Ed Tech Blog
On the pages under the drop-down menu on this page you will find archives for blogs written by Bob Frye and by Holyoke High School teachers Mike Cotto and Heather Fuller.
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Happy Holiday Season, Like most of 2020, I suspect this will be a season of firsts and new traditions as well. I hope no matter what, you can ease into a nice extended break! Not sure what to get that educator on your gift list? This is an inexpensive, short and handy reference guide: “Google from A to Z” They’ll thank you all year! Tech tool of the week: Flipgrid is a video response tool allowing students to engage in discussion or presentation virtually. Flipgrid is one of two “outside” platforms integrated into Nearpod (the other is Flocabulary). Flipgrip will also now be installed by the district on K-2 iPads. Students like Flipgrid because it allows them to re-record until they are satisfied. It also has a variety of fun filters and ease of use that mimics the feel of a Snapchat. Teachers create accounts and then establish “groups” (could be class, subject or activity based) and then assign “topics”, or prompts for discussion. Click here for more details. Pedagogy of the week: I previously mentioned the Four C’s that Google bases it’s lesson planning on (Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity). And I also mentioned the Five E’s that make up Nearpods lesson planning ( Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate). Neither of these is implicitly linked to technology. Today’s model is SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) and is the explicit foundation of technology integration in instruction. Almost every tech tool allows students to enter technology at the different levels of the SAMR model. For example, here is an example of how FlipGrid fits into it and here is how Nearpod fits: Flipgrid & the SAMR Model
As always, I am available to walk you through using any of these resources in your class.
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Link to original Hang in there valiant educators! We are almost to Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks! Hopefully an opportunity to rest and recharge before heading into winter! Tech Tool of the week: Flippity is a website that allows you to turn a Google Sheet into two dozen or so useful classroom tools. The site includes: Random name generator, Quiz game, Scavenger hunt, Mad-lib generator, Bingo card, Board game generator, Timeline generator, Crossword / Word search generator, Snowman (hangman) game, Tournament bracket, Certificate maker, Word cloud generator, Leaderboard, Matching game, Click and drag objects, Scavenger hunt and more! Very intuitive and easy to use. Each activity has a demo and very clear step by step directions. Click here for an example of directions for the Random Name Generator. Teacher Resource of the week: cK-12 is a collection of subject resources including online textbooks, simulations, adaptive practice, study Guides, and PLIX (Play, Learn, Interact and eXplore) for math and science concepts. Many of the activities have automatic grading to give you and your students insight into mastery and gaps in specific skills. The resources are both customizable and can be directly assigned through Google Classroom. Student facing resource of the week: Quizizz is an interactive quiz game that can be assigned synchronously or asynchronously to help gamify your curriculum. It can be used as a lesson onto itself, as a fun formative assessment, or suitable for use at the beginning of class as a quick review for previously covered material. There are many premade and customizable quizzes and lessons. Intuitive and easily integrates with Google Classroom. As always, I am available to walk you through using any of these resources in your class. Link to original
Dear keepers of the past and holders of the future, I will keep it brief this week as it was a short week and many of you are busy submitting grades. I have gotten a lot of questions about the differences between Nearpod and Peardeck. Click here for a side by side comparison. They are quite similar; neither is flawless. It is really a matter of personal preference as to which works best for you and your students. If you would like a walk through of either, please reach out and I’d be happy to meet with you. Office hours M-Th 1:30-3:00 Join Zoom Meeting and anytime by email . I am also available for in-person meetings at your school. I hope you can all relax and enjoy this weekend a bit! Link to original Hello essential workers! I hope everyone can find time to relax and take time for themselves! You can't take care of students unless you take care of yourself! Nearpod update: Teachers are experimenting with Nearpod and discovering the benefits and limitations of the platform. I am available to help walk you through the functions and to answer questions. One great source of support I have found is the “Nearpod educators” community on Facebook. There are 35,000 Nearpod users there to share tips, give ideas, and answer questions. There are also communities of Peardeck users, and every subject where many useful ideas are shared. What to do when you run out of space in your free account? You can delete lessons from your library or become a Nearpod certified teacher. You will learn the platform, looks great in your Teacher’s goal, and get a six-month upgrade to your account. Troubleshooting for loading pages and lagging issues: If you or a student is having difficulty loading a particular program or poor computer performance try these two steps: 1. Close any tabs or pages you are currently not using and refresh your browser. 2. Close the browser and shutdown the computer (not just close the top, but power off) and restart. You will have to log back into all applications. Featured Tech of the week: Edulastic is an assessment database to find, create, and assign state standard-based formative and summative assessments. It has a library of already created and editable assessments and the ability to build a variety of different style assessments, multiple-choice, fill in the blank, matching, graphing, ordering, and writing. Many of the assessments are self-correcting, provide great data collection tools for reteaching, and support future planning. Edulastic easily integrates with Google Classroom. Please see the attached handout to walk through setting up an account and getting started. Of course, I am happy to walk anyone through how to use this tool during office hours or another convenient time. For step by step directions, click here. Digital Resource of the week: Google's Applied Digital Skills site. A library of lessons for use with students in all subjects and a whole host of Tech tutorials. They have ready to go lesson plans in all subjects suitable for students from grade three and up. Even if you don't use their lessons, they can offer inspiration for your lessons. While Nearpod extolls the five E's in lesson delivery, Google uses the four C's of digital / 21st Century education. Example of a teacher module: Trying to organize an unruly Google Drive? Try this quick tutorial. Example of a student module: ELA/Writing an “if-then” story. Lesson plan here. Student facing resource of the week: Factile is an online Jeopardy-style game with several play/study options. Another tool to gamify and engage students in your curriculum. Great icebreaker for reviewing previous lessons, check for understanding, home study, or review concepts at the end of a unit. Lots of editable premade games, or build your own. The free version, of course, has limits to the number of custom games you can store. Peace and love to all! |
AuthorRobert Frye is a retired 33 year veteran Of Holyoke Public Schools Archives
April 2021
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