Choice of Fish 🐠 🐟 🐡 🍥 🎣

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Hello everyone!

Thank you for making the choice to read my blog this week.  I’d really like to tap into the topic of student choice.  There are so many great ways, digitally, that we can offer students choices.  In the recent article, What Giving Students Choice Looks Like in the Classroom, the author goes on to highlight the small things we can do as educators to give students choice within their day.  As brain-based research shows, giving students choice and ownership over learning increases engagement, thus increasing student success. Believe it or not, student engagement leads to teacher happiness 😉 When students are engaged in learning you will feel so jazzed up that YOU created and/or facilitated that experience and the growth that students have. However, with the standards in place dictating what we have to teach, how can we give choice? Well, it can be done in such small tasks as allowing students to choose whom to work with or if to work alone. It can be the choice of where to work or sit, or it can be in greater tasks such as how they will learn the material and interact with the curriculum as well as how they will express their knowledge.  Let’s take a look below at some options for student choice in the classroom!

Choice Boards 

Why What How   

When I think of Choice Boards, my mind immediately goes to HyperDocs. They are alike but quite different as you can read in this great article! HyperDocs are similar to Choice Boards, however, Choice Boards may not include “hyperlinks.” In fact, Choice Boards can be COMPLETELY non-digital (gasp!!)! However, we can use digital tools to easily make choice boards. We can give students multiple ways to engage with content, work with content and express what they know with content! Google Docs, Slides, Draw and even Sheets lend themselves to creating Choice Boards which can then be easily pushed our via Classroom or simply displayed on the board. You could even print choice boards for students so they can check off choices they make. Take a look at the template below that I obtained from fellow Google Certified Trainer Tracy Mulligan.  You can have your own copy to manipulate and customize as well, click here! As always reach out for help, anytime!

 

Choice after the Mini-Lesson 

In Grade 1, DeAnna Munroe has been working on Choice Boards for her literacy lessons. Entire Slide-Decks dedicated to offering choice with the “what” or representation of the lesson are being created.  While the teacher facilitates and moves around the room, students are choosing how they want to practice the skill. DeAnna is seeing incredible growth and output when students are choosing what to work on and can also use their own self-interests to connect to learning!

DeAnna says:

We were working on the sound of al yesterday (heard in walk, talk, etc.) and after one student completed her first choice she visited the creation station and wrote a story with a bunch of al words in it on a large poster.  She attached little flaps to the story with hidden al words and the goal was for her to find the words hidden in the story.  The other day we were also working on plot and first, next and last.  In the creation station, a student wrote her own story about a Ninja Bunny and attached a plot organizer to a poster and filled in the events in the story.  We were working on the sounds of sh and th and a student made his own color by word project. My students are feeling very empowered with their learning!
                       

Choice within a Station-rotation Model 

Check out Sarah Beberman’s Math Choice board when students are in the Chromebook station. While Ms. Beberman has a small group, another group is choosing what to explore on their Chromebooks related to math content.  She creates this in a Google Doc and pushes it out via Google Classroom.

Choice Board for the Entirety of the Lesson 

Sherri Craven recently made her own choice board and it was incredible. The students came into class very energetic.  Sheri introduced her choice board and it was amazing how well it went.  The students were consistently on task, students were helping each other, and not once did they need to redirected back to Math. Sheri has always been an amazing teacher but with this choice board it could reach new heights.

Sherri says:

It was so awesome. All of the students were engaged! It was my first try but I was happy with what the kids were doing. I was able to check in with many more kids that I usually do!

Choice in Expression of Content (assessment) 

This is an amazing Reading Response Choice Board created by Plymouth Tech Integration Specialist, Joli Boucher.  You can view the Google Doc here and “File>make a copy” for your own needs! This board gives students choice in the way they will be assessed on the skill. Notice, they need to choose three!

My Own 

I firmly believe in giving students choices and since I am such a strong believer I created my own choice board for my children.  Digital Literacy is important to me, as both a parent and tech integration facilitator and I do not feel as though my boys are getting these skills at their own school. Therefore, Santa will be giving them Chromebooks and I will be bookmarking the choice board below (still a work in progress) to my sons’ bookmark bars.

