Gamifying Education

As you know, a huge movement exists toward gamifying education. Everything from Legos to Minecraft challenge students to think critically while rewarding their efforts.
Some resources for gamifying different subject areas: https://askatechteacher.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/15-great-simulations-to-gamify-your-class/

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new

iCivics: https://www.icivics.org/

And the winner of the 2012 STEM award, created by two education professors: Numbaland: http://numbaland.com/

EdNak - at the intersection of education and technology

This site is pretty sweet. 

It organizes all those crazy ed tech apps you've heard about into types - collaboration, content, curriculum, etc. Shows you what the app does and ideas for classroom use. 

Swell!

http://ednak.com/ 

From the blog http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/: 

Summer is rapidly approaching, and as we all know, teachers DO NOT take the summer off! We are constantly updating curriculum, researching new teaching methods, and finding cool tools to increase engagement in our classrooms.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an EdTech GEM, Ednak.

Ednak includes dozens upon dozens of amazing educational technology tools, complete with instructions and ideas for using the tools.

Ednak is incredibly organized, breaking down tools by a variety of different categories. Learning Management System, Collaboration Tools, Content Tools, Mobile Learning tools, and so much MORE!

Ednak is so simple to navigate and 100% FREE! Teachers can create an account and can then curate and share tools.

Add Ednak to your summer “to-do” list and find awesome tools for your students!

Thanks for reading 

EDNAK

Schoology 101 - Setting up your course with folders

As you know, Schoology is our new Learning Management System (LMS). I have heard from many teachers at the high school that are feeling overwhelmed with yet another new initiative.

Understandable.

Please know that Schoology is something we are vested in and dedicated to, making the most of this robust resource for our teachers.

Nowthen...

Remember to use our proprietary site to login as you are able to log in with your Gmail credentials: pierz.schoology.com

The main page that opens up is Updates that will be pushed out by administration - updates, news, etc, as well as Updates from any blogs you follow. You may also notice a number next to your

Subscriptions (a place where you can access all the Schoology-based blogs) on the left. All Schoology users are automatically signed up for the Schoology blog (not of my doing, but that of Schoology). There is a lot of good information and teacher-shared resources, questions and thoughts here. You, too, are able to post questions and answers on this blog.

To create your Course:
From this main area, find the Courses tab at the top->Create.

You will be prompted by a pop-up screen to begin filling in your course information. Don't worry about Course or Section Codes. You will want to name your Course Section, however.

Remember, create one Course and then you will be able to Copy the Course and assign different section numbers without having to re-create every. single. section.

You will want to organize your course by Folders. I recommend the first folder be labeled something like Course Information where you'll house the syllabus, your course hours, and your contact information. From there, you can organize with folders by course unit...weeks...chapters...

Organizing each section by folder helps keep your assignments in order and allows you to use the Student Completion function. As you start to add Resrouces to your Course Folders, you'll see the Student Completion check box. This allows you to determine which components of that folder need to be completed first, second and so on.

We will be reviewing much of this during our summer training days. In the meantime, if you're so inclined, Schoology->Help Center is full of helpful videos. 

Project-based learning resources mother-load

If you find yourself wanting to integrate a project into a lesson, but not sure where to start, look no further than that fantastical resources at bie.org. Search by subject area, grade level, common core standard, and even the level of media (interactive or view-only?). 

BIE.ORG

Using Twitter with hashtags

Twitter is a lot of...noise. Hashtags work like magnets (love that analogy) to pull in all relative content to a single feed. Explained better here: http://www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/

Note the plethora of hashtags recommended in the article. Twitter is a great place for professional development, curriculum/class resources, ideas, strategies.

I'd also love to create a hashtag for Pierz Schools, and get everyone involved in taking pictures of their day, their sporting event, their extra-currciculars...and use Twitter to display our school pride.

To Tweet out something great about Pierz Schools, use the hashtag #PierzPioneers!

Download YouTube videos to save your sanity

YouTube is awesome - millions of videos on a plethora of subjects at your fingertips! The bad? The creators of that content can pull those links at any time, leaving you scared, alone, and wondering where to turn...

