The 12 Days of Christmas

Here it is! The final day of the 12 Days of Christmas. Today’s tip will be short and sweet.

Speaking of short, that’s what today’s post is about Bit.ly, a FREE URL shortener. It’s great for shortening a long URL and making it, well, short. You can create an account by visiting bit.ly.com. **Remember, whenever you have the option to log in or create an account with Google always utilize that option.

To use Bit.ly, follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to your Bit.ly account

2. Click on the Create button

3. Copy your long URL (keyboard shortcut, CTRL + C)

4. Paste (another keyboard shortcut, CTRL + V) into the box labeled “Paste Long URL”

5. Select Create

6. Give your Bit.ly a title to identify the link you just created

7. Copy your new link to share

I love that you can customize your bit.ly by changing the back-half and you can even view the analytics for each link created for 30 days. The analytics provide insightful feedback on how many times your link has been viewed. There is even a bit.ly Chrome extension available for installation.

Want to add a little confetti to your Zoom meetings? Then you definitely need to add the Confetti Cannon chrome extension to your Google Account. I've included a quick little how-to in the video posted below. Every celebration is confetti worthy!

It’s time to celebrate the 12th day of Christmas and the end of 2020! I have 12 raffle prizes that I want to share with some of my favorite people, YOU! To have your name entered into the raffle, complete this Google form, https://bit.ly/12daysbof, by Friday, January 8th. Winners will be announced on Monday, January 11th via my Birds of a Feather Smore.

Lastly, I want to share a special thank you to my roommates in D127 who have supported me in this little adventure of mine. Writing doesn’t come easy for me and each day was a labor of love. In addition to being my students in videos, they were also my sounding board, proofreaders, and cheerleaders during this process. Thank you to the elves behind the scenes, @TechCoachCisco, @ApoliRosio, @TechCoachSoto, @GilbertBarrer13, and @TechCoachSmith.

Happy Everything and Merry Always!

Grokspot is a collaborative communication tool that allows students to respond to prompts posed by the teacher and then respond to each other's responses. Create your own prompt to gauge student understanding. You can also apply sentence stems to help students frame their thinking in addition to applying confidence measures to each prompt. As students begin to respond, responses appear in real-time. Students join your Grokspot group via a generated code. And in case you were wondering, it’s FREE! Think about all of the different ways you can use Grokspot to reframe essential questions!

The power of Grokspot lies in the type of prompts used. It’s important to move beyond task-based questions and engage students in questions that encourage process-level thinking and self-reflection. My co-worker, Elizabeth Garvic @SunshinyTech, posted some helpful question stems on her The Sunshiny Tech Spot that she gave me permission to share here.

• Bloom's Taxonomy Questions by Grade Level

• Depth and Complexity Questions and Sentence Stems

• Questions for Purposeful Math Talk

A special shout out to Bruce Harris, @TexTeacher, who shared Grokspot with us! #sharingiscaring

If you know me, you know that Google Slides is my go-to tool for almost everything I do and I often refer to it as the Swiss Army Knife of Google. It’s super versatile and capable of doing so many different things. One of my favorite things you can do with Google Slides is to embed an audio file. The audio file can contain directions, feedback, auditory support, music, and so much more!

Prior to creating an audio file, I need to create a folder in my Google drive to house my audio files. I’m going to label the folder Audio Files. I also want to change the share settings of the folder. This will ensure that anyone who accesses any of the audio files will be able to listen to them without running into any sharing issues. Right-click on the folder and select Share. Select “Change link to Northside ISD” and select Done.

Now, I’m going to pop-over to Online Voice Recorder to record my audio. Online Voice Recorder combines two of my favorite things. It’s easy to use and it’s FREE. Online voice recorder uses your microphone to record your voice and automatically saves your recording as an MP3. Press the record button to begin your recording. Press the stop button when your recording is complete. Need to trim your recording? Grab the handles on the end and move the start and stop point to your desired location. You can preview your file by pressing the Play button. Like what you hear? Click on the Save button. The file will automatically be saved to your downloads.

After your audio file has been created and saved in your downloads, you are going to navigate back to your Google Drive to add your files to the Audio File folder you created in the beginning. If your download bar is still viewable, just click and drag the file to your folder. You can also select New > File Upload and navigate to your downloads folder to upload your audio file. I strongly suggest you rename your file at this time. Right-click on the file and select Rename. Give your audio file a clear name that will help you locate it when you are ready to use it.

