Apps and Tools

A blank white canvas is nice sometimes, but if you’re asking for student responses in video form, it can be helpful to have some kind of template for their response. This would be easy using AirDrop (if we were in school), so how do you create and send templates while we’re all working from home? If you’re wondering if there is a video, you bet there is. Start with Google Slides Explain Edu allows you to import files to use as slides in your projects. In this post, I’ll show how to import some Google Slides you already have prepared...

If you haven’t been utilizing Google Meet for eLearning with your students, now is the time. It allows you to have real-time communication with students (or groups of students) and will help you build and sustain the teacher/student relationship while we’re out of the building. We already have resources prepped to get you started with Google Meet. If you’re looking for more, Google has provided a range of help articles to get you up and running. Starting Tips Make sure you give the meeting a nickname every time. Doing this ensures that once all students disconnect, students are unable to rejoin...

There are a lot of social media posts circulating out there promoting free tools to use during in e-learning. It’s important to note that any free service has to make its money somehow. This typically is by selling to parents after hours, offering premium services that entice teachers into paying for them, or getting people so hooked that they sell premium features to districts. With the massive shift to online learning right now companies are helping out teachers and families and making some of their paid features free. These free items are a temporary feature so keep that in mind...

While students are away we want to give them a sense of normalcy and routine where it make sense. Having a way for students and parents to hear and see their teacher is a great way to build lasting relationships and create more engaging and authentic learning experience. There are many different ways of using videos with your students while they are away. No matter what type of video you choose to make, remember to keep them short. Below are suggestions for ways to create and share different types of videos. Seesaw Recordings (elementary) Seesaw has a built in recorder...

There are many ways to use shared drives in Google to streamline information sharing in class and in committees. Sharing documents to and from students using Google Drive can be overwhelming and frustrating.  For instance, when students share their work with you, your email inbox becomes flooded with “Shared with Me” notifications. In this post, we’ll look at two methods for using Google Drive more effectively with students and colleagues. Shared Drives We have access to Shared Drives in our accounts. These are special Drives where all members can pull materials without having to share individual files. I (Kerri) have a...

We wanted to eliminate using multiple worksheets and add depth of knowledge to science and social studies assignments this year. Making templates in Pages is easy to do, so we took content and created templates for each activity that we could use with students in class. Why Use Templates in Pages? Interactive templates allow more opportunities for students to engage with the task. Students can be creative by adding photos, sounds, or even videos. Students are able to expand on ideas by linking websites found in research, linking to different areas of a longer document (ie, an interactive table of contents),...

Using Seesaw for Performance Checks Seesaw Activities are a great way to assess student growth. The activity template is simple: there is a screenshot of a short reading. The activity template is a Drawing and students respond with the Record (microphone icon) option. They use the pointer to follow the reading while speaking out loud. This recording is then submitted so I can listen to the student reading. It is nearly the same as sitting next to the student during the read aloud! The student response goes in a folder that only I can see so the students don’t have...

In this post we will show you a variety of features and apps that you can use to customize a student’s iPad to best meet their needs and to scaffold your instruction.

It’s cold outside, but Canvas has some ?? updates this month that we wanted to briefly outline. The updates this month provide two new tools that you can try out in our courses started today. Direct Share Sharing materials between courses is tricky. You can either set up a shared, empty course that holds materials. Any teacher in that course can then import those materials into their own class. The downside is that you now have another course to manage in Canvas. Starting today, there is an option called Direct Share. This option allows you to either copy materials between...

What is a QR Code? A QR code, in its most basic form, is a “picture link” to a website, document, assignment, etc. QR codes are scanned using a device with a camera, and link directly to a specific destination.  Why QR Codes? One word: Efficiency. Sharing the code with the class, either printed on paper or in a digital format (presented on the SMARTboard), is one of the fastest way to get your classes on the “same page.” Why not just use Apple Classroom, you ask? Apple Classroom is still valuable as a organization and management tool, especially for...

Two weeks of magical rest is about to begin. With that is mind, we want to share 3 magical ideas that will hopefully make your spring semester simpler and smoother.

Having students read out loud is a powerful tool in improving their reading skills. But, how many of us have enough time for each student to independently read to you? Do you wish you could just sit in your PJs and listen to them read?

Most of us have heard of or have used digital formative assessments like Kahoot. They are great ways to collect information on what your students know about a given topic. By combining Apple Classroom with a formative tool like Kahoot, I have been able to gain more detailed data on my students performance in real time. Seeing students screens gives me a heads up on who is struggling to login or get into an app as well as who is beginning to fall behind or disengage. Most formative assessment games will generate data reports to view once the game is over or...