Check out Google's Creatability collection. Explore how creative tools can be made more accessible for everyone.

Google's Experiment with Google Creatability Collection helps explore how creative tools can be made more accessible for everyone.

To learn more about this collection watch the embedded YouTube tutorial below.

There are quite a number of tools to check out; however the one I show in the video is the Keyboard - in which you can play music with your body (technically nose!).

Take care,

Brad

Google's Be Internet Awesome helps kids be safe, confident explorers of the digital world

Google's. Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence. 

The fundamentals include Share with Care, Don't Fall for Fake, Secure your Secrets, It's Cool to be Kind, as well as When in Doubt, Talk it Out.

Tools included are:

• Interland
• Kids can play their way to being Internet Awesome with Interland, an online adventure that puts the key lessons of digital safety into hands-on practice with four challenging games.
• Be Internet Awesome Curriculum
• lesson plans that have received the ISTE Seal of Alignment and classroom activities that bring the fundamental lessons to life
• Be Internet Awesome Pledge
• Parents driving the online safety conversation at home can encourage the entire family to get on the same page by reviewing the fundamentals and taking this pledge together.

Included below is a Don't Fall for Fake printable.

Take care,
Brad

Use Flipgrid and Epic! to explore books and discussion prompts this month and throughout the year revolving around African American contributions and achievements

Built in Flipgrid you will find books (Epic!) and discussion prompts in their DiscoLibrary. This month and throughout your history lessons this year make sure to check out the one created by Epic for Educators -Black History Month.

We are so excited to add new topics to the @Flipgrid #DiscoLibrary! Start by exploring books and discussion prompts to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black Americans this month and in your history lessons throughout the year. https://t.co/EMQHNmtKPd pic.twitter.com/R8a5LNOgZL

— Epic for Kids (@epic4kids) February 10, 2020

Take care,

Brad

New student-paced games, a new way to play Kahoot!

Kahoot recently launched student-paced games via their blog  Basically this new way to play encourages accuracy over speed and extends learning beyond live games – now available on computers, too!

Once the Kahoot is ready "play" make sure to

• select Challenge > Create New
• I would remove the timer and randomize answer order
• select create and share as you wish
• link, Google Classroom, Remind, Microsoft Teams, or Pin

Embedded below is a second 2 minute YouTube tutorial by Kahoot as well as one I created.

Take care,

Brad

Create a video with Screencastify and share it as a QR code (or to YouTube, Classroom, email, embed)

That's right! Use the amazingly free Screencastify extension to record a tutorial using your webcam or a screen recording and then share it as a QR code (or the other options below as well)!

For more information revolving around this amazing site check out the embedded 1 minute and 4 second YouTube tutorial as well as a post from this past January.

Screencastify 2020 ✂️Trim Videos 💃Export animated GIF's 🎧Export mp3 📹Export mp4 Unlimited # of Recordings!!

Eleven-year-old Holiday is pulled from the icy waters of Alaska with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Sound interesting? Check out this podcast!

Eleven-year-old Holiday is pulled from the icy waters of Alaska with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Are her mom and dad really who they say they are? And when she begins to develop incredible abilities, she’ll soon discover she’s not alone in the world. From the award-winning creators of The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel and The Ghost of Jessica Majors, comes Six Minutes, a new mystery adventure for the whole family. Starting on March 1st, new six minute episodes, twice a week, all year long…and beyond

Sound interesting? Check out the Six Minute Podcast. 200 episodes available here  or wherever you get your podcasts.

My two children (aged 10 and 7) have loved listening to them. We have loved questioning, predicting, and just talking about the episodes - this podcast has it all. We only have 20 episodes left! 😞This would be great in a classroom (thinking grades 5+).

There are so many friends of ours that have started listening in the car, before bedtime, during lunch, etc. Hope you enjoy!

Take care,

Brad

President's Day reading passages available to you in ReadWorks

President's Day is just around the corner (Monday, February 17th) and a great resource available to you is ReadWorks. Originally you will see close to 1,700 passages but remember you can select the grade (or grades) you are interested in. If projecting to a whole class, remember to check out the Whiteboard/projector view.

