Leveraging Technology to Foster Relationships

Leveraging Technology to Foster Relationships

Next week will be an exciting time as we welcome and connect with our new learners. 

As educators, we know that "No significant learning can occur without significant
relationships (Corner)." 

Here are some engaging ideas for leveraging technology to support relationship 

building in the weeks ahead. 

Padlet

Padlet is a digital bulletin board where users can add text, video, pictures and links.
Catlin Tucker has a great blog post describing her Selfie Padlet icebreaker activity.

Here's an excellent example from PVEMS who used it to foster staff relationships:

Seesaw (Gr E-2)

The new Seesaw Activities Library has great examples of using the various creation
tools for students to share about themselves. 

Schoology (Gr 3-12)

Schoology has a great newsletter article about the importance of relationship building. 

You can use Schoology's Media Album and Discussions to foster relationship building. 

FlipGrid

FlipGrid is a digital video discussion board.  You can prompt staff and/or students to
share something about themselves that everyone can then watch. Note: Check out this

FlipGrid Integrations Docs for more ideas for using FlipGrid in your classroom.

Google Slides & Draw 

Last year our keynote presenter Kevin Honeycutt suggested using Slides to get to 

know your students. Eric Curts from Ctrl-Alt-Achieve has a great blog post about how to 

use Slides for getting to know your students names, faces and interests. 

Google Draw can also be used to make "About Me" flyers.

Google Forms & Sheets

Here is a great blog post by Mari Venturino about how to use Google Forms as an
exit ticket that gathers information about how your students are feeling connected and
supported as learners and as individuals in your classroom.

Share Your Ideas!

What other ideas do you have for leveraging technology to help develop relationships?

Please share your ideas on this Padlet to inspire all of us! Together We are Better!

Icons for Google Slides

Icons for Google Slides

Are you tired of the same old icons to use in your Google Slides? Would you like some fun icon choices to add more visual appeal to your presentations?

The following Google Slides Add-Ons are great options:

1. FlatIcon

2. Icons by Noun Project

3. Insert Icons for Slides

Here's how to add them to your Google Slides:
Note: You only need to install them once--they will then always be available for future slideshows.

1. FlatIcon

2. Icons by Noun Project

3. Insert Icons to Slides

Talk and Comment: Voice Notes Anywhere on the Web

What is Talk and Comment?

Talk and Comment is a free extension available in the Chrome Web Store. It allows you to record voice comments from virtually anywhere on the web. You get a quick link to your recording which can be shared or pasted anywhere. Others can listen to your recording even without having the extension installed.

How does it work?

1. Install the extension (Add to Chrome)

• Add to Chrome
• Add Extension
• Allow access to Microphone

2. Click the Talk and Comment Microphone which will appear on the right side of any web page.

3. Begin speaking to record a voice comment. Click the green check when finished.

4. The voice note is automatically copied to your clipboard. 

5. Paste this link into a comment on a Google Doc or Slide, on social media, on a blog like this and nearly any other place you can paste a link.

6. People can reply to your voice note if they have the extension installed.

7. You may even download the recording if desired.

What are some ways I could use Talk and Comment?

• Reflect on reading or notes.
• Capture a thought from an online reading.
• Begin an audio discussion about a topic.
• Voice Grading (See blog for more details,)
• Provide verbal feedback for students or peers.
• Process and review class notes as part of AVID's focused note taking process.
• Whatever you can imagine!

Voice and Choice to Educate, Inspire and Empower

At ISD728, we are passionate about our mission is to educate, inspire and empower our

students. Blended learning and tech-infused classrooms can help us achieve these goals,
and a key element in this process is offering students voice and choice.

When students have a voice, they feel empowered. When they have choices, they can

choose options with personal connections. Allowing students both voice and choice not
only gives them control over their learning, but it also makes them a part of the process.
By doing this, we have the potential to increase motivation and engagement, which can
ultimately lead to student empowerment.

As George Couros points out in his research, when students are offered voice and choice,

they can move from being simply “compliant” learners to “engaged” learners, and even
more importantly, “empowered” learners which is a key component of our mission
statement.

Technology Amplifies Voice

Technology allows us to break down the walls of the classroom. We can Skype with
experts from another state, connect with classrooms in another country, create websites
that can be seen by anyone in the world and conduct research by accessing resources
students 20 years ago could only dream about accessing. Even within the confines of our
classroom walls, we can give students equal grounds to share their ideas through
collaborative documents and discussions.

Technology Increases Choice

Through the power of technology, students have many more ways to learn, process and
demonstrate their learning than ever before. Instead of relying only on a lecture of textbook,
students have access to video, websites, research, simulations and a worldwide web of
information. They also have access to virtual manipulatives, video and audio recording
tools and a huge pallet of creation tools.

These tools are not only helpful in processing information, but they are invaluable in

allowing students choice in how they demonstrate their learning authentically through the
process of creation. They can create videos, essays, slideshows, podcasts, performances,
infographics and more. This choice can allow students to demonstrate their learning in ways
that align to their personal learning styles, talents and interests. This choice not only
engages them in the process, but it empowers them to own their learning.

By offering students voice and choice (and amplifying this through the use of technology),

we can achieve our mission of educating, inspiring and empowering our students!

If you are looking for ideas, explore some of these resources:

• Student Project Choices (Creation Tools for the Chromebook)
• iPad Apps
• Teacher Technology Tools

Collaborative Annotation of Digital Text with Edji

Edji: Edji is a free online tool that allows your students to independently or collaboratively annotate text or images. It's a great way to improve literacy, comprehension and digital reading engagement. Check out some highlights of this tool below.

Marking the Text: Students can independently or collaboratively annotate digital text, PDFs and images.

Differentiation: Students can add notes with emojis, text or audio.

Collaboration & Teacher Features: Teacher can turn on/off the collaboration feature. This means that students can mark text individually, and then the teacher can turn on the ability for students to see other comments and reply to them (This feature is called "Vision.").

Collaboration & Dialogue: Students can reply to other comments with emojis, text or audio.

Collaboration & Analysis: Turn on the "heatmap" to see which parts of the article were highlighted most often. The darker the color, the more frequently students have marked this section.

Easy Set-Up: Quickly upload a PDF, insert text or attach a picture. You can also embed questions for students to answer.

Easy Student Access:

• No student log-in is required. 
• Teachers may provide a direct link to an article or a article code for students to enter. 
• Students enter their name (or a nickname) to identify themselves.

Note: Teachers can have 3 active Edji documents for free at any given time. If they need more, they can deactivate an earlier one to create a new activity. Deactivated content is not lost, but editing is disabled.

Tools for Marking the Text on PDF Documents or Images

Students have been marking up their paper copies of text for years with pencils and highlighters. This is a great strategy for engaging with the reading content and increