Embedded Files
May 22, 2025
You saw the following updates in the Faculty & Staff Schoology courses but I wanted to share them again here. They have added additional sessions to our Empower Conference! Check them out below:
Get ready to unlock the potential of AI in your classroom! Magic School AI will be demonstrating how to effectively use their innovative tools at The Digital Learning EMPOWER Conference on June 4th at Oak High School. Click the links below to register for the sessions.
Three beginner sessions to help you get comfortable with the basics and see how MagicSchool.ai can streamline your workflow.
Two advanced sessions for those eager to explore more sophisticated features and truly supercharge their teaching.
Be ready to supercharge your classroom communication! This year, our district is streamlining all our communication tools into one powerful platform: Apptegy. An Apptegy representative will be at The Digital Learning EMPOWER Conference on June 4th at Klein Oak High School to introduce you to Rooms, the new feature in Apptegy that will replace Remind. Join us for any of the three sessions offered throughout the day to familiarize yourself with this essential tool before back-to-school professional development.
May 16, 2025
Want to celebrate the students in your classroom? Then you may want to consider implementing classroom awards. "End of Year" classroom awards are a perfect way to recognize growth, kindness, creativity, and character of your students. If you need ideas and templates for these awards, then check out this resource!
We know it's a challenging time of year to keep students focused so if you need some "ready to go" quick resources, then take a look at this awesome list of bellringers. There are three differentiated levels that students can enjoy as a warm-up, cool down or as a class competition!
May 1, 2025
KORC sent this information out this week, but I wanted to reiterate that if you want to change your Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) selection from one option to another one, here are the directions to do so. 😊
You probably have seen the viral toy figure trend popping up in your social media feeds lately where your friends are turning themselves into action figures with their own accessories. If you've been wondering how they are doing that, well, it's ChatGPT. Check out TCEA's resources on how to communicate what you're wanting AI to create, whether it's "Barbie-fying" yourself or creating a fantasy book character. We all need brain breaks throughout the day, so take a couple of minutes and create a fun version of YOU!
April 23, 2025
You should have received the email from Klein's Information Technology Department about the implementation of the Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) enabled through the Klein ISD Dashboard (ClassLink) as an added layer of protection for your accounts and our systems. Multi-factor Authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring you to confirm your identity in two or more ways. I highly suggest using the image option to verify, but you can choose from the list. If by chance you get caught in the MFA loop and can't escape, please call 4HELP (44357) from your classroom/office phone.
I'm not sure if everyone received the email from Kami regarding all the newest updates to the app, but in case you didn't, please check them out! Many of these updates will be very beneficial to all students, with particular support provided for our SPED and ELL populations.
April 17, 2025
"Google Easter Eggs" are hidden and fun surprises that can engage students and add excitement to learning. Check out TCEA's list of the BEST Google Easter Eggs and how you can integrate them into your lesson. Students can also access all of them on their Chromebooks. My personal favorites are "Askew", "Do a Barrel Roll" and how fun is it to show students what Google first looked like when it rolled out in 1998?!? Enjoy!
This tip is especially useful for the Math and Science teachers - Quizizz has done an excellent job incorporating Desmos and PhET into their interactive lessons. Your students can answer questions while manipulating variables directly in the Quizizz platform. This resource contains directions along with a fantastic video provided by Quizizz on how to seamlessly do all of this.
April 11, 2025
If you have students who had schedule changes from Semester 1 to Semester 2, you may have noticed some issues with student rostering in Schoology. It has been inconsistent with enrolling students in Semester 2 courses (the system is occasionally reverting students back to Semester 1 courses). Schoology is aware of the issue, and as of this morning, their engineers are still working on resolving the problem. In the meantime, you can enroll those students in the correct course or share the course code with your students and have them enroll themselves.
Brisk just keeps getting better when adding new features to its platform, and the latest one they added is Podcasting! You can now take any content and, with a couple of clicks, can turn it into an engaging audio experience for your students. If you want to "boost" your podcast, you can generate a student activity where they have to answer questions you created regarding the podcast. The built-in AI tool in Brisk can then provide feedback along with additional questions for your students to respond to (the student activity part of Brisk is NOT BLOCKED BY THE DISTRICT for students)! If you have not claimed your one month of FREE Premium access, do it soon!
