FTT - Google Chat in Gmail

Google Chat in Gmail
@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Don't you just love emails? The way your phone or laptop gently lets you know at any time of the day (or night) that someone, somewhere out there needs your attention? We can thank the late Ray Tomlinson, the creator of the email, for fundamentally changing the way we communicate forever. Last year about 4 billion users sent just about 290 billion emails a day, every day, and that number is expected to skyrocket in our new WFH environment. 

To be frank, being greeted by 50 emails first thing in the morning can be a tough way to start the day. Quick little questions you'd ask your colleague across the department office are now replaced by emails that always seem to be prefaced with, "sorry to bother you" or "sorry for another email but..." Wouldn't it be nice to reduce the number of emails we send and receive? Enter: Google Chat

Now I'm not saying Google Chat is THAT much better than emails, but it is a lot less formal and a lot easier to have a quick back and forth without having to send and wait for emails. It can also be easier to type questions on your computer instead of typing text messages on your phone. In that way, it makes me nostalgic for my AOL chatroom shenanigans back when dialup was cool, and my AIM screen name was Kramitys (don't ask). OK let's cut right to it, how to set up and go?

Setting it up in your Gmail Page

If the Google Chat option isn't already enabled in your Gmail (it would appear on the left hand side of your Gmail page), you can set it up by following these instructions:

• First, click on the Settings button in the top right-hand corner and then click  "See all settings."
  
  
  
  
  
• Then click on "Chat and Meet" on the top and all you have to do is click "Google Chat" and then hit "Save Changes."
  
  
  
  
  
• Now you should see the Chat boxes on the left side of your screen:
  
  
  

OK - it's enabled, now what?

Now just click on the plus button to the right of the "Chat" label and type in the name of the person you want to chat. Everyone within the District system will show up (even students). Now you can have quick, synchronous, and ongoing chats with people without having to keep sending them email after email for every exchange. A chatbox will appear on the bottom of your screen

Happy Chatting! 

FTT - Flippity

Bring Back The Fun! 5 (or more) Incredible Ways To Use Flippity With Students

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

    When I first started teaching I thought there had to be a certain level of seriousness in my classroom. If a colleague walked by and it looked like we were having too much fun I felt like I needed to explain. I have always been a fan of playing games to learn, even with high school students and yes, even with adults. That was many years ago. We now have loads of neuroscience research that tells us that fun and joy in learning is actually important for information transmission and storage in the brain. Think about your own experiences with learning something new. What do you remember? My most vivid learning memories are with teachers who were creative and allowed play to intermingle with learning. When you are able to laugh and experience joy, there is a certain comfort level that reduces stress and actually makes it easier to learn.

    While the tone you set in your class and the classroom norms that are created are ultimately up to you and your students, there are some fun tools that you can use to help. Flippity is definitely at the top of the list.  I knew that I had written about Flippity before but was surprised to find it back in 2017 and not sooner so this is a great time to re-introduce you to this very versatile tool.

    At its core, Flippity is a tool that takes information from a Google spreadsheet and turns it into something you and your students can interact with. For example, if you have a vocabulary list of terms and definitions in a Google sheet, it can turn that into a set of online flashcards.  The website is not flashy and each item has a demo, a set of step-by-step instructions, and a template for you to copy and use. Even if you are familiar with Flippity, they have added some new and exciting items. Now, there is even a tab where you can create these activities without a spreadsheet, which is perfect for those of us who are spreadsheet-phobic. Take a look at all of the activities you can instantly create and use!

My Ten Favorite Flippity Activities (In No Particular Order)

1. Quiz Show

This is just like Jeopardy and you get to be Alex Trebek!

 Sometimes a little friendly competition can help mix things up in your learning space. All you need are the categories and the questions with answers. Put kids on teams and have them rotate through who will be the spokesperson. They can set up a google doc to use as a backchannel for discussion. Did they get it right? The bell will ding and assign them points. Did they get it wrong? There is a buzzer for that. 

