20. Map where former Olympians of the sport you're studying are from - Studying a sport in physical education? See where Olympians of that sport are from or where that sport is popular by creating a MyMap.
BONUS MATERIAL: For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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20 ways Google MyMaps can enhance lessons in any class

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Maps are a fundamental part of everyday life. Even if we don't pull paper maps out of our car glove compartments anymore, we still rely on GPS and digital directions. Without maps, we're lost. With maps, we can clearly see how widespread or concentrated our data and content is.

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Green Screen Magic
Janet Corder and Joan Gore

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This video by Jonathan Wylie gives an introduction to the use of the DoInk Green screen app on an iPad

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Google Drawings is the hidden gem in the core G Suite tools for education.

Everyone is familiar with Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets. They correlate nicely with the Microsoft Office products we used for years and years.
Google Drawings doesn't fit into a nice, neat box like that.
Here it is in a nutshell:

Google Drawings is like a digital posterboard. (Or a big digital sheet of paper.) It has a few things you can add: text, images, shapes and lines. That's it, which makes the Google Drawings learning curve pretty low for students.

When you're done with Drawings, you can go to File > Download as ... to save the file as an image file (JPEG or PNG) or a PDF file.

This powerful tool has lots of potential! In this post, I'll show you:

Some of the sneaky features you might not know about

How students can create with it

How students can collaborate and think with it

What can you do with Drawings?

Plenty! Just by clicking and playing around with the main elements mentioned above gives you a pretty basic idea of what it can do. It's pretty intuitive; you and your students will get a grasp of it pretty quickly.

There are a handful of features that take Google Drawings to the next level:

Equal size: When you create text, images or shapes, it's easy to make sure they're the same size. While resizing, these blue bracket lines show you which items are the same size horizontally or vertically.

Equal spacing: Distributing everything equally makes your creations look nice and neat. The blue bracket lines also show you when spacing between items is equal.

Centering and lining up: That's what the red lines are for. As you move something around on the page, they'll show you what it's centered with or what it's lined up with on the edge.

Other sneaky features on Google Drawings:

The nudge. When you click on something and move it with your arrow keys, that moves it five pixels at a time. (Let's call that "the scoot" - scooting it over five pixels is a bit of a jump.) If you want to move something more precisely, use "the nudge". Hold in shift while you move with the arrow keys. That moves one pixel at a time. Very handy!

Resize everything. When you highlight multiple items on the screen, you can resize them all at once. Say you have nine rectangles and you want to resize all of them equally. Highlight them all and use the little squares on the corners or edges to resize them all.
If you want to resize everything proportionately, hold the shift key while you resize.

Line everything up equally. Highlight multiple items on your screen and use the following commands:

Arrange > Align vertically to line everything up top to bottom

Arrange > Align horizontally to line everything up side to side

Arrange > Center on page to bring your items to the midline of the drawing

Arrange > Distribute to make the spacing between items equal

Add images responsibly. When you add images with a laptop or Chromebook using Insert > Image > Search, you'll find images that Google has identified that can generally be used publicly. They're labeled "for commercial reuse with modification" and include Creative Commons images, images in the public domain and others. You still may want to verify you're using the image, ethically, though. Here are some details on that in a Google support page.

How can students use it to create?

There's so much potential here. Because Google Drawings is like a blank slate, the possibilities for classroom implementation are limitless!

Idea 1: Interactive, multimedia posters.

Give the old poster project a new twist. Create them in Google Drawings instead. The benefits:

Trade in markers for cool fonts

Quit cutting pictures out of magazines and start adding digital images (see above)

No glue sticks to put things on your poster

No glitter mess all over your room!

The biggest benefit: You can add clickable links to these posters. Link to video, audio, images and interactive websites to make your poster an interactive, multimedia one.
Click here to see a post full of ideas about Google Drawings interactive posters.
Idea 2: Eye-catching infographics

They're really easy to create with Google Drawings, and they can put a fun twist on gathering information and presenting it in your class.

Instead of doing a traditional essay or research report, consider creating an infographic instead!

Some hints for kicking them up to the next level:

Use icons. TheNounProject.com has tons of icons you can use to illustrate your ideas in an infographic. Download the icon, give appropriate attribution and place it in your graphic.

Add lines. I've started getting more and more creative with how I break up content with lines. In the button panel below (left to right), you can change the color of your line, change its size (width), change the type of line and change the start and end of the line. Sometimes, I'll add a four-pixel line next to a two-pixel line. Other times, I'll make a really big, bold, 24-pixel line. If you want to make lines bigger than that, create a rectangle shape and stretch it to the size of line you want.

Stick to a couple fonts. Many times, I'll only use two or three fonts in an infographic: a big, bold one for headlines, a simple, easy-to-read one for text, and maybe a third to spice things up.

Click here to see a post full of ideas on creating infographics with Google Drawings.
Idea 3: Timeline projects

But timelines can be a drag. They can lead to very one-dimensional, shallow thinking.

Unless we kick the learning up a notch!

Google Drawings can be a great medium for creating timelines. We can even increase the depth of knowledge and level of thinking in these activities.

Start with a big, long horizontal line. That's your timeline. Use lines and text to connect new ideas, and even add images, icons and other illustrations.
Click here for more ideas for creating great timeline activities that promote deeper thinking.
How can students use it to collaborate and think?

The great thing about Google Drawings - and most Google products - is the ability to share. Use the blue "Share" button in the top right corner to give other people access to your drawings. Then they can jump in and view it, comment on it and/or edit it (depending on the sharing settings you create).

