Tab Scissors & Glue: Extensions for Chrome Use

Tab Scissors and Tab Glue are two extensions to use for quickly splitting your tabbed browser windows into groups and "gluing" browser windows back together. As a teacher who has to transfer grades from my Edmodo gradebook to my district gradebook, both extensions save me time minimizing and sizing windows. Anything that I need to do using split screens can be done more efficiently with Tab Scissors and Tab Glue.

Check them out:

Voki: A Tool for Bringing Characters to Life

Voki is a free web 2.0 tool used to create talking avatars.  Characters can be customized to look like historical figures, animals, cartoons, and even one's self. For a fee, users can join Voki Classroom for more access to options and the ability to control privacy settings. Vokis are limited to 60 second recordings of either a user's voice or a computer generated voice, so I use Voki for quick assignments or part of a larger project.

Creating a Voki is very easy and can be done quickly. Even in the free version there are a plethora of options and characters to choose from. Users can change the background image and customize the look of the stock characters. Publishing Vokis is easy too and users can publish directly to sites as well as copy/paste a hyperlink or embed code.

My 9th grade Honors students incorporated Voki as part of their Create a Hero Project, creating a profile of their hero character and give him/her life using Voki. Students provided an overview or teaser for their hero's journey stories and published the Vokis on their student blog pages by embedding the Voki into their Hero Stories. I was able to show my students how to embed in HTML without having to go over the basics of coding-- something I have yet to learn. Students also shared their Voki with others in their Edmodo small groups.

Here are some examples from my students. Click on the PLAY icon in the bottom left corner of each one to hear a preview of their stories.

 

 My students could also create Vokis of characters explaining concepts taught in class or summarizing chapters in a novel. World Language teachers could use Voki for recording students speaking short passages. History teachers could have students bring historical figures to life. Voki is an easy to use and versatile classroom tool for any subject area. For other lesson ideas, visit Voki's Lesson Plan Page.

Tell Me All About it with Tellagami

Tellagami is a mobile app that lets users create a short animated video using any mobile device. This is a cool tool for BYOD students and teachers to use for animated project videos.

In three easy steps, users create a "Gami" animated avatar by customizing their character, selecting a background image, adding dialogue, and sharing it. Once you have the app, there is no account log in information to worry about.  Students and the teacher could share devices to use Tellagami.

Sharing Created Gamis

While not having to worry about log in information is a plus and sharing is easy, there is not currently a way to see a library of the Gamis one makes when in the app. Once a Gami is created, select share via email to grab the URL hyperlink or save in the camera roll/ video/Tellagami folder of a device. Teachers could have students turn in their Gami by submitting the URL on a class Google form or turning the URL in via an assignment on Edmodo. Students could also embed the Gami in a digital portfolio such as a Google Site or a blog. While archiving created Gamis via email isn't ideal, I can't complain when considering the cost (FREE) and ease of use.

If you are having trouble locating the embed code, first send yourself the URL via sharing through email. Go to your email, then click on the URL and return to the Gami created. Click on the share icon in the upper right corner and the embed code will appear. I don't know why the embed code doesn't automatically appear in the app, but I'm hopeful that the Tellagami developers will remedy this soon.

Ideas for Use

For use in the classroom, students could take a picture of a project with their mobile device and upload the picture as their background image.  Adding dialogue students could record their voice or type in text that explains their project. The student could then share the link to the Gami via email, Twitter, Facebook, or copy/pasting the link to a learning management system such as Edmodo. An embed code is also provided for posting the Gami to a blog.

Tellagmi could be used for mini-virtual field trips. Students could search and select a background image of a location significant to the content being studied and record a message about the location.

For #flipclass teachers, Tellagami for quick delivery of content. Upload a picture of a diagram, equation, or any other pictorial information and record a Gami explaining the concept then share.

This easy to use tool has a plethora of uses for the classroom. From classroom presentations to delivery of content, Tellagami will allow students and teachers to tell viewers all about any concept.

Here are two examples I made: one has a computer generated voice with an uploaded background and the other has a Tellagmi provided background using my voice for the avatar. You can customize and select the options that fit your project.

