Friday, November 30, 2018

Google Slides Closed Captioning




Ideas:

  • Utilize to help students who have a hard time understanding what a teacher is saying as he/she is giving directions
  • Use for Flipped Classroom video applications
  • Provide a scaffold for English Language Learners
  • Student Applications:
    • TELPAS
    • Clarify misconceptions 
    • Help teacher during student presentations when students are hard to hear at times
  • Possibilities are numerous!

Quick Video with some HOW TO Help and an Idea on Winter Poetry From ControlAltAchieve.com





Click here for a CC Google Slides How To.

Monday, April 23, 2018

KISD Highlights: What Are You Learning?





  • Have you recently studied something new? 
  • Have you looked at at the new accountability system in Texas? 
  • What about switched from an android to an iPhone?
  • Ever tried to make the switch from a PC to Mac?
  • Have you tried learning a new language? 
  • What about earning a new degree? 
  • Have you tried learning a new computer program, software, or even how to do a new type of process using the same system?
  • IF you haven't can you imagine how hard it would be to learn something new?


YOU WOULD STRUGGLE!

And that is a GOOD thing...to an extent.

Struggling with the correct supports in place actually fosters positive growth. When we are too quick to "jump in to rescue our learners" we solve the problems for them without allowing the uncomfortable silence that often allows for self-discovery. 

I challenge you to do what we so often forget to do (although many of you did just that this week!) pause for the uncomfortable silence and challenge your students to rise to the challenge with your support!





Need a Collaborative way to engage your class without using Padlet? Need a way to have a digital exit ticket? Need a way to provide instant feedback in Google Classroom? Click on the link below and use the Collaborative Post It Board link to help you out!  All you need to do is change the prompt to reflect your classroom needs!  Check out the video in the Evidence of Learning Section  to see the Collaborative Post It Board being used in action in Google Classroom.



Collaborative Post It Board Link






KISD Video Series:

This week's video is brought to you by our very own KHS Media II & IV Classes. They are showcasing a quick glimpse of Google Classroom in Action. Be sure to check back next week for a follow-up video to see additional uses of Google Classroom in Action around KISD.




Video Stats:
Starring: Connor Martin, Jace Jeffus, Colin Nichols - Media 3&4

Teacher: Tracy Herron

Filmed and edited by Shawn May - Media 2


Monday, April 16, 2018

Try Something New




With testing season almost in full swing and certainly already started, it is often hard to "try something new."  In the spirit of helping one another out...I am including some ideas to try something NEW using Google Draw. Don't worry, this isn't a new extension, a new something to find, or even download. You already have Google Draw in your G-Suite ready to use. Want to learn a little more? Check out the How-To video on Google Draw Digital Poster Templates:



Google Drawings
Basically, a blank slate for any type of creative platform both interactive or static between you and your students. From a graphic organizer, word art (like you see above) to interactive student work like you see in the images below. The interactive pieces below could be customized more simplistically or even more advanced...or could be created BY OUR STUDENTS!


Go ahead...It's okay...Click the titles of each image to activate the live links to the interactives...try them out...you know you want to!



Elementary Collaborative Poetry 






Angles of a Triangle Interactive



The overarching goal with all of the created and linked Google Drawings was student-centered and collaborative interaction. Students would be able to create with teams or partners using limited devices or in a computer lab setting and share back with their teacher once complete. These could easily be assigned through Google Classroom, as well. 



Adding Integers Interactive









Special Thanks to Marsha Edney with Henderson ISD for this great interactive on plant cells.



Cell Snapchat

Special Thanks to Marsha Edney with Henderson ISD for this great interactive cells.


Primary Collaborative Poetry




April is Poetry Month--Try A New Take on Refrigerator Poetry with Interactive Magnetic Poetry!


Butterfly Life Cycle Diagram Link


Secondary Collaborative Poetry 






Google Drawing Can Make Announcements Too:
KISD Elementary and Primary Teachers--Please feel free to Register for this event through Eduphoria if your principal approves!





