Breakout Room Ideas

 

Thanks to Lisa Barton for this find! The article, How to create Google Meet Breakout Rooms, is written for Google Meet breakout rooms but the ideas can also be used with Zoom's breakout rooms too. 

For self-selected breakout rooms to work in Zoom:

• the teacher must enable breakout rooms then when starting the rooms, don't assign anyone (read more)
• students must use desktop client or mobile app, version 5.3.0 or higher (read more)

Canva's Storyboard/Comic Templates

 

Canva now has storyboard or comic strip templates! Check them out!

Catlin Tucker's Virtual Social Learning Spaces

 

Catlin Tucker recently posted about Enhancing Student Engagement with Virtual Social Learning Spaces. If you teach virtual classes, I recommend you take a look. 

Keep in mind that Padlet only allows 3 boards with their free account. Instead, consider using Collaborative Boards in Nearpod (which FISD pays for). 

Catlin Tucker's Flip Flop Design for Concurrent Classrooms

 

If you teach a co-seated class, Catlin Tucker's recent post about Using a Flip Flop Design for Concurrent Classrooms might be of interest to you. 

Catlin Tucker's Building a Playlist

 

If you're interested in investigating playlists, I recommend you check out Catlin Tucker's recent post on Building a Playlist. Please let me know if you'd like any help or if you have questions!

Wheel of Names

 

https://youtu.be/T4Y0li_UiI8 

If you haven't seen this little gem before, you should check it out. Copy and paste in a list of names and spin away! wheelofnames.com

Mustard Ketchup Pickles

This one makes me super happy. Thanks to Brandon Walters for sending it my way! Feel free to make your own copy and edit away!

Catlin Tucker's Combatting the Challenges of the Concurrent Classroom with the Station Rotation Model

If you teach co-seated classes, really if you're teaching virtual at all this year, I recommend you check out Catlin Tucker's recent post titled Combatting the Challenges of the Concurrent Classroom with the Station Rotation Model. 

Google's Citation Tools

 

Last week, CHS Librarian, Dr. Turner, shared Google's new citation tools. This was her message about it:

Guess what Google just released - a new citation tool! I have played around with it, and it is both user-friendly and accurate! Here's a blog post about it from TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association). ... It's so easy to format correctly now! Let me know if you have any questions or want help using this new tool (or anything else). 🙂

Check it out!

Common Craft's COVID Kit

 

Common Craft has shared their COVID Kit which includes 3 silent videos about COVID topics. Check it out!

PowerPoint Game Templates

 

PowerPoint game templates that play just like your students' favorite game shows including Jeopardy, Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, and more!

Nearpod Instructional Moments

 

Nearpod put together this list of instructional moments. Frisco ISD pays for teachers' Nearpod accounts! See how it can be used to enhance your classroom!

HyperDoc Toolbox

 

Matt Miller from Ditch That Textbook recently shared his HyperDoc Toolbox. If you're interested in HyperDocs, I recommend you check it out!

Symbol Salad

 If you need quick access for your students to use symbols, accented letters, and the such in an online product, copy what you need from Symbol Salad and paste it into the assignment's title or text. Students can copy and paste from there to use in their assignment (Jamboard, Google assignment, etc)! Genius!

Thanks to Jane Smith for this fun find!

How to Email a Teacher (or any adult)

 

TCEA recently shared this post with resources for teaching students how to email a teacher (or any adult). If you're able to integrate any of this into your class, please do! The more our students hear it, the better!

Text Generator

If you are looking for a quick way to find just the right font, check out lingojam.com/BoldTextGenerator! Type in the first box, then locate and copy-paste the font you like from the second box! Done!

Thanks to Jane Smith for this fun find!

Blended Learning and Co-Seated Course Resources

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

Recently, at a virtual North Texas Instructional Technology Specialists meeting, these resources were shared to aide teachers with how to manage virtual learning and co-seated classes. Take a look and see if anything speaks to you!