Idea 4: Do brain-friendly visual notetaking

Our brains also tend to remember more when we connect different types of input - and a powerful combination is verbal and visual input. That means combining words and images. It's sticky learning at its best!

Google Drawings are made for visual notetaking:

Pull in images with an image search inside Google Drawings.

Draw things out with your mouse, touchpad or a touchscreen laptop/Chromebook with the scribble tool (found in the dropdown menu for the line tool)

Bring in icons from TheNounProject.com (like we did in infographics)

Draw something on paper and take a picture of it with your webcam using Insert > Image > Take a snapshot

Students can collaborate on their visual notes as well. (Two brains are better than one!) Just have students share a Google Drawing with their classmates and they can both work in the same digital space.
Click here to see a post full of ideas on creating infographics with Google Drawings.
Idea 5: Encourage deep thinking with graphic organizers

Many times, students need a little guidance in walking through a deep thought process. They're capable of doing deep thinking if we provide some concrete steps.

That's what makes graphic organizers great.

Google Drawings is a natural spot for creating and using graphic organizers. Use shapes, text boxes and lines to draw out your own graphic organizers.

When you're done, share them with your students! There are a couple ways:

Share them via Google Classroom. Attach them to an assignment and choose the "Make a copy for each student" option in the dropdown menu to the right of the attachment. That way, each student will have his/her own copy of the graphic organizer to write on.

Use the /copy trick. When you get a link to a Google document, slide presentation or something else, often the URL has "/edit" at the end. Try this: delete the word edit (and anything else after it) and type the word "copy" instead. It'll change from this:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/169dDturzudjUhhGfQZc8SuazlhPTJYhq6r7qs8D_vIo/edit
... to this:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/169dDturzudjUhhGfQZc8SuazlhPTJYhq6r7qs8D_vIo/copy
When students call up the second link with the word copy in it, it'll prompt them to make a copy of the file.

Share a "view" link with them. Click the "Share" button and click "Get shareable link". Choose "Anyone with the link can view." Give students that link and ask them to go to File > Make a copy. That will make a copy into their own Google Drives.

Don't want to make your own graphic organizers? I have you covered. I've created more than 15 graphic organizers in Google Drawings that you can copy and use. That way, you don't have to reinvent the wheel!
Click here to see all of those Google Drawings graphic organizers and how to make your own.
Lots more ideas!

Looking for more ways to use Google Drawings? Click here for a post called "10 engaging Google Drawings activities for classes." It includes:

Photo comic strips

Interactive white board

Digital manipulatives

Annotating images

Add and pass activity

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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The Google Drawings Manifesto for Teachers

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Google Drawings is the hidden gem in the core G Suite tools for education. Everyone is familiar with Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets. They correlate nicely with the Microsoft Office products we used for years and years. Google Drawings doesn't fit into a nice, neat box like that.

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For years, educators have been using Google Forms to gather data, assess learning and create fun techy learning experiences.

Recently, Google Forms got a facelift, and even more recently, it added some new features. These features make some new things possible in the classroom, and they make some things easier - and prettier - than before.

Here are some of the changes and what you can do with them in class. If you've used Google Forms before, please keep your favorite uses of Forms in mind and add them as a comment at the end of the post!

1. Hustle through student responses to quizzes, assignments and surveys. Responses in Google Forms are much easier to review now. Before, you could view them in a spreadsheet or see a brief summary of them. Now they're all gathered right in the form editor under the "responses" tab. You can now view a summary of answers (all in one place ... nice!) OR click through each individual response.

You can still view results in spreadsheet view. However, as I learned on Twitter from Google guru Alice Keeler, Forms won't automatically create a spreadsheet for you like it did. You'll have to click the little green spreadsheet icon to create one now.

2. Get an email when students submit forms. Before, to see whether there were new submissions to a form, you had to go into the form (or the spreadsheet of results) and check. Now, you can opt to have Forms email you with new submissions.

This is GREAT for infrequently-used forms, and it's GREAT to turn on after most of your student submissions have come in. I would NOT turn it on right before giving a quiz or test in Forms. Your inbox will be flooded!

CLASSROOM USE IDEA: Create a "late work submission" form. Since Google Classroom (and other assignment collection options) won't notify you when late work comes in, a form for that (with email notifications on) would notify you! It's great for absent students, too.
Click here to get a copy of a late work submission form that you can save to your own Google Drive and use!
3. Use add-ons and scripts. This was possible with the old Google Forms, but it was just added with new Google Forms. Add-ons and scripts let you add new functions to your Google Forms for your specific needs. They're available by clicking the three dots in the top right and clicking "Get add-ons ..." or "Script editor ...".

Unless you write code or have some to copy into a form, you probably won't use the script editor.

ANYONE can use add-ons, though, and there are a few that are really useful in education. I'll show you one here and one later.

CLASSROOM USE IDEA: Add math equations to Google Forms with the g(Math) add-on.

Click the three dots in the top right and choose, "Get add-ons ...".

Find the g(Math) add-on by searching or clicking on its icon.

Click the "free" button and install it.

Click the puzzle piece icon in the top right and choose "g(Math) for Forms".

Choose which type of entry you want. (At first, if you're not sure, experiment. If you don't like what you create, you can always delete it!)

Add all the details you need. It will add an image to your question!

4. Make sharp-looking forms with templates and themes. If you're not exactly sure how you want to make a form, there might be one already created for you. Forms has a library of templates you can choose from as soon as you load it up.

PRO TIP: Type "forms.google.com" in your browser to get to forms quickly. (In the past, you had to go to Drive and click "New" and "Google Forms.")

Some of the templates available:

Contact information (users submit their name, address, email, etc.)

