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Set clear expectations at the beginning of Distance Learning. This was created by Laura Evans prior to using FlipGrid, Padlet, or any other virtual website.

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ELL Best Practices Suggestions from EL Coaches

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ELL Best Practices Suggestions from EL Coaches

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Copy of Distance Learning Summer School Best Practices

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Laura Evans created this Screencastify video to introduce her students to a new unit in her Spanish class.

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Cindy Harte designed this. We each personalized it. We would send it out with our weekly email to students and parents asking them to print and tape in their study area. We would also copy and paste it within the slideshow at the beginning and end.

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Werner Science 7 Assignment Check-Off List Week of May 4 - May 8.docx

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Social Science 7 - Age of Exploration Weekly Assignment

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Social Science 7 - Age of Exploration Weekly Assignment

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Megan shared how students were given their weekly assignment for the week.  This included answering questions to film clips students would be watching. Megan also created a Screencastify video to help explain this assignment to students. Here is the link to the video: https://bit.ly/32AJLBD

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Copy of Distance Learning Week 5: May 18-22, 2020 WOJAN

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Students in Iielita's Photography class had a choice of different projects they could work on during Distance Learning.

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Copy of Project Choices: Digital Photography

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Using the Remind App on your phone to communicate with students and/or parents.

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Using the Remind App on your phone to communicate with students and/or parents.

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Paul Swain shared this assessment he created using Go Formative.

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Christina Hills shared their 8th Gr English Refugee Unit Assignment that is organized with easy access to links for students.

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David Gongwer shared this Google form they use for PE classes to keep students physically active during Distance Learning.

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Google Forms - create and analyze surveys, for free.

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Students in Graham Stewart's Social Science classes practice reciting the Gettysburg Address orally in Flip Grid.

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Flipgrid 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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Instead of a daily check-IN, a Weekly check-IN form can be used to monitor student academic progress and social emotional issues.

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Kate Malone shared how she explained one of the last assignments to her students using Screencastify.

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Copy of Letter to Incoming 7th Graders.webm

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How to Organize Google Classroom Through Distance Learning

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How to Organize Google Classroom Through Distance Learning

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This is how I set up my Google Classroom for remote learning (5 tips)

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Watch this video to hear how to use Flipgrid to engage student responses.

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If we missed any helpful resources along the way, please let us know and we'd be happy to add it to our list.

131+ Tools for Distance Learning

We've scoured the web for helpful apps, tools, and platforms to help you as you set up your distance learning environments during your school closures.

If we've found the organization has announced something confirming COVID-19 supports, we include the link within the description of the tool.

Full Curriculum Coverage Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Thousands of standards-aligned practice questions for grades 6-12. Curriculum coverage of ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, AP, SAT®, ACT®, Regents, STAAR, and Common Core needs. Click here to evaluate Albert for free.

2. ABCmouse: Reading, math, science, art & colors curriculum for ages 2-8. They offer a 30-day trial after you watch their video on their homepage.

3. BrainPOP: Over a 1,000 short animated movies for grades K-12 in all subjects, with quizzes and related materials. You can request free unlimited use of the BrainPOP suite for the duration of your school closure here.

4. CK-12: Free and customizable K-12 open educational resources that are aligned to state curriculum standards.

5. EducationCity: Targeted at grades PreK-6 providing lesson plans, resources and activities. 21-day free trial here.

6. Edulastic: Library of standards-aligned practice questions to create assessments in minutes. They're offering Premium and Enterprise features for free until July 1, 2020. Learn more here.

7. IXL: K-12 curriculum supports for math, language arts, science, stocial studies, spanish, and Common Core. Teachers can start a 30-day trial account here.

8. : 100% free covering a wide range of subjects. Particularly strong in STEM subjects.

9. MobyMax: Targeted towards K-8 teachers providing CCSS-aligned content, assessments, and activities. Free COVID-19 support announcement here.

10. Nearpod: Thousands of customizable lessons with student activities. Request support here.

11. PBS: Free K-12 classroom resources ranging from media galleries, videos, and lesson plans. Create a free account for full features.

Reading or English Language Arts Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Thousands of standards-aligned practice questions for grades 6-12. ELA content is high-interest, evidence-driven, with built-in differentiation. Click here to evaluate Albert for free.

2. Accelerated Reader: Reading quizzes on a variety of books. Requires subscription.

3. ActivelyLearn: Standards-aligned ELA, Science, and Social Studies for promoting students to stop and ask questions. COVID-19 offer here.

4. Book Creator: Lets you create digital books online. Fosters creativity in the classroom for telling stories and more. They're offering 90-days of free access you can start using here.

5. BoomWriter: For grades 2-8. Somewhat similar to Book Creator in that it allows students to create original stories that can be published into softcover books. But also allows teachers to send students engaging fiction and non-fiction and vocabulary exercises.

6. CommonLit: 100% free site that provides a digital lesson library, formative insights, and interim assessments. Features some Spanish materials as well.

7. Epic: Digital library for K-5. There are learning videos and quizzes within as well.

8. Learning Ally: Equitable access to a large library of "human-read" audiobooks, including, curriculum-aligned literature, fiction and nonfiction, and STEM textbooks.

9. MyOn: Digital library of 6,000 titles sorted by grade and Lexile reading level. Requires subscription.

10. Newsela: Leveled readings to build literacy skills. Most require a subscription.

11. ReadWorks: Free content, curriculum, and tools for grades K-12 targeted at building reading comprehension. You can read about their recommendations regarding using the site remotely here.

12. Starfall Reading: Targeted at K-3 for teaching basic English reading and writing skills. Lots of games and phonics. Some features require a subscription.

13. StoryKit: Simple free storybook creation app that allows students to add pictures and recordings with their own voices. Targeted at K-5.

14. ReadTheory: This is an online reading comprehension platform that is completely free for teachers.

Writing Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: 100% free grammar course with over 3,300 original practice questions and explanations. Includes contemporary, informative and engaging texts and aligns to Common Core, Regents, and TEKS standards.

2. Draftin: Simple site that allows you to have students share drafts with easy version controls. Good for those who may not want to use Google Docs and wants to emphasize focus in writing. Has a free version.

3. Grammarly: Free browser extension or desktop tool that detects tone, typos, and helps build cleaner writing skills.

4. Hemingway: Similar to Grammarly, provides annotations to help make student writing bolder and more clear. Free.

5. Quill: Free writing and grammar activities for K-12. Includes lessons for teachers to lead writing instruction as well as diagnostics.

6. Scholastic Story Starters: Tool focused for K-6 to help students brainstorm ideas for writing a fictional story. Prompts for adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi are included.

Math Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Hundreds of free questions and explanations in Foundations of Algebra and Algebra 1. Aligned to Common Core, Regents, and TEKS standards. Albert is providing supports for impacted schools you can learn more about here.

2. Dad's Worksheets: This site provides printable worksheets, online calculators, games and puzzles for free. Targeted for K-6.

3. DeltaMath: Interactive math practice for middle and high school students. Accounts are free for teachers and students.

4. Desmos: Free online graphing calculator that includes digital activities for students from 6th to 12th grade. Teachers can create accounts to assign student activities.

