New! 

Document Tabs In Google Docs 

@LisaBerghoff

I'm not someone who naturally loves spreadsheets. I certainly appreciate what they can do and admire those who can effortlessly insert formulas that can organize data. Usually, one of my favorite spreadsheet features is the ability to create multiple tabs. It reminds me of a binder. Each tab is it's own section of information and you can click from tab to tab in order to see the different groups housed all in one place. 

Now, I'm excited to share that Google docs has the same tab feature. 

This can be a wonderful way for you, and your students, to organize and keep track of lots of content in one place. The document tabs feature in Google Docs allows for opening multiple documents within the same window, using tabs—just like you would in a browser. Instead of needing to switch between different windows or search for your documents, you can now have multiple Google Docs open in one place and toggle between them with ease. 

With tabs, from the left panel you can view the document structure any time, and use the tabs as sections of the document for easier navigation. 

How To Create Tabs In Google Docs:

1. To open the left panel in a Google doc, click Show Tabs And Outlines in the upper left corner (three horizontal lines)

2. Click the Add Tab icon (plus sign) You can create and manage multiple tabs in the same document in this space.

3. You can also add subtabs by clicking the three vertical dots (tab options) and click add subtab. You can add three subtabs to each tab. 

You can delete, duplicate, rename, and move tabs, as long as you have more than one tab created and you are the editor on the document. 

There is a maximum limit of 100 tabs on a document. That's a lot of tabs!

Suggested Use Cases For Tabs In Google Docs

1. Project organization and management. Create a project template with tabs and have your students complete the work using the structure you created.

2. Student portfolios. Use tabs to show different examples of student work and reflection to show growth over time.

3. PLC work. Use a document with tabs to house data, information, questions, and reflection as a group.

4. Lesson planning. House all relevant documents and information for a unit all in one place. 

Click here to see an example that I made. This is a project organizer.

What are some other ways you will use document tabs in Google docs?

I'm excited about the possibilities.

Want some help getting started? Book a time with me and let's talk about it together. 

 Let's Get Our Students Talking!

Audio/Video Tools In Schoology

@LisaBerghoff

It's "TalkTober" everyone. This is the time of year when we have settled into our routines. The excitement of the start of the school year has worn off. We know a little bit about our students and we know that we need everyone to be participating, sharing their voice, and engaged in learning. There are so many reasons why a student may not be talking in class, and those are worth exploring. In the meantime, there are some tools that are built into Schoology that help get students sharing their thoughts and ideas in a way that doesn't require them to raise their hand and speak in front of a group.  This is a wonderful option to make sure you hear from everyone in your class and not just those who have their hands in the air.

What Are Audio/Video Tools In Schoology?

The audio and visual tools allow both course admins (teachers) as well as students to post or respond via audio only or video in lieu of or in addition to text. 

From the teacher side of things, this is a fantastic option for students who benefit from hearing your voice and seeing your face as opposed to just reading text. When you add an assignment, page, discussion question, even a calendar event, you can generate audio or video. Just look for the microphone icon. 

You can also create "assessments" that require an audio response or a video response from students. This is the best option when you don't want the audio/video tools to be optional. 

For students, it's the same microphone icon and they will see it in the upload section when they submit an assignment. They will also see it when contributing to a discussion question.

If you ask your students to submit an assignment using audio or video, here is what it will look like on your end once they have submitted. All you need to do is click to watch or listen, and provide feedback. All of the recordings are in one spot, making them easy to find and assess. 

How Do I Use Audio/Visual Tools In Assessments?

Remember, just because it's called Assessments doesn't mean it needs to be a quiz or a test. It's just a great tool that you can use so students can show you what they know in different ways.  I love to use the assessment feature for assignments when I want to make sure my students use the correct tool. 

When you use assessments, just like when you use assignments, you can incorporate audio/video recordings as the teacher and also accept audio/video recordings from your students. Both have benefits.

