ClassroomScreen.com

This year my district joined the many others across the nation by putting in interactive whiteboards in the classrooms. We went with some touch screen Promethean Boards, and so far it's been pretty nice. I do enjoy getting to write on PowerPoints, or having students draw diagrams that go along with word problems, it's really fun! But when you're done with direct instruction and you move to independent practice, then you have to pull up the web page that has the count down timer, you've got to repeat your directions 10 different times, tell the kids to be quiet every 5 minutes, give your behavior expectations, and no matter how many times you've pointed out the location of the clock no student will ever look at it because 'I don't know how to tell time on that clock'.

Instead of worrying about all of that, there's one website that you can go to:

The site comes with 10 built in applications.

Each of the apps serves a unique purpose instead of having to use a bunch of different websites. This has saved me time because I'm not having to answer the same questions 10 times, and it lets me focus on helping the students with their work. I'm going to be honest and tell you that I don't use all of the different apps, but I will explain them to the best of my ability.

1. Random Name Generator- Instead of using the popsicle sticks to call on students this could be a replacement. You paste in a copy of your roster and it gives you a random name from your list. Downside is that if you're like me and you have several classes it doesn't work so great. The Dice roller would be great if I taught probability, I could see this being easier than passing out a die to groups of students and telling them to start rolling. (I don't use this app)
2. Sound Level- if you have a microphone attached to your screen it works. You can set the appropriate noise level you want and the bar turns red when the kids go over that range. (I don't have a microphone on my screen so I can't use this)
3. QR Code- if you are having your kids go to a certain site and you're tired of them typing it in wrong and tiny.url isn't working all you have to do is type in the website you want them to visit and it will create a QR Code for that specific site for the kids to scan. (I don't use this one)
4. Drawing Window- there are two different sizes for the drawing window, but they both work the same way. The kids like using them more than I do. It's a little basic but it gets the job done.
5. Text box- I use this for all of those directions that kids ask for 12 times, like page numbers. Now they know where to look when they have a question about what they're supposed to be doing. Of course you can use it for so much more than that.
6. Work Symbols- these are to set behavior expectations for students. Again so you don't have to repeat yourself a bunch of times. My students told me that these seemed better for Elementary kids and they don't like it when I use them.
7. Traffic Lights- I have no idea how I would use them in the classroom, but I'm sure someone does.
8. Timer/Stopwatch- pretty self explanatory. It's a big display so it's easy to see across the room. I don't like that when its done ticking all you get is a little bell chime. Still works well, although sometimes it's a little glitchy and doesn't work well on touch screen.
9. Clock- I like that the clock has both the digital and analog clock screen. It also has 12 and 24 hour modes if you're in to that kind of thing. It does also have the date on it, but it's small and hard to see sometimes, as one of my coworkers learned the hard way when an administrator took off points from her evaluation for not having the date posted.
10. Background- I like the background changer because there are 35 different ones to choose from. My favorite one is the waterfall that is a GIF and you can relax as you watch the water cascade down (5/5 stars). Or you can go on a journey across the world with scenes from The Outback, Rome, Paris, New York, India and so much more. 

I learned about ClassroomScreen from the technology specialist at my school. He noticed that some of the teachers were hesitant to use their new whiteboards when we still had the old school projectors hooked up. This was a great way for teachers to play around with the new hardware, while also learning about a new resource to use in their classroom. Even if you don't have an interactive screen, this would work great with regular projectors. I suggest taking some time to play around with it, or letting your students run wild with it. Either way it's something that I use in my class almost everyday, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Happy Learning,
Casey

Seesaw: The Learning Journal

Long awaited, and here at last! For the past couple of weeks I've been playing around with my classes and using the Seesaw app and website for all of my classes. At first my students were a little hesitant about having to find some free space on their phones to download the app, but eventually they came around to the idea.

Creating an account is super simple and making and joining classes is very easy, and when you finally get everything set up, there's an instructional video showing you how to use the program and features. I normally explain how to use the program in my blog posts, but I think you'll get more out of Seesaw if you play around with it on your own. There's so many different things you can do with it and I haven't been able to explore them all yet, so what I'm going to do for this post is explain the lessons I've used Seesaw for and then talk about how the students reacted to it.

One thing I will say is that you NEED to have students use their school provided email address, that way the students appear in the class as Bobby Robertson, and not as gthug69...
How I had them sign in

1. https://web.seesaw.me/  or download the app
2. Log in
3. I'm a student
4. Email/Google account
5. Student Sign in with google or G+ 
6. Allow access
7. Enter Join Code

The Assignment

After I created an account, built my classes and watched the tutorial video I created my first note.

Side note: I had my class settings to where all posts have to be approved by me, and where students couldn't see each other's work. That meant that if I wanted to upload something, I had to share it with all the students, which was easy enough. One problem that I ran into was that I made this note before I had any students in my class, so as students joined my classes I had to re-share the note with students as they joined the class. On all the future little projects we did it wasn't an issue.