5. Free Math App: A platform where teachers can assign, review, and leave feedback on student work.

6. FunexpectedApps: Targeted for kids 3-7 to develop mathematical thinking. They are offering a pack of free activities and a free desktop version of their app.

7. Geogebra: Online tools for graphing and geometry. Classroom resources and activities are free.

8. Illustrative Mathematics: Free math curriculum and resources for grades K-12 with a focus on creative word problems.

9. LegendsofLearning: 2,000 3rd through 8th-grade math and science games and simulations correlated to state standards. They are offering free access to all premium features for schools closed due to the outbreak for the duration of their closure.

10. Mathigon: An interactive math textbook where students can learn and practice new concepts. Targeted towards high school students.

11. Mathletics: An adaptive, interactive math platform centered on math challenges and quizzes that allow students to "compete" with one another. Schools and home users can try a 30-day free trial.

12. Mathsonline: A collection of math tutorial videos, questions, and summaries. Accounts are required, but students, teachers, and parents can get a free trial.

13. Mathspace: An adaptive mathematics platform including practice questions and interactive textbooks.

14. Myimaths: Math lessons and homework assignments for students ages 11 to 18. Schools can sign up for a 30-day free trial.

15. National Association for the Education of Young Children: Activities that parents and guardians can do with young children (elementary and below) at home.

16. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Resources and activities for student exploration of mathematics.

17. SplashLearn: Game-based math learning program for grades K-5 available on iOS, Android, or Web. They're COVID-19 support announcement can be found here.

18. The Math Learning Center: Free games and activities for students in Pre-K through 6th grade.

19. VirtualNerd: Math video support in middle school, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry.

20. Youcubed: Inspirational math tasks, films, and textbooks to help students develop a growth mindset.

21. Zearn: Digital lessons and printable activities aligned to EngageNY and Eureka Math. Resources are free and targeted towards grades K-5.

Language Learning Distance Learning Tools

1. Duolingo: 100% free language learning. Personalized with immediate grading and gamification. Optional paid subscription to remove ads and get offline access.

2. Fabulingua: Teaches Spanish through magical interactive stories on phones and tablets specifically for kids ages 2-10. FabuLingua is suspending their subscription services and providing their entire platform for free to those impacted.

3. FluentU: Language immersion through real-world videos. 14-day trial is available to sign up for.

4. Fluency Matters: Provides e-courses that include e-books, audiobooks, quizzes, and activities. Typically $3.50/student. They're offering extended 21-day trials. More information here.

5. justlearn: Here you can find a native tutor and online teacher to help you with language learning.

6. TeachVid: Allows you to create language learning content with interactive text reconstruction activities and quizzes

7. English Tools: Over 25 free tools for learning English language learners, including grammar tools, worksheet creation tools, and more.

Science Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Thousands of standards-aligned practice questions for grades 6-12. Science content is high-interest, evidence-driven, with built-in differentiation. Click here to evaluate Albert for free.

2. Discovery Education: Arguably best known for their science textbooks, but also support other STEM subjects. They are providing free access to their materials for the remainder of the school year. Learn more here.

3. Mystery Science: Interactive lessons targeted at K-5 science curriculum that are NGSS-aligned and Common Core aligned. They've made their most popular lessons free here.

4. STEMScopes: K-12 STEM curriculum with digital resources, print materials, and exploration kits. General information of how their online platform can support during this time can be found here.

Computer Science Distance Learning Tools

1. Codecademy: Free basic courses in computer science. Paid subscription optional; subscription unlocks members only content, study-plans, real-world projects and community support.

2. Minecraft Education Edition: Perfect for students to learn problem-solving - free lessons through June 30 with more details here.

3. Penjee: Free site that provides a supportive way to learn your first text-based programming language.

4. Tynker: Coding site targeted for ages 5+. Includes a complete coding curriculum, automatic assessments, and classroom management tools. Google form for COVID-19 supports can be submitted here.

Social Studies Distance Learning Tools

1. Library of Congress: Classroom materials and digital collections for teachers that align to CCSS as well as state standards. Sortable by Common Core, State Content, and Organizations.

2. National Constitution Center: Free online civics learning including the Interactive Constitution and Scholar Exchanges, live virtual interactive conversations about the Constitution.

3. Seterra: Geography games for students. Targeted primarily at grades K-5. Learn more about their free access announcement here.

4. Smithsonian Education: Features a Learning Lab that allows you to build collections and educational experiences for students. Also has a Game Center for younger STEM learners and an extensive library on AMerican history.

5. Stanford's Civic Online Reasoning Curriculum: Provides free lessons and assessments for students to evaluate online information. The Stanford History Education Group provides other history lessons for free here as well.

6. Teaching Tolerance: Site dedicated to providing free resources K-12 for creating civil and inclusive school communities. You can build a learning plan following their guide here.

7. Zinn Education Project: Targeted towards grades 6-12 built off Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Free downloadable lessons and articles you can use based on theme, time period and reading level.

Return to the Table of Contents
Music Learning Distance Learning Tools

1. Cyber Fret: Video based guitar lessons.

2. Metronome: Online metronome.

3. Moosiko: Online practice tool for guitar teachers to help their students learn chords, play songs, and track skills.

4. Ultimate Guitar: World's largest source of guitar tabs.

5. Online Guitar Tuner: Tune your guitar online.

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131 Tools for Distance Learning & Strategies for Student Engagement | Albert Resources

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Has your school closed? We put together a list of 100+ digital and online tools to support distance learning and remote classrooms here.

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I tried to encourage my students to do something fun on Fridays that was not anything related to academics.  This is a virtual book scavenger hunt activity that I did with my students.

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Looking for something FUN to use during your Zoom meetings? How about playing a game of "Would You Rather?" Keep a tally and let kids vote in the Chat.

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Would You Rather Challenge - 25 Hardest Choices Ever - {#4} - Personality Test | Mind Checker

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Some easy ideas to try with your students to have some fun.

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20 Fun Games to Play on Zoom | Easy Virtual Zoom Games for Families

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Kasey Bell is a Google Classroom trainer who TONS of tips and tricks to help you use Google Classroom more efficiently as a teacher.

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Yes! 15 Google Classroom Tips for Teachers!

Google Classroom is one of the most popular digital tools for the K-12 classroom.

Google Classroom has improved vastly over the years, and teachers have learned how to make the most of this flexible assignment manager and communication hub.

I asked the members of the Shake Up Learning community to share with me their favorite Google Classroom tips.

The tips shared by the community are AWESOME!

These are tips are FOR teachers and recommended BY teachers!
Listen to this article.
15 Google Classroom Tips for Teachers

1. Number your assignments!

Numbering your assignments is one of the best tips I ever received. It helps you organize files not only in Classroom but also keep Google Drive neat and tidy.

This tip is also one I recommend in the previous post, 6 Tips for Getting Started with Google Classroom.

2. Use Cntrl + F to Find Numbers and Words in Google Classroom

Even the most organized Classwork page can become quite long after a few weeks of assignments. Use the keyboard shortcut, Control + F (Command + F on a mac), to search for keywords or assignment numbers (as mentioned above) on the page. Teach students this trick, too!

