Flippity.net: A most useful tool

If you haven't already, you should check out Flippity.net! It's a very useful tool. It is part of Google Drive and uses spreadsheets to create all sorts of tools for your classroom. 
A few of the highlights: 
*Jeopardy style Board: Ask questions with point values. All sorts of different ways to use this, other than the boring jeopardy style version. 
*Spin the Wheel: Spin the wheel to randomly choose something
*Tournament: Enter teams and Flippity will create a nice looking bracket for you
*Flashcards
*Memory game
*Hangman
*Crossword puzzle
*Bingo

User-friendly interface, which provides a demo, instructions, and template for each tool. 
You do all the work in Google Sheets and Flippity does the rest! 

Check it out and spice up your classroom a bit! 

Appear.In: Video conference tool

Google Hangout and Skype are far inferior to this new video conferencing tool: Appear.In. The video quality and sound quality is so much better than Hangouts and Skype.

*With Appear.In, you can your own URL, which is your "room." So the link to your room is always the same.

*It's Free.

*You can "lock" your room so when people click on your link, they will have to "knock," which will alert you someone wants to get into your room. Then, you can let them in, or not.

*You can use emoji's and stickers during the video conference.

*There is a text feature so allow you to have side conversations during the video conference.

"Insert Learning" - Make the Internet More Powerful

If you are interested in making internet articles more powerful and more efficient, look no further than "Insert Learning." This tool is a Chrome extension that allows you to customize online articles you find for your students.  With this tool, you can highlight text, insert sticky notes, add questions and add discussion right within the article itself. Then, after you have created what you want, can assign it to your class via Google Classroom, making it a very smooth process. The free version is limited to five "assignments" but check it out and perhaps this is something you would want to have your school buy for you.

Here is an example: https://insertlearning.com/v1/share/32uidqf1 (Add the Insert Learning chrome extension and check out the example).

Classroom noise Monitor - "Bouncy Balls"

Bouncyballs.org is a great tool for classroom management. Project it to your smartboard so kids can see it. If the classroom volume level gets too high, the bouncy balls will bounce very high and notifiy you and the students the noise level is too high. You can customize how sensitive the noise detector is, among other features such as changing the "ball" to emoji's, eye balls, bubbles, etc.  Check it out! 

Background Noise on Steroids: "Noisli"

If you are the type of person that likes to have some background noise while working or trying to relax, then Noisli is the tool for you. It's a highly customizable way to create the perfect background noise for you while trying to be productive or to just relax. You can combine sounds to create the perfect mix of background noise. It's free to use and you don't even need an account to use it (though you can create an account if you wish). 

Current Favorite Tech Tool: Flipgrid.com

I was thinking about what to share and I decided to just go with my current favorite technology tool: Flipgrid.com

Flipgrid is an awesome tool to get students thinking, listening, speaking, and discussing. Having class discussions face to face is great. But, sometimes, it's hard to hear from all students. They either don't want to talk in front of people, or you just don't have enough time to get to every student. Flipgrid is a great complimentary piece to your classroom discussions. Flipgrid allows you to have your students post a short video clip of themselves responding to whatever prompt you have posted. Students post their video and then their classmates can watch. Not only that, but their classmates can also respond to the original video with a response video as well. I teach online classes and with zero face to face time, I have found flipgrid to be the most effective tool in building classroom community in my online classes. The possibilities are endless with flipgrid! The key is to think about and craft flipgrid tasks where there is a purpose to not only what they share initially, but to what the students are responding to. The traditional prompt that students respond to and then you have your students respond to a classmate with "What did you think about what they said?" That general type of response is okay, but try to think up a way for a more meaningful, specific response. Early, I had my students post 3 clues describing a US president. Their classmates and to watch the videos, figure out who the president was, and then post a response video on flipgrid with who they thought the president was and why. 

Student do NOT need an account to use flipgrid, which makes it very easy to use. All students need is a webcam on their computer (or ipad with the app) and the link to your "grid." 

As an educator, you can get Flipgrid One, which means you get one free grid and can post as many topics to that grid as you would like. If you teach multiple classes, you would have to pump up to the paid subscription.   