• Four Engaging Structures That Work in Hybrid A/B Learning Classrooms

• PK-12 Blended Learning Strategies

• The Concurrent Classroom: Using Blended Learning Models to Teach Students In-person and Online Simultaneously

• Optimizing Concurrent Classrooms: Teaching Students In The Room And Online Simultaneously

• Instructional Models

Teacher Soundboard

 Here's a fun little find. Enjoy!

Teacher Soundboard

http://bit.ly/32oYH56

Google's Jamboard

Google's Jamboard is free for educational users! It's an online white board that allows for collaboration. It also includes post-its and is a good replacement for Padlet. Check out Ditch That Textbook's info about Jamboards for more ideas!

A Flipped Learning Flow for Blended or Online Classes

Here's another post from Catlin Tucker: A Flipped Learning Flow for Blended or Online Classes

Remote Learning Best Practices

TCEA posted "Remote Learning Best Practices". I recommend you take a look. 

Station Rotation in an Era of Social Distancing

Check out Catlin Tucker's "Station Rotation in an Era of Social Distancing" post. She has lots of great ideas with details about logistics that make her posts super helpful!

8 Ideas Designed to Engage Students in Active Online Learning

Catlin Tucker recently posted "8 Ideas Designed to Engage Students in Active Online Learning". If you have any questions on how to implement any of these, or other ideas, in Canvas, please let me know! 

Virtual Field Trips Around the World

Sick of being home? Wish you could travel? Well, now you can... virtually! Check out TCEA's list of Virtual Field Trips Around the World. Please share with your students!

Bulb COVID Time Capsule Templates

If you or your students need a way to document your quarantine experience, this COVID-19 Time Capsule template from Bulb is wonderful! It's a great addition to your ePortfolio! Just click "use template" to get started.

Google's Sharing Features

Google is updating the interface used when sharing files. Read more. 

Questioning Techniques

KQED recently posted this article titled "How Helping Students to Ask Better Questions Can Transform Classrooms". I recommend taking a look and reflecting on your classroom questioning practices. #NeverStopLearning 

What Do Students Want to Create?

If you're interested in finding ways to get students more engaged, take a look at Catlin Tucker 's article "Student Agency: What Do Students Want to Create to Demonstrate Their Learning?" Giving students choice in how they demonstrate what they know is a great way to get them more engaged. If you would like to brainstorm options that could work for your class, let me know! - Penney Matos, CHS's DLC

Read more.

4 Strategies to Improve Group Work

As we continue in this weird world of eLearning, you may want to incorporate some group work. Edutopia recently posted this article about 4 Strategies to Improve Group Work. While it will need to be adapted to the unique needs of our current situation, these are good things to consider. It'll also be helpful once we're finally back on campus! Read more.

Word Reference Chrome Search Extension

Word Reference has a Chrome Search extension that makes it super easy to define words or see conjugation tables for terms in other languages. This is great for world languages teachers as well as teachers trying to communicate with students or parents whose primary language is not English. 
Read more. 

Engaged vs compliant learners

Are students actively engaged or just compliant learners? This article give you things to consider along with ways to make lessons more engaging. How To Ensure Students Are Actively Engaged and Not Just Compliant.

Blended Learning Types

As we get more involved with Blended Learning, it's good to know that there are not just 7 or 12 or however many ways to do it. Here is a list of 12 of the Most Common Types of Blended Learning. Keep in mind, this is not a complete list. There are so many adaptations that also work!

Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images into Public Domain

https://youtu.be/B5vC2kweCNk

This is huge! The Smithsonian released 2.8 million images into public domain and is inviting the public to interact with these materials like never before! Read more. 

Using Video in Your Classroom

WeVideo is a web-based (website, Google Play, iTunes) video editor that includes options for cropping, changing speed, adding titles and credits, using green screen, adding voiceovers, recording the screen and webcam simultaneously, and more. Best of all... allows for collaborators on the same video! Frisco ISD has many paid licenses for WeVideo which means you and your students are not limited by the free account limitations! 

See this list of 10 Ways to Use Video in Your Classroom. 

Let me know if you're interested in using WeVideo with your students with our FISD accounts!

Canva Pro is free for educators!

