October 2023 - Instructional Technology Newsletter

A Basket Full of EdTech Tricks

When it comes to EdTech, there's a lot out there. Here are a few tricks you can use to make your lessons spooky good.

Interactive Learning Platform: Utilize interactive learning platforms and Learning Management Systems (LMS). At MSD of Boone Township, we have access to Google Classroom, which allows for a multitude of ways to help make learning interactive. Classroom allows you to post assignments, quizzes, and resources, making it easier for students to access and submit work. Classroom also enables communication and collaboration among students and provides a centralized hub for class materials.

Flipped Classroom Techniques: Flip your classroom by creating video lessons or multimedia content that students can review before class. This allows for more interactive and engaging in-class activities, discussions, and problem-solving. Tools like Edpuzzle, Screencast-O-Matic, or even YouTube can help you create and share educational videos.

Gamification: Incorporate elements of gamification to make learning more fun and engaging. Platforms like Kahoot, Quizlet, and Classcraft allow you to create quizzes, flashcards, and game-based activities. Gamification can motivate students, foster competition, and enhance their understanding of the material.

Adaptive Learning Software: Integrate adaptive learning software like Khan Academy, Duolingo, or DreamBox into your teaching. These platforms personalize the learning experience for each student by adjusting content based on their progress and areas of need. This helps students work at their own pace and receive targeted support.

Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR): Explore AR and VR tools to create immersive learning experiences. Platforms like Google Expeditions, Nearpod, or Oculus VR can transport students to virtual environments, historical settings, or scientific simulations. These technologies can make complex subjects more accessible and memorable.

Remember that the key to successful EdTech integration is proper training and support for both teachers and students. Start with one or two tools that align with your teaching objectives, and gradually incorporate more as you become more comfortable with them. Also, be mindful of students' access to technology to ensure equity in education.

A Basket Full of EdTech Treats

Teachers can benefit from a wide range of EdTech tools to enhance their teaching and engage students more effectively. Here are five EdTech treats to try in your classroom:

Google Workspace for Education: There's a lot more to Google than Classroom. Google Workspace offers a suite of free productivity tools like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.

Kahoot!: Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that allows teachers to create and share interactive quizzes and surveys. It's an engaging way to review and reinforce classroom content, and it offers a fun and competitive element that students often enjoy.

Edpuzzle: Edpuzzle allows teachers to make any video their lesson. They can crop, add voiceovers, and embed questions within videos to track student understanding. It's a great tool for flipping the classroom or creating interactive video lessons.

Nearpod: Nearpod is an interactive presentation platform that enables teachers to create engaging lessons with embedded quizzes, polls, and other interactive elements. Teachers can use it to monitor and enhance student participation and understanding during presentations.

Seesaw: Seesaw is an excellent tool for younger students and for remote learning. It's a digital portfolio platform where students can showcase their work, and teachers can provide feedback and assessment. It's a powerful way to involve parents in their children's learning as well.

Remember, the effectiveness of these tools depends on the specific needs and preferences of both you the teachers and your students. It's essential to choose EdTech solutions that align with the curriculum and your students' short and long term needs.

September 2023 - Instructional Technology Newsletter

Recent Updates to Google Classroom

Over the last few months there have been several updates to Google Classroom; some obvious, some not. 

Practice Sets allow teachers to create sets of questions using artificial intelligence (AI). Teachers can either search for questions by topic, type their own questions, or import their own questions.  But the real power behind Practice Sets is AI. The AI can identify appropriate remedial resources that the students can access if they do not answer the questions correctly. Thus connecting students to the right resources at the right time. In addition, it uses the questions that you ask to determine suggestions for the appropriate skills sets to associate with that question. Presently, teachers can ask short answer, paragraph, single select, and multi select questions; with the ability to auto score short answer, single select, and multi select questions. For more on practice sets, check the official Google blog.

There is also a new feature that allows you to attach YouTube videos to your Google Classroom assignments and add questions at various points throughout the video. The new YouTube feature is in its infancy and currently works a lot like a basic version of Edpuzzle, for those of you who are familiar with that tool. I have been using this new feature a bit lately and one thing about it that I really liked was that the videos I used were saved as a separate activity that I could then add to other assignments later. 

Google has also added Grading Periods and Visiting Google Classrooms features that you can read more about by clicking on the respective links.

Massive Archive of Google Resources

Here is an online spreadsheet of all sorts of Google resources. If you'd like to make a copy of this spreadsheet, click here.

Congratulations Are In Order

This spring we had 4 teachers pass the Google For Education - Level 2 exam and earn their Level 2 certification. Congratulations to Brandy Parks, Veronica Siwy, Kristy Stephens, and Melissa Summerville. All four of these MSD of Boone Township teachers have upped their ed tech game. As a bonus, they each received a $250.00 stipend and 15 Professional Growth Points to use toward renewing their teaching license. In order to earn the Google for Education Level 2 certificate, each of these teachers also had to take and pass the Google for Education Level 1 exam before completing the Level 2 test. Speaking of Google certifications, the Google for Education - Level 1 and Google for Education - Level 2 self-paced classes are available again this fall. Email me and I will send you the invite link to join. The test can be taken at no cost with the use of a voucher and there is a $250.00 stipend awarded to teachers who successfully earn the Level 2 certification.

Other Professional Growth Opportunities for MSD Of Boone Township Teachers

I would also like to invite those of you who are interested in exploring The Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) to complete the online training this fall. In the spring, if there are enough teachers who are interested in using some of the strategies in MCP, I would like to put together a pilot program where we can use the strategies and discuss ways to implement them successfully.

Using the Share to Classroom Chrome Extension

Part 1: Sharing a typical website.

Part 2: Sharing a document in Google Drive.

***If you are at all familiar with Google Drive and Google Classroom, you know that using the Share to Classroom extension to share a document from your google drive is not the most efficient way to do that. In fact, to use the Share to Classroom extension to do that is not just more complicated than using Classroom, it's much more complicated. So no, I'm not posting a tutorial on how to do that.