Tuesday Teacher Tips May 13, 2014
Socrative, Copyright & Images, End of Year Idea
Socrative - a "clicker" system for any device
With this system you can create an oral quiz "on the fly" or load and assign premade quizzes that you've generated ahead of time. The system gives you and your students instant feedback, and is very user friendly for both teachers and students.
You can use it on computers, smart devices, and tablets. For tablets there are two apps - the "Teacher" app and the "Student" app. You can easily generate content from your desktop and it will automatically sync to the student devices running the app.
It's a great way to have students complete exit slips, take a quiz or quickly assess student understanding of a concept so that you can immediately reteach if needed.
Socrative - How to Video
Encouraging Good Digital Citizenship by Requiring Students to Use Appropriate Images
A common misconception is that if we're using something for "educational" purposes it's okay to just copy and paste something like images from the Internet, but this line of thought sets a bad precedent for students who may also find it okay to just copy and paste text from the Internet.
To help guide kids in the right direction, require that students use images that are from Britannica Image Quest, a service we subscribe to, or show them how to search for images on Google that are "free to use share and modify, even commercially". Many of these images are available for use under a Creative Commons license, under which a creator is giving others permission to use their work. It's also important, and good habit, to require students to document their images, no matter how small the project. This will certainly help them as they advance through school!
The video below will show you what you need to share with your students about Google to make sure that they are being good Digital Citizens and learning good habits.
Check out more information sent out by our Stephanie Griffith, or middle school librarian, [here].
Searching for Images on Google
Be sure to check out Britannica Image Quest
End of Year - Fun!
In the balloons, written on scraps of papers, were fun activities the kids could do each day. The blog post has a number of comments, all with great ideas like: sit anywhere with your friends, eat lunch outside, make a card for next year's students with your favorite class activity, work without your shoes on etc.
You can probably come up with a a plenty more ideas, or check out the post and comments:)
Johnson Elementary
Email: heidi.neltner@fortthomas.kyschools.us
Twitter: @heidinelt