Accessibility Features 

(For EVERYONE) 

In Schoology

 

@LisaBerghoff

Some of you are familiar with Universal Design For Learning. I found the UDL framework from CAST about the same time I became interested in Design Thinking and the intersection of the two led me to believe that much of the way I thought about teaching students who struggle with learning was just plain wrong. In case you're new here, let me catch you up. Universal Design For Learning is a framework, based in neuroscience, that emphasizes the need for options for students in the areas of engagement, action and expression, and representation. The UDL guidelines 3.0 are being unveiled in July of 2024 and I am so excited to see the updated version. To see the current version, click here. The basic gist is that as educators our job is to try to remove barriers to student learning by providing multiple means for students to be engaged, take in information, and show what they know. Universal Design is a design principle that states that environments should be accessed and understood by all. 

It is through these ideas that I have come to understand that when we design for the edges, everyone benefits. Accessibility tools may be created for people with specific disabilities, but by allowing everyone to use them, there will be advantages for all. 

With spring assessments coming up, this seemed like a good time to take a look at the accessibility features found within Schoology.

1. Immersive Reader

Immersive Reader is built in to all Schoology assignments, pages, and discussion boards. It rolled out a few years ago but it's kind of incredible to me how few people have actually clicked on it. When you open immersive reader, you will notice that the text loads in a dyslexic friendly font. You have the ability to have the text read to you, and of course the ability to adjust the reading settings, including the reader speed and voice. In addition, you can have the text translated into many languages. You can also have the syllables separated and the parts of speech color coded. There is also a line focus feature which only shows a small amount of text on the screen and a picture dictionary. 

Here is what it looks and sounds like:

Check out the other features here:

2. Accessibility Checker

In case accessibility is not in the forefront of you mind at all times, there is a built in accessibility checker that will help you make sure your content is accessibility friendly.

When you are in the editor, just click on the accessibility icon and it will walk you through any issues you may have and what to do to rectify them. Take a look at how it works:

3. Assessment Settings

The assessment toolbar settings can offer many options to students that can help keep them on task and lower anxiety. As the teacher, you need to adjust the settings to make these features available. 

Allow students to be able to flag questions so they can go back and review them later.

Allow students to eliminate answer choices in multiple choice questions.

Allow for the use of a calculator, ruler, or protractor.

Allow students to highlight text.

Provide a notepad for students. 

4. Create Pop-Up Content In Assessment Questions:

Did you know that you can add pop-up content in your assessments? Help your students help themselves by including clarifying information for them. If a student asked you during the assessment, you would answer, so why not provide it to all and let them click instead of calling you over for help. When you are editing your question, highlight some text and then click the icon to add pop-up content. You can then type in clarifying text or you can even add an image. Click on preview to see how the question appears to students. Here is what it looks like when it's done.

5. Allow Students To Submit In Text, Audio, Or Video. 

Discussion questions are a wonderful way to continue the sense of community you create in the classroom. It can also give opportunities for students to participate in ways that they might not when you are in class together. When you create a discussion question in Schoology, all students have an equal opportunity to share and be heard. Students can respond to Schoology discussion prompts by typing text, recording audio, or recording video. What is nice is that the recordings happen right in Schoology so there's no saving, downloading, or uploading to do. You and your students can also respond to each other in the same manner. All your students need is permission from you to give it a try.

When you click in the discussion box to respond, all you need to do is click on the microphone icon. 

Then, choose the recording type.

Click to begin recording.

Click again to stop recording and then choose insert audio/video. If you don't like it, you can always rerecord.

By allowing students to choose the mode in which they respond, you can make your online discussions more accessible to all students.

Ok, these are my top five favorites. Which ones do you love that I missed? Which ones will you try? Want some help? I'm here for you!

Watch Your Words Come To Life!

Ideogram AI

@LisaBerghoff

There is lots of buzz around artificial intelligence, what it can and can't do, what it should and shouldn't do. When I talk to educators, one of the biggest questions that I get asked is about use of generative AI to create images. This is such wonderful news because images are very important in learning. Using images along with words can help students remember, retain, and make connections, so let's look at how to create images.

There are so many AI text to image generators out there and some are better than others. Through trial and error we are also seeing that generative AI is good at creating some types of images and not so great at creating others.

I was recently introduced to an exceptional AI generative text to image tool called Ideogram.AI and I was very impressed. Here is what you need to know.

What is Ideogram.ai?

