Tech Snacks
Byte-Sized Treat to Transform Learning 5.20.19
A Summer Refresher

Podcasting in Your Classroom
It’s that time of the year to start reflecting on your year and look for ways to spice up the classroom for 2019-20. Have you thought about podcasting? This is an easy way to increase student engagement, promote learning, and allow students to be creative. Any project can easily be made into a podcast. Here are some great project ideas for your classroom from Chris Nesi. Want to start a podcast but not sure how? At IFL, attend Become a Podcasting Jedi in One Session.
There are some great podcasts for you to enjoy while relaxing by the pool or the beach. All you need is a device and some headphones. Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify are great ways to listen to podcasts. Most of these are free streaming services.
Check out these podcasts to expand your learning:
Google Teacher Tribe Podcast, The Shake Up Learning Show, The House of EdTech Podcast, Leading Equity, Teaching, Learning, Leading, K-12 Podcast, Partial Credit Podcast, Better Leaders, Better Schools, PodcastPD Podcast, The STEM Everyday Podcast, The 10-Minute Teacher Podcast, But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids, Check This Out Podcast

Steps to Creating a Group Assignment in Google Classroom
Sometimes the end of the year is just the right time to try something new. Here are a few quick steps and a short video to walk you through one way of simplifying the creation of a group assignment in Google Classroom.
Create the file (document/slide/spreadsheet) you want a group of students to complete.
Create an assignment in Google Classroom and save it as a Draft.
Have a class list handy and decide how you want to group students.
Reuse the Draft Assignment and assign it to just a few students.
Repeat step 4.
Video: Creating a Group Assignment in Google Classroom (3:31)
Please let us know how this works for you and we’d love to see some student work! To gain even more Google Classroom knowledge, check out the following sessions at IFL:
Middle School Magic with Google Classroom
Google Classroom Tips & Tricks
Google Classroom for Beginners

Gamify your Lessons
Deck.Toys is a free tool for all ages that transforms your everyday lessons and materials into a engaging guided activity for your students. Through this game-based activity, let your students show you what they know as they work at their own pace. The finished product looks like a digital game board, guiding your students along a path in your planned order. Customize the backgrounds and display interactive images, embedded videos, Google Slides and more. Increase engagement buzzers, randomizers, timers and locks. Students can respond to tasks with text, free drawing, polls, and more. Once complete, share your Deck.Toys with students with a link or pop it into Google Classroom with the click of a button. Students can then explore in free mode or through teacher sync as a whole group activity. Reports can be generated at any time with a summary of activities as well as targeted skills.
Seeing is believing! Try one of the following examples and then follow along with this quick start guide to create your own. Examples: Avengers Systems of Equations, Clue Mystery - Teaching Area, Bill of Rights, Star Wars Mult-Step Equations Breakout and more at the searchable Deck Toys Gallery.
If you are interested in learning more EdTech tools, here are just a few related IFL sessions:

Virtual Reality with CoSpaces
Interested in more VR ideas? You will find these IFL sessions out of this world:
Aladdin Ain’t Got Nothing on Tour Creator

Planning Ahead: Canvas Courses for 2019-20
Summer Canvas Training
- Spice Up Your Online World by Using H5P to Create Interactive Content -- June 7 at FCPS Innovations for Learning (IFL) Conference, for those with existing Canvas experience.
- Dig Deeper With Canvas: Assignments, Speedgrader, and Quizzes -- July 30 at FCPS Teaching and Learning Conference
- Create an Effective Virtual Classroom Space with Canvas -- July 31 at FCPS Teaching and Learning Conference, for new users
Course Planning for August 2019
- Since the Canvas courses associated with Infinite Campus will not be available until sometime in early August, you will need to manually create a course shell to build new content. That material can then be easily imported (copied) into your new IC courses once they're available.
- Click here to read more about specific course planning information for Canvas.

Upcoming Instructional Technology PD Sessions
Innovations for Learning 6/7/19
The Innovations for Learning (IFL) Conference is a one day conference produced by the Office of Instructional Technology at Fayette County Schools. The conference focus is on innovative instructional strategies that engage students to improve learning through the use of technology. We invite you to join us for the 16th annual IFL Conference which will be held June 7, 2019 at Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington, KY.
Be on the lookout! 2019-2020 PD sessions will be released soon!