Teaching with Technology

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

Bring STEM to Your School with Samsung!

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This post is sponsored by We Are Teachers

Happy Tuesday, all! Every now and then, I hear about opportunities for teachers and students to participate in amazing programs that can bring new ideas, fresh perspectives, and possibilities for future content-related growth. Last year, for example, I found a program that would allow me to bring my students to the Hamilton play while gaining a deeper understanding of our founding era, and applying what they have learned in new ways. Sometimes, these opportunities can form a foundation for hobbies, a passion, and even a career! When they’re coupled with relevant and exciting professional development for teachers, well, that’s the icing on the cake! Enter the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest!

What is Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow?
This is the eleventh year of Samsung’s initiative to promote the intentional use of STEM in the classroom to solve problems within communities. Who knows better about issues communities are dealing with than students who are living it on a daily basis? The Solve for Tomorrow contest provides winning applicants with up to $100,000 to spend in their effort to create solutions to a problem within their community. Recent winners of the Solve for Tomorrow contest developed products to combat the effects of flash flooding, provide a quick indicator of the potential for fire in particular areas, devices that measure weight in vehicles to avoid hot-car deaths in children, and an app to help people separate recyclables and non-recyclables. What problems can your students solve? Check out how the students at Omro High School in Omro, Wisconsin worked to educate their community about safety on frozen water!

How to Enter
With the possibilities that the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow program presents, you’re probably wondering how you can enter! So many teachers are deterred from entering contests and participating in programs like this, not because we don’t want the opportunities for our students, but because the entry process is long and cumbersome, and teachers just don’t have time for that! To enter this contest, simply be ready to share how your students might solve a problem to promote positive change within their communities. Also – it’s only 5 questions! After you’ve submitted your application (these are due by December 13!), wait patiently (hard, right?!) to see if your school is named as a semi-finalist!

FREE Professional Development
As a teacher, I know how important solid and applicable professional development is, and how it’s sometimes tough to come by! Samsung has partnered with mindSpark learning to design awesome professional learning opportunities for ALL teachers who apply – yes, ALL! Even if you aren’t chosen as a semi-finalist (or beyond) you still have access to 6 hours of FREE professional development which is full of strategies for whatever your learning environment currently looks like. These PD offerings cover awesome topics such as design thinking (the process I used during my Google Innovator project!) and problem-based learning.

 

 

Did I mention this is an online opportunity?! Yes, that’s right. The events of 2020 probably wouldn’t allow this contest to take place face-to-face, so Samsung has decided to bring this contest to the virtual world. Also, this contest is open to all public school teachers of grades 6-12 … even if you’re not a STEM teacher!

Definitely check out this contest not only to bring an awesome STEM program to your school but also to give your students the opportunity to develop and execute solutions to problems!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Leading a Lesson with Quizizz

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Good morning, and happy Wednesday! I’m coming to you on my first day out of quarantine – WOOHOO!! My mom and dad are finally on the mend, and I am so grateful! While my daughters and I enjoyed our time at home, they particularly liked popping into the Google Meets that I had with my classes, I think they’re ready to do their schoolwork with their teachers instead of “Mrs. Mom!” I’ve learned during this quarantine and the quarantine of March-May that I am NOT a second or fourth-grade teacher! The good Lord put me in the right spot! While in quarantine, I was able to explore an update to one of my favorite tools, Quizizz, and I’m excited to share it with you!

WHAT IS QUIZIZZ?
If you’ve ready Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning or Create: Illuminate Student Voice Through Student Choice, then you know that I am a ginormous fan of Quizizz, as are my students! They particularly appreciate the ability to compete against their classmates, while working through the questions at their own pace, AND … the best of all … the questions are displayed on their individual device. They don’t have to crane their head to look around their classmates like they do with Kahoot, and they’re able to continue answering the questions even after other classmates are finished – something they can’t do with Quizlet Live.

WHAT’S NEW?
Quizizz has recently added the ability to create “lessons” – don’t worry, the option to create a quiz is still there! These lessons are essentially presentations that teachers can create and share with their students, via code or specific link, that they would join just as they would a quiz. Teachers can create presentations within Quizizz using available slide options for content and media or can upload existing presentations they have created using PowerPoint or Google Slides.

To get started, simply access your Quizizz account (or make a new one for FREE!) and create a new lesson.

Next, you’ll be able to add slides or upload a presentation in PDF form.

If you upload an existing presentation, you’ll be able to choose which slides you’d like to import.

Then, you’ll be able to embed the typical Quizizz questions, like multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, multiple select, etc., into your lesson.

After you’ve added your activities, you’re ready to launch your lesson!

