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Google Tips and TricksWeb 2.0 Tool

Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (September 2021)

by Sara Qualls
written by Sara Qualls

It’s been a busy month around here, with all of the staff in full swing planning for the 2022 TCEA Convention & Exposition. Consequently, we’re just going to jump right into all of the good website and Chrome extension finds for September.

Chrome Extensions to Try

QR Code Generator and Beautification Studio. With this extension, you can design, color, and decorate QR codes, including framing them by shape. I imagine some great possibilities and organization happening with this tool. Perhaps you’ll be color-coding by subject or lesson plan? Time for those with a Type A personality to go nuts!

chrome extension

Sortd for Gmail. Are you a list lover like me? Do you use Gmail as your primary email client? Say “hello” to Sortd for Gmail. This is a pretty simple add-on, but I love its visual for seeing what needs to be addressed next inside of Gmail. For example, I receive a lot of notifications for comments from Google Docs. I can’t get to these right away, but mentally I need to set them to the side to address later. This gives me a visual to let me know what I’ve put to the side so that I can focus on my current task. There are many more ways to use this tool that I haven’t even tapped into, so be sure to let me know how you end up using it by commenting on this post.

chrome extension

Boxel Rebound. Need a brain break? Try this box-jumping game that is surprisingly addictive. You’ve been warned!

React: Emoji, GIFs & Filters for Google Meet. Not only does this extension give you those video filters for mornings where you just didn’t have it in you to do your full-on routine, but it also allows you to react with emojis or GIFs without interrupting the speaker. This extension adds a toolbar to your screen that is only visible during video calls.

Wordtune – AI-Powered Writing Companion. Sometimes the struggle is real when it comes to finding another way to say whatever you are thinking. That’s where Wordtune comes to the rescue. It understands what you’re trying to say and suggests ways that can help make your writing clear and a bit more authentic. Give it a try!

Must-Visit Websites

Taco Spin. Yes, that’s right, tacos. Sure, it’s pretty mindless, but it’s a taco, and who doesn’t love tacos? It even counts the number of times you watched it spin, so if you need to feel like you’ve accomplished something, there is that.

All That’s Interesting. This website offers you something interesting to read every day. From history to news to science, there is something for everyone. However, this site is not appropriate for student use as sometimes the news stories may be too serious.

Fun Trivia. If you are a fan of all things trivia, then check out the site. It is the world’s largest trivia website with over 150,000 quizzes, including K-12 educational quizzes. Plus, it also houses thousands of crossword puzzles, challenges, and other games.

As always, please shout it out in the comments if you find any of these useful. I love to hear how you are using these tools or sites. Additionally, don’t forget to share extensions and sites that I need to check out for myself. Until next month!

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Chrome Extensions
Google Tips and TricksWeb 2.0 Tool

Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (August 2021)

by Sara Qualls
written by Sara Qualls

In the great state of Texas, we have entered into full back-to-school mode. August signals the use of alarm clocks and having to get back into our “school clothes.” Have we all survived our first week or two back with students in the classroom? Yes? No? Hopefully, everyone is nodding “yes” right about now. Okay, let’s jump right in with this month’s Chrome extensions and site finds.

Chrome Extensions to Try

Sir Links-a-lot This extension isn’t new to the scene, but many are still surprised to learn its benefits. It allows you four options for creating custom-share links to your files with just a few clicks, including Force a Copy links.

Chrome Extensions

Turn Off the Lights Playing a video on a website and don’t want your students to get distracted by the other content around it? Use Turn Off the Lights. Just click on the lamp, and the page will fade to dark, focusing on the video. Hit the lamp button again for the page to return to normal.

Random Student Generator for Google Classroom There are several great random generator tools out there, and here is another one to add to your repertoire. Using the classes already set up in your Google Classroom, this extension allows you to quickly select a random student.

Coffeelings Are you working on self-care this year? Journaling is a great way to do that. If you are anything like me, though, it can be hard to pull out a notebook and try to recall the day that I just survived. With Coffeelings, you can jot down your daily thoughts and track your mood on the go by choosing your roast color. At the end of the week, you’ll be able to quickly see how things went with a glance.

Tetrys Depending on your age, you may recall spending hours playing this simple game of block sorting. Now you can get back in on the action with this extension. Click on the icon and a pop-up appears; but the best part is if you need to walk away, it will remember where you left off.

Must-Visit Websites

Wait But Why If you love to be informed on random topics and want some humor included in the mix, you will love Wait But Why. Almost every week, the creator, Tim Urban, churns out one really ,long but really awesome, article on a topic.

