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Interactive Digital Notebooks: Examples, Tips, and Templates!

by Deanna Williams
written by Deanna Williams

Students and teachers finally return to face-to-face learning to what is a seemingly “normal” start of the 2022-2023 school year. While there is not a hard and fast definition for “blended learning,” oftentimes educators struggle with student experiences and expectations in this regard. In the spring of 2020, those in education, both students and teachers alike, were thrust into a digitally immersed classroom. There were learning curves and positive outcomes, but there were also experiments and failures across all grade and content areas. Since then, students are accustomed to being greatly immersed in technology-rich lessons and activities. And they are embracing the ever-changing technology tools available. While educators have also seemingly embraced available technology, the learning curve is still there. In my district, digital interactive notebooks are paving the way for student success across the curriculum.

What Are Interactive Digital Notebooks?

Interactive digital notebooks are an innovative way for students to engage with and organize course material. Digital notebooks can be individually assigned to students or to the class as a whole. It may seem odd to have a class notebook; however, there are important lessons that students can learn through them. And for teachers, there are many different tools you can use to incorporate digital components. When first using interactive digital notebooks, it may take a little getting used to. But you quickly become accustomed to the ease of grading and appreciate not having to lug a bunch of heavy journals home. Let’s explore a couple of detailed examples!

Digital Notebooks for Literature Circles

During the height of the pandemic, and with lots of trial and error, as the technology integration specialist in my district, I designed an interactive digital notebook for AP English IV students to use with their literature circles. They learned about digital citizenship, hyperlinking, and several other skills that are needed for college and career readiness. I worked closely with the classroom teacher and the students to ensure all the components worked properly and student expectations were clear. It was exciting to see all participants eagerly engaged in feedback! Additionally, the digital notebook could be tweaked at a moment’s notice. The students were even invited to speak about their experience with interactive digital notebooks in front of school board of education members at the TASB Governance Camp (Texas Association of School Boards) in the spring of 2022.

Here is an example for you to explore:

AP Lit Circle Example Notebook

Interactive Notebooks as Planners

Seeing student success and excitement while interacting with the digital notebooks made me want to take another step. I went further to provide the digital notebook to students for daily use instead of a paper planner. This would allow the students to stay organized while also allowing teachers and instructional interventionists the opportunity to utilize assistive technology to support student learning and success. Not only is the notebook easy to access, but students also commented on how their backpacks stayed cleaner and more organized, too. The notebook’s main tool was Google Slides, but also incorporated Google Sheets for class calendar access. Hyperlinks bridged connectivity and access for students and parents from home to the campus classroom. My district currently uses Schoology as our Learning Management System (LMS). The teachers are becoming more and more familiar with hyperlinking homework, calendar events, interactive tools, etc., to the digital notebook. 

Take a look at this example for middle school:

Middle School Example Notebook – All Subjects

Digital Notebooks Increase Accessibility

There are many pros to using a digital notebook. For example, students have the ability to access their digital notebooks from virtually anywhere in the world. They just need to sign in using their school Google account. In addition to accessibility, there are also assistive technology tools within the Google Suite that students can use. Some of these tools include text-to-speech, voice typing, translation, and many others. Because there are numerous tools that can be incorporated into digital notebooks, occupational therapists in my district work with technology integration specialists to utilize assistive technology tools to ensure accommodations are effectively utilized. A couple of the main tools used outside of the Google Suite are Snap&Read and Co:Writer. Another great resource is an app called Slides Translator. It is user-friendly and includes over 60 language dialects. 

Student Voice

When rolling out a project such as interactive digital notebooks, student voice is imperative when it comes to measuring success. I held a debriefing session with AP English students to take note of what worked and what did not.

Watch the video here.

Interactive Digital Notebook Templates

There are many wonderful websites that generously share their Google Slides journal templates. Some of the most notable are Slides Mania, Slides Carnival, Slides Go, and My Perfect Presentation. These sites offer a variety of templates to choose from, with several being journal-type options. 

There is much to be said about the effectiveness of using interactive digital notebooks in the classroom. Both students and teachers will be positively impacted by the learning opportunities and use of technology they would not experience with a traditional paper journal. The personalization of student learning makes the trial and errors worth it in the end. The beauty of the interactive digital notebook is that one size doesn’t always fit all, but with a couple of clicks and tweaks, the notebook is perfect for the end user, the student.

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LMSReading

Digital Lit Circles: A Process and Templates for Any LMS

by Jennifer Rushing
written by Jennifer Rushing

What Are Lit Circles?

Literature (Lit) circles, what we used to call book clubs, are not some new fancy way to teach reading. In fact, they have been around forever. Unlike many educational fads that come and go, lit circles have sustained the test of time simply because they are effective. What is the first thing you want to do after reading a good book? I bet it’s not answer some comprehension questions or complete a book report. No, you want to share the compelling story that drew you in with your friends and family. You want to TALK about it. Lit circles give students the opportunity to share and discuss what they are reading. It brings back the excitement of picking up a new book and just talking about it. It is our job as educators to encourage natural discussion and interest in books while ensuring students understand what they are reading and continue to grow as readers. 

Our Digital Lit Circle Journey

During the pandemic, I had teachers reach out to me, asking for suggestions on conducting an online book club. At first, we kept it pretty simple, and students would gather in a Zoom meeting and breakout rooms to discuss what they were reading. The downfalls were that the students and teacher all had to be available at the same time. The teacher could only be in one breakout room at a time; therefore, they missed dynamic discussions the students were having.

The following year, our district was back at school in person. It was decided that Schoology would be purchased as our LMS to continue a blended learning model. I quickly realized that Schoology could seamlessly transform classroom in-person lit circles into digital, blended, or even flipped lit circles. Students can participate in the classroom, at home, on the bus, or anywhere they can connect to the internet. 