3. Pick an Organizational Strategy for Using Topics

Using the topics feature on the classwork page helps organize assignments for students and teachers. There are several different ways to organize. There are several ways to do this and what works for one teacher doesn't work for all. This is a personal preference for teachers. Choose a strategy that works for your content area and grade level. For ideas, check out this post on How to Organize Assignments in Google Classroom.

4. Create a "Resources" Topic and Keep at the Top of the Classwork Page

Every class needs a place to store resources, links, class rules, syllabus, etc. Mindy Barron suggests you create a special topic for resources and class materials and keep it near the top for easy access. Be sure to name these files clearly so that students know exactly what is there.

5. Create a Google Classroom Class Template

Once you have selected your favorite organization method for Google Classroom (and tested it!) Make a copy of the class as your template. You can continue to make a copy every time you need a new class and already have all of your topics created and organized, and your assignments will be saved as drafts!

To make a copy of a class in Google Classroom: Go to your Google Classroom home, then click on the 3 dots on the class card and select "copy class."

For detailed directions and more tips on this idea, visit How to Create a Class Template in Google Classroom.

6. Use Direct Links to Assignments

Did you know you can get a direct link to a specific assignment? This makes it so easy to refer students back to a particular activity. Just go to the Classwork page, locate the assignment, click on the 3 dots to the right of the assignment and copy the link.

7. Use a Google Doc as a Syllabus (Secondary)

Many teachers use Google Docs to create a syllabus so that it is a living document that can be updated throughout the year. Add links to outside resources, daily assignments, important dates, etc. You can even put links to Google Classroom assignments (see above) to avoid the long search for students. (Thank you to Michael Stroud for sharing this!)

8. Break Projects into Smaller Assignments with Separate Due Dates

Project-based learning is so important, and as we try to move past the static, one-and-done assignments, we have to think differently about how we implement in our classrooms.

Big projects can be overwhelming for students, especially those who haven't learned how to manage their time. It's important to give them milestones and chunk the project into smaller assignments with checkpoints. In fact, that's one of the implementation tips from my book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic.

9. Create a Separate Class for Enrichment and Extension Activities

In my class, finishing your assignment early didn't mean free time or games. For my students, it involved reading and enrichment activities. Consider creating a separate class inside Google Classroom for extension or enrichment activities.

You could even gamify this idea and give digital badges for accomplishing a task or challenge. For other ways to use Google Classroom, check out 20 New Ways to Use Google Classroom.

10. Use Private Comments for Meaningful Feedback and Conversations with Students

One of my favorite features of Google Classroom is the private comment feature. This little tool can help streamline communication with your students and improve the feedback loop. Feedback from teachers is one of the most important factors in student growth!

Private comments are just that-private between you and your student. (No one else can read these.)

Remember to use private comments not just at the end of the assignment, but throughout!

And this doesn't negate the power of face-to-face conversations, but it does help document so students can remember the feedback, as well as give students an opportunity to communicate who do not usually speak in front of the class.

There are a few different places where you can add private comments for students.

To add a private comment from the Student Work page:

1. From the Classwork tab, click on the assignment for which you would like to give feedback.

2. Click on "View Assignment."

3. Select the Student from the roster on the left.

4. Toward the bottom of the right-hand panel, you will see "Add Private Comment."

5. Click to type and add your private comment for your student.

You can also now add private comments using the new grading feature in Google Classroom from inside the student's document.

To add a private comment using the Grading Tool:

1. From the Classwork tab, click on the assignment for which you would like to give feedback.

2. Click on "View Assignment."

3. Click on the student's file that you would like to give feedback.

4. Use the right-hand panel to post a private comment.

Related: 4 Ways to Give Meaningful Feedback in Google Classroom

11. Use Private Comments for Reflection

Some teachers take the private comments feature a step further and make it part of the assignment by requiring that students add a reflection as a private comment after they submit their assignment. Sean Fahey suggests using an open-ended question or give students a prompt like, "What did you like most about the assignment?" or "What part challenged you the most?"

Be sure to add this to your directions, so they don't forget!

Related: Google Classroom Comments: All You Need to Know!

12. Attach a Template Document for Each Assignment.

This tip comes to us from Michelle Baragar. She attaches a blank Google Doc or a template to each assignment as a copy for each student. In Google Classroom, you can view the assignment page and see a thumbnail for each student. This allows you to see progress, or lack thereof, at a glance.

Even if you do not have a template for your assignment, Michelle Baragar suggests attaching a saved black document to use as a template so that you can still get the thumbnail view!

13. Invite Teachers that are Hesitant to Use Google Classroom to Be a Student or Co-Teacher in Your Class.

Not every teacher is on board with Google Classroom. If you work with a teacher who is hesitant or maybe a little technophobic, invite them to join your class as a student or a co-teacher.

I suggest inviting them as a student at first, so they get an idea of how it works before giving them the ability to add and edit your class as a co-teacher. Co-teachers can do everything you can do in a class.

1. Go to the class where you want to add them,

2. Then click on the People tab at the top of the page.

3. To invite as a co-teacher, click on the invite teachers icon and type their name or email address and click Invite.

4. To invite a teacher as a student, click on the invite students icon and type their name or email address and click Invite.

14. Create a demo student account to demonstrate Google Classroom to your students.

Google Classroom doesn't currently offer teachers a way to view their classes as a student. (I wish it did!)
To invite teachers:
So to see your class as a student, you must have a student's account. A workaround, suggested by Julie Sweeney Newton, is to use a demo account and log in as a student so you can see how the student side works and to demonstrate how to use Classroom for your students.

This one may be a little tough to do depending on your school.

If you have access to create Google accounts in your school's domain, this is easy. Most teachers do not have this kind of access.

In that case, reach out to your tech coach or tech support to see if it's possible to get a demo account.

15. Package your Digital Assignments

This tip is a collection of tips to improve how your instructions and package everything students will need into your Google Classroom assignments.

These tips come from a previous post and infographic, How to Package Your Digital Assignments.

Visit the link above to get all the details of each tip!

These are tips that will save you time and save your sanity!

The more information you provide in the assignment, the fewer questions you have to address, and the fewer excuses students have for not having the assignment completed and on time.

What are your favorite Google Classroom Tips? Please share in the comments below.

Learn all about the new updates to Google Classroom and take your skills to the next level. This course will give you everything you need to get started using Google Classroom and best practices to help you make the most of this tool.

Perfect for beginner to intermediate skill levels! Consider this your video guide to Google Classroom!

Learn All About the Course

Who Should Join the Google Classroom Master Class?

Beginners can learn everything they need to get started.

Intermediate level users can focus on learning more advanced features, tips and tricks, and best practices.

Go at your own pace.
Click here to learn more and to ENROLL TODAY!
Let's dig in! This class is for all skill levels!

What's Included in the Google Classroom Master Class?

Self-paced

Video-based lessons

5 BONUS Lessons

PDF Downloads

Supporting Resources

Best Practices and Tips

6 hours of professional learning credit

Purchase orders are accepted

Bulk license discounts

Get your whole team, campus, or district on board

© 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.
Click here to learn more and to ENROLL TODAY!

