Gamification and External Editing Tools

They say the best things in life are free, and today I would like to say that remains true: Gimkit is a fun, engaging way to review and learn content with your students, and it is now officially free. It used to be a small fee of $60 per year, which is why I did not share it before. 


If you've ever made a Kahoot or a Quizizz before, you know the power of gamification in the classroom. The kids are having fun while learning and reviewing. But I would argue that Gimkit is the better choice of the two. If you play Kahoot over and over again, it'll become stale--this is a way to shake up learning.


For those who don't know what Gimkit is:

Whether you make your own, find another teacher's set already made, or you have the students themselves make the questions, you'll have something worthwhile in no time! 


Timeline.ly

When we use videos for instructional purposes, we often want to pause and emphasize a certain part or scene. As teachers, it's often our commentary that makes the most impact on our students. With Timelinely, you can easily and quickly annotate a Youtube video. 


If you go to Timelinely, you can provide context for videos and make them an interactive experience in almost time at all. Whether it's a recording of you, a GIF, or a question you want students to pause and consider, you can do it almost instantly.


According to the website, "Timelinely makes it incredibly easy for you to drop in any YouTube URL, play it, pause it and instantly add a comment or media interaction, highlighting interesting or important moments in the video. React or just explain what's going on in the video. You can add context with comments, videos, GIFs, images, and more. You are just one quick click away from adding annotative timestamps or even Google Map locations."


I like how simplified yet powerful it is. There is no learning curve, and it's fairly intuitive. You simply go to the website, copy and paste the Youtube URL you want to add "context" to, and then you can easily share it with students or whomever you need to see what you're sharing.


Custom Google Classroom Banners with Canva

Today's tip is about customizing your Google Classroom banner so that it's more attractive and stands out.


Right now, if you never changed your Google Classroom banner, you can click Customize--> Upload photo to change it to a picture you have. 


But if the aspect ratio is off, it won't perfectly fit, and you're going to have some oddly zoomed-in or cropped picture.  What you could do instead is customize a banner in seconds on Canva. 


Start with these templates by clicking here.


Once you're happy with how it looks, simply download the design you made and upload that photo to where it says "customize" on the top of each Google Classroom class.


Editing Your PDFs Using PDF Escape

Have you ever had a PDF file, but you wanted to make changes? Have you ever wanted to add some words, images, hyperlinks, or whiteout some parts of a worksheet or document but couldn't manage to figure out how? There are many ways you can do this, but the easiest way to change a PDF to tailor to your needs is to use PDF Escape. 

It's completely free and easy to use--no sign-ups or downloads needed. You can even add form fields where there aren't any so anyone can fill out the form that you're sending. 

Whiteboard Chat


Whiteboard.chat is a feature-rich digital whiteboard unlike any other I have seen. It's free and you can create, share, and collaborate with students. You don't even need to create an account if you don't want to save your work. You can have a whiteboard for teaching and/or your students can have their own whiteboards where you can monitor how they're doing in live time. 


The whiteboard can be plain or the background could be a worksheet PDF you're working on. There are endless options; for those of you who used Classkick, it's very similar but it has constant improvements that I have not seen in other competitors. And for math and science teachers: there is a built-in math equation editor you can use as well as manipulatives. You can embed media, and set up games--the features and possibilities are endless (and I think that's because this was made by teachers, and its ever-changing improvements reflect this). 


To get started with Whiteboard Chat, simply head to the site and click on the big "Start Drawing" button. Next, you have the choice of "start collaborating" or "start teaching." The "start collaborating" option will launch a single whiteboard that you can invite your students to join. The "start teaching" option will launch an instructor whiteboard plus a grid of individual whiteboards that you can share with your students. When you use that option, each student has his/her own whiteboard to draw on that you can also observe from your computer. In both cases, you invite students to whiteboards through unique invitation URLs that you can post in Google Classroom or through Lightspeed, etc. 


Typing Club

Typing Club is a website for Kindergarten - 12th Grade. There are specific grade level courses for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade and then a lot of practice courses for grades 6 and beyond.  

