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Vocaroo - Add to any website, QR Code, etc.

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Vocaroo is a quick and easy way to share voice messages over the interwebs.

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Recent Templates

Looking for how to videos and tutorials?

Are you too a #SlidesManiac?

Shout out to SlidesMania for creating so many unique and fun templates! I especially love the virtual notebooks!

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SlidesMania | Free Google Slides themes and PowerPoint templates.

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The best 100% free Google Slides themes and pptx templates. Your PowerPoint and Google Slides will never be the same. No registration or download limits!

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160+ Chrome Apps & Extensions

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160+ Chrome Apps and Extensions for Teachers and Students

I have put together a Google Chrome App and Extension Database for Teachers hat is loaded with apps and extensions for productivity and classroom integration. In this post, you will find 160+ Chrome Apps and Extensions for Teachers and Students! This database is searchable and filterable by category, subject area, and grade level!

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I love the Google Chrome web browser! Google Chrome is the learning environment for all things Google and allows you to customize your browser to fit your needs. Better yet, Google Chrome can be customized to fit the needs of our student learners.

The magic of that customization comes from the Chrome Apps and Chrome Extensions available in the Chrome Web Store.

I encourage you to explore the Chrome Web Store periodically for new apps and extensions to bring to your classroom. On the left-hand side, you will find categories, including a category for education.

Check out some of my previous Chrome posts:

What are Chrome Apps?

Apps are often enhanced shortcuts that optimize the website or app within the browser. Some require additional installation and set-up. Chrome must be running to access these applications. Below are a few of my favorite Google Chrome Apps.

What are Chrome Extensions?

Extensions are installed in the browser and give you added features and abilities to customize your browser.

Warning! Running too many extensions at once can slow your computer down. This list is a great place to start, but pick and choose what ones you need or want to try. And be sure to grab the Extensity extension so you can turn extensions off when you do not need them.

The Chrome Apps & Extensions Database

For a while, I have kept a list of my favorite apps and favorite extensions on this site, but my list just keeps growing! It has grown so much that a list just doesn't cut it anymore. I needed to find a way to help teachers find the best Chrome apps and extensions to fit the needs of their students, classrooms, and their own productivity. Thus, the Chrome Apps and Extensions Database was born.

The database includes 160 Apps and Extensions and is searchable and filterable. I do not recommend every app and extension for every teacher. Rather, use this as a guide to find what works for you, your classroom and your students. There is something in here for everyone.

BTW, Did you know that Shake Up Learning has it's very own Chrome extension? Get it here and stay up-to-date with all of the Shake Up Learning posts.

Right now, you will find this database is heavy in productivity tools. This is where I need your help. Help me make this database even better by sharing your favorite apps and extensions for your grade levels and subject areas. Please share with me and I will continue to add to this database so that it is loaded with resources for all educators. CLICK HERE to submit your favorite Chrome Apps & Extensions.

Please note that the database below was created with Awesome Tables. If it isn't loading, it could be your school filter causing the issue.

Permissions: You may link to this page. Embedding will violate the copyright policy of this blog.

Permissions: You may link to this page. Embedding will violate the copyright policy of this blog.

© Shake Up Learning 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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160+ Chrome Apps and Extensions for Teachers and Students

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I have put together a Google Chrome App and Extension Database for Teachers that is loaded with apps and extensions for productivity and classroom integration. Google Chrome can be customized to fit the needs of our student learners. The database includes 100+ Apps and Extensions and is searchable and filterable.

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Infographic Templates

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Join over 1 million people creating their own professional graphics with our easy to use infographic maker. Sign up for free and choose from 1000+ infographic templates.

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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Online Games ~ Engaging Learning! - Wakelet

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20 Ways to Use Pear Deck to Engage Students

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20 Ways to Use Pear Deck to Engage Students

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Ed Tech

The standard lecture has plenty of detractors, and rightfully so. Done poorly, it can be an uninspired stream of facts, delivered in sit-and-get style that get forgotten quickly.

However, we can turn the standard lecture - and its tool of choice, the presentation slide! - on its head.

The result can be students actively working with new ideas. Hands-on. Right away.

Presentation slides can be a drag.
But when students (and teachers!) have something interactive to do with them, it changes the game.
That's what I love about Pear Deck. And, of course, the best news: much of what I show you in this post can be done with the free plan!
(Note: I have no official relationship with Pear Deck, and I'm not being paid for writing this post. I'm just a Pear Deck user who loves the potential for it and wants to share it with others! I was given a Pear Deck premium account for review.)

What is Pear Deck?

It's a way to turn your presentation slides into interactive activities for your students. (It also works wonderfully with teachers in professional development!)

If you're using Google Slides, Pear Deck makes it super easy to get started. Pear Deck has created a Google Slides add-on. This makes it SUPER easy to make your slides interactive right from Google Slides.

1. Open a Google Slides presentation.

2. Click on the "Add-ons" menu and "Get add-ons ...".

3. Search for "Pear Deck" and click the blue "+ FREE" button.

4. Load up the Pear Deck sidebar menu. (It'll look like the image above/right.)

Here's a video that shows how to use Pear Deck with Google Slides:

How do I build slides with Pear Deck?

That's pretty easy, too. If you're using Google Slides, just create the slides that you want to display to your students. Then, use the sidebar menu to add interactive elements to each slide.

(You can do all of this at peardeck.com with PowerPoint slides, too.)

The bonus with Pear Deck: You can turn any of those slides into interactive slides. Some of the options include having students ...

enter text

enter a number

choose from multiple choices

draw a response (premium only)

interact with a live web page

drag an icon to a specific part of the slide (premium only)

Pear Deck has a slide library where you can choose pre-created activities ...

for the beginning of a lesson (check prior knowledge, ask what students are curious about)

during the lesson (summarize, assess learning, gauge understanding)

at the end of the lesson (retell what they learned, share feelings)

Set up your slide deck the way you want. The next step - let's get students connected to it so they can interact!

Learn how to use Pear Deck with this FREE ebook!

Getting Started with Pear Deck is written by Pear Deck Certified Coaches Mary Alys Foutz and Mike Mohammad. This ebook will walk you through everything from installing the add-on for Google Slides, to using the Teacher Dashboard.

How do I run a slide presentation?

Once all of your slides are designed and ready to go (including interactive slides), it's as easy as clicking "Present with Pear Deck" in your sidebar menu.

It will create a screen you can display to students on your projector, interactive display or flat panel. It will prompt students go to joinpd.com (think "join Pear Deck") and enter the join code.

When you're ready to start, your slides will be displayed on the students' devices. From the teacher device, you can ...

Go to the previous or next slide

See all slides with the slide navigator

Project student responses

Lock or unlock a slide

Add a new question

Make a slide full screen (under "more")

Open the teacher dashboard in a new tab (under "more")

Open the teacher dashboard on another device (under "more")

End the session (under "more")

From there, you display the slides. Students interact. You do what you want with student responses.

Using the new Pear Deck add audio feature

The new Add Audio feature lets you record or upload audio files to lessons. Students can listen to those audio files on their devices. This is a really helpful feature for remote learning -- especially when students are using Pear Deck in student-paced mode.

Ideas for using the new add audio feature:

Give instructions verbally. Teachers can record their voices giving students instructions. This can be helpful for students who struggle with reading or students whose native language isn't English.

Do social-emotional checks. Leave students a word of encouragement. When they hear it in your voice, it means more than just reading it in text.

Explain answers. When you talk about a problem students need to solve -- or a question that needs answered -- how you arrived at your answer is important. Having a teacher-guided answer with explanation can help students understand.

Read a story. Record audio of your voice while you read a favorite story -- or a new story! -- to students remotely. Students can even download the audio file to listen to later.

Guide pronunciation. Model how to pronounce new terms and vocabulary words in an audio file.

How to use Pear Deck for remote learning

Pear Deck gives you interactive options when teaching remotely.

Gather students on a video call with Skype, Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.

Share your screen with an interactive Pear Deck presentation.

Students join the presentation in a separate tab (or in a window side-by-side with the video call).

Students follow along with the presentation and interact with the slides. You talk through the presentation on the video call.

Student-paced mode for Remote Learning

Students can progress through interactive Pear Deck slides independently in student-paced mode.

Create slides.

Share them with students with a deadline to finish them.

Students work through the slides and interact with them.

You watch their progress through Pear Deck.

When they're finished, Pear Deck gives you results to guide your instruction.

In the video below, I gave a webinar on how to use student-paced mode. Check it out to see how student-paced mode works, how it can be used for remote learning, and for answers to common questions.

Flip through the webinar slides (below) to get a feel for how student-paced mode works.

How can I use Pear Deck?

Here are a bunch of ideas, from the basic to the geeky. On most of these, I'll default to the free question types (and will note which ones require a premium account).

Ideas for the classroom

1. Ask students what they already know about the topic with a text question. (You might be surprised what they already know ... or what they don't know!)

Use the text slide in the "Beginning of class" slide library.

2. Ask students if they're ready to move on with a multiple choice question. (This sure beats raising hands, where you don't always get honest answers.

You can reword the draggable agree/disagree slide in the "During lesson" slide library.

3. Draw out a mind map to diagram what you've been studying.

Use the mind map slide in the "During lesson" slide library.

4. Retell what you've learned that day in your own words. This is another digital version of the ultra brain-friendly "brain dump" I described in this post.

Use the text slide in the "End of lesson" slide library.

5. Ask students to create a new ending/outcome for something you've studied that day.

Create a new text slide.

6. Ask students to describe their thinking process instead of providing the answer. (A focus on the process can illuminate student understanding better than an answer many times.)

Create a new text slide or a drawing slide (premium).

7. Have students put items in order (chronological, sequential, etc.). List the items on the slide and have students write them out in the correct order.

Create a new text slide.

8. Predict what happens next in a video or a story. Show a short video clip or an image ... or stop in the middle of a story in class.

Create a new text slide.

9. Label a diagram. Add an image of the diagram (without labels) on the slide. Have students add the labels.

Create a new drawing slide (premium) to draw labels ... or, put numbers on your image where you want students to label and have them label with a text slide.

10. Create an advertisement. You add an image or two to a slide. Have students add text to the slide to create a compelling ad based on what you've learned.

Create a new drawing slide (premium) to add text ... or, use a text slide to have students write what they would put on the ad.

Ideas from the Pear Deck library

Pear Deck has some great users doing very cool things, too! Here are some from their great library of examples from the classroom ...
11. Teach parabolas / quadratics using Super Mario Bros. (via MrOrrIsAGeek.com blog).
12. Helping students understand Anglo Saxon poetry with thought-provoking guided questions (via Melissa Pilakowski).
13. Get students interacting with literature, art and music from the Romantic Era (via Pear Deck).
14. Teach coordinate graphs with draggable dots (premium) and a coordinate plane. Here are some Pear Deck math templates to give you more ideas.

15. Teach grammar with draggable icons (premium) by displaying a paragraph and having students identify different parts of it. See how in this How ELA Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

16. Display a short passage of text with a drawing slide (premium). Ask students to use the highlighter to highlight an example and the text box to explain why they picked that example.

17. Count the number of forces on the object in a diagram like the one below. Ask students to enter the number in a number slide. (via Pear Deck) See more in this How Science Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

18. Have students in a world language class translate a sentence with a text slide. Then, see how the same idea can be translated differently in a variety of ways. See more in this How World Language Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

19. Add a map to a draggable (premium) slide - or add a map the draggable slide in the "During lesson" slide library. Have students identify locations on the map. See more in this How Social Studies Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

20. Use a map like in the example above ... but use a drawing slide (premium) and have students circle / draw an outline around certain regions you've been studying.

Give me some ninja Pear Deck tricks ...

Absolutely!

1. Customize the slide library. Use the pre-designed slides by Pear Deck, but add your own customizations. For instance, instead of a simple happy/sad face to ask students how they feel, add emojis or memes!

2. Do vocabulary the Pear Deck way. Check out "Pear Deck Vocabulary" for an interactive way to do flashcards with your students. (It's part of the free plan!) It integrates with Quizlet and Merriam-Webster to create lists in a snap. Students can even help you illustrate flashcards with the "Flashcard Factory."

3. Get up to speed quick with a webinar. Pear Deck offers teachers free webinars on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. (lunch break!) and 4 p.m. (school's out!) Eastern time. Learn the features and best practices from the Pear Deck pros.

4. Insert a new question on the fly. Classroom discussions are organic things, aren't they? If you think of a question off the top of your head - or if your students do - you can add it to your Pear Deck presentation. Just use the "Add new question" button. (It looks like a speech bubble with a plus sign.) You can change your current question to a different type of question, re-ask the same question, or start a brand new question. See below (or here's a quick YouTube video to show you how).

