Teaching with Technology

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

“Conversation Stations” in a High School Class

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Happy FRIDAY!! We made it to the end of another week, folks! I don’t feel like I’ve sat down since school started, between taxiing my kids back and forth to all of their after school (wearing masks and socially distanced, of course) activities so I TOOK A DAY OFF TODAY. That’s right. I took a day off! I took my daughters to a local bakery for donuts before school, went to Chapel with them this morning, and will head in to pick them up from their half-day soon. We’ll be having lunch with some friends, then will come back and rest, I’ll head downstairs for a workout and/or a run, before picking up my 2-year-old nephew for a fun sleepover tonight! All of these things help my heart be happy and recharge so I can be my best for my students next week. Teacher mental health is a real thing, friends, and we all too often sweep it under the rug. It’s ok to think about your well-being! Today, I’m sharing an idea that I tried with my high school students yesterday, which involved giant post-it notes, sharpies, pencils, duct tape, QR Codes, Chromebooks, and cell phones. What in the world could it be? I’m glad you asked! Check out our “conversation stations” activity!

First, no this isn’t the first time I’ve tried stations in my classroom. A few years ago, I set up stations around my classroom for my students. In true station-style, they were supposed to rotate from place to place. I thought it was a beautiful, fool-proof plan! However, because I was only requiring my students to use their school-provided Chromebooks, the idea of actually moving from place to place was kind of lost. One of my students raised his hand and said, “yo, Mrs. Petty, can we just stay in one spot? Since we have all of the stuff already?”

While I’m sure I deflated a bit, he had a point. I was basically asking them to carry their Chromebook from place to place to do something that they could do at their desks. 🤦🏼‍♀️

So … we tried something different yesterday. Instead of providing them with ALL tech activities to complete, we did a “four-corners” strategy about each of our learning targets. Here’s what I wrote on each post-it note:

–> CORNER 1: “What we know …”
–> CORNER 2: “What we need to review …”
–> CORNER 3: “Examples of what we learned …”
–> CORNER 4: QR Code that led to a few formative assessment questions related to that learning goal.

I wrote one learning target in the middle of each post-it at each station, making sure that it was in learner-friendly language. Students worked in small cohorts, wearing masks, and proceeded through each station. We had three learning target stations placed throughout my classroom and in the hallway, and one Quizlet Live station where students could earn TONNNNNS of XP (experience points – check Chapter 8 of Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning for more info!) by competing against those in their cohort.

While my students were milling about, completing tasks at each station, I was buzzing from group to group, providing guidance, individualized instruction, and tech-support, as needed because, it’s 2020 🤣

The feedback that I got from students was AMAZING! They loved working in stations, reviewing specific concepts, and doing so collaboratively with their peers. The feedback they gave me on the post-it will be SUPER HELPFUL in creating a review for their assessment next week.

While this was a face-to-face activity, the four-corner post-it strategy could easily work in a virtual environment, as well, using Google Slides, Drawings, or Jamboard.

The activity from start to finish (my explanation – students completing each station) took about 45 minutes, which was perfect for our 50 minute class period!

Don’t you love when an activity turns out just like you envisioned?!

I’d love to learn about how you use stations in your classroom!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Fabulous Features of Google Forms #1

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Happy Thursday, all! If you’re on my mailing list, you’ve probably already marked your calendars for the return of #IlluminateED TONIGHT at 7 PM (Central Time)! My Illuminate online course cohort had a fantastic discussion last week via Google Meet and we all fully geeked out about the infinite ways we can use Google Forms in our classroom – whether that be virtual, in-person, or a combo of both! So … I decided to share a few of my favorite features of Google Forms with you in a new series – “Google Forms Fun!”

#1 Go To Section Based On Answer
This feature was THE topic of our conversation last week after a teacher asked for an easy way to differentiate instruction with a Google Form. I use the “go to section based on answer” feature in my high school and college classes to offer students choice when it comes to what they want to learn. To “turn on” this feature, simply select the three dots at the bottom of the choice question and choose “go to section based on answer.”

When you’ve done this, you’ll see a dropdown menu appear next to each response option.

Next, you’ll want to create a section that corresponds with each option you provide. To do this, click on the “new section” icon, which looks like an equal sign.

In the example, I provided three options of articles pertaining to an issue or topic in education. I included the link to an article as the description in each of the sections. You can add questions and reflection opportunities, as well as directions for what to “do next” for each section.

When you’ve created your sections and added your activities (if needed), you’ll need to link your options to their corresponding sections. At the bottom of your sections, you’ll notice a dropdown option that says “after section …” Select that menu and click “submit form” unless you want your students to do another section.

Double-check your form to make sure that you’ve made your choice question required so students can’t skip it … not that they would 😉

That’s it! You’re done! You’ve differentiated a topic and given students choice. Go you!

Click here if you’d like to see the example form I created to demonstrate this feature.

Check back soon for the next Google Forms post – seriously, this may be my favorite Google tool. It’s at least in the top 5!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Back to School Planning: Using InsertLearning

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Happy Sunday, friends! A few weeks ago, I tumbled down the Edu-Twitter rabbit hole and found an amazing digital tool – InsertLearning! After a few minutes of digging, I realized that this is a fantastic tool that will help me design lessons around digital resources that easily integrate with platforms I already use, including Google Classroom and the fabulous Edpuzzle. What is this great tool and why am I so excited about it? I’m so glad you asked!

