Professional Google Account

I am currently in my ninth year of teaching and I have taught in 6 different districts (I currently work in two districts and I have relocated states three times.) I love Google tools and I have found them to be very useful during my career. It allows me to work without always having a stable home computer. I have also learned the hard way how time consuming it can be to change documents from one account to another. This is especially true when I have left a district and my account is deleted, so I am on a short time table to get things organized while also dealing with all the normal end of the year tasks.

I have made this mistake twice and I vowed I would never do it again.  This summer I encountered a different problem: my personal Google account was maxed to capacity. This year I found myself once again using my school Google account to organize my files because I did not have room in my personal account. As I brainstormed ways to fix this (I also have the issue of working in a school that is not a Google School this year, which presents is a new challenge), I came up with the idea of creating a new Professional Google account solely to organize my professional documents: pictures, videos, lesson plans and documents.

I was all set to create a new Google Account when I remembered that I still have my old Google Account that is under my maiden name.  I decided to use that account instead of creating a new one.  This account is going to be used solely for professional documents.  This way I do not need to worry about taking up space in my personal account for professional files. Also, I won't have to worry about transferring my files to another account if I were to leave my current school.

Eventually I want to have my blog, YouTube and all teaching files under the same account. It is going to take some time to make that all happen, but I think it will be very helpful to know where all of my teaching files and resources are located. 

How do you keep your files organized? 

Physical Education Lesson Plans

Last school year I discovered the magic of automatic lesson plans using Google Forms.  Thanks to Matt from Ditch that Textbook! I set it up and was excited to use it but it not work with the way my schedule worked and my school was going to implement Plan Book so I tried that program. This summer my family relocated and I am now teaching K-4 Physical Education and K-8 Music at a Lutheran School and K-8 Music at a Catholic School.

I decided to try using Google Forms for my PE lesson plans and so far I am very happy with it. I followed the directions from Matt to set up the Google Form.  The only issue I am currently having is that my forms won't correctly name the file.  Other than that I am very happy with this tool for lesson planning. It is quick, easy and useful. I am still figuring out how to setup a form to use for music lesson plans. 

Lesson Plans

Bible App by YouVersion

One of the first Apps I downloaded when I got my phone was a Bible. I downloaded the YouVersion one because it was listed at the top of my search. It took me a while to really understand all that this app has to offer and it is now one of my favorites.

My favorite thing about this App is the ability to download Bible Studies. There are tons! There are read the whole Bile programs, there are Bible Studies based on specific books in the Bible and there are studies that are based on a specific topic: marriage, family, teen, kids, career and leadership to name a few.

Some of the Bile Studies contain a devotional along with scriptures, while others are scriptures that relate to the topic. Either way, there are Devotionals and Studies about every topic pertaining to life. I have found all of the Bible Studies to be extremely helpful. Right now I have been working through a lot of motherhood and marriage ones. Many of the ones I have worked through are short and I know I can set aside five minutes a day to read through one, so there is no reason to miss a day.

iDoceo

The ultimate goal for my classroom is that assessments will be snapshots of the learning journey and this information will be used as a guide to shape future activities.

I still struggle with the concept of grading participation. I know some students can sit their and still learn while others need to be actively involved. I have started "grading" participation with the intention of tracking behavior.  I only downgrade for misbehavior. I try to give my students the benefit of the doubt.  In my opinion, not participating is different than causing a distraction for the class.

I have started using the iPad App iDoceo and I absolutely love it!  This app allows me to take pictures of my students and use them for seating charts.  I am a visual person and this helps me remember names.  This app also allows me to customize grades, add notes to specific assignments, add notes to specific grades and to use images for grades, which is very helpful for quick assessments.

How do you keep track of student growth in your classroom? 

Thank you for reading.

App: Simple Mind +

The first project I had my music appreciation students complete was a Musician Family Tree Project. They had to research and artist and find out who influenced them. Through and Twitter conversation on Twitter I discovered the app Smart Mind. It is a mind mapping application,  but I had my students use it to create a tree of who influenced their musicians. I love free apps! This one is great and easy to use. Plus it is another great example of thinking outside of the box when using an app. 

Here is my example of the Musician Influence Tree I made for my class. 

Day 360: Twitter in the Music Room (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 360/365

Technology Tuesday 

Thru Twitter Chats this week I have discovered many more music teachers that use Twitter with their students. I am excited to connect with more music classes this year. We have a bulletin board that shows all of our Twitter and Skype connections. Last year we connected with a lot of general education classes, so I am looking forward to connecting to more music rooms this year. 

My hope for this spreadsheet is to create a list of classrooms with Twitter accounts so that we can all connect our rooms together. If you have a Classroom Twitter Account, please fill out this form. 