I love me some Canva (not to be confused with Canvas; I love that too)! I use it to make graphics, including the TitanTag buttons. Now Canva Pro is free for educators! Read more. 

Street View's 15 favorite street views

Google recently posted their 15 favorite street views. Take a break and check them out. Read more.

When to Use Tech

Whenever you consider using Technology in the classroom, it's a great idea to ask yourself a few questions. Using tech just for the sake of using tech isn't best practice. Please take a few minutes to read over this article from Ditch that Textbook: Should I use it? 10 Considerations.

Virtual Reality Resources

Virtual Reality can be used to connect your students to the content in ways nothing else can. I recently came across this post about VR sources, several of which I had not seen before. My favorites include: 

• StorySpheres- Students create their own VR tour from a 360 image
• Tour Creator- Google's VR tour creator similar to Google Expeditions
• Panoform- Students draw on their grid paper to create 3D graphics (think molecules, organs, etc)

Read more: Edutopia's 5 Worthwhile Augmented and Virtual Reality Tools 

Canvas: Messaging Students from the Gradebook

From the Canvas Gradebook, you can "message students who" and select from a list of options.

Students will receive the messages based on their own Canvas Notification settings. 

Chromebook Shortcuts

Want to save some time? Learn these handy Chromebook keyboard shortcuts! The list includes how to restore closed tabs, how to scroll with one hand, and several other helpful shortcuts and tips! Read more.

Grackle Your Google Docs for readability and ADA Compliance

Teachers and students often don't consider ease of reading a document or ADA compliance but you should. The Google Add-on Grackel can help! It identifies things that can make your documents, slides, and sheets easier to navigate like titles, headings, alt text on images, colors on the page, etc. Grackle has already been added to the list of available add-ons and extensions for CHS students. Read more. 

NPR's Student Podcast Challenge

NPR is hosting their Student Podcast Challenge again this year. Students in grades 5 through 12 are encouraged to create an original podcast 3 - 12 minutes in duration. Students must have a teacher's support because a teacher must submit it by March 24. The winning podcast will be aired on NPR. Read more. 

How To Sound Great | Student Podcast Challenge Guide To Sound | NPR

Ditch That Textbook: Digital Summit returns for a week!

If you missed the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit, it will be back for one week! Videos and resources will be available January 18 - 26, 2020. I recommend you check it out!

ditchsummit.com

Slido- Polls for Google Slides

https://youtu.be/j86dZLa4YJE

Slido is a new service that makes it easy to insert interactive quiz and poll questions into your Google Slides presentations. The free teacher account allows for 1 topic and 3 polls per event. Pricing.

Chrome Web Store

Discovery Education's Educational Partners

Discovery Education has recently added some more Educational Partners. Check out the list to see what is available in your subject area. They've grouped their partners by STEM Programs, Social Emotional Learning and Global Citizenry, Health and Wellness, and Financial Literacy and Economics. See Penney Matos for CHS's code to sign up!

Chromebook App Hub

Google for Education has put together this awesome resource for educators: Chromebook App Hub. Filter ideas by idea category, age range, subject, and learning goal and filter apps by app category, age range, and language. I recommend you bookmark the site and visit often! 

Canvas Level 2 & Level 3 Reminder

Welcome to 2020! This is a great time to reflect on how your Canvas experience went last semester and make a plan for the rest of the school year. 

Canvas Level 2 includes announcements, different ways of adding files, ways to create assignments for students to submit online work, creating quizzes, importing content from other classes or from ExamView, and exploring Commons to see what others have shared.

Canvas Level 3 includes Discussions, Analytics, Outcomes (tracking student performance on TEKS), Mastery Paths (personalized learning), and Groups & Collaborations. 

Learning can be completed in any order within the level. Level 2 must be completed before accessing Level 3.

As a reminder, CHS has a Campus Action Plan goal that at least 25% of teachers will complete (and implement) Level 2 and at least 10% of teachers will complete (and implement) Level 3. Please help us achieve and exceed this goal! 

For your personal T-TESS goal, you must implement the skills within your Canvas course. 

Please see Penney Matos for help with anything Canvas related!