From the website:

Ideogram (pronounced "eye-diogram") is a new AI company on a mission to help people become more creative. The company is developing state-of-the-art AI tools that will make creative expression more accessible, fun, and efficient. It's pushing the limits of what's possible with AI, with a focus on creativity and a high standard for trust and safety. The company has built its own foundation models for text to image synthesis and as a result, Ideogram v0.1 and v0.2 have unique capabilities, such as rendering coherent text into text. Click below for a 1 minute introduction to Ideogram.ai.

How To Use Ideogram.ai

1. Go to ideogram.ai and login or sign up using your Google account.
2. Pick a username/display handle. 
3. Describe what you want to see and click "generate". You will see four options appear. Click on one to choose it. Yes! You can prompt in other languages!

4. From there, you can click "retry" to generate again. You can also copy your prompt as well as the "magic prompt", which is an ai generated version of your prompt that has a lot of detail. You may also share or download your image.

Here's one that I made. It took three prompt changes to get what I wanted but even the first attempt was very good. 

Image created by Lberghoff on Ideogram.ai

What Else Can You Do With Ideogram? 

Click "explore" and "top" to see what others have created. If you like something that was already generated by someone else, you can click on it to see the prompt. You can also choose "remix" and adapt the prompt to meet your needs. This can be a huge time saver as well as a great way to learn how to prompt ai for images. 

You can also choose to follow creators who make things that you like. Those will appear when you click "following". When you open an image created by someone else, you can click the follow button to see everything that they generate.

Want to go back and see what you have already created? Click on your profile in the upper right hand corner and you will see all of your images on the screen. 

Image created by Jennrobi on Ideogram.ai

Is Ideogram free?

Yes-ish. There is a free version that allows up to 25 prompts per day in what they call the "slow queue". I have not experienced an issue with generation speed but the paid versions have access to their "fast queue". Also, all images generated using the free version are considered public.

Consider having your students use Ideogram to create logos, images to go with their presentations, images that can demonstrate their understanding of a particular concept, and more. Another interesting activity would be to click on the "explore" tab in ideogram, click on an image, and then look at the prompt. You can also have students compare the prompt to the magic prompt. What words were used to create the image? When you read the words, do you see a different image? This is a wonderful entry point into the world of AI prompting for students. Remember, students can also remix images that they find. Students an also create on Ideogram and then put those images into Canva to be even more creative. 

How will you use Ideogram?

Want some help? I am always happy to work with you!

 

Communicate With Students And Families 

Using Remind

@LisaBerghoff

With the wide range of ways we get our information, texting seems to be at the top of the preferred list for both students and parents. It makes sense because it is fast and easy and text messages tend to be short and to the point. If you are sending lengthy emails, chances are, they are not being read carefully. While this may be frustrating, it can also be liberating. You don't need to craft long email messages, hooray! And you don't need to be stumped by how to send text messages safely because we have Remind, a communication platform designed to reach students and families that is approved by our district for educator use.

What Is Remind?

Remind is a communication platform that gives you the ability to communicate solely by text with parents, teachers, and students without giving them your personal phone number. You can also adjust the settings so students can text you back in a district approved environment. Since we have a district account, Remind automatically creates classes based on your Infinite Campus roster so there is no need to give students a code to join. Yes, there is an app, but it is not necessary to have the app to receive messages. Everyone can customize their notification preferences to determine how they want to receive messages. 

How Do I Use Remind?

Remind can be accessed from your computer or your phone. It's a good idea to start on your computer. 

1. Go to Remind.com and log in using your school Google account.

2. From the dashboard, choose a class and click "New New Message" 

3. Select or search a class or a specific person and click continue

4. Type your message at the bottom and click send. 

You can also schedule your messages, add content such as photos and videos,  and translate to other languages. 

Types of messages:

Announcement: These messages can be sent at the class level and allow you to send something to everyone in the class, or multiple classes, at the same time. Even though the message is being sent to the entire class, replies will only go to you.

Role-Based Messaging: You can select specific roles to receive your messages, like students and parents. Just like with a class announcement, only you will see the replies.  

Let's take a look at the Remind dashboard from the computer. As you can see, you have the list of classes that you own followed by the list of classes you have joined down the left side of the screen. At the top, you can see all messages sent, files, the list of people in the class, any calls that were made, and the settings for that class. It is in the class settings where you can see the class code to join, as well as the class settings for visibility and messaging options. 

To adjust your notification settings, click your name in the upper left and then click on Account Settings and then Notification Preferences. This is where you can decide if you want text messages sent to your phone so you don't need to use the app. The choice is yours to make.

