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Shut the Front Door (Again)! Updated Differentiation with Google Forms!

UPDATED March 2017! There are so many amazing things we can do with Google Forms. One of my favorite features allows us to differentiate a form for students, meaning we can send students to different questions and pages of information based on how they answer each question. It can get complicated very fast, so hang on tight for some tutorials, details, and classroom application ideas!

Note: The original post was inspired by a comment I received during my "Digital Differentiation with Google Apps," session at the Texas Google Summit in Brenham, Texas. Michael Ogg, aka @PrincipalOgg, shouted, "Shut the front door," when I showed how to use branching in Google forms. Thanks, Michael for one of the best comments I've ever had during a presentation, and for giving me a great title!

What is Branching in Google Forms?

Branching in Google Forms is a way to send a respondent to a different page or question based on how they answer. You have probably experienced this type of strategy if you have taken a survey that takes you to more specific questions based on how you answered basic questions. For instance, if I asked, "Do you teach elementary, middle, or high school?", I could then take you to another question to ask what subject area you teach based on your level.

To the left is a visualization of branching in Google Forms (created with Google Drawings). Each answer option could add another branch. The branches can go in as many directions as you like and can get complicated very quickly. This is just to give you an idea of why it is called branching and the importance of planning your "branches." Be sure you keep reading and take note of the tips below!

To get an idea of how this can be used, I have created a sample form, " Google Drive Review." This is just one way this feature can be used to help students review material. For instance, if a student answers incorrectly, they can be taken to a review video and be given the chance to answer the question again. Note: my sample form is very short, and just for example purposes (more application ideas included further down.) CLICK HERE to take the review and see how branching works. (Hint! Answer incorrectly, to see where that takes you.)

I designed this quiz as a review example for Google Drive. If respondents answer incorrectly, as indicated in this image, they will then be taken to a review page with a YouTube tutorial. (Yes, you can insert YouTube videos!) Then they will be asked to answer the question again, as seen in the image below. Respondents will keep reviewing the skill until they get the question correct, and then they move on to the next question.

How to Use Branching in Google Forms:

Google Forms doesn't actually call this branching. So if you are searching for this in settings, you will not find it. Branching is really just the concept. In order to send students/respondents to another option based on how they answer, you have to create new pages or, "sections" in your form. This is the key to making branching work! This little setting can make a BIG difference and can offer ways to use Google Forms to differentiate for students.

In Google Forms, you can enable branching for multiple choice or dropdown question types by selecting, " Go to SECTION based on answer. " (formerly, "Go to PAGE based on answer," in the old forms.)

To see how this works:

1. Create your first question. (Note: This option is only available for multiple choice or dropdown questions types.)

2. Then go to the three dots in the bottom right of the question box and select: Go to section based on answer. (See the animated GIF below.)

3. Make the question "Required."

4. Shuffle answer options to help discourage cheating. (Optional, but recommended.)

Now that you see how the process works within the question, it's time to plan and create your sections. The key to making this work is to create section breaks. Notice in the animation above, the dropdown that appears next to each answer choice once you enable, "Go to section based on answer." You can only choose another section once the other sections have been created. Again, planning is your best friend in branching! Plan you branches and sections, then go add each section to your form.

1. Using the menu to the left of your question, click on the bottom icon to "add section." You will see sections added below and numbered accordingly.

2. Add as many sections as you need.

Add Section Title and Descriptions

I cannot emphasize how much adding a title, and description to each section helps before you go back to each answer and choose a section. This will help keep your organized. Remember, this can get complicated very quickly and staying organized will help greatly.

To add a section title and description, simple click on each section title and description box to get the cursor and edit. Note how I named my sections in the example given above. I titled them, "Question 1", or "Question 1: Review the Skill." Depending on how you decide to use this feature, your titles may need to be even more specific.

Match Sections to Answers in Each Question

Here's where those titles come in handy! Now, you need to go back to each question (enable, "go to section based on answer," if you haven't already) and then select which section each answer will lead to next. By default they will all just progress to the next section. Once you get this pattern down, it is very easy to do. Again, planning this ahead of time will make this process so much easier!

Branching Tips (PLEASE READ!)

Start small, just a few questions.

I cannot say this enough! The first time you try this, do not do more than five questions. I repeat. This gets very complicated very quickly!

Plan or Map out your branches before you begin.

Planning is your best friend when it comes to branching. Decide ahead of time how many answer options and how many "branches," you need or want. Plan it out on paper, in Google Drawings like I did above, or using your own preferred tool.

Utilize the page titles and descriptions to help you organize.

As mentioned above, this can save you time and frustration if you use consistent and specific titles and descriptions for each title.

Test it! Then, test it again!

Now you have to test it. Test every answer option in every question. Then send it to a friend or colleage to test it. It's so easy to miss one little thing. Testing is a must!

Other Ways to Use "Go to Section," Feature

The possibilities of this feature are endless. There are so many other ways you could use, "Go to section based on answer," besides the review style I showed in my example. Below are a few ideas to get you thinking about possibilities for your class.

When a student answers correctly, they could be taken to a harder question.

When a student answers incorrectly, you could show more specifically where they went wrong with each answer choice (not just review a concept)-like solving a math problem incorrectly.

Student choice: Use this feature to allow students to select from a menu of choices to demonstrate their learning, then upload the file to the form to submit. The spreadsheet would allow you to see what they select and should be working on during class.