LOOKING FOR MORE PRACTICAL IDEAS LIKE THESE? GET 3 FREE EBOOKS FULL OF RESOURCES!

101 Practical Ways to Ditch That Textbook, Matt's insanely practical guide full of new teaching ideas (updated spring 2018!)

101 Ways to Ditch That Textbook with G Suite, tons of practical, creative ways to use Google tools in the classroom.

50 Templates for Teachers, with templates you can copy and download to assign directly to students.

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links:

Are you looking for quality, meaningful professional learning that both equips and inspires teachers?

Matt provides in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops and breakout sessions that equip, inspire and encourage teachers to create change in their classrooms. Teachers leave with loads of resources. They participate. They laugh. They see tech use and teaching in a new light. Click the link below to contact us and learn how you can bring Matt to your school or district!

Ready to take your teaching skills -- and student learning -- to another level?

Check out our online courses. ALL under $50!

©2020 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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20 ways to use Pear Deck to engage students - Ditch That Textbook

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Ed Tech The standard lecture has plenty of detractors, and rightfully so. Done poorly, it can be an uninspired stream of facts, delivered in sit-and-get style that get forgotten quickly. However, we can turn the standard lecture - and its tool of choice, the presentation slide! - on its head.

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Audio is a great learning and reflection tool. So I've put together a list of 13 Tools to Record Audio on Chromebooks and Other Devices.

Now that we can add audio to our favorite Google Slides projects, we need to make sure we have some options for creating those audio files.

Chromebooks have become the most popular classroom device, now in millions of classroom worldwide.

Find the best tools for Chromebooks can sometimes be challenging.

So I put together this list of 13 tools to record audio on Chromebooks to help you find the best solution for you and your students.

Be sure you visit this post to learn How to Insert Audio in Google Slides and 25 Ways to Use Audio in Google Slides Projects to learn how to maximize this tool in the classroom.

I did some digging to find you the best tools to record audio on Chromebooks. Most of these tools are web-based and will work on many other devices as well.

Some a completely free, some offer free and paid versions, and a couple are only offered on a paid model. Find what works for you and your students.

Remember, your file must be a .mp3 or .wav file in order to work in Google Slides, and it must be uploaded into Google Drive. To get the step-by-step directions, check out my tutorial: How to Insert Audio in Google Slides.
These are NOT ranked! They are listed in no particular order.
from 123 Apps (web-based) - FREE

This web-based voice recorder app from 123 Apps is a free and simple way to record audio on a Chromebook or other laptops and desktops. No login needed. It is not compatible at this time with mobile browsers.

(web-based) - FREE

Vocaroo is an online tool that allows users to record, send, and download voice messages. It's free and easy to use, but will not work on mobile devices.

Screencastify is one of the most popular screen recorders used in education today. Did you know you can extract and export the audio? Yep! Click here to learn how to export the audio as an mp3.

(web-based and Chrome App) - FREE and Paid versions

Many teachers are already using WeVideo to create videos on Chromebooks, but did you know you can extract the audio from your video files? Yep! And this tools is available in both a free and paid version. Better yet, WeVideo works on Chromebooks ( get the Chrome App), Windows, Mac, and iOS and Android devices.

Reverb Record lets you record and share voice notes, memos, and responses without an account. Create links that embed directly to Twitter, making it easy to share voice Tweets, and Reverb links can also be shared on forums and embeds on websites and blogs.

(web-based and Chrome extension) - FREE and Paid versions

TwistedWave is a browser-based audio editor. You only need a web browser to access it, and you can use it to record or edit any audio file. All the audio files are auto-saved in the cloud.

Talk and comment allows you to record audio voice notes on a Chromebook or other web-enabled device, and you can leave comments on any site. This free extension lets you record and send voice notes on all sites. Voice notes can be played even if you don't have the extension installed. (Available also on Android.)

Cloud Audio Recorder is a simple and easy to use audio and voice recorder. You can also save your files directly to Google Drive.

(web-based) - FREE

Speakpipe is a very simple and easy voice recording web app. I use it on my podcast, The Shake Up Learning Show, for listeners to leave voice messages that can be played on the podcast. A simple interface that makes downloading the file super easy.

Record audio and take notes at the same time! This web app was designed for recording lectures and meetings so you can take time-stamped notes that correspond to the recording. Bonus! This also syncs to Google Drive or Dropbox.

(web-based and desktop app) - FREE

Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder allows you to record audio on Chromebooks, Windows, Mac, or mobile devices without any installation.

(web-based and Chrome App) - $249/year

Soundtrap may not be free, but it made this list because it is pretty awesome! Soundtrap is an audio recording and editing application with lots of integration and collaboration features. You can record voice, use beats, loop, and more!

(web-based and Chrome App) - $4.99/month

Create, record, and share the sounds you create with anyone using SoundCloud, the world's largest community of sound creators. Also available on iOS and Android.

Please share in the comments below.

You may also love these posts:

© Shake Up Learning 2020. 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.
What are your favorite tools to record audio on Chromebooks and other devices?

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13 Tools to Record Audio on Chromebooks and Other Devices

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Audio is a great learning and reflection tool. So I've put together a list of 13 Tools to Record Audio on Chromebooks and Other Devices. Now that we can add audio to our favorite Google Slides projects, we need to make sure we have some options for creating those audio files.

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Having a video production background, I am always looking for great, easy way to create videos for personal projects as well as for students to demonstrate their work. I know you're asking yourself, Bryan has video production background too, on top of all the other stuff he does? Yes, I actually do, and even taught college courses on it! When first starting out in ed tech, I owned a video production company called Mobile Media Productions where I was hired by clients to create videos of weddings, commercials, and even live events for major conferences. I started off in college with a passion in video production and specifically special effects design. I then was asked to teach other college students my talents, which allowed me to actually teach a college course as a TA, with my boss at the time being my sponsor teacher. I was able to use my skills to teach others how to design awesome special effects such as light sabers, time freezing and walking through frozen environments, and simple things such as lower thirds and animations.

It's absolutely incredible how easy all of this has become through the years, which is why I am always looking for ways to create highly effective designs with the simplest procedures. Students are looking to do the same. They have incredible ideas on paper, but when it comes time to execution, they often find at times it is too difficult and opt for something easier. With the advancements in technology, software and resources, students can still have that amazing idea and find the right tool to help execute it. Monica Burns talks all about this in her current book, Tasks Before Apps, which I highly suggest checking out. The task here is the students designing a video, so it leads to creative processes such as storyboarding and script writing, and then leads to setting up an ideal environment for filming, and learning about sound and camera angles. Finally, it leads to the right app.

There are plenty of great video production apps that are out there, and great websites too, to take your video and edit the filmed product. The part that I always have difficulty with was the teleprompter and camera, and where to look and how to make it look right because I was always staring off to one side and not looking at the camera. That led me to investing in teleprompter hardware where I could slide my camera or phone behind it, so I was looking directly at the camera. These cumbersome setups didn't make it easy for me, and when trying to execute the same setup with students, it just let to further difficulty and frustration on both ends.

I found a new app, called BigVu which takes care of this struggle [teleprompter], AND gives you amazing video editing features to make your video look like it was professional produced. Using this app and web combo, you can create video that allows for lower thirds, green screen backgrounds, video overlay, logos, etc. The best part is the simplicity and cost!

Let's discuss cost first, because this is always the first part schools worry about. The cost is $50 per year! Yup! That's it. You create an account, log in to the app and website and you're now connected between the two! This is amazing, because I can now have a professional video setup, for such a little cost for hardware which would include of a tablet or phone, a computer to edit online, and maybe a tripod to hold the camera. If you're looking for an amazing hardware solution to hold your device and even add microphones, lenses, etc, check out Padcaster! But, overall cost is low and that makes it doable for any classroom or any school newsroom.

Okay, next is process. Your phone or tablet acts as the camera. On the device you can type in your script to scroll across the screen, or you an create it through the website and transfer it so it appears on the device. Either way, your script will scroll over your camera's live feed which allows you to read, directly look at the camera, and see how your picture looks in selfie view. Problem that I have been having is now solved! In this mode you can create multiple takes, and then export the one you like the best.

When you're done recording, you export the video to the cloud, which then magically appears in the web console. From here, the video automagically creates poster views of your video to make it super easy to edit, and place in special items such as lower thirds, logos, titles, backgrounds, etc. You can even go in and add video or still images if shot in front of a green screen. Finally, one of my favorite things is the ability to edit audio and remove any background noise. This is such a huge help for a classroom and it does a pretty decent job!

I can just imagine all of the time saved for students using an app like this, especially since we make so many great book reviews, or news casts in classrooms. Since this has everything packed into it, this may be worth the little investment for your classroom! Enjoy creating, and do share with me what you have created uses BigVu by sharing on social media and tagging me, @EdTechNerd, in it!

Want a great worksheet that you can use to have your students design their storyboard for their next BigVu created video? Click below to download it for your use!

To check out more of what BigVu can do, see the video below:

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Creating Quick (AWESOME Looking) Classroom Videos with BigVu

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Having a video production background, I am always looking for great, easy way to create videos for personal projects as well as for students to demonstrate their work. I know you're asking yourself, Bryan has video production background too, on top of all the other stuff he does?

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Whiteboard.fi is an instant formative assessment tool for your classroom, providing you with live feedback and immediate overview over your students.

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Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home.

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20 tools are way too many tools to use regularly, but having a toolbox full of options to choose from is a great resource when you are creating something or having your students create something for learning.

I typically give my students a few tools to use when we are creating and collaborating. The tools listed below work well from my perspective and are student favorites. I've also included a few links in the descriptions that are connected to some of the ways we use these tools.

The Starters (We Use These Several Times a Week.)

- I think it is important for students to publish their work for authentic audiences. We regularly use Padlet to share creative work. We also regularly use Padlet as a backchannel discussion tool.

The Rest of the Team (We Use These At Least Once a Month)

Google Earth - Create stories and maps. With creation tools, you can draw on the map, add your photos and videos, customize your view, and share and collaborate with others.
Google Applied Digital Skills - Teach and learn practical digital skills using our free project-based video curriculum
Quizizz - Free gamified quizzes for every subject to play in class and at home. Pick an existing quiz or create your own for review, formative assessment, and more.

Unsplash Photos - Insert beautiful, free to use high-resolution images into any Slides presentation easily.
Screencastify - Screen recorder for Chrome. Capture, edit and share videos in seconds.
Book Creator - Book Creator is a simple tool to create ebooks on iPad, Chromebooks and on the web. Create a book and publish it to Apple's iBooks Store, or share it online

Book Recommendations Connected to Teachers Using EdTech Enhancing the Learning Experience

If you are looking for reviews or privacy options, I highly recommend visiting I know these are not the only great

Common Sense Education.
EdTech Tools. There are many great tools that I have just never incorporated into my classroom, so if you have a tool that you love, please add it to the comments.

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20 EdTech Resources To Engage Students in 2020

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20 tools are way too many tools to use regularly, but having a toolbox full of options to choose from is a great resource when you are creating something or having your students create something for learning. I typically give my students a few tools to use when we are creating and collaborating.

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Assistive Technology Resources - Wakelet

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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17 Brilliant Tech Tips From the Teachers of TikTok

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We love these amazing teacher tech tips for online learning that we found on TikTok! These make remote teaching so much easier.

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Chromebooks have transformed classrooms! But we have to find tools that will engage and inspire our students to be creative thinkers and innovators.

This post and podcast episode was inspired by a resource I found from Google for Education. You can't pass up the opportunity to share 60 AWESOME tools for Chromebooks! (Original source is linked in the show notes below.)

I don't have time to touch on all 60 tools in one episode, but I'll chat about the highlights. If you want the entire list, just scroll down! If you need any inspiration for tools to use, this is definitely the episode for you.

Not to mention that two of my long-time faves also made this list: Pear Deck and Read & Write for Google! You don't want to miss this episode!

Can you tell I'm excited about these tools? I wish I had time to talk about all of them, but I can't wait to highlight at least a few of my favorites! Tune in to hear about even more apps that I love, in four different categories.

. ..

Support for this episode comes from Pear Deck, the tool that helps you supercharge student engagement.

With Pear Deck, you can take any Google Slides presentation, add interactive questions or embed websites directly into your lesson, and send it to student devices so they can participate in real time while you present.

The basic version of Pear Deck is free, but my listeners can now get a complimentary 60-day trial of Pear Deck Premium with no credit card required.

This will give you access to features like the teacher dashboard, personalized takeaways, and more.