Wait But Why

Some of my favorites are:

Question from my seven-year-old: How many germs would you have to put together to actually be able to see them? What would it look like?

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate

Your Life in Weeks

Let me know in the comments what your favorite article is after resurfacing from the rabbit hole this must-visit website will take you down.

The Oregon Trail. If you want to go back to your elementary days and revel in the joys of coming down with dysentery, go back to yesteryear with this throwback to The Oregon Trail. You won’t be disappointed.

Drench. Like the classic Rubik’s Cube, Drench provides a way to test your skills by moving colorful tiles in one 14 x 14 square to make it a solid color. Believe me when I say it’s harder than it sounds.


Did you find any of these extensions or sites useful? Comment to share some of your favorite places on the internet, and let us know what you think of these must-have Chrome extensions and must-see sites.

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holidays
Google Tips and TricksWeb 2.0 Tool

Holiday Websites, Apps, and Extensions

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

The holidays are upon us and there are so many fun and interactive websites, apps, and extensions that you and your students can take advantage of. Explore the collection below for ideas and activities that can be used in the classroom.

Websites

Christmas Celebrations Around the World
holidaysWith the world becoming a global village, Christmas is now celebrated in many countries around the world. On this website, simply click on the country’s flag in order to get a glimpse of the different ways Christmas is celebrated in that country. In the classroom, students can learn about other cultures and different Christmas traditions. It is important to realize that being culturally aware is a wonderful way to promote inclusion for all in your classroom. For more information, be sure to take a look at this blog for more ways to become a culturally responsive teacher all year long.

Made with Code
Made with Code is a website that encourages girls to learn how to code. For the holidays, one project you can find is Design Your Own Emoji Holiday. A custom emoji can be created with a holiday theme using blocks. As the emoji is being created, you can see the code that is being used. For this reason, students in your classroom will be inspired to increase their coding skills.

Norad Santa Tracker
Norad is a tracking system for Santa Claus. Students can watch as Santa delivers all his presents because he will be tracked  in Google Earth. In addition, you can also watch a movie, play games, listen to music, and learn about St. Nicholas, his elves, and his sleigh. In the classroom, students can learn about geography and places around the world that Santa stops at. Students could even chart Santa’s stops in Google Maps or calculate distances. They could also write creative stories about his adventures. With this in mind, be sure to check out this blog for tech tools that will support creative writing.

Northpole
The Northpole website has a lot of great activities for students. Students can write letters to Santa and read and listen to stories. In addition, they can personalize three different stories, each with themselves as the star of the story. Most noteworthy is the Elf Pal Academy, which is included on the site. It will connect you to even more activities geared for elementary students and English language learners.

holidays

Storynory
At the Storynory website, students can listen to free audio stories. The stories can be streamed live or downloaded to be played anywhere.  In the classroom, you could create a listening center for your students. Furthermore, you can use the story starters as creative writing prompts.

Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a simple way to introduce basic economics to classrooms. The price index gives the cost of each gift from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” for the past 35 years. It’s a fun way to measure consumer spending and trends in the economy. For example, this year, six geese-a-laying will cost $399, an 8.3% increase from last year. Furthermore,  you can take advantage of a complete lesson plan with activities on the site.

Chrome Apps

holidays

Christmas Coloring Game
With this Chrome app, just select your picture and your color to create your holiday work of art. It is good for some quick festive fun. Moreover, this app offers pictures for other holidays or just everyday objects.

Learn Your Christmas Carols
Learn Your Christmas Carols is a helpful app that provides you the lyrics to tons of holiday classics. In addition, you can check out video performances of the songs by famous artists and musicians.

Chrome Extensions

Christmas Countdown New Tab Page
The Christmas Countdown extension allows you to count down to Christmas. Every time you open a new tab in Chrome, the countdown will appear. holidays

Christmas Day Countdown and Radio
This extension allows you to count down to Christmas while you listen to festive music. There is a variety of music to choose from, with holiday mixes from around the world. Consequently, it will bring some cheerfulness to your everyday Chrome experience.

Santas Sleigh
Make every page festive with Santa and his sleigh. Every time you open a page in Chrome, you will see Santa and his reindeer flying by.

Spread some holiday cheer into your classroom by utilizing some of the above resources. As a result, this December will be festive as well as productive.