Gamify! What if every correct answer revealed a clue or a puzzle piece? Students could collect and work individually or collaboratively to put together.

Put this feature in students' hands and let them create something for their class, or another class to teach a skill, or play a game.

Sylvia Duckworth's Choose Your Own Adventure with Google Forms

How could you use this feature in your classroom? Please share in the comments below.

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Shut the Front Door (Again)! Updated Differentiation With Google Forms

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There are so many amazing things we can do with Google Forms. One of my favorite features allows us to differentiate a form for students, meaning we can send students to different questions and pages of information based on how they answer each question.

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Select and Speak uses iSpeech's human-quality text-to-speech (TTS) to read any selected text in the browser. It includes many...

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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Make animated videos in minutes. With the help of simpleshow's AI-powered animation maker you can create explainer videos quickly and easily.

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[Expeditions] - List of Available Expeditions

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HyperDocs

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Flipped Classroom Idea to Add Live Interaction to Quizzes

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Teachable: Sell Courses, Coaching and Digital Downloads

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Create & sell online courses and coaching with the best online course platform used by the entrepreneurs to sell $500m+ to over 18 million students. Try it free.

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Game-ify your Classroom

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Classcraft - Relationships are everything.

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A positive approach to behavior that inspires educators and motivates learners

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Google Classroom Student View - Basic Intro

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Student View Google Classroom - Basic Intro

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Google Classroom Introduction as a Workflow Solution

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Google Classroom Introduction as a Workflow Solution

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Jeopardy Rocks Online Review Game

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For Remote or In-Person Classrooms

Factile is a free learning platform that lets teachers create engaging jeopardy-style quiz games for the remote or in-person classroom

Assess students' understanding of new topics or review the latest concepts using our simple, user-friendly gameboard template. Create and share your games with students, or search our database of already-created games. Use Factile with Google Classroom to easily assign games and flashcards to your class.
Play Demo Game

Four Team Review Games
Play in classroom or remote with Buzzer Mode

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Self-paced learning in classroom or remote

Buzzer Mode

Buzzer Mode

Turn phones, tablets or computers into buzzer buttons for an engaging multi-player gameshow experience

"Factile is fun and exciting. Students enjoy the competition, the team-building, the camaradarie, the positive reinforcement, or all of the above. The standard, free version is very workable and click-driven, although I am sure the premium version contains greater functionality that may appeal to some folks. Your students will enjoy it as much as you enjoy watching them learn"

Bruce DuBoff AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning Committee Member

See more reviews

Are you looking to make your Factile game even more engaging? Let students BUZZ IN via their laptops, phones or tablets! Remote or In-Classroom.

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For Remote or In-Person Classrooms

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Classroom Jeopardy Review Game | Buzzer Mode | Factile

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Create your own Jeopardy template online without PowerPoint, or browse the pre-made templates to play Jeopardy-style classroom games or quizzes in minutes.

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Shake Up Learning - Tutorials on Google Classroom "How To's"

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Shake Up Learning | Shake Up Learning in your classroom today!

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Shake Up Learning in your classroom today!

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Alice Keeler Blog - Instruction on Google Classroom "How To's"

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Student centered teaching with Google Classroom - resources including blog posts, ideas, tutorials, and more by EdTech integration expert Alice Keeler.

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Increasing Student Engagement

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Host interactive online meetings | Poll Everywhere

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Socrative

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Review student understanding at the class, individual student, or question-level.

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Creating eBooks

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Widbook | A world of undiscovered ebooks

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A world of undiscovered ebooks for free. Widbook is simple and powerful way to discover and share stories in form of ebooks.

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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Pear Deck is on a mission to help teachers create powerful learning moments for every student, every day - using the tools you already know and love.

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Gallery

Currently the gallery is under construction, and here are some tag clouds I made myself. Eventually users will be able to submit their artwork to the gallery (though it will be moderated to make this a kids-friendly place).

Still want more? Check out Daily Tagxedo for a daily dose of current events, trending topics, or whimsical ideas... in Tagxedo word cloud. Interested in Tagxedo portraits of famous people and historical figures in Tagxedo? Check outCelebrity Tagxedo.

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Currently the gallery is under construction, and here are some tag clouds I made myself. Eventually users will be able to submit their artwork to the gallery (though it will be moderated to make this a kids-friendly place). Still want more? Check out Daily Tagxedo for a daily dose of current events, trending topics, or whimsical ideas...

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Use Google Forms to Create Automated Rubrics

Select Grid or Scale Questions in the Form

For the Scale Questions:

For the Scale type question, begin with adding a SECTION HEADER. I like this better because you can identify your points value for your scale here.

After you have created the Section Header, Add the SCALE QUESTION.

When you add the Scale Question, don't worry about adding a question here-you have done this in the section header. Just add your scale by entering the starting point (0 or 1) and the ending point (up to 10) for your scale.

As an option, you can enter labels for the endpoints of your scale such as "Disagree the most" and "Agree the most", or "Lowest ranking" and "Highest ranking"

The user will be presented with a scale of values on which to place their response

For the Grid Questions: (This is typically how most rubrics are set up)

For the Grid type question, begin by typing in your overall question or directions that will apply to each question in the grid.

Then choose how many columns you want in the grid (1 to 5), and you provide descriptive labels for each column

Then enter as many rows as you wish for the grid, and enter a question or statement for each.