Want to know more? You can check out the Remind Learning Center where there are articles and short "courses" you can take to learn more about how to get the most out of your Remind account. Just click on your name and then click "Learning Center".

Want some help getting up and running with Remind? Let me know. I'm always happy to lend a hand. 

 Wait, How Did You Do That?

The above image was created with Canva's text to image AI

@LisaBerghoff

There are many times during my time at school where I am in the middle of doing something and I hear, "Wait, how did you do that?". I know lots of great ways to get things done using technology, mostly because I am perpetually curious. Typically when I am asked that question there is not time to show how I did it because I am in the middle of demonstrating something, working with a class, or just at a time where there is no time. I want to circle back with each of you and show you individually but that is impossible so I decided to post a few here.

Here are some of the most recent- Wait, how did you do that? moments. 

Enjoy!

1. Use your phone as a clicker to advance slides using Remote For Slides or Canva.

I have owned several remote clickers for my computer. I tend to lose them, break them, or run out of batteries for them. Please don't judge me! Anyway, I always have my phone on me and I have been very happy with the Remote For Slides chrome extension. 

How To Do It:

1. Start by clicking here to get to the Chrome Webstore and add the extension to your Chrome profile.  

2. Open your Google slides presentation and choose: Present With Remote.

3. This will open your slides in presentation mode. Click the arrow on the right side of your screen to open the Remote For Slides panel.

4. Click to view the 6 digit code. (make sure to do this before you're connected to the projector so your students don't see it)

5. If you have an android phone, you can use the Remote For Slides app, or go to RemoteForSlides.com on your phone's browser, and enter the code.

You're good to go!

2. Share a link to specific text on a webpage.

We all know how easy it is to share a link with students or with colleagues. You can easily add a link to your materials page in Schoology and we can email or Google chat links to each other. However, when you grab the link from the URL bar (called the omnibox) you are sending the recipient to a webpage and counting on them to find the spot you want them to see. Did you know that you can create a sharable link that goes directly to specific highlighted text on a page?

How To Do It:

1. In Chrome, go to a page with text you want to share.

2. Highlight the text you want to share.

3. Right click on the highlighted text and select Copy Link To Highlight. If you don't see this option, it might not be available on the selected content.

4. Share the link by posting it in Schoology, emailing it, adding it to a doc, or however you want to share it.

To remove the highlight, right click the highlighted text and select Remove Highlight.

3. Create custom header images for Google forms, or anything really.

No offense to Google, but the image options in the Google Forms header gallery are pretty tired. When people fill out my form I want it to look customized. A customized Google form header signals to the person filling it out that this form is so important you took the time to customize it. This is easily done in Canva.

How To Do It:

1. Open Canva.com and sign in using your school Google credentials.

2. Next to "What will you design today?" click on Custom Size and enter 1600X400

3. Format your design and download as a png. 

4. On your Google form, click the theme (paint pallet) icon at the top and 

click Choose Image. 

5. Click upload and click and drag or click browse to locate your png that you just downloaded. Click done and enjoy.

4. Send an email or chat message to all attendees of a calendar event. 

Need to let the group know fast that the location of your meeting has changed? Are you running late and need to notify everyone in your meeting? You can do this quickly and easily from Google calendar. 

How To Do It:

1. In Google calendar, navigate to your calendar event/meeting.

2. Single click on the event to open the event details. 

3. Click on the chat icon or the email icon and craft your message and click send. If it's a chat message, Google chat will open in a new window. 

5. Quickly and easily access docs and files that have been shared in Google Chat Spaces.

Course teams and departments are making good use of Google Chat Spaces. Spaces allows for the ability to collaborate, share files, assign tasks, and review message history. You can also reply in threads in so you can more easily follow conversations. People often share links to docs, sheets, or other files in Spaces and if your group is very active, it can be frustrating to find those files. Spaces actually is already set up for you to both easily access files AND assign tasks.

How To Do It:

1. Navigate to your Google chat space by clicking the chat icon on the left toolbar of gmail.

2. Towards the bottom, view and click on one of your spaces.

3. At the top of your Space screen you will see three tabs: Chat, Files, Tasks.

4. Clicking on "files" will give you access to all files that have been shared in that space. You can also add a file within that tab and it will appear in the chat window.

5. Clicking on "tasks" will give the ability to assign tasks to members of the Space. Those tasks will appear on that person's Google task list and if there is a date and time added, it will also add to their calendar.

