IHMS Tech Tips

Thinglink is a free digital tool that allows for any graphic to become interactive.  Consider this as an alternative presentation tool for science experiments, social studies presentations, or any type of research project.  Signing up is easy and can be done with your Google account. Once you/students have established accounts, you can choose from Thinglink's sample media, or upload a picture of your own.  This serves as the backdrop for your presentation. After you have selected your background/theme photo, you will begin to add tags.  Tags are hot spots that make the presentation interactive.  These tags can be links to video, audio, more photos, or you can type text. You can then embed your Thinglink presentation into a Google slideshow, a website, or into Google Classroom.   The site allows for cooperative presentations, as well.  You can upload up to 105 students and they can work on one presentation at the same time.  Stude...

App smashing is using two or more apps to accomplish a task. I alluded to this idea last week when we talked about using both Google Slides and Bitmoji.  That's an app smash!   " When we know that smashing is a possibility and introduce this potential to our students, we not only empower them to take ownership of their learning process, but also teach them to go beyond the initial obstacles in order to problem solve for better learning and expression."   While, app smashing is much more easily done using iOS apps, it can be done using laptops.  The goal of app smashing is to let students unleash their creativity, but so often we limit them to just one app that prevents this from happening. Thinglink , as previously discussed, is a perfect example of an app smash.  YouTube, Google Slides, camera roll...all of these are incorporated into one project via the Thinglink site or app.  But don't tell your students which apps to use!  Give them the rubric,...

Wakelet is a free website that can be used as a teaching resource or with your students as a presentation tool.  Signing up is easy and links to your Google account.  Students can create a collection/story and curate a variety of media based on a given topic.  Wakelet allows you to pull in videos, websites, tweets, photos, and more.  The functionality is similar to Thinglink that was previously discussed on this blog . Here is an example of a public, published collection that I have embedded here: To get started on your own, choose "create a collection/story" from the home page. Give your story a title and description.  Add tweets, photos, files, or create your own writing. When adding photos, you can either add from your own library, or choose a stock image from Unsplash.  There is a space to add credit which would be a great place for a citation. Students can create work in Google Docs, save it as a PDF, and insert it into their c...

It's May! Which means that both students and teachers are on their way to burnout.  On this last blog post of the school year, I'm giving some ideas on project-based lessons to help your students hang on until the last day.  You could choose one idea and give it to all students, or maybe you present them with all five and give them the choice. 1. Show what you know Everyone has something that they are really knowledgeable about (ex. karate, knitting, singing). Make them showcase that knowledge through a presentation/speech.  Create a rubric using a Google Add-on or have students created the rubrics themselves. 2. Own a _____________ Students again become the experts, but this time they will have to do research to establish their expertise.  Have them take ownership of a football team, planet, animal and be able to present their findings to the class or in small groups.  Students can use their choice of presentation tools like Thinglink , iMovie, Prezi, or...