No fear.
This quick video will show you how to download your favorites. Save them to your Google Drive for anywhere/anytime access. 

Five Fantastic Formative Assessment Tools (updated 4/28/15)

This list is from Vicki Davis through Edutopia, but many of these you'll recognize from our Tech Tuesday sessions! Hit the link below to read her personal that made the case for her use of formative assessments in her classroom (and follow her @coolcatteacher). Also, GoFormative.com and ExitTicket.com...

Update: I'd like to add a newcomer, Quizizz.com. This site takes it a bit further than Kahoot!, as students can play against eachother from anywhere, keep track of points they rack up based on how fast they answer the questions, and review incorrect answers after the quiz is complete. Make your own reviews, or choose from a plethora of teacher-created quizzes. Upon starting your quiz, you generate a code that your students can enter at www.quizizz.com/join 

Formative Assessment with 5 great tools - with our without devices!

Formative Assessment Toolkit

Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. You’ll need several to meet every classroom situation. These are my fab five tools for formative assessment.

1. Socrative

Socrative can be used for quick quizzes and also on the fly, as I've already shared. Here's another feature. Before class, I create quizzes that we can play as a game called Space Race. The website automatically divides the class into teams. Kids know what color team they're on and can look at the rockets racing one another on the board. I don't always record the grade, particularly when I know I have more teaching to do.

The advantage of Socrative is that it gives me percentages that I can use as a grade if we're ready for that. You can even use it for traditional quizzes if desired.

2. Kahoot

Kahoot lets us build fun quizzes. Students use computers, cell phones, or other devices to join in the game. You can create flashcards for review. You can also embed videos and use Kahoot as part of the teaching process, or students can create review games to share. One disadvantage is that students can use aliases. While I can see overall how the class is doing, unlike Socrative, I can’t see the patterns of which unfamiliar nickname is struggling.

Otherwise, I knew this one was a winner when I finished ten minutes early on the last day of school and one class asked to play SAT vocab review in Kahoot.

3. Zaption

I’m in-flipping my class and using videos. But just as we know that it's better to ask questions throughout the text rather than only at the end of the chapter, you should also ask questions after a topic is covered in the video and not wait until the end. Zaption lets you embed questions within the video. Students can't move forward in the video until they can correctly answer the question. Whether you’re flipping your classroom or in-flipping, this is a powerful tool.

You'll need to upgrade your Zaption plan to embed it in your learning management system, but you can test it out on their site for free to see if it works for you.

4. Backchannel Chat Tools

Backchannel chat -- a live chat that accompanies class discussion -- is a great way to do exit ticket activities. While these chat tools aren't anonymous,Chatzy, Today’s Meet, or Ning can be powerful. Students can take notes as you teach together, and you can check for understanding by having them type answers to questions. Another riff on this would be group note taking inGoogle Docs. (If you need to have anonymous chat, you could set something up in Google Forms.)

One tip: If I ask a question and want everyone to answer, my rule is that you cannot repeat a previous answer -- each response must be slightly different and add something to what we know. Afterward, export the chat and share it with the class as notes for the day.

5. No BYOD? Plickers and Mobile Scanners Rock

But what if you have no computers, no cell phones, no nothing? Do you have a smartphone or tablet? If so, you've got two simple answers.

For verbal questions: Log into Plickers and create a page for each student. This tool will code in the student's name and answers. Hand each student their plicker card and ask a question. The student will hold the card up in the direction of their answer. Looking at the class through the camera on your smartphone inside the Plicker app, you’ll see the name of each student and whether he or she got the answer right to the question you just asked! BAM! (Hat tip to Richard Byrne for teaching me about Plickers in a recent interview.)

For quick quizzes: QuickKey is one mobile scanning app for the iPhone. There are several others, such as ZipGrade and GradeCam. The disadvantage of this method is that your questions must be multiple choice. You print out the short form and students bubble it in. Use your smartphone to immediately know what students know with a snap of a picture.

Can You Teach Without Formative Assessment?

Test scores should never be a surprise. You don’t need to be a mind reader. You just need a formative assessment toolbox, and you need to use it every day.