[00:28] - Welcome to episode 9 of the Shake Up Learning Show! Kasey explains her inspiration for today's topic.
In This Episode:
[03:18] - Today's question comes from Julie Cobb, who wants to know if Kasey will be doing any on-air coaching for coaches.

[05:02] - It's time to dive into the tools inspired by this Google for Education brochure. Kasey starts off by chatting about one of the Content Creation category tools, Book Creator .

[08:15] - Kasey shares another reason that she likes Book Creator so much.

Podcast Question of the Week:

[41:44] - Have you thought about getting Google Certified? Kasey can help! She helps educators get certified through her three online courses:
The Google Certified Educator Level 1 Academy The Google Certified Educator Level 2 Academy
[44:12] - Kasey thanks listeners for tuning in, and offers a way to give back: leave a review (using the word "y'all" if you can squeeze it in!). This helps other teachers find the podcast, and might get you a shoutout on a future episode!
The Google Certified Trainer Academy
60 Tools to Inspire Students with Chromebooks

This week's content was inspired by a brochure from Google for Education: 60 Tools to Inspire Students with Chromebooks . While I won't be able to talk about all 60 tools in this episode, I am going to hit the highlights and share the entire list of 60 tools in our show notes at shakeuplearning.com/9.

Content Creation Tools Literacy & Numeracy Tools STEAM Tools
Google Certification Courses Open May 21
Communication & Understanding Tools
If you have ever thought about getting Google Certified, but are unsure where to start, or overwhelmed with the content, I can help!

(1) The Google Certified Educator Level 1 Academy

(2) The Google Certified Educator Level 2 Academy

(3) Become a Google Certified Trainer Online Course

These courses are designed to walk you through the process and give you everything you need to know to pass the exam.

I have helped THOUSANDS get Google Certified, and I want to help YOU!

But don't miss this opportunity! These courses only open twice a year.

Enrollment opens on May 21st for a limited time.

If you miss this window, you have to wait until November!

SAVE BIG WITH BUNDLES!
But wait...there's more!
Opening all of these courses at once also gives you another advantage-bundling! If you want to purchase multiple courses at once, you can save BIG TIME!

Learn more at http://GetGoogleCertified.com

Links and Resources from this Episode:
The Shake Up Learning Show The Shake Up Learning Community on Facebook Join the Shake Up Learning Book Study! Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning from Static to Dynamic by Kasey Bell
Questions & Comments
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Do you have a question you would like me to answer on the show? I'd love to hear from you!

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Many inspiring educators are regular guests of the show. Currently, this type of guest is INVITE ONLY.

On-Air Coaching with Kasey Bell
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Are you struggling with one particular lesson? One piece of content or skill that's just hard to teach or doesn't seem to work well with technology?

Using this On-Air Coaching Application, tell me about yourself, your students, and your struggle. You may get to be on the podcast!!!

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© Shake Up Learning 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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60 Tools to Inspire Students with Chromebooks

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Chromebooks have transformed classrooms! But we have to find tools that will engage and inspire our students to be creative thinkers and innovators. This post and podcast episode was inspired by a resource I found from Google for Education. You can't pass up the opportunity to share 60 AWESOME tools for Chromebooks!

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It seems like we are in a renaissance period for audio. Despite the dominance of videos and pictures (hello, TikTok, SnapChat and Instagram...), people are increasingly turning to audio for communication, learning, sharing and entertainment.

Podcast listenership continues to grow (some stats here and here), audio tools like Voxer are becoming increasingly popular for PLNs, educators freaked out when the addition of audio in Google Slides was delayed last spring and, lastly, "podcasting in the classroom" sessions at education conferences are becoming increasingly prevalent.

So, how can you use it in your classroom? Before we get to that, let's talk about how to create the audio files.

Audio Recording Options

There are lots of options out there, all of which have pros and cons. I've discussed some on my podcast ( here and here) and other educators have shared about options on their blogs ( Eric Curts, John Sowash). As long as you identify your goal and think through the pros and cons, you'll probably have multiple options to choose from.

One thing that I like to consider when selecting a tech tool for a new endeavor is: Do we already use a tool that can also do this effectively? Not only does that reduce the learning curve, but it means that we're potentially connecting our students' login and information with 1 less app or website.

If you like that line of thinking, Screencastify may be the option for you when it comes to audio in the classroom! Did you realize that you could export Screencastify recordings as mp3 audio files? Check it out!

If you're already using the tool in your classroom for screencasts and other video projects, it might be a great option for you. This is available in the FREE version of the app. Your files are limited to 5 minutes in length, but you can record as many videos (or, in this case, audio files) as you'd like. The paid version provides unlimited video (or audio file) lengths.

21 Uses of Audio in the Classroom!
Note: each of these options can be done in any audio recording tool. Many of them could also be done via video or other formats rather than audio. The tool and the format that you choose should be based on what works best for you, your learners, your content and your goals.
1. Overdubbing Videos

I have advocated for the use of Screencastify or other screencasting tools to create overdubbed videos, such as videos of sports highlights with the broadcasters' voices overdubbed by students taking a Spanish class. Eric Curts has a great blog post about doing this.

But now that we can play audio in Google Slides, students could record their overdub, export it as audio and then...
(1) put the original video on a slide,
(2) set the video to mute,
(3) set the video to autoplay,
(4) put the overdub audio file on the same slide,
(5) set the audio to autoplay and, finally,
(6) if they timed it up right, when they present the slides it'll appear that the video has been overdubbed by the student!

Here's my favorite part of this idea: With the original strategy of recording the screen with the video playing while overdubbing it was walking in some copyright gray area (at best!), this option is safer as the original YouTube video is still being played.

2. Formative Assessment Checks

Having students submit exit tickets or other formative assement checks as audio files could be a great way to actually hear what your students are thinking!

3. Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Want to assess all of your students' reading fluency and comprehension? Audio could be a great way to do this.

4. Student Created Audiobooks

Students could create audiobooks for their own written works! This will also help them reflect and revise as they hear their writing.

5. Assisting Learners with Special Needs

Recording audio versions of in-class readings could be a great addition of assistive technology for students who have difficulty with or a disability with reading or sight. As many educators work on implementing universal design for learning (UDL), this could be useful!

6. Teacher-Student Communication

This could be a great way for your students to ask questions or share about how things are going for them.

7. Sub Plans

When I was teaching STEM, I often recorded video lessons for days when I would be gone at a conference or meeting. But what if I was absent because I was home sick? I certainly don't want my students' seeing a video of sick Jake. I could use audio!

8. World Languages or English Language Learners

Want to assess students' use of a language other than their native one? Audio could be a great way!

9. Music Classes!

Duh!

10. Recording Lessons or Instructions

Tired of repeating yourself? Many teachers have gone to recording videos of instructions or lessons for students to watch as many times as needed and whenever needed. Now you can do the same with audio if you prefer!

11. Practicing Speeches

In one of the earliest episodes of the Educational Duct Tape Podcast, Ann Radefeld and I discussed ways for students to practice speeches. We actually shared, among multiple options, the idea of recording the speeches with Screencastify so that the students could self-assess. While I like the idea of students seeing themselves speaking, using audio files is an option too!

12. Teacher Created Podcasts

Want a novel way to teach your students content? Record it as a podcast!

13. Class Created Podcasts

Having students collaborate to create a podcast is a great way to teach them collaboration skills, but also could really enhance curricular learning. Some teachers even have students create podcasts about what's happening in class for their parents/guardians and families to listen to!

Since all of your students can access Screencastify ( I'm assuming here...), they could each record segments that certain students (or you) can put together into 1 audio file.

14. Student Created Podcasts

I always advocate for replacing paper & pencil activities (when appropriate) with more creative options. I don't know about you, but I'd rather listen to a student podcast than read a student essay!

While there are lots of options available for podcasting-including Anchor.FM, which is free-using a tool like Screencastify would be a nice way to simulate a podcast within the safe confines of a classroom, especially if your students are under 13 years old.

Jen Giffen wrote a great blog post about putting those audio files into Google Slides as a "podcast player."

15. Instructions in a HyperDoc

Whether built in Google Docs, Slides, Drawings or even in Microsoft Word, Wakelet or elsewhere, HyperDocs are dependent on students viewing information and procedures digitally and at different times. You could record the instructions once and link them into the HyperDoc for students to listen to when they're ready!

16. Sharing Info with Parents

Want to fill parents in on some important information or update them on what's going on in class? You could record it as audio!

17. A Novel Replacement for Reading Logs

Did you get pun there? 😬 ( the sad part is that I've used it before!) 😆 Anyhow, what if students recorded their reactions, reflection and responses to their reading as an audio file and put them all in one location (a Google Drive folder, in a Google Slides project, etc.).

18. Feedback

Students will probably understand your feedback better if it's in an audio format rather than just in text.

19. Narrating your Google Slides

If you record yourself going through a presentation, you could add that audio to your actual Slides to provide a narrated version that your students could look at-and listen to-on their own time!

20. Voiceovers for Videos

If you want to provide additional information to a video, recording an audio voiceover could be a good way to do it. If you follow the process in #1 above, you could even set your audio voiceover and the video to autoplay simultaneously in Google Slides! 🤯

21. Brainstorming & Pre-Writing

A key step in the writing process or the design process is what happens before the writing or designing. Recording a spoken brainstorming session could be really powerful!

Want more ideas?
Check out this post from Screencastify, this post from Edutopia, and this post from Kasey Bell's Shake Up Learning site. What other ideas do you have?
Which one is your favorite?
Do you have any examples to share?
COMMENT BELOW!

Published by

Jake Miller

Jake is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and is the Lead Technology Integration Specialist for Brady Middle School in Ohio's Orange City Schools. In the past he taught STEM, Science & Math in Stow-Munroe Falls, Ohio, where he was also a leader in the district's Technology Leadership Team and a co-advisor for the middle school's STEM Club. He has been an educator since 2003. His Bachelor's Degree is in middle-level education (math/science) from the University of Akron and his Master's Degree is in Instructional Technology from Kent State University. He has enjoyed providing more than 100 professional development opportunities at conferences and school districts across the state of Ohio. He is very involved in Twitter (@JakeMillerTech) and provides regular pointers for educators with his #GAFETip tweets. View all posts by Jake Miller

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It seems like we are in a renaissance period for audio. Despite the dominance of videos and pictures (hello, TikTok, SnapChat and Instagram...), people are increasingly turning to audio for communication, learning, sharing and entertainment.

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Our deep integrations with today's most popular and trusted tools like Dropbox, Box, Google Suite, JIRA, Slack, and Sketch tie
in seamlessly to your existing workflow
within a scalable online whiteboard.

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Miro | Free Online Collaborative Whiteboard Platform

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Whether your teams are colocated, distributed, or fully remote, Miro provides an engaging, intuitive, in-person collaboration experience with multiple options for real-time or asynchronous teamwork on an online whiteboard.

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After months and months of learning, it all comes down to this. The end of the semester project. How can your students encapsulate the most important parts of the semester to demonstrate learning?

At the end of the semester, it's easy to slip into "review for the test" mode.

Projects let students take what they've learned, put it all together and show off a little of their own creativity and personality.

And maybe, just maybe, that project may spark a passion that may stick with them for the rest of their lives.

End-of-semester final projects are cumulative

These projects are, in many ways, summative assessments.

We aren't checking for fact recall from the latest activity. These cumulative activities pull from lessons learned throughout the whole semester - or year.

Some ideas for making end-of-semester projects as effective as possible:

Provide some thinking time. Let students probe their brains - and notes and other resources - for what stands out to them, what they remember. This is an assessment, after all. We want to see what stuck in their memories.

Avoid lots of whole-class review. Re-teaching lots and lots of content from the semester will make many students turn their attention switches to "off". If these are independent projects, let them do their own independent review.

Give choice and personalization options. I've heard someone say that student projects where they all turn out exactly the same aren't projects. They're recipes. Giving students some choices in their projects - and letting their personalities shine through wherever possible - can be messy. But messy for you may be liberating for them. See this through the students' eyes.

Prioritization is key. These projects, believe it or not, are exercises in curation and brevity. Students can't include everything from the semester in these projects. They're choosing carefully. Help them find the right subset of what they've learned - or summarize and choose from their pool of learning wisely.

Think about the audience. Who will get to see these projects? If the audience is larger than one person (the teacher), there's a chance students' motivation will be higher. Creating for an audience doesn't mean sitting through an oral presentation by every student for three days. A digital gallery walk can be done in short order. Plus, not every student has to see every other student's project.

Think about a higher purpose. In his book , Dan Pink says there are three main drivers of motivation, according to science. Purpose - doing something bigger than yourself - is one. As you and your students think about these projects, think about how they can be done to benefit others. Your students have developed knowledge and skills that can benefit others. Connect with an organization - or an underserved population in your community. Sometimes, it can be a simple shift, like creating the project with a specific group in mind.