Day 339: New Ideas for Gamification (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

Last year I started using gamification in my media class during second semester. This year I plan on using it all year.

I like that gamification allows me 1:1 time with my students and it allows students to work at their own pace, which is a skill many of my students struggle with.

Things I am changing this year...

-This year I am going to have worlds instead of levels and each world will be a collection of projects using a specific tool: docs, spreadsheet,  slides, calendar, maps, coding, sites and audio/visual.

-Students will earn badges for showing mastery on different tools.

-I am brainstorming ways to add powers to my setup. Students will be able to "buy" powers with their achievement points: pick where to sit and other things like that.

-We will use Edmodo for our LMS. I will use groups to organize students and their assignments.

How do you use gamification in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Day 332: Modern Version of A Baby Calendar (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

Before my daughter was born I had heard about the idea of setting up an e-mail account for her.  I didn't think a lot about it, but one of my coworkers mentioned it to me and I saw the idea online  I decided to setup a Google Account for my daughter.  I recently went through my baby bucket and was amazed at how detailed my mom kept my baby calendar.  I was given a baby calendar from our church for my daughter, but I am not always good about writing things down.  I keep my phone with my almost all the time, so I decided to start a Google Calendar for my daughter.  This allows me to write events down and write a description about each events without having to worry about limited space.

I am excited to be able to give my daughter a keepsake from her childhood and I believe that a Google Calendar is something that I can keep doing for her and for future children.

How do you keep track of keepsakes for your children or students?

Thank you for reading.

Day 325: Media Portfolios (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

During fourth quarter I decided to have my students use Google Sites to create a Portfolio for all of their projects from the semester.  Basically it was just a way for them to link all of their projects in one spot.  This is not only very useful for me and others who want to see their work, but it also introduce them to building a website.  I created a template on Google Sites and had my students add their content to it.  This helped save time and limited a few steps for my students to have to do themselves.

How do you use portfolios in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Day 318: Twitter Chats (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

During a recent conversation with @sarahdateechur,  we discussed the idea of starting a chat for basketball coaches.

I have played around with the idea of starting a hash tag or chat for a while, but it always felt like all of my ideas were already taken. Sarah gave me the push I needed to take it a step farther and look up possible hash tags. After searching a few, I discovered that #bballcoachchat, #SBcoachchat and #Scoachchat are all available.

Sarah and I are in the beginning stages of setting up a chat for basketball coaches. We would like to have a formal time along with a hash tag for people to share ideas and advice. We have also discussed the possibility of doing a Google Hangout. I am excited to see where this journey leads and I look forward to learning from other people so I can become a better coach.

*Update*

Sarah recently learned that there already is a basketball coach chat, so we will see what happens.

Have you started a hashtag or a chat?  What was your experience like?

Thank you for reading.

Day 311: Instagram (Technology Tuesday)

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This year I am adding Instagram to my classroom social media repertoire. I also use Twitter and Facebook.

I started using Picasa two years ago because it was easy to add pictures from my phone. It has taken me a while to really understand the purpose of Instagram. My hope is that it will encourage parents to look at content that I was already posting.

Which social media platforms do you use in your classroom and how do you use them? 

Day 304: Facebook Pages App (Technology Tuesday)

One of my duties at my elementary school is being in charge of the School Facebook page. Last spring I discovered the Facebook Pages App and it has been a great tool.

We have our Facebook Page setup using my school email address. People email things they want posted and I post them to the page. One cause for frustration last year was that I also use Facebook for my classroom. In order to post to our page I would have to be at a computer or I would have to log out (my phone and iPad are logged in using my personal account). I discovered the Pages App and this allows me to keep that App signed into the School Account, which allows me to update content to our page using my phone. It is very convenient and it saves me a lot of time.

Thank you for reading.

Day 297: Voxer (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

I had been hearing on Twitter about this app called Voxer for a while and I finally jumped on the band wagon and I love it!  It is a fantastic app and I strongly recommend you check it out.  You can send voice messages or typed messages to individuals or you can be part of group chats.  My favorite part of this app is the ability to connect with other teachers from Twitter without having a character limit and the voice option allows you to respond to questions when typing is not possible.

How do you use Voxer?  What are your favorite groups.  So far I am part of an exercise group, a digital citizenship group and the Christian Educators group.

Thank you for reading.

Day 290: Class Dojo: A New Plan (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

There has been a lot of conversation on Twitter lately about public behavior charts and reasons why they are good or bad. I struggle with this because for some students, a public display is a quick and easy way to discourage a behavior. I cannot decide if this demonstrates that they have learned anything or if they are just avoiding the behavior.

In any group of students or people, there will be a group that will behave regardless, a group that will behave with a little prodding and another group that will behave will individual aids. In my experience, a public behavior chart only targets the middle group of students.