T-shirt sign up (users give their name, t-shirt size, etc.)

Exit ticket (students say what they learned, whether they were prepared, and what would have made the lesson more effective)

Assessment (students fill in their name/email and answer quiz questions that you add)

Worksheet (students fill in their name/email and answer questions that you add)

Course evaluation (students fill in class name and instructor and rate the course in various areas ... this one is a good example of how a multiple choice grid works!)

Once you choose a template, you can customize it however you'd like (i.e. add text, images, videos, different kinds of questions, etc.).

Customize your forms by clicking the paint palette in the top right. Choose a color for color scheme or click the photo icon in the bottom right to choose a theme. Themes provide colors and images for forms. You can also upload your own photo to create a theme.

OTHER USES OF FORMS: In a recent reader survey, many people said they wanted to better understand Forms and how it could be used in the classroom. The following ideas were possible in the old Google Forms and are still available in new Google Forms.

5. Create and grade a quiz or test with Flubaroo. Host your quizzes, tests and other assessments digitally with Google Forms. Then, with responses in a spreadsheet, autograde the closed-ended questions (multiple choice, true false, matching) with Flubaroo, an add-on for educators using Google Forms.

Create your quiz in a Google Form (from scratch or using one of the templates). If you want to email results to students later, make sure you make a short-answer question called "Email".

Click the eye icon in the top right to view the assessment. Fill it in with all the correct answers and use the words "ANSWER KEY" as the name. Submit it with the button at the bottom.

Deliver your quiz to your students:

Use the "send" button to get a link to the assessment that you can give students

Use the "send" button to email a link to students

Add the form to an assignment in Google Classroom

When students have taken the assessment, click the "responses" tab and click the green spreadsheet button to see responses.

Go to that spreadsheet and click "Add-ons > Get add-ons ...". Search for Flubaroo and add it. (If you already have Flubaroo installed, you won't need this step.

Go to "Add-ons > Flubaroo > Enable Flubaroo for this sheet".

Go to "Add-ons > Flubaroo > Grade assignment".

Use the drop-down menus to tell Flubaroo what to do with each question. Click "Continue."

Choose the answer key you created earlier. (This will be easy if you made the name "ANSWER KEY"!)

Flubaroo will create a grading report for you with student scores and more.

Get more information about Flubaroo and its advanced features at the Flubaroo website.

6. Create a place for you to store quick grades. When students completed simple assignments for me, sometimes I would walk around the room, quickly grade their assignments on the students' desks and write a grade on them. Instead of collecting those assignments, I wanted a place where I could store those grades to transfer to my gradebook later.

I created a Google Form with all of my students' names on them. As I walked around the room, I had the form loaded on my iPad. I put each student's scores into that form. Later, I pulled up the responses and transferred them to the grade book.
Here's an example form of what that might look like that you can copy into your Drive!
7. Create a digital sign-out sheet. Need an easy way to track students as they leave and return to your class? Create a Google Form where they log their name and their destination, as well as whether they're leaving or returning. In the spreadsheet view, it will time stamp their submission, so they won't need to write the time. (That way, the return time can't be fudged to make it look like they weren't gone as long as they were!)
Here's an example form of what that might look like that you can copy into your Drive!
8. Create a flipped classroom assessment. The flipped classroom comes in many different shapes and sizes, but many teachers have students watch a video and then answer some comprehension questions afterward. This is easily done in Google Forms.

Create a form. Add a YouTube video (click the icon to the right of the form with the triangle "play" button).
Note: You can also add a link to a website, an image, etc. ... whatever content you want to deliver to students.

Add questions afterward to gauge their understanding.

Deliver the form to students:

Use the "send" button to get a link to the assessment that you can give students

Use the "send" button to email a link to students

Add the form to an assignment in Google Classroom

Here's what a form like that would look like when students loaded it. Here's an example form that you can copy into your Drive!
9. Make a Choose Your Own Adventure activity. By using branching (the "go to section based on answer" choice in the three-dots menu in a multiple-choice question), you can create fun Choose Your Own Adventure Story-type activities. Create them for your students or let students create their own!

Here's a screencast video tutorial I created a while ago to show you how it works. The basics are still there, although the video shows how to do it with the old Google Forms.
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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For years, educators have been using Google Forms to gather data, assess learning and create fun techy learning experiences. Recently, Google Forms got a facelift, and even more recently, it added some new features. These features make some new things possible in the classroom, and they make some things easier - and prettier - than before.

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Flip is where social and emotional learning happens! The leading video discussion platform for millions of PreK to PhD educators, students, and families.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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space exploration article idea-lesson plan

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space exploration article idea-lesson plan

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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By Joe Marquez

Amalgamation of APPsmashing Awesomeness

One of my favorite extracurricular activities is finding ways to APPsmash multiple GSuite Tools to produce a collaborative, creative, student centered lesson. APPsmashing is a way to bring in multiple tools, such as Google Docs, Google Slides, and other Google friendly apps and meld them together to create an amalgamation of awesomeness.

One such lesson that I love to implement multiple times a year is my "One Pager" activity. In this activity I assign 3 to 4 current/relevant articles to my students from sites such as NewsELA, and ask students to independently annotate the articles to dig deep into the meaning of the text.

This annotation can be done through pencil and paper, or entirely in a Google Doc using add-ons such as "Web-Paint" or "Highlight Tools".

Once the annotation process is complete the students move on to the "One-Pager" Google Doc to collect their thoughts and summations of the article. As the students complete this "One-Pager" they gather into groups of 3 with other students who also read the same article.

