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try-your-luck-five-free-virtual-dice
Web 2.0 Tool

Try Your Luck With Five Free Virtual Dice

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

TCEA has you covered when it comes to wheel spinners, coin flippers, and other virtual resources. And now, we present you with free virtual dice! Not only can you use dice for math activities, games, and more, but you can also use them for icebreakers and debriefs. As an added bonus and follow-up to this blog, my colleague Miguel Guhlin will post an article about Dice Icebreakers and Debriefs tomorrow. So be on the lookout! Now, let’s explore some virtual dice options for you to try.

1. Roll Dice by diceapp.io

Roll Dice by diceapp.io
Screenshot by author

Features:

  • Dark blue dice with light-colored pips
  • Can use between one and nine dice at a time

Additional Information:

  • Blue background with a pink button to roll the dice
  • Ads run along the right side of the website
  • Simple and easy to use

2. Virtual Dice Roller by calculator.net

Virtual Dice Roller by Calculator.net
Screenshot by author

Features:

  • Black dice with white pips
  • Text-only website
  • When you roll, the sum and product of the dice pops up on the screen.
  • Use between one and 100 dice at a time

Additional Information:

  • The site will ask you to choose your cookie preference.
  • Advertisements run along the right side of the website.
  • To choose a different number of dice, use the slider bar.
  • The site also includes a Non-Conventional Dice Roller.

3. Random Dice! by online-stopwatch.com

Random Dice! by Online-Stopwatch
Screenshot by author

Features:

  • White dice with black pips
  • Use between one and 10 dice at a time
  • Use the gearicon to change the number of dice

Additional Information:

  • The web page has many ads, but you have the option of Dice Full Screen which will get rid of some of the ads or Super Full Screen which displays only the dice.

4. Google’s Roll Dice by Google

Google's Roll Dice
Screenshot by author

Features:

  • Dice are colorful
  • Six dice types with four, six, eight, 10, 12, or 20 sides
  • Add a modifier to your roll total

Additional Information:

  • To reset, refresh the page.

5. Free Online Dice Roller by RoomRecess.com

Room Recess Free Online Dice Roller
Screenshot by author

Features:

  • Cream-colored dice with black pips
  • Use between one and 10 dice at a time
  • Use arrows to change the number of dice
  • Includes a large green “roll” button
  • Sound effects included

Additional Information:

  • Ads are placed on the side and top of page

I hope you enjoy these five lucky resources to help you and your students get your “game on” in the classroom. Stay tuned for Miguel’s follow-up article tomorrow with activities you can use with these dice tools. Have any additional resources or ideas for using these tools in class? Leave us a comment!

Featured image: Designed by TCEA staff

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time and money
AdvocacyCoding/Computer ScienceFundingProfessional LearningRobotics

TCEA Saves You Time and Money

by
written by

Every time I speak with TCEA members throughout the state, I ask “What are the biggest challenges you face in your professional life?” Every time, the answer is “I need more time and I need more money. How can TCEA help me with that?”

Boy, do I have answers for you! I’ve outlined below a few ways TCEA helps provide members with the gift of both time and money, all while helping you accelerate student achievement through the use of technology.

Saving You Time

  • TopSchoolJobs – This is a member benefit that saves you time by making the search for your next role in education a breeze. Additionally, you receive a free resume review when you create a profile!
  • Free CPE Credit – Stop wasting time hunting down professional development. TCEA  has all your PD needs covered through free webinars, which can also be found in the TCEA Community. These typically provide .5 – 1 CPE credit per webinar.
  • TechNotes Blog – Looking for a specific resource and need to find it fast? Keyword search the TCEA blog for immediate results on whatever ed tech topic you desire. This content-rich resource is a great way to track down resources on-demand.
  • TCEA’s Student Contests – Robotics, Computer Science, or 3D Design – these help save you time by providing you with unique activities for your students to teach them problem solving and critical thinking skills in a fun STEAM environment. Register today for TCEA’s 3D Design Contest!

