Martin MS Tech Tips 2019/2020
Remember something you want to look up from 2018/2019 posts? Find it here.
Welcome! Here I will share the best from the web and the most relevant cool tips for middle school teachers. If I create a video tutorial or share instructions during the week, I will use this place to house all materials! The most recent posts will be added on top. You can search the page by keyword by using "Command F" keystroke.
Also, I take requests, so if there is something you would like to see featured here, just email me at lmartin@basdschools.org!
April 2020
How to Set up Your Schoology Grade Book for Tier 5 for MP4
How to Create a Quick Email List with Google Sheets
The BEST Way to Message Students in Schoology
Even if they made their profile private.......
March 2020
Use Screencastify + Google Slides: Make a daily message or screencast in one place!
Overview: One slide presentation can be embedded in Schoology and copied to all course. Edit the deck in one place. It syncs EVERYWHERE.
Steps: Make a new slide presentation in google slides. When you make each new recording in Screencastify, add it to a new slide. You can keep all the recordings in one deck by adding the newest one to the top. See slides example.
Create your screencast in Screencastify. Simple click “Copy Shareable Link” to prompt Google to change the settings for the video to shareable.
In Google Slides, click Insert > Video. Choose by URL or Google Drive.
Get the Slides link and add it to Schoology. One idea is to add it to the top of your materials page or as an announcement. You can also embed it in a Schoology Page.
Copy it to your Courses. Each day, edit it in your Google Drive and the changes will automatically sync everywhere you have the slide posted!
The Schoology Mobile App for Easy Student Submissions
The Schoology mobile app has improved in the last year and is very intuitively designed. If students need to submit a picture or a scan of a written assignment they can do so in a few step through the mobile app.
Check out the slide presentation for screenshots and explanations.
Parkland Teacher Tech Conference
Want to earn 6 hours of BFlex and take home something you can try with your class on Monday? Think about attending Parkland Teacher Tech Conference. Many of our teachers attended last year and enjoyed the sharing between our districts. In addtion, I will be presenting on Using Kami Across the Curriculum to Amplify Learning!
Learn more or register at https://www.psdttc.org/.
Creating a Basic Travel Brochure in Adobe Spark
Additional Resources: Signing Into Adobe Spark
Create a brochure by creating a custom graphic sized at 11 x 8.5 in so that it is actually printable! Search for images in the vast Adobe image gallery without leaving the site.
You can invite others to collaborate with you on a project. The projects are shareable with a link. An idea is to have students download them as a png or jpg and then Upload them into a Schoology Media Album to share with the class.
Remind students to make sure they log in with Google and then to choose Enterprise ID when signing into spark.adobe.com. If working on a project on a different computer, please remind them to sign in to Google Chrome with their @basdschools.og account.
Here is my finished product! Click here.
Kapwing Meme Generator
Vetted by Common Sense Media. Easy, next to no learning curve. Creativity without the cramps!
https://www.kapwing.com/meme-maker example to the left.
Kapwing animation below left. This is only free for one month so save it for a one time project if you don't intend to buy.
January 2020
How to Add a Network Printer - IT Solution - LINK
Schoology Blog Post: 4 Ideas to Get Students Collaborating Using your LMS - Kristin Cole
"Many people say that technology has replaced our desire for in-person contact. While this may or may not be true, you can use technology to create collaboration opportunities. Collaboration is always a goal for students. Teachers want them to share ideas, give each other feedback, and just interact with one another. Your LMS is an awesome asset to use for collaboration between not only teachers but also students." Read on.......... Source :Article
Class Workflow Tip: Use Pear Deck Student Paced Lessons
"Pear Deck is often used to engage students in a lesson in real time. But with Student-Paced mode, you can extend the lesson even further! You can share a Pear Deck Slides lesson to a student who missed class, flip your lesson, differentiate or scaffold instruction during class, assign homework, and more...." https://app.peardeck.com/home/help - Source
I introduced this to a few teachers that were not aware that Pear Deck could be used for student's to engage in individually paced lessons giving them the ability to work one-on-one with a few students that need extra help or a station activity. Contact me if you would like to learn more about this and other ways you can use blended strategies in your classroom.