Our Process for Digital Lit Circles  

Book Selection

We made sure to select books in a variety of book levels that were not too difficult for the students. Also, we chose books that covered many genre interests. We didn’t have too many options available, so each group would have at least five students to carry out book talks and cover all the lit circle jobs. Students had a chance to explore the book options on the Book Trailer Site and even had the option to thumb through the actual book itself. Then, they completed a Google form with their top three choices. Teachers made sure the groups were even, and the readers were assigned to a book at their ability level.

Screenshot of the Book Trailor Site home page.

Planning and Sharing

Planning documents to help guide students and teachers were created in Google and shared with teachers. Since we are a Schoology district, teachers shared and assigned these documents to students in Schoology, but this can be done with any LMS, including Canvas and Google Classroom. This year we also plan on using TeacherMade for some of the assignments. Our planning documents currently include the following:

  • Weekly To-Do List
  • Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading
  • Weekly Checklist (for teachers)
  • Lit Circle Book Choice Form
  • Group and Job Assignments (for teachers)
  • Assignment Calendar

Jobs and Assignments

The teachers assigned jobs that would be rotated weekly, giving each student the opportunity to fulfill every role. Teachers also posted a weekly slide outlining what students should read that week, and the students worked on a collaborative document to perform their job responsibilities. Once the collaborative document was completed by the students, they would come together and have their book talk in person. In addition to the jobs and group assignment, students also had a collaborative vocabulary document in which they would add a word they did not know from their reading each week. This was one of our students’ favorite activities! Independently, the students would complete their Lit Circle Weekly Response, self-reflection doc, and a discussion post in Schoology.

Examples of a digital lit circle assignment and job from Mrs. Rowe's 3rd Grade Class.

A Few Things We Learned

It won’t be perfect.

Our biggest takeaway from this process is that it won’t be perfect overnight. There will be failure, but that is OK! We just reminded ourselves: “I have not failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison.

Student excitement can drive technology use.

Not all teachers were confident in their technology skills. Some were hesitant to go all in with the digital assignments. So they took baby steps and did one or two digitally, while the rest were done in class the traditional way. What these teachers quickly learned was that the students loved the digital assignments and requested more. This got teachers out of their comfort zones and pushed them to attempt to do something new.

Routine and consistency are the keys to success.

The puzzle pieces that continually made a difference in the success of the process were routines and consistency with the activities. Students needed to feel safe to fail themselves and learn from their mistakes in order to succeed the next time.

Do you see yourself using digital lit circles with your students? Give them a try, and let us know how things go in the comments.

Click here for resources.

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top five tech tools
Blended LearningClassroom ManagementContent CreationGood TeachingLMSWeb 2.0 Tool

Top Five Tech Tools for New Teachers

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

What are the essentials you need to share with new teachers? I can’t tell you how many workshops I’ve put together that addressed the needs of new teachers. What combination of must-haves do new teachers need? I asked Clint ISD’s Crystal Fuentes, “What are your ‘top five’ for new teachers every year?” Let’s explore her responses. But before we do that, let’s revisit a related important high-effect size instructional strategy.

The Power of Collective Action

Want to know which is one of the toughest strategies to take advantage of in a school? Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) is the one that most often comes to mind. With an effect size of 1.36, many instructional leaders look at that and say, “Why not us?”

Collective Teacher Efficacy can be defined in the following way:

Through collective action, a staff can have a positive influence on student outcomes. This includes disengaged and/or disadvantaged students.

Meaghan Loftus, Associate, CT3

But how do you achieve CTE in your school? It is suggested that you have these six influencers:

  • Advanced Teacher Influence. This happens when an organization listens, acknowledges teachers, and teachers influence decisions made at school.
  • Goal Consensus. Teachers set the goals for the school, not only the leadership. Who’s writing that campus improvement plan? If it’s your assistant principal on a weekend at home, then this is a #FAIL.
  • Teachers’ Knowledge about One Another’s Work. This involves teachers getting to know what each other is doing. More importantly, getting to know how each other’s work impacts their own.
  • Cohesive Staff. This refers to how teachers agree with each other on core educational values or issues.
  • Responsiveness of Leadership. When leadership listens to teachers and works to cut distractions, that’s responsiveness.
  • Effective Intervention Systems. This ensures there is structure to support teachers and students.

When working to set up new teachers, it’s worth considering these contributing factors. As Meaghan Loftus points out, together, these six points ensure CTE. And when you are preparing new teachers, much of their success depends on these six elements. Without them, new teachers, no matter how enthusiastic and tech-savvy, will struggle.

Now that you have some background on CTE, let’s take a look at Crystal Fuentes’ suggestions.

Tip #1: Classroom Management Tech Tools

Dealing with problems and developing solutions as they arise is one way to manage a classroom. Another way is by empowering students to make choices. Then, permitting them to learn from the consequences of those choices.

My favorite approach to classroom management involves building teacher-student relationships. That is, getting to know students and building trust. The best classroom environment I experienced involved building relationships with students. While disagreements occurred, having a family environment worked best with my bilingual class.

“One technology tool that’s in my top five is ClassDojo,” says Crystal. “I want teachers to know how to use ClassDojo.” No surprise, ClassDojo has these goals for itself:

  • Create a positive culture.
  • Give students a voice.
  • Share moments with parents.

The ability to access ClassDojo on any device makes it handy. For language diverse situations, its message translation is invaluable. And for some too committed to being accessible, you can set quiet time hours.

Tip #2: Learning Management Systems

Do learning activities revolve around ancient, paper-bound curriculum resources? You may not be pulling activities from a file cabinet in old manila folders. Instead, you may be relying on primary sources and current information available online. You may be co-constructing rubrics with your students. Sure, you can limit yourself and your students to paper. But who wants to shuffle papers, deal with 3-ring binders, and worry about missing work?