Now, I’m going to open the Google Slide that I want to add the audio file to. From the Insert menu, select Audio. Google will automatically narrow its search to MP3 and WAV files. These are the only types of files that can be inserted as Audio. Click on the file you want to embed and click Select. An audio icon will be inserted into your Slide. You will notice that the icon will be selected and a Format Options window will appear to your left. You can decide if the audio will playback automatically or on click. Adding music? You can select to have the music loop. Maybe you want to hide the audio button, so it automatically plays and the students can not turn it off. Move the Audio button so it sits on top of one of your slide elements. Right-click on the audio button, select Order and send to back. The students won’t be able to see the button.

If your students are using iPads, the audio button is a little problematic. But don’t worry, I have a fix for that. Instead of adding the audio button, you can embed a direct link to the audio for students to access. Navigate back to your Audio File folder. Locate the audio file, right-click on it, and select Get Link and Copy Link. Now, let’s go back to your Google Slide. From the Insert menu, select Text Box. In your text box, type “Click here to listen.” Click three times to highlight your text (another little trick) and click on the insert link button. Right-click to paste your copied audio file link and select Apply. Now students on an iPad will be able to listen to the audio file too. Because the audio file is stored in Google Drive, students will need to log into the portal to listen to the audio file.

Need to see a visual of how these works? Let's take a look together!

As teachers, we should model correct grammar and spelling. I will be the first to admit in my haste to send out an email, post a tweet, or type a message that typos are often made. If you don’t believe me, just ask my teammates about the Technoogy t-shirt fiasco of 2015. Yep, you read that right. I said Technoogy, not Technology! #truestory But enough about me, let’s talk about you and how you can use Grammarly to improve your spelling and grammar.

Grammarly is a Chrome extension that can be installed on your browser and there’s even an app that can be installed on your iPad and phone. As you type, Grammarly uses AI to detect spelling errors, grammar, punctuation, wordiness, emotion, and more. Because our Google accounts do not sync across devices, you will want to add this extension to each of the devices you use.

One of my favorite ways to use Grammarly is in Schoology. You may or may not have noticed the spell-check feature in Schoology isn’t the best and doesn’t always catch typos, but with Grammarly, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Give Grammarly a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

What is Blooket? (blook - et) Blooket is a new take on trivia and review games! Tired of playing Kahoot or Quizlet? Then it's time to add Blooklet to your toolbox.

How does it work?

1. The teacher picks a question set or creates her own question set and selects a game mode.

2. Using a generated code, players join the game on their own devices.

3. Once the game begins, players answer questions to help them win.

4. Once the game is over, teachers can pull up detailed score reports and question analysis.

Students do not need to create an account. To join a session, students go to blooket.com and select “Join a Game” and type in the game id.

So how does this differ from Kahoot or similar sites? After you have selected or created your question set, you select the Game Mode. There are 8 different game modes to choose from and a few of the game modes can even be assigned to students as homework! Students can work independently at their own pace and time in homework mode.

In the Gold Quest Game Mode, students race to respond to questions. You can decide if students are playing for time or if they are playing to reach a certain point limit. If a student answers a question correctly, they get to choose a treasure chest. Each treasure chest holds a reward (double points, swap points, etc…) or consequence (lose half your points, etc…). If a student answers a question incorrectly, they must wait a few seconds before moving on to the next question. Questions are repeated throughout the game. Bottom line, choose wisely, and answer quickly.

Just like most tools, Blooket is freemium. With the free version, you can create and host your own question sets, access unique game modes, search for question sets via the Discover tab, and have access to unlimited sets and edits.

Let’s explore Blooket!

If you aren’t using Canva, you definitely need to check it out! Just like the Google Slides templates I shared earlier this week, Canva helps you create amazingly attractive graphics. The best part about Canva is they offer Canva for Education for absolutely FREE. Visit https://www.canva.com/education/, fill out the form, and wait to be verified via email. I’ll be honest, my email never came. But the next time I logged in, my account had been upgraded to the educator version.

Once you have an education account, you have the option to create a class account and onboard your students into Canva. Imagine all of the opportunities for student creativity and collaboration that await you and your students!