10 end-of-semester final project ideas

So, how can we pull a semester's worth of learning together in one project?

Here are some ideas to use - or to spark your own creative ideas!

1. Create a website.

Websites are easier to create than ever - and more attractive, too.

Websites are highly organizational tools. They help students pull information together in sub-pages with headings. By organizing information for their readers, they're also organizing it and making sense of it for themselves.

Resource: NEW Google Sites: 10 things teachers must know

2. Create a screencast video.

Screencast videos are an alternative to the traditional "talk in front of the class" presentations.

They're efficient: students can create and view them independently.

They let students avoid the nerves of talking in front of the class and focus on presenting what they know and have learned.

(And if you want to go the "they have to get over their nerves and learn public speaking" route, that may be true, but also consider this. It's likely NOT in your standards for kids to defeat their fears. And if their fears have an adverse effect on their grade despite being SOLID on their content knowledge, that may not be a fair way to assess.)

Screencast videos can take many forms:

Suggested tool: Screencastify (Google Chrome) and Screencast-O-Matic (web browser)

Resource: 24 ways to create great classroom video with Screencastify

3. Make a single multimedia webpage.

Creating a website can be pretty comprehensive. If you want your students to summarize everything on a single, attractive, multimedia-rich page, then some of these single-page web design tools may be a great option.

You can add text, links, images, videos and more.

Students can create custom images to add to their pages with tools like Google Drawings and Canva.

With many of these tools, they create fancy design features for you with no coding or web design experience necessary.

Suggested tool: Adobe Spark Page or Sway

Resource: 5 ways to use Adobe Spark Page in your classroom

4. Connect with a cause.

This plays back to the purpose tip at the top of this article. Can your student use the skills and information they've acquired to benefit others? It could be ...

People in your community

Students at your school

People in need around the world

Those seeking information on the Internet

Some internet searching - or discussions with students and others - can reveal a cause. A video call with a representative of the cause or organization could shed new light for students and motivate them. You can use the Microsoft Educator Network database to find a free virtual guest speaker.

Doing something in service of others can get higher motivation and better results.

Suggested tool: Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, FaceTime

Resource: 10 tips for great class video calls

5. Create an infographic.

Infographics are very brain-friendly. They create a powerful verbal/visual mix that helps encode information in students' long-term memory.

Plus, they can be fun to create! They can end up being these visually stimulating products of student learning ... the kind that students want to share with others!

I love pulling in icons from The Noun Project or Flat Icon to blend with short snippets of text - phrases or single sentences.

Pro tip: To keep students from spending inordinate amounts of time searching for the perfect icon, share a Google Drawings template for them to use where you've provided lots of icons. I've done this in these "icon boards" templates. Make something of your own - or copy one of mine and assign it to your students!

As mentioned earlier, end-of-semester final projects won't include everything students have learned. Infographics force them to summarize, to be succinct, to curate and choose carefully.

Resource: Create eye-popping infographics with Google Drawings

6. Create a series of podcasts.

Podcasts are like on-demand radio shows you can download on your phone and listen to anywhere. The popularity and listenership of podcasts continues to grow. It's an easy-to-access medium for information. You can consume podcasts while you exercise, garden, drive or commute.

Students can listen to podcasts. But they can also create them.

Many podcasts produce regular episodes on a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). However, a special series of podcasts would be a great fit for an end-of-semester final project.

Students can plan the content. Divide it into episodes. Record episodes. Edit them to add sound effects and transition music. And, in some cases, produce the podcasts for the world to listen to.

Some tools (like Anchor) are made for broadcasting podcasts to the major platforms. Others (like Synth) are made for recording audio for classroom purposes - but can still be embedded in a class or student website. (Here's an overview of how Synth works.)

Resource: Why your students need a podcast: how to do it fast and free

7. Do a genius hour-style project

Genius hour - or 20 percent time - encourages students to spend 20 percent of their class time pursuing something they're passionate about. Educators have given students free rein or asked them to find something within the confines of their content that they're passionate about.

This is less a project type (what to make) and more a project topic (what to talk about).

Giving students choice within the confines of the class standards can give them some independence and help them see themselves in the content.

Ask yourself: How can I give my students some freedom of choice while still accomplishing our objectives?

Suggested tool: Any of the tools mentioned here (or others!)

Resource: 20 percent projects: 7 ideas to think about

8. Create an annotated collection.

Curation is defined as "the action or process of selecting, organizing, and looking after the items in a collection or exhibition."

The Internet is ever-growing. Our problem isn't a lack of information or access. It's trying to choose carefully from more resources than we could ever consume.

In short: curation is a valuable tool for the future.

Instead of creating, students could curate. They can gather the best resources from the web that represent what they've learned.

And after gathering them, they can annotate - write short descriptions of why these are good resources, why they represent what they've learned, how what they've learned fits. Those annotations help add a layer of critical thinking.

Resource: 12 curation ideas for students AND teachers with Wakelet

9. Tell it as a story.

I really believe there is a story in anything. Our brains love stories. It's how we passed information down through the generations in history.

Instead of relaying lots of facts, how can we put them into a story? Can we frame information through the story of someone who would use them? Can we tell the story of someone who went through what we just studied?

Storytelling techniques are powerful. Consider using vivid language. Pauses. Gestures. Quotes and dialogue.

Ask yourself: How can we use the powerful features of storytelling to make content compelling - or bring out the unique compelling parts of what we're learning?

Resource: Using Weekend Language to engage students

10. Make an explainer video.

Explainer videos are all over the Internet and YouTube. We love a good, short, clear explainer video.

Many of them include sketching and simple images.

Many of them aren't more than a minute or two.

With some of the free explainer video tools out there, students can create short videos that demonstrate what they've learned. They can create voice-overs where they explain what's being displayed on the screen.

If all the important topics are spread over all the students in class, your class can create a great set of explainer videos that every student can use to review at the end of the semester.

Resource: 20 video project ideas to engage students
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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10 ideas for digital end-of-semester final projects

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After months and months of learning, it all comes down to this. The end of the semester project. How can your students encapsulate the most important parts of the semester to demonstrate learning? At the end of the semester, it's easy to slip into "review for the test" mode.

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The end of the school year is upon us. It's time to reflect on the growth we've made and showcase our learning. We get to pull out our favorite end-of-year projects and activities.
It's also the perfect time to try something brand new.
If you are looking for:

ways to keep motivation high as you review for the end of the year assessments

new final project ideas

innovative ways to showcase student work

Then you have come to the right place.

In a recent #Ditchbook chat, we asked the community to share their BEST final projects along with creative ways to review for the end of the year assessments. They did not disappoint.

Participants shared ideas like:

clothespin bumper cars

choice boards

the million dollar project

epic review games

...and SO many more!

Scroll down to find 50+ awesome end-of-year ideas, activities and projects! Also, be sure to check out this Wakelet collection to see the entire chat.

Related posts:

Want to get in on the next #DitchBook Twitter chat?

50+ awesome end-of-year ideas, activities and projects
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:
Categories: #DitchBook Twitter chat, Assessment, Student engagement

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. If you decide to purchase, think of it as a way of supporting Ditch That Textbook without paying anything extra! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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50+ awesome end-of-year ideas, activities and projects

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The end of the school year is upon us. It's time to reflect on the growth we've made and showcase our learning. We get to pull out our favorite end-of-year projects and activities. It's also the perfect time to try something brand new.

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Chrome Extension

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Chrome: The Goo.gl URL Shortener Extension adds a button to your Chrome toolbar that brings one-click URL shortening via Google's super-speedy and reliable URL shortener, goo.gl.

URL shorteners are great for minimizing URLs in a Twitter message or keeping links clean in an...
Read more Read

It's simply to use: When you're on a page you want to create a shortened link for, just click the button in your toolbar or set up a keyboard shortcut. (Actually, you can set up a ton of shortcuts if you want, available in the extension's options, but a simple "Copy url" shortcut is the most obviously useful-maybe Ctrl+Shift+C.) The shortened URL will be automatically copied to your clipboard, and you still get all the nice stats tracking built into the goo.gl web site. You can also generate a QR code with a click of the button and view your history (if you sign into your Google account). If your shortened URL is ultimately going into some sort of sharing service, you can also enable one-click sharing for various services.

Previously relegated to the Google Toolbar and Feedburner, Google URL Shortener finally has a web...
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In all, it's simple, very configurable, and quick.

goo.gl URL Shortener | Google Chrome Extensions

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Goo.gl URL Shortener Is a One-Click URL Shortener and QR Code Creator for Chrome

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Chrome: The Goo.gl URL Shortener Extension adds a button to your Chrome toolbar that brings one-click URL shortening via Google's super-speedy and reliable URL shortener, goo.gl. URL shorteners are great for minimizing URLs in a Twitter message or keeping links clean in an...

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Chrome Extension

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OneTab lets you easily export and import your tabs as a list of URLs. You can also create a web page from your list of tabs, so that you can easily share your tabs with other people, other computers, or with your smartphone or tablet.

You can drag and drop tabs in your OneTab list to reorder them. You can also hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key while restoring tabs and they will remain in your OneTab list (meaning you can use OneTab as a way of quickly launching a set of commonly used tabs). OneTab supports retina displays. Note that OneTab is designed to leave in place any 'pinned' tabs you have.

You will not lose your list of tabs if you accidentally close the OneTab window, if your browser crashes, or if restart your computer.

2020 Update: We've been working like crazy to make OneTab much much better - including implementing lots of your feature suggestions. We're full time on it now and have great momentum. Thank you for all of your thoughtful feedback, please keep it coming.

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OneTab extension for Google Chrome and Firefox - save up to 95% memory and reduce tab clutter

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OneTab lets you easily export and import your tabs as a list of URLs. You can also create a web page from your list of tabs, so that you can easily share your tabs with other people, other computers, or with your smartphone or tablet.

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Quick access to websites/urls

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QR Codes: Strategies for Teaching & Learning

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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Resources to Support Formative Assessment

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Resources to Support Formative Assessment

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Formative Assessment Resources for Teachers and Students

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Google Drawings

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Twitter in the classroom Why This Tool? The BEST personalized learning opportunity! Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone PD Connects you with educators across the world Pushes your thinking & challenges you to take risks Resources Twitter for Teachers - A guide to everything Twitter Twitter Info by TeachTho...

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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Check out Cyndi Williams' work, skills and projects being showcased to employers on Portfolium.

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Steve Wick

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Ed Tech

The standard lecture has plenty of detractors, and rightfully so. Done poorly, it can be an uninspired stream of facts, delivered in sit-and-get style that get forgotten quickly.

However, we can turn the standard lecture - and its tool of choice, the presentation slide! - on its head.

The result can be students actively working with new ideas. Hands-on. Right away.

Presentation slides can be a drag.
But when students (and teachers!) have something interactive to do with them, it changes the game.
That's what I love about Pear Deck. And, of course, the best news: much of what I show you in this post can be done with the free plan!
(Note: I have no official relationship with Pear Deck, and I'm not being paid for writing this post. I'm just a Pear Deck user who loves the potential for it and wants to share it with others! I was given a Pear Deck premium account for review.)

What is Pear Deck?

It's a way to turn your presentation slides into interactive activities for your students. (It also works wonderfully with teachers in professional development!)

If you're using Google Slides, Pear Deck makes it super easy to get started. Pear Deck has created a Google Slides add-on. This makes it SUPER easy to make your slides interactive right from Google Slides.

1. Open a Google Slides presentation.

2. Click on the "Add-ons" menu and "Get add-ons ...".

3. Search for "Pear Deck" and click the blue "+ FREE" button.

4. Load up the Pear Deck sidebar menu. (It'll look like the image above/right.)

Here's a video that shows how to use Pear Deck with Google Slides:

How do I build slides with Pear Deck?

That's pretty easy, too. If you're using Google Slides, just create the slides that you want to display to your students. Then, use the sidebar menu to add interactive elements to each slide.

(You can do all of this at peardeck.com with PowerPoint slides, too.)

The bonus with Pear Deck: You can turn any of those slides into interactive slides. Some of the options include having students ...

enter text

enter a number

choose from multiple choices

draw a response (premium only)

interact with a live web page

drag an icon to a specific part of the slide (premium only)

Pear Deck has a slide library where you can choose pre-created activities ...

for the beginning of a lesson (check prior knowledge, ask what students are curious about)

during the lesson (summarize, assess learning, gauge understanding)

at the end of the lesson (retell what they learned, share feelings)

Set up your slide deck the way you want. The next step - let's get students connected to it so they can interact!

