Technology Spotlight: Jamboard

I really wanted to jump on the Jamboard bandwagon sooner, but I needed some time to see how it could truly fit into my virtual learning world. Oh how I wish I had started using it sooner.

My favorite thing to use it for is my small group sessions. I love that I can preassign them each a slide and then quickly scan back and forth between their frames to monitor what they are doing. Here are some examples so far:

Use the grid background to practice area model for multiplication:

Drag and drop the fractions on the train cars to match equivalent fractions.

Review adding fractions with the same denominator.

Review decimal place value.

As you can see, I've started off pretty simple/basic. I have seen some great templates already created out there!

Click here to see my presentation on the basics of Jamboard to learn more about it.

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Technology Spotlight: Google Meet

I started off the year using Zoom, but when SO many of my students were having issues logging in, it would take up my entire class time just trying to trouble shoot.

We are a Google Edu county and made the switch to using my Google Meet link that is located within my Google Classroom. I knew that Google was going to be rolling out different updates throughout the fall to make our Google Meet experience better.

I wanted to share some tips and tricks that I have discovered to make using Google Meet easier for teachers.

Using Meet Through Google Classroom:

Turning the Google Meet link is simple. In the top right corner you will click on the Gear icon (settings menu). When that opens up, scroll down until you see the section titled Google Meet. If you have never used this feature you will need to generate a link the first time. Then you can toggle between  allowing the students to view the link or not viewing the link. I suggest that you only have the link viewable during your live class times because students are able to click on the link without a teacher being present.

Host Settings:

There are now host settings where you can control the meeting room. You can make it so that no one is allowed to share their screens. You can also turn off the chat feature for students.

The Quick Access option will make it so that anyone who is not invited to your Google Meet link will have to ask to join the meeting.

These settings can be found in the bottom left corner where the little blue shield with a lock icon is located.

Sharing Your Screen:

To share your screen you will click on Present Now and then you will have some options. I prefer to use share a Chrome tab. This makes it so that the tab is always presented and the students don't see if you switch to a different tab. It is super easy to switch to a new tab when using this option. When you click on a new tab you will see the option at the top of the screen to share this tab instead. You can also choose to share a window or share your entire screen. I will use the entire screen option if I am showing them how to access something on their Chromebook or if I know I will have to click on a link and a new tab will open.

Other Options:

In the bottom right corner are 3 dots, which we know with any Google product means there are more options. When you click on the 3 dots, the menu to the left opens up. This is where Google has been updating some of their features.

At the top you can see a Whiteboard option. This opens a Jamboard. You can choose from a blank Jam or you can open one from Google Drive that you have already created.

Change layout is another option that is important. As a teacher you will want to be able to see all of your students at one time, so you can choose the Tiled layout and then choose how many tiles you want to see at one time on the bottom. If you are attending a Google Meet meeting where someone is presenting you can change your view to the Sidebar. This puts the shared screen in a large format and then you can see some of the participant videos on the right side. (this is good to share with your students if they complain that the screen is too small).

Another new feature is the background blur. Participants and host can choose to turn on the background blur so that you can't see what is behind the person in the video. It does warn that this may cause the computer to run slower.

You can also see in the menu that you can choose to record a meeting, as well as, turn on captions. Always check the 3 dots menu to see if any new features have been added.

Chrome Extensions for Meet:

The Google Chrome store is a place where you can applications you can add to your Google Chrome to help with productivity, quickly access tools, etc. Before adding any extensions, I ALWAYS look at the reviews and star rating. People are always creating new extensions and some of them do not work or are not effective, so the ratings and reviews will allow you to see what other people think about them.

Before Google Meet added the tiled layout option where you can see more people in Google Meet, I had added the Google Meet Grid View (fix) extension. I still use it sometimes because it keeps the videos tiled in an organized manner and it also puts myself and my shared screen in the top right corner, which I like because I don't need to see a large area telling me that I am sharing my screen.

Google Meet Breakout rooms is another extension that I have added. It allows the host to create breakout rooms within Google Meet. I have only used this twice so far because most of the time when I am using a breakout room it is for another teacher to pull a small group, so I will just create a quick Google Meet link, drop it in the chat and then have both Google Meet sessions open.

My favorite extension so far is Google Meet Attendance. This extension tracks who enters the Google Meet, how long they stayed, if they left and come back. You can create a list of who you are expecting in the meeting and save it for each class so that you can easily see attendance at the end of the meeting. It also downloads a file at the end onto your computer that shows you a spreadsheet-like document with each participant and their attendance data for that session. This was created by a teacher who knows the importance of privacy, so this extension does not collect any data of the users.

