Tech Tuesday

February 26: NEW Recording Features in Classroom; Embedded Reader in Docs and Chrome

Tech Tuesday Updates: Recording and Screen Reading 2-24-26

Full Slides Version (links with more info in speaker notes)

February 10: EduGems, Nano Banana Slides, and Notebook LM Updates

EduGems, Slides Nano Banana, and Notebook LM Updates

November: Google Gemini's Gems

Today, we will be learning about Google Gemini's own version of an AI Agent called "Gems" and brainstorming some possible uses in your classroom.

Google Gemini Gems

👻October: Process Feedback for Google Docs

Process Feedback is a chrome extension that shows edit history of a Google Docs document. It goes FAR beyond what you can see with "Revision History" to paint an entire picture of the writing process, including how much ACTIVE time was spent in the document.

Help your students see their writing process, no matter how they write.

Process Feedback enables teachers and students to see the writing process, reflect on it, and improve the process.
As a side effect, it promotes academic integrity.

How to get started:

Step 1: Install the Chrome Extension here.

Step 2: Return to Google Docs, and reload the page.

Step 3: You should see a button at the top that says "Explore Process"

Step 4: Click on the button to review the writing process! You can opt for a quick report or something more detailed.

Click here to view a sample report.

What can you learn from the report?

AI usage analysis--checks at what stages AI was used, and how helpful it was in the writing process
Displays days on task
Shows copy-paste events (both when it happened, and where it was pasted from)
Active typing time versus how long they had the tab open
Allows teachers to compare student approaches to the assignment and correlate that to achievement on the task itself

Read: How Process Feedback can help you be a great teacher in the AI era

🤿September: Snorkl for Student Explanations

What is Snorkl?

Snorkl is an AI-powered platform that feels familiar with tools like drawing, adding text, and uploading images (just check out the toolbar!). But what really sets it apart is how it uses image-based prompts to scaffold student thinking in thoughtful, intentional ways.

Instead of simply asking students to “respond" to a prompt, Snorkl guides them step by step through deeper reflection, stronger explanations, and more intentional critical thinking.

My favorite thing about this tool is that it gives students the opportunity to strive for a 4, even if they don't get there with their first try. It actually encourages them to rethink and reframe the problem to keep improving.

How Can I Get Started?

Go to https://www.snorkl.app/ and login with your school Google accounts. Follow any prompts to create your account.
This brings you to https://teacher.snorkl.app/home to begin using the tool. You have three options here:
1. Try a Sample Activity: Try completing an activity as a student!
  - I recommend trying a sample activity first, so that you can get a feel for how Snorkl works. For example, I completed the "Spoon or Fork: Mac and Cheese" prompt, where I defended using a fork over a spoon to eat mac and cheese. The AI helped me to progress through my thinking.
  - I received feedback at three points in my video. Note that my score was influenced by the fact that I provided 3 pieces of evidence instead of the 2 that were asked for.
2. Find an Activity: Discover 1,000’s of standards-aligned activities.
  - After trying a sample activity, explore the Snorkl library by topic or search by standard.
3. Create an Activity: Create or upload activities in minutes—AI makes it easy!
  - Once you feel comfortable with the interface, I recommend making your own activity! You can choose from the following types:
    1. Whiteboard Recording: Students speak, type, or draw to show their thinking.
    2. Whiteboard Only: Students type or draw to show their thinking. (Beta*)
    3. Audio Only: Students speak to share their thinking. (Beta*)
    4. Writing: Students type in a rich-text editor to show their thinking. (Beta*)

*Note that activities in Beta can sometimes act in ways that can't be easily predicted. Beta means that they are in testing to become full features, but are still in development. I recommend sticking with Whiteboard Recordings initially until you are more comfortable with how Snorkl works.

You have the opportunity to tell Snorkl what an exemplar response looks like/sounds like, so it may accurately give feedback to your students on their submissions.