In a group setting, the students then discuss their findings, difference, and similarities in what the article was trying to convey. During this discussion students realize that even though they were reading the same text, many of their takeaways from the article could be completely different.

Once the articles are discussed, the group then creates a Google Slide presentation/lesson on their findings. By allowing the students to share this document and work collaboratively, each student's point of view will be heard and the lesson will be created in a student's authentic voice.

Once the collaboration process is complete the students need to practice their presentation, but how can this be done effectively so they can critique themselves on their delivery?

Screencasting, as I have discovered, is the best way to go. By getting the Google Chrome extension "Screencastify" students can record their screen and voice, then watch their presentation to make adjustments to slides, timing of delivery, and the addition of more visual resources.

Once the students are happy with their presentation, we add another layer of awesomeness by turning the Google Slide into an interactive lesson via Nearpod.

By using the Google Chrome extension "Nearpodize" we can, in one click, transform our static lesson into an interactive presentation. Through Nearpod we can add questions, videos, drawing activities and more with the simple click of a button.

Now the students are not just listening to a presentation, they are becoming part of the lesson. Through this "One-Pager" activity we are actively cultivating the idea that students can become the creators of content, all the while participating in a fun, collaborative, creative process.

In preparing for this lesson we have to remember, as educators using multimedia and technology is a great addition to traditional methods, but all technology should be looked at through the goals and achievements you have in mind for your students.

Going digital does not mean to go 100% paperless, it only means to begin to leverage the digital techniques our digital natives are already using outside the classroom walls. Many educators will continue to point out studies that show pencil and paper allow for more measurable growth.

These studies may show writing notes to be more effective than typing notes, but that is not what we are doing here. In fact the integration of integrated/manipulatable/hands on technology use is still in its infancy and studies are just beginning.

Data is hard to gather based on the many variables at play with technology use such as the tools being used, who is teaching/implementing the technology in the classroom, and the activity being studied. Blended learning is the best model to look at when implementing technology into the classroom.

Correct use of technology in the classroom allows for the instructor to make the learning more meaningful by allowing their students to interact with the lesson, not just consume it. It allows the students to become creators of content, not just a passive audience.

When used correctly, technology can become a powerful tool to enhance and empower student growth. Anything new will cause pause in our community, but remember no one ever became a leader by following the status quo, and you can't be a leader if there is no one following you.

About the author : Joe Marquez

Joe Marquez is a passionate educator who loves nothing more than to discover new ways to motivate and engage his 8th grade science students. His focus is not on ways educators teach their kids, but rather on new ways they can better reach their kids.

Technology has been the spark which has ignited his exploration into next generation educational technology and pushed him into becoming a leader and technology coach for the Clovis Unified School District.

His innovating spirit, outgoing attitude and outrageous personality has earned him the coveted titles of Certified Google Innovator, Certified Google Trainer, Prezi Educational Society member, PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator, Nearpod PioNEAR and Trainer, Remind Connected Educator and Advisory Board Member, Quiver Ambassador, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Common Sense Certified Educator and Ambassador, and CUE Rockstar Teacher Faculty.

Recently Joe was the recipient of the CVCUE Educator of the Year Award, the prestigious Clovis Unified Crystal Award and keynote speaker at the California Teachers Summit in 2015 and 2106.

Joe is also an adjunct Professor for the Fresno Pacific University Educational Technology Master's Program and guest instructor for the Fresno State Teacher Track Academy.

View his blog at www.SonsOfTechnology.com

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By Joe Marquez Amalgamation of APPsmashing Awesomeness One of my favorite extracurricular activities is finding ways to APPsmash multiple GSuite Tools to produce a collaborative, creative, student centered lesson. APPsmashing is a way to bring in multiple tools, such as Google Docs, Google Slides, and other Google friendly apps and meld them together to create an amalgamation of awesomeness.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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John Spencer

Posted on January 1, 2018

My daughter looks up from her cereal and says, "You know what day I can't wait for?"

"Um, your birthday?"

She shakes her head.

"Next Christmas?"

She shakes her head again and then says, "The first day back to school. I can't wait to see my friends and my teacher. I don't know what projects we're going to do but I know it's going to be awesome."

She's right. It will be awesome because her teacher is always trying new projects. She is always taking creative risks and my daughter is excited to be there as a result.

It has me thinking of a brilliant blog post that A.J. Juliani wrote last year, imploring teachers to use the new year as a reboot to take new creative risks.So, with that in mind, I'm going to share a few of my own thoughts on creative risks teachers can take with the start of a new year.

If you enjoy this blog but you'd like to listen to it on the go, just click on the audio below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple Podcasts (ideal for iOS users) or Google Play and Stitcher (ideal for Android users)

http://www.spencerauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Creative-Risks.mp3

In less than a week, I will get to work with a new cohort of pre-service teachers. They will have wild ideas they want to try out. Crazy concepts of epic projects that put students in the driver's seat. But, over time, many of them will learn to push those ideas aside. They'll be in placements where they have scripted curriculum and the pressure to get students passing the standardized tests. They'll worry that their ideas won't work. What about classroom management? What about parents? What will administrators think?

They will say things like, "Once I'm established, I can innovate but for now, I need to work on classroom management" or "I'll think about transforming practice after I've had a few years under my belt." Years will go by and they'll wait for the permission that never comes until eventually, those ideas seem like a distant memory - a relic of an idealistic new teacher.

But there will be other new teachers who aren't afraid to play the new teacher card. They'll take those wild ideas and turn them into reality. True, there will be bumps and bruises and skinned knees along the way - but they'll get back up and try again, pushing through iterations until they have something awesome.