 

Tip of the week (unrelated to the theme):

Instead of “do you have any questions?” state… “What questions do you have?”

In closing, I hope you feel as though you have many choices in your own learning. Explore text, video, blogs, Twitter, colleagues, friends – we have so many options even for our own learning.
Image result for student choice

Take care this week and stay tuned….Winter Holiday Tech is coming soon….. 🎄 🕎

oFISHally Yours,

Erin Fisher  🐟 🐟 🐟

HOOKED: App Smashing ↩️ 🎣 🐟

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Students differ markedly in the ways in which they can be engaged or motivated to learn.

If students are actively engaged, they are more likely to be actively learning and succeeding with content as opposed to passive learning. Every learner is different, therefore trying to engage in many different ways will most likely reach more learners.  Perhaps the coolest lessons I see are when teachers are App Smashing! What is App Smashing? Well, it’s when you are on your favorite app and you combine it with another! There are so many cool apps you can combine, I do it every day! Anytime you see a video from me, I’m usually combining Screencastify with something. Screencastify is my favorite app to smash with since it is such a versatile tool! App Smashing can be very engaging when done correctly! Students this week really enjoyed smashing some apps!

Google Slides + Screencastify 

A REALLY neat activity I worked on in 6th grade this week was a stop-motion animation project.  Students took Google Slides and showed how food traveled through the digestive tract. They would take the slide and move the food ever so little and then duplicate the slide. Once the 50+ slide deck was complete, students put the deck into present mode, started up Screencastify and narrated over the process explaining every organ the food traveled through.  The students were all highly engaged and quite enjoyed the stop motion! When the phases of the moon topic come in, teachers may try this again showing how the moon cycles around the sun and show the different lit phases. Take a look at my video below to see how you may pair Screencastify with Slides!

Google Slides + Pear Deck + Your Favorite Site 

If you’re a reader of my blog, you know I love Pear Deck.  Well, here’s one more reason to love it…embed websites!  How many times do you have students have multiple tabs open?  Why not just embed the site, or even a Doc or Draw item, directly into Slides.  Simply get the link and choose the Embed Website option in Pear Deck.  See the links below for more information on this awesome SMASH!

https://www.peardeck.com/pear-deck-blog/appsmash

https://help.peardeck.com/article/47-create-a-web-slide

https://help.peardeck.com/article/48-what-sites-can-i-embed-in-a-web-slide

PearDeck + FlipGrid

SnapChat + Padlet 

A pal of mine loves to use Snapchat with her older High School students smashed with Padlet! Students take “snaps” of independent books they’re reading. They highlight something in the book that strikes them. They post the “snap” on a Padlet wall that is for the class to see. Most students include some bitmojis with their snaps and circle particular text within the book page.  This Padlet wall of booksnaps encourages other students to also read the book, thus engaging students and increasing independent reading!

FlipGrid + Screencastify 

Check out this great post on the FlipGrid blog of Smashing Flipgrid with Screencastify! It’s pretty awesome!

http://blog.flipgrid.com/screencastify

Tip of the Week: Closed Captions in Google Slides! 

Google Slides continue to get even MORE awesome! You can click the closed caption button on Slides, and your Slides with record your voice and add the captions! Smash this with ScreenCastify and talk about AWESOME!

 

What Apps are you Smashing?? I’d love to hear about it, or see it first hand! Reach out!

Have a SMASHINGLY good week, and Thanksgiving! You’ll hear from me AFTER the holiday!

oFISHally yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

 

Excite-a-Fish! 😲 🐟

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“Oh my goodness, I’m so excited about all of this tech my heart is racing.”

These were the words a fellow educator spoke to me this week, and I knew she was bitten by the bug 🐛…or maybe I should say fish 🐟 😉! When I get texts late at night, phone calls early in the morning, a stop in the hallway, or a booking on my calendar – hearing the excitement in a colleague’s voice about some recent tech that was used to enhance a lesson….well, it makes my heart race with the same excitement!