When the user completes the question, they will be presented with a grid of rows and columns and will need to click a single cell to place their response for each row.

When All Data Has Been Entered:

Make sure you have added a title to your Rubric.

Decide if you will require the MISD (School Domain) login for this form; uncheck the box if not.

Select RESPONSE DESTINATION at the top of the page in the menu bar. The default is to create a Spreadsheet. This is what you want, so click CREATE. Notice the title of this will be the same as your Form Title except it will have (Responses) next to it.

Lastly, back in the Editable Form, decide the options for the Confirmation Page at the very bottom.

Click SEND FORM.

Examples of Scale and Grid Questions

Tips to Add to Your Form

1. Class Period

Next, Add the Formula to Automate The Grade!

Adding the Formula...It's Easier Than You Think!
Tip Before adding the formula:
I have found it best to get all of my grading completed so all data is in the spreadsheet. You can add the formula before you are finished, but you may have to redo it when more information is added.
To add the formula to your Spreadsheet of Responses: To Add this formula to the Spreadsheet:

Calculate how many potential points are available for a perfect score when adding all of points available for each category. For instance, if a student received all 4s in rubric with grading 4 categories, the maximum potential points would be 16. However you have your rubric configured, calculate the total maximum points available.

Here is the formula you will add: =SUM(C2:H2)/16*100

L et me identify this formula for you: It is telling the Spreadsheet to ADD all of the points in cells C2 through H2. (The 2 identifies the row number; the letters identify the columns; these letters will be determined by how many items you include in your rubric.) Then divide the total number of points accumulated by the maximum number of points available, then multiply that number by 100 and it will calculate the score.

First, add a column to the far left; it will become Column A.

Select the first cell in Column A that belongs to a student's graded rubric (this will probably be row 2).

With that cell selected, you will add the formula to the Function Line in the Spreadsheet.

With that cell selected, a small blue box appears in the bottom right-hand corner. Click on that box and drag down the column to the last row needing a grade. (Click on the picture provided to refer to these positions mentioned.)

Created by MitCrew

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Use Google Forms to Create Automated Rubrics For the Scale Questions: For the Scale type question, begin with adding a SECTION HEADER. I like this better because you can identify your points value for your scale here. After you have created the Section Header, Add the SCALE QUESTION.

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Yesterday I showed how to create a form for primary students using Google forms. It is so easy to add pictures, video, page breaks, etc. to make quizzes and tests easy to navigate and understand, especially for little ones. But what good is all of this technology if it cant grade the quiz, right? Well there is an easy way to gather all kinds of data to help with assessment needs. The answer is called Flubaroo.

Flubaroo is a free tool to help quickly grade quizzes and assignments for the classroom. Flubaroo averages assessment scores, computes average score per question, flags the low scoring questions, and creates grade distribution graphs. The user also has the option to email each student their grade, provide the answer key, as well as send individualized feedback to each student. It is super easy to use and just takes second, yes I said seconds to grade! No more spending all night grading papers! If there is only access to one or two devices in the classroom then I would just have students rotate through to take the test. (Of course, I am speaking of elementary students.) However, if you are a middle or high school teacher then I would have students use their phones. You know they bring them and if it is against the rules to have them, my suggest is to talk to administration and show them this fabulous tool.

I created a video to show how easy it is to run the script once the form is made. However, once I made the video I realized it was a little obsolete. Yes, there is a new way to do this using the Add-ons that recently came out. So I added that video to the end of the first one. That way you can choose the version that works best for you. The update is at the 7 minute, 56 second mark of this video.
I absolutely love this add-on but believe it or not there is more! Yes, there is even more that you can do with your quizzes. Let me know if there is anything specific you would like to do with your quizzes and I'll see if I can figure it out for you.

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Using Flubaroo to Grade Your Google Quizzes

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Yesterday I showed how to create a form for primary students using Google forms. It is so easy to add pictures, video, page breaks, etc. to make quizzes and tests easy to navigate and understand, especially for little ones. But what good is all of this technology if it cant grade the quiz, right?

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Flexible

With multiple answer sheets sizes and forms, ZipGrade can be used for everyday exit tickets, weekly quizzes, or longer exams. The answer sheets are also licensed via Creative Commons (BY-NC/3.0) which means you are allowed to customize, update, and distribute to others. Some teachers have even laminated answer sheets to make them reusable!

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ZipGrade - iPhone and Android Grading App for formative assessment and quizzes.

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With multiple answer sheets sizes and forms, ZipGrade can be used for everyday exit tickets, weekly quizzes, or longer exams. The answer sheets are also licensed via Creative Commons (BY-NC/3.0) which means you are allowed to customize, update, and distribute to others. Some teachers have even laminated answer sheets to make them reusable!

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Teachers know that video-making is a tried-and-true way to get kids engaged in building, demonstrating, and sharing knowledge. These apps and sites feature user-friendly tools and features that make it more fun than ever to get kids' productions edited and polished.

To see the most updated version of this list as well as the rating of each app, game, or website, visit the Top Picks List:

Toontastic - This product is no longer available.
Toontastic is a digital storytelling tool that teaches kids how to organize and present story ideas through cartoons. It employs a "Story Arc" that contains five sequential scenes to guide story structure (Setup, Conflict, Challenge, Climax, and Resolution). Read full review.

Vyclone - This product is no longer available.
Vyclone is a video tool that teaches kids how to work together while sharing their own visual stories. Find friends, start filming, and blend your shots into one awesome video. Read full review.

