Tech Life Hacks by Courtney Eisenzapf

QuestionWell

eisenzapfc — 2023-11-17 13:39:39 UTC

Input some reading, and the AI will write Essential Questions, Learning Objectives, and aligned multiple choice questions, which you can then export to your favorite tool, such as, Kahoot, Blooket, Quizizz, Gimkit, Google Slides, Google Forms, Schoology, and more!

Kara- Snipping tool

2023-11-24 23:11:43 UTC

I like using the snipping tool app to help add visual ads to presentations from a video.

Magic School AI - Kiera Ward

2023-11-24 23:40:29 UTC

Magic school AI can create unit plans and lesson plans, objectives, sentence starters for students who need extra support, IEP and accommodation suggestions prompts. It also has behavior intervention suggestions. Magic School can also create rubrics, science labs, reword writing, math story word problems, it can also generate questions from a reading you input. It can summarize YouTube videos and write letters of recommendation. You can give it ideas to make relevant to your students and they will tell you how to connect your lesson to your kids and more!!

Apple Watch Pictures - Kiera Ward

2023-11-24 23:43:37 UTC

If you have an Apple Watch you can click on the camera app and it will take pictures on your iPhone. You can see the picture frame on your watch. Use this to take group photos

Maria - To-Do List

2023-11-25 00:03:33 UTC

I started implementing to the To-Do list that you showed us and flagging emails to that list. I swear I was 10x more productive this week seeing what I need to do and dedicating time each day to check-in with my to do list. I had it up on my browser and would add things as they popped up as well. Such a helpful hack!

I also love the Canva signatures. Playing around with them until I found one I liked was fun.

Genius Scan

2023-11-25 01:00:36 UTC

I use the Genius Scan app a lot as a teacher. It enables me to scan music or worksheets for my students, as well as to email documents or save files digitally. My favorite feature is that it integrates with Google Drive so that I can immediately save the pdfs in designated folders. It has helped me to stay super organized! -Eliza DellaMonica

Notes App Scanning Tool

2023-11-25 01:29:52 UTC

Only recently I discovered that you can scan documents on your Notes app. If you click on the tool to create a new note and then click on the camera, you can scan docs and create a pdf. I used this to copy my health insurance card and send into central administration. This function allowed me to bypass the photocopy machine or scanner so that I could scan and send in seconds.

Irene Ritaccio

NetRef

2023-11-25 01:37:35 UTC

Not sure if this is necessarily a hack but my favorite thing to use while students are using their chromebooks is NetRef. It lists all the names of the students in your class and shows what app or website they’re on. It will also display some tabs that’s are open as well. This really helps while we’re working in centers and I’m with a small group. As students finish their centers, they’re allowed to go on certain apps like Epic, Raz Kids or iReady and some students try to flip back and forth from the approved app to a game app. With NetRef you can see exactly what they are on in real time. Its great!!!

-Christina Mealey

Quizizz

2023-11-25 02:51:07 UTC

Quizizz has a newer feature where you can use AI to generate lessons and questions. If you want to make your own questions there is an option to generate answer choices. It saves a lot of time instead of coming up with you own answer choices.

-christina labita

YouTube blocking ads

2023-11-25 04:55:15 UTC

I was taught that if you don’t want ads or suggested videos to pop up when sharing a YouTube video with your class you can put an _popup after the h in watch in the URL it will bring you to a new screen with just the video!

Calendar

2023-11-25 05:45:34 UTC

For those of us on Dual Microsoft/Google platforms, you can actually import your Google Calendars into Outlook and have them update in real time, so everything is in one place. For each Google calendar, find your "secret" URL in the settings menu and then add it to your Outlook calendars. - Sean Formato

Tool helper

2023-11-25 06:08:39 UTC

Recently, I have been introduced to Magic School, a valuable resource that facilitates the development of sentence starters. As a dedicated special education teacher teaching kindergarten, I consistently encounter the need to provide encouragement for my students to initiate sentence construction. My instructional approach places a strong emphasis on leveraging literacy as a means to impart knowledge.