• From the edit questions page in your assessment, choose audio question type or video question type. This ensures that the students will record and submit.
• To add your own audio or video into the question, click the tools icon and record your audio or video using the audio player or video player tabs. 
• Click record to start and click stop when you are done. You can watch it and re-record or click ok to insert it into your question.

Here is what it looks like from the student's point of view. The question has an embedded video with instructions. There is an audio recorder below it where the students click to record their response.

Allowing students to record a video or audio recording is a fantastic way to hear everyone's voice. Whether you are looking for them to share reflections, practice explaining a concept, or make an argument, this will make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk in a way that is safe and private. What a wonderful stepping stone to helping students then share their thoughts an ideas in front of a class.  Also, providing audio/video instructions can be an important accessibility tool that our struggling students can benefit from. 

Want some help getting started with these tools? Please reach out to me. I'm happy to help!

Make Student Videos Simple With 
Screencastify Submit

@LisaBerghoff

We have known for a long time that video can be a powerful learning tool. There were teachers who had pretty sweet recording setups who would put their videos online for the rest of us to use and remix. I can remember the first time I took a look at Kahn Academy and was blown away by how effective it was. The idea of creating videos ourselves and being seen on camera was a pretty scary proposition. We all had to get over that real fast during the pandemic. We also learned that having our students record themselves can be a wonderful way for them to demonstrate their understanding. With the easy access to recording tools, we now know that a recording studio is not necessary, unless you are teaching video production. 

Screencastify is one of those tools that is small but its impact is huge. When you see that cute little arrow in your extensions bar, you know that you can record your screen while you talk, but there's a lot of power built into that little extension. Let's unpack everything that is inside Screencastify.

What is Screencastify?

According to the Chrome Webstore, Screencastify is Chrome's simplest free screen recorder and interactive platform, empowering everyone to be a better communicator. A screencast is a type of video content that captures what a person sees on their own screen. Screencasts often include audio narration and may also include an embedded webcam video so that viewers can see the person who’s creating the screencast.  Screencastify also has optional drawing tools that can be used while recording. These tools can help guide your students has you are teaching. Watch the two minute video below to learn more about the drawing tools.

One of the most beautiful things about Screencastify is that your recording will automatically be saved to your Google drive, making it super easy to share with a link. No need to download, upload, worry about file size, or whether or not your students will be able to access the video. Yes, you can download your video to your computer. You can also export to YouTube. There is also the option of embedding your video with the html code.  In other words, you don't have to worry about how you're going to get your video to your students.

What if I want, or need, to edit my video?

Screencastify has a built in video editor. When you click "edit video" you have the ability to cut, crop, zoom, add text, or add blur to your video. You can also bring in other media that you have on your Google drive or saved on your computer. You may want to add a title frame to your video, Screencastify has a tool for that too. While it is not the most robust video editor, it has the tools that you will most likely need for your screencast and they are not complicated to use at all. Your edited video will also be saved to your Google drive making it very easy to share.

How can my students create and turn in videos? (Screencastify Submit)

Screencastify Submit is a new-ish feature that makes the workflow for you and your students seamless. Here is how Screencastify Submit works.

• To access Screencastify Submit, click on the Screencastify extension and then from the more menu (three horizontal lines) click "My Recordings" and then click "Submit".
• Click on one of the templates or choose "New Assignment".
• Give the assignment a title and enter the instructions.
• You can also adjust the assignment settings here, including what type of video submission you want your students to create. You may just need them to record their screens, or just their webcams, or both. Pay attention to "link privacy" and "video privacy" to adjust who can access the student's videos.
• Click "Create And Share" when you are ready to send it to your students. 
  
  
  

Watch below to see how the setup works.

Watch below to see what it looks like from the student perspective.

Go back to the submissions tab to view and grade your students' videos.

If you want some help, Screencastify has put everything you could possibly want to know about the submit feature here.

What else can Screencastify do?

1. Add Questions: Yes! You can embed questions into your video so your students need to respond before they can continue. Click "Add Quiz" and create your questions. Add multiple choice, short answer, or a note.
   
