This communication tool provides a safe way for you to text message students and stay in contact with parents. The tool is simple to use and 1 in 5 teachers in the United States are already using it. So, if you’re not one of them, please join me to see how easy it is to get started.
What is it?Remind is a tool to help educators communicate with students and parents
How to get started?Get started and learn about teacher-tested resources and best classroom practices
Hello, everyone! I hope you’re enjoying your summer days! There have been some exciting updates and releases this summer in the Google Apps ecosystem that I’d like to share with you, along with some other resources to help you jumpstart your technology integration efforts this year!
“…we launched Quizzes in Google Forms on Monday to help teachers quickly create, deliver and grade assignments or assessments. With Quizzes, teachers can select correct answers for multiple choice and checkbox questions to reduce repetitive grading. They can also enter explanations and review materials to help students learn. And to make sure students understand the lesson material, teachers can prevent students from sending themselves a copy of their responses. ” via the Google for Education blog
Exciting stuff! Check out a video tutorial here:
If you previously used the add-on Flubaroo to grade student Form responses, this post by Eric Curts gives a great comparison of the two features and when to use each.
Note: Stuck with anything in Google Apps? The Google Help Center is THE place to go to find the answers you need!!
HyperDocs
As someone who built webquests for students in the early 2000s to promote interactivity with the web, HyperDocs appear to be a similar way to help students interact with online content in order to collaborate and create content of their own to build understanding. A HyperDoc is very simply a Google doc or Google Slides set that is built to include hyperlinks to resource sites, videos, images, and more to engage students in learning more about a topic. In order to make them most engaging, HyperDocs should include tasks for students and provide a variety of student-driven choice options when possible. If not thoughtfully designed, a HyperDoc can simply turn into a digitized worksheet. Try to avoid this at all costs by including maximum opportunities for student engagement, creation, voice, and choice!
Google Expeditions was a new program running at select schools last year, utilizing the latest in virtual reality (VR) applications to take students on global explorations. This summer it was announced that Google Expeditions is now available for use by all students! If you’re interested, talk to your building principal and consider applying for a Spartan Foundation grant to acquire devices and Google Cardboard viewers. The app is free for Android devices and is coming soon to iOS devices as well. Read more to learn about how students are using Google Expeditions!
There are many applications for Google Maps in the classroom. From math to social studies to geography and science connections, students can create custom My Maps, calculate distances, and explore landforms. Check out these resources on ways to use Google Maps in the classroom:
I know you love beautiful typography for your classroom creations… kiss Comic Sans goodbye with Google Fonts. Did you know that while you’re working in a Google doc, you can click on your fonts menu and browse all the way down to More Fonts…. to be taken to another collection of fonts you can add to your apps?
You can also visit the Google Fonts website to browse the collection of fonts to find exactly what you’re looking for. From this site you can select fonts by clicking the red + sign next to the font (you can even type in the textboxes to see how they will look with words you type often!) and downloading the font file to your device and installing for use in other applications outside of Google.
Wishing you a wonderful school year, filled with opportunities for you and your students to connect, collaborate, and create together! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Tim with any questions or needs!
#gafe4littles
Follow the hashtag #gafe4littles to learn more about ways to incorporate the use of Google Apps for Education with even the youngest learners! Educators Christine Pinto and Alice Keeler recently held the first #gafe4littles workshop in California and are sharing their resources via the hashtag and elsewhere. Keep an eye out for some wonderful things being shared, and don’t forget to share what’s happening in YOUR classrooms via the hashtag and your blogs as well!
As the end of the school year approaches, please take a few minutes to complete the survey and explore some new technology resources:
Digital Learning Tools at ELANCO Elementary – At the end of each school year, teacher input concerning the paid educational programs at ELANCO is very important. Please take a few minutes to complete theElem Digital Learning Tools Surveyto share your opinions on current programs, as well as to offer suggestions for future programs and professional development needs. One of our August in-service days will have sessions based on your suggestions.
New Q&A Feature in Google Slides – A newly released feature in Google Apps for Education provides the option for presenters to allow their audience to submit questions and vote on them during Google Slide presentations.
End of the School Year Backups– It’s approaching the end of the school year and teachers will soon be packing up their classrooms for the summer break. However, teachers should also consider packing up (or backing up) their digital classroom as well. Consider some steps that you could take to cleanup and secure your computer files, browser settings, and Email. Yes, email….Take the ‘Inbox Zero’ Challenge and get to zero emails in your Inbox before leaving for the summer and claim your ELANCO Credly Badge here. Remember that you can claim other Elanco Digital Badges for your many tech skills.
May Edition of Storify at #ElancoSD – A collection of educational resources and social media posts from Elanco teachers and organizations. Check out posts and pictures of the Blue Ball Big Read, our HS spring sport athletes, GSHS Prom 2016, GS chorus concerts, and more. Include the hashtag #ElancoSD in your tweets to see your posts in future editions.
The Elanco Leading Edge Flipboard Magazine – Read what’s new in the world of Teaching and Educational Technology. View on the web, or subscribe via the Flipboard iOS or Android App to read on your mobile device.
