Telling Spanish Stories With Haiku Deck

Our high school Spanish teachers were looking to integrate a technology tool that would enable the students to explain their Spanish story in an innovative way.

Haiku Deck was chose so that students could use either Chromebooks or iPads while at home or in school.  Having the same user experience on any device at home or in school propels Haiku Deck to the front for creating presentations.

While I don't know Spanish, I do know that the stunning images along with one sentence provides a clear story.

As one Spanish teacher, Mrs. Tewes, stated, "Students enjoyed using visuals to help tell their stories."

Some Examples:

Getting To Know iCloud

Because of the wildly famous, Learning On The Loo bathroom technology information, staff have asked for additional information on iCloud, the online storage option available through Apple.

iCloud is an Apple feature that is on every computer, iPhone, iPad, and iPad!  Getting to know this feature may help with understand storage features and settings to make your iDevice experience efficient and meaningful.

Most of the iCloud features will be found on mobile devices.

Get Information

iCloud is Apple's version of online cloud storage.  Similar to Google Drive it features storage options for apps, pictures, videos, books, and music.  In addition, it will back up information.

Apple provides everyone with an Apple ID 5 GB of free storage.  

Many of your family's iDevices may be using iCloud storage to the point where you feel you may need more.  You can manage what devices use and don't use iCloud service.  This may save you money.

Some features, such as sharing photos, across iDevices uses iCloud, but doesn't use iCloud storage space. 

 iCloud is NOT required for storage as you can simply use your home computer.

One final note, iCloud can be used on a computer. This is a great feature when using the Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod tracking feature.

Great features are included for finding an iDevice and can be used on an iPhone/iPad or on the computer! Have Time? Read The Ultimate Guide

Google + Community For AP Biology Reviews

Earlier in the year, our AP Biology teacher, Mrs. Vertz, attempted to conduct an evening review session using Google Hangout.  It was ok, but at times the video lagged which caused some frustrations.  As we get closer to the AP Biology test in May, we have decided to incorporate the Google Plus Community as our method for posting pictures, discussion questions, and videos. Today, we used our personal iPhones or Android phones and classroom iPads to join the community and to post comments to questions.  The teacher also set up and event, which is scheduled for tonight at 8:30 P.M. Since the community members can respond Yes, No, Maybe, as to whether they will attend the session, Mrs. Vertz now has an indication as to the number of students that will be attending.  In addition, the community allows for students to return as much as they would like to look at the posted items.  Essentially, this could become her online learning management system.

View The Day's Activities


Impact On Students:
Collaboration:  Ideally, this community would allow for threaded discussions that would lead to deeper questions and deeper discussion among students and teachers.

Math Discussion With Explain Everything Part 2

About a week ago, I shared Mrs. Heck's work flow for math discussion using the Explain Everything app. We implemented this workflow yesterday.

View The Results

Padlet For American Literature Analysis of Henry David Thoreau

One of our high school English teachers, Miss Rheingans, approached me about using a tool that would allow students to interpret a Henry David Thoreau quotation after finding one on the internet.  We discussed using Explain Everything due to its many audio or visual features.  She introduced them to Pinterest to find colorful pictures with the Thoreau quotes.  They added the quotes to their explanation.

She decided to use Chromebooks instead and had students create a Padlet wall.  Padlet, formally Wallwisher, can provide written comments with or without pictures.  Instead of creating my own video tutorial Richard Byrne at Free Tech For Teachers created a great video tutorial that can describe the details.




Miss Rheingans' 5th Hour Creation

Created with Padlet

SMARTnotebook 11 Video Playlist

SMART notebook is a program that allows for multiple features to be implemented with a SMART board. These tutorials will provide some insight on how to get started and become more in depth at using the SMART notebook 11 software to engage students.

The videos equaling approximately 35 minutes are in an order that should make sense.

View Playlist

Google Doc Add-Ons For Productivity and Creativity

The Lunch N' Learn topic for March 18 will focus on new tools that could improve the productivity of staff and students in Google Docs.  We'll demonstrate how to search, obtain, and implement the "Add-Ons" so that they can help with productivity and creativity.

Watch An Overview


There are many Add-Ons that could be applied to education.  Three of these Add-Ons include...
EasyBib


MindMeister


Lucidchart
 

Maps For Docs

Table of Contents - Instructions

Soak Time

Mr. Mihalski, a high school math teacher, shared with me his plan for one class period during this week.

Soak Time.

Allowing students to process, engage in conversation and questions, and to confirm their knowledge needs to take place.  Hear how Mr. Milhalski provides this opportunity for students!

View Video
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GetKahoot! Engaging & Effective Interactive Classroom Tool

We have Chromebooks, iPads, and student personal devices in EVERY classroom of our district.  We want technology to be used for educational purposes!  We want technology to make our job of educating our students more effective.

GetKahoot!  accomplishes all of this!

Students don't need a username and password.
Students can use ANY device.
Students are required to "know their stuff."
Students love gaming aspects!
Students love multiple choice!
Students love winning!

Teachers enjoy engaged students!
Teachers enjoy enthusiasm in the classroom!
Teachers enjoy implementing their content!
Teachers will love the preview screens!
Teachers could include one a week.

New Features To Kahoot: Rich Text Editor, Kick Inappropriate Names Out
View Overview Video


GetKahoot!  Preview Mode
This was a huge selling point for me!  Through GetKahoot!'s website, I am able to experience dual roles as the student and the teacher.  This allows me (and teachers) to view just how it will look when the Kahoot! is running in the classroom
View It

Watch Our Teachers Play

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Our Final Scores!

