OneTab Extension to Manage All Your Open Tabs in Chrome or Firefox

If you're anything like me, you always have a handful of tabs open in Google Chrome at any given time.  OneTab is an extension for Google Chrome and Firefox that converts all of your tabs into a list.  When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once.  This is handy if you have to shut down your laptop but don't want to lose the tabs you have open.

With OneTab, you can also export or import your tabs as a list of URLs to share with other people, other computers, or your smartphone or table.

As teachers, you could create a shareable list of hyperlinks you want to provide to students or parents.  To create the shareable list, you would open up all the resources in separate tabs, click the One Tab extension icon in your browser to consolidate them all to one tab, and then share that URL with students or parents.

Here's an example of the list of tabs displayed in the first image above and now shared via a URL by clicking on the "Share as web page" button: https://www.one-tab.com/page/xu1AIGXOQSqcuNZXgmmn2A 

When you share the link with others, it will also provide a QR code to the list:

By having fewer tabs open at once, you will save memory and reduce clutter.

Check out OneTab in the Chrome Web Store.

Digital Citizenship Lessons

As an educator these days, it's imperative that we take some time to teach our students what it means to be a digital citizen.  Thanks to CommonSense, educators can access quality, easy-to-implement digital learning lesson plans and resources.

As @KevinHoneycutt once said, "Our kids are growing up on a digital playground and no one is on recess duty."

CommonSense Education has a FREE curriculum available to teachers that covers things like Internet Safety, Privacy & Security, Cyberbullying & Digital Drama, Creative Credit & Copyright.  Their curriculum is split up as K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

The lessons on CommonSense include clear objectives, a unit assessment and Common Core State Standards alignment.  The detailed lesson plans include an Essential Question, Introduction, Teaching Points and Activities, and a Wrap-up.  Any blackline masters or videos you would need to teach the lesson are also included.

Furthermore, each lesson includes a Family Tip Sheet and a Student Activity Sheet like these, both available in English or in Spanish:

Once you sign in and make a free account, you'll be able to access these high-quality resources (like this lesson on Cyberbullying for 3rd-5th Students) that will make teaching digital citizenship lessons a piece of cake.  

Check out CommonSense Media...your students (and their parents/guardians) will be indebted to you!

Use Flippity to Create Digital Flashcards

Flippity is an awesome, FREE tool that allows you to create flashcard material in Google spreadsheet.  The information is then made available to students through a URL.  Even better, the information from the spreadsheet can not only be turned into flashcards, but also activities such as matching games, a crossword, or BINGO board.

Here are the simple steps for creating a Flippity deck:

1. Open up a Google Sheet and click Add-ons > Get Add-ons...

2. Search for Flippity and add it by clicking on "+ Free".  You may need to give it access to your Google Drive by clicking "Allow" on a pop-up screen.

3. To run Flippity, click Add-ons > Flippity > Pick A Template

4. There are many templates to choose from, so pick the one that best suits your needs by clicking "Use".  In this example I am going to demonstrate Flashcards, but notice all of the other template options too.

Other options:

5. The template includes lots of sample data, so feel free to delete any of the content you will not need and replace it with your own.

6. Once you're finished entering in your own data and customizing the deck, you can get the URL to share it with you students by clicking Add-ons > Flippity > Flippity.net URL

7. A box will pop up with the URL.  In the bottom right corner is an option to have the URL shortened, and I'd encourage you to do that.

8. Students then navigate to that URL in order to through your deck of flash cards.

I encourage you to check out the tab options at the top of the screen to access some additional activities for your vocabulary, such as:

List

Practice (Where they type in the missing information on one side of the card)

Matching (Which is timed and the words/phrases disappear as they are matched)

More (e.g.  a BINGO board, crossword, hangman, or printable quiz)

I can't wait to hear about the ways you use Flippity in your classroom!

Bloomz: An App for Parent Communication

If you're looking for a way to communicate with parents in an easy to use and FREE app, check out Bloomz.  It's designed as a tool to communicate and connect with parents.

