Apps and Tools
Create a Class Logo for Seesaw
A simple improvement you can make to your Seesaw courses is to add a custom logo to the class. The logo appears in the top right and in the class list on the left if your students are in more than once class. If you color code your logos with your partner teachers, students can quickly scan for the right class based on the logo. Design with Canva Not to be confused with Canvas, Canva is a free design tool you can use to make some custom graphics. You do need an account, but it allows for Google sign in,...
Create a Class Header for Canvas
A simple improvement you can make to your Canvas courses is to add a header image to your home page. It makes the course more inviting and helps it stand out from other courses they’re taking. You don’t have to be an expert in Photoshop or graphic design to make a simple image for your class Design with Canva Not to be confused with Canvas, Canva is a free design tool you can use to make some custom graphics. You do need an account, but it allows for Google sign in, which makes it easy to get going. Canva includes...
Use Keynote for Digital Collages
The original idea for this post came from Jen Smith, the Technology Ambassador at North Side Middle School. You can contact Jen for more details or work with your building Technology Ambassador if you want to try it out with some added support. Do you remember covering notebooks with magazine or photo cut outs? I definitely do. I also remember scouring magazines and newspapers for collage assignments. I also remember saving shredded magazines for potential collage-making endeavors when I started teaching, just in case. Using Keynote as the base, there are several other tools you can have students create collages,...
Stop Sending Short Emails, Use Hangouts Instead
The featured image is a flickr photo by Joe The Goat Farmer shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license. Email. That word alone may make you break out into a cold sweat for one of two reasons: A) you’re always aware of it, or B) you’re behind on it. Some studies are showing that email is one of the highest producers of anxiety in the workplace, and it has been since the early 2000’s. So, how do we curb our email? This year, Elkhart teachers and students have access to Google Hangouts. It’s a video and text chat service linked...