Tech Tuesday PDs

Flipgrid is an online discussion board where students record videos to communicate. What I like about Flipgrid is that it's private and safe for students to use. To join a "Topic" you must have the link or join code from your teacher. You can also set the group settings to only allow students with the caswell county student domain to enter (only student emails).

You can incorporate a Google Doc, Slides, an image, or a video as part of the question/directions for your topic. For example: "Please view the Slides presentation and compare how the upper and lower classes viewed this event in different ways." Or "Complete the math problem, then post a video explaining each of the steps you took to get your answer."

Other great features include setting time limits on responses, approving responses before they are posted, and there's a bank of premade topics for your inspiration. I think it's a nice way to mix up discussion boards and hear from students instead of just reading their typed responses.

Here is a link to a topic I created as an example.

Canva is a graphic design website.

I wanted to share Canva with you because I think it's a neat tool for students to make creative products for projects/assignments as well as for teachers to create visuals, etc.. As we continue with virtual learning, student-made products will have to look a little different. Pros of Canva include: huge template gallery for beginning a project, the ability to sign up with Canva for Education to access school-specific resources, and it's very user friendly.

I use Canva to create posters (printed with the poster printer!), book displays, reading logs, and calendars. Last year, I taught my library helpers to use Canva and they created redesigned book covers, bookmarks, and infographics. I can see students using Canva to create a poster for a planet project or creating a presentation aid for a biography project. There are pre-made templates for book reports and research outlines.

Edpuzzle is a website that helps you turn a video from the web, or a video that you've created, into an interactive lesson. You can embed questions, include a non-skip function, and add voice-overs. Click here for a quick introduction video.

You can participate in the asynchronous lessons that I have created. With the help of Edpuzzle, I can view data on who participated and your answers to the questions.

Click here to begin.

GoGuardian allows us to monitor students' screens whenever they are using their chromebook and they're on the internet. You will not be able to see a student's screen if they are not online.

All teachers now have access to a GoGuardian account that they can use to monitor students during class time. You should have received an email about an account being created for you last week.

This 2 min. video shows a quick overview of some of the very helpful GoGuardian features such as the chat, opening tabs, and screen locking.

I think GoGuardian will be helpful for monitoring breakout rooms when that becomes available on Google Meets, as well as troubleshooting when students say something isn't working on their end of Canvas, Meet, etc. without having that student share their screen with the entire class.

If you would like to learn more about this software on your own time, you can check out this video webinar OR the recording of the PD session I led.

Sora is a digital library that we now have access to for our school. Sora can be accessed via web browser or through a mobile app. Students and teachers can sign in using their school Google account. Currently, the available titles are from the free Sora collection and the NC Kids Digital Library through Gunn Memorial. (Yay for community partners!)

I can purchase additional titles to be added to our collection. If you think of a title or you would like books on a certain topic that would benefit your class instruction, please let me know and we can look into purchasing ebook copies. The purpose of setting up Sora for our school is to provide materials in the virtual setting, so I am interested in making these purchases.

Here is a video explaining the Sora interface. It shows how to log in, search for titles, and check them out. Please feel free to share this with students!

I wanted to share a Hyperdoc Choice Board Template that I created using Google Slides. I have also linked this video that gives a brief overview of how it can be used and how I created the presentation.

If you'd like to use the slide template as a starting point, you'll have to make a copy before you can edit.

Nearpod is a website that allows you to create interactive slideshows/activities that can be used for assessment and engagement.

You can share a code with your students and they can follow along with the presentation similarly to a Kahoot. Some features of Nearpod that you can incorporate into slides include: Matching Pairs, Memory Test, Fill in the Blank, Poll, Open-Ended Question, Draw It. Here is a quick video overview that you can take a look at.

There may be an opportunity for us to participate in a schoolwide free trial of the upgraded version, so let me know if this is something you'd be interested in.

Asynchronous learning opportunity: Nearpod hosts one hour webinars Monday-Friday on topics that include: Nearpod for Beginners, Using Nearpod with Canvas, and Plan Create & Edit a Nearpod Lesson. Click here for the schedule. Once completed, you can submit documentation to HR for credit.

To set up your account, sign up using your Gmail at https://www.classdojo.com/ . Once you have created an account, watch this video for a tutorial on how to add students, award points, etc.

*I recommend that you create a class for the students in your room that you created your meet link for and name the group B 114 or whatever the room number is. Then, add the other teachers on your team as co-teachers. Each teacher would only have to create one class, but once the others are shared, you'll have access to each group. This is also a good system for adding whichever elective teacher is in your class for the week.

Skills that every teacher should have in their point system: growth, engagement, teamwork. These provide some unity throughout the school so students know they are working on these in every class. You can add other skills or ways for students to earn points. Point values, 1-5, are up to your discretion.

Help desk & teacher resources: https://classdojo.zendesk.com/