Why are we excited?! 🙌🏻 🙌🏻 🙌🏻

It’s not because of the awesomely cool tech, but rather it’s about the effect it’s going to have on student learning, student outcomes, and the engagement it will (hopefully) lead too. Trying new things and presenting material in a new way is scary, but the investment is worth the return. We do not all learn the same…some of us love a powerpoint and a two-hour lecture, where some of us are bored to tears and simply stop listening. Some love tech and others do not. However, if we invest now in offering a variety of ways to both present and assess material, our returns will grow exponentially as we will continue to reach more students. I really love what Katie Novak said recently:

Think about this next time you are creating a lesson plan for your classroom: How can you incorporate more choice and flexibility into how you motivate students, present information to them, and let them express what they have learned, in alignment with standards? In the end, you may just find that your students are engaged, purposeful, and self-directed. – Katie Novak

So – let’s feature some of the those who get my heart racing and really EXCITE this Fish! Teachers who, like Katie Novak states, strive to motivate students and give them choice. They give me the greatest returns on my investment of time in researching, learning, and creating activities that will work for them with the engagement and success of their students.

QR Codes and Forms 

This week, Stacy Linnehan knew her students needed to take a math assessment, but needed a different way to do it.  She decided to use Google Forms, with answer feedback and set up QR Codes around the school.  The students will travel around the building and scan the QR Codes. The code will bring them to a Google Form that they will complete. Upon completion, they will receive a video that is set in the answer feedback of the form. This video will direct them to the next QR code.  The assessment in Google Forms isn’t a new idea, but the QR Code and video scavenger hunt to get them to the form is a pretty AWESOME way to present the material and will engage the students as they travel around to answer the questions.

 

HyperDocs and School Yourself 

If you haven’t met Meg McGovern, you don’t know what you’re missing. This girl is a whole lot of energy and excitement. She is someone who makes me better at what I do, simply by asking me the questions of how can I make this more engaging in regards to a particular lesson. Meg is very engaging to talk to, so when we started looking at HyperDocs together – well, it was pretty awesome. After meeting a couple times, Meg was off and running and making HyperDocs of her own! You can see an amazing (work in progress) example below. Through Meg’s HyperDoc I learned about this cool site called School Yourself! Check it out, it’s a great math site!

Take a look at Meg’s awesome HyperDoc here!

Unite for Literacy 

To be in a first-grade room is just magical. Seeing those early learning skills, growth, and the wonder of a “firsty,” there’s just nothing like it!  Jen Mahoney, first-grade teacher, is a pleasure to work with. She reached out to learn new tools so she can have different ways to have students show what they know. We recently collaborated to get Google Classroom, Flipgrid, and a plethora of other sites up and running in her classroom. While collaborating, she showed me this great site that I was unaware of Unite for Literacy.  This is a great, free, site for early readers.  Take a look below!

Class Kick  

Kim Wolojian is a breath of fresh air. She’s always smiling and welcoming to everyone who enters her room. Recently, she invited me in to show me ClassKick. This site is similar to both GoFormative and Pear Deck, but much more user-friendly! See what students are doing in real time and display student answers on the board. This would be great for an exit ticket or quick check-in! Bonus- the kids REALLY like it, so it’s ANOTHER engaging option for students to display their knowledge!  It even has an assignment bank, so no need to create! 

Edulastic 

Recently, there was a GREAT post from Shake Up Learning about formative tools.  Personally, Pear Deck is my go-to tool for real-time, interactive, engaging, formative assessment. However, students need variety and choice to maintain engagement. Just think – do you like doing things the same way, every day, all the time? Maybe…but some of us may not. Variety for some students is what keeps them engaged.  This post has so many great options for Formative Assessment.  Recently, a math teacher pal of mine from Fairhaven reached out.  She was asking about great online assessment options for Math that mimic MCAS. She chose this site and really likes it! Edulastic seems to be a great choice that was highlighted in Kasey Bell’s post as well! Use it for a quick question, collaborative item, or a formal assessment! It has some AWESOME features!

 

Tech Tip of the Week – HUGE! 