But the fear won't go away. Not completely. Because, truth be told, innovation is scary. And yet, when I observe classrooms where students are becoming problem-solvers and creative thinkers, there is always a common element with the teachers. They take risks. They experiment. They realize that fail-ure is permanent, but fail-ing is a part of the learning process. They know that creative risk-taking is exactly that: a risk. It might work. It might fail.

But they also know that the greatest risk occurs when they teach out of fear and fail to innovate in their own practice. So, with that in mind, I want to explore some ways that we, as educators, can take with students. Many of these are ideas that I attempted with my students. However, I have also interviewed some of the best teachers I know and asked them to contribute some ideas.

The following are ten different creative risks you can take with your students this year. Note that many of these ideas connect to a free download that you can check out as well.

#1: Get Started with Student Blogging

Thematic blogs are blogs based on a student's interests, passions, and ideas. It could be a foodie blog, a sports blog, a fashion blog, a science blog, or a history blog. They choose the topic and the audience. It's a great way for students to practice writing in different genres (persuasive, functional, informational/expository, narrative) with specific blog topics they choose. They can also add multimedia components, like slideshows, pictures, videos, and audio.

Think of all the blogs out there that people actually make outside of school. That's what you want students to create. It's their chance to participate in the global blogging community by tapping into their own expertise and interests. If you're interested in getting started, I have included things like sentence stems and other student handouts that might be helpful as you begin the process. You can check it out in the free student blogging toolkit.

If you don't have the best technology in your classroom, but you do have a projector or interactive whiteboard, consider doing visual writing prompts with a picture or a video. The idea here is to choose high-interest ideas that get students excited about writing. Here's an example of a writing prompt you could do to get students excited about writing. You can download a whole set of them here.

#2: Do a Wonder Day or Wonder Week Project

This is a fun, easy way to get students engaged in non-fiction reading. I use it as a high-interest way to help students learn the research process. Students begin with the sentence stem, "I'm wondering why/what would/how/if __________" and from there they ask tons of questions. This ultimately leads to research and finally a place where they share what they learned.

For more ideas on how to bring wonder back into the classroom, check out this post.

If you're interested in doing a Wonder Day project, I have the entire unit plan, complete with handouts, lessons, and slideshows available as a free download. There's actually a short version (Wonder Day) and a longer version (Wonder Week).

#3: Give Sketch-Noting a Chance

I find it sad that so many kids start out loving to draw but as they get older, they grow insecure. Suddenly, sketching is something that only "real" artists do. This is part of why I love sketch-noting. It doesn't have to be pretty. You can use stick figures and doodles as long as you are getting your ideas out in a visual method. If you're interested in learning more, there's a great guide created by Kathy Shrock.

#4: Launch a Design Thinking Project

Design thinking is a flexible process for getting the most out of the creative process. It is used in the arts, in engineering, in the corporate world, at universities, and in social and civic spaces. You can use it in every subject with every age group. It works when creating digital content or when building things with duct tape and cardboard. It can even be used in planning events or in designing services. So, the idea here is that you are providing a meaningful structure to help students design a product that they will launch to an authentic audience. The following video helps explain the process:

your students can engage in inquiry, research, ideating, and prototyping. They will do something creative - and they'll remember it forever. If you're interested in trying design thinking, I have included the Create a Sport Challenge and the Tiny House Project (math-related) in the free Design Thinking Toolkit.

#5: Carve Out Time for a Genius Hour

Genius Hour (also called 20% Time) is a chance for students to engage in an inquiry-driven, independent project. They own the entire learning process, from the concept to the questions, to the research, to the project management to the ultimate final product. Here's a quick video description of what Genius Hour looks like:

Here's a video you can use with your students. Note that you can get a free copy of both videos (in case YouTube is blocked at your school) in the Genius Hour resources.

#6: Try Out a Divergent Thinking Mini-Project

Another option is a divergent thinking mini-project. This is built around the idea of creative constraint, where students have to design a product that fits into the specific items that you have given them to use. You can download the full project here.

#7: Have Students Create Sketch Videos
Level One: Flipbook Style (Very Easy)
I love the idea of making ideas visual and sketchnoting is one of the strategies you can use to help students take complex ideas and convey them in a way that is visual and concrete. But I also love taking it to the next level by having students craft short sketchnote videos that convey an idea, concept, or process. So, it might be something like life cycles or how a bill becomes a law. There are four layers of sketchnote videos that work well, ranging from easiest to hardest.
Level Two: Stop Motion (Fairly Easy)
Here, students create multiple pages with a sketch and a core idea. Afterward, one student flips the pages as another student videotapes the pages and a third student reads the script. This is essentially a picture book on video. But if you want to get more complicated and show any kind of movement, check out level two.
Level Three: Whiteboard Videos (Moderately Difficult)
This is the stop animation approach. Students sketch out their ideas and then cut them out. They can then maneuver these ideas with their hands in a video. When they go to film it, one student uses a smartphone while a second student moves the items around. A third student reads a script. Afterward, they can post it online or share it with their teacher.
Level Four: Animated Videos (Very Difficult)
Students start out by storyboarding a concept they've learned throughout the quarter. They then record one member of their group sketching out the ideas in an RSA Animate style with the whiteboard. Next, they speed up the whiteboard drawing, edit out any mistakes, and add an audio layer that they record in iMovie or Movie Maker. It doesn't require a ton of technology, but it does require some creative risk-taking. What I love about this is that you can have multiple students making the videos in small groups and then rotate who edits it on the computer. So, if you have limited student computers, it can still work.

