Classroom Website

I updated my Classroom Website (Swift). I enjoyed  learning how to manipulate the site more efficiently and will continue to use the document to apply more skills to make my site more parent and student friendly.  Over the years I have heard feedback that more and more parents and students are using my site to find information, access websites, and/or contact me so I know that it is beneficial to have it "up", updated and "attractive" for users.
I am having difficulty embedding my Google Calendar - I spend a large amount of time trying to do this and searching different ways.  The one that appears is not the one that has all the information that I entered.  It is just a blank calendar.  I tried several different ways: one that was shown in the document and one that I found while searching on the web.

Challenge: Google Calendar

What did you create and why?
I created a google calendar and I linked it to my SWIFT page.  I think this will make it easier for parents to be informed abut what's happening in our classroom.

What went well for you?
Everything went pretty well.  It was easy to add events to the calendar and create a link in SWIFT.

What was challenging?
The most difficult part for me was remembering to deselect video chat and also select the right calendar.  I am going to continue to play around with it and see if I can make it default to what I want.

What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed playing around with google calendar.  I like it better than the events page in SWIFT.  If I make a change in my calendar, it automatically updates in SWIFT.  Now I don't have to write myself notes to update my events!

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?
I think this will be an easy way to keep parents informed about upcoming important dates.  I think it could also be used by students for things like due dates, etc, but I'm not quite sure how to incorporate that into my daily classroom routine yet.

Here is the link to my website, which is still under construction!
http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/beverly/ccaesar/calendar

Seondary Online Databases: TeachingBooks.net

I tried Teaching Books (http://www.teachingbooks.net/). This will be a great resource when I am looking for books that will interest my Special Education students. Finding reading books that are at an appropriate reading level, but with material that will interest a middle school student, can be tough. This looks to be a great resource that I can put in several search criteria, including reading levels and topics and it brings up a list of appropriate books. I am really excited to try using this resource in my support of students this year.

Swift

Swift Site

• What did you create, and why?

I created a website including sections for each of my classes.  Each class includes a calendar which is synced to my Google Calendar, documents, and a blog for updating information as needed. 

• What went well for you?

It tood a bit of work, but getting the Google Calendar to sync works great.  The rest of the pages were easy to set up.  It took longer to decide what I wanted to name everything, than to actually create the webpage.

• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?

I will use this as a communication tool for parents. My students will have their own Google Calendars and our Google Classroom. I don't forsee their need to use this much. This will, however, be a great resource for parents to access information they will want/need about my classroom. I especially like how they can see day by day what is happening in my classroom, including in-class activities and homework.

http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/maplewood/mrs-frary-class/welcome

Challenge: Google Forms

What did you create, and why? 

I created a form (click here to see it) to send to parents who will be volunteering in the classroom this year.  Through this form, I can gather information about the subjects and types of activities they are most comfortable helping students with and then use this information to decide what activities to assign the volunteers to make their time in the classroom as productive as possible.

What went well for you?

I had created a couple forms before with text boxes for answers but for this one I experimented with all the different types of answer options, particularly the grid option, as well as adding headings and separating questions onto different pages.  It was really helpful to try out different possibilities, even if I didn't choose to use them for this form in the end.  I also watched several of the videos about other ways to use Google Forms (for grading, for example), which was an easy way to see other ways I might use Google Forms in the future.

What was challenging?

I answered the form myself just to see how the information would appear when I looked at the responses, and I found it a bit confusing for the questions that I put in grid format.  I think I figured it out, but will probably need to play around with that a bit more before being confident I can easily view the responses when I send the form to parents.

What did you enjoy? 

Sitting out in the sun, when it was convenient for me, to work on this!  It was nice to feel like I had the time to fiddle around with all the features rather than rush to create a form because I need to use it  right away.  Now it will be easier to design forms effectively and quickly in the future.

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?

With my students, I could see using this for reading response activities, self-assessments, and goal-setting activities, among others.  With parents, it could be a useful way to gather information about how homework is going at home.

Google Calendar

I created a Classroom Calendar to link to my web page. I think that this will be a useful tool to let families know what is happening in our class. I also think I will gradually release the responsibility for its maintenance to the students. I am worried about remembering to update it regularly in the beginning of the year. I am having difficulty finding images to insert.

Kahoot! Challenge

Hey there Campers! Am I doing this right?? I am NOT exceptionally tech-savvy, which has always been kind of ridiculous because my first "real job" ever was for a major computer company - go figure! Anyway, as the summer progresses, I am feeling a tiny bit more confident in my skills.

I just completed the Kahoot! challenge. I created a quick formative assessment to use after teaching the Add To cluster of Tier 2 words (academic vocabulary for common core). I was very excited by how EASY it was to make, and I know that my students always love using technology for anything, so this will be a tool I see myself using often this coming school year. I loved that you could add graphics, as our school population is largely ELL. Did I mention that I was able to create a formative assessment FAST??? I can't wait to use this in the classroom.

Google Calendar: Daily Communication with Parents and Students

Google Calendar

• What did you create, and why?

I created a google calendar that connects to my Swift Site.  In the fall, when I create my Google Classrooms, I will also connect them there.  Ultimately, the students will have access to them directly from their google calendars on their chrome books.  I am really excited about the potential of communicating directly with entire classes all at once concerning assignments, deadlines, etc.