Saving You Money

  • Commonbond Partnership – New member benefit alert! TCEA has partnered with CommonBond, a leading student lender, to bring you loan refinancing to tackle your student debt. In addition to this benefit being absolutely free, all TCEA members, family, and friends get a $200 cash bonus when they refinance with CommonBond. Not just saving you money, but making you money. That’s value.
  • SketchUp Pro License ($495 value) – You read that right. TCEA has been granted the exclusive rights in the state of Texas to provide free licenses of SketchUp Pro to all K-12 public school educators and students for school-owned computers. The 3D modeling software is normally $495 per license and is easy and intuitive, allowing anyone to model in 3D quickly and accurately. Use it for your students to participate in our 3D Design Contest!
  • Learning.com’s 8th Grade Technology Literacy Assessment – Through a partnership with Learning.com, TCEA offers all Texas districts a technology literacy assessment for eighth grade students at no cost to the district. The assessment includes a blend of interactive, performance-based questions and multiple-choice, knowledge-based questions to measure and report technology literacy and skills for middle school students. This provides districts with the data they need to understand how well students grasp critical 21st century skills. It is based on the Technology Application TEKS (TA-TEKS).
  • TCEA Certifications – Now, admittedly these cost money up front. But if you want to make more money in your future, professionally develop yourself by adding one of these certifications to your resume. These are a great way to gain expertise in a structured environment with guidance to help you become a master in that particular role.

Both Time and Money

  • TCEA’s empowerED program – Saves you time and money because:
    • It’s dirt-cheap professional development (starts as low as $39/enrolled educator).
    • A majority of your campus or district administrators and educators will be enrolled, keeping you all on the same page and working as one cohesive unit to accelerate student learning through the use of technology. This makes for a more efficient teaching and learning experience campus- or district-wide (which will save you time over the long term).
  • Ed Tech Day at the Capitol – The only real way you will see any sort of institutional change is by attending this event to educate your legislators (who dictate to your profession) on exactly what you need to be successful in the classroom. If only 15 people show up, they won’t take notice. If 1,500 people show up, maybe they will. Join us to affect real, lasting change.

Hopefully, this better explains how TCEA provide members with the gifts of time and money. The content and resources we offer are tailored and structured within a professional environment where you can network with others, grow your PLN, advance your own career, and lobby your legislators to make real change, all without expending too much time or money to do so, which means you can focus on what you do best: accelerating learning for your students.

Learn more about all that TCEA has to offer you. 

Featured Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

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administrator
Good TeachingLeadership

Exception or Extinction as an Administrator: It Is Yours to Choose

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

If you are like many educators, you may really enjoy teaching. But at some point, you may want to move up the ladder to work in administration. Having classroom experience can give you a tremendous understanding when working with other teachers. The dilemma, though, is that the further your position is from your classroom position, the less likely you are to remember what it was like (REALLY like) in the classroom. If you don’t make the effort to keep in touch with classroom teachers and their reality, you as an administrator run the risk of becoming extinct and of less value. But, with some effort, you can find that you are the exception to that rule (and possibly some of your colleagues) and are able to continue providing extremely relevant support.

In order to help you maintain value, you need to regularly engage with classroom teachers, have discussions of their troubles and their triumphs with their students, and learn how various programs are impacting their classroom instruction. Here are a few strategies and tools that you can use to keep in touch with classroom teachers so you can be the exception to the rule of becoming extinct.

Strategies for Staying in Touch

Make Scheduled Classroom Visits – It is very easy as a district administrator for your time to be consumed by the important but mundane tasks that go along with the job description. If you aren’t careful, you may find that without intentionality, you can go weeks without setting foot in a classroom! To help prevent this from happening, choose one day every week in which you will visit classrooms. Depending on how many campuses your district has, you may find that only a few hours for that day is adequate for you to stay acquainted with what is going on in the classroom. Besides looking for particular aspects of your content area within classrooms, consider asking questions such as the ones listed below.

Questions for Teachers Questions for Students
  • How can the district better support you as a teacher?
  • What additional tools or resources might you need to be more effective?
  • What are some of the successes you see in your classroom?
  • What are you working on?
  • How do you know when you have done well?
  • What can you do if you don’t know what is expected?
  • What would you like to do when you graduate?

Recognizing Success and/or Effort – Many teachers are doing a fantastic job. Unfortunately, they may invest many hours a week that go unnoticed and thus grapple with how to successfully differentiate instruction so they can best meet their students’ needs. In recognizing educators for success and/or effort, you need to have a general  understanding of what the teachers are up against. Is it a mismatched curriculum that they are expected to align themselves? Are teachers having to be creative and resourceful in order to provide adequate access to engaging content? Is there adequate training and ongoing professional development to understand how to implement research-based strategies with fidelity? The better you can understand what your teachers are experiencing, the more meaningful your recognition will be.

Annual Focus Group – It is likely that you have many teachers in your district that care enough about teaching to give honest feedback. Consider identifying some of these teachers from a variety of campuses and a variety of content areas and ask for feedback. Provide the questions ahead of time and then make yourself available at a convenient time and place for them to share. For those that aren’t able to attend in person, allow them to share via an email or form. Gathering input from your teachers will give you great data to help inform possible needs for the next budget year.

