Teaching with Technology

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

Tips for Using Google Classroom – Tip #5

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Happy Thursday! We’re in the middle of Homecoming Week in my district – today was “decades day” and I was a bit stumped as to what to wear. I settled on my Declaration of Independence shirt that I bought over the summer when we were in Philadelphia for ISTE and am representing the ’70s … the 1770s that is! Yes, I’m a nerd 😀 Even though we’re a third of the way through October, we’re still technically in 1st quarter, which means we’re still technically in back-to-school mode, right? Therefore, finishing my back-to-school with Google Classroom series today is just fine! Don’t judge – this semester has been super hectic!

What’s the final tip for using Google Classroom?

DRUMROLL, PLEASE …

Archiving Classes!

Yes, archiving your classes is tip #5. While there are many different perspectives on the best way to create sections in Google Classroom, such as creating a new section in Classroom each quarter, for each unit, etc., I have anxiety about actually deleting a class or deleting content from the Classroom stream when I’m finished with the course or the unit. Therefore – I archive my classes at the end of each course.

Archiving class sections has three main benefits for me:

  1. Pacing: I really REALLY appreciate the ability to look back at previous years to be sure I’m making adequate progress. Sometimes, particularly in my dual credit classes, I find myself getting bogged down in my favorite topics, including the US Constitution, Greek Mythology, the Colonial Period, and the Protestant Reformation. It’s nice to be able to glance at the previous year’s section of each course to make sure I’m plugging away as I should!
  2. Reusing Posts: Have you used this feature? In Classroom, when you’re creating an assignment for a class, you can select “reuse post” to, for lack of a better phrase, “reuse” an old post from a previous, ARCHIVED class section. Can’t do that if you delete your class section!
  3. Accessing Student Assignments: Accessing student assignments is, in my opinion, much easier to do in an archived section of Classroom than searching around my Google Drive, digging through dozens of folders in an attempt to locate a file.

Do you archive your classes? What other tips can you share about using Google Classroom?

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

 

Using Google Classroom – Tip #4

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Happy Saturday, all! I took a mental health day yesterday and it was fantastic! I think teachers are all too often shamed (directly or indirectly) for taking a day off – and that SHOULD NOT HAPPEN! Yes, yesterday was my high school Homecoming parade(this is my 15th year out of high school!) and Grandparent’s Day at my daughters’ school. Since my mom is still teaching (this is year 30 something!) at their school, that only leaves my dad to do double-grandparent duty. Which means, Momma is coming to Grandparent’s Day! Fortunately, my daughters’ school recognizes that not everyone has grandparents that are able to come, so they make all visiting adults feel welcome 🙂 Even though we’re nearing the end of September, I still feel like it’s “back to school” time, so I’m sharing another one of my favorite tips for using Google Classroom!

It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of Google Classroom. We use it as a landing page in all of my classes. All of the assignments, materials, and resources that my students need to access for my classes can be found in Google Classroom. It’s all RIGHT THERE! My students appreciate the fact that they don’t have to search all over the place to find objectives, HyperDocs, ELFs, extension opportunities, task lists when their teacher takes a personal day, etc. Google Classroom, which celebrated its fifth birthday last week, is a great fixture in our classroom.

Now, on to the tip!

DRUMROLL, PLEASE …

The fourth tip for using Google Classroom is …

MOBILE APPS!

Yes, that’s right! Download the mobile app to your phone to make your life easier on the go! Are you sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for an appointment? Whip out your phone, open your Classroom app and get caught up on evaluating student work and providing feedback.

Did you take a personal day and forget to share a task list with one of your classes? No? Does that only happen to me?! Simply open your Google Classroom app and share needed info with your students!

Google is always making updates not only to Classroom, but also to the mobile apps in order to allow seamless usage between the app and the website. It’s FABULOUS.

The Classroom app (on my iPhone and iPad) has saved my tail many times over the last few years. How do you use the Google Classroom mobile app?

