ThreeRing.com - Another great tool

Have you heard about ThreeRing?  Perhaps you are familiar with Evernote?  ThreeRing is sort of like Evernote for your classroom and students.  It helps you organize and document student work digitally, and makes it available to all your devices.  What a great way to have documentation for SST, RTI, parent conferences, etc.  And, of course, it’s FREE. 

Take a look at this summary from the Three Ring website: http://threering.com

Three Ring unlocks the power of your mobile phone or iPad. Now it's easy for teachers and students to document evidence from the classroom. Capture anything, regardless of format, in just seconds.

Take a picture of any paper, drawing, or board work.Record presentations or discussions with audio or video.Students can upload their own work from any mobile device or computer.

Stop hassling with stacks of binders or complicated filing systems. With Three Ring, it just takes a few minutes to set up your organizational system and you never have to worry again. The search engine allows you to find any combination of artifacts whenever you need them.

Classify work automatically as you add it to Three Ring.

Tag work by Common Core Standard, unit, assignment type, or however you like.Find anything in a snap with Three Ring's speedy and elegant search engine.

Three Ring makes it easy to use assessment for learning. Share exemplars to communicate expectations and criteria. Encourage students to compare artifacts and analyze their work. Provide descriptive feedback through ongoing dialogue and comments.

A simple tool for peer- and self-assessment.Perfect for Project-Based Learning, Standards-Based Grading, and other innovative approaches.A detailed source of information about student growth. 

Using Google and Flubaroo for Assessiment

Using Google Forms for Assessment, Polling, and Data Gathering:

We’ve looked at Socrative.com and Testmoz.com.  Now let’s look at an older option that you may not have used.  It’s more technical and requires more work up front than Socrative or Testmoz, but allows for more customization. 

I’m talking about using Google Forms for collecting data and assessing.  You’ve all used Google Forms to answer surveys that I’ve sent out on various subjects (Title II, Technology Surveys, etc.).  But have you ever created and used it for your own class or family?  I’ve even used it to gather my family’s Christmas wish lists!  Google Forms (polls) are extremely easy to create.  All you need is a gmail account!  Google will host your forms (polls) as part of your Google docs (now referred to as Google Drive).

Don’t want to use your personal gmail for work purposes?  No problem!  You can create a separate gmail account for your classroom purposes.  I actually have a personal gmail, two gmails that I use for Rome City Schools, one for my classes at Georgia Highlands, and one I used for communications with my class reunion last year.  Why so many?  That’s a subject for another day!
Back to using Google Forms for assessment – Once you’ve created the form to gather the data, test question answers, etc., you give out the link to the live form and wait for the results to pour in.  After all the results are in you can view the results in a spreadsheet or have Google print out a summary of the results complete with graphs.  You can even get the spreadsheet to grade multiple choice or short answers.  You can do this manually if you are familiar with using IF formulas in Excel.  If not, there’s still hope!  You can use Flubaroo.com.  Check out this introduction video on Flubaroo at: http://www.flubaroo.com/instructional-videos

For help, or more information you can contact me or …… try a YouTube search on how to do any of these.  There will probably be a 10-year-old kid with a video on how to do it.  LOL!

iPad Content Apps

Here’s a list of Apps sent from Apples Education department: 

High School Core Curriculum Courses 

Apps for High School 

Apps for Middle School 

Apps for Elementary School 

Apps for Every Grade

FREE Online Quiz Builder and assessment tool

In addition to the great features that you have available with Socrative.com, I’d like to tell you about ANOTHER online assessment tool that is FREE to use.  The tool is found at http://testmoz.com  Testmoz.com is an online quiz builder that you can use without even signing up or logging in.  The catch is that YOU MUST remember the URL address for the quiz.  If you forget it, you’ll have to make a new one.  It’s very SIMPLE to use and FREE, but there is NO TECH SUPPORT.  In fact, if you need a laugh, read his FAQ page.Features:

• 4 Question Types: True/false, multiple choice, multiple response, and fill in the blank questions are available.           
• Professional Appearance: The neutral color scheme works with any business or school.
• Detailed Reports: See the scores, averages and actual responses to questions. You can even export the data to CSV.      
• No Ads: You won't find any text ads, banners, or popups.
• No Registration: Neither you nor your test takers have to register.    
• Passcode Protected: Prevent strangers from taking your test.