Tools to Assist in Staying in Touch

Appear.in – This no-brainer online conferencing tool doesn’t require anyone but you to have an account. Consider using this tool to have virtual office hours or just-in-time professional development and discussions. Besides the basic video conferencing you can do, you and participants can also share their computer desktop and chat via texting within the tool. This freemium tool allows up to four people to collaborate. Additional tools are available in the pro version for administrators wanting a more robust product.

Zoom.us – If you are wanting a simple webinar platform to connect with and collaborate with teachers, consider giving Zoom a try.  The free version allows up to 100 participants, but limits you to 40 minutes per meeting…which may be perfect for most of what you want to accomplish.

Google Voice – Being available to others sometimes means sharing your phone number with them…but you may not feel comfortable sharing your personal number with everyone. That’s where Google Voice is a perfect solution. You can set it up so if your office or other number(s) ring, it will automatically be directed through your Google Voice number. What I like most about having a Google Voice number is that it texts me a transcription of the voicemail that the caller left; for me, checking texts is much faster than listing to a long voicemail. Google Voice is free, so it fits every budget!

Otter Voice Notes – In this technological age, why not have artificial intelligence help you out and make life easier? If you are having a face-to-face meeting, a phone call/conference, or a video conference, Otter Voice Notes will listen and transcribe everything for you. The audio and text are conveniently synced making it easy to search later. You can also easily share the transcript. Otter also identifies keywords to help you find information quickly. You can even train Otter to recognize voices, learn special terminology, and improve accuracy.  The free account allows up to 600 minutes of transcription per month!

Voicea – Similar to Otter Voice Notes, Voicea uses artificial intelligence to assist you in turning talk into action. EVA, the Enterprise Voice Assistant, joins meetings (personal and online) and takes notes for you, which allows you the freedom to focus on the meetings instead of being distracted by taking notes. Identify key words for EVA to listen for during meetings. Notes and action items can be automatically sent to email, Slack, and other applications to assist in keeping everyone on the same page. The free version allows up to 25 minutes of audio recordings per meeting with up to 150 minutes per month in transcripts and predictive highlights.

Flipgrid – If you find that it may be like herding cats to get everyone together for a meeting (even an online meeting), then consider using Flipgrid. You can create video conversations that can be reviewed at anyone’s convenience and transcripts can be generated on the fly. You and teachers can give feedback via text, video, and/or social liking. This is an easy way to document and share great teaching that is happening in one classroom so that other teachers can benefit from viewing it, though they may not be able to physically visit that classroom due to time or distance constraints.

Whether you choose one of these strategies or tools or a combination, you are sure to have a better understanding of what teachers experience in the classroom. That experience will pay off by allowing you to design better supports and structures as you continue to strive for excellence in your role.

Other Ideas for Staying Connected

Have you moved up from the classroom, but have been able to stay connected and “in the know” with what is going on in the classrooms? If so, leave us a comment and share how you have made your experience the exception in order to provide the best service possible for your teachers. We’d love to hear from you!

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leaders
Leadership

Tech Tools for Leaders

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Being a leader, whether it is part of your title or given to you by those you support, can sometimes be challenging. With a wide variety of tasks and skills that you have to manage, you may find that it is sometimes downright daunting…unless you have some help from selected apps, websites, and gadgets. We’ve curated a few tech-related tools for leaders that are related to gathering information, sharing information, and focusing on work without distractions for you to try out.

Gathering Information

As a leader, it is important that you are up to date on so much information. Here are a few tools to help you in that endeavor.

Flipboard – This customizable e-magazine allows you to identify topics and sites you would like to follow. Unlike in the “old days” where you had to gather RSS feeds and put them in your aggregator, Flipboard allows you to easily search and identify resources in a very user-friendly way. Then, each time you open Flipboard, it will have gathered the most recent blogs, websites, videos, and news based on your identified interests. And it can even learn nuances of your interests as you like different pages.

Paper.li is a similar tool that does the gathering for you and puts it in a nicely presented newsletter format. With a paid subscription, you can upgrade the look of your paper from a newsletter to a full blown website. You may choose that you don’t want to start your own paper, so here are some that others have already been started to help you gather information on a variety of topics: edtech, students, classrooms, technology, and virtual reality.

If you are searching for information that is no longer posted on a website, then you might try your luck using the Way Back Machine. Enter the url of the site you want to review and check to see if there are any archived snapshots of it. If so, you can review the website on those specific dates and possibly find the information that you need.