These are the types of videos I enjoy making. They can take hours to make and they require Photoshop. If you're interested in the process, here's a detailed description in a blog post I created after my son spent a full day making his video. This is the video he created. I think it's pretty awesome. Then again, I'm his dad, so that's par for the course, right?

If you're interested in doing sketchnote videos, you can find more detailed instructions along with a few sample videos right here.

#8: Do a Maker Monday

Maker Monday begins with a simple premise. Spend the first part of the day engaged in hands-on creative work. It might seem small, but it slowly leads to a maker mindset, where students learn to think like designers, engineers, architects, artists, and problem-solvers.

A Maker Monday could involve maker centers, where students do Scratch projects, cardboard prototyping, circuitry, and multimedia works. This works well when you don't have a class set of specific materials but you want students to be exposed to each maker activity. You might take students to a makerspace or you could have a mobile makerspace that you share with other members of your grade level.

Another option would be a maker challenge, where the entire class works on the same maker-related project, engaging in rapid prototyping as soon as possible. The idea here is that students make something with physical products that they are upcycling - often duct tape, cardboard, and plastic. Here's one that's a little more math and science related:

You can download a free maker project here.

#9: Create Scratch Video Games Together

Think back to your childhood. Now, imagine making your own video game from scratch. Imagine if you could have created your own Frogger or Duck Hunt or Super Mario. It would have been epic, right?

That's the concept behind Scratch. I just introduced Scratch to my own kids. My daughter got really into the creating variations of Pong. My middle son has started making his own visuals and designing more in-depth games.

If you haven't checked it out before, go take a look at Scratch. It's a way to teach logic and programming through the use of blocks that students use to manipulate objects. Students can start out small by following the directions to create a Pong game. Afterward, you can encourage them to move on to a place where they hack the game and make it their own. Then, you can have them set up their own games that they truly design.

If you're interested in launching a Scratch video game, check out the site and start with the Pong game. I also have instructions on how I taught Scratch (the three phases) with middle school as well as a list of 8 lessons I learned along the way.

#10: Skype with an Author

This is something I never actually did with my students. However, I had the opportunity to Skype in with students who were reading Wendell the World's Worst Wizard (a book I co-wrote with my wife). The experience was awesome. It was so cool to see the questions that students came up with as they interviewed me.

Some of the biggest creative risks you can take have nothing to do with an epic new project. These are the deeply relational things you do as a teacher that model risk-taking in a way that can almost feel vulnerable:

Apologize. I know that doesn't feel like a big deal but it's often a huge deal for students when a teacher admits his or her faults. It helps create a classroom culture where people are open about their faults and willing to grow and improve. In other words, it's your chance to model a growth mindset.

Ask students to evaluate you. Create student surveys that elicit feedback and then share the results with your students along with what you will be doing in order to refine your instruction. This is a way to say, "I'm not afraid to hear critical feedback. In fact, I'm trying to design my instruction from a place of empathy."

Share your creative journey. Tell students what you are doing on your own personal Genius Hour. Let them see your passion and interest in creativity.

Share your epic fails along the way. Let students know that even experts struggle and make mistakes. Help them see that this is all part of the journey.

Ultimately, the most powerful creative element in the classroom is the teacher. You have the power to inspire students to take creative risks by modeling the process and being open and even vulnerable about your journey. You also have the power to create epic learning experiences that encourage students to take creative risks. So, in 2018, I would encourage you to choose one big creative risk and make it happen.

What creative risk are you planning to take with your students this year?

Share in the comments below.

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10 Creative Risks to Take with Students This Year

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John Spencer Posted on January 1, 2018 My daughter looks up from her cereal and says, "You know what day I can't wait for?" "Um, your birthday?" She shakes her head. "Next Christmas?" She shakes her head again and then says, "The first day back to school.

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Ed Tech

This post is co-authored by Ditch That Textbook's Matt Miller and Laura Steinbrink. Laura is a high school English teacher and tech coach from Plato, Missouri. Check out her blog, Rockin' the Boat, at rockintheboat.wordpress.com.

If you are like me (Laura), you are constantly searching for a new, fresh activity to help connect your students with your content.

Time is always a factor though, so I look for things I can immediately implement without spending a lot of my time preparing it, and I want it to be a relatively quick activity for my students too.

If that sounds like you, then Matt and I have you covered! We have four activities that are similar, involve different levels of thinking, and will keep your students engaged.

I (Laura) am a big believer in spacing out my use of a tool or activity so that I am not pounding students with the same thing every day, week, and beyond. If you use the same type of activity over and over again, your students may soon hate the tool -- and you may, too!

Google Slides and Google Drawings are amazing and among our favorite tools. Here are the four activities to keep your students out of " not this again " mode. They can be used as a bell ringer, exit ticket, a demonstration of learning, or more.

NOTE: Which one do you pick -- Google Slides or Google Drawings? Honestly, there's not much difference between them, and for this activity, you could probably use either. Here are the main differences, so you know which fits best for you:

Google Drawings: Like a digital poster board or paper. Made for just one image. If everything you plan to do goes on one image/slide, Google Drawings is great.

Google Slides: Made for having multiple slides in one presentation. (Think: a stack of posters or papers.) If you want to have multiple separate images in one place, use Slides and put each one on a different slide.

For the purposes of this blog post, we'll use the term "Google Drawing," but know that you can use Google Slides, too.

While these activities don't have to be done in this order, it does make it easier for the students if you do implement them in order.

Activity 1: Annotate

PRO TIP: Want to set students up with a specific image? Instead of having them create the Google Drawing, I (Matt) would create one myself and add the image you want them to use. Then I'd attach that Drawing to a Google Classroom assignment and choose "Make a copy for each student." That eliminates some steps and gets students right to work.

