Read Across America Day is March 2, 2020. Here are some Dr. Seuss read-alouds (YouTube with QR codes) available in a Wakelet collection.

If you would like to have some Dr. Seuss read-alouds available in a Wakelet collection. What is great about the collection is that all YouTube videos are simply that - the videos. There are no suggested videos or any suggested videos on the side.

To create the QR codes I used the website QR code generator. It is important to note that while videos may play on your personal device, they may not on your district's devices. Please check the resources to make sure they work at your school.

The collection is available by clicking here. Feel free to copy the collection, add/remove, do whatever you would like.

If you would like access to the QR codes to print them out they are available in this Google Doc (thank you Carol Harrity). Please note - the files were named by me quickly so there are shortcut names. Feel free to select File Make a Copy and then adjust as you see fit!

The collection is also available in the QR code below as well as embedded below.

Take care,
Brad

Computer not projecting to SmartBoard the way you want it to? Try right-clicking and select Intel Graphics Settings

If you are using a Dell notebook and having issues projecting full screen to your SmartBoard or whiteboard try the following.

• Right-click on the desktop and select Intel Graphics Settings

• Once you select Intel Graphics Display you will then need to select Display. You will then need to adjust the settings to fit your need.

Embedded below is a 50 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Gmail Settings Blur your background picture, darken corners, background text (light or dark)

If you use Gmail and would like to blur your background picture, darken corners, and change background text (light or dark) simply select the settings gear and theme.

You will then need to select the options at the bottom of the op-up screen.

Embedded below is a 56 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

TEACHERS: Get a FREE YEAR of animated storybooks 📖 with Vooks

Vooks is an ad-free platform that offers a world of animated storybooks in your classroom.

Vooks brings children's books to life with animated illustrations, read-a-long text and narrated story. The ad-free platform features a variety of titles that have been engaging students all across the world. Whether being used as part of the lesson or to wind class down, Vooks is a fun and versatile tool for the classroom.

Introducing #Vooks, a new streaming service for kids that brings storybooks to life! Sign up today to stay updated on our launch! 👉 https://t.co/hJwYss1jYr #AnimatedBooks #ParentingWin #WatchVooks pic.twitter.com/G6nNV7UoAq

— Vooks (@vooks) August 13, 2018

Once you fill out the form you will be presented with an FAQ page as well. It is possible your school districts have filters in place that may conflict with Vooks' video streaming provider (Vimeo). You may want to share the FAQ page with your admin.- https://vooks.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

More posts to come once my subscription begins.

Take care,
Brad

Originality reports now available in Google Classroom

Originality reports allows instructors and students to check work to make sure it is cited properly and avoid plagiarism.

Originality reports are available when the educator creates an assignment look to the bottom right of the screen and select originality reports. Please note that unless your admins have purchased G Suite Enterprise for Education you will only have reports available on 3 assignments per class.

For more information revolving around originality reports click here or look to the Tweet below.

Originality reports help students ensure they’re properly incorporating and citing outside ideas, while providing instructors with a fast way to verify academic integrity. Learn more: https://t.co/h8HgCLf7ZR pic.twitter.com/wtWEbcNB9R

— Google for Education (@GoogleForEdu) February 23, 2020

Take care,
Brad

Want to become a Wakelet pro? Check out Wakelet's Surf School

Wakelet is an amazing curation tool that continues to grow and expand. What sets Wakelet apart is the fact that they put the customer first. They not only have the Educator's Guide to Wakelet - but they will answer your direct message in Twitter in what seems like mere minutes.

Their newest creation is the Wakelet Surf School where you can see examples of how to use Wakelet for personal use, sharing content, collaboration, as well as Wakelet for Educators. Each section includes a helpful YouTube tutorial as well.

Take care,

Brad

Shakespeare Uncovered. PBS has created a collection including videos, lesson plans, pictures, etc- grades 5 and up

PBS has create a collection that combines history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis, and the personal passions of its celebrated hosts to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. This collection includes 21 lesson plans, 31 videos, 26 pictures in the Media Gallery, and 3 Documents.

Take care,
Brad

A to Z Animals - an online animal encyclopedia

With many schools being heavily involved in projects, resources are always appreciated. One such resources is A to Z animals. This resource is awesome as animals are organized a number of ways:

• ABC order
• Scientific
• Group
• Location
• Endangered
• Pictures

When the animal is chosen, the information about the animal is presented in a nice and organized fashion.

Take care,

Brad

What is a Leap Year? plus some Leap Year Trivia. Magic Kingdom will be open for 24 straight hours

The other day the school district in which I lived shared the resource below that explains to kids what a leap year truly is.

Here are 11 things you may not know about Leap Year. One cool feature is that Magic Kingdom will be open for 24 straight hours!

Take care,

Brad

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