A better way exists if you have robust internet and device access for students. Learning management systems make it easy to:

  • End the paper chase.
  • Distribute resources as needed in an instant.
  • Timestamp student and teacher work.

Today, there is no shortage of learning management systems. That is, digital classroom supports that make access to resources easy. What’s more, they ensure you can connect with students in academic ways. While ClassDojo may be a classroom community builder, LMSs ease the paperwork. And that’s a huge benefit.

Crystal suggests relying on tools like the following:

Google Classroom is the learning management system, and Little SIS provides more granular administrative control over Google Classroom. Skyward is a student information system (SIS) and digital gradebook. There are many combinations of solutions. I would be remiss to not point out other popular options. Those include:

  • Microsoft Teams, OneNote, and the SIS tool of choice (e.g. Skyward, TSDS/PEIMS)
  • Instructure’s Canvas and SIS
  • PowerSchool’s Schoology and PowerSchool SIS

There may be other options, but these are some I have seen in Texas schools. 

Did You Know?

Learn more about your learning management system of choice via TCEA’s online, self-paced courses. These affordable sessions ($29 each) provide you with what you need to know to get started. Courses available include Google Classroom, Canvas Educator, Schoology Educator, and Microsoft 365 (covers Teams and OneNote).

Tip #3: Collaborative Tech Tools

Collaboration and discussion of academic content can have a powerful impact on student learning. Consider this tidbit of research:

jamboard padlet

If students know content, coming up with explanations helps fellows strengthen their understanding. Even when they don’t know content, conversations increase learning (adapted from source).

To aid collaboration, there are many tools. Clint ISD’s Crystal Fuentes recommends Padlet and Google Jamboard. 

Tip #4: Lesson Delivery Tools

While you can still stand and deliver lessons in a classroom, there are alternatives. Now, you can do that, AND make your Google Slides deck available to students. You can mix in checks for understanding as well as turn and talk opportunities. And teachers can put in place low-stakes assessments with rapid-response measurement. What’s more, the right set of lesson delivery tools empowers student voice and choice. They also make it easy to engage students in bell ringer activities.

Crystal suggests these tools that work with Google Slides:

pear deck nearpod

You may find this comparison of the two similar tools by Rachelle Dene Poth (@rdene915) helpful. 

Learn more about the research and best practices for using choice boards in the classroom. Take the TCEA online, self-paced course, Choice Boards for Educators. If you’re ready to become a choice board pro, this course will make you shine. Choice boards promote student choice and voice while providing differentiated instruction. How fantastic does that sound? Not only that but they’re proven to work.

Tip #5: Tech Tools for Creation

To round out the list, Crystal shares two powerful creation tools. These are tools every educator needs to know about. She suggests that new teachers know how to use the following:

  • LucidPress. This tool makes it easy to design visual resources, newsletters, and more. Some may substitute this tool with the free for educators, Canva.
  • Flipgrid. A free, no-cost tool available to support video recording and communication. This is a must-have tool to make student reflection, interviews, and more possible.
  • Screencastify. A screen recording tool that makes flipped classroom lessons a breeze. Students can also record videos and create screencasts.
  • Choice Board Menus. A powerful tool for supporting student choice in learning. This suggestion is less a technology tool and more of an instructional strategy. Yet the ability to blend multimedia sources into choice boards transforms this strategy.
tech tools for creation

A final tool that TCEA Board member Crystal Fuentes finds a powerful aid in Clint ISD: Promethean Panels. Be sure to reach out and follow her on Twitter to learn more. As Crystal shared in one of her tweets:

“Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions.”

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schoologychat
LMSProfessional Learning

Helpful Schoology Tips from #SchoologyChat

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

If you’re starting the school year learning how to better use your school’s learning management system, getting to know your virtual classroom space can be tough. In this blog entry, you will see some of the tips and suggestions for Schoology shared via #SchoologyChat.

About #SchoologyChat

The Twitter chat these tips originated from took place on August 10, 2021. Although late to the party, I reviewed some of the chat, made notes to share with you, and archived the chat via Wakelet. Additionally, I put supporting tweets and resources into a separate Wakelet collection linked below.

schoologychat

Visit the Schoology Chat Wakelet Collection

Not only do you have access to the original tweets in the chat from August 2021, but you also get eight curated tips with resource links; more on that in a moment. Remember, if you are looking for even more conversations about Schoology, check the Schoology Educator Community on Facebook.

Let’s take a look at a few of the tips shared. I’m going to offer up three of my favorites from the list, but there are more, and I recommend taking a look.

Tip #1: Using Digital Badges in Schoology

Digital badges, also known as micro-credentialing, have made it easy to track learning and growth. Digital badging can spur motivation among learners and, as a result, improve performance. You can use several resources to beef up your digital badging in Schoology, and you can see multiple examples in the Wakelet collection linked above. You may also find this video on adding and customizing badges helpful. It features Stephen Rao (@sterao8) video on the subject. You can find others in the attached Wakelet collection.

Tip #2: Schoology Campus Innovators

One of the most insightful tips involved creating a cohort of Schoology Campus Innovators. Imagine these as tech-powered coaches who can provide “just-in-time” support to educators as the campus or district implements Schoology. Moreover, tie into a Schoology Ambassador program for more empowered learning opportunities for Schoology Campus Innovators.

schoology

Tip #3: Community of Inquiry

Not familiar with the components of a Community of Inquiry (CoI)? A CoI offers a way for individuals to engage in critical discourse and reflection. According to Athabasca University’s interactive CoI website, CoI exhibits three interdependent elements:

  • “Social presence is “the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop interpersonal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities” (Garrison, 2009, p. 352).
  • Teaching Presence is the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes to realize personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, and Archer, 2001).
  • Cognitive Presence is the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2001). “

As you might imagine, there’s a lot to unpack in the CoI related to the design of online education. For this reason, Purdue University offers a quick overview in a two-page document that I recommend reviewing.

