I feel that I am not the only teacher to say this, but I LOVE Post-it notes. There is something about writing my to-do lists on a note, and crossing it off once I finish a task! However, as my district moves more towards a paperless school and our students having 1:1 iPads, it is important that the teachers implement this in their classrooms. I want to encourage my students to be more comfortable with not using paper, so this means I need to be comfortable not using it as well. There is a perfect app for taking notes, creating to-do lists, or even creating a voice memo! It is my own tech version of Post-it notes! The app is called Google Keep. (Click on the link to get started!)
This a short tutorial to introduce you to the different types of notes you can create.
Not only is this a great tool for myself, but of course for my students! I have not had my students use this app yet, but I look forward to introducing it to my new students in the fall. I have done my research, and started using it myself. One of the great features is color coding your notes. I think this would be perfect to have a certain color for each subject. This will help my students stay organized, but it also makes their notes more exciting to look at. I plan on using this app for my students to stay organized with their homework. They can create to-do lists, and check off the task once they are finished. This will be a great tool to use in the fall, and I can't wait to keep you updated on how my students and I use it!
I'm always looking for new ways to cut down time on grading. As a 6th grade teacher teaching all subjects, grading takes time. I don't mind spending time at home grading in the evenings or on the weekends, but sometimes in class I need feedback QUICK! Especially when I am giving students a formative assessment, I need to know what students need more instructional time and practice. Using Google Forms is the perfect trick!
Step 1: Create your Google Form.
When you get to your Google Drive, click new. Google Forms will be under "more".
There are many different types of questions you can put on a Google Form. You can use multiple choice, true/false, matching, etc. Add as many questions as you like!
Here is an example of my own Google Form for a math formative assessment.
Step 2: Create a spreadsheet of responses
First, you must take your own assessment. You will need to do this step because your answers will take place as the answer key.
You will see on the top of your Google Form a place that says "responses". Click on that!
At that point you will need to click on the the green spreadsheet button. This spreadsheet will collect all of the students' responses.
The spreadsheet will look similar to this image.
Step 3: Get Flubaroo!
This add-on was brand new to me, but it was so easy to figure out! First you will click add-ons on the top of your response sheet. After, you will see the add-on flubaroo and click the green button. You will need to have your response and a few student responses to start.
Once you have Flubaroo, you will click add-ons then Flubaroo. You will see "grade assignment." Depending on what type of assessment you had, there will be different ways to grade the assignment, but it is simple to figure out!
This video helped introduce me to the wonderful tools of Google Forms and Flubaroo.
These tools are perfect to help you quickly see how your students are doing with concepts and assessments.
There are so many other reasons to use Google Forms however. I have used Google Forms for a survey, for a classroom sign-up, and a quick exit-ticket! The possibilities are endless.
Also, it is simple to post or embed to a website or blog. Here is an example of an app-request form I had my students fill out when they were wanting to download a new app. I had it posted on my Google Site, and it worked great for me to see different apps they thought would be beneficial to their learning!
As a 6th grader teacher, research projects are an important part of our curriculum. Helping my students find the right sources for the research can be a difficult task, but Google has a perfect solution. Anyone with a Google account can create their own custom search engine. This a perfect tool for teachers, so you know what sources your students are looking at. Also, it's a great tool to lead them to the right information. The best part is that it's very simple to do!
My 6th graders create a research paper and presentation about biomes during our ecosystem unit. We have great discussions on reliable sources, and where they should be getting their information. This helps my students take a step in the right direction without directly giving them the sight.
Here is a great tutorial that gives a step-by-step guide of creating a Google custom search engine.
Here is an example of my own biome search engine. I used several student friendly sites, and narrowed down the searches to .edu sites. I'm excited to see my students use it for their research projects!
E-mail is simply the best. Within seconds, anyone can type up a message and it will be received and read on a computer, smart phone, or tablet! E-mail has changed the way teachers communicate with faculty, parents, and their students. Email communication is so easy, and Gmail makes it even better! At my own school, the faculty uses Outlook, but every opportunity I have, I will use Gmail. I am lucky to have 1:1 iPads in my school, so Gmail is readily available to all of my students. There are many different ways I use Gmail in my classroom.
Ways I use Gmail in the classroom:
Sending out our homework planner daily
Newsletters to parents
Classroom reminders to students and parents
Students will communicate with one another through Gmail
The first step is to make an account if you don't have one! Click here to set-up your very first Gmail account! Your life will be forever changed.
One of my favorite things about Gmail is how easily it allows you to stay organized. On a typical day, between my work e-mail and personal account, I received 100+ e-mails a day. Important e-mails can easily get lost in the shuffle of all of the spam e-mails. I like to prevent important e-mails from getting lost, so I flag e-mails in different ways to help me organize my clutter filled inbox. Just like cleaning off my desk, organizing my e-mails makes me feel so much better! Below is a tutorial that will help you learn ways to flag e-mails. Also, Gmail allows you to organize your incoming e-mails into categories such as social, promotions, and primary.
Here is an image of all the different flagging features you can use in Gmail!
Another feature I enjoy is the chat option. It makes communicating easier especially when you know there will be shorter messages to a recipient. Here is a step by step tutorial of how to start chatting with a contact of yours.
Lastly, another feature of G-mail that I use daily is creating a contact group. This makes sending e-mails to parents, all students, and small groups easy. Rather than typing in every name, you can just create a group and type in the group name when you compose an e-mail. Here is a step-by-step guide of how to create a contact group.
1. In the upper left hand corner - go to contacts.
2. Once you are in contacts, click new group and give it a name. This will be on the left hand side of the page.
3. You will then want to add people to your contact group. The button will be on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Once you type in the contact name, you will have your first person in the contact group. You can add as many people as you want into the contact group!
Here is another webpage that has many tips and hacks for using Gmail!
I'm excited to be writing my first post on my blog. I'm a frequent blog reader to help educate me on new things to use in my classroom, so I'm excited to be on the other side and creating one!
I am an avid google chrome user. I enjoy having everything in one spot, and google chrome does that for you! If you don't know a whole lot about Google Chrome here is a video to introduce you to some great tips.
There are many advantages of using Google Chrome rather than another browser. As a teacher, my whole life is on chrome, and I can access it anywhere. I have my calendar, lesson plans, and drive all in one spot. No matter where I'm at, I can access my life. If you haven't tried Google Chrome, try it out!
Here is a screen shot of some of my favorite apps to use from Google Chrome that I keep all on my home screen.
