Teaching with Technology

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

New Color and Font Options in Google Forms

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Hello, all! We got back from ISTE last night/early this morning (7.5-hour drive from Chicago to my house which included only one stop for my daughters!) and I just finished administering a final for a summer class. I am EXHAUS

TED! I never drive more than an hour and a half one way and just drove about 15 hours over a two day period. Thank goodness my husband drives when we go on long family vacations! Earlier this month, Google announced that additional options would be available in Forms, including customized colors and more fonts. I opened up Forms this morning and *POOF* the new color palette options were there!

Check out this video to view the additional options and how to find them.

While additional colors and fonts are great – I was hoping to see more of the Google Fonts that are available in other GSuite tools. Maybe that’s coming next!

As I opened Classroom this morning, I was met with this message which sounds super-exciting! When you open Classroom, you’ll see this message and an option to “learn more.” Click that hyperlink and you’ll be directed to a beta testing form for Google Classroom. Woohoo!

More soon from the F.I.E.R.C.E. teaching series!

Thanks for reading 🙂

F.I.E.R.C.E Teaching Series – Fun, Fearless, and Flexible

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Welcome to the first post of the six-part blog series I’m calling, “F.I.E.R.C.E Teaching.” F.I.E.R.C.E, as you may have guessed, is an acronym that I hope to use to share my goals as a teacher and encourage others to continue being awesome for our students. Without further adieu, welcome to F.I.E.R.C.E Teaching!

We were on our way home from our family weekend getaway a few days ago, and I was using the time on the road – with a dead Macbook – to brainstorm ideas for my keynote next month. I kept bouncing around the idea of being a “fearless” teacher, but wanted to come up with an acronym to make my message “sticky.” Fearless just didn’t work as a focus word because, let’s face it, there are too many letters. My oldest daughter plays on two soccer teams, one of which is called Fierce – her team name popped into my head and F.I.E.R.C.E was born! What does it mean to be a F.I.E.R.C.E teacher? Let’s start with “F”

FUN 
Think back to your favorite or least favorite class while you were a student. What made this class your favorite? What didn’t you like about this class? Most likely, your opinion of the class was, at least in part, crafted (probably unintentionally) by the teacher you had. If your teacher was happy and excited to be teaching their content, your experience was probably positive. If your teacher seemed as though they hated their job and trudged through their day, you probably hated the class. If your teacher made great efforts to make the classroom learning environment fun and engaging, you probably had a great learning experience. If teachers are excited about the content they teach and the fact that they are teaching students, their students will probably enjoy learning. See what happens? If you have fun teaching, your students will feel that in your classroom and have a better learning experience. You probably didn’t become a teacher because you don’t like your content or the concept of teaching. Encourage your students to have fun learning in your classroom by having fun in your classroom – seems simple, right?!

FEARLESS 
I make a point in my classroom to try new strategies, apps, tools, and ideas to create an engaging learning environment for my students. But, sometimes it’s downright scary to try new things, especially if you’re on your own. When I decided to flip my classroom a few years ago, I was the only teacher in my building experimenting with this strategy. I got pushback from many people about this new strategy. I could have easily said, “you know what, I’m too intimidated by the fact that I’m on my own with this strategy … I’ll go back to the old way.” Thankfully, I didn’t. I embraced the fear I felt because I feel that trying something new and different (as long as it’s in the best interest of my students) is going to be scary – but it just may be awesome. It’s been my goal to be fearless in trying to be innovative in my classroom because it’s not about me and my fear of something going wrong – it’s about how these changes positively impact my students.

FLEXIBLE 
The biggest lesson that I’ve learned as a teacher is that we must be flexible in our classroom learning strategies. Everyone is not going to learn the same way, at the same speed, during the same class period. When I started teaching ten years ago, I resorted to teaching how I had been taught. I stood in front of my class, talked at my students for 50 minutes, and saw any sign of talking or questioning as a reflection of my classroom management skills. YIKES!  Flipping my classroom has allowed me to be more flexible and adapt to the needs of individual learners. Maybe a student doesn’t quite grasp the concept I’m teaching the first time they’re exposed to the material – they can view it again. Maybe the way I explain the concept in the video just isn’t sticking – we can create a song about the concept as a class. Maybe they like to write an essay to show what they’ve learned – go for it. Maybe they’d rather create a graphic organizer, game, or screencast to demonstrate their knowledge – I can’t wait to see it!

