With the start of a new school year, there are a TON of new updates coming to Google Workspace. If you have a chance, I encourage you to check out of the Google Workspace Updates blog for all sorts of updates that could benefit you in the classroom this year.

One update that I am personally excited about is image placeholders in Google Slides. In this update, users can create placeholders that allow pictures to be easily added to the presentation while maintaining the size of the placeholder. As an A-type personality, I love this ability to add some organization to shared slides with students!

Below, I will share a YouTube video and GIF of how to use this new feature:

Using Image Placeholders Step-by-Step

Step #1: Setting it Up

• Create a Presentation.
• Go to “Slide”.
• Select “Slide Theme”.
  • Note: This section used to be titled “Edit Master” but has recently been updated to “Slide Theme”.

Step #2: Selecting the Placeholder

• Select a Slide Layout.
• Go to “Insert”.
• Select “Placeholder” then “Image Placeholder”.

Step #3: Edit, as Needed

• Add more placeholders and/or edit the current one.

Step #4: Add Slide & Image

• Go to the Main Presentation.
• Select the Slide Layout.
• Add Images.

If you would like to hear me walk you through this process, step-by-step, please watch the YouTube video below:

As always, feel free to drop any questions, comments, or thoughts in the comment section below!

For those of you that have followed my blog for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of utilizing the flipped classroom strategy in classrooms. That being said, I worry that I haven’t talked enough about the tips and tricks to make a flipped classroom truly effective for students. Implementing a flipped classroom can be an amazing strategy – or it can be a complete trainwreck. If utilized properly, a flipped classroom can be an amazing way to open more time in your instructional day for deeper learning. However, if you don’t implement it properly, students are less likely to engage with and/or retain the material that was taught.

An effective flipped classroom is not simply sharing a video for students to watch. An effective flipped classroom is so much more than this. It is thoughtful, systematic, and continues to challenge and support students.

Ready to up your flipped classroom game? Check out these 5 tips! (Bonus: Check out the AWESOME infographic at the end and feel free to share out!)

Tip #1: Keep it Short

Gone are the days of 45+ minute lectures. Have you recently tried to sit through a long lecture or meeting? I swear my attention span is getting smaller as I am getting older. Imagine what is like for our students? As a middle school teacher, my flipped classroom lessons were never over 20 minutes. Usually, they were somewhere in the 10-15 minute range which was more than enough for my students. Remember, your students will have to account for writing time and checks for understanding. This means that they could be doing their flipped classroom for longer than the recorded time.

Pro-Tip: Use Screencastify to record your lessons. It keeps a timer of how long you have been recording to help you keep track of time.

Tip #2: Check for Understanding

Adding checks for understanding in your flipped lesson is one of the most important aspects of a flipped classroom lesson. It challenges students to stop, reflect, think, and apply the new knowledge they have learned. It doesn’t have to be a lot questions – just simple, quick checks. As a Math teacher, I usually added 3-5 problems per lesson to check for understanding that could be automatically graded within the system (EdPuzzle) I was using.

Pro-Tip: Utilize EdPuzzle to check for understanding. It can track how long the students have watched the video and grade questions that you embed into the lesson.

Tip #3: Allow Time to Reteach

Once you give your flipped lesson, please don’t move on until all of your students have a strong understanding of the material. After a flipped lesson, I would have students check their grade on EdPuzzle from the previous night’s lesson and have them break into groups based on their progress. For struggling students, I pulled them into small groups to reteach. For students that had done well, they could move onto the next assignment or an enrichment activity.

Pro-Tip: Utilize the grading feature in EdPuzzle to quickly grade and track student data to develop your groups.

Tip #4: Accessible to All Learners

This one is simple – check that the technology that you ask students to use is accessible across multiple platforms, even cell phones! More times than I could count, I have had students that lost internet access, or their Chromebook broke, or some other technology issue that prevented them from completing their assignment. However, EdPuzzle has an AMAZING mobile feature and I could always refer my students to that option.

Pro-Tip: Test out your flipped lesson on a mobile phone. If it works there, it will probably work anywhere.