This week’s tip is a new update within the accessibility settings on a Chromebook.  Take a look at the video below. Chrome now has dictation available and students can dictate into any text field, on any website, by using this tool. This is great for students who need text-to-speech, but also for students that may not know how to spell a certain term when searching or working independently.

The Common Thread 

The common thread among all of those I highlighted is that these educators share. Together we are better, and these teachers also believe that! Thank you for sharing with me, teaching me new and amazing things, and being cheerleaders for engagement and student success! Your energy is contagious! All of  you make me better at what I do, every day, thank you for sharing with me 😊

Feel free to email, comment, or tweet and share your ideas with me! Sharing is caring and Together we are better!

oFISHally Yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

 

Fish Bits 🐟 🍣

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I always like doing a post every so often on the little things! Some of them are reminders of things we knew but no longer use, thins we sometimes forget and others that are brand new! This week, a few small tips and tricks that make tech a little easier! Sometimes, it’s these small tasks that make us more productive, and even happier!

Google.New!   

Shout out to Brian Duffey who sent this to me! It was also featured on Alice Keeler’s blog…it’s PRETTY cool! It will save you some time. This works for all Google Applications, simply type the name of the application with a .new after and BOOM – a new item opens. See the example video below:

Customize the Text 

Do you print articles or worksheets?  The extension Print Friendly certainly isn’t new to the scene, but how often we forget these little tools and their power! Check out my video below of how one can customize an item online to suit student needs!

ONE Google Form 

This one is HUGE and comes from Jen Judkins.  How many times have you duplicated your Google Form so you could give it to a different class? Well, no more!  Actually, this was always an option…I just didn’t think of it! Jen is so smart! Check out her video below, and her blog post here.  You can give your SINGLE Google Form to multiple groups, year after year, and still see all of the data! BRILLIANT!

Text the Parents! 

Ok, ok…don’t really text them (unless you are friends of course), but this week my life was made so much easier because of my sons’ teachers use of parent communication applications. I cannot tell you how much easier this makes my life, and as a result, how much more involved I am with my sons’ educations. I know it’s one more layer to add to our ever-increasing job as teachers, but if the result is parent involvement and student achievement, then isn’t it worth it? I love this Sheet created by Jessica Meacham. She has included so much detail and does a nice overview of all of the different parent communication apps. I add this to my own Drive and check it every so often (Click “File – Add to My Drive”).  Whether it’s Dojo, Remind, SeeSaw or one of the many others – this type of communication tool goes a long way!   If you would like assistance using any of these awesome tools, reach out! I know as a parent myself, I really appreciate the time and effort my sons’ teachers put into using these tools!

Always share the little things! It’s these little things that can help us all so very much!

Hope you enjoyed those little Fish Bits!

oFISHally Yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

Engage-a-fish

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This week, more than any of the week of the year is when I learn the most in EdTech and have the most self-reflection.  As we all know, I LOVE technology. More importantly, however, I love when technology is used in purposeful ways. I think Michael Fullan said it best: Pedagogy is the driver; Technology is the accelerator. One of the greatest benefits of technology is it can be very engaging for many when used the right way. On the flip side, it can be the greatest bore for our kids when it is used as just a file system to complete digital worksheets.  So, how is technology accelerating your teaching? How are you using it to ENGAGE and MOTIVATE? If you’re thinking, well I just have kids complete worksheets and write Docs, let’s try something NEW!  Take a look at a few of the AWESOME presentations from MASSCUE below and maybe you can pick up a new engaging tool!

KUDOS TO OUR OWN PRESENTING!

HUGE SHOUT OUT to Ginny McCarthy, Tori Cameron, and Stacy Linnehan for all presenting at MassCue! Ginny presented on Hyperdocs and engaging today’s learner, Tori presented on Podcasting since she has her own Podcast, and Stacy presented on Assistive Tech and how it’s used in her classroom. You ROCKED it!! I’m so honored to be your colleague!

If you haven’t presented at this state-wide conference, but may want to, reach out to these amazing teachers! They can let you know about their experience.