There are always new extensions being added, so you can always check the chrome store regularly for any updates. I am also going to be writing a blog about my favorite Chrome extensions in the near future.

I am hopeful that Google will continue to make Google Meet better as we continue in this new territory of virtual classrooms.

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Technology Spotlight: Google Forms

With so many people teaching online right now, this is the perfect time to get yourself familiar with Google Forms.

We often associate Google Forms with assessments, which it is the perfect tool to use for that purpose, but it can do so much more!

Here is a presentation that is pretty much a step-by-step for how to set up a Google Form and all of the different tools and options you have while creating it.

Click here to access the presentation.

Google Forms can be great for assessing students, especially with a quick multiple choice quiz that can grade itself. It is also a good assessment tool if you want to provide immediate feedback to a student. For example, you can add sections to your form, where if a student selects the wrong answer, it can take them to a section that has a video to reteach them the concept and then they can try the question again. (this uses the go to section based on answer function)

Here are some other ways to use Google Forms:

• reading logs
• communication logs
• scheduling
• choose your own adventure
• attendance trackers/daily check-in
• classroom library check-out

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Twitter: @apotter730

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Technology Spotlight: Google Sites

I have been using Google Sites since back when there was the old sites. I will start off by saying with the "new" Google Sites you do not need ANY web design experience. It is extremely easy to use and build.

While everyone was going crazy with their bitmoji craze (don't get me wrong they are super cute, but I like to be practical and sites does some things that that doesn't), I decided to go with Google Sites for my 5th graders.

First of all I like how sites makes it easy to add new pages or subpages and then they are already in the menu, you don't have to worry about linking anything to the correct slide.

Secondly, I like that I can upload a document, presentation, etc. from Google Drive. It shows a preview of that item and even updates automatically. So if you make a change on a presentation, it will automatically show up in Google Sites. For presentations when you post them, the visitors are able to just scroll through the presentation without having to open it.

Third, I like the organization of the sites. It is easy to navigate with one click.

This is my welcome/landing page. The menu bar at the top allows for navigation of the sites. I also added the four icons, they also take the students to pages for each of the items.

The schedule page allows the kids to click on their homeroom teacher name and it takes them to the weekly schedule that we created with hyperlinks to their Google Classrooms, independent tasks, Zoom links, etc.

See my post about weekly schedule here.

The assignments page allows the kids to click on their homeroom teacher name and it takes them directly to the classwork page on their Google Classroom.

The resources page is something that I am still working on to figure out exactly what I am going to include. Our math curriculum comes with family letters, so that is definitely one category. I also started my Tech Support page. I have a feeling this will grow as I discover the needs of my parents and students. I am also thinking of including other things as well. Maybe resources for supporting students at home or other website they could visit that could be fun to practice more math. Any ideas, drop them in the comments below.

The last page (for now) is all about the teacher. It is always nice to share information about yourself with your students and parents. They like to know where you came from, how long you've been teaching, among other things. It helps build that relationship, especially if they realize they have something in common with you.

I am not going to include a link to my school Google site since it has links just for the kids, but I will share my personal site here where I house many of my technology support items. I am also going to include the presentation I put together previously for how to get started with Google Sites.

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Getting Started with Google Sites

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Google Classroom Escape Room

I've seen people talk about digital escape rooms and decided I wanted to attempt to make one! I decided this would be a fun way for students (and teachers) to learn or remind themselves about Google Classroom and how they will be using it this school year.

I will share the escape room with you all, but I thought I would also take this time to explain how to make an escape room because if you are comfortable with hyperlinks in Google Slides you can handle making one.

Google Slides is always my go-to, but this could also be done in Google Forms by using the option to go to a certain question based on the student's response. When using slides, you can choose to make all of your slides first and then hyperlink them or hyperlink them as you go. If you choose to hyperlink them as you go and you link to another slide, it will always go to that exact slide no matter if you add new slides or change the order of the slides.

I tried about 50 times to type out directions and tips for creating this, but decided it would be WAY easier to use videos to actually show you how to do some of the steps. Now I have to admit, I'm still working on my speaking skills in Screencastify. I like to trip over my words and I sometimes make mistakes, but rather than recording myself 10 times, I just leave them in there and you all can appreciate that I am human. (this is something you should do with your kids too, nothing has to be perfect!)

Creating hyperlinks:

An escape room is FULL of hyperlinks. You can hyperlink text, text box, shape, or image. You can link these to a website by copying and pasting the URL or you can link to another slide in the presentation.

