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A Curated Collection of Free Jamboard Templates

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Jamboard is one of those amazing digital learning tools that should be embraced by all educators for a number of reasons. Google created it as an “interactive whiteboard,” but it can do so much more. It’s:

  • Easy to use.
  • Geared for differentiation based on individual student need.
  • Part of the Google Suite of tools, but can work in any environment. (To see how to add a Jamboard to Microsoft Teams, check out this video.)
  • Designed specifically for collaboration.
  • For any grade level (through adult) and any content area.
  • Free!
  • Loaded with plenty of free templates already created by other educators.

Using Jamboard

You can find Jamboard by going to jamboard.google.com or by clicking the “New” button in your Google Drive and mousing over “More.” Once you do that, you’ll see all of your recent Jamboards. By the way, there’s an app for both Android and iOS, too. A new Jamboard looks like a blank screen with tools available. You can add backgrounds, images, text, and so much more.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use Jamboard:

jamboard template

Mental Health Check-Ins for Primary Students

Jamboard template

Exit Tickets

Book Review

Quadratic Key Features

Drawing Conclusions

Jamboard Templates

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many free templates available for this tool. But they are scattered over hundreds of websites and not always curated. Luckily for you, TCEA has taken the time to find and group more than 1,200 free Jamboard templates by content area and topic. You can make a copy of the document with the links to each template here. And check back often as we are constantly adding more templates to the list. It’s just another way that TCEA works to save busy educators time and to make it easier for you to concentrate on what really matters: your students!

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Podcasting
Good TeachingGoogle Tips and TricksPodcasts

A Simple Process and Template for Student Podcasting

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis
microphone & headphone

Maybe you’ve heard the saying that whoever is talking is the person learning. Or, the teacher should do less talking in the classroom than the students. Both of those sayings have truth to them. With that in mind, let’s see if there are benefits to student-generated podcasts.

How Does Podcasting Benefit Students?

Through discussion, discourse, and debate, students can gain a deeper understanding of content and language and grammar skills. Research indicates that students who create podcasts show improved language, speaking, and grammar knowledge. They are also more confident in using academic vocabulary in context. The podcast creation process incorporates high student engagement, which increases the likelihood that it may also positively impact student achievement. And using student-generated podcasts can be a strategy for learning in early elementary up through college. Be sure to check out this Research for Student-Created Podcasts Wakelet collection for specific and deeper study.

A Simple Podcasting Process

That all may sound good. But many teachers feel that having students create podcasts will have a high learning curve; it could end up more like herding cats. No worries! We’ve got you taken care of with a template for you to use and a drop-dead simple process. Let’s take all the technical mumbo jumbo out of it! To make it easy to go through, we’ll share the who, what, when, where, and how you and your students can take learning to the next level with podcasting.

Access the Student Podcasting Template

Step 1: Establish Criteria and Define Roles

Remember the KISS – Keep It Super Simple (or something like that). Keep the process as simple as possible– at least initially. As the students become more comfortable and skilled, then you can add more expectations. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there is no “one right process” to go by for a great podcast. I recommend checking out the following rubrics for ideas on defining the roles and teamwork necessary for each group. Having the rubrics will also help your students self assess (and peer assess) between group meeting times with you. A few rubrics to check out for ideas include:

podcasting rubric
  • University of Wisconsin – Stout Podcast Rubric – A very robust rubric. You may need to scale it back initially, but this rubric highlights important parts of the process.
  • University of Missouri Podcast Rubric – This is a slightly older rubric; however, you will find that many of the sections are still very relevant and usable.
  • ReadWriteThink Podcast Rubric – This rubric is most relevant for a high school English or science class as it refers to a podcast addressing a thesis argument.
  • Pacific Lutheran University Podcast Rubric – This one is nice in that it fits on one page, but addresses pretty much everything. Depending on the age of your students, you may want to tweak some of the wording.
  • University of Northern Iowa Podcast Rubric – Though unclear as to the author, this rubric does an excellent job of identifying the different details and criteria for creating a podcast. Consider using this one when identifying roles and steps in the process. Older students will do well with this, but it’s too complicated for younger learners.
  • Kathy Schrock’s Podcast Rubrics – Kathy has compiled six different rubrics for you to consider. Click on the link given and then scroll to the Multimedia and Apps Rubrics section. ​

Step 2: Explore and Choose Tools for Podcasting

podcasting tools icons
Screenshot by author

If your students have cell phones, then they all can record audio. But they may need to check to see that their apps can save and share the files in an MP3 format. Or you may be using school-issued devices such as Chromebooks or iPads. Below are a few of the tools and apps you might consider during your planning and producing stages.

Step 3: Determine the Pacing and Process

Having students create podcasts is a great learning strategy, but it is best implemented once you understand your students and how they work. Decide on how many class sessions they will have to produce the podcast. You will also need to determine if the students are to work on the podcast outside of class or if they will record during class time. Initially, review the rubric that you will be using with your students, go over the process for recording, and outline the pacing of the project.

