Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark is a website that allows you and high school students (13yo min age on the siteNot true anymore!) to create posters, flyers, websites or videos. They can be printed, but they're digital so of use for webpages, emails, and online family communication tools. This product has the ability to narrate your videos so it becomes like screencasting--perfect for asking students to put their own content into slideshow projects (think prezi, powerpoint, or Google Slides). This webpage also allows people to create webpages as beautiful as Weebly but WAY easier. When you or your students are ready to move beyond Smore as a delivery for such "newsletter" looking content, you could use Spark to create an online presentation or project. Or yes, this could be your teacher webpage! But wait there's more! Remember when the only cool graphics were from really technical people who knew how to use Adobe Photoshop? Not anymore, because Spark also guides you into creating killer image-text pairings that are Instragram worthy!

Here's their page selling examples of their product's uses to educators. Please look over the examples found there, and sign yourself up via Google. Adobe Spark is free! If they try to pitch you the $100/yr subscription, you don't need it... might be something to think of for people who adopt this webpage and use it a lot--I'm thinking of teachers who run clubs or sports teams, or small business owners, or teachers who want their students to use it for projects. Spark is only 2 years old and is already widely used at colleges. It would be an appropriate product to encourage high schoolers to use for projects.

To get credit for this course, I'd like you to create a post, page, or video. Take some extra time to make something of use to you in Sept. Maybe it's a digital poster that will help remind families of parent night as you send it through your Remind, Seesaw, or Bloomz, or maybe it's a video show of your family and summer you want to share with your class. You could make Spark Posts as classroom signs to hang around the room! In my how-to videos you will see me make a family flyer for a special event, a book club page for use by both my students and their families, and a discussion video for that book club.

After you spend some time thinking over what to create, think of what media you will need. Sparks comes with a library of high quality images, but if you're going to make a video/slide show or want actual classroom photos on your signs, you are going to need to get that media first. Some of you might want to go take videos or pictures and download them in a way you can access them again (hint: never just download things you care about to your "download" folder on your computer). Using custom media isn't required... feel free to use their stock images.

So now you've looked over the Sparks examples on the educators page, thought about what to make, and collected any special photos you want. Here's my intro video on posts and pages. Here's the 2nd video on pages and videos. After watching both of my videos, if you need more help let me know because I kept it short and this is by far the most robust product I've focused on during the summer online classes! Be brave!

You may share your creation with me through the sharing aspect of Sparks or via email: linsem@victorschools.org.

Titlewave: Classroom Library Help is Here

I'm a librarian, so I've been living on Titlewave for more than 10 years now. I've tried their competitor products at Permabound, Children's Press, etc. but Titlewave is by far the best (also the biggest). Follett is to libraries what Amazon is to the public, and as I was making a book list for Claire and Julie about books I'd rec for classroom libraries, I thought... teachers should know about this too.
So... the webpage isn't all that complex. It's a place librarians shop for books, and yes publishers pay to have their books featured in the Titlewave "featured" area but that doesn't mean those books aren't good. Same way we all use Scholastic because it's the behemoth that caters to classrooms but it doesn't mean their books are bad. Titlewave will help you with the Scholastic blinders, and it will help you find books by series, academics, level, referral, AND show you the reviews that librarians rely on when ordering--by fellow librarians. This website lets you look for books and gather them into a "list" and share that list with other Titlewave users if needed. You can build a list and share it with your dept or co-teacher, but they'd need a titlewave account to get it, it's not a webpage in and of itself. That's it, really, nothing fancy, just a good non-Amazon, non-Scholastic place to shop for books...so watch this video!

Symbaloo

Symbaloo is a webpage that allows you to gather many website links into one grid, turning them not into blue text links like this but little picture icons. Symbaloo lets you have many pages of these gathered links in a tabbing system which makes it great for people who want kids to use links in sets based on units, seasons, or times of year. For instance, last year I used symbaloo for staff development, 2nd grade insect work, and the Olympics. The link above takes you to my Olympic symbaloo, and you can see it also allows you to group the links in color zones if you need to further separate them on a page (mine are blue, red, green, and grey: look behind the little pictures to the background color of the square). It's very easy to just drag the icons around and rearrange them, but once you've gathered them where you want, then you drag over them to group them into a color set.

Symbaloo is something that could be duplicated on a doc. For instance, you could open up a Google doc, add a picture, and set a hyperlink to that picture. You could do that over and over, resizing the pictures to a uniform look. Then you would share the doc with the students via a gmail group. It is also something that could be duplicated on a webpage like weebly or a google site. This capability isn't unique. It's just one answer to the age old question : how to get kids to tech options in a consistent way. It's a poor man's webpage that simply says "here are some tabs full of resources I offer as choices." I've also seen it offered in a more unique way with older students who are comfortable moving between chrome tabs: you can set the icons as numbers, allowing kids to move through multiple webpages in order, building on knowledge in a sequence you select.

One final way symbaloo is powerful is that it can be searched based on the Gallery. So if you want to know what other 2nd grade teachers teaching insects have used as webpages... searching Symbaloo gives you the curation that Google lacks.

Symbaloo calls each tab of gathered resources a webmix. In my experience, a teacher should create a webmix for those times you want kids to go to many options on repeated occasions. For instance, I might make a webmix for the big research unit on colonial history I have to teach every year, or I might make a webmix of math game pages since I want the class to have tech time focused on math every Wednesday. Making a webmix of 3 apple websites for one lesson in which the teacher will be showing the webpages isn't a good use of Symbaloo.

To start this workshop and make it somewhat useful, please reflect on something in your teaching that fits the examples I gave. When you offer students independent time (or homework) on the computers... when you have many options (at least 5) of places you want them to explore... when you want them to have this independence with many options over a long period where offering this product isn't a one-off... what is that to you? A page of spelling games? A page of fake news links? A page of biology departments at leading universities? Perhaps you already have these links posted to a webpage, doc, or playlist--that's fine. You can use a pre-selected set and see if you like the way they present in Symbaloo better.

How to Use Symbaloo

Classlink 101

Welcome to the district's new homepage. 

Setup Video 1 (first login, apps, edit mode, files)

Setup Video 2 (details, adding your own app, getting credit)
Get your password book and go to this address: classlink.victorschools.org 

Screencasting

Screencasting is an essential skill for any digitally-minded teacher. It supports:
instruction to families on classroom tech,
flipped classrooms,
independent tech centers,
absent students, and
remedial students who need repetition.

I am going to show you 3 screencasting tools in this class
Loom (simplest)
Soapbox (slickest)
Screencastify (most generous)


In order to receive credit, your coursework for this class is to choose one of the above and screencast a 30 sec or more video of a webpage and post it to the comments below. You should login to blogger to do this so I know who you are, or you can say "This is Michele Linse" in the text of the comment as you paste your link because otherwise you come up as "unknown". Choose a website you have used with students in the past year and already know i.e. IXL or class dojo. If you want to take extra time and care to create a screencast of something you actually want to share with families or students in September, please do!

Screencasting is about SHOWING people not just what is cool, but HOW it works with your voice narrating the mouse movements. All three of these screen recorders have the option to put your face on screen (or not). For beginning of the year videos to parents and flipped classrooms where you are delivering primary instruction outside of class I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you suck it up and put your face on screen. It adds that much more of a personal touch.

Here are some real-life examples of the power of screencasting. Screencasting is how you'll show your students' families how to use schooltool. It's how you'll show your students how to attach a doc to their Gclassroom assignments when they email you the 50th time asking how to do it. It's how you'll show your peers how you filled in your teacher award payroll voucher on wincapweb. It's how you'll show your Dad how to use Facebook when he lives in Florida and keeps posting messages to Aunt Mimi on his wall. I USE IT EVERY SINGLE WEEK OF MY LIFE and I can't imagine living without it. I send out toss off screencasts for the most basic of lessons because the time it would take me to type out directions is more than it takes me to click an icon, record myself doing it, and then share the link. You will never go back to writing directions on how to access something again.

Please take the time to watch other people's screencasts because you will see other ideas of how to teach with them as well as learn all these cool webpages people are using. Third Grade teacher Kristin Amato used Loom for her Remind workshop and you can see she kept a traditional approach with a slide show to help guide her thoughts. Math Coach Holly Knox used Soapbox for her FlipGrid workshop and you can see she used the software's flexibility to give a basic intro speech a little more pizzazz. I will use Screencastify for this workshop (and all my other workshops this summer) and you can see I do it because I want the videos in my own drive and not have to go to another website for them.

Let's Get to It! Watch this first and choose your poison. You will click on the icon you install, sign in, and record yourself using a website while talking about it (face optional). You can be super casual about this as your audience is the class, but it is in the public domain. Then post the link to the (at least 30 sec long) video in the comments below WITH your name or after you've logged into blogger.

KidLit Book Club SECOND AUGUST SESSION

Happy Summer!
Welcome to KidLit Book Club SECOND AUGUST SESSION!
You are going to choose what to read. Please select texts of approx. 100 pages. For instance, you may read 4 picture books, 2 early chapter books, or a longer novel. They should be things that are new-to-you. You may read them in any format--audio, ebook, or print.

Here on the blog, please post what you've chosen to read so that others in the course can see and share. Please login to blogger so your comments are labeled or put "This is Michele" in the text of your book announcements and reviews bc otherwise you will be listed as "unknown". You are encouraged to read the blog comments and add your own to anyone else's... that's the "club" part of the course. However, peer comments, aside from your summary, are not required.

When you finish, post your review. It should include at least 3 sentences with these points:
a one sentence gist that mentions the main character and main plot thrust,
a one sentence opinion as a reader-perhaps a favorite part,
and a one sentence opinion as a teacher-perhaps with a comment about teach points or the type of reader you'd rec the book to.

If you read 4 picture books, yes you do this for every book.
If you read 2 short early-reader chapter books, you'll submit 2 reviews.

Ex Book Report: Little Red Riding Hood by Perrault. A little girl encounters a trickster wolf in a historical fairy tale. I really enjoyed the way the suspense builds, but was surprised by the abrupt ending with the odd way the wolf dies. I would not choose to read this out loud but would recommend it to kids who want edgier, spookier reads (that really aren't all that bad).

FlipGrid

This course is being run by Holly Knox: knoxh@victorschools.org.
Please watch these videos to explore FlipGrid!
Start Here!
FlipGrid2
FlipGrid3
FlipGrid4
FlipGrid5
LastFlipGrid

Drive

Love, Hate, and the Tangled Web of Drive

Course Outline: 

How to upload files from Gmail and Local drives

How to make folders 

How to search 

Sharing permissions 

Team Drive

Watch Michele's Tour of Drive

Point of this workshop: Spend the next hour putting things into folders or uploading local files that you want to share or reuse in the future. DO NOT bother trying to clear out stuff in drive you don't need anymore. That's futile. Keep things you want to reuse organized in folders by year or topic, bring things stored on multiple devices together for better access, and let the mess rest. 

How to Get Credit: Send Michele 2 screenshots: 1 of you ADVANCE searching Drive and 1 of your top page of drive showing the existence of at least one folder. See examples below. 

                              

Smore

Smore is a template-based digital newsletter. It is extremely easy to use and is now a preferred method of sharing workshops, events, bibliographies, and reports. The Hive is where collections of smores are kept available for duplication.

This video introduces you to the product.
This video shows you how to use it.
If you want way better quality instruction than what I gave in my screencast, smore has an official youtube channel with instruction videos.

In order to get credit for this course, you will need create and share a smore. There are several ways to share, included in the 2nd video. I don't mind which way you get it to me.

I recommend you use this time to create a functional smore. Unlike the Classroom or Forms workshops, this would be a great time to either create a welcome smore explaining your procedures and philosophies to families, or a wrap-up smore sharing final thoughts, memories, or summer recommendations. Maybe you want to make a smore for a neighborhood picnic or one to send to family remembering your April vacation. This product has a free limit, so you may as well make one of your freebies count! To own this product would be $79 a year.

Tips for GMail and Forms

In this course you will make a Form (which is a Google Survey) and discover 3 key ways you can use it in your classroom: student to student data/opinion collection, family data collection, and quick assessments. 

Then there are 4 things I'd like to show you about GMail:

Labeling (Folders)

Searching

Themes (Backgrounds)

Groups

Please Watch this movie for GMail

and this movie for Forms 

In order to get credit for this course, you will need to send me:

a link to the Form you create or an email invitation to take it, 

        *which should have at least 2 questions with different types of responses           (Ex short answer and multiple choice)

        *and an embedded picture. 

You will also need to send me 2 screenshots in Gmail: 

        *one in contacts where you've made a group, 

        *and one where you display an advanced search. 

NONE of these 3 things (form, group, or search) need to be practical--as in ready for a real audience or use. This is an introductory course meant to move you through the product in guided practice. 

 

Feel free to share a comment below of how you see yourself trying a Form in your teaching next year! 

Google Classroom For Beginners

Welcome to our online class.
Google Classroom is a place where you can easily post digital content for your students AND gather work or responses from them about it. If you've ever interfaced with a blog (like the one you're on for this course), you are familiar with the basic layout. Classroom is like a private blog where your students' digital work is compiled, creating a record for you and them (and their parents if you wish) of the work you do together. No more "lost" work. No more scattered links. And it's EASY!

There are several videos linked below. I recommend you watch then go do each in turn. (Watch one, do one. Watch #2, do #2.) These do not have to be done on the same day!

The first is setup and posting.
The 2nd is inviting students.
The 3rd is connecting content: drive, youtube, links.
The 4th is final details of student use.
A Clarification of Students Returning Work

In order to get credit, you need to:

1. Join my fake class and mark the assignment complete (invitation will be in your email).
2. create a class
3. create a post of any type
4. add content to that post (a link or a doc)
5. invite me: linsem@victorschools.org
6. I will then comment on your post
7. and finally you will respond to my comment in your classroom

I recommend the classroom you set up for this course be a throw-away. Name it something generic like "Online Beginner Course" and create bogus, short entries. If you want to continue to experiment with google classroom, I am happy to be your guinea pig. If you wish, continue to use me throughout the course to test how it looks when you ask me to take a form, share a doc of my own, or other such activities.

