Google Hangouts-Coronavirus Edition

Get ready for online tutoring/classwork help via Google Hangouts.

Screencast Here

Plickers

"Today we are going to use Plickers!"  My students looked back at me with confusion as I passed out barcodes with A, B, C, and D labeled around the outside of the code.  Basically, Plickers uses a QR/Barcode system for students to submit answers to multiple choice questions.  The awesome thing is that by using an app on my phone or other device, I can quickly sweep the room and conduct a fast formative assessment.  The immediate feedback allows me to alter my instruction to meet the needs of my students. 

Plickers is FREE and you can print the cards.  If you want more durable ones, plastic cards can be ordered on Amazon.  With a free account you can ask up to 5 questions at a time (in a PowerPoint type slideshow).  If you want the ability to do more, you can pay a small monthly fee.

This amazing post by Laura Candler gives many different innovative ways that Plickers can be used in the classroom. https://www.lauracandler.com/innovative-strategies-for-plickers/

Get Wiser with Wizer

What do I LOVE about Wizer???  Well let me count the ways...

1. It's a WONDERFUL tool to use for blended learning

2.  No time to grade?  Wizer can check your students' answers!

3.  Wizer is interactive and can act as both a formative and summative tool

Check out my intro video below!

https://youtu.be/Itrynzf3hfk

Chatterpix Kids

Bring book characters to life with Chatterpix!  With this kid-friendly app, students can take a picture of the character from their book or the person/animal of interest from their reading passage and make them "talk" about the information learned from the reading immersion.  Don't have a picture?  No problem!  Have your students expand their creativity by designing one before they take the picture. 

Check out this example

Scholastic Magazine Grade 4 (February 5, 2018)

Golden Goals!

Julia Marino-Snowboarding

Freckle

Taken from the Freckle.com

Looking for a FREE tool to use with your students that will meet them where they are at in all four core areas?  I was on the same hunt, and fell in love with Freckle (formerly known as Frontrow).  Freckle gives a placement test and adapts practice to help students grow from where they are.  Giving students their user name and password is so easy because you can download adorable login cards that can be taped inside their binder or agenda.  I absolutely LOVE that there are science and social studies units that can be assigned with differentiated reading passages.  Want to learn more?  Click the Pig at the top to be directed to the website.

Seesaw

Scan this to get a month of Seesaw Premium for FREE!!!!

As always, Seesaw Basic is FREE 

How do I love Seesaw?  Let me count the ways!

• It is a digital portfolio for students that can be DOWNLOADED by stakeholders with accompanying QR codes.  
• It allows for communication and collaboration between all members of our classroom family.  Students are able to see and comment on each other's work (if allowed by teacher).
• Parents can see what students are uploading to their portfolio and can comment accordingly.
• There are so many apps that work in tandem with Seesaw.
• Students can demonstrate learning via recordings, pictures, drawings, and videos.
• Teachers can create folders for differentiation.
• Honestly, the list is always evolving because Seesaw is such an amazing tool.

Scared to take the leap?  Just set up a folder to house the links, videos, and anchor charts that you share with your students.  This gives students a "go to" location for finding this information at a later date.

Already a pro?  Try out Seesaw Activities in the "Beyond the Basics" section.

UPDATE: 11/15/2018
I didn't really know if I would continue using Seesaw at the middle school level, but it is just as wonderful as ever.  I LOVE the activities feature.  Check out the photo below.  I can create an activity and quickly see who has not turned it in.  This is helping me move closer to a virtually paperless classroom.  Also, the fact that parents can see what their child is doing makes this an amazing collaborative tool.

Qustodio-Device Monitoring

On days when I am feeling particularly exasperated by my children, the quote, "The days are long, but the years are short" has kept me pushing along and has caused me to stop and try to savor small moments with my children.  Unfortunately this summer, one of those small savory moments was discovering in my search history that my children had looked up something that made my cheeks burn.  This wasn't supposed to happen with MY kids.  I mean, I am pretty tech savvy and was sure that I had made our devices "kid safe."  Truth be told...our kids are digital natives, and we have to try to stay one step ahead of them.  After confiscating their technology, I began my search and trials of different parental monitoring apps.  I decided that for now my favorite tool is Qustodio.