TIP: Podcast Recording Environment

singer holding microphone

It might be that students can only work on the podcast while in your class. If this is the case, it might be necessary to allow students to step out into the halls to record or to visit the library to record briefly. You may have the benefit of being in a larger room so that groups can spread out. If your school encourages “bring your own device” (BYOD), students may find that they can easily record on their phones outside of class and use class time to piece it together and post it.

Unless you are trying to compete in a student podcast competition (such as the Annual New York Times Student Podcast Competition or NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge), realize that perfection may be nice, but is not realistic. It’s okay if there is background noise, as long as the student speakers can still be heard. Make the learning fun. Be creative with where students can record and with your expectations of what is acceptable.

Step 4: Practice Podcasting as a Class

While some tasks work well for individuals, podcasting is definitely not one of them. With project-based learning, students are more successful when they have clearly defined roles, working together to accomplish the task.

You may want to initially have just one large group, the whole class, as you create the first podcast or two. This will allow everyone to get familiar with the process and expectations. It will also allow students to explore the different roles, how they interact, and understand how each role is critical for the project’s success. Yes, initially, it will be teacher-assigned, but you are working towards having students take ownership of the grouping and even the roles over time.

Step 5: Group Students for the Podcasting Project

group of students talking in office

Once the process is understood, at least in theory, break students into groups, assign roles, and, initially have them all work on the same podcast. Consider grouping students as you would for other assignments in which each group has a good mix of academic levels. There should be the same roles within groups, and it will be important to scaffold the grouping process over time.

Steps 6 and 7: Assign Podcast Topics and Start Recording

Initially, you may consider having students work on the same topic as they learn the process. Yes, that means that if you have six groups, you will have six podcasts on the same information. Each group may address it in their way, but they will all be using the same information. For example, they may podcast about chapter three of their textbook or chapter five of the class novel. Having the students listen to the other groups’ final projections will spark some ideas on how they can enhance their next podcast.

Once student groups have a podcast or two under their belt, start varying the topic or perhaps have student groups each record an episode related to a subtopic of a broader topic. This allows students to become experts on sections of information. These podcasts can end up replacing your lecture or enhancing it, giving students ownership in their learning. Though each group will be creating a podcast for a particular portion of the content, they are all accountable for all the information. This means they should both understand it and be able to apply it in different situations. (This is similar to the Jigsaw approach in teaching.)

Step 8: Check in Regularly

Just like you attend regularly-scheduled staff and faculty meetings, it will be helpful to schedule regular, though short, meetings with each group. This will give students the opportunity to report on their progress, challenges, solutions, and next steps in their process. As such, you will be mentoring them on how to manage themselves and other group members. The goal is for students to be successful and accountable for their learning. As you have students add to the podcasts, you can begin using them as a review for quizzes and exams. This will hold students accountable to make sure they have all the needed information in their episode(s).

Step 9: Publish the Podcasts with a Template

For simplicity’s sake, here is a Google Slide template to use for publishing your podcasts. Google Slides isn’t considered the typical method of publishing/hosting podcasts. But it does offer a bit more security over who has access to the podcasts. Once a student group has completed their podcast, have them upload it as an MP3 file into their Google Drive and share it. They should then copy the link to the file and add it to the appropriate slide in the template along with the title, episode number (if used), description, and show notes.

TIP: Publishing the Google Slide Deck

podcasting tools
Screenshot of template

If the podcast’s content is intended for a real audience outside the classroom, consider publishing the slide deck. This will make it much easier for everyone to access it in presentation mode and listen. To publish the slide deck, click on FILE –> Publish To The Web. Leave the defaults so that the slide deck does NOT advance on its own; this will allow your listeners to click on the appropriate links to go to the intended slides. View the published template here so you can see how a published podcast slide deck appears. If your podcasts are only to be accessed from within your school’s domain, be sure to click on the Published Content and Settings link and then tick the box for your school’s domain.

Step 10: Review and Revise the Process

After your podcasting project, take time to review and reflect with your students. Assess the number of class sessions used for the project. Was it enough time, too much, too little? What about the tools used? Did they work well? How could the process be improved moving forward?

Pass the Mic

So, I’m now passing the mic to you. How will you do podcasting in your classroom? What are some ideas you have for implementing student-generated podcasts? If you’ve already had students create podcasts, what is one tip you would share with others who are thinking about doing the same? Leave your comment below so you can be heard loud and clear! You can also take a look at other posts on podcasting here.

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Content AreasGood Teaching

The Power of Post-It Note Teaching

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

As teachers, we all have Post-It notes in our desk drawers. If we are lucky, we have different sizes and colors. Typically we use them to jot down our to-do list to take care of during our planning period or write a quick note to leave on another teacher’s desk. But what if we make use of that small stack of paper to enhance our teaching? Here are some ideas and templates that you can use to do just that!

Make a copy of the template at https://bit.ly/postitnotetemplate

Printing Your Post-It Note Templates

Here is a great collection of templates that are perfect for teaching and learning and can be copied onto your Post-It notes. There is a full set of templates and some tips so that you don’t ruin your copier! (Don’t ask how I came to know some of these tips!) Be aware that your printer may make some adjustments when printing, so you’ll probably have to tweak the template some so that things line up. Once you get through that trial-and-error phase, you’ll be able to fly through. In the template slide deck, you have a base template page for 1⅞”x1⅞”, 2″x2″, 3″x3″, 4″x4″, and 4″x6″ Post-It notes. Keep in mind that your “paper” doesn’t have to be real Post-It Note brand. You should be able to easily tweak it to what you need.