What did I miss? What are your favorites that people ask you- How did you do that? Are there any that you are hoping to learn? I'm happy to work with you and show you more!

"What Will You Dream Up Today?"

Adobe Firefly

@LisaBerghoff

I am loving all of the "what if" and "how might we" conversations that I have been having with colleagues around the world of AI in our educational spaces. First, I believe this massive shift that has happened over the 12 months has opened our minds to some new possibilities and sent us thinking in ways that we have not experienced before. Next, that shift has also energized us as we are understanding that the skills our students need are the same (communication, empathy, problem-solving, critical thinking) but also different (AI prompt engineering, analyzing information for credibility, managing our mental health in a world of social media) from what we experienced as students but also what we as educators understood our roles to be just a few years ago. I like to think of my own technology use in terms of consuming vs. creating. How much time am I spending using technology to consume and how much time am I using it to create? When the balance is tipped more towards consuming, I know I need to make a change because it is not good for my productivity nor is it good for my mental health.

What is Adobe Firefly?

According to Adobe's website, Adobe Firefly is a new family of creative generative AI models and is avaiable through features powered by Firefly, such as text to image generation and text effects. Adobe Firefly is free and is a standalone site from the rest of the Adobe suite but will work beautifully with the other Adobe tools.  Adobe shares that the images created by Firefly are "ethically sourced". It says that the ai training relies on a diverse and ethically sourced dataset which ensures that copyright laws and creative rights are respected. It was trained on Adobe stock images, openly licensed content, and public domain content, where the copyright has expired, and is designed to generate images safe for commercial use. 

In addition to the text to image generator, there are lots of other ai powered editing tools included with Adobe Firefly. 

Get Started With Adobe Firefly

To get started, go to firefly.adobe.com. That will take you to the main dashboard.

From there, you can go ahead and type text directly into the image generator, or you can scroll down and experiment with the other tools like generative fill (above), text effects, generative recolor, text to template, or text to vector graphic.

One thing that is really nice about Adobe Firefly is that it gives you samples and sample prompts that you can use to start with. I am someone who struggles when starting with a blank screen so this feature is really beneficial to me. 

This is the text effects tool:

Once you are happy with your creation, you can click the share icon in the upper right corder of your design. Hover your cursor and it will appear. From there you can choose to download it, copy it, edit in Adobe Express, or save it to your library. 

When you go to download your design, you will see a message that pops up explaining how Adobe is promoting transparency in AI. Content credentials are applied to let people know your image was generated with AI. There is also a link to learn more about content credentials.

This is a text image I created. The prompt was: woven thread in shades of blue. I had it match tightly to the shape.

Here is an image that I created in honor of women's history month and international women's day, using the text to image generator. I then edited it using Adobe Express to add the text. 

What will you and your students create using Adobe Firefly?

I can't wait to see! Want some help getting started? Let's connect and talk about how you can unleash your students' creativity using Adobe Firefly.

Google Tips And Tricks 

Things are changing all the time. This is true in all aspects of life. Not to get too deep on you here, but change is really the only thing you can count on. Learning how to embrace and accept change is one of those skills that we need to develop in our students because studies show that employers are looking for candidates who are adaptable, resilient, and innovative—qualities that are cultivated through a willingness to embrace change. By developing this skill in high school, students are better prepared for success in college, careers, and beyond.

As educators, it is vital that we model for our students what it looks like to embrace change. One way we can do that is by being transparent and having a growth mindset around technology. Google helps us do this often by instituting changes. While the changes are often subtle, they can also be powerful.

Here is a list of five of my favorite newer or lesser known capabilities within Chrome and Google Workspace. These are in no particular order.

1. Docs.New

Need to create a new Google doc, slides deck, google form, or google sheets?

Simply type: docs.new, slides.new, forms.new, or sheets.new into the ominbox (the URL bar) and voila! It will be created for you.

2. Make QR Codes Within Chrome

You don't need to use a website or other tool to create QR codes.

While you are on the site where you want the QR code to go, just click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner. Click on Save And Share and choose Create New QR Code.

3. Schedule A Time To Meet Directly From Gmail

You may not have noticed, but when you are composing a gmail message you will now see a mini calendar icon at the bottom of the screen. If you don't see the icon, click the three vertical dots, that's the "more" menu, and click where it says "set up a time to meet". You can choose days and times and then share them via email or create a calendar invite directly from gmail.

