Tuesday Tips, May 18, 2021

 TECH TIP: Annotation Submissions now in Canvas

A recent update to Canvas is that students can now annotate a document that you upload right in Canvas (before this students would have to use an external tool like Kami to do this) and submit it back to you.  To create the Assignment, under Submission Type in your Assignment settings, you can now select Student Annotation and then upload the document they will be annotating:

Students then do the annotations in the document viewer and submit that back to you in Canvas.

BOOK TIP:  We Begin At the End by Chris Whitaker

  I just finished this book and I can't stop thinking about it.  It is the story of Duchess, Walk, Star, Robin and Vincent and how all their lives changed a night 30 years ago when a young girl was killed and Vincent went to jail for her death.  Part detective novel, part coming of age book, it is a wonderful book about family, hope, and being an outlaw.  

Tuesday Tips: May 11, 2021

 TECH TIP:  VideoAnt:  Create online discussions around a video

  Video Ant was developed by the University of Minnesota as a way to create interactive, online discussions based on a video (from Youtube or one of your own).  At VideoAnt, you upload your video, add in any annotations (aka "ants") that you'd like and then share the video with your students.  Depending on your permissions, students can add in their own annotations or comments to the video, thus making it a bit more interactive than just answering questions.  Here is a quick overview video on VideoAnt:

BOOK TIP:  Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld

  A couple years ago, my husband and I went to see Jerry Seinfeld in person and my cheeks hurt from laughing so much.  This new book by Seinfeld is a compilation of his years of joke writing.  Comedians will write their material, then share it with other comedians and ask, "Is this anything?" Seinfeld cleaned out 45 years of folders of notes and jokes and put them in this book.  I did this as an audio (which I highly recommend), with Seinfeld himself narrating, and laughed at out loud throughout.  If you need a laugh, this is the book for you.

Tuesday Tips: April 27, 2021

 TECH TIP:  How to Search Your Tabs in Chrome

Are you someone who has a billion tabs open on Chrome?  But then can't find the tab you need quickly?  A recent update to Chrome now includes the ability to search your tabs.  Here is how to do it:

BOOK TIP: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 

 Shadow and Bone  is the first book in a trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and came out in 2012.  I'm highlighting it here because Netflix just came out with the Shadow and Bone series and it is currently trending at #1 at Netflix.  You will definitely hear students talking about this!  And I always recommend to read the book first 

Tuesday Tips April 6, 2021

 TECH TIP:  Preset Google Meet Breakout Rooms in Calendar

  A recently released feature in the Google Suite is the ability to preset breakout rooms.  You do this through the Calendar.  Go into Edit mode of the Event and click on the Gear icon to the right of the Join Google Meet blue button.

Then create the Breakout Rooms:

For more details, watch this 5 minute video tutorial (this is where I learned about this new feature!).

BOOK TIP:  Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

  This is one of those "it" books right now.  I had to wait a long time for a copy from the library, but it was worth the wait.  This is a story of wealth, privilege, race and growing up.  Emira is a young black woman who babysits part time for a wealthy white family.  One night, while in a grocery store with her young charge, she is accused of kidnapping the child.  This sets off a whole chain of events and keeps the pages turning.  A powerful young debut author, I can't wait to get more of her books!

Tuesday Tips, March 29, 2021

 
TECH TIP:  NoodleTools

 This past week, Holly Troiano's US History courses used NoodleTools to create their Works Cited page.  This post is just a reminder of this great tool to use with your students as they complete research assignments.  This is, hands down, the number one thing that graduates say was so helpful for when they were in college.  

NoodleTools is fully integrated with our Google tools, so it is a single login for students.  Here are some video tutorials and written instructions on how to use this with your students (and I'm always happy to join your class!)

Video on Setting up Your Noodle Tools account (1:43):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fozEKq4yp5w

Video on Adding in Sources to your NoodleTools account (5:20):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64dIgJv5GFg

Illustrated instruction sheet:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HpAfoYa6me6VgvMncNRfFcaYVX9csZ0fCMMA-MalxSI/edit?usp=sharing

BOOK TIP:  Book Talks

Tara Birkett's 9th graders are doing a self-selected free read.  I joined them virtually to do a book talk to highlight some great new titles that they might be interested in.  I created a list of 50 books and then picked my top 10 to share with the class.  Between the list, other books in the library, and interlibrary loan, we are getting books out into students' hands.   

Tuesday Tips, March 9, 2021

 TECH TIP:  Set up Breakout Rooms Ahead of Time in Google Meet

Over the next few weeks, Google Meet is rolling out a new feature that you can set up breakout rooms ahead of time in Google Calendar.  Once you have your class in the invite list, from the Settings icon next to the Join Google Meet button, you will be able to set up Breakout Rooms ahead of time.  This could save you time during class, but could allow you to provide for good group dynamics or differentiated learning.  Look for this feature in a few weeks.

BOOK TIP:  Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

  This is a free verse novel that was on EVERY best of list this year for young adult books.  If you were inspired at all by the powerful, poetic storytelling of Amanda Gorman at the inauguration, I would recommend giving this book a try.  Acevedo's poetry is captivating, thoughtful, but yet always moves the story forward.  Carmen lives in the Dominincan Republic and loves when her father returns from New York to visit each summer.  But this summer, her father is killed in a plane crash (based on the true crash of American Airlines flight 587 which crashed on its way to the Dominican Republic) and this sets in motion a series of life changing events, including finding a sister in New York she never knew about.  

Tuesday Tips, March 2, 2021

 TECH TIP:  Canvas Updates:  Webcam Submission and Reassign Assignments to Individual Students

On March 20th, Canvas is rolling out two new features requested by teachers.  One is that students can now use their webcam to submit image files right in Canvas.   It will look like this for students:

The other new feature is that teachers will be able to reassign assignments to individual students right from SpeedGrader.  Once you have given feedback, the Reassign Assignment button will be enabled and you can reassign it to the student.  It will look like this in your SpeedGrader:

Reassigning it to the student will not change the original due date, and all assignments must have a due date in order for this to work.  Assignment settings must allow for unlimited submissions.  This will also NOT work for any assignments using External Tools.

BOOK TIP:  The Jake Brigance Series by John Grisham

In 1989, John Grisham published the first novel featuring lawyer Jake Brigance, A Time to Kill.  In 2013, Sycamore Row was published.  And the third novel, A Time for Mercy, was just recently published.  I went back and listened to A Time to Kill to get ready to read this latest, and it's a gritty courtroom drama that has held up over the years, with Jake Brigance in that Atticus Finch role.  If you like a legal thriller, check out A Time for Mercy.