Begin by printing the base template page for the size of note you want to use; I suggest actually printing several copies of that specific page. Then carefully place the sticky notes so that the sticky part is attached to the top of a note box on the page; this should keep it from getting jammed as it goes through the copier. This actually may be one time in which having a simpler, less complex copier/printer may be a benefit. Now that your sticky notes are stuck to the page, place them in one of the trays (I typically place mine in the pass-through tray). You’ll want to make sure that you have the printed pages with the sticky notes on it in the tray so that the top with the sticky end goes in head first. Locate the slide in the provided slide deck that has the note you want to use. You’ll probably want to duplicate the slide, delete all the images you don’t want to print, duplicate the image you do want print, and place a copy of the image on each square on the page. Now print just one copy of that slide. Be sure you are not printing in duplex mode and that you have selected the loaded tray.

Anticipate that the first few prints won’t be exact due to differences in copiers/printers, etc. You may need to move the notes over a bit to one side or another. If you need to edit the template, click on VIEW→Theme Builder. If you have downloaded the slide deck as a PowerPoint file, then you will go to VIEW→Slide Master. Edit the specific slide and then close the Theme Builder/Slide Master. Below is a brief tutorial on editing a slide in Theme Builder.

Teaching Ideas

Let’s take a look at some of the different images you can print on your Post-It notes and consider how we can use them. Feel free to make your own.

Screenshot by author

This mini-graphic organizer is great if your students are working with a progression of ideas or actions.
SCIENCE: Three cycles of an ecosystem, three stages of matter, life cycle of a grasshopper, taxonomy of an animal (phylum, class, order)
ELA: progression of a story (beginning, middle, end), components of an effective essay, three-act structure in narrative fiction
SOCIAL STUDIES: three steps of civil discourse, three consecutive leaders/presidents/rulers, three-step process of becoming a state
EXIT TICKET: one thing I learned → why it’s important → how it can apply to MY life

Screenshot by author

This graphic organizer is great if you have before/after, two parts, cause and effect, etc.
SCIENCE: write the molecular formula on one side and the structural formula on the other, trait and alleles
MATH: problem/solution, sketched geometric image and vocabulary or definition, multiplication fact and drawn representation
ELA: tone and mood of a particular chapter or book, setting and events of a particular chapter, synonym/antonym
SOCIAL STUDIES: push/pull factors, opposing viewpoints of a given topic, checks and balances of two branches of government
EXIT TICKET: main idea I learned today and question I still have, two important things I learned in today’s lesson, something I learned and how it applies to my life

Screenshot by author

The T-chart is a great way to organize your thoughts and content. A few ideas for using this graphic include:
ELA: name of a book with characters on one side and their traits on the other, listing facts and opinions in an article
SCIENCE: chemical change (items on one side before change and the corresponding results on the other), sink/float experiment results
SOCIAL STUDIES: evaluating the pros/cons of a topic, comparing two political leaders, then/now comparisons
EXIT TICKET: learning intention for the day with what I learned on one side and drawing or small sketchnote on the other side

There’s an App for That

post-it note app icon

If you have an iOS or Android device, you can capture student work on sticky notes by using the Post-It app. This free app even allows you to create digital sticky notes to add to the information already captured. Once you take a picture of the student responses on the sticky notes, you (and they) can rearrange them as needed. When done, you can share to PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, Dropbox, Trellow, Miro, and more. Just follow these three simple steps to get the most from the Post-It app:

  1. Capture your notes – Have students write on the sticky notes as instructed. When done, have students add their sticky notes to a flat surface like a wall or desk; be sure that none are overlapping. Use your device to capture the information. If students have devices, they, too, can capture the information to work with.
  2. Organize your thoughts – The app will automatically digitize each note. At this time, additional digital sticky notes can be added. Rearrange the digital notes by dragging them in clusters, rows/columns, groups, etc.
  3. Share with everyone – Share your organized board with your team, the class, the world! For students with an IEP or a 504 plan, you can easily send an electronic copy to them.

Additional Post-It Note Graphics

Below are other graphics that you will find in the template slide deck. Let me know how you would use one with your students. Even if you don’t print out the graphic, students can easily fold and/or draw on the sticky note to create the image. Screenshots by the author.


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Good Teaching

2,000+ Lesson Plan Templates and Ideas for K12

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

One of the things I enjoy doing most in my job is hunting for treasures that educators can use. These need to be ready-made, easy-to-use, fun lesson ideas and templates for all grade levels that cover the core content that must be mastered, as well as other subject areas. Recently, I found one of the best treasures I’ve ever seen that checks all of those boxes and so I am eager to share it with you.

Drum Roll, Please!

The Pennsbury School District in Pennsylvania has created the motherlode of lesson plans and templates for busy educators. Hosted in an online, searchable database, there are more than 2,600 resources available for grades K-12 in a variety of subject areas. And each one features an already-created template or website or interactive to begin using immediately.