Learn how to use Pear Deck with this FREE ebook!

Getting Started with Pear Deck is written by Pear Deck Certified Coaches Mary Alys Foutz and Mike Mohammad. This ebook will walk you through everything from installing the add-on for Google Slides, to using the Teacher Dashboard.

How do I run a slide presentation?

Once all of your slides are designed and ready to go (including interactive slides), it's as easy as clicking "Present with Pear Deck" in your sidebar menu.

It will create a screen you can display to students on your projector, interactive display or flat panel. It will prompt students go to joinpd.com (think "join Pear Deck") and enter the join code.

When you're ready to start, your slides will be displayed on the students' devices. From the teacher device, you can ...

Go to the previous or next slide

See all slides with the slide navigator

Project student responses

Lock or unlock a slide

Add a new question

Make a slide full screen (under "more")

Open the teacher dashboard in a new tab (under "more")

Open the teacher dashboard on another device (under "more")

End the session (under "more")

From there, you display the slides. Students interact. You do what you want with student responses.

Using the new Pear Deck add audio feature

The new Add Audio feature lets you record or upload audio files to lessons. Students can listen to those audio files on their devices. This is a really helpful feature for remote learning -- especially when students are using Pear Deck in student-paced mode.

Ideas for using the new add audio feature:

Give instructions verbally. Teachers can record their voices giving students instructions. This can be helpful for students who struggle with reading or students whose native language isn't English.

Do social-emotional checks. Leave students a word of encouragement. When they hear it in your voice, it means more than just reading it in text.

Explain answers. When you talk about a problem students need to solve -- or a question that needs answered -- how you arrived at your answer is important. Having a teacher-guided answer with explanation can help students understand.

Read a story. Record audio of your voice while you read a favorite story -- or a new story! -- to students remotely. Students can even download the audio file to listen to later.

Guide pronunciation. Model how to pronounce new terms and vocabulary words in an audio file.

How to use Pear Deck for remote learning

Pear Deck gives you interactive options when teaching remotely.

Gather students on a video call with Skype, Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.

Share your screen with an interactive Pear Deck presentation.

Students join the presentation in a separate tab (or in a window side-by-side with the video call).

Students follow along with the presentation and interact with the slides. You talk through the presentation on the video call.

Student-paced mode for Remote Learning

Students can progress through interactive Pear Deck slides independently in student-paced mode.

Create slides.

Share them with students with a deadline to finish them.

Students work through the slides and interact with them.

You watch their progress through Pear Deck.

When they're finished, Pear Deck gives you results to guide your instruction.

In the video below, I gave a webinar on how to use student-paced mode. Check it out to see how student-paced mode works, how it can be used for remote learning, and for answers to common questions.

Flip through the webinar slides (below) to get a feel for how student-paced mode works.

How can I use Pear Deck?

Here are a bunch of ideas, from the basic to the geeky. On most of these, I'll default to the free question types (and will note which ones require a premium account).

Ideas for the classroom

1. Ask students what they already know about the topic with a text question. (You might be surprised what they already know ... or what they don't know!)

Use the text slide in the "Beginning of class" slide library.

2. Ask students if they're ready to move on with a multiple choice question. (This sure beats raising hands, where you don't always get honest answers.

You can reword the draggable agree/disagree slide in the "During lesson" slide library.

3. Draw out a mind map to diagram what you've been studying.

Use the mind map slide in the "During lesson" slide library.

4. Retell what you've learned that day in your own words. This is another digital version of the ultra brain-friendly "brain dump" I described in this post.

Use the text slide in the "End of lesson" slide library.

5. Ask students to create a new ending/outcome for something you've studied that day.

Create a new text slide.

6. Ask students to describe their thinking process instead of providing the answer. (A focus on the process can illuminate student understanding better than an answer many times.)

Create a new text slide or a drawing slide (premium).

7. Have students put items in order (chronological, sequential, etc.). List the items on the slide and have students write them out in the correct order.

Create a new text slide.

8. Predict what happens next in a video or a story. Show a short video clip or an image ... or stop in the middle of a story in class.

Create a new text slide.

9. Label a diagram. Add an image of the diagram (without labels) on the slide. Have students add the labels.

Create a new drawing slide (premium) to draw labels ... or, put numbers on your image where you want students to label and have them label with a text slide.

10. Create an advertisement. You add an image or two to a slide. Have students add text to the slide to create a compelling ad based on what you've learned.

Create a new drawing slide (premium) to add text ... or, use a text slide to have students write what they would put on the ad.

Ideas from the Pear Deck library

Pear Deck has some great users doing very cool things, too! Here are some from their great library of examples from the classroom ...
11. Teach parabolas / quadratics using Super Mario Bros. (via MrOrrIsAGeek.com blog).
12. Helping students understand Anglo Saxon poetry with thought-provoking guided questions (via Melissa Pilakowski).
13. Get students interacting with literature, art and music from the Romantic Era (via Pear Deck).
14. Teach coordinate graphs with draggable dots (premium) and a coordinate plane. See how in this How Math Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

15. Teach grammar with draggable icons (premium) by displaying a paragraph and having students identify different parts of it. See how in this How ELA Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

16. Display a short passage of text with a drawing slide (premium). Ask students to use the highlighter to highlight an example and the text box to explain why they picked that example.

17. Count the number of forces on the object in a diagram like the one below. Ask students to enter the number in a number slide. (via Pear Deck) See more in this How Science Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

18. Have students in a world language class translate a sentence with a text slide. Then, see how the same idea can be translated differently in a variety of ways. See more in this How World Language Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

19. Add a map to a draggable (premium) slide - or add a map the draggable slide in the "During lesson" slide library. Have students identify locations on the map. See more in this How Social Studies Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

20. Use a map like in the example above ... but use a drawing slide (premium) and have students circle / draw an outline around certain regions you've been studying.

Give me some ninja Pear Deck tricks ...

Absolutely!

1. Customize the slide library. Use the pre-designed slides by Pear Deck, but add your own customizations. For instance, instead of a simple happy/sad face to ask students how they feel, add emojis or memes!

2. Do vocabulary the Pear Deck way. Check out "Pear Deck Vocabulary" for an interactive way to do flashcards with your students. (It's part of the free plan!) It integrates with Quizlet and Merriam-Webster to create lists in a snap. Students can even help you illustrate flashcards with the "Flashcard Factory."

3. Get up to speed quick with a webinar. Pear Deck offers teachers free webinars on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. (lunch break!) and 4 p.m. (school's out!) Eastern time. Learn the features and best practices from the Pear Deck pros.

4. Insert a new question on the fly. Classroom discussions are organic things, aren't they? If you think of a question off the top of your head - or if your students do - you can add it to your Pear Deck presentation. Just use the "Add new question" button. (It looks like a speech bubble with a plus sign.) You can change your current question to a different type of question, re-ask the same question, or start a brand new question. See below (or here's a quick YouTube video to show you how).

LOOKING FOR MORE PRACTICAL IDEAS LIKE THESE? GET 3 FREE EBOOKS FULL OF RESOURCES!

101 Practical Ways to Ditch That Textbook, Matt's insanely practical guide full of new teaching ideas (updated spring 2018!)

101 Ways to Ditch That Textbook with G Suite, tons of practical, creative ways to use Google tools in the classroom.

50 Templates for Teachers, with templates you can copy and download to assign directly to students.

Ready to take your tech skills -- and student learning -- to another level?

Sign up for Tech to Learn online course! Just $49

©2020 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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20 ways to use Pear Deck to engage students - Ditch That Textbook

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Ed Tech The standard lecture has plenty of detractors, and rightfully so. Done poorly, it can be an uninspired stream of facts, delivered in sit-and-get style that get forgotten quickly. However, we can turn the standard lecture - and its tool of choice, the presentation slide! - on its head.

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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Book Creator - Love Learning - Book Creator app

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Teachers love it. Students love it. Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.

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50+ Chrome Extensions for the Classroom

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Record a video of your screen. Split the screen of your web browser. Block ads. Keep digital sticky notes. Even make your phone ring to end a conversation that's gone on too long.

Google Chrome extensions turn your Chrome web browser into a veritable Swiss Army knife of versatile options.

There are thousands of these little apps/programs you can install in your browser from the Chrome Web Store for free. They live in the top right corner of Google Chrome.

Anyone can install Chrome extensions, but at some schools, certain (or all) extensions may be blocked for students.

During a recent #DitchBook Twitter chat, we shared our favorite Google Chrome extensions. We listed more than 50 Chrome extensions for educators and students (even though there may be a bit of duplication).

Find one that will make a difference for you ... or try out several of them! Just know that having too many Chrome extensions running at once can slow your web browser down significantly. (And there's an extension for that ... Extensity! More info below!)

(Another way to slow your browser down: having too many tabs open, and there's an extension for that, too: OneTab! Again, more info coming!)
Is there a Chrome extension you love that didn't make the list? Please add it in a comment below!
Want to get in on the next #DitchBook Twitter chat?

They happen every Thursday at 7 p.m. Pacific / 8 p.m. Mountain / 9 p.m. Central / 10 p.m. Eastern.

They often run for 30 minutes. Many times, moderators will offer bonus questions for those that want to continue chatting.

Check out what's happening on the #DitchBook Twitter chat by clicking here. (Even if you don't have a Twitter account!)

New to Twitter? Want to know the basics? Check out my Twitter guide for teachers.

Want to sign up for Twitter? Here are the directions.

Having trouble? Still unclear on how a Twitter chat works? Feel free to tweet to these #DitchBook ambassadors and they'll help - Karly Moura @karlymoura, Sean Fahey @seanjfahey, Sandy Otto @sandyrotto, Rachel Marker @rachelmarker, Evan Mosier @emosier3, Mandi Tolen @TTmomTT, Craig Klement @craigklement, Tara Martin @taramartinedu, Krista Harmsworth @zonie71, Anne Kamper @annekamper, Rayna Freedman @rlfreedm, Lance McClard @drmcclard, Stephanie DeMichele @sdemichele or David Platt @herrplatt!.

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

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Google Chrome extensions galore! 50+ for the classroom

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Record a video of your screen. Split the screen of your web browser. Block ads. Keep digital sticky notes. Even make your phone ring to end a conversation that's gone on too long. Google Chrome extensions turn your Chrome web browser into a veritable Swiss Army knife of versatile options.

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Formative Assessment Resources - Wakelet

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The key to unlocking learning and growth in classrooms!

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Access Google Docs with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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How To Install and Remove Google Chrome Extensions - Google Chrome Tutorial

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In this video tutorial I show you how to Install and Remove Google Chrome Extensions. Google Chrome Extensions are "Mini Applications" used to enhance your browsing experience within the Google Chrome Browser. If you have any questions put them in the comment box below and I will answer them as quickly as possible.

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Creative Commons

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Exploring Copyright, Fair Use, & Creative Commons

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Examples

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PD in Your PJs- First Five Activities in Seesaw, Grades 6-12

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Anchor

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Get to know Spotify for Podcasters, the free, all-in-one podcast platform for every creator.

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Sean Fahey

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

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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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Screencasting: Tips and Resources to Maximize Remote Learning Sessions - Wakelet

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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Reaching across the globe with Flipgrid

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HowToVideos & Examples

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#BookSnaps ISTE 2017 Ignite

Create #BookSnaps with Snapchat App

Create #BookSnaps with Seesaw App

#BookSnaps with Google Drawing

#BookSnaps Speak App Smash
Now easier to do with 2019 above vid: #Booksnaps with Flipgrid Shorts Video
#BookSnaps with Pic Collage Kids

#BookSnaps with Book Creator

#BookSnaps Images with Snapchat

#BookSnaps Images with Book Creator

#RealYouSnaps with Seesaw

#BookSnaps Gallery via Padlet.com
Click the thumbnail. Scroll left, right, up and down. Click individual #BookSnaps to enlarge.
Scan the QR Code to view a Fiction #BookSnaps Gallery.

Share #BookSnaps Padlet Portfolios Via QR Codes

Take a Gallery Walk of #BookSnaps Padlets

Please enter your City, State, or Country.

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Please view my blog post titled #BookSnaps - Snapping for Learning for more information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6:48 - 4. Add a gradient background.

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

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

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

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

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Graphic Design Templates

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Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.

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How do you get the most out of social media without letting things get lost in the shuffle?

Being an educator on social media can be both inspiring and overwhelming. There are so many great ideas and resources out there to use that it can be hard to keep up with it all.

It can be frustrating to see something you want to try and before you can make note of it, manually or digitally, it gets lost in the shuffle. As much as tools like Google Keep, Pocket, or simply bookmarking links can help you stay organized, sometimes it's still just not enough to sift through it all to find what you need the most at that moment in time.

