Author: PCCS TIS

The 5th annual Schoolcraft EdCamp will be held Sat. Feb. 9.

Jennifer Gonzalez On the Best Classroom Tech Tools

In this Cult of Pedagogy article, Jennifer Gonzalez updates her list of the six most helpful classroom technology tools, plus two honorable mentions. “I don’t think technology is the end-all be-all,” says Gonzalez, “and of course it brings new problems into our lives, but just watching the creativity behind these tools makes me so excited to live in a time when so many ordinary people can actually bring their ideas to life and watch those ideas impact the world.”

Equity Maps http://www.equitymaps.com – This iPad app helps figure out which students participate in class discussions, how often, and for how long. Having entered a seating chart into the computer, the teacher taps each student’s icon as he or she starts talking, and the app keeps track of each student’s contribution time and displays a summary at the end, including a breakdown by gender. The teacher can also tap for periods of silence, pair-shares, small groups, and even “chaos” – when general discussion gives way to many smaller conversations. In addition, the app can audio-record the whole discussion for later review.

Pro Writing Aid https://prowritingaid.com – This program does a deep dive into the quality of writing. The writer composes within the tool, copies and pastes or uploads the text, and gets a summary report with statistics on strengths and weaknesses, plus suggestions for changes when you hover over highlighted places within the text. Reports include readability (on four different reading scales), the number of times certain words were used, passive voice, overused words, use of clichés, sentence variety, unique words in the piece, average sentence length, the placement of different sentences by length, and adverb frequency. There’s a paid version of this software, but Gonzalez says you can get a lot of mileage from the free version.

Google Tour Creator https://vr.google.com/tourcreator/ – This new feature in Google Expeditions allows students to create their own tours using imagery from Google Street View and publish them into the Poly 3-D platform https://poly.google.com. These could be used as part of a research project, reflecting after a field trip, a tour of the neighborhood or the school, or a supplement to a creative writing project.

Great Big Story https://www.greatbigstory.com has short, professionally produced, positively themed videos about people and phenomena around the world – for example, a 12-year-old who took on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, the accidental invention of the best snack food, and America’s oldest female BMX racer. Teachers should preview material because some may not be appropriate for younger students.

Geoguessr https://geoguessr.com – “This one is my absolute favorite,” says Gonzalez. “This would be a fantastic option for early finishers, lame duck days, or even as a reward for good behavior – it’s that fun.” Players are plunked down somewhere in the world using Google Street View and have to navigate around and figure out where they are. Players get points for how successful they are at pinpointing their location on a map.

Webjets http://webjets.io – Users create what looks like a bulletin board on which they post items on cards, which can contain an image, an embedded video, a live Google Doc, an attached file, or a table with a variety of elements organized in columns. Students can keep multiple folders on one board, and all cards can be collapsed or expanded. This is a good tool for group projects.

Yoteach! https://yoteachapp.com – This backchannel tool allows a teacher to set up a free, password-protected “room,” give students the URL, and they can come in and chat, adding pictures or drawings.

Classroomq https://classroomq.com – Students who need help or have a question can add themselves to an electronic queue and get help in order (and then get checked off by the teacher with one click).

“6 Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2019” by Jennifer Gonzalez in The Cult of Pedagogy, January 6, 2019, https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/ed-tech-tools-2019/

I know you’ve been using Google Classroom for some time now, but maybe you don’t realize the power of the Google Classroom mobile app for iOS and Android devices. By now, you know that Google Classroom can streamline your classroom paper workflow and is a powerful tool for giving students feedback, but did you know that you can use a stylus with the Google Classroom app, that allows you to “write” virtually on student work submitted through Classroom?  You can highlight, circle, add hand written comments and even words of encouragements! It’s awesome. As a former middle school Language Arts teacher, this tool would have been indispensable to me.  I wouldn’t miss hauling a giant bag full of essays home. Just my trusty iPad!

NEW 2018 Google Classroom Updates for Desktop (detailed overview)

How to use Google Classroom (iPad App)

Manage teaching and learning with Classroom

Download iOS Version

Download Android Version

-Rick Coughlin

Use the below to register for the 2019 METS Virtual Rally, which will be held on February 8, 2019 from 8-11:45 am.  bit.ly/mets2019

The METS group are also seeking applications for presenters. The option to submit a presentation proposal is available at the end of this form. They are seeking a wide variety of topics that would appeal to EdTech leaders and which utilize engagement strategies to encourage active participation in an online conference format. Additionally, Presenters will be paired with a “coach” to help prepare for the online format and to develop engagement strategies. To see examples from last year’s Virtual Rally please visit http://bit.ly/2QGfLv

Want to brush up on your Google Skills?  Bookmark this Google Tip Sheet to help you on your journey or make a copy to keep in your Google Drive.

Also, don’t forget that you can use G Suite Training that is located at the question mark at the top right-hand corner of ALL of your Google Apps! Here’s a brief video about how it works.

As the new laptops are deployed to staff, and once you log in, please notice an icon on the desktop that will take you to a page on the website tech.pccsk12.com that will help you set your laptop up. Topics covered include Chrome Sync, Inputs and Outputs, Printing, Connecting to Displays, and Lanschool.  This will continue to be updated as new issues and services arise. Please submit a service request for any issues that might arise and seem outside of what the Handbook can help you with.

Welcome to the new PCCS Tech blog!  We are excited to announce a new way of getting important tech updates and a new way of searching for resources that you have access to. Now, instead of a long newsletter quarterly, a curated collection of blog posts will come to your Gmail inbox each week! We hope this is a more digestible and more immediate way of disseminating information from the Tech Department.

Based on your feedback, we also made a new Tech website that is easy for you to navigate and more responsive to your needs: https://tech.pccsk12.com

One thing you’ll notice right away is the streamlined look of the site. We’d like to think that the most important feature of the website is the Resources Page.  The most exciting part is how easy it is to search for resources based on your particular needs. So, you can search by grade level, device type, Danielson Domain, or subject, helping you narrow down the resources you have available to you as subscribed to by the district, or other resources that are free!  This will be easier than a Google search!

Furthermore, you will be auto-subscribed to our blog and website update that will be tailored to your grade level, so you don’t see the information you don’t need, thus saving you time…and who couldn’t use more time?

If you haven’t noticed already, Google Apps are no longer available in the Chrome Web Store. Google has phased them out and has had plans to soon announce Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).  PWAs will function just like apps on your desktop with icons that can be launched from your desktop just like a conventional program or app.  More on this to come, but in the meantime, the only way to get a Chrome Web App is through a direct link from a software provider’s website or via a link that is still present in your already added Chrome Apps Launcher.  To read more, click here.