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Strategies for Classroom Discussion

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Capturing what a student has learned in a lesson can be powerful indicator of success. When students know how to engage in effective classroom discussions, they learn. As I shared in this blog entry on classroom discussion, this strategy offers much. In that entry, I pointed out that:

Classroom discussions make it possible for students to connect with one another. Use this strategy to activate prior knowledge and explore new topics. Students are able to learn from others and show learning. It engages students and gives all students the chance to take part.

Yet, at the end of the blog entry, I left a question unanswered. That question was, “What are some classroom discussion strategies?” In this blog entry, I would like to answer that question and offer a handy infographic and multimedia text set to learn more.

classroom discussions

A Multimedia Text Set: Classroom Discussion

Want to get some background knowledge on classroom discussion? Then be sure to explore this short multimedia text set to learn more about it.

classroom discussions

Strategy #1: Think-Puzzle-Explore

Remember that one of the benefits of classroom discussion is tracking student ideas. You need to make their thinking visible, as it happens. One easy approach? Use a chart board or whiteboard to do that. You can also use an online learning management system such as Google Classroom with Jamboard or Microsoft Team “stream” or conversation area or your standalone digital whiteboard solution.

classroom discussions

The Think-Puzzle-Explore approach centers discussion around three questions, including:

  • What do you THINK you know about this topic?
  • What questions or PUZZLES do you have?
  • How can you EXPLORE this topic?

“In this routine, students are generally sharing their thinking at each step along the way. Then, they move on to the next one. This allows the class to build on the group’s thinking. It results in richer discussions” (source). See the example below:

classroom discussions

Strategy #2: Multimedia Text Sets

Lisa Highfill’s Multimedia Text Sets (MMTS) ease the sharing of new information. Multimedia text sets help learners glean information and ideas that may come from a variety of media sources. Get a copy of a multimedia text set about MMTSs for your own.

One other powerful idea is that a short MMTS is also easy to include during instruction. Then, students on their own or students in small groups can share their thinking. Since the MMTS is a digital document in Google Docs/Slides/Jamboard or OneNote, it’s easy to capture.

classroom discussions

Strategy #3: Thoughts, Questions, or Epiphanies

Ready to explore Marisa E. Thompson’s TQE Process? In her blog entry, The Unlimited Teacher, she shares the TQE process:

  • Students read the assigned reading at home with annotations.
  • Small group discussions as students enter the room.
  • Share question stems for students as needed.
  • Students start with the stems on the left, but progress to more difficult ones after teacher modeling.
  • Students post their top two of each TQE by the end of 15 minutes:
    • Thoughts
    • Lingering Questions
    • Epiphanies

Then, at the end, they have a class discussion about the TQEs. Marisa provides some scaffolding for small group discussions. She suggests they start with a list of WHAT questions (e.g. What do you think will happen?). After that, they move to discussing author motivation and insights (e.g. Why would the author?).

classroom discussions

I love how easy it is to use the annotating a text guidelines Marisa shares. She suggests dividing a page in two. On the left side of the page, you summarize anything the author left behind. This can include arguments, claims, ideas, intended audience, etc. On the right side, summarize anything you wonder about.

classroom discussions

Get the image via The Unlimited Teacher

Be sure to read Marisa’s blog entry for more information. You can also get her discussion stems via Teachers Pay Teachers.

Get the Infographic for Better Classroom Discussion

Now you may notice that I’ve not listed all the classroom discussions mentioned. In fact, I have left one of them off. That’s because I feature it in this blog entry, Wakelet-Empowered Classroom Discussions. I hope you will take a moment to read about it and how you can use a digital tool like Wakelet with it.

Get the PDF version

classroom discussions

Feature Image Source

Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash

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Wakelet
Content AreasESL/ELLGood Teaching

Using Wakelet to Create Infographics

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Infographics allow students to share a lot of information in a visually-pleasing but concise way. While there are lots of tools that you can use to create and publish infographics, you might want to give Wakelet a try!

Wakelet is a content curation tool that allows you to collect and share many types of resources. When we think of curaction , we typically think of playlists with just videos or music or Pinterest boards with websites or photos. The amazing thing about Wakelet is that it lets you pull together all sorts of file types, including URLs for websites, text, YouTube videos, tweets, bookmarks, images (from your device or from Unsplash), PDFs, Google Drive files, OneDrive files, and Flipgrid videos! For the purpose of infographics, we’ll be using just images from our device. Let’s begin.

