My Spring Break "Project" - QR Code Dice

Leading up to spring break, I was so looking forward to some time off.  I had so many things I needed to work on - conference presentations, applications, cleaning, errands, etc.  I kept telling myself I'd get it done over break.  Soon, my list was a mile long and now that I'm back at work, I only got about half way through it.  Well, maybe only a third of the way through it....  Spring break is always too short!

Work in Progress - Just need the sixth side "Mod Podged" on.

On the last day of school before spring break, I saw a tweet for a blog post called "Roll the Dice on QR Codes" by Krissy Venosdale.  Krissy made QR code dice which linked to six different Google presentation slides.  So with one die, you can change and edit the Google presentation at any time to change up the dice.  The uses for this are endless!  Check out her blog for more information and great ideas.

The examples Krissy listed seemed to be best suited for elementary school students.  But I can imagine using this in my high school science classroom in so many different ways.  I can use it as a unit review and have six different questions or topics for students to review.  The dice can be used to give out articles for students to read and then practice writing arguments with claims and evidence.  My students could use the dice to roll for assignment or project topics, and then get into a group with other students who rolled the same topic.  And the best part, once making the dice, you can use them for all these different activities.  After seeing this blog post, I knew I had another project that I had to get done over spring break!

First, I created six different Google Presentations.  But I didn't want students to see the entire presentation page when they scanned the QR code, I just wanted them to go straight to the presentation in "play" mode.  So I chose to publish the slideshow.

Then I needed to make the QR codes.  I used goo.gl to do this.

I was then able to paste the QR codes into a table on a Word doc.  I printed them out on cardstock, and then used Matte Mod Podge with a foam brush to adhere them to 1.5" wooden blocks.  The Mod Podge works really well to adhere and protect the paper so they can be used for years in the future.

Here's a video I found with instructions on how to use Mod Podge to adhere paper to wood.

I am so excited to use these with my students!  Thanks Krissy for sharing such a great idea!  I am sure there are a ton of creative uses for these QR blocks that I haven't even thought of.  If you have any cool ideas on how to use these with students, please share in the comments.

The BEST Way to Assign and Share Google Documents with Students

The best way to organize, assign, and share google documents with students is using the script gClassFolders.

I have been using google docs with my students for years.  Last January we became a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) school and I began to discover google scripts.  Scripts are magic!

In the past, I had had students create their own documents and share them with me.  I gave them a specific way to name/title the documents, but they didn't always follow my instructions.  And many times they would forget to change the sharing rights and I couldn't view their documents.  And I was so bad at organizing my google drive - their files were everywhere.

That is where the magic of scripts come in.  I can send out documents to students that are already name properly, with the student name, class period, and assignment in the title of the document.  I can control the sharing rights and even "embargo" the assignments, by changing student editing rights so they can't change the document after the due dates.  And I can automatically organize the documents into class or student folders.  I can use google search to find them, or go to a spreadsheet for an assignment and click on the link to each student's document.

To do all of this scripting magic, I use gClassFolders to set up the folders for each class and student.  Then to send out the documents/assignments, I use the hub in gClassFolders to run the Doctopus script.  I can assign individual or group assignments and change the share settings for the entire class at one time.

In the following videos I will share how I export my class rosters from Infinite Campus, run the gClassFolders script to set up my class and student folders, and then run the Doctopus script to send out an assignment.  

How to export class rosters from SUHSD's Infinite Campus and auto type in student email addresses:

How to set up and run gClassFolders:

How to send out documents using Doctopus:

*Note (9/3/13):  It looks like you can now create folders in your gClassFolder Teacher folder and they will show up in Doctopus when choosing folders for templates.  When I created this video, that was not an option.)  

This seems like it is a really complicated process, but you only need to set up gClassFolders once - at the beginning of the year.  If students enter or leave your class, you can update your gClassFolder roster and run the script again.  

From that one original roster, you can then run three other scripts; Doctopus (for sending out documents and running the goobric (rubric) script), Autocrat (a mail merge script), and pageMeister (a script that creates a page for each student on a class website).  

