Buckle Up and Google Drive!

Ok, so maybe what I'm about to share won't save your life...but it can make life a whole lot easier! Google Drive might be the best, most coolest thing on the entire face of the Internet! It stores everything in a "cloud" and gives you the ability to access anything from anywhere and share everything with everyone! I have been using it for about a year now and I still learn new aspects of it's amazingness each time I go exploring! 

As if Google Drive wasn't already awesome enough, they went and created add-ons to become even more fabulous. The first one I want to share with you is a function in Google Forms called Flubaroo. Kinda fun to say, isn't it? Come on, say it out loud! FLU-BUH-ROO...FLU-BUH-ROO...FLU-BUH-ROOOOOOO! Ok, that's enough! After creating a form for let's say, a class survey, a quick assessment or an interest inventory; you can immediately view a spreadsheet with the data from your questions. Next, you can access Flubaroo right from the toolbar and it will actually grade your form and give you stats. I can't even believe there is something so cool out there! I "heart" Flubaroo!!!! After finishing the book, Out of My Mind (tear-jerker alert) with my 5th graders, I created an assessment in Google Forms for my students. Check out my form here. Then I went in and "Flubaroozed" it and this is what I got (see below)!

Did I mention, I "heart" Flubaroo!? Check out this video on more...

Another awesome add-on in Google Forms is Form Notifications. Utilizing this tool will let your respondents know when their form has been submitted and allows you to customize a message for your test/survey takers. You could give a link or webpage for additional information related to the survey or just send a sweet thank you. You can also set up email notifications for yourself so that you know when everyone has finished. Check out this short tutorial to learn how to add on this add-on! Ha!

There are so many great features of Google Drive and the recent add-ons that are available. If you don't already have a Google account, sign up for one NOW! Once your in, buckle up and Google Drive into some amazing technology tools! 

Happy Driving-

Sarah

Time to Get Organized!

Being organized is something that has always come pretty naturally to me. I like to be able to put my hands on things when I need them and actually feel peaceful when items are in their place and look neat. My classroom is a reflection of how I feel about being organized...I have my tubs and drawers labeled, crates with extra materials, a color coordinated theme and a tidy desk. My students are well aware of how important organization is to me and make sure their desks and AVID binders are tidy. I don't think organization is something everyone thinks about teaching to their students, but it has almost as much to do with their success as anything we teach them! 

I think we can all agree that Benjamin Franklin knew what he was talking about!

An awesome technology tool I learned about this week is Diigo. It is a social bookmarking website that allows users to save, tag and share websites. One of the coolest features is that you can create or join groups to share websites with others. It was fun to play with some of the features like highlighting and using sticky notes to annotate right on the text! You can also set up student groups, which allows them to be able to use all of these cool tools. I can see my students using the highlighting and sticky notes for close reading annotations and then commenting on their classmates posts. Aside from all of that, Diigo keeps all your webpages organized by tags. It makes searching your favorite websites quick and easy! Plus... because it is a web-based site, you can access your bookmarks from any computer. How great is that? Check out this video for more information on how to use Diigo.

My learning of new digital organizational tools did not end there folks! I was introduced to a classroom behavior management tracking system called Class Dojo. Tracking behavior and keeping up with different systems is an area where organization is a bit of a challenge for me. This cool tool offers a simple way to track student behaviors all in one place! Parents can view progress and students are awarded points for their choices. I plan on using Class Dojo as soon as I get my class set up. This tool is a winner for me, plus it's FREE! View this short video, then sign up and get organized with classroom management!

Being organized as well as teaching students to be organized cannot be underestimated! Students will use these skills when studying, turning in work, monitoring behavior and managing time. I hope you check out and sign up for one of these free online resources that will make your life and your students' lives more manageable!

Happy Organizing-

Sarah

Keep Calm and Use Edmodo!

This week I learned how to use Edmodo, which was described to me as the Facebook of schools. Uhhh....okay, but what if I've never been on Facebook?!? I'm pretty sure my resistance to social media has finally caught up with me! 

I began learning about this new technology tool in my usual way-watch some YouTube videos, take some notes, watch more YouTube videos and get started! Problem was, I was still stuck after a few hours of research. Plan B led me to meeting up with our school's technology guru this afternoon. She explained it so easily and she quickly helped me see the light! I wish I had her calm demeanor when it comes to technology. Personality defect: OVERTHINKER. Yep...that's me!