Though many folks use digital tools to take notes (such as OneNote, Google Keep, etc.), you may prefer to take notes the old fashioned way with paper and pen. If this you, then check out the Rocketbook Wave Smart Notebook. Write notes and draw sketches in the notebook. Afterwards, you can use their app to digitize the information and sync to your favorite tool. When your notebook is full, just pop it in the microwave for the recommended time to remove all the ink. Voila, you now have a clean notebook ready to be filled again! You can refill a notebook up to four times.

Sharing Information

Whether you are sharing information with someone now or making it available for them to access at their convenience, you are sure to find these tools a handy addition to your toolbox.

Video conferencing doesn’t get any easier than Appear.in. This tool is great if you have virtual office hours or need to have a video chat with someone on the fly. If you think you would use it often, you can reserve a room name to make it easy for everyone to remember. There’s only enough “room” for four participants so it’s not the ideal solution for larger meetings. But if you are like me, many of my meetings include only one or two other folks; I’ve reserved the room https://appear.in/tcea for such meetings. This is a great tool, especially if you are meeting with tech-challenged coworkers or stakeholders since there is no learning curve and they can access through any web browser.

For instances when you need to share how to access or do something on the computer or internet, I highly recommend Screencastify.  This go-to tool allows you to record your screen casts with or without your webcam inset. This is one tool that is worth paying the low yearly fee to remove the watermark and the 10-minute time limit. When done, you can easily share your cast via YouTube or Google Drive. If you have the paid version, you can download the video as an MP4 or animated GIF, as well as crop/trim your video.

Flipgrid allows you to create asynchronous video discussions.  Again, this is another tool that is worth the annual fee to have the premium features. If you decide to purchase several licenses at once, you can get a discount! Think of this as an easy way to share your video without putting it out on YouTube, Vimeo, or the like. Then folks can respond and keep the conversation going (by text comments with the free version; by text or video with the paid version). Not only is this a great tool in the classroom, it’s a powerful tool for busy leaders.

Focused Work

We all hit times where we need to close the door and get the job done without any distractions. These two tools will help you be more aware of how you are using your time and block out some of those annoying distractions.

Timular, mentioned in a previous blog post, is an eight-sided die that lets you easily track the time you spend on various tasks. This is great for leaders who find they have more tasks than time to complete them. Knowing exactly how you spend your time can help you make positive decisions on where to make adjustments. You can review how your time was spent within the app or on a calendar that you’ve synced to it.

Noisli is robust noise machine with 16 different sound scenes that you can combine to make the perfect background noise for you…and you can save up to five favorite combos. One of my favorites is a little pink noise, some wind, and a modest thunderstorm. You can also set a timer and, if you need to do some writing, open its distraction-free writing tool. Whatever your recipe for helping your focus, you’ll find that Noisli is a great tool to have handy.

Even More Resources…

If you would  like additional tech tools for leaders, be sure to check out our longer list (PDF or PNG). As always, we would enjoy hearing some of your favorite tech tools – whether apps, websites, or gadgets – that you find helpful. Just add them to the comments below.

 

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productivity
Leadership

Three Ways to Increase Your Productivity

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Regardless of your job, you probably find that you have more on your to-do list than you can actually take care of. Many of us in that boat look for ways to work smarter throughout the day so that we can check off more of those items. Consider using one or more of these strategies to help you so that you can change your to-do list to a ta-da list!

Strategy 1 – Find Out Where Your Time Is Going

Before you can address some of your habits, you may have to identify them and discover which ones are taking up more time than you realize. In doing so, I highly recommend Timeular ZEI°. It is an eight-sided die in which you write up to eight different task categories, one on each side. Once you’ve installed the software and connected the device to Bluetooth, it begins tracking your time. The hardest part may be deciding which categories you want to identify. My categories include: Working on presentations; Blogs/writing; Break/Lunch; Brainstorming; Meetings; Email/communication; Social Media; and Miscellaneous. And because it syncs with my Google Calendar, I can take a look back at my history and see how I did. Or, if I want more stats, I can view how I’ve done in the app installed on my computer. I find this process similar to tracking my steps using my smartwatch. If you find that you are not ready to commit to the cost of the ZEI°, you can still download the app and manually choose your categories to track your time.

