Turning your videos into gradable quizzes with EdPuzzle

(Yet) Another free application for teachers- hooray! Sign up here. 

I was recently introduced to this handy tool at the Central MN Tech Meeting at the Sartell district offices last week. Teachers at area districts use this quizzing site to create multiple choice quizzes built in to classroom videos, lecture videos (flipping classroom), or chapter reviews for upcoming tests. Results are student-specific (if you'd like) and data is captured on your teacher dashboard. Note: EdPuzzle includes searchable videos from YouTube, Khan, National Geographic, TeacherTube, TED and more. 

Students can join your classroom by going to edpuzzle.com and signing up as a new student (can login with Google) and then entering in the classroom code located in the upper right area of your 'My Classroom' dashboard. 

You can create test questions by type and multiple choice, or insert your voice to coach students at different points during the video. 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I've created a quick Pilgrim quiz using a pre-loaded video and added my own questions. This is for elementary only:)

Heidi's Cheesy Pilgrim Quiz

Infographics with Easel.ly

Easel.ly is a really neat site for creating infographs on any subject. You can use the templates as a starting point, or start from scratch. 

Infographs are visual and text combined in a creative way to tell a story, relate data, report statistics, etc.

Easel.ly is a fun tool to turn loose for your students on their next assignment. They can sign up with their Google account at Easel.ly, create their infograph, share with you, and then you can bring each project up on the classroom screen while the student presents the materials/subject they've researched. Just an idea. 

Ideas on using Easel.ly in variety of classroom settings, either created by teachers or students: http://www.easel.ly/blog/category/common-core-standards/ 

Give it a try- if nothing else, have students tackle an infograph on their own as extra credit and see what transpires!

A chicken in every pot, and a blog in every classroom...?

Not really.
Failed quotes aside,  if you are interested in setting up a blog for your classroom, I can help so be sure to let me know. Or, if you'd like to just read some tips and tricks here and try it out for yourself, DO!

Some of the teachers at Pioneer and Healy have already started implementing a class blog to post assignments, weekly vocab/spelling words, test reminders and practice sheets, videos, tutorial links, and more.

A quick how-to:

1. From your Gmail, click on the small tile box in the upper right corner near your profile. This connects to your Drive and related apps. Scroll down to 'More' and click Blogger. Alternatively, https://www.blogger.com/start and you'll be taken to the Blogger start up menu. 
2. Blogger is pretty intuitive. After naming the blog, and guided through the various set up steps, you're ready to publish your first post. Your blog URL will show in the address bar once you View blog. Invite students to view your blog by sending them this URL, or letting them know that it is also linked-to on your school web-page. Hint, hint. 
3. When creating new posts, find the Labels tab on the right side menu. Depending on the content of your post, you should create various Labels for the post so users can easily search your blog with these keywords. You can add as many Labels as you'd like. For example, if I write a post about Online Classroom Behavior, I may want to add the following Labels so my users can search for this post if they ever need: online behavior, digital citizenship, bullying. 

As students (and you) get accustomed to using the blog, you may want to open it up for student comments and discussions, using these online discussions as part of class participation points. Be sure to send notification to parents (elementary especially), letting them know how their child will be participating in this online platform, and invite them to view the blog as well. Maybe even invite parents to post too:)

I've referenced back to a really good article that talks about the benefits, uses, and best practices when using blogs in education. It's a couple years old, but I haven't found a better article that talks about the what, why, and how so thoroughly, especially in regard to digital citizenship and resources to help in these teachable moments (i.e. students posting inappropriate comments, cyberbullying, digital footprint, etc). Find the full article here. 

As always, if you need any help getting this set up for your class, please let me know.  Or, if you have a classroom blog and would like to share it, please post that here as well!

Classroom Technology - simplified?

A fun read from U.S. News and World Report: What if the key to boosting student engagement was as simple as swapping out desks and chairs and rearranging the layout of a classroom? The study is rooted in higher education; however, the basic idea may be applicable in K12 settings too. 

Edudemic's 70 Best Apps for Education (free and paid)

Just a reference guide. No need to panic: we won't be implementing all 70:)
http://www.edudemic.com/70-best-apps-teachers-students/ 

Sometimes it's helpful to see what's out there and the vast capabilities for educators. 

And a visual....

Sometimes student engagement has nothing to do with technology

We talk about the power of technology to engage students, to meet them where they are. Many times, engaging our students has little to do with technology, and more to do with our ability to build relationships, empathy, and being storytellers. From the best of TED Talks 2014: the magic of teaching and learning

Remind (formerly Remind101) for one-way student/parent communication

Remind is an app and download that allows teachers to communicate with their students (and parents) via text messages from your phone, computer, or iPad. 

Many teachers at #ISD 484 are already using this app and finding success in posting test reminders, practice locations, meeting times, and other announcements. Worth noting: this is a one-way communication tool. Students cannot respond to messages you send. 

The app is always free for teachers: https://www.remind.com/ and takes just a few minutes to get set up. 

To get started, download the Remind application onto your smartphone; the app is free in both the iTunes and Google Play. After creating an account, you can post a short code for students to use when registering. It is important to note that students are not required to download the app on their side. Instead, the messages come to their device – smartphone or otherwise – as standard text messages. Once students send the code to the number provided (which the application generates automatically), the system immediately responds to each participant requesting a name or avatar to facilitate the development of the course roster on the application. After the set up process is complete, the app is ready for use. - See more at: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/using-remind-app-online-classroom/#sthash.y0jh6yrO.dpuf