Tip #5: Time to Apply Their Knowledge

Once students have completed their flipped lesson and you have followed up with them, challenge students to demonstrate their knowledge. Personally, I always assessed their skills and application of their knowledge. Simple, skills practice was completed in Google Forms where they could receive immediate feedback. The deeper application was done through projects, game-based learning, and other assignments. Make sure students have a chance to show what they know!

Pro-Tip: Need some new ideas? Check out this fun list from The Ed Advocate: 27 Ways to Have Students Demonstrate What They Have Learned.

    What are some of your best flipped classroom tips and tricks? Share in the comments below!

Woot woot! Google recently launched new “Host Control” features for Google Meet! If you are quiet, you can hear the cheers of thousands of teachers around the world. While there are still many things that I wish Google Meet had the ability to do, these are excellent new features that are available to everyone.

One thing I have noticed recently is that there are some other great, new features coming out…but they aren’t necessarily available to all users. It depends on whether or not your district has an Education or Enterprise account. From what I can see, it does look like the host controls features will be available to all users in education accounts. As an example, I currently have access to these controls in my district EDU account, however, I do not have access to these controls in personal Google account. For any meetings that are organized in a personal account, only the meeting creator can mute or remove participants.

Here’s a breakdown of these new features that you can find in your settings menu:

Here’s a short GIF to show you how to access these settings:

Have you used these new controls with students? If so, share how it is going in the comments below! I have noticed that many users are having different experiences with Google products recently and I would love to hear if it is working the way we hope it does.

Attendance in distance learning is…complicated, to say the least! However, I am hoping to provide a process that will make it more simple for you!

Below, you will find three easy steps on how to utilize Zoom and Google Sheets to take attendance. Directions and GIF’s are listed below, however, I have also added a tutorial at the end if you would like to be walked through it more formally.

Important Note: Step #1 is only available in some versions of Zoom and depends on your plan.

Step #1: Download Usage Reports from Zoom

• Go to the Zoom website.
• Click on “Reports”.
• Go to “Usage”.
• Click on the number underneath “Participants”.
• Download the .CSV file.

• Open in Google Sheets.
• Insert a new column to the right of Column A.
• Go to “Data” and select “Split Text to Columns”.
• Select Row 1, go to “View”–> “Freeze” –> “1 Row”.
• Select Column B and select “Sort Range by A to Z”.

Go to your student information system (SIS) and take attendance! That’s it!

If you need a walkthrough, here is a short video on the process outline above:

How do you take attendance during distance learning? Share in the comments below!

As we continue on our distance learning journey, one of the greatest struggles I hear from teachers is the inability to write or draw on a whiteboard, particularly for subject areas like Math. Obviously, as a former math teacher, that definitely strikes home for me!

Years ago, I flipped my classroom and it was one of the best things I have ever done. However, it would take forever to write out the math, especially for complicated Math problems. As an example, try to accurate explain how to solve an equation like 3(x+4) – 6(x+2) = 7x – 5 without writing it out. It would take forever and it wasn’t as easy for kids to visualize.

At the time, I didn’t own a touchscreen device so I purchased a drawing tablet and it quickly became one of my favorite tools. All I had to do was plug it into my computer and I could write on my screen! More importantly, purchasing a decent drawing tablet only costs between $40 to $80. Obviously this is way more affordable than purchasing a new laptop for over $1,000.  Our site purchased the XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 for our Math teachers and I have already heard great feedback from them!

In the video below, I will share how to set up your drawing tablet and use it with Google Jamboard and Screencastify:

Important Resources:

• X-Pen Drivers
• XP-Pen StarG640 ($40 – Small Tablet)
• XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 ($70 – Large Tablet)

As many districts start the year in distance learning, I have developed a distance learning website in Google Sites that can be used to increase communication between the school and parents/students. Basically, it is the one-stop-shop for all of a family’s distance learning needs and support! Communication with our families is going to be essential if distance learning is to be a success. I hope that you find this FREE resource valuable for your school. Let’s dive into it!

Click the image above or click HERE to view the website.

The distance learning website is broken into the following sections:

General Info

In this section, parents and students can find general information on Chromebook repairs, lunch options, and other FAQ’s. It contains a broad overview of the site’s distance learning plan.