Strategy 2 – Rethink Your Time Management Philosophy

I came across Starre Vartan’s blog post several weeks ago and found it very interesting. Instead of focusing on my time management skills, she suggests that I consider taking a look at my attention management skills. How well do I set up my environment so that I can concentrate on tasks that require my attention? Do I let myself get distracted and actually undermine my own productivity success? Consider doing the following to help you give more [extended] attention to those heftier tasks:

  • Only check email at specific, planned times during the day. This means not jumping into your email every five minutes, but instead establishing a system in which you, for example, check email between 10 AM and 11 AM in the morning and then between 2 PM and 3 PM in the afternoon. Be sure your boss and coworkers are aware of your system; in case their need for you is urgent, they may need to call you or knock on your door. Taming the addiction of checking email most likely also includes not even having email opened in your browser when it isn’t email-checking time.
  • Quieten your phone or smartwatch that might alert you when you receive a text or email (or when a distant acquaintance posts something on Facebook, Twitter, Slack, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.). During these times, if you have multiple social media tools vying for your attention, consider just putting your phone on silence…and possibly in your desk or away from you.
  •  Consider adding background noise to help drown out the distracting ambient noise of your office area. For an adjustable tool, I like using Noisli. It is a free resource that allows me to mix different sounds to create the perfect background noise. When I’m not listening to straight white noise, I’m listening to this special mix. Listen to it and then share your special Noisli mix in the comments.

Strategy 3 – Consider Unique Headphones

Many people find that wearing headphones helps them tune out distractions so they can be more focused on their tasks. But if you work in an environment where you need to hear your surroundings or have to answer the frequent questions of your coworkers or customers, you may find that wearing headphones is not worth the hassle…or worse yet, sends a message that you don’t want to be bothered. In that case, I have a nice solution for you: bone conduction headphones. The technology has actually been around for several years, though it is just now improving to the point of making them mainstream for the public (at least, those that are nerdier or geekier than their neighbors).

Bone conduction works on a similar premise as how you normally hear. Normally, sound waves (vibrations) enter your ear and are translated by your inner ear. With bone conduction, though, sound travels through your bone (skull) to reach your inner ear. While this process sounds like something from science fiction, it works very well. You actually don’t feel anything unless you have your music turned up on high.

I picked out a pair of AfterShokz Trekz Titanium for my birthday gift last fall and have really enjoyed them. I can easily pair them via Bluetooth to my phone so I can listen to music (or take phone calls). They do not go in my ear like traditional earbuds or over my ears like traditional headphones, but in front of my ears covering my sideburns; this allows me to enjoy listening to my music while still being able to hear and respond to conversations around me. Without the buds in my ears, my mind is tricked and tells me that the sound is in the room and can be heard by other people. There are several bone conduction headphone makers on the market. I recommend going to a brick-and-mortar location where you can try a pair on and see if you like the feel and sound. But if you are a little more daring, then jump online, read some reviews, and order a pair.

These are three very different strategies to help you become more productive.

 

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Content Areas

Enhance Reading with Online News

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

Looking for some quick tools to enhance reading in your classroom? Look no further than current event sources and online non-fiction. Before we review the list of online news sources, let’s remember why it’s important.

News in the Classroom

  • Students who use the newspaper in school read more sections of the newspaper and show significantly greater interest in local government, neighborhood events, current issues and foreign affairs.
  • In a three-year study of NIE in Volusia County, Florida, students in NIE groups showed significantly superior gains in spelling and vocabulary in their classes than did nonreaders.
  • Research by Dr. Dan Sullivan of the University of Minnesota examined programs in 22 cities across the country. The study compared test scores of students who had used the newspaper in class with those who had not. In all 22 cases, those student who used the newspaper scored better on standardized reading test than did those who did not. Minority students and those who were not native English speakers showed the greatest achievement. (2002, NAA Foundation.) (Source)

Non-fiction reading has gone online. Video and audio sources deepen engagement. Combine the news sources I’ve provided below with tools such as:

These tools help students better identify and process online information.You can use them with various online news sources.

Five Online News Sources

Let’s take a closer look at the news sources available to you and your students.

Dogo News – This site serves as a leading source of news and information and includes current events, news, and non-fictional content. You can find content relevant to Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. You may also want to visit companion Dogo sites focusing on books and movies, as well as one for teachers.

Newsela – This site covers many subjects. Content appears at five different Lexile levels. This enables students to read the same material as their classmates at the appropriate level.

Newseum – The goal of this source is to promote, explain, and defend free expression.

Science News for Students – This site focuses on STEM-related research and events. They offer several types of articles, blog posts, and weekly features. Topics such as space, life and evolution, and math and technology prevail.

Tween Tribune – Get daily access to Associated Press news articles, many of which come with self-scoring quizzes. Lexile levels are K-12 appropriate. You can also find Spanish AP articles, lesson plans, and videos. “Monday Morning Ready” newsletter content appears as well.

