Using Padlet for Formative Assessment plus student guides

One of my favorite digital tools is Padlet. Padlet is a collaborative digital cork board and classroom response system that let’s you collect and organize virtual stickies of information including text, images, audio and video.

At the recent 21st Century Learning Symposium I shared some strategies for using Padlet in support of Formative Assessment. During this session my intent was to model the versatility of Padlet whether you have a single internet connected device, a small set of 5-8 devices, or 1:1 student devices. I also modeled how Padlet can be used to support formative assessment strategies such as entry/exit tickets and cooperative learning structures. The resources for this session are embedded below. It includes guides and tips for creating your own Padlet boards.

Created with Padlet

I've also been developing a Student Guide that includes presentation slides and a video tutorial to help students begin using Padlet as a tool for research, presentations, and collaborative communication. I invite you to utilize this guide for use with your own students if you like.

How to enable "Offline" access and editing in Google Drive and protect against lost work during a wifi outage

Yesterday a student came to me with a Google Drive issue due to intermittent wifi connectivity at home. Sometime during the night as she was composing her essay she lost wifi connectivity on her Chromebook and subsequently lost all of her work during that period of time.

Fortunately, there is a solution to protect against this type of data loss in Google Drive and as an added bonus have the ability to edit Google Docs, Presentations and Drawings even when there is no internet connection available.

Video Link

Please note that you can only enable "offline" access and editing in Google Drive on a Chromebook or on a computer using the Chrome browser. 

How to enable "offline" access and editing in Google Drive

1. Open the Google Drive menu (Inbox)
2. Click on the "more" tab on the left hand side menu 
3. Click on "offline" 
4. Syncing should begin immediately for Chromebook users
5. If you are using the Chrome browser on a computer you will need to click on "enable offline

Be patient when switching between offline and online mode. It can sometimes take a few seconds for changes to be updated when syncing between modes.

Quick Tip: How to spell check in Moodle 2.5 in Chrome or on a Chromebook - #mpsedtech

I had a little surprise a few weeks back when I discovered that  Moodle 2.5 changed how you can activate spell check. In the past, you were able to right click on a word that was misspelled to activate and view a spell check menu. Now you must do one additional step by holding the "ctrl" key while you right click. This is definitely a quick tip you will want to share with your students if you are using newer versions of Moodle. 

And just a quick reminder that the right click option on a Chromebook is activated using a soft double finger tap.

Video Link

An Interactive Menu for Student Project Technology Tools

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by Dean (leu)  .: http://flickr.com/photos/leunix/518329490/

Today I'd like to share a resource to support digital student projects in your classroom. The premise behind this menu is to provide "voice and choice" (an essential component of Universal Design for Learning) vs. a one size fits all product of learning. Not every tool listed in this menu will be appropriate to the task you've assigned your students but many offer flexible formats for organizing and representing learning.  The key here is to have a clear set of learning targets, aligned to standards that avoid strict formatting criteria like "12 point Times New Roman font" or "10 slides with 3 facts" and instead focus on content specific criteria like "demonstrates a thorough understanding of the main character's motivations based on evidence from the text" or "draws relevant connections between the historical event and a current event impacting society today". 

As teachers, we can't expect to learn every digital tool out there but our students are often capable and motivated to learn and teach each other (and us) given the chance. Some of the guides, video tutorials, and student examples that I've located are better than others. Some of the resources may be better suited to older or younger students. For that reason you may also want to look at other menu type resources out on the web that are directed toward a specific grade level as well.

This menu can be presented to students in full or can be modified by cutting and pasting a smaller selection together if limiting certain choices is needed. If you would like to contribute to this Student Project Technology Tools Menu or have a tool that you'd like to see added to the list please feel free to contact me with your request. Enjoy!

Click here to view the full interactive menu

QR Code Make n' Take Professional Development Workshop #mpsedtech

This week I offered two face-to-face PD workshops focussed on using QR Codes in the Classroom. One of my main goals was to ensure that everyone left the session with a QR code that could be used immediately with students to help meet a learning outcome in their classroom. 

Here are the learning targets I set for this workshop.