The first time I did this, it took less than a half an hour.  Once you get the hang of this, it will be a snap each time you assign students a google document or presentation.  

Pictures of Documents, Folders, etc. After Using the Scripts:

Sites with more script information:

• My script website (work in progress)
• YouPD
• Jay Atwood's script site

Communicate with Students and Parents Using Remind101

Welcome back to a new school year!  As you are thinking about procedures and resources you will use with your students, you might be thinking of ways that you communicate assignment instructions and/or due dates with your students.  

Remind101 is a online tool that allows teachers (and coaches, admin, advisers  etc.) to send text reminders to students.  It is an easy and safe way to communicate with both your students and parents.

Pros: 

• Students/parents NEVER see your cell phone number
• Teachers never see student's numbers
• Students can subscribe to remind101 and receive texts or emails if they don't have a free texting plan
• It is safe for teachers and students - messages go out to the entire class at once - you can't message individuals  
• Soon you will be able to send messages to groups of at least three students - this will be great to communicate assignments with students who missed class
• You can send links to websites, google forms, images, etc.
• You can embed a feed of your reminders into your website
• You can schedule reminders ahead of time from the web or iOS/Android apps
• The Remind101 developers are friendly, happy to help, and are open to ideas and suggestions.  They respond quickly to comments/questions.
• When students or parents complain that they didn't  know when assignments are due, (even though you write it on the board, post a calendar online, and announce it to the class) you can let them know that you send out reminder texts as well.  Most parents will sign up during parent meetings.

Cons:

• Students can't communicate back if they have a question - but they can email you.
• Some teachers believe that it is too much "handholding" for students to receive these reminders - but I feel that the more open I am with students and parents about assignments, the less I have to deal with unhappy students and parents.

Ideas for Use:

• teachers send out homework assignments and due dates to students and parents
• teachers send links to google forms to collect information from students or parents
• coaches send out practice and game announcements
• advisers/teachers send out meeting locations and times during field trips
• admin sending out all clear notices or announcements to staff during fire/evacuation drills
• librarians send out announcements about library due dates or open/closed hours

Here is a video explanation of how Remind101 works:

Remind101 from remind101 on Vimeo.

Recommendations:

• Put a copy of the PDF instructions on how to sign up on your webpage.
• Have students take out their cell phones and sign up in class.
• At Back to School Night, have parents sign up.

Remind 101 is a great and easy tool to open up communication in your classroom.  They also have a YouTube channel with lots of how to videos if you get stuck.

CUE Rockstar Tahoe: What I Learned on Day 3

Today I got to experience CUE Rockstar from a different perspective.  Kevin Brookhouser invited me to present with him in his Class Polling without Clickers session.  I have been using Socrative this school year in both my biology and AVID classes for quizzes, reviews, and for quick checks for understanding.  I also shared another tool, Infuse Learning, which is similar to Socrative, but allows the students to write/draw answers.  In the two sessions, I got to share what I had learned and done, but I also learned quite a bit from Kevin and the other participants as we discussed ways we would use the tools with our students.

To start the session, Kevin told a story which demonstrated how people can have biases about information and what they know when others share or provide information.  In the classroom, this happens all the time when students are asked questions.  Many times one student raises their hand, and that student provides the correct answer.  Everyone else thinks, "oh, yeah, that's what I thought", when they didn't really know the answer.  Maybe they would have gotten to that answer, but didn't get a chance to process it or really decide on the answer themselves.  

That is where clickers come in.  Clickers allow all students to have their own voice.  But clickers are expensive, and really can only allow students to answer multiple choice or true false answers.  As technology is advancing, and smart phones are getting more affordable, many students now bring smart phones or other mobile devices, like iPods, to class.  These devices can be used as clickers, with the right website or apps.

