Digital Planbook

Looking for an easy way to see your lesson plans no matter where you are?

Try Planbook.com.  You can create your lesson plans on the computer, then view them from any computer or device.

I like the ability to share plans with colleagues, and have used this to allow the SPED department to see where each of my classes is at.  When I share with other teachers, they can see in real time as I change and adjust my plans.  If I wish, I can allow them to be collaborators as well.  Let's be real - if I am only a few days ahead of the kiddos, they can see that too.  It is great for keeping us all on the same page without extra emails or notes.

Planbook.com allows you to begin with a 30-day free trial to see if it works for you.  It is only $12 per year after that.

View of lesson plans

You can also save lessons as part of a unit, so that they are available the next year.

Be present even when you are absent!

Leave a little bit of your presence in your classroom when you have a substitute!  Make a quick video on your phone, upload it to YouTube, and leave the link for your sub to play on the screen at the beginning of class.

Of this process, the trickiest part can be getting the link somewhere where your sub can access it.  I have done this in two different ways.  For an unplanned absence, I sent the link to our school secretary and she stepped into the classroom to make sure the class was able to see it.  

When my absence was planned, I set up a new page on my Google Site with each of the dates I was planning to be gone.  I created the first brief video before I left on my trip.  (To make it easier, videos for all days could be completed before you leave.)  I decided to keep the rest of the days unlinked so that I could make, upload, and link the video from my destination. (We were in Atlanta as Hurricane Irma went through!)  Uploading daily video messages added a personal touch and made the students feel like they were getting "real-time" updates from their teacher!

I bookmarked the video page on Google Chrome, then left instructions in my sub plans to click on the bookmark (in the bookmarks bar).  

Why use videos in your sub plans?  

You can use them to remind the students of your expectations, and even introduce projects or assignments the way you would like them to be introduced.  Also - it will surprise your students and make them feel happy.  What better reason could we ask for?

New position

I started this blog, ShamrockTech, when I became our district's Technology Integration Specialist in 2014.  It has been a great place for me to share tech ideas with my colleagues and others who have subscribed.  

I recently made a big change and began the school year teaching 7th/8th grade math in our high school!  I have to admit that during the past three years, part of me has itched to get back into the classroom where relationships are built and I can experiment with new technology using my own guinea pigs.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity!

I still plan to continue this blog and post tech ideas when I feel that I have found something worth sharing.  If my posts begin to seem more math centered, now you know why!

Happy new school year!

I'm Presenting at the Central MN Technology Summit!

I am excited to announce that I will be presenting at the Central MN Technology Summit at ROCORI schools this summer.

Please, come join me!  There are many, many great presenters and you will get to meet forward thinking educators from districts all over MN.  Find out more (and register) here.

This event is put on by the Central Minnesota Learning Partnership: a collaboration between seven school districts and St. Mary's University seeking to provide staff development opportunities that would be impossible as a single district. The partnership began in 2015 and the primary focus is on creating an annual high-quality technology summit.

Book Creator for Research Reports

Take a look at what Mrs. Schmitz's First Graders did with Book Creator!

Check out our digital books - read in our own voice!

Nola Liz Kora Makenzie Lucey Mitchell

Keeley Hailey Rowan Alex Iris Reid

Elijah Sullaven Trent Parker Payton Meyannah

Fidget Spinners - If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

Hate fidget spinners yet?

Check out Erin Flanagan's post with some fun end-of-the-year activities to incorporate this toy that your students love.

Use fidget spinners to examine scientific principles, enter into design thinking, or just make a cool spinner for math.

Might as well join 'em.

Create Class Lists with Software that Helps Place Students

Every year, much time and care is put into creating next year's class lists.

Monica Burns at ClassTechTips.com wrote a post about a new software program called Class Composer.  It is "designed to eliminate the cumbersome process of sorting students manually into different classes for the next school year. Instead of manually sorting a series of index cards with information on gender, academic needs, and placement requests this tool uses the same data to create a set of classes where students are placed in the perfect spot before the school year starts. Teachers can then click and drag students into other classes to fine-tune student placement with real time data updates."

