Let Them Show What They Know! 

Annotations Assignments In Schoology

@LisaBerghoff

We are nearing the end of the semester! It feels far away but it will be here soon. This is a very important time to be formatively assessing our students' learning in order to inform what the next few weeks will look like. Formative assessment, assessment in general really, can be exhausting when you have multiple sections and only a finite amount of time with them. This is where it becomes increasingly important to leverage technology to streamline things and make the workflow clear and simple for everyone.  This is also an opportune time to put accessibility at the forefront the goal should always be to remove barriers to learning, not to create barriers. 

What Are Annotations Assignments?

Annotation assignments in Schoology allow educators to provide any document type and have students annotate directly on their own copy of the document. Students can write, draw, and highlight.  The students have the ability to add a text box to type, add basic shapes, highlight parts of the document, or use the pen tool for drawing and writing using the touchscreen or trackpad. After they submit, educators are able to review the students' work, add their own notes or comments, even request that students resubmit. 

Once the assignment is created, all the students need to do is click START ASSIGNMENT. It will automatically open the document and the tools they need to complete the assignment. when they are finished, they just need to click SUBMIT.

Here is what it looks like as a student:

How Do I Create An Annotations Assignment In Schoology?

Step1: From your course materials page, click ADD MATERIALS

Step 2: Click ADD ASSIGNMENT

Step 3: Under format options, click ANNOTATIONS ASSIGMENT

Step 4: Upload a file from your device.

 (Docx,HTML,JPG,PDF,PNG,PPTX,RTF,TXT,XLS,XLSX,XML)

Step5: Finish adding the details to your assignment and click CREATE

What Does It Look Like When I Am Grading?

In the submissions area, when you click NEEDS GRADING, you will see the students' responses. You can enter a grade in the grade box that will go to the Schoology gradebook. You can also enter notes and comments and then submit or post. 

You AND your students have the ability to print or download submissions. You can also view revision notes if there are any. 

When Would I Use Annotations Assignments In Schoology?

There are many obvious applications for this tool. Here are a few that you may or many not have thought of.

• Filling in a map
• Completing or creating a diagram
• Highlighting and annotating a section of text
• Students reviewing and assessing exemplars
• Permission slips or other forms that need to be signed

Since these annotations assignments are all housed within Schoology, students won't lose track of them and neither will you. The immersive reader that is housed within Schoology will be available to your students to use on anything that you have in the instructions. 

Have you used Annotations Assignments in Schoology?

I would love to hear your other uses!

Brisk Boost For STUDENTS!

AI Powered Engagement 

In Real Time

@LisaBerghoff

Sometimes I wish I could clone myself. I would love to be having in depth conversations with each of my students on a regular basis. The truth is that there is only one of me and there is a finite amount of time. If I choose to have private chats with each student then there is a pretty big tradeoff because that means the rest of my class is left to their own devices (pun intended) for a significant amount of time. These conversations are important, but the logistics of our school day structure do not allow for this to occur on an ongoing basis. I am so excited to introduce a new tool that makes me feel like I am able to be a fly on the wall for student conversations about their learning and it doesn't require scheduling individual meetings.  

What Is Brisk Boost?

Brisk Boost for Students is a new offering from Brisk Teaching. It's a tool that provides a safe environment for students to utilize AI in their learning while giving teachers important insights. The teacher creates activities for students and then the students interact with Brisk Boost's AI interface. The students engage with the AI tool and the teacher has access to be able to see how the students are interacting in real time.  Brisk Boost creates a path for every student to engage with material in a way that is structured by the teacher but allows for students to safely interact, make mistakes, and ask questions that they might not otherwise feel comfortable asking. 

How Do I Use Brisk Boost?

If you have the Brisk Chrome extension, then you already have access to Brisk Boost. In order to install the extension, go to BriskTeaching.com and click to add the extension to your Chrome account for free.  Once you have the account, here are the steps to get going with Brisk Boost. 

Step 1: Find a resource. You can use BriskTeaching to create something for you, or use a resource that you already have. This will work with pretty much any online content. Use a Google doc, a YouTube video, or an online article. 

Step 2: Click on the Brisk chrome extension and click "Boost Student Activity". It has a cute little red backpack. 

Step 3: This is where you will create your interactive activity. You currently have 2 choices- "engage" or " assess". A fully customizable activity will be created in seconds. All activities are aligned with learning objectives. These are important as they are used to measure the students' progress. Engage gives you these options: tutor, hook, character chat, debate, inquiry, brainstorm, and real-world math. Assess gives you pulse check or exit ticket options. Soon there will be Write and Reflect interactive activities. You can, and should, take a look at the preview so you can see what your students will see. This is a good time to make any needed adjustments. 

Step 4: Generate a link and share it with your students. You can set it up so they need to log in, or they can just enter their own name. All they need to do is click the link and they are ready to go. They will see whatever content you put into place, along with the chat screen on the side.

Step 5: You now have access to see all of their chat information. Just hop over to your Brisk dashboard and you can monitor their progress in real time.

When To Use Brisk Boost?

This can be a wonderful way to have students review material and give you a snapshot of what they have learned. Conversely, I would also use Brisk Boost at the beginning of a unit or lesson as a way for all students to engage with new material in a way that feels safe. This works in other languages and can be a fantastic way to introduce students to using AI responsibly. 

