Edpuzzle - Track Student Progress Using Video Resources

Even if you don't have a flipped classroom, Edpuzzle can be a great resource to use if you want to assign students videos to watch and then track their progress.  It allows teachers to assign videos for students to watch outside of class, instead of having to always take the class time to watch them together, and then be able to see whether students watched the videos and track their progress.  One of the best features about it is the ability to add questions to the video that students have to answer as they watch.  You can add multiple choice or text questions, and then see how students did on the questions.  You can use existing videos from places like Youtube or Kahn Academy, or upload your own videos if you want to record your own lectures. Additionally, you can assign students an edpuzzle project and they can create learning videos themselves!

Now, all that being said, as awesome as this tool is, there are a few things you should know, especially if you are thinking of using it with your FPS high school students.  While we only have one teacher who uses it extensively, he has found that for a handful of students, they run into issues when trying to view his videos on edpuzzle.  Generally it's an issue of the video freezing at some point while it is playing. As a workaround, this teacher saves his videos in his Google Drive, so his students can watch them there if needed.  However, when that happens, he is unable to track their usage and questions. Again, this is only a few students, and this seems to have more to do with our tablets or those students, and not the site or the resource itself.  So this will be something to watch going forward.  As always with technology, a backup plan is a good idea.  And even with the possibility of a few students needing to use the backup plan, this resource is well worth it to track videos you assign to students, even if it's not frequently.  Check out the links below for some really good tutorials and videos on how to use it!

Edpuzzle Demo Video
Edpuzzle Video & Question Analytics Video
Great Youtube Video on Using Edpuzzle

Google Chrome Extensions

In an earlier post, I talked about some of the neat things you can do with Chrome tabs to make your browsing experience easier and more efficient (I still love being able to pin tabs!).  However, I thought I should spend a little time talking about some of the more helpful Chrome extensions that I really find useful.  This post is really more about making working in Chrome easier and saving time, as opposed to things you might actually use in the classroom; however, some of these might be useful for your students, too.

For those of you who don't use them, extensions are extra features that can be added to Chrome that can customize your use of it and help make the things you do regularly easier to do.

Extensity:

Managing extensions and apps can be overwhelming.  For most people, they end up with a long line of icons at the top of the browser, and let's be honest, some extensions can cause other programs or sites to do funky things.  In general, a good practice is to only keep enabled the extensions that you use frequently, and disable the rest until you actually need to use them.  But this also means the extra work of opening your settings and going to your extensions control page and then enabling or disabling what you need.  Extensity solves that problem by providing one-click access to all your extensions and apps.  You click the extensions icon to use it, click the extension to turn on or off (gray means it is disabled or off).  You can also launch your apps from the extension, which means you don't have to keep opening a new tab or going back to your apps page every time you want to access one.  It makes using extensions and apps in Chrome faster and easier.  See this Cool Cat Teacher One-Minute Youtube Video for more information about how to use it.

Awesome Screenshot:

This extension allows you to take online screenshots and edit them directly in your browser.  You can capture full or partial website pages, crop, add shapes, arrows and lines, write or highlight, and blur different areas of the screenshot. You can color code your annotations and then save them for future use or copy and paste them directly into an online document or web tool.  See this video for more information and a walk-through of how to use it.

OneTab:

Onetab is another extension that just makes the whole Chrome user experience easier.  If you are one of those people who always have about fifty tabs open in your browser (it's okay, I know you're out there), OneTab is for you.  OneTab will take all of your open tabs (except pinned ones) and pull them into a single tab with a list of all your open tabs.  That way, since we know you aren't working in all fifty of them at once, you can still go back and forth easily, but you don't have to keep so many open that you can't even tell what they are.  It's a nice, easy extension if you like a lot of tabs open at once.

There are many more extensions out there and I'm sure I'll do another post soon with some more, but these are three that are helpful, easy to use, and can make Chrome more efficient.  Hopefully you'll find at least one that you like and can start to use! 

Thinglink - Tag Your Images

The last couple of weeks I have worked with a couple of our foreign language teachers on projects that use a tool called Thinglink, and so I thought it would make a good topic for a blog post here.  Thinglink is a fun tool, because it lets you take an image and add different tags to it, which then link to text, videos, websites, Google docs, other images, etc.  It can be a great tool for class projects and a different way for students to demonstrate how much information they know or understand about a topic or concept.
In this case, these teachers were having students research different places in a foreign country.  So the students uploaded pictures of maps of the country, and then added tags for the different cities telling about them.  What makes Thinglink so useful is how versatile it is when it comes to adding tags.  You really can link just about anything you can think of.
Additionally, these teachers set up class groups and had the students all add their projects to the class group, which allows them to easily view and share their work with the class and the teacher.  The whole process took about 20-25 minutes to get the student set up, added to the class, creating their projects and adding them to the class group, and starting their tags.  It's an easy tool to use, which makes it nice for a variety of classrooms.  It can be used to demonstrate knowledge of places or language, such as the case with the foreign language classrooms, to tell a story, to explain how to do something, or to inform about any number of topics.  Check out the links below for examples and directions to get started!
Using Thinglink - General Directions
Learn to Use Thinglink in Under 5 Minutes - Youtube Video

