Easy Grading with Flubaroo

Flubaroo is a free tool designed by a classroom teacher that helps you quickly grade multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank assignments using Google Forms. More than just a grading tool, Flubaroo also computes average assignment scores, average score per question, and flags low-scoring questions. It can even show you a grade distribution graph. You can email the students their grades and, if you want, an answer key. Flubaroo will also allow you to send individualized feedback to each student.

You can use your CISD Gmail account to use Flubaroo. Detailed steps for getting started with Flubaroo are provided here. A user's guide with more information is also available.

Keeping your students on 1 app

Apple has introduced Guided Access in iOS 6. It keeps your device in a single app and allows you to control which features are available.

Locking a mobile device into a single app has been a request of parents and educators for some time. Using Guided Access to limit an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to one app can be handy when you want a child to remain on task and focused. It is also nice for youngsters who might accidentally click the Home button.

To start Guided Access: 

1. Launch the Settings App.
2. Go to General and choose Accessibility.
3. Turn Guided Access On.
4. Set a passcode.
5. Launch the app you want lock the device into.
6. Triple-click the Home button.
7. You can choose to disable touch or motion in addition to disabling the Home and volume buttons.
8. Tap the Start button.

Thanks to Primary Possibilities for the image

To exit the app, triple-click the Home button and enter the Guided Access passcode.

iOS 6 is now available as a free upgrade for iPad 2, iPad 3rd generation, iPod touch 4th generation, and iPhone 3GS and newer.

Flipped Classrooms

In the secondary classrooms within Commerce ISD, we are using our technology to shift the focus from teachers being the lecturer to becoming a facilitator of learning. This includes using the resources available to flip our classrooms. The "flipped classroom" is a buzz word that is gaining focus in the ed tech world and it can sound scary to the novice tech teacher. I created this Prezi to help introduce the concept to our teachers and clarify any misconceptions. I hope that it intrigued our teachers to try the model!

Techy Icebreakers for Teachers

On Monday I will begin my new job as Instructional Technologist. I am nervous and excited for the first of school, and eager to meet all of the teachers. As an educator, I know that teachers struggle to get to know their students through a “Getting To Know You” fact sheet.

In an effort to bring the classrooms of Commerce ISD to the present, I have assembled a list of 10 icebreakers that use technology and fit with 21st century students. Maybe even our Administrators can use some of these icebreakers with their faculty and staff!

• Have students create a Pinterest board with 10 pins that summarizes them. 
• Ask students to create a 30 second video clip that introduces themselves to their peers. Then allow students to present them or play them on separate devices as an audio gallery. Here are some very easy and simple to use tools for this purpose :
  
• Animoto
• Stupeflix
• Vimeo
• WeVideo
• Create a classroom blog and ask each student to write a blog post introducing themselves to the rest of the classroom. 
• Gaggle
• Edublogs
• Blogger
• Wordpress
• Kidblog
• Have students create a quick comic strip to describe themselves or to recreate a recent funny moment in their lives. 
• Use Poll Everywhere to ask students interesting questions and get to know them as a class, like their favorite subjects, bands or TV shows. 
• Use Google Forms or Survey Monkey to survey students about their interests, academic inclinations, and background info – a 21st century alternative to the “Getting to Know You” info sheet! Have students create word clouds to describe themselves and share with the rest of the class. 
• Have students go on a QR code scavenger hunt in teams to learn about your classroom rules in a fun, engaging way. Students can also use free QR code generators to produce a QR code that others have to read to know them. They can create QR codes and print them then scatter them in class then each one randomly picks a code and scan it to see who it is about. Here are a few tools for this:
  
• Kaywa
• Snap.vu
• Delivr
• Sparqcode
• Ask students to create their own avatars that introduce themselves to the class. Encourage them to be creative with the backgrounds, characters and details of the avatar to reflect their own personalities and preferences. Here are some tools to do this :
  
• Voki
• Build your wild self
• DoppelMe
• Clay Yourself
• Toy Creator
• Have students create mashup videos of themselves with Weavly to introduce their interests to the class. 

Try one with your students on the first day and comment below to let me know how it went!

Ask3 iOS app for a flipped classroom

Ask3 is a free iPad app from TechSmith. Ask3 is a tool that teachers can use to create short instructional videos that are shared directly to their students’ iPads. Students can use Ask3 to ask questions about the video, mark the video with drawing tools, and create their own audio comments about the video.



You share Ask3 videos to your students through a virtual workspace room. When you register as a teacher you are given a room number to share with your students. Students then open the Ask3 app on their iPads, enter their names, create a password for themselves, and enter the room number that you gave them. Students do not have to have email addresses to use Ask3. Anytime students enter your Ask3 room they can access the videos you’ve posted to the bulletin board in that room.


Ask3 could be a great app to use to develop and share short tutorials with your students. The option for students to insert comments and questions might make Ask3 your new favorite whiteboard app.

Thanks to iPad Apps for School for the tip!

Screenleap

Screenleap is a free web site that enables you to share what’s happening on your computer screen with anyone with a web browser, instantly. Viewers can see your screen from any device, including tablets and smartphones. There are no downloads, installs, fees, or sign ups required.

Just visit the Screenleap home page to start a session, then share the link or PIN code with your students or colleagues, and viewers can begin seeing your computer screen instantly.

Screenleap is most useful for ad-hoc collaboration, but people use Screenleap for other purposes: remote computer support, virtual meetings, remote training, sharing photos, team projects, and as a free alternative to Webex and GoToMeeting.

We have a student with Dyslexia that has difficulty copying information from the Promethean board. ScreenLeap helps him see the same information as his peers, but on the iPad in a way that he can process. I cannot wait to see other ways that this site can be utilized in the classroom!

Class Dojo

ClassDojo is a classroom tool that can help teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It also captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators.

Easily award feedback points for behavior in class in real-time, with just one click of your smartphone or laptop. The data syncs across all devices! 

ClassDojo gives you behavior-tracking analytics and reports that can be shared with parents and administrators, all with just one click. No data entry needed, ever.

It's free, easy for teachers to use, and has a fun, engaging interface for the kids! This behavior management program is being used in elementary classrooms and is even being used in classrooms as high as middle school!