1. Know and understand what a QR code is, how to scan a QR code, and how QR codes are being used in education.
2. Evaluate examples of how QR codes are being used in education to determine a classroom use specific to your classroom and record this as a goal.
3. Create a QR Code that targets a specific classroom outcome and implement with students.

And here is a link to the Agenda and support resources I used.

Did you know? Test reading accommodations using the Chrome Browser or Chromebook

In this video demonstration I show how students can use either the Chrome Speak app or the iSpeech Select and Speak extensions to have questions read aloud in either a Moodle or Edmodo quiz.

Both the text-to-speech tools are available for the Chrome browser and Chromebook.

Video Link

Opening and editing Word and PDF documents on the Chromebook

In a somewhat ironic follow up to my last post, I want to share a resource I put together for our 1:1 Chromebook program at Marysville High School which outlines some steps for making the opening and editing of Word and PDF documents on the Chromebooks a little less painful. As I mentioned to my staff, the process that I'm sharing is not the only solution, merely one that I hope will reduce some of the steps normally involved. And as I also shared with my staff, this process may be changing soon if Google releases the Quick Office viewer and editing features to Google Drive later this Fall. 

Even though I don't advocate asking students to complete digital worksheets, there are sure to be times when viewing and marking up Word or PDF documents found on the web is necessary and helpful. 

Opening and editing Word and PDF documents on the Chromebook

Click here to watch the video tutorial

1. Install the Docs/PDF PowerPoint Viewer extension
2. Immediately after installing a Docs PDF/Powerpoint Viewer Options tab will open, displaying the file types that will be opened in the Google Drive viewer.
3. Check the PDF option (Option 1) at the top and then click Save at the bottom of the screen

4. Click on a word document on any website
5. The document will now open in the Google Drive Viewer
6. To open and edit Word or PowerPoint click on the “Edit Online” icon
7. This will make a new editable copy for the student to work on
8. For more info on how to collect Google Docs from students go here.
9. For PDF documents click “Add to Drive” icon
10. Install PDF Zen Editor and Viewer Chrome App
11. Locate the PDF file in the Google Drive inbox, right click on the file and select PDF Zen
12. In PDF zen use editing tools to mark up, click on “Actions” icon to save changes back to Google Drive or to get URL link for sharing or submitting in Moodle/Edmodo.

The Problem with Paperless

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by Wesley Fryer: http://flickr.com/photos/wfryer/2110288948/

As I've been in and out of various classrooms this week a recurring theme has emerged - going paperless. While I applaud the intention of saving trees and making classroom resources accessible 24/7 across a variety of devices, there is a problem. There is a problem with digitizing worksheets and the convoluted workflow that inevitably ensues. This is especially true of worksheets that come from textbook providers, but also teacher-created worksheets in many cases. I want to be clear. I don't really have a problem with worksheets - they can be instructive and provide meaningful practice and application of ideas - at least in theory. And, yes, their are many worksheets that are worthless, time-killing, busy work that barely scratch the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy. But good or bad worksheets pose a particular problem in digital learning environments. You see, a worksheet was designed to be completed, submitted, assessed, marked-up and handed back by hand. Pen, pencil, crayon - doesn't matter, but most worksheets were not DESIGNED to be completed, submitted, assessed, and marked-up or handed back on a Chromebook or an iPad. I know what some of you will say next. But, Kit! We have done exactly that. We scan and upload every worksheet to our [fill in the web presence tool of your choice], the students download and open the worksheet on their [fill in the personal computing device of your choice], and they [draw, type, record] on top of the worksheet and submit it electronically to their teacher's [email, blog, LMS, Google drive] where the teacher then individually opens each worksheet on their [fill in the personal computing device of your choice], where they [draw, type, record] on top of the worksheet to provide feedback and submit it electronically back to the student with a grade [that they then must re-enter into some separate student grading system that the district uses - one that definitely did nothing to aid or facilitate the "simple" steps described herein] Are you kidding me!? I challenge you to find me a teacher out there who not only follows those steps but then provides students with the opportunity to fix mistakes or improve their initial submissions. It doesn't happen. More importantly, I don't want to teach others how to inflict this kind of worksheet hell upon themselves or our students.