What kind of resources and templates are available, you ask? Well, here’s just a short list:

  • Experiments with Google
  • Flipgrid
  • Google Docs
  • Google Drawings
  • Google Earth
  • Google Forms
  • Google Jamboards
  • Google Sheets
  • Google Slides
  • Interactive websites
  • PDFs
  • Pear Deck
  • YouTube videos
  • Websites

Searching and Finding the Exact Lesson Plan Template You Need

While the resources are top quality and absolutely amazing, what is most useful are the powerful search features of the site. You can search by Content Area (across all subject areas), Category (such as formative assessment or rubric templates), Resource Type, and Target Grade Level. And, if that’s not enough for you, there is even a strong keyword search function.

Lesson Plan Template Examples

Once you have found your resource, you’ll be amazed at the quality of what is provided. I randomly selected Second Grade Math Jamboard Collection. This one resource has 17 different Jamboards in it that support the number of the day activity. Each board is also followed by second board just like it that has been completed as an example for the teacher.

lesson plan template

And here’s a Suffragette’s Breakout EDU activity for grades 6-12 that is fun and beautiful. As another example, check out this 37-slide Google Slides book study template on A Wrinkle in Time. It offers activities for every chapter!

lesson plan template

Finally, here’s an example of a Black History Month project for grades 4-8 done in Google Docs with relevant links.

Summer is a great time to find new resources to help your students engage with content in the fall. Be sure to take a long look at what this school district has put together (and is constantly updating!) that will be fantastic for your learners.

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ChromebooksContent AreasGoogle Tips and TricksiOS Tips and TricksOnline Tools and Apps

Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Elementary Resources

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I’m back sharing more great resources and ideas I’ve found around the web. And today, I’ll be sharing tips specifically for elementary educators and their students. Let’s get started!

Elementary Google/PowerPoint Templates

Eric Curts offers this great Google Slides template for short and long vowel sounds. What makes it wonderful is that it includes audio.

SlidesMania is back with another great template for PowerPoint or Google Slides. This one is an elementary weekly agenda, and I love it because it is so colorful and pretty. They also have a very nice True or False template that you can use with any content area.

elementary

These elementary worksheets for math and vocabulary are from the Noun Project, a great and free site to also find lots of graphics to use with younger learners.

For older elementary students (and on into middle school), this is a Google Slides template for becoming a vocabulary expert. I think the activities included here are excellent for authentic vocabulary growth and development.

And finally, Jessica Twomey has several great templates for working with words for primary students. She has 42 different Playing with Words slides for centers and they are fantastic!

Ask Me Two Questions

Sometimes, the questions we ask our students may actually keep them from thinking and responding. As educator Andre Sasser shares in the graphic below, it may be time to rethink what we are asking. (For more on this topic, check out Who’s Doing the Talking in Our Classrooms?)

elementary

For Elementary Reading

One of the best resources I have found to help students improve their reading comprehension is ReadWorks. This site leverages “cognitive-science research to create high-impact instructional materials and tools that are designed for immediate use within the practical realities of current U.S. classrooms.” What makes it even more astonishing is that it is completely FREE. Students can access their reading online to highlight, annotate, and complete assignments or they can be printed out. Teachers can access progress reports and automatic grading. And again, it is all FREE with a simple teacher registration! ReadWorks has content and resources for grades K-12, so it is a must-have tool in your arsenal.
​

Making Music Together

Keep your students’ creativity flowing by having your elementary folks create music together with Shared Piano from the Chrome Music Lab. Accessed from any web browser, players can play together regardless of where they are simply by sharing a link. They can select from seven different instruments and have the notes appear on the keys. They can also record and playback their creations. Challenge them to create music that goes along with a story they are reading or a song for a favorite character. This would make a great brain break!

Turn Your iPhone into a Document Camera during Remote Teaching

The free Overviewer app will “turn your iOS device into a document camera for sharing on video conference apps. Perfect for teachers and educators doing virtual learning that need to show what’s on their desk during a video call.”

Organizing Your Gmail

If you’re like me, the number of emails you are receiving daily is ridiculous. The good news is that Gmail can help by sorting the emails coming in for you. John R. Sowash created this great graphic below to explain how. Try it out and take back at least a little of your time!

elementary

Jamboard Templates

If you are a fan of Jamboard, you will definitely want to access this Ultimate Collection of Jamboard Templates from Holly Clark. The Wakelet has TONS of resources and will take you a while just to look through. But it’s well worth your time.

The Best Elementary Resource of All

You can learn even more tips, tricks, and tech tidbits for elementary educators at TCEA’s annual Elementary Technology Conference.

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miner
Educational ResearchGood Teaching

Align Instruction with Free Templates

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Need some amazing resources, but don’t have the time to make them yourself? Why not take a moment to “mine” websites like Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) for free templates you can customize?  In this blog entry, I’ll share some of the top free resources from TPT aligned to instructional strategies. To get you started with some examples, I’ve arranged them according to two important instructional strategies.