Having fun, being fearless and flexible in the classroom are a few goals that I have for myself as a teacher. Check back soon for the rest of the F.I.E.R.C.E teaching series!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Using Technology to Reach an Authentic Audience

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Hello, friends! I hope you’re having a fantastic summer and are finding time for some much needed and well-deserved R&R! My family and I have just returned from a weekend of fun and family time in Branson, MO and we’re prepping for the week ahead. On our four hour ride home through the Ozark Mountains (thank you, Lord, for Dramamine!) we talked about setting goals for the week. Our conversation focused around what we want to learn or accomplish throughout the next week, and a comment from my oldest daughter really had me thinking about how teachers – and parents – can leverage the power of technology to reach an authentic audience.

A little background – my oldest daughter, Hanna, will be entering 2nd grade this fall. She’s brilliant and beautiful and wonderful and amazing – the list goes on and on – but she isn’t a huge fan of reading. She’s a fantastic reader, don’t get me wrong. The kid is reading almost two grade levels ahead of her age, but she just doesn’t love reading. As a reader, it hurts my heart that she hasn’t been bitten by the reading bug. But, we’re working on it. Last summer, when Hanna struggled with wanting to read, I asked her if she wanted to create a blog about the books that she reads (check out Illuminate for ideas on how to get started with book blogging for kids!) and, after hearing her goals for the week, I think we’re going to build upon that idea this summer.

I asked Hanna if she wanted to add book reviews to her blog about the books that she reads. After explaining what a book review is to her – and then calling my mom (an upper elementary/middle school ELA teacher) to figure out a different way to explain the concept, because she wasn’t quite getting it – I saw a gleam in her eye. She’s excited about adding to her blog this summer!

The component of the book review idea that really sparked Hanna’s interest was that the not only gets to use Mommy’s flair pens to create a poster but that she gets to put her reviews on YouTube. When she blogs about the books that she reads, I also record her reading her book and put it on YouTube — I add her videos in “private” mode. When we talked about adding book reviews to her site, she said, “can you put it on YouTube so I can find it? I want to see how many thumbs up I get.” That comment really put into perspective the great motivator that authentic audiences provide for our students. Hanna is going to create the best product she can and use technology to share her work with her authentic audience. She’s a 7-year-old who wants to share her work with the world. How cool is that?

I’ll be sharing Hanna’s reviews with you soon — be sure to give her a “thumbs up” on YouTube when you see it 🙂

What about my youngest daughter, you ask? Molly’s goal for the week is to “learn to read,” so I said we would start with some sight words and build from there. Molly said, “ok, so my ‘scores’ for the week are to learn to read and work on sight words.” She’s a soccer sister 🙂

Check back next week for a new series I’m working on — the F.I.E.R.C.E teacher series.

Thanks for reading 🙂

3 Reasons to Join Twitter Chats this Summer

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Good morning, friends! I hope you’re all having a fabulous week. Monday was quite busy for me – I launched the first Illuminate digital book study (it’s seriously only day 3, but I’m having a BLAST!), started teaching my online educational technology course, continuing my summer school dual credit Social Studies class, and starting round 2 of my favorite workout program! I’m so thankful for all of these opportunities! One of my many summer “vacation” goals is always to learn from and expand my professional learning network (PLN) through social media, and a great way to do that is to join Twitter chats! If you’ve never joined a Twitter chat before, don’t know what a chat is, or haven’t “chatted” in some time, here are 3 reasons to join Twitter chats this summer!

Connections, Connections, Connections! 
Twitter chats give teachers a great opportunity to make invaluable connections with educators all over the world. I hopped into the #EduGladiators chat this past Saturday and added so many great voices to my PLN – voices I would not have been able to hear if I had not joined the chat! #EduGladiators last week focused on blended learning, a subject near and dear to my heart! It was so great to hear descriptions and definitions of what exactly blended learning is and how it can benefit students. Every time I join a Twitter chat, I learn something. It’s fabulous!