Thanks for reading 🙂

Tips for Using Google Classroom – Tip #3

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Happy Friday, all! If you’re getting back into the classroom this week – welcome back! If you’ve been in session for the last three weeks like me, how’s it going?! In case you missed it, I shared an image earlier this week (or was it late last week??!) with some tips for using the Share to Classroom extension. Be sure to check it out here if you haven’t!

I started the Top Tips for Using Google Classroom series late this past summer and am excited to share with you the next installment – Tip #3!

A bit of a backstory – in addition to teaching high school Social Studies during the day, I also teach Educational Technology online for pre-service teachers. I’m a busy gal 🙂 The college uses a learning management system that is, lets put it this way, is not my favorite, and I’ve been allowed to use Google Classroom instead. PRAISE THE LORD! Since I teach multiple sections of the same course, I use a lovely trick when assigning work, posting announcements, sharing materials, and asking questions: select multiple classes!

When you create a post, simply click on the dropdown triangle next to the name of your class, and select all of the classes with which you’d like to share the post. Easy – peasy! This prevents me from forgetting to assign a specific resource or assignment with my classes and helps ensure that the assignments are the same name across all classes.  Also – it’s a huge timesaver!

Keep sharing your favorite Google Classroom tips in the comments!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Gather Evidence of Learning with Google Forms

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Happy Thursday! Today was the last day of the week with students for me – we’re in PD tomorrow and then off on Monday for the Labor Day holiday in the US. My school year is off to a GREAT start and I hope you’re enjoying an awesome transition back to school. I’ve revamped a few things in my flipped classroom this year to help me be more present individually with my students in their learning. I. AM. LOVING this new checkpoint system that I’ve implemented. Here’s how we’re using Google Forms to gather evidence of student learning in my “in-class” flip. Get ready for an E.L.F!

First thing – I’m a sucker for a good acronym. If you read my last post on increasing collaboration in my classroom with the B.O.A.R.D. strategy, you know what I’m talking about! As I was revamping my plans for my Government classes this summer, I wanted to focus on improving two things: collaboration among my students and increasing individual discussion and feedback on learning with my students. Enter the E.L.F.

I know you’re curious by now and are ready to learn what E.L.F. stands for, right?

E.L.F. stands for “Evidence of Learning Form!” My students said the acronym should actually be “EOLF” and my response was, “oh yes, we always say we live in the USOA, don’t we?” My point was made 🙂

After two to three videos, my students complete an ELF that I share with them using Google Classroom. (The locked form option in Classroom is still super glitchy, so I don’t use it just yet). If my students get a 100% on the E.L.F. they can either move on with their videos or start an extension activity on their HyperDoc. If they get less than 100% on their E.L.F., I go to them with their results pulled up on my iPad, and we talk about what they missed. If they’re still not quite clear on what they missed, I have them re-watch the video with the specific content, then I chat with them again. Most of the time, they’ve cleared up their misconception and are ready to move on. Sometimes, I open up a drawing app on my iPad to sketch out an example or explanation. This has been FANTASTIC!

What goes on an E.L.F., you ask? Two to three questions that ask students to apply what they’ve learned – no spitting out definitions that they copy and paste from Google here!

If you come into my Government classroom, here’s what you’ll see:
–> students working asynchronously about 1/3-1/2 of the class period
–> students working on extension activities
–> students checking the XP leaderboard on Classroom
–> students creating products such as games, presentations, conversations, etc., that demonstrate learning
–> me bouncing around from student to student, answering questions, clarifying misconceptions, explaining concepts in multiple ways, while sitting on the floor, a stool, or perched on a table
–> frequent formative assessment through E.L.F. activities and whole-class review games
–> a Keurig that is almost always running because I’m a coffee-holic

The E.L.F. and B.O.A.R.D strategies are exactly what I needed to add in my classroom this year! I feel like my students are focusing on learning content, collaborating with their peers, creating, and thinking critically. I’m loving it!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Collaboration with BOARD time

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Happy Sunday, friends! Last week was the first full week of school for me and my daughters. I’m proud to say that we made it through, accomplished all the tasks, made lunches, had nightly reading time, and made it to every after school activity. I even worked out every day! While we’re all (except my husband who had to get up every day during the summer) still trying to adjust to waking up to an alarm and not having an afternoon resty rest – my girls FREAK out if you say nap, but resty rest is just peachy – we are killing it! I started something new this year in the hopes of increasing collaboration in my in-class flip – check out BOARD time!

