Using Smore to Design Digital Posters

Smore is a tool that allows you to create beautiful digital posters. You can add images, videos, links, as well as other elements. While you can purchase a subscription to Smore, the free version has always offered more than enough options. I have created a short screencast that covers the basic features. 

Teachers can use Smore to serve as a digital newsletter. They could also use Smore to share activities with their students. For example, a government class teacher might share a link to a presidential political debate. Then they might use a text box to post links to different resources that pertain to the candidates and elections. Then they could link to a GoogleDoc that has an activity that the students will complete. This is just one example-- there are thousands of ways to use Smore in your classroom. 

Students can use Smore as well and the possibilities are just as endless. Why not have them use Smore to breathe life into assignments that are typically mundane? They can use images and videos that already exist on the web or they can produce their own content and upload it onto their own Smore. Sharing a Smore is simple.  They can be uploaded directly to a number of different sites including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. You can also embed a Smore directly into another page using the embed code or you can share the link.

Let's Chat

With new devices in the classroom come new possibilities, but sometimes it is difficult to figure out where to begin. One of the easiest ways to integrate technology into a classroom is to have to students use it to make sure their voice is heard. One of the ways we can accomplish this is by setting up a backchannel in our classroom. While this might sound terrifying and something that the NSA might be concerned about, a backchannel is actually quite simple. In fact, backchannels have been around forever. Remember when we were in school and we passed notes back and forth during class? Or when you are in a staff meeting and you quietly exchange remarks in hushed tones? That is a backchannel. Basically, it is a form of communication that is taking place behind the scenes while something else is happening. While these behind the scenes discussions are sometimes off topic, many times they are centered around the subject at hand.

Imagine you have a classroom of 30 sophomores and you are going to show a short video that pertains to a topic or concept that you are teaching. In a traditional setting you have a couple of options. You could show a few minutes of the video then stop to discuss it then start, stop, and discuss until the end of it. You could show the entire video then ask your students to write a reflection. In the first scenario where you discuss the video while you are watching it there are sure to be students who are left out of the discussion while others might dominate it. In a class of 30 there might only be 10 or so that really get to fully participate. If you had all students write an independent reflection they will all have the chance to participate, but they will miss out on the value of participating in a discussion with their peers.

Setting up a backchannel will solve BOTH of these problems. In a backchannel you would act as the moderator of a chat that involves all of  your students. In my class I would show a video and I would ask questions throughout the video in the chat. These were not simply knowledge level questions, but ones that required my students to really think about their answer. (I would pause the video when necessary.) All of my students had the chance to fully participate. They were encouraged to ask questions and include their remarks in the chat. After students became comfortable working in the backchannel they would answer the questions their peers posted. Yes, there were times my students included some minor inappropriate comments, but they would have done that even without the chat. The benefits were huge and it was one of the things my students liked doing the most. You can use a backchannel anytime you want to have a class discussion or when you want to break the class into groups and give them different topics to discuss. There are lots of creative ways to use backchannels.

There are any number of ways to set up a backchannel. My favorite service to use is called Chatzy. I like this one because you can direct students to pick a different color for their name which makes it easy to see who is participating and who is not. Chatzy also allows you to archive the chat and send it to yourself so you can review it later. The only drawback is that Chatzy costs $24 a year or $3.00 per month if you need space for over 10 users. It is well worth it to give it a try and see how you like it in comparison to other services.

Other services: 

• 81Dash (free)
• Google Classroom (free)
• TodaysMeet (free)
• Backchannel Chat ($15/year)

Editing a Google Site

It's almost impossible to teach in 2014 without having some sort of digital space to supplement your classroom. Having a place on the web where we can store and share digital resources is so incredibly valuable. So much class time can be saved when students don't have to spend it searching for items that you can easily share in a Google Site. A Site is Google's version of a wiki. 

Keep in mind that this is a very generic template. Feel free to delete pages that you don't need, change the names of pages, and add additional pages. This is your site so please change it so that it works for you! All we ask is that you don't change the theme so that all classroom sites across the district maintain a consistent color scheme which will help us develop our brand. 

Ideas for how to use a Google Site: 

• Add a classroom or school calendar to help students (and yourself!) keep on track. Parents appreciate seeing school activities in a calendar. 
• Share pictures or videos of your students as they work on activities. Think of this as a sort of digital newsletter. (Parents like to see what is happening in class!) 
• Share your lesson plans. Create them on a doc or presentation and upload them to a page on the Site. 
• Know in advance that you will be gone? Create a screencast that allows you to virtually teach your class. Upload it to YouTube and embed it on the Site. Google helps you be in two places at once! 
• Have students create a Google Site and link them back to your classroom Site you can easily access them. You could do this for student blogs as well. 
• Have a list of acceptable activities that students can complete when they finish their assignments. 
• Showing a video in class? Embed the video in a Google Form where you also include questions. Embed the Form in your Site so students who are absent have easy access to it. 

The only limit to what you can do with a Site is your own imagination. Here are TONS of ideas for how to use Sites (wikis) in your classroom. 

Making a Template Using Google Docs

You will probably invest quite a bit of time creating documents that you will might need to use on a number of different occasions. For example, you might have a seating chart or lesson plan guide that you need to use several times. The easiest way to do this is to create the document in Drive. You could keep this document for your own use or you could share it with other teachers. Ideally, when you create a template that you believe others in the district might find useful you share it in our Google+ community.

The following tutorial will take you through the process of setting up a document, how to share it, and a suggestion for how to save it in Drive.

Hump Day How-To's

Each Wednesday I will share a new tutorial on how to use a different web tool. Check back here for LOTS of useful tips and ideas! Let me know if there is something specific you want to to learn and I will do my best to help you out.