October 25

Websites Worth Sharing: MyOn Alternatives

I know many of you no longer have access to MyON this year. If your students are missing reading online books, here are a few options for them.

Unite for Literacy: https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

This one has the option of having the story read aloud or not and many books have Spanish and Ukrainian print options. Click on the “English” pencil icon on the top left to change to Spanish or Ukrainian and see which books are available in those languages. There is also narration available in MANY languages. Click on the Globe icon at the top to see all of the options.

Loving to Read: Has over 1000 free books for a variety of levels Preschool-Third grade and up. This one does NOT have audio options which is good if you want to transition your students to reading on their own without the audio support. https://loving2read.com/

Epic Books: Epic has over 40,000 books, audiobooks, and learning videos, but it requires that teachers set up an account and can be a bit more complicated to navigate. https://www.getepic.com/educators

Vooks: Animated books in a video format https://www.vooks.com/pages/educators/ . Free for teachers, but you have to create an account and it appears to only work for teachers- so would be a whole class activity. Don’t want to hassle with an account? Check out their Youtube channel which has many of their book videos available. https://www.youtube.com/@VooksStorybooks/featured

Wilbooks: Mostly non-fiction books for Pre-K through 3rd. The interface is a bit clunky (but sure to expand the reader to full screen), and there isn’t an audio option, but this is a good way for students to conduct research like animal reports. Not all resources on this site are free, so stay away from the menu on the side and stick to the one in the middle.  https://www.wilbooks.com/free-resources-free-online-books

Project Gutenberg: These are books in the public domain, so they are older, and the interface is very basic- but there are some wonderful classic stories for more advanced readers like Secret Garden, Treasure Island, and Black Beauty. The free Read and Write toolbar can be used to have these stories read aloud. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/20?sort_order=downloads

Category: Uncategorized, Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 25

Websites Worth Sharing: Phonics Resources

I had a teacher request online phonics resources. This is what I shared with her:

Phonics Hero– Their core curriculum is free for teachers, but you have to create a Teacher account to access this. There is an add-on phonics curriculum

Weblink: https://phonicshero.com/free-for-teachers-new/

Phonics games: https://phonicshero.com/phonics-games/

The paid curriculum- you can get a trial

https://phonicshero.com/no-prep-phonics-lessons/

Teach Your Monster to Read:  https://www.teachyourmonster.org/

PBS Media– search results for ELA/K-2/Reading Foundations

https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/search/?rank_by=recency&selected_facet=subject:1880,2104&selected_facet=media_type:Interactive&selected_facet=grades:K-2

Some samples:

Word Walls- https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/124f0c1d-e1c9-4476-8fec-8403c1fa640d/word-walls/ (on the side you’ll see word walls 2- these are sight words)

Zach and Friends: https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/d83ce154-e598-43d0-bf7a-ee96d200a3fb/zach-and-friends/

Read Write Think– Here are some of their primary interactive activities for phonological awareness: https://www.readwritethink.org/search/grades/796/grades/796/learning_objectives/788/grades/796/grades/796/learning_objectives/788/type/643/grades/796/grades/796/grades/796/grades/796/learning_objectives/788/learning_objectives/788/type/651

Starfall– Most teachers are familiar with this, but I’ll add it as a reminder. https://www.starfall.com/h/ltr-classic/

I know some teachers who use the free version of SplashLearn: https://www.splashlearn.com/features/teachers

Have a favorite of your own to share? Paste a link in the comments below.

Category: Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 3

Extensions with Exploring: Draftback

If you assign essays and suspect that a student is using an AI tool, such as Chat GPT, you might want to look into Draftback, an extension that will show you, keystroke by keystroke, how an essay is written. Google Version history (In a Google Doc got to File>Version History>See Version History) will show you when a block of text comes in all at once, but Draftback will show you in real time whether the essay was typed or whether a block of text was copied/pasted.

I have blocked Chat GPT and other AI tools (you can unblock them in Classwize, if you’d like to have your students learn more about them) but there isn’t anything to stop them from accessing these tools on their home computer and pasting it into a Google doc. By looking at Version History and using Draftback, you can observe their process to confirm your suspicions when a document seems a little too polished and generic for a particular student.

Here is the extension you can install: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/draftback/nnajoiemfpldioamchanognpjmocgkbg

Here is a video on how to use it. It’s short and informative, and I think you’ll find it worth your time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRFmGI3bYWs

Category: Extensions Worth Exploring, Tool worth Trying | LEAVE A COMMENT
February 6

Website Worth Sharing: Parlay for Round Table Discussions

If class discussions are a part of your curriculum, you might want to check out Parlay https://parlayideas.com/how-it-works/  to help you conduct and monitor class discussions both verbally and in a written format.