 

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Desmos Geometry
MathWeb 2.0 Tool

Desmos Adds Geometry Tool

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Desmos has long been a popular name in the world of math educators. Their free, online graphing calculator is simply beautiful, and since it’s easy and works on any device, it’s perfect for the classroom. They even have a a free Android or iOS app for it, along with excellent classroom activities.

Desmos GeometryBut now they’ve released a new tool specifically for geometry, and it’s just as amazing. Although not as fully featured as a website like Geogebra, Desmos Geometry is still a great resource for the secondary math classroom. It’s designed to help students understand geometry concepts through the use of drawing and diagram manipulation tools. There’s a simple tutorial video, along with a page of resources to help master the tool. And clicking the “three lines” icon in the top left-hand corner of the program will provide a number of powerful examples.

Because Desmos is so universally liked and adopted by schools around the world, there will soon be a variety of lesson plans and activities designed by teachers that go along with this new resource. That makes it an even more powerful tool.

While I am not a math expert, I still had fun playing with Desmos Geometry. And I think that, if someone more knowledgeable were there to help me, I could really learn a lot about the subject while experimenting. The tool enables students to construct and test their own theories about geometry, which is a powerful and engaging way to learn. And that’s what technology is best at, isn’t it?

 

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assessment tools
Good TeachingWeb 2.0 Tool

High Five: Free Web 2.0 Assessment Tools

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

This is a guest blog by Beth A. Burau, Instructional Technology Coordinator and German teacher at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, TX.

Perhaps the most frustrating sound for a teacher is that of complete and utter silence following the question, “Are there any questions?” While a student or two may take a teacher up on the offer for some clarification or insight, more often than not, the silence simply indicates to the teacher that the class understands the material. It’s not until homework is turned in later that the truth and the teacher’s assumption are revealed – there should have been questions.

To monitor whether or not students are learning and to help provide immediate feedback, we should make sure that “checks for understanding” or formative assessment tools are a consistent part of any lesson. Here are five simple Web 2.0 tools to help teachers quickly assess student understanding before the bell rings. They’ll be certain to prompt high fives at the end of class for a job well done.

Socrative – With this free app, students can use their own computers, tablets, and phones to respond to teacher-created questionsl which are either self-paced or teacher-paced to check for understanding. Socrative also has an easy-to-use Exit Ticket option, which is great for getting student responses to spontaneous questions during class or as a way to check for understanding after the lesson is done. The responses are graded, and the results are easy to use.

Plickers – If students don’t have access to devices, but the teacher has an iOS or Android device with a camera, this is the perfect free Web 2.0 tool to use. However, this tool requires some preparation in advance and is not suggested for last-minute assessment. The teacher needs the app installed on a mobile device to use during class, but can create the true/false and multiple choice questions on a desktop computer. Teachers create their questions online and print out Plickers Cards for each student to use. The teacher poses questions to monitor class learning. Then the students simply hold up their card to show their answer, and the teacher scans the room with a mobile device to record and view the results.

Quizizz – Have you used Kahoot! with your classes? If so, you may want to try Quizizz, a similar Web 2.0 tool for formative assessment. Students can use their own device or share devices to answer teacher-generated questions. As a teacher, you can use the app in class or assign quizzes for homework or review. Unlike Kahoot!, Quizizz is self-paced, so students don’t feel as much pressure under time constraints, which is great if you have anxious students or students who need more reading time for each question in class. Students are afforded more time to process the questions and respond instead of simply guessing quickly to earn points.

Microsoft Forms  If you’ve heard of Google Forms, but have Office 365 Education at your school, you may wish to use these forms for formative assessment instead. As the instructor, you can require the students to log in using their Office 365 account to access the form, which allows you to not only verify the student’s identity, but also to view student results by name. The teacher can then quickly scan all the class responses to check for understanding or identify select students who may need some additional help or instruction.

QuizSocket  – This free, online “fast quiz” beta tool doesn’t require an account, just an email address. Using mobile devices, students are given a quiz key to join in. A teacher can then ask real-time multiple choice questions verbally, write them on the board, or include them in a presentation slide. The pace of the poll or quiz is controlled by the teacher, who advances the multiple choice options “ABCD” one at a time for the students. Individual question responses can be viewed synchronously on the website during each question and can also be downloaded as a .csv file at the end of the quiz for further analysis by the teacher.

These are just a few great—and best of all, FREE—assessment tools, so you’re never left wondering if your students are truly understanding the material. Do you have any favorite assessment tools? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Beth A. Burau has taught levels PreK-College across various content areas since she began teaching in August 2000. She now serves as the Instructional Technology Coordinator and German teacher at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, TX. Beth holds a B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame and has published education articles and chapters both in print and online. She is a proud member of TCEA and a TCEA certified Campus Technology Specialist. 

