Google Slides, Mystery Science, #AppSmash, and EdPuzzle - Wk 24

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 24 (February 18 – February 22, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                Why did Johnny throw the clock out of the window?

                                                    Because he wanted to see time fly.

             

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here.
Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here: melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Wednesday, March 27 – Edulastic @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30
       Wednesday, May 15 – Chrome Add-ons & Extensions @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30

Closed Captions in a new way. Just the other day I was on the Riverview campus when I learned something. The CC feature in Google Slides works on every student computer while the teacher is presenting. A few of the children clicked the Present button during my presentation and my words appeared live on their screens (every word I spoke during the lesson). I had only thought of using it from the front of the room. But, this can be a gamechanger. For students who need multiple learning reinforcements to grab contextual information, this could be super helpful. For your students who are hearing impaired, this is an effective learning tool. And, for your EL students who could benefit from language support, this is also helpful.

Image Credits: Britannica Online Learning and Google Slides.

Click the Captions button in Google Slides (when you are in presentation mode) to start. Then watch as your words appear on the screen. Make sure the microphone is on, otherwise this feature will not work.

Mystery Science. If you do not already have a license for Mystery Science, they are giving away free licenses right now. Just head over to Mystery Science and you will be prompted to start your free membership.

Image credits here.

All PDF’s are ready-to-go for you. You don’t have to make any adjustments. If you want to tech-out your material, you can. Here are a few ways you can #AppSmash Mystery Science.

EdPuzzle. Looking for instructional video content to flip your classroom? Try EdPuzzle.  It’s free. Here’s a teaching video to introduce you to this tool. LINK HERE.

If you asked your students to watch a video, how can you know they watched it and how can you know if they understood the content in the video? EdPuzzle makes that happen. Embedded comprehension questions evaluate if the children understood the content or not. All that data comes to the teacher in the dashboard area of this tool. So, the next time you think about flipping your classroom, see if EdPuzzle is the right tool for you.

Image credits: EdPuzzle teacher dashboard

Or, this can be a professional development flip. Administrators, that means you. Need your staff to watch something on their own time? Want to make sure they watched it? And understood it? Use EdPuzzle as a flipped management/PD tool.

Stay curious,

Melissa Culver

Digital Citizenship, CAASP, Flipgrid, Lucidchart, and #AppSmash - Wk23

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 23 (February 11 – February 15, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                What do you call a ghost’s true love?

His ghoul-friend.

                                                         

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Wednesday, March 27 – Edulastic @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30
 

Digital Citizenship Material. The CUSD website now has all the digital citizenship material on it. The fastest way to locate that is to use the search box at the top. It will show up near the top of your search query. Wahooo!!!!

Image credits: CUSD website (link above).

Image credits: CUSD website (link above).

Practice CAASP. Would you like to take your students into a practice version of the state test?  If so, use THIS LINK.

Image credit: CAASP website (link above).

Lucidchart. Free tools all over the place!! Lucidchart is a mind mapping tool. What is that? It’s a visual model of one key idea broken into little parts. Some theorists simply say that each box should be one word. I don’t lean that direction. I’m all for one-to-several sentences in each box (or one word, or phrases). It’s a graphic organizer of sorts in digital form. Students can upload their final project to Adobe Spark and add audio content to make it a “video” project as well. Curious how it works? Check out my latest video on YouTube.

VIDEO LINK HERE

Flipgrid Fever. Did you miss out on the Flipgrid PD? Are you still curious how it works? Email me and I can send that PD link to you. You can have my Google Slide presentation. Still slightly curious? Here’s the teaching video I use in my lesson. Check it out.

VIDEO HERE

#AppSmash. What does it mean to app smash something? It is the process of using more than one piece of technology at one time. For example, in one lesson I have children use green screen technology (DoInk), and I use Wonderopolis, and I use Google Slides. The use of all three of these items together at one time constitutes an #AppSmash.

How do you #AppSmash? Email me and let me know. I’ll give you credit. I can share out with other teachers how to use tech in awesome ways.

DoInk is an inexpensive app that lets you add your students to video or images. It can spark creativity or add excitement to your room. The Twitter feed for DoInk has a ton of ideas. I blogged about it last year. Search the internet or the blog for more information.

Image credits: Google Classroom, Google Slides, and Wonderopolis.