Embedded below is a screenshot as well as a 1 minute video tutorial.

DAD JOKE 👨🤣

What was the most popular dance in 1776?

The Indepen-dance.


Ok - that one was a rough one.


Take care,
Brad

Valentines Magnetic Poetry Template by Eric Curts

Eric Curts has created a fun way to combine creative writing, Google Drawings, and Valentine's Day all in one.

Check out Eric's blog post here - https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2017/01/valentine-magnetic-poetry.html#more

You can click here for the Template. If sharing with your students please remember to make sure when you share it that your students see a View Only File. They will need to select File>Make a Copy.

You, or your students can click within each word to change it if needed.

When the words placed within the template they can download the creation by selecting File> Download as > PNG image. At this time the creation can be printed out.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 24 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

In Gmail - How to set up a rule - example how to instantly forward a received email to another user.

In Gmail, if you would like to set up a rule, Google has made it pretty easy. In this example you will see  how to instantly forward a received email to another user.

• Make sure to select Search email at the top middle of Gmail.
• Choose the triangle (right side of bar)
• You will then see the picture you see below (make sure to select create filter)
• This will then be followed by the 2nd picture (this says what to do with the email
• Below that is a 2 minute and 12 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Microsoft Outlook - How to set up rules in your email

If you use Microsoft Outlook and would like to set up rules for when you receive an email, take a look at the 1 minute and 54 second YouTube tutorial below.

Reasons for creating a rule of course vary; however, having the ability to instantly forward an email you receive from an individual to another person can come in handy.

Embedded below are screenshots as well.

Take care,

Brad

How to use Immersive Reader using the Google Chrome Browser / Chromebook

If you would like the ability for you and your students to have the amazing options Microsoft's Immersive Reader allows you in Google Chrome (of course a Chromebook) try using the following extension: Use Immersive Reader on Websites [unofficial]

If you are not aware of what Immersive Reader is - click on the embedded YouTube video below.

To use the extension, simply highlight the text you would like to have read aloud and then right click and select Help Me Read this (see image below).

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 34 second YouTube tutorial showing the above.

Take care,

Brad

Coding. Learn to make your own game, app, or computer drawing using studiocode.org. Have you and your students (or children) up and running in mere minutes.

I know Hour of Code is in the middle of December; however, that doesn't mean you and your class can not continue with all the amazing resources that are available at your students' fingertips.

If you never signed your whole class up for an account, it will take you under 5 minutes to get you all up and running.

• Enter https://studio.code.org/courses
• Select Sign in
• Choose how to sign in
• in the district where I work we are a Google district - so the teachers use Continue with Google
• you will then need to put in some information such as where you teach
• scroll down to Create a classroom section
• choose how you want to add your students
• I chose Google Classroom (this way students do not need to remember another password and I can just place the link directly in Classroom)
• When adding a course (I chose Course C for students but of course it is up to you)
• You can always decide later as well
• I then placed the link in Google Classroom - https://studio.code.org/courses
• students then just would click on the link and it would launch once they chose Continue with Google
• If for some reason a student wants to choose another course, just make sure they select the three lines in the upper right and choose My Dashboard at which time they can make a different selection

Below is a 2 minute and 49 second YouTube tutorial showing the steps from a teacher and student point of view.

Flipgrid QR codes and centers. Easily create audio/video directions for students in centers.

If you would like to have audio/video directions available for students in centers, try creating a video in Flipgrid and print out the QR code. If you don't want to use video, simply select either the whiteboard or blackboard and create the video that way.

Once finished, simply print out the QR code and place at the location of the center. In order for students to scan the code, you will need to have a device to scan it. 

If you use a Chromebook, you could use a Symbaloo site like we do in the district where I work that includes a link to a QR code scanner readily available (https://the-qrcode-generator.com/scan). 

The great thing is, students can listen to the directions multiple times if needed.

Of course there are so many uses that go beyond centers (lesson plans, positive messages to place around the school, etc) - but I hope this is something you enjoy.

Thanks to Dawn Montare for talking to me about QR codes the other day in the library! A simple conversation that hopefully now will have some legs! Thanks Dawn!

