Clarke County Schools
12 Days of Technology Instructional Technology Newsletter
Happy Holidays CCSD Teachers!
Day One: Kahoot
If you have not tried Kahoot with your classes yet, then this is the #1 tool to try in 2015!
Kahoot.it is a game based classroom response system. You can use Kahoot to create a quiz, survey, or discussion. I like to use Kahoot in my math class to review material before the test, as a pre-assessment tool, and have students create their own kahoots to teach material to others.
Other ideas for using this tool include:
- Use public Kahoots that have already been created for you, as an activating or summarizing strategy.
- Use Kahoot on iPad as well as laptops, as a tool to prepare for Battle of The Books or Helen Ruffin Reading bowl.
- Use Kahoot as a picture quiz for younger students or for use in art class, upload videos in your quiz as well
Day 2: Cube Creator
Cube Creator from readwritethink allows students to create cubes to share information they have learned from a variety of texts. Students can complete story cubes, bio cubes, mystery cubes, or create their own cube. There is also a planning sheet that goes along with each cube to help students organize their information.
Use this tool as an informal assessment of student understanding of a variety of texts, or as part of a lesson on explaining what a text says explicitly or when drawing inferences.
Here is the link to a lesson that shows how Lisa integrated Cube Creator into her classroom instruction.
Day 3: PowToon
PowToon is free and it's awesome! PowToon can be used by teachers and students to create animated presentations and videos. To get started with PowToon be sure to check out the excellent resources provided by PowToon found here.
Ideas for how you could use PowToon in the classroom:
- Students can research a topic, such as a place they'd like to visit, and create a presentation that might help sell it to others. Here is an example of a PowToon created as part of a classroom project that did just that!
- Use as an alternative to Google Slides to create more engaging presentations.
Day 4: AR Flashcards
Bring the alphabet, shapes, colors and now the solar system to a new dimension with this cutting edge instructional technology. The AR Flashcards augmented reality app and associated flashcards are perfect for our youngest learners including children and grandchildren of district employees! The AR Flashcards app is available for both iOS and Android devices.
Check out the video below for a preview of the Animal Alphabet AR Flashcards.
Day 5: Soundation
Crank up some original holiday music with this powerful online music studio. Soundation provides browser based recording, effects, virtual instruments and over 700 free loops and sounds! And after the holidays try having your students write lyrics about a standard they have learned then use Soundation to record and add effects.
For new users to audio production, Soundation provides a series of short video tutorials to walk you through the process of using this tool. The video below is a preview of the tool's interface and possibilities.
Day 6: Super Quiz
Have you used the Flubaroo add-on to grade a Google Form quiz? Are you ready to take your functionality to the next level? If so, then the Super Quiz add-on for Google Sheets is just what you're looking for.
Here is more information from the Chrome Webstore about this add-on:
Super Quiz adds brilliant functionality to a quiz made with Google Forms. By completing the quiz once with an answer key, all future submissions are automatically graded correct or incorrect. What’s more - you can get a break down of class understanding and a list of incorrect students for each question - perfect for intervention!
By filling out a few cells of information, you can also generate personalized differentiated written feedback emailed to students as soon as they submit a response. No need to monitor and ‘re-grade’ - just set-up and go!
You can split your quiz in up to 4 different topics, and provide specific feedback on each. If you don’t want to email students, you can choose to print feedback on a 2x2 array, too.
Be sure to watch the video tutorial below to help get acquainted with this tool.
Day 7: Piktochart
Let the beauty of the holiday season carry over into making information beautiful with Piktochart! This online, easy to use editor, can be used for infographics, reports and presentations. Our teachers have used Piktocharts as a presentation tool in Ms. Perez's Spanish IV class, and TeamTech has used PiktoChart to illustrate the procedure flowchart about caring for PLD carts. You can use Piktochart to make any information "Visual", but the real power is in presenting data in a concise and appealing way to give data extra impact.
Here is a link to a series of Piktochart video tutorials to get folks started using this tool.
Day 8: Plickers
As cool as the winter season itself, Plickers is sure to wow you and your students! Plickers is an exciting new classroom assessment tool that can be used in any classroom environment to gather immediate feedback from students. It requires only one iOs or Android device, an app, and a plickers card for each student to use.
Use this tool to engage your students as a quick formative assessment, ticket out the door, or classroom poll.
Check out the PowToon video above and this Google Presentation that both do a great job showcasing what the tool has to offer and how to get started.
Day 9: Google Calendar Appointment Slots
Is one of your New Year's resolutions to manage your time better? Are you looking for a simple and easy way to schedule appointments with co-workers, students, parents? Using the Appointment Slots feature in Google Calendar is for you!
The video tutorial below shows you how to get started creating and reserving appointment slots in your Google Calendar.
Day 10: Infuse Learning
InfuseLearning states that it "provides a simple, powerful platform to streamline learning. Engage every student, on any device." This free tool tool can be used as a formative assessment or quiz.
The variety of questions, the read aloud features, the shuffle questions feature, reporting and more make it a powerful tool for teachers and students.
Check out the video tutorial below for tips from Heather on getting started with InfuseLearning!
Day 11: Get the Math
Get the Math is a website designated to teaching and learning about algebra in the real world. The site houses interactive challenges that help middle and high school students learn about math in music, fashion, video games, restaurants, basketball, and special effects.
Be sure to check out the teacher page on the site that shares videos, lesson plans and editable handouts for completing the challenges all aligned with the Common Core Standards and Mathematical practices.
Day 12: Infogr.am
Having students build and interact with a tool like this helps build data literacy and enables students to tell their own stories that are data driven.
Why not have students replace a traditional presentation with an infogr.am? Students can perform research or collect data and enter it into the application.
Here is an example of an infogr.am that presents a question, data, video and resources in a very educational and engaging format.
For a Little Fun Over the Break
Experience the Beauty of Code by Lighting Up a Tree in the Nation's Capital!
Have a Wonderful Winter Break!
Clarke County School District: Instructional Technology Department
- Djamal Balbed: Director of Instructional Technology
- Joel Frey: ITS Serving Alps ES, Timothy Rd ES, Chase ES, Winterville ES
- Todd Hollett: ITS Serving Barrow ES, Oglethorpe ES, Gaines ES, Hilsman MS
- Steve Piazza: ITS Serving Barnett Shoals ES, Whit Davis ES, HT Edwards Campus
- Carrie Siegmund: ITS Serving Cedar Shoals HS, Clarke Central HS
- Scott Wilkerson: ITS Serving Fowler Dr ES, JJ Harris ES, Whitehead Rd ES, Clarke MS
- Clint Winter: ITS Serving Cleveland Rd ES, Stroud ES, Coile MS, BHL MS
Email: instech@clarke.k12.ga.us
Website: http://www.clarke.k12.ga.us/offices.cfm?subpage=295
Location: Clarke County School District, Mitchell Bridge Road, Athens, GA, United States
Phone: 706 546 7721