Presentations that Engage

I won’t share all of the great presentations, but I’ll give you a few that our staff attended and RAVED about! There are many engaging tips, tricks, and tools in these presentations. Sometimes trying just one new thing makes a big difference with engagement. What will you try? Let me know!

 MassCue18 Pics

Part of the fun of the MassCue conference are the pictures we take around the stadium! One lucky teacher (not from EB) even got to meet Tom Brady as he was leaving the stadium. Lucky!!! Take a look at some of our fun below!

Tips of the week:

OMG SHEETS! 

This one comes from my very good friend, and super awesome techie, Neal Sonenberg Technology Integration Specialist in Medfield! Do you use Sheets? Well, Neal is the GURU with Sheets and taught me SO MUCH at his session at MassCue this week.  Here’s a very small snippet of what he showed that was an GREAT trick! Simply double click that little blue dot in the corner and it will send the copy and paste data all the way down!

OMG – ScreenCastify Add-On for Slides 

Didn’t even get the chance to try this yet, it’s THAT new! The add-on Screencastify for Slides JUST came out. I LOVE Screencastify and use it for all of my videos! Check it out and let me know how it goes!

 

I hope, in some way, I’ve given you something to try out! Engaging our students makes all the difference. Thank you to all of you, who continue to inspire me!

oFISHally Yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

SpookToberFish 🤡 🐟 🎃 💀

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 🔮 ☠️👻 SpookToberFish 👻 ☠️ 🔮

Are we feeling a little spookiefish this time of year? I know I am!! My weekends are filled with Pumpkins, harvest festivals, and haunted gatherings! What a fun time for a student, especially our younger ones! Remember how exciting Halloween was as a child?! It’s even more fun now as adults! We can bring this month’s themes into the classroom as well, and I’m sure it will make your students smile! After all, who doesn’t like a brain break with the Bones dance below?! Enjoy some spooky-themed tech below!

Halloween Magnetic Poetry 

This is a great post by Shake-Up Learning that gives you a FREE template for Magnetic Poetry in Google Drawings.  Check out the link below, this would be a great ELA activity!
https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/halloween-magnetic-poetry-with-google-drawings/

Halloween Emoji Writing 

This is a great post by Eric Curts who has a FREE template for you to use or shows you how to use your own. It talks about Rebus stories which are stories that contain pictures and words. For instance, instead of the word apple, you would put a picture within the sentence of an apple. These are common at the younger levels in storybooks. Check out Eric Curts post below, it’s GREAT!

https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2018/10/halloween-rebus.html    (this post also contains his Jack-O-Lantern activity – where students can create their own digital Jack-O-Lantern and write about it!)

See a video of how to do this below:

FREE Halloween Slides Templates by Slides Carnival 

Slides Carnival is a great site that provides hundreds of beautiful Slides templates and images that are free from copyright and safe to use. They even have themed templates including Halloween!  In fact, Eric Curts used one in his famous Jack-o-Lantern Activity! Simply click this link here to see the three Halloween options for Slides Templates. Create your activity using these templates and the kids will smile!

Two Halloween HyperDocs 

Here are two, similar yet different, Halloween HyperDocs. Be sure to review all links prior to pushing out to students to ensure they are appropriate for your age level.

Example 1

Example 2

NO TECHNOLOGY – Let’s use REAL PUMPKINS 

Believe it or not, I love this idea so much more than the techie activities listed above. What I love about this resource, even more, is that it’s using technology to encourage non-technology activities! Together We Are Better! Take a look here at this awesome crowd-sourced Pumpkin spreadsheet of ideas!

Tip of the Week: MAGIC RAINBOW UNICORNS!!! 

Who doesn’t like a little rainbow in their life 🌈?! If you’re familiar with the add-on for Docs, this is the add-on for SLIDES! WOohoo!!! No more copying and pasting!