PREFACE: For this article, I’m using the following hypothetical assignment: Social studies students will investigate various details about Texas to identify specific information about the history and details of the state. Students will work in pairs with each pair being assigned a specific aspect regarding Texas. Student pairs will each create Google Slide presentations to share their information. The first slide of the presentation will be saved as an image and used in the Wakelet collection. Students will refer to the collaborative infographic as they share their specific aspect and as a review for a unit quiz.

Getting Started

Begin by sharing a Google Slides slide deck with your students. For your convenience, start by making a copy of this Blank Infographic Slide Deck. Taking into consideration your specific assignment and students’ abilities, edit the slide deck as needed. Included in the slide deck template are three slides with helpful ideas for text, use of large numbers, and icons.

Once students finish slide one of their deck, have them click on FILE–> Download –> PNG. This will save the slide as an image that will be used in Wakelet. You might consider having students compete the first slide AFTER they finish the other slides so that they already have the details. Other options would include having all students work on a single slide deck with each pair of students assigned a particular slide number; in this situation, students can add details to the speaker notes.

Preparing the Wakelet

Now let’s jump to Wakelet and prepare it for our students to add their part of the infographic. Begin by creating a new collection. You can do this by clicking on the green plus button labeled “Create a new collection.”

Add a meaningful cover image to your collection. You can use sites such as Pixabay, Pexels, FreeImages, Free-Images, Unsplash, Pics4Learning, and CC Search to locate copyright-free images to use with your students. Be sure to investigate each site before sharing with students. You will also need to pay attention to citation requirements for particular sites. Here are a few other helpful blog posts to help you find and use copyright-free images:

Now that you have your Wakelet collection shell started, click on Done. Go back in to edit the collection (yes, it seems redundant to have to do this, but it allows you to set the collection format). Below the title/description area of the collection, you should now see a dropdown box allowing you to select the format of the collection. Choose the Mood Format. Media view is too large and doesn’t place images side by side. Compact and Grid views will make your image appear cropped; you’ll have to click on each image to view the full image. Mood view will not crop the image, but will show all the images in a pleasant viewing format.

Getting the Students Involved

It’s now time to have students add their portion of the infographic to the collection. To make this possible, you will need to share a link with your students that give them edit rights to the collection. Anyone with this link can edit, so don’t tweet or share via social media. (You can, however, share the published version of the collection with others, which is a different link that we’ll talk about later.) To access the dialog box to get the link, click on the Invite button. In the dialog box, you have the option to share a link/code or add students’ usernames/emails. For our purposes, we will assume that students do not have a Wakelet account. To make sharing easier, copy the link to share with your students (not the code). If you would like to see what the students will experience, go to this site.

Once the students have the link, they can start adding to the collection to create the final infographic. Drag the images around to reorder them so that they make sense.

When everyone has their image added to the collection and you’ve ordered the images as you prefer, it is time to share the final product. Wakelet gives you so many ways to share. If you prefer a QR code, click on the QR code button and then right-click on the QR code to copy the image or save the QR code image to your device to post where you would like it to be. Other sharing options include Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Twitter, Notify, Remind, Reddit, and Facebook. You can also copy the link (this link is one for users to view your collection – NOT edit). And you can export your collection as a PDF or get the embed code for the collection to place on a class website or in your LMS.

Depending on the content of the infographic, it may be advisable to set the visibility of the collection to Unlisted. This allows anyone with the URL to view the collection, but does not make it available for others to find it via search engines. If you and your students add any resources that are part of Google Drive or Microsoft Teams, be sure that you have those documents set with the correct share settings as well so others can view the final Wakelet products. Making your collection public or unlisted doesn’t change the share settings of the resources that have been added to the collection.

Content Area Ideas

Mathematics

  • Create a collection that highlights different geometric shapes – squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, etc.
  • Create a collection that identifies the different categories of numbers – whole, fraction, decimal, integers, etc.
  • Create a collection that illustrates different slopes – negative, positive, parallel, perpendicular, slope=0, undefined, etc.