The SUM of an Amazing Summer

This summer has been amazing, revitalizing, evolutionary, and ... and ... and... for my professional development. I could have written 20 posts about the events this summer, but I had no time to write! So, I will just sum it all up here.... I'm still having trouble slowing down my brain to get the thoughts on this page. Stop me in the hall, catch me on Edmodo, tweet to me, and I will just start gushing out of control.

Between attending FlipCon 2013, EdcampHome, EdmodoCon 2013, Google Apps Training & TeachMeetNJ, working with the Gobstopper folks, AND having the release of my first ever contribution-to-a-third-party-published-book (Flipping 2.0) AND meeting face to face with some amazing folks from my PLN, I couldn't have asked for a better summer.  Seriously.

When I look at how much I have evolved as a professional educator in the past year, I am astounded at the exponential rate at which I have learned so much from the talented educators I've had the pleasure of collaborating and interacting with on Twitter, Edmodo, and this blog. Sounds redundant, "professional educator," but really it isn't--everything I have been doing has been outside of the classroom, yet still grounded in my teaching practice.

I constantly get asked, "When do you sleep? How do you have time for all of this?" I make time because I love it, and I honestly go to bed at 10 pm every night.

Hey Edmodo Users, Are Your Groups Secure?

With the start of the school year off to a running start, it is important to address some key items that will insure success of your groups and prevent some not so nice things from occurring. I'm an avid Edmodo with Edmodo serving as the hub of my virtual classroom, but I learned a valuable lesson two weeks ago concerning the security of my groups and the trustworthiness of my students.

As an Edtech advocate, I'm always willing to try out new tools and I'm adamant about teaching digital citizenship. My students learn long before they enter my classroom what is appropriate online behavior, but I'm guilty of being too trusting and assuming that my students know one basic rule about digital citizenship: don't share passwords, or in the case of Edmodo, group codes.

Two weeks ago, one of my student shared the code to one of my Edmodo groups with his friend. This friend decided it would be funny to make a fake Edmodo account, join my group, and post very inappropriate items to my class. Edmodo Support was lightning fast in deleting the offensive postings and disabling the fake account, but some parents and students saw the items. Long story short, Edmodo Support traced the fake account to an IP address used by a real student, and my administration was able to suspend the student for breaking the district's acceptable use policy. While this story has somewhat of a happy ending with the perpetrator getting caught and punished, the inappropriate posting could have been prevented by me with just two quick clicks in Edmodo group settings.

Please heed my advice and make sure your groups are secure. By locking group codes and moderating posts, we can make sure that one bad apple won't spoil the entire barrel. To learn how, view this quick screencast. In less than one minute, you can prevent inappropriate use.

EdmodoCon 2013 Guest Post #7: L. Neumann from SWEDEN!

Guest post #7 is from Lotta Neumann, a teacher of Swedish and English language and language arts at Falkenbergs gymnasieskola in Falkenberg, Sweden, instructing 16-19 year old students. The school has been 1:1 since 2010, and Lotta is fortunate enough to be able to work with the finding and implementation of digital resources and best practices. Lotta has been using Edmodo since May 2012, and really appreciates "the global teachers' lounge" that Edmodo creates. 

Here is her recap of Edmodocon 2013:

In Sweden Edmodo Con started at 4pm. I had already declined one party invitation and told my family that I would be indisposed during the evening.  I hadn’t really bothered to look at the program, partly because even if my English is good, I still find it hard coping with the special lingo from the various curricula. I have started to get my head around the British school system and think I might understand what the Common Core is, and Stibaly Johnson’s talk about how to use Edmodo definitely inspired me anyway.

The program seemed more airy than last year - there was time to make cups of coffee and my husband even managed to time dinner, not in the lunch break (that would have been at 10pm, Swedish time) but in between Patrick Fogarty and the Classroom Gymnastics. I missed the first couple of minutes of that and dropped in on the two very wise ladies Kate Baker and Liz Calderwood juggling the BOYD, blended learning and flipping, aided by Edmodo.

