Teaching with Technology

Using educational technology to enhance the learning environment and increase student engagement!

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Blogging Book Reviews for Kids

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My oldest daughter, Hanna, will be in first grade this fall, and she’s a REALLY good reader! However, like most parents, I want to encourage her to keep reading and keep getting better! Lately, she’s been complaining that reading “takes too long” or she just doesn’t want to read. This makes my book-loving heart hurt! While we were eating lunch today, Hanna was talking about how much she loves watching tutorials and toy unboxing videos on YouTube (seriously, have you ever watched these things?!) and I had an idea … she could create book review videos! Her own vlog about books that she reads! I introduced this topic to her, and she was immediately excited to get started! Then, she panicked a bit because she was afraid to be in front of the camera … I told her she could create a book blog and share her thoughts about the books she reads with anyone. The response? Hanna’s beautiful blue eyes lit up and she squealed, “I can blog like you, Mommy?!” Absolutely! My daughter will be blogging about the books she reads and is EXCITED ABOUT READING!

 

We came up with this idea at about 1:30 this afternoon, and by 3:00 she has already created her blog (using Google Sites), typed an “About Hanna” section, and chose a picture for Mommy to upload to her site. She’s already figuring out how she wants to set up her blog – she wants to have specific pages for book series (like Amelia Bedelia, Fancy Nancy, etc) and wants to limit each page to 3 or 4 books so “the pages don’t get really long and people don’t see them!” She’s excited to have many different pages, as well. For example, Amelia Bedelia part one, Amelia Bedelia part two, etc.

Hanna is EXTREMELY EXCITED to “read lots of books on this blog.”

I’ll be sure to update you as her blog continues!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Blogging…in the Classroom?! Yes!

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Blogging in the classroom (infographic)We teach in an increasingly digital and connected world…this statement surely comes as no surprise! Our students are constantly plugged in to Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and all of the latest social media and digital components that have become so important in their lives. As educators, sometimes we see these tools as distracting…which they most definitely can be in the classroom. However, if we can integrate technology that our students are using, and using very often, into our curriculum…wouldn’t that be great?!

I’m still new to the blogging world, but as you may notice, I LOVE IT! I have an outlet for all of the ideas I have running through my brain! Sometimes, its almost therapeutic to express what I know about technology through my blog. I’m reading, thinking, writing, and applying knowledge by blogging…aren’t these skills we want our students to hone? So, could we use blogging in the classroom?

The question I always ask when I read about new technology that can be used in the classroom is…HOW CAN I USE THIS IN MY CLASSROOM!?! After a few minutes of brainstorming, here are some ways I’ve compiled to use blogging in the classroom…enjoy and feel free to comment your ideas!

  • Book Reviews
  • Backchanneling
  • Collaborative Projects
  • Journaling
  • Bellringers
  • Collecting Information for Research Papers and Projects
Blogging can also be a tool to encourage your students to create and write professionally. The audience for their project is expanded beyond just the teacher or their classmates…maybe they’ll take more pride in their work! 

I’ve listed some tools teachers can use for blogging in the classroom below. These are just a few suggestions…there are many more tools available!

  • Blogger
  • Kidblog
  • WordPress 
  • Tumblr 

Below are links to some great articles about blogging in the classroom.




Collaboration in a Virtual Learning Environment

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Happy Sunday, all! If you’re a member of my newsletter, you know my weekend has been spent in drywall dust, paint fumes. and the sound of my husband cutting tile as he gives our laundry room a facelift. While I’m SUPER thankful that he has the desire and ability to work on home improvement projects, I’m not a fan of renovation projects and all of the dusty mess that comes with it! (Not a subscriber? Sign up here!) Since we’re past the 4th of July in America, my teacher-brain is officially in “back-to-school” mode, not that it ever really shut down for the summer 😉 While I’m reflecting on the year that was (wowzers!) and the year to come, I’m feeling all the feels – excited to see my students in my classroom, high-fives or fist bumps as my students enter our classroom or walk down the hall, hilarious conversations about random thoughts, surprise Petty Wap Bops from our local coffee shop and a huge amount of angst and uncertainty about what our learning environment will look like, how I can encourage collaboration among my students, and of course, how will we do our best to protect the health and safety EVERYONE, including teachers, custodians, cafeteria staff, administrative staff, administrators, and our families that we return home to at the end of the day. Instead of allowing myself to jump into a full-blown panic attack (I’m sure that’s on the horizon, anyway!), I’m thinking about my concerns and how I can address them a little bit at a time. Here’s my plan for encouraging collaboration in our classroom, whether that be face-to-face, virtual, or some funky hybrid, this fall.