Stay curious,
Melissa Culver

PD, Twitter Awesome & Gamified Learning Principles - Wk 22

CN Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 22 (February 4 – February 8, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                         Why did the pony get detention?
                                                        Because he was horsing around.

                                                         

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here.
Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here: melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Wednesday, February 13 – Google Forms and Sheets @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30
       Wednesday, March 27 – Edulastic @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30

Twitter. Remember when I talked about getting on Twitter? I was serious. Three minutes each week. It will blow your mind. Awesome stuff. Not just tech stuff. Check out these tweets:

Image credit and original tweet: link here.

Image credit and original tweet: link here.

Gamification and Learning. So, what are your thoughts about games and learning? Good? Bad? Helpful? Well, if you have not studied this topic, consider watching this video and get introduced to James Paul Gee. Google his name to see his research about gamification and learning. It might just change your mind.

Screen capture from this Edutopia. Link here.

Video LINK HERE.

Naturally, the next question is how would you grade using a tool like this? How might creative thinking revolutionize the frameworks we use in education?

Screen capture from Edutopia. Site here.

Video link HERE.

Here, Gee talks about Thirteen Principles on Gaming:

Video LINK HERE.

Keep being awesome,
Melissa Culver

Password History, Google Meet, 3D Printer & Tinkercad Video - Wk 21

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 21 (January 28 – February 1, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?
The food is terrific, but there's no atmosphere.                         

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here.
Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here:melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Tuesday, February 5 – 50 Fabulous Apps @ CUSD Technology Training Building from 4:30 – 6:30pm
       Wednesday, February 13 – Google Forms and Sheets @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30pm
       Thursday, February 21 – Digital Citizenship Parent Night [PENDING] - TBD

Password History. If it has not taken place yet, it will soon. At the elementary level, children will no longer be able to use an old password when they are prompted to reset their passwords. They will be forced to come up with a new one. For most of your students, this will affect them next year. They will not be able to use the password from “last year.” The purpose behind this is to protect their information.

Collaborative Interface. Have you ever thought about doing a PLC with another grade level on another campus? What if another second-grade class figured out the solution to the problem you’ve been talking about for months? Hop online. Go to the website of another school. Find a name on that list. Email that teacher and say, “Can we connect via Google Meet during your next PLC?” I bet you all PLC on the same day at the same time. LINK HERE.

If you start the meeting, click on “+ Start a new meeting.” 

Image credits: Screen capture of Google Meet.

Share the video conference details with your people via email. Your new friends can connect via computer or phone.

Image credits: Screen capture of Google Meet.

It doesn’t have to be revolutionary, out-of-the box ideas. You can simply share practical housekeeping bits that remix a few things. Sometimes changing up the furniture (figuratively speaking) can impact the whole environment.

You don’t have time to drive 10,000 miles like this guy did. And you won’t drive across the country. You don’t have to interview hundreds of teachers. But, there is something profound, dynamic, and powerful when you see what other people are doing at their schools. Freeing. Visionary. Helpful.  VIDEO LINK HERE.

Are you still nervous? Email me I’ll put you on my calendar. I can show you how to do this.

Tinkercad Intro. One of our school sites just got a 3D printer. So, I designed this video to get that GATE program started. You do not have to have a 3D printer to start teaching your students about 3D design software. Interested? Head over here to the video and see what it is all about. There’s plenty of teaching content in there. You do not have to figure it out all on your own. Give kids time, resources, and space, and they will figure it out.

Keep being awesome,
Melissa Culver

Unforgettable Teaching Moments - Wk 20

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 20 (January 21 – January 25, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                         What sound do porcupines make when they hug?

    Ouch!

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here.
Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here: melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Tuesday, February 5 – 50 Fabulous Apps @ CUSD Technology Training Building from 4:30 – 6:30pm
       Wednesday, February 13 – Google Forms and Sheets @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30
       Thursday, February 21 – Digital Citizenship Parent Night [PENDING] - TBD

Unforgettable Teaching Moment. One person made a difference in a life-changing way. Totally transformed the life of one child. Simple. Profound. You will not regret watching the whole thing. Trust me. Goalcast video here. YouTube link here.

Image credits: Screen capture from YouTube link above.

You scrolled down looking for more, didn’t you? That video up there is so awesome that I couldn’t put anything else in this post. Watch it.

Got a lump in my throat just like you,
Melissa Culver