The ed Newsstand

Book Creator is a freemium classroom tool that allows students to create multimedia ebooks. I say freemium because teachers can use the website for free but free users can only create one classroom library with up to 40 books in that library. You can archive the library and get access to a new set of 40 books. If you do archive your library, the books you published stay published and accessible online but they are not editable.   

In this week's newsletter, you will find resources from Book Creator that will show you Book Creator’s 18 different templates and themes.  You will also learn about all of the creative tools that are available within the platform. Once you create an account you can access the Discover tab, which provides all kinds of different examples by grade or subject. There is a tab to help you browse Book Creator’s Knowledge Base with links to articles, webinars, and resources. There’s a tab to get certified as a Level 1 Author. Finally, you can also link Book Creator to several third-party apps like Giphy, Bitmoji, Canva, and Google Drive.    

In TikTok Tech, from the latest update to Google Classroom, I will show you how to schedule an assignment for multiple classes at different times during the day.  In Tech Refresh, I will show you how to import grades from a self-grading Google Form into your Google Classroom without looking at each score in a spreadsheet or in the Form’s responses.

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

As I was getting the newsletter ready for this week I stumbled across a video from @adelaideed on TikTok. What you will find in this newsletter are resources for starting your journey with digital notebooks or, if you are a power user, resources for taking digital notebooks to the next level regardless of the presentation platform you use. Resources you will find from @adelaideed are an overview video to get you started with digital notebooks, a video of why digital notebooks make life easier, a video for how to use digital notebooks with students, and a video for why we need digital notebooks as a teaching resource in this new post-COVID educational world. You can also find links to her website, her TPT store, and how to get started making your own money from digital interactive notebooks.

If you would like more examples for building digital notebooks into your curriculum, I have a link to an article from Edutopia that will provide you with four benefits of using digital notebooks with your students. I also found a Google Site from All Saints Episcopal School with twelve links and four videos with everything from how to get started building digital notebooks to how to take digital notebooks to the next level. A website with more resources than anyone knows what to do with comes from Matt Miller from Ditch that Textbook. On his website, he has twenty activities for filling digital notebooks as well as walkthroughs for getting started. There is also a help article from Kami that demonstrates how you can use their software for building digital notebooks. 

I also have a resource from Dr. Catlin Tucker that provides walkthroughs with screenshots for building interactive Google Slides. Suzy, from TeachStudentSavvy.com, has video tutorials and explanations for using clickable tabs and a table of contents, how to change backgrounds, how to group items, and keyboard shortcuts for Google Slides. Finally, digital notebook templates are available for free on SlidesMania.com and SlidesGo.com.

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

Last week, I introduced Flipgrid and demonstrated how to get started with groups, topics, and some of the unique features of the camera and the effects drawer. This week's newsletter is all about ideas for using Flipgrid in the classroom. The newsletter starts by introducing the Discovery Library and how to add pre-created topics to your library. After introducing the Discovery Library, I found nine ideas from Edutopia for incorporating Flipgrid into the classroom. Matt Miller, from Ditch that Textbook, provides an index to 50+ ideas for incorporating Flipgrid into your classroom. Finally, Holly Clark, from the Infused Classroom, has a handful of ideas for users at various comfort levels and age levels when using Flipgrid in the classroom.  

In TikTok Tech, @teachersresourceforce will show you a website that will deliver daily morning meetings right to your inbox with zero prep. While the website does have a cost, Slides Mania does have free templates you can download if you would like to create your own morning meeting slides. In Tech Refresh, Jesse Bastarache, from @jess_rehearsal, will show you how to use icons to make them look like you have infinitely cloned them for students to use in different activities on Google Slides. If you are looking for icons to use you can find them at the Noun Project or Flaticon. You can also install the add-ons in Google Slides to pull in icons without leaving your Slides.

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

This week's newsletter is all about getting started with Flipgrid. Flipgrid considers itself a social learning platform that gives students a voice through their creativity and self-expression. Flipgrid’s mission is to “empower every learner on the planet to share their voice and respect the diverse voices of others.” Use Flipgrid to create a group for your class or classes, and create a topic to elicit feedback, generate discussion, record your screen, or give a presentation. Through the power of the camera, students can record themselves, upload a clip, record only their voice, or record their screen. Students’ creativity comes from the effects drawer where they can add backdrops, filters, text, drawings, different boards, stickers, GIFs, photos, and frames. Before students complete their video submission, they can also add music to give their videos just a little extra.