Language Arts

  • Create a collection identifying different part of phonics or phonics rules
  • Create a collection identifying main characters of a novel or chapter book
  • Create a collection of vocabulary “cards” to help ELL and ESL students

Science

  • Create a collection identifying the different systems in the human body
  • Create a collection noting various animals of different classes (mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians)
  • Create a collection illustrating a food chain with the predators/prey in accurate order

Social Studies

  • Create a collection that highlight different countries and their flags
  • Create a collection highlighting famous people who helped with a particular cause or event
  • Create a collection of political cartoons
  • Create a collection of state capitols with specific facts about the state

So, how will you and your students use Wakelet to create and inform through infographics? It is a an easy process that helps students focus on learning during the process, as well as providing a means of review afterwards. Share your idea in the comments below. And if you or your students create an infographic using Wakelet, share the link with our readers and we’ll celebrate their work with you.

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icograms
Digital LiteracyGood TeachingWeb 2.0 Tool

Another New Infographic Tool: Icograms Designer

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Infographic tools are a great resource for teachers and students. Both can use them to capture complex concepts in pictorial form. In this blog entry, let’s explore a new infographic tool.

“Infographics use imagery to highlight, explain, or enhance text-based information” (source).

The Research Connection

First, let’s revisit why infographics are so powerful. As a surface learning strategy, imagery (d=0.51) accelerates student learning. It does this because it combines images (such as graphs, diagrams) with textual information. Infographics can serve K-12 education in many ways. Some of those include:

  • Illustrating a historical timeline
  • Emphasizing significant statistics
  • Focusing on a topic or issue of interest

There are several more ways infographics can work in the classroom. Here’s one example built around writing a research paper:
icogram

Infographic Tools

icogram

Wondering how to make infographics? You may be reaching for Canva, Google Slides (or MS PowerPoint), or Google Drawings. These are all powerful tools for creating infographics. You may already know about these below from the Infographics Made Simple (IMS) resource I have shared before.

Video Infographic Makers

Infographic Design Tools

This long list may leave you thinking, “Ok, I can do it all with these.” But wait, there’s one more. With infographics, you can never have too much of a good thing. So here’s another great tool to add to your tool belt: IcoGrams Designer

Does Icograms Have Templates?

Icograms Designer, like other infographic tools, enjoys an abundance of templates. Use these to start with or adapt for your own purposes. If you enjoyed building things in SimCity, then Icograms Designer will bring back fond memories.

icogram

How Does the Icograms Designer Work?

To start with, Icograms lacks the infographic design tools like the others. It opens to a plain screen with a big box. Into that box, you can click-and-drag all sorts of icons. You can save your infographic to PNG or JPG image formats without creating an account, which is a big plus.

If you want to save your icogram so you can work on it again, though, you will need an account. Upgrade your Icograms account, and you can save to SVG image format as well. See pricing options.

How Much Does It Cost?

icogramThe Basic account, which is free, offers more than 3,050 icons, 390 templates, and lets you save eight designs. It requires attribution and imposes these limits:

  • All of the Stock Icons and Icograms Templates remain the property of Icograms.
  • You must put a backlink with credits to icograms.com. It can be a part of the image and/or a part of the description.

Also, the IcoGrams license does not allow the following uses:

  • The Media may not be used in commercial project;
  • The Media may not be sold, sublicensed, rented or transferred;
  • The Media may not be modified in shape and/or color;
  • Icograms copyright, logo and credits may not be removed, if exist;
  • The Media may not be used to create pornographic, libelous, obscene, or defamatory material.

The Pro and Expert licenses are a bit more permissive, but costs (billed annually) range from $14.25 to $25.50. Little or no provision is granted for educator pricing. That said, the Basic level account offers use of non-commercial projects, as indicated below:

The Media can be used by You for any number of personal and/or non-commercial projects including social post, web design, web application, software application, mobile application, documentation, presentation, computer game, gui design, advertisement, illustration, video, school and university projects for You without having to pay additional licensing fees.

This makes it a worthwhile tool for use in K-12 education, as well as university level.

Creating Your IcoGrams Design

icogramCreating an icogram is really a matter of design and time. You will find a variety of icons ready to use. Some of the categories include:

  • City Basic
  • Sport
  • Farm
  • Supermarket
  • Warehouse
  • Logistics
  • Construction

This is a wonderful tool that should appeal to students and teachers.

Infographics for Students

The power of icograms is that it allows us to merge images with text and numbers, which is something that students need to practice and learn. What images might students use to convey an idea? What conclusions could they capture in the icogram design? And what learning will they walk away with just from using this simple, powerful tool?