A significant component of my curriculum revolves around the exploration of narratives such as "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a...". Within these thematic units, I commence the learning process by prompting students with the question, "What is the story about?" This inquiry serves as a foundation for structured responses, aided by the implementation of the sentence starter, "The story is about." Notably, this method is particularly effective for students who utilize the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), relying on visual representations of words.

In my professional experience, Magic School has been shown to be an invaluable tool, and I wholeheartedly recommend its incorporation into educational practices for its positive impact on student engagement and language development.

Split screen

2023-11-25 12:43:42 UTC

When working at home and at school, I often want to view multiple web pages at the same time. Maybe I need to look at a website while also having my Google Classroom open. To do this, I drag the tab with the website I'm using to the far left of the computer screen until a faint outline appears and then release the mouse. It gives that screen half of my computer screen allowing me to do the same with the other tab I want to view simultaneously. I drag the second tab to the far right until a faint outline appears on the right half of the screen, then I release the mouse button. Now you have both tabs completely visible and are able to be navigate both without switching back and forth. - Brian Resnick

Punzone- Incognito Window

2023-11-25 13:41:57 UTC

On Google Chrome click the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N to change your window to an incognito window. This will switch your browser to a private window.

Camera tool on Smart Notebook

2023-11-25 13:53:26 UTC

I noticed that Kara mentioned the snipping tool. If you have Smart notebook open already, the camera tool works the same way as the snipping tool and can grab images or text that you want to add to your slides or documents. The camera tool does not have to be used only for Notebook slides.

-Daytona Melo

Diffit

carrollm24 — 2023-11-25 14:03:18 UTC

I have been using the website Diffit to create worksheets and differentiated readings for both my 8th grade and 11th grade classes this year. It is an AI based tool where you paste in either the text of an article, the URL, or even a Youtube link, and Diffit will create worksheet for your class. The free version creates a PDF or Google Doc printable version and the premium version (which there is a free trial of) creates everything from Google Slides for interactive notebooks to Google form quizzes and everything in between. It's been great!!

ChatGPT

2023-11-25 14:21:25 UTC

I love using ChatGPT to create questions tied in with films I show. I don't use much technology in the classroom because I teach culinary, however, when I do show documentaries about food or in the child development class that I teach it reduces the amount of time for creating a worksheet based on the transcripts of the film. It typically separates the questions into different categories that allow for different levels of engagement. I have found this so important and helpful. I also have used ChatGPT to help to outline my years curriculum in all the classes that I teach. (Merrie Ober)

Nick QR codes with remind.

2023-11-25 14:59:30 UTC

Using a QR code generator I create an image that students can scan with their phones camera to add them directly into my remind class. Every lesson schedule has a QR code at the bottom. It eliminates several steps that students (and parents) either miss or don’t understand when joining a remind class.

Edpuzzle

2023-11-25 15:27:48 UTC

This is a tool many are familiar with but I love using edpuzzle to quickly turn a video into an interactive teaching tool. You can search for almost any video posted to youtube and have many options of prewritten questions or you can add your own! It is great sub work to leave behind to keep your class working and focused on something other than a worksheet or you can do live mode while your teaching to discuss and go over key points as you watch together🙂

Canva - Nicole Tschan

ntschan1 — 2023-11-25 15:36:51 UTC

I use Canva for almost everything. My two favorite tools in Canva are the background remover and the ability to turn your phone into a remote when presenting.

Trello

kmogavero — 2023-11-25 16:20:45 UTC

I use Trello on a daily basis to keep track of all of my upcoming school/personal tasks that need to be completed. It is "kanban" style which is a japanese organizational method where tasks are listed as "cards" on a board with various columns. I organize my columns as "ASAP", "short term," and "long term" projects. You can assign due dates, post comments, images, links, and also share with a team of people.

-Kristen Mogavero

Quizalize

2023-11-25 16:58:56 UTC

Fun quizzes. Serious results.

