Google Slides Stop Motion Animation Story Telling
New Badges, By you
There are 3 new badges on the badge page as a result of recommendations from wonderful teachers like you! Check them out and apply for the ones you have used. The badge competition is heating up. Stay tuned for an update on that.
Wizer.Me
Here is a new tool for creating digital assignments. It is similar to Class kick or TeacherMade. Now you have another option to create interactive assignments for your students to complete on their Chromebooks. In the first two minutes you will learn what Wizer.me does. Keep watching for a more in depth look at how to create activities with the platform.
Tally Marks Math for Littles
Here is an activity that asks students to count the number of items on a slide then to make tally marks for that number on the white board. This is designed for younger students. The first couple slides guide them through it then it becomes progressively more difficult as the activity proceeds. This activity was made in Google Slides. It is best when presented on a SMART board but will work fine on a plain old white board as well if you aren’t that lucky. There are 13 slides and 10 individual tallying activities.
5th Math Ninja in the Middle
Here is a very engaging math activity that will have students compare three numbers in a greater than less than 3 way template. The three numbers are pitted against each other in a Ninjutsu battle. There are 20 battles to work through that increase in difficulty as you proceed. This is designed to be completed on a SMART board but you could just as easily do this as a teacher led group activity, or even with a whiteboard marker and eraser.
Time Crisis Challenge
Time Crisis Challenge is by far the absolute best activity ever made for students to practice their skills at calculating elapsed time. This activity is also cross curricular as it uses significant events from history and science. This activity is in Google Slides and should be a class led activity on the front screen or even better on the SMART board. There is also an accompanying student handout if you would like students to record their own individual answers.
Digital Urban Game
Urban Game SMART Activity Board
Here is a Digital interactive SMART board version of the Urban Game. The Urban game is one of the most engaging and impactful activities you can do with your students. This SMART version kicks it up a notch with a drag and drop map board that you or your students can use to grow your town into a bustling city.
TCEA 2022 Recap
I had a great time learning about new technology tools and strategies at the 2022 Texas Computer Educators Association Conference. Here is a very fast paced highlight video of the top 52 things I learned. I will develop these ideas further in later videos. Please let me know which topics you want to learn more about first.
Spectrum Elite Digital Sign Board Guide
Launch the Signboard software with this icon on your desktop.
Or Start>Spectrum>Spectrumelite
Use these buttons to add or remove content from a slide
Add new slides (frames) as you need them.
Adjust the transitions and amount of time the slide stays on from the menu on the right.
When you have all of your slides prepared you can click the send button so push them out to the Marquee.
Adjust your schedule. Then hit send again. Everything should have been configured at installation to go to the Marquee. If you get any communication errors please put in a help desk ticket with IT to have the connection reconfigured.
Chrome Browser Launch Tabs
Here is a very useful Quick Tip that will teach you how to set up your Chrome Browser to open up a specific set of tabs when you launch it. This is a convenient way for you or your students to quickly access websites you use all day.
Digital Spelling Test
Here are a couple ideas on how to administer a digital spelling test.
Example 1 is with a Google Form and a YouTube video recording of the word list. This is the free option.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKp_Os7SZyfYOLHoadQqZGx0A6SyicyqgD3oTxeyJU0CU1mg/viewform
Example 2 is made in Teachermade.com I expected to be able to insert a recording of each word at each number on the answer document but that requires a paid pro account. It is possible with a the paid pro account.
https://app.teachermade.com/begin/b9ea1725-91d8-4429-9ae3-9194af1a0ecb
Texas State Parks Bonham
Here is the second activity in my new Texas State Parks Activity Series. This activity is in Google Slides and can be assigned in Google Classroom. There are 15 questions on this activity that cover both math and map reading skills. This is a local State Park to us, only about an hour to the North. This is someplace your students might have visited or that they could potentially visit. I think that really increases the relevance and cool factor of this activity.
TPWD Lake Ray Roberts
I am going to start a new series of activities based on Texas State Parks. Here is the first one of those. This activity is a math and map skills activity that was created in Google Forms to be assigned in Google Classroom. There are 10 questions and one bonus question on this activity. Questions include multiple choice, multi select, and numeric response question types.
Lindale Candy Company
Not too far from us is Lindale Texas which is not only home to Santa land but also the Lindale Candy Company who are apparently famous for their delicious peppermint candies. Here is a Google Form activity that examines this Texas Highways article by Steven Lindsey. The activity asks students 10 check for understanding short answer questions as they progress through the article.
Nimbus Screenshot
Nimbus is my current go to screen shot tool for Chrome. My favorite feature of this tool is the ability to scroll down and capture more than just the visible area on the screen. This helps capture long visuals that extend beyond the screen that I might need for explanations.
Socrative
https://www.socrative.com/k-12/
Engage students to assess their comprehension with on the fly quick questions or formal quizzes through Socratic. Check for understanding by blasting out multiple choice, T/F or Short answer questions. Get instant feedback about student knowledge to differentiate lessons for maximum effectiveness. You can have up to 5 quizzes on a free account. Pro accounts for unlimited quizzes are $90 a year. We have plenty of other free quiz alternatives though. I think this tool would be most useful for the quick individual activity questions and exit tickets.
ZipGrade
The bread and butter of Zipgrade is camera scanning multiple choice answer sheets. You can download and use their 20, 50, or 100 question “scantrons” (or create your own) and have them instantly graded by the app on your phone.
It does scan rapidly one after the other on the same screen.
The app gives you item analysis for each question. You can grade 100 papers per month for free. Unlimited grading access is only $7 a year.
Timeline Tools
It’s time to take your timeline to the next level with these amazing tools.
Tiki-Toki
Examine this Tiki-toki timeline and take a trip down my memory lane. Witness all of the times that Mr. Brown moved while growing up until he landed here in North Texas. This timeline was simple to make and include images. It takes all of the information you input and forms it into an interactive timeline.
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/1784624/Mr.Brown/
Knightlab Timeline
https://timeline.knightlab.com/
TimelineJS is an open-source tool that enables anyone to build visually rich, interactive timelines. Beginners can create a timeline using nothing more than a Google spreadsheet.
To make my timeline example I started with the green Make a timeline button pictured above.
https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/using-spreadsheets.html Well I never got this to work….. Let me know if you do. Maybe it was down today.