What websites and apps do you use to encourage your students to be creative? Sign in to comment below.

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16 Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation

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Teachers know that video-making is a tried-and-true way to get kids engaged in building, demonstrating, and sharing knowledge. These apps and sites feature user-friendly tools and features that make it more fun than ever to get kids' productions edited and polished.

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Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash

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Beautiful, free images and photos that you can download and use for any project. Better than any royalty free or stock photos.

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Explain Everything

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Explain Everything Uses In the Classroom (Katelyn)

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Student video on using Explain Everything in the classroom

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Google Scholar

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In high school and college when I was assigned a research paper I had the benefit of having access, through my school's library, to a variety of databases filled with scholarly articles. In college these databases could be accessed online through the library's website, but in high school they were only accessible on the library's computer (that was 10+ years ago so it may be different now). I am sure both my high school and college had to pay for costly subscriptions to these databases of information.

If your school lacks these resources, if you can't get into your school's library due to scheduling conflicts (ours totally shuts down during AP testing), or you want students to be able to access high-quality sources at home, Google Scholar is an excellent free online resource.

Just as you would when using the Google search engine, entering search terms will display a list of related results. Under each result is listed the number of times the source has been cited. Also under the result are the options of "related articles," "cite," and "save."

Before having students begin research for an assigned research paper, you may want to familiarize them with this site and discuss how to research. Ask them how the "related articles" feature can help them with their research. Have students examine sources that have been cited frequently and infrequently and the reasons why they think that is (older versus newer publication, more or less credible, etc.). The "cite" feature formats the citation in MLA, APA, and Chicago. Discuss the different purposes and usages of the different styles. The "save" option allows students to save the article for later reference.

You can also have students create alerts for topics, which sends the search results to them as new publications are released. This would be especially helpful if students are doing a long-term research paper or researching a very current hot topic.

As students are working, they can return to "my library" to see all of their saved sources or "create alert" to add or edit alerts.

These features are also located on the Google Scholar homepage.

Two other important features are the "metrics" and "advanced search."

Under "metrics," the top publications are listed as well as other language options. Regardless of their research topic, have students look at these top publications and identify qualities of high-quality sources. ESL students may benefit from the other language options.

Have students play around with the advanced search to see how limiting or broadening their search terms changes their results.

You can see how easy Google Scholar is to use. I love that its simple site name is easy to remember, and best of all it is free and accessible anywhere. Hopefully Google Scholar will be a tool you can use with your students next year for writing research papers or just practicing research skills.

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The Literary Maven: You Oughta Know About...Google Scholar

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In high school and college when I was assigned a research paper I had the benefit of having access, through my school's library, to a variety of databases filled with scholarly articles. In college these databases could be accessed online through the library's website, but in high school they were only accessible on the library's computer (that was 10+ years ago so it may be different now).

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How do your students send you their work from iPads or laptops? Through Google Drive? Dropbox? Student Server? Do you use Showbie? How about SeeSaw? Or do you go old school and have them save to a flash drive? There are MANY ways that work can be submitted from both laptops and iPads. If you are an elementary school teacher then you know the obstacles that arise when we try to get 6 year olds to send us their work from their iPads.

Are you ready to have your world turn upside down??? Enter...

Now, I have casually mentioned The Work Collector in some of my posts and several of you have commented about wanting to know more. Yes, indeed, The Work Collector needs to have its very own post.

An extremely brilliant ITRT on my team, Michael Price, adapted this script (what you run when you follow the step by step directions) from Amit Agarwal and turned it into an incredible tool that I use and many of my teachers use in the classroom. I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am of Michael's creation!

The Work Collector can be created in just a few steps and it automatically creates a folder in your Google Drive that students send their work to in just a couple of clicks on a computer or taps on an iPad. NO LOGINS NEEDED for this!! After you follow the directions to install your Work Collector, a link populates that your students can navigate to from laptops or iPads which will allow them to attach a file and send it to the folder that was automatically created in your Drive. Here is what that website link looks like:

Students click "Choose File" and select the file they want to submit from the camera roll (when working with iPads) or wherever they saved their file on their computer.

I don't even have students enter their name in the "Your name..." box because the files come into your Google Drive labeled as how they are saved. (You might want to have your students save their files as: FirstName_Project Title if working on computers. You cannot name the files on an iPad) Students click "Upload File", wait for the "You have uploaded your file successfully" message and then BOOM! Their file pops up in the Work Collector folder that is automatically generated in your Drive when you run the script. Note: You need to upload one file through your Work Collector website before the Work Collector folder appears in your Drive.

Click { HERE} for the directions on how to create your own Work Collector.

Work submitted from iPads can be done two different ways:
1. You could bookmark your Work Collector link to your ipad screen. Follow { THESE} directions if you are not familiar with how to bookmark websites on iPads.
2. Turn your Work Collector link into a QR code. This is my favorite option. I project my Work Collector QR Code on the screen that students scan to submit their work:

My teachers have their QR Code printed and posted in a central location in their room:

Many people have asked if the Work Collector can send student work to certain folders within Drive. Unfortunately it is not THAT smart. All I do is drag the files that come to my Work Collector folder to a separate folder I create in my Drive. It takes seconds.

I also know of teachers who make their Work Collector folder "view only"and bookmark that folder on their iPads or make the link available for students to access. This allows students to double check and make sure their work has been submitted.