Schoology Tips

To further explore these points, please access this Wakelet Collection, which provides various resources to support each point. Even more will be added over time.

Need a quick handout you can share with other educators? Use this infographic to start your own chat.

schoology

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ChromebooksLMS

Enhance the Canvas LMS with Chrome Add-Ons

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Whether you consider yourself a Canvas LMS (Learning Management System) expert or a novice, it’s always good to learn more. Today, we’ll focus on great add-ons and extensions for the Chrome browser that can help to close the gaps in the Canvas LMS.

Note: The feature image shown is a view of my Canvas LMS using the Power + Chrome browser add-on.  Intended for students, “Power+ makes it easy to know what you have to get done at a glance and see recent grades and announcements on the dashboard.”

Gap #1: HTML Editor

In a previous blog entry, I lamented that Canvas lacked a top-notch HTML editor. While it enjoys a GUI interface, I find myself hunting for more features. One Chrome extension that caught my attention is CanvasTools which describes itself in this way:

CanvasTools is an advanced set of tools. It allows you to customize the way that Instructure’s Canvas looks. You can do advanced things with your Canvas account.

CanvasTools has these features:

  • Customize your colors
  • Message students from any tab
  • Receive a notification when someone messages you
  • Download Canvas modules offline
  • Submit files as assignments by right-clicking on them
  • Add custom elements to your content using the Editor
  • Search through your pages, courses, groups, and assignments using the Chrome omnibar
  • Add a Mark All Read button to Conversations
  • Auto-login to Canvas
  • Integrates with the Canvas API
  • Use the editor to add custom buttons, badges, and more to your posts
  • Set a footer with ease. Use the CanvasTools editor and then copy and paste it by right-clicking in Canvas.

As I played with CanvasTools, I liked the feature that allows you to download an entire module. Unfortunately, that is a premium feature you have to pay for.

canvas

The most useful aspect of the tool was the Canvas Editor which allows you to edit views and files via HTML. The Canvas Inbox editor might be a worthwhile improvement, but I didn’t use it much in the time I had it installed. Many of the CanvasTools features appear superfluous to the Canvas LMS built-in tools.

If you want to learn more about Canvas, take a look at our online, self-paced course on the LMS. Earn your Canvas certification as you master the system’s features, best practices, creating a course, and more, all for just $29.

Gap #2: Grading

If you’ve had to do any grading in Canvas, you know what a pain it can be. Even with SpeedGrader, things can be a bit cumbersome. Enter Canvas Betterizer.  It offers these improvements to SpeedGrader:

  • Focus and select the student grade
  • Hit enter to submit the grade and move on to the next student
  • Save comments that you type often and pull them from a dropdown box to make grading even faster!
  • Hit enter when typing a comment to submit it

This particular Chrome extension also works to make the Canvas Inbox work for you. You can see the Canvas Betterizer improvements on SpeedGrader in the screen capture below:

canvas

Canvas Betterizer does make grading a little less of a pain with the ability to save and insert comments. Give it a try.

Gap #3: Student View

To access Student View in Canvas, you have to navigate to the course Settings page. Then, you click on STUDENT VIEW on the far right hand side. This can be a pain when designing courses. The Canvas Quick Student View Chrome extension makes the switch easy. As you can see in the screenshot below, the Canvas Quick Student View adds a spectacles icon in the top right-hand corner of your screen.

canvas

After you click that spectacles icon, you switch the course to student view. What a time-saver.

canvas

I recommend this Chrome extension since it will save you a few clicks. That can make all the difference when you want to view your course in student view.

The next two gaps are ones that students encounter. But luckily, there are two Chrome extensions that can ease the pain of navigation and working late at night.

Gap #4: Course Navigation

Are you a student or instructor needing to navigate many Canvas courses? Then the Canvas+ Chrome extension can make the job easier. This simple tool adds a navigation menu at the top of your screen so you can leap from one course to another. Click your way through your courses without visiting the Dashboard again. For some people, this is a godsend because it makes navigation so much easier and faster.

canvas

As you can see from the screenshot above, Canvas+ adds a list of tabs for every enrolled course. This makes jumping from course to course easier. And Canvas+ makes it easy to rearrange the tabs for your convenience. So if you are editing two courses at the same time, you can have those two next to each other in the tabs. Fabulous!

canvas

Since my account is enrolled in quite a few courses, my tabs are a bit compressed. Give it a try as a teacher or student if you have fewer than twenty courses to flip through.

Gap #5: Dark Mode for Canvas

If you are working late at night or prefer a dark background on your device, the Dark Mode for Canvas extension may be what you are looking for. You can see what it does in the screenshot below:

canvas

This was the only dark mode tool I found that worked for Canvas, although there were others listed.

Bonus Extension: Better Canvas

This all-purpose Canvas enhancement offers several great features, including dark mode setup. Better Canvas offers these features:

  • Dark mode
  • Quick view assignment list
  • GPA calculator
  • Link preview button
  • Gradient dashboard cards
canvas

You can turn features on or off through the drop-down extension panel.

While no browser extension can make the Canvas LMS perfect, you may find one or two tools that save you time. My top two favorites are the student view and course navigation extensions. Give them a try.

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Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

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Schoology
ChromebooksLMS

Three Fantastic Solutions to Schoology Problems

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Have a Schoology question that needs answering? Struggling through the use of a learning management system (LMS) on your own can be tough. Thank goodness for other educators out there who are figuring it out. In this blog entry, I’ll share three questions that generated discussion in the Schoology Educator Community.