As a teacher, you would sign up on Bloomz' website, select your school, and personalize your classroom.  Parents then join your class and start getting updates in real-time.  You can invite parents to your Bloomz class by email or via a class code.

The teacher can share class updates, field trip photos, videos, or reminders for due dates or deadlines.  If desired, there is a behavior management tool that teachers can use to reinforce positive behavior.  All within the app, teachers can coordinate parent-teacher conferences, volunteer requests, and supply donations.  Parents can like or comment on what you share, or you can turn that feature off.

Teachers have the ability to send a message to all parents, or just have a one-on-one conversation between him/herself and a parent.

Moreover, Bloomz Content Translation gives families the option to translate posts, events, announcements, alerts, and comments into over 80 languages.  This features works on any device with an Internet browser.

Lastly, everything on Bloomz is protected by strict security measures, so rest assured everything is private and secured.

Check out this quick overview video to learn more about Bloomz.

If you're interested in joining Bloomz, I encourage you to use the resources on this page such as the  Getting Started - Step by Step Guide or a Parent Letter Template.

Get Moving with GoNoodle

Are you looking for a fun and quick way to get your students or staff moving after sitting for a while?  Check out GoNoodle.  It's a FREE website with hundreds of custom-created videos that get students running, dancing, jumping, stretching and/or practicing moments of mindfulness.

Each video is typically 2-4 minutes long and fall into the follow categories: guided dancing, free movement, stretching, sports and exercise, kinesthetic learning, coordination or calming.

These videos can be used as a brain break or during indoor recess.  Consider even using one of the calming ones as a way to redirect student behavior or stress.

Here are a few examples:

Google Forms Quiz Feature

Google Forms has added a new feature that enables you to easily turn a Google Form into a quiz.  This feature creates a quick and easy way to deliver auto-grading assessments.  Questions can be multiple choice, checkbox, and drop-down questions.  You can also do short answer or paragraph text, but you will need to go back in later and grade those questions yourself (See Grade Individual Responses here).

To create a quiz, you create a Google Form, as usual.  I'd encourage you to mark all of the quiz questions as required so students cannot submit the form without answering all questions.

Once your Google Form is completed, you click on the gear wheel (settings) to switch to Quizzes.

Then adjust any of the quiz settings, as needed.  Click SAVE.

Next you assign a point value to each question and identify the correct answer.

If you want to see a summary of responses, then open the Google Form and click on RESPONSES.

To see individual responses, click INDIVIDUAL.  To see a summary of all the responses, click SUMMARY.

If you are a Flubaroo user, you might be interested in checking out this article that compares the Google Forms quizzes feature with Flubaroo and then deciding for yourself which you prefer.

Google Form quizzes can be used in many ways in the classroom, including as a formative or summative assessment, for peer evaluations, or for surveys and polls.  Take advantage of the Quiz feature to automate grading and then make the most of the data it generates for you.

Use Plickers to Collect Real-Time Data Without Student Devices

If you're looking for a way to collect real-time data from your students but lack student devices, Plickers is a great option.  Plickers stands for "paper clickers".  It's a simple tool that allows for quick checks for understanding.  Plickers use a technology similar to QR codes and it allows the teacher to quickly assess students throughout a lesson.

https://goo.gl/images/zMqW4H 

Teachers assign all the students a Plickers card. Each card has a unique number that can be assigned to individual students.  You can print out the cards for free from this site: https://www.plickers.com/cards  On each card, students have the option of choosing A, B, C or D as their answer choice.  Here's an example of what a student card might look like:

You must also have the FREE Plickers mobile app installed.

Next, teachers need to add classes and students through the Plickers website on the Classes page.  You can have up to 63 students per class.  Then, you add your questions which can be multiple choice or true/false and even include images.

Tap the camera icon to scan students' responses and receive instant feedback:

If you want to display classroom results with students, use the Live View tab on the website.  You can use the Scoresheet to monitor student progress and Question History will show you the latest results.

What a quick and easy way to assess students using just one device.  Better yet, students cannot easily look at another student's answer since no two Plickers cards look alike.  You can't get much more authentic data than that!

If you'd like a little more in-depth tutorial, check out this 30 minute recording: