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Twitter Takeaways: Google Meet Breakouts Plus

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for Twitter takeaways focused on Google Meet in the classroom? You have come to the right place. In a series of tweets, the amazing Kris Szajner shared innovative instructional activities. Let’s take a moment to explore these in this edition of Twitter Takeaways.

Before I share tweets about Google Meet you may not have seen, let’s revisit recent changes to Google Meet.

twitter takeaways

(Adapted from source)

Google Meet Updates

Since March 2020, Google has brought updates and changes to Google Meet. Their head-spinning updates have attempted to compete with competitors’ features. You may find their barrage of updates tough to keep up with.

Source: Google

Here’s a quick recap of some Fall, 2020 updates:

  • Attendance tracking: Get reports for live streams now available
  • Breakout rooms: Add timers, students can get help, teachers can assign students
  • Raise your hand in Google Meet
  • Admit all participants at once and view up to 49 participants
  • Change your background, conduct polls, and ask questions

Now that you know what’s up with Google Meet, here are some Twitter Takeaways. Of course, these ideas translate well. You can also adapt them for use with other video conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Twitter Takeaway #1: Breakout Rooms

“Breakout rooms are becoming essential,” says Kristina Moon because they work for a range of activities. That range includes in-class small group instruction to student collaboration. What’s powerful, Kristina says, is that they work well. That’s great for either virtual or hybrid classroom environments. As a writing teacher, I find creating small pods of writers to discuss the writing process invaluable. Angeliz Alverio says this is a mind-blowing use of breakout rooms, and I agree.

Juanita shared this tweet on how to track breakout rooms in Google Meet:

Kris Szajner has been sharing wonderful stuff on Twitter including the use of Google Meet to support Independent Reading time.

twitter takeaways

Mr. Tarasevich plans to use breakout rooms as an alternative. He suspects this may work better than calling students out in mid-meet. As a follow up, others share that they have adapted Kris’ technique. For example, Jade uses it for “interventions, pullouts, one to one, and testing.”

Of course, Ben Kovacs points out that teachers must be careful meeting one to one with students. While I agree with Ben, in remote teaching situations, it’s an easy matter to schedule a meeting. Once scheduled, notify the parent/guardian and don’t be afraid to hit “Record” for an archive copy. As always, be sure to keep your administrator informed and be transparent as possible.

Twitter Takeaway #2: Build Your Name

Where do you stand on the question of cameras on or off for students? Many argue that cameras should remain on at all times. In fact, some teachers will remove students whose cameras get turned off. No matter where you stand on this topic, you may find Jessica Hughes’ hack for “cameras off” worth emulating:

Loving these student submissions for week one of #remotelearning. Task: Build the name you want to go by in something you love & make it your @Google avatar. Now, if they turn off their cameras in #GoogleMeets, we know who is with us.

twitter takeaways

As you can see from the example above, when students switch off their cameras, you still know who they are. Jessica even has a padlet where students have added their custom avatar. How might you use this in your digital classroom?

As always, remember to check with your campus administrator and district technology folks. It’s best to keep all informed when sharing photos of students.

Twitter Takeaway #3: Meet Resources

Wondering how others are sharing resources about Google Meet usage? Here’s a quick list of more amazing content about using Google Meet.

There are many online resources for Google Meet. Be sure to explore these search results for YouTube and TCEA’s TechNotes.

Beyond Twitter

What are some ways that you’re using Google Meet? For example, how are you using JamBoard within Google Meet? What challenges are you facing with Google Meet in Google Classroom? Please share in the comments.

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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

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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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Educational TrendsESL/ELLGood Teaching

Remote Learning Strategy #3: Three More

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

In our Remote Learning Strategies series so far, we’ve explored two powerful strategies. Those strategies included classroom discussion and summarization. In this blog entry, we’ll review three more strategies that teachers should use. Ready for a whirlwind review of evidence-based strategies?

Strategy #3: Teacher Credibility

“One high-effect size instructional strategy would be teacher credibility,” says a teacher. She points out that understanding what she is teaching garners trust. Students respect her more when they understand what she is teaching and why. Of course, knowing the research about how to teach is important. To convey her confidence, she relies on screencasting (e.g. Screencastify).

Did You Know?

You can explore teacher credibility, along with other core strategies, via the TCEA self-paced, online course. The course Strategies That Work*: Core Components* explores evidence-based strategies and how to use them in the classroom and is now available.

When you think of teacher credibility, know that it is about perception. Teachers convey competence, trustworthiness, and caring. Students have to be answer affirmatively when they ask themselves, “Is this someone I can turn to?” (Source: Visible Learning Meta X database).