 

What spooky tech will you be using this month? Something fun I hope, feel free to share! 🎃 🎃 🎃

oFISHally spoookily yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

PearFish – The Game Changer 🐟 🍐

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PearFish – the GAME Changer

Happy Fall Everyone! 🍂

This time of year I find myself at the farm quite a bit. We apple pick 🍎, we pumpkin pick 🎃, we go get mums 🌻, and who doesn’t like some fresh fall produce 🌶️! Fall in New England gives us so many gifts from the Earth! Naturally, it got me thinking about fruit! You know what is a favorite fruit of mine…Pears 🍐! Coincidentally, these are also in season right now in New England for picking! The focus this week is on my favorite fruit 🍐, and my favorite EdTech tool which has undergone some MAJOR upgrades! Take a look at the “Pearfect” tool to use in the classroom, for all ages, below!

 

Pear Deck Vocabulary 

Are you a fan of QUIZLET? I hope so, because it’s a GREAT program! It’s even better when “peared” with Pear Deck Vocabulary, a FREE resource! Pear Deck vocabulary allows students to APPLY the vocabulary words, rather than just learn them in a rote manner (word, definition, memorize). The best part, it takes no extra effort if you’re already using Quizlet AND, even better, students LOVE it.  Take a look at the video below and consider trying this AWESOME tool! I promise you’ll love this new way to review vocabulary!

If you don’t use Quizlet, you can also use Pear Deck Vocabulary by itself. Simply type your words and definitions in, or import from a spreadsheet! The ways to use this tool are endless – check out the article for ideas below!

Great ways to use Pear Deck Vocabulary

Click here to sign-in to Pear Deck Vocabulary

Pear Deck – The Orginal 

What can I say?! No EdTech tool has my heart more than Pear Deck.  I discovered this tool, through an Edtech friend, about five years ago when they were just a baby company, well before their integration with Google Slides.  This tool truly was a game changer in my classroom and my students LOVED it. They asked to use it EVERY DAY! It is so engaging and can do SO MUCH! Last year, I even wrote a blog post for Pear Deck about my love for their product. You can read that here. There is not a tool out there that acts quite like this tool! Self-paced, or whole group – see the engagement!

The Orchard  

Did you know Pear Deck has an orchard with premade decks? Check it out below! Also, if you’re an avid user of Pear Deck consider submitting a deck, because as I always say…Together, We are Better!

https://www.peardeck.com/orchard/

The NEW Pear Deck Extension 

If you’re already a Pear Deck user, you know that animated Gifs and Video can be tricky. Gifs lose their animation when presenting, and videos can present in poor quality and only on the main screen not student devices. Well, this is NO MORE with the new Pear Deck extension.  Click here to download the extension.  Leave it to Pear Deck to make themselves even MORE “pearfect!”

 

I cannot say enough about this tool! Please reach out today and I would LOVE to walk you through creating and presenting a Deck or trying out Vocabulary so you can see the magical pearfection!  If you’re attending the MassCue Fall Conference, check out my session on PearDeck as well for more!

Tip of the week – GRAMMARLY in DOCS! 

So, unrelated to my theme this week, but certainly needs a mention, Grammarly is now in BETA FOR EVERYONE in Google Docs! Check out the article here, and give it a try! Beta means its still being worked out so it may not run perfectly. However, try it and tell them. The only way they will improve is through feedback…because TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER!

oFISHally Yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

PS – Stay tuned for next week’s post where I include some SPOOKTACTULAR Fishy Tech Tools for Halloween! 🎃 🐟

Reading “On(the)line” 📖 🎣

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Happy End of September Everyone!!

We made it! First month (almost) in the books! I always hum Green Day’s “When September Ends” this time of year. Honestly, I find it so much easier once this month has passed.  Having our new routines established, and our groove back, makes me feel so much more comfortable. And this Weather! A little cooler is a bit easier to be in school!

This week I’ve had quite a few teachers reach out about ways to read online.  Hoopla, OverDrive, Libby, Epic and Bookshare are all GREAT options. The best part….they’re FREE!!!  Let’s take a look at what’s on the line, and how to read online, below!

Let’s Read: Free eCard from Boston Public Library!

