Quizizz - Streak Meter, accuracy bonus, improved read-aloud, and Redemption Question!

Quizizz just announced a few nice new features. There is now a Streak Meter, an improved read-aloud, as well as the ability for students to have a Redemption Question.

The Streak Meter shows students their streak of how many questions they had correct in a row.

The read-aloud is available when students pause and select read-aloud.

The redemption question allows for students to redeem a question (or more) they had answered incorrectly. Please note this is available under advanced settings.

Also, there is the ability for students to study questions in flashcards after their quiz is over.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 22 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad  

How to remove ability to see videos in Epic

In Epic there may come a time when you would like your students from being able to search through and watch learning videos. ** Please note that I really like the videos; however, there are times when you would like all to focus on reading.

It is really quite simple (and can be reversed at anytime). Simply select your account in the upper right and then account settings. Once selected you can then toggle off learning videos.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 26 second YouTube video.

Take care,
Brad

Memories are now available in your Google Photos app

One of my favorite things about Shutterfly over the years has been that I am emailed every once in awhile that I have memories from 5, 6 , 7 etc years ago.

Well, Google Photos now has that capability directly in your app. Under Backup and Free Up Space you will see Memories.

Once selected you can then tap right to go to the next photo and left to go back.

Embedded below is a 44 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Solvemoji - Math puzzles in the form of emojis!

Solvemoji is a website that has puzzles ready to be solved. The puzzles are arranged by difficulty and each one is represented with emojis. An example is seen below. At the bottom of the puzzle is a place to put the answer in to check.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 27 second YouTube tutorial. Please note that your district may bock the site - just be sure to ask if it can be unblocked.

Take care,

Brad

Quizizz update - Test Mode. Perfect for serious assessments

Quizizz has added a new way to use their platform, the addition of test mode. Test mode is perfect for those serious assessments that you give. The site simply has your questions and no "frills". No memes, no saying if right or wrong. One thing to remember when you share your quiz is to go into the advanced settings and take a look at the options. See the options below.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 25 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Twitter - See up to 5 feeds of lists you created or subscribed to

Awesome update in Twitter - you now have the ability see  to up to 5 feeds of lists you created or subscribed to easily.

Sean Fahey tweeted about this yesterday and it is awesome.

Whoa! Updated Twitter app. Now swipe to see the different feeds of any lists you have created or subscribed too. AWESOME!
But you can only have a top five. Click your profile and then select Lists to reorder & pin or unpin lists.
Just which this could be done for hashtags. pic.twitter.com/GxLQK68WFo

— Sean Fahey (@SEANJFAHEY) September 25, 2019

This is great as when you select home you will then see at the very top what looks like grey bars. All you need to do is swipe the screen to see the next list.

Embedded below is a 59 second YouTube tutorial.

If you need a refresher on how to create lists in Twitter - click the link for a short blog post I created.  How to get more out of Twitter - create lists to organize interests

Take care,
Brad

Arrange your folders/files by name, last modified, last modified by me, and last opened by me

One question that comes up a lot is. "Can I arrange Google Drive folders and files the way I want them?" While you can not grab and drop them where you want exactly, you can change the way they are arranged.

The default is by name (ABC); however, you can reverse sort them by clicking the arrow to the right.

You can also select where it says name and then see the options for Last modified, Last modified by me, as well as Last opened by me.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 34 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Happy first day of Fall - Google celebrates with new Doodle + resources about earth/moon/sun/equinox

Happy first day of fall (northern hemisphere)!
Google has a Doodle to celebrate the first day of fall -
 https://g.co/doodle/kjrew .

Click here for an article from Live Science - 
https://www.livescience.com/25202-seasons.html

A really helpful and easy to use PDF was created by NJCTL @NJCTL
You can download it by clicking here  or
seeing the embedded Tweet below.

