IHMS Tech Tips

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 onl...

Orange Slice is a Google Add-on for creating rubrics.  The nice thing about Orange Slice is that it is automatically added to your students' work so you don't have a separate document as a rubric.  It also syncs well with Google Classroom. To add Orange Slice to Google: 1. Open a Google Doc.  It can be a blank one if you are creating the assignment for the first time, or it can be a Google Doc that you already have created.  2.  Go to Add-ons and then Get add-ons 3.  Search for "Orange Slice" and then select the Free button next to "OrangeSlice: Teacher Rubric". 4.  Within your Google Doc, go back to Add-ons and choose "OrangeSlice" then "Score Rubric." 5.  A menu will be appear on the right-hand side.  Either import or customize your rubric. 6.  Once your rubric has been added to the Google Doc, you can make changes to wording, add or delete rows, and change the font and such. 7.  When you're ready t...

OpenEd.com is a free website from the ACT Academy that pulls content and resources from a variety of reputable sites.  Signing up is simple and syncs with your Google account.  When you register, you can select the grade and subject you teach as well as linking some textbooks.  You also have the option to specify which standard you'd like your lesson to focus on.  You can choose from the Resource Library based on subject, grade, or standard, or you can create your own lesson.  You can also choose the type of lesson your student(s) will receive. Rosters are uploaded from Google Classroom, and lessons can be assigned to all students or a select few for differentiation and extra practice. Students are given immediate feedback on how they do, and if they miss any questions, they are provided with videos and extra resources to reteach the missed content.  Teachers can also see immediate results on student work. Watch this brief overview...

Many of you are still using Scantrons for summative assessment, but did you know that you can save yourself some mileage to the Scantron machine (and paper!) by using Flubaroo or other Google add-ons?  I previously mentioned how to use Skyward to test and grade your students, but there are also add-ons for Google Forms that can simplify your grading.  One such example is Flubaroo.  With this add-on you can: Grade assignments and assessments in under a minute! Get reporting and analysis on student performance. Quickly send scores to students. It's really simple to use.  To get an add-on for your Google spreadsheet, first make sure that your Google form has created a spreadsheet.   Next, from the Google Sheets Add-ons menu, choose "Get add-ons."  Search for Flubaroo from the Add-ons store.  You will only have to do this once. Now that Flubaroo has been added, you can follow the prompts as shown in the below video to grade your assess...

Last week we talked about Chrome extensions, and while there are numerous more extensions you can search to make your life easier as a teacher, today we will focus on add-ons. There are TONS of add-ons within the Google apps.  Think of add-ons like little short-cuts. In Google Docs (Google Sheets works the same way), select "Add-ons" then "Get add-ons". Here you can search for specific Add-ons or browse by topic. Once you have added whichever add-on you've chosen, you can access it anytime you are in Google Docs by returning to the Add-ons menu.  Here you can also manage/delete them. Some initial suggestions for you and your students: EasyBib:  Cite sources within your Google Doc without going to the EasyBib site g(Math):  Insert graphs and equations Kaizena:  Audio record feedback on student documents rather than type them VexTab Musical Notation: Musical notation within Google Docs Teacher rubrics such as OrangeSlice, Doctopus (whi...