Google's Note-taking tool Cursive

 

Users with touchscreen devices running Chrome have access to Google's Cursive for note-taking! I think it's so super cool! Check out TCEA's post about it!

STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS IN THE CANVAS LMS

 

It's a good time to revisit this TCEA post about Student Accomodations in the Canvas LMS. Please ask if you have questions!

Cleaning up your digital footprint

TCEA recently posted HOW TO AVOID TRAGEDY BY CLEANING UP YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT. I highly recommend that you take a look at the article then spend some time cleaning up your digital footprint. You should revisit this every year or two!

It's a good idea to also talk with your classes about their digital footprint. You don't have to be an expert to have conversations about best practice online!

Augmented Reality resources

I recently attended a TCEA Lunch & Learn on Augmented Reality in the classroom. Here are some of the search resources they shared. If you're interested in exploring these more, let me know!

• Google - https://bit.ly/2ZtkKbH
• Pinterest - https://bit.ly/2ZoMEpq
• Facebook - https://bit.ly/3BeKJkA
• Twitter- HS, MS
• History - experiments.withgoogle.com/notablewomen

Coaching is Crucial to the Success of Blended Learning

 

Catlin Tucker recently posted Coaching is Crucial to the Success of a Shift to Blended learning which is so very true. Please take a moment to read her post and, CHS staff, feel free to reach out to me for Coaching!

Blended Learning: Design a Mini-playlist that Allows Students to Control the Pace of Their Learning

 

Catlin Tucker's team is at it again; this time with a smaller version of a mini-playlist. Read more. In Frisco ISD, this could be accomplished substituting a few suggested tools:

Polling: Google Forms, Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, etc

Collaboration or discussion board: Nearpod Collaborations, Canvas Discussions, etc. 

Video with questions: Nearpod videos

Let me know if you'd like help getting a mini-playlist put together for your students!

Six Strategies for Building Empathy in the Classroom

Teaching in the current classroom environment can be challenging. I recommend all educators take a look at TCEA's post Six Strategies for Building Empathy in the Classroom. Even though you may already know everything listed, it's a good idea to have a quick refresher. 

Ways to Enhance Retention

 I recently ran across this poster from TeachThought. Click here for a larger version. 

Student Podcasting

 
TCEA recently shared this post titled A Simple Process and Template for Student Podcasting. If you're considering doing a podcast with your students, I recommend taking a look!

Don't Just Copy

 

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month. Use this time to touch up on your knowledge of Copyright Laws! Feel free to print this and put it up in your classroom!

FREE Internet Safety Posters

 

October is Cybersecurity awareness month so what better time to have some quick discussions with students about being safe. This site has several great tips on how to discuss Internet safety with your students as well as some downloadable FREE posters to put up in your classroom!

Canva's new Video Editing tool!

This is so exciting! Canva now has a video editing tool! Check out what Richard Byrne from FreeTech4Teachers has to say about it. Read more.

TCEA's Fall Free Membership Drive

Join TCEA for FREE this week!

https://tcea.org/membership/free/

Here are just a few of the benefits of joining our community of educators and lifelong learners:

• Unlock your access to the largest archive of community-and-expert-developed educational resources 
• Connect with more than 50,000 active users in our vibrant, online TCEA Community 
• Attend weekly live and on-demand webinars created by and for educators
• Access three years of professional learning recordings, available immediately
• Earn 80+ hours of annual, free CPE credits
• And more

Graphic Organizer Activities

Richard Byrne of Free Tech 4 Teachers recently posted Combine Canva and Google Drawings to Make Graphic Organizer Activities. I recommend you check it out!

Adding Voice Recordings to Google Things

If you're looking to add voice recordings to Google things using the Mote Chrome extension, see Free Tech 4 Teachers posts linked below:

• Slides & Docs
• Google Forms

Going back to school face-to-face: 10 tips

 

As the school year ramps up again, check out Ditch That Textbook's suggestions for our new post-2020 school environment!

Kahoot Update: Double Authentication

https://youtu.be/IRRSzzaEcIw

Kahoot added a double authentication option to help cut down on outsiders receiving the code and joining games they don't belong in! Directions.

Kahoot Update: Question and Answers on Same Screen!

 

Kahoot recently added an option for the teacher to choose to display both the question and the answers on the students' screens! This is awesome! Students no longer have to look back and forth between 2 screens to interact with Kahoot. 

Check out this video from Free Tech 4 Teachers to see how it works. 

Formative Assessment Tools

 

Common Sense Media put together a quite inclusive list of formative assessment tools. If you're looking for a way to gather data and feedback from students, check them out. Keep in mind that the tool you select should also be on the list of FISD Approved Apps. If you would like a site evaluated to be added to the list, fill in the "Unblock/Block a Website/Online Application Approval" HelpDesk ticket and select "Online Application Approval".

I also recommend you check out their article titled "Make Formative Assessment More Student Centered.

Whiteboard Chat

Whiteboard.chat is a cool new online whiteboard tool that can be used with students. Check out Free Tech 4 Teachers recent post about it. It is on the FISD approved apps list.

Fun Finds from TCEA

 Last week was TCEA's virtual conference. Here are a few of my fun finds...

Emojis

When typing on a PC, hold <Windows>+<period> to get a pop-up with emojis! Quick access to enter them into your text!

Textgiraffe

Like fontmeme, textgiraffe.com is another fun text creator! Feel free to use these in Google Slides, Jamboards, etc!

How to Use Hyperdocs in the Classroom

 

I recently came across this post about How to Use Hyperdocs in the Classroom. It's written in a way that's easy to understand! Take a look. 

Jamboard Templates

 

Kris Szajner from Ditch That Textbook has compiled a list of easy-to-use Jamboard Templates. Check them out and let me know if you need any help!

Google Docs Update

 

You can now create some pages in Google Docs to be landscape and others to be portrait in the same document. Create and work with documents that contain multiple page orientations in Google Docs.

Catlin Tucker's 4Ps Framework: A Conferencing Strategy for Online, Blended, or Concurrent Classes

If you do student conferencing, I recommend you take a look at Catlin Tucker's
4Ps Framework: A Conferencing Strategy for Online, Blended, or Concurrent Classes.

Fun Fonts from FontMeme!

 

This totally falls under "just for fun" but can add some enjoyment to your class! check out this site for making text in "famous" fonts!

fontmeme.com