How do you influence student perception? One way might be to meet these three criteria:

  • Show up on time
  • Be prepared to teach
  • Have a thorough understanding of the content and be able to explain why learning it is important

Technology can assist some teachers in appearing as experts. For an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher focused on phonics, a digital platform such as ESL Games works well. When I first saw the website, I was a bit worried because it looked like it was just games focused on pronouncing words and learning vocabulary. Then I realized I had a bit of “old research” stuck in my head that needed replacing.

As a third grade student, I had learned phonics growing up as a second language learner. As a teacher in training, my professors denied the efficacy of phonics. Yet, it turns out they were wrong.

Reading comprehension is the product of two things. First, a child needs to be able to sound out a word. Second, the child needs to know the meaning of the word she sounded out.

Many educators don’t know this.

That’s because the cognitive science research has not made its way into many schools. Nor has it made it into many schools of education (Source: At A Loss for Words). More reading on vocabulary.

Can a credible teacher admit they are wrong? I’d like to think so. This next strategy taps into several other evidence-based strategies. Lori Oczkus (@LoriOczkus) terms these strategies as the “Fab Four” in her book Reciprocal Teaching At Work. John Hattie writes the foreword.

teacher credibility

Strategy #4: Reciprocal Teaching

“One high-effect size instructional strategy is reciprocal teaching,” says one educator. She goes on to say:

I love this one and I am learning more about this. The tool to help with it is Seesaw as you can see how they are processing and understanding of your teaching.

Reciprocal teaching aims at improving reading comprehension across all subject areas. It does this through the use of four strategies, including:

  • Summarizing
  • Questioning
  • Clarifying
  • Predicting

The teacher and students take turns leading dialogue about the text or media in question. They ask questions geared toward the role a person has assumed. One teacher relies on Zoom to engage in active monitoring of students’ use of the strategies.

Consider how this teacher uses Zoom:

Incorporating active monitoring by having students show me their work during ZOOM! I also love using the chat as a way for students to answer intro questions!

Other teachers rely on NearPod. They share informational text so that students have summaries and questions. Then, students make their own clarification statements and predict how something will work. “NearPod allows me to see all students working. I can provide instantaneous feedback as necessary.”

A final approach involves students using reciprocal teaching via Google Slides. “Do this when you use an organizer via a Google Slide.” She goes on to explain the directions in this way:

  • First, divide students into break out rooms.
  • Second, allow students to discuss and complete their respective roles in the team.

Reciprocal teaching has proven effective for K-12 and adult learners in my experience. Yet, it is a deep learning strategy for when deeper learning of already mastered basic concepts is needed. When introducing students to brand new information, consider using the jigsaw approach instead. Let’s explore that next.

Strategy #5: The Jigsaw Method

Explored in detail in other blog entries, this surface learning strategy is great at introducing new information. The Visible Learning Meta X database describes it in this way:

The Jigsaw instructional method is a cooperative approach to learning originally developed by Elliot Aronson. Following this method, a teacher introduces a main topic and several subtopics.

Jigsaw students are broken into “home groups”, and each member of the home group is assigned a subtopic. Then, students form expert groups to study their assigned subtopic through research and discussion.

After the students have mastered the subtopic in question, they return to their home group to report on their findings. At the conclusion of the exercise, each home group member has learned about each subtopic from a member of the relevant expert group or through their own investigation with an expert group.

One way that teachers are using jigsaw in remote learning involves Google Slides. This approach lends itself for use in the regular or hybrid classroom as well.

To use the jigsaw method with Google Slides, assign expert groups a collaborative slide deck. Each student adds their info to the expert group slide. Comments within the slide deck make up the final presentation slide(s). At the end, each expert group member copies the slide/s to the “table group” slide deck. They include any explanation in the slide comments or as an embedded video.

Aside from Google Slides, Google Classroom was also mentioned. “I love the idea of using Jigsaw in the classroom.” That teacher describes it in this way:

Teachers can divide roles and create prompts in Google Docs. Then they can be assigned in Google Classroom. Teachers can later have students work as a whole by having them collaborate on a final group Doc.

In the next installment of this series, we’ll explore more ways that teachers are matching up digital tools with high-effect size strategies. Stay tuned!

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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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Good Teaching

Remote Learning: Keep It Simple

by Ernest Gonzales, Guest Author
written by Ernest Gonzales, Guest Author

Here we are, starting school virtually for the first time in human history. This situation is unprecedented and full of uncertainty, but one thing is certain; a lot of learning will be happening — teacher learning. As school districts adapt to life during COVID, systems and tools are rapidly being introduced to assist with the challenges of remote learning. 