April 2, 2025
The request process for Youtube video access has changed slightly. For the latest updates from IT regarding filtering and categorization of these videos, please check out this updated resource.
Did you know you can create a template in Adobe Express and assign it to your class? Please watch this short YouTube video that shows you how easy this process is!
March 27, 2025
Have you ever wanted a simple way to compare two Google Documents and pinpoint the exact changes in a student's revised draft? If so, Google Docs allows you to choose the documents you want to compare and will highlight the differences, making grading and feedback so much easier. Go to Tools < Compare Documents to access this feature. ➡️➡️
If you want to incorporate more open-ended questions with your students but dread all the grading, then you need to use Quizizz's AI feature. This tool will evaluate open-ended and audio response questions. All you have to do is set the subject and grade for the question and add your evaluation criteria. The AI-powered grading assistant will evaluate student responses based on your input, which saves you tons of time! As always, proofread what is generated by AI to ensure its accuracy. For more information on how to use this awesome feature, check out this article by Quizizz.
March 12, 2025
If your students are giving presentations in class and you want a quick way to "cast" their screens to your ClearTouch, here are simple directions that walk you through how to do this. Keep in mind you have to first enable a setting on your ClearTouch, but once you do, the process is pretty seamless!
Google recently rolled out 40 new Google Doc Templates! These pageless templates have awesome features like document tabs for better organization, placeholder chips for easy data input, and building blocks with preset layouts and styles that give a professional look and feel to your documents. Students have access to these templates in their Google Docs, as well. You can easily access them by clicking Templates when creating a new Google Doc. ⬇️⬇️
March 5, 2025
NEW! If you've been using and loving Diffit, then you will be excited to see that you can add book-based resources to your library and then adapt them to fit your lesson plans. When you are creating your resources in Diffit, you will now see a "Books" option at the top. Yay! ➡️➡️
Also NEW! You might have noticed when adding Materials to Schoology, there is now a "StudyMate" option there. StudyMate is similar to Quizlet, where you can add facts, definitions, and questions for students to play review games with the content you provide. You will find it either on the left-hand side menu or under "Add Materials." The first time you click on StudyMate, you will be able to watch videos that explain what it is and how it works. These videos can also be found on their website. 💡 Tip: Don't forget to make it available in Schoology so students can access them! ⬇️⬇️
⬇️How to Add in Schoology ⬇️
⬇️Don't forget to make it available in your Schoology course!⬇️
February 27, 2025
It's that time of the school year to start thinking about summer professional development, and I always highly recommend the Empower Conference. This year it will take place on June 4, 2025, so SAVE THE DATE (and yes, this counts as an EXCHANGE DAY)! If you consider yourself a "tech guru" and would like to share your expertise and innovative teaching practices with other Klein ISD educators, then feel free to SIGN UP HERE! If you need some inspiration, check out these PD ideas or reach out to me.
Many of you are LOVING the Flashcards feature in Quizizz! Did you know that you can now toggle on the "shuffle flashcards" option to prevent students from memorizing the order of them? Yay! Check out this new Quizizz update.
February 19, 2025
With Texas Independence Day coming up on March 2, TCEA has provided some fun educational games to play with your students! They have provided templates you can edit or use their prepared resources right away. Whether it's Texas Trivia, Which One Doesn't Belong, or Connections game, your students will find they are having fun while learning about their Lone Star State!
If you have not utilized the interactive videos in Quizizz with your students, what are you waiting for? Whether you are assigning a live video in class or for homework, you will find the process is super easy! You can search from a plethora of pre-made videos and add notes and questions to make it your own. There are many settings you can change, such as preventing students from skipping ahead, adding accommodations or captions, and hiding correct answers. Check out some quick instructions provided by Quizizz and get started today!
Assigning Quizizz in ⬇️Schoology⬇️
February 11, 2025
Need an easy way to make your lessons and slideshows more exciting? The Giphy Chrome Extension allows you to seamlessly add a sticker or a GIF to make your slideshows more entertaining!
Finding yourself needing some free, high-quality, and customizable AI images to use with your students? TCEA has shared 3 different websites that you can use to get the images you need! These AI-powered platforms provide a safe and legal way to access spectacular images.
