Guest BloggerVisit ECS Instructional Technology Blog post to learn more about how to utilize Google Meet to present to your students, but also be able to see your student faces and the chat.
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Guest BloggerLearn about how you can utilize choice boards on my guest posting on ECS Instructional Technology blog!
Just when I thought Apple couldn't get any better, they come out with the Everyone Can Create curriculum. Nothing has gotten the attention of every. single. one. of my 60 fifth graders quite like the Everyone Can Create: Photo curriculum. We began by talking about the importance of angles. We discussed the different types of angles and what impact that had on your image. My students took remarkable pictures of ordinary objects they found around the classroom. *Check out Ordinary Objects: Activity 1 in the Everyone Can Create: Photo to recreate this lesson! Next we talked about the importance of lighting. Where should you position yourself to get the best lighting for an image? What happens when you put your subject in between you and your light source? Well, you can definitely get a few really neat silhouettes! Students experimented with lighting to create silhouettes. *Check out Portraits: Activity 3 in the Everyone Can Create: Photo to recreate this lesson! At this point, students were asking (begging) us to let them work on photography DAILY! They wanted to grow! They wanted to get better! And mostly, they wanted to be creative. We were driven to find a way to incorporate their new skills and passions into what we were already learning. In science, students have been studying Ecosystems. They were knee deep in creating an iBook on pages about the Colorado River Ecosystem. What an awesome opportunity to put their skills to work and to prove that Everyone Can Create, Everywhere. While on a field trip to the Colorado River, students documented their understanding by taking photographs of the world around them. We came back to the classroom and looked through out hundreds of images. We edited. We edited. We edited some more. And what did we come up with? Something to be proud of. Interested in learning more about the Everyone Can Create Curriculum? Find the Photo book HERE! Learn more about our experience below. Engaging Tech Tools: QuizizzI can't even say enough great things about Quizizz. Another tool that immediately turned me off because of its name. Anything with "quiz" makes me weary. But this tool does NOT disappoint. Quizizz is a tool that allows for teachers to give multiple choice assessments that are fun!
Students love it! Students enjoy it because they can race to the top of the leaderboard by answers questions correctly (and bonus points for answers that come fast - if you turn on the timer!), they have funny memes, and students can do it over again if they aren't happy with their score! Teachers love it! Teachers like it because they can make their own quiz, they can find pre-made quizzes, or they can adopt pre-made quizzes to fit their needs! You can sort these quizzes into collections, assign them to classes with a simple connect code in a live game, or assign as a "homework" option. The homework option is generally my go-to. I keep a quizizz open for a few days to let students work on taking it as many times as they need. Data, data, everywhere! With each quizizz, teachers can access a report that tells you which question each child got wrong to better help with differentiation, creating small groups, and finding common misconceptions! My favorite part of the report? It tells you how long each student spend on each question. Did they fly through it and get 100%? Maybe it was too easy! Did they fly through it and struggle? Maybe students aren't trying their best and giving you their best effort! Did they take their time and still struggle? They are begging for help. Keep students engages, switch it up, and try a quizizz! They always say "you'll never be ready". And boy - am I NOT ready. I love being a teacher. It is pretty much defined who I am for the last 8 or so years. But now? I am also a mommy. To a perfect baby boy. So how does one balance both? I guess this year is the year that I figure it out!
So - I am back to school in 11 days. (Writing that out makes it seem so much more real!) The one thing I am most worried about is walking into a classroom that is already established. I work endlessly to build a classroom community at the beginning of the year. But what do I do now that their classroom is (hopefully) already a community? I wanted a way to reach my students. To start to get to know them BEFORE I am back in the classroom. So, today I sent out postcards. I want to learn who these kiddos are. What they like about school. What they DON'T like about school. And mostly, I really want to know how I can make this year even better for them. Fortunately, they already have 45 days of school under their belt. 45 days of good things. and 45 days of bad things. So I'm giving them the space to share it with me. And of course, that space? Is flipgrid. I have never, probably will never, be good at the English language. I wish I could claim that it was my second language and that I am fluent in anything other than english... but here I am. A one language speaking adult, that still. cant. spell. Regardless, I refuse to let me students enter the adult world without an understanding of English. (Mind you, I don't think spelling matters in the slightest, but thats a topic for another day). So while the baby napped today, I decided to take grammar head on. I can teach grammar just fine. Google can always remind me the difference between the different kinds of conjunctions, pronouns, and uses for the comma. I have guides upon guides for sentence types. And yes, I could hit up TeachersPayTeacher and get a really great (decent at best) worksheet for my students on all things 5th grade grammar. But my students did NOT need worksheets. They needed one place where they could reference this information. So? Thats what I created.