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I asked the members of the Shake Up Learning community to share with me their favorite Google Classroom tips. The tips shared by the community are AWESOME! These are tips are FOR teachers and BY teachers! Here are 15 Google Classroom Tips for Teachers!

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Use the Talking Points App to communicate with ELL students and parents.  It will translate your messages for you.

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Use the Talking Points App to communicate with ELL students and parents.  It will translate your messages for you.

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TalkingPoints - Reach all your students' families.

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Note: Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you click on these links, at no additional cost to you, Ditch That Textbook may receive a commission from your purchase.
Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge model can help teachers create learning opportunities that hit a variety of complexity levels. It is a framework for evaluating the level of complex thinking required to complete a task.

The four levels of the Depth Of Knowledge framework.

From Now THAT'S a Good Question! by Erik Francis

DOK level 1: Recall. What is the knowledge? Who? What? When? Where?

DOK level 2: Skill/concept. How can the knowledge be used? How can you arrive at the answer?

DOK level 3: Strategic thinking. Why does it happen the way it does? How/why could the knowledge be used?

DOK level 4: Extended thinking. How else could you use the knowledge? What can you design, develop, do with it?

This DOK model provides us with a guide as we develop lessons that create opportunities for complex thinking. And it is a useful tool for evaluating the level of rigor we are adding to our lessons.
But we don't need to be at DOK level 4 all of the time.
In his article Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge to Increase Rigor, Gerald Aungst states, "DOK levels are not sequential. Students need not fully master content with Level 1 tasks before doing Level 2 tasks. In fact, giving students an intriguing Level 3 task can provide context and motivation for engaging in the more routine learning at Levels 1 and 2."

So how do we provide opportunities for students to complete tasks at all DOK levels? And what are the best strategies and activities at each depth of knowledge level?

In a past #Ditchbook chat, we asked the community to share their best strategies or activities to help students at each DOK level. And once again they came through!

Below you will find 30 activities for ANY Depth of Knowledge level. Note that the personalized instruction before, during, and after these activities can take an activity from one level to another. Also, be sure to check out this Wakelet collection to see the entire chat.

30 activities for ANY DOK level

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30 activities for any Depth of Knowledge level

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Webb's Depth of Knowledge model is a useful tool for evaluating our lessons. What are the best strategies or activities to help students at each DOK level? Here are lots of ideas.

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Tanya Werner had the students in her class teach her something. Students became teachers. Password to Flipgrid is Paradise.

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Flipgrid 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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This section provides principles and tips to help you think about teaching online.

We've tried to keep it simple, focusing on the most common teaching practices that are effective in an online environment. We've also developed an overall guide: Designing Your Course for the Fall: Principles and Tips.

Below you'll see general advice, a variety of course types, and additional tips on student engagement. We've broken up the teaching tips according to the common teaching styles (lecture, case, small group discussion, and hands-on). You may want to jump to the section that is most appropriate to your course.

Some General Advice

Platforms and Norms

Focus on the pedagogy, not just the platform: the attributes of a physical classroom don't guarantee that a class is effective or engaging. The same goes for online platforms. Time spent now thinking about how you want to teach using this technology will be time well spent. In particular, we encourage you to think about which of your classroom-teaching strategies translate well to the remote setting, which don't, and what new approaches you might incorporate.

Take advantage of interactivity: online technologies can encourage and facilitate more "lean forward" behaviors than the traditional classroom. Moreover, most students are digital natives who already use remote technology for their own meetings and gatherings. Take advantage of these possibilities. This applies even to courses that are traditionally more lecture-based. For example, as described below, you can increase learner engagement by:

Surfacing questions that learners have around the material

Using polls to get a sense of the aggregate "temperature" of the room

Inviting students' answers on particular questions

Having students engage in small "buzz group" conversations, or

This is an opportunity to innovate: although the online environment removes access to certain modes of teaching, it opens up a number of new possibilities, some of which you may be able to bring back to your physical classroom once the crisis is over. Students are likely to be more forgiving of missteps in a new environment. Take advantage of this difficult time to experiment with new teaching methods and tools.

Expectations

Set classroom norms: if using Zoom to convene your course, circulate clear expectations around behavior. For example, consider customizing the following note in your syllabus (to specify how students should ask questions, whether you want them to Raise Hand, etc.).

Our class will meet through the Zoom online conference system. We will adopt the same rules and norms as in a physical classroom (take notes; participate by asking and answering questions; wear classroom-ready clothing). For everyone's benefit, join the course in a quiet place. Turn on your video. Mute your microphone unless you are speaking. Close browser tabs not required for participating in class. Our success as an online class will depend on the same commitment we all bring to the physical classroom.

Audio matters: use a good headset, perhaps one with an attached microphone.

So do time zones: many students will not be in the same time zone as you. Consider amping up your energy to stimulate theirs. Students who don't attend a session live can be asked to engage in a peer discussion, write an individual response, or simply watch the recording.

Don't expect to master everything on day 1: you will learn (fast). Your students will learn (even faster). You may even want to recognize this fact explicitly with your students, and invite their ideas for how to engage with/structure the technology for your particular course. Invite them to be co-creators around pedagogy.

Accessibility

Students have a range of abilities, and not everyone will disclose: there are likely students in your course with learning or sensory disabilities. They are not required to tell you, and they may not feel comfortable telling anyone. Rather than asking these students to identify themselves to you, employ practices (like those below) that reach a wide variety of learners.

Text is universal: assistive technologies (such as screen readers, magnifiers, etc.) are nearly always designed to work with text. If you send images to your students, include descriptions. If you use video chat such as Zoom, assign someone (ideally a TF) to create a transcript or closed captioning throughout the session.

Some students need additional processing time: don't expect everyone to understand after being told once. Provide transcripts and chat logs for later review. When you show images or videos via screen-share, provide those files for students to download. This will especially help students with dyslexia and other reading impediments.

Select accessible resources: some online resources have already had substantial work done to improve accessibility. Videos produced by HarvardX (available through DART) are captioned, and images have alternative text descriptions included. YouTube allows viewers to suggest caption improvements on many videos. Virtual meetings can be accessible in Zoom due to the available keyboard shortcuts for navigating without a mouse and closed captioning created either by a third party service or a meeting member. Interactive simulations such as the PhET tools are usable by the blind. Check to see whether your resources indicate WCAG AA 2.0/2.1 compliance, or Section 508 compliance.

Be an advocate: if a student does self-identify as needing assistance, help them find it. Start at the university's Accessible Education Office and Disability Resources page.

Take care of your hands: you'll be typing a lot more. Pay attention to your tendons (and your shoulders). Take breaks. This applies to your students as well. Harvard's Environmental Health & Safety group has a self-assessment for computer ergonomics.

Course Types

Lecture-oriented Courses

As you prepare to move your lecture-based course online, one question to consider is whether you want to teach entirely live (synchronously), or create pre-recorded lectures and then reserve the live sessions for more interactive discussions, small group work, or office hours. These aren't necessarily substitutes: the live lecture session can be supplemented with pre- and post-recordings of shorter clips too. The one approach to avoid, however, is a live lecture that leaves little time for student interaction during your presentation. The limitations of the lecture format will be magnified if you do not take advantage of the "lean in learning" possibilities that online technologies allow.

