Newsela Helps Make Reading the Most Powerful Learning Tool. 

Reading is one of the most powerful learning tools we have. It is also one of the greatest barriers when it comes to our students who struggle. Students who have difficulty reading often cannot access the curriculum they need in order to learn. Newsela is one of those magical tools that makes it possible for struggling students to hang in there with the class in a way that empowers them, instead of belittling them. I can remember being in elementary school and we had reading groups. It was very clear who were the great readers (the barracuda group) and who were the not so great readers (the minnows). I'm glad to see that those days are over but teachers still struggle with how to get content to our students in a way that they will understand.

Newsela  is a website that has a huge collection of current events articles from real sources like the Associated Press and Washington Post. Each article can be adjusted to 5 different reading levels. The students can select the level, or language, that is most comfortable for them. The content is the same.The articles come with eye catching photos and it shows you how many times the article has been assigned. The article also has grade level information and the word count. Students are able to adjust the reading level right their on  their own  screen. There is also an easy print option. 

Newsela is free and works seamlessly with Google Classroom. They also offer professional development webinars on literacy in addition to supports and resources for teachers. In addition to the latest news, you can search the Newsela library for content-specific articles. The students are in control of the reading level and the content doesn't change so even your minnows will be able to chime in during class discussions and activities.

When you sign up as a teacher, you can either create a class or import from Google Classroom. Newsela also allows you to create text sets or choose from the ones that are already created. This way, you can offer your students a whole group of articles to choose from. This will help you get some instructional time back if you were planning on having students search  on their own. There are even activities included where you can have students write by responding to a prompt, or take a short quiz.

Do you  already use Newsela? Write in the comments feature below and let me know how you have been using it!

Google Forms Turned Up A Notch! 

Password Protect and 4 Other Amazing Google Forms Tricks

Google forms are arguably the most transformative edtech tool in use today. They can be used for so many purposes. From submitting assignments, formative and summative assessments, and good old fashioned surveys,  to taking attendance at club meetings and opinion polls, Google forms are widely used by both teachers and students. It's no wonder, they are simple and fast to create and user friendly for the responders. The team at Google has been making a few adjustments to Google forms that you might not know about.  Some features are still being rolled out. 

 Sit tight because these 5 tips might make your head explode!

1. Password Protect Your Form With Response Validation

Don't want just anyone to be able to access and complete your form? No problem, you can create a "password" by using response validation.  This one isn't really so new but many people don't know about it. 

Here's a pictorial of the 3 steps to follow:

1.Just click the three dots next to the Required tab and click response validation. Make sure you are in short answer mode. Don't forget to make the question required. 

2. Here is where you can set the parameters. 

3. For a password, set it to "Text" "Contains" and then enter the password EXACTLY how it must be entered to use.  Where it says "Custom Error Text"  write in something like- wrong password, try again. 

2.  New Question Type: The Checkbox Grid

This new type of question option allows your respondents to choose from multiple options in a table. This is really helpful for things like finding meeting times. You set the rows. The example here shows the days of the week. You then set the columns. The image here shows one with class periods on it. 

Here is what the checkbox grid looks like to the respondent. I could see this being used in many ways for multiple disciplines. I'm thinking characters and traits, equations and properties, figures in history and events. I know you will put this one to good use! 

3. File Upload Capabilities:

Finally! Our suggestions have been heard and Google has added the ability for respondents to upload a file into the form. When you add a question, just choose "file upload". You will see the options below. Everything from an image, PDF, video, audio file and more. You can have them add multiple files and set the maximum size allowed.

4. Give Feedback In Quiz Mode:

Of course you know that Google forms now has quiz mode where you can assign points and even give an answer key. The form will grade itself! If you set the grades to be released manually, the email addresses will automatically be collected AND you can give feedback within the quiz. When your students get their grades, they will see the feedback you left for them within the questions. 

Here is what the quiz settings look like:  

5. Set Preferences that will apply for ALL of your forms!

Are you sick and tired of marking every question as required? Well now you can set preferences for your forms. You can automatically collect respondent's email addresses, mark all questions required, and even preset point values for quiz questions. Once you set your preferences, that will be the default setting for all of your forms. Click the three dots in the upper righthand section of your screen and open Preferences. 

Here is what the preferences options look like: 

Coming Soon! Look for Intelligent Response Validation.

How are you using Google forms? 

Go ahead and post in the comments below.

Want to work on these together? I'm happy to work with you and show you how to use these features in a way that makes sense for you and your classroom. 

Everyone is Flipping For Flipgrid!