1 – Mirror My Second Screen, an iPad

“I am having to teach from home for the next 2 weeks.  I thought I could connect my iPad to my laptop and use it as a second screen.  Would this work?  What should I do?  I have to be able to show how to work out math,” asks Jess. This is a tough one that isn’t particular to Schoology. Some of the responses educators shared include the following:

  • “Join the zoom call on both devices. Present your screen on your iPad. See app list below.”
  • “You can use a locker shelf or something similar and run Zoom on both the iPad and your laptop. (Have the sound off on one of them to avoid feedback).”
  • “Get the $20 phone holder gooseneck mount. It works with a variety of smartphones.”

Those first two solutions are great because they mean you don’t nee to go out and buy something else. You will need an iPad app that allows you to have a whiteboard. Here are some apps that you can use, but may need you to spend money on an in-app buy:

The problem with most of those apps is the recurring cost.  You will have to decide if it is worthwhile. Tools like Whiteboard.chat, Google Jamboard, and AWWApp work great on your computer.

Source: Matthew Patty, Northside ISD

A second grade teacher I know well decided to invest in a document camera. She’d rather draw on paper or traditional whiteboard she has. The camera, the HUE USB Camera, connects via a USB port. This makes it easy to get Zoom to use it as an alternate source for video/images. Get the HUE document camera from Amazon for about $90. Prices are going up, I notice so you may want to shop around.

Schoology

Another possibility? Try Sidecar. It allows you to mirror your Mac screen to your iPad. For Chromebook users, the Dualless extension simulate a dual monitor. Looking for more solutions like this? Explore the Teach Without Wires: Mirror Your Device blog entry. It features one of the solutions I’ve invested in, Mirroring360.

2 – Requiring Video Viewing Before Assignment Access

“Is there a way to make sure a student views a video lesson before they have access to the assignment?” If you have students that skip the video on their way to complete an assignment, you can try to stop that in Schoology.

Two approaches that work some of the time include completion rules and magic words. Be aware that you can use completion rules to stop them. After a few seconds, they are able to continue to the assignment. Another way is to put a password or “magic word” in the video. This word becomes the first question in the assignment.

Two solutions that you can try that work well include:

It’s a shame Schoology lacks a more foolproof solution, but do try EdPuzzle or PlayPosit. Either solution will cost you money.

3 – Disabling Assignments at Grading Period’s End

“It is the end of our first nine weeks! Is there a way to do a MASS disable of assignments? Our cut-off day is today, and I don’t want them working over the weekend and messing up my grades! HELP!!!!” That can be a bit of a bummer. You have all your grades set, and then students turn in more of their work.

Schoology

Source: Use the Lock Option in Assignment view, Schoology

Here are a few responses to this question:

  • Put all your assignments into a “First Grading Period” folder and then unpublish it. If an assignment is not published, students are unable to see it. You, as the teacher, will still be able to see the assignments in the unpublished folder. Your Schoology administrator does need to have enabled this option that ensures that unpublishing assignments doesn’t result in a removal of grades.
  • Another option is to lock assignments, but that may be time-consuming if done after. When you set up the assignment, add the lock with a future date to ensure the assignment can only be completed during the acceptable time.

It appears that the best solution is, “Lock assignments after a specified time (e.g. one week after due date). No late submissions allowed.”

Sharing Schoology Solutions

Need any more ideas for getting things done with Schoology? Be sure to check out the TCEA’s Schoology Educator online, self-paced course. You may also want to explore the TCEA Community.

Schoology

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LMS

Apps and Groups for LMS Support

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Many of us are learning how to use learning management systems in ways we never imagined. While most LMSs thrive on desktop and laptop devices, what about mobile? By mobile, you may understand I’m referring to iOS tablets/phones and Android devices. For some educators, it’s easy to forget that their virtual classroom is a tap away. In this blog entry, let’s take a look at apps that can make the mobile experience smoother.

As you explore the apps below, remember that most work best when you are in teacher mode. Always be sure to preview the app with the support of your technology support team. That way, you can ensure you don’t lose critical student data or work.

LMS App Roundup

Did you know you can find an app to support Canvas LMS? Canvas has several official apps, as do Schoology and Google Classroom:

Student-Centric Apps

  • Blackboard: Blackboard offers students a “mobile solution for students to stay informed.” It is available for iOS and Android.
  • Canvas iOS/Android App: This student-centered app provides access to the main Canvas features and enjoys support from the Canvas LMS Community. For example, you can find a walk-through of the app features for iOS or Android online with everything from how to use the Dashboard to adding calendar items, and more. You can also get a parent-focused app that is free and available for both iOS and Android.
  • Google Classroom: This versatile app is available for both Android and iOS. It complements the Chromebook-friendly website for G Suite Education.
  • Itslearning: The itslearning learning management system offers access to a variety of tools that include bulletin updates, course updates, messaging functions, and access to course content. You can find Android and iOS versions available for download. This app serves double duty for both teachers and students.
  • Schoology: The Schoology app provides instant access to the online classroom where students are able to interact with their courses. It is available for Android and iOS.

Teacher-Centric Apps

  • Canvas Teacher App for iOS and Android: In this app, you will see grading and updating options. The app also makes it easier to send out communications and messages. A teacher guide is available for iOS and Android.

Now that you know about apps for popular learning management systems, what else is there to know? You may not know of popular Facebook groups for top LMSs. These Facebook groups offer a wealth of learning opportunities for teachers.

Need to get up to speed quick on a learning management system? Sign up for TCEA’s Self-Paced, Online Courses for Canvas LMS, Google Classroom, Schoology, and Seesaw.

Learning Management System Facebook Groups

Some of my favorite Facebook groups appear below. They all follow the “Ask a Question” format and then you wait for responses to flow in. They tend to discourage grouch-like content. Most responses serve to further your learning in the use of an LMS or help in solving a problem.

A search of Facebook groups will yield even more exciting groups to connect with. Dip into these groups when you need to learn something new or solve a problem.

Share What You Like

Did you find an app you liked? Do you have a favorite LMS-focused Facebook group? Be sure to tweet out your favorite app shared above and add the hashtag #TCEA. This will ensure others can share their insights and expertise.