Of course there was a little trial and error. Some students didn't have their phones, and the desktop computers we have in the room are slower than Christmas. One solution was to have them share phones but still have their own video uploaded. That worked well for the most part, but some students didn't listen and didn't sign in to Seesaw with their own account so I had to search through other students' folders to find their work. So if you have access to iPads or laptops then BRING THEM!!!

Once all the students got signed in and they got access to the assignment, they started creating their videos. Some of them were really good, but some were a little lack luster. The students need a chance to play around with the program to figure out how it works and how to properly make a video. I had some that were submitted upside down, there were some where students didn't allow access to the microphone and there was no sound, some tried to video and write at the same time and I got really bad close ups of the paper. It just takes trial and error.

After they did their first videos, I graded them and went back and left comments on all the videos and let them know where they went wrong or what they did right. The main feedback I got from the students is that they didn't like having to talk on camera, so the next assignment we did was long division where they didn't have to talk, they just had to upload a video showing all their work. They enjoyed this a lot more.

Next I had them play around with uploaded a photo of their work. Easy enough, no having to make a video, no speaking involved. They loved it, and it didn't take them long at all to realize they could type and draw on their photos also.

What I like about Seesaw:

• You can control who joins your class, and there is a way for parents to look at their student's work
• You can control what the students can see, and share examples with your classes
• You have the ability to approve or deny comments or submissions of assignments
• Students can submit an assignment in a variety of formats
• All work submitted is stored in an individual folder by student name so you can look back on it later
• You can comment on submissions to let students know how they did

Plickers

First thing: What are Plickers?!?!?!
A Plicker is a student specific QR Code that is used to answer multiple choices questions. The teacher controls the question being asked with the app on his/her smart phone, and then scans across the room with the phone to collect student answers.

Plickers.com has pre-made QR Codes that can be printed for free from their website. They come in different sized packages with a minimum of 40 unique cards. Just print out each card, and assign each of your students a number.

From the website you can upload questions and create your classes. To gather students responses though, you do have to download the app onto your smartphone or tablet. For students to answer they have to turn their QR Code a different direction with the answer choice they want facing up.

The "1" on each of the corners means that this is the QR Code for whomever is student #1 in your class, probably Austin Adams. Since the "B" is at the top of the QR Code, Austin is indicating that he thinks the answer to the question is "B". All you have to do now is have the app open on your phone and scan it across the classroom and collect your answers! Answers are saved online and you can look at the reports anytime.

Go to www.plickers.com to create your classes and download your QR Codes

What I like:

• You can create multiple different classes and assign each student their own Plicker number to gather data
• You can upload your own questions and move between which question that you are displaying from the app
• As you are scanning the class, student names will pop up and change to green if they got it right or red if they got the question wrong
• All responses are saved online and reports can be generated to look at later
• When you print out the QR Codes they come two to a page to save on paper (because we all know how quickly schools run out of paper)

How I use it:

In my ideal classroom, I would introduce Plickers on day 1. I would have printed out each code and have it glued to a folder for each student. I would have a few "Getting to Know You" questions made up to demonstrate how to use Plickers. After about a week or so of using Plickers to answer random questions, I would take the folders and fill them with sample questions from whatever standardized test you guys use (for me, it's the STAAR Test). Each day I would have students show their work and practice strategies in their folders, but instead of having to individually grade each folder I would use Plickers to gather responses as an Exit Ticket.

My Kids Bank

This year I wanted to try something new with my students. Over the summer I was part of a book chat and we were reading Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith. One of the things that he wrote about was teaching students about financial literacy, and I got inspired since it's also part of the 8th grade curriculum. Like so many others before me I decided that I was going to go above and beyond and teach my students about rent, bills, income, and budgeting. 

My Plan:

1. Have students earn income by turning in assignments and being on time to class
2. Charge students rent for their desks
3. Fine students for eating, swearing, littering and writing on desks
4. Have a class store where I provide chips, drinks and other things for students to spend money on
5. I would print money to pay my students with, which means that I have to buy paper and ink, which means that I would have to spend money to make fake money, and expect students to keep up with it all and realizing this made me want to quit teaching and school hadn't even started yet.

Obviously if I was going to implement my plan I wasn't going to spend all my money on colored paper. I decided to search online to see if there was an online banking solution, and to my relief there is! 

What I like:

• You can have individual accounts for your students
• You, as the banker, can make deposits and withdrawals from each account
• There is a setting for earning interest
• You can edit multiple accounts at one time
• You can print bank statements for each account

Teachers Pay Teachers

As an Aggie, I've had it drilled into my head that you do not "lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do", but as a teacher, the biggest thing I've learned is that we're just elaborating, collaborating and borrowing.
     "Ms. Jones made this activity, but it doesn't cover all that I want it to, let me make it a little better!"
     "Hey Ms. Smith, this resource book costs $10, and has some really good stuff in it, do you want to split the cost and we can share it?"
     "Oh wow! This resource book is really good, but you paid how much for it?!?!?! Oh can I borrow it for a few minutes to make some copies? I only want this page, not the whole book."
Let's face it, we've all done it, so there is absolutely no reason to judge a fellow teacher for doing it!

