Collaborative efforts in the classroom: twitter, diigo, & padlet

So many new ideas, so where do I start?

As I learn new technology applications, these always fall into two categories:
(1) something I can use a teacher to improve myself as a teacher
(2) something my students can use to facilitate learning in the classroom

As I look back at what was introduced this week, I think I am going to focus on category #2. This is probably more of a brainstorming blog post. It might be a little (ok, a lot) focused on me and my chemistry world. But, in order to use what I have learned, I have to find motivation to incorporate something new into my classroom. This week I found a few things that I could do that would (could be) useful for my students.

I always have the grandest of ideas to do exit slips each day. But we always run out of time or I forget to have the slips of paper ready. I read the Teacher's Handbook to Twitter and was inspired.

What's my plan? At some point during class time, I will stop and have the kids tweet. They will have to use a specified hashtag so that I can see their tweet using a hashtag search. They will need to tweet a fact, something they learned in today's class. The other option would be to have them tweet a question they have about what we are covering. If I ask them to tweet facts, my intention would be to use paper.li to compile a review sheet of their facts, something useful as a study tool for the unit test. If I ask them to tweet questions, their questions would guide my teaching the next day. I just started a new unit with my AP Chemistry kids, so I might give this a go this week!

If you're interested in creating a Twitter account, but do not really know what Twitter is all about, watch this video:

How many of you find a fabulous website and bookmark it? How many of you have a tool bar of so many bookmarks that you cannot really find what you are looking for? How many of you look at a bookmark and wonder why you saved that site to begin with?

I remember how tickled I was when I created folders for my bookmarks. Mine are actually well organized with titles that help me remember what their value is in my life. But this week, I was introduced to diigo and I think this is going to be an awesome tool for this OCD teacher.

This is a website organizer that you can easily share with others. Compile a list of your favorite science websites, type a comment to state what you like best about each one, and share your library with others. Find a few awesome webpages, highlight or add a sticky note to indicate importance, and (again) share with others. 

One of the best features of diigo is the ability to tag the websites or webpages. I can give a general category of AP Chem, but then I can give a secondary tag of Thermodynamics and a super general category of chemistry, and if it is about a lab experiment, I can tag it as such. So one article, four tags. And, as my library grows, I will be able to search a tag and find all the resources relevant to that particular tag. For someone who loves organized lists, this is a game changer.

Does diigo sound like something you need in your life? Watch this video about how to create an account and how to use diigo:

I think this social bookmarking tool could be useful in my Advanced Chemistry Research class. I knew from last year that we needed a way to keep all the articles in one place, so I started a class blog for students to post articles and summaries. The problem arises because I did not have them put tags on their articles, so when they look for something now, they have to scroll and scroll and scroll ... and (because they are teenagers) eventually just give up. I am considering having students post their article link on diigo with a 20 word or less description, with tags. I will probably have to provide a list of possible tags, so that there will be some consistency among the class. In my head, this sounds like it would solve some of our issues. I need to see it in action to confirm its value. (Of course, the tell tale sign is if the kids like it and find it useful. Otherwise, I am just creating busy work for them.)

I was also reintroduced to Padlet this week. It is a great tool that could easily be used in the classroom. It is a collaborative board on which each student can place a "sticky note" to add to the class effort. The page is automatically saved and students can see each other's posts. It sounds a lot like the Twitter feed I mentioned earlier, but this is one one board.

I think I might use this and have the kids add a question on one day - something that they learned in class, but written as a question. So, if we learned that sodium forms a +1 ion, the question posted could be "What ion does sodium form?" These questions will all post on a padlet page. The next day as bell work, I could ask them to answer a question (not their own). Do you think that will work? I will have to try again. Sometimes the grandest of ideas flop in my world. 

So, three new tools to use in the classroom, each with potential to increase student engagement and to improve study skills. I'll have to post an update in a couple weeks to let you know which ones were keepers in my science world.

If you try something awesome with twitter, padlet, or diigo, let me know how it goes. 

Blogging about blogs

This week I have two cool tools that I am hoping will find a use in my classroom.

The first is more for me to use as a teacher who is always learning from others. I discovered Feedly. I am not sure how no one had ever shared this tool with me, especially in my days of crafting when I routinely visited scrapbookers' and card makers' blogs on a daily basis. It was inefficient to check each blog each day because not everyone posts on a daily basis. Getting email notifications of updated posts was a good reminder to check, but often these emails were lost amidst an inbox full of other emails.

Feedly is a great option for organizing frequently read blogs and for creating a centralized place to check for new posts on those blogs. As I was setting up my Feedly page, it seemed a little reminiscent to setting up a Pinterest board. Instead of having a Pinterest board of pins, this creates a Feedly page of blogs.

This is what my Feedly page looks like today:

I only have four blogs that I am watching right now, but this is a work in progress. (Don't you remember when you had just a couple pins on Pinterest and now you have multiple boards with lots of pins on each board? Just give me a chance. This is going to be a great resource one day!) To use Feedly, you choose which blogs you want to follow and you add them to your Feedly page. Those are mine listed on the left side. As your list of blogs grows, you can categorize the blogs by topic and/or interest. As authors post on their blogs, this feed (on the right side) shows up. To read the post, simply click on it. It is that convenient. This is a must have for all of you who follow a lot of blogs!