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author via Icograms

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OneNote hacks
Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Five OneNote Hacks for Your Classroom

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

If you are using OneNote with your students, you’re probably already aware of how powerful it is. But just like any program, there may be some special features that you don’t know about or haven’t started using. In this blog entry, I’ll share some of the most common ways you can manage OneNote in Class Notebook.

1- Digitize Your Content

As an educator, you probably have pages of projects, activities, resources, and worksheets. When my wife invited me into her second grade classroom for back to school prep, I was astonished at the sheer volume of resources. “Have you thought about digitizing these?” I asked as I clutched an overstuffed manila folder in my hand, waving at even more crammed folders. The question of digitizing content always comes up at OneNote workshops. The best answer is to use a copier/scanner solution. You can drop several binders of content, scan it to PDF, and you are ready to go. FedEx/Kinkos have these awesome scanners at their locations if you don’t have one at school.

Why not carve out $20-$30 to scan your most precious resources? After all, you never know when the ceiling is going to drip a torrent onto your papers. “Wait, then how will I pick out that one page (page 52) of a 200-page PDF when I need it?” The easy answer is to use one of the PDF tools I discuss in my blog entry Top Five PDF Annotation Tools. These tools make it easy to extract one page or several from a large document. It’s so easy, you could show a third grader how to do it for you.

If you want to be more selective of what you digitize, or scan as you go, then take advantage of other Microsoft tools, such as Office Lens  (read Tip #3) or OneDrive (read Tip #4). When should you use one or the other?

Get Google Slides version | Powerpoint version of this infographic template

While either tool can make your work easier, Office Lens can make navigating text easier for your students with the built-in Immersive Reader.

2- Organize Your OneNote Master Notebook

Now that you have your paper digitized, what’s your next step? Organizing all your materials, units, lesson plans, and resources in one place. OneNote can make this difficult process easy. OneNote features sections and sub-sections. I like to organize my OneNote materials following an outline model. For example, consider the following:

  • Notebook Topic – Mathematics
  • Sections Group – This is an overarching idea or concept (e.g. Algebra I). Section Groups work as containers for sections.
    • Section – This is the actual section where you will add pages of content. If Algebra I is the overarching concept, then this might be Introduction to Algebra I.
    • Pages – Places resources, information, and lesson plans relevant to the Section topic in individual pages.
  • Example – In this example, we have tons of resources to keep track of. So our Section Group starts
    • Section Group Title: Algebra I
      1. Section #1 Title: An introduction to Algebra I
        • Pages:
          • Learning Not Performing
          • Making Sense
          • Conjectures, Creativity, and Uncertainty
          • The Beauty of Mistakes
      2. Section #2 Title: Modeling with Functions
        • Pages:
          • Rate of Change
          • Graphs
          • Functions

As you can see, a well-designed outline (I swiped, er, adapted this one from New Visions) can save you work. You can begin to move your content (e.g. digitized documents) into the appropriate section.

3- Curate Content For Placement in Your OneNote Master Notebook

Content curation is the process that you use to select, sift, save, and share content. Many educators use tools like Pinterest, Pocket, Evernote, Diigo, Flipboard, LiveBinder, or Wakelet for this. The drawback with using these tools to store content is simple. If you are in an Office 365 school district, you’ll have to figure out a way to copy that content into your OneNote notebook. Instead of relying on all these other content curation tools, just use OneNote.

In this screenshot, you can see OneNote WebClipper’s main options. With it, you can save to a notebook (e.g. TCEA Connect v4) to a section (e.g. Resource Roundup)

The OneNote Web Clipper will help you clip content (with website source for citation) straight into the notebook and section of your choice. It’s an extension for your Chrome or Firefox web browser. It makes dropping content into OneNote easy-peasy. However, the OneNote Web Clipper is not the only way to get content into your OneNote document. You can also use OneNote’s built-in INSERT menu, as shown below:

For those who are comfortable using social media, you could take advantage of IFTTT.com to automate saving of content into your OneNote notebook. Learn more about how to curate content in this way.

4- Manage OneNote Class Notebook

OneNote Class Notebook includes web-based management tools you can use. You can create, modify, and manage Class Notebooks via this link. After you log in with your Office 365 work/school account, you will see a screen like the one below.