It works with Google Classroom so you don’t have to worry about creating classes. It supports both written and verbal discussions. There is even support for having online discussions in a Zoom-like environment. In the written mode, the students are anonymous to each other in their comments (but not to the teacher who will see who said what- which should be emphasized from the start). At first I questioned why they would do that, but it makes sense because the students would weigh the ideas on their own merit and not based on who said it. One of the advantages to having a digital discussion is that all students, not just the outgoing ones, are able to have a say. Another benefit if that you, as the teacher, have a record of student contributions to use as a formative assessment tool.

I like that it teaches students how to participate respectfully in an online dialogue.

You can create your own “round table” discussions, or use one of the pre-made discussions found in the Parlay Universe.

Parlay used to have a free trial model, but they have moved to a totally free basic version account that will not expire. There is a premium option that provides more reporting options and unlimited discussions (basic limits you to 12, but you can delete one if you want to add another).

Here is an introductory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74BPgyiLqo

Directions for a written round table: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A6_SYBtJJc

Directions for a verbal round table: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kht0Sn3ZJPE

Category: Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 12

ChatGPT- The New Calculator?

The tech world is all abuzz about a new artificial intelligence tool called ChatGPT. It is an online tool that uses AI and machine learning to create essays, stories, poems, etc. that are customizable. While I called it plagiarism in the subject, it is really more than that. One video I watched compared it to the introduction of the calculator- a tool that will change the way we do things. At first it will seem like cheating, but I have a feeling it won’t be long until this kind of tool is used for generating writing. Just like a calculator, there will be a need for someone who understands the process to refine and check for errors, but the work it does is pretty impressive (for a program).

Apparently students are becoming aware of this (I don’t see much evidence of our students using it yet), so I went ahead and blocked it for students for the time being- putting it into the category of plagiarism or homework sites. I’m not sure we will want to block it in the future, but until this tool can be tamed, this will give you time to discuss it with your colleagues. We can’t block them from using it at home on personal devices, and because it generates text that is infinitely customizable, any plagiarism checkers won’t be of much use.

I think it might be worth your time to review a couple of videos about it.

This one was made by our ESD tech guy, Curtis. You can stop once he starts talking about coding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50HtJyZutjw

Another one that shows how it writes a poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBhdEPXlGSE&t=17s

Here is one from the perspective of an educator that show how it can generate a compare/contrast essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9reY1J5JXTA

Update:

I found another essay generator site today (https://www.the-good-ai.com/ ). They are popping up all over the place. I also found this article that you might find helpful that includes plagiarism checkers. I haven’t used any of these, but thought I’d share in case you might find any of them helpful: https://beebom.com/best-ai-plagiarism-checkers/

Category: Edtech | 1 Comment on ChatGPT- The New Calculator?
June 1

Websites Worth Sharing: Review Activities

As you work to engage your students in review activities, in addition to Kahoot, Quizziz, Blooket and your favorite game based tools, don’t forget about the old standard, Jeopardy. Jeopardy Labs allows you to create your own online jeopardy board or just borrow one in their system.

https://jeopardylabs.com/

If your review activities include vocabulary terms, Quizlet Live is a fun game that encourages collaboration. You can build your own flashcard set or use one already in their system. Here is a video on how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q64qTBfK0iE

If you want a game to get your students out of their seats, I saw this idea in a recent article and thought it sounded like fun:

Around the Room: Prepare a problem set or other review activity, and using a Word or Google doc, type the 1st problem or question at the bottom of page 1. Type the answer to the 1st problem on the top of page 2. Next, type the 2nd problem at the bottom of page 2, and the 2nd answer on the top of page 3. Continue until the last answer is typed on the top of page 1. Print out the pages and hang them around your classroom, says Maynard, but not in order. “Students can start anywhere and solve the problem on the bottom half, then find the answer on another sheet of paper,” she says. Students should end up “back where they started.”