January 30, 2025
This is one of the most exciting features I'm anxious to share with you all because we are always looking for a stable video editing tool that both teachers and students can access, and we have one now called Google Vids! Google Vids allows you to create and edit videos - all within your Google Drive! To learn more about this user-friendly new feature, check out this video!
Did you ever share a website with somebody but just wanted them to focus on specific content on the webpage? Google has a new feature where you can choose "Copy link to highlight" to direct the viewer to just the text you want. If you click this link, you will see instead of sending you to the top of the website, I'm sending you directly to the directions on the website. 😉
January 24, 2025
You may have noticed that if you want to share a Google Form, you now have to "Publish" the form before anybody can view and fill it out. This is a new process for Google Forms - it's easy to do, but it previously wasn't required for viewers to complete your form. If you need to know the steps to publish a form, please check out my quick silent video. ➡️➡️
Kami now has a translation feature in BETA! BOTH teachers and students can select text and have it translated to another language directly in Kami. Check out this "cheat sheet" on this new feature! I also included a quick video on the new translation tool.
Publishing Google Form.webmJanuary 16, 2025
As you know, we've had N:/Drives for years but you may have noticed you don't see yours anymore. That is because all N:/Drive files are being migrated over to OneDrive. The district has been gradually moving groups of campuses at a time and Klein Oak's migration should be completed by February 3. After this date, you should be able to access your N:/Drive files in your OneDrive. If you have questions or need additional information regarding your N:/Drive files, please refer to IT's resource.
If you couldn't attend yesterday's Brisk training, but you and/or your team would like to learn more about this fabulous resource, please let me know and we can schedule a date for me to come and work with you. I love sharing free promo codes with all of you and I have one for Brisk! Click on this link if you would like one month of FREE Premium access! You can activate it now or wait until later when you're ready to unlock these additional awesome features!
January 8, 2025
For those of you using MagicSchool, did you see that you can now create a custom tool? This feature allows you to personalize existing AI tools by setting specific parameters and instructions, basically tailoring them to your teaching needs and curriculum. You can then easily and quickly create customized versions of tools like lesson plan generators, quiz creators or content generators to fit your specific needs. Please watch this quick video on how this new cool feature works!
Need some fun and innovative ways to incorporate exit tickets? Then check out TCEA's exit ticket dice and digital selector resource! Linked out in the article are QR code templates that provide prompts for your students - they just scan and answer the questions. They also have numerous other prompts you can incorporate at the end of class to reflect on the day's lesson. However, this digital exit question selector is my favorite!
December 18, 2024
With the holidays right around the corner, I thought I'd share some fun and festive holiday sites and Chrome Extensions to get you ready for the break!
First up is TCEA's Website Wonderland: The Best Holiday Websites of 2024. Your little ones may love to watch the reindeer cam, Santa read a book or even receive a personalized phone call from him. For the older crowd, there's a Draw Names Picker for gift exchanges, a Christmas Countdown and a funny Christmas card maker!
I think we all need a little extra sparkle in our Chrome browsers while entering final grades for the semester and finalizing end-of-year tasks. From countdowns to cozy vibes, these 10 cheerful extensions will definitely brighten up your holiday season (the Cursor Helper is my favorite)!
December 12, 2024
Ever find yourself creating a presentation and needing some visuals to coincide with the content? If this is the case, then you need to check out Napkin AI. Just type in your text and Napkin will generate the most relevant visuals and you can choose the one that best expresses what's on your mind. Of course they are all editable so you can adjust content and style to maximize their impact. Try it out today!
Check out these Winter-Themed Classroom Activities that TCEA created! These include fun games, such as a wordplay, connections, Would You Rather and a breakout. They are ready for you to use so you just find the one(s) you want to play with your students and enjoy!
December 6, 2024
If you enjoy using Google Slides for presentations or lessons, then you will be excited to learn that Google has launched 27 New Google Slide Templates! To view these templates, open Google Slides and click Insert on the top toolbar and then Templates and you will be able to browse and choose the one you want. Our students have access to these templates in their Google Drive, as well.