BOARD Time with Jamboard
Early last school year, I introduced a new activity to my students that was designed to encourage reflection and collaboration. I felt that my classroom was too quiet after my students had worked their way through instruction – man, if you would have told me 13 years ago that I would be looking for an activity because my classroom was too quiet, I would have called you crazy! Through BOARD time (more about that here) I’m able to encourage collaboration, reflection, and utilize a few lovely strategies outlined by Dr. Marzano, specifically showing similarities and differences, and non-linguistic representations, all while having fun. Have you ever asked your students to create a non-linguistic representation of the Great Compromise or the Electoral College? The creations students produce during BOARD time are just fantastic. In case we’re not able to collaborate this year using a community dry erase board and dry erase markers (I really don’t see that happening) Jamboard is a great collaborative alternative that will allow my students to use all of the great features of BOARD time in a more hygienic environment. More about Jamboard in a later post!

Padlet Shelf (Column) Collaboration
If you’ve followed my blog, you know that I just love Padlet. I do. Yes, people, myself included, freaked out a few years ago when Padlet started charging for just a few “padlets,” but it’s just a fantastic tool. Yes, I use the free version and the premium version (I have an account for my work as a high school teacher, one for my work as a college professor, and one for my blogging, speaking, presenting, and consulting work), and if I run out of space, I simply archive or delete a padlet I haven’t used in a bit, and free up some space! If you’ve explored Padlet, you know that they offer users many different options for how teachers display their “wall,” but our classroom favorite is the “shelf” or column option. This allows … ding, ding, ding … you guessed it! Easy collaboration! I set up the column titles, send the link to my students, and they collaborate with their classmates digitally on the same topic. Check out the image below for a visual 🙂

Google Meet — Updates, coming soon!
Last week, Google announced some ah-mazing updates coming this fall to Meet. One of the great things about Google is that they really do listen to teacher feedback! Sometimes, it just takes a bit 😉 If, let’s be honest, when we have to shift from in-person to online, the new updates to Meet will be pretty great. According to this post from Google, we can expect background images (this may seem trivial, but think of our students who may not feel comfortable of sharing their homelife in front of their classmates!), the ability to turn off chat during Meets, a hand-raising option, a whiteboard, AND the ability to form breakout groups. WOOOHOOO! Yes, I know Zoom already has many of these options, but some schools may have Zoom blocked for students and/or teachers. These new additions, specifically the whiteboard (through Jamboard integration) and breakout groups will definitely help increase collaboration during virtual learning!

How do you plan to encourage collaboration in the virtual classroom? Or, in a socially-distanced, face-to-face classroom, for that matter? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

5 Top Tips for Using Google Classroom Series – Tip #1

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Hello, all! I’m still here! I’ve taken a brief timeout from blogging, social media-ing, etc., while my family and I were on vacation. We got back from Florida late last night before Tropical Storm Barry made landfall, and we had a great time! I don’t know about you, but I can definitely tell that we’re in the second half of summer vacation because I’ve been having these random ideas pop into my head about different ideas, strategies, and tools to use in my classroom in the fall – I guess it’s in my teacher DNA! If you’ve been keeping up with the Google Classroom updates and additions that have been rolling out over the last few weeks, you’re likely SUPER pumped, especially if you’ve been a Classroom user for a while. The new grade book looks fantastic, the rubrics (for those in beta testing) are fabulous, and it looks like locked mode will be available for GSuite users in August. All of this in addition to the fantastic features of Classroom that we already know and love!

All of these changes and updates can get overwhelming. As I share in Illuminate, with all of the tech available for teachers and students, sometimes we can be tempted to throw up our hands and say, ” I just figured it out! Stop changing!” To combat that urge and share my favorite tips for using Google Classroom, I decided to create this quick guide for teachers. I’ll be sharing a one-pager in the next few days 🙂

Tip #1: Add the Share to Classroom Extension
Holy moly. The Share to Classroom extension is a huge hit in my classroom. When I presented earlier this year (in 4 states over 5 days!) my students biggest piece of advice for me to give was to tell the teachers to add the Share to Classroom extension or, as they call it, “the push thing.” Why? Because it’s easier for them to access resources, games, etc., that I share with them. Yes, I could write the link on the whiteboard. Yes, I could post the link on Classroom. But they just LOVE that I can push the resource directly to them!