I can hold it in no longer! My plan was to slowly roll out tools this fall so we could ease ourselves in to trying some new things. Here it is, week #2 and there is nothing slow about this. The truth is, teachers around the world are going nuts for Flipgrid and I just could not stand the idea that our staff is missing out.

There are always teachers who are looking for simple ways for students to express themselves via video. Teachers want to have students share and give each other feedback in a safe way that doesn't take up a ton of time. There are a few tools out there but many are clunky or require accounts to be created.

If you are one of those teachers, Flipgrid is the answer to your prayers. 

Here's what you need to know about Flipgrid. 

• The grid is extremely simple to set up. You put in a topic, students record their thoughts. You as the teacher can moderate the content, you can give feedback to individual students, you can even share videos with parents privately so they will only see their students' work.

• Even with the free version, you get 1 grid but unlimited topics. Ask away! You can add a youtube video or image to inspire creativity and/or give everyone some background knowledge. 

• This tool is designed for maximum student engagement. Everyone adds a video, not just the two or three students who always raise their hand in your class. Students can also add files or links to their videos. There are also drawing and custom sticker features. 

• Flipgrid has a free app for ios and android phones. It also works great with chromebooks! #noexcuses

• BONUS! Flipgrid integrates with Google Classroom and other learning management systems. 

Find out what all the fuss is about from other teachers. On Twitter, check out #flipgridfever

(If you're not on Twitter, I would LOVE to help you get started!)

Ready to give Flipgrid a try? You don't have to go it alone. I'm happy to help you and your students get started. Have you used other video tools for student engagement and feedback? Post in the comments section below and let me know your favorites. 

Google Classroom Turns 3!

Wow! Its hard to believe Google Classroom was launched 3 years ago. On the one hand, I feel like it was just yesterday when we heard Google was launching this amazing new product to help teachers manage workflow of Google apps in their classes. Since then, a lot has changed. But what has stayed the same is that Google Classroom continues to be simple and quick to learn and use. Using Google Classroom helps teachers with organization, communication, and overall time saving which means more time to spend with our students and less time digging around searching for files and folders.  Our students are asking teachers to use Google Classroom because it helps them keep their materials organized which means maximizing class time.

One big recent launch is called #FirstDayofClassroom. This is a hub that houses easy to follow tutorials, videos, tips, tricks, and resources for getting up and running with Google Classroom. The beauty of this hub is that all of the resources are created and used by teachers. There are live training sessions that you can join and a forum where you can post your specific questions. If you are on Twitter (Why are you not on Twitter??) check out #FirstDayofClassroom for updates in real time from the vast community of teachers using Google Classroom.

Click HERE to go to the First Day of Classroom Hub. 

If you are new to Google Classroom, here are 5 of the basics:

1. Google classroom allows you to quickly and easily create an online location for your students to access digital work in your class. You can push out announcements, assignments, and questions to your students. They can respond, turn in completed assignments, and ask questions, all within the confines of the classroom. 

2. Parents and guardians can get an update of their child's progress in your class automatically if you activate the guardian feature. 

3. There are many many free, online apps that work seamlessly with Google Classroom. For example, EdPuzzle allows you to create video assignments and push to your Google Classrooms right within EdPuzzle. It's so convenient because your students don't need to bounce back and forth. 

4. You can organize your posts by topic so in February, when your classroom is chock full of assignments, etc., your students will be able to find work from previous units. 

5. You can set up a class in less than 3 minutes by going to Classroom.Google.com or by clicking the Classroom icon in your apps doc. 

Haven't looked at Classroom since June? Check out the latest updates here:

You have probably seen that little question mark in the bottom corner of the screen when you use Google Classroom. You can click that question mark to see what is new, send feedback to the Google Classroom team, ask a question, or get help. It's a small icon but it's mighty and the folks at GoogleEdu really listen to teachers and the updates are the direct result of teachers providing feedback so don't hesitate to click and make suggestions. Ok, here's the latest.

1. New API features. Basically, this means that third party developers can build tools that interact with Classroom to make it that much more convenient for teachers and students. Read more about API here. 

2. You can now schedule coursework to post at a date or time in the future. PLEASE do not push out assignments at 9:30 at night. Either save it as a draft, or schedule it to push during your class time. 

3. You can now see a list of work by student and not just by assignment. The students can now see a list of all their work for a class in one convenient spot. There is even a filter so you can adjust the list by what is due or by grade.

4. Teachers can now re-order their classes on the Classroom dashboard. Now that we've been using it for 3 years, we have lots of "cards" for our classes. This feature makes it easier to organize. 

