IHMS Tech Tips

My favorite way to be! But seriously, if you aren't going Incognito when using Google Chrome, you're missing out for a few reasons. Incognito mode is a private way to browse the internet.  When in Incognito mode, browsing history and the web cache is disabled.  For teachers, there are many benefits to using Incognito mode with students as well as when you are doing your own research.  To go Incognito: Click on the three dots in the upper right corner of Chrome and choose "New Incognito window" or press shift+command+N . Once you've gone Incognito, you will see this and your browser window will appear dark gray: Here are a few reasons to go Incognito: 1. Student presentations If you are using one computer for students to share presentations (to avoid AirPlay catastrophes), you can use Incognito mode.  This makes it so that students can sign into their Google account, but as soon as that Incognito window is closed, the student does not remained signed...

Buncee is "t he award winning content creation and communication tool being used by educators around the world. Engaging people of all ages and transforming them into creators, storytellers, and future-ready digital citizens."  From buncee.com , students and teachers can create a Buncee account by linking to Google. With Buncee, students and teachers can create up to three, free "interactive media-rich lessons, presentations, assessments, digital stories, parent outreach, and newsletters..."  Obviously, the paid version allows for endless creations and more features, but for those feeling brave enough to try something new, you've got three! The media options are fun (there's a corgi!) and images, audio, video, animation, etc. is all in one place.  Students don't have to worry about whether images can be used due to copyright as they are pulled from Pixabay . Buncee Boards allow you to subscribe to the Buncees created by another user and see any...

You know I love a good Chrome extension and here's another one. There are so many cool features to this extension, you just have to try it out! "Read & Write offers a range of powerful support tools to help you gain confidence with reading, writing, studying and research..." To add Read & Write to Chrome, first visit the Chrome Web Store and add it. Once you've added it to Chrome, when you are in Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, websites, etc, the extension icon will appear at the top of your Google window. When the extension is open, you will see a toolbar with lots of features. Most of these features are only available in the Premium ($) version, but you and your students can use them for free for 30 days. Some of the features include: • Text-to-speech to hear words, passages, or whole documents read aloud with easy-to-follow dual color highlighting (both versions) • Text and picture dictionaries to see the meaning of words explained (pre...

If you are looking for another way to assess your students' learning, try Quizalize !  Quizalize can, " Turn boring tests into fun classroom team games. Instantly know who needs help and what they need help with. And effortlessly assign follow-up activities that boost student results." Registering is simple and can be done through your Google account.  Once you have created your account, create a class.  You can create your own assessment, or use the search bar to find something that has already been created. Assign activities to the classes you have created and share the Quizalize with your class using a unique code (same as Kahoot). With already-created assessments, you can modify it to fit your needs, or simply assign it to your class. When students are actively working on an assessment, they are given points for correct answers and for speed which help boost their team score.   Quizalize activities are not limited ...