 

 

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Dotstorming
Web 2.0 Tool

Dotstorming: Brainstorming on Steroids

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

If you want your class to brainstorm ideas for their next project and then vote on the best ones or have the faculty decide how to increase reading on the campus or get your relatives to decide on a location for the next reunion, then Dotstorming is for you. Dotstorming is a Web 2.0 tool that lets people brainstorm ideas and then vote on them, quickly and easily. And it’s free.

How Dotstorming Works

Create an account with just your email address and you’re ready to begin. You’re given a blank Dotstorming board. Add your topic or question and then invite participants to join in. They can post ideas, links, graphics, text, and more. Once the brainstorming process is over, set the number of votes that each participant will have (up to 10) and ask them to vote. It’s just that simple.

Dotstorming

Dotstorming New Features

In April 2017, Dotstorming added some new features. You can now choose to clear a board of all votes and comments. This would be great for having the same poll for a number of different classes to take or if you wanted to poll a group at the beginning of a discussion and then again at the end to see if their opinions changes.

Another new feature added is an easier way to put images into a Dotstorming poll. While you could add images before, the new process allows you to simply past the URL for an image and the image will appear.

Similar to Padlet but with more features, Dotstorming should definitely have a place in your toolbelt. Not only is it great for brainstorming ideas, it’s a wonderful way to post discussion questions, math problems with several correct and incorrect solutions, and anything you want students to discuss as it includes a chat box. It works on any device and can be used by even very young students. Take a look at it today!

This blog was updated with new content on April 19, 2017.

 

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administrator
Google Tips and TricksiOS Tips and TricksLeadership

Four Tools Every Administrator Should Be Using

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Being an administrator can be hectic at best and chaotic at worst. Whether you are an administrator on a campus or serve at the district level, there are tools that can help you be more organized and confident as you strive to juggle all the demands and tasks that come your way. Here are four I recommend, all of which I’ve used and found helpful.

Pomodoro Technique – If you are like me, multitasking usually means that I end the day with lots of things started, but few finished. This technique is the opposite of multitasking and helps keep me focused. The Pomodoro technique is a strategy in which you focus on a task for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break. After several 25-minute blocks (pomodoros), you get a 15-minute break. The goal is to work as focused as you can to accomplish the task in as few pomodoros as possible. That’s perfect for the busy administrator.

Lifehacker posted a tutorial on the Pomodoro technique that you might find handy if you’ve not investigated it before. When things move from hectic to chaotic, I usually pull up the app and work to move through it. There are many Pomodoro tools out there, but here is my recommendation for each platform: Android, iOS, Chrome app or extension, and web.

LiveScribe Pen – When I’m in meetings, I can take notes or I can listen and process what is being said, but I can’t do both well at the same time. In those cases, my LiveScribe pen has come in handy. Using special paper (which you can download and print for free), I can take notes while recording audio. The written notes and audio are synced, so tapping on a place in my notes will jump to that part of the audio. I can then download data from the pen to my computer and the handwritten notes and audio (which are still synced) are on my laptop for later review. There are several versions of LiveScribe pens available, but I’ve found the base model to be more than adequate. It’s such a good tool that my college children have confiscated it for their own class work.

Flipboard – My job requires that I stay up-to-date on many topics. I find that searching the Internet, using Pinterest, or visiting my trusty go-to sites is too time consuming. That’s where Flipboard comes into play. I can use the iOS, Android, or web version to create a customized ezine of topics and sites that I want to keep up with. It pulls a fresh list of updated information every time I open it. While I follow several specific sites using Flipboard, identifying topics that I’m interested in has been even more beneficial. Besides reading fresh content, I can easily share articles and posts from within the app. I can definitely say that I use Flipboard on a daily basis.

Chrome Browser – I use many great Chrome apps and extensions, but here is a short list of some especially for administrators to get you started. You can find more by searching the Chrome Web Store. You can also check out Diana Benner’s post, Chrome Apps You Can’t Live Without, for more specific tools you might want to try.