Learn more at https://app.peardeck.com/home/help - Source
Using Split Screen in Google Chrome
In this video, I demonstrate how to use Google Chrome easy Split Screen to instantly create two simultaneously editable screen halves. This is a great hack for transferring grades from Schoology to eSchool during the report card window!
Using the Lenovo Chromebook's World Facing Camera to Take, Edit and Use Photos in Google Sites and Everywhere!
In this video, I jump right in with taking a photo of a student masterpiece with the Lenovo Chromebook camera. When I say "world-facing," I am referring to the camera that is not the webcam but rather the one that is located above the keyboard. Here are quick instructions for how to use the camera in flipped mode.
Slide Deck: New Feature for Google Slides
This is music to our ears! Use with video demo to the right.
Link: 25 Ways to Use Audio in Google Slides Projects - Kasey Bell, Shake Up Learning
Inserting Audio in Google Slides! New!.mp4Video: How to Insert Audio Files in Google Slides
November 2019
Schoology What's New - HTML5 Recorder
Finallly!
Kudos to Annette Lare! She set up a Quiz in Schoology using spoken responses from students. She is also using a rubric to evaluate each response to make the grading process as easy as 123!
Easy to use for teachers and students!
We have been waiting a long time for this! The Flash-based audio/video recorder has finally been replaced with new HTML5 tool. You can use audio/video recorder from any of the following Schoology features:
Course Options
Assignment - attachment
Assignment submission
Test/Quiz - Instructions
Test/Quiz - Question stimulus
Test/Quiz - Student response (Short Answer/Essay Question when Allow video or audio answers for students is enabled)
Discussion
Discussion comments
Page
Update
Event
October 2, 2019
Kids Listen - Podcasts for Kids
WHAT'S KIDS LISTEN?
Kids Listen is a group of people who love and make podcasts for kids. We have 28 member podcasts, representing the best podcasts for kids. Our goals are to raise awareness of podcasts for kids, build community, and set standards and best practices for the medium.
Some favorites-Six Minutes, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, Young Ben Franklin
Join the Schoology Tutorials Group
If you haven't done this or are new to Schoology, a great place to start is the Resource page of the Schoology Tutorials Group. Click on Groups, then find My Groups in the upper right corner. Click on Join Group and enter the Access Code: V6TCZ-CN4GF
List of Student Email via Teacher Access Center.webmHow to Get a Student Emails via TAC
Click on Class Management and select Email. Expand by clicking on the plus sign next to the Course to expand the list. You will see the list of your student emails. Highlight, copy, open up a Google Sheet and hit paste! Here is a screencast.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MPIQLtWyOBTvktuyu5pJ4zyq5KTk1VFt/view?usp=sharing
The Schoology Gradebook Features: Symbols and Printing Options
In this screencast, you will view a live Schoology gradebook, see some of is features including how to print out student reports.
Getting Student Emails Using TAC.mp4How to Get a Class List of Emails from TAC
Go to TAC. Click on a Class.
Click on Class Management and select Email. Expand by clicking on the plus sign next to the Course to expand the list. You will see the list of your student emails. Highlight, copy, open up a Google Sheet, click on a cell and hit paste! Done!
September 18, 2019
Teaching with Touchscreen Chromebooks
There are tons of ways for students to use them in your classroom! Find out how here.
Learn how to earn BFLEX by listening to podcasts. Click the link to be taken to the website that includes all the details you need! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me at lmartin@basdschools.org or ezundel@basdschools.org for me information.
How to Use Your Bitmoji Avatar in School
Several teachers have asked me how I get my Bitmoji into documents and emails. Open the above document and find out how! Link to document here.
Use Shift-Z in Google Drive to Put a File in Multiple Folders
This is life-changing! You are able to add the SAME file to multiple folders. You no longer need to make a copy of a file in order to put it in more than one place! This way, if changes are made in the file, the changes will happen EVERYWHERE you put the file! The Google Drive Organization and Management Hack of All Time
BASD Schoology Parent Access via HAC
This video will demonstrate to parents how to log into their BASD Schoology parent account through the Home Access Center. Student and parent names have been blurred for privacy.
Schoology Parent Access via Mobile App
This video will demonstrate to parents how to log into their BASD Schoology parent account through the Schoology mobile app. Student and parent names have been blurred for privacy.