Teachers will need to quickly learn how to use this new technology to ensure student engagement and success. Getting to know these new tech tools in such a short span of time poses many challenges for our diverse population of teachers as they work to meet the needs of students and their multiple learning styles. If we approach this problem with the idea of keeping things simple, then we can better manage the new learning and help our students and families be successful as well.  So what exactly does keeping it simple mean?

Focus on the Essential Tools for Remote Learning

As an educator, acquaint yourself with the primary tools you will be using for teaching and communication. Educators need a solid application for live-streaming synchronous learning, and right now, we’re using Zoom to meet this need. For those students who are not able to participate during live lessons, Flipgrid offers an intuitive, user-friendly app that provides a way to record video communication and more.

Go Beyond the Foundations

In addition to these fundamental apps, teachers need a learning management system to create a digital version of their real world classroom. For many educators, Google Classroom is a popular tool. While Google Classroom is relatively easy to learn and start using, it lacks many of the more powerful features of a full-fledged LMS. With this in mind, we can see how a good tool for live video, an easy-to-use application for recorded video, and a solid LMS are essential and provide a strong foundation for online learning.

Prioritize Adaptability

When considering additional apps to add to your essential tech toolbox, invest your learning in tools that can be adapted for a variety of uses. One often overlooked but extremely flexible tool is Google Slides. Teachers often see it only as a presentation tool, but Slides can be used in a variety of creative ways, from publishing collaborative classroom magazines to creating interactive models.

Get Creative

Look through Get Creative with Google Slides to get more ideas on building Google Slides into your classroom. Think about altering any traditionally-formatted presentations you plan to use in your digital teaching to provide space for students to take notes and reflect on their learning as part of their learning process. Making this modification to any Google Slides presentations you use will enable students to hear you through Zoom, see your slides on their own copies of the presentation, and engage with the content, all in one place.

Flipgrid is another highly adaptable tool.  Consider using it to bring guest speakers into your class, to provide opportunities for global collaboration, or even to gamify your lessons with Fliphunts. For more ideas to spark your creativity, explore Five Ideas for Re-Imagining Flipgrid.

Keep the Practices That Work

All of us now face the reality of teaching our students using technology, but this is nothing new: TEA adopted Technology TEKS for grades K-12 in 2011 to prepare our students for college and beyond. When thinking about how to teach and integrate technology, start with tried and true teaching strategies and practices. Chunk concepts and scaffold the learning by teaching one or two concepts at a time and practicing these essential concepts with your students until they demonstrate understanding.

Think Like a Coach

Think about teaching your students to use technology in an educational setting in terms of coaching. A good coach would not ask novice athletes to perform complex plays their first time on the field and expect success. Instead, the coach would provide the athletes with opportunities and time to first master the fundamentals.

As teachers, we need to do the same for our students and ourselves. Since learning new technologies is similar to learning a new language, think about utilizing strategies for English learners to help students become acquainted with the language and practice of online learning. Learners, both young and adult, will not be fluent in speaking technology initially, but with daily practice, we can build these skills.

Teachers are incredible people with meaningful jobs that create positive effects in our community. As teachers, we chose this profession because we have a passion for education, for our community, and for promoting the love of learning. Educators face a variety of daily challenges, and no one would deny that remote online learning is a challenge. But if we keep it simple and take it in measured steps, we can make it not only manageable, but also transformative. 

Best of luck to everyone this school year.

Ernest Gonzales is the Ed Tech & Design Coordinator for SAISD. You can follow him on twitter @ergoEDU.

Photo: Jimee, Jackie, Tom & Asha / CC BY-SA

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Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Emails, Assessment Tool, Virtual Backgrounds, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

It’s time for another roundup of tasty educational technology resources and tips that you can use today. (Be sure to check out the first one in this blog series here.)

Be Safe as You Head Back to Campus

This tongue-in-cheek list of “foolproof” safety tips for teachers returning to their campuses in August will definitely get you laughing (and maybe crying a little).

Why You May Not Want to Read Your Unread Email

Want to see just how long it will take to go through all of those unread emails in your inbox? This simple calculator will tell you. (It was very depressing for my inbox!)

India’s Richest Man Launches a Free Zoom Rival

JioMeet, a competitor to Zoom, is now available. It does not cap free calls and can be used with a maximum of 100 users at a time. To ensure that its meetings are secure, calls on JioMeet are password-protected and, like Zoom, it also has a “waiting room” that ensures no unwanted attendees can barge into the calls. The JioMeet app is available now for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and even for the Chrome browser.

