TCC 5-5 Classroom Tech Infusion Classflow/ActivInspire Merge Tutorials

Promethean is improving Classflow...it will look different.  Since our Tech Cluster (Florence School District 3 PD) emphasis featured using it with ActivInspire 2.0 this isn’t too stressful. 

For those entusiasts who wanted to deeper look at what that Classflow/ActivInspire 2.0 combo would do here are some tutorials that will add to what we looked at in March:
How to use the Classflow teacher remote. I was not aware when we started that the remote worked with the software, also. I mentioned it to some, but assumed it was for Classflow. Woo Hoo...it works with the software, too.The app is available for Android, Apple, and Windows devices. A reason for either allowing some teacher phone use, data financing for personal phone use, or providing handhelds for teachers.
How to connect tablets & computers. This tutorial give you the information we talked about quickly during the introduction. It also mentions where to get the student app for those with tablets.

TCC 5-5 Talking QR Codes

April is the month with the QR code and Plickers for Tech Infusion. The article Classroom Tech Infusion for April was in issue 5-4 of TCC and the 2 or 3 posts ago. But in pursuing some of the research I made another discovery about what QR codes can do. Did you know they will talk? Because the blog post I worked from had several boards among its resources I ventured into Pinterest world and there it was...Teaching with Nancy had posted 2 tutorials for making code that talks when scanned. Nancy Alvarez has videos using QR Voice and Vocaroo on this Pinterest board. I have used Vocaroo previously and tried QR Voice successfully at home. They both change the  audio file into a QR code.  One of Nancy’s suggestions was beginning  letter sounds added to alphabet flash cards.

TCC 5-4 3 Writing Tools

One form of writing that may inspire participation is “choose your own adventure.” These stories allow the readers to “write” a different story by choosing different paths. Because of this authors have to have a good outline/overview of their story.  This gives them a good view of each event as it is added and makes for less edits later.

There are 3 online tools which were featured in a post by Richard Byrne at Free Tech for Teachers. The tools are: Twine,  Inkle Writer, and Playfic. He has reviewed them individually, but this article compares their features.
Inkle Writer is the most forgiving for the non-outliner. Paragraphs are done as individual elements and connected together last. The other two need more pre-planning.
Playfic allows preview of the work and helps with logical choice making. It uses directional choices to move through the adventure. Here is a preview of its product. There are lots of game/stories at the site.
Twine’s elements look like sticky notes and this makes connections easier to see. The story is in HTML so it can be viewed in any browser.

A paper-less way to write...

Enjoy!

TCC 5-4 An App for Writing

Fun and Writing? It’s possible with this app. An Edudemic blog post from the teacher’s point of view gives us insight into how to use Writing Challenge for Kids. . The author Melissa Nott has tried the app from Literautas with her 4th grade students. She tried this app as part of her emphasis on brainstorming ability for Common Core. She suggested it for 3rd grade and 7th also since it can be adjusted for range of writing and topic development also. She suggests using the kid version for students K-8, but there is an adult version which she has used personally. She thought some topics not for the younger classes.
The game-like tool provides a timed environment for the steps through the story with a prompt, a character, and a scene. Students are still using paper and pencil to produce the writing. And the prompts continue so you need to set time limits for this process. She suggested it as a great way to motivate the usually hesitant.
She graded the app in three categories: user friendliness (5 from her students), teaching,(4), and customer support(4). Teaching lost a point since there is no teaching about tension, climax, or resolution. This is originally app in Spanish so she also subtracted a point for a slight choppiness in translation.
Even though she only listed  three specific grade levels in her post she thought it would be useful at all levels and in most contents. And it’s fun….sorry, it isn’t our other favorite...free. The Apple  kid version is available at iTunes. And the Android is at Google Play. Both are $1.99. The adult app is similarly priced.

 Enjoy!

TCC 5-4 Plickers:Device-less LRS

Thanks to Val Grace and Pam Williamson from Scranton Elementary School for sharing Plickers with us at Tech Cluster.
They showed us the cards which they had begun using and explained the concept . These cards solve the problem of not enough student devices. Only the teacher needs a device to scan the cards.
Plickers.com is the website which is set up for classes that automatically assign students to the cards numbered 1-40 in the standard set. There is a library for questions to be offered to any of your classes in a click. The question sets only allow for multiple choice or true/false questions.
Once you are in class the teacher device controls what is shared with the class. Whatever is selected on it is fed to Live View in the menu. This page can be projected to show the question, answer choices, and results. Reports are also available.
The cards have a QR-like code that is unique to the student and it is held up to register the answer. Each edge of the square is marked with a small a, b, c, or d. The answer choice should be at the top when the card is held up. Cards are free to print at the site...or can be purchased on Amazon.(Stocking in April is the note.) Card stock and lamination makes them more durable, but a matte finished lamination film should be used since the gloss might make the card difficult to scan.
Scanning results registers the numbers/names of the cards so that any you missed may be added for a complete set of answers.
At this date the iOs apps are not available. The Android app works perfectly and I am sure the Apple devices will soon be up and going again.
Very Enjoyable!