Creating and uploading your materials

Put your slides in a consistent, distributable format (e.g., pdf). To save time, consider pre-made templates, such as SlidesCarnival for Google Sheets and PowerPoint, or Behance for Keynote templates.

Break up your presentation slides: be aware that online, perhaps even more than in the classroom, students will read first and listen second. Consider PowerPoint's "Animation" feature (or equivalent) that allows you to show just a bullet or two at a time.

Pre-recording

The most effective prerecorded lectures can be as engaging as the best live lectures since they can be created with multiple takes, can be edited, and can integrate graphics or animations. They are also less vulnerable to unanticipated bandwidth issues that may arise with live sessions.

If you are creating a pre-recorded lecture in a short time frame, consider a few simple tips.

You don't need to pre-record the entire lecture. Instead, you can pre-record certain segments of your lecture (perhaps some material you want the students to reflect on before class, as homework) and leave the rest to the in-class session. Pre-recording and live needn't be substitutes; they can serve as powerful complements too.

Here are some tips on the various technologies you can use to pre-record your lecture. These are drawn from a post by Prof. William Fisher, Harvard Law School.

Presenting your lecture

Practice (at least once) in advance: in conjunction with your TA, rehearse using the Share Screen and switching among windows you intend to display. If you're using your own laptop, remember to close all the windows you won't be using (particularly personal email, etc.) prior to the class.

Keep your normal pace:just because things are delivered electronically does not mean you should speed up or slow down. Your students will still absorb and process information at the same rate. But you should check in with your students more frequently than you might normally, to make sure that they follow the material and remain engaged (see Additional Tips on Engaging Students).

Be visible:even when using Share Screen, it's good practice to make sure that your face is visible on a side screen while the materials are being displayed - otherwise, engagement can decrease.

Engaging students

Having students listen to a lecture attentively on a small screen can be challenging. Consider taking advantage of various features in Zoom to keep them engaged, such as reflections, Chat, or invited Q&A (using Raise Hand).

Reading the room: unmuted students can inadvertently start talking at the same time, you will not be able to read body language easily, and those less inclined to speak may disappear more easily. To address these issues, be more diligent about pausing and asking if anyone else has more thoughts before jumping to the next topic.

Invite and respond to questions: if your class normally is a large-class lecture format with Q&A, consider inviting students to ask their questions in Chat. (See Additional Tips on Engaging Students.) To help you not having to browse through all the questions in Chat in real-time, your TF/TA can help you by picking a few questions for you to answer at the appropriate moments or, say, every 10-15 minutes. You can also consider asking students to use the Raise Hand feature in case they have an urgent question. (Zoom makes this easier than a standard lecture hall.)

Encourage students to reflect: for example, say "I'd like you to think about ....", take a short pause, and then if appropriate, provide an answer, or solicit answers from the students. Again, the Chat feature can be helpful in having students record their reflections.

Case-based Courses

Several features of small or large case-based courses can transfer well to an online setting since Zoom and other technologies have various interactive features built in. Here are tips to consider when teaching a case-based course:

Calling Patterns

Keep your students in front of you:

Discussion transitions: be sure to state clean, well-defined transitions between discussion topics.

Role plays/debates between students: you can request two students to "role play" a situation like you would in the physical classroom.

Buzz groups: consider giving students more time than you normally would to formulate ideas jointly in one-on-one conversations (perhaps over or in Zoom's ), and then have them share those ideas into the broader discussion.

Checking in/Reading the room: unmuted students can inadvertently start talking at the same time; you will not be able to read body language easily; and those less inclined to speak may disappear more easily. To address these issues, be more diligent about pausing and asking if anyone else has more thoughts before jumping to the next topic.

Board Plans

if you usually do "board work" as part of a class session, you have . Note that if you're accustomed to multiple simultaneous boards you may need to adapt to showing a single screen's worth at a time. from the Bok Center for suggestions.

Closing the Case

Summary slides work as they do in the physical classroom. In addition, though, you might invite students' reflections on the case too (through ). This can be a useful addition in an online setting vis-à-vis the physical classroom - the collective reflections of the class can provide a powerful summary of the discussion. Consider archiving these reflections for the class.

Assessing Participation

In case-based classes, participation is a heavy component of the grade. Student comments can be more easily recorded since Zoom retains a video archive of the entire class.

In an online setting, consider using students' comments and reflections as additional inputs to a student's participation grade, and a supplement to the spoken word. This can help draw in students who may be somewhat quiet in "speaking," and can also help limit frivolous chat. If you decide to use Chat in participation grading, you should be sure to let students know about this norm before you start teaching.

Small Group Discussions

Code review: to meet with an individual or group of students to review code. Authorizing enables one to take control of the other's shared application and allows for navigation, text entry, etc. on the remote computer. When you cannot meet synchronously with a student to provide feedback, consider resources such as , where students can upload their code and you can create revisions to it with comments.

Cold call: you can "cold call" a student just as you would in the traditional classroom, instead of waiting for them to raise their hand.

Keep your students in front of you:

Hands-on Courses

This section will be updated as additional guidance is developed.

Lab courses: one of the biggest challenges of teaching online from anywhere is sustaining the lab components of classes. Since many labs require specific equipment, they are hard to reproduce outside of that physical space. Consider the following as you plan to address lab activities:

Define what the lab should achieve: different lab activities serve different purposes.

Take part of the lab online: many lab activities require students to become familiar with certain procedures, and only physical practice of those processes will do. In such cases, consider whether there are other parts of the lab experience you could take online (for example, video demonstrations of techniques, online simulations, analysis of data, other pre- or post-lab work). Save the physical practice parts of the labs until access to campus is restored.

Provide raw data for analysis: in cases where the lab includes both collection of data and its analysis, consider showing how the data can be collected, and then provide some raw sets of data for students to analyze. This approach is not as comprehensive as having students collect and analyze their own data, but it can keep them engaged with parts of the lab experience during the closure.

Increase interaction in other ways: sometimes labs are about providing time for direct student interaction. Consider other ways to replicate that type of interaction or create new online interaction opportunities, including using available collaboration tools like in Zoom, Slack, etc.

Additional Tips on Engaging Students

During Class

Encourage community: the sense of presence will be enhanced when everyone shows their face via their webcam. Consider requiring students to turn on video as a key part of participation, since it is easier to engage with the class if you can see them, and students are more likely to pay attention if they know they're on camera. The

Stretch times: consider permitting students to "stretch" every 20-30 minutes for 30 seconds. It can be harder to focus attention on a screen than in a classroom!

Chat: feature can be either very useful for the instructor, or a distraction if it's used continuously, so thinking about how and when to engage students is helpful.

Outside Class

Discussion boards for asynchronous forums:

Not all classroom discussions need to be synchronous. In these cases, Canvas has a feature. Decide what kind of discussions will be most beneficial to your course: topic-driven social-driven. Your discussion prompts and how you evaluate your students' responses should reflect that decision.

Topic-driven: this type of discussion board works especially well for highlighting readings or helping your students focus on key parts of your course content. Provide specific conversation points and prompts that may relate to a reading or a lecture. Make sure to build in space for reflection or debate in your discussion prompts. Students should want to know what their classmates are thinking about!