Another Free Assessment Tool

DOOZY lets you create free multiple choice and short answer quizzes and then share them easily with your students. No account registration is required for either the teacher or the kids, which is great. But that also means that data from the quizzes taken is not saved. You can also modify existing quizzes to save time.

Save the Planet with the Ecosia Search Engine

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Ecosia works like all of the other search engines except for one major difference. With their profits, they plant trees around the world, more than one million of them so far. As if that’s not enough reason to use them, they are also completely privacy friendly, which means they don’t sell your data to anyone or use third party trackers. And they have a Chrome extension.

Student-Created Virtual Backgrounds

Challenge your students to create their own virtual backgrounds for online classes. As TCEA member Scott Firenza shares on Twitter, “Not every student wants to turn on the camera to show others their environment. Have them create custom backgrounds: 1. collage about who you are, 2. all about a subject matter, 3. how does “subject matter” play a role in your life.”

Tips for Adding Videos to Google Docs

This great blog from Eric Curts offers four workarounds to providing videos in Google Docs.

Get Students Actively Engaged

Catlin Tucker offers these eight great ideas for engaging students during virtual learning. The ideas can work with any subject matter and for most age groups. Catlin provides excellent examples of each idea.

I hope that you found these tricks and resources useful. Have a great one to share? Please place it in the comments!

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Google Tips and TricksLeadership

Google Meet or Zoom Transcription

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

As most of us move online, we start to realize how important it is to make our communications accessible. One way to achieve that is through audio transcriptions. For many of us, a first experience with audio transcription involved Google Voice. Now most of us spend more time on video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet.

There are several tools available for transcription of video conferencing audio. Let’s take a look at a few of those.

Wait, Why Do I Need a Transcription?

That question isn’t unlike one I heard someone ask a principal. Then, it was, “Why do I need an audio recorder on my phone for this parent meeting?” Sometimes, you need a digital record. 

While video recording meetings has gotten easier, there are times and circumstances that may call for a written transcript you can share with your supervisor or keep for legal reasons. Please recall that it is important to ask and get the consent of at least one person. If you’re a part of the conversation, then you can record even if no one else knows. 

Note: Texas makes it a crime to intercept or record any “wire, oral, or electronic communication” unless one party to the conversation consents.” That means, if you know you are recording, and you are in the conversation, you can record in Texas (source). Learn more about recording meetings outside of Texas.

The main reason I would rely on transcription is to recall important points. This makes it easier for everyone to stay on the same page about what you and the others involved said. Out of courtesy, I encourage you to seek consent of everyone involved in the conversation with you.

Recording Tools Abound

Today, an audio recorder app on your smartphone works great for face-to-face meetings. But what about Google Meet, the tool of choice for many since it’s now free to schools and individuals? You can record, but it’s immediately obvious to all present. If you want to record, but want to keep that to yourself, how do you do that? Let’s explore a few tools that may be helpful to you in those sensitive meetings.

Tool #1: Tactiq 

Need a Chrome extension that can transcribe Google Meet audio? Look no further than the easy to use Tactiq. You can save and share with it. Some of its features include being able to:

  • Read the full history of the conversation in real-time
  • Export the transcript to a text file, your device’s clipboard, or store in Google Drive
  • Select memorable information in the transcription for later review

Here’s a quick overview of how it works:

Free features include the ability to auto-start in Google Meet and export to a Google Doc or text file. Also, the free feature list includes speaker detection and click-to-highlight. You may have to pay $5 per month to see more integrations such as auto-save to Google Doc and export to subtitles. 

Tool #2: Scribbl

You can use Scribbl to auto-record and transcribe a meeting in real time. It allows you to tag and focus on excerpts and save them as sound clips. Scribbl works with Google Meet, as well as Zoom. Like all the other tools mentioned, it works with a wide variety of conferencing tools.

Tool #3: Fireflies.Ai

Like other tools, Fireflies.Ai records and transcribes  Google Meet and Zoom. For Zoom calls, you add fred@fireflies.ai to your calendar invite. At that point, Fireflies.Ai will join the meeting and capture everything. You can get the Fireflies Chrome extension. This gives Fireflies the ability to work from within your Google Calendar.

Did You Know?

The other day, while playing a YouTube video I had uploaded, I noticed that YouTube transcribed my audio and showed my text at the bottom of the screen. You can take your video conferencing recording from Meet or Zoom, then upload to YouTube. YouTube will then automate a transcript. Amazing, huh?

