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,
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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. Sitting on my couch catching up on some unread emails, I came across one from my principal: leadership opportunities. Now generally, this email is my jam. I LOVE opportunities to spread my wings, and maybe to beef up my resume.
However, this year? A whole new ball game. I was 8 month pregnant and exhausted. So, I scroll past. I don’t even open it up. Now, for a “YES man” like me, this was tough. But time with my baby this upcoming school year was going to be priceless and I refused to give it up for something I was just as passionate about. Then, a month later, the email comes again. Something along the lines of “Hey Staff, I think this may have gotten lost in the shuffle, we still need ... etc.” Mind you, this email came with ZERO expectation, ZERO pressure, and was simply intended as a friendly reminder. So not only did I have to scroll by once, but I had to scroll by again. This time, I even opened it. But I read through, X'ed out, and continued scrolling. For me? A huge victory. Because yes, I could coach the cheerleading team. I could find room for another committee. I could, I could, I could... But at some point, you need to stop spreading yourself so thin that you become resentful. Decide what you are truly passionate about, and follow through. So if for this year I am only truly passionate about my baby? Then so be it. Sometimes there is a refreshing power in picking your passions, and then just saying no. |
AuthorHolly Mecher. ADE. Runner. Life-long lover of books. Google Certified Educator. Archives
February 2019
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