Tomorrow is the fall #equinox! Download @NJCTL's Earth-Moon-Sun System chapter in our Physical Environment course as a PDF and use it as a conversation-starter for your classroom! All our K-12 #teaching materials are free and editable #fallequinox https://t.co/YTxLfegLSw pic.twitter.com/VMQbgWH5V9

— NJCTL (@NJCTL) September 22, 2019

 
Brad

The doodle is designed for the northern hemisphere, and shows a napping Earth crowned by a brilliant golden oak leaf. The company's name is festooned by branches and roots sporting the same autumnal foliage.

A partner doodle made for the Southern Hemisphere's vernal equinox depicts Earth looking up at a cheerful pink flower sprouting from its top, with greening vegetation decorating the Google name.

How to update apps in iOS13

If you have been wondering how to update your apps in iOS 13 you are not alone. However, there is a simple solution.

Enter into the app store, tap your icon (upper right), and then see what apps need updating or have recently been updated.

Embedded below is a 22 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Display and Brightness in iOS 13 - quickly change to dark mode, adjust brightness, night shift, etc.

If you have updated to iOS 13 a nice feature is the ability to adjust appearance from Light to Dark mode, as well as schedule options for when light and dark mode are activated.

You can also adjust

•  brightness
• True Tone
• Night Shift 
• schedule
• set color temp
• Auto-Lock
• Raise to Wake
• Chnage Text Size
• Bold Text
• and set your display zoom from standard to zoomed

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 12 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Check out Calm's scenes to bring a self of calmness to your classroom/home/work.

Looking for some relaxing scenes to play for your students or to relax at home? Check out Calm's scenes to bring a self of calmness to your classroom/home/work.

app.www.calm.com/homepage

Make sure to select scenes and then choose from among 35 amazing scenes. You  can also adjust the sound level as well.

If you would like the scene to be full-screen, make sure to select Home and then click on the screen. If you are on a Windows based device, select F11 to make the scene full screen.

My favorite is the fireplace with the crackling sound in the background.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 19 second YouTube video showing all 35 scenes.

Take care,

Brad 

Created an album in Google Photos? Check your settings for collaboration

So you created an album in Google Photos? Make sure to check settings for collaboration as well as likes and comments.

 Really is quite simple. In the upper right select the three dots and then options.

Embedded below is a 36 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Want your PDFs to open in the app of your choosing? Make sure to right click on the PDF for options

 Want your PDFs to open in the app of your choosing? Make sure to right click on the PDF for options. This happens a lot in the district where I work. Many users right now prefer Adobe and want to make sure it defaults to always Adobe.

Once you select your app of choice (in my example it is Adobe) make sure to select to always use the app to open .pdf files.

Embedded below is a second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Constitution Day using Virtual Reality in Google Expeditions plus additional resources

Constitution Day can be brought to life using Google Expeditions and virtual reality. If you have not downloaded Expeditions you can do that in iOS or Google Play

Make sure to search for Constitution and you will see the options below.

In the embedded 1 minute and 49 second YouTube tutorial you will see The United States Constitution as well as What is the Story of the Constitution?

You can also find amazing resources using Richard Byrne's 7 TED-Ed Lessons for Constitution Day

Take care,

Brad

Kahoot now has an autosave feature

Kahoot announce on the 15th of September their new autosave feature! This is great as you do not need to remember to keep saving your progress, it also saves your Kahoots as drafts to edit at another date/time.

Embedded below is Kahoot's tweet as well as a 30 second YouTube tutorial.

We’ve got your back! 💪 

Our new 💾 autosave feature ensures that if you accidentally leave the kahoot creation process, your kahoot will be safely stored in “My drafts.” 🙌 🙌 https://t.co/ZUCyDYp0Ls pic.twitter.com/ed8AGSBHZT

— Kahoot! (@GetKahoot) September 15, 2019

Take care,
Brad

JFK Moonshot - an AR experience that shows a full-scale re-creation of the Saturn V rocket, AR games, etc.