Check out Flipgrid.com and see if it is something that would help your students learn!

iCivics

iCivics "is a free web-based resource that brings interactive and engaging Civics content to classrooms in the form of games, lesson plans and other digital content." There is a tab for students to play different games such as "Win the White House," "Do I have a right?" and "Immigration Nation." There is also a tab for teachers with links to curriculum units, lesson plans, more games and even WebQuests. This website would be a supplementary tool to use in the classroom. We are always talking about getting students away from how we learned when we were in school when we would read out of a textbook and be expected to automatically absorb all of that knowledge. This website would give students an interactive opportunity to explore the world of civics and to help them better understand what civics even is! Just like when we were talking about adaptive learning programs in math methods, you want the tools to help the students feel like they aren't being forced to learn because instead they are playing interactive games that are exciting and engaging. I think this tech tool allows students to see civics in a way they wouldn't normally be able to. When I hear the word civics I am a little scared to be honest. But this website and the games it has puts concepts involved in civics into a visual form that students can learn from and understand, rather than just reading out of their textbook about what civics is and looks like. If you told me I had to teach a lesson on civics, I would have no idea where to start, but this website would definitely be something I would use to help me build a lesson or unit. -Samantha

GoNoodle

GoNoodle is a website that has hundreds of video that allow your students to get out of their chairs and be active in the classroom. Often times students get antsy and have a hard time paying attention when they have been stagnant for too long.Unfortunately many classrooms are in a way where students are expected to sit still and silent, yet focused and engaged for long periods of time. A great strategy to get student engaged, energized, and ready to learn is to make time in your day for what people call, "brain breaks". Personally, I like to call them "brain bursts" because we don't want students turning off their brain, rather we want students gaining energy so they can be engage in the classroom. By designating a few minutes through the day to implement brain bursts, students are able to get the ants our of their pants, wake up, and focus on the next task. -Megan H. 

Noisli

Noisli is different from the tech tools we typically talk about in class. It is basically a white noise generator for your classroom. It allows you to mix different sounds and volumes. This is more of a teacher tool to manage the environment. This tool allows classrooms to personalize their Noisli until it helps everyone focus. This would be beneficial to a classroom with students who need auditory input to focus. The adjustment tool can help make the noise pleasant for everyone in the classroom. You could offer it to specific students and have them use headphones. -Sophie

Creaza

Creaza is a digital learning tool that enables students and teachers to work with different subjects and topics by creating mind maps, presentations, cartoons comic strips, movies, and audio productions. Creaza contains hundreds of ready-made activities related to different subjects, topics, and curricula. Teachers can easily assign these activities to their students. They can edit and adjust the activity's title and description, set a due date, and add media files that the students can use. Creaza is completely web based, no installation or downloading is required, and users can work on their products wherever they have a computer with an internet access. This tech tool is a fun way to get students engaged in a way that they might not be able to if they were simply reading out of a textbook. -Richele L.

"WriteAbout"

WriteAbout allows students to browse through writing ideas and visuals; it also provides them with the space to write online and get feedback from their peers. Teachers can leave private feedback for students in the form of voice recordings, written comments or annotations. -Kelly T.

4 ways to have Students write for an Audience

Students should write a lot in school but too often, they are writing for an audience of ONE (the teacher). They are given a task of writing creatively or an essay on a topic or a story, their thoughts and ideas are amazing. They work hard, put forth great effort and complete their work. They are proud of it. They are excited about it. The "due date" comes and BAM! the student is hit with the realization that all that hard work will only be viewed and appreciated (or even worse, just skimmed) by one person: the teacher. We want, no-we need, to provide our students with a bigger audience. We want them to be heard! An audience of one does not produce a very high level of concern. But an audience of hundreds, if not thousands makes it real and gives the writing meaning.  Here are a few ways to create a large audience for your "authors" (students).

1. Create an ebook. Creating an ebook isn't as difficult or complicated as one might think. In fact, there is a tool that you can use that you are already familiar with--Google Slides. Yes, great for presentations, but it can also be used for creating an ebook, which can be downloaded and shared. Create a new google slides, change the dimensions of the slides to the standard 8.5" x 11." When finished, go to "File"--"download as"--and then click "as pdf." This is a great way to create a picture book. With the "sharing" feature of Google drive, collaboration is not only possible, but easy!