I think we can all agree that our students need practice typing. You can use this tool on a non-special day, or as extra practice when students get done with their work early. This also allows you to have up to 3 classes, unlimited students, and 30 days of data retention for free. 

Vooks

This is a fun way to bring storybooks alive and it’s free for teachers! Go here to create your free account. 


Here's a cute one on voting and another on Earth.


There's also classics like Dragons Love Tacos and Rosie Revere Engineer.


Microsoft Edge Hidden Features: Annotation + Bonus Features for Math & ELA


I am personally not always a fan of Microsoft products; however, as someone who loves annotation and marking up documents, I was excited to learn that when you open up a PDF on Microsoft Edge, it has built-in annotation you could use without downloading/installing anything. My favorite part? The annotations STAY on the page as you scroll down, which is a rare find, and you can download your notes once you're finished. Click here to see it in action.


How to Annotate on Microsoft Edge

1.) First, open up Microsoft Edge by clicking on the icon on the bottom that looks like this: image.png or you can type in "Edge" in your search bar on the bottom.


2.) Open up a PDF, any PDF you normally would use. If you want to just experiment with this tool, click here for a simple math worksheet I found.


3.) Use any of the tools on the top of the page. 


🌟Extra Hidden Features of Microsoft Edge🌟: For math and ELA teachers (this may benefit history and science, too), Microsoft Edge, for better or worse, has a built-in citation generator and math problem solver. 


These are found by clicking on the three dots on "Edge"-->"More Tools"--> and then you'll see Cite This and Math Solver


Maybe Microsoft is starting to "Edge" out the competition...

Transform your PDFs Using Canva (Add Easy Visual Appeal or Last Minute Tweaks to PDFs)


Have you ever had a PDF file, but felt the need to make changes? Have you tried to do so by uploading it to Google Docs and then it gets distorted and ruins the file's integrity? There are many ways you simply edit PDFs online, but I think using Canva will make it all worthwhile.


Many educators have fallen in love with Canva. It's not just a graphic design tool; it truly is transformative. If you have a PDF you would like to enhance easily, you should check out Canva's latest claim to fame: free Online PDF Editing. It gives you the ability to edit a PDF and make changes as you see fit, just as easily as you would with a simple Word document, but also gives you the ability to enhance it with graphics and other visuals as well. It's stunning and streamlined. 


P.S. Many of you know that you can get all premium paid features for free with Canva as an educator, but in case you haven't signed up, be sure to click here and verify your education account as well.



One Way Out (New Gimkit Game Mode)

For those of you who play Gimkit with your students to review, the company just came out with a new game mode called One Way Out, which is a co-op Player Vs. Environment escape room mode that requires players to work together to get through the evil plants on three levels.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Gimkit is a popular Kahoot-alternative as its gaming modes vary, and while Gimkit isn't new to the 2D educational gaming world, this mode is unique in that it is "Player Vs. Environment" unlike the other games they offer.


FYI: If you want to try Gimkit out with your students, I do have a paid account that I can share with you if you are interested. Gimkit is free but you have additional benefits with the paid.


Docs to Decks on Canva


Most of us make presentations, or what they're lately referred to as "Slide Decks." But have you ever tried to make one in Canva? In my opinion, using Canva makes the best presentations, and you can really unleash more creativity than you would with a Google Slide...however, creativity often takes time. Now, with Docs to Decks, you can capture your ideas and then the presentation will come to follow immediately as a conversion.  


As many of you know, I love Canva, especially since as educators, we get all the premium paid features. There are tons of claims to fame that Canva has, but this one has caught my eye as of late. If you haven't verified yourself as an educator on Canva, click here! 


How To Do It: Simply create a Canva document (like a Google Doc)...start with a template or go bare, and a presentation will appear. It's also good if you want to make a handout that goes along with the presentation. Click "Convert to Presentation" when you're ready to see magic. You can also log into Canva, click on Docs, and then you'll be directed to Docs to Decks.