• What went well for you?

I have used personal google calendars for several years, organizing my families busy schedule.  I also used the Swift link with google calendars for the past year and a half.  I am most excited about the sync between my calendar and my students calendar.  If all the teachers use this, each student can potentially have all their assignments on their school calendar every day.  No more asking "what did I miss while I was absent?" or "I forgot to write down the homework assignment."

• What was challenging?

Currently, the biggest challenge is going to be keeping track of two calendars.  One in Outlook for work, and one with Google Calendars for my students/classes.  I wish/hope the district will invest in the Outlook/Google sync option so I can see my work calendar in the google calendar.  Sometimes It helps to have everything in one place. 

The only other challenges I have are when I first set up my calendar to sync, the biggest challenge is getting it set to public and then attaching the HTTPS: web address to the website.  After that, it was all a breeze.  I never have to change it again.  It is also a bit tedious having to create calendars for each class, but when it comes to adding assignments, the "Copy to . . ." function speeds that up tremendously.  

• What did you enjoy?

I am an organization freak.  I love to keep things organized in a smart way.  I think Google Calendars are going to be a great way for us to stay organized with our students.  Now I'd just wish I could sync that with my work calendar, too, and I'd be all set!

• What ideas do you have for using the tool?

I use this calendar daily for each of my classes.  I include the general bullet points of the lesson we do in class.  If there are book pages and problem numbers, I include them as well.  I also include any homework assignments.  This is a great way for students, parents, or anyone else to see not only what I am doing in class every day, but they can also see when assessments are going to be given or other class deadlines.  

Google Forms

• What did you create, and why? 
• At times it can be difficult to collect data for students with behavior goals. I created a behavior goal chart for teachers to assess a student's progress each day. At times students "lose" or forget their charts, teachers forget to record and parents do not have the ability to view student behavior until teacher has the opportunity to inform them via email or phone. 

• What went well for you?
• Since this is a form that I have yet to use, I anticipate that it will streamline the process for teachers, students and parents to have data readily available. If a rewards system is used the data will be recorded for quick viewing by case manager, counseling staff and parents. 
• What was challenging?
• I anticipate a challenge to be for those families who do not have internet access at home. Since this is a new method, teachers may have difficulty remembering to record data. 
• What did you enjoy? 
• I love the feature of required response. Since the behavior goal form is based upon the students IEP goals or Behavior Intervention Plan, this data is necessary for IEP reviews and reevaluations. 
• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families? 
• As previously mentioned I will use this type of form for recording behavior goal data. This data will be quickly accessible to parents, teachers, counseling staff and case managers. I also am considering having the student use the form for daily self-assessment during our check-in times. 

Link ro Behavior Goal Form:
http://goo.gl/forms/cesTFOt9EI

Google Calendar

From a gal who still loves my old school handwritten calendar....I think I'm going to learn to love Google Calendar...a way to organize my crazy life in and out of school in one place. Working with students who struggle with organization, this will be a crucial tool for them, as they will all have their own Chromebook this year. I can't wait to help them organize this as soon as school starts ~ it will be really helpful for them and communication with families will improve.

I set up different calendars: Personal Calendar, Lesson Plans, IEP/Evaluation meetings, Classroom and School important dates and events. I love the color coding options - this will be super helpful to highlight holidays/assignments/events and keep them separated for both myself and my students. I also like the fact that I can choose which calendars are accessible to parents/students or just our department/PLCs etc. However, this could also get somewhat convoluted....I tried to keep it simple and allowed just one calendar to be accessed by students and families. I have a feeling that I will be refining this as I start using the calendars throughout the year and find out what works and what doesn't.

I am in the midst of changing cell phone providers, but when we do, I'm excited to synchronize my phone with my calendars....as this has been my missing link...making sure my family appointment/schedules do not conflict with school meetings/events etc.

I'm starting to feel a bit more google literate...on to my next Challenge!!

Challenge: Google Docs

What did you create, and why?

I created this Google Doc to allow students to enter the  daily math learning target. Each day the students will access this document to record the learning target and/or make comments. Each Friday students will be required to write a reflection of content learned during the week. The link to this document is https://goo.gl/lqIsR6.

What went well for you?

 My hope is that this document will simplify the process for students to regularly record their daily learning targets. Since this is an activity where students can earn participation points, my hope is that it will speed up the time it takes for students to manually write the target and not waste time searching for their journal and scrounging around for a pencil. 

What was challenging?

 College Place Middle school will distribute Chromebooks to students in mid-September.and until that time students will be required to record manually in spiral math journals. Once students have processed through the gradual switch to Chromebooks, I believe this will become easier for students.

What did you enjoy? 

I anticipate I will enjoy the transition from students not having all materials in class (pencil, math journal, planner and text)  each day to using technology as one collective tool for access to instruction. I believe it will also make grading easier as students must make daily entries and I have only one document to look at and add comments to. 

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?  

This doc will be posted on my district website for parents to review with their child. Parents will have the ability see their child's entry and end of week reflection. Students will benefit as they will be able to quickly record target and also be able to keep up on any posts they may have  missed if absent.