In comes Teachers Pay Teachers

I've been wanting to make a post about this site for the longest time, but I have had no real experience with the site, UNTIL NOW!

Think of a huge flea market, where there are teachers from all around the world displaying activities and lesson plans that they have come up with. They have books that they have written, there are foldables as far as the eye can see, projects, rubrics, interactive journals galore! The best part, is that you have access to this market, and you can get there without even having to put on reals pants while you sit on the couch this Saturday stressing about what you're going to teach Monday morning (because again, we've all been there).

What I Like:

• can search assignments by subject, grade, and price
• THERE'S FREE STUFF
• once you download something it saves it so you don't have to keep an extra copy from year to year
• they update you if a product you bought changes
• free to join
• free* to sell (*they do collect a fee, or you can make a professional account with a yearly fee)
• if you find a teacher who has amazing stuff you can follow them and get to their stuff faster

What I DON'T Like

• My first sale was for a $2.00 foldable, I only got $0.90 of that

I have a few things for sale if you want to check them out, or view my freebies! 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Casey-Ohare

Interactive Math Glossary

So I went to a PD last week and it was for online Math resources for 8th grade. Well, the website that I want to share with you guys works for any subject or grade level, so long as you're in Texas, that is.

Okay so right now, open up a new tab and go to www.texasgateway.org

1. Click the blue Sign Up button on the top right
2. Enter your Name, district info, and email
3. I think you might have to go to your email and confirm the address, and then you're good!

Once you've created your account, click on search at the top. On the left side there's some boxes that you can check to narrow down your search to grade level and subject area. Select Math, and as long as you teach K-8, then what I want you to find will work for you! 

You are going to be looking for the Interactive Math Glossary. Click the link, and on the right there's a green plus sign that says "Add to list" do that and add it to your favorites. When you click on "Dashboard" at the top right later, it'll be there waiting for you. You are going to have to click on the blue "Interactive Math Glossary" link that will open the glossary in a new tab. But once you're there feel free to search around and click the list of words on the left.

 I love, love, love the interactive glossary, because it has a definition, key characteristics, an example and a non-example. Sometimes there are even some quick videos put in there to help explain things (hence the interactive). 

Have some fun with it, play around, and let your students know about it!

Kahoot

First off, Happy Columbus Day!

In 1492 

Columbus sailed the ocean blue

I have the day off today, so instead of making the Kahoot review for the 1st 9 weeks benchmark I decided to make a blog post explaining what Kahoot is and how to use it.

I first learned about Kahoot from my least favorite professor in college, so I was very skeptical about it at first. After getting to play with it, it is by far my favorite classroom technology to use (and the kids love it too).

What is Kahoot?
Kahoot is an online quiz that you can make, or borrow from other users. Students can either download the app, or go to Kahoot.it and enter the game pin. They then pic a user name (if it's inappropriate you can remove them from the quiz).

How to play
Each question has a time limit and students answer by picking the colored tile that corresponds to their answer choice. Whoever answers first correctly wins the most points. The game keeps track of everything and you can even save the results at the end of the quiz. I like this because it's a competition so it motivates my students to get involved. Just a little side note, to increase competition and further motivate students it's also a good idea to bring small treats for your winners. Secret teacher rule #1 always have a bag of fun size candy hidden somewhere in your room for occasions such as this.

Creating an account
To access the site as a teacher, you need to go to getkahoot.com. Making an account is easy, all you need is an email address. I always use my personal email account, mostly because I made all these things when I was still in college, but also because if I ever move districts, or get married then my school email changes and then I lose all the stuff I had stored on that account. From there, you can either search for quizzes made by other users, or make your own.

Making your own
After you sign in, it redirects you to your profile page. Now I've only messed with making quizzes, I have no idea about the discussions or surveys. That might be a later blog post when I've had time to investigate, or you guys could investigate and tell me how it works in the comments. If you're ever searching through Kahoot and decide that you have to make one right then and there, at the very top left there is a purple button that says New Kahoot which will take you into making your own quiz.
Once you have your idea, it's time to create! You have to have a quiz title, a description (use lots of #), maybe include some pictures and then make some questions. I always recommend adding your own pictures, so that way there's no extra distractions, or to add a diagram that goes with the question.

Searching for other user quizzes
At the very top of the page in the gray bar there's something that says Public Kahoots. Click on it and it takes you to any Kahoot that has been made that isn't marked private. There's also a handy search bar so you don't have to scroll all through the 10.3 million some odd quizzes on your own. JUST MAKE SURE YOU FAVORITE  THE ONES YOU WANT TO USE so you can find it later (in my favorites).

Hope I made that easy enough for everyone to follow. If not, Kahoot also has great tutorial videos to watch. Thanks for reading and happy teaching!