However, while you're going through your paces exploring this technology, you should absolutely be thinking of how you ask your students to use the internet. Reflect on what you did last year, how you collected student work, and if this product would be useful or even enhance what you did. If you think you want to begin building a classroom you might actually want to use, go for it!

Feel free to share ideas or questions in the comments here or privately in email to me.

UPDATE! So it's the day after I posted the videos about Classroom, and Dave just shared Google's update. Notably, you will be able separate out assignments and discussion posts. It still looks murky to me on whether or not the hated chronological order in the stream will be undone (some of the features in this post they have NOT rolled out yet, just announced). Another big change is they've made it easier to reuse a class by having more powerful people control and resetting the class intro code. Creating quizzes within Classroom doesn't seem that big of a change... and might end up separating things if I've already got a body of quizzes made in Forms. This type of thing is something you need to accept if you plan on living in Classroom... Google changes their interface a LOT and more than that, they both add and remove capabilities often. Being a fluid user of buttons and just figuring things out is a life skill, right?!?!

Professional Reading Book Club

This book club is meant to be a way for you to earn credit for sharing your professional reading.

*Journal articles, blogs, and newspapers will not count*

This workshop is meant for books. However, the format you read them in: print, ebook, or audiobook, is up to you.

I'll be reading Wiggins' The Best Class You Never Taught: How Spider Web Discussion Can Turn Students into Learning Leaders.

After attending Leah Mermelstein's visit in June, she suggested this book if you want to pursue the kinds of thinking she spoke about at the K-5 units of writing course.

Please share the book and author you'll be reading in the comments below. You first have to login to Blogger, or your comment will be posted as anonymous and then you can always say "This is Michele" in your text. When you finish, leave a small book review of at least 3 sentences: The gist of the book's purpose, the best take away, and a universal quote from the text you think others might enjoy. No credit will be given for responses made after July 25. 

If you wanted to share more, such as amazing resources the book contained, the thing that annoyed you or left you in disagreement, or other random opinions, go for it! 

Book clubs are public discussions, so please do comment on other people's reviews. While not required, conversations and questions about other books are encouraged. If someone else posts a book that looks interesting, feel free to read the same title. 

Children's and YA Literature Book Club

Happy Summer!
Welcome to KidLit Book Club.
You are going to choose what to read. Please select texts of approx. 100 pages. For instance, you may read 4 picture books, 2 early chapter books, or a longer novel. They should be things that are new-to-you. You may read them in any format--audio, ebook, or print.

Here on the blog, please post what you've chosen to read so that others in the course can see and share. Please login to blogger so your comments are labeled or put "This is Michele" in the text of your book announcements and reviews. You are encouraged to read the blog comments and add your own to anyone else's... that's the "club" part of the course. However, peer comments, aside from your summary, are not required.

When you finish, post your review. It should include:
a one sentence gist that mentions the main character and main plot thrust,
a one sentence opinion as a reader-perhaps a favorite part,
and a one sentence opinion as a teacher-perhaps with a comment about teach points or the type of reader you'd rec the book to.

If you read 4 picture books, yes you do this for every book.
If you read 2 short early-reader chapter books, you'll submit 2 reviews.

Ex Book Report: Little Red Riding Hood by Perrault. A little girl encounters a trickster wolf in a historical fairy tale. I really enjoyed the way the suspense builds, but was surprised by the abrupt ending with the odd way the wolf dies. I would not choose to read this out loud but would recommend it to kids who want edgier, spookier reads (that really aren't all that bad).

My Real Book Report:
Making Mistakes on Purpose was absolutely hilarious and bizarre in the tradition of classic British madcap adventures. The lighthouse-boarding-school houses the unflappable Ms. Rapscott, her 2 assistant corgis, and 5 female charges, each of which has an arc. They often cross paths with their compatriots in the boys school on the mountain as they journey To the Top through many other funny community characters. Because of this intense cast, I find this book best as a read aloud for grades 3-5. The characters are 9, but the amount of peril and independence they face makes them feel more like 12. The book has a slow start and I wasn't a fan of the slow writing at the end, but OH! the adventure in between... It's a LITERAL take on metaphors so would be great to reinforce them, and the characterization of each different strong-willed girl was superb. What keeps me from rec'ing this book as a Must Read is the length... it's super long. Took me days to read and I'm like lightning. However, it's full of life lessons like how to make friends, recover from hurt feelings, and take matters into your own hands... it has gobs of discussion material great for the fall.