If you click the “Manage notebooks” button, you will be able to select your Class Notebook. Here’s what that looks like:

From the options available, you are able to lock/unlock (off/on) your Class Notebook’s Collaboration Space. Need to share links to the Class Notebook with parents/guardians? You will have the option to select an individual student or generate links for all students. These links provide parents/guardians with access to their student’s individual notebook.

5- Manage OneNote Class Notebook in Microsoft Teams

Just announced in August 2018, teachers using Teams have the ability to access the management component of OneNote from within Teams. Here’s the text of the announcement:

To help save teachers more time when using OneNote Class and Staff Notebooks inside Microsoft Teams, we’re releasing a few key updates. Teachers will enjoy the new and improved Class and Staff Notebook settings directly inside Microsoft Teams – just select “Manage Notebooks” in the tab menu. Plus, we’ve improved the Class Notebook toolbar and added a new Staff Notebook toolbar, specifically for staff teams. In addition, page distribution is now fully supported in the Teams desktop app!
Read more

Using OneNote Class Notebook as a part of Microsoft Teams has other benefits. Be sure to explore Microsoft Teams.

Five OneNote Hacks for Your Classroom

There you go, five OneNote hacks for your classroom. What are some OneNote hacks that you have used or developed to make your work easier?

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infographics
ChromebooksGoogle Tips and TricksProfessional Learning

Infographics Made Simple

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

In my Infographics Made Simple workshop session at the 2018 TCEA Chromebook Academy, I shared some of the infographic templates I had made. Since I first wrote the blog entries, Infographic-Creation Strategies for the Art-Challenged and Infographic Templates with Google Slides, I’ve learned a few more tricks. These  tips come in the form of Chrome extensions or add-ons. Microsoft user looking for Powerpoint templates for infographics? Here are over 15 templates to get you started. May I share some of my tips with you?

Tip #1 – Citing Images on the Web

“Any librarians in the room?” I always ask that question when facilitating a workshop. It is a tell-tale sign that the tip I’m about to share involves potential copyright violations. Potential since classroom fair use use is okay, sharing online…not so much. When you do a Google search for images to include in your infographics, seek out creative commons copyright images. Many often don’t know that in a Google Image Search, you can find the ones labelled “Reuse with modification.”

For example, here are standard Google Image search results for the word, “excellence:”

infographics

Those results look pretty good. Here’s what the search results are when you modify your search. To do that, select Tools, then Usage Rights, then “Labelled for Reuse.” The changes to your search look like this:

When the usage rights are modified, your image results are different, as shown below.

Try Google Advanced Image Search: It gives you enormous flexibility in tailoring your search results. In addition to specifying the image’s color, size, and file type, you can choose Filter Explicit Results to block inappropriate pictures. Specify the usage rights to include various levels of reprint permissions.

You may have to go through several pages of images (try these image sites first) before finding the right one. You can rely on tools like Cite This For Me, Apogee, MyBib, and EasyBib to get the citation for the image in MLA/APA format. Here’s what Cite This For Me looks like in action with an image that captures “Excellence.” Note the citation Cite This For Me provides appears below the image.

Free Image on Pixabay – Directory, Excellent, Mediocre Free Image on Pixabay – Directory, Excellent, Mediocre. (2018). Pixabay.com. Retrieved 27 July 2018, from https://pixabay.com/en/directory-excellent-mediocre-1274229/

While you won’t always need to include citations for images in your infographic, it never hurts to keep track of where you picked up your graphics in case others ask.

Want to learn more about this?

Read Helping Students Find and Cite Photos blog entry. Teaching students to correctly cite resources they use in their reports can be a difficult task. But this website can make it much, much easier, both for the students and for their teachers.

Meet Kathy Miller (@millerk813), a leading learner at the 2018 TCEA Chromebook Academy | Get a copy of her infographic

Tip #2: Finding Icons for Use

“Have you seen the Insert Icons into Slides add-on?” asked Kathy Miller (@millerk813) in my Infographics Made Simple session. Of course, we had not. “There is another add on for Docs and Slides called Unsplashed Photos. It has free-to-use HD pics; makes every copyright librarian happy!” Kathy shared. She followed up with sharing the Icons by Noun project.