Work Collector Directions

Doug Saunders, an incredible high school ITRT in our county, made this tutorial video if you are interested in checking it out!

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The Work Collector: Students Upload Files Straight to YOUR Drive

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How do your students send you their work from iPads or laptops? Through Google Drive? Dropbox? Student Server? Do you use Showbie? How about SeeSaw? Or do you go old school and have them save to a flash drive? There are MANY ways that work can be submitted from both laptops and iPads.

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Google Cardboard

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If you've been curious about the Google Expeditions Pioneer program but your school hasn't been chosen for a visit, you can check out a little known feature right now that is very much like Expeditions!

All you need is Google Cardboard (literally a viewmaster made of cardboard), which you can buy here or lots of other places, and an app on your smartphone called Google Streetview, Android / iOS.

Next, open the Streetview App on your phone and tap the Explore area:

Want to make sure your Cardboard viewer works optimally with your smartphone? Tap this settings button from within any panorama . . .

Hope you enjoyed this, if you did, please share it or let me know in the comments!

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How to Get "Google Expeditions" via Google Cardboard Today, No Waiting! (FREE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS!)

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If you've been curious about the Google Expeditions Pioneer program but your school hasn't been chosen for a visit, you can check out a little known feature right now that is very much like Expeditions!

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Quizizz | Free Online Quizzes, Lessons, Activities and Homework

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Motivate every student to mastery with easy-to-customize content plus tools for inclusive assessment, instruction, and practice. Engage students with Quizizz today!

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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June , 2014
StoryDesk is a good presentation app for iPad. Its beautiful interface makes it fast and easy to create presentations that help you break down complex concepts into bite-sized, easily understood bits. In many ways, StoryDesk is a next generation alternative to PowerPoint and Prezi.

How StoryDesk Works
At it's core, StoryDesk is a collection of interactive templates. These templates do all kinds of stuff - ranging from video playback, to file storage, to playful and engaging ways to make your existing content interactive. To begin, you first download StoryDesk from the Apple App Store. It's a free app (at least the basic version is). Once you've registered, you can tap the + button to create a new presentation. From here, a few templates are automatically dropped in to the presentation. But the first thing you'll notice is that the structure of the presentation looks nothing like a typical slide show. It's nonlinear - meaning you can organize your slides in a grid. This is really interesting, as it lets the presenter create hierarchies of content. The important stuff can live at the top, while the finer points can be layered below. It's very novel way to present - kudos to StoryDesk for coming up with this type of
navigation.
Creating Content
Adding content to the templates is as simple as tapping and holding on the templates. Here I can add photos or text or video (and more).

The files are imported from the cloud - either using one of the many storage services StoryDesk integrates with (Google, Dropbox, Box, and more). Files can also be uploaded to StoryDesk's content management, found at StoryDesk.com.

StoryDesk's Interactive Templates are phenomenal. I counted close to 50, and they're all designed for touch-interactivity. My favorites were Robusto, Burns, and VideoStar. The templates make creating a beautiful presentation idiot proof. In the instances when I prefer to use content I already have (like a PowerPoint or a Keynote), I used the "Slider" template to drop in a PDF version of the slide. Super
easy.
Navigation
This is where StoryDesk differs dramatically from the typical slide show. Instead of only being able to flip left and right, StoryDesk enables nonlinear navigation. With a single swipe I can navigate to any screen I need to. This very much changes the flow of presentations. Instead of the content driving the conversation, the content can support the conversation. It reflects the changing nature of presentations, which are a lot more conversational and interactive than they used to be.
RoundtableTM
Roundtable is StoryDesk's latest feature. It lets a presenter guide a group presentation from her device to up to 10,000 iPads. Seriously. I don't know who presents to audiences of 10,000, but it's nice to know you can. The audience can follow along and interact with the content, but only the presenter has the power to advance to the next screen.

Watch this video to learn more about StoryDesk

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StoryDesk- A Powerful Alternative to PowerPoint and Prezi

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June , 2014 StoryDesk is a good presentation app for iPad. Its beautiful interface makes it fast and easy to create presentations that help you break down complex concepts into bite-sized, easily understood bits. In many ways, StoryDesk is a next generation alternative to PowerPoint and Prezi.

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Storybird - Free online tool to create, read, and share visual stories. Amazing resource for teachers! Your Words, Our Art. Amazing Stories. Simple tools help you build books in minutes. Let the art inspire and surprise you as you write.

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I've shared some of my favorite apps for taking photographs to the next level using iPads and here's another awesome one to add to the list! ChatterPix Kids lets your students put their voice to any image. Whether it's a historical figure, a character from their favorite book, or a photo of a friend, students can make pictures come to life. This is one of my favorite apps for getting students talking about their learning. They can snap a picture of anything they like or search for a picture to add to their creation.

ChatterPix Kids

Try having students use this app to demonstrate their understanding of the main character of a book or what they learned during a research project. All they have to do is snap a picture or upload and image and slice open the mouth. When they record their voice the image will start talking.

Your student's final ChatterPix Kids creation can be shared in a few different ways. You may want them to download it to their own iPad and share their movie using an app like Seesaw or AirPlay it so it lands on a teacher device. Students can even combine their videos into one longer creation using a tool like iMovie or adding it to a Spark Video.