                               

Microsoft OneNote - The Most Awesome Notetaking Tool Ever

So we are a Google Apps for Education school, and as a result, many of my blog posts are all about Google tools, and ways they can make your life easier.  However, I have found that there are still some things I do that I cannot find a replacement for in Google.  And OneNote is one of those.  There are so many things I can do with OneNote and so many ways it can be used by students, that I have trouble letting go.  So this blog post is dedicated to OneNote and some of my favorite features.

First, I love that I can have many notebooks, and each notebook can have many sections and pages.  It's like the ultimate trapper keeper, but it's on my computer so the papers never fall out.  I have notebooks for personal lists and notes, work meetings, lesson plans I teach for teachers and students, and my own school work as I'm finishing up grad school.  I have everything I need to stay organized all in one place.  And best of all, with my Microsoft account, I can back it all up online, never have to worry about losing it, and even have it synced to my phone so I can access my info there, too.  And that's just the benefits I get from having it.  Some of the features it has make doing different tasks so much easier.

Favorite Feature #1 - Tags
I am a list-maker.  There is nothing more satisfying that having a big list of things to do and getting to check something off of it.  I love that in OneNote, I can tag different items on my pages to keep them organized.  My favorite is the "To Do" tag.  I use it to make lists with little checkboxes next to the items, and as I complete them, I can check the box and get the satisfaction of knowing I accomplished something.  Now, I know I could just delete the item off the list and get the same result, but if I can check it off, I don't have to worry about remembering if I even put it on the list to start with.  And even better, I can access my outlook tasks from OneNote, which makes keeping track of things even easier.
For students, they can use tags when taking notes to mark important items they need to remember, questions they have, ideas they have while listening to a lecture or reading, etc.  And you can search your tags later, which helps keep things easy to find.

Favorite Feature #2 - Inserting Files
This is another feature I use for personal use, but that students could use while notetaking, too.  OneNote lets you attach or insert files directly into your pages.  So for example, I use this personally while doing my own grad school homework.  It generally involves reading a lot of different articles from different sources.  I insert those articles into different OneNote pages, and then I can highlight and type notes right on the articles.  It also helps organize everything into one place.  Students can do this same thing with articles or things they need to read for class, or to take notes from a teacher on a powerpoint or some other form of lecture.  It's easy, fast, and keeps things organized.

I also love that I can easily insert screen clippings, and with my touchscreen computer I can easily write and take notes that way, without always having to type.  OneNote is definitely a great all-around note taking tool that makes staying organized easier.  See the links below for more help and info!

What Can OneNote Do? - Video about some of the features of OneNote
OneNote Tutorial - Video about using OneNote - kind of long but detailed
Microsoft's OneNote Training and Help Page

Diigo - Online and Social Bookmarking

As we start the new semester, many teachers may be looking for new resources to use in classroom planning and ways to organize all of the resources out there. Enter Diigo.  Diigo is a social bookmarking, web annotation, and research tool that works well for teachers to use to keep track of all those great resources found, or for students to use to keep track of information and research for classroom assignments.

One great feature about Diigo is the Google single sign-on.  There is no hassle with setting up accounts or finding a username and password or any of that.  Additionally, Google has a Diigo extension that makes saving an annotating websites super easy.

I use Diigo in a few different ways.  First, I use it to organize great websites I find and want to keep, both personally and professionally.  With the extension, when I find a site I want to keep, I simply click the extension and click Save.  It then saves that website into my Diigo library, where I can access it later.  I can also tag websites with different terms to help me group them. For instance, my personal Diigo account has different tag groups like recipes, house ideas, kid stuff, etc.  My professional ones has tags like Google, tech articles, web tools, etc.  It works great for organizing and I can create customized lists to help me further organize the sites I find.  Along with saving the site, I can also highlight or annotate the site and save specific information to Diigo.  This works great if there is something about a site I want to remember.

Another way I use Diigo is as part of my Professional Learning Network (PLN).  I belong to a number of Diigo groups, which are just groups of users who share similar interests.  I follow some educational and technology groups, and can then browse and see what these people are saving and posting to share with others. I find numerous great resources through my Diigo groups.

Finally, Diigo is not just for teachers.  It can be a great tool for students to organize information for research projects or to keep track of their own online items they use for school.  Students can annotate and save website information, and then group that information by project or class, and they can even share that with teachers so you can track how they are doing. There are so many uses for this neat online tool!  See the links below for more help and directions.