Social-driven: this type of discussion board works especially well if you want your students to connect the course with current events or their own projects or work. Your discussion board serves as a digital "water cooler" for your class. Your discussion prompts can be more general, such as asking them to post about the specific topic of the week.

Additional Resources

Below are additional tools and materials that you may find useful depending on the kind of course and pedagogy you use.

Case-based courses: Harvard Business Publishing offers a portfolio of resources to help you move your class online.

Reading-intensive courses: Perusall allows instructors to upload documents for learners to read and annotate. These annotations become discussions on the document as students comment on each other's ideas.

Lab courses: Remote Labs>from the Bok Center

Digital resources: Using digital resources to augment course materials

Math and physics simulations: PhET, QuVis, Falstad

Flipping your course: the term "flipped classroom" describes the case when instead of using an in-class lecture format, instructors make their pre-recorded lectures available for students to view online, then use in-classroom time for discussions. The Harvard Kennedy School SLATE program has developed resources that may be useful as you consider this shift.

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We've tried to keep it simple, focusing on the most common teaching practices that are effective in an online environment. We've also developed an overall guide: Designing Your Course for the Fall: Principles and Tips . Below you'll see general advice, a variety of course types, and additional tips on student engagement.

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Free Powerpoint and Google Slide templates

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Free Powerpoint and Google Slide templates

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Browse through to discover stunning presentation templates. ✓ Free for Any Use ✓ No Registration ✓ No Download Limits.

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Insert Questions into a video

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Insert multiple choice and open ended questions into a video.

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Civil War Research Project using google slides

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Civil War Research Project using google slides

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Directions for Civil War Research Project

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Directions for Civil War Research Project

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I took a podcast that discussed the election of 1860 and I added visuals using google slides and screencastify.

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Election of 1860 - Lincoln vs Douglas: A house divided

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Guided Research and WRITING assignment using google slides

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Guided Research and WRITING assignment using google slides

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Digital Lessons & Curriculum - Applied Digital Skills

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The Applied Digital Skills curriculum consists of free of charge resources that are designed to build digital literacy in education and for jobs. Explore our lessons today.

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Screencasts

Repetition-based worksheet homework frustrates teachers and students alike. It often struggles to get results and you never know who's doing the work. Plus, the feedback to students comes very, very late.

There's an alternative. Try the Fast and the Curious EduProtocol, an idea from Marlena Hebern and Jon Corippo's book, "The EduProtocol Field Guide." It provides students with timely feedback. It's fun. It gives great repetitions. In short: it works!

Check out this video that gives you the step-by-step instructions on how to use it and why it works.

Three additional points from EduProtocols author Jon Corippo:

- This is a pedagogy that applies to any kind of instant CFU product (Kahoot with groups, GoFormative to draw answers, Socrative with open ended questions). The pedagogy of "test light, feedback, test again" daily functions in other apps.

- I'm going to go until we hit 95 percent. On a tough week, that might be on Thursday on the second round. On an easy week, that might be Tuesday on the first round. I'm getting more than one day back!

- The repetitions are important! If a student gets them right the first time, we should be able to get them done faster the second time. It's like shooting a three-point shot in basketball. You can't make one and say, "I've got it!" It takes repetitions.

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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Eliminate worksheet homework with the Fast and the Curious EduProtocol - Ditch That Textbook

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Repetition-based worksheet homework frustrates teachers and students alike. It often struggles to get results and you never know who's doing the work. Plus, the feedback to students comes very, very late. Repetition-based worksheet homework frustrates teachers and students alike. It often struggles to get results and you never know who's doing the work.

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Multiple Choice asynchronous or synchronous practice

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Find quizzes on any topic and practice or compete with friends.

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Digital Flashcards

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Unit 2: A More Perfect Union Flashcards | Quizlet

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Start studying Unit 2: A More Perfect Union. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

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Using your iPhone or iPad as a Documejnt Camera to walk students through math problems

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Using your iPhone or iPad as a Documejnt Camera to walk students through math problems

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Teacher DISTANCE LEARNING Tip - Switching to a document camera in Google Meet or Zoom

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Spanish Enrichment Activities Choice Board

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Spanish Enrichment Activities Choice Board

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Students in Laura's Spanish class could select additional enrichment activities to do further Spanish practice.

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Distance Learning Expectations Google Slide Presentation

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Distance Learning Expectations Google Slide Presentation

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Laura Evans created this Google Slide Presentation to present an overview of Distance Learning Expectations to her students.

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Copy of Conversational Sp Digital Learning Format and Guidelines

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This is a free Google Add-ON that can help support ELL students. This is available to all EGUSD students.

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Women of the Civil War Google Poster Project

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Women of the Civil War Google Poster Project

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Students were assigned a research project to learn about famous women in the Civil War. Students were provided with vetted websites, a research organizers, and a Google Poster template as part of this online project.

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A lot of different resources were shared during the Spring Distance Learning. Here is the link to everything that was shared.

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"Check back weekly to learn about new technology tips."

Now that you have downloaded all those files from Schoolloop so they don't go away forever, NOW WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THEM? You can't keep them on your desktop Putting them on your department's server will And let's face it, you don't have ANY room on the dinky server that the district gives us You can put it all on your Google Drive! Google Drive has unlimited storage for teachers and can be accessed anywhere! Check out this video to find out how to save your precious files forever! Click to view video --> https://goo.gl/fk5M87

We are piloting a cool new digital tool called Listenwise. Listenwise takes short snippets of audio (2-7 minutes) and builds lessons around the topics discussed.

Students complete an activity, a graphic organizer, or a quiz as they listen to the audio content. Many lessons include other websites, articles, or videos that explain the topic in greater detail that you can include for students that want more information. There are also supports that can be used for ELL students and low level readers to aid in comprehension.

We have set up a class with lessons that you can try for yourself. Go to listenwise.com and set up a student account. Enter the phrase wandering-dolphin-4838 as the class code. If you are having problems getting into Listenwise check out this slides presentation

Lessons available for you to try

A Ring from 'The Hobbit'

Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

Artificial Photosynthesis Produces Fuel

Fish Fossil Gives Clues to Evolution

British Loyalists After the Revolutionary War

Social Media and the Creation of the Lutheran Church

Border States in the Civil War

Black Women Math Heroes at NASA

Can't go to GAFE Summit? Consider checking out these on-line training that you can watch from the comfort of your home. These webinars are free and can help you learn a variety of technology related skills. You can also follow GAFE on Twitter to keep up with the latest technology trends (see link below). Lots of options for you to explore to keep learning about technology :-)

-> https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com/

-> https://youtu.be/J2Js5OHYM8A?list=PLfdPnYIUAlXBKiF6_0nang1Sz-YsiNHbv

--> https://www.edtechteam.com/online/ (These webinars do cost)

Follow some of the GAFE Ed Tech Team and keep updated on the latest Tech Trends

-> https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Edtechteam

This week's tech tip has to do with the technology refresh that happened over Spring Break. If you are like me, this week you spent a good bit of time wondering, "How can I ______? I used to know how to do it, but I can't figure it out with this new computer."