Poll Everywhere
Kevin shared how he uses Poll Everywhere and Google Forms to poll his students.  Poll Everywhere allows teachers to ask one question at a time.  They can be multiple choice or short answers.  The answers can be shown on the board in real time, and the multiple choice answers are shown in a bar graph.  Students can text or tweet in answers, or they can use an internet browser to respond.  Kevin gave examples of using Poll Everywhere to answer questions as he went over a poem and the concept of paradox.  He also shared how he had used it for students to write sentences using vocabulary words.  All the sentences show up on the screen and students can discuss if they are correct or why they wrote them in that way.  I definitely will use this ideas as my AVID students study their SAT vocabulary or when my biology students practice writing arguments and claims from their readings.  

Google Forms
Next, Kevin showed us a great example of using google forms.  He created a peer grading rubric where students fill out the form for each presenter as they practice their presentations. They provide feedback so their peers can make improvements before their final speech.  I have used a similar form for grading a class project, but I love having the students help their peers by giving suggestions on how they can improve their presentation.  Something that I shared is how I took the info that the students entered in the form, which is really hard to read in the spreadsheet, and I organized it by mail merging the data into a document.  I made a google doc that looked like a written out grading rubric, and then used the Autocrat script take the spreadsheet data and put it in the right spots on the document.  Autocrat then emails out the doc to the students so they get that feedback.

Socrative
Next, I shared Socrative and Infuse Learning.  I have been using Socrative with my class for quick reviews and small quizzes on and off last school year.  I have written a post about it where you can learn how to use it.  Today, when sharing the site/app, I learned something new that I am very excited about. 

When giving students a Short Answer - Single Question Activity, a teacher will ask students some sort of question.  It could be a comparison of mitosis and meiosis, a thesis statement for an essay prompt, or some other higher level question.  Students answers will show up anonymously on the teacher's screen.  This can be projected out to the class.  

After all of the answers are up, the teacher can have the students discuss why they chose their answer and try to persuade the others that their answer is correct.  This would be a great way for students to teach each other the content.   

Then you can choose to have the students vote on the answer again to show what they now believe is the correct answer.  Hopefully you will see more correct answers.  This is what it looks like after they vote.

I think that this will be a great way to have students discuss what they know and it will provide them a way to have a structured academic conversation where higher level thinking will take place.

Infuse Learning
Next, I shared Infuse Learning.  I hadn't used this in class with my students yet - I didn't want to try out too many tech tools at once, and Socrative was working for us.  The big different with Infuse Learning is that students can draw answers.  This would be awesome for math problems, science drawings, imagery in English classes, etc.  We learned that it was tough to draw using a laptop, but those on tablets had an easier time.  

Some comparisons of Socrative and Infuse Learning, is Infuse Learning does not have an app, it is internet based.  On a mobile device, it seemed to work best using the Chrome Browser.  Also, in Socrative, teachers can name their room number, I named my "Hero".  In Infuse Learning, you can't name the room number, and it changes each time you use the website.  That might be confusing for the students.  

On the right are some sample drawings that the participants drew using Infuse Learning.  I think that this will be a great tool in my iPad classroom.

Shared Resources
After we demoed the resources the participants had time to play with the different polling systems.  They were tasked with creating a lesson that used one of the polls.  Then there was a lesson sharing time at the end of the session.  All the teachers had great and creative ideas on how they would use these tools.

During the sessions, we had a lot of great conversations and I learned about some other resources and tools.  

One was Tag Crowd.  Tag crowd creates a wordle type image - but the words are all in straight lines instead of bunched up together.  I think this would be much easier for English Learners or students with reading difficulties to look at.  

I also learned about Canned Response - a Gmail lab where you can create canned response emails.  The example shared was an email to send to students in response to an email they sent you telling you that they are sick. I think that will really help save some time.  

We also talked about Google Voice and how French students recorded conversations that were sent to the teacher's voicemail to listen to later.  This will make the process of recording themselves much easier, because it automatically gets sent.  If using other apps, students must save it, then cut/paste and email the link to the teacher. 

Thank You
The last three days have been a gold mine of resources, tools, and conversations with great educators to add to my PLN.  I have learned so much and have made many good connections with people who are so willing to share and support other educators.  