Your students will join the lesson by accessing joinmyquiz.com (easier than trying to spell join.quizizz.com!) and enter the code to access the lesson. When at least one student has joined the activity, you can begin your lesson!

Just like with Nearpod (another one of my favorites!), teachers can easily access the data of their student submissions when the lesson ends.

I’m excited to try this new option with my students! This would definitely be a good option for virtual/remote/hybrid/whatever the heck you’re doing in your district!

I hope you’re having an amazing week!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Wireless Projecting with Google Meet

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Happy Saturday, friends! I’m coming to you from my second cup of coffee and after my 25th Miracle Morning! I know I’ve said that I’ll share my thoughts on it, and I will, but I’m trying to tread water right now! I know you all know exactly how I feel. Trying to balance work, school, family, and taking care of my mental and physical health is no small feat! Fortunately, we were off yesterday which was a great break. I took TWO NAPS. Before heading to my youngest daughter’s basketball game, I wanted to share a quick tip with you, in case you’re like me and really missing the Google Cast for Education extension, or don’t have a wireless way (say that three times fast!) to project your iPad to your smartboard/whiteboard.

First of all, please tell me I wasn’t alone in having an ABSOLUTE MELTDOWN this summer when I read the email from Google saying that they were discontinuing the Share to Classroom and Google Cast for Education extensions? I used the Share to Classroom extension every single day. It was an amazing resource for sharing information directly with my students, even if we weren’t in the same room. While I used the Google Cast for Education less frequently, it provided an easy way to easily project any device directly to my smartboard, which is connected to my desktop.

Ok, enough venting. Back to the tip!

If you would like to cast a device to your projector, try using Google Meet. Sounds weird, right? Google Meet is a video conferencing tool! Yes, but … through that video conferencing tool, you can share your screen! Here’s how it works:

  1. Open a Google Meet on your desktop computer. Either invite yourself to the Meet through email, or give the Meet a nickname.
  2. Open Google Meet on your more portable device – for me, this is my iPad. Then, join the Meet you created on your desktop with either the nickname or by the email invitation.
  3. MUTE YOURSELF ON YOUR PORTABLE DEVICE. Yup, that’s a huge tip. Otherwise, you’ll hear a super annoying echo. Also, you’ll want to make sure you’re away from your desktop to, once again, avoid that super annoying echo.
  4. Share your screen – if you’re using an iPad like me, then you’ll be able to start the broadcast (dialogue box pops up with this option on your iPad) and start presenting your screen. WARNING – this will present everything on your iPad screen!

That’s it! When you’re ready to yield the screen back to your other device, just click stop broadcasting/sharing.

Wouldn’t it be easier if Google didn’t take away Google Cast for Education? UGH

I hope this helps!

Thanks for reading 🙂

3 Ways to Customize Google Classroom

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Good morning, all! Happy Wednesday! I’m coming to you today from my kitchen table – no, I’m not sick and neither are my kids! Today, I’m fortunate enough to present a seminar to amazing teachers on the West Coast about how they can use Google Classroom (and other awesome tools) to strengthen their Social Studies instruction. Even though I’m presenting my presentation from the comfort of my office in our basement (hello, comfy leggings!) the conference time zone is Pacific, and I’m in Central. So … I’m enjoying some much needed “me time” while I’m waiting for the seminar to begin. One of the many topics I’m sharing with participants today is how you can customize your Google Classroom sections. I figured I’d share some tips with all of you, too!

CUSTOM HEADER
Creating customized Google Classroom headers really isn’t a “new” thing, but the way teachers have customized Classroom headers over the last few months is definitely amazing! In order to draw attention to specific items in Classroom, such as “check Classwork for your assignments & activities!” teachers have customized headers to include a virtual dry-erase board. This, coupled with a neat picture (mine is of the ocean) and a Bitmoji (of course!), teachers are able to direct students to assignments and activities, remind students and their guardians of important items, and more just through a custom header. Click here if you’d like to use my template to customize a header for your students!

EMOJIS
I wonder if future historians will look back on our current use of emojis and compare them to ancient hieroglyphics? Hmmm … Regardless, emojis have most definitely become part of our vocabulary when we communicate, whether through text message, social media post, or … items on Classroom! Yes! Teachers can use great emoji sites and extensions, such as this one, to draw attention to specific topics/assignments/questions/materials so their students can easily reference these resources. To add the emojis into Classroom (topics, assignments, etc.,) simply copy the emoji and paste it into Classroom. That’s it! 