Content and Instructional Strategies! 
As a high school Social Studies teacher, I often have difficulty finding conferences and/or workshops that are designed specifically for my content. Social Studies is a core content area, but let’s face it, it’s not any of the “big three” – English, Math, or Science. Social Studies sometimes gets pushed to the backburner – and that shouldn’t be! Since finding Twitter chats, I’ve been able to connect, share, and learn with other Social Studies teachers around the world. The collegiality that I feel when I take part in something like #sschat or #sstlap is so great. My fellow Social Studies teachers and I share different ways to present our invaluable content, instructional strategies in Social Studies (I love geeking out about my in-class flip), fun and engaging activities, etc. It’s like a giant Social Studies department meeting that you’ll leave feeling excited about what you teach and how you teach it!

Encouragement! 
I was at an EdCamp last year, and a participant mentioned that sometimes teachers can feel like they’re the only freaks on their island. Especially if you’re trying new and innovating instructional methods in your classroom, you can feel like a loner – almost as if everyone is eyeing you and your classroom with skepticism. This can make you second-guess your new ideas for your classroom. Join a Twitter chat and you’ll see that there are plenty of freaks on the island with you! Connect with them on Twitter!

Now that you’re excited about jumping into a Twitter chat – where can you find chats that interest you? Check out Participate for a calendar of Twitter chats that you can join directly from their website, or through Twitter by searching the appropriate hashtag. Here are two tips to help you jump on the Twitter chat bandwagon:

—>> Follow this scheme when responding to questions: for Q1 (question 1) begin your response with A1

—>> Be sure to include the chat hashtag somewhere in your response ( I normally add it at the end)

Bonus tip –> use Tweetdeck! Tweetdeck is a free tool (I have it almost constantly open on my Mac) that allows you to create different columns for each hashtag or user you want to follow. It’s awesome!

#IlluminateED officially starts tonight! Be sure to join us on Twitter at 8PM CST to talk about engaging and exploring with tech! Also, like this Facebook page to join our FREE book study!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Pre-Test and Post-Test for every unit

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Happy Monday morning, friends! I’m still in reflection mode and I’m thinking about how using pre-tests and post-tests can help my students. I’ve mentioned in another post that my district is heavily studying the work of John Hattie, focusing on what we can do as teachers to have a meaningful impact on student learning. One of the practices I’m exploring is how to develop Assessment Capable Learners, and a component of this I hope to implement in my Government classes next year is utilizing pre-tests and post-tests to “illuminate” learning — get ready for ALL the puns that involve the title of my book!

I typically start the year by giving the US Civics and Naturalization test to my students as a pre-test, but now that a Civics test is a requirement for students in the state of Missouri, I’ll be switching that up a bit.

Prior to beginning our Missouri Constitution and Federalism unit, I gave my students a pre-test for the unit. This pre-test included multiple choice questions –> as a response option, I added “I don’t know, yet” and encouraged my students to choose this option if they really didn’t know the answer to the question.

Then, we had a conversation about the word, “yet.” I shared with them that it was perfectly acceptable to choose the “I don’t know” option, as long as they recognized that “yet” was part of the response. “I don’t know” and “don’t know, yet” are two very different phrases that communicate very different perspectives on learning. The first sends the message that the fact that students don’t know something is finite and won’t be changed. The second indicates that students may not have enough information at that time to answer the question, but that they will learn the information.

After completing their pre-test, my students were astounded at their “grade.” Keep in mind I didn’t assign points to the pre-test, but they were able to see how many they missed and how many they answered correctly. My students had never been exposed to this information, so as you can imagine, they scored poorly. To keep their spirits up, I told them that this was not going to be recorded in the grade book and would serve as great information for both me and them so we knew what we needed to focus on during instruction. I also told them that they would be super proud when they compared their pre-test and post-test grades.

When the post-test came around, my students were SO happy! They were able to see the growth that they had made throughout the unit and, even if their post-test score wasn’t a home run, they were able to actually view the leaps and bounds they had made from the beginning of the unit. I heard, “wow! I did lots better!” And, “what’s the percentage difference in my pre-test and post-test, Mrs. Petty?”

As I typically do when I try a new strategy or idea, I asked my students if they thought I should continue doing pre-tests next year. The result – “YES!” Students appreciate knowing “where they are, where they’re going, and how to get there,” just as adults do. I’ll chalk using a pre-test and post-test up as a positive and will be implementing them next year!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Creating a Class Blog with Padlet

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Two posts in two days?! That never happens! I’m brainstorming ideas for next year, and one of the extension opportunities that I want to expand on during the next school year is the class bonus blog. I had previously used Google Classroom for the bonus blog and added students who were interested. However, I think I’m going to give this activity a try with Padlet next year.