Deepening Learning

Ready to deepen learning in your classroom? Take advantage of these tools and news sources to enhance your students’ reading.

 

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note taking
Educational TrendsGoogle Tips and TricksMicrosoft Tips and Tricks

Tools to Take the Best Notes at the 2018 TCEA Convention

by Susan Meyer
written by Susan Meyer

The 2018 TCEA Convention & Exposition is in full swing as educators from all over the nation have come together to learn about the latest trends in educational technology and to build on their professional development. With sessions for every role in education, the convention may take a bit of planning in what sessions to attend and what information to retain. To make the most of your convention experience, taking good notes is essential. After all, what good is taking amazing notes if you can’t find what you need in them in a few weeks or months? The best way to ensure that your convention learning (and any learning, for that matter) remains fresh and easily searched is to use one of the great note taking tools that are available to educators.

The Top Three Note-Taking Tools

Some of the best tools that may help you write the most beneficial notes are Google Keep, OneNote, and Evernote. All of these tools are currently free to use (a big plus!). They have a similar purpose, but also unique features that set each one apart.

Google Keep

Google Keep has standard note-taking features such as automatic saves, ability to share the finished product, and checkboxes. In addition, it has the ability to send reminders about the notes you take and has a built-in OCR. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) means that the system can not only recognize text, but also graphic images such as drawings or illustrations or sketch notes. With these added features, Google Keep is great for jotting something down quick while also giving you room to organize and build on your notes to make them more detailed. Its design is simple for content to be easy to write or find.

Note Taking with OneNote

OneNote is a little more robust than Google Keep because it provides the ability to create internal links. This can allow you to link to a particular Twitter account or chat or to a PDF handout link from a presenter. It also can hold more characters than Google Keep, making it perfect for keeping notes from multiple events and years. These features allow your notes to be a little more in-depth and organized. One disadvantage of OneNote, however, is its inability to recover deleted items, which may be an issue when you’re bouncing session to session.

Evernote

Following Google Keep and OneNote is Evernote. Like OneNote, Evernote is more robust with a feature that integrates with third-party services through APIs. This lets you connect it to other applications such as Outlook or Google Drive. You can see what else works with OneNote here. However, with a more complex design, it lags in speed and consistency across all devices. The best way use Evernote is in its web version.

There are plenty of ways to take great, useful notes. To recap, Google Keep is simply designed and made for quick notes that you can put into greater depth at a later time while OneNote offers a happy medium of more detailed, organizational features. If you are using the web version, Evernote offers copious possibilities. No matter your note-taking style, one of these tools will is sure to help you take your best 2018 TCEA Convention notes.

 

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ClassroomScreen
Good TeachingWeb 2.0 Tool

ClassroomScreen: You Will Love This Resource!

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Here’s a new, quick, fun, and FREE resource that I discovered recently. It’s called ClassroomScreen and it has a very simple purpose. It was created by Laurens Koppers, a teacher in the Netherlands, and is designed for educators to use as a teaching screen in their classrooms. Simply connect your device to a projector, launch a browser, and go to the website. While the Chrome browser is recommended, it works in any browser, even on your smartphone.

What ClassroomScreen Offers

Once loaded, the site offers first a beautiful background picture that is different every time you open it. (I could use just that feature alone for so many classroom purposes, from writing prompts to descriptive language to math problems to science or geography facts.) Across the bottom of the screen, though, is where the real power of the site is.

ClassroomScreen

Each of the icons above represents a tool that you can use on the screen. And these tools are perfect for the classroom! Here’s what’s currently available (from left to right):

  • Language – Yes, you can have the content in a multitude of languages.
  • Background – This tool lets you select from a wide variety of stunning images or upload your own. You can even add your own video background now.
  • Random Name – Create a .txt file with all of your students’ names and upload it. Then this tool will randomly select a student. This same tool also lets you roll one, two, or three dice for a random number.
  • Sound Level – Follow a few simple steps and allow the site to use your computer’s microphone one time. Then set the maximum noise level you want in the classroom. This tool will show a a red or green progress bar to help your class know when they need to get quieter. And it’s good to know that the site does not record any sound or save any of the noises.
  • QR Code –  This is a favorite resource of all the tools for the teachers I talked with. Type in a URL you want your class to access and it will automatically create a QR code for it. It’s so simple!
  • Drawing Tool and Upload Image – Use this to bring up a drawing screen that includes simple pens and shapes and a graph paper background. Upload an image and annotate over it for everyone to see.
  • Text – Insert a text box on your screen with basic word processing tools. This is great to use for simple instructions you want the class to follow.
  • Work Symbols – This is one of my favorite resources. It pulls up a reminder for the students about how they are working in class today, whether it is in Silence, Whisper, Ask Neighbor, or Work Together. It’s a great way to set expectations.
  • Traffic Light – Want to remind your students about their noise level? Bring up this stop light and tap on either green, yellow, or red to show them the current room condition.
  • Timer – This opens a simple hour-glass timer that you can set for however long you want and it will count down. It also includes a lap timer and a stop watch, for PE teachers, as well as a loop function.
  • Clock and Calendar – This is a simple clock that also shows the date.
  • Exit Poll – This new feature allows you to edit an already-created sample poll with your own question. Students can then select one of the five face choices to indicate their responses. This could be done on an iPad or Chromebook as they leave the classroom. Access to the exit poll is through a new, small icon on the far right side of the screen; it is not in the tool bar across the bottom.