Why Qustodio?
1.  I wanted an app that could monitor "search history"....AKA what the heck did my kids Google?
2.  I wanted to be able to shut their device down from my phone instantly.  You know-I asked my loving son to do the dishes and he continued to tap that screen...BAM  screen locks.
3.  I wanted the ability to schedule screen time either by hours per day or by time of day
4.  I wanted to see HOW my kids were using their devices (Netflix, Pokemon, etc.)
5.  I wanted an app that included a filter so that I could try to prevent some of the yucky stuff from showing up.

Qustodio met all of my requirements.  They do have a free version, but in order for me to monitor my multiple children, the $49.95 price tag per year was worth it.

Qustodio does have an app, but it can also be used by logging in to the website on a computer.  Is it perfect?  No.  Could it miss something once in a while?  Sure.  Does having something like this take away my responsiblity as a parent to monitor my children and their technology usage? ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Does it make me feel just a bit better to know that I'm doing what I can to keep my family safe?  Yes.

When I open the app on my phone, I can easily choose which child I would like to check up on.

The Layout is visually appealing and is easily understood.

My favorite tool is being able to click that Block/Unblock button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.  Once I click block, and the circle turns red, my child's device is locked until I unblock it.

These are just a few of the many features that Qustodio has to offer.  They have a FREE version that allows for you to monitor one child/device.  Give it a whirl, see what you think, and upgrade if you think it is worth it.

Analogies

Research supports the importance of being able to make comparisons with sound reasoning.  An article on Teachervision articulates this point. Listed below are three free apps for learners to begin practicing with analogies.

The user of this app will begin to build their understanding of relationships between concepts (words, shapes, etc.) 64 total analogies are included with this free app.

A 2nd version of the above mentioned app.

This version of the analogy app focuses on word analogies.

Pick-A-Path

Pick-A-Path

The Pick-A-Path app is an app that has been created by the NCTM.  The user chooses a path through different operations with the goal of reaching the target total.  This is great for building mathematical and reasoning skills.  As the levels go up, the game increases in difficulty. 

TeleStory

TeleStory

Have you ever wanted to be on TV?  Well, now you can be the star you have always wanted to be!  This app allows the user to become a character in their own TV show.  By using augmented reality tools, the user can change costumes and sets while they create their own unique TV show.  The completed show can then be exported to the camera roll of the iPad.  

Toontastic

Do you want a creative way to infuse 21st Century Skills with writing and literacy skills?  Look no further than this app.  Toontastic is a wonderful way for students to use their creativity while writing a story that allows them to select characters and settings while developing a plot that follows the "story arc" format.

Here is a great resource provided by Toontastic to use for planning.

Here are some examples of how teachers are using Toontastic in their classrooms.

Common Sense Media- Easy Way to Preview Media

I don't know about you, but for me as a parent and a teacher it has gotten harder and harder to decide what may or may not be appropriate for children to view.  One thing I love about this website and app is that it not only gives you the rating, but it also tells you WHY the rating was given. 

The following was taken from www.commonsensemedia.org

	Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. We offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music.  Our Parent Concerns and Parent Blog help families understand and navigate the problems and possibilities of raising children in the digital age.
	Common Sense Education provides teachers and schools with free research-based classroom tools to help students harness technology for learning and life. Our K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum teaches students how to make safe, smart, and ethical decisions in the digital world.  And our revolutionary educational rating system, Graphite, helps educators discover, use, and share high-quality digital products that propel student learning.
	Common Sense Kids Action works with policy makers, business leaders, and other advocates across the nation to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed. Kids Action works to drive policies at the state and national levels that ensure all kids 0-5 have access to vital education and health resources; that all children have high-quality digital learning experiences; that their online data and privacy is protected; and that child poverty is reduced in America. With over 65 million Common Sense users, more than 275,000 educators, and potential advocates in every home and school across the nation, Common Sense’s advocacy platform is building a movement dedicated to making kids our nation's top priority.