KISD Evidence of Learning Featuring: 
Chandler Elementary
Mrs. Rebeca McCormick: Coding Stations






Do You Use Google Classroom? 
We want to hear from YOU! 
Send a quick email to rhooten@kisd.org with your experiences with Google Classroom. 
Willing to be filmed? 
Have some great insights? 
Some content to share? 
Drop me a line...I would love to hear from you!


Remember if you would like help trying something new or would like to have some one-on-one training, feel free to use my BOOK RACHEL HOOTEN link


Need to request a training or help?  Click below to book me!

Monday, April 9, 2018

KISD Highlights: Ways to Review Concepts

To Worksheet or Not To Worksheet, That Is the Question...

One of the many perks of being an Instructional Technology Coordinator is my ability to see numerous classrooms in action around our district daily. Concept and skill reviews have defintely come a LONG way from mere worksheets!  Check out some amazing ideas for concept reviews:

  • No Devices, No Problem: Try Plickers: Paper cards printed by the teacher that students use to respond to multiple choice or T/F questions. The teacher then uses a cell phone or ipad to "scan or pan" the room to "collect" responses from students. See this week's KISD Video Series: EVIDENCE OF LEARNING to see Plickers In Action in Ms. Pittman's 6th Grade classroom.
Video Series: EVIDENCE OF LEARNING
KMS: Ms. Pittman

Click on the link below the see the video!

  • Speed Dating:
 Math review games can breath life into your classroom and teaching. Most students enjoy getting out of their seats and going their work in another part of the class, whether that be with a group or individually.
https://www.maneuveringthemiddle.com/math-review-games/ Speed Dating is a review game in which students are paired and face each other.  I often would turn my room into 3 rows of pairs (6 total), going the length of the room.  Students become experts at a specific problem and then switch partners and get a new problem to solve.  Since each partner is an expert at their own problem, students should be able to help each other if needed.  I used whiteboards to show work and had a recording sheet for students to turn in and keep track. Students would have time to become experts and I would check their work.  Then, we would set the timer. Student would switch problems with their partner, work the new problem, check, and get their original question back. Time goes off, one row of students switch.

  • Collaborative Review: Collaborative Review has always been really engaging for students. To use a “peer review and teach” approach to reviewing, put students in groups (3 to a group)and assign them a topic or skill. Give them a set amount of time to create a poster that reviews the skill. They can even come up with a few questions that assess the skill. When the groups have finished their posters,have them present the skills to the class for some great review and reteaching. They use their posters to teach the skill to the class, and then they ask questions about the skill to have the class review the skill with them. After the students present their posters to the class, hang these up in the hall for an excellent student work display.
poster

  • Gallery Walk: This idea has been shared online, in numerous trainings and workshops, by Region VII, used on several campuses, and successfully implemented by many of our KISD teachers. In order to adapt as a concept review strategy, think of using this as a single problem or even test question, if you will, type of "poster". The teacher prepares for the activity by creating a group of test question or problem posters. You will need enough questions or problems for each group to have a different one to start with during the rotation. Students work in groups, using different colored markers to respond to particular parts of the question or answer choices using their group's designated color. Next the groups rotate and then respond again to the a different part of the question or you may even choose to have students, at this point answer the question or solve the problem using their marker color and so on and so on through out each group rotation.

Cool Idea: Digital Resources:

The Noun Project

Need a royalty free icon?
Want your students to quickly find a free icon they can use without any worries?



Tuesday, April 3, 2018









KISD Highlights

Spotlighting our Outstanding Students, Teachers, and Staff




Cool Idea: Google Keep
Google Keep Quick Reference
Capture ideas with your voice, add images to notes, check tasks off your to-do list, and much more.


With Google Keep, you can create, share, and collaborate with people on notes and lists. Keep synchronizes across all your devices, so your notes and lists go with you, wherever you are.

Click on the website link KISD Instructional Technology---G-Suite Page--Google Keep for detailed information and printable handouts.