In the workshop, we all grabbed the Insert Icons into Slides add-on, setting it up in Google Slides. With this add-on in place, you can browse 1,800+ free icons from Font Awesome & Google Material Design. What’s even neater, you can do it without leaving Google Slides. Pick any color you want, and the icons get inserted into your slide. Even more exciting, the icons get imported with a transparent background. Ms. White, one of the other session participants, shows off her incomplete infographic creation. You can see the open Insert icons add-on as a sidebar:

Icons by Noun, another source of icons, works in Google Docs. While Google Docs isn’t my preferred infographic tool (Google Drawings and Google Slides are my favorites), you can grab icons in Docs and then copy and paste them.

What’s amazing about events like the 2018 TCEA Chromebook Academy? I learn as much as I share.

Tip #3: Color Palettes Made Simple

Palette add-on

Not sure how to match colors? David McGeary suggests the following:

“I recommend doing an image search by color and usage rights. I also used https://coolors.co/ to get a working color palette for this project. It is one of my favorite tools for design work.”

Another participant in my Infographics Made Simple session suggested the Chrome add-on Palette. If you are not sure how colors should look together, it may do the job. It allows you to “create your own color palette by manipulating the variation and hue colors.”

Start Making

A hushed silence falls over a room when creative professionals start making.  In my session, participants got to work quickly. Some, though, found themselves enjoying all the Chrome extensions and add-ons that make infographic creation fun. One of them loved my share of Fireshot, an image capture tool that works in Chrome (also try Full Page Screen Capture). Another liked the mention of Windows tools like  PicPick and the venerable Snipping Tool.

Curious about what session participants came up with? See their incomplete creations linked below.

Alison

Kim

Marcie

You can see more pictures of infographic makers. Check out creations from others in the session, including Korie’s “The Qualities of a Great Student” as well other infographic templates at Infographics Made Simple website.

Note to K-12 Students:

If you are a student using G Suite for Education, you may be unable to access the Google version of these infographics. That’s because your school district has NOT allowed you to access resources outside of your school district domain. Get a teacher to access the resources here, then share them with you using your school district domain. OR, use a personal Gmail account.

 

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iPads
Google Tips and Tricks

TCEA Responds: Google Shortcuts

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Dear TCEA Responds:

I’m not yet able to get Google Drawings on my Google drive. What do I do?

-Bankole

Dear Bankole:

Thanks for your tweet. Your question makes me curious about how you get into Google Draw. There are several ways to jump straight into Google Docs, Drawing, etc. Let’s review these Google shortcuts for opening Google Drawing, as well as other Google tools. That should help with the problem of getting to Google Drawings.

A Few Shortcuts

You can find a few shortcut links below that you can add to your bookmarks or shortcuts on your browser. Use the links to create a new Google document for…

Use a Chrome Add-On to Create New Documents

While it’s handy to know the links to create a new Google document, you may prefer to just use a drop-down menu. The Google Docs Quick Create add-on for your Chrome browser can make that simple. Just add it and then you’ll always have a fast way to jump into a new document or drawing screen.

Google Shortcuts Flyer

This flyer should help you keep a few of the ways you can open Google documents in mind. Download it below in the form that works best for you and post it near your computer. If are using Google resources, post it for them, too, or encourage them to create their own flyer and share it with others.

Get the Version You Need: PDF version | Google Slides version | PNG Image 

 

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Microsoft Classroom
Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Ten Ways to Customize Microsoft Classroom

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for quick ways to customize Microsoft Classroom so that it better fits your teaching style or how your students learn? Or just looking for things a teacher needs to know how to do in Microsoft Classroom to be successful? Either way, I hope you find this infographic a quick reference to Classroom’s main features and possibilities.

Note: An Adobe PDF version is also available.

ten

#1 – Add Students to Your Class

  1. Login at MS Classroom.
  2. Click on Teachers & Students in top right section of page.
  3. Add students after quick search. Click DONE after finding all students.

#2- Add Co-Teachers

  1. On the same screen where you add students, you can add teachers.
  2. Search and select them.

#3 – Create OneNote Class Notebook

  1. Click on Class Notebook tab.
  2. Create Class Notebook with desired settings.
  3. Open it as OneNote Online and then EDIT in OneNote 2016 to sync a copy to your Windows 10 device.

#4 – Start Conversations for Student Participation

  1. Create Conversations around identified class topics.
  2. Edit members in the group by clicking on the ellipsis in the top right corner of the screen.

#5 – Make Assignments

  1. Click on the Assignments tab.
  2. Click on + New Assignments.
  3. Set title, due dates, and description.
  4. Set assignment for all classes for whom it applies, attach relevant documents, and enable Conversation.