Padlet’s format really makes creating a blog environment a breeze. I plan to use the “Shelf” template on our class blog because it will allow me to easily set a topic and students can post their thoughts on that topic in the column. This will make reading and keeping the posts organized so much easier – and will also allow me to quickly see who completed the post so I can more efficiently award bonus XP 🙂

Padlet added a commenting option to their superb platform a year or so ago, which will also be an awesome feature of our class blog. Students can respond to each other’s posts on the Padlet, ask questions, etc., all in one spot.

I’m brainstorming a few topics for the class blog for the beginning of the school year … 

I’m excited to hear how you use Padlet in your classroom!

Don’t forget to sign up for the Illuminate Summer Book Study! The party starts on Monday, and I am SO EXCITED to learn with each of you!

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 🙂

Classroom Reflections ~ Year 10 ~ 2017-2018

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Hello, friends! I’m coming to you today from my couch, four cups of coffee into my Sunday. Our last day of school was Friday and summer school begins on Wednesday. SO … I’m enjoying a few days of much-needed R&R that includes going to bed without setting an alarm, drinking my first cup of coffee in my jammies (probably the second and third cups, as well!), watching the Today Show in my recliner, getting to work out during the day instead of after work, and probably catching a mid-afternoon nap. Before I dive into the various summer classes that I teach I thought this weekend would be a great time to share with you my classroom reflections from the 2017-2018 school year. Reflection is key to growth!

My Flipped Classroom
A few years ago when my building went 1:1 with Chromebooks, I jumped off the deep end (more like cannon-balled) of the educational technology pool and decided to flip my classroom. This was one of the best decisions I made as a teacher. Yes, it required a lot of legwork on my part, and yes, it required a huge shift in my classroom, for both me and my students. But it has been sooooo worth it! This year, I switched up my in-class flip again and decided to loosen my death grip on the reins just a bit more by designing lessons and units so that students could work a bit more at their own pace. I started each unit by assigning a unit HyperDoc that I made with a Google Site. This included all of the information, requirements, projects, etc., for the unit. For the first unit, I set a due date for the entire HyperDoc – this didn’t work well for many of my students who needed frequent, specific due dates to stay on track.

After gathering feedback from my students about the unit, we made adjustments for the next unit. Students asked for specific due dates and Kahoots, Quizizz, or Quizlet Live activities after each video to make sure they were on the right track. This allowed for whole class or individual re-teaching throughout the unit. It was fabulous – these suggestions were carried on throughout the year and modified as needed to meet the learning needs of my students.

Mission: American Government – Gamified Government 
We also continued “Mission: American Government” this year in which students earned XP for completing missions and leveled up to received “weapons of wisdom” they could use on their tests. Last year, I awarded badges for students who earned at least an 80% on their test on the first attempt. This year, I didn’t include the badge element because, to be honest,  I forgot to print them out for the first assessment, and students didn’t seem phased. They did, however, ask how much XP badges would be worth – maybe I’ll incorporate that into the game next year!

Another component of Mission: American Government and the unit HyperDocs is the “Extend” feature that encourages students to go above and beyond in applying what they’ve learned. Each unit offered students a Hashtags through History extend opportunity, plus at least one other activity that was directly related to the content of the unit. By completing this, students could earn XP – XP not only helped them level up but also helped them earn bonus points at the end of each semester.

The only complaint about the XP system came from my dual credit students who had American Government last year – “why don’t you do XP in our classes, too?!”

The 2017-2018 school year marked the end of my first decade of teaching, the publication of my book, Illuminate, and another year that I feel like I’ve grown as an educator. I’m excited to continue growing to become the best educator I can be for my students.

Coming soon – preliminary thoughts on what to add/change for the 2018-2019 school year.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Why Illuminate? Using Technology to Enhance Learning

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Hello, friends! I’m coming to you today, hopped up on coffee during the last week of school. I know you’re right there with me – submitting grades, tying up loose ends, prepping for summer school, and enjoying the last few days with your students! My mom, also a teacher, always says that there’s no tired like “end of the school year teacher tired,” and she is definitely right! In case you missed it, my book, Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning, officially launched yesterday, and as you can imagine, I’m totally pumped to be sharing my book with the world. But you may be wondering, “why Illuminate?” “What will this book give me?” Hopefully, I can “illuminate” (pun intended – ha!) the purpose of my book and what you can expect when you buy it!

