Tech Tip Thursday

I just hate it when I accidently closed a tab or closed it on purpose then realize that I need that tab. That is the worst! To have to go through your history to try to figure out which website it was, and you can't go back on the browser since it was on a different tab!

But now you have learned a solution to that problem. You are able to go back to the last closed tab by simply clicking Command, Shift, and T. And like majic the closed tab opens up again.

Tech Tip Thursday

Emojis have become a big part of society and our student's lives. Especially when a movie was created about emojis.

As teachers, we try hard to stay current with what students like and what gets their attention to include in our lessons. Especially for those students who have a hard time learning or those who are not interested. I know for a fact that my son's teacher has used his love of Super Mario and goats to get him interested and involved in his learning. He got very excited when he saw his homework had a word problem with his name and him counting goats.

With emojis being everywhere how can we include them in our papers, notes, worksheets, and anything else we create? That is what this tip is about. Instead of having to search Google for an emoji image, finding the right one, maybe having to crop it. There is a simpler way, especially on a Mac! Emojis are part of Mac's keyboard. Simply press Control, Command, and the Spacebar at the same time and a box with emojis should pop up.

Don't forget that you can also use a chrome extension for Bitmojis, the other current trend. You can use Bitmojis for assignments just like the regular emojis. I like using Bitmojis in Google Classroom. When students complete an electronic assignment, I like going through their work making comments and leaving a little of my personality there. Students love this and get excited to see their work personalized for them.

I would not recommend letting students create and use their own Bitmoji, especially for classroom use. There are nonschool appropriate Bitmojis available and there is no way to sensor nor parental control settings (hopefully they will create a school version of Bitmoji soon). But for now, you can use this Disney Emoji maker. It doesn't work the same way as Bitmoji but it allows the students to create their own character and save the image.

Bitmoji Chrome Extension link: Here
Bitmoji website: Here

Tech Tip Thursday

Many people can share the same file and easily find it by "moving" the file to another folder. This trick works like a copy and paste. It keep the original file in its original location, but can also be found in the new location.

If you make changes in one of the files it also makes the changes to the orignal copy and vise versa.

Tech Tip Thursday

On Parent Night or other events throughout the school year, I tend to set up a slideshow with pictures of things that have happened in our classroom. With parents coming in and out and asking questions, it becomes difficult to keep tabs on the slideshow and restart it. 

With this trick, I am able to still create my slideshow but also have it play without needing my assistance every time it ends.

Tech Tip Thursday

If you are anything like me drawing is not your strong suit. When it comes to drawing I rather stick to teaching, especially since my students make fun of my drawing when I try to draw. Since I don't know how to draw, sometimes it is a challenge to find a clipart or logo that fits my needs. 

Autodraw is a lifesaver when it comes to drawing. The program allows you to draw or attempt to draw the image you are searching for. As you are drawing the program will automatically search for an image that may be similar to what you are drawing. Autodraw tries to guess what you are drawing by giving you an array of possible matches. (This is a fun game to play to test your drawing skills).

Once you find the perfect image, you are able to modify it. How great is that! 

Epic!

My students LOVE using Epic! It has motivated many of my students to love reading for fun. My students love the program so much that they ask to go on Epic! when they finish their work. Sometimes I even have to tell them, "Right now is not the appropriate time to be on Epic! you should be doing your math work, reading activity, etc." I have even caught students listening to their newly discovered Goosebumps audiobooks while working on their math work, snack time, or during morning work.

But what makes Epic! so great for teachers? That is simple. I don't like Epic! simply because my students like it, I love the program too. IT IS FREE for teachers, there are many resources, a variety of books, and its fun to see my students excited about reading.

Epic! has a large number of books available for students and teachers. The best part is that the books that are available are an electronic version of actual books that students are familiar with, meaning they are published books.

Within a large number of books, there are many fiction and nonfiction books. The books are from a large variety of categories that are categorized for students and teachers to search through, especially for the times that you want to read a new book to the class or to use a new book for a lesson.

When searching for a specific book or a subject, there are many different forms of books to go through. This makes it easy to search for the perfect book to go with any unit or concept.

Once you find the perfect pre-made collection of books or a series of books, you can add them to your own personal library for future use or easy access. When starting a new unit I love creating collections or using one that was already created by another teacher. This way once I give my students access they are able to read pre-determined books about a specific concept. Your collection can be shared with students or even other teachers. You also have an option to make your collection public so that other teachers can use your collection and save time for others or you can save time by using the collection made by another teacher.

Once students take off with their reading there are different data that the teachers can use. There is an activity feed where the teacher can view what students are currently reading, their reading progress for the book, and any achievements that students receive.

As the teacher, you also have access to your class list with the students reading stats (books finished, hours read, and last time they were active in their account). Not only do you get that information for each student you get to see the progress made as a classroom and set goals for the class.

But the best part of Epic! is that students love the program! As a teacher, you can find programs that you believe are great, but if students do not buy into the program then it won't be successful. Students love logging into Epic! since they get a chance to choose their own avatar and collect badges (achievement rewards).  There is a long list of badges that they can earn, from reading at night, zooming into a book, to holiday badges. Students love these. Especially when they can see and compare each other's amount of badges, just like they can when they go to log into the Epic! There is a class list with their names and their avatar. Under their avatar, there is a number indicating the number of badges earned. I always hear my students saying "Oh I have 20 badges and so and so has 19."

With all the student motivators, a vast amount of books, and ability to search for specific books, this makes for a great resource. My students love using Epic!

Tech Tip Thursday

Have you ever copied and pasted something from online or another document? After pasting the text, it looks different than the rest of your text. The font is a different style, different color, or/and different size. What a nightmare!!!

After pasting to the new document, you are left with changing the font style, size, and color to look like the rest of your document, wasting your time. But there is an easier way to copy and paste, that is a time saver. I will never copy and paste the same way.

I love the fact that you can paste text by using the surrounding text setting. Now I can simply paste the text and continue working without having to worry about my document visually looks. At first, when you have to press all the buttons (command, option, shift, and v) at the same time, it feels strange as the habit is to simply press command v. Even though it may feel strange and it requires a lot of fingers the end product is worth it.



*This tip is for Mac products. For a PC, use Control instead of Command.