IHMS Tech Tips

If you have ever had your students working collaboratively, then you might have found yourself reminding them to be mindful of their noise level.  Today's tip provides several websites that you can display for your students during group work time to indicate the volume of the classroom. I can imagine it was entertaining to watch me get these sample screenshots for you. 1. Bouncy Balls This one is probably my favorite.  Go to the bouncy balls website and display for your students.  You will have to allow access to the microphone with any of these sites.  Set the sensitivity of the microphone and watch the balls bounce around.  When students are too noisy, the balls bounce higher and a notification will appear.  You can choose what item is bouncing around (eyeballs, emojis, bubbles, and more). 2. Zero Noise Classroom Go to the Chrome Web Store  and download the Zero Noise Classroom (ZNC) app.  Once you have downloaded it, it will appear with the rest of your Google Chrome

This week's tip is courtesy of Nichole Hoehn! Many of you use YouTube in the classroom for teaching and learning.  Have you ever found a great YouTube video to show your students, but you only want a certain part of the video?  Today's tip will help with just that.  There are a few ways you can share a certain part of a YouTube video with others.  The two we talk about today will be from within YouTube itself, but there are other sites/apps that do the same thing. 1. Use the Share button Choose your video and decide where you would like the video to start.  Then click the "Share" button.  Before you close that window, choose "start video at ____" and enter the point at which the video should begin .  If you pause the video at the time you want it to start and then click Share, it will automatically enter the time stamp of when you paused it.  Copy the link and paste the video into Google Classroom, Skyward, or wherever. 2. Use the URL Choos

Many of you are using Google Docs or DocHub for annotating text, but there is also a tool built right into Google Docs that allows for some pretty great stuff for students and teachers.  This tip comes from Lindsay Stephenson, our district technology coach. Google Add-ons are like customized extensions specifically for Google.  I've previously blogged about Google Add-ons  if you would like to know more.  Some add-ons, like the Highlight Tool, are built in automatically like the Highlight Tool while some you can add yourself.  The purpose of using add-ons is to make your life easier when using Google tools.  There are add-ons for rubrics, inserting math symbols, music notation, and more.  For this post's purpose, I'm going to be talking about the highlight tool in Google Docs.  If you often have students annotate text, you might try this tool and see what you think. Copy and paste the text into a blank Google Doc.  This could be an online article, paragraph from the

I know there has been a lot of interest in the additional capabilities and features of Manager.  That being said, we have asked for training on these and been told there will be none.  Luckily, we have teachers that explore on their own and are willing to share! Manager In addition to housing all district-purchased software and apps, Manager has the ability to show you student devices.  While this is not fool-proof, play around with it and see what you think. I will tell you that if a student's screen is not visible to you or if you have an incorrect roster, there's really no way to fix that at this point...or so they say. ;) Check out this presentation from Nick Adams at SMN on some of the features of Mosyle Manager. Apple Classroom Classroom is now available for download in Manager.  It has much of the same capabilities as Manager, but some are saying it's faster and more accurate.  Not having any classes assigned to me, it's hard for me to tell if this is tru

Gimkit is a gamification site much like Kahoot and Quizlet, but there's a twist!  Teams can earn cash as points based on correct answers, streaks, and speed.  Teams can then strategize what they want to do with that cash throughout the game.  They can purchase level-up bonuses or multipliers.  That means that if they buy a 1.5 multiplier for $5, every time they get a correct answer, they will get 1.5 times the original question value.  Clear as mud? Watch this video. Signing up syncs with your Google account.  To create a quiz, click "Create Kit". Give your kit a title and subject and then begin creating.  You can import from a question/answer spreadsheet or add questions manually.  You can add photos to your questions as well. If you choose "Add from Question Bank", you can search already created kits. Like Kahoot, students join using a code.  They do not need to have an account to play.  Gimkit is a site created by and m

I have previously blogged about the benefits of using screencasts, but I wanted to delve deeper into one specific tool and how it could benefit you and your classroom: Screencastify. Some suggestions for using Screencastify in your classroom: Sub plans!  Create a Google Slideshow and talk your students through the lesson for the day.  Students can watch from Google Classroom on their own computers. Absent students:  If you use a slideshow to teach your daily lessons anyway, screen record it one time while you are teaching and post it for any absent students to view from home. Flipped classroom:  Create your slideshow and record yourself teaching the lesson.  Post as homework for students to watch and then use the following day for reteach and support. Student projects:  Students can add the Chrome extension as well and do a flipped version of a presentation.  Students can watch others' independently or as a class. Feedback:  Screen record yourself as you are grading st

ClassroomQ is a website created by teachers for teachers.  They saw the need for a tool that allowed students to let the teacher know that they needed help without sitting with their hand up for extended periods of time.  A Google Form will grant you the same information, but ClassroomQ is an easy way for students to let you know that they need assistance with the click of a button. The free version allows for you to have up to five students in your queue at a time. If that is not enough, you can spring for the paid version or try a Google Form, but first, you'll want to create a ClassroomQ account. Once you have created your account, choose "start". You will get a class code that your students will need in order to get into your queue.  Students do not need to create an account to use this site. You could post your code in Google Classroom or write it on the board.  Students will need to go to  https://classroomq.com/students/  and enter their name and the cl

ClassHook is a resource for digital clips from TV shows and movies.  The clips are sourced from YouTube and do not violate copyright because they are not used for profit. Search by specific theme or topic and see what pop culture results you will get. Mrs. Nelson was teaching a lesson on personal space, and when I used "personal space" as keywords, these are my results: Using these clips to augment your lesson can engage students further and also give actionable examples of what you are discussing in class.  You can search the available clips by keyword, topic, grade level, or clip length.  The free version allows for unlimited searching and use of clips. From ClassHook.com : " Due to the flexible nature of video, there are so many ways that you can use ClassHook in your classroom, whether it be to start a lesson, reinforce a concept, or conclude a lesson. The following are some examples of how educators are using ClassHook clips. To gain student int

This week's tip is short and sweet, but it will make you look like you've got it together if you are a #2.  Shout out to Carol Edds for the tip!  To go from a #2 to a #1, you can either actually get organized, or use the below trick and just  pretend  to have it all together. Begin by first right-clicking anywhere on your desktop to get the menu pictured below or from the Finder screen choose "View" and choose "Use Stacks". (To get to the Finder menu, click on the smiling face in your Dock.) Stacks are automatically grouped by file kind: jpg, PDF, etc.  If you want to change how your files are grouped: To open a stack, click on the stack.  A folder with an arrow will then drop down everything within that stack.  Double click any file to open per usual. To stop using Stacks, simply go back to the Finder menu → View → uncheck "Use Stacks". Click here for more info.

I know many of you are familiar with or have used Flipgrid in your classrooms. If you are not, please refer to this previous blog post to see what a cool tool it is for your students. The Flipgrid community has been buzzing lately with the newest way to use it...a Fliphunt! It's a great tool for formative assessments.  Students can work individually or in small groups to show their understanding of a concept or a procedure. I could see Fliphunts being especially useful at the beginning of the year to engage students and address things like textbook orientation, how to sign out of the classroom, how to fill out their planner, where to find information about your class (homework, what to do when you're absent, teacher contact info, etc.)  I'm going to start working on one for library orientation information to use next year. To create a Fliphunt: First sign in or create your Flipgrid account.   Then, create a task document in Google Docs around your conten