Note: Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) does offer free, as well as paid, resources to educators. Many teachers (and others) sell resources via the Teachers Pay Teacher (TPT) website to supplement their day job of teaching. Inclusion of a resource here does not constitute an endorsement of a particular seller. Rather, included items illustrate some of the free content available for re-use aligned to high-effect size instructional strategies.

free templates

A Leap of Faith

What are some ways to organize instructional materials? One approach is to focus on high-effect size instructional strategies. For some ideas, I took a peek at a book published in 2020, The Distance Learning Playbook. The book suggests a variety of strategies we can use. Adapting high-effect size instructional strategies can be a bit of a stretch. In fact, the authors of The Distance Learning Playbook write:

. . .the instructional strategy jigsaw has an effect size of 1.20. Powerful! It should work to accelerate student learning. . .since we are talking about distance learning, it’s important to note that none of the jigsaw studies collected for any of the meta-analyses were done from afar. In this case, we’ll have to take a leap of faith and identify the essential components of a jigsaw and determine how it can be used online.

This blog entry is asking you to take a leap of faith. It involves applying high-effect size instructional (HESI) strategies in ways research recorded success.

Aligning Digital Tools to HESI Strategy

Ask yourself, How does this instructional resource match a strategy that works? Let’s take a look at a few strategies suggested in The Distance Learning Playbook.

Strategy #1: Teacher Clarity (d=.076)

Students can be metacognitive about their own learning. To accomplish this, they need to “recognize when they are learning, when they are not, and how to go about fixing it.” Teacher clarity addresses the following precepts of student learning:

  • Organization
  • Explanation
  • Examples and guided practice
  • Assessment

Most importantly, it is clear about stating the intentions of lessons and success criteria. This is done in a variety of ways depending on where you are. Some organizations require teachers to use COLOSO. This language already appears in campus improvement plans, such as:

Domain 1 T-TESS Walkthroughs: Analysis of critical aspects of lesson plans continue. Those aspects include differentiation, COLOSO, gradual release model adherence, and alignment to the standards.

But wait, what is COLOSO? It’s more than a way for administrators to be clear about what teachers are doing in the classroom. Instead, it’s more about learning intentions and success criteria. That is to say, Teacher Clarity.

COLOSO

As you may know, COLOSO may be defined in this way:

free templates

  • Content Objective (CO): This tells students what they will learn during the lesson. It is the WHAT of a lesson and flows from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) or core standards.
  • Language Objective (LO): Students are told how they will learn and/or demonstrate their mastery of the lesson in four ways. Those four ways include reading, speaking, writing and/or listening. This is the HOW. It describes how students show what they are learning. The English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) are relevant.
  • Social Objective (SO): This objective describes how students will engage in a physical activity. This includes how students engage with classmates.

COLOSO in Action

Want to see an example for each?

  • CO: “Students will re-analyze archetypes in mythic, traditional, and classic literature” (TEK 2B).
  • LO: “Students will use interactive notebooks to enhance understanding of key vocabulary and examples.”
  • SO: “Students will work in pairs and small groups to read common texts and identify archetypes.” (Source: English II syllabus, Mrs. G. Robles for Grades 9-10).

free templates
Source: Mrs. White’s 6th Grade Math Blog

COLOSO statements may also appear as part of the CUE, DO, and REVIEW gradual release of responsibility (GRR). For example, consider these sentence stems:

  • Today I am…
  • So that I can…
  • I’ll know I’ve got it if…

Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) Connection

Finding and/or making your own resources can be daunting at first. Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) offers one way to overcome that trepidation. Here are a few COLOSO resources available for free:

  • El COLOSO de Recoleta: This is a PDF document intended for Spanish teachers in tenth through twelfth grades.
  • COLOSO Template: This is a reusable resource providing sentence stems for COLOSO.

Of course, there are many more examples. Explore this curated list.

Strategy #2: Feedback (d=0.64)

As you may know from reading other TCEA TechNotes blog entries, feedback plays a prominent role in speeding student learning. As The Digital Learning Playbook suggests, feedback provides learners with information. That information allows the learner to:

…reduce the gap between where they are and where they need to be in terms of learning. Learners obtain feedback from a variety of sources. Those sources can include a teacher, peer, book, parent, self/experience. Each may assist the learner in closing the gap between what is understood and what is aimed to be understood. (Adapted from Visible Learning MetaX)

free templates
Adapted from David Perkins (2003) The Ladder of Feedback and John Hattie (2014) The Power of Feedback | Get Your Own Copy.

TPT Connection

Since feedback can come in various formats, you will find ample activities online. Here are a few convenient TPT resources available for free:

Those are only a few of the available examples. Explore more via this curated list of free feedback resources.

Reflect and Learn

Take a moment to reflect on what you’ve read in this blog entry. Ask yourself, How might you apply these two strategies in your classroom? How could the Teachers Pay Teachers free resources shown get you started?

Feature Image Source

Photo by Pedro Henrique Santos on Unsplash

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ChromebooksCoding/Computer ScienceGood TeachingSTEM/STEAMTechnology Applications

Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Holiday Resources, Hour of Code, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I have a lot of great resources and ideas for you this time, probably more than I normally do. Maybe it’s because it’s the holidays and everyone has the spirit of giving! So enjoy these tips and tricks. And be sure to check out the others in the series.