2. Add captions: Screencastify will automatically generate captions for you once you click the "Add Captions" button.
   
3. Use the AI assistant: There is a built in AI assistant that can help enhance your video by generating a transcript, creating captions, generating a title, generating a description, or soon there will be the ability to add an AI voiceover.
4. Translate your captions: Once your captions have been created, you can translate them into a number of languages.

Wow! There's a ton packed into that little arrow extension and the possibilities are incredible with regards to access for students. I hope you will give these Screencastify tools a try, especially Screencastify Submit.
Want some help? Reach out. I'd love to work with you!

What's Different About Diffit?

@LisaBerghoff

As I was walking into school yesterday, through the throngs of students gathering in the cafeteria to get their morning moments of socialization in before class, I thought- this is such a funny place to work. People who work in offices with adults all day must be so bored. The kids were so animated on a Monday morning. They were telling stories, laughing, drinking brightly colored beverages from the coffee bar. This is what I love about working in a school. Being around teenagers means every day is different. Every learner is different. They come into learning spaces with a wide range of experiences, abilities, and ideas about themselves as learners. Sometimes, I wish I could create lessons that are easy to adjust for each of my students so they can get access to rigorous curriculum that also acknowledges what they are bringing in because of their individuality.

What is Diffit?

Diffit is one of those ai powered tools that feels like it was sent from the future.  The interface is simple and clean. It is not flashy, shiny, or distracting with silly tools that I will never use. Instead, it is a straightforward generative AI tool that will help me create content based on a topic, standard, theme, question, or prompt. It will also create learning activities based on an existing article, video, text, excerpt, or vocabulary list. 

In addition to creating content, you can have Diffit adjust reading levels and languages. You can also choose to show or hide the source citations. Every output is fully customizable and you can easily create multiple copies for students depending on their needs. You can make sure that critical vocabulary is included and vary the types of questions you want students to answer. 

Below is a 2 minute video explaining what Diffit does.

What makes Diffit different from other AI tools for teachers?

1. First, the outputs are formatted by strategy and in ready to share Google docs, slides, and forms.  Want students to work on close reading annotations? There is already a format for that. Want your students to work together? There are collaborative partner work slides. Working on identifying claims and supporting evidence? That's also already built into Diffit. Since the activities are in Google, it takes out the guesswork of how you will share with your students in a way that they can easily respond and get feedback from you. Removing these barriers facilitates students' access to the material. Below are some examples of formatted slides, forms, and docs that were created with Diffit. 

2. Next, most digital tools assume that the activities will all be completed digitally. Diffit understands that there are times when printing copies and writing is most appropriate and so you can also filter output types to show you which ones are formatted for printing. Have you ever tried to format Google slides so your students can write on them? I have, and it is absolutely no fun. Diffit makes it easy. 

3. Finally, unlike other AI tools, you have several entry points in Diffit. You can begin with a prompt, like most of the others. However, you can also begin with the end in mind. If you know that you want your students to work on an activity to help them learn vocabulary, you can choose one of those outputs first, then it will create your content and automatically with that preset activity. 

How To Use Diffit?

• Go to app.diffit.me and log in with your school credentials. 
• Choose how you want to get started. To have Diffit create content for you, start with "Literally Anything". If you have a link to an article or a video, you can enter it. You can also enter text or an excerpt via pdf or copy/paste. Your last option is to enter a vocabulary list.  If you want to begin with a type of activity, click on "Activities" in the upper left corner of the screen. 
• Choose the reading level and language. You can remix these resources with other languages and reading levels so all of your students are learning the same content.
• Choose if you want to align to standards
• Click on "Generate Resources". From there, you can edit anything you want and choose the output.
• To revisit previously generated activities, click on "My Resources" in the upper left corner of the screen.

Remember, we have a premium license for Diffit. If you need access, please reach out to me.

I would love to hear how you are using Diffit with your students!

 

What's New With PearDeck? 