All of the tools can be moved around the screen to wherever you want them, and you can have multiple tool windows open at the same time, even of the same tool. So if you have groups of students working on different things, each group can have their own widget. I’ve even heard of students who run ClasroomScreen on their own devices to help them stay on task or even using the Traffic Light to show their current understanding of a lesson or the status of their project.

ClassroomScreen

ClassroomScreen works best in full screen mode, which you can access in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. I am really impressed with this resource, even though it’s simple, and would encourage you to try it out in your classroom today!

This blog was updated with additional resources on July 26, 2018.

 

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STEM Tools
RoboticsSTEM/STEAM

STEM Tools, DIY Projects, and Toys

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for STEM tools and toys for young learners? In this blog entry, we explore some highly-rated toys and tools. We also discuss inspiring girls to get into STEM, Do It Yourself STEM projects, and video ideas. Designed to heighten STEM learning experiences for youngsters, each may be worth investigating further.

The Rationale for STEM Tools and Toys

Many future jobs require STEM skills. One approach for accomplishing that involves providing young learners with STEM tools and toys.

Beth Holloway, director of the Women in Engineering Program at Purdue University, says toys that help children figure out how to turn their ideas into reality – toys that let them design and build something, for instance – are a great first step in inspiring them to consider a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) career. “Toys like that will help children realize that they can make an impact on the world through their ideas,” she says. (source)

Holloways points out that STEM tools/toys can have an impact on young women, too. “Parents need to provide girls with toys that indulge their feminine side, but also those that allow them to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from designing and building something,” says Holloway.  Let’s remember, though, that most STEM jobs are focused in the coding area. To engage girls, STEM activities need to 1) Make coding as a creative and collaborative activity; 2) Teach computational thinking; and 3) Add real-world problem solving (source).

Engaging Young Women

Want to inspire girls with real life stories from STEM women?  Introduce them to the 1,000 STEM Women project. The goal of the project is to provide an easy-to-access resource for K-12 learners that makes meeting amazing female STEM role models possible. Take a look at Engineer Girl for more inspiring women engineers sharing their stories.

Here are some examples from the 1,000 STEM Women Project:

STEM tools

From Left to Right: Rachel | Emily | Raychelle

Ready to explore some STEM tools and toys? Let’s get started with some Pinterest Do It Yourself (DIY) projects.

DIY STEM Projects

“Where did you get your idea for that project?” I asked a second grade teacher who was sharing a STEM project at a San Angelo, Tx TCEA area conference. “Pinterest!” she replied with a smile. “I find most of my ideas there.” To be honest, it had never occurred to me to look on Pinterest. Yet you can find many DIY STEM projects appropriate for home or classroom there.  Here are my top five favorite Pinterest boards:

STEM Videos for the Do It Yourself-er

You can also combine DIY projects with a video, similar to the updated versions of the practical learning Mr. Wizard television show introduced to some of us in our younger years. Who wouldn’t want to make their own electromagnet? Now you can catch videos via Instagram, too. Some of my favorite science-focused Instagram images and/or videos include:

Why not create your own Instagram sharing space? Or explore YouTube for STEM DIY projects, such as these from Lanakila Malua, Brittany Hogan, and Red Ted Art. You can find even more project ideas in video form. Check out Curiosity Machine, Exploratorium Video, and PBS Design Squad Videos (requires Flash).