I know many of us are in the "Christmas Spirit" so if you want to view that spirit every day on your computer, then you will want to check out the "Christmas Decorations" Google Extension. This extension adds a variety of Christmas decorations and visual effects to any web page you view. You can choose which festivities to display, such as a Christmas tree, electric garland, festive cursor and scroll bar, a Christmas melody and more!
November 21, 2024
Christmas has come early! If you have been using MagicSchool's free version, you will be excited to receive an exclusive MagicSchool PLUS subscription for 6 months! This PLUS membership provides you with additional features and access. If you want to redeem this awesome gift, please follow the directions below:
1. Follow this link - https://app.magicschool.ai/redeem
2. Follow the directions to log in. If you do not already have a free account, you will need to create one when prompted. Once you have logged in, re-enter the link above if it does not automatically take you to the redemption page.
3. Click on "Redeem Now!"
4. On the checkout page, click on the section “Add promotion code.”
5. Enter your "SixMonthMagicSchool" in the "Add promotional code" section and click “Apply.”
6. Hit "Complete order," and you have redeemed your code!
7. Enjoy MagicSchool!
Keep up the great work with Quizizz! We are 3rd in the district for "hosting the most activities" so we are glad to see so many of you are using and enjoying our paid school account! If you haven't assigned flashcards to your students yet, you're missing out! To extend the learning even more, students now have the ability to create their own flashcards after completing an activity from the teacher. Here are directions on how they can do this.
November 13, 2024
Is your current Diffit trial expiring or are you using the free version? If so, don't worry because the AI tool that puts resources together quickly is now offering ALL KLEIN ISD teachers an extended PREMIUM TRIAL ACCESS through June 30, 2025! If you're not familiar with Diffit, it's a fantastic AI tool that quickly puts resources together on just about any topic. Here is a quick video that walks you through the resource and how to use it!
If you haven't noticed, there's a new "Rating" question type in Google Forms that enables you to customize rating questions by setting a rating scale level. The star, heart, or "like" button icons offer a more intuitive and engaging way to gather opinions from an audience.
November 6, 2024
Do you have constant audio issues with your computer where you can't hear the sound? If so, check out my quick video on how to change a setting that should fix your issue! If you are still having issues even after changing this setting, then complete a Service Now ticket. ➡️
Did you know you can now add AI questions into your Kami assignment? This new "Questions AI" feature is a game changer for assessments. Whether you're converting existing assessments to auto-graded questions, creating new questions from your curriculum or starting from scratch, this new tool is amazing! Check out this Youtube video from Kami that walks you through this cool new feature! ➡️
AudioFix.mp4
October 31, 2024
Google Docs now has some new (and not so new) features that can totally transorm your Docs! If you check out our Oakside Chat you will notice it received a little "facelift". You should now see there are tabs to the left where you can easily navigate to view previous weeks' notes. Also, there is now a cover image (only available in "pageless" format) and "smart chips". Check out each feature below:
I think most of us know you can set up notifications on a Google Form when somebody has filled it out, but did you know you can be notified when somebody changes the cell value in a Google Sheet? You can also select which email address receives the notifications. If you want to learn more about this awesome Google Sheet feature, check out these instructions!
October 23, 2024
Many of you have asked and now I can reply with a "yes" that the LTI integration for Quizizz has been set up in Schoology! Woo Hoo! This means you can assign your Quizizz assignments directly in Schoology and if you enable grading, the grades will appear in your Schoology gradebook. Please check out these directions that walk you through the steps on how to assign a Quizizz activity to be graded in Schoology.
Tech PALOOZA is almost here! Have you registered yet? Don’t miss out on one of the best professional development events of the year! Attendees will have a chance to win a stylus pen for use with their teacher iPad AND receive 3 exchange day credits! 😮 Join us at KMPC on Saturday, November 2, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We’ll have 17 sessions covering a variety of topics, including Kami, Clear Touch, Google Drive (presented by yours truly), AI, Goodnotes, and more. Click here for more details and the full session list and you can register here. We can’t wait to see you there!
October 9, 2024
After fall break, Service Desk will be put into retirement but our new platform, Service Now, will be available! You will be able to access Service Now via the Dashboard starting Monday, October 21, 2024. Here are some videos and one-page instructions you can refer to in order to understand the new platform.