I never tweeted much, but these guys kept delivering one-liners that I’m considering printing and putting up on my office walls, and I wanted the few people that for some reason follow me to hear!

At about midnight, when Kevyn Klein did a brilliant run-through of my favourite Edmodo functions, I felt like it was time to call it a day, and a brilliant PD day it had been! I even said my thank yous and goodbyes in the backchannel group on Edmodo, and got some friendly waves back. But then I was just slightly curious about the Digital Citizenship talk, and got stuck in the interesting discussion. It got me thinking about how I could make use of the mentoring time when I get a new class this year...

Bijal Damani was amazingly inspiring! Her talk would restore the faith in humanity for most people; Yes, kids CAN do amazing things, and love to help others. Not every school may have the same support from the students’ parents, but we should certainly not hesitate to encourage and believe in the ability of young people to complete complex projects. And I was wide awake again.

Anna Davila’s thoughts on building leadership skills in the classroom was well in line with my own, and I found myself not nodding off, but nodding in agreement to everything she said. But now my contacts was really almost falling out of my eyes and I decisively closed my laptop, after saying good night.

Feeling I was missing out a bit, I crept into my bedroom, thinking about all the lovely people I had met and chatted with during the evening; learning so much and getting so much inspiration. I was already longing for the next EdmodoCon. And the participation badge....

And I had finally seen the point of Twitter!

P.S.

Next year, I’m going to host a EdmodoCon party! With nibbles.

I connected with Lotta via Twitter during EdmodoCon, and, as you can see, good teaching and effective learning practices are universal, no matter the language spoken. 

Thank you, Lotta! 

EdmodoCon 2013 Guest Post #6: L. Butler

Guest post #6 is submitted by Lisa Butler, a middle school Spanish and Social Studies teacher in Hershey, PA. Lisa has been using Edmodo for 2.5 years and hosted an EdmodoCon viewing party, and "enjoyed both learning from the passionate speakers and the parallel discussions we had because of the sessions." In addition to creating Animoto videos, Lisa is active on Twitter (@SrtaLisa), writes about educational technology topics on her blog, and enjoys attending educational conferences.  Lisa and I were lucky to connect during EdCamp Philly this past Spring!

Check out Lisa's Animoto video on EdmodoCon 2013

EdmodoCon

EdmodoCon 2013 Guest Post #5: J. Karabinas

Guest post #5 is written by Jaclyn Karabinas, a 3rd and 4th grade looping teacher from Hampton Falls, NH. Jaclyn started using Edmodo 1.5 years ago and has been busy getting other staff members on board. According to Jaclyn, "The possibilities with Edmodo are endless.  This was my first ever post about Edmodo, reflecting on what I started to notice about how it joined my students together and helped students to communicate..." As you read, think about how Edmodo can fuel your classroom.

HOW EDMODO FUELED DIFFERENTIATION IN MY CLASSROOM

Posted by Jaclyn Karabinas (soulstrikers.wordpress.com) on March 4, 2012 · 

Can you think of a time when you had a question? Of course you can—

Can you think of a time when you had a question but:

A. Couldn’t get a word in edgewise

B. Weren’t quite sure how to word it

C. Thought someone might judge you

D. You actually didn’t have one- but now you do- and it is too late!!!

Questioning.  Hands-down the most important skill that will further our learning at any given point in time, yet some learners may have barriers.  Consider the pace of thinking among learners in your classroom.  Teachers know that students need “wait time” and while that can be challenging to remember sometimes, wait time is only one management strategy.  We can have students turn and talk, we can have them journal their current thinking and questioning- but what if the question happens at home? Or interrupts the creative process during an assignment? Asking parents is not always helpful, no matter how willing and intelligent they may be, because the parents were not in the class that day- they have not been read-in on the experiential details!

For us as humans, thoughts can appear and disappear in seconds, no matter our age. Young learners do not necessarily have all the access and all the tools that we have.  So let’s give them what they need. Read the following plea of questions, and pause to absorb the imagery it provides:

Mrs. K I am stuck writing about the adveture from the point- of- view of [Sacajawea] . I have no clue I really have no clue. I guest that I have writers block. What should I do about it . I wiil try to thing about what I can do about it. I don’t what I should now. Should I justdo or not. Should I holed off from it or not. I have no clue what to do . Can you please help me please.