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 12 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

17 Maps Of The United States that are amazing!

Ranker recently posted a collection of 17 maps of the United States that share some amazing facts. Click here for the website.

Below are the 17 photos. The ones that shocked me were #1 (Blue States Have A Smaller Population Than Los Angeles County), #2 (The Red And Orange Sections Have Equal Populations(, #4 Out Of Service Railways) and #8 (Population Spikes From A New Angle).

Wakelet Surf 🏄‍♀️School - How to use Wakelet for personal use, sharing content, collaboration, and for students.

If you are interested in how to use Wakelet for personal use, sharing content, collaboration, as well as for students - check out Wakelet's Surf School - https://wakelet.com/surfschool All example are from educators like yourself.

Embedded below is a GIF showing what the site looks like.

Take care,
Brad

Flipgrid Educator Dashboard is now available directly in the app

Great new update in Flipgrid! You now have the Educator Dashboard directly in the app. Go ahead and use the app as you would directly on the website.

Embedded below is a 33 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Flipgrid QR codes. How to print codes to all videos as well as select individual videos.

The ability within Flipgrid to print out QR codes to place at the top of art work, poster, project, etc. In the video below you will see two ways to print them out.

The first one is how to print all QR codes within your topic at once. You will see this at the top of the topics you will see Print QR codes (also in picture below) One thing to point out is that you may want to print out the QR codes so they come up a bit smaller. To do this simply go into your settings when you print and change how many pages you want per sheet.

The second way (which is new) is the ability to select individual responses and print them out. You can see this in Flipgrid's Tweet below as well as the embedded 1 minute video below.

🤩Are you ready?! 🎉

The @themerrillsedu here, excited to announce a brand new way to bring #FlipgridAR and #StudentVoice to a whole new level! 🚀

You can now ✨Batch Action✨ ANY @Flipgrid response to a custom set of printable QR codes.🤳 pic.twitter.com/j6r4LcKtC4

— Flipgrid (@Flipgrid) January 15, 2020

Easily change up the lobby music when you play a Kahoot

Nice new update in Kahoot. You now have multiple lobby music options.

Simply choose the Kahoot, press play, under General Lobby Music is at the top.

Embedded below is Kahoot's Tweet as well as a 1 minute and 19 second YouTube tutorial so you can see and hear the music.

🤩 Now you can easily change up the lobby music when you play a kahoot 🎶 🎧
👏 The best part- it's FREE for everyone🎸 pic.twitter.com/F7Sy5p4ByU

— Kahoot! (@GetKahoot) February 1, 2020

Take care,
Brad

Happy Super Bowl Sunday - some links to the history of the game

Today's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers marks the 54 game. A complete list of all winners is available in this link .

Embedded below is a 25 minute video showing the entire history of the Super Bowl. A ticket to the first game cost $6!

Here is a link to some cool facts about the Super Bowl.

Of course you could also watch the best moment in the history of the game🦅🦅🦅🦅  (embedded below) 😀

Enjoy the game!
Brad

Happy Groundhog Day (originally Candlemas), additional facts, a DAD JOKE + today is a palindrome!

Good ole' Punxsutawney Phil came out today and predicted an early spring! While doing some light reading around the tradition, I have found some interesting facts about today:

• According to legend Phil has been making predictions since 1887 
• even though a groundhog's average lifespan is 6-8 years
• according to legen Phil drinks a magical "groundhog punch" each summer at the Groundhog picnic and gains an additional 7 years with each sip!

• Since 1990 - Phil has only been correct 24% of the time

• Groundhog Day has its roots in ancient Christmas tradition of Candlemas
• clergy bless and hand out candles needed for the rest of the winter
• the candles represented how long and cold the winter would be
• Germans expanded by selecting an animal the hedgehog, as a means to predict
• Once in the USA, German settlers in the state of Pennsylvania switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs (because there were a lot in Pennsylvania)

• Today is also a palindrome 02-02-2020 
• a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward
• the next palindrome date (with the mm-dd-yyyy) is December 2, 2021. (12-02-21)

DAD JOKE!! 👨🤣

Q: What is Punxsutawney Phil's favorite book? 

A: Holes

Take care,

Brad