So what is Edmodo exactly? It's a school appropriate social networking site that allows teachers to share ideas with other teachers and students to share ideas with other students in their class. But that's not all Edmodo has to offer, students can answer polls, take quizzes, post comments, ask questions and submit assignments. Check out this quick video for an explanation of exactly what Edmodo is all about! 

Teachers can use Edmodo to collaborate and share resources with each other in a couple of different ways. They can join an existing group like the one I picked this week, CCSS Math and PLC. Or they can create their own group like the one I did called "Purposeful Planning". In the past I might just email my colleagues or hunt them down for a response, but now I will use Edmodo to get the answers I need! After creating a group, you just invite people to join your group. Here's a tutorial for teachers on how to get started! 

My new goal is to use Edmodo with my students. I know they would love to respond, share opinions and turn their work in using this cool tool. Hope you will stay calm and start exploring the awesomeness of Edmodo, like I did!

Happy Posting-

Sarah

Twitter...It's Not That Scary!

I have to say that Halloween is NOT my favorite holiday! Don't get me wrong, I love the costumes, pumpkin patches, parties and candy, of course. The scary movies and the creepy haunted forests, not so much. Another thing that scares me...social media! Eeeek!!! Sometimes I feel like the only person on Earth who didn't jump on the Facebook or Twitter bandwagon. It just didn't interest me. So when I saw that this week's assignment was going to be about social media, I was a little scared!

Turns out, Twitter is not so scary after all! I had no idea that educators have been using it as a way to connect with each other and share great ideas. It's really just a mini blog and I LOVE blogs! In fact, writing this blog has been one the best parts of my entire Master's program. When I can share ideas and get ideas, it makes me feel empowered and enlightened. One of the "tweeters" I chose to follow this week is an educator named Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher. She has awesome ideas on just about everything educational! She's an expert presenter on topics like differentiated instruction and blogging. Links to current education topics and motivational clips can also be found on her account. As a school I can see using Twitter to alert parents about upcoming events, school closings and celebrations. As a classroom teacher, I could use it to inform parents about field trips, needed supplies or class projects. It would also be a great resource to keep my grade level current on the latest technology and Common Core integration. 

Here's the "cool cat" I mentioned above! Go visit her Twitter account @coolcatteacher.

Once you've dipped your toe into blogging and Twitter, you can begin building your own Personal Learning Network, or PLN. These networks should include a collection of people you want to follow and exchange information with regularly. Other PLN's include social networking, webinars, nings and professional profiles. Getting connected to others in the field of education keeps us on the edge of the latest technology, best classroom practices and educational news. It's like going to a professional development or an inservice in the comfort of your own home!

I hope I didn't scare you this week with my new learning. I'm glad my mind was opened to the many possibilities that Twitter and other PLN's have to offer. Go ahead and check it out for yourself...there are a lot of great minds out there, including yours!

Happy Connecting!
-Sarah

Get the Buzz on Blogging!

Well...looks like I'm back in school! I truly enjoyed my little break and actually made an effort to have some "me time" that I documented on my Instagram! So...I fully planned on getting started on my assignments mid-week, but then I was hit with my annual sinus infection/strep throat combo! I even missed a day from work, which never happens! I was laid up for the last part of the week and am just now beginning to feel like my throat might not catch on fire and my head probably will not explode!

So this week, while I was laying in bed, I researched a ton of awesome educational blogs! I have previously found most blogs through Pinterest, but searching topics in feedly was really quite simple! I could really get lost looking at all the teacher resources, ideas and tips...it could be a full time job just taking it all in! I loved that most of the blogs I checked out allowed you to specifically choose your grade level or area of expertise. I think my favorite one was Teaching Blog Addict! Not only were there links to hundreds of related blogs but there were also teacher freebies (which I adore!) and pin boards organized by themes!

In the past, I have subscribed to the few blogs I follow through my email. Each day when there's an update, I get an email. That was the "old-fashioned-ME", but the new "techie-ME" will be using feedly as a way to organize and get updates for my blogs! It was really simple to search and add the blogs I wanted. I loved that I could organize them into categories as well. For now, they are all under "educational", but as I add more, I will be more specific with my categories. Who knew this even existed? Probably everyone...except me! Ha!
Check out this quick tutorial on how to set up and use feedly!

Hope you learned something new about blogging like I did this week. It's such a great way to share ideas and acquire professional development right at your fingertips! Have a great week!

Happy Blogging-

Sarah

Wrapping It Up!