A handful of very important things have happened:

First, she is clearly trying to do her best, yet feels stuck, so she aims her question to a trusted source.  Second, she thought to USE that source, or was encouraged to-and did-despite struggles with writing. (This probably took her 10 minutes to write.) Third, she didn’t have to cry to a parent to get them to write a note, just to hand it to me the next day with a defeated look.  Finally, and most importantly, she could get it off her chest so that the next morning I could greet her and say, “Hey! I got your message.  Let me help you later today during Writer’s Workshop.” I mean, it’s one assignment and it’s about the learning, wherever it happens!

How does this happen?

Edmodo is a Social Learning Platform- think secure Facebook for classes/schools  Carefully instructing students how to use this platform is key.  Knowing that is a learning tool for communication and information sharing is central to its success.  Creating a space where teachers and learners can share information in an asynchronous (without time constraints) environment allows process time for ALL. Whether you are the student that is still gaining the confidence to speak up or the student who process at a much slower pace than your peers, you get the benefit of sharing your thinking in your time. Of course, establishing guidelines for appropriate use is extremely important, especially so students and teachers have an understanding about the platform’s purpose and that you will not be sitting at your computer all night at the students’ disposal! The nuts and bolts of use are for another day- today I want to talk about the power it hands to kids by placing this tool in their kit.

What else?

A few students have posted questions on the weekend, and perhaps I didn’t see them until Monday, but again- I can still let them know that they have been heard.  The few kids on my mind would not necessarily remember the question come Monday morning, for a variety of reasons.  But posting it to me on Edmodo gets it in print and in my hands- no strong memory needed! Students with anxiety? This helps in numerous ways!  Another student began to find links that enhanced our study of Biographies.  He was able to post these so others could benefit.  When one girl accessed these sites, she was extremely thankful to the fellow student.  I replied, “I am so glad you like information sharing!” She responds, “I don’t just like it, I LOVE it!”

I can post sites for all students to access and catalog in personal libraries called “backpacks” but most importantly I can directly and privately post sites and information to differentiate for individuals. No more asking, “What was that site?” or wondering “I think I typed it in wrong!”  However, individuals with “student status” can only post to the whole class.  The latter is a feature that is really important for security and teacher monitoring. During an intense class project, I was able to post a poll asking if they felt prepared to move forward, which gave me clear information about their perception of confidence.  Edmodo became a home base, teaching us as a class its power for the remainder of the year.

Not all of my students are into it.  And that is the best part, because that makes it truly a differentiated tool. We still have a lot to learn, but for now, I will add it to my toolkit.

                                                                                                                               *question mark image retrieved from likeable.com

*Edmodo logo retrieved from edmodo.com

If you would like to contribute and share a EdmodoCon 2013 post, please submit!

EdmodoCon 2013 Guest Post #4: D. Easterling

Our fourth guest blog post is written by Dara Easterling, a Catholic elementary school teacher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dara has been teaching for almost 14 years and loves helping young children to learn about and use technology in a productive and creative way.

Hello all,

I want to share one experience in particular while watching an EdmodoCon session online.  The one experience was with a session called "Classroom Gymnastics"presented by Kate and Liz.  First, let me just say the presenters were phenomenal.  Second, the resources provided in the presentation and in the folders associated with the Edmodo group are very easy to understand and will help me in my flipping.

Lastly, that there is not just a one size fit all model to communication, collaboration, and instruction within learning.  It takes flexibility and a willingness to attempt new things in order to move forward.

When you think of gymnastics, particularly women's gymnastics there are the following elements.  I am using these elements to outline what I got from watching and listening to the session.