This could be used for in-class activities if you have internet access for all your students through the computer lab, iPad lab, BYOD’s, etc., …… 

OR you can rotate the students through your classroom computers when dividing the class into different groups or center-based activities. 

This could be easily incorporated into a rotation similar to Read180, used in a Flipped Classroom model, used to check classwork, check homework, etc.

STEM Camp from Discovery Education

STEM Resources available from Discovery Education

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/STEM/connect-the-dots.cfm?CFID=3539751&CFTOKEN=44281790

The STEM Camp is a dynamic series of standards-aligned curricula available at no cost to schools, districts, non-profit organizations and even parents for use as part of summer camps, after school STEM programs, or wherever STEM support is needed.

Here are a few commonly asked questions answered for you:

Q- Do I have to log in to Discovery Education to use the materials?

A- No. Anyone can access STEM Camp.

Q- Do I have to be a subscriber to Discovery Education to use the STEM Camp curricula?

A- No. Anyone can access STEM Camp.

 Q- How much does STEM Camp cost?

A- STEM Camp is free.

 Q- Where can I get the hands-on materials?

A- STEM Camp uses materials that can be found at your local store. You can also contact our friends at Hand2Mind to purchase a kit for your program. Call 800-445-5985 or email info@hand2mind.com and reference Discovery Education STEM Camp.

 Q- Can I use STEM Camp in my classroom?

A- Yes. Use STEM Camp resources wherever STEM support is needed.

 Q- I can’t use STEM Camp this summer. Can I use it in my after-school program?

A- Yes. You can use STEM Camp anywhere STEM support is needed.

 Q- Is STEM Camp aligned to standards?

A- STEM Camp curricula are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards.

http://www.nextgenscience.org/

Q- For what grades is STEM Camp appropriate?

A- STEM Camp has been designed for grades 5-8. If you work with students at another grade level, just review the content and use the portions that are appropriate.

 

Jeff Hargett

 

Socrative: A great FREE assessment tool.

Hargett's Hints and Technology Tips

Previously, I told you about a great FREE tool called Socrative.  Watch the video below: http://vimeo.com/socrative/intro  For the next several posts I will cover some other tools that can be used for assessment.

For today, you really need to check this out if you have access to a computer lab, a classroom set of iPads, or if students can use their own devices. 

Communications Tools for Schools

Hargett’s Hints and Technology Tips

  

Last year I told you about Remind101, a FREE text messaging service that allows schools or teachers to communicate with staff, parents, and/or students through text messaging without any of the members knowing each other’s cell phone numbers.  Members can subscribe and un-subscribe themselves so that there are no user lists to create and maintain.  I personally use it to communicate with my students at Georgia Highlands.  It is a very simple method for instant 1-way group communications through SMS text messaging. 

However, if you want more functionality, the ability to receive information as well as send, you might want to check out Celly !  I have pasted some information below from their website: http://cel.ly/education
What is Celly? 