All of the presenters went above and beyond.  During the morning breakfast time and lunch they always shared what they knew.  They had mini sessions at lunch to get educators on twitter, shared how to take good mobile device photos, how to create google forms, or gave a minecraft introduction.  And they had spent the time to prep and prepare for amazing sessions.  Thank you so much for a great three days.  I will definitely be back next year and hope to convince others at my school site to attend with me.  (I tried unsuccessfully this year.)

And thank you so much Kevin for inviting me to present with you.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot today from you and the participants in the two sessions.

I am sad CUE Rockstar is over, but I have something to look forward to for next summer! If you are reading this, make sure you sign up for CUE Rockstar Tahoe next year.  :)

Using ThingLink to Organize Student Projects

This year, when my AVID students researched different colleges, I didn't want to have to sit through 30 boring powerpoint presentations.  I have done this project for years with my students, and honestly, it is not fun listening to the same presentations over and over again.  I decided to have my students create videos instead.

We used iMovie on the iPad and students created trailers.  The trailers are only about one minute long, so they wouldn't be able to fit all of the required information in the movie.  So I had students use ThingLink to be a home for their video and then they could also use the tags to add the extra information.

To begin with the project, I had students fill out a google form with their top college choices.  I then created an instruction document that also would be their document that they took their notes on.  I sent it out to all my students using the google script, autocrat.  This allowed me to personalize each document with the college name they were assigned, student names, etc.  It also named and shared the document with me so I didn't have to worry about the students forgetting to do so.  

Students took collaborative notes in a Google doc, planned out and created their iMovie, uploaded it to YouTube, and then made their ThingLink.  Creating a ThingLink on an iPad is not ideal, many times it would get a little buggy.  But it was possible to do using the Chrome browser, with a little frustration of having to shut down the iPad and logging back in to ThingLink.  

In the last few days, ThingLink just released an iOS app.  It looks like it will have great potential for an iPad classroom.   As of right now, you can only add videos and text to your image.  You can't add URL links, pictures, etc.  Hopefully that change will be made soon.  But the current version of the app works really well on the iPads, it is very easy to find a picture and add text or a video.  

I think that this is a great tool to curate information and to be a "home page" for student multimedia projects.  Instead of having to give the teacher multiple links to different parts of a project, they can all be embedded on the ThingLink.

Using Scrible to Teach Common Core Reading, Researching, Collaborating, and Publishing

The Common Core Standards have been approved by 47 of the 50 United States.  Here in California, many schools have piloted programs incorporating the new CCSS, while others are still learning about how the new standards will impact their teaching practices.  I personally still have a lot to learn about the Common Core State Standards, but I am excited to be able to help prepare my biology students to be better scientific writers and to be able to understand and decipher arguments, claims and evidence from scientific papers, labs, and writings.  Scientific literacy has always been a strong interest of mine, and the CCSS strongly supports incorporating this in my classroom.

Today I was able to attend Connect U, North Bay CUE's annual conference.  I learned a lot about google spreadsheets, vlookups and pivot tables (which I am so excited about, thanks to Alice Keeler!), but also was introduced to my new favorite web tool, scrible.com.  

Scrible.com is a free site which allows students to annotate web resources, write notes, analyze what they read, get citations, collaborate with others, and then write and publish their work.  I have included some of the 9th and 10th grade reading and writing standards at the bottom of this blog post.  These standards need to be taught not just in English, but history and science courses as well. I believe that Scrible can be used as a tool to facilitate meeting these standards in each subject area.  

Here is a sample of a webpage I annotated using Scrible.com.  (Click on the link to see what the entire document looks like, this pic below is just a small portion.)

Annotations using Scrible.com.  These can be shared with others,
and multiple people can edit or annotate the document.

While Scrible doesn't find articles for students, or teach them how to find and analyze the important information or arguments within them, Scrible provides the tools necessary for students to annotate, summarize, and work with the text.  Scrible is an amazing tool because it makes the whole process of reading, researching, and writing easier.  All the annotations and notes that the students take are saved in the cloud, can be shared with others, and then incorporated into the final report/writing.  Scrible is a powerful tool that all students should be using in all of their classes to meet Common Core Standards.

