Tech Tuesday Tips
Welcome to a "one stop shopping" place for information, tips and thoughts on using technology in the classroom. Each Tech Tuesday Tip will be featured here! Feel free to check out the other pages as well for even more resources.
February 3, 2015 - Tech Tuesday Tips!
Google Drive Updates
Google continues to tweak and change things to make the user interface experience better! Some times, I think that's debatable and in this case, you might like to debate it. I've been using the new user interface for quite some time now but many of you may still be using the Google Drive that you've always used. Google has announced that the new interface will be the default look for everyone on February 17th. So, if you haven't switched over to the new "look," you might want to consider doing that now. What if I have no idea if I have the "old" or "new" look? Take a look at this Google created YouTube informational video on what to expect in the new Google Drive interface. Switch Today!
Google continues to tweak and change things to make the user interface experience better! Some times, I think that's debatable and in this case, you might like to debate it. I've been using the new user interface for quite some time now but many of you may still be using the Google Drive that you've always used. Google has announced that the new interface will be the default look for everyone on February 17th. So, if you haven't switched over to the new "look," you might want to consider doing that now. What if I have no idea if I have the "old" or "new" look? Take a look at this Google created YouTube informational video on what to expect in the new Google Drive interface. Switch Today!
Formative Assessment tool - Kahoot!
There are many formative assessment tools/student response systems on the market today. Many are free as is the tool I will focus on today. Kahoot is a great and fun way to gather responses of student knowledge and learning. Plus, it has an interactive and game based interface that grabs student's attention. I was recently setting up a Kahoot for a training I was leading and my daughter heard music playing in the background and she asked me if I was on a Kahoot! Right there, I knew that Kahoot was a tool that I wanted to look into further. The one thing that I think sets it apart from others is the game based "play" and the data rich output that it provides for the teacher. Furthermore, you can set it up w/ multiple languages as well. This is great news for our non-English speakers/classrooms. The Kahoot blog has great resources, as well as an user guide to help you get started. Also, since I already mentioned Google Drive, Kahoot has made it possible to export your Kahoot data into a Google spreadsheet. Below is a short overview of how Kahoot works. There are many more informative tutorials and downloads on the Kahoot blog.
There are many formative assessment tools/student response systems on the market today. Many are free as is the tool I will focus on today. Kahoot is a great and fun way to gather responses of student knowledge and learning. Plus, it has an interactive and game based interface that grabs student's attention. I was recently setting up a Kahoot for a training I was leading and my daughter heard music playing in the background and she asked me if I was on a Kahoot! Right there, I knew that Kahoot was a tool that I wanted to look into further. The one thing that I think sets it apart from others is the game based "play" and the data rich output that it provides for the teacher. Furthermore, you can set it up w/ multiple languages as well. This is great news for our non-English speakers/classrooms. The Kahoot blog has great resources, as well as an user guide to help you get started. Also, since I already mentioned Google Drive, Kahoot has made it possible to export your Kahoot data into a Google spreadsheet. Below is a short overview of how Kahoot works. There are many more informative tutorials and downloads on the Kahoot blog.
December 16th, 2014 - Tech Tuesday Tips!
The Confusing Chromebook!
I agree when teachers say that a Chromebook can be a confusing and frustrating (at times) adventure! Here are some tips and tricks to help you out as you try and explore the world of Chromebooks not only for yourself but for your students as well!
I agree when teachers say that a Chromebook can be a confusing and frustrating (at times) adventure! Here are some tips and tricks to help you out as you try and explore the world of Chromebooks not only for yourself but for your students as well!
The Utah Education Network is a place that every teacher should know about! It has a wealth of activities! Here is a great list of interactive activities that they've broken down by different grade level categories (K-2, 3-6, and 7-12). They have it also broken down by subject matter. In the screenshots below, which are linked to the UEN, you can see that they've indicated whether the web tool is Flash or Java based so that teachers aren't going in blindly and then later find out this won't work on their device. When you look at the 7-12 example below, there are many topics for the interactive resources. (Remember, Java does not work on Chromebooks!) There is so much more on this site which covers everything from PreK education to High Education as well. It's well worth your time.
Nov. 25th, 2014 - Tech Tuesday Tips!
This month's tips are all Google Apps based! Get ready to Google!
Did you know that the Google search feature can do more than just search keywords and terms? If you type in a mathematical equation, it will solve the problem for you! See the image to the right!
Did you know that the Google search feature can do more than just search keywords and terms? If you type in a mathematical equation, it will solve the problem for you! See the image to the right!
Google is also an online timer or stopwatch! By typing in "5 minute timer" in the search box, you can create your own timer in class. Once you hit the "enter" key on the keyboard or click on the search icon, it automatically starts counting down! It has an alarm you can turn off/on. You can also go full screen so you don't see the other search results and you can even stop and reset it if needed.
The next tip is using Google Chrome bookmarks bar. This can be turned on to keep track of your bookmarks and/or your favorites! To do this, go into settings>show bookmarks bar. See the example video to the right. In the video, I also mention mpsk12.net bookmarks which we will be pushing out in the coming months.
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Oct. 28th, 2014 - Tech Tuesday Tips!
The first Tech Tuesday Tip this month is a tool called Citelighter. Citelighter is an easy to use academic research tool to help guide students and teachers for writing papers and to make sure that they cite sources appropriately! Check out the tutorial below. It is free but there's also a premium version as well.
Do your student's have the wiggles????
The next resource I wanted to highlight is called GoNoodle. GoNoodle is great for brain breaks for students. Even we need a brain break sometimes! Check out GoNoodle today. We have many teachers in our district using GoNoodle! Give it a try! By the way, it's free!
The next resource I wanted to highlight is called GoNoodle. GoNoodle is great for brain breaks for students. Even we need a brain break sometimes! Check out GoNoodle today. We have many teachers in our district using GoNoodle! Give it a try! By the way, it's free!
The next tool is called TodaysMeet which is a backchannel which allows you to connect w/ students in realtime. It's a very easy tool to set up quickly which I've used with others to gather feedback as we're studying a topic or having a discussion. It's a great place to have a "parking lot" as the discussion and collaboration continues. I believe you could embed a TodaysMeet into a Schoology Page, Assignments & Other Course Materials as well.
It would be a great way for teachers to make comments or ask questions that someone else in the audience may have an answer to so that the conversation (possibly during a PD session) doesn't end or stop. Great tool! The tutorial below is from Adam Bellow (the Twitter Hashtag will not exist in TodaysMeet. However, everything else is the same).
It would be a great way for teachers to make comments or ask questions that someone else in the audience may have an answer to so that the conversation (possibly during a PD session) doesn't end or stop. Great tool! The tutorial below is from Adam Bellow (the Twitter Hashtag will not exist in TodaysMeet. However, everything else is the same).