Now that you know about Canva, I wanted to highlight one of the video editing tools available to you. Within Canva, you have the option to create a video presentation with an embedded video. From the Canva dashboard, select recommended for you, then video, and lastly video presentation. You can choose a template to start your presentation or you can pick a background color and drag and drop self-selected graphic elements. If you have already collected images from the book you would like to use, you can use the upload feature to add each image.

Want to practice using your snipping tool? Open up Sora (the student-friendly version of OverDrive) and capture an image from a book using the snipping tool. Copy your snip and use your keyboard shortcuts (ctrl + v) to paste your snip into your presentation. Continue to add pages until your book is complete. Once you have all of your images/content, you are ready to record. In the upper right-hand corner, click on the 3 dots and select Present and Record. Click on the purple Go to Recording Studio button. Set up your camera and microphone and select Start Recording. Use the side arrows to navigate through your presentation. When you are done recording, select Stop Recording.

Canva will automatically create a link that you can share with parents and students. Anyone with the link will be able to view your presentation without having to log in. Your original presentation will be stored in Canva for you to continue to access.

Want to see a few samples? Show some love to these crafty counselors, @MyersCounselors, for modeling a growth mindset and inspiring this post.

• The Day You Begin
• Friendshapes

The snipping tool is one of my favorite tools. I’m pretty sure a day doesn’t go by that I don’t use it in one way or another. I know some of you have already been using it, but it came to my attention that so many people don’t know about this handy little tool. The Snipping Tool is available on all Windows devices.

Using a Chromebook? I have an option for you too. Use the keyboard shortcuts Shift + Ctrl + Windows key (located above the number row above the 6) to capture a screenshot. Use the crosshairs to click and drag the part of the screen you want to capture. A window will appear giving you the option to Copy to Clipboard or to see where the screenshot is being saved.

Now that you have captured your image, did you know that you have some tools available to you in your Google files to crop the image, give it a border, and more? Copy and paste your image to a Google Slide and select the image. Using the crop image tool, you can crop the image to make it cleaner. You can use the mask image tool to crop your image to reflect a certain shape. Click on the image again and select the border tool to give your image a border. You can change the color and width of your image too.

Click here to access the Snipping Tool click sheet.

These 5 Google tips are GOLDEN! 🎇

1. Accidentally close a tab in your Chrome browser? No worries, simultaneously press CTRL + SHIFT + T and your closed tab will reappear.
   
   
2. Want to quickly access a tab in Chrome throughout the day, right-click on the tab and select PIN and the tab will be shifted to the left corner. Once a tab is pinned, you don’t have to worry about accidentally closing it. UPDATE: Any tabs you pin will remain in place on your Chrome browser for subsequent log-ins.
   
   
3. Did you know that you can schedule an email to go out at a later time and date? Compose your email and instead of clicking send, click on the small drop-down arrow to the right of the send button and select Schedule Send. You can choose the date and time you want your email to be sent. Your email will automatically be saved to your Scheduled label until it’s time to be sent. The scheduled label only appears when you have scheduled emails.
   
   
4. Have you ever wondered how sometimes you are forced to create a copy of a Google File, much like the Slides templates that were shared with you yesterday? After you have turned on the link-sharing to Anyone with the link can view, copy and paste the URL into a document, webpage, link, etc AND replace /edit with /copy. Now, when anyone clicks on the link they will be prompted to make a copy of the file and it will be automatically saved to their personal Google Drive.
   
   
5. Want your users to preview the file before a new copy is made? Paste the link and change /edit to /template/preview. If you don’t need users to have a copy of the file, use /preview to share newsletters, flyers, and even instructional materials with users.

Need a little something to brighten your day? Be sure to watch the video below.
It will warm even the Grinchiest of hearts. 💚

Tired of using the same old Google Slides templates, but don’t have the time or energy to create something from scratch. You and your students are going to love these new Google Slide templates! All three of these resources offer an extensive offering of high-quality templates that are FREE for you to use. The hardest part of creating visually appealing lessons isn’t going to be actually creating the lesson, it’s going to be choosing which template you are going to start with.