Matt Miller recently mentioned in his Ditch That Textbook Podcast how he has started using Wakelet to quickly save those ideas and resources that he comes across on Twitter in just a few clicks (on the mobile app for Apple, Android, or the Chrome extension).

With Wakelet, you can ...

create "wakes" (or collections)

add tweets or other social media posts to them

add more content (like text, images, PDFs and more)

organize everything with headers

share those collections with the world (or embed them on a webpage)

make them visible to as narrow or broad an audience as you want

Check out all the how-to's in these Wakelet tutorial videos.
This is an instant game changer as it helps you save anything with a link to a collection in the cloud, that you can then title, reorganize, add descriptions/notes, add collaborators, and share. What a time saver!

The potential for its use doesn't stop there. (Disclaimer: Before this starts to sound like a sales pitch, let me explain that there is actually no sale to pitch. Wakelet is completely FREE.)

This tool really highlights the power of curation. You've heard of the 4 C's (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity) right? Let's add another C: curation.

What are some practical ways to bring curation into each classroom by using a tool like Wakelet? How can we as educators leverage a tool like Wakelet to grow professionally? We'll start in the classroom.

Wakelet in the Classroom

Student Work Portfolios. Similar to using Google Sites, students can quickly save links to different Google Drive files into a collection in Wakelet. In order to make sure their files are viewable, they can use Alice Keeler's AnyoneCanView extension to change a file's sharing settings in one click. Students can reorder their files and add notes before each one to take users through their journey of a particular unit or the entire school year.

Project Based Learning. If you are having students do a project that requires a lot of research and gathering of resources, Wakelet is a very quick way to save them either with the mobile app or the Chrome extension. You can create categories on the fly as you find and save items to a collection.

Genius Hour or 20% time Project. Hold students accountable and provide structure for what they could produce as a result of a Genius Hour project. They can easily gather research and/or created artifacts to present in a visual and creative way.

Breakout EDU. Lots of teachers have started designing games for students like Breakout EDU to play in order to more fully engage in the content, as well as participate in collaborative problem solving. Create a collection (or wake as it is called) of your favorite digital Breakout EDU games. Or use the tool to build the game itself using different online resources or G Suite apps.

HyperDocs. Similar to Breakout EDU, curate your own collections of HyperDocs and associated resources, build your multimedia text set to link to a HyperDoc, or use Wakelet as your packaging for your HyperDoc. The main perk is that it will already look polished and professional without taking too much time to design and format a Google Doc or Slide deck.

Personalized Learning Menus. Quickly create a collection of different activities, web based or via G Suite files, to serve as a Personalized Learning Menu that allows students to choose how they want to dig deeper into a concept or lesson.

Google Expeditions. Curate your own collection of Google Earth activities for students to choose from in order to explore a specific location. Include your own directions and accompanying G Suite files for activities to complete.

Novel Studies. Create and share different artifacts that could then be added to a wake. Make a My Map to tour the settings of the story (if it takes place in a real place), add a ThingLink of the cover of the book where students can add links of audio or video reflections they made about the design choices. Include anything else that you might have students do for a novel study. You could include smaller HyperDocs for each chapter that they can make copies of and then build into their own collection. Keep it all in one place as you progress through the book.

How-To Math Reviews. Have students pick a math concept, gather how-to videos from Khan Academy and YouTube etc., and then rank order, with notes of explanation, according to which was the easiest to the hardest to understand. Then have them create their own using the best ideas from the other videos using a tool like WeVideo.

Parent Newsletters. Create a collection of resources, how-to videos, a link to your class webpage (or embed the wake into your site), and anything else that might be helpful to inform parents of the learning going on in your class and how they can help reinforce it at home. Tell parents how they can download the Wakelet mobile app and follow your class profile to see a new wake for each week's learning. It can then serve as a database for reviewing concepts before major assessments or at the end of the year. Here is an awesome example from Brandi Reams (@b_reamswpa) that shows just how much you can curate for your students and parents. Now imagine for a moment if every teacher in your grade level, or in the entire school had a Wakelet page. You could then have a page for your school with links to each class page. What a great way to create your own website in very little time and not to mention share your school's culture and story!

Wakelet for Professional Development

Podcast Playlists. As long as you can get a specific link to a podcast through your podcast app or if there is a web page associated with the episode, you can add them to a wake and essentially generate your own custom Podcast Playlist. This is great for introducing your colleagues to podcasts by giving them a curated sampling to choose from, or give them a series of different episodes from different podcasts that all focus on a common topic. This is a great way to collect your favorite podcast episodes to refer back to if needed.

Social Stories & Reflections. Curate a Twitter Chat you participated in and/or various reflections made in a Voxer group or Flipgrid. Again, as long as you can get a specific link to something, you can save it in Wakelet. With this in mind, Jarod Bormann (@jbormann3) demonstrated this awesome idea that takes this to the next level as a way for educators to submit their artifacts for grad credit and/or online PD. I have included a link to his tutorial video in the Wakelet mentioned at the end of this post. You should also check out his awesome book study for Professionally Driven.

I came across this idea thanks to a tweet from Dr. Randall Sampson (@RandallSampson) who is also a big fan of using Wakelet to share your story.

He had this to say about it: "The goal is for teachers and students to become authentic authors of their experiences."

If you are responsible for developing PD opportunities for your site or district, you may want to consider using Wakelet for participants to gather their artifacts and evidence of learning. They can even post a link to their wake in Google Classroom as it has that feature built right in when sharing. Check out this awesome wake from Dr. Sampson on How to Create Your Personalized PD Experience.

One more idea in regards to curating tweets or hashtags. As great as it is to have a social media presence for your class or your school, you have to remember that not all parents are on social media. And even those who are might miss some of your posts because they just get lost in the shuffle of everything else they are following in their feeds. By using Wakelet, you can bring all of your tweets front and center. You will actually engage more parents in your social media presence, regardless of whether or not they have an account.

These ideas are barely scratching the surface of what is possible. To give you a better sense of how it can be used, I have created a Wakelet called Understanding the Power of Curation. I have included some links to things mentioned above as well as some great resources to help you better understand the role that curation can play in your classroom.

If you would like to design your own custom banner for a wake that you create, you can use this template ( bit.ly/wakeletcovertemplate) to minimize how much you might need to crop an image to fit. Simply add whatever content you want to the Google Drawing and then go to File > Download as > JPEG, and then upload your image to your collection.

For other pro tips and ideas, check out @Wakelet and @WakeletSupport on Twitter.

I'd like to give a special shout out to Misbah Gedal from Wakelet, for sharing some great ideas with me and being so passionate about making the best possible product for teachers and students that he and the rest of the team there in Manchester can make. Look for more exciting features to come!
Disclaimer: Neither Paul West, Matt Miller nor Ditch That Textbook has any relationship (financial or in exchange for services) with Wakelet. We just like using it and have found it to be very helpful! For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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12 curation ideas for students AND teachers with Wakelet

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How do you get the most out of social media without letting things get lost in the shuffle? Being an educator on social media can be both inspiring and overwhelming. There are so many great ideas and resources out there to use that it can be hard to keep up with it all.

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Tes provides a range of primary and secondary school teaching resources including lesson plans, worksheets and student activities for all curriculum subjects.

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ThingLink: Create unique experiences with interactive images, videos & 360° media

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Easily create interactive and immersive visual experiences for online communication and learning. Start a free trial!

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To curate, to extend learning, to communicate, and more!

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Sparks for Learning - Resources for Today's Educator

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Sparks for Learning - Resources for Today's Educator

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esheninger.blogspot.com I was honored to have been interviewed for Educational Leadership, ASCD's flagship magazine, on the power of Twitter as part of a Personal Learning Network (PLN). You can read the article HERE. Since...

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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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millions use Screencastify to create amazing videos

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Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
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Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
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Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
Learn more

Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
Learn more

Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
Learn more

Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
Learn more

loved by everyday video creators

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Screencastify | Screen Recording and Video Editing

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Screencastify is the leading screen recorder for Chrome. Install the extension to record, edit, and share videos in seconds. Create video class assignments, training and tutorials, and make business communication faster.

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Digital Portfolio

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Book Creator - Love Learning - Book Creator app

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Teachers love it. Students love it. Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.

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Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform

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Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform

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Elementary Learning Experience Platform | Seesaw

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We built Wakelet using the latest technologies to make it faster and easier to use. Unfortunately, your browser doesn't support those technologies.

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Poll Everywhere is the easiest way to gather live responses in any venue... conferences, concerts, classrooms, and company off-sites - anywhere with internet. We've been working to end 'death by PowerPoint' and raise the bar on presenting since 2008. More than 4,000 schools and 100,000 teachers poll with Poll Everywhere.

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Formative assessment has never been faster.

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Used by K-12 teachers in over 100 countries

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Formative assessment has never been faster. Plickers is the free card activity your students will love. Join millions and play in your next lesson. Sign up for free Used by K-12 teachers in over 100 countries

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Symbaloo: Bookmarks & Favorites - The #1 Homepage for Educators

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Easily save, share, and organize your favorites with Symbaloo; the best online bookmark manager for educators. Use Symbaloo as a homepage on any browser or Internet-enabled device. Create a free account today!

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Fifth-grade students in Andrew Fenstermaker's class in Iowa are creating podcasts about what they're learning - and what ignites their passion.

They take a planning sheet and think through the entire process.

They create an image to represent their podcast.

They plan some episodes.

Then they start creating and recording, editing the whole thing in WeVideo.

When they're done, the podcast is hosted on Flipgrid, where others can respond and reply.

Why do they love it? Andrew's students tell us in their interview for the Ditch That Textbook Podcast.

"We get to learn about what WE talk about. We have our own voice. We get to talk about our own things that we want to learn about and some things that we might know."

"Other people can listen to what we think about certain topics. And it's fun!"

Hear the voices of all four students and the process on this episode below!

And check out their podcasts here: https://flipgrid.com/5fzpodcast

How you can listen to the Ditch That Textbook podcast

1. On the Anchor app. This is a great place to follow the show so you can quickly and easily call in to the show and listen to it the moment it's published. Go to anchor.fm for the app and search "Ditch That Textbook" to find and favorite the show. Click here to view the show on Anchor.

2. Right here on the blog. I'm planning on publishing podcast recap posts here every Tuesday. I'll embed the shows right into the posts. You can listen to them without downloading anything!

3. iTunes / Apple Podcasts. If you have an iPhone, this may be your best option. Click here to find the show on iTunes / Apple Podcasts.

4. Google Play Music. If you have an Android phone, this may be your best option. Click here to find the show on Google Play Music.

5. Overcast and Pocketcasts. If you use these platforms or would like to, click here to find the show on Overcast or click here to find it on Pocketcasts.

032 - Student podcasts with WeVideo and Flipgrid

Student voice is a hot topic in education right now. But how can you give students that microphone in an authentic, doable way? Andrew Fenstermaker and his fifth-grade students show you how! Twitter: @a_fenstermaker

033 - What to do now that Padlet isn't free

Padlet, a digital bulletin board-style collaboration tool, recently announced that it is no longer totally free. How should we deal with digital tools we have to pay for?

034 - Google Apps for Littles: Believe they can!

Littles can use Google tools too! In this book by Christine Pinto and Alice Keeler, they show you how!

035 - On copy/paste cheating and "making kids stop"

It's so easy to Google almost anything ... especially assignments. Can we "make" students stop? What's the solution?

036 - My daughter Cassie reviews Poptropica

Poptropica is one of my sixth grade daughter Cassie's favorite games. She makes the case for using it to help kids learn.
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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What students say about creating podcasts on WeVideo and Flipgrid

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Fifth-grade students in Andrew Fenstermaker's class in Iowa are creating podcasts about what they're learning - and what ignites their passion. They take a planning sheet and think through the entire process. They create an image to represent their podcast. They plan some episodes. Then they start creating and recording, editing the whole thing in WeVideo.

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
Sponsored by Listenwise and NewseumED

Every January, I launch a brand-new edition of my Teacher's Guide to Tech. As challenging and time-consuming as it is to put this guide together every year, it's also pretty magical. I find myself sitting at my keyboard with a million browser tabs open and it happens-that moment when I come across some idea that someone has brought into the world and I think Holy cow, this is good. The thought that someone saw a problem or a need in the world, and they used code to create something brand new to meet that need-that process, that realization of human creativity, is just incredible to me. I watch as these tools come and go and change over time and I marvel at the people behind them, the risks they take, their willingness to try new stuff and push their ideas out into the world.