Advancing to a specific slide:

When I created my escape room, I wanted the students to click in a specific location to move forward in the challenge. This video will show you how you can create shapes with hyperlinks so that if they click in the correct place it will advance them to the next part of the challenge, but if they click in the wrong spot it will take them to a try again slide. 

Landing slides for wrong choices:

In my escape room, I wanted to have it set up so that if the kids click in a place that is not correct, it will take them to a landing page that lets them know they got it wrong and they can go back and try again. This video will show you how to do that. I want to point out that you will need this landing slide for EACH of your tasks in the escape room.

So now here it is! Here is my Google Classroom Escape Room. This is the first one that I have built so it isn't super fancy. I used a simple word scramble as the "challenge" portion to escape. You can choose to have it timed or untimed. Click on the link below to get your copy!

Google Classroom Escape Room

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Student How To for Google Classroom

Here is another resource that I started creating during distance learning as we were trying to teach students and parents how to use Google Classroom from afar.

One issue that I kept having is that our teacher side of Google Classroom looks different from the student side, so sometimes I would have to ask them to share their screen with me to help them out. This resource will show the students the buttons and tools that are on the student side of Google Classroom so they understand how to navigate it.

This presentation uses screen shots/images rather than videos and include directions in both english and spanish to help students and parents.

Here are the items included:

• Joining a Classroom
• Classroom Stream
• navigating the Classwork Page
• how to Submit Assignments
• understanding Class Comments and Private Comments
• how to Check Grades

Click on any image above to see the presentation or visit my Google Site to view all of the resources for students.

What other things would you like students to know how to do with Google Classroom that I may have left out??

https://bit.ly/AmberPotterWebsite

Technology Spotlight: Nearpod

While preparing for distance learning, I searched through the many types of educational technology out there to try and find something that would fit my needs. I have used Nearpod in the past, but decided to give it another try during the 8 weeks that we did online learning.

So what is Nearpod? It is a website that allows you to create interactive lessons. It can be used as an add-on in Google Slides, or you can go directly to their website and create lessons. Their website also has a ton of lessons that have already been created that you are able to use. You can search by grade, subject, etc.

There are 2 ways to use Nearpod once you have your lesson created. You can enter Teacher-Paced mode or Student-Paced mode. Teacher-paced means that the teacher controls the slides and when to advance to the next one. This is great for in the classroom or during a Zoom/Google Meet teaching session. During distance learning, I always chose the student-paced mode and allowed the students to enter the code to access the lesson on their own time.

Here are a few ways that we used Nearpod during distance learning:

• matched fractions with models
• matched vocabulary with definitions/images
• drew representations of fractions
• highlighted a section of text to find the main idea
• created a Flipgrid video to explain their thinking when solving a problem

I put together a presentation for the teachers at my school so that they could learn more about Nearpod. You can check it out by clicking on the image below:

Nearpod has resources available on their website. There are webinars that you can sign up for on a variety of topics. They have self-guided instructional lessons to help you get started. They also have many how-to videos available on their YouTube page, which you can access from the resource page as well.

https://nearpod.com/resources

If you would like to see a sample lesson, go to https://nearpod.com/student/ and enter the code below:

DPFBU (active through August 31)

How To Videos for Students (and Teachers)

With the uncertainty of whether we will be in school, out of school, or a hybrid version of both, I started to think about my students and what I would want them to be able to do on their own in the event we are learning from home again this fall. (honestly, these could be helpful in the building as well)

One thing that I realized, is that some students can navigate and figure out different apps and technology on their own, but there are some that need more support. I decided that I am going to put together some presentations that will allow students to watch videos about how to do something or navigate a specific application I want them to use. Since we are a Google county, I am starting with the basic Google apps.

First up is Google Slides and Google Docs!

Click on the image below to view the How To for Google Slides:

Click on the image below to view the How To for Google Docs:

These videos are also located on my website:

Amber Potter Google Site Student Resources Page

Do you have suggestions for other ideas to add to the presentations?? Leave me a comment below!

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: mrspotterstyle

Technology Spotlight: Pear Deck

logo from www.peardeck.com

I heard about Pear Deck as an add-on for Google Slides a few years ago at a conference I attended. I attempted to use it some, but never fully got into it.

Fast forward to March 2020 and hit with the realization that we would be teaching online for the near future and I knew that I needed something to help me out. Luckily, I received an email that our county decided to provide the premium version of Pear Deck for the teachers, so I decided to check it out again.