Matt Miller, of Ditch that Textbook, offered Snorkl Premium features free through January by upgrading at this link: Snorkl Premium

💼2024 Throwback: Minnesota Career Information Systems (MCIS) Refresher

MCIS Teacher Training

Login to MCIS under staff account
- Username should be firstname.lastname
- Initial password is Hutch423
- It will make you reset your password once you login
- Students first login with username: hutchinson and password: tigers and then set up their accounts from there using their Tiger Portal credentials for username and password. We do this in Careers classes, so students should already have this set up.
Review Navigation
- Favorites on My Dashboard
  1. Students should be encouraged to “like” all current favorites:
    1. Career Clusters
    2. Careers
    3. Military Careers
    4. Programs of Study
    5. Scholarships
    6. Schools
  2. UPDATE OFTEN. Encourage students to keep this list current, and dislike anything that doesn’t apply anymore.
  3. Click on the pencil to add notes to options--these notes are visible to students as well as teacher and parent accounts.
- Career Plan
  1. This is a fantastic resource for grade level advisors. You can use this along with your Naviance lessons to keep students on track for career planning. Encourage students to use this plan as a reference and update it often.
- Self-Survey Results
  1. Many of these have been completed in 9th grade careers, however, it is beneficial for students to periodically retake them as their interests shift.
  2. Many assessments get completed in Naviance and are similar to the MCIS ones. I actually encourage students to take both. It’s nice to have something to compare results to, and to not rely on one set of data.
  3. MCIS Assessments NOT completed in Careers Class:
    1. Entrepreneurial Assessment: See if self-employment is a good fit for you.
    2. Workplace Employability Skills: Evaluate your employability skills.
    3. Work Importance Locator: Prioritize your workplace needs and values.
    4. Interest Profiler: Discover work area that match your interests.
    5. Learning Styles Survey: Identify the ways you learn best.
    6. Occupation Sort: Learn more about your work preferences.
- Careers
  1. This is the most valuable asset in MCIS, in my opinion.
  2. VALUABLE current data on careers, including current wages and employment opportunities by region of Minnesota and other states.
  3. Click on Education and Training, and then “Helpful High School Courses” and “Knowledge” to show students how related coursework can be of benefit to them.
- Education
  1. This section contains programs of study, schools by state, scholarships, and information about FAFSA, the MN Dream Act, the MN North Star Promise, and other short term training and apprenticeship programs here in the state.
- Employment
  1. This tab will help prepare students for the world of work. They can gain insight about resumes and cover letters (we do resumes in 9th grade careers) as well as job interviews, virtual and remote job search, MN occupations in demand, and more.
TigerPath Connections
- The more you can help students understand the relevance of the knowledge you are sharing to their future careers, the more buy-in you'll get.
- Understanding the future your students envision can help you relate to them, develop content that engages them, and help them to see the value in the work they are completing for you.
- When in doubt, emphasize soft skill development.
- @coachingwithwill on Instagram

Naviance Updates

Students should frequently revisit their Naviance Course plan and make sure their upcoming trimesters are all set. If they see discrepancies they can correct them, and it’s easier for them to do this in advance than to wait for the beginning of a trimester. This can help reduce last minute drops and adds!

Teacher Usernames:

kaylee.albrecht

jennifer.anderson1

kristin.bateman

jami.beffert

brian.beffert

carla.benson

joshua.berge1

leah.berscheit

mackenzie.boeckers

alex.brown

keri.buker

nicholas.buroker

debra.card

kris.dobratz

shelli.dobratz

rory.fairbanks

madel.frank

susan.goebel

luke.graham

ryan.houseman

jacob.huntley

gary.koehring

chanda.kropp

tim.longie

daryl.lundin

emily.lyons

meredith.tavary

cheryl.marelic

scott.marshall1

amy.nisse

jason.olson

julie.olson

joe.otremba

karen.pachan

amy.parsons

jeff.peterson

krista.picha

dennis.piechowski

pam.rausch

jordan.rozeboom

corey.rude

annika.sandoz

troy.scheuble

kyle.schroeder

lauren.shorkey

jeff.smith

tanya.sponholz

blake.stolpestad1

matt.telecky

tim.thode

holly.westad

stephen.zaffke

scott.markquart

dave.ellefson

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