Holiday Resources

If you have a classroom elf on the shelf, you may want to register at the Teacher Resource Center and receive their emails with elf lesson plans and holiday-themed activity sheets. This site is best for those who teach grades K-5.

Ditch That Textbook is providing four free digital breakout room activities that have a holiday theme. (If you aren’t familiar with digital breakouts, check out what they are and how best to run one here.)

For elementary students who are all about the Gingerbread Man, you can find a fabulous collection in Wakelet of gingerbread-themed books, songs, and games here. And Sarah Kiefer provides another Wakelet collection filled with winter holiday resources.

If you need a great holiday scavenger hunt for your staff, take a look at this creative approach from Fort Sam Houston ISD that uses GooseChase. Tasks include such holiday delights as trivia questions, putting as many candy canes on a teammate’s face as you can, caroling together, wearing matching Christmas pajamas, and more. You have full permission from FSHISD to copy the game and make it your own.

For more ways to celebrate the holidays, check out these 29 different Christmas games to amuse your students, family, and friends. Some of them have a small price and some of them will also work virtually. (My favorite is the Santa Hat Stacking game which is free except for the cost of the red plastic cups needed.)

Create your own holiday bingo games that can be printed our or played virtually at Bingo Baker. Add your own graphics to create your own game or use one of the ones already created. This site is completely free. But if you want even more features, you can purchase a lifetime membership for just $24.95, a bargain, in my opinion.

The fabulous Eric Curts offers a fun activity where you decorate a Christmas tree using Google Slides. All of the information you need is included in his blog, along with the template that you can copy.

Finally, if the stress of the holidays is getting you down, be sure to take a look at these Honest Holiday Cards for Teachers. As they say on their website, “This year the standard Hallmark greeting just isn’t cutting it.” I’ve included one of my favorites below.

Hour of Code Choice Board and More

If you’ll be helping your students take part in the Hour of Code activities this year (or any time), take a look at this choice board of activities for secondary students (grades 6-12). It includes five different categories of activities with several choices for each one. Each choice is linked to the corresponding resource, so you can share this directly with your students or make a copy of it for yourself if you want to add items to it.

The District School Board of Niagara has created a fabulous Hour of Code resource booklet for grades 1-8. It is a “curated collection of computational thinking activities with technology and unplugged resources for each grade.” All of the resources are linked to where you or your students can easily access them.

Finding Alternatives

This one is an oldie goldie, but it’s good be reminded that it’s there. If you are looking for an alternative to a piece of software that you can’t quite afford or to a website or tool that has gone away, use AlternativeTo. This site uses crowd sourcing to find alternatives to all of the most popular resources that we use in our digital lives. Just type in the name of the product that you need to replace and lots of ideas pop up. You can even filter the ideas by device/operating system. This is a powerful way to find free resources for your students to use at school or at home.

Create Your Own Rebus Activities

Solving a rebus puzzle can be a great learning activity for students of any age. Because it uses non-linguistic representation of familiar things, it is one of the high-effect-size strategies. And it can help with spelling and vocabulary skills as well. You can create your own rebus at this free website. The site will let you choose between using their own images or emoji characters. You can also turn on the ability for hints about some of the drawings to be shown. Below is one I created for you to solve.

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Scientific Modeling Simulation

Lost at the Forever Mine is a fabulous, free, online game for students in grades 5-9 to learn about scientific modeling. “Students will set up equations, work with graphs, input data, and use models to make predictions. Along the way, as obstacles keep popping up, students will experience how models are used as a tool to make decisions.” The game takes 25 to 35 minutes to play, so it can be done in one class period. And no registration or log in is required. Since you can play it from any web browser (although they recommend Chrome), it will work fine on any device.

More Free Graphics for Students to Use

Tony Vincent shared Undraw.co, which is another good resource for clip art. The graphics are probably of most value to secondary students and adults, although they are appropriate for any age. You can even change the color of each image to fit whatever theme you have going. As Tony said, “Enter a hex color code at the top, and that color will be used in the image! All images are open source, so you can use them freely.”

Would You Rather…

Dr. Kristen Mattson is graciously sharing her 50 Would You Rather questions for download. Just enter in your email address and you’ll receive the fun prompts as both printed cards and full images. If you haven’t done this activity before, Would You Rather is a great conversation starter and a wonderful way to get to know your students better. I’ve even used the activity with the TCEA staff and they loved it!

Add Sounds to That Virtual Meeting or Class

If you want to help keep your audience involved during your next meeting or class, try using some of the fun sounds on this soundboard. There are 15 to choose from and they include a laugh track, the trumpet call that starts a race, people saying “ohhhhhhh,” and more. The sounds laugh only about three or four seconds.

tips and tricks

News Podcast for Kids

KidNuz is a wonderfully refreshing daily podcast (Monday through Friday) for students whose purpose is to deliver “current events in a kid-friendly package, spark curiosity, and get them asking critical questions.”