• Slidesgo
• SlidesCarnival
• SlidesMania

Choose a site to start with and begin browsing or search for a template theme. Once you have your template chosen, look for the Google Slides button. Depending on the site, you will be given the option to “Make a Copy” of the template or to “Use the Template.” Your new template will automatically open and be saved to your Google Drive. You might consider leaving your template as is to use for future projects. When you are ready to begin a new project, click on File and select Make a Copy. Rename your Slide and let the creating begin!

I know some of you might be thinking, this is too much for me! But wait, I’ve created a video where I break down how to use the templates and how you can remove the overwhelming factor of having too many slides to choose from. In the video, I also talk about how to add transparent images/clipart to your new slides. I promise you can do this!

If you want to amp up your Slides game, then you will definitely want to check out my “Creating Interactive Google Slides” 2020 Summer Summit session. You can find my recorded sessions along with other goodies on our newly created NISD Elementary Academic Technology Innovation and Digital Learning Site.

I originally shared this tool back in October, but it's so good that it's definitely worth sharing twice.

Are you looking for new ways to engage your students that are not only student-friendly but are also teacher friendly? You are going to love the ease of use of Whiteboard.fi. How does it work? Go to Whiteboard.fi and select New Class. Give your class a name and select Create New Class. Students can join at Whiteboard.fi with a join code, via a shared URL, or by scanning a QR code. No one has to create an account. Each time you want to use Whiteboard.fi, you repeat the process. The code changes for each new session.

Did I mention that Whiteboard.fi works on any device? That’s right, it’s device agnostic. It works on iPads, Chromebooks, laptops, etc… But, how do you get students to respond? You can post a question orally or use your teacher whiteboard to post a question for the students to view. As the students begin to respond, you see their responses in real-time. Worried about student confidentiality? Students only see the teacher screen and their own responses. You even have the ability to push your whiteboard directly to students. You can embed a word problem, push the slide to the students, and have them respond in real-time. Studying text features? Take a picture of a book and have the students label the different text features they see. Want to ask another question? You can clear everyone's whiteboard to start fresh or you can add a new page. Done with the session? You can save all of the whiteboards as a pdf or do nothing. All work will be deleted when you close the session. Formative assessments have never been easier!

I would love to hear how you plan on using Whiteboard.fi with your students. Share your ideas via Twitter and tag me @TechCoachFikac.

Classroom Screen is a FREE digital tool created by a teacher from the Netherlands, Laurens Koppers. What does it do? It allows you to digitally display student directions clearly and visually, much like a whiteboard, through the use of 13 built-in on-screen widgets.

I know you might be thinking, what’s a widget? In this particular instance, widgets are embedded tools to enhance the website. Classroom Screen has 13 tools built-in that teachers and students love.

Let’s take a look at the widgets available for you to use.

• Background - choose a background or upload your own
• Random Name - upload student names and let the widget select a name for you
• Dice - roll 1, 2, or 3 dice
• Sound Level - set a sensitivity and max noise level and the widget alarm will ring when the level is exceeded
• Media - upload an image, YouTube video, embed your webcam
• QR Code Generator - create and share a QR code with your students just by copying and pasting
• Draw - use the draw tool to create and share a doodle with your students
• Text - have a message or directions to share with your students, use the text feature
• Work Symbols - choose from 4 visual work symbols (silence, whisper, ask a neighbor, work together)
• Traffic Light - use as a visual reminder
• Timer - set a time and choose a time to let students know when time is up
• Stopwatch - use as a timer
• Clock - display the time in a digital and analog format
• Calendar - display the date in calendar view

Click on the gear on the right side to turn on full screen, change the language, to switch between screens, utilize groups, and to launch the poll feature.

Create a FREE account to save your settings and to access a few more features like groups and polls. Click on the HOME button in the upper left corner to access these additional tools.

To get started visit http://classroomscreen.com and select Launch Classroom screen.

Want to share a YouTube video with your students that is ad-free, full screen, and in view-only mode? Edit the URL to add a hyphen between the t and u and that's it!

Shout out to Gilbert Barrera @GilbertBarr13 for sharing this amazing little hack. 🎄

Northside ISD: Academic Technology

Elementary Academic Technology Coach

Email: michelle.fikac@nisd.net
Website: bit.ly/ATElem
Location: 6632 Bandera Road, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210.397.9404
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NISDAcadTech
Twitter: @TechCoachFikac