The app JFK Moonshot is available in both iOS and Google Play The app shows a full-scale recereation of the Saturn V rocket, AR games, as well as other simulations. Below are screenshots from the app as well as a description of the app itself.

Using the latest in augmented reality technology, we immerse users into 1969 with a full-scale recreation of the Saturn V rocket and a 5-day real-time tracking simulation of the mission and moon landing. Users can take a deeper dive into President Kennedy’s vision with interactive AR games, archival NASA footage and educational multimedia experiences.

Embedded below is a 42 second YouTube tutorial showing the Saturn 5 rocket taking off from my driveway!

Take care,

Brad

Where instructions are located for how families can join your Remind class.

The other night I was at my son and daughter's Back-to-Night and the teachers use Remind as a communication tool.

The one issue that educators have had in past is to locate the information to share with families quickly on how to join the class. 

The tip is look in the upper-right of your class and look for the Add People button. Once selected you will then see the options you see below. 

Embedded below is a 30 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to edit photos in Facebook prior to posting

In Facebook when you have added photos, maybe you wanted to edit the photo (filter), tag, or crop the image(s). If you would like to do that within Facebook, make sure to select what looks like a paintbrush (bottom right of uploaded image).

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 29 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Book Creator's Autodraw feature available on iPads

Awesome update in Bookcreator (especially for those of use who are not as talented as others with drawing) - the addition of Autodraw! Autodraw has been available in Chrome since late June; however, is now available with the latest iOS update. Click here for the link to the app.

Once you select the plus and pen you will then see the option of multiple tools, the last one is autodraw. Once selected you can then draw what you would like and you will see options as to what is thought you are drawing.

Once finished select the x in the upper right and then you will see more options. The one to point out is the ability to add emojis!

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 9 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to adjust/crop pictures you post in Twitter.

If you post pictures in Twitter you will notice that sometimes you will need to crop/adjust the image(s). A quick way to do this within Twitter is to select what looks like a paintbrush (bottom right of image). You can then adjust the image from there.

Embedded below is a 32 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

The last Palindrome Week of this century - Palindrome Week + 9-10-19 through 9-19-19

That's right this week is Palindrome Week - at least those for those that live where the month is first! For 10 consecutive days, the date — written in the m-dd-yy format — will be the same forwards and backwards.

Click here for more information revolving around this date.

For some more palindrome examples - click here.

Take care,

Brad

Epic! Few reminders when signing your new class into Epic!

A few quick reminders when you are signing your new class into Epic!

• You can select the See How when you log-in to Epic! From there you can Keep your current roster or start a new one.

• You could also select My Students at the top right of the page and then see your roster. 
• Then select the student(s) you would like to transfer or archive.

• If you use Google Classroom you could import the students directly from Classroom.

• You can always adjust the student's pin as well by selecting the pencil.

Embedded below is a 1 minute YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

This is fascinating - the Bar Chart Usage Share of Internet Browsers (1996-2019) + Rise and Fall of the 10 Biggest Cities since 1500

This is another interesting way to show data over time for students and people of all ages Thank you Eric Curts for sharing).

📊 Usage Share of Internet Browsers 1996 - 2019 https://t.co/mWMXPvxW9r Who remembers Netscape Navigator Gold? #edtech #GoogleEDU #GSuiteEDU #GoogleChrome pic.twitter.com/N4NNa8cOVh

— Eric Curts (@ericcurts) August 31, 2019

Previously I shared the  Rise and Fall of the 10 Biggest Cities since 1500.

A “Bar Chart Race” animation showing the changing ranks of the 10 biggest cities in the world since 1500.

Fascinating to watch giant cities vanish after falling in conquests, and amazing that three UK cities were in the top 8 in the late 1800s. pic.twitter.com/KglMZbYobr

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) March 18, 2019

 Think of the ways you could share with your students/children. Why did these changes occur? Future predictions? etc.

Take care,
Brad

Live view in Google Maps

The newest update to Google Maps allows the user to have arrows and directions placed right on top of your world.

