Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Google Classroom, Like a Boss!
Guest Post by Lee Green
When Google Classroom came on the market two short years ago, it was mentioned they were not trying to replace an LMS. The spirit was Google Classroom was working to make life a bit easier for teachers. Today, Google Classroom is able to replace most Learning Management Systems.
Just a few minutes ago, Google announced that Classroom was receiving several upgrades. Among these upgrades is the ability to invite parents/guardians to receive guardian summaries, to allow for teachers to create topics to better organize Classroom, to annotate on mobile, and a few other items in the mix. These tools, namely parents and organizational capabilities, virtually make Google Classroom a viable, stand-alone LMS for many.
Bringing Parents into Classroom
Parent’s need to see what is happening in their student’s class. Prior to a few minutes ago, parents would need access to student accounts to know what was happening. That may not always be that convenient. Now, teachers can invite parents to see exactly what is happening in real time within each of their children’s classes. Parent’s can see missing work, completed work, and assignments from ALL of their children’s classes. Parents have the capabilities to set the reminders to weekly or daily in order to receive important information about their children. For teachers that strive for transparency and parents that want to know what is happening in their children’s classes, this is a massive plus one for Google Apps for Education.
The image above shows you how to get started. Go on and get those parents involved in what is happening in your classroom!
Adding a Topic
I am quite possibly nerding out about this more than I should be. In the beginning, Classroom was very linear, ala Facebook. You make a post and it is on top, you make the next post and then it goes on top. It served to make the process somewhat cumbersome to find what you were looking for. Now, with the ability to add a topic, teachers can tier instruction to better meet the students’ needs and organize a classroom to flow much better. It is a win, win to have this feature.
Insert YouTube Video into Blog
Watch your back, LMS’s of the world. You are now, OFFICIALLY on notice.
Technology Newsletter 8/16
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Since the introduction of Google Apps for Education almost a decade ago, Google has sought to continue to make the lives of teachers and students a bit easier. Classroom, Drive, and Calendar have done that. The holdout for making lives easier has been Google Sites. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that has changed. If you can double-click you can edit and create a site!
To access, go to sites.google.com/new and start exploring. For more information, check out Google Education Innovator, Eric Curt’s great blogpost for a synopsis.
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The week of 8/22-8/26 will be FCS Digital Citizenship Week. Access resources to use with your classes here.
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EDpuzzle.com - Nathan Medley
Are your kids getting bored watching your Educational Youtube videos? Try turning it into an engaging, self-paced learning activity with interactive lessons. You can even add your voice and questions along the video. Reinforce accountability: Know if your students are watching your videos, how many times and see the answers they give.
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TWITTER Edu Chats- Jaki Day
Do you want to participate in an Educational Twitter Chat? Would you like to lurk around other awesome teachers and be a “fly on the wall”? There are many great Twitter chats that you can follow and participate in as you feel comfortable. Click on the image below to find a chat that meets your needs and times. Enjoy!
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If you are looking for a new way to incorporate digital assessments (TKES Standard 5-Assessment Strategies) in your classroom consider trying Google Forms. With the Flubaroo add-on, you can create digital assessments that will quickly grade multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions for you. One of the great aspects of Flubaroo is that it creates a breakdown of your assessment which demonstrates what percentage of your students answered each question correctly (TKES Standard 6-Assessment Uses).
Click here to learn more about the Flubaroo tool.
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Resources:
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Youtube Playlists:
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Wednesday, August 10, 2016
BYOT Basics from Mr. John Rhodarmer, Assistant Principal of Coosa High School
Look at BYOT at your school? or needing suggestions for classroom implementation? Take time to read about a great example of BYOT implementation:
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Cell phones : Teachers should try to give the student the opportunity to make the right decision with their property. On any 1st issue I like for my teachers to ask the students to put it away. If the phone continues to be an issue, teachers ask the student to let the teacher have the phone and tell them they will return it at the end of class. The teacher locks the phone in a secure location until after class and then conferences with the child about appropriate use of technology and then returns the phone. If the student refuses, it becomes a defiance issue, and we follow policy. If the same student uses the phone again in class after the teacher has taken it once, we follow discipline protocol for inappropriate use of technology.
With misuse of computers or chrome books, we determine discipline on a case by case. It really depends on what the kid was looking at or doing with the technology. I try to compare with typical classroom behaviors. For example, if a kid is chatting with another child via messenger, they would receive detention because it is very similar to talking at an inappropriate time in class. The more severe the action the more severe the discipline.
As far as strategies are concerned, the best strategy is presence. Technology should not be used as a baby sitter. Teachers should be up and active in the classroom. Anytime we are dealing with children and discipline, we talk about being cool, clam, and collected and firm, fair and consistent. Those 6 things will get you far in building relationships with students. Cell phone strategies would include face down phones. Keep them in sight but keep the screen down. Most high school teachers just ask if they are not being used for the students to have them put way.
Mr. John Rhodarmer
Assistant Principal of Coosa High School
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Technology Newsletter 8/9/2016
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  | Quizzes in Forms! - Lee Green
Google keeps making their products better and better. This summer, Google Forms received an update with the ability to create quizzes. Go to forms.google.com and start with a blank quiz. Enter your questions, select the answer key, and choose the right answer. You can also include feedback based on incorrect or correct answers.
If you are looking for a quick way to assess info, you can’t beat this update. For more information click here.
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The week of 8/22-8/26 will be FCS Digital Citizenship Week
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Chromebook Tips for everyone - Nathan Medley
As chromebooks become our go to technology resource, many people get confused on how to use them. However, they do have many cool features that desktops can’t do. Here are some tips and tricks you can learn that can keep you ahead of the students!
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TWITTER- Jaki Day
Education is the fastest growing segment on Twitter. There is a world of experience and expertise at the click of a #hashtag. Here is list of some possible people and hashtags you may want to check out as you build your PLN (Professional Learning Network). Start with people you know. *click here
When you are ready for some educational chats start here. ** It’s ok to lurk around and not participate until you are comfortable.
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Google Calendar-Emily Stallings
Want to kill two birds with one stone? Give Google Calendar a try. You can use Google Calendar as a tool for Instructional Planning (TKES Standard 2) and Communication (TKES Standard 10). By creating a class calendar and keeping it up to date with daily objectives, homework requirements, upcoming assessments and class events you can help keep parents and students stay informed about what is going on in your classroom.
If you would like to learn more about using Google Calendar for Instructional Planning and Communication, click here.
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Resources:
(Must be on campus)
Youtube Playlists:
(requires that you override the filter)
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