I feel like all I have done this week is wrap things up! I met with parents for conferences to wrap up the 9 weeks; I am wrapping up my online technology class; I wrapped up the first quarter of the school year with my students; Fall sports are wrapping up for my kids...I even wrapped up a gift for my mom's 70th birthday! It's pretty exciting when things come to an end, because it means that we can look back on our accomplishments and forward to the future.

The final assignment for my Master's class was creating my own website on Google Sites. To be honest, I really thought this was going to be way over my head. But just like all the other assignments, I jumped in and gave it a whirl!  I began by viewing YouTube videos to help me know just what to do. Check this tutorial out to learn how to build your own website!

The expert I watched suggested using a template that was already created for a classroom site. So I thought, wow...this is going to be easier than I thought! I began by creating a site and choosing a template. As soon as I started editing, I became frustrated by all the formatting and was unable to edit some parts of the template. After about an hour and a half of messing with it, I deleted it and started over. I DO NOT recommend using a template, but maybe you'll try it and have better luck than I did! So on my second try, I simply added the pages myself. After looking at some examples and studying the rubric, I had a pretty good idea of what I would include on my classroom website. I began adding information, linking websites, embedding videos and inserting pictures. I was pretty proud of my final product when I wrapped things up! Check out Mrs. Birchfield's Classroom 5th Grade webpage!

What I have truly enjoyed about this class is that it has pushed me out of my comfort zone and reminded me that I can do ANYTHING I put my mind to! As a mom and a teacher, it is my responsibility to model this kind of perseverance if I expect my kids to do the same. I also know that I will use many of the Google tools I have learned in my everyday practice. When new technology is presented to me, I won't be intimidated anymore! 

Thanks for visiting my blog each week. I hope you have learned and been able to use many of the cool tools that I have presented.

That's a wrap!

-Sarah

Knock, Knock...Opportunities to Learn!

The above picture was taken today after my daughter's team took second place at a local soccer tournament! They were pretty discouraged by this championship loss because they took second in their last tournament in August. Although I understand the disappointment of losing, I encouraged her that it's a great opportunity to learn! The above picture also depicts what I do about 75% of my life on the weekdays and weekends! It's amazing when I think about all the time I have spent at the soccer field watching my kids play....and there is still so much I just don't know about soccer!! Learning new things can be daunting, but it is also exciting to think that we will never know E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! There will always be a better play on the soccer field, a newer idea in the classroom and a more efficient way to use technology. So what do we do when we get discouraged?....We just keep going. Some new learning I did this week was creating a playlist in YouTube and making a picture collage in Picasa. I love finding ways to enhance my teaching, but I especially love learning new opportunities to share with my class!

YouTube and YouTube EDU

YouTube has been around a while, I mean, even I have used it at home and in the classroom!  But seriously, YouTube is a great resource for videos to share with your students, as well as a teaching tool with helpful tutorials.  If not for the tutorials on YouTube, I'm not entirely sure I would still be sitting here typing this blog!  Now one thing I didn't know existed was YouTube EDU. It is a feature of YouTube that allows you to find educational videos with content for any age. You can search within your grade level and subject area to get more specific videos for your use. Another thing I discovered while navigating new features of YouTube was TubeSnack Playlist.  This awesome feature allows you to edit videos and cut out parts that you don't want. You can also merge multiple videos together making them into ONE video to share!  In my classroom, we just finished a unit on Order of Operations and I created this playlist to review the concept throughout the year! It will also come in handy during math intervention for those who need more practice! 

Picasa

Now for a person who loves to take pictures, I am always interested in more ways to store and display them!  Picasa is a tool in Google that files your pictures on your computer into folders and then allows you to select pictures to create a collage! You can select your background color, sizing, spacing and even the order of your pictures!  I think kids would have a lot of fun telling their personal stories with this cool tool!  They could use it to tell about Christmas break or as a wrap up for the end of the year. It would be a great addition to a writing piece or presentation, too!  Picasa is free and very user friendly! Check out the collage I created with some pictures from our Kindergarten Buddy day. We helped our buddies count and add their steps on a beautiful Fall day!

Now, to combine both tools above...a very useful YouTube video on Picasa!

YouTube+Picasa=N.L.O. (New Learning Opportunity)!

Love of learning (in my opinion) is one of the most essential understandings we can model for our students! It's important in school, in sports and in life that we are willing to learn new things, try new things, practice new things and fail at new things in order to succeed!  I hope you enjoy this week's cool tools and find use in your own classrooms!

Happy Learning!

-Sarah