2. Google Docs: Writing a story via google docs makes it easy to turn into a "webpage" and share or post.

3. Widbook: Allow students to create a online/ebook with this site and get it added to the Widbook collection of other ebooks. This tool allows students to work collaboratively on the writing project.

4. Blogs: Tools like Blogger gives students a voice and an audience. In our world today, more than ever the youth want to be heard! So give them the opportunity to blog about: what they know, what they learned, what they think, what they feel, what they dream about, what they fear, what they want to know, what they wonder, and what they want. A blog gives them a voice to share and be heard.

Flubaroo: Send Student results via Google Drive (no email needed)

Google Forms is a great tool for formative assessment, gathering data, and compiling information. Google Forms added a new feature to make it even better. In the past, students could not see their results after submitting their Google Form. The only way to see results would be to ask the teacher OR the teacher could share the grades with the student by emailing them through Flubaroo. It's best to avoid using the email address whenever possible, so this new feature allows the teacher to share the students results via Google Drive, with no emailing at all. Here's how you do it.
1. After the students complete the Google Form, run flubaroo to grade it. 
2. After Flubaroo finishes, while still in the spreadsheet, go back to "Add-ons"--"flubaroo"--"share grades". 
3. Go through the steps to signify which question asked for the students Google Drive account. (See picture) 
"Email Address Question" should be the name of the question you asked to get their Google Drive account. 
"Grade Sharing method" should be "Share via Google Drive (no email)" 
Finish the rest based on your preferences. 
4. Click "Continue" and Flubaroo will work for a while to get everything shared. Might take a few minutes depending on how many submissions you have. 
5. All students will get a document in their "Shared with me" folder that has their results. 

IMPORTANT
You also have a copy of the students grade report. When sharing grades via flubaroo, a new folder will automatically by created in your Drive called "Flubaroo-Shared Grades". Inside this folder will be a folder for each Google Form you do this with. So if you named an assignment "Algebra exit check," you will get a folder called "Algebra exit check" which will contain all the documents. Since both teacher and student share the document, you could comment back and forth for feedback purposes. 

IMPORTANT
In order for this to work, you have to include a field in  your Google Form that asks for the students Google Drive account. Without this, it will not work. 

What the Document looks like that the student will get

Great formative assessment: "GoFormative"

GoFormative.com is a powerful tool with tons of potential in your classroom. If you are familiar with Google Forms, think about that tool on steroids. It gives the teacher the ability to do instant formative feedback to the students, to ensure understanding. Teachers can create a class and have their students enroll without even using an email address. Once enrolled into the class, teachers can then assign their assignments to the students, which they begin working on. While the students are working, the teacher can see the progress in realm time on their own screen. It is a more interactive, immersive experience. Teachers can provide instant feedback and help as the process goes. For the assignment itself, teachers can use multiple choice questions, short answer, and true/false. Teachers can also have the students draw something, either on a blank canvas or a picture that had been uploaded. Teachers can add content to the assignment/assessment such as an image or drawing.  

Check out these tutorials to get started with GoFormative.com 

Setting up classes and folders

Creating an assignment

Working with students and Assignments

Perhaps it's time, for TimeMaps

Looking to add a little spice into your students' map use? Not happy with the maps in your boring, paper atlases? Well, then maybe it's time you try TimeMaps. 

This free site provides you with tons of interactive maps of World History. You can hit "play" and watch how things change/progress over time. On the map, you will find images to click to get further detail/info about that particular region/time period. There are over 1,500 maps, historical overviews, and in-depth articles, images, etc.  This is more than just maps. It's a maps website with power. You can zoom in and out to get the viewing experience you want. 

This could be a major element of a lesson, or simply provide the link to your students for them to have an opportunity to discover something new and share it. 

Get more out of YouTube Videos

YouTube is an immense collection of videos, we know that. We also know that YouTube is a wonderland for educators to find quality, interesting videos to help teach a concept or illustrate a topic. But, what we may not know is EDpuzzle. Edpuzzle is a tool that lets us get more out of youtube videos. It beefs them up, it gives us options, it gives us the ability customize the video viewing experience. Instead of simply watching the video, or watching the video and answering questions, Edpuzzle allows you to orchestrate a dynamic viewing experience. Free of charge, Edpuzzle allows you to set up a class with a "class code" so your students can join with their Google account. With your students joined in, you can assign videos for them to complete--whether for reinforcement, learning, review, etc. 