STEM Activity Idea: Create Short Instagram Videos as a Student STEM Challenge by Ben Newsome
With a point of the camera and using some simple content creation apps, your students could be documenting the science experiments, challenges, and questions that are raised in your classroom for other classes to learn from, plus they’re a good reflection tool in their own right. By using InstagramTM as the medium, you could set a science communication challenge to your students whereby they have to explain a given concept to their peers. You could run this as a competition across your school in a similar way to Alan Alda’s Flame Challenge, whereby people from around the world compete to create a compelling explanation of a science topic that an 11-year-old could find interesting and entertaining (eg. What is energy?).

If you have your own Pinterest board or curated list, why not share it? More on how to share at the end of this blog entry.

STEM Tools and Toys

These toys and tools present various approaches. Often, parents and teachers are looking for “turnkey” solutions or kits. There are many kits that can be used in a home or classroom setting. Here are my top three favorite tools and/or toys, along with links to websites where you can find more ideas. What would you add or include that I haven’t?

  • Sunprint ($11.59): “The SunPrint Solar Paper lets you makes beautiful pictures by placing objects on the paper and exposing it to the sun. The paper undergoes a chemical change. The Sunprint paper can be used for a creative, solar art project,” says the Amazon description.
  • Cubetto ($222.95): TCEA’s Ashley Weiler introduced me to Cubetto.  Montessori-approved, this is a “coding toy for girls and boys ages 3 and up. It takes coding out of the screen and into the real world with a programming language you can touch. Children help Cubetto, a friendly wooden robot, navigate a magical world by writing their first programs using hands-on coding blocks.”
  • Tynker app + Parrot Mambo Minidrone ($): Learning to code with algorithms (sets of instructions that are repeated to automate and simplify coding) is fun with the Tynker app (Android/iOS) and the Mambo drone. Learners can “experience the thrill of flight and accomplishment as they learn to program Parrot drones using Tynker’s intuitive visual programming language. Children can pilot drones through extreme maneuvers, grasping objects and flying aerial combat missions, all with the power of code.”

Helping young children build a strong foundation in coding can build key future ready skills. What’s more, you can encourage participation in the annual STEM Video Game Challenge for middle and high school students.

Want to explore some more?

Check out these various sites recommending STEM tools and toys. Don’t forget, TCEA is curating a STEM-focused padlet with many more resources. Share your favorite STEM ideas, tools, toys and websites in this Padlet.

 

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research tools
Good TeachingGoogle Tips and TricksLibraries

Research Tools for Young Learners

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

In a connected world, there are ample research tools available. Helping students learn how to use them grows more important with ubiquitous access. In this blog entry, we explore several online research tools that can facilitate student research.

Setting Up Class Debates

In the Hyperdoc The Great Milk Debate, fifth grade students find themselves facing a challenge: Their principal, Mrs. Hilcher, has banned chocolate milk. Here’s one possible scenario to present students with:

Students: To improve your health, after consulting with school nutritionists, we have decided to no longer allow chocolate milk to be served during breakfast and lunch. Sugar and sweets present one of the greatest threats to human beings ever. “One carton of chocolate milk includes about 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sugar in a child’s diet,” said Mr. LK.

Students are encouraged to explore both sides of the debate. Learners are tasked with examining:

  • Claim: For example, “Flavored milk gets kids to drink more milk.”
  • Evidence: “Research shows that flavored milk, which delivers nine essential nutrients, contributes just 3% of added sugars to kids’ diets versus sodas and fruit drinks.”
  • Reasoning: “Studies show that school-aged children who drink flavored milk actually drink more milk overall, have better quality diets, and do not have higher intakes of added sugar or total fat.”

The Hyperdoc provides students with a means to discover this information. The teacher who creates the Hyperdoc provides the resources students can explore. It may be advantageous for students to do their own research.

research tools

Five Online Research Tools for Children

  1. KidRex – Powered by Google Custom Search, Alarm.org’s KidRex is a search engine designed by kids for kids. Check our their page for Parents. Compare it to Searchquarium.
  2. KidzSearch – Easy-to-use search engine.
  3. Kidtopia – Provides access to a wide variety of topics, but also allows for keyword searches.
  4. Sweet Search – A search engine that provides filtered search capabilities.
  5. Fact Monster -Easily explore and learn new facts at Fact Monster by using their well-organized categories.

What’s Next

In the Hyperdoc, students take their research and use it to craft a persuasive letter attempting to convince others.

Test your preparation and your public speaking skills in The Great Milk Debate. You will be assigned to a debate team. Together you will go through each of your letters together and develop an argument defending your side against another debate team who will defend the opposite side. Each side will get two minutes to present their arguments. The winning debate team will be voted on by the audience.

Kid-friendly search engines can introduce students to search strategies, alleviating educators’ fears of encountering inappropriate content. Give them a try in your classroom.

 

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