Bibliography created using webpages annotated and saved in your Scrible library.

Students can write reports using notes they took, quotes they highlighted,
and add the bibliography info to the bottom of the document.

I wish that I would have had this tool when I was in college (and high school!).  I hated having all those note cards, figuring out how to format a bibliography, and carrying everything around.  Scrible.com is one of the best tech tools I have seen to help students become college ready.  Today I sent a note out to all of my AVID Class of 2012 grads who are finishing their first year of college, and many have signed up for Scrible.

Scrible can be used on any computer as well as on the iPad using the Safari Browser.  (Not all Scrible features are available on the iPad and I found it a little challenging to use on the device.  Scrible will be working on updates and a native app for the iPad in the future.)

Here is a video which shows how to sign up for Scrible and how to use it.   Right now, Scrible is in beta form, but the developers are very responsive to questions and feedback.  Try it out!  I am sure you and your students will love it!   Use this link to sign up for your free account & a storage upgrade:  Scrible.



Click here for a tour of Scrible.  Click here for a demo where you can play around with it before you sign up.  (But you will love it and sign up anyways!)



CCSS:  English Language Arts Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.5 Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.6 Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.9 Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Reviewing for a Unit Exam using Socrative

My biology students have a unit exam tomorrow.  All the biology teachers at my school give students a common exam, so even though multiple choice tests are not my favorite way of assessing student learning, it is what I have to do.  Multiple choice tests don't always test for higher order thinking, but to prepare for the exam, I had my students engage in meaningful discussions about practice multiple choice questions this past Friday.

I took 10 multiple choice questions that were similar to the exam questions and put them in a Socrative student paced exam.  Students used one iPad per group of four and they answered the questions together.  But instead of just answering the questions, they had to discuss (and write down on notes paper) the question, the answer they chose, and the reason they chose it.  I also had them write down the three other "wrong" choices and they had to discuss and write out explanations on why they were the wrong answers.  

As I walked from group to group, students were recalling skills they learned, explaining concepts to students who didn't understand the material or question clearly, and really engaging in the material.  I didn't allow them to use any notes, so they had to rely on each other.  It was great to hear them debate the answers and back up their thoughts with evidence from the labs and activities we did during the unit.  And then they were able to see the correct answer and check if there thoughts were correct.  I think this activity was the best part of the assessment that they will take tomorrow in class.  I was able to hear meaningful conversations, see where students still had misconceptions, clear up confusion and help guide the students in what they still needed to review.  

This is one of my favorite reviews I have done in the last ten years and I will try it again for my next and last unit of the year.

*Want instructions on how to use Socrative, visit my previous blog post.

Socrative Clickers

Have you ever noticed that the same students always raise their hands, while others are hiding behind their backpacks or books?  Do you want to find out what each student knows and understands?  Do you want to know if they are getting it?  But you don't have your own class set of expensive clickers?  There is a free website called Socrative that allows you to poll and quiz students using any internet enabled device.  

The first thing you need to do is set up an account.  It's quick and easy.  I do recommend going to the account settings and change your room number to something easy to remember,  such as your last name.

Then, you are ready to have students complete Single Question Activities.  In these, you do not need to write up questions or answers.  You will have a question in your powerpoint or just read it aloud to your students.  They will then touch the correct answer choice on their device, and you will have a pie graph of student answers.

If you want to type in questions so students read the questions and answers on their devices, you would need to create a quiz first in manage quizzes, then type them up.  Then you would choose a Quiz Based Activity.  The results will be emailed to you or saved directly to your computer.

Socrative is quick and easy to use.  There are teacher and student iOS apps, or you can just use the mobile version, or even the regular internet version on your computer.  I have just learned about infuselearning.com.  It is similar to socrative, but allows students to draw as well.  I haven't tried it in the classroom, but hope to soon.

Here is a Socrative intro/how to video:

Update:  See my post about using socrative as an exam review.