Do you ever buy something for your classroom, or your house for that matter, and think, “yup, this is going to be awesome. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do with it, but it’s going to be fantastic!” That was 100% me when I bought 5 mini-whiteboards from Hobby Lobby this summer. I also bought small bins where I supply pencils, highlighters, pens, and “govern-mints” (aka peppermints) for my students at each of their table pods 🙂 Yes, I’m that teacher!

The way I run my in-class flip may be different from most: we use HyperDocs for every unit, and my students can basically accelerate at their own pace as we proceed through each unit. My students appreciate this format because they can pause and rewind their teacher (I’m a fast talker and the speed only increases when I’m geeking out about something!), they have all of their unit assignments and activities in one spot (our unit HyperDoc created with Google Sites), and they can extend their learning (and earn XP) whenever they want to do so. However, I worry sometimes that there’s too much individual work time, and not enough reflection and collaboration. We always play a Kahoot, Quizizz, Quizlet Live, or Heads Up game to make sure we’re all on the same page (and have fun!) before we move on, but I wanted to try something new.

Enter BOARD time!

BOARD is an acronym that represents what my students might do with the whiteboard at various times throughout our class period.

B = Brainstorm. I’m really excited to use this when we discuss current events. Brainstorm ideas that you would suggest to solve a problem. Think about what you would do if you were a legislator faced with passing this bill. If you were the president, how would you solve the crisis at the boarder?

O = “Oh, mylanta!” In addition to a phrase their dear teacher uses on an hourly basis, the “oh, mylanta!” option will give my students the opportunity to discuss and share with their classmates something they learned from the lesson, an idea they had while viewing a video, etc.

A = Analyze. After reading an excerpt from a primary or secondary source, my students will collaboratively analyze the text. What did the authors mean in the Federalist Papers when they discussed the “mischiefs of factions?”

R = Reflect & Review. My students did this last week after they had completed two instructional videos. I asked two questions toward the end of the class period: “Contrast the perspectives of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes concerning the nature of government.” “Contrast the Force and Divine Right theories of Government. What type of government would be associated with those theories?”

D = Discuss. The ‘R’ and ‘D’ components of this strategy will often overlap in my classroom. I encouraged my students last week, for example, to not only contrast the perspectives of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes concerning the nature of government, but also asked them to choose and defend a perspective, and come to a consensus as a group. It was AWESOME!

You need a handful of whiteboards to use this strategy in the classroom, as well as a few dry erase markers, which I also include in the bins in the center of the pods. (It’s hard to share my dry erase markers, but I do it lol)

How do you encourage collaboration in your classroom? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

As always, thanks for reading 🙂

Back-to-School 2019: My Plan for the First Day

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Heeeyyyy! Happy Thursday! As I’m gearing up for year 12 (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!) and reviewing my first day of school activities, I thought I’d share them with you! If you’re on Twitter (give me a follow @Bethany_Petty) then you know back-to-school activities and what you do on the first day has been the subject of MUCH debate. Do you dive in with procedures? Start with the syllabus? Do a “get to know you” activity? Join Google Classroom and bookmark other websites? Here’s my plan for the first day of school this year – which is today 🙂

First, a little backstory … I teach American Government, Advanced American Government, and dual credit high school Social Studies classes that are made up of juniors and seniors. My Advanced Government class is a semester and coupled with college American Political Systems (College Government) the second semester. American Government classes are a full year and my dual credit classes are each a semester in length. (I also teach Educational Technology online for our local junior college – I have ALL the preps, and I love it!)