@LisaBerghoff

Pear Deck is one of those tools that often gets taken for granted. When we first were introduced to the idea of students interacting with our content in slide decks it was mind blowing. We were so fortunate to have access to this resource when we were teaching online. Now, Pear Deck has been as common as our notebooks and binders, which is wonderful. However, I thought this would be a good time to do a bit of a reset and refresh what we know about how and why Pear Deck can be used and also to see the recent updates including an AI powered feature.

What Is Pear Deck?

Pear Deck is a powerful online tool that encourages student engagement and allows for real-time student feedback utilizing Google slides. It integrates with Schoology so your students don't need to go to a new site to access the content. Many of us already use slides in our classrooms, you can easily use Pear Deck to make those slides interactive. Here are some of the main features and reasons to use Pear Deck.

• Use Pear Deck templates to create on the fly checks for understanding before, during, or at the end of a lesson. 
• Use the teacher controls while presenting so the students move through the slides at the pace that you set. Set timers for student responses. Lock screens so students stay with you. Show student responses without names. 

• Utilize the many options for students to interact. Have them draw a picture, put a pin on a map, drag a dot to show how they're feeling, 

• Use Pear Deck in class with a group of students and have every single student interact with the content instead of waiting for hands to be raised or cold calling on students. 

• Have students access the Pear Deck slides outside of the classroom by setting your slides to student-paced mode. This allows students to work at their own pace while engaging with the content. You have access to the dashboard and can see everyone's progress and give them feedback.

• In addition to interactive questions, you can embed websites for students to access through Pear Deck, making it easy and less likely they will become distracted.
• Create audio for each slide so students can hear your voice. See below.
• Generate "takeaways" at the end of a lesson so students will have their own copy of the slide deck, with their responses, in their Google drive.

Add audio to your slides:

See What Is New!

Ok. This is not really new to Pear Deck but I am assuming it's new to you. Did you know that you can enable Immersive Reader for students in Pear Deck? This will allow students to access text to speech and other accessibility options right in the Pear Deck environment. To turn it on, log in to Pear Deck and click on your account and then "settings". Toggle the switch to on next to Immersive Reader. You can click "learn more" to find out all about how it works.

Ok. This is what is really new!

There is now a feature called Instant Pear Decks that uses AI to create an entire slide deck complete with Pear Deck interactive slides based on your inputs. You can enter a topic, grade level, standards, add files to be referenced, or links to articles or websites. You can also decide if you want a full lesson, which covers three learning objectives, a targeted lesson, that covers one objective, or end of class exit tickets. Click create and in 30 seconds or less, you will have a fully customizable Pear Deck activity. Watch the video below or click here to learn more. 

Are you ready to use Pear Deck more intentionally to help some of our struggling students have better access to content? Want some help getting started? Let me know!

 More Play = More Learning

Get To It With Gimkit!

@LisaBerghoff

Research has shown that learning is "helped by experiences that are playful- that are joyful, meaningful, actively engaging, iterative, and socially interactive". (Ross, 2023) We definitely see in our own classrooms that when we are able to incorporate games in learning, students are more actively engaged and the learning is more impactful.  I love bringing games into my classes but sometimes making up games and putting together the materials can be so cumbersome. Kahoot came out in 2013 and it was such an innovative idea because it brought game show energy into the classroom. Now, there are so many game-based platforms designed for learning and one of my absolute favorites is Gimkit.

Gimkit was founded by a high school student. Josh Feinsilber created Gimkit as a school project during his junior year. Instead of earning points, students can earn virtual currency, which they can invest during the game to boost their score. Games can be played live or can be assigned as independent practice. There is also a flashcard mode that students can use for their own study purposes. I find the KitCollab feature to be particularly useful. Using KitCollab, the students create the questions. You have the opportunity to view them and decide if they are worthy of playing in your class game. 

Let's take a look at the features of Gimkit.