Never Forget

From this point forward, you no longer need to ask, “What did we talk about in that meeting?” While a video recording may be undesirable, a text transcript may be enough to jog your memory.

Don’t be afraid to give this app a try with your young reader. It may be the type of engagement your child needs. Read along with your child to improve engagement.

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Educational TrendsGoogle Tips and TricksMicrosoft Tips and Tricks

Creating Virtual Backgrounds for Zoom

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

If you happen to be using a PC or Mac (not a Chromebook) to connect with Zoom, then you may have noticed that you have the ability to do virtual backgrounds (assuming it has been enabled in the settings). Other than using the background photos that Zoom provides, where can you find additional great choices that will set you apart in your next Zoom meeting? Continue reading to find out!

The Specs for Zoom Backgrounds

Before we jump in, we should clarify that photos for Zoom virtual backgrounds should be in 16:9 ratio with the ideal resolution of 1920 px by 1080 px. If you use a photo with a different ratio, then you can expect to have black bars appearing on the sides since Zoom will fit the photo in the 16:9 space. This will definitely identify you as a newbie.

GIF, JPG/JPEG, or 24-bit PNG images can be used. Be aware that, if you have a photo with any transparent pixels, these will show as white. Also, if you are planning to add a logo or text, don’t add them to the bottom of the background photo, as Zoom may superimpose your name over it while in the meeting.

Step 1: Find Good Photos

Having a great photo is the key. You don’t want something that is too busy or distracting and you do want something that is true to who you are. Be sure to check out the copyright to see what attribution is required.

Here are five websites to get you started with finding great photos.

Pixabay has so many great photos for you to choose from. Plus, they offer some fantastic ways of filtering through the photos so that you can find that perfect graphic quicker. After you search for the topic of background (i.e. wall, nature, sunrise, clouds, celebration, trail, etc.), set the orientation to horizontal and choose the most relevant category; I usually choose backgrounds/textures.

NOTE: If you create a free account with Pixabay, you don’t have to identify that you are not a robot each time; logging in with your username/password allows you to skip that step.

Pexels is another great tool for finding images that you can use with hesitation. Be aware that there is an overlap between Pixabay and Pexels so you will find some commonality in the search results. But there is enough difference to check out each. Similar to Pixaby, just type in the topic of interest.

Though Pexels doesn’t provide as many filters, you can set the orientation of choice as horizontal. You can’t specify the ratio or the pixel width/height, but you can choose the size (small, medium, or large). I recommend choosing large and seeing if you are satisfied with the results. You can always trim down a photo, but you run the risk of pixelating the photo if you try to enlarge it to fit the Zoom ideal.

A few other sites to consider include Unsplash, Reshot, and RawPixel. Each has its own interface, so you’ll have to explore each one and learn how to best search and filter to find the photo that you want to use.

Step 2: Edit Your Photo

You can use a simple online photo editor such as Pixlr, BeFunky, Fotor, or Adobe Spark if you need to work in the cloud to edit your chosen image. Here is how I go about creating Zoom backgrounds in Photoshop, PowerPoint, or Google Slides. The main thing to remember is that the end result should be a photo that is preferably 1920 px by 1080 px, but at least fits the 16:9 ratio.

Editing in Photoshop

Begin by opening your photo and select the Rectangle Marquee Tool. For the sake of instructions, we’ll assume we don’t know what ratio the photo is. With the Rectangle Marquee Tool selected, choose Fixed Ratio from the dropdown and set the width to 16 and height to 9 (refer to the image below).

Video demonstration for cropping a photo to 16:9 ratio in Photoshop.

You are now able to click and drag a selection area of the photo. If the photo is already 16:9, you should be able to drag from one corner diagonally to the opposite corner and encompass the whole photo. If the photo is NOT 16:9, you’ll notice that the selected area doesn’t fit perfectly. That’s okay since we can move the selection around to choose the area we want to use. Once you have a 16:9 area selected to use, click on Image –> Crop. If this photo is now the finished product you want, click on File –> Export –> Quick Export PNG. If you would like to continue editing to add a logo or text, save your file now as a Photoshop (PSD) file; this will allow us to continue editing it with layers which we are about to add.

Now to add text to our image. This could be your district or school name or it could be some other information that better identifies you and/or connects you with other viewers in the Zoom meeting.