2. Self-Assessment Quiz

    We want our students to be thinking about their learning. I think that is why so many of us are drawn to the idea of standards-based grading. We want those measurements to make sense and paint a picture that shows where a student currently is in terms of their skills. We also want them to be able to accurately assess themselves and understand their progress. The Flippity self assessment quiz is new and it's a pretty slick way to ask the students some questions that will then give them a read out that explains where they are at. The demo tool was a Lord Of The Rings character quiz. Here's how I faired, apparently I am 50% of the way to being a hobbit. You can edit and add your own list of skills and learning objectives and determine the measurements that would be helpful to explain the picture of the students' learning. You then add your questions for the students to complete. At the end, you will get a link to share so they can do it themselves.

3. Scavenger Hunt

If you have ever used Breakout Edu then you know how engaging, exciting, and fun a breakout box/scavenger hunt-type activity can be. You also know that they can be cumbersome to create, though well worth the effort! Stay tuned, if you haven't heard of Breakout Edu that will be an upcoming post. The Flippity Scavenger Hunt is brilliant and can be tailored to any content level. The idea is simple, you need to unlock the locks to get to the end. Game on!  The demo has 8 locks, you can set up as many as you want.  Here is what it looks like.

4. Virtual Board Game!  

Board games are fun and there are so many different ways to take advantage of this online version. The hard part has already been done for you. There is a die to roll and on each space there is a piece of information, telling the player what to do. The game is set up to be played on one device by screen sharing so one person moves the pieces for everyone. This demo is set up for math and uses desmos, youtube, and equatio. This is a great game for incorporating multiple tools. 

5. Flippity Manipulatives- aka click and drag cards

I am including this one by popular demand. It seems so simple but it has been a little hard to find. Many teachers are looking for ways to make click and drag cards that students can manipulate. This is a wonderful way for students to show their understanding, to categorize items, or to put items in a specific order for study. You can use media on these cards as well.

 

There are a total of 25 tools that you can create with a spreadsheet. Several are featured specifically for virtual learning configurations and there are 11 that you can create without a spreadsheet. I would love to hear how you are using Flippity!

FTT - Wheel Decide

"Wheel Decide"

Random Selection Tool

@MrKimDHS/@LisaBerghoff

Guest post written by @JoeTaylorDHS

It's a little known fact that when I used to write this blog every week, I would frequently run the content past my daughter. I'd have her try the tech tool, or comment on the writing, or at least tell me if she'd be interested in using the tool. Well, she was home this weekend and I was talking to her about how many challenges there were with remote learning. I talked a little bit about using tools like Forms or Socrative for Formative Assessment, and the importance of finding ways to gather information about really knowing who "got it" in class today. As I was talking, she yawned, turned in her chair a little, and opened TikTok.

I was about to get mad but then I thought, everything is a little heavy right now and maybe we just need something a little fun and silly. So, rather than talk about all of the heavy stuff, I want to introduce you to a simple to use online tool called "Wheel Decide." It mimics the spinning wheel on "Wheel of Fortune" and you can use it to make decisions on topics to discuss or randomly select students to respond in class. I made one to use in BAM:

To use Wheel Decide, just navigate to https://wheeldecide.com/. There will be a default wheel there for fun, but if you scroll down the page a little, you can modify the wheel to meet your needs.

If, for instance, you want your students' names to appear on the wheel, you can just type their names in each line. If you have their names in a spreadsheet, you can copy and past all of the names by using the "Paste List" feature on the Wheel Builder. Once your list is correct, click Apply Wheel Changes and you are ready to spin the wheel.

The website suggested several wheels that you could build for group decision making, like choosing the place for dinner, the TV show to watch, or family vacation spot. There are some "dynamic" wheels to choose, like "Restaurants Near Me" that depend on location services on your computer or phone, but I haven't tried them to see whether or not they work.

To be fair, "Wheel Decide" wasn't made for education. So, most of the pre-created wheels you can choose probably don't fit in a classroom. And, it is a FREE Tech Tool, so the quality is what it is. There might be a lag, and sometimes it will land on the same selection twice, but it could be a fun way to get kids to engage in your class. I mean, it's no TikTok, but it's cute.