#6 – Grade Assignments

  1. Click on the Assignments tab.
  2. Click on the Assignment name in the “In Progress” column.
  3. Review “Submissions” and then easily enter grades, assigning comments as needed.

#7 – Share Files and Resources

  • Click on the “Files” tab to access the shared files for the class.
  • Place Word, Excel, or Powerpoint Online documents and other files for students to access.

#8 – Use Class Calendar

  • All assignment due dates appear in the calendar.
  • Add new dates for events (e.g. field trips) to class calendar for students to access.

#9 – Manage Class

  • Modify course info using the Manage tab.
  • Update class banner, icon, and course description.

#10 – Update Notebook Settings

  • Add/remove sections.
  • Update teacher/student button if changes to the roster have been made.
  • Lock/unlock Class Notebook Collaboration space for student use.

Attending the TCEA 2017 Convention & Exposition?

Microsoft ClassroomMicrosoft believes in empowering every student to achieve more. In our mission to support educators in guiding and nurturing student passions, we are offering pre-conference professional learning to TCEA convention participants. Attendees at these sessions will be eligible to receive a complimentary Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) exam voucher for attending and earn badges on the Microsoft Educator Community to recognize their achievements.*  Preregister to secure a seat.

2-Day MIE Trainer Academy

  • Monday, February 6 and Tuesday, February 7 | 8:30AM-4:00PM Register Here

1-Day MIE Teacher Academy

1-Day MIE Teacher Academy:  Minecraft Education Edition

Visit aka.ms/TCEAresources to find session schedules and other information about Microsoft’s presence at TCEA.

 

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infographics
Web 2.0 Tool

Infographic-Creation Strategies for the Art-Challenged

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

I don’t remember how it happened or what I was working on, but the “F” in Art on my kindergarten report card painted its own picture. And that “painting” hangs on my mental wall of shame, a constant reminder that I am terrible at art.

In that context, that is why the act of creating infographics can be stressful and frustrating; nothing you create will be good enough to meet the standards of your inner critic. That inner art critic may be saying any of the following to you:

  • You can’t draw.
  • Stick figures will be as good as you ever get.
  • You don’t know enough to make an infographic.

By taking action against the inner critic, you can silence that inner voice that stops you before you begin. But how DO you take action?

Three Strategies to Creating Infographics

While chatting with Peggy Reimers (Director of Professional Development) during a TCEA Lunch and Learn (free weekly webinars available only to TCEA members), she made the following recommendations. I have followed each strategy with some reflection and ideas from the Lunch and Learn chat:

Strategy 1: Voice and Choice

Voice and choice are powerful motivators. That sense of ownership can be quite beneficial when designing infographics, whether alone or as part of a team.

When creating an infographic, voice and choice may manifest as having a say about what information you are sharing, finding a way that uniquely expresses who you are and intersects with the content. As an infographic creator, do not forget to ask yourself, “What could I create that would make this more helpful to viewers?” To do that, I ask myself, “In each of my respective roles as a teacher, administrator, parent, how could I make an infographic that answers my questions and meets my needs?” Once you have overcome your fear, consider using a site like Daily Infographic as inspiration, not for examples that you may never be able to replicate (“Be silent, inner critic! Silent!”), but for examples of design elements you can incorporate into your own creations. And some might find this rubric for digital infographics helpful.

Did You Know?
TCEA Lunch and Learn webinars (there are other webinars that you can sign up for, too) are FREE for TCEA members, and membership is only $49 a year! Wow! And you get access to LOTS of resources that might take you days to find via your favorite professional learning network. And, reflecting on building your PLN, have you considered adding these accounts to those you follow on Twitter? @preimers, @diben, @drbruceellis, @mguhlin and, of course, @TCEA ?

Strategy 2: Start with a specific topic

Starting with a specific topic, the more specific the better, you are able to shed the vague unease of creation. This limitation actually enables you to carefully select what would be most helpful and engaging and avoid information overload. One way to narrow a topic is to make a semantic web or concept map (spider map). This is a relatively simple approach that makes it easy to focus on key concepts, information, and data. And while I may not use all the data in one creation, I can still develop it in another.

