Did You Know? Google Jamboard for Engagement

A great way to add engagement and student voice to your hybrid teaching it to use the Jamboard app from Google.  Like most Google apps, it is sharable and collaborative.  Go go jamboard.google.com or to the waffle (that box of 9 squares in the upper right corner in a new Chrome tab) and find Jamboard, or you can go to Drive and click the NEW button to open Jamboard.  Choice is good!

Here's a link to some Jamboard templates and another link with information on using Jamboard.

Both Wakelet collections were created for teachers of all levels but there are lots of ideas that would work in any classroom, and for those of you in teacher education, there are a lot of other ideas that work in K-12.

Don't forget to go back to the Remote Learning Resources website from KATE.  We're adding new ideas and resources to it all the time.

Friday Matinee: Text Comments in Flipgrid

Flipgrid is a great way to have a discussion whether you are in class or remote.  Create your question and let students answer and then reply to each other.  Flipgrid recently added text comments rather than just video, which is helpful for shy students.

Here's more on how they work: Introducing Text Comments

Haven't used Flipgrid before?  It was actually created for Dr. Miller's PhD students at the University of Minnesota.  Since then it has become one of the go to discussion apps for students from K-PhD!  Here's a post on remote learning with Flipgrid in higher education.

For more on Flipgrid, check out the information on our Remote Learning Resources page or check out their blog.

Want to know MORE about Flipgrid?  Take this FREE class with Holly Clark online.  You can do it at your own pace.

Did You Know? Quickly Add a Comment in Google

Quickly add a comment in Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drawings by using this quick shortcut (Ctrl + Alt + M) shown in this video.  

Friday Matinee: Holiday Fun With Goose Chase

The holidays are here and families and friends are getting together, although this year these gatherings may be virtual rather than in-person.  No matter which type you're joining, GooseChase allows you to set up a scavenger hunt where teams can compete against other teams.  Ready to give it a try?  Read on!

If you might use GooseChase with your class, I would create a GooseChase EDU account.  You set up the game on a desktop or laptop and play on a phone or tablet using their app.  There are games online that you can copy and use for your own scavenger hunt.  

Here's another video on creating a GooseChase EDU game:

Let us know if you try this over the holidays and how the game went!  Enjoy!

Here are a few other things you can try to make the holidays fun for your kids or grandkids:

Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Decorate a Gingerbread House

Build a Snowman

Each file will ask you to make a copy.

Did You Know? Adding Images to Docs and Slides

Sometimes you need an image in your Google Doc (or Slides) to help tell your story.  In both Docs and Slides you can use the Explore Tool or choose insert image from the insert menu.  

Here's how to add images in Google Docs.  

It works the same in Slides!

Friday Matinee: Creating Choice Boards With Google Slides

Giving students a choice of how they can complete an assignment gives students ownership over how they show you what they've learned.  By creating choice boards, in Slides (you can also use PowerPoint to do the same thing) it is easy to create an assignment where the students have to pick a certain number of things to do to complete the assignment.  Many teachers use these boards and have students pick 3 out of 9 options to complete tic-tac-toe.

Here's how to create the boards in Google Slides.

During remote learning, some teachers are having their students work on their choice board assignments when they are remote while they do something different with the students in their classroom that day.  Others are using choice boards to have students work independently when they are not attending class synchronously.

Did You Know? Getting Started With Google Docs

Have you never used Google Docs before?  Are you not sure how to get started?  Docs is great because you can access your files no matter what computer you are on since your documents live in Google Drive in the cloud.  You can even pull them up on your phone or tablet.  

Do you need your document to be a Word file?  No problem.  You can download Google Docs as Word files or PDFs.  Watch the videos to get started!

Friday Matinee: Using Padlet in Your Class

Padlet is a great app for discussions, formative assessment, sharing documents, brainstorming, and more.  It looks a lot like an online bulletin board with a bunch of sticky notes!  The free version allows you to create 3 walls for free.  If you need another one, just delete a previous one.  Students can upload just about any file, add a link, search and add images, videos and more via Google, take a picture with your computer's camera, capture video from your camera, record their voice, record the screen, doodle, add a place/location, or link to another Padlet.  Wow!  That's a lot!!  What's more is that students can respond to other students.

I've used Padlet for years to have students give feedback on an article they've read, review a Chrome extension that they have tried, as a backchannel, or as a way to share a document with the class.  I've asked a question and had students respond.  I've even had them introduce themselves and add a video or image to show something that they are interested in.  The possibilities are endless and it is easy to use in a hybrid teaching environment.

Check out this video on how it works.  Want to try it?  Here's one I created asking about what the characteristics of effective feedback are.

Did You Know? 3 Quick Google Tips

Here are 3 quick Google tips that will save you time!  Learn how to quickly create a new Google Doc (works for Slides, Sheets, and Forms too), how to force your students to make a copy of a document you are sharing with them, and use advanced search to find files in Google Drive.