"This is awesome!" said both of my children (10 and 7). They loved being able to see the world around them. "Look - there is our neighbor's pool.. that's where we get pizza..."

Embedded below is a 27 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Knoword A fun word game to practice vocabulary.

Eric Curts the other day shared this awesome vocabulary resource - Knoword.

❓ Knoword - https://t.co/OFIKS81Xg8 - Vocabulary and spelling game where you type in words based on their definitions. #edtech #engchat #elachat pic.twitter.com/Uozdr5B2kE

— Eric Curts (@ericcurts) September 5, 2019

Knoword is a resource where users learn and expand their vocabulary and spelling. It is a game where you type in words based on their definitions.

There are three different levels (easy, medium, and hard).Click here for How to Play.

Users are given a definition of a word and its first word. Points are earned when the word is guessed correctly. You can skip the word if you don't know it (esc or skip button), if you answer correctly an extra second is added, when you reach 5 in a row, you will see a hint button that reveals the next letter of your word.

There is a teacher portal as well. You can create a classes and add packs to your class.

For more information regarding pricing look below or click here.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 54 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Flipgrid videos in Wakelet can be found by going to Shorts at the top of Flipgrid's Educator Log in

With Wakelet and FLipgrid announcing the other day that you can record videos directly in a Wakelet collection the question has come up as to where those videos are stored and can you download/share/delete/etc?

The answer is absolutely; however, you must use Flipgrid.Once you enter into Flipgrid's Educator Log in you will then see Shorts at the top of the screen (far right - next to your profile picture).

From there you can see all the Shorts videos you have made as well as see the following options that you see below.

Embedded below is a 43 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

In Xtramath how to bring up the keypad as well as how to hide teacher when racing the teacher

Xtramath is a website that focuses specifically on fact fluency (it has been a huge help to my own children as well as numerous students in the district where I work).

A few items to point out:

• If students are using a touch pad chromebook/notebook - then can select the keypad in the bottom right of the screen as use the keypad instead of typing.
• My son Jack did not like when Mr. C gave a face when he answered a question wrong. So, simple solution - click directly underneath Mr. C and you can remove that feature.

Embedded below is a 54 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Flipgrid and Wakelet! Flipgrid's Shorts camera is integrated in Wakelet. 🌊🌊🌊🌊🔥🔥🔥🔥

Wakelet and Flipgrid have formed such an amazing symbiotic relationship! In Flipgrid you have the ability to quickly add a Wakelet collection with your audience in the focus section when creating a topic.

Well now it is Flipgrid's turn. Flipgrid's Shorts camera has been integrated directly into Wakelet. 

The possibilities are endless. Two quick ones that I think will be extremely beneficial are

• Lesson plans
• When leaving your sub plans, you can now add a personalized video for the substitute as well as to your students. Leaving a video allows you to truly get across what you need to get across.

• Resources for families and students
• You can now leave a video explaining what is included in the collection as well as some items to really focus on.

Embedded below is a 49 second YouTube video created by Wakelet followed by a 1 minute and 14 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Labor Day - All About the Holiday

PBS Learning Media has shared a video as well as resources revolving around Labor Day available in a collection in Wakelet. You can copy the collection and add/delete resources as you see fit.

Take care and Happy Labor Day!
Brad

Resources to share with students revolving around hurricanes

With Hurricane Dorian (at the time of this post it is a 'Catastrophic' 5) bearing down on the United States odds are your students will at least have heard something about hurricanes. Many times questions come up revolving around the storm. A resource to share with your class is the website Wonderopolis and the three stories they have revolving around hurricanes. Please note the resources in Wonderopolois have Immersive Reader built into them so students can have the stories read-a-loud to them, translated, etc.

• What is a Hurricane?
• Where Is the Eye of the Hurricane?
• How Do Hurricanes Get Their Names?

I also created a Wakelet (also  available here)  that includes these three resources. You can copy the collections and add your own content to share with your students.

Take care,

Brad