Let’s begin by clicking on the Horizontal Type Tool and then click on the photo where you would like to start typing – but don’t start typing just yet. On the screenshot below, you’ll notice what appears when you are using the Horizontal Type Tool. Select your font from the drop-down list and set the size. Click on the appropriate alignment option and confirm the color of your text (indicated by the color box just to the right of the alignment options). Once you have these set, it is now time to start typing. NOTE: We can start typing before setting these options, but I typically find that I have to select the text and go back and change the options afterwards when I’m in a hurry.

Video demonstration for adding text in Photoshop.

You may have noticed that a new layer appeared when you click on the photo. Though it looks like you are typing on the photo, you are really adding text over the photo in a transparent layer. If you realize that your text should be moved some, then click on the Move Tool and then click and drag the text to the new area; be sure that your mouse is over some of the text itself as it will assume you want to move whatever is under the cursor.

If you are looking for fonts to use, my go-to sites include dafonts, FontSpace, and 1001 Free Fonts. You’ll find plenty of fun, festive, and even professional-looking fonts to use on your background.

Video demonstration for adding a logo in Photoshop.

In our final step, let’s add a logo. This could be a school mascot, your bitmoji, or other image. Open the logo in Photoshop as you initially did the original photo. Click Select –> All to copy the logo to the clipboard. Now go to the Photoshop tab with your Zoom background photo. Click Edit –> Paste. If your image does not have a transparent background, you may need to remove it.

You may also need to resize the image. Click on the image to the right to view the brief tutorial showing how to insert, remove the background, and resize the logo.

Editing in PowerPoint

Video demonstration for creating a simple Zoom virtual background in PowerPoint.

You don’t have to have a high end photo editing tool to get great results. And you might find that using more simplistic tools (or actually re-purposing such tools) may make the process much faster.

I prefer to start with a blank slide in PowerPoint – that is, no text boxes for the title or anything. Click on the Design menu –> Slide Size –> Wide Screen (16:9). We now know that the ratio will match that of the Zoom background. Insert your photo and resize to perfectly fit the slide. If it doesn’t fit perfectly and you don’t want to stretch part of it, consider centering the photo on your slide and adding a border to hide the gap, similar to adding a mat over a photo that doesn’t fit a picture frame perfectly.

We’ll use the border of a transparent rectangle placed over the image for our border. Begin by inserting a rectangle. With the rectangle selected (and sized to fit the slide), set the shape fill to transparent (Shape Format menu –> Shape Fill –> No Fill); you should now be able to see the photo. Now make the border coordinate with the photo by clicking on Shape Format menu –> Shape Outline –> Eye Dropper. As you move the eye dropper around, you will notice that a small color square is indicating what color will be picked if you click at that location of the photo. Click somewhere to choose a color.

Now let’s make the border thick enough to cover those gaps. We don’t want to add a border directly to the photo because it will just highlight the fact that it is a different ratio; adding the border to the transparent rectangle on top retains the 16:9 ratio and hides the imperfection. With the rectangle still selected, click on the Shape Format menu –> Shape Outline –> Weight –> More Lines. Increase the width until all gaps are covered. Don’t be surprised if the number is large.

You are now ready to save the slide out as an image. To do so, click on the File menu –> Save As and locate the folder where you want to save the Zoom background. For the file type, choose PNG Portable Network Graphics Format. When asked if you want to save All Slides or Just This One, choose Just This One. Your background is now ready to be used in Zoom.

Editing in Google Slides

Video demonstration for creating a simple Zoom virtual background in Google Slides.

Editing in Google Slides is very similar to the PowerPoint process. Begin by clicking on the Insert menu –> Image. You have several options as to where get your image (upload from the computer, search the web, Drive, Photos, by URL, or camera).

Once you’ve located your image and added it to your slide, resize the photo (making it larger or smaller) to cover the slide area. If you want a logo, locate that image and add to your photo noting that the ideal placement is most likely the top left or right corner but allowing a bit of a gap between it and the edge of the photo.

Since Zoom will have your name showing at the bottom (assuming that the host did not turn off showing names), any text that you add to your background should probably avoid the bottom third (where the name may appear) or the middle section (where you will appear). You may find it helpful to put contact information such as a phone number, email address, or social media identifier to encourage other users to connect with you outside of meeting times.

Knowing that these words may not be very legible if other participants are looking at a small stream of you, consider keeping the text to a few words at best. You don’t want the text to compete with you in the video stream, but you do want it to be readable.

Step 3: Enjoy

You are now ready to enjoy attending Zoom meetings with your fantastic virtual background. You may even find that other folks will ask you for a copy of your background or to create one for them. You don’t have to tell them how easy it was. That will be our secret.

twitter-bird-looking-at-laptop

So, what will you create? Will you use Photoshop, PowerPoint, Google Slides, or another tool to edit your image? The main thing to remember is to be creative without being distracting. We’d love to see what you create! Share your background via Twitter and use the hashtags #tcea and #zoombg.