Chromebook Extensions

Be sure to check out these extensions to help you better manage your Chromebook. There are 13 of them and they include things like a URL shortener, a floor planner, a video maker, and more.

Virtual Field Trip Passport Template

And finally, if you are encouraging your students to take advantage of the multitude of free virtual field trips that are available now, here is a cool passport template in Google Slides or PowerPoint that they can use to keep track of where they have “visited.” (And if you aren’t aware of some of the amazing trips that are available, check out this blog, this one, and this one.)

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Coding/Computer ScienceContent AreasCybersecurityDigital LiteracyGood TeachingGoogle Tips and Tricks

Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Thanksgiving Resources, Names, Templates, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I’m back with even more cool websites, neat ideas, and other ed tech innovations in this blog. If you missed the previous six, be sure to search our blog site for them. They are packed with tools to use immediately.

Thanksgiving Resources

Julie Smith offers a writing activity called Turkey Texts that can be completed in PowerPoint or Google Slides. Students create a text message conversation between a turkey and any person or character of their choice. Two different templates are provided: five texting bubbles or six texting bubbles. Whichever is chosen, students will have to plan out their conversation to fit the pertinent information in.

There is also a great Scratch coding lesson called Hide the Turkey! The lesson is simple enough for beginner coders, but also provides some growth room for those already very familiar with the language.

The Importance of Saying Students’ Names

tips and tricks

Recent research has shown that hearing our own name makes our brains ecstatic and causes some parts of the brain to light up. But this only happens when we hear our own name, not any other name. This shows how important it is for teachers to say their students’ names as often as we can and to make sure that we are pronouncing them correctly when we do say them.

Word Time Traveler

Take your high school students on a trip through time as they try to guess when a particular word first began to be used. Merriam-Webster offers this free website that shows the new English words and what year they first appeared. The information is kept all the way back to before the 12th century. An easy activity to get them started with this is to ask them what new words they think appeared this year (2020).

Greeting Card Time

The amazing Jennifer Wagner has, for over a decade, run a free world-wide activity called the Holiday Card Project. Students create their own holiday card around a theme. The project is open to all PreK-6th grade classes. If you have older students who would enjoy this activity (and who wouldn’t?), then you can offer the same activity yourself for your classes, your campus, or your district.

More Google Slides Templates

You can never have enough templates, and these, designed specifically for teachers, are fantastic. There are 25 of them to freely download from alphabet learning games to breakout rooms, Harry Potter themes to letter writing slides. You’re bound to find some you can’t live without.

If you’d like to jazz up your teaching (or faculty meetings) with some fun sounds, check out the Teacher Soundboard. Twenty different short sound effects are already set up for you on this Google Slide, all ready to be used.

For those doing station rotations, here’s a very nice template created by Stephanie DeMichele. It can be downloaded for either Google Slides or PowerPoint and includes a spot where you can add an audio message to your students.

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Creating Groups in Zoom

The ability to have students break out into small groups for collaboration or discussion is one of the many fabulous things about using Zoom. But creating those rooms can be difficult. Here are some easy-to-understand directions for intentionally creating groups quickly.

News Literacy Practice

Teaching students (and adults) to be able to tell fact from fiction is critical these days. Checkology – The News Literacy Project helps you do just that. The project offers several resources and services for educators, including an online learning platform, a free weekly newsletter, professional development opportunities, a variety of classroom materials, and more. It’s free for educators and students, but does require that the teacher create a free account.

How Safe Is Your Password?

The graphic below shows how long it will take for a hacker to crack your password and what you can do to make it stronger. This is also good to share with your older students.

tips and tricks

How Technology Supports Relationships Between Teachers and Students

This article by Kevin Baird has some incredibly important points to make about how technology can be used to build and support relationships between teachers and their students. As he says, “Researcher John Hattie’s work into Visible Learning found that combined teacher self-confidence and student self-confidence are among the most critical factors for learning. ” What helps to create that is when teachers are fluent in the use of a focused technology tool such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom or Google Classroom. Be sure to read the article to see how you can implement this in your classroom.

I’ll be back in another week or so with more tips and tricks. See you then!

More Thanksgiving Resources

Ready-to-Use Thanksgiving Resources

Give Thanks with Google Forms

Gratitude Activities for You and Your Students

Native American Heritage Day

Gratitude Towers for Social-Emotional Learning

The Gobble Gobble Breakout

Thanksgiving Digital Resources

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Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Science, Assessment, Math, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I’m back with more interesting tidbits that I’ve picked up around the web and through emails and conversations with dedicated educators. I hope that you find some useful nuggets to use! (By the way, you can find the previous goodies here, here, here, and here.)

Science Journal for Kids and Teens

If you’re looking for non-fiction articles that are scholarly but also appropriate for students, take a look at the free Science Journal for Kids and Teens. The website includes hundreds of articles approved by scientists written for kids. While most of the articles I found were best suited for secondary students, there are a few for elementary. The site also offers a very nice filtering system, allowing you to search by reading level, scientific field, scientific methodology (a world of learning there for high school students), and more. There are even a few articles written in languages other than English.

