Teaching with Technology

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

EDpuzzle + Google Classroom = Awesome!

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Around the middle of December, I received an awesome email from one of my favorite companies, EDpuzzle, sharing a new addition to their wonderful site.

As is typically the case during the school day when I check my email, I saw the email title, squealed a little, and made a note on a post-it to check it out on Christmas break.edpuzzle plus classroom

And…here I am on Christmas break, sharing some great news with you!

EDpuzzle now integrates with Google Classroom, which adds the amazing interactive element of EDpuzzle to the streamlined assigning process of Google Classroom. It’s a match made in EdTech heaven 🙂

Here’s how it works:

[Read more…]

Using Humor to Review for Standardized Tests

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Attention teachers:

Using HumorIf you enjoy administering or reviewing for standardized tests, please digitally raise your hand.

Anyone?

I didn’t think so.

No one likes to review for standardized tests, including students. Since we cannot provide our students with a traditional study guide for their standardized tests, we simply say that the entire course has been their study guide.

 

This might be slightly overwhelming for our students, and just might add just a bit of stress for them.

Just maybe. 🙂

My classroom was no different today than many classrooms around the state, and country for that matter. It’s testing season!

My students have been completing EOC practice tests, refreshing skills with a variety of activities, playing review games, re-watching instructional videos, discussing landmark cases, and the list goes on and on.

I’m afraid of two different responses:

1. That students are becoming extremely stressed and beginning to question their content knowledge

AND

2. Students are beginning to feel overwhelmed and are approaching “system shut-down” mode.

In an attempt to alleviate some of that stress and increase student engagement in our review activities, I’ve decided to combine technology with my strange sense of humor, along with the fact that I’m not (typically) easily embarrassed, to create funny, yet informational, videos.

There are a few key concepts and facts that my students are having difficulty remembering, which prompted me to create some crazy, slightly insane rhymes/songs that I hope with help!

If you need a good laugh, then definitely watch these videos.

If you would like to share these “catchy jams” with your students, please feel free!

 

Whatever helps them remember concepts, right?

Happy May Day!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Flipped Video and Activity!

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Well…the time has come! Tomorrow, my students will be completing their first flipped video module! I’m nervous and excited 🙂

My students will be viewing Foundations and Formations of Government 1 and will complete the Stoplight Activity as they watch the video. Please feel free to check these activities out and use them in your classroom!

To prevent confusion…I made a copy of my Stoplight Activity and included the name of the video, as well as the link for the video. If you’d like to see/use this activity, please click here.

Since YouTube is blocked in my building, and on my students’ devices (they’ll be able to watch my videos on YouTube as soon as my channel is approved for the “white list”), I’ve had to get creative with how I share my videos.

(Side note…I tried using Nicer Tube-blocked- and Keep Vid-blocked)

I used Screencastify on my Chromebook to create my flipped videos. I LOVE this tool…I think it is very user friendly, and while I can’t actually “annotate” the presentation, I think it works extremely well for flipped video creation. If you’re interested in annotating your flipped videos, please check out Explain Everything. It’s pretty amazing.

I really like that Screencastify has the option to upload to Google Drive or to YouTube. I like the idea of having a YouTube channel for my students to access…even when they’re long gone and in college…if they need help or need to locate information we discussed in class. With that in mind, I’ve uploaded my flipped videos to YouTube, thinking I could somehow get around the YouTube block. No such luck.

I immediately wished I had uploaded my flipped video to Google Drive…I could have easily shared the video with my students via Classroom, Google Drive, or email.

I spent most of my planning time today trying to figure out how to download a YouTube video to Google Drive, only to realize that my YouTube video wasn’t in the correct format to view in Google Drive. ARGH!

I FINALLY figured out how to download my YouTube video into an mp4 file, which can be uploaded to Google Drive and shared with students! Imagine me squealing with glee when I found this…because that’s what happened! Check out the screenshot to see how I did this 🙂 I feel like I should have known this all along, but I didn’t, and now I do!!

After downloading the video from YouTube as an mp4 file, and uploading it to Google Drive, then sharing it via Google Classroom, I was FINALLY able to have my students watch the video. Succcess!!

In addition to all of the well documented perks of using the “flipped classroom” model, another benefit is underemphasized…the impact on TEACHERS!

No, the “flipped classroom” doesn’t require less work, as some believe. Yes, flipped classroom teachers still teach…no teaching and lecturing are not synonymous terms.

Teachers can benefit immensely from the flipped model because it allows us to REFLECT on our teaching..which is what I did after I made my first video. No, its not perfect…and I think my students need that to help them remember that a human is teaching them, not a robot. I did get some incredible feedback from my flipped video that I will use as I continue to make more and more videos for my students.

Whew! I’m long winded today. Check back soon for updates from my flipped classroom!

On another note…Chromebooks are being deployed this week! Yipee!!!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Do You Use YouTube? NicerTube is for You!

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I love to show YouTube videos in class, don’t you? They can provide students with great information and visuals to help them connect with the content.

Most days, I’m just a little SCARED to show a YouTube video in front of my class because…I don’t know what will show up on the sidebar! If your school uses YouTube EDU, then you don’t have to worry quite as much about this issue, but you probably can’t access all of the great videos!
Enter NicerTube!
NicerTube is great in so many ways!
  • No username or password
  • FREE!
  • Eliminates distracting video suggestions and comments
Simple access the NicerTube website, enter the URL of the YouTube video you want to display, choose the background you would like behind your video, and voila! Copy and paste the NicerTube link to your browser. Watch your video distraction free!
The video below is embedded directly from YouTube. Click here to access the SAME YouTube video distraction free created through NicerTube!


Pretty neat, right?

I hope you find this great, FREE, tool helpful!

Thanks for reading 🙂

7 Awesome YouTube Channels for Social Studies

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Normally, I try to refrain from focusing my posts on my beloved content area, but today I just can’t help it. As more and more schools begin to implement a 1:1 program, using YouTube as an instructional tool is a great addition to the Social Studies classroom!

Below I’ve listed some of the best YouTube channels geared toward the Social Studies classroom. Check them out!

Crash Course World History and US History
This channel is AWESOME for teachers and students! John Green, a noted author and YouTube star describes various aspects of United States and World History in an extremely engaging way. Students are shown visuals and provided with great factual information. These videos would be a great way to preview a chapter or a new topic.

Hip Hughes History
This is a YouTube channel geared toward high school AP students. Keith Hughes provides lecture information in an upbeat and engaging fashion…also a great opening activity for a new unit!

Khan Academy
By now, most people in the world of education have at least heard of the Khan Academy videos. They are GREAT! Most of the videos focus on Math and Science, but there are a few videos on the channel that deal with Social Studies related topics. Khan Academy has a great video on the Electoral College, as well as an overview of American history.

TED-Ed
TED – Ed is another popular and extremely helpful channel for Social Studies teachers. Many of the videos are very brief, and all can be used in a variety of ways. The Electoral College video is also great on this channel, as is the video about making the Constitution. Check it out!

HistoryTeachers
The History Teachers use modern songs, and “tweak” them ever so slightly to tell the story of an historical event. The videos are engaging, funny, and informative. What more can you ask for?! Check out the video below about Catherine the Great!

National Archives Channel
This wonderful channel includes everything from preservation of historical documents, to the inner workings of the National Archives building, and even includes some pretty great lectures!

One of the most, if not the most, important YouTube channel for classroom instruction is the channel (or collection of videos) created by YOU, the teacher!

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