IHMS Tech Tips

Mote is a Chrome extension that makes adding comments and feedback to Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Classroom much easier. First, add the extension via the Chrome Web Store .  You will have to sign in with your Google account. Mote is then added to your task bar.  You will click the extension button whenever you wish to engage Mote. Open the Google Doc or Slides that you wish to comment on, highlight the picture or text, and click on the Mote symbol. Select the record button and start voice recording your comment or feedback.  Note that you have a 60-second time limit, so if you wish to speak longer, you will have to do it as more than one comment.  When you finish, you will see the below statement until you hit "Comment".  Then, your comment will appear.   If you don't like how your comment appears, choose the "Edit" button and make your changes.  Mote does not automatically put punctuation throughout your comment, s...

If you have students that need modified or differentiated assignments, follow the directions below to easily get those assignments to specific students or groups of students.  These modifications are not visible to anyone else in the Classroom, just the student(s) receiving it. First, create the different versions of the assignment that you will issue to students.  You can do this in Docs, Slides, Forms, whatever you like.  Try to come up with unique naming so that you will always know which version of the document you are looking at; modified or not. Next, create an assignment post in Google Classroom: Give the assignment a title, directions, and attach the needed file.  Be sure to make note of which version of the assignment you are working with (modified or not). Then you will choose which students will receive this version of the assignment.  On the right, click on "All Students".  Uncheck "All Students" and check only those students that sh...

While Guardian Summaries have been available in Google Classroom for some time, it seems like a good time to revisit what this looks like.   First, don't worry, parents cannot get into your actual Google Classroom.  They are merely seeing an overview/summary of the class and their student's work.  They cannot add, submit, or edit anything that is being done by the student from the Summaries.  They also cannot see the Stream.   The one catch is, parents/guardians have to have a Google email to sign up.  If you find that you don't even see the option to "invite guardians", please let me know. When a guardian receives a summary, they will see: Missing work—Work that’s late at the time the email was sent Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or work that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails) Class activity—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers Guardians can choose how...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

Formative is an assessment site that we have used in staff meetings in the past.  "F ormative  is a web assessment tool that works on any device. it allows teachers to create assignments, collect data, and provide feedback to students in real-time." Signing up is simple and syncs with your Google account.  You only need to create an account if you want to create your own Formatives or use the library.  Students do not need an account. There are 1000s of pre-made Formatives in the public library.  You can search by keyword, grade level, and standard.   Formatives can be in a variety of question formats with a few different assignment types.  You can upload pictures or PDFs for students to reference while taking their assessment.  There's even a "show your work" question type that allows students to draw a response.  I could see using the Wacom tablets for this to show student work in math, to have students draw on a m...

Synth is a free website where you or your students can record 256 second soundbytes (micropodcasting).  The concept is much like the audio-only version of Flipgrid .  Signing up is easy and syncs with your Google account.  Students have to acknowledge whether or not they are over 16, so some of the features you will see will differ from their view due to age restrictions.  Explore and Feed which are open source are unavailable for our students to view. To create a recording, click the red plus button and then start.  You have a maximum of 256 seconds to record and also have the option of adding some sound effects to your recording.  If you toggle transcription to the on position, Synth will attempt to transcribe your audio.  It isn't perfect, so the transcriptions are editable. In order for students to access your recording, they first need to create their account with Google (see above).  You can post the link to your podcast rec...