Google Sites Security, Chromebook Shortcuts and Keyboard Customizations, TEKS Resource System STAAR Stems

Important Security for your Google Site

As you create or revise your Google Site, please keep in mind that Sites' default allows file uploads and comments on new pages. To keep your Site secure, please disable those features.

Chromebook Shortcuts and Keyboard Customizations

A great big thank you to Mr. David Brown for demonstrating the ultimate Chromebook shortcut resource at New Teacher Orientation. Click CTRL+ ALT+? to open a keyboard overlay that displays all the keyboard shortcuts. 

Hold down the CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, or SEARCH keys to see each key's shortcuts. (The SEARCH key is between the SHIFT key and the TAB key)

Click on the three dots in the upper corner of your Chrome toolbar, click SETTINGS, and scroll down to customize your track pad and your keyboard. For example, you can allow your track pad to respond to a tap rather than a click. That saves stress on your hands. If you're missing the CAPS LOCK key, you can turn the SEARCH key into a CAPS LOCK in keyboard setting. (However, that disables shortcuts that require the SEARCH key.)

TEKS Resource System Offers a Game-Changer for STAAR Prep

TEKS Resource System can be overwhelming because there are so many hyperlinks to follow. If you are new to TRS, the documents to access first are as follows:

1. Year at a Glance: What am I teaching?

2. Vertical Alignment: Where do my TEKS fall in relation to the grade above/below it? 

The interface is great because it displays only the TEKS for the grade above and the grade below, although you can click left or right to access other grades.

....drum roll, please! Here's the game changer!

3. Under Resources click on a topic to access the STAAR stems link which will download a pdf to your computer.

Do my classroom questions give my students daily practice using STAAR language?

You don't have to struggle to create STAAR practice questions. TRS has done the work for you, and you can customize/scaffold the questions to meet your students' needs and the content you are teaching.

Amp up the opportunity for STAAR practice by creating an Exit Ticket or a warm up in Google Forms using the STAAR stems. Your students will get frequent practice, and Google will grade the practice for you. Winner!

TEKS Resource System, ABCYA, GoogleClassroom

TEKS Resource System

Changing grade levels next year? Teaching a new subject? Is the state revising your discipline's TEKS? Check out the TEKS Resource System . See how your grade level TEKS fit into the vertical alignment of your discipline. Find documents that break down the scope and sequence of your subject by six weeks at a glance. And more.

Need your TEKS on the go? Download the TEKS app on iTunes or GooglePlay.

ABCYA: Create Word Clouds on Chromebooks

ABCYA is best known for hosting a website chock full of educational games for kids in grades PK-5. But one of the middle school ELA teachers shared that she is successfully using ABCYA's Word Cloud generator on Chromebooks. The site offers students the option of changing the shape, color, and font of the words, and word clouds can be saved to be included in other projects.

Students can copy/paste essays into a word cloud generator to determine frequency of words used. Similarly, digital text can be copied/pasted into a word cloud generator to help determine main idea. Check out this blog post from Edudemic for five more creative ways to use word clouds for learning.

More on Google Classroom

Last fall Kasey Bell of Shake Up Learning posted a list of thirty-five apps that integrate directly with Google Classroom. Many of the sites on the list are sites that teachers in BISD frequently use like Discovery Education and Quizlet. Check out Kasey's post to see more applications that you can integrate with your Google Classroom.