InsertLearning allows teachers to embed resources, discussions, and questions in any digital source using their Chrome extension.

Here’s how it works.

–> Access the site
–> Select “Log In”
–> Sign in with Google
–> Select your role in education
–> Add the InsertLearning extension to your browser

–> Choose a digital resource (Google Docs, website, etc) that you’d like your studets to use
–> Embed questions, discussions, videos (video lessons from Edpuzzle!!), and highlight text with the InsertLearning menu (There are DOZENS of additional embed options as well!)

–> Assign the resource to your students by either creating a class section within the site or by exporting your Google Classroom sections.

That’s it! Teachers can monitor student progress and provide feedback from within the InsertLearning dashboard. I have soooo many ideas swirling around in my head that involve using this tool to illuminate learning. Do you use HyperDocs in your classroom? Think about how you could use InsertLearning as part of a HyperDoc! I can’t wait to use this with primary and secondary readings in my high school Social Studies classroom!! Did I mention that you can also share your InsertLearning activities with other teachers? Hello, collaboration! 

Users have 3 different pricing plans ranging from free to customizable for the size of your school. The individual teacher plan (which I’ll be using) is $40/year HOWEVER, teachers can “earn” free months by sharing this great site with others.

Do you use InsertLearning in your classroom? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Looking Ahead – 3 Ideas for Classroom Technology

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Hello, all! I hope your summer is off to a great start and, if your school is still in session, or if you’re teaching summer school like me, I hope you’re having a blast doing what you love! Like many of you, I find myself thinking ahead to the upcoming school year before the current school year even ends, and as ideas were popping into my head during the last few weeks, I frantically told Siri to put them in my Reminders! I have a few ideas jumping around about different procedural changes and instructional practices that I plan to implement in the 2018-2019 school year, and I just had to share! Here are three ideas for classroom technology that I’m toying with right now!

Courtesy Mode 
I am a huge proponent of allowing students to use devices in my classroom – Chromebooks, iPads, cell phones, etc. Using devices has become a part of the fabric of our culture, and mobile Internet browsers, social media, YouTube and the like are not going away! However, I am going to implement a “courtesy mode” policy in my classes next year that encourages students to use their devices respectfully. In creating this policy, I’m not necessarily trying to restrict any device freedom that they think they have or should have. Rather, I’m trying to prepare them for respectful device use outside of my classroom, in college, and in their future careers. The policy is still in the works but will include: FaceDown (instead of FaceTime – get it?!) and earbuds out – still coming up with a “punny” phrase for that!

Show What You Know Websites 
One of my goals for the 2017-2018 school year was to offer my students more choice when it comes to showing what they’ve learned. My Show What You Know bingo cards encourage students to create games, essays, videos, graphic organizers, infographics, conversations, etc., but, given the user-friendly nature of the new Google Sites, I’ll add creating a website to the list of options. I’m imagining a digital portfolio that demonstrates their understanding of course concepts. It could be a beautiful thing to behold!

Flipgrid Freakout 
To say Flipgrid is an awesome tool would be a vast understatement. However, I feel like I “underuse” it in my classroom. Next year, I will remedy that problem and encourage students to reflect through Flipgrid more often! Right now, I offer a Flipgrid contemporary issues bonus opportunity through which students can share their ideas and opinions of current events in a grid. Next year, I hope to expand my use of Flipgrid to include reflections on what they’ve learned through instructional videos, video explanations of landmark cases, as well as the current events bonus opportunities. Sounds like fun, right?!

What are you planning for the 2018-2019 school year?

Have you joined the Illuminate book study, yet?! Grab your copy of Illuminate and subscribe to the Teaching with Technology mailing list here to get an invite! The summer learning party starts Monday, June 4!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Hosting Digital Study Session with Padlet and Remind

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Good morning and happy Friday! My dual credit American History students are taking their first assessment today and many are freaking out. You remember those days, right? The first time you took a test in a class and weren’t quite sure what to expect? I certainly remember the anxiety that came with the first test — basically, all of the tests — so I wanted to create a study tool for my students to ease their fears. Since this idea popped into my head at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, creating a digital tool was the only option available! Thank goodness for Padlet and Remind! Here’s what I did …

 

Create a Padlet Wall
If you’ve read any of my posts over the past 4 years (thank you!), you know that I absolutely love Padlet. It’s easy to use and share and the kind people at Padlet have added so many fabulous new features! To create a digital study session, simply create a new Padlet wall and TURN ON the commenting feature in the settings. This is extremely important because it allows students to not only post their questions but also comment on their classmates’ posts to offer help. Collaboration among students is so fantastic to behold!

Share the Padlet through Remind
Remind has really been a gamechanger for my classroom. A few years ago, I started using Remind to send out … wait for it … REMINDers to my students about tests, assignments, etc. Now, my students can send me direct messages through Remind and we can have conversations in a documented environment outside the walls of the classroom. My students know that when I’m out of the classroom for any reason, they can send me a message and I’ll respond just as quickly as possible. Remind is AWESOME! To jumpstart the digital study session, I shared the link to the Padlet through Remind. All of my students signed up for Remind, and all of them received the digital study session!

The response from my students was FABULOUS and is most definitely something that I will do again – in all of my classes! I feel like I’m gushing, but the collaboration that I observed was absolutely fantastic.

Thanks for reading 🙂

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