Our first day of school bell schedule is pretty interesting. During first hour, our administration meets with the juniors and seniors for about 45 minutes, then those students go to their first hour and our freshmen and sophomores meet with our admin for the same amount of time. First hour, this probably goes without saying, is extended on the first day. Second through fourth hours are abbreviated in length (about 30 minutes) and fifth through seventh hours are the normal 47-48 minutes long. This is the ONE day during the year that I am totally fine with having first-hour prep!

So, if you’re like me and have multiple sections of the same class at various times throughout the day, planning for the first day can be a tad on the interesting side. Instead of diving right into joining Google Classroom, bookmarking websites, and discussing the syllabus, we’re playing a “get to know you” game, which is more for my benefit than it is for my students!

Students will work with a partner to scan QR Codes placed around the room and answer the prompt it poses. One QR Code, for example, says “find someone who is in Band.” My students most likely know who in their class is in Band, but I have no idea! So, as they’re scanning and asking their classmates questions, I’m walking the classroom getting to know my students and having conversations with them. I also volunteer myself as a source for QR Code responses. It’s a fun way to get to know my students on the first day!

If you’d like to use this activity, go for it! Click here to access the QR Code list and create a Google Form with 16 short answer questions, or have your students use a piece of paper!

Happy Back-to-School Season! Thanks for reading 🙂

 

5 Top Tips for Using Google Classroom – Tip #2

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Happy Sunday! How are you soaking up the last few days of your summer break? The online classes that I taught for our local junior college officially ended on Tuesday last week, so I’ve spent a few days away from my computer, reflecting on the school year that was and the school year that is to come, and embracing the last few days of my afternoon naps 🙂 If you’re a parent of older kids, you probably understand how amazing it is to say, “ok, we’re going to rest for a bit and watch a movie, and Mommy might shut her eyes for a few minutes,” and not have to worry about them falling down the steps, choking on a toy, or standing up in their crib. I love the raising babies stage of parenting, but I’m also digging the independence that my daughters have! As I’m coming back to my computer and setting up my sections in Google Classroom, I thought I should share another top tip for using Classroom this school year! Here comes tip #2!

TOPICS – USE THEM!
When Classroom was first unveiled a few years ago, it seriously stressed me out. Like for real. It was a basic platform which was part of the beauty of Classroom, but I missed the option to organize my posts and assignments. My students were used to working in Edmodo or Schoology, and craved the folders that those programs offered. When I would assign something on Classroom, my students would see it at first but, as more information was added, they resorted to “CTRL+F” to find their assignment — first world problems, right? 😉

Topics have completely fixed that problem for my students and their dear teacher. When adding a new assignment, material, announcement or question for your students, simply add to or create a topic that will be attached to whatever you’re sending out. Students will be able to click on the topic on the left side of the screen and immediately see all information attached to it. WOOHOO!

Google made a great update to Classroom last school year that lists newly added information at the top of the stream. AND teachers can now drag assignments within Topics AND drag Topics to different locations on the stream. YAYAYAY!

How do you use Topics in Google Classroom? I create a topic for each unit and also create a “bonus Topic” with extension activities for students to access throughout the year. When we’ve completed a unit, I typically update the Topic for those unit assignments to “Completed” or “First Quarter,” etc., to clear up their stream even more. I’d love to hear how you use Topics, too!

I hope you enjoy the last few days of your summer break! Thanks for reading 🙂

Reflection and Planning for 2019 – Changes for the New School Year

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Hey, all! The end of July is upon us! After the 4th of July, something magical happens in my teacher-brain and it slowly switches from summer, naps, and Netflix, to what am I going to change for next year to enhance student learning? Planning for 2019 has officially commenced! Check out a few changes I’m making in my classes for the new school year!