Celly is a group communication service. Celly connects people you interact with in daily life like friends, family, classmates, teammates, band members, and communities into instant networks called cells. Celly works from any phone or web browser. You can send and receive group messages, polls, and alerts using SMS text messaging, email, or the Celly website. We also have Android and iOS apps (iPod/iPhone/iPad) available here: http://cel.ly/app    

Three reasons Celly is popular with schools and educators:  

1. Privacy:  Students, teachers, and parents do not need to exchange personal information or phone numbers to communicate over Celly. Everyone is known by their Celly username. People can be invited by phone number or email, but phone numbers and email addresses are never revealed over Celly. Educators can also set privacy restrictions on who can join groups and who can send messages.
2. Accessibility: Celly is free for schools and requires no software to download. Celly works with any regular phone (SMS text messaging) or web browser (laptop, tablet, ipad, smartphone, etc.).  This makes it a low cost and easily accessible alternative to purchasing hardware and software devices. Students can participate in the same group using school computers or their own phones or devices (BYOD). Groups can easily be formed just by texting the @cellname to 23559 (@cellname = the group name, e.g., @History101).
3. Extra Tools:   Celly comes with additional group communication tools. For instance, you can also send group polls, schedule messages to be sent later, filter in messages from the web or RSS, store notes, share groups via QR code, and connect multiple cell groups together to form multi-cell networks (e.g., an entire school or school district). These additional tools can be used for a wide variety of school scenarios.  We also have a premium pack that includes extra polling features, e.g., you can create quizzes that can be scored and graded; more info here: http://cel.ly/leaders

Both of these free tools can be used by schools, teams, and/or classroom teachers.   With the availability of school and classroom websites, email, and now free group text messaging, there is NO EXCUSE for not getting the word out !

What's in a Word?

Hargett’s Hints and Technology Tips

We’ve all seen word clouds, maybe made word clouds, but have we actually USED word clouds?  Too often word clouds become part of the fluff when presenting information.  Have you considered using word clouds as a method of formative assessment, presenting students with a word cloud of vocabulary from your new unit, having them circle 3 of the most unfamiliar words or the words that they think they would like to know more about, and then researching them as a beginning activity?  The student could then present his/her findings to the class.  Or maybe the class could use their 3 choices to collaborate and make a new list or word cloud of their own.  You have now narrowed down the vocabulary to the terms they know the least about!  There are endless possibilities.  Well, if not endless, there are at least 108 possibilities in this article I found, 108 Ways to Use Word Clouds in the Classroom ( http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/108-ways-to-use-word-clouds-in-the-classroom-word-clouds-in-education-series-part-2/).
Many of you may be familiar the two of the most common word cloud generators: Wordle.net and Tagxedo.com.  I personally prefer Tagxedo, but a word of caution is in order.  Tagxedo doesn’t work well with iPads.  If you are using Apple products to create a word cloud you should probably stick with Wordle.  

Quick tool for classroom or audience feedback

This will be the first in a series of information emails and blogs from things that I picked up at a recent technology conference.

I will be sending this out by email, posting it on my technology blog (http://RomeCitySchoolsTechnlogy.blogspot.com), and putting it on a newly created companion RCS Technology Facebook page (http://facebook.com/RomeCitySchoolsTechnology).  So you can read the email, search the blog, or be notified of new posts when you check your Facebook (at home! LOL).

Todays new tool is a website called TodaysMeet.com 

TodaysMeet is used as a back channel for classroom feedback.  This would require that the students have internet access in the computer lab, on iPads, smartphones, ipod touches, or any other device that can get on the internet.  It’s extremely simple, requires no user account or password, and can be set up in a few seconds.  You go to the website, create a meeting code for today (such as your name).  The meeting room can be kept for an hour, day, week, even up to a year!  Students can go to that meeting address and join the meeting by typing in their name.  You will then see (within seconds) any question or comment they type in.  If displayed on the projector you can brainstorm, collaborate, or poll the class.  If kept running in the background or on a separate computer, only you will see the comments (I recently ran this on my iPad while I presented a PowerPoint from a desktop computer on the projector.  I could then see audience comments/questions without them showing up on my screen).  This is great for the students who want to ask questions but are afraid to speak up in class!  This could also work as a homework help, chat room type application from wherever people have internet access.  

Screenshot below:

 

Jeff Hargett

Coordinator of Instructional Technology

Rome City Schools

Email: jhargett@rcs.rome.ga.us

Phone: (706) 236-5050 ext. 5029