  • Goo.gl URL Shortener – With just a click, I get a shortened URL of the website I’m on copied to my clipboard so I can share it with my staff or others. If I’m logged in to Chrome, it will remember the shortened URLs and track how many clicks each receives, which is handy if you are sharing with parents, teachers, etc.
  • Send from Gmail – This handy extension creates an email with the name of the website as the subject line and a link to it in the body so that all I have to do is add the recipient’s email address. I usually tweak the body of the email so the recipient knows why I’m sharing the website. Many times, though, I’ve used this to send myself a link to a website that I want to come back to, but don’t have time for right then; it will be in my inbox when I am ready to look at it.
  • Print Friendly & PDF – This clever extension creates a distraction-free page of the website I’m on by stripping out the ads, background, etc. so that I get a cleaner page that I can print and/or save as a PDF. If you are one to print websites often, this will reduce your toner costs. You can also edit the page down so that you only print what you want.
  • Screencastify – This Chrome app is handy tool to use when I need to explain how to do something online or on the computer, but I need more than words to make it clear. Using just the free version, I can record screencast videos up to ten minutes in length. This tool is great for those just-in-time trainings that we do when someone asks a simple question, but the answer may be more cumbersome and not so straightforward.

 

Regardless of which tool you use, I think you’ll find these will help you be more efficient with your time and still be able to share important information with those you support. Do you have a tool to add to the list? I’d love to hear about it. Email me at [email protected] and let me know.

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Chrome Music Lab
ChromebooksContent AreasGoogle Tips and Tricks

Why You (And Your Students) Must Try the Chrome Music Lab

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Google Chrome is such an amazing browser, primarily because of its ability to be personalized for each individual using it with different apps and extensions. And now Google has come out with yet another amazing resource developed for Music in Our Schools Month: the Chrome Music Lab.

Now, before you stop reading because you are not the music teacher on campus or because you don’t think you are musical, please wait. The Music Lab is for everyone, and especially for your students, regardless of what you teach. This free resource features a series of experiments that let anyone, at any age, explore how music works. Designed by musicians and coders (what a fun conversation that must have been!), the site is designed to help you learn, understand, and have fun with rhythm, chords, arpeggios, sound waves, harmonics, and more.

I started playing around with the Music Lab and must confess that I soon lost all track of time; it’s just so much fun! I was able to create amazing (at least to me) pieces of music, experiment with sound waves, interact with major and minor chords, program a drumming monkey, and so much more. No directions were required, although they are available for each experiment; I just had to be willing to wade in and try.

The Chrome Music Lab would make a great center in an elementary classroom or work well in a makerspace at a high school library. Innovative teachers will be able to create engaging, interactive lessons around the science of sound, how tone in music can be compared to tone in writing, the natural mathematical relationship between a string’s length and its pitch, and how the speed at which we speak impacts what others hear. Because the site is so open ended, there is really no limit to what students will be able to learn. I would encourage you to put students in pairs and assign each pair one of the experiments. Ask them to play with it and become an “expert” in it. Then have them share what they’ve learned with others. And then turn them lose to experience the joy of music.

What will your students create today?

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digital storytelling
Web 2.0 Tool

Getting Started with Digital Storytelling

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Digital storytelling is the method of using technology to share your narrative. The tools that students use can run the gamut from very simple presentation tools that just use audio recordings and photos to more complex creations requiring screencasting and appsmashing. If you are just getting started and trying to figure out the best tool for your students, then consider the following sites to acquaint you with some of the more popular tools used:

 

Regardless of which tool(s) you use, consider the following to help ensure your students’ success:

  • What do you want them to do with the end product? Will their stories be shared in a public online place for a wider audience or just viewed from the device on which they are created? Your answer to these questions will narrow the field of possible options.
  • Younger students, or students that may be open to distractions, will do better if you have them use tools that have fewer bells and whistles. These no-frills tools (such as 30hands Starter) minimize distractions and help students focus on the content of their story.
  • Have students plan their digital story prior to using the apps/websites. Consider using a template such as the 8 panel (Word) template, the film and video projects (Zipped) template, or the TCEA storyboard (Google Doc) template. Look through this Google search of completed storyboards and select a few to share that are relevant and appropriate for your content as examples.
  • Provide your students with a rubric to hold them accountable and guide them through the assignment. Consider using this general storytelling rubric, one of Rubistars rubric templates, or Kathy Schrock’s digital storytelling rubric.

 

Digital storytelling is a great way for students to demonstrate understanding of the content and in a context that makes sense to them. After all, we all love to both hear and tell stories. You should find that your students are more motivated to do their work when given the option to use digital storytelling as an assignment choice. Let us know your favorite digital storytelling tools and how your students used them to create amazement in your classroom.

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