Teaching with Technology

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

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 🙂

EdTech in My Classroom: Google Cast for Education

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Well, friends. I did it. Yesterday, I turned in my Apple TV – my beloved Apple TV that I used during every class period, every day about 5 years ago. I loved being able to use my iPad with my Apple TV to move around the classroom, display fabulous apps like Google Earth, and sketch out concepts and examples for my students. Two Google tools, however, have made my Apple TV an unnecessary tool for my classroom: my new touchscreen Chromebook and Google Cast for Education.

These tools are not brand-spanking new products to the EdTech scene. Google Cast for Education debuted as a Chrome app in 2016, and was updated in July of this year to function as an extension instead of an app.

I played around with the original Google Cast for Education app in 2016 and, while I thought the premise was fabulous -> allowing students to share work with their peers and allowing me to cast information for the class from anywhere in the room -> it was far too clunky for me to use in my classroom. We know that this is the case with many tools … thankfully, many of them improve over time. Google Cast for Education, in its original Chrome app form, just didn’t past the test for me to use in my classroom.

The update for Google Cast for Education is fantastic! It’s an extension – you know I LOVE extensions – and super-easy to use. To get started with Google Cast for Education …
1. Check with your Google admin to make sure you’re good to go!2. Teachers download the Google Cast for Education extension
3. Name the device your students (and you with your Chromebook) will cast to … I named mine “Mrs. Petty’s Desktop”

When you’re ready to share a resource from your Chromebook …
1. Access your Chrome browser settings (three little dots in the top right corner of the screen)
2. Select “cast”
3. You’ll be greeted with a welcome message … just click “ok, got it” … and will be asked what you would like to cast -> your tab or desktop
4. Next, you’ll choose the location you’ll be casting to
5. Voila! You’re casting your Chromebook screen to your projector with no wires!

Students can cast to their teachers desktop as well …
1. Teachers can grant access to groups of students or individual students through Google Classroom or by email
2. When granting access to a group, you’ll be asked how that group will be able to access your casting device -> choose “can request”
3. When students are ready to share their screen, they follow the same steps as the teacher – Chrome settings – cast – select the teacher’s desktop.
4. Voila!

I love using Google Cast for Education with my touchscreen Chromebook because I’m still able to get the feel of writing on my iPad and sharing it with my students. Now, my students can do the same thing!

Download the Google Cast for Education extension and try it out in your classroom!

Thanks for reading 🙂

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