FUN FONTS
I’ve been experimenting with this all morning – Google Classroom is awesome, but I’m a fan of mixing things up when it comes to fonts. Call me crazy, but a good font can bring a smile to my face. One of the only things I don’t love about Classroom is that I can’t customize my fonts. Come on, Google! If you’d like to customize your font on your topics, assignments, etc., on Classroom, check out one of these resources. When updating fonts, be sure to copy and paste directly into Classroom. That’s it!

What are your favorite ways to customize Google Classroom? Let me know!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Teaching with TikTok: Connections, Engagement, and Impact

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Happy Sunday, all! This weekend has been full of basketball games for both of my daughters, club volleyball open gym for my oldest, smooches and hugs from my two-year-old nephews, and, of course, tons of coffee 🙂 I even napped today AND yesterday. Get outta town! Next weekend includes at least one, maybe two soccer tournaments for my oldest daughter, and a basketball game for each of them. I’m so thankful for my tribe of family and friends that help me taxi and cheer on my daughters as they participate in all of their fantastic activities! Did I mention I’m also starting my school law class? Ya, I’m totally fine 🤣 Today, I’m sharing with you how I’m using a popular social media platform to connect with students all over the world. Yup, that’s right. I’m on TikTok and I’m using it to connect with and engage my students in content, to continue my goal of making a positive impact.

Before I get into my entry into the world of TikTok, let me share a reflection with you about my “why” for becoming a teacher. I vividly remember thinking as I was preparing for my first interview as a teacher, how I would answer the obvious question that would undoubtedly be asked: why did you want to become a teacher? My response? I want to make an impact – a contribution. What better way to do that than become a teacher?

Fast forward 13 years (13 years??!?!?!?!) to today. I’m known throughout my school as the crazy teacher who drinks too much coffee and sings cringy songs about Government so her students can remember the concepts. Over the last few years, I’ve created many “raps” (I use that term VERY loosely) to help my students remember everything from constitutional principles, landmark cases, and types and systems of government. These raps are often set to the tune of a common song (Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc.,) that students know and are “catchy.” Then, throw in some easy to remember lyrics that describe the content, coupled with my cringy dance moves and just plain silliness, and you have a Petty Wap Rap! Yes, my students bestowed the name upon me a few years ago and I wear it as a badge of honor 🙂

Last Spring, as we were preparing for Spring Break, unknowingly preparing for virtual learning, my students and I found ourselves in a bit of a funk. As I was singing one of my songs one day to sprinkle a bit of fun into our 3rd Quarter-Final review, one of my students said, “you should put these on TikTok, Mrs. Petty!” The rest of the class erupted into “yes! Do it!” I saw their excitement and enthusiasm, and I couldn’t let them down. Also, any ounce of shame I had already vanished sometime after the birth of my youngest daughter, and I think my classroom has been better for it. So, I made a TikTok account and added my first video.

My students LOVED IT!

It took me back to the reason I started putting my “raps” on YouTube – that was the place my students were in the world of social media. That was the place where I could reach my students – to make progress toward my goal of making a positive impact.

So … yes, I’m on TikTok. I uploaded a video on Friday about Marbury v Madison – a landmark case that students in my Government class had just learned about, and apparently so had tons of other students in Law, AP Government, AP US History, and Civics classes around the world. The views, comments, and follows I’ve gotten since Friday have blown me away. TikTokers are asking me to make video raps for other landmark cases, concepts and time periods in American History, and asking why I couldn’t have popped up on their FYP (for you page) earlier so they could have passed their assessment!

What was my purpose in becoming a teacher? To make a positive impact and contribute. While creating a TikTok account and sharing cringy songs about Government concepts might be a weird way to do so, I think it’s helping me achieve my goal.

Are you on TikTok? Be sure to follow me @pettywapedu and follow the #teachersoftiktok hashtag!

Have an awesome week! Thanks for reading 🙂

Remote Learning Students in Google Classroom

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Happy Thursday, friends! I feel like I’m coming to you from my second “Miracle Morning” and I’m feeling great! Yesterday, I was able to get in a workout, Bible journaling, wash, dry, AND fix my hair — whaaat??! — and I felt like I started my day off on the right foot. Today is my rest day (I’m working on actually taking those!) so I’m coming to you from my second activity (3rd if you count drinking coffee 😜) to share a quick tip about how I’m juggling remote learners (those in quarantine) in Google Classroom.

Juggling … I think that’s an appropriate word to describe teaching in 2020. Don’t you?

When I receive information that a student or group of students will out on quarantine for a period of time (this seems to vary considerably) I use the option in Google Classroom to individualize announcements, assignments, questions, etc., and share a “task list” of sorts with those students for the day. This allows me to share specific activities for the students to complete for the day while they’re outside of the classroom.