Add text boxes next to the arrows to describe what the arrows are pointing to. This is where students will show what they know, what they find interesting, etc. You'll want to change the background color of the text box if it's transparent (use the paint bucket icon at the top after you've clicked on the text box).
PRO TIP: Instead of using arrows and text boxes in the step above, use an arrow shape! Go to "Insert" and "Shape" and "Arrows" and add one you like. Double-click the arrow to add text to it. It can add some visual appeal AND the background is already a solid color (white) so it's not transparent and doesn't blend into the image!

When they're done, have students turn the image in to you via Google Classroom (or however you collect digital work).

WHY THIS WORKS: It's basic constructivism! Constructivism, at its core, says that students make meaning of something new when they're able to construct it in their minds. What better way to construct meaning than to make something that shows what your brain is thinking?

Annotate template (As an example ... maybe best having students add their own text and arrows instead of using this as a template.)

Activity 2: Caption This!

Understanding different viewpoints is also a great way to delve deeply into a topic. When students can take the place of the person in the image, it helps them see what's happening in a whole new light.

Select a picture that either introduces your current lesson focus or is key to your subject for the lesson and let students caption it. You can add the image to a Google Drawing and share it with students through Classroom (see the first "pro tip" in Activity 1 above). OR, you can have students create a new Google Drawing and add the image themselves.

Add a thought bubble or speech bubble. Give students a prompt for filling in the bubble, or give them freedom!

When they're done, have students turn the image in to you via Google Classroom (or however you collect digital work).

WHY THIS WORKS: This activity requires more critical thinking than the first. By taking the character's perspective, students make an inference (deduce or conclude from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements). Inferring is on the second level of Webb's Depth of Knowledge (skill/concept). We're adding more critical thinking here!

Caption This Template (Replace the image with one for your lesson and edit the directions.)

Activity 3: Caption This & Comment

In this third activity, we add a twist. Not only do students think or speak for the person in the photo, they also give that person advice.

Have students complete Activity 2 above with an image and a caption in a speech/thought bubble.

OPTION 1: Students write advice they would give the person in the image. (Adding emojis or Bitmojis to their response is encouraged! If you use the Google Chrome browser and need a way to add emojis, I (Matt) like the Emoji for Google Chrome extension.)
Extra advice from Laura: You could have a Bitmoji or an Emoji face/sticker give advice to the character in the picture. The Bitmoji can be without text if the student will add a text box and create the text. The Bitmoji or Emoji sticker must give advice, not just an agreeing type of commentary.

OPTION 2: Students explain their thinking by describing why they wrote what they did in the speech/thought bubble (like the "Washington Crossing the Delaware" example above ... except with possibly more intellectual quotes in the bubbles!).

When they're done, have students turn the image in to you via Google Classroom (or however you collect digital work).

WHY THIS WORKS: We continue to build to higher levels of critical thinking. "Draw conclusions" and "develop a logical argument" are examples of the third level of Webb's Depth of Knowledge (strategic thinking).

Caption This & Comment Template (Replace the image with one for your lesson and edit the directions.)

Activity 4: Picture This and Take a Stance

Let's take our students another step further into learning. Now, instead of asking students to write a quote, let's start with a quote!

Find a quote from your content or a character/historical figure and add it in a speech/thought bubble to a Google Drawing. Share it with students via Google Classroom (see Activity 1 pro tip above) or have students create a Google Drawing with the quote you provide.

Students add a picture that illustrates the quote. They can find an image using "Insert" and "Image" and "Search the web."

Students explain the scene. (If using Google Slides, students can use the speaker notes. You may need to discuss the speaker's notes section if they have never used it before. If using Google Drawings, students can add a text box or a shape at the bottom of the image for typing text to explain the scene.) ​

Once they have added their explanation of the scene, then they form an opinion/take a stance and write about their opinion/stance. You can even ask students to add a Bitmoji, avatar, emoji or other image that represents how they feel. and have it take a stance. (Note: Some Bitmoji images are inappropriate for younger children. You might want to use emojis instead OR just download some Bitmoji images in a Google Drive folder you can share with students.)

When they're done, have students turn the image in to you via Google Classroom (or however you collect digital work).

WHY THIS WORKS: Giving students time to reflect about what they've learned, form opinions about it and explain/defend those opinions helps them to own and retain new material. Plus, they're still doing critical thinking on the third level of Webb's Depth of Knowledge (strategic thinking).

Picture This & Take a Stance Template (Replace the image with one for your lesson and edit the directions.)

BONUS: A math example!

So often, I (Matt) work with math teachers in trainings that wonder how activities like these could be used in the math classroom.

A "Caption This!" activity could have great benefits in the math classroom! Seeing how students think through a math problem can give great insight into how well they understand certain concepts.

Plus, if they can express their feelings about certain types of problems -- and help us understand which parts they don't get -- this can help us as teachers help them more clearly.

After working a problem, students can take a picture of it with their webcam using the Alice Keeler Webcam Snapshot extension for Google Chrome. Insert that image into the Google Drawing and add description, thoughts and reflections on top.
How could you use this in your class? What changes would you make to it? Please leave your thoughts in a comment below!

Ready to take your tech skills -- and student learning -- to another level?

Sign up for Tech to Learn online course!

©2020 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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Caption This! A fun, deep-thinking Google Drawings activity - Ditch That Textbook

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This post is co-authored by Ditch That Textbook's Matt Miller and Laura Steinbrink. Laura is a high school English teacher and tech coach from Plato, Missouri. Check out her blog, Rockin' the Boat, at rockintheboat.wordpress.com. If you are like me (Laura), you are constantly searching for a new, fresh activity to help connect your students with [...]