When I was writing my book last summer, I tossed around about three different titles for my book, including “Using IT” (IT=instructional technology), “Technology Enhanced Learning,” and “Make Your Classroom Awesome,” none of which really spoke to the message I’m trying to convey with Illuminate. Earlier this year, my publisher and I were on a video call trying to think of a title that would actually fit with my book. An analogy that I use throughout my book is that we can use technology in our classrooms to “illuminate” learning much in the same way we use light bulbs in our homes – to enhance our lives. The name stuck and Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning was born!

To “illuminate” my book, let me jump back to the analogy I use. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

“Think of educational technology tools as a light switch in a dimly lit room. If you walk into a room without flipping on this light switch, you can probably still accomplish the task you set out to complete when you entered the room. Maybe you sit down to read a book. You stumble around to find a comfy chair, prop up your feet, open the book and settle in to read your next favorite novel. Can you read the book? Sure, although you’ll most likely strain your eyes trying to read the words. Could you enhance your reading experience by turning on the light? Absolutely! When used well, educational technology tools can enhance the learning experience for your students much like flipping on a light switch can improve your encounter with a great book.

You may say, skeptically, ‘well, Bethany, humans have been reading words and interpreting images for much longer than the light bulb and electricity have existed, and teachers taught without using educational technology tools.’ You’re absolutely right! We didn’t start using light bulbs to illuminate our homes because candles or lanterns stopped working. We use light bulbs and electricity that powers to them enhance our lives int eh same way teachers can use technology tools to enhance the learning environment for our students.”

So, what can you expect to take away from Illuminate?

  • Practical tips for using technology in the classroom
  • Strategies to promote student engagement in content
  • Ideas to encourage students to explore, create, communicate, collaborate, and think critically in all classrooms
  • Methods of assessment that promote feedback and growth
  • Strategies to use technology to motivate students
  • Tips on designing meaningful lessons using technology
  • Thoughts on how teachers can use technology to reflect on and grow in our craft

Also this summer, I’ll be sharing the book study companion site for Illuminate!

So — are you ready to use technology to illuminate learning?

Thanks for reading 🙂

Study.com – Great Teaching and Learning Tool!

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*This is a sponsored post, which means I was compensated, either monetarily or through product access, to write this post. All thoughts included in this post are my own!*

Have you or your students ever googled a question or concept and been led to a Study.com page? I have, and before researching and writing this post, I thought, “hmm, this looks like a good resource,” but never explored it any further. Big mistake, Bethany! Study.com provides a full curriculum for a variety of subjects including History, Science, Math, and more, with courses that are created by content experts.

To get started with Study.com, create an account by selecting “sign up,” and choose your role from the drop-down menu. Next, you’ll be asked to choose your goal in using Study.com and then to enter your email address. By signing up for an account, you’ll be given a free 5 day trial of the teacher account. I’ll share a code with you for 20% off, too 🙂

From the teacher dashboard, users can create and monitor classrooms, either by importing your classes from Google Classroom (I LOVE this feature!) or by creating classrooms through Study.com. If you import students, they will receive an email invitation they will need to accept in order to access the course. 

Next, you’ll be able to share assignments with your classes by searching the thousands of lessons available on Study.com. Teachers can search for specific lessons or entire courses to share with their students. These lessons include an instructional video and quiz that teachers can assign to their students directly from the lesson page (no need to navigate back and forth or between multiple windows). Teachers can also view the course the lesson comes from, again all from the same screen, and can print the resources and quizzes from their lesson.

While viewing instructional videos, students can take notes within Study.com and navigate between the current lesson and others within the course.

Study.com also provides students with a wealth of resources covering topics such as study skills, applying for scholarships, getting into college, ACT/SAT Prep, job projections, creating resumes, landing a job, and so much more! Teachers can also use this great resource for professional development, studying for certification exams, to brush up on content, or to learn something new!

Everyone can find something to learn at Study.com! If you’re interested in using Study.com resources to supplement your students’ learning, flip your classroom, or to encourage your students (or you!) to learn something new, be sure to use the code TeachingWithTech18 to receive 20% off of the membership fee for the first three months! (This coupon code must be used before 9/1/2018)

How do you use Study.com resources?

Thanks for reading 🙂