You may ask, “why do you take this extra step, Bethany? Why don’t you tell the students to complete the assignments that you share?”

Well … sometimes, students might need a focused, itemized list to complete, as opposed to assignments just appearing at 7:45 in the morning. If you’re like me, I like to know what’s expected of me during a class period, and I like to KNOW when I’m done, so to speak. These task lists give my students that luxury. Also, we all know learning from home is different (like WAY different) than learning in the classroom. In the classroom, you have the benefit of your teacher standing beside you, guiding you along the way, whether that’s through an objective or an assignment. At home during remote learning, students have their Chromebook and (we hope) a bit of motivation!

I’ve also found it helpful to post the task list as a material instead of an assignment to avoid confusion among students. You could also share the task list as an announcement on the stream – I prefer the material option because I can easily organize what I share with my students using Topics on Classwork.

Another option I’ve considered for remote learners is to create a second section in Google Classroom. As students “go on” remote learning, I could add them to the Google Classroom section and then remove them when they return to school. However, I would use this section in Classroom almost like a message board – which is what I’m doing by using the option to select specific students to share task lists with in Classroom … hmmm … Either way works!

I hope your school year is off to a great start!

Thanks for reading 🙂

“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 🙂

Easy Tricks and a Template for Sub-Plans

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Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you’ve had an awesome weekend and that you’re readying yourself to crush the week ahead! This week, the back-to-school craziness officially commences for our family, as both of my daughters’ afterschool activities are in full swing. I told my husband this morning that I almost feel like I need to take a day off to plan, do homework, and run errands because I don’t have time to do ANYTHING after school! Do you ever feel like you blink and your planning period is over? Ok, good – glad it’s not just me! Speaking of taking a day off, trying to plan for a substitute is never an easy task. I often hear teachers say that it’s harder to plan for a substitute than it is to just go to work! Below, I’m sharing my favorite tips and tools for easily creating sub plans and a free template that you can use over and over again!

PADLET
It’s no secret that I love Padlet! I’ve been using this tool for many years in a variety of different ways, ranging from global collaborations projects to mini-research activities, reflection opportunities, and digital study sessions. It’s a super versatile tool and, though it’s a “freemium” site, teachers can easily create a sub-plan template that can be modified and reused without exceeding the storage of the free account. One of my favorite Padlet formats is “shelf,” which is best described as columns that can be added to, regardless of the activity. Each column has its own title and the option to add additional posts below the topic. We frequently use the “shelf” format for class collaboration and my students appreciate that they can work together on the same topic while posting their thoughts and contributions individually. Here’s an example of what a sub-plan made with Padlet might look like:

GOOGLE SLIDES
I ❤️ Google Slides! It’s just such a versatile option for teachers and students that goes WAY beyond “just” a presentation. Just last month, I shared how teachers can easily create their own “app” using Google Slides. I’ve seen teachers upload scanned images of worksheets, then add them as backgrounds on Google Slides, and insert text boxes over the background where students can type their responses. I use Google Slides in my classroom to share our daily learning targets and objectives (be sure to use Topics on Classroom to organize what you share!) which is especially useful when students are frequently out of the classroom for various reasons. Teachers can easily use Google Slides to share sub-plans with their students and substitute teacher, and can quickly edit slides to modify plans and expectations throughout the year. Here’s a free sub-plan template! Just make a copy to use in your classroom!

GOOGLE CLASSROOM STREAM
Yup, I’m sure you probably guessed that Google Classroom was going to make my list of tools for quick and easy sub-plans. It’s just so darn easy to use! My students are already so comfortable with Classroom so using this platform is a no-brainer for me. I add quick information to the Stream of Classroom for each class and include simple instructions for my substitute that direct my students to access their Classroom Stream for their task list. That’s it! Super simple for all involved.

BIT.LY
I flipping love bit.ly, don’t you? It’s so much easier to direct students to a brief link that includes a customized URL (that makes sense as opposed to random letters and numbers!) as opposed to a super long, drawn-out address. And, if you’re using Padlet, Google Slides, or any other web-based tool for your sub-plans, it’s super simple to create a bit.ly address that directs your students and substitute to your plans. Do you use bit.ly in your classroom? I’d love to hear how!

Thanks for reading! I hope you’re staying healthy and well 🙂

Great Features of Google Forms #3

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Happy Wednesday, all! I’m writing to you on my LAST DAY AS A 34-YEAR-OLD. Yup, that’s right. Tomorrow I’m turning 35! I had a minor meltdown a few days ago and my husband reassured me that I’m doing good things in my life and have made positive contributions to the world in many ways – namely, giving birth to and raising our fabulous daughters. So, that made me feel great! The cup of coffee I sipped after that didn’t hurt, either 😜  To celebrate another trip around the sun, I’m geeking out about two of my FAVORITE features of Google Forms –> response validation and go to section based on answer!