Category: Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 4

Websites Worth Sharing: 5 for Teacher Appreciation Week

In appreciation for all you do for Kelso kids, here are some tech tools that you might find useful.

https://classroomscreen.com/ – Many of you are already fans, but if you haven’t used it recently, check out some of the upgrades. Make this your home screen or bookmark it so you have it handy.

https://ed.ted.com/ – Student and teacher friendly TED videos. Click on the “Discover” link on the main toolbar. There are collections organized by theme and lesson plans attached to the vidoes. Take a minute to check them out, and I think you’ll enjoy what you find.

https://www.teachingbooks.net/ – Do you use certain books with your students? If you search the book name at this site, you might find some resources you could use including “meet the author” recordings and lesson resources. There is a paid version, but there are still a lot of resources available for free.

https://museumsfordigitallearning.org/ – Museums are a great teaching tool, but the logistics of getting a class of students to a museum can be very challenging. This site provides resources for lessons and activities that are based off of actual museum collections.

https://spinnerwheel.com/  This site provides a customizable spinner tool. If you login with your Google account, you can save your spinners. Here is a video that explains some of the option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHm0wCbsd5E

Category: Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT
March 2

Website Worth Sharing: Custom Wordle

Are you a Wordle fan? Even if you’re not, you might want to check out the custom Wordle site that allows you to make your own puzzles at https://mywordle.strivemath.com/

Just enter a word and it will make a custom Wordle for you and provide a puzzle that you can project or share as a link in Google Classroom. You can display it for your class as an opener or lunch activity and have kids solve it on your SMARTboard or Interactive projector- or if you don’t have one of those, they can call out their guesses, and you can enter them on your laptop.

Primary teachers could create short 3 or 4 letter Wordles when teaching about word families. If you teach older students, you could use more complex words or focus on words with certain prefixes or suffixes. You can give them clues to reinforce concepts you are teaching such as “It is plural word” or “it is a compound word”.

You could also use vocabulary words that you are studying or words from a spelling list. It would be a good fit for World Language folks.

Math Teachers: Don’t feel left out by the Wordle craze. This one, while it’s not customizable like the one I sent out earlier today, is definitely for you!

https://nerdlegame.com/

Also Mini Nerdle for shorter sequences: https://mini.nerdlegame.com/ and Pro Nerdle https://create.nerdlegame.com/ (where you can create your own challenge.)

Here is a version developed by Kelso Grad, Eric Lemiere, that lets you have an unlimited amount: http://lemierecs.com/Wurtle%20Game/wurtle.html

Check out this article for more ideas: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2022/06/06/how-teachers-use-wordle-for-next-level-engagement/2/

Category: Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT
February 22

Google Docs Cloze Worksheets

If you want to create your own Cloze worksheets for building vocabulary, check out this short video by Flipped Classrooms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoACo03N82g

In a nutshell, he goes over how to use an Add-on called “Cloze-It” to select vocabulary words in a Google Doc paragraph that you type or copy and replace them with blanks. Then add-on generates a word bank that students can then use to fill in the correct word. You  have the option of removing the entire word or leaving the initial consonant as a hint.

I’ve added the Cloze-It add-on to our “approved” list for Google Docs so you shouldn’t have any trouble installing it.

Category: Apps Worth Investigating | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 13

Website Worth Sharing: Whiteboard.chat

If you’re a fan of using digital Whiteboards like Jamboard, you might want to look into Whiteboard.chat https://www.whiteboard.chat/. This free service allows you to create a digital whiteboard that you can use for demonstrating or you can share it with students. This is a pretty common feature, but an even cooler option is the option to create a lesson that also creates an individual whiteboard for each student that you can view. You can post a link right into Google Classroom for them to join. As a nice security feature, they can’t see each other’s boards unless you choose to “showcase” them. They can draw, add text, add images, etc using the toolbar on the left. One cool option is that you can bring in a pdf or multiple page pdfs that they can interact with. There are great tools like a “freeze” button (the digital version of “stop what you’re doing and listen for a minute” or “1,2,3 eyes on me”), a digital timer, built in polling option, images and manipulatives, mathematical symbols, music images, graphical organizers and more. There is even a built in video chat feature.

This is a nice option for formative assessment and monitored practice and could be used for students both in and out of your classroom. I could see it being used for math, annotating reading materials (use the import pdf option), graphic organizers, music composition, and more.
You and your students don’t have to create an account to use it, but teachers won’t be able to save their work without creating an account. The basic version is free and there’s a lot you can do with that version. The premium versions allow you to save your work without it expiring.
Here is a nice video demonstrating how to use it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT56XnEGJJc
Here is a more comprehensive (and longer) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaBx3rErTcg
I tested it out and it was a little bit glitchy, but the refresh button seemed to fix any issues. This is a pretty amazing tool and free is a good price. I think you’ll find it worth your while if you want to utilize the Chromebooks for interactive lessons both in and out of the classroom.
Category: Website Worth Sharing | LEAVE A COMMENT