Setting this up is super easy. Here's a video to show you how, if you're interested:

The other cool tool I discovered this week is Adobe Spark. Have you seen pictures where someone has put text over the photo with a cool font or arrangement? Have you tried to do this with other graphics program, but got frustrated because it was so difficult to create? Well, you might want to give Adobe Spark a try.

This is useful to create a post, a page, or a video ... pretty much any graphics. Whatever you choose, the Spark actually walks you through the creation of your visual piece. There are format choices, including creating graphics for Twitter and Facebook. There are template choices. There are font choices. There are lots of choices at each step of the way in the creation of your graphics project. But what makes Adobe Spark so great is the ease of creating.

In no time at all, I created this post:

If you have a series of photos that you wanted to share, you could do so by creating a page. There are different ways to display your photos and different ways to present the page. It's a scrolling page, so there's lots of room for creativity.

You can even use Spark to create a video, like a storyboard. I have not had time to try this out, but from the tutorial, it seems to be a very user friendly program. 

Adobe Spark has potential, although I'll have to think about some ways I can use it in my classroom. If you have any ideas, feel free to comment and share with me!

If you have not already tried Adobe Spark but want to, here's a great tutorial to get you started:

Two great tools with so much potential. I can't wait to spend more time with each of them and to figure out how to use these with my students.

Creating a Google Site for your classroom

This week, I created a website using Google Site. I will use this website for all of my classes. It was a lot of work, but I think it is actually something that I will be able to use -- or better yet, that my students (and their parents) will be able to use.

Before using this website, I used a blog to post homework and OneNote (or email) to distribute handouts or worksheets. Editing is not too difficult, once you get started.

I created separate pages for each of my classes. On each of those pages, I intend to post worksheets and bellwork for my classes. So far, there are just a couple relevant items posted on each page.

I created a homework calendar. On it, I compiled the assignments and announcements for all of my classes. I had initially tried to create three separate calendars to post on three separate pages on the site, but that seemed to be cumbersome and required significant organizational effort to maintain and edit. My homework blog (which my students have been using for weeks now) is set up with all three classes combined, so I am hoping the coding system I used (which is similar to the blog's) is easily understood and followed.

There is a place for website links, where I compiled a small list of school related sites. As time continues, I plan to include more links to relevant support sites that offer chemistry practice problems and/or concept information for my students to use as resources as they prepare for an assessment.

The links posted can lead to anything. A document in Google Drive. A YouTube video. Another website. Creating links (instead of embedding) keeps the pages looking less cluttered. I embedded a couple videos to demonstrate that I knew how to do that, but I think I prefer links.

Overall, it was a lot of work to create something I am not sure I am going to like using. However, I put a lot of effort into this - so I will (at least) try to use for the remainder of this first semester. Check back in January for an updated opinion on the usefulness of Google Sites.

For now, here are some links to videos that will help you get started, if you want to create your own Google Site:

Getting started with a blank site
Getting started using a site template
Embedding a calendar onto your site
Attaching a document to your site

And, here is a video created by a teacher. Her site is full of information in a very well organized fashion. It has a lot of pieces to it, so I would not recommend creating one this intricate if you are creating your first website. It may be overwhelming. However, if you are a Google Sites veteran, this video might give you inspiration to tweak your existing site just a bit!



Good luck creating a site of your own. Remember to leave me a link in the comment section because I would love to see what you have created!

Google Tour Builder ... it has potential

This week I was introduced to Google Tour Builder.

I had never used this tool before, but it seems to be an extension of Google Earth. Using the images and map features we are accustomed to with Google Earth, Google Tour Builder takes the ability to visit anywhere on Earth and merges it with the ability to use those images to create a story.

I am not certain how to incorporate this as a learning tool into my high school chemistry classroom; for my attempt to use this tool, I created a tour of science stops in Wichita.

While I am having difficulty developing a chemistry related use of this tool, I see lots of applications for humanities and social studies teachers. If you teach in one of these disciplines, you should really look into utilizing this gem of a tool in your classroom. If you are a science teacher and have an awesome application using this Google tool, please share it with me; I am always open to new ideas!

Here's what I see as the "easy uses" of Google Tour Builder:

• Utilizing images from Google Maps, the opportunity for storytelling using Google Earth images is easy to do. Click here to learn more about storytelling using Google Tour Builder.
• Want to use your travels as a learning opportunity, incorporating images, photos, and videos? Use Google Tour Builder as in this example, created a video journal uniting maps, images, and her story.
• Do you volunteer or work for a charity or non-profit group and want to share the group's story of service? Use Google Tour Builder as in this example, highlighting specific areas of service and describing the work done.
• Here is a video that not only gives you a "down and dirty" description of how to set up a Google Tour, but demonstrates how to use this as part of a history project:

Does this sound like something you could use in your classroom? Here's an easy to follow tutorial to set up a Google Tour:



I will have to give this some thought to see if there is a relevant application within my own classroom. However, if I were a history or geography teacher ... Google Tour Builder would be a "must use" technology tool.