Video Killed the Radio Star... I'm a YouTuber!!!

Hey all! I'm finding that when I make an instructional video it is easier for me to post it to YouTube so it can be accessed by people in and out of the district. Keep checking back so you can see the videos I am putting out! Click here to check out my channel! 

What?!? Seesaw can do that?

Any of you that have known me for a bit know that I love Seesaw!!!! During this crazy time, I am finding that Seesaw does an amazing job of easily "digitizing" a PDF. I am using this at home with my own third grader because she is a master at navigating Seesaw and it does decrease my need to print. Check out the video below to see it in action!

Week 6 Math Activities on Seesaw

If you are an elementary Seesaw friend, this should make you happy! I have "digitized" the math activities in Seesaw for Week 6! Click here to see them!

Making PDFs "Editable"

I have been getting a ton of questions about making PDFs editable so people can write on them. I have a ton of suggestions but please remember, kids are using a ton of different devices. you can edit a PDF in Google classroom on an iPad that was made in the last 3 years, but you can't naturally edit a PDF on a computer/Chromebook in Google Classroom without everyone having to sign up for extensions and add ons.

1) My first suggestion is to just upload the PDFs to your Google Classroom and not digitize them for students to mark up. In my opinion, completing math using digital tools is cumbersome (my husband is a middle school math teacher and is full time teaching online so I have seen him work through different variations.) My first suggestion is to post it as a PDF and prompt the kids to either print it (which most students don't have a printer) or just keep the worksheet open on the device and complete the work on another piece of paper, just as if they had a textbook they couldn't write in. My son's 7th grade math teacher did this and then asked them to take a picture of their work and email it to him/upload it to Google Classroom. It wasn't any harder than working out of a textbook.

2) If you do want to digitize, here is a way to turn any PDF into an activity in Google Slides that students can mark up with all the tools in Slides: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O-siUU2jxz3q0ZycixELNU0e8d0M22Lq

3) I love the website Edulastic! It is an amazing place to make digital assessments/activities but especially math. You can build an assignment from other people's assessments, access a standards based library to add questions, but also upload a PDF and turn any PDF into a digital assignment and the best part is it naturally comes with math tools!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOelJAEiYoU The best part about Edulastic is it will "grade" the assignment and keep the data for you!

4) There is a fabulous annotation tool called Kami. You can go here to sign up for a free account till this is all over: https://blog.kamiapp.com/remote-learning-with-kami-during-school-shutdowns/

Kami allows you to annotate PDFs with all the bells and whistles of Adobe and even a bit more. You can integrate it with your Google Drive. When you push out an assignment, students are prompted to create an account. This takes a bunch of clicking and accepting permissions so I'm a bit cautious about using it with kids without being able to walk them through the process. Also, it is made for computers and Chromebooks so there are "workarounds" to get it to work on phones and tablets (https://help.kamiapp.com/en/articles/3056987-device-compatibility-for-kami).  Here is Kami in action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTDA0dUsYvg​

5) If you are using Seesaw, you can take a picture of any PDF and create an activity so students can write on it and even complete some simple drag and drop activities.

I know this is a ton of information but I wanted to give you an overview of what you can do and what is easiest for the students.

Class Dojo Portfolios

Many people in our district use Class Dojo. Did you know it had a portfolio piece? I knew of it but didn't investigate it until we started to go through this crisis. So, what does it do?

✅Students can complete activities where you would give them a prompt and they can respond in video, drawing, text, and photo.
✅Students can also use any of those tools on the fly.
✅It does not have the huge interactive library that Seesaw has but it is a great way to get kids to reflect.

Check it out here: 

It was really beneficial, for me, to see it through the eyes of a parent as well!

If you are using it, I would love to be able to talk to you and pick your brain!

Making Interactive Slides in Google

So, what if my kiddos can't use all the cool tools in Google Slides to circle, box, and highlight? You can do it for them. Watch this video to help design an interactive activity!

PDF to slides....what?!?

We just went remote learning this week, for realsies, and one of the questions I keep getting is if you have a PDF, how can you get students to be able to "write" on it. Obviously, if you have adobe, you can edit PDFS, but most of our kiddos don't have access to that tool or know how to use it. Here is how to make a PDF "editable" using Google Slides!

My Favorite Video Making Tool!

Hello again! So my biggest requests in the past 4 weeks have had a similar theme:

• How do I make a video of myself reading a book and easily get it to students?
• How do I make a video of what is on my computer screen?
• How do I make a video of my computer screen with just my voice?
• How do I make a video of my computer screen with a video of me in the corner?

My answer to all of these is one of my favorite tools... Screencastify!

Here is a video to get you started on Screencastify. I also walk you through the process of upgrading to the premium features for free right now! Enjoy!

Hey! We're doing distance learning! Now what?!?!

Hey all! I only add to this blog occasionally during the year but I think it is a great time to unpack it, dust it off, and organize all the info I have been sending in emails, Facebook, etc.!

First off, I joined with Michelle Scribner MacLean, a fabulous professor from UMASS Lowell, and Kathleen Pantaleo, my new long distance friend who is a tech integrator in New York to create a Facebook page for all the resources we are finding. Click here to join!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/873364136445088/


Second, I am creating a Google Slides Choice Board that suggests my favorite tools to complete tasks (i.e. I want students to annotate a PDF, I want students to record their voice, etc.). Click here to view it: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTtXePxQtfnEbzL2yi0snQDJKif-THsI0ZTCc0YleUEz558uxOzxdf_s91NsaOvDdqgyZL0dnOJMVb_/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.p

Bookmark it and check on it often because it is a growing document!

I'm going to be adding to this daily with short entries to help you wrap your head around this crazy thing we call distance learning! Enjoy!