5. Decimal grades. Enough said. Thank you Google! 

6. When you are enrolling your students in a class, you can now display the class code in whole screen mode. It's a small adjustment that will make a difference.

7. Teachers and administrators can now transfer ownership of a class to another teacher. Last minute adjustments to teaching assignments? No problem!

8. The Google apps (now called GSuite) dock, that little icon with nine squares, is now located on the Google Classroom bar at the top of the screen. This makes switching back and forth in between GSuite apps much easier. 

Google Classroom has made adjustments and updates each month, which shows that they are reading the teacher feedback and listening to suggestions. Click here to see all of the updates for Google Classroom. 

#GoOpen with OER Commons

@LisaBerghoff

open sign board by MarkMoz12

Yes, it's the end of the school year. There are signs everywhere. The other day I saw students cleaning out their lockers, collecting what is left of their school supplies and stacking their textbooks for the end of the year "buy-back book sale". This is where our students take the books that they purchased in the fall and attempt to exchange them for cash. I can't help but slightly cringe when I see the price tags on many of these books. Did they get what they paid for back in August?

I am increasingly intrigued by teachers' and learners' use of Open Educational Resources, or OER. If you are not familiar with OER, allow me to introduce you to the world of free, high quality, adaptable resources that can be used in and out of the classroom. 

OER is not just about giving away information. It's about reducing barriers to high quality materials and education for all kids. What makes an open resource different from a free one? 

Free resources may not actually be free forever. Often, you are given a free trial or limited access for free. Also, if a free resource may not be changed or adapted to meet the needs of students, it is not OER.

Finding open educational resources is actually quite easy. I think  the best place to start is

 OER Commons Finding open resources online can feel unwieldy. OER Commons makes it simple with their search functions and extensive library. They even have collections "curated by digital librarians"!  In keeping of the OER spirit, there is also a way to connect and add content to the OER world. School districts, state boards of ed., and groups of teachers have created OER Commons groups. In these groups, there are shared resources and discussion sections for members to interact. 

Getting started with OER Commons only requires that you register by entering your name, email address, and password. 

As you are thinking about organizing your texts for next school year, I hope you will consider #GoOpen options like OER Commons.

Do you use #GoOpen resources? If so, please share in the comments section below. 

Yes you can! 

FORCE a copy on Google Docs

@Lisa Berghoff

Here's a great little tip to keep in mind as we wrap up this school year and start planning for the fall. Sharing and copying documents has become commonplace in our classrooms. Many of us use Google Classroom or Hapara to push out copies of docs or other Google drive files. Here is a simple, quick way to force users to create a copy of a Google doc without using an external system.

Here is what you need to do:

• Grab the link of the Google doc, sheet, slide, or drawing that you are editing. You will know it's the right link because it will have the word "edit" at the end. 
• Replace the word "edit" with "copy"
• When the user on the other end clicks the link, they will automatically be prompted to make a copy. Their copy will then be added to their own Google drive

Do you have other helpful little tips and tricks with Google docs? 

Share them in the comments below:)

Go Beyond Search in Google

Google Is A Search Engine...

@LisaBerghoff

This time of year, many of us have our students doing research projects. How fortunate we are to live in a world where students have the whole internet at their disposal. I was explaining to my own children that when I was in school we used these things called encyclopedias! The internet is vast and being able to use your time efficiently to get valid information can be tricky. I'm happy to let you know that there are some specialized search tools set up by Google to help us sift through the never ending sea of information that is out there.

Here is a quick breakdown. You can find more on the Google Education Training Center. 

Google Maps: 

Starting with the obvious! Yes, you can find directions, addresses, and traffic information. Did you know that you can also search for key terms? For example, you can search "Historical Landmarks In Highland Park". You can then see ratings that other maps users have written.

Google Trends:

This tells you what is popular on the internet. My favorite part of this tool is the "data visualization project". The Google news lab is working with designers to tell visual stories with Google data. In addition, you can see trending searches, trending on YouTube, and top charts that you can filter by country, time, date, and category. This is a great tool if you ever do any kind of current events in your class. 

Google News:

Google News gets the latest news from around the world. It is curated from various news sources which you can personalize and adjust. It also can be filtered by category/subject. This is a great tool if your students are searching for news articles because it gives you just that, and no distracting YouTube videos that you would love to click on!

Google Books:

You can search the "world's most comprehensive index of full-text books". If you need students to reference part of a book that you don't happen to have, this is a great tool for you. Google Books will show you books for purchase as well as free online text. You can also create lists in the My Library section.

Google Finance:

Great tool for business and economics classes! You can track stock prices, create a portfolio, see the latest finance news.