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chromebook crash course-excellent tools from Ditch that textbook

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chromebook crash course-excellent tools from Ditch that textbook

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The Flipgrid Explorer Series brings professionals in a variety of fields into your classroom for an engaging and fun experience! In addition to connecting your class with learners around the world, the Explorer Series will challenge your students to think differently about the world around them and inspire new opportunities and career possibilities!

If you haven't participated in a Flipgrid Explorer Series yet, check out Beth Mistretta's experience or simply hop into one of our previous Series: Code, Nature, Brains, Fossils, Raptors, and our very first Flipgrid Explorer Series, Antarctica. For more information, read on!

Each Explorer Series spans two weeks and starts with an introductory Topic leading up to the Series to get students thinking about the subject. Upon commencement, there's daily and weekly content for your students:

Every day the Explorer shares new content in a Journal Topic

Each week there's a Discussion Topic for students to add their voices

Throughout the Series, students are encouraged to share questions with the Explorer in a Q&A Topic

The series then ends with a Reflection Topic for students to share their learning

Some teachers incorporate the material directly into their curriculum while others offer the Series as an additional opportunity beyond classroom content. True to our nature, we welcome you to adapt the Explorer Series however you'd like and you're welcome to have your students hop on the Grid whenever it's convenient for you (the beauty of asynchronous video).

We're working on the 2018 Explorer Series right now and here's what we have lined up for you so far (check back here for updates throughout the year):

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Connect your Students with Professionals through the Flipgrid Explorer Series 🔍

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The Flipgrid Explorer Series brings professionals in a variety of fields into your classroom for an engaging and fun experience! In addition to connecting your class with learners around the world, the Explorer Series will challenge your students to think differently about the world around them and

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all digital ideas in one place- great resource

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all digital ideas in one place- great resource

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Voki   After you have created your Voki: 1.  Publish your Voki  Haiku WikiProject  Embed and Link into a Haiku WikiProject      Google Sites Embed your Voki into your Google Site  A. In Edit mode in Google sites, click Insert, then More gadgets     	  B. Search for embed gadget, then select Em...

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Digital Educator 8B Reflection on the ISTE Standards for Teachers (To make a copy go to File - Make a copy) Assess your areas of strengths and needs corresponding to the ISTE Standards for Administrators 	 ISTE Standard Strength Need for Growth Action Plan 1. Facilitate and inspire studen...

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easy word map site

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Popplet is the best app for sharing visual ideas.

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My students have one-to-one computers in all classrooms and access to Blogger accounts through our school's Google for Education domain. If your school does not have access, students can still create Blogger accounts using their G-mail.

The blog is the background of the year-long game I have set up for my students. This reflective practice is important to me and the students as a way to increase the writing skills and stamina they will need during their lives. It also prompts them to think back on what they learned and the journey they have taken so far. Finally, if done electronically, it helps build a positive digital footprint. I even tell the students, "How powerful would it be that a prospective employer 20 years from now finds this type of record of you as a reflective learner, instead of the collection of funny cat videos you now have!"

Blogging also addresses all Common Core writing standards. Not only do they provide a natural opportunity to write for extended periods of time (W.7.10), but they have to defend their claims with supporting evidence (W.7.1), write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information (W.7.2), and produce clear and coherent writing (W.7.4). Blog writing is, in a way, the obvious choice for W.7.6 - "Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources". I invite you to take a peek into some of my students' blogs: Gradvs, Smadvs, Esadvs, Mnadvs.

As the students are working on their blog, I circulate the room to ensure that all are working on the blog and not on finding pictures for it.

During this time, I also introduce the "screens to listening height" command. This means that screens are down to approximately 30 degrees, and fingers are off keyboards. When I do it for the first time, I don't actually tell them to do anything, I simply lower my screen and a couple of others, and the rest of the class gets the idea rapidly.

Since the screen is a powerful distractor, and I have noticed that if screens are up the students will not actually listen to what I have to say, I use this command often when the students are working on the laptops and I need to get the attention of the whole class.

About ten minutes before the end of class, I have students wrap-up their thoughts and save their work since most of them are not done. At this point I share a Google form in order to collect their blog addresses. The form gives me a spreadsheet with all their names and addresses, so they don't even have to do anything to turn their weekly blog in. They just have to write it and I can visit their blog at the end of each week to grade it/award points.

Once they have submitted their URL, they are dismissed by tables to put their computers away.

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Enter the Blog: Reflective Writing In Science

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Reflective writing is a means of turning 'surface' learning into 'deep' learning. It allows students to link ideas, explore their motives and analyze events. Plan your 60 minutes lesson in Science or Science Skills with helpful tips from Mariana Garcia Serrato

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Module 2 Lesson 1: text, images, music, video | Glogster EDU - Interactive multimedia posters

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See the Glog! Module 2 Lesson 1: text, images, music, video | Glogster EDU - Interactive multimedia posters

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Curate resources using explore on google drive.webm

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YouTube Information YouTube Help Captions and Transcripts  Captioning YouTube Videos Youtube.com/upload Adding YouTube Video to Google Site Screencast tools Screencast O matic Screencastify - for Chrome Movenote - example of Movenote Jing Webinaria CamStudio  Screencasting Resources Check out th...

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Module 5: Curation & Creation  5.B Activity: Curating Resources Your webmix/bookmarks must include a minimum of six Web 2.0 tools, including at least: four multimedia resources one of which must be a screencasting tool. See below for examples of sources for images, music, and video Consider resea...