Rounds
-  preparation is key (lesson template along with timing of lesson; gathering of resources)
-  student participation is key no matter how limited it may be
-  working technology is important

Apparati
-  Edmodo
-  equipment (iPad, laptop, etc.)
-  classroom or other learning environment
-  apps or Web 2.0 tools

Scoring
-  built in assessment tool with Edmodo
-  ability to complete a skill in the routine

Completion of Skill 
-  video clips or other presentation to show what was learned and how growth came about
-  collaboration

All of these things I plan to meld together during the upcoming school year and hopefully end up with my students and I earning a perfect "10" for our routine.

Thank you, Dara, for attending EdmodoCon 2013 and the compliments! I anticipate the you and your students will be Olympians in the sport of learning!

You can read about Dara's adventures in elementary education on her blog, Kontemporary Kreations. 

If you would like to contribute and share a EdmodoCon 2013 post, please submit!

EdmodoCon Guest Post #3: M.Valois

Our third guest post comes from Megan Valois, a high school History/English teacher in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Megan is the guest moderator on the Canadian Ed Chat (#cdnedchat) on Twitter who enjoys expanding her PLN and learning about new tech tools to improve her teaching and class experience. Here is Megan's recap of EdmodoCon 2013.

On Tuesday, I participated in a virtual conference - a professional learning opportunity - called #Edmodocon. It was presented by the good people over at the #Edmodo app/website. 

If you aren't familiar, Edmodo is a social learning platform for schools, often called the "Facebook" for schools because its format is similar. Edmodo has many advantages for many reasons. It's a great, safe place for teachers and students to connect; students can post questions, submit assignments, create projects, access notes, join discussion groups, and much more.  Students need access codes to join a class so it's secure and safe. Check it out: www.edmodo.com

#Edmodocon provided educators with the chance to 'virtually' participate in a full day conference to learn more about the amazing ways to utilize Edmodo for classroom learning and success. More than 20,000 educators globally tuned in! There were several sessions throughout the day by presenters on a range of topics, including digital citizenship, project based learning, "flipping" the classroom, building leadership capacity and more! 

Some of my take-aways from the sessions were:

1 - Using Edmodo for literature circles
2 - Ways to teach students how to be better digital citizens
3 - New apps (compatible with Edmodo) to try - ie: Explain Everything
4- Re-emphasis on what I already knew about how amazing project based learning is
5- Flipping the classroom

Patrick Fogarty's session: Access, Engagement, and Equality with Edmodo was one of my favourites. Loved his "30 second lesson" ideas, where students can create a video in "30 seconds" about a key concept. This is a great way to teach the skill of summarizing main ideas! You can build on this by having students string together a series of related '30 second lessons' too! 

He also reminded us about the core philosophy of differentiated instruction - my biggest passion. He shared: "It's professional malpractice giving kids work they can't access in multiple ways". To meet the needs of all learners, we must give opportunities for choice! 

Flipping the classroom/BYOD by Kate Baker and Liz Calderwood was another gem. The idea of classroom flipping is "a form of blended learning in which students watch lectures online and work on problem sets with other students in class. This approach allows teachers to spend more time interacting with students instead of lecturing. This is also known as backwards classroom, reverse instruction, flipping the classroom and reverse teaching."[1][2] 

I am already a huge proponent of BYOD and am very intrigued by flipping the classroom. It's definitely something I'd like to try, even for just a few lessons, to see how it works. The advantages are so very clear - that more time spent actually working out problems in class with teacher support will benefit the students. My fear, of course, is that the 'homework' of watching the lesson won't be done and then the in-class time would be wasted. Does anyone have suggestions for me or guidance about this? Would love your feedback because I am really keen on trying this if I can wrap my head around how to make it work! The ladies in this session were engaging and passionate; it was a great watch! 

One of the more powerful moments of the day was Sheryl Sandberg's virtual address as part of the Lean In organization. She reminds us that we are "teaching future leaders". Her talk was about gender stereotypes in leadership and what we can do to promote leadership among young girls and women.  Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk0Gq00LHMc

Thank you #Edmodo for a great conference! I already look forward to next year!

Thank YOU, Megan for your recap! 

You can connect with Megan and read about her academic adventures at her blog. 

If you would like to contribute and share a EdmodoCon 2013 post, please submit!