In TikTok Tech, Derek Anderson, from @weaponofmathdestruction, will show you how he uses Mad Libs to help make word problems more palatable and understandable for students in math. In Tech Refresh, Austin Armstrong, from @socialtypro, provides a website you can use to compress files you are loading to your website or presentations to help them load better for your audience without losing quality. This week’s newsletter goes through all of these features and provides resources to help you get started. If you’d like to try Flipgrid and participate in a topic I provided for this week’s newsletter, you can create an account, log in, and join the conversation by clicking the link - flipgrid.com/82edbd75.

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

This week's newsletter is all about sharing the love of some of my favorite technologies to use in the classroom. Many of these technologies and resources I have talked about before in past newsletters and podcasts. For a deeper dive into those resources please visit my past newsletters.   

The Valentines I gave out to the resources and technologies this week are:    

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

This week's newsletter is all about sharing the love of some of my favorite features in SMART Notebook and Lumio. A couple of weeks ago, SMART Technologies shared 3 Sweet Treats for Your Classroom. Within the blog post, SMART shared printable Valentines for your classroom, both color and black and white Valentines, as well as engaging ready-made resources for teachers to use immediately.   The Valentines I gave out to the tools in SMART Notebook and Lumio this week are:    

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

This week's newsletter is all about an immersive reader, an awesome accessibility feature new to Lumio by SMART Tech. When a student or teacher uses immersive reader, they have several different features to use.   

In TikTok Tech, Jeremy Michelbook from @mrmichelbook introduces you to a safe website students can use during inside recess to play old-school card and board games. In Tech Refresh, Kasey Bell from @shakeuplearning will show you how to search all of those open tabs that are just hanging out in your Google Chrome.  

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022 

The newsletter is about resources for getting you started incrementally using Lumio and the best ways to incorporate the software into your classroom. The resources in this newsletter are the 5 Benefits of Using Lumio in the Classroom by Julie Smith, The Techie Teacher, and Lumio - Connect With Your Class by Richard Byrne, FreeTech4Teachers. There are also several teacher resources from SMART with walkthroughs, both written and video versions, instructional ideas to help you engage students, enhance the lesson, and extend students’ learning. I also demonstrate the new ready-made templates, virtual manipulates, graphic organizers, ready-made content, Desmos resources, a free suite of math software tools, and Phet resources, interactive simulations for science and math.

✅ Season 2 Newsletters - SMART Lab & SMART Notebook App

✅ Season 3 Newsletters - SMART Learning Suite Online, SMART Exchange & 12 Days of SMART

✅ Season 4 Newsletter - How to Use Lumio

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

This week's newsletter is all about Google Chrome Extensions and a Mac app you can use with some of the websites I’ve mentioned in the past few weeks. One of the resources I talk about integrates well to find the optimum hex color as you are developing a color palette for your presentation. I also have a resource to help you personalize your presentation with Bitmoji. Finally, I introduce you to an extension that will allow you to present your presentation using your cell phone instead of standing next to your computer or using a wireless presenter remote.

In TikTok Tech, Matt Brandenberger from @mattbedtech introduces you to a website to animate your student drawings. The website allows students to download their sketches in various animated poses to create a much larger video. In Tech Refresh, I will show you how to maximize your Google Slides canvas to make your Slides as big as possible when working on your presentation.

Extensions & Mac App

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022

This week's newsletter is all about Google Slides add-on you can use to build the best presentation quickly and efficiently. Some of the resources I’ve talked about already as an external website, however, now I show you how you can access those same resources from within Google Slides. I have resources to help you find the perfect font for your presentation or how to make your text stand out. I have resources to quickly find icons for your presentation. There are also resources to help you find the right graphic or build a great template for your slides. Each resource is meant to help you build one aspect of your presentation better. If you do listen until the end you will get four bonus add-ons you can use when you or your students build presentations.  

In TikTok Tech, Heather Fischer from @atrailblazingteacher introduces you to the website wodb.ca to help create classroom discussions about which item doesn’t belong in the group. The website provides various puzzles, typically STEM-based, for students to discuss without providing a clear correct answer for the puzzle. The idea is to formulate solid arguments as to why one answer might be more correct than another answer.  In Tech Refresh, @cnnunderscored provides you with four unique keyboard shortcuts for your Mac.  

Add-Ons 

You can visit the newsletter to access all the links and videos embedded: https://tinyurl.com/edNewsstand2022