I don't know about you but I get sick and tired of receiving tons and tons of emails every day. I get confused about which thread I'm on and, let's be honest, I don't need twenty different email chains about piddly things. I've started using Google Hangouts with my team and I really love it. I don't hear my email ding a hundred times a day, I can have separate chats depending on if I only want to talk to Middle School or High School, just a few people, or our entire group. If someone has a quick question, it's quickly answered and we don't have to receive emails. If you're busy, just mute the chat and you don't have to hear notifications. Unmute it whenever you're ready. I have a few of mine muted all of the time and I check them when I have time throughout the day. If you use Gmail through your work, you can search via your email for any topic you've discussed previously in the hangout. I love that you can video chat about certain things, hold online meetings, etc. (up to 15 people) and even record PD sessions through Hangouts On Air and broadcast them on Youtube. You can make the broadcast watchable for as long as you want, even after you've aired. We have Google Hangouts turned off in our district for students, but the benefits of using it are really great! Invite all of the members of a group and the teacher to a hangout and discuss project information right there!
Such a great tool for PLCs, departments, organizations, etc. Check it out!
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A test will only tell us so much about a student's understanding. Anyone can memorize basic facts so how do we know how much our students are retaining and understanding? We have to get creative with how we're getting feedback. Here are a few ways to get a better understanding of what your students are grasping. RecapRecap is a video response tool that allows students to verbally respond to a topic or question. The teacher can post a question or record themselves asking a question. Then, students create a short video response. Recap will then take all of the responses and put them into a Daily Review Reel for the teacher to view and give feedback. This is great for evaluating student understanding. Recap has made it easy for the teacher to see in just a few short moments how well the student can explain their answer and thinking. Students can use a computer, an iPad or tablet, or their phones. PadletPadlet is an oldie but goodie in my mind. I love that it's so easy for students to use. They don't have to create an account and it's a simple click & type. All you have to do is create an account as a teacher and click on "Make a Padlet". It walks you through the steps and you can even customize the URL. This can be used for any subject in a variety of ways. Students can reflect on a unit they're studying, answer questions, give feedback, have discussions, etc. You can change the layout from freeform to grid to stream depending on how you want to view the responses. Below is a student example that some of my World History teachers did with their students. I've even used this when teaching professional development to do introductions, goals, and get feedback. AvatarsAvatar programs like Voki and Tellagami are great for student feedback. Even Apps like Sock Puppets and Yakit Kids can be the creative answer to get your students engaged while providing you with feedback that will allow you to gauge the level of student understanding! Let your students create an animated recording of their voice / podcast explaining a math problem, analyzing a poem, answering questions, etc!
....Not like the Xanga blogging experience of your High School days, but blogging in the sense of student creation for the purpose of active engagement, learning, and global communication. Students can create a website or blog about a particular topic and then add information to it. This lets the student have a purpose and reason for doing the assignment other than just getting a grade. They're getting the opportunity to share their ideas with the world. They're feeling a purpose behind the assignment. They're engaged. Here are several ways you can incorperate blogging into your classroom. MathJournaling and blogging in Math is becoming more and more popular. Students are learning through explaining concepts and thinking outside the box. They can blog about vocabulary words - write what the term means and any prior knowledge they have. They can incorperate videos that explain what the term is and/or websites that offer tutorials or help on the term. They can also blog about how they're solving particular problems and how they worked through the different steps. They can include memes and gifs to make it fun and interesting. The possibilities are endless. ELAThere are so many ways that a blog or website would be a great tool for students to use in the ELA classroom. Students can create blogs that compare different works. They can keep a creative writing blog and see their progress from the beginning of the year to the end. Students can create blogs or websites instead of doing a traditional book review. They could also create a blog or website that simply analyzes or explains a speech, poem, etc. Foreign LanguageStudents can create blogs about cities or countries they're visiting. They can write in Spanish and create a professional looking website/blog instead of doing a poster or powerpoint. For Spanish classes that will take an AP test at the end of the year, Science & Social StudiesScience and Social studies could do this as well with a scientist or historical figure. They can make different tabs for various things about the person. Blog or create a website to explain cells or battled during the Civil War. Blogging or creating a website can really be used for any project in any subject. What they would put in a powerpoint have them put on Weebly, Blogspot, Google Sites, etc. Let your students get creative and think outside of the box in a new and exciting way. |
AuthorDigital Learning Coach & technology lover. Constantly looking for innovative ways to engage students and facilitate 21st century learning. Archives
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