This Halloween Quizizz Meme Escape Room Game is AWESOME and pretty much everything is done for you! Check out the video in the linked resource that walks you through the steps in creating your own. You choose or create a Quizizz for your class and they will receive clues if they get the correct answers to break out! Please reach out to me if you need help with creating your own!
October 2, 2024
If you want to keep your audience involved during your next PLC or class, then you need to try using some of the fun sounds on this soundboard. There are 15 to choose from, which includes a laugh track, the trumpet call that starts a race, people "ooh-ing and ah-ing" and more! The sound lasts only about three or four seconds each but they are fun!
Now that we have Quizizz, you need to know about the built-in flashcards feature (it's the perfect alternative to Quizlet)! You can copy your content over from Quizlet or create your cards from an existing document, topic or website (AI is amazing). If you need help building your flashcards, check out these directions or reach out to me!
September 25, 2024
I absolutely 💖 this new Audio feature in Notebook LM. Basically, it takes your presentation or notes and turns it into a lively podcast between two hosts discussing your content! This would be great for your auditory learners (including ELLs) who benefit more from hearing a conversation rather than the content just being read to them. It also is a perfect model for students on HOW to have conversations about content (student discourse). You can then easily download your podcast and upload it in Schoology for your students. Read more about this awesome resource in TCEA's publication (there is a video tutorial that walks you through on how to use this feature)!
"Say What You See" is Google AI's fun way for your students to level up their image-reading skills. It helps them get better at interpreting visuals by guiding them through the art of prompting and analyzing images. This does involve writing in detail so it's perfect to get your students to practice including details when they are describing visuals in their writing. Students do have access to this site so it's perfect for a quick warm-up or exit ticket!
September 18, 2024
We are happy to report that our paid versions of Quizizz and EdPuzzle are now up and running and you can access them via the Dashboard. Woo Hoo! If you need help with Quizizz, they have a fantastic YouTube channel with tutorials and I have directions for EdPuzzle on my site. If you would like to schedule time for me to come and work with you (and/or your team) on these resources, please let me know!
Your students can use this free avatar creator (it's NOT blocked for students) to design what an author or character from a book they are studying should look like. It can also be used for social-emotional learning and much more. The completed avatar can be downloaded as a .PNG and they can make as many as they want!
September 11, 2024
If you love learning shortcuts or tricks on your iPhone or iPad, then check out these 5 iPhone/iPad Ninja Moves! All 5 tricks work on your iPhone and 1, 2 & 5 work on your Klein-issued iPad. I do like the option to set a quick timer or flip a coin on the school's iPad!
You need to check out this GenType site! It's powered by Google's Imagen 2 model. It creates custom letters and fonts through advanced generative image techniques, allowing users to explore and design unique typographic styles. You choose your style, type your words and then you can save it as a .png to add to your Schoology course or website! ⬇️⬇️
September 6, 2024
If you haven't noticed, Lightspeed Classroom is now available via the Dashboard! As a reminder, Lightspeed Classroom is a digital tool that gives teachers control over the digital classroom and real-time visibility of student activity. Please check out the Lightspeed Classroom on Klein's Digital Learning site that has all the tutorials you need! ➡️➡️
Need some quick mind-challenging puzzles you can play with your students? TCEA just released a new edition of “This, Not That” bellringers! Each puzzle gives you five statements, and the goal is to figure out a commonality from the five statements. The words after the “but not” part of the statements sometimes help with the solutions. But sometimes, they are just distractions to the thought process. The “This, Not That” puzzles usually follow two lines of solutions: shared features or attributes of the items in the statements or shared features or attributes of the words in the statements. You will see that some templates are made for secondary and others for elementary.
August 28, 2024
New Schoology interface still throwing you off? If so, check out the new icons key that is worth taking a glance. It compares the old with the new icons so you know which materials you are viewing.
Need a fun, free way to provide buzzers and a leaderboard for some classroom competition? Crowd Buzzer has you covered! As a host, the teacher goes to http://ccg.buzz/host and puts in a title for the game. Students then go to https://ccg.buzz/ and enter the game code they see in the top left-hand corner of the teacher's screen. The teacher asks questions and students try to the first ones to buzz in with the right answer!
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