Hopefully, you have a library card from your local library network! If so, you have so many titles and media available to you FOR FREE from the comfort of your home! However, if you don’t have a library card – or you’re avoiding that overdue charge from your local library 😜 – you can sign up for an Ecard from Boston Public Library and you don’t have to leave your computer! Even if you do have a library card, consider also signing up for a Boston Public Library card as well. The advantage of having multiple library cards is a greater variety of content!   Click here to access BPL and sign up!

Now, let’s take a look at the best ways to access FREE digital media!  Check out how to read online, and what I have for you “on the line” below:

Read in your Browser – OverDrive

You can read directly on your Chromebook or PC! Simply go to the library of your choosing and access the Sails Digital Resources site! This will require a library card. Take a look at the video below to see how to read on your screen!

Hoopla

Hoopla is another AMAZING service offered by some public libraries.  East Bridgewater and Boston Public Libraries both offer the Hoopla service. Although you may have a Sails Library card, it will matter what library is your “home base” to access the Hoopla service.  Hoopla is both a website and app, but the difference between this and the other library apps like OverDrive and Libby is that it also has a TV component as well. Hoopla has a lot of FREE digital media, in addition to great ebooks! Hoopla is available on all of the devices and app stores below:

Libby/OverDrive

Libby (click here) is an app created by OverDrive. Like OverDrive you can access digital books and media free through your local library. However, Libby has a sleeker design and is a bit quicker in terms of downloading ebooks. See the comparison between Libby and OverDrive in this article here. Personally, for my needs, I like Libby since I like to access books quickly. However, for mixed media, it appears OverDrive may be a better fit! Either way, both OverDrive and Libby are a GREAT way to access FREE online ebooks and digital media (audio, video and print).  Both Libby and OverDrive are available on the Lenovo Chromebooks by going to the Google Play Store and are also available in the Apple Store as well as Android.   You will need a library card to access the content within these applications.

OverDrive is the original when it comes to online reading! What’s nice about OverDrive is it will recommend books based on your reading preferences! This site/app also requires a library card and provides you access to so many free items!  No late fees because the items are automatically removed from your device!

Epic

Epic is another GREAT free site that I’ve mentioned before! It’s awesome for grades preK-5 maybe 6. As a teacher, you create a class (syncs with Google Classroom of course) and from there, students can choose books to read or have read to them.  You can also create book sets and send them out to students.  This site is a HUGE favorite among many of our younger grades here in East Bridgewater, and it’s FREE!!! Click here to check out Epic!

Bookshare

Bookshare is another great, free, program that has any book, online! However, this program is limited and for those with a documented print disability.  It’s a great resource to find any book, even textbooks, online! Take a look at Bookshare here. 

Personally, I love to read! I hope some of these tools listed above give you some opportunities to read something new!

oFISHally yours,

Erin Fisher 🐟 🐟 🐟

 

 

Get Caught in the Net! 🌏 🐟 🗑️

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Get Caught in the Net: Google Sites!

Seriously, I’ve been so “caught like a fish” in the Net this week! Keeping up with all of the latest and greatest updates and changes, as well as keeping up with life (and three kids) can be a tad overwhelming 🤯 . September is just an overwhelming month for all of us in Education I think, in a good way. Worry not though because I am here for YOU to help you untangle the line!

Like many other apps, Google Sites had some MAJOR updates over the summer.  You may think, “My site is done and looks good, I don’t need this.” HOWEVER, these new updates could make your site look, and run, even better! Updates are always worth a  look because, usually, they are an improvement on the way it was originally done. We should always consider improvements because really, are we the BEST the first time? No, there is always room for growth 🌻!  So, let’s take a look at what’s caught up in my net this week and maybe it can help make your site that 1% better!

Google Sites 

Google Sites are a great tool for teachers and students. It can be used for a Teacher Website, but also can be utilized for so much more! I’ve seen it used for portfolios, projects and professional development! Google came out with the new version of Sites in 2016, and this means that eventually, the former version will go away. You can read about there here.   Always feel free to reach out if you want to make a new site or use Sites in a new way!

NEW Header Type – COVER MODE 

You can now have your Header Image be the entire home page for your Google Site. This may give your initial page a cleaner look! It also provides a nice arrow if you have content below. You have to see this to know what I mean…check out my example below!