This blog entry has served as an introduction to LMS apps you can use to make your job easier. Want to learn more? Sign up for TCEA courses specific to learning management systems.

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Schoology Hacks
LMS

Five Ways for Google Educators to Hack Schoology

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“How do you put popular tools like EdPuzzle, Google Forms, and Google Slides into Schoology? What about Flipgrid?” If this is the kind of question you have had about Schoology, then this blog entry is for you as I walk you through five Schoology hacks that G Suite EDU educators need to know. And, if you are into Bitmoji, there’s something at the end for you as well. But before we jump into Schoology, let’s first find out what embedding content involves.

Did You Know?

TCEA offers a Schoology Educator online course. Here’s what one participant had to say after completing it and earning a digital badge, certificate, and 12 CPE hours: “I am very thankful for this course! I have gotten a great start on my classroom and I will be able to use what I have learned to help others.” Learn more.

Embed? What Is That?

Embedding content is a simple copy-and-paste process. You copy the “embed code” which is available at a content source page (e.g. Flipgrid, EdPuzzle, YouTube). You then switch to the code view where you want that code to appear. You can grab the embed code (a.k.a. iFrame code) from many sharing websites. Here’s what that looks like in Flipgrid:

Schoology Hacks

Want a YouTube embed code? View a YouTube video. Then, click on SHARE to view the code. The embed code will look like this:

Schoology Hacks

You can then take that copied embed code and paste it into Schoology. Here’s an overview of the process:

Schoology Hacks

Want to embed other content? Use one of the following two options:

  • The first approach is to switch to HTML Source Code view, then paste the embed code where you want it to appear.
  • The second approach is to INSERT MEDIA button on the toolbar.

Here’s a short video of the process:

Wasn’t that easy? Now, let’s take a look at how to connect sources to Schoology.

Connect Sources to Schoology

There are several sources you can insert that Schoology supports. Those include Google Drive, YouTube, OneDrive, and Dropbox.

Schoology Hacks

Ready to connect your Google Drive to Schoology? To get that done, follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to Schoology Resources page.
  2. Click Apps.
  3. Add Google Drive Resource App.
  4. You will need to allow Schoology to access your Google Drive.

Here’s a quick video overview of that process:

Now that we know how to embed and connect, let’s take a look at how to do that in Google and/or Microsoft Forms.

Did You Know?

TCEA offers bundled Google Certified Educator Level 1 and 2, as well as Google Classroom and Sites, online, self-paced courses. And, it also has Microsoft 365 online course.  Be sure to check these inexpensive, online courses out.

Hack #1: Google Forms and Microsoft Forms

As you might imagine, putting a form into Schoology can be as easy as linking a picture or text on the screen. Or you can drop the whole Google or Microsoft Form right in.

As you’ll see in the video below, some content embedded via INSERT MEDIA option in Schoology will fail. The better approach with inserting an iFrame code is to use the HTML Source view approach.

What does this process look like for Google Slides and PowerPoint? Let’s find out.

Hack #2: Google Slides and PowerPoint Online

As you might imagine, Google Slides and PowerPoint Online have more possibilities. I have to admit that I see how much easier it is to embed the former into Schoology. Google Slides makes it possible to create hyperslides for navigation. PowerPoint Online? Not so much.

That aside, I can still create a thumbnail of a PowerPoint slide and then link it in Schoology. For either, you can click on the slide deck and it will jump you out to full screen slide show.

Want to create a navigation menu for your Schoology course? Google Slides is the way to go. You can take the embed code from “Publish to Web” option in Google, then drop that code into Schoology. Be sure to check the bonus hack at the end of this blog entry for hyperlinked Bitmoji books.

Hack #3: Clickable Choice Boards in Schoology

Need to copy a multimedia text set or choice board and embed it in Schoology? If you’re using Google Docs, it’s not that hard to do. In this blog entry, I explore digital choice boards and offer various ways to make them.

Embedding clickable choice boards in Schoology is easier than you may think. You make the choice board options clickable, or hyperlink them, in Google Docs or Slides. Then, put the embed code into Schoology.

Let’s watch a short video see how well Docs, Slides, and Drawings work when embedded in Schoology.

Hack #4: EdPuzzle Embedding

One of the favorite student comprehension assessment tools for video is EdPuzzle. You can’t go wrong with this versatile tool and setting up an account is easy to do. In this video, we take an existing EdPuzzle video with multiple choice questions and embed it in Schoology.

Wow, it doesn’t get much easier than that to assess student comprehension.

Hack #5: Schoology Materials Menus

One of the challenges people face when working with Schoology is navigation. While you can use Schoology’s built-in navigation scheme, some may prefer something easier. What could be easier? Age-appropriate images that students can use to navigate the course. Imagine creating an easy navigation system for your students in Schoology.

What’s even more fun, you can design the whole experience in Google Docs or Slides. This gives you greater control over the design process. That is, you don’t have to mess with HTML except to drop in the embed code into a Schoology page.

But wait, there’s more Schoology Hacks for G Suite EDU educators; check out this bonus hack for the Bitmoji Classroom.

Bonus Hack: Embed Your Bitmoji Classroom

Since Schoology makes it easy to embed Google Slides content, you can do a lot. One thing that I saw was sharing a few of your favorite books. You can do that by creating an interactive, Bitmoji classroom with a bookshelf whose books students can click. Each click takes them to engaging content about that book.

Schoology Hacks

Here’s an example I stole from RIYL Libraries (thanks!) and adapted for TCEA.org. See how I did it below.

Want to learn how to make your own Bitmoji Classroom? Why not take TCEA’s Bitmoji Classroom online, self-paced course for $29? You’ll be engaging your students with Bitmoji classrooms in no time.