Book Wizard by Scholastic

Scholastic has a website/app called Book Wizard.  This website/app is very helpful for the teacher looking for those "just right" books.  Books can be found by using reading levels as well as by searching for titles.  Once found, most books provide the genre, interest level, reading level, and some even include free teaching resources!  The app includes a scanner, which helps the teacher to quickly identify the above mentioned categories.  

Some minimal cons include that not all books are listed, not all categories have information provided (ex. some might not include the genre), and not all have free resources.  However, as far as FREE resources goes, this app/website is definitely worth checking out!

Goodreads

This year I made the switch from teaching math and science to teaching reading and social studies. Now don't get me wrong, every teacher is a reading teacher, but this change has led to my temporary hiatus from blogging about technology.  This is largely due to the fact that I believe that a teacher needs to know their content and be comfortable with it before they begin to enhance it with a lot of new technology.  Throughout the year I continued to use the technology/programs/apps that I was already familiar with, but I did take a break from searching out anything new/cutting-edge.  

Now that we are approaching the end of the year and I start thinking about next year, I have once again begun to search out tools that will make my classroom more effective (and some tools that I think are just awesome for myself).

The website Goodreads is one of my new favorites (and yes, there is an app for that).  This website is almost as addicting as Pinterest.  Once you set up a free account you are able to rate books that you have read.  As you rate your previously read books, the system makes recommendations to you for future reading.  One of my favorite parts of the app is the scanner.  I was recently in the store and saw several books that I would like to read, but since I currently have a stack on my nightstand I did not purchase them.  Instead, I scanned the barcode with my app and added them to my "want to read" virtual shelf.  As you investigate different books that may interest you, ratings and book reviews from other members of the goodreads community can be viewed.  You can also follow your "friends" and see what they are reading/have read.

So how does this apply to my classroom?  This app is nicely correlated to genres, and therefore I can search through children's literature, fiction, historical fiction, etc. and based upon what my class has enjoyed reading I can find suggestions for future reading.   Older students may enjoy having their own log-in and access to the app.  I would probably suggest not using it with younger students as inappropriate books may be located while conducting a search.  

Give it a try!  It's free and I really think you will enjoy it:)

Literacy Tools

Holli Taylor presented at ISTE 2014 on Literacy and the Web 2.0 teacher.  The first handout linked below has links to apps/websites that support guided reading.  The second handout is an example of the "menus" that she uses for guided reading.

https://www.isteconference.org/uploads/ISTE2014/HANDOUTS/KEY_87891843/Literacytoolsfortheweb2GOPDF.pdf

https://www.isteconference.org/uploads/ISTE2014/HANDOUTS/KEY_87891843/ReadingCenterMenus20132014.pdf

Introduction to Augmented Reality

OK...so I'm definitely a newbie when it comes to Augmented Reality and I am still learning, so feel free to leave any helpful comments below.  I started hearing about AR at NCTIES and have noticed that there are already sold out sessions at ISTE for Augmented Reality, so I've decided to try finding some resources that would be helpful for other newbies like me:)

I found this Prezi by Matt Hollowell that I think does a great job of introducing AR

NCTIES 2014 Presentation

Engaging Students with iPods

NCTIES is powered by Edmodo.  Contact me if you would like our group code.

Google Forms

Using a Google Form is an easy way to obtain information from students, staff, and stakeholders.  Data is collected in a Google Spreadsheet for easy viewing and the templates make it easy to create a Google Form.  Once you create one, all you have to do is share the link or even create a QR code that directs the user to the form.  Check out my handout HERE

Educreations

Educreations is a website with a corresponding app that allows you to create recorded lessons using a recordable whiteboard along with microphone capabilities.  

Click HERE for a video tutorial

I found a simple handout for free on Teachers Pay Teachers from Spanishplans.org and you can get it HERE