1. Create A Kit

When you create a kit, you have the choice to

•  Add questions manually- Add multiple choice or text input questions. You can also add audio, images, and equations.
• Create with flashcards- You can import from other flashcard sites where you may have already created flashcard sets. The flashcards you create in Gimkit can also be used by students for practice.
• Create with KitCollab- Share a link with students and have them submit questions and answers.  You decide what gets through to the game. 
• Add from a question bank- You can see questions that have already been created by others on your topic. Choose to add specific questions or take the whole darned kit.
• Import from a spreadsheet- Someone does this I'm sure. If you have questions and answers in a spreadsheet format, you can import them here. Some of the other sites you use may also download in this format. 

2. Play In Class (highly recommend)

Ok. You have made your kit and clicked "all done". Now you get to decide how you want to play. Here's what I suggest to start out with.

• Play live in class
• Choose the game called "Tycoon". This is the original and looks similar to Kahoot. You and your students will be very comfortable playing this way.
• Once you choose Tycoon, you will have settings to adjust. Here is what they are. Get excited!
• Game Goal: How will your students know when the game is over? You can set a specific period of time and see who gets the most cash until the timer runs out. You can make it a race and say the first person to get XX amount of points wins. Last, you can choose "all in" mode. This is where the class collectively has to reach a certain cash goal. I love the idea of my students working together so I often choose this one. 
• Class: You can create a class and then when your students join with the link, they are automatically enrolled. This is great for future Gimkit games. Or don't, the choice is yours. If you don't create a class then students join the game using the code and enter their name. You can set it to automatically create friendly nicknames. 
• Starting Cash: If you want students to have some cash in the bank at the start of the game, you can enter the amount here. 
• Music: You can decide if you want the Gimkit music turned on.
• Clapping: Gives students an opportunity to clap. Who doesn't love a round of applause?
• Join In Late: This is a smart addition. If a student comes in late, they can still join in the fun (and the learning) instead of just sitting there until the game is over.
• Click continue and you will get a screen to share with students giving them the game code to join.

3. Play Independently (also recommend but for different reasons)

Don't have time in class to play? You can assign games to be played independently, which can be a wonderful way to study, practice, and reinforce those skills that you are working on in class. You actually have two options for students to study and play independently. 

• First, you can send them the link to the practice set. When you are in edit mode, you will see a link in the panel on the left that says "practice", it's got a cute little coffee cup next to it. That link will open the questions for your students without all of the bells and whistles and cash and prizes. It's questions and answers, simple and effective.
  
  
  

• Your second option for independent practice is to assign a game. Click the button that says "Assign HW" and you can choose from several games for students to play using the questions from that kit. Cash Tycoon is the "classic" version but you can choose other games as well. Ask your students, I bet they will have their favorites. You can set a due date, and a cash goal or a question goal. I like to set a question goal because sometimes the students want to play more and answer less. This makes sure they are actually interacting with the material as much as possible. Each game has it's own set of parameters you can set. 

4. Have Students Create The Game Content

I cannot emphasize this enough. When students are involved in creating these games, not only are they more likely to retain what they are learning, but they will be more engaged and invested in the activity. Gimkit's KitCollab feature lets this happen so seamlessly.

When you are in edit mode, just click on KitCollab and then click to enable it.  You will be given a link and a qr code to send or project to students. Then, when their questions are submitted, that is the area where you can review them and determine if they are worthy of being part of your kit.  There is virtually no work to be done on your end. Once the questions have been approved, you can have the students play the games using the content they created. Amazing!

5. Review The Data

When you create a class, you can view the dashboard and see everyone's progress. You can also look at each item and see where students are struggling and where they are excelling. This is a critical step as this formative information can help inform future planning and opportunities for students to grow and make progress.

Ok! If you have made it to the end of this post, you are ready to get started with Gimkit. I'm always here to help you on the back end OR I'm more than happy to come to your class and help you run it in real time. Just let me know.