Not everything has to be complicated. Not everything has to be high-tech, engaging, rigorous work. Sometimes, what your students need is low-tech, quick to reference, guides. So, give your students what they need. And for heavens sake, teach grammar in context. While on maternity leave, I’ve been blessed with quite a bit of time on the couch: feeding a hungry baby, snuggling a crying baby, and cuddling a sleeping baby. So what a perfect time to hone my skills in google, and take the Google Certified Educator certification exams! Visit here to learn how the Level One certification went. When I took the Level Two certification, I didn't prepare. At all. I wanted to test the waters, and figure out where I needed to work the most. Turns out, I didn't need to study up as much as I thought, and I passed the first time. Learn more about the exam below! The Training Remember, I didn't study, review, or even open these review modules. However, I wish I did. I would have been much more prepared this time around. This training is valuable (and FREE!). Before both certification exams, there are review modules. These modules allow you to work through the google applications to learn the power and complexity of all the google applications. At the end of each section there are self-checking review questions, and a unit review at the end of each unit. These questions are multiple choice or multiple select. Again, what I want to emphasize is that these are free. If you aren’t all that comfortable with the google apps, what a great place to get valuable information and free training. Even if you aren’t interested in the certification, you could definitely learn something! I recommend, everyone, regardless of how comfortable you are with google. Again, I wish I reviewed, and will probably go back and review them anyways to learn a bit more. Test Time The Level 2 exam costs $25, so there still really isn't much pressure to pass the first time, but more than the Level 1. After you sign up, it can take up to 48 hours for your test to be ready. Mine took 20 minutes. However, I’d purchase a day or two ahead of when you plan on taking it, just incase. The test set up is exactly like the Level 1. You receive, by email, a google apps for education gmail account to use for your exam. This account, only valid for the test, allows for you to use any of the google suite. There are multiple select questions and scenario questions. Something weird I noticed, is that the multiple select questions didn’t populate at the top of the page, but if I scrolled up, it told me how many answers to choose! SO helpful. Not sure I would have passed without that help. This time, the multiple select were pretty tricky. Definitely not as easy as the Level 1 Exam. However, the scenario questions weren’t all that difficult. If you are pretty competent in google, you can figure out the things you don’t know how to do. Or, google it. I did have some technical issues on this exam. I cannot go into specifics without telling you too much about the exam; however, I had to email the administers, and got helpful responses pretty quick. Their help didn't solve my problems, but I passed the exam regardless. And that’s about all I can tell you about content. (Again, you sign a NDA before taking the test, and while I didn’t read it that closely - living life on the edge - I’m not risking it) Something to remember: a computer is grading your exam. Make sure you are precise in what you type. Getting Your Results I received my results within minutes of submitting. I passed on my first attempt. However, if you don’t, you can take it again! There is a 14 day waiting period to try again for your second try. If you again do not pass, there is a 60 day waiting period for your third attempt. If you don’t pass on your third try, you have to wait a year. Your certification is good for 36 months, and then you'll need to take the test again. What's Next?
Engaging Tech Tools: QuizletWhen I first heard of quizlet... I was instantly turned off. I don't like the name. QUIZlet? ehh... sounds more like opportunities for testing to me. But then I looked into it. Woah. The things you can do with quizlet! Read below for a few ways to use quizlet in the classroom! Teacher Made Study Sets Do you need students to study flashcards? Practice matching? Quizlet is a tool for you. Search for already created sets made by other teachers, or create your own! You can import via word, excel, google docs, etc, OR make them right on quizlet. Student Made Study Sets Do students have a quiz coming up? A big test? Encourage your students to take ownership over their own learning by allowing them to make their own study sets! Students can match terms with definitions or images. Students have 6 options on how they want to study to learn. Once they feel like they've mastered their study set, students have two options to play! Play Quizlet Live Want to embrace game based learning? Well here is a great start! Quizlet Live engages even the most hesitant students. Not only are students beyond excited to play Quizlet, it encourages healthy competition and productive collaboration! First, I have students study the chosen study set. You can make your own, study set or search quizlet for a premade set. Studying before playing helps students be prepared for the game, and allows for individual learning. It also helps students that are more likely to get anxious about the game, feel more comfortable and prepared. Next, students will log into quizlet live using a 6 digit code. They give their name, and wait for the teacher to begin the game. Once it has begun, students are put into teams. Everyone in each team is given the same question, but only ONE student has the correct answer! It is a race to the finish! Students have SO MUCH fun! It is collaborative! Competitive! and such a blast! Disguised learning at its finest, Engaging Tech Tools: Prodigy
You want to get students engaged in math? Prodigy was my answer.