I don't think technology is the end-all be-all, and of course it brings new problems into our lives, but just watching the creativity behind these tools makes me so excited to live in a time when so many ordinary people can actually bring their ideas to life and watch those ideas impact the world.

So every year, I choose six of these tools that I think are worth a little extra attention. Before we get to the six-plus the two "honorable mentions" I squeezed in at the end-let's take a quick look at the 2019 guide:

The Tools

1. Equity Maps
equitymaps.com
Figuring out which students participate in a class discussion-and how often-can be a huge challenge. Equity Maps is an iPad app for keeping track of that.

You start by creating a seating chart that shows where students are sitting for a discussion. When the discussion starts, you just tap each student's icon as that student contributes to the conversation. Equity Maps keeps track of how long each student talks so that when you're done, you can get a summary of how often each class member participated, how many were active participants, and whether there was equal gender distribution among those who actively engaged.

Other features add more functionality: There are buttons to record periods of silence, pair-shares and small groups, and even a "chaos" button to keep track of times when the formal discussion dissolved into many smaller conversations. An audio recorder even lets you record the whole discussion so that you can review it later with the map, helping you and your students reflect on the quality of their participation.

Equity Maps would be a useful tool for most grade levels and subject areas-in any class where you want students to actively participate.

2. ProWritingAid*
prowritingaid.com
We have a lot of good writing tools out there, but this is one of the most comprehensive I've seen. ProWritingAid does a really deep dive into the quality of your writing, looking at everything from passive voice to overused words, from the use of clichés to sentence variety. Just compose in the tool itself, copy and paste, or upload a document and you'll get a summary report with all kinds of statistics about the strengths and weaknesses of the piece, plus suggestions for changes when you hover over highlighted places in the text itself.

Here are just a few of the things your summary report will tell you: the readability of your piece based on four different reading scales, the number of times you used certain words, the most unique words in your piece, your average sentence length (along with a graph that actually shows you where sentences of different lengths are placed), how often you used adverbs (which can weaken your writing), and how often you used weak or passive wording. It has a free and a paid version, but you can get a lot of mileage out of the free version.

If you're an English teacher you really need to take a look at this tool-it will reinforce a lot of what you're trying to teach your students, and will draw their attention to individual strengths and weaknesses, which will make it much easier to personalize instruction.

3. Google Tour Creator
vr.google.com/tourcreator
A lot of teachers are already familiar with Google Expeditions, a virtual reality platform that lets users experience hundreds of places in the world in 3D. But what you might not know is that you can now create your own tours using Tour Creator. This tool enables us to create our own tours, using imagery from Google Street View or our own 360 photos, then publish them right into Poly, Google's library of free VR and AR objects.

Students can create tours as part of a research project, use them as a way to reflect after a field trip, or even as a supplement to a creative writing project. They can be used to create tours of your school, your classroom, or your town. If your school doesn't currently have much VR technology, start with an affordable Google Cardboard -just pop a smartphone into one of these and you now have one VR headset that can be used by a small group of students.

4. Great Big Story
greatbigstory.com
Great Big Story's mission statement reads as follows: "We believe there is magic in the world and it's our mission in life to help you discover it. We search for stories showing a sense of optimism for the world...because goodness can grow through the smallest cracks in the sidewalk."

How they help us discover the world's magic is through video: short, professionally produced videos about people and phenomena all over the world, stories that will pique your curiosity and give you the sense of wonder about the world. Videos can be browsed by themes like Human Condition, Planet Earth, and Flavors (yep, all about food), or in curated playlists. There's one on America's oldest female BMX racer, one about a 12-year-old scientist who took on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and one on the accidental invention of the best snack food ever.

Video is becoming a well-respected form of "text" that can be consumed and analyzed as deeply as any print text, so collections like these should become a part of your school's library of options for classroom materials. One word of warning: Although the content on the site has been rated safe for all audiences on YouTube and Facebook, the videos on Great Big Story were not made specifically for a student audience, and some material will not be appropriate for younger viewers. Teachers should preview videos before sharing them with students.

5. GeoGuessr
geoguessr.com
This one is my absolute favorite.

This addictive game plunks you down somewhere in the world using Google Street view. You literally start on some country road and the whole point of the game is to figure out where in the world you are. You can navigate down the road in the app, and you can turn around and zoom in to look more closely at things, but because the game often chooses the most remote locations, you often find yourself traveling for quite a while before you see any clues. Once you do see something-a road sign, ideally, or something at least with language on it-you can start figuring it out.

I don't even know if this is following the rules, but the times I've played this, I've been amazed at the number of resources I ended up pulling together to figure things out: I do Google image matches, use Google Translate to figure out what a language even is, and even look things up on Wikipedia to figure out if I'm on the right track. I've had four or five different tabs open to try and narrow down a precise location, and all the while, I'm learning stuff. I had no idea, for example, that there was an island called Gotland off the coast of Sweden! Or that there's an animal called a springhare in South Africa that looks an awful lot like a kangaroo.

Whenever you think you know where you are, you choose a location on a map, then you're rewarded with a certain number of points based on how close you got. When you get close, it's just thrilling. This would be a fantastic option for early finishers, lame duck days, or even as a reward for good behavior. It's that fun.

6. Webjets
webjets.io
When you first look at Webjets, you might think, "Oh, it's like Padlet." And in some ways, you'd be right: In Webjets, users create boards where they gather items on cards, placing these on a desktop that feels like a bulletin board.

But with Webjets, these cards work even harder than they do on Padlet, and they come in a variety of formats: A card can contain an image, an embedded video, a live Google Doc, an attached file, or a table containing a variety of elements organized into columns. Probably the best feature is that cards can be collected into folders, where the items are listed along the left, and the selected item appears in a larger window on the right. You can keep multiple folders on one board, and all cards can be collapsed or expanded, making it easy to neatly collect large amounts of resources all in one place.

Webjets would be an excellent, flexible tool for any kind of group project or curation task, whether it's done by you or your students.

Honorable Mention

YoTeach!
yoteachapp.com
If, like me, you were completely devastated when the backchannel tool TodaysMeet shut down last year, you'll be happy to know that you can have almost the same experience on YoTeach! Just set up a free room, give your students the URL, and everyone can come on in and chat just like they did on TodaysMeet. What's even better is that you can password protect your room, participants can add pictures and drawings in the chat, and rooms don't appear to ever expire.

ClassroomQ
classroomq.com
This simple website solves a problem that so many teachers have: students waiting for the teacher's attention. Rather than have them wait with their hands up or get off-task, they can add their name to a digital queue, adding a note about what they need if they like. The teacher sees the names in the order they were submitted, and once the student has met with the teacher, their name can be checked off with a single click.

Where to Get the Teacher's Guide to Tech

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

Multi-User Licenses: To get the guide for your team, school, or even district, you can save a lot by getting multi-user licenses. I offer the deepest discounts for these on Teachable.

Purchase on Teachable
Purchase on TpT
*Since the publication of this post, I have become an affiliate for ProWritingAid, which means Cult of Pedagogy receives a percentage of any subscription that comes through my links. This relationship was not established until after I wrote the post, and my decision to choose ProWritingAid as one of these six tools was not financially motivated in any way.

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Listen to this post as a podcast: Sponsored by Listenwise and NewseumED Every January, I launch a brand-new edition of my Teacher's Guide to Tech. As challenging and time-consuming as it is to put this guide together every year, it's also pretty magical.

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Brittany Miller

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Digital Playlists Science: Plants & Ecosystems, the Moon Virginia Studies: Jamestown, A New Nation, 20th Century People, EOY Review Choice Board Math: Place Value, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division Student choice in path, pace and performance tasks. @britthmiller millerb@wps.k...

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Visual Thinking

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Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone 8.1, Windows Phone 8. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Office Remote.

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Diverse Learners: Serving & Meeting Their Needs - Wakelet

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Fostering Student Voice & Choice - Wakelet

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Google Slides - A "Go To" Collaboration and Instructional Tool - Wakelet

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Social media is everywhere. Each social media platform has its own characteristics.

Images are the strength of Instagram and Pinterest.

Video is where TikTok and Twitch shine.

Quick, easy communication is what sets WhatsApp and Voxer apart -- both in different ways.

The dating app Tinder even has its strengths -- and (gasp!) we can play to them in class activities, too.

Each social media platform has something that makes it innately different. That uniqueness is what its fan base really loves about it. When social media platforms hang around, it's because something is working.

Let's use that.

We can put our finger on what makes these successful social media platforms unique. Let's call those their hooks. We don't need the social media app to create the unique experience. When we understand the hooks, we can use them to create unique activities that engage students in the same way their favorite social media platforms do.

In this post, we'll take a look at 12 social media platforms and what their hooks are -- what makes them unique. Then, we'll look at how we can use them in the classroom.

Have a suggestion for another hook -- or another way one of the hooks can be used? PLEASE leave it in a comment at the end of the post!

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12 social media-inspired hooks for class - Ditch That Textbook

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Social media is everywhere. Each social media platform has its own characteristics. Images are the strength of Instagram and Pinterest. Video is where TikTok and Twitch shine. Quick, easy communication is what sets WhatsApp and Voxer apart -- both in different ways. The dating app Tinder even has its strengths -- and (gasp!)

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Ed Tech

The standard lecture has plenty of detractors, and rightfully so. Done poorly, it can be an uninspired stream of facts, delivered in sit-and-get style that get forgotten quickly.

However, we can turn the standard lecture - and its tool of choice, the presentation slide! - on its head.

The result can be students actively working with new ideas. Hands-on. Right away.

Presentation slides can be a drag.
But when students (and teachers!) have something interactive to do with them, it changes the game.
That's what I love about Pear Deck. And, of course, the best news: much of what I show you in this post can be done with the free plan!
(Note: I have no official relationship with Pear Deck, and I'm not being paid for writing this post. I'm just a Pear Deck user who loves the potential for it and wants to share it with others! I was given a Pear Deck premium account for review.)

What is Pear Deck?

It's a way to turn your presentation slides into interactive activities for your students. (It also works wonderfully with teachers in professional development!)

If you're using Google Slides, Pear Deck makes it super easy to get started. Pear Deck has created a Google Slides add-on. This makes it SUPER easy to make your slides interactive right from Google Slides.

1. Open a Google Slides presentation.

2. Click on the "Add-ons" menu and "Get add-ons ...".

3. Search for "Pear Deck" and click the blue "+ FREE" button.

4. Load up the Pear Deck sidebar menu. (It'll look like the image above/right.)

Here's a video that shows how to use Pear Deck with Google Slides:

How do I build slides with Pear Deck?

That's pretty easy, too. If you're using Google Slides, just create the slides that you want to display to your students. Then, use the sidebar menu to add interactive elements to each slide.

(You can do all of this at peardeck.com with PowerPoint slides, too.)

The bonus with Pear Deck: You can turn any of those slides into interactive slides. Some of the options include having students ...

enter text

enter a number

choose from multiple choices

draw a response (premium only)

interact with a live web page

drag an icon to a specific part of the slide (premium only)

Pear Deck has a slide library where you can choose pre-created activities ...

for the beginning of a lesson (check prior knowledge, ask what students are curious about)

during the lesson (summarize, assess learning, gauge understanding)

at the end of the lesson (retell what they learned, share feelings)

Set up your slide deck the way you want. The next step - let's get students connected to it so they can interact!

Learn how to use Pear Deck with this FREE ebook!

Getting Started with Pear Deck is written by Pear Deck Certified Coaches Mary Alys Foutz and Mike Mohammad. This ebook will walk you through everything from installing the add-on for Google Slides, to using the Teacher Dashboard.

How do I run a slide presentation?

Once all of your slides are designed and ready to go (including interactive slides), it's as easy as clicking "Present with Pear Deck" in your sidebar menu.

It will create a screen you can display to students on your projector, interactive display or flat panel. It will prompt students go to joinpd.com (think "join Pear Deck") and enter the join code.

When you're ready to start, your slides will be displayed on the students' devices. From the teacher device, you can ...

Go to the previous or next slide

See all slides with the slide navigator

Project student responses

Lock or unlock a slide

Add a new question

Make a slide full screen (under "more")

Open the teacher dashboard in a new tab (under "more")

Open the teacher dashboard on another device (under "more")

End the session (under "more")

From there, you display the slides. Students interact. You do what you want with student responses.

Using the new Pear Deck add audio feature

The new Add Audio feature lets you record or upload audio files to lessons. Students can listen to those audio files on their devices. This is a really helpful feature for remote learning -- especially when students are using Pear Deck in student-paced mode.

Ideas for using the new add audio feature:

Give instructions verbally. Teachers can record their voices giving students instructions. This can be helpful for students who struggle with reading or students whose native language isn't English.