Under a Minute Tech Tip Diigo Youtube Video
How to Install and Use Diigo
How to Use Diigo (this is a great Youtube video walking you through how to use it)
Link to Chrome Webstore to Install App and Extension 

Online Review Creation Tools

With semester one coming to a close and finals looming next week, teachers are looking for different ways to create online reviews for students.  There are a number of online tools that let teachers create games or different review formats that students can use to study class content.  Many of the tools have existing quizzes or games created by other teachers that you can tap into and use.  In this blog, I'm only going to look at three of the ones my teachers like and use the most.  Hopefully utilizing one or more of these tools will help you in finding different and engaging ways for students to review your classroom content.

Quizlet
Quizlet is an online tool that allows you to create a review set with matching terms and answers, in a variety of languages.  You can also add images and choose privacy settings to make your reviews public, or only to your classes or specific people.  When students go to complete the review, they have a variety of options for how the content is presented, including flashcards, spelling, taking it as a test, a learning mode, as well as scatter or space race games.  It works well for allowing students to review material on their own, and there are many publicly created sets already made that teachers can access and use.  See the links below for more information and help.

Teacher Overview/Ideas for Using Quizlet
Introduction to Quizlet

Kahoot
I just did a recent post devoted solely to Kahoot, but I focused on using it as a formative assessment tool real-time in the classroom. However, Kahoot can also be used as a review tool because students can sign up for accounts and create their own Kahoots, and them make them public and use them to review together.  Having students create their own Kahoots is a great way to assess whether they understand the classroom material.  See the links below for more information and help.

Get Kahoot - Link for Student to Sign up to Create Kahoots
Kahoot FAQ Page

Purpose Games
Purpose Games is a web site for learning and having fun at the same time.  Like the other tools, you can create your own games or use ones created by others.  You can create games or quizzes, and make playlists of your favorite games.  The games involve using images and having students identify different parts or areas on an image, or teachers can create standard multiple choice quizzes.  Teachers can also create groups, which makes managing and providing reviews for students easier.  Click on the links below to get started!

Purpose Games FAQs

All Things Youtube

Youtube has become a powerful educational tool lately that can be used in a variety of ways.  While there is always a place for the cat and fox videos that we all love (or hate), it can also be used to post content videos for students to watch, to assist in classroom flipping, or as a resource for students to find, use, and upload their own video creations.  On the surface, Youtube is simply a platform to post and share videos.  However, there are a variety of options and features that make it much more. Below you will find directions for uploading and editing videos, including increasing the 15 minute per video limit, subscribing to channels, creating and sharing playlists, and downloading Youtube videos.  The options are endless!

Uploading Videos:

• Teachers and students can post videos to Youtube and share them.  One issue some teachers have run into is the 15 minute limit set on our school Youtube accounts.  However, that limit can be increased by following the directions below from the Youtube Help Site: Increasing Your Youtube Limit
• Additionally, students can upload their own videos by following these directions: Uploading to Youtube.  
• Once you have uploaded videos to Youtube, you also have the option to edit those videos, right in Youtube.  This video has instructions and help for editing your videos in Youtube.

Along with uploading videos, you can create and have students subscribe to your Youtube channel, making sharing classroom videos easier, or you yourself can subscribe to channels of interest to you.  For instance, Fargo Public Schools has an informative and helpful Youtube Channel with technology help videos - check it out here!
If you prefer not to access a complete channel or to create your own videos for classroom use, you can also create your own playlists, which are a collection of videos you choose and organize.  This works well if you use a variety of videos that you show in class or have students watch and you want to keep them organized and handy.  See the links below for videos on how to use channels and playlists.
     How to Subscribe to Channels
     How to Create and Share Playlists

See all the videos on the Youtube Help Channel here.

Downloading Youtube Videos and Audio

There are a number of ways to download videos from Youtube and options for downloading entire videos or just the audio of a video.  Students will often want to take short clips from videos to use in class projects, and the following sites allow for that.  This is also very helpful if you want to access a video later when you don't have internet access, or as a safety if you are planning to show a video in class, in case something isn't working (we all know the day you want to show a video is the day all it will do is buffer and not play).

•      Keepvid: This site allows you to download videos from a variety of sites, including Youtube.  Simply copy and paste the video link in the box at the top of the page and click Download.  The site will provide options for downloading in a variety of formats, including video or audio only.
•      Clip Converter: This site is another options for downloading online videos, or for uploading and converting the format of a video you have saved on your computer.  To download, simply paste the link and click continue.  Similar to Keepvid, you will get a list of options for downloading, including audio only.
•      Youtube to MP3: This is one I recently leaned about from students, where you can again use the link to a Youtube video and convert it to an MP3 file that can be downloaded.  This is an easy way to get just the audio from a video or to get music that students can then use in presentations or classroom projects.  There is a variety of public domain music available on Youtube that students can use.