TCC 5-4 Classroom Tech Infusion: QR Codes in the Classroom

QR codes are everywhere, but did you know we can use them in class? The code at the bottom of the page is for a website with many good ideas and lots of Pinterest board links with additional helps.

One of our student entries for National History Day (NHD) had added information with URLs which were viewable when  QR codes are scanned with the iPad that was provided at the display. For those who always say “ I don't have enough technology for this,” here are some obvious options: 

Chrome Extensions

· provide the tool at the station.

· use in groups.

· with permission from administrators allow student devices.

· Invite adults/parents with devices

Another option that works when the QR Codes are stored online is Chrome extensions. The Chrome browser has this option which can be added for free at the Chrome Web Store. I use 2 different ones: right-click QR code reader and QR Code Generator. These enable you to make and add URLs to a document for students to follow using codes instead of links. You use the right-click extension to draw a square around the code and a small window appears with the URL which you click ok on. These documents can be stored in our school website file manager or in Google Drive or you can add the codes to a webpage within your teacher pages or a wiki or blog. Any page with a place to insert a picture will do.

For other options, use them to add interactivity to parent nights. You can post information in the form of codes in your room linking to student work or information that they can save to phones. Several of the generator apps will allow you to make a code with text messages so you aren’t limited to websites or online things for your displays. The project above sends viewers to videos of Washington crossing the Delaware and his speech at Newburgh.

One tip I saw at this helpful site added code to textbooks for related video tutorials. Or if you don't want to scan. Link 

As always, enjoy!

TCC 5-3 World's Colliding...in 4D

We have been sharing Symbaloo with teachers across the district this month...and  Twitter for PD use got added by a colleague, Katie Sparks Ellison (@mediasparkles), for the high school teachers...in that learning mode I tried a Twitter Chat over last weekend on Tweetdeck which  allows easier following of Twitter feeds for the same hashtag, #Symchat in this case.. The subject was Augmented Reality (AR) which is part of an art project one of our teachers is doing with  her students .using Aurasma to enhance research.. (Aurasma is on page 2 already)
During this hour long meeting (Twitter Chat) participants expanded my view of AR to include gaming, glasses/headsets used to view, and lots of apps and sites which add augmented reality to science, history, and lots of others. It was fast and short...and the others were helpful to a newcomer. My other article goes into the way I envisioned using AR previously.

And because it was a Symbaloo sponsored chat I came away with 2 AR webmixes that continue my learning. The webmix is by Bobby (Brian) Lewis and is linked here. Most of his tiles were for sites using AR for Science or Social Studies. But his first tile is someone whose blog I follow and I had just put a different post of hers on my LCHS presentation for next week on Twitter. Another tile he offered was 2 Guys and Some iPads  (@TechMinock and @Techbradwaid) whose blog led me to an alternative tool for Aurasma and Layar. It is  DAQRI 4D Studio.  Minock and Waid are

educators who have been heralding AR for use in the classroom for awhile. They were using Aurasma, but have changed tools and are recruiting teachers to join their team of advisors to Daqri...and schools to be flagship schools.  Winter Park High north of Orlando is a flagship school due to one teacher’s interest.
The blog has AR tabs including one with tutorials. I viewed one of the videos on adding 3D models as overlays instead of video. This is a feature Aurasma doesn’t have yet. It appears that they will be producing lessons for cost in the future, but the tools are free for those who want to make their own.
Our first adventure into AR will be with Jennifer Maples’ Advanced Art class at REMJHS. Her students will use their art as the trigger and will overlay a video of their process and research. We are just beginning the research, but will be sharing results when finished.
Our first adventure into Twitter for PD will be at LCHS during the day on Monday, March 9. This is will also include Symbaloo’s ability to follow an rss feed and rumor has it Twitter feeds there.
There is also an AR discussion thread,  going on at Teacher’s Engage, Intel’s community for teachers. This link may require a login. This is a site we use for our Essentials course which is beginning today. They have a classroom ready apps chart to begin with and then discuss some other ideas for lessons. Drew Minock is contributing to the discussion there.
All my work seems to be conspiring to follow the same path...I’ve learned many new things...hope you have, too.
Enjoy!