Here's what you can do with Quizalize

Create quizzes instantly with ChatGPT integration
Turn any quiz into an epic classroom game
Integrate with Google Classroom
Create quizzes or use one of 1m+ existing learning resources
Import your quizzes from Google Forms or Quizlet in seconds
Assign follow-up activities to any quiz
Play in-class games or assign as homework
Differentiate learning for individual students
Identify learning gaps instantly
Visualize student performance with Mastery Dashboards
Skip grading with the automated gradebook
Export results to your LMS

-Brianna Replogle

Magic Write on Canva

2023-11-25 18:23:11 UTC

I use Magic Write on Canva to help me write everything! Magic Write is similar to Chat GPT, its an AI tool that helps you write or create things on Canva. I used Magic write to make my report card comments sound more differentiated instead of saying the same thing over and over again for each student. I have also used Magic write to write letters home to families and create lesson plans and activities. Its the best!

-Briana Laderer

Checklist Hack

2023-11-25 18:36:26 UTC

Being a special education teacher requires a lot of planning, especially when it comes to teaching skills on how to be organized. One tech hack that I love using on Google docs is the checklist feature. I prompt students to hit Ctrl + Shift + 9 to check off items on their interactive to-do lists. This helps them to stay on top of their work, and it's always rewarding to see things getting completed. Another hack I like to use is unroll.me, which cleans up your email. I have a terrible habit of online shopping, which results in hundreds of unwanted emails daily. This unsubscribes from them for me, effortlessly.

-Samantha Cogelja

Google Slides - Digital Worksheets

2023-11-25 23:39:18 UTC

You can use Google Slides to make digital worksheets formatted exactly like a current PDF or Doc.

Save your document as a JPEG
Change the Google Slide page size to 8.5 x 11
Upload the JPEG as the background image
Add text boxes where students need to type their responses

This method does not change the spacing or format of your original document. It was a helpful hack when giving online assessments during COVID. I attached a sample of a review we did in my 8th grade science class.

Mary-Kate Haslbauer

I Love PDF

2023-11-26 04:14:18 UTC

This is a website that allows you to edit and add more text to pdfs, merge them together, add page numbers, remove pages from pdfs, and convert to word documents. There is a computer app as well as an mobile app for all pdf adjustments on the go. {Also connected to iLoveIMG which is an image editing software.}

Notes app with checklist and collaborate

khanley18 — 2023-11-26 11:46:36 UTC

I use my notes App in my iPhone ALL the time. Recently I've been using it more with creating a checklist (they have the option to bullet point your list, and when an item is checked off, it shows it's been checked and moves to the bottom of your list) and you can share/"collaborate" with someone else so you can share your lists! I share it with my husband when I send him to the supermarket ;)

-Kristina Hanley

Notebook for Android, Curipod, & Calm - Lillian Spies

eisenzapfc — 2023-11-26 13:30:02 UTC

Notebook on Android Phone: It can be downloaded from Google Play. It's great for checklists, reminders, calendar items, etc.
Curipod: A free AI tool for interactive lessons on slides. It will do a full lesson or a few slides and lets you choose activities like drawing, would you rather, discussion questions, etc.
Calm (free mindfulness app): It has a lot of items to relax and decompress.

Quizlets

2023-11-26 13:40:09 UTC

I like the to post the quizlet on the teams page a week prior to a quiz. Allow the students time prior to the quiz to battle it out both individually and as teams. While I realize that many students are able to answer questions very quickly, often those are students that do not do well on the quiz, because they do not read the questions. Many times the students who take their time and never win a quizlet, do amazing on the quiz. Great thing about quizlet is that the students can click on the button that can make a quiz for them. - Kurt Dankenbrink

Phys Ed-Apps

2023-11-26 13:41:56 UTC

We like to have students use the nike running app and other apps / fitbits/ apple watches to help them monitor their stepsc, pace, and even heart rate while in class doing various aerobic activites.

Snipping tool

2023-11-26 13:50:37 UTC

There is a snipping tool on our computers at school that lets us screenshot. Instead of screenshooting the picture and saving it to your documents to layer open it, you can click paste. The picture is “copied” once you screen shot it so you can just paste it where it needs to be.

- Stephanie Roth

App timer

2023-11-26 13:51:46 UTC

Not necessarily school/teaching related but I learned how to set a timer on certain apps to prevent mindless scrolling and spending more time on my phone. You set a timer for how long you'll allow yourself on apps. When the timer goes off, it'll ask if you'd like to continue or close down the app. I found this has helped boost my productivity in school and in my home.

Kelsey Riegger