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LMSSpecial Needs

Student Accommodations in the Canvas LMS

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

I can’t believe it is already September. School has started and some things, though not normal, are moving forward. If you find yourself teaching online in Canvas, you may have encountered the same situation as many other educators. How do I make accommodations when teaching virtually? Traditional accommodations may not translate flawlessly to online learning.

504s and IEPs

Let’s start by clarifying the difference between 504 plans versus IEPs (Individualized Educational Program). Both outline accommodations for students, are provided by the educational institution for the students identified, and have state and federal guidelines that must be followed.

Now let’s try to clarify the differences in simple terms. An IEP is for students who struggle in school and have special needs that qualify them for special services at no charge to their families. The IEP is a plan that identifies goals for the student and what support is needed for the student to achieve those goals. There are many reasons why a student might qualify for an IEP such as physical or learning disabilities, hearing or visual impairment, autism, and emotional disorders.

Think of an IEP as a in-depth plan for students qualifying for special education services that is delivered and monitored by additional school and support staff. A 504 plan can be for both those students who qualify for special education services and those who do not. A 504 plan is monitored by the teacher and can be short term, such as accommodations for a student who is recovering from an injury; the student doesn’t qualify for special educational services, but does need valid assistance in order to succeed academically in their regular education classroom.

Whether the topic is 504 plans or IEPs, the main thing is that you are aware of what is expected of you as the educator if you are involved in adjusting the instructional learning environment for the student. As such, this article focuses on accommodations for students with 504 plans.

Defining Accomodations

One last item before we jump into the meat of the article. That is to define the difference between accommodations (like we are talking about here) and modifications. Accommodations make changes as to how the students learn while modifications make changes to what the students learn. Extending time for a student to take a test is an accommodation; creating a test with fewer questions for the student is a modification. The Understood Team has more information to help clarify the differences if you would like to explore that further.

Let’s take a look at traditional accommodations and how they can be transferred in a remote learning environment if you are using Canvas as your LMS.

Note: When referencing the Rich Content Editor (RCE), we will be referring to the New Rich Content Editor and not the Classic RCE. The New Rich Content Editor will start being pushed out in January 2021, but Canvas administrators are encouraged to go ahead and enable it now. They can do so by going into Admin Settings –> Feature Options –> RCE Enhancements and sliding the button to on.

Reading Accommodations

In the classroom, it may be easy to provide some accommodations for reading, such as allowing students to read aloud to each other or having a teacher assistant read to a student. In Canvas, though, if you find that you need to provide accommodations to help students with reading particular content, consider some of these solutions to help.

You may find that implementing multiple solutions can provide a safety net for those that require accommodations as well as for those that may struggle to read, but don’t yet qualify for such services.

  • Make use of Microsoft’s Immersive Reader integration that started rolling out in October 2019. Microsoft and Canvas have partnered to better assist educators. The Immersive Reader tool, as described by SchoolsICT, “is a free tool that implements proven techniques to improve reading and writing for people, regardless of their age or ability. Immersive Reader can improve reading comprehension and increase fluency for English language learners. It can help build confidence for emerging readers learning to read at higher levels, and offer text decoding solutions for students with learning differences such as dyslexia.” You will see the Immersive Reader button in the top right when it can be accessed. Note: The Microsoft Immersive Reader is an account feature option. If the Immersive Reader button does not display in your course, talk to your institution’s Canvas admin about enabling this feature. The Microsoft Immersive Reader is being offered in Canvas as a trial feature.
  • Add closed captioning to videos that you have recorded and include in your course. Canvas shares how to add captions if you have the video uploaded into Canvas. The University of Washington shares several free tools that you can use, as well as the steps required to add closed captions to videos that will be posted on YouTube.
  • If you find that Immersive Reader isn’t available on a particular type of content (announcement, discussion board, etc.), you may want to record your own audio and include it where unsupported text is given. Two simple choices to consider include Free Sound Recorder (free download for Windows and Mac) or the online Voice Recorder by 123Apps. Click on the image with the rocket to view a brief tutorial on recording and adding audio to a Canvas Page.

Writing Accommodations in Canvas

Here are a few solutions to help you support students who may benefit from writing accommodations.

  • For Assignments in Canvas, provide a variety of submission types. You can select from the list to allow students the option that best suits them. For a website URL, this could be a link to a recording (audio or video) of them sharing their response verbally and/or in writing. For Media Recordings, students can record (assuming they have a webcam available) or upload their video within Canvas. When allowing file uploads, I recommend that you limit the filetypes so that it is easier to view and support your students. If they are uploading a video, it should be in the Media Recordings tab. Otherwise, a file upload could be a PDF, JPG, PNG, MP3, DOC, XLS, or PPT. Click on the thumbnail to the right to view a brief tutorial on assignment submission in Canvas.
  • Allow voice typing. If your assignment is to be written and you are using a tool such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, allow students to make use of voice typing or dictation that is built into each tool. If students are to submit their text or response in another tool or a discussion board, encourage students to use voice typing in Google Docs or Microsoft Office and then copy/paste the text where needed. Be sure they understand that both Google and Microsoft do not edit their text to add correct punctuation. The student will need to dictate the punctuation (comma, period, etc.) or type in the correct punctuation.

Note: Consider embedding a Padlet. Padlet has a variety of ways that students can respond, making it a great tool to support accommodations. Click on the image to the right to view a brief tutorial on writing accommodations in Padlet from a student’s perspective. If you need help getting started, check out Padlet’s YouTube playlist for beginners.

More Accommodations in Canvas

You can find more tips and ideas for making accommodations in Canvas by joining the Canvas Educator online course. Besides the content that is shared in the course, you’ll find frequent informative announcements that share tips, tricks, and ideas to get more from Canvas and provide a deeper, more enriching learning experience for your students.