Teachers

I absolutely believe that this will be the most utilized and beneficial page for students and parents. In this section, students can find their teachers, the teacher’s contact information, their distance learning plan, and a short, introductory video that introduces the teachers and walks them through their Google Classroom and other digital resources. While students are comfortable with technology, not all of the parent community will be. My hope is that this supports our parents in supporting their students.

Administration

Nothing fancy here – just the administration’s contact information and a short video introducing themselves.

Counseling

Many students will have questions for their counselors during distance learning. Here, students can find their counselor’s information and even submit a counseling request form.

Tech Support

The top tech questions are answered in this section, along with a variety of videos to support students with accessing their student’s grades or using other technology (ex: Google Classroom).

Parent Resources

Many districts have resources for parents during distance learning – link them here!

Here is a quick video on a walkthrough of the website, as well as tips and tricks to copy and modify your own:

Interested in your own copy? Follow the directions below:

1. Go to the Distance Learning Site Template folder in Google Drive.
2. Right-click on the following file –> **(MAKE A COPY) Distance Learning Website Template**.
3. Select “Make a Copy”.
4. Right-click your new copy and select “Move To” and move it to your own folder.

Here’s a short GIF on how to do this:

How does your school plan on increasing communication with families during distance learning? Share below!

A few years, I shared a set of calendars that I created for my school site to help students say organized. Well, back by popular demand…Here are the 2020/2021 calendars!

As many schools will be in distance learning this school year, I hope that these calendars can provide some structure for both students and teachers. Below you will find a description of the calendars, preview and a link to make your own copy. Feel free to steal and use during the upcoming school year! Enjoy!

Academic Calendars for Students

At one of my previous school sites, our students were given a year-long, physical agenda to track their daily assignments.  As a school policy, our students were required to fill this out and teachers would sign/stamp that students had filled out the daily agenda at the beginning of class.  It was a great system for students and taught them how to be organized.  As our district went 1-1, our site did not purchase these agendas since there was technology that could replace them at no cost.  Unfortunately, I have noticed that using Google Calendar is not exactly what the teachers are looking to use in their classrooms and/or they are not comfortable using it themselves.  Although I am a big Google Calendar user and have had success with my students, I can see their concern.  The calendar isn’t broken up by subject type and all of the information a student writes does not show up on the calendar view.  For my students, they were used to navigating Google Calendar but I decided to create something that more teachers would want to use with their students.

2019/2020 Weekly Academic Calendar (Link)

• Students can use this Slide Deck to track assignments, plan for projects, and more!
• Students can quickly navigate by clicking on the months at the beginning of the Slide Deck or in the “Timeline” at the bottom of each slide.
• Students/Teachers can delete any unused months from the template.

Click HERE to make your own copy.

2019/2020 Monthly Academic Calendar (Link)

• Students can use this Slide Deck to track assignments, plan for projects, and more!
• Students can quickly navigate by clicking on the months at the beginning of the Slide Deck or in the “Timeline” at the bottom of each slide.
• Students/Teachers can delete any unused months from the template.

Click HERE to make your own copy.

When I was in the classroom, I loved creating my lesson plans in Google Docs. It was a great living document that I could easily manipulate and add comments for future years. It’s also a great way to create plans across a department, collaborate and assign tasks!

Lesson Plan Calendar (Link)

• Teachers can use this Slide Deck to create lesson plans for their classes.
• Teachers can add comments as reminders for future planning.
• Teachers can share with other teachers, collaborate and assign tasks to others.

Click HERE to make a copy.

Student Project Planning Goals & Objectives

The calendars above were primarily created to help students track assignments.  Once I started building those calendars, I started thinking about how I could create something for the 20Time Projects that my students would be doing in my AVID and Tech classes next year.  Immediately, I realized I had already created something useful while working on my Google Innovator Project.  For my project, I created a monthly planning process with new goals, ongoing goals, questions/comments/ideas, and status check.

Below are some “project planning” Slide Decks:

Weekly Project Planning Goals (Link)

• Students can use this Slide Deck when planning weekly goals for 20 Time Projects, Genius Hour, and PBL.
• Students can duplicate the following slide for the number of weeks of the project.
• When students complete tasks on the “New” and “Ongoing Goals”, students can right click and change to check marks.

Click HERE to make your own copy.

