Connecting With Students...Around the World #GlobalSpeedChat

Have you seen it.  Probably not...it just rolled out.  But I love it and you will too.

I would like to give you some information on #GlobalSpeedchat (globalspeedchat.com).   

Essentially it is a new initiative to connect student around the world.  App smashing Adobe spark and padlet and a host of other tools, #globalspeedchat hopes to engage students from all over the world with each other. 

Here is a TedEd blog about it.

http://blog.ed.ted.com/2016/11/15/the-magic-of-collaboration-these-two-teachers-created-globalspeedchat-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-among-students/

 I hope you will ask your students to post and then check back as each task gets more international posts.  

And go.

For those of us using Google Classroom and Docs in our school google domain (schoogle), our public name may not be formated as we wish.  My district lists our last name first and first name last…as do our student’s accounts.  The GIF attached shows how to change it.

Take It Up a Notch: Aggregating Student Video Projects for Teacher and Peer Feedback on Youtube

Take It Up a Notch:  Aggregating Student Video Projects for Teacher and Peer Feedback on Youtube

Students are immersed in a culture of video. Youtube attracts more eyeballs than ANY cable station. Watching educational videos is one way to deliver content, but having students create videos on your class content "deepens thinking" and engages them much more than consuming video.  But then what?

Getting videos to the teacher is relatively easy in Google Classroom.  However, at times we want all the videos in one easy place for teachers and students to comment on.  The simple answer for this is to use your G Suite for Education account to post on Youtube.  Students can place their videos in a playlist that the teacher creates and the class shares.  Here is how:

Teachers:  In YouTube, while logged in with your school account, go to “My Channel” on left three lines menu (we call it the hamburger menu in our district) Choose Playlists in the middle of that page.   If this is your first time in YouTube you may have some setup to do including picking privacy settings.  Some teachers are reticent to be public (bigger public, bigger impact) but even if your channel is public, you have the option of choosing the setting for each video or playlist.  

Choose to create a new playlist, name it and choose Unlisted for the privacy setting.  This way your playlist cannot be found by search, but students can find it with the link.

Next, Click on the Share settings and check the  “Allow people with link to add videos”

As with most things...the first time is slightly more complicated than the second.  The first time students should log in with their school google login (schoogle) and go to their Youtube account and choose “My Channel”. They will then have to set up their name and gender and create the channel.  After that, students can follow the link you posted to your playlist. When they press continue they will be able to upload their own video.  If they are on a chromebook and the video is on Google Drive the process is simple...press “Add Videos” while in the playlist.  Similarly if the students are working on a pc...the video must first be downloaded to the pc and then uploaded, unless your students’ videos are syncing with Google Photos.  Ahhh...the options are endless.

Students and teachers alike now have access to view and comment on any video that has been added to the playlist.  

Once the videos are all in, access to add videos can be restricted and the playlist shared with parents, the school or the world for critical feedback and celebration.

Much Thanks to Eileen Theuerkauf and Jennifer Murphy for editing this post.

                   Spooktacular Tips for Halloween Week!

                     1.   Great Google Slides templates: Techy scale - 3/10

                     2.   Math Games aligned to Common Core: Techy scale - 2/10, 7^th and 8^th grade examples for November

                     3.   Minimize all windows on your screen to get to desktop quickly: Techy scale - 1/10

                     4.   Digital Feedback:   Techy scale - 7/10 Open all your student assignment files to correct at the same time.

1.    Slides Carnival: Find a good one…press Use and make a copy.  Enter your content.  Halloween one for Monday… Halloween Template

2.    Mathgames.com:  Games and worksheets.  Search by grade K-8 or by standard.  Track students or not by importing google classrooms.  Assign to students by posting link to that game for extra practice on wits or using the post to google classroom button.  Scratch pad (student use stylus or finger to show work) and multiple choice questions

a.   7^th Grade:  Solving rational equations

b.   8^th Grade:  Identify Reflections, rotations, translations and dilations.

3.    Are you a windows hog?  Lots of open windows and tabs?  Try these keyboard shortcuts. 

a.   Minimize all windows: + D

b.   Close all windows: Alt + F4, F4, F4

c.   Switch to next tab in Chrome: Ctrl + Tab, Tab, Tab

d.   Switch to next window:  ALT + Esc, Esc, Esc

4.    Digital Feedback:  If you are collecting assignments in google classroom you have likely developed your own feedback method to provide formative feedback.  It likely entails opening each assignment one by one and commenting or copying and pasting a rubric or using an add-on like doc assist.  One thing I here from Teachers is that they wish they could open all the files up at once.  The video link demonstrates how to do this, attach a rubric if you wish, complete your regular correcting methods and then press the next button to go to the next student assignment.  You even have the option of providing voice comments.   Video