Prodigy is a game based math program that students beg me to play! Set-up Prodigy is free and doesn't require any work from your IT department to set up! Adding Students If your students already have accounts, they can simply log in and connect with your class. If students do not have accounts, you have two options: students can make their own accounts (better for older students - my 5th graders did this just fine!), OR you can make accounts for your students. Students that make their own accounts Placement All students will be automatically assigned a placement test at the beginning of the year that is aligned to your curriculum. As students log in and begin playing through their placement test, you can monitor their progress. Playing Prodigy Once it is time to play, you have several options. The first option is that students can free play. This allows students to play at their placement levels. Next, you can align students on one of three paths: 1. an assignment of specific questions you want them to answer 2. assign them to a standard, where students work through an assigned skill at their own pace, and will drop down to pre-requisite skills if they need practice 3. assign students to a test prep that helps prepare students for a standardized test. See the video below to take a peek at what prodigy looks like for students. Monitoring Progress Prodigy also allows teachers to monitor the progress of their students based off standard, or question. As students play Prodigy, data will collect and inform you of things, such as which skills your students are struggling with, how much of the curriculum they have covered, or how much time they have spent on prodigy at school, or at home! I urge you to try prodigy. If you are hesitant, give it a week. Your kids will be begging you to do math! Learning should be fun, because #kidsdeserveit. While on maternity leave, I’ve been blessed with quite a bit of time on the couch: feeding a hungry baby, snuggling a crying baby, and cuddling a sleeping baby. So what a perfect time to hone my skills in google, and take the Google Certified Educator certification exams!
The Training Wow! This training is valuable (and FREE!). Before both certification exams, there are review modules. These modules allow you to work through the google applications to learn the power and complexity of all the google applications. At the end of each section there are self-checking review questions, and a unit review at the end of each unit. These questions are multiple choice or multiple select. Again, what I want to emphasize is that these are free. If you aren’t all that comfortable with the google apps, what a great place to get valuable information and free training. Even if you aren’t interested in the certification, you could definitely learn something! For those that are pretty comfortable in google, you may not need to work through every section. But the section review and unit review questions are a must. You may even find a little bit of wisdom in there! Test Time The Level 1 exam costs $10, so there isn’t much pressure to pass the first time. After you sign up, it can take up to 48 hours for your test to be ready. Mine took 20 minutes. However, I’d purchase a day or two ahead of when you plan on taking it, just incase. You receive, by email, a google apps for education gmail account to use for your exam. This account, only valid for the test, allows for you to use any of the google suite. Hint: in the email, it tells you to be sure you know how to copy/paste in an incognito window - be sure to do this using shortcuts. You copy/paste quite a bit! There are multiple select questions and scenario questions. Something weird I noticed, is that the multiple select questions didn’t populate at the top of the page, but if I scrolled up, it told me how many answers to choose! SO helpful. Not sure I would have passed without that help. Other than that, some of the multiple select answers were silly. A few you had to think about. And maybe two i had to explore of google to make sure I was correct. They were much easier than the unit review questions, in my opinion. The scenario questions weren’t all that difficult. If you are pretty competent in google, you can figure out the things you don’t know how to do. Or, google it. And that’s about all I can tell you about content. (You sign a NDA before taking the test, and while I didn’t read it that closely - living life on the edge - I’m not risking it) Something to remember: a computer is grading your exam. Make sure you are precise in what you type. Getting Your Results I received my results within minutes of submitting. I passed on my first attempt. However, if you don’t, you can take it again! There is a 14 day waiting period to try again for your second try. If you again do not pass, there is a 60 day waiting period for your third attempt. If you don’t pass on your third try, you have to wait a year. Your certification is good for 36 months, and then you'll need to take the test again. So Why Do It? Well guys, here is where I struggle. Those of you that know me, know I’m an Apple lady - through and through. However, I know that google isn’t going anywhere, and honing my craft in tech integration matters A LOT to me. I like to learn new things, and help others learn new things, so for me? That’s the benefit. Getting better at what I love, to help others better understand as well. What's Next? If you're ready to learn more and start on your own path to being a google Certified Educator, visit the Training Center to get started. Next up for me? Google Certified Educator Level 2! Learn more here. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me via email, social media, or comment below. |
AuthorHolly Mecher. ADE. Runner. Life-long lover of books. Google Certified Educator. Archives
February 2019
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