ChatterPix Kids is also perfect for app smashing with a tool like Book Creator. You might have students create an ebook using the Book Creator app and add a ChatterPix video to the page. This is a great way for students to create their own multimedia, ready-to-share ebook full of the videos that they've made.

Remember to put the learning first with tasks before apps and choose opportunities for students to share their learning with voice and images. You might have students bring George Washington to life after writing journal entries or reflect on their learning by taking a snapshot of their work then recording their voice.

Visit the Apple App Store to download ChatterPix Kids for free!
Read this post in Spanish!

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ChatterPix Kids Makes Pictures Come to Life - Class Tech Tips

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I've shared some of my favorite apps for taking photographs to the next level using iPads and here's another awesome one to add to the list! ChatterPix Kids lets your students put their voice to any image. Whether it's a historical figure, a character from their favorite book, or a photo of a friend, students can make pictures come to life.

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Google Forms

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I'm writing this tutorial as I sit at my kitchen island, eating a scone and drinking a coffee. I know what you're thinking - this teacher has time to sit down?! Oh yeah, sit, eat and have a coffee. Here's my secret.

I'm an idealist. I want to give my students everything they need for success and that includes lots of descriptive feedback. I'm sure, like many of you, I was doing this to my own detriment. I was spending so many hours carefully going through assignments and projects to give specific feedback. What I was finding, for the most part, is the comments I was writing were repetitive.

"Be careful not to use first person when writing a lab report." x 5

"How could you rephrase your headline to catch the reader's attention?" x 20

" Refer back to the success criteria to be sure you are meeting all of the expectations." x infinity

My hands were sore and I was tired. I'm sure you can relate.

I was bringing home so many projects to mark because they just took so long to mark I couldn't get them all done at school. With a toddler at home and another on the way, there is no such thing as down-time. I needed a better way.

I played with trying to solve this problem with some programming in Excel, and debated getting out my old programming books, but the answer was much more obvious: Google Forms.

If I could put all the typical feedback comments into a Google Form I could just check the ones that apply to the student's work. Genius! Except it didn't format nicely. That's where the add-on docAppender comes in. It takes the data from the Google Form and puts it so nicely into a document.

What I love about this is that I can still give my students plenty of feedback. If the comment I want to include isn't already in my form, I can always add more comments at the end of the feedback question. Plus, once I have this done for an assignment it won't take much work to use it again for a different assignment or even for next year's class. What a lifesaver! It does take a while to do the first time, but the time savings when it comes to marking is worthwhile. Now when I do my This is so great for inquiry projects. If you want to save even more time, check out my
Inquiry Projects, I can mark the entire classes work in one prep period!
Here's how I do it:
First set up your folders, files and forms in your Google Drive:

Next, make the form amazing by adding in the rubric, and all the comments you'd expect to be using for this assignment. This takes a while, but the beauty of this is when marking you'll mostly just be clicking instead of writing by hand. Also, you can copy this form for your next assignment.

Now we need to set up docAppender. This is the add-on that makes the form's data presentable, so you can just print out all of the comments instead of writing by hand.

Once docAppender is all set, try assessing an assignment. There is an extra little step to remove the commas that appear between each of the comments you check.

There you have it! Once you do this once, a lot of the work is done forever. You can copy forms and edit them for different assignments. It's an upfront time investment, but I can't even believe how many hours it has saved me in marking even on just the first few assignments. Oh, docAppender - I LOVE you!

Let me know if you've tried docAppender, or if you have any other tips for giving lots of feedback efficiently! Inquiry Project Package that you can use for ANY subject. It includes a Google Form template you can use (with comments and a rubric) you can use to save you an incredible amount of time!

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How Google Forms Saved This Teacher's Sanity

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I'm writing this tutorial as I sit at my kitchen island, eating a scone and drinking a coffee. I know what you're thinking - this teacher has time to sit down?! Oh yeah, sit, eat and have a coffee. Here's my secret. I'm an idealist.

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While I want threaded discussions in Google Classroom, I do not want them in the stream. Multiple student responses will clutter up the Google Classroom stream quickly. I always say "the answer is always a spreadsheet" so I created a way to use Google Sheets for a threaded discussion and use it in Google Classroom. It is not perfect, I'm a teacher not a programmer.

The advantage to using a spreadsheet for discussions is... it is a spreadsheet!! Google Sheets are in your Google Drive, easy to locate. It can be embeded into another website or linked to from just about anything. Information in the spreadsheet can be sorted and organized. Formulas can be applied, Add-On's can be used, charts can be generated. Since the discussion board is not in another platform, it is easy to save the discussion board.

Since a spreadsheet has tabs, this allows you to conduct multiple discussions over the course of a unit.

Go to http://www.alicekeeler.com/discussionboard to create a copy of the template.

After creating the copy of the template attach it as an assignment in Google Classroom as "Students can edit file." This explicitly shares the spreadsheet with the students. This way their name will show up in the revision history so you know which student made edits when. Google Classroom also protects the privacy of the students. The spreadsheet discussion board is closed to people outside of the class. Posting the discussion board in Google Classroom also makes it easy for students to locate and keep coming back to for repeated discussions.

Attaching a spreadsheet from Google Drive in Google Classroom as "Students can edit file" allows for all the students in the class to contribute to the same spreadsheet. As new discussion prompts are added to the discussion board, the same spreadsheet can be attached to a new assignment in Google Classroom. This ensures the discussion is located at the top of the stream.

This creates a discussion board that students can respond to.