Trending: New Video Series: EVIDENCE OF LEARNING
https://drive.google.com/open?id=164gz1Wr1MyYMolu3oGoTYKf2LGmrhVQs

Crime Scene Investigations in 3rd grade Classrooms!

Please note, ONLY KISD email accounts have access to view our videos.

We hope you feel empowered as you see each other teaching our KISD students. We do some truly tremendous instructional focused lessons every day with our students across KISD. The video series is a way to begin to capture a small sampling of the high-quality, sometimes out of the box, instruction occurring daily in KISD.


Thoughts to Ponder:
How To Survive After An Extended Break


Welcome back from a short holiday break!

After any holiday break, it can be beneficial to reinforce classroom procedures with your students.

How to Use

1. Write out expectations:
For each procedure, students must know what to do and how to do it correctly. The teacher must explicitly describe each step of the procedure. Some teachers choose an acronym to remind students of the most important elements of the procedure. For example, a teacher could use the acronym “BAC” to help when writing procedure expectations. The “B” is for bodies- how should the students be moving? Can they get up from their seat? The “A” is for assistance- how should the students ask for the teacher’s help? The “C” is for conversation- are the students allowed to talk? If so, to whom?


2. Prepare visuals:
It is very helpful to create a visual to aid in the explanation of a procedure. One example of a visual is a “Looks Like, Sounds Like” chart. A poster listing the “BAC” expectations may also be created for each procedure or activity.


3. Teach procedures
Using the prepared visual, take time to specifically teach each procedure or activity. Explain what the students should do, how they should move, who they should be talking to, and any other details they are expected to know.


4. Practice procedures:
In addition to the teacher’s explanation, students need a chance to actually practice the procedure. For example, after teaching students how to properly enter the classroom, have them line up outside the door and act as if they are just arriving. Students should be able to demonstrate the correct procedure. They also enjoy having fun with this process by showing the “example” and, once mastered, being able to perform the “non-example."


5. Monitor and assess:
Within the first few days after teaching the procedure, be sure to monitor the students and assess how well they are meeting the procedural expectations. Implement a class-wide motivation system like Fill-in-the-Blank, 100 Squares, or Marble Jar to reinforce your procedure. See examples below


Use a reward system like a marble jar to have students fill up a jar with marbles by completing procedures correctly. Remember procedures get practiced...rules require consequences.






Like a marble in the jar, a number is marked off to show completing procedures correctly. However, this allows for rows to be used as a bingo-style board as well to give the teacher freedom to reward sooner if they so choose.









A different reward system many teachers use on a weekly or bi-weekly basis since it allows for a quick reward timeframe. These have successfully been done with a learned phrase relating to content as well that once completed shared a learned content message.






6. Re-teach
After assessing the students’ performance of the procedure, it may be necessary to re-teach the procedure or provide reminders as to how it should be executed properly.


When to Use
Common procedures that teachers need to plan and teach to students include one for entering the classroom, leaving the classroom, working independently, working in groups, going to the restroom, and sharpening pencils. Procedures need to be taught at the beginning of the year, but students will need reminders throughout the year. It is especially important to re-teach procedural expectations when students return from an extended break from school, such as Winter Break or other extended holiday break periods longer than a typical weekend.


For more information, variations, and additional resources, please click the link below for Teaching Procedures http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/teaching-procedures


Thursday, March 29, 2018

I believe...

Motto:  
Where Every Student Counts
Vision:
Igniting lifelong learning in all students
Mission:
Preparing today's students for tomorrow's opportunities
Beliefs:

  • Quality Instruction is critical for student success.
  • Academic excellence is our cornerstone.
  • Education is more than just classrooms or test scores.


Our Why:
Student Centered Decisions to Promote ALL Students learning..

  • Responsible citizenship is character in action.

Google Slides Closed Captioning

Ideas: Utilize to help students who have a hard time understanding what a teacher is saying as he/she is giving direct...