SMART Board as an Instructional Tool

This week I am going to take a break from assessment tools and share some SMART Board resources with you.  The SMART Board can be a great instructional tool but sometimes we can get in a SMART Board "rut" and not know what else we can do with it.  My hope is with the following resources you will give you some ideas to jump-start your SMART Board use this year.

Below I have listed some links to videos featuring some of my favorite tools in SMART Notebook.  I also created a list of my top 11 sites to find free interactive SMART Board resources.

Topics:

·         Interactivity

o   Lesson Activity Toolkit

o   Lesson Activity Toolkit and Tools

o   Lesson Activity Builder

·         Video and Audio

o   Link to audio

o   Embed Youtube

·         Customizing and Using Lessons

·         Finding Lessons online-Top 11 sites for finding resources

Please leave a comment with any other great instructional ideas or resources I can add to the list.  Also, let me know if I can support you in any way with your use of the SMART Board in your classroom.

Assessment Tools Part 3-Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere-Poll Everywhere is a great tool to engage your students and gather feedback from them using their cell phones.  As a teacher you create the questions which can be anonymous or you can purchase the very reasonable teacher edition which will allow you to set up classes and automatically grade responses.  There is also a free version that will allow you to get started using this great tool.  Below you will find some helpful links to get started setting up your first polls.

• Making cell phones and Poll Everywhere work in your classroom
• Mobile Presenter Tools 
• Word Clouds in Poll Everywhere
• Voting on Images
• New Poll Everywhere questions 

This tool is very easy to set up and get started using in your classroom.  If you have used this tool before please leave a comment on how you have used it.  Also, if you want support getting started please invite me into your classroom.

Assessment Tools Part 1-Google Forms

My next few tech tips will be focused on the topic of assessment tools.  Correcting and analyzing assessment data can be very time consuming.  Over the few weeks I am going to share a few technology tools that will help save you time and seamlessly organize your data for you.  I will give some highlights of each tool, but please contact me if you want to learn more about any of the tools.

Google Forms:

Our district uses Microsoft 365, but Google forms (free) is still a tool from Google that I use regularly.  This summer they have added many new features, but one of the most significant is the video question option.  I like Google forms due to its simplicity, ability to self-correct, and data organization.  

Check out this great link which shows how Google forms can be used to create self-grading quizzes.  This would be a great alternative to scantron cards and it is much easier to analyze the results.  Google also provides a video question option along with a way to insert images into questions as well.  The forms are easily printable using the printer friendly format for those who can’t complete them online.  

Application:

Google forms collect multiple choice, rating scales, essays, and short answer questions.  Depending on the question type it will also organize the data and put it in a graph for you to easily analyze.

This would be a great tool to use when you are creating and analyzing data from your common formative assessments or summative assessments.  You can even collaborate with others to create a form and analyze the results.  Please contact me if you are interested in trying this tool in your classroom.

Top Tech Tip #4 - 3 iPad Apps to Assess Reading Fluency and Track Comprehension

This weeks top tip is on 3 iPad Apps to Assess Reading Fluency and Track Comprehension.  In the original post I shared 3 apps that would track fluency and comprehension. These apps are useful, but I wanted to add some alternatives for those teachers who do not have access to an iPad.  One alternative is using Evernote.  I shared some links below on how other teachers are using Evernote to track fluency and comprehension notes on students.

• Penultimate-iPad App
• Using Evernote to Record and Track Fluency
• 2nd Grader Explaining how she uses Evernote to record fluency

I hope these are helpful and I would love to help you get started using Evernote in your classroom next year.

4 Free Online Storage Options

The end of the year brings excitement for the summer and reflection on all the learning that has happened over the course of the year.  You also spend lots of time going through and organizing the files and resources you have created/collected over the course of the year.  Many of us do this with our paper files, but sometimes forget to backup and purge our digital files.  

The tech tip this week is going to focus on 4 free file storage options to backup and organize files that are accessible anywhere using your computer, cellphone, or tablet.  I have listed the 4 options I would recommend and some tips to help you organize your files.

How many files can I store?

Obtained from - http://thessdreview.com/hardware/kingston-datatraveler-32gb-ultimate-3-0-flash-drive-quick-review/

This tool is a Microsoft product and a great way to store files.  You get 7GB of free storage.  

Google Drive allows you to save up to 5GB for free.

Dropbox provides you with 2GB of free storage and allows you to earn more if you refer others.

I have never used uploading it, but it provides you with 10GB of free file storage.

Flash drives are another very reasonable option to back up your files.  They are relatively cheap (under $10 for a 16GB) and are even less expensive to buy in the fall during back to school time.

File Organization Tips:

• If you haven’t used it for a few years delete it

• I would back up my files regularly, but for sure once a year
• I personally have Dropbox linked between my computer and cell phone and use that strictly to back up all the pictures I take.  It also makes it easy to access photos from my phone on my computer.
• Lose the folders-If you come up with a naming pattern for your files to make them easily searchable you can get rid of your folders. 
• Ex- Reading_unit 1_three blind mice  - I can now search by subject, unit, or story without having to sort through a bunch of folders
• Please share any other techniques you use to organize your digital files