Monthly Project Planning Goals (Link)

• Students can use this Slide Deck when planning weekly goals for 20 Time Projects, Genius Hour, and PBL.
• Students can duplicate the following slide for the number of weeks of the project.
• When students complete tasks on the “New” and “Ongoing Goals”, students can right click and change to check marks.

Click HERE to make your own copy.

Finally, below you will find a mindfulness calendar which would be a great support for SEL during distance learning or even the regular school year.

Mindfulness Calendar (Link)

• • Students can use this Slide Deck when planning weekly goals for 20 Time Projects, Genius Hour, and PBL.
  • Students can duplicate the following slide for the number of weeks of the project.
  • When students complete tasks on the “New” and “Ongoing Goals”, students can right click and change to check marks.

Click HERE for your own copy.

Feel free to use these with your class.  If you do, I would love your feedback and any ideas that you have to improve these resources!

In April and May, I Heart EDU released a variety of professional development webinars to support teachers with distance learning. I’m so glad many of you were able to tune in to these videos and I hope to plan a couple more soon!

Today, I am sharing a webinar on Jamboard and Google Meet that I had previously not posted due to my summer hiatus. In this webinar, Rosalinda Jaimes shares how to use Jamboard and Google Meet to amplify learning during distance learning.

I’m ashamed to admit it – but I had never used Jamboard until this presentation! I’m so disappointed that I didn’t because this would have been an AMAZING tool in the Math classroom.

Below you will find the YouTube video and helpful links to get you going with Jamboard. Enjoy!

• Presentation
• Jamboard Product Page
• YouTube
• Tech Fairies Website
• What is Google Jamboard? Blog Post

Have you used Google Jamboard in the classroom? If so, share in the comments below!

Happy May everyone! As we continue in these strange times with stay-at-home orders, I EDU is planning to continue with monthly webinars. I know that a lot of my posts recently have been based on webinars, but stay tuned for more posts as I have normally shared in the past. (Unfortunately, I messed up my back a bit this month so a lot my regular posts have been temporarily put aside!)

If you are interested in these webinars, you can pop onto our YouTube Channel or Facebook Page at the time of the event OR use the link to create a Google Calendar invite in your own calendar! As a note, the Google Calendar invite will contain a link to the YouTube channels but not the exact videos, since those have not been generated yet. 🙂

Jamboard & Google Meet

Date: 5/12 @ 4:00 PM (PST)

Presenter: Rosalinda Jaimes

Links: YouTube | Facebook | Google Calendar

Description: Using Jamboard as an interactive whiteboard and collaboration space during distance learning.

Distance Learning & Student Voice with Flipgrid

Date: 5/19 @ 4:00 PM (PST)

Presenter: Melissa King

Links: YouTube | Facebook | Google Calendar

Description: How can we offer assignments that are engaging, rigorous, yet easy to use? Flipgrid! Now teachers and students can even screen record using Flipgrid. See how to create Fliphunts, design reading group challenges, and more!

5 Google Tips & Tricks You Didn’t Know About

Date: 5/21 @ 4:00 PM (PST)

Presenter: Meagan Kelly

Links: YouTube | Facebook | Google Calendar

Description: Join this quick and informative webinar on five GSuite for Education tips and tricks you’ve never seen before – unless you’re a Google Master!

Check-ins with Google Forms

Date: 5/26 @ 4:00 PM (PST)

Presenter: Mari Venturino

Links: YouTube | Facebook | Google Calendar

Description: Use Google Forms to check in with students, both during remote learning and when we transition back to the classroom. It’s a great way to build connections with students and establish a routine.

We hope to see you there!

Adobe Spark is an online and mobile design app where users can easily create social graphics, short videos, and web pages. It is a great tool to use with students to allow them to show their learning in unique and creative ways. In addition to this, it is a great way for schools to easily create social media posts!

In this presentation, Jenn Calderon shares the following about Adobe Spark:

• Multiple ways to use Adobe Spark as a teacher and administrator
• Create Adobe Spark images, posts, presentations and videos
• Publish and share Adobe Spark creations

Below, you will find some of the resources that were provided during the presentation:

• Presentation
• Twitter
• Adobe Spark

Have you used Adobe Spark in the classroom or at your school? If so, share in the comments below!