A Lunch

 B Lunch

 C Lunch

Congratulations to COBRA (Joel J.) for 

being the Lunch N' Learn Overall Champion!

Our high school math department implemented GetKahoot!  after a homework assignment discussion and before a quiz.  

View the Classroom

Math Discussion With Explain Everything

Explain Everything continues to be a "go to" app for "Showing What Students Know".  One of our Math 1 teachers, Mrs. Heck, will be using the work flow below so students can have a different method for demonstrating their knowledge.

I know it may seem like we use Explain Everything for a number of learning opportunities, but it truly provides audio, video, and annotating options for students to demonstrate what they know.  

Impact On Students:

Critical Thinking: Students must not only write the solutions to problems found on the math problems, but must verbally express how the "step-by-step" process worked to find the answer.  Thinking through these steps and providing detailed information will force students to "know their stuff".

Google Toolbar (Today)

Anyone else experiencing this?

View Video

StoryboardThat Provides Digital Plot Diagrams For Students

Our eighth grade students were learning about "plot diagrams" and constructing paper and pencil creations from the story.  I spent the day with four teachers about a month ago and upon hearing this, I searched for a "tech tool" that could provide a digital option for creating a story board featuring

• Exposition
• Conflict
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution

The free site allowed our students to create three storyboards up to six squares each.  Some students told their story in six squares and others used twelve and eighteen squares.  Students were totally engaged and thrilled to create and comprehend story Plot Diagrams through StoryboardThat, on Chromebooks.

Click To View Larger Version

Click To View Larger Version

Impact On Students:

Creativity: Students creating a complete story with the correct "plot diagram" elements required students to think, question, and create.

Critical Thinking: Students were required to understand the elements of "plot diagrams" and think through the elements of their story so that they coincide with the beginning, middle, and end of a plot diagram.

Explain Everything For Newton's Laws & Rube Goldberg

Our seventh grade teachers wanted a tool that would allow students to describe (explain) images and video associated with their Rube Goldberg machine.  Explain Everything was the tool of choice.

A huge advantage that Explain Everything has is that individual slides can be recorded.  This is especially important as mistakes are made.

See the tremendous detail and creation that went into a production from Mrs. Schwittay's students.

Updated video 2016


View Video


Impact On Students:
Critical Thinking: Obviously, thinking through a simple task to make it difficult takes critical thinking.  In addition, students needed to vocalize their thought process and rationalization.
Creativity: The creativity in the process was amazing.  The teacher couldn't state enough how much students put forth a fantastic effort to make a perfect Rube Goldberg machine.
Collaboration: Four students working together to make one machine and one explanation.

Explain Everything For Magnetic Poetry In High School English

Using Explain Everything to create an explanation of Magnetic Poetry.

View The Video


Impact On Students:
Critical Thinking: Having students discuss, analyze, and explain their creations is a skill that students can continue to improve upon.

Explain Everything - Inserting Objects For Creating & Reflecting

Our Lunch N' Learn topic for Tuesday, March 4, 2014 and Breakfast Bytes topic for Thursday, March 6, 2014, will be a quick tech tool follow up to "What's Your Clock?"

Explain Everything is an app from the TOP TECH TOOL list that can help with one of the quarters in your class, week, or unit preparation.

View The Topic


After viewing the video I noticed the last portion of the video with a video inserted caused an echoing effect.  I immediately contacted Reshan Richards who steered me in the direction of MorrisCooke, the iPad app company.

My email stated this:

I am trying to have students/staff realize the power of inserting video for authentic reflection using the EE app.

I am finding that when I record a video, insert it into EE, and then record movements on the canvas while the video is playing a echoing affect is taking place.

Here's the example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8I4I4XC5eo#t=59

Am I missing something?  Do I have the steps correct?

  1.  Push record for the EE slide.

  2. Push play on the video.

  3.  Use annotating tools during video playback and canvas record.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Within five minutes, I received a product response!  Awesome!

Hi Clay,

thank you for contacting us!

The echo problem occurs when the sound of a video played within Explain Everything is also carried over to the microphone - this might happen when playing a video within the app and simultaneously recording. 

To fix that in a new recording, you may use 2 approaches:

1. If you want to just have the sound from the video - since 2.05 there's a setting (see attached screenshot) that will mute the sound from your microphone when exporting an XPL project with a playable inserted video. Setting this to "ON" will fix the problem with the echo.  

2. If you want to record your voice over the video - you can use the volume control to turn down the sound from the video, and additionally use iPhone headphones with a microphone, so that the sound from the video is not heard. You can also turn down the volume on the iPad speakers as well. 

Let me know if this helped!

Best regards,

Daria

MorrisCooke Support

e-mail: support@morriscooke.com

I completed OPTION 1 from above with great success!
View The Topic Without Echoing and How It Was Done!



See you tomorrow for Lunch N' Learn!

2014 Education App Bracket

March Madness is upon us! Uh, Let's call it App Madness!

We love sports in the iPaddiction & RecessDuty world!

I used Bracketeers to create a scheduled 64 app bracket.  The Bracketeer app was so easy to use.  Create a title for the challengers, add an image or a link, and seed them.  The seeding part is a fantastic tool.

Bracketeers could be used for "Battle of the Books", "Classroom Ideas or Topics", Favorite Anything", and really any topic!

Voting Has Started! Join In!  CLICK HERE