Have no fear, we have one useful solution to the problem of how to play a DVD from your computer and show it through your projector.

Check out this slideshow (click the link) for more info. -> https://goo.gl/Rm1KIx

What website will give you access to 4,500 NEWS resources in 28 different languages? Yes, it's the Google News website . You can access it by going to http://news.google.com . You can search news specific to Elk Grove, California, or even by country. Want to flash back in history by reading the news? Then you should visit the Google News archive? You simply go to http://news.google.com/newspapers and you can search and read newspapers published during the 1930s- 40s during World War II or any other historical time period when newspapers were published. Watch this 1 min video that shows how you can access the Google News archive.

Click to link to 1 minute video on how to use Google News Archive --> https://youtu.be/AtZf6H4rjhw

Do you require students to provide statistical evidence in their lab reports, research assignments, or for their math project? Once again, Google to the rescue! Go to the Google Public Data page and type in a topic. Keep your searches simple, like "Unemployment in the U.S." Google will return results from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. You'll end up with an easy-to-read graph, and you can even tweak it with options like gender, age. T he potential uses are endless!TTake a quick look at the wide range of data that are available to students right from Google. and state.

Click to access Google Public Data--> https://www.google.com/publicdata/directory

This week's tech tip involves google voice! A powerful new tool that lets you connect with your students in many different ways. You can receive texts and voicemail messages from your students on a completely anonymous number that is not linked to your private cell phone.

To get a google voice number you must first have a private Gmail address. Sadly, your egusd.net google sign in blocks google voice so you must use your own account.

Sign into your personal Gmail account

Go to https://voice.google.com/ (or click on the waffle in the upper right corner of your chrome browser and find the VOICE icon.

Follow the prompts to set up your number.

You can experiment with your settings to link voice to an app on your phone, an email address, or to make your new number ring on whatever device you like, the choice is yours.

Here's another AWESOME free Google tool you can use without having to ADD anything to your computer or browser?

Have you ever needed a Timer or Stopwatch? - From Google's search box you simply type in the word "Countdown Timer - Number of Seconds/Minutes" (Example - Countdown Timer 2 minutes) and up pops your online timer. You can make it full-screen and turn the sound on or off.

Watch this 35 sec video to see how easy it is to use Google's Countdown Timer --> https://youtu.be/AQusbBg-1xs

Did you know that Google has some AWESOME free tools you can use without having to ADD anything to your computer or browser?

Have you ever needed a Random Number Generator? From Google's search box you simply type in the word "Random Number Generator" and set the lowest and highest number you need and then you simply click the blue button on the screen to start the Random Number Generator. It works great when you need to call on students who have assigned numbers in class to answer questions.
https://youtu.be/7fpGM08n7e8
Watch this 33 sec video to see how easy it is to use Google's Random Number Generator -->

Have you ever wanted to share a just a portion of what is on your computer screen with someone, but didn't know how? Try the handy dandy snipping tool! It is a useful Windows feature that allows for quick and easy sharing of images on your computer screen! With just a couple of clicks of the mouse you can easily crop the portion of the screen that you are interested in sharing, and save it as an image to email or embed as you so choose. Quick, easy, and oh so helpful!!!

After experiencing Nearpod in action at our staff meeting you may want to give it a try for yourself. Teachers can request a 30 day free trial offer (request access to become a Gold User). Here are a few helpful videos to show you how to use Nearpod with your existing PowerPoint presentations and/or create new presentations. The KAMS Tech Coaches are available if you have any questions or need any assistance.

How to add your existing PPT into Nearpod & add interactive activities (2 mins) - https://youtu.be/uF9LKcATlAw

Nearpod & Google Classroom Integration (1 min) - https://youtu.be/xkO3QhbTvgw

Nearpod & On the Fly Feature ( 1 min) - https://youtu.be/Nwuo7wOJ0M4

Nearpod How To Tutorial ( 16 mins ) - https://youtu.be/d1jPS4koKiA

Nearpod is an exciting new program that combines many of our favorite digital tools (PowerPoints, goformative, YouTube, Edpuzzle) all in one place. Nearpod allows teachers to project presentations directly onto a student's computers or phone. Teachers can add content like slides, video content, PDF files, and audio with an easy to use interface. What makes this different from a typical PowerPoint presentation is that teachers can add activities to the presentation which allow students to directly respond to the curriculum in real time. Teachers can embed questions, formative assessments, polls, and even make the students draw a picture or a graph with this easy tool.

We will demonstrate Nearpod at the staff meeting on Wednesday, check out this video for a more detailed explanation. --> https://youtu.be/k8KvIFXEgCM

Are you tired of always having to log into your Google Drive to create a new Google Doc, Slide, or Sheet? There's a Google Extension that will make your life so much easier in just one click. "Google Docs Quick Create Extension" will add a quick launch icon to your Chrome browser bar. After installing this extension you can simply click on the extension to launch any Google application right from your Chrome web browser bar. Watch this quick 49 sec video and it will show you how to add this great extension and use it on your computer. Click to view --> https://youtu.be/_OB2aTuqwTM

Have you ever wanted to print out ALL your students' Google Docs assignments but don't like the amount of work it takes to OPEN and PRINT each file separately? There's an easier way, which works great if you have students submit their work on Google Classroom. The Google App available to help you is called PDF Mergy. PDF Mergy will take your multiple Google Docs and combine them into ONE (1) PDF file that you can print out easily. Click and watch the following tutorials which explain how to install and use this helpful tool. --

Here are a few quick videos to help you learn more about how to use Go Formative. (This could be your New Year's Tech Goal for the year!)

1 minute intro to Go Formative--> https://youtu.be/1Cu8F6gMshg
3 minute video on how to use Go Formative--> https://youtu.be/keB7CkAgT5E
15 minute video on how to make a boring worksheet interactive on Go Formative--> https://youtu.be/W0b7CjZR0BM

Have you started thinking about your "New Year's Technology Goal" yet? To get you thinking the Tech Coaches will be introducing another technology assessment tool at next Wednesday's faculty meeting. To give you a sneak peek, take a look at this 1 minute video that explains what Go Formative is. We will hand out treats for staff members who can answer some general questions to.what is Go Formative? .what can it do? Click to view the short 1 minute video on Go Formative --> https://youtu.be/1Cu8F6gMshg

Here is one New Year's Resolution that you can keep.....pledge to incorporate a fun and engaging digital tool in your world class instruction! The KAMS Technology Coaches are here to help you achieve your goal!*

*KAMS Technology Coaches cannot help with your New Year's Resolutions in regards to chocolate
consumption, weight loss, or exercise. On the bright side, we are much nicer than your average fitness or diet coach.

· We can help you create your first Quizziz or Kahoot to use with your students.

· We can guide you to create your own Google Classroom page and assign work to your students.

· We can walk you through steps to create your very first quiz using Google forms.

· You can come observe in one of our classes to see how we use any technology tool (we can provide a sub for you)

The first step is to make your 2017 Technology Goal is to submit your goal by next Friday, January 20, 2017.