4. Snooze an email message

Struggling to manage your inbox? You're not the only one! Hover over, or click on a message in gmail and you will see a little clock icon. Click on the icon and you can snooze the message. It will disappear from your inbox and reappear on the date and time you select. Don't worry, it will come back, and then you can deal with it.

5. Easy Format With The Paint Roller Tool

There are times when we want the format of a section of text to match another section of text. You can do this in one fell swoop using the paint roller tool. Just highlight the text you like, then click on the paint roller and roll it over the text you want to change. Yes, it's that easy. You're welcome.

Have you tried any of these? Did I miss one of your favorites? Feel free to let me know.

Want some help with these or any other edtech project? Feel free to contact me or book a time on my calendar. 

Save Your Energy For Where You Shine Best!

MagicSchool AI 

@LisaBerghoff

 

In my 28 years as an educator, the phrase "teachers have too much on their plate" has been stated, at least  in some fashion, every single year. Not that it wasn't true before, it was, and it still is. It really really is true! Our roles in and out of the classroom continues to expand and grow, but not really evolve. More and more things get added to our to-do list each, and the lists from the previous years have not changed much. I am skeptical, leery even, of shiny new technology tools that claim to fix everything in education. Teaching is hard work. Learning is hard work. Both teaching and learning are complicated, nuanced, and fraught with misinformation.

That said, I do appreciate it when there are tools that I can use that may chip away at some of the more tedious and time intensive tasks that make being an educator less fun. Basically, I'm talking about anything that keeps me away from students. 

Magic School AI is one of those new tools that is designed to help manage all of the tasks that eat up our time when we are not with students. Need to write a rubric for an upcoming assignment? Formatting that rubric is going to be a real pain, so is coming up with the wording. How about creating questions to go along with a YouTube video? How many times will you need to watch the video before you get the questions just right? Need to write questions that align with the four Depth of Knowledge levels? These are all examples of what Magic School AI can do to help you. 

What Is Magic School AI?

Magic School AI is an educational technology platform that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help teachers personalize learning experiences for high school students. Developed by a team of educators and AI experts, Magic School AI offers a diverse range of interactive lessons, activities, and assessments across various subject areas, including math, science, language arts, and more.  According to their mission page, the folks at Magic School AI are "here to lighten the load, so teachers can save their envery for where they shine best-in the classroom, in front of students." They believe that relationships are at the center of everything and that Magic School AI can help save teachers time so they can devote their energy to working directly with students. They indicate that there are some things teachers don't need technology to help with, and so they have created tools to streamline tedious tasks that only educators would recognize. From the mission page: "Instead of only creating tools that address commonly understood aspects of teaching, we’ve drawn from research-based best practices, feedback from educators, as well as our own experiences in the classroom, to create tools that will save time on repetitive, tedious behind-the-scenes tasks that only teachers understand require tons of effort… things like generating relevant content, writing IEPs, differentiation, creating assessments, and supporting school discipline. That way, teachers can spend their time on the uniquely human, creative aspects of their work."

How to Use Magic School AI: 

1. To begin using Magic School AI, simply sign up for an account on the platform's website here. Once registered, you'll have access to a vast aray of  resources and tools designed to support your work with students.  You can also install the chrome extension which lives at the bottom right corner of your screen. You will then have easy access to all of the Magic School AI tools. 

2. Take some time to explore the content available on Magic School AI. Browse through the library of lessons, activities, and assessments to find resources that align with your curriculum and instructional goals. You can search and filter the tools from the top toolbar. If you find certain tools you will likely use again, just click the star and it will appear at the top in the favorites section. I find that I like the YouTube question generator. Click to view below. 

3.  Take advantage of Raina (chatbot). Raina is your AI instructional coach. Ask any questions related to best practices or work in a school. You can ask for ideas, advice, strategies, and more. 

Coming Soon! Magic Student

Magic Student is an AI platform designed to build AI literacy for students. It's purpose is to teach students how to use AI responsibly and also unlock learning opportunities that you can't get without generative AI. There is currently a waitlist and it will be rolled out when it is ready. Click here for more information. 

Magic School AI is a powerful tool that has the potential to change how we spend our time as educators. . By leveraging AI technology to personalize learning experiences, engage students, and provide valuable insights for teachers, Magic School AI can empower educators to create dynamic and effective learning environments that meet the needs of all students. So why wait? Dive into the world of Magic School AI today and unlock new possibilities for teaching and learning in your classroom. If you are new to generative AI, Magic School is a great place to start. 

Want some help getting the ball rolling? Reach out! I'm always happy to help.