I used Class Dojo sporadically last year.  I am not sure how I feel about it as a tool to keep up on a screen, but I really like it as a tool to keep track of student's progress on standards.  It allows me to quickly keep track of standards that they are strong at and standards they are still mastering.

How do you use Class Dojo? How do you encourage positive behavior in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Day 283: Technology Tuesday: Year In Review Top Apps

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Thanks mostly to Twitter, I have learned about many apps this year. I have a ton of apps on my iPad and Android phone that I do not use often (some I have not even looked at after I downloaded them.). There are a handful of apps that I use on a daily basis that I would feel lost without.

1. IFTTT: This app automates actions for you. You create recipes so that when one thing happens, another happens automatically. I use this app to categorize email subscriptions so they do not clog up my inbox, to send twitter favorites to Evernote, to send new Facebook links to Evernote and to post on my classroom Facebook page anything with the hashtag #AFCMusic or #AFCMedia.

2. Evernote: I love Google Docs, but I prefer Evernote for organizing information.

3. Google Drive: I use Google Docs to create content. It allows my students to share projects with me and makes giving feedback easier. I also lo e the fact that many different tasks can be completed on one place and they can all be connected.

4. Social Media: I use YouTube, Twitter and Facebook in my classroom to help connect with students, parents and the community.

Which apps do you love?  Thank you for reading.

Day 276: IFTTT (If This Than That)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 276/365

Technology Tuesday

IFTTT (If This Than That) is my new favorite app.  The program allows you to automate actions.  I use it to post messages on my classroom Facebook account (all I have to do is tweet using specified hashtags).  This allows me to post in two places while only actually writing once.  I also use it to send e-mail subscriptions to my Evernote.  My favorite part of this program at the moment is that all of my Twitter Favorites and Facebook Links are automatically sent to Evernote, which allows me to organize and search for different notes.

My IFTTT Profile

How do you use IFTTT?  What are your favorite recipes?  Thank you for reading.

Day 185: Google Calendar (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

Towards the end of my Daily Blog Challenge, I created a Google Calendar to help me organize my Blog Posts.  It was also a chance to use Google Calendars in a different setting. I also use Google Calendar as my Lesson Plan Book.  My curriculum and daily plans are both on separate calendars.  I also use Google Calendar to keep track of weekly meal plans and memories and accomplishments for my kiddos.

How do you use Google Calendars in other ways than a schedule?

Thank you for reading.

Day 178: Media Class: Blog Project #1 (Technology)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 178/365

Technology Tuesday

I have been having students in my 5th grade Media Class use the blogging platform KidBlog.  I find this platform very user friendly and easy to use.  It is also safe and I can limit who sees the posts.  After a few months of KidBlog, I decided to try Blogger.  My district is a Google Apps District, so it was very easy to use this platform.  Part of my motivation to use Blogger was to give my students a platform to blog in a public space.  My hopes were that the public forum would help motivate my students to proof their work better and to increase their level of writing.  We connected with a class in Wisconsin and commented on each others posts.

I would like to do this again next year.  Writing posts and commenting took more time than I was expecting, so it was a little sporadic.  Next year I would like our comments and writing to be more frequent.

Blogger Permission Slip

How do you include blogging in your classroom?  Thank you for reading.

Day 171: LEGO Movie Music Maker (Technology Tuesday)

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Technology Tuesday

I recently discovered a new website for students to compose music.  Thank you to Eric (@PFPiedPiper) and Ruby (@RubyVBoyden) for sharing this site.  

I am not sure when I am going to use this website with my students, but it is on my list.  My third and fourth graders used Incredibox during first semester.  This program would be a great extension project for composition.

LEGO Movie Music Maker

What types of composition projects do you do with your students?  Do you use any web programs?  Thank you for reading.

Day 164: Aurasma Project #1 in Music (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 164/365

Technology Tuesday

This year I decided to incorporate the Olympics into our classroom.  We are in the middle of our Dance Unit and I found Folk Dances that come from countries that are competing in the Olympics.  In 3rd and 4th grades, they are learning the Olympic Theme.  Third Grade on Orff Instruments and Fourth Grade on Recorder.

I also had my third and fourth graders create a flag for their country.  Next week they are going to start composing (Third Grade on Orff Instruments and Fourth Grade on Recorder) their own Anthem.  This will be a great opportunity to discuss and practice many composition ideas:  theme, variation, form and style.

Once both of these projects are done, I am going to have my students create a video of them playing their Anthem.  I am going to use their flag as a trigger image for their Anthem using Aurasma.  We have Grandparent's Day and family night coming up, so this will be a great opportunity for my students to show their work.

I love the abilities of Aurasma and I am trying to find more ways to use it in my classroom.  I would love to hear how you use it in your room.

Thank you for reading.