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Zoom games
Content AreasEducational TrendsGood Teaching

Distancing without Disconnecting: Zoom Games

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Whether you are a teacher working with students or are just trying to work from home during this strange time, it’s important to social distance without disconnecting. Social and emotional support is a valuable resource to provide. Here are a few games you can play using Zoom to connect with students, friends, and peers. Though these are not necessarily content- or work-focused, you can easily tweak them to make them fit those needs.

Believe It or Not!

There are lots of sites that provide trivia knowledge and quizzes based on specific areas of interest. For this game, the host should identify the area of interest and then gather trivia knowledge from the internet. Change some statements slightly before sharing with your players. Players can then do thumbs up/down to indicate whether they believe the statement or not. Once everyone has voted, tell whether the statement is true or not. If it isn’t true, tell the true trivia information. For example, “Marco Polo discovered pasta. Believe it or not?” That’s actually false as found in the will of Ponzio Baestone, a Genoan soldier who requested “bariscella peina de macarone” – a small basket of macaroni. His will is dated 1279, 16 years before Marco Polo returned from China. (REFERENCE) If the trivia information is written as a question, but not a yes/no question, consider rewording to to make it easier for players. For example, “How many stars are in the American flag?” could be reworded to “There are 51 stars in the American flag. Believe it or not?” That’s false; there are actually 50. Here are some locations to check out for interesting trivia knowledge:

Scavenger Hunt

If you have had the opportunity to watch daytime TV programming, you may have come across a show called Let’s Make a Deal. I don’t think they do it anymore, but “back in the day” at the end of the show the host, Monty Hall, would ask if someone has a _____ (and then call out a random object). Audience members would quickly rummage through their purses and bags hoping to be the first to pull out the object for him. If you were the first, you would win some money. This is a similar game except you aren’t limited to what you have in your purse or on the table. For this game, the host calls out an item. It can be generic (like a can of food) or it can be specific (such as a can of beans). Players have a designated amount of time to run locate the item at their house and bring it to show on video. Players that arrive back with the item before the time limit receive a point.

Pictionary 

Like the real game, the virtual game has one player that is drawing while his/her teammates are trying to guess what it is. Once players are put into teams, consider having them rename themselves with their team name and their first name. This will keep it easier to keep track of who is on which team. Here’s how players can rename themselves (scroll to the section CHANGING THE NAME INSIDE A ZOOM ROOM). As the host, private chat the person who is to draw first – this way no other players can see the word. Before the first drawer begins, have his team identify themselves to make sure they all know who is on which team. The team has 30 seconds to correctly guess what is being drawn using the white board feature. If successful, the team gets a point. Play moves to the other team. Here are lists of words to help you get started:

Going on a Picnic

This is a fun game to play with students. It is something like a twist on 20 questions. The player that is “going on a picnic” answers yes/no questions of everyone else. Players are trying to guess what rule was used to pack the basket. For example, the rule could be things that are red in which case someone could ask, “Did you pack strawberries?” in which you would answer yes. If someone asked if you packed bicycles, you would answer “It depends” since some bicycles are red. After players have had a chance to offer ideas of what was packed, you can either allow them to guess or send them to breakout rooms to discuss what they think the rule might be. Once everyone is back together (from their breakout rooms…if you are using those) call on someone to guess the rule or allow them to ask about more items that might be in the basket.

Charades

In this game, the group is divided into at least two teams. One member of a team goes first. His teammates try to guess what is being acted out before the time limit. As the host, send a private chat to him and give him a choice of two different things to act out. He chats you back which one he chooses and begins acting when you say begin. As the host, you are to listen for the team guessing to see if they correctly identify what is being acted out. If correct, that team gets a point and play goes to the other/next team. Here are some ideas if you need some help getting started:

Two Truths and a Lie

This is a great game to play to get to know everyone better. Each player makes up two truths and a lie about themselves. They may find it easiest to write these down so they’ll remember them when it becomes their turn. When it is a player’s turn, that player shares two truths and the lie (in whatever order they choose). Everyone else is to guess which of the three statements is a lie. Others can hold up 1, 2, or 3 on their fingers, say the number out loud, or type the number in the chat box. Once everyone has voted, the person identifies the lie…and usually clarifies why it is a lie. This game is a lot of fun and requires no real preparation beforehand or props for players.