HyperDocs
Holy moly. When I stumbled upon the HyperDoc Handbook a few years ago, it was quite literally a gamechanger for me as a teacher. HyperDocs have allowed me to step back and focus on intentional lesson design using technology in a meaningful way, to enhance student learning. HyperDocs are a perfect fit for my in-class flipped classroom because I’m able to provide my students with intentional instruction through videos (assigned with Edpuzzle) AND give them opportunities to apply and assess their learning. It’s great! I’m making a change this year on my Apply page of my HyperDoc. Typically this is where my students choose a product to create that demonstrates their understanding. This year, my students will complete an ELF (evidence of learning form) for videos they complete that are tied to our learning targets. Then, they will have a quarterly “CREATE” assignment, which requires them to choose a path to show what they have learned. They can also complete a CREATE assignment for bonus points during each unit.

Check out these links for specifics –>
Foundations and Formations of Government HyperDoc
Foundations and Formations of Government Pre-Assessment and ELFs

Schoology to Google Classroom
Google has made some pretty fantastic updates to Classroom since I first started using it many years ago. Now, with the question feature, I can pose a question to my class and give students the opportunity to comment on their classmates’ posts. This allows me to use Classroom for discussion boards! WOOHOO! I’ve tried this with my online educational technology class and it is fantastic! If I don’t have to have assignments in multiple places, I won’t!

With the update to Google Forms that allows teachers to lock browsers – and the simple fact that Forms dumps data into a nice, neat spreadsheet that I can do so many things with, I’m moving my tests from Schoology to Classroom!

What changes are you making for next year?

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

3 Reasons to Read Illuminate Before School Starts

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Hey, all! Happy Tuesday! We’re officially in the second half of summer – if you’re like me, the Fourth of July marks the halfway point. My back to school dreams have started and my wheels have been turning, thinking about changes and updates I’m making in my classroom for the new year! Are you looking for ideas and energy to jumpstart your back to school planning? Illuminate is the book for you! Here are my top three reasons that teachers should read Illuminate before school starts:

1. Motivation (XP, Take What You Need)
A few years ago, I learned about the concept of gamification of learning at a conference and immediately thought, “this seems like a lot of extra work.” I fell into the same motivation slump that my students were experiencing – teacher facepalm moment. When I finally jumped into the gamification pool, the results were awesome! Students love earning XP for completing assignments, “bonus missions,” and winning games. I often find myself “throwing XP around like confetti” to help give my students that extra boost of encouragement. Check out Chapter 8 of Illuminate for a guide to getting started with XP and gamification!

2. Virtual Field Trips (Google Earth, Nearpod)
My students LOVE going on virtual field trips. Heck, I LOVE going on virtual field trips! Really, though … who doesn’t?! It’s fun, educational, and super engaging for students at all grade levels. As a high school Social Studies teacher, we use virtual field trips almost daily to connect with places, people, and concepts we’re learning about. Are you discussing the branches of government? Check out the White House, Supreme Court building, and the Capitol building! Learning about French monarchies? Tour the Palace of Versailles! The possibilities are endless and the result is an engaging component to your lesson, using technology. Interested in learning more about taking your students on virtual tours, but also helping them create their own virtual reality? You’ll love Chapter 2 of Illuminate!

3. Demonstrate Learning with Memes (IMG Flip, Google Drawings)
Memes … they’re EVERYWHERE! We see them, and so do our students. When we can connect pop culture with class content, student engagement can go through the roof! As a year-end activity, my Government students create memes that describe concepts they’ve learned in class. I preface the activity with this: “pretend that you’ve just met someone who only speaks ‘meme’ and you must explain the concept of ________ to them using a meme.” The products that my students create are fantastic! Definitely check out Chapter 3 of Illuminate for more tips on using memes in your classroom, but also how to encourage your students to create representations of what they’ve learned!

Have you read Illuminate, yet? 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 🙂