I use response validation so often in my classroom, I sometimes forget that it’s not a commonly used feature! So … what is response validation and how does it work?

Response validation can be used on a short answer, paragraph, or checkbox question on a Google Form to require the correct response to a question. If someone answers a question incorrectly or gives invalid data (if you ask them to enter a website and they just type random words) on their submission, response validation gives the user a “try again” or “not quite right” (or whatever you choose!) message, prompting them to try again.  To use this feature, create your question and then click the “3 little dots” at the bottom of the question. Then, choose response validation. Next, you’ll want to select “regular expression” from the first drop-down menu. Then, you’ll choose what the responses should include or not include in the second drop-down menu. Next, you’ll enter the response you’re looking for and then an error text.

That’s it! Now, users who don’t provide the correct response will be encouraged to “keep trying” until they get it right! This is great for digital BreakoutEDU activities as well as other assignments that you create for students which require them to answer correctly before moving on!

Ok … I know I said this post was #3 in the series and you might think that the post would only include one feature. I can’t help it – I love Google Forms! Very similar in nature to response validation is something I use ALLLLL the time in my classroom – “go to section based on answer!” This feature helps teachers easily create a “choose your own adventure” activity or a branched assignment for their students. Here’s how it works.

Create a multiple-choice question and include a variety of answer options. Next, I always create a variety of sections that correspond to the response options I provided. Then, you’ll click the “3 little dots” on the bottom of your question box and select “go to section based on answer.” For each response you provide, you’ll notice a drop-down menu appear to the right of the option. Click that menu and select the section to which you’d like to direct your user. Here’s an image for help:

In each of the sections you create, include directions, videos, questions, links, etc., that you want your students to view and interact with. That’s it! I love this feature for so many reasons, but namely because it provides students with CHOICE! I’m a fan of student choice when it comes to learning content – check out Create: Illuminate Student Voice Through Student Choice for tips!

So … how do you use these features in your classroom? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Nearpod Quick Launch + BOARD Time

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Heyyyyyy, all! Happy Tuesday, and welcome to the back-to-school, let’s start setting an alarm again and holding our bladder, whirlwind that is the season! Phew! My internal clock is starting to readjust and I’m falling asleep earlier than 11 PM, which is a good thing. However, that 5:00 alarm is getting snoozed until closer to 6:00 every day! Though everything is still nutty in the Petty household between getting my daughters back into the “yes, we have to get up early tomorrow,” and “no, you can’t bounce on the trampoline, it’s 8:30 at night,” routine, I am SO THANKFUL to be back in my classroom. Even with our COVID changes, it’s made my teacher heart smile to be in my classroom with my students. I hope we all stay healthy so we can keep this school year as normal-ish as possible! Speaking of my classroom and being normal-ish as possible, have you tried the new quick launch feature from Nearpod? It’s pretty darn cool! Here’s how we’re using it in my classroom 🙂

One of my FAVORITE Nearpod features (and that is really saying something, friends!) is the “draw-it” feature of Nearpod. If you’ve never tried this, here’s the just — you can use a super cool Nearpod feature, including “Open Ended Question, Timer, Collaborate Board, or Draw It, without creating a Nearpod lesson. Cool, right?! To use these features, teachers do not need to have an existing Nearpod lesson – just log in and click Quick Launch in the top right corner of your screen. Students will still join your activity by entering a code on Nearpod. Looking for a quick formative assessment? Click quick launch and choose to create an open-ended question. Do your students need to brainstorm or share their ideas with their classmates? Try a Collaborate Board! Or … if you’re looking for a fun way to review vocabulary or important concepts, use the “D” from BOARD time and launch a Draw It!

If you’ve read Create: Illuminate Student Voice Through Student Choice, you know that I’m a huge fan of BOARD time in my classroom. (You can also read a little bit about it here.) COVID has placed a hurdle (many hurdles, but you know that!) to using the dry erase boards and markers during BOARD time this year. I had initially planned to use Jamboard for this but found out later that it’s blocked for students in my district – UGH. So, I’ll be using the Draw It feature for the “D” (draw or discuss) portion of BOARD time! My students have touchscreen Chromebooks, so they’ll be able to easily sketch out their drawings. However, I’ve used Draw It from Nearpod only using my trackpad and have had great success!

Have you tried the Quick Launch feature, yet? How do you use it?!

Thanks for reading 🙂