Regardless of what you teach, consider using these accommodations to support your students, even if they do not have an IEP. What other ways do you prove accommodations to your students in a remote learning environment? Share with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

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HTML code
LMS

Virtual Learning Tools, Part 2: Button Menus for Canvas or Schoology

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

How many teachers are now getting ready to throw their computers across the room? Although we have access to graphic user interface (GUI) editors, they’re not enough. In this blog entry, you’ll learn how to do some simple HTML editing that will save your sanity. These tricks will work in learning management systems (LMSs) like Canvas and Schoology. What’s more, they will make it possible for you to create button menus for your students to use. There’s even a video tutorial at the end. Ready to get started?

Meet the Problem

You can “hear” the howls of frustration from teachers trying to bend the LMS GUI editors to their will. Failure is a given since they often don’t know realize that the HTML editors in those LMSs are light weight. If you want to get some real editing done, you’re going to need an HTML editor. These editors are available and you can be successful without spending a lot of time.

Consider this teacher who is experiencing trouble in the Canvas LMS:

Please, somebody, before I throw my laptop against the wall….why can’t I adjust table row height or width in the content editor? I’ve even tried doing it with HTML code and nothing changes. However, if I add a row or column, the whole thing goes haywire. I’m at the end of what little wit I have.

Table row height or width are easy to adjust…when you’re using the right editor. Before we explore the solution, let’s dig into Canvas and Schoology a bit more.

Did You Know?

TCEA offers an online, self-paced class each for both Canvas and Schoology learning management systems. Sign up now and find out what you’ve been missing. Learn more online.

A Look at the Canvas LMS GUI Editor

When you look at the Canvas LMS editor, you’re going to see something that looks like a word processor:

button menus

As wonderful as that editor looks, it’s not enough if you want to edit HTML code and have it work. Step back for a moment and look for that EDIT button in the top right hand corner:

button menus

Once you have found it, click on it. You’ll get the full edit window:

button menus

What you may notice is that at the bottom right hand corner of the page, there is an icon that looks like four dots on top of each in two-dot rows. When you click on this, you will be able to edit HTML, as shown below:

button menus

Unfortunately, there’s not much help here. It’s only you and the HTML code. Let’s say you wanted to add a clickable button menu for your students to click on. What could you do?

Did You Know?

Sign up for the Remote Learning Tools self-paced course. You’ll pick up a variety of tools that make flipped classroom, hybrid/remote learning easier.

Creating a Button Menu

To create your button menu, you can begin the journey with the GUI editor Canvas LMS provides you. You can insert the the days of the week into your table cells. It will look something like this:

button menus

After inserting all your images, you can link them to other pages in your course:

button menus

When you vary the length of the text from cell to cell, you’re going to see that everything is center aligned. This may not be the way you want content to appear:

button menus

How do you adjust the vertical alignment for content in each of the cells? While you can adjust horizontal alignment (Center, Left, Right), finding how to adjust vertical alignment in Canvas may be a bit difficult. I cover exactly how in the video tutorial at the bottom of this blog entry.

button menus

You’ll have to use a different solution. But, what?

Introducing HTML 5 Editor

One free, web-based tool you can use is the HTML 5 Editor, although there are several similar tools you can use. Here’s a quick list of a few you can try:

Try each out and see which one is your preference. They are all quite similar and give you that split view. On one side, you’ll find a “rich text editor” and on the other, HTML code. Editing one side will change the other. This can be great when you don’t know how to adjust the code.

For now, I’m going with the HTML 5 Editor. Let’s get started.

Canvas LMS’ Rich Text and HTML Editors

To begin, I copied the HTML code from Canvas and pasted it into the left side of the editor. This is what I get:

button menus

If I click in the cell I want to adjust the vertical alignment for, then go to Table->Cell Properties, I can make alignment changes:

button menus

In this way, I can change the vertical alignment to TOP. This moves the text for the cell to the top of the cell. I can also make the table borders set to zero. This has the effect of making the borders invisible.

This changes the code to reflect vertical alignment. You can see the difference below:

Before:

button menus

After:

button menus

Here’s what it looks like in Canvas LMS HTML code editor:

button menus

And this is what it looks like when you switch to Rich Text Editor:

button menus

As you can see in the image above, the text in each cell has a vertical alignment to the top of the cell.  At this point, I can work with the Canvas Rich Text Editor and make adjustments I want. If need be, I can always switch to HTML view and copy the code. Then I can paste the code into my web-based HTML editor to make changes. When I’m done in the HTML 5 Editor, I can copy and then paste it back into Canvas. It’s easier than it sounds.

In Schoology, No One Can Hear You Scream

This is not an uncommon problem in Schoology, too. You may want to make adjustments, but not know how. As you can see below, Schoology is about as helpful as Canvas:

button menus

You can copy the code (and I’m going to simply reuse the code I edited earlier), and paste it into the HTML code view:

button menus

When I switch back from code view to the rich text editor, it looks exactly as intended:

button menus

Oh, wait, it’s not exactly looking the way I want. In this case, the images are too large. I’ll need to adjust those. I can eyeball them and adjust one by one. Or I can go into the code and customize the height and width for each.

button menus

A small change in the code for each image, as shown above, and I now have thumbnail images that look fine. Each one of them is clickable and takes me to a different page of content:

button menus

Quick Video Overview

Here are two videos that summarize the blog entry. In the first video, I share how to use an HTML editor to create a custom table with button menus that are linked to specific pages in the LMS. In the second video, I shared how to create a menu of choices.

Video #1: HTML Editor

Video #2: Button Menus

Canvas for Littles

What? You thought those were terrible videos? Ok, I have another video series you may enjoy. Have you heard of the Canvas for Littles video series? Check it out:

And, That’s All, Folks!

Please, don’t pull your hair out or fling your computer across the room. Editing HTML code in Canvas or Schoology can be a pain. But if you rely on free HTML editors available online, it’s a breeze. Give it a shot!

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