 

  Use Schoology To Communicate With Students, Caregivers, Case Managers, and Counselors

@LisaBerghoff

Complaining about technology is as common as complaining about taxes. It's much safer to blame technology than to say that I messed up in some way. Go into any room of adults and make a comment about how much we all love technology (insert sarcastic tone here) and you will get a universal positive response. We've all been there, when the technology is supposed to do one thing but it does something entirely different and it must be our aura because there is no way we did something wrong. In fact, I have also experienced the frustration of having technology work perfectly when I'm alone and then completely fail when I am in front of a group. However, for the most part I believe that the computers do what the humans tell it to so. Sometimes we miss a step, or more likely that we don't completely understand how the directions we are giving it are being interpreted. 

Schoology, our learning management system, can be critical as a tool for communication, if we use it properly. One of the benefits of Schoology is that it is a very versatile system that allows for so much teacher autonomy. The flip side of that is that there are so many bells and whistles and there is also a larger margin for error if we aren't careful.  

Here are five basic tips for making sure Schoology is working for you in effective communication to students and those who care about them. 

1. Be Aware And Leverage The Submission Button 

When you create assignments in Schoology, there are several icons at the bottom of the screen. the submission button looks like a brown box with a green arrow on it. By default, the submission button is turned on, meaning the system expects students to submit something digitally. If you are accepting this assignment in another format, such as paper, or a poster, or a presentation, please uncheck the submission button. When the submission button is enabled and students do not submit something digitally, then it will appear as overdue. This is confusing to students and to caregivers. As a parent, if I see that there is something listed as overdue, that prompts a discussion with my son about completing his work. If he tells me that Schoology is wrong, then that brings a level of unnecessary frustration for both of us. 

2. Be Consistent With Updates And Materials

As learners, we thrive on routine. It frees up our brains so we can focus on challenging material and problem-solving. If I have to problem-solve how to know what it is I need to do for your class, that is not great use of my brain energy. There is not really one right answer here in terms of what is best, but you should pick one and stick with it. Here are some effective options I see being done by our colleagues.

    1. Embed a Google slides presentation on the materials page with today's showing up first. Add a slide for each day showing the agenda and what is due.

    2. Create a folder for each unit on the materials page with the newest unit on top.

    3. Post a daily update with links to the agenda and assignments due.

  

Try your very best NOT to:

• Switch up systems- an update one day and the agenda on the materials page another day.
• Make it so students need to click a bunch of links to get to what they need. Going to Schoology to click on a rolling Google doc is not the most efficient.
• Create from the gradebook, it just populates a long crazy list to the materials page.

3. Use Schoology As The Digital Version Of Your Classroom

If you write something on the board, please make sure it is also in Schoology. If you hand out photocopies, please make sure there is a digital version in Schoology. See what I'm doing here? Imagine if you have a student who is not in class. They should be able to go to your Schoology page and find everything that they need without filling your inbox with questions. Our goal is for our students to be independent learners. Let's set them up for success by making sure all of our materials are accessible to all students. 

4. Give Feedback

Even if you have opted not to use the gradebook in Schoology, you can still provide helpful feedback that can be seen by students and caregivers. When you are looking at student submissions, feel free to add comments that can help give some insight into why a student scored a certain way on an assignment. More information, especially at the beginning of the year, can really be helpful and give some insight into how students can be successful in your class. 

5. Create Pages

Often, teachers have information that they need on their Schoology materials pages that are not assignments or links. There is nothing for students to submit, but it is information that they are expected to interact with. This is where pages come in handy. On the materials page, click to add materials and choose add page. Here, you can add anything that you could add in an assignment. You can embed images, videos, text, and more. These pages are the perfect place holders for information that you just need to be there for students to access. These pages can be saved as a page link or "inline", which means it will appear right there in the materials page. (see below) Depending on how much real estate it takes up, you can choose which option is best for your students. In my opinion, pages are the most underrated item available on the materials page.

Ok. That's the list. This is very doable, isn't it? Were there any that you recommend that did not make it on my list? Want some help getting started or getting organized?

Feel free to reach out!