EdTech Teachers has created an awesome set of video tutorials for Google Drive folders. They included topics like creating a folder and moving a folder. They also included advanced topics like storing a Google Drive folder in two locations.
Google Expeditions – Field Trips from the Comfort of your Classroom
Google Expeditions allows you to take your class on a Virtual Fieldtrip. Tour the Aztec and Mayan Ruins, the International Space Station, or Gettysburg National Military park. You can do all of this with your classroom iPads. When using Expeditions, you become the leader on your iPad and students join you on the tour with their iPads. Edtech teacher has created and quick video to show you how this works. Start by downloading the app on your iPad. After that, you will be ready to take your students on a virtual Field Trip!
Google Arts and Culture
Now you can virtually explore many museums from several countries around the world via Google Arts and Culture. You or your students can take advantage of this awesome resource via a browser or with their free iPad app. The zoom views and virtual tours allow you to experience many of the world’s greatest treasures and landmarks. This resource is a perfect thing to try if you are looking to amplify one of your lessons with a real view related to your curriculum. Thanks to Google Arts and Culture I was just able to escape my snowy morning and “travel” to Italy and experience a 360 view of the Floating Piers installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude (see screenshot above).
Thanks to Kate Moran for sharing this awesome link with us! If you have any interesting new resources please share them with us.
Formative Assessment Apps
Formative assessment is assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning. It is a way to check for understanding along the way and guide teacher decisions about future instruction. It allows teachers to differentiate instruction and ideally occurs on a daily basis. This can feel overwhelming due to the competing interest of covering material. But, reflecting and checking for understanding is an important part of learning. It helps students get a better sense of how they are doing and teachers know what needs review and what doesn’t. Formative assessment apps can help with the time aspect. They are easy to implement, ensure that all students are heard from, and organize the results into quick to understand bar graphs, pie charts, or excel spreadsheets allowing teachers to easily see if the class is ready to move on. Tony Vincent has put together an excellent blog post called “Know Students Better: 16 Tools for Formative Assessment” where he details the ins and outs of 16 different formative assessment apps. Many of the apps are the same but some offer short answer, others offer premade exit tickets, fast past quizzes, or drawing features. I encourage you to read through the brief descriptions of each app and choose 1 or 2 to try out and work into your repertoire of formative assessment strategies. Do you use one of these apps regularly? Which one is your favorite?
Deleting pre-installed Apps
Did you know that you can delete some of the pre-loaded Apple apps on the iPhone or iPad? If there are some on your device that you never use and would like to get rid of follow these steps:
How to delete a pre-installed Apple app:
• Open a folder or locate an Apple app you want to delete
• Push down lightly on the app icon until it starts to dance.
• Tap the small x icon that appears on the top left.
• Tap Remove.
The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons
Digital copyright awareness is an important responsibility that often gets overlooked or can be easily misunderstood. The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons is an excellent explanation of the many layers of responsible use and has many resources for teachers and students to use when working with or creating online content.
In addition to the educator’s guide, Fran and Linda also recommend the links below:
Cyberbee interactive copyright Q and A (Flash version) (non-Flash version)
Be Copyright Cool Google Slides presentation by Brisbane Catholic Education
We encourage you to check this information out, since understanding digital copyright is an essential skill for students. Also, remember that we have excellent in house resources about this topic, so be sure to be in touch with Fran and Linda in the Library if you have more questions or need help.
Quick Tips For Removing Distractions
iPad or iPhone – Use the do not disturb feature. This will silence notifications on your device so you can work distraction free.
Laptop – Close all apps. Turn off all notifications. Only use one app at time.
Extra Challenge – To give yourself larger blocks of time to focus. Check email only 2 or 3 times a day.
What works for you? Let us know in the comments.
Tips for Handling Distraction at Home and at School
Let’s be honest, devices can be distracting for everyone, not just students. Who among us hasn’t had trouble ignoring the buzz in your pocket during a conversation or a task that needs your focus. The problem is that focus when learning is critical. Contrary to popular belief research has shown that it is not possible to multitask while learning new information.
So how do we deal with distractions in the classroom when students have devices. Common Sense Media has a great web page with lots of resources for teachers, students, and parents.
Have you mastered distractions in your classroom. What techniques work well for you. Do you see something on this website that you want to try? Share them in the comments section.
SeeSaw in the Upper School
Learn | Try | Amplify Week 6:
Last week you heard from the Lower and Middle School about the benefits of using SeeSaw with students. This week we are sharing how SeeSaw is being used as an extension to some Upper School Math classrooms at Pike (4.5 minutes, see video above or click here to watch). You won’t want to miss hearing Becky Miller’s 7th Grade Math students talking about what they like about using SeeSaw, and the video also features Nicole DeRosa’s teacher perspective. If you would like help getting started with SeeSaw in the new year, please let the tech department know.
For some more SeeSaw Activity ideas for Grades 6 – 8 click here.
*Big thanks for your help 7th Graders, Nicole and Becky!
Tech Tip of the Week – Spark Supplies and Projects
Curious about what supplies are in Spark? Or want some ideas for projects? Jennifer Zacharis has created a great document “Makerspace Supplies and Potential Projects” with all the details.