Click on this link to submit your New Year's Technology goal → https://goo.gl/B0KD24

Last week we shared a Chrome extension called Google Notes in our weekly Tech Tips. What are Chrome Extensions? They are "applications that run within your Chrome browser to provide additional functionality to use with your computer. The right extensions can turn your Chrome browser into a super powerful teacher tool belt. We will be sharing more Chrome extensions in the weeks to come. Here is a great article that gives you an overview of some of the great Chrome extensions for teachers. (We will be highlighting a few in the coming weeks.) Click to view article --> http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/technology/50-of-the-best-google-chrome-extensions-for-teachers/

Have you heard or used Goo.gl or Bit.ly? These are two great ways to shorten a very loooong URL into a shorten version you can share with your students, other teachers, etc. Want to know an even quicker way to shorten your URL? Add the Goo.gl extension to your Chrome browser. No need to open another website to shorten your loooong URLs, you can do it in one click using Goo.gl extension. To see how to add the Goo.gl extension to your Chrome browser watch Linda explain it in this quick video. Click to view--> https://youtu.be/s51tLUKKW6Y

Have you ever wanted to jot down a quick note when working on your computer without having to open up Google Docs or WORD? Well, now you can by adding an easy Chrome Extension called Google Drive Notes. You can be searching the web, writing students comments, etc. and you can easily open up a notes page right from your Chrome browser. If you decide you want to save those notes you can still save it easily to your Google Drive in one click. To see how to add the Google Drive Notes extension to your Chrome browser watch Linda explain it in this quick video. Click to view--> https://youtu.be/8xm_SqS2Pw0

After seeing and playing a live Quizziz game at Wednesday's faculty meeting you should be SO excited and READY to create your very own Quizziz games to use with your students. If you don't know where to start, here are two visual resources that will walk you through how to setup your own Quizziz account and how to create your own Quizziz games --> http://www.tildee.com/Zi7vL or https://www.smore.com/9yex2-quizizz Don't hesitate to email us if you need any additional help to get you going.

The KAMS Technology Coaching Team has been busy visiting departments this week to spread the news about what we have to offer. One newly created technology resource created by our KAMS Technology Coaches is our KAMS Symbaloo page. You can find the KAMS Symbaloo page right on the KAMS Homepage under Quicklinks à KAMS Technology Support link. It is essentially a one-stop-shop for all of your technology needs. Need to take attendance? There is a SISWEB button on the Symbaloo. Is your projector not working? There is a heat ticket button on the Symbaloo as well. Need to get a sub for tomorrow? You guessed it, there is a button for that too! Because it has so much to offer, you might want to make the Symbaloo your homepage for your work computer. If you are not quite sure how to change your homepage, click the following link to listen to Graham explain it all! Click to view --> https://youtu.be/gD8JRgOj9WA

The KAMS Technology Team (Amy DuShane, Linda Kennedy and Graham Stewart) are excited to start helping the teaching staff integrate technology in the classroom. Want to try something new to increase student engagement or just make your job a little easier? Email one of us at any time and we will get you the support you need as soon as possible. If you aren't yet sure what you want to try, check out our weekly tips here in the Falcon Flash. This week's tip....did you know that you can convert any Google Doc to another language? Translate your parent letters, student assignments, etc. in one click to 42 different languages including Spanish, Russian, and even Chinese. Click on the video link to hear Graham explain how to easily use this helpful tool! Click to view --> https://youtu.be/TH_HLc5rqtA

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"Check back weekly to learn about new technology tips." Now that you have downloaded all those files from Schoolloop so they don't go away forever, NOW WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THEM?

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This is a great way to see if your students understand Distance Learning Expectations via a fun online quiz. Copy the quiz and personalize it with your own information.

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Find quizzes on any topic and practice or compete with friends.

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I found this worksheet that would help students focus on what they need to do to prepare for Distance Learning. This would be a great 1st week assignment for Distance Learning.

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These are some examples of how you can use Padlet to encourage student sharing and even as a progress monitoring assessment tool. 

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These are some examples of how you can use Padlet to encourage student sharing and even as a progress monitoring assessment tool. 

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Do you want to do a whole class response using a virtual white board?  Take a look at this article...

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Do you want to do a whole class response using a virtual white board?  Take a look at this article...

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When we are in class and each student has an individual whiteboard so we can ask a question and get a quick formative check on if they are understanding is now digital. These whiteboards do NOT live outside of your live session. Try jamboard.google.com if you want student drawings that they can turn in.

This site is FREE. It seems that the developer made this as a hobby so it's not feature rich which may be the best part. It's a simple quick way to have students visually share their thinking while in a live session. Period. There is no download option so take a screenshot if you need to keep it. There are no teacher logins or student logins. This makes it wicked fast to create and join a class. You're not giving up your data either. On the downside, no saving.

My Whiteboard

When you go to whiteboard.fi you simply click "Create class." Do this on the fly anytime you need a quick little whiteboard space. You are presented with your teacher whiteboard. The students can see your whiteboard. Students can NOT see each others whiteboards. You can always screenshare if you want to show the group.

Class Whiteboards

Share the link or board code with students and they get their own whiteboard. Pretty much 100% like having their own whiteboard in class. It's temporary. It gets erased between questions you ask. Students see YOUR whiteboard, not each others.

Live Session Only

This is NOT a document. It is not something you post and they have all week to post to. This is intended for LIVE SESSIONS. You are video meeting with your class or maybe even one student. You real quick go to whiteboard.fi give students the code and you ask them to visualize something EXACTLY THE SAME WAY as you would in your live class. You see their whiteboard responses, this fuels your class discussion, whiteboards are erased (use cog to clear all whiteboards), you ask a different prompt.

Feedback is live feedback with your voice.

Screenshare to show everyone's responses.

Single Student Response

You can click on ONE student drawing. Screenshare to show the other students one response when it is appropriate. You can clear that one students response.

If you right click on the individual student image you can save image as.

End Session

Boards automatically close after 120 minutes of inactivity or you use the cog to "Close room." No drawing after the session. Get in quickly, get out. Done. Beautiful.

Security

Good and bad is no login. Good and bad is the very simple room code. No way to know who is actually logged in, students type their own name. If the code is shared anyone can get in and draw. BUT ONLY YOU SEE THE DRAWINGS. So your students will not be exposed to bad dudes and you can immediately "Close room" if you need to. Realize this is for a temporary moment in time of a quick get in, share ideas, get out.

Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams

This is NOT for adding to an assignment. Post the link to the Classroom Stream or Teams Channel Posts chat. This is temporary and only while you're actually online viewing the student whiteboards.

https://t.co/8lgTG7FfMP is so cool! I tried it out with my [actual] kiddos this morning and my 4 year old could operate it on a basic level. https://t.co/BLarpJF0yP
- Mrs. Hubbard Riley (@RealWordwithMrs) April 9, 2020

Thanks for sharing this tool! pic.twitter.com/x7bnX3iH87
- 𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗱 (@BevLadd) April 9, 2020

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Live Session Student Whiteboards: whiteboard.fi - Teacher Tech

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When we are in class and each student has an individual whiteboard so we can ask a question and get a quick formative check on if they are understanding is now digital. These whiteboards do NOT live outside of your live session. Try jamboard.google.com if you want student drawings that they can turn in.

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How to Use Google Jamboard for Remote Teaching

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Zoom Morning Routine