Help with Digital Classroom Challenge

Please contact me if you need help with the Digital Classroom Challenges. Drop by the BMS Library Tuesday or Thursday during your conference period, or catch me after school at AES on Tuesday, BMS on Wednesday, and HCE on Thursday. 

Science Journal

If you teach science, check out Google's Science Journal. The app is available on Android and IOS. According to their website, "Science Journal transforms your device into a pocket-size science tool that encourages students to explore their world. As they conduct eye-opening experiments, they’ll record observations and make new, exciting discoveries." Even if you have only one device in your classroom, with over 70 built-in experiments, options to enhance current lesson plans, and the flexibility to use the device's built-in sensors or add attachments, the app looks like a game-changer to this ELA teacher-turned-librarian. (If you try the app and like it, please shoot me an email.)

Get the Most Out of Google Classroom Mobile Apps

If you are using Google Classroom on your mobile device, make sure you are getting the most out of the app. Did you know...

• the Android app for Google Classroom has a "student selector" feature that can replace those popsicle sticks with student names?
• you can draw on any attachment turned in to Google Classroom to provide feedback and commentary?
• that Google Classroom has offline data built in so that you can take care of business regardless of location?

Read more here.

Google EDU in 90

You know how you forget awesome tools you've used in the past because you're currently using something new? That's how I felt when I visited the EDU in 90 Youtube channel recently. I'd forgotten how truly helpful their short videos are! The video below highlights the latest for November 2018, but if you explore their playlist, you can find short videos on Google Science Fair, Google Arts & Culture, Chromebook shortcuts, Augmented Reality, and more. 

Innovative PD Opportunity

Birdville ISD is offering 12 Days of Innovation, a free educational conference, starting December 3.  The conference will be housed on Facebook, and include over 1000 educators representing all 50 states and 20 countries. Videos from these amazing presenters will be available until January 9, so if you don't have time in the chaos of the season to participate, sign up now and watch one or all of the videos at your leisure over the next month. 

Use Google Forms for Documentation, URL shorteners, EDU in 90

Using Google Forms for Documentation 

As a former English teacher, I love the blog  Two Writing Teachers. It's chock full of awesome ideas to engage and monitor student writers, and it provides great micro-doses of professional development for writing teachers, too. Last month, one of the posts featured using a Google Form to document writing progress. Wow! Wish I'd had that tool when I was in the English classroom. 

But you don't have to be a writing teacher to see the infinite possibilities in the use of forms to track student progress. The concept introduced in the post is universal.

If you need to keep track of a student's progress, check out this post to see how a simple Google Form can streamline your workflow and make filling out that progress monitoring paperwork a whole lot easier. 

Coaches, need to keep track of workout stats? Let Google Forms do it for you.

 

Need to get everyone on the same page quickly? Use a URL shortener.

Sometimes you don't have the luxury of posting a link to a site on your webpage or in your Google Classroom, but you need everyone in your audience to navigate to that site quickly and easily. Enter the URL shortener. Basically, you copy the link address to the shortener to generate a URL that your audience can easily type into the browser on their device.

A URL shortener will make something like this:
 https://twowritingteachers.org/2017/08/14/ideas-for-getting-started-with-google-forms/

look like this:
http://tinyurl.com/y7lsyeeq

Here are a few shorteners to get you started. If you want to know more, see LifeWire's post to learn about the unique features of each.


goo.gl
bit.ly
ow.ly
tinyurl.com

Stay up-to-date with Google tools with EDU in 90

 

Google recently launched EDU in 90, which will feature bi-weekly 90 second videos to keep teachers up-to-date with new Google tools and offer ideas for using them in the classroom.  Ninety seconds every two weeks to keep on top of things? Sounds awesome! Check out the Edu in 90 channel and click Subscribe.