Notebooking, Teaching, and Technology

In one session I learned that Google has a chrome extension called “Google Tone”. Once you add it to your computer you can go to any website that you want to send out to students. The extension then generates a “tone” from your computer that other computers pick up (they also have to have the extension). The tone will be “read” by the other computers and will automatically direct someone to the website you want.  It was pretty cool. Since students would also have to have Google tone there is an element of abuse potential with students sending out their own tones. I am not sure if that would be embraced by our teachers but it would be fun to highlight in a PD setting.

One thing I got very excited about, when I heard about it at ISTE, is the fact that Google is launching a new streamlined Sites. Anyone familiar with the old Google Sites (it is their version of making a website) knows that is not very user friendly particularly with students. The new version looks very user friendly and some early adopters have posted videos on YouTube about the changes and how to use it (although I can't seem to find the launch date). In this short article you can learn about the new features that make it easier to use and how you can become an "early adopter". The teacher who highlighted it at ISTE said he had students make Roman Emperor dating sites with it which I thought was a pretty cool idea (what would Caligula's website look like?).  I plan to put in a request for early adoption in order to play with it prior to a full out launch. I would love to see our students making websites that could act as their portfolios through their ...

The big news this trip was the release of a quiz feature in Google Forms that launched June 27 th . This feature allows you to create quizzes within Google Forms where the answers will be graded without any extensions. I haven't played with it yet but I have saved a few videos on YouTube to watch later when I get home. I am thinking this might make a good back-to-school PD topic.  Another feature that I haven’t used in Google Forms, which I saw used on this trip, was the form or data validation feature (for a video overview CLICK HERE ). How I saw it used...in order for students to move forward, let say working out a math question, they have to put in the correct answer as a type of form validation before they can submit the final form to the teacher or move on to the next section in the form. I liked this feature because if the student doesn't get the answer correct in the data validation area then they have to rework the problem before they can move on. A lot ...

I am a big Kahoot and Quizizz user. I stopped by the Kahoot booth to see what was new (to me) for the coming year and I got to demo the new Team Mode and Bonus Streak features.  I love the Team Mode (you still have the option to do the regular familiar model)! I worked with a group of three teachers to answer a bunch of random questions. One person controlled the device so this feature is great if you don’t work in a 1:1 environment. The Team Mode features a question and answers that are on the screen what changes is that you can build in “discussion time” for the groups (up to 2 minutes…we were given 30 seconds). As soon as the time is up you're team is prompted for the answer. I found it a nice way to have people/students work collaboratively. My wish for this feature is that the Kahoot system would put the the students in groups ( like the Quizlet Live feature )  instead of either the teacher or students choosing the groups .  The Bonus Streak feature in Kaho...

I was very fortunate to attend ISTE (the International Society for Technology in Education) in Denver this year. Under normal circumstances I don't think I would have been able to go (particularly since I went to the conference in Philadelphia last year) but my proposal to present was picked up and my department approved the trip (Yay!). Last year, as a way to curate all the ideas I was getting, I blogged about my top 10 take-a-ways from the conference. I thought I would do the same this year. So here it goes...#10 - ClassFlow (the list is in no particular order): ClassFlow is one of my favorite classroom tools. They are part of the Promethean world but it looks like they are in the process of re-branding using the ClassFlow name instead of Promethean. In 2014 I wrote a blog post about  the product and I have pushed it heavily in our district since we have become 1:1.  At ISTE the ClassFlow folks had a large exhibit hall display that featured Ron Cl...

My husband oddly enough brought this to my attention. Apparently there is a White House initiative to get all four graders and their families (including 4th grade teachers) to experience federal public lands. It began September 1, 2015 and runs until the end of August 2016. It looks like this is the first year so I am not sure if it is being offered this coming September 1st. There seems to be an educator package that I thought would be good to look at with four activity guides. In my neck of the woods the activity guides would be good for after state testing as a way of introducing the program for summer fun (even though it seems good for the entire year). So if you are a fourth grade teacher, or have a fourth grader at home, you might want to check it out! Here is what is on the website: "To help engage and create our next generation of park visitors, supporters and advocates, the White House, in partnership with the Federal Land Management agencies, launched the ...

I just created my first Choose Your Own Adventure style story using Google Forms. As a tech coach that deals primarily with elementary school students I would definitely put this in a Gifted and Talented category...at the end of the year...as enrichment (it was kind of hard!). I found the video above the best as far as instructions go on YouTube. I didn't have to watch the whole thing...I got the general gist by the 8 minute mark. I liked her flow chart and used the Smart Art Hierarchy Tool to make mine (the teacher in this video used Google Drawings). I thought the Smart Art tool would be easier (since it provides a template) but I'm not sure it is (I would need to try it). Student might find that step too much and might be better off sketching their story out on paper or using numbered index cards. The teacher in the video had 16 levels to her story...I had 17 (if you count the ending...it is 18). That was a lot! My flow chart was sketch of story a...