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.
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March 18

Website Worth Sharing: Virtual Math Manipulatives Collection

I found a nice collection of Virtual Math Manipulatives. The “top shelf” links you to collections of manipulatives, and the “cubbies” link to individual manipulatives.

This is a great collection and easy to navigate. You might want to add a link as a “Material” resource to your Google Classroom in the math section, and direct your students to use the tools like you would with actual manipulatives. This way there’s no need to worry about sharing germs!

A fun one to use as a class starter or end of day activity would be to use the marble jar (top shelf, far right), click on the “fill” option, use the  fullscreen button and project or share your screen. Then have your students respond to a Google Classroom question of “how many marbles in the jar”? Set a timer so they aren’t able to physically count the marbles if your goal is to encourage estimation rather than counting strategies. Once you “close” the question, click the Total Off button to show the actual total. There is a printable worksheet that goes with the activity. Just click on the link below the jar. You could even have them create a bar graph of the colors using the graph manipulative (this one is best for older students).

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jadIg9nk64U9gWtj4QEbd-AEzVtCXQeH-y44LPXlF3M/present?slide=id.g27b693dca5_0_261

 

 

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February 25

Website Worth Sharing WPSU Reading Comprehension Interactives

It’s pretty easy to find interactive sites for phonics and decoding skills, but activities that build comprehension skills are harder to find. PBS Media has a collection of sites that address these skills which were created by WPSU. The activities address skills like-
Making Inferences with

Detective’s Notebook

Finding the Main Idea with

the Hamburger Game

Monitoring and Clarifying with Fridge Magnets

Questioning with the Question Cube Game
Sequencing with the Train Game
and the Making Connections Game
You might want to display these on a Smart board or interactive projector or model them for students before giving them the chance to practice on their own. There are built in audio supports that you can’t turn off, so more competent readers might want to mute the activities. Most of the games don’t reward guessing which is a great feature. I found a few errors, but overall, it isn’t bad. It might not take the older students long to figure out that the right answer on the “Fridge Magnets” activity is always the one on the top. Hopefully they’ll fix that soon.
The “Share to Google Classroom” button on the information screen is a handy way to post a link on your Google Classroom. You can connect to all 6 or just one at a time by going to the description page for each game.
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February 26

Website Worth Sharing: lalilo

I had a couple of primary teachers highly recommend an early reading skills (phonics, word families, sight words, comprehension) interactive website: https://www.lalilo.com/ When students start out on the site, they complete a placement test which then determines their path, so it’s a nice site for differentiation. After they complete a certain number of activities successfully, they are rewarded with a story.

This would be a great option for your students during your stations or small group activities. Some of the reviews I read mentioned that the initial interface could use more directions, so it might be good to walk the whole class through it using your laptop/projector prior to having them do it on their own. There are a lot of audio supports, so you’ll want headphones available. There are also opportunities for students to speak, but the Chromebook microphones should work fine for that part.

This site is free for teachers (there is a fee for school or districtwide use). If you want to take a look from a student point of view, you can check out my class to give it a try.

Start at https://www.lalilo.com/
Click on the Log In Option,
Choose “Student” and enter school code BVINQC
Start with the Mrs. Sargent Class and choose a student (it doesn’t matter which one.)

If you like it, it’s pretty quick to set up a class. Just go back to the start and Login as a teacher and follow the prompts. Once logged in as a teacher, you have a “Student View” option that allows you to demonstrate it without logging in as a student.

Here is an intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1_jdpg_LqU
And more in depth “how-to” if you want to get started with it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XxFZDuwBxc

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March 14

Website Worth Sharing: PLIX

If you haven’t looked at cK-12 PLIX (Play, Learn, Interact, eXplore), you might want to browse what’s available in their interactives. https://interactives.ck12.org/plix/biology/ You can choose which Branch to explore (math or science) and there will be several categories to choose from. Each category will have a interactives that include a quiz or experiment that explores a certain concept. There are usually directions for the interactive and then a Challenge me that leads to quiz type questions and discussion questions (turn and talk opportunities.) This is a great way to increase engagement and student talk opportunities.

 

You can even create an account and assign activities to classes of students. Those of you using Google Classroom will be pleased to know that you can assign directly through Classroom using the “Assign to Class option.

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September 27

Website Worth Sharing: Plickers in PE

I found this interesting article/video by a teacher who uses Plickers in his PE class. He customized the back of the Plicker cards to make it easier for the students to use them. I thought this was a great idea! I also didn’t realize that you can purchase Plicker cards laminated and ready to go on Amazon for $20.

If you’re not familiar with Plickers, it’s an app you can download onto your tablet/smartphone that allows students to respond to questions similar to the more expensive clickers. The cards (which you can print yourself for free) are assigned to students who hold them a certain direction to answer multiple choice questions. You control the questions from your app, scan their responses with your camera, and see the results. Nice way to use formative assessment.

If you’re not interested in Plickers, you may like how he uses magnets and student numbers for student interaction.

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