Students need to locate the tab of the discussion they want to respond to. They can click on the "Big Mac" icon in the lower left-hand corner, next to the plus icon, to find a list of the discussion tabs.

One trick for creating hyperlinks is to type a short description of what you are linking to in Column E. Press enter. Click one time back on the cell with the text. Use Control K to create a hyperlink. Paste the URL where the text will link to in the "Link" box.

I do not currently have grading features natively built into the spreadsheet. I recommend that when the discussion board is closed to click on the blue share button in the spreadsheet and REMOVE the students as editors. Change to viewers or remove all access. You could also make a copy of the spreadsheet to allow you to sort organize and filter the student data without messing up the discussions.

Use Column F on the discussion board to mark a score for the students. Using a pivot table you can add up the students total points or count up how many times they posted. You can also use the chart options under the insert menu to create graphs of student participation.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015

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Google Classroom: Creating a Discussion Board - Teacher Tech

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While I want threaded discussions in Google Classroom, I do not want them in the stream. Multiple student responses will clutter up the Google Classroom stream quickly. I always say "the answer is always a spreadsheet" so I created a way to use Google Sheets for a threaded discussion and use it in Google Classroom.

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Make a newspaper clipping with your own headline and story. Surprise friends and colleagues, send a birthday greeting or give your next blog post a special look.

To download your newspaper, use the link at the bottom of the generated image. You can use the images as you wish ie. put them on your own website or blog. Please note, that direct linking to the newspaper clippings doesn't work; the images are deleted from the server after a short time span.

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Make a newspaper clipping with your own headline and story. Surprise friends and colleagues, send a birthday greeting or give your next blog post a special look.

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Virtual field trips (VFTs) are alternatives to more costly real-world field trips. In addition to being inexpensive, they are engaging to students becasue they enable students to make connections between themselves and the wide-ranging environments they can explore virtually. They also offer authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences to students.

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Dr. Alice Christie's Online Researching Resources: Virtual Field Trips

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Virtual field trips (VFTs) are alternatives to more costly real-world field trips. In addition to being inexpensive, they are engaging to students becasue they enable students to make connections between themselves and the wide-ranging environments they can explore virtually. They also offer authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences to students.

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How To Create Self Grading Assessments With Google Forms
by TeachThought Staff

Google Forms isn't the first thing you think of when you think of assessment resources.

It's not especially elegant, it won't wow students, and the learning curve isn't as mild as it might be. But with a little bit of work on the front-end, Google Forms can return the favor in spades on the back-end in the form of self-grading assessments.

While there isn't an app (yet) that can uncover the true nuance of understanding, if you're using multiple-choice assessments-even just as pre and summative assessments-this trick can save you time, allowing the real potential of assessment to shine through consistently extracting data to revise planned instruction.
How To Create A New Quiz In Google Forms

In Google Forms, click Plus .

At the top right, click Settings .

Click Quizzes Make this a quiz.

Optional: To collect email addresses, click General Collect email address.

Click Save.

With just a little work, you can make an answer key, assign points, and provide automatic feedback for students. You can also make an answer key for certain types of assessment items and question types, including:

To add a question, click Add question .

Fill out your question and answers.

In the bottom left of the question, click Answer key.

Choose the answer or answers that are correct.

In the top right of the question, choose how many points the question is worth.

Optional: To add a written or YouTube video explanation to an answer, click Add answer feedback.

Optional: To edit question or answer options, click Edit question.

How To Grade Individual Assessment Items & Responses
If you collect email addresses, you can assign points and leave feedback on individual responses. After you grade each response, be sure to save your changes.

In Google Forms, open a quiz.

At the top, click Responses.

Click Individual.

To move between individuals, click Previous or Next .

Find the question you want to grade.

In the top right, enter how many points the response earned.

Under the answer, click Add feedback.

Enter your feedback and click Save.

To save your changes, at the bottom, click Save.

How To See Quiz Results How To Create A Test That Grades Itself Using Google Forms

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How To Create A Test That Grades Itself Using Google Forms

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How To Create Self Grading Assessments With Google Forms by TeachThought Staff Google Forms isn't the first thing you think of when you think of assessment resources . It's not especially elegant, it won't wow students, and the learning curve isn't as mild as it might be.

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An iPad can be a teacher's very handy assistant! This very popular infographic has been updated May 2018. It's all about what can be done by Pad-using educators, whether or not their students have iPads. It is divided into seven sections:

Show on a Big Screen

Manage the Classroom

Assess Student Work

Interact with Students

Manage Your Files

Make Instructional Media

Learn New Things

You can click the image on the right to download the PDF of Version 4.0. It's a large file, so you might have to wait a little while for it to download.

There are loads of apps and websites listed, so I took the time to hyperlink the text in the document. If you click the name of an app, your web browser should open to the iTunes or App Store page for that app. Clicking a website name will open that page in your browser.

There are a huge number of resources that just wouldn't fit in the document. If you have one you think should have been included, please tell everyone about it in the comments.
Can I print it?
The PDF is printable, but your printer will probably try to print it all on one piece of paper, making it impossible to read. Here's a version that is split among 6 pages. Here's another version that is split among 11 pages. You'll have to do some glueing or taping, but at least it will be readable.