Monica states that "they offer a free grade-level trial so you can see if it is the right fit for your school as well as subscriptions for both the school-level and district-level."

So, it's something you could use this year for free!

Click here to see a demo video

Click here to go to the Class Composer website

Interactive Digital Sticky Notes

How many small notes do you have on your desk?  How about the counter at your house?

I always seem to have a lot, and the one I need is never within reach.  That is why Google Keep has changed my life.

Here is how to make magic with Google Keep:

Download the app on your Apple or Android device.  Sign in using either your work or personal Google account.

Your phone is always with you . . . so from now on, whenever you want to jot something down, do it in this app.  

I have found it especially helpful for To-Do lists and groceries because there is a check box function.  It has even helped me keep track of a small group of students I meet with three times per week - I know exactly how many times we have met.  It even moves completed tasks to the bottom of the list!

The best part is that you can add collaborators to any note, just like with a Google Doc.  My family members collaborate on the grocery list and can add to it from their devices.  In a work setting, teams can create task lists for upcoming events and check off what they got finished.

Bonus: You can also access your Google Keep notes via your computer, which I like better if I have a lot to type.

Go give it a try!

MCA Prep Online

We all know it's just around the corner.

Here are some resources to help your students be prepared.

Tests now contain "Technology Enhanced Items" such as:

text dropdown menus

drag and drop

multiple selection

label an image

numeric entry with units

text selection/highlighting

editing text

equation builder

drawing an object

Julie, who blogs at The Techie Teacher has written this post to point you toward resources where students can practice these skills.

I have also collected a list of sites for Reading MCA practice - view them here.

And, as always, there are the official online samplers:

Math

Reading

Science

MTAS

And lastly, this advice from our (now 7th grade) students back when they took their first 3rd grade Math MCA's . . . it still stands today.  Show this to your students for inspiration!

Book Creator is the Best Ever and You Should Try It

Students learn more when they create something to demonstrate their learning.

With the Book Creator app (on all iPads on our cart), your students can create from a blank slate or from a template.

Click on the following linked words to see some adorable things my daughter has done with Book Creator:

Students can show their skills in reading, writing, or art.  They can document science experiments or life experiences.  They can organize research to make a final product that is pleasing to the eye.  

This tool is ideal for K-6.  Mrs. Tongen's Kindergarteners have already created their first books!  (Click here to see them.)

Notify Beth if you are interested in trying Book Creator in your classroom.  I can help by creating a content-related template for all your students to edit, coming in to introduce the tool (and conduct follow-up lessons adding to their skill set), and being there to assist during your class period.

Sign up for TAT Triage Right From Your Google Calendar

You can now easily see when the next TAT Triage meeting will be, and sign up for it within Google Calendar.  First, make sure that you are subscribed to the "MLE Meetings and Schedules - Internal Calendar" - learn how to do this here.  (Only people within our organization can view this calendar.)

Once subscribed to our internal calendar, locate the next upcoming TAT Triage meeting and click on it.

Next, click on "More details".

To sign up for a time, click on the link in the description of the event.  It will take you to the TAT Triage Google Spreadsheet.  

Once you have selected a time and entered your name, you can close the Google Spreadsheet tab and you will be returned to Google Calendar.  If desired, you can then "Add a Notification" for the TAT Triage meeting.  This means you will receive a reminder shortly before the meeting, so you don't forget!

Want to suggest another upcoming event which would benefit from having a digital signup?  Contact Beth!

Google Calendar - a Tool For All

As a Google school, Calendar is a tool that works best when we are all using it.

Have you started using Google Calendar?

Click here to be brought up to date on how to use this tool.

Then, when Mr. Hansen or Mr. Sawatzke sends you an invitation to the next meeting using Google Calendar, you will be prepared. Confidently click "yes" and it will be added to your upcoming events.

If you attended the Google Calendar training for Elementary Staff, thanks!  Remember to open your Google Calendar every day along with your email.