Like many of you, I've been working with the SAMR model of technology integration to help myself and others redefine learning in a technology enhanced environment. I contend that digitizing the workflow for worksheets isn't Substitution. In fact, it doesn't even land on the SAMR continuum in my opinion. Not only are there a ridiculous number of hurdles to making worksheets paperless, hurdles that interfere with the basic intent to "be instructive and provide meaningful practice and application of ideas", but it makes the most important elements of timely feedback and fixing mistakes nearly impossible. 

Here is what many of my conversations have started to sound like or will sound like going forward.

1. If the worksheet is worth doing (i.e. it is instructive and provides meaningful practice or application) feel free to make copies and hand it out.
2. Feel free to put a digital copy (within copy rights) online for students and families to access as a reference and for printing.
3. Allow a student to annotate and submit the work electronically if needed (long term illness or travel) and take the time to give feedback.

And here are my tips for transitioning toward digitally enhanced forms of practice and application that take some cues from or extend the activities found on the worksheets.

1. Add QR Codes or weblinks to the top of the worksheet that link to support resources, audio recordings of the directions and questions, challenge questions, or online group discussions.
2. Take questions that have fixed responses such as True/False and multiple choice and use a digital assessment tool like Socrative, Edmodo quizzes, or Google Forms to automatically grade student responses and provide immediate feedback.
3. Take one or two open ended questions that require higher order thinking skills or application of knowledge and ask students to submit digital responses, electronic projects, videos, etc. in response to these questions.  
4. Challenge students to develop questions that fall across Bloom's taxonomy and then distribute these to their peers using a tool like Google Forms or a discussion forum in Moodle.
5. Consider Project Based Learning (PBL) as a way to move away from textbooks and worksheets and into authentic and purposeful learning driven by meaningful "driving questions".

How would you add to this list of tips and what suggestions do you have for teachers hoping to transition away from traditional worksheets using effective teaching methods and digital tools? Oh, and if you happen to be riding the Unicorn of Digital Worksheet Love share your secret to success. 

Chrome Browswer Tips and Tricks for Students - Google Dictionary Extension

The Google Dictionary Extension gives you one click instant access to definitions and pronunciations for words you encounter on the Web.

Lesson idea

1. Find an article(s) that you would like students to read and which you know contains words that may be misunderstood or unknown
2. Ask students to add the Google Dictionary Extension to their Chrome Browser
3. Have students identify unknown words, view the basic definition and the additional resources linked to the definition
4. Encourage students to click on the audio icon to hear unfamiliar words read outloud
5. Have students open a Google Doc to collect words they find
6. Use a Google form to collect an "exemplar" word from each student for accountability and to build a class collaborative resource

#UDL reading and writing supports for the Chromebook and Chrome Browser

I've been asked to develop a list of Chrome Apps and Extensions that enable reading and writing supports such as text-to-speech, speech-to text, and dictionary tools for students in my district. Here's my first round picks that I feel address some of these needs. Do you have a Chrome App or Extension that you would recommend? Please feel free to add your suggestions or ideas in the comments section.

1. For text-to-speech I recommend the Chrome extension - Chrome Speak  or Select and Speak. The student highlights the text, right clicks and selects speak.
2. The Google Dictionary extension will open a definition and audio for any word on any web page by double clicking the word.
3. The Read & Write extension for Google Drive puts a toolbar on the top of the Google Docs editor that adds text-to-speech, a dictionary tool, visual dictionary tool, and special highlighting tools with extraction features.
4. The Announcify extension takes online articles on sites like CNN or NYT and strips out all adds and distracting visuals, so that only text is visible, enables text-to-speech, and has easy option for enlarging text.
5. Voice Recognition is a Chrome app that is equivalent to Dragon Dictation for doing voice-to-text.

Update: Thanks to Mike Marotta via Twitter who suggested Spell and Grammar Checker by Ginger

Mike Marotta ‏@mmatp55m

@kithard Great post. One other key support in Chrome for struggling writers is the Ginger Spell and grammar extension.

 View conversation

#UDL Reading and Writing supports for the Chromebook and Chrome Browser

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