Some folks have been known to print iPad as the Teacher's Pet with wide format printers. It will take a lot of ink and might be too tall to read ( but super cool).
Can I share it?
I've given the document a Creative Commons license. You are free to link to, repost, and distribute it. You don't have to ask permission, but I always enjoy reading emails about when and how it's being used.
How did you make the infographic?
There are some websites for making infographics. However, I did not use any of them. Instead, I simply used Pages for Mac. I'm super familiar with its drawing and design tools, and I don't have to try to upload dozens of images into a web browser. The trick is that I changed the Page Setup to be a custom size. In the case of "iPad as the Teacher's Pet," the size is 17 inches by 151 inches. You can always tweak the custom size as you are working on an Pages document so that you don't run out of room.

I learn so much by creating graphics like this one. I have to prioritize information, simplify as much as possible, and make it visually appealing. I have spent many days creating and updating "iPad as the Teacher's Pet." Most of my time was spent researching, testing, and playing with apps and websites. It was fun narrowing down the field of tools to some of my favorites.
Tips and Tricks
Check out iOS Magic: iPad and iPhone Tips and Tricks

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An iPad can be a teacher's very handy assistant! Check out the infographic all about what can be done by Pad-using educators, whether or not their students have iPads. It has seven sections full of suggested apps, websites, and tips.

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iFake Text

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iFake Text - cool new site allows you to create fake text conversations you can use to teach complex ideas to kids on the smart board. How cool is this!?!

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We have just updated our popular free editable PowerPoint newspaper templates. With these you can create your own news headlines, articles and insert your own pictures. This is a landscape format of the newspaper, which is perfect for broadsheet projects.

Following a couple of requests, we have updated these layouts so that you can now add in your own newspaper name.

If you are stuck for ideas for a newspaper name, many publications are named by region or institution, followed by a noun such as gazette, tribune, times, or many others. Here are some examples you use:

The National Times

The Lightening Bulletin

The Regional Observer

The Mindless Gazette

The UK Today

The University Inquirer

The Business Press

The Penguin Journal

The Global Standard

A few different newspaper front pages are included in the download of the template.

These spoof newspaper templates could have many uses, including college and school projects or reports and fun cards to send news to your friends and family. You could also make a nice news magazine using the template.

For tabloid newspapers, the template is also available in portrait (vertical) format. The latest template in the series, Magazine PowerPoint is free to download and customize.

If you liked this PowerPoint Template we would appreciate you liking it on FaceBook or Tweeting it.

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We have just updated our popular free editable PowerPoint newspaper templates. With these you can create your own news headlines, articles and insert your own pictures. This is a landscape format of the newspaper, which is perfect for broadsheet projects.

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Google Lit Trips allows students to virtually follow along through the book they are reading in class. This website is a whole new way to Appreciate Great Literature! Google Lit Trips has over 40 pre-created trips that students and teachers can download and run through Google Earth. These Lit Trips are easy to navigate and fun for the students. They are organized on the website by grade level.

This is a free website and easy to use. The website also gives step-by-step instructions on how teachers can create their own lit trips, tips for using Google Earth and ideas for integrating Google Lit trips into allows students to tour the places where the characters they read about are living and exploring.

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Google Lit Trips allows students to virtually follow along through the book they are reading in class. This website is a whole new way to Appreciate Great Literature! Google Lit Trips has over 40 pre-created trips that students and teachers can download and run through Google Earth.

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Word Swag

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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July 19, 2015
A few days ago we posted here a collection of some excellent iPad apps students can use to add text to pictures. Today, we are adding another equally important app to this list. Word Swag allows you to design beautiful graphics and create amazing text layouts. You can easily stylize your images by adding text, background and different colour fonts. Word Swag is great for creating poster quotes to share with students in class. You can also use it to create educational flyers and announcements or to simply caption your memories.

The way Word Swag works is simple and easy:

1. Select your picture (Word Swag also includes 290,000+ backgrounds!)
2. Edit your text (you can also choose from hundreds of included captions and quotes)
3. Select one of 31+ text styles (more being added all the time!). Word Swag automatically generates a fresh & beautiful design for your text.
4. Don't like that design? Select another one of 5 options. Or want to see even more options? Tap the dice button for endless choices.
5. It's that simple! Now you're ready to save or share your creative design on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook.

Watch this video to see Word Swag in Action

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Word Swag- A Great App for Creating Poster Quotes and Educational Flyers

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July 19, 2015 A few days ago we posted here a collection of some excellent iPad apps students can use to add text to pictures. Today, we are adding another equally important app to this list. Word Swag allows you to design beautiful graphics and create amazing text layouts.

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QR codes are having a mini resurgence lately. We started to use them in class last year as another way of creating self portraits. One of my students took this new found tool to a new level and used it as a way of creating graffiti. It was wheatpasted on so he felt it was a legal form of protest. The poster came off with water and a scrubbing brush.

I was at a conference last term and all the sessions and speaker's details were placed up on a wall in the foyer using QR Codes. It was a great way of distributing the information but it also worked as a conversation starter for many of the participants.

How to make your QR Codes more Beautiful was one of our most popular post in the last month and the ITSC in Philadelphia had multiple sessions on the use of QR codes in the classroom so I thought it might be worthwhile reposting this .

This presentation has been around for quite a while but it is worth revisiting.

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40 Interesting Ways to use QR Codes in the Classroom

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QR codes are having a mini resurgence lately. We started to use them in class last year as another way of creating self portraits. One of my students took this new found tool to a new level and used it as a way of creating graffiti.