Seven Little Words Strategy

Educator Erica Ramirez provides a powerful formative or summative assessment of student learning using Google’s Jamboard and the Seven Little Words strategy.

A Simpler Wikipedia

If you or your students are using Wikipedia as a starting point for research on complicated topics, there is a way to get a simpler version of most of their content. This link (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics) provides their normal article on quantum mechanics, definitely a tough topic to get through. But by just replacing the “en” with the word “simple” in the URL, you get a much easier to read and understand article (https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics). This works for almost all of their topics and would be a good trick to teach your high school students.

How to Have a Trouble Huddle with Students

It’s easy to get so bogged down in all that we have to accomplish in the classroom each day that we don’t really see the students. One technique that can help with that when problems arise is a trouble huddle, explained very clearly in this blog.

Using Google Slides in Virtual Math Classes

Personally, it would take a lot to make math interesting to me. I just never grasped all of its basic points. But I might have learned more about it if my teachers had access to Google Slides and these ideas for virtual learning. The article offers “five ways to teach mathematics online with Google Slides while promoting student collaboration and maintaining the integrity of effective mathematics instruction.”

An Alternative to the Bitmoji Classroom

High school teacher Emily Huff didn’t want to do the “cutesy” Bitmoji classroom for her older students. So she created a Netflix-like landing page for her Spanish class. She downloaded the original template from this blog and then changed it up to better fit what her students are familiar with.

Zoom Games

If you’re looking for a quick brain break for your students to help combat “Zoom fatigue,” try one of these 20 fun (and fast) games. Ranging from short movement breaks to fun learning activities to silly games versus the teacher, these can be done in any virtual learning platform and are sure to bring a smile.

#ScratchPals

Wouldn’t it be great for your students to collaborate with students around the world to “Code the World You Wish to See?” You can by joining in this free event that starts October 1, 2020. Students use Scratch as a platform for creative expression, #TeachSDGs for inspiration, and #DigCit to respectfully collaborate. You can register here or learn more about it here.

Online Whiteboards

This article offers three free online whiteboards that you can use with your students or in professional development that is held either face-to-face or virtually. All three offer great collaboration opportunities.

I hope that you find that these tips and tricks can help you in your daily journey to be the best educator you can be. Let me know in the comments below if these are “spot on” or if there are other topics that I need to be researching.

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Google Tips and Tricks

Using Templates for Unique Gmail Signatures

by Jennifer Bergland
written by Jennifer Bergland

Update – January 8, 2020: Google changed Canned Responses to Templates. This was edited to reflect that change.

Recently, Google launched the G Suite Learning Center to help users quickly find answers to their “googley” questions. As in the typical Google fashion, there are multiple ways you can access their help. You can search by product, by task, by job, or even search for things new users need to know. I decided to look through their materials by product and, more specifically, for Gmail.

I first spent some time reviewing a page that listed the top six things we need to know about the new Gmail. I canned responsewanted to see if there was something I didn’t know. The only new tip I picked up was that if you put a + or an @ in front of someone’s name in the body of your email, it will automatically insert their email address into the To: field. I tried it out and it worked like a charm, although I’m not sure when I would use that new feature. I then clicked on a page that listed ten ways you can use G Suite to optimize your inbox since I’m notorious for a messy inbox. I hardly ever delete an email unless it is junk or spam. Instead, I use the search features in Gmail to help me find what I need. But knowing I’d learn something new, I checked out the list. Sure enough, I did. Number six showed me how to easily switch between multiple signatures. 

Education Application

I think this could be very useful for a teacher who wears many different hats and communicates with different audiences. For instance, if she were emailing her students, she probably would not include her first name in her signature. She might want to include her class website, the best way to contact her, and other links that might be helpful for her students. When she is emailing her student’s parents, she might want to include her first and last name, her conference period so they know when she might be available, and other information she thinks could be useful for parents. If she was a cheerleader sponsor or a coach, then information that pertains to those activities might be included in her signature. There are endless possibilities. 

In order to set this up, you will need to know how to create an email template. Google also has instructions for making a template.”

Below are some instructions on how to make multiple signatures. 

canned response

Step 1 – Create the Canned Responses or Templates

Open up an email and delete anything in the email. You may have a signature file that you set up in your general settings. If you do, delete it before you create your canned response. You are deleting it inside the email, not in your general settings. That signature file would be the one you typically use. The signatures you are creating as canned responses or templates are the ones you would use when you are emailing information to a specific audience.

Step 2 – Name the Canned Response or Template. 

Canned Response

canned response

Step 3 – Repeat as Needed

You will now need to repeat these steps until you have all the canned responses or templates you need. This can be done at any time. 

Step 4- Insert Signature File 

Open up an email, and if you have a signature file that is set up in your settings, delete it. 

Then follow these steps. 

canned response

That’s it. It’s pretty simple. Remember, you can insert images and embed links and or Google Drive documents. Decide what information you want this particular audience to have. Also, remember that these can be updated throughout the year, so you can change the information as the year progresses. 

Google M&M photo by lalo Hernandez for hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash.

Gmail photo by Web Hosting on Unsplash.

Children and teacher photo by Web Hosting on Unsplash.

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