Dictionary

This game has gone by several names throughout the years. In this game, one player is a dictionary and tells the group a word and then gives everyone else a minute to come up with what could be the definition. Each person is given a chance to share what the definition might be before the dictionary player reveals the real definition. This is a fun way to build vocabulary and introduce students to new words.

If playing with high school students or adults, then consider this twist. The dictionary player privately chats the definition to another player; that player will share the real definition (or a more believable way of saying it) as their guess. After everyone has had a chance to share their guess, they vote on which definition they believe is correct. Those voting for the correct definition get a point. Another player becomes the dictionary and play continues. You may need to establish the rule at the beginning that no one but the dictionary player can search the Internet. If you are not a logophile (a lover of words), then consider using these sites to help you:

Scattegories

Who doesn’t love a good game of Scattegories! Playing online through Zoom can be just as fun. The host needs to share her screen and go to https://swellgarfo.com/scattergories/. Once everyone has a piece of paper and a pen/pencil, the host needs to click the Restart icon; a random letter will appear along with twelve categories. When the host clicks the Play icon, the categories are revealed and countdown begins. When the time is up, have each person share what they have for each category. Players get a point for each answer that is not duplicated by anyone else, but is acceptable by everyone.

Share Your Zoom Games

These are just a few of the fun ways people are distancing without disconnecting. What other games have you played with your friends while on Zoom? We’d love to hear about them. Share your ideas with us in the comments below.

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virtual background
Educational TrendsWeb 2.0 Tool

How to Change Your Zoom Background

by Jennifer Bergland
written by Jennifer Bergland

Chances are you have participated in quite a few video conferences over the past weeks. If so, it might be time to change up your environment using a virtual background.

What Is a Virtual Background?

You have probably seen people in your meetings that look like they are at the beach or in a fancy office. More than likely though, they are in their messy living room using a virtual background. A virtual background is an image that you insert behind you when you are participating in a virtual meeting. It can be a still image or a video.

Why would anyone want to do this? The best reason I have heard from an educational perspective is that students may not want their peers to see their home. Allowing them to use a virtual background prevents others from seeing their living space, including any of their family members. Their home is their private space and they may want to keep it private. Plus, using a virtual background can be fun, too, a way to creatively express your current mood or thoughts.

Enabling the Virtual Background

So, how do you set it up and what are some tips on how to maximize your effort? First, you need to enable this feature in your settings found in your Zoom web account. 

Then you will need to go into your video settings in the Zoom App and turn on your Virtual Background and select one. 

Your Zoom App comes with some basic backgrounds, but you can also upload some of your own. I found some really good background images at Unsplash, a free photo sharing service. And Pixar has made some of their movie backgrounds free right now, including Toy Story, Incredibles, Up, and more. Upload a few and test them out.

You will want to be careful that you find a background that will not be distracting. You want the focus to be on you, not your background. Some virtual backgrounds remind me of all the transitions people inserted in their PowerPoint presentations when they first learned how to make their slides swoop in from the left or spin in from the right. Sometimes I felt dizzy just watching someone’s presentation! If you aren’t careful, your virtual background can have that same affect on others.

Consider a Green Screen

While you are in the Zoom app, you’ll notice that you can use a green screen when using a virtual background. I highly encourage you to choose this option if you can. It is a much better viewing experience, especially if you are going to wear headphones. You can use an emerald green or royal blue plastic tablecloth hung up behind you as a cheap option for a green screen.

Your students don’t have to have a green screen, but you might if you start doing a lot of Zoom meetings. You might want to hide that messy house! 

Zoom Specifications for Virtual Backgrounds

Zoom provides some additional recommendations on their support page. 

  • They suggest using a higher quality camera. They include their recommendations on this page. 
  • They also suggest uniform lighting and color. I do a lot of video conferencing, so I invested in a light kit. But it’s not required.
  • You also want to make sure you are not wearing any clothing that is the same color as your virtual background if you are using a green screen. Otherwise, you will disappear into the background.
  • The background image should have an aspect ratio of 16:9 and minimum resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. They suggested you could find some royalty-free images at:Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay. Don’t let the numbers scare you. I went to Unsplash and looked for photos that were primarily horizontal. They all worked perfectly. 
  • The video files need to be a MP4 or a MOV file with a minimum resolution of 480 x 360 pixels (360p) and a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p). Zoom includes a couple of nice videos for you to use. 

It is really easy to use virtual backgrounds in Zoom. I encourage you to explore them and then carefully consider when to use each background. Change them out depending on your mood or the topic of the meeting. Have fun with them!

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