Do social-emotional checks. Leave students a word of encouragement. When they hear it in your voice, it means more than just reading it in text.

Explain answers. When you talk about a problem students need to solve -- or a question that needs answered -- how you arrived at your answer is important. Having a teacher-guided answer with explanation can help students understand.

Read a story. Record audio of your voice while you read a favorite story -- or a new story! -- to students remotely. Students can even download the audio file to listen to later.

Guide pronunciation. Model how to pronounce new terms and vocabulary words in an audio file.

How to use Pear Deck for remote learning

Pear Deck gives you interactive options when teaching remotely.

Gather students on a video call with Skype, Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.

Share your screen with an interactive Pear Deck presentation.

Students join the presentation in a separate tab (or in a window side-by-side with the video call).

Students follow along with the presentation and interact with the slides. You talk through the presentation on the video call.

Student-paced mode for Remote Learning

Students can progress through interactive Pear Deck slides independently in student-paced mode.

Create slides.

Share them with students with a deadline to finish them.

Students work through the slides and interact with them.

You watch their progress through Pear Deck.

When they're finished, Pear Deck gives you results to guide your instruction.

In the video below, I gave a webinar on how to use student-paced mode. Check it out to see how student-paced mode works, how it can be used for remote learning, and for answers to common questions.

Flip through the webinar slides (below) to get a feel for how student-paced mode works.

How can I use Pear Deck?

Here are a bunch of ideas, from the basic to the geeky. On most of these, I'll default to the free question types (and will note which ones require a premium account).

Ideas for the classroom

1. Ask students what they already know about the topic with a text question. (You might be surprised what they already know ... or what they don't know!)

Use the text slide in the "Beginning of class" slide library.

2. Ask students if they're ready to move on with a multiple choice question. (This sure beats raising hands, where you don't always get honest answers.

You can reword the draggable agree/disagree slide in the "During lesson" slide library.

3. Draw out a mind map to diagram what you've been studying.

Use the mind map slide in the "During lesson" slide library.

4. Retell what you've learned that day in your own words. This is another digital version of the ultra brain-friendly "brain dump" I described in this post.

Use the text slide in the "End of lesson" slide library.

5. Ask students to create a new ending/outcome for something you've studied that day.

Create a new text slide.

6. Ask students to describe their thinking process instead of providing the answer. (A focus on the process can illuminate student understanding better than an answer many times.)

Create a new text slide or a drawing slide (premium).

7. Have students put items in order (chronological, sequential, etc.). List the items on the slide and have students write them out in the correct order.

Create a new text slide.

8. Predict what happens next in a video or a story. Show a short video clip or an image ... or stop in the middle of a story in class.

Create a new text slide.

9. Label a diagram. Add an image of the diagram (without labels) on the slide. Have students add the labels.

Create a new drawing slide (premium) to draw labels ... or, put numbers on your image where you want students to label and have them label with a text slide.

10. Create an advertisement. You add an image or two to a slide. Have students add text to the slide to create a compelling ad based on what you've learned.

Create a new drawing slide (premium) to add text ... or, use a text slide to have students write what they would put on the ad.

Ideas from the Pear Deck library

Pear Deck has some great users doing very cool things, too! Here are some from their great library of examples from the classroom ...
11. Teach parabolas / quadratics using Super Mario Bros. (via MrOrrIsAGeek.com blog).
12. Helping students understand Anglo Saxon poetry with thought-provoking guided questions (via Melissa Pilakowski).
13. Get students interacting with literature, art and music from the Romantic Era (via Pear Deck).
14. Teach coordinate graphs with draggable dots (premium) and a coordinate plane. Here are some Pear Deck math templates to give you more ideas.

15. Teach grammar with draggable icons (premium) by displaying a paragraph and having students identify different parts of it. See how in this How ELA Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

16. Display a short passage of text with a drawing slide (premium). Ask students to use the highlighter to highlight an example and the text box to explain why they picked that example.

17. Count the number of forces on the object in a diagram like the one below. Ask students to enter the number in a number slide. (via Pear Deck) See more in this How Science Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

18. Have students in a world language class translate a sentence with a text slide. Then, see how the same idea can be translated differently in a variety of ways. See more in this How World Language Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

19. Add a map to a draggable (premium) slide - or add a map the draggable slide in the "During lesson" slide library. Have students identify locations on the map. See more in this How Social Studies Teachers Use Pear Deck document.

20. Use a map like in the example above ... but use a drawing slide (premium) and have students circle / draw an outline around certain regions you've been studying.

Give me some ninja Pear Deck tricks ...

Absolutely!

1. Customize the slide library. Use the pre-designed slides by Pear Deck, but add your own customizations. For instance, instead of a simple happy/sad face to ask students how they feel, add emojis or memes!

2. Do vocabulary the Pear Deck way. Check out "Pear Deck Vocabulary" for an interactive way to do flashcards with your students. (It's part of the free plan!) It integrates with Quizlet and Merriam-Webster to create lists in a snap. Students can even help you illustrate flashcards with the "Flashcard Factory."

3. Get up to speed quick with a webinar. Pear Deck offers teachers free webinars on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. (lunch break!) and 4 p.m. (school's out!) Eastern time. Learn the features and best practices from the Pear Deck pros.

4. Insert a new question on the fly. Classroom discussions are organic things, aren't they? If you think of a question off the top of your head - or if your students do - you can add it to your Pear Deck presentation. Just use the "Add new question" button. (It looks like a speech bubble with a plus sign.) You can change your current question to a different type of question, re-ask the same question, or start a brand new question. See below (or here's a quick YouTube video to show you how).

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20 ways to use Pear Deck to engage students - Ditch That Textbook

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Ed Tech The standard lecture has plenty of detractors, and rightfully so. Done poorly, it can be an uninspired stream of facts, delivered in sit-and-get style that get forgotten quickly. However, we can turn the standard lecture - and its tool of choice, the presentation slide! - on its head.

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Social Media is both a blessing and a curse.

I see countless articles that are warning parents to be watchful of the time that their kids spend online. How do we (can we even?) protect them from the dangers that lurk out in the shadows of the internet.

Beyond those real threats, as my students have been reflecting on a lot in health class, social media tends to impact our students' body image and can push them to set unrealistic goals.

On the other hand, from a professional perspective, there is a treasure trove of great ideas that can be found if we look in the right places. Teacher Social Media can be a great resource for growth and collaboration. But it too has its downsides.

As I reflect I have come up with a list of Pluses and Minuses and some steps that I believe can help us navigate Teacher Social Media's troubled waters and achieve some smooth sailing towards more informed practice.

Teacher Social Media Pluses

► Ideas: The sheer volume of ideas (good and bad) that flow through the information super highway that is Twitter is astounding. I can simply put out a request, throw on some hashtags so people see it, and often within a few minutes ideas come flooding in. Of course there are many ideas that are not helpful (or precisely what we need) but that is where this beautiful thing called professional judgment comes in.

► Connections: Twitter has led to the most amazing connections of my teaching life. Earlier this year my active blogging and Twitter presence led to an invite to present at a conference during a breakout session. I was asked to co-moderate the weekly #g2great chat as well. I have cultivated some great "virtual" (and sometimes personal) friendships thanks to social media.

► Expanded Thinking: Twitter connections have also helped me to expand my thinking. I started my Twitter life following the most followed. The trending topics. It became overwhelming. I stepped away from all of those chats and started listening to other voices. I started following discussions like #disrupttexts and #cleartheair. I have written before about the #31DaysIBPOC blog Essay series organized by Tricia Ebarvia and Dr. Kim Parker - this was really was a turning point for me in thinking about how I should spend my time in the classroom and on social media.

► Share your Voice: Last year I started a Facebook group Talking Books, Teaching and Literacy. I wanted a space free of any talk of Accelerated Reader and Teachers Pay Teachers. It's attracted almost 900 members and has been a great place to share ideas, discuss YA and other books, and all things literacy teaching.

Teacher Social Media Minuses

You may not agree with my list of negatives, but here are the social media minuses I see.

► Surface Conversations: Not all teachers use Social Media the same way and I understand that. But I see a large contingent who choose to only discuss and share topics that they feel comfortable in. A big example of this is the Kindness Movement. To be very clear, I am not saying that we shouldn't be kind or encourage kids to be kind. What I am saying is that kindness is not a new concept, nor is it enough to overcome injustice in classrooms and schools. Talking only about "kindness" (who could be against that?) keeps us comfortable but avoids conversations focused on real change.

I have been told on more than one occasion that for some people Twitter is not the place to have conversations about race, equity, poverty and so on. They like to keep it light. I can see that, but where that becomes problematic for me is that the "light" in many cases is trying to be peddled as a cure-all or acceptable alternative for meaningful action. My question is where WILL we have these conversations?

► Not Giving Credit Where It's Due: I think this is a huge issue in the field of education. I wrote about this in my post here at MiddleWeb calling out Teachers Pay Teachers. My thinking on this came about with the trend of creating memes with inspirational messages to share out for likes and retweets on social media - be it Facebook groups, Instagram stories or the Twitter timeline.

While the messages being quoted are often problematic, the other and I think larger issue is that they often go unattributed or attributed to the wrong source. One common one is the "Kids Need Maslow Before Bloom." I have seen it from many educators with their names attached to the slide like they were the first to think of such a phrase. I have also seen it shared by others who report that it is "on fire" on Instagram (I am not on Instagram - to be discussed in a coming point). I put the question to Twitter, "Where was this phrase coined?" The earliest case seemed to be in in the late 90's or early 2000's when some of these teachers claiming it as original work were still in elementary school.

And this is not even the most egregious example. Theft of intellectual property and the publishing machine that is taking advantage of a market where teachers often feel they need to learn more have led to many educators' work being claimed by others. This is especially true when looking at research and writing on equity and anti-racism issues, which are gaining interest on Teacher Social Media.

Recently an amazing educator, Lorena Germán, brought to my attention through Twitter that while there are educators of colour who have been doing work for many years around diversity in the classroom and the importance of students being able to see themselves in the texts they use, other educators with much less time and work in the field were getting the speaking and book deals.

One place where I think Education Social Media can help with the issue of credit due is by "passing the mic," as Dr. Laura M. Jimenez put it once to me in a conversation. Teachers need to make sure that we are not just giving a nod to the source when we use others' work but that we are suggesting the thought originators for the speaking gigs and book and article writing opportunities.

► The quest for Edu-celebrity status: This really is my biggest concern because I think in the end this hunger for celebrity is what leads to all the other concerns. When our quest for fame, for speaking gigs, for book deals, starts to dictate the conversations we are willing to have, I think there is a huge problem with equity.

If our star power becomes the focus, our students naturally are pushed to the side. We need to remember why we started this beautiful work, and if you started being a teacher so you could be a famous speaker and consultant...well, shame on you.

Steps for Social Media Success

► Stay true to yourself: You will get pulled in different directions, but if you stick to what Gravity Goldberg calls our core beliefs in Teach Like Yourself you will be able to manage the trickier spots.

► Follow and celebrate brilliance: This is easy. Find the educators out there who are doing the work. Follow them and amplify their voices. Through likes, tweets and shares we can curate a timeline that represents who we are. Remember retweets are an endorsement whether you post a disclaimer in your bio or not.

► Do not amplify mediocrity: There is so much noise out in social media, between people pushing books they claim will solve all your problems to teachers sharing terrible class activities. There are even educators who would exploit their students' struggles to shine a light on themselves. These folks don't need to be amplified.

Weathering the Storm

I love Teacher Social Media, but these waters are not ever truly calm. There are massive waves that if we are not careful will tip the boat. There are amazing educators to follow, and there are movements that are important and need to be amplified. I have mentioned some of them in this post.

My hope is that our professional judgment can help us through the storm that threatens to overtake the education system with platitudes and surface level work. I hope we will do more to assist educators who are taking risks on behalf of kids, who do the important work every day - whether or not they are in a social media spotlight - so they are not left to weather the storm alone.

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Navigating the Waters of Teacher Social Media

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Social Media is both a blessing and a curse. I see countless articles that are warning parents to be watchful of the time that their kids spend online. How do we (can we even?) protect them from the dangers that lurk out in the shadows of the internet.

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Choice Board ~ Learning Menu Examples - Wakelet

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Virtual Teaching & Learning Resources - Wakelet

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Free Choice Boards templates for Google Slides or PowerPoint - SlidesMania

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Editable Digital Choice Boards for Google Drive or PowerPoint. Choice boards are a great way to allow student choice during classroom activities and you can use them for any subject.

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Maximizing Google Classroom for Online Learning - Wakelet

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Blended Learning ~ Supporting Student Learning - Wakelet

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