Buttons  

“My buttons, my buttons, my GOOGLE groovy buttons!”  Like my Pete the Cat reference there? Seriously, Google Sites has added a Button Feature.  This feature allows websites to be placed on the page as a cute little button! When paired with the new layouts, this can give your site a nice, clean look!

Layouts 

There are now quite a few options for layouts for your Google Site! Again, this is another update that can give your site a nice, clean look. Take a look at my short video below to see an example!

 

New Link 

Have a website you like visitors of your site to access?  Consider using the “link” feature under pages.  Check out the brief video below to see what I mean!

Embedding 

Would you like to embed items on your websites like a Twitter feed, booking calendar or another widget? Now you can!!!  As long as you have the embed code, you should be able to put the item on your site! Take a look below.

 

Don’t you just love gettin’ Googly with Sites? I know I sure do!  What new feature will you try?! Let me know!

Have a great day everyone!  

oFISHally yours,

Erin Fisher  🐟 🐟 🐟

 

 

 

 

“WAVE” to the Camera 🌊 👋 📸 🐟

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Another great week was had here in East Bridgewater 😀! I have had the pleasure of being between many classrooms and buildings this week, as I get in a record number of steps 👣! A big hit this week was VIDEO! For our PreK-6 classrooms, it was setting up and using the new document cameras 📸, and for 7-12 it was looking at video programs for the Chromebooks!  Having the ability to create and share video is huge right now in our school system, as I’m sure it is in many.  Creating video allows the teacher to remove him/herself from the front of the room. Students can work in small groups, get more one-on-one time with the teacher, and have the skill to go back to if the video is present! The best part – there are so many FREE tools to make these videos 📹! Let’s look at the WAVE 🌊 of options below!

Teacher Created Videos 

Did you know that you could use your document camera to create teacher-made videos?  Imagine a student being out, and all he or she needs to do is go to Classroom and watch your video. Imagine a class where you can take a small group to work with, while others watch the teacher-created video and you can later assist them. If you’re at Central School or Middle School this is an option for you! Reach out and we can talk!  Click here to access directions for your document camera

When not using a document camera, ScreenCastify is my personal favorite to use to make video tutorials, or just plain old video clips. This is a GREAT extension. It’s free and easy to use! Bonus – they just came out with some new editing tools as well!

Video Editing Tools for Student Projects 

I had done a previous post, click here, on some great options for student video projects.  However, this week I got to show a few newer tools to the students in 8th grade Enrichment with Mr. Shea and Mrs. Ronayne.  We took a look at WeVideo, Animoto, Openshot Editor, and just using the camera app on the Chromebook itself.  You can find the camera app on a Chromebook by hitting the magnifying glass key and displaying all the apps, or simply going into Apps on the toolbar. Once the video clips are made, it’s pretty easy to import them into any one of these programs, add music, pictures, and push it out to YouTube or Drive. What a great project idea!

The NEW Youtube Editor 

Coming soon….YouTube has just released the Beta version of YouTube Studio.  According to YouTube, soon they will release a new editor where you can cut, combine and add cards to your uploads! As this comes out, look for video from me highlighting the new features! For those that like video and video projects, check out the new YouTube Studio by clicking here.

Easily send video to Google Classroom 

One of the nicest things I’ve ever seen in Google Classroom, is when an administrator posted a video of students and teacher doing something well. All of the staff who saw it commented and it was a big love fest. It’s so great to celebrate the good that is happening all around us and it’s VERY EASY when using Google Classroom to do this!  First, install the Google Classroom App on your phone and/or ipad. Go into your settings and allow the Classroom app to access your photos/videos. Take a video as your normally would. Go find your video, and as if you would text it, choose the send button. When sending, choose the Classroom App and BOOM! It will put your video RIGHT into the Google Classroom of your choice. You can also add a description as well. What’s nice about this, is that the video is private between you and your class and/or staff! 

So much fun!!! What are you using in terms of video in your classroom? Let me know!

Have a great day, and thanks for catching the “wave!”

oFISHally Yours,

Erin Fisher  🐟 🐟 🐟