As mentioned, Edpuzzle allows you to create a more dynamic viewing experience. It helps you get more out of the video. Here's the deal: Get a Youtube video that you want to show. "Upload" it into Edpuzzle and from there, you can choose what the students do while watching. You can ask them MC questions, open ended questions, or have them comment. You can add a "voice track" which is a audio recording of yourself explaining the video the student is watching. You can also trim the clip to focus on just the part you want.
You assign these to your class so you can see how your students did on the questions, comments, etc. so it is a quality formative assessment piece. You can also share it with the world with the link, though you do not get individual results unless they are part of your Edpuzzle class.
Not only can  you use YouTube videos, but you can search for other videos from Khan Academy, TED, Vimeo, National Geographic, and many more. You can search these other video sites from within Edpuzzle.
Check it out! I think it could be a great piece to add to your classroom puzzle.

Kahoot! to raise engagement!

If you are looking to change things up in your classroom and try a new tool, I'd recommend giving Kahoot! a try. Kahoot! is an engagement dream, a way to focus your students, blend game structure, share thoughts and formally assess them. Kahoot! is an audience response system that works on any device that has internet, as it uses a web browser, not just the Kahoot! app. Laptop, iPhone, iPad, Chromebook, desktop, etc. Kahoot! allows the teacher to give a quiz, a discussion, or a survey. The results can be downloaded and saved. The results give question by questions breakdown, as well as individual results, making tracking and documentation a snap!  
After signing up for a free account, create a Kahoot! quiz. You will add questions and then when you launch the quiz, you will instruct the students to go to kahoot.it and enter the game pin. This connects their device with the quiz you are showing on the smartboard. On their device, they see the four options, which are shapes. They select the shape that corresponds with the correct answer. You can adjust the time limit, the audience, the difficulty and also share it with others. 
Application for Education: Kahoot! is just a tool and it's not about the tool. It's about the learning. So how does Kahoot! help learning? Use Kahoot! to do a short, fun quiz to see where your students are at. The game-based feel to it makes it much more engaging than a centeo quiz or scantron. Engagement can not be underestimated when it comes to improving the learning.  Learning rises as engagement rises. It's a fundamental fact of education and of life.  I'm convinced that if the student knows a Kahoot! is waiting for them, they will be more eager to learn the content and get prepared. They will be eager to see their game-based score as they navigate the Kahoot! quiz. 

Sharapalooza Coming to BV!

Come join me for BV's first Sharapalooza! It is an event with one purpose: Share! I think there are a lot of great things out there that we do as teachers, things that might benefit us all, which means benefiting the students! I think we need more time to get together and share with each other, think with each other, work with each other. I am will share some things that I think you can start using right now in  your classroom, which will increase quality and effectiveness. I also hope you bring something great to share as well!
Hope to see you there.

Collaborative Writing Tool: Draftin.com

Writing is such a big deal. With Draftin.com, you can write and share it with colleagues or collaborators. Simply go to Draftin.com and sign up for a free account. Once in, you can create a new document and "share" it with anyone, which allows them to add/edit the document as well. Since you are the creator of the document, you must approve all changes to the document before they are put in place. You can share via link or email. You can create text documents or transcriptions (audio). 
Applications for Education: Writing using Draftin.com allows you to utilize a "cloud" writing tool. When students write in Draftin.com, they can share it with their partner and they can both work on it at home. Partner students up and have them work on a document together. This teaches good 21st century collaboration skills. Students can use Draftin.com to write a paper individually and turn it in via email. This allows them to always have their work with them, no forgetting a flash drive or losing their paper. 

Create and share reviews with Quizdini

Quizdini is a free web tool that allows you to create and share two types of online reviews. With Quizdini, you can create a review quiz or a matching-type review. Simply go to Quizdini, sign up for a free account, and begin creating. Once you have created your review, you can share the link on your website for your students to easily access it. When students access the quiz, they can either do a "practice" round in which they only try to answer the questions or they can "race" in which they are timed and try to do it as fast as they can. Quizdini is a nice tool because it is simple to use and simple to share. 

Try Quizdini Quiz HERE

Try Quizdini Matching Game HERE