How can you use this lovely extension in your classroom? Talk to your Google admin and request the Share to Classroom extension be pushed out to student and teacher Chromebooks. Or, if that route doesn’t work, and your students are able to add extensions on their devices, walk them through the steps of adding an extension.

When you add the extension, you’ll be able to click on the icon on your extension bar and see a list of classes that are associated with the Google account with which you’re signed into Chrome.

Next, access a resource you want to share with your students – websites that I share with my students range from primary and secondary sources, contemporary issues articles, to links to play Kahoot! or Quizizz – yes, the URLs for those websites are super short and easy to type, but if the teacher can just push it to you … ha!

From the Share to Classroom icon, you’ll be able to create an assignment or announcement with the resource, ask a question, or push the resource to students. Select the class section and push! That’s it!

The extension will push the resource to your students and it will “magically appear” in the bottom portion of your student’s screen. After a brief pause (1-3 seconds usually) the resource will open in a new tab on student devices.

WOOHOO!

I love using Share to Classroom when I’m out for the day to encourage my students to remain on task. I open a new Google Doc and push the blank doc to my students. As they appear on the doc, I type “get to work!’ in funky red font. It’s great!

What are your favorite uses for Share to Classroom? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Check back soon for tip #2!

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading 🙂

 

2018 Year-in-Review Reflections

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Welcome to the last Saturday of 2018! I hope you’re enjoying your holiday breaks like my family is. We’re sleeping late, taking naps, staying in jammies, playing with Christmas presents, eating goodies (waaaaay too many!), and enjoying our time off together. I’ve officially hit the point in my Christmas break when I really don’t know what day it is, but I do know I need to lay off the sweets and get back into my healthy eating routine! WOWZERS! While my kids are playing with a new toy, it’s a perfect time for me to sit down in my recliner, down my umpteenth cup of coffee, and reflect with you on 2018!

 

#ONEWORD – 2018
In January of this year, I decided to choose a word to focus on and help me stay motivated throughout 2018 – that word was BETTER. I wanted to focus on being a BETTER mommy to my girls and wife to my husband. I wanted to be BETTER in my workout/healthy eating lifestyle which would help me be BETTER in other areas of my life. I wanted to be BETTER in my daily devotional life and be a BETTER teacher. Notice, I didn’t focus on the negative in my #oneword goal for 2018 … while these areas of my life are great, they can always be BETTER!

I’m happy to report that my #ONEWORD for 2018 was definitely a good choice for me. I became a BETTER version of me by losing twenty pounds and twenty inches, which has helped me not only feel awesome but also has given me more energy and confidence, contributing to an overall happier Bethany. When I’m in a workout/nutrition program, I feel like I have a better handle on other areas of my life … which is super helpful as I attempt to balance my hectic life on a daily basis 🙂 I’ve become better at carving out time during my day for me and God – whether that’s in the morning when I’m getting dressed, during my planning period or lunch, or while I’m waiting for my daughters at one of their MANY after school activities. One of the ways I’ve focused on being a BETTER teacher is by continuing to seek out new strategies to positively impact student learning. Check back for a series on using technology with Hattie’s research on learning!

ILLUMINATE! 
I still can’t believe that my book, Illuminate, was published in 2018. I feel so fortunate to have been able to work with the awesome people at EdTechTeam to share the message of “it’s not about the tech; it’s how you use it!” with the world through my book. Technology use in the classroom can be so amazing when used intentionally to enhance student learning. I feel like teachers are so swamped with requirements and standards and objectives and extra duties and EVERYTHING else that comes with being a teacher, that technology integration can be just one more “thing” that they have to “do” in their classroom. That doesn’t have to be true! Intentional and meaningful technology integration can have a powerful impact on student learning!

Most Popular Posts of 2018
As promised, here are the 5 most popular posts from 2018! I absolutely love blogging and am so blessed to be able to use my blog to reflect upon teaching practices and share ideas, strategies, and tools with the world. Thank you so very much for reading Teaching with Technology! I’ll be celebrating my FIVE YEAR blogging anniversary in mid-January – I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!

HyperDocs for Social Studies

Creating a Class Blog with Google Classroom

Resources for Creating a Digital BreakoutEDU

Essential Smartphone Apps for Teachers

Hashtags through History – They’re #Awesome

 

As always, thanks for reading 🙂

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