Facilitate Classroom Discussion Using LetsGeddit and Google Forms

***Received email today (3-14-15) that Lets Geddit is shutting down July 1.  Unfortunate, because it is (was) a great classroom tool.

Let's Geddit

The feature of Geddit that may attract teachers to it is the "confidence" feature.  After students answer the question(s), students must rank their level of confidence in answering the question.

Students will use the Geddit App on an iPad or iPhone, while teachers will use Let's Geddit.
View set up and interaction from the teacher's perspective and the student's perspective in the same tutorial.


Teacher and co founder of Geddit, Justin Mann, explains how it works:


Setting Up A Teacher Account, Student Interaction, & Data Analysis


Google Forms

Creating questions prior to class or during class as the content progresses is a tremendous way for analyzing understanding.
Certain features of Geddit do not exist in Google Forms with such ease, such as conversations with the students.

Shadow Puppet on iPad and Storybird via Chrome For Creation

Students creating content on the iPad and or using a Chrome browser is all about what students know or can formulate.  It is truly one of the best assessment and or creation methods that can be integrated into the educational setting.  Two applications that have gained my attention over the last week are below.  One is for the iPad and one is for the Chromebook/laptop.

Storytelling can take two forms.  One can be of pictures that the student takes and develops written/auditory words that explain the pictures. Another form can be writing that revolves around pictures that others create.

Examples of Storytelling in the educational setting:

• Explaining a process such as mitosis or steps to solving mathematical problems
• Developing sentence structure
• Providing details of a solution to a problem
• Examining/clarifying lab results
• Comparing and contrasting two, three, or more concepts
• Alternative to semester exam; describe the concepts learned throughout the semester
• Promotion of ideas

I also recently decided to purchase the Paper 53 complete set of tools in the app (I have had the free version on my iPad for more than a year).  I really like the way Paper 53 makes a person with zero artistic talent have some semblance of artist capability.  I have also been intrigued by the Sketch Notes that many of my PLN are utilizing. Brad ADE Class of 2010 is the first person I saw Sketch Noting at the ADE Institute in Austin.



Using an iPad?
The Shadow Puppet app is a free app that allows for no nonsense, easy creation of ideas, thoughts, and productivity.  I like how the final video creation can be sent to the camera roll which lends itself to easy uploading to Google Drive.
A Tutorial


My Creation - Took less than 15 minutes to make.  Took screen shots from the iPad, and started the creation.



Using a Chromebook?
The Storybird Chrome Store App is a free app and service that allows for the creation of short stories. A great set of video tutorials have been created if you would like to set up a classroom of students.  This would be great for management of the creations.  If you don't want to create a class, have students sign up as students and create individual accounts.

I have found a very detailed tutorial by another tech coach, Megan Ryder, that outlines everything. She really does a great job.
One of her tutorials is below.


As always, I am willing to help a teacher learn, understand, and co-teach these tools in the classroom if they meet learning objectives that need to be mastered.

iTunes U & iBooks Content Introduction For The Classroom

iTunes U and iBooks have an enormous amount of K-12 information that can be utilized for all content in the classroom.  This content could be used as

• Investigative research material
• Supplemental information to support other resources
• Personalized learning plans for all or parts of concepts
• Station work for use in the classroom or in Personal Learning Areas
• Independent study for students

Teachers have used iTunes U content in many different ways.

To access the iTunes U content, download the iTunes program to your laptop if you haven't done so already.  This can be done be visiting the Software Center on your desktop.  It looks like this.

Once iTunes is installed, iTunes U content can be accessed.  You will need to agree to the terms of use.

After clicking agree you will be able to access the information.

To access all of this information on the iPad, the iTunes U app is needed,

iBooks app

The iBooks app provides SO many interactive learning opportunities.  Most of the books allow for a SAMPLE to view the first 20-30 pages of each book.  These books could be purchased as one book, placed on an iPad and shown through the AirServer app as a supplemental resource.

If you would like to have a book placed on the iPads, we can do that!  

***This is a Lunch N' Learn that can give you an idea of what these two resources can provide you.  Please consider attending so that the resources can be viewed.

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

Brydge iPad Laptop Keyboard

I recently received The Brydge Laptop Keyboard as I travel so much during the day. I always take my iPad as it has many apps in which I can demonstrate to our staff. I also like the calendar on the iPad as I can quickly create a meeting with a staff member! Carrying my Dell laptop had become a serious problem as it is not light.

I also decided that if I am going to have this keyboard, I should attempt to do everything I can on it to see if it is truly a viable option for our school district staff or students.

I blog at least two to three times a day and needed an app that would provide everything I need to create a blog post. I had purchased Blog Press a number of months ago. This is my first blog post using it!

See my review of the contents in the Brydge box.



It did take some knowledge of HTML code to post the YouTube video into this post. Just placing the code into the blog post worked. I needed to use Chrome on the iPad and change to "Request Desktop Site" to get the code.

Laptop Organization in High School Library

This is finally the way we want it.

• All chords hidden
• Easy identification of computers present
• Easy accessibility

Sound Recording on Laptop or Computer

To create a sound recording on a computer, a microphone must be attached or built into the computer and you will need a preinstalled program.

See how it can be done.