So what is Pear Deck? It is an add-on for Google Slides (or Powerpoint, we just happen to be a Google county). This add-on allows you to insert slides into your presentation that generate student engagement with a variety of interactive slides. I absolutely love that it is an add-on because I can easily create my presentations in Google Slides and add in the interactive slides where needed. 

There are 2 ways to use Pear Deck once you have your presentation created, you can enter Teacher-Paced mode or Student-Paced mode. Teacher-paced means that the teacher controls the slides and when to advance to the next one. This is great for in the classroom or during a Zoom/Google Meet teaching session. During distance learning, I always chose the student-paced mode which generates a link and allows the students to access the presentation on their own time.

A few of the ways that I used Pear Deck in my math lessons the past 2-3 months:

• use the Drawing Slide to have students plot points on a coordinate plane
• use the Text Slide to have students explain how to find the volume of a rectangular prism
• use the Drawing Slide to have students create a line plot with data
• use the Drawing Slide to match expressions to the word form

A new feature that they just launched in the past couple of weeks is the ability to leave feedback directly on the slides in Pear Deck. You can access this from your Teacher Dashboard and the students see it on their side of Pear Deck.

Here is a sample lesson from my 5th grade math class:

https://sharepeardeck.com/hq8k6p

Check out the presentation below to learn more about Pear Deck by clicking on the image:

Pear Deck also has many resources available on their website:

• The Orchard - templates
• Trainings - sign up for a variety of webinars
• Help Videos

You can earn badges for using Pear Deck. For example, you earn a badge after you have created your first session and even your 100th session! There are badges for types of questions used, using Pear Pop, and more. Check them out here: https://www.peardeck.com/achievements

Once you have become a Pear Deck pro, you can even apply to become an Inspearational Educator. More information about that program can be found here: https://www.peardeck.com/inspearational-educators

As the uncertainty of the fall looms, I would definitely check out this technology enhancement. As I said, it can be used for Google or Microsoft and definitely adds an engaging aspect to your lessons.

Google Forms to Organize Classroom Library

I have A LOT of books in my classroom library and have them organized by category, author, series, etc., but there are times that I would love to make suggestions to my students based on their interests, but I have NO idea what is even in my library anymore. Between buying new books each year to those books that like to grow legs and leave my classroom (to be quite honest, if a student borrows a book or even takes it on purpose, I'm okay with it because my hope is that they are actually reading it!), I have lost track of which books I actually own.

I have been searching around for a good database or app that would organize all of my books and just didn't seem to find one, so now enters the good ole trusted Google Sheets. Once the books are in Sheets that I can easily sort them or filter them to help find books on a certain topic or interest (and level although I never tell my students that). Now the question is getting them into Sheets.

Before packing up my classroom at the end of the summer, I downloaded the Scholastic Book Wizard and had a couple of students organize my books and scan all of them into this app. (One perk to teaching 5th grade) However, once they are in the app there isn't much to do with it, other than keep track of which students borrow each book. It allows you to email the list of books, but it is literally an e-mail with the books in a LONG list with no other data.

Now enter... Google Forms!

I created a form with the categories that I felt were important to me as a teacher. These included Title, Author, Series, Topic, Location in Class Library, and Level (we use Lexile at my school, but you can use whatever leveling system works for you). Typing all of the books into forms can be time consuming, but once it is done the list that you will have will be worth it!  You could always get an older student to type in the book information for you.

See my Google Form here!

Once the list is compiled in Google Sheets, you can sort or filter the results quite easily. 

First, I will hide the Timestamp column because that has no importance to me. To do this Right Click on the grey area near the A or click on the little drop-down arrow next to the A and click Hide Column.

Next, I do a little clean-up, but adjusting the column widths (click on the line between the two columns and drag to desired width), made the headings in the first row centered (click on the grey area with the 1 to highlight the entire row then click on Center Align on the toolbar), and made the Lexile levels centered (click on grey area with the F to highlight the column then click on Center Align on the toolbar).

To be able to Filter the results, click on the grey area above the 1 (to the left of the B column). This allows you to highlight the entire sheet. Then click on Data in the menu bar, then Turn On Filter. You should now see a little grey triangle shape next to the headings in each column. By clicking on the triangle you can sort A-Z, Z-A, or type in the search bar to find something specific.

This database is not only great for the teacher to keep track or suggest books in the classroom, but if you teach older students, they can use the database to search for books as well. You could even add an additional column with a checkbox to keep track if a student checks out a book from the library.