While the students are testing this week and next, perhaps you’ll have some time to explore some new technology resources:
Quizlet Live is a new feature from Quizlet that allows teachers to play an in-class game using existing online flashcard study sets. The game requires students to collaborate in small groups to find the term that matches the definition.
Kahoot has added a new ‘Team Mode’ to their online game system to better “nurture collaboration, teamwork, leadership skills and good communication.”
ThingLinkis an online tool for teachers to create interactive images by adding ‘hot spot’ buttons to overlay text, images, videos and more. Here’s one example for learning about the U.S. Presidents.
Nearpod is a great classroom presentation tool with the formative assessment tools are built right into the presentation allowing students to respond on their computers with open-ended answers, multiple choice questions, or the use of drawing tools. I have 2 Nearpod Teacher accounts that were paid for by the district for any Elementary Teacher who is interested in having the full version of the program through February 2017. First come, first serve!
April Edition of Storify at #ElancoSD – A collection of educational resources and social media posts from Elanco teachers and organizations. Check out pictures from our guidance department of the Class of 2016 accepting their college admission offers. Include the hashtag #ElancoSD in your tweets to see your posts in future editions.
The Elanco Leading Edge Flipboard Magazine – Read what’s new in the world of Teaching and Educational Technology. View on the web, or subscribe via the Flipboard iOS or Android App to read on your mobile device.
With Lyn out on maternity leave, I thought that I’d send out an update with some new resources that are available to Elanco Elementary Teachers and Students. Some to the links below will direct you to Lyn’s Elem Tech Blog, while other will go to my Garden Spot Tech Blog that I use with the secondary teachers.
Recent Updates to Google Drive – Voice typing in Google Docs makes typing easier, especially for those students who struggle. New templates in Docs, Sheets and Slides allow for quick access to pre-formatted, professional looking documents. Google Keep for all those reminder sticky notes that have in the past only existed on your desktop.
Kiddle is a new safer and more secure version of the Google search engine. A great way to better eliminate those unwanted Internet search results for young students.
The Student Blogging Challenge, which happens twice a year, is starting up again in March and includes a series of 10 weekly tasks created by Edublogs which you can customize for your class. For more information about Elanco’s Edublogs, visit the Edublogs & Blogging page.
Quizalize your Formative Assessment by using the online tool called Quizalize to randomly assigning students to teams while answering questions that accumulate points for their team in real time.
TED-Edexplains the answers to some of life’s most basic questions, such as “Why are there so many insects?”, or “What does outer space do to your body?”, or “Why are manhole covers round?” with short video lessons using animation and simple terminology for students.
March Edition of Storify at #ElancoSD – A collection of educational resources and social media posts from Elanco teachers and organizations. Include the hashtag #ElancoSD in your tweets to see your posts in future editions.
The Elanco Leading Edge Flipboard Magazine – Read what’s new in the world of Teaching and Educational Technology. View on the web, or subscribe via the Flipboard iOS or Android App to read on your mobile device.
Please contact me if you have any questions about any of these updates or want to discuss methods to integrate technologies into your classroom.
BrainPOP is getting a makeover… if you and your students log into BrainPOP and things look “different,” that is why! Here’s a screencast from BrainPOP highlighting some of the changes, and more details about the updates are on the BrainPOP blog.
We are still looking for elementary teachers interested in piloting the use of Nearpod during the second semester! An email about this opportunity was sent to elementary staff last week. Please email Lyn if you’re interested!
Looking for ideas for Wired Wednesday workshop topics on December 9 and December 16. What are you interested in learning more about? Email Lyn with ideas and your input!
It’s October! You know what that means, it’s Connected Educator Month!You may have heard me talk about the power of connected learning and teaching and leading in the past… my stance on it hasn’t changed. Having a strong personal learning network (PLN) is vital to the success of any educator. Local networks and teacher communities are very important, but there is great benefit to connecting beyond the walls of our schools and district boundaries to collaborate and network with teachers and administrators from all over the world. Over the past five years, the number of educators using social media tools to connect with one another to share resources, provide support, and energize one another has increased exponentially.
It is well worth an investment of your time to find a network with which to engage to better your practice. Whether it is via Twitter, by joining a book club hosted by CEM or facilitating a global collaboration project such as Global Read Aloud in your classroom; through discussions in a Google+ community or posting to Pinterest boards, finding an Instagram hashtag to follow, or another connected learning endeavor, the possibilities are endless to get and stay connected with fellow educators!
Here’s the Connected Educator Month calendar. Check it out and see if there’s something in which you’d be interested in participating! These events are not solely focused on technology use in the classroom. Topics span everything from literacy to interventions to real-world problem solving to social-emotional learning! There’s something for everyone.
The focus of our November 18 Wired Wednesday workshop will be using Twitter and other social media tools to develop a personal learning network. Sign up in My Learning Plan to join us!
Follow the #ce15 hashtag on Twitter to read the latest and greatest contributions from educators around the world who are sharing their learning during Connected Educator Month…. and beyond!
If you participate in Connected Educator Month, please be sure to grab the CEM Credly badge! Along with all of the other badges you’ve earned this year thus far!