Want to give Brisk Boost a try but not sure where to start?

Reach out to me! I'm happy to help. 

 

 Get Even More Out Of Canva 

With Canva Apps

@LisaBerghoff

Raise your hand if you love Canva! The design software company has found its way into the hearts of educators everywhere. Canva continues to be the first choice for educators and students when it comes to making creative presentations, videos, flyers, posters, and more. They continue to add tools and capabilities. Have you used their whiteboards or tried their AI powered photo editing tools? 

Believe it or not, there are some things that Canva cannot do. But before you jump to a new tool, check out the apps housed within Canva. These apps are created by third party providers and are available in the apps section of the Canva toolbar. Some of the apps are AI powered, some are not. Some have a freemium pricing structure and others are totally free. When you are working with students in Canva and they say "I wonder if I can create..." and you aren't quite sure where to send them, consider having them peruse the apps. 

How Do I Access Canva Apps?

When you are in the design editor, click "apps" on the left side toolbar. There you will see a huge menu of various apps that you can explore.

Some of the apps that I use most frequently are:

1. YouTube: This app allows me to embed YouTube videos into my designs.

2. Embed: This app allows me to embed pretty much anything from websites into my designs. 

3. Text Maker: Create text with very cool effects with just one click.

4. Giphy: Search and add gifs and stickers to your designs.

5. Bulk Create: Create multiple pages using data from a spreadsheet

I have not tried the following but they exist and I will be checking them out:

• GenQuiz: Creates quiz questions based on your text or a link.
• Bingo Cards: Makes bingo cards based on the word list you enter.
• Translate: Will auto translate anything on your designs to the language you choose.
• Image Upscaler: Enhances images using AI.
• Image Importer: Grabs images from any public website for you.

This is just the beginning. There are lots of apps for creating music using AI, enhancing photos, and creating images. There are also some that are more geared towards productivity.

If you don't have a specific need, but want to see what apps are available, you can always go to https://www.canva.com/your-apps/ and browse.  New apps are being added all the time.

Have you or your students explored the apps section in Canva? I would love to know what you have found and tried. Connect with me to learn more. 

I Have To Learn How To Do What?

AI Prompt Library For Educators

@LisaBerghoff

I have been talking to many educators who are interested in dipping their toe in the AI waters to explore and see what all the fuss is about. I am so happy to share some basic tools and then I typically start to explain how AI prompting works and how it is different from an internet search. We have all gotten so good at searching and prompting for AI is not quite the same thing. This is where I often lose people. The idea of needing to figure out how to create a prompt can seem daunting. That's why I was thrilled to discover the AI prompt library provided by AI For Education.

AI For Education is an organization whose mission is to provide AI literary training for one million educators. They empower educators and academic institutions through responsible AI adoption and training. Their website has a wonderful treasure trove of free resources, including online courses.  On the free resource center, you will also find the prompt library for educators. 

What Is The Prompt Library?

This is a generative AI chatbot prompt library for educators. These ready to use prompts are perfect for use with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity. The prompts are designed to help you lesson plan, do administrative tasks, create slide decks, and more of the stuff that eats away at your time. The library is divided into categories so you can easily find what you are looking for. You will see an example prompt that you can then copy/paste/edit. 

First, there is a group of prompts for administrative tasks. 

The one that I was most interested in from this group was a prompt to summarize themes in survey data. Here is the suggested prompt:

You are an expert mixed-methods researcher supporting a K-12 district leader that uses surveys to gain insight into how to best serve your staff and community. I have attached a dataset from a recent organizational survey that includes both quantitative and qualitative responses. The audience for the survey was teachers who attended professional development over the summer, and they were providing feedback and input on the quality and usefulness of the training for a new instructional model. Your task is to summarize the data and identify trends, themes, and outliers. Please include the following in your analysis: 1. Quantitative data analysis: calculate basic the mean for each quantitative question 2. Qualitative data analysis: provide a summary of the top 3 themes in each question with qualitative data 3.Identify outliers and explain them in the context of the other data 6. Identify 2-3 actionable recommendations based on your summary.

Would you have written that? I'm pretty sure I would not but it gives a great example of how to construct a prompt in a way that will yield the results you want.

The next group that you will see is for assessment. Yes, you are seeing that last one correctly, it's an AI prompt designed to assist you with creating AI resistant assessments. The assessment category is one area where I think AI can really shine in terms of helping us. If you only look at one section, I suggest looking at this one.

Here we have another very helpful category, communication. Want the ai chatbot to make slides for you? There's a prompt for that! This group has everything from reference letters, to newsletters. These prompts are beautifully crafted and will help you get the most out of your generative ai tool of choice.

Ok. You get the idea. There are many more groups including lesson planning, social-emotional learning, professional development, special education, and prompts to use with students. 

I love that the site is clean and clear of clutter. Each of the prompts comes with an explanation, example prompts, and additional prompting strategies to think about.

Are you ready to get started? Even if you're not quite ready, perusing the prompt library is a good idea so you can understand how an ai prompt is different from an internet search.

If you want a partner, feel free to reach out! I'd love to help you. 

 

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!