Strategy 3: Use easy tools

In Peggy’s presentation at the TCEA Lunch and Learn, several TCEA members shared some of their “go to” infographic creation tools. For example, Casey Phelps recommended PiktoChart (which Laura Howard [Twitter @saisdtechtrain; San Angelo ISD; read her blog] said World Geography students in her district also employ) and Infog.ram for use with students and staff. Smore was another easy tool Casey recommended, saying, “We use Smore as our instructional technology newsletter for our staff. On Smore, multiple users can collaborate; they just have to be signed in using the same account.” Others suggested the Canva iPad app and especially their infographics site.

And, finally, for overcoming your inner critic when it comes to infographics, Alison Berquette suggested beginning with Thinglink. Combining PiktoChart (used to create the infographic) and Thinglink (add interactivity for web posts) can extend the reach and usability of your new creation. Another supportive infographic tool is Easel.ly, which I have used to create some of my first infographics. It features, as most of these tools do, templates and clip art that make it easy for the art-challenged to spruce up words and numbers.

Join the ongoing TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) SkypeChat via your mobile device or online. Explore and share concepts at the intersection of teaching, learning, leading, and technology!

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Google Tips and Tricks

Wondrous Ways to Use Google Drawings

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

During a recent Get Your Google On webinar, I shared some ways Google Drawings can be used in the classroom. I truly believe Google Drawings is a very powerful, but yet very under-utilized tool.

If you are not familiar with Google Drawings, it is free, web-based diagramming software developed by Google. It allows users to collaborate and work together in real-time to create flowcharts, organizational charts, concept maps, and many other types of diagrams. Drawings can be inserted into other Google documents, sheets, or presentations.

Accessing Google Drawings

You can access Google Drawings via your Google Drive. Once you are logged in to your Google Drive, you can create a new drawing as follows:

  1. Click the Create button in the top left corner.
  2. Then click More and Google Drawings from the drop-down menu.
  3. Your blank drawing will now open.

Google Drawings is also available as a Chrome app on the Chrome Web Store.

Ways to Use Drawings in the Classroom with Students

There are endless ways to use Google Drawings in the classroom. Below are just a few:

  • Graphic Organizers – Have students create graphic organizers or concept maps with Google Drawings. This will help them organize their ideas and make logical sequence of concepts. Make use of connector lines in order to let students show relationships among different concepts. Here are ten great examples ready to use.
  • Comic Strips – Let students create an autobiographical comic strip talking about themselves and summarizing important events in their lives. They can incorporate speech bubbles in order to experiment with different languages, sentence structure, or vocabulary in a meaningful context.
  • Posters – Have students create posters for a classroom project or have them create posters that can be used around school. For example, create a poster on being a good digital citizen or how to stay safe online.
  • Annotate Images – Students can upload their own images and tag important features, make comments, or highlight key concepts.
  • Timelines – Have students create timelines and add information for the different dates, along with images and text. Timelines can be used to record events from a story or a history lesson in a sequential format. They can help students keep events in chronological order as they write summaries or help them make connections and recognize patterns in a series or process.
  • Tutorial Graphics – Let students create a Google Drawing that explains how to do something or defines a concept. This is a great way students can show understanding and teach someone else at the same time.
  • Infographics – Students can create infographics in order to communicate information or ideas. This is a great way to communicate visually with others, as well as assess students’ understanding of a topic.
  • Word Webs – Have students who might be struggling with vocabulary words create word webs. The word webs can illustrate how key words or concepts are related to one another through graphic representations.

All the above activities can be done as a whole class, in small groups, or individually. However, by using Google Drawings, students can easily collaborate with one another in real time. In addition, drawings can also be published online as images or downloaded in standard formats such as JPEG, SVG, PNG, or PDF.

More Ways You Can Use Google Drawings

Google Drawing is not just for students. There are many ways you can use it, too:

  • Create badges to award to your students.
  • Create a custom signature  for your email.
  • Document what you learned at a conference – Check out this Google Drawing created by one of our members about her takeaways from the TCEA 2016 Convention.

Give It a Try

If you have never used Google Drawings before, I challenge you to give it a try. I usually recommend starting with an “All About Me” drawing. Enter text, images, and links that tell about you, where you’re from, where you work, your interests, your hobbies, etc. Once you are done, save it as a JPEG and upload it to this All About Me Padlet.

The next time you need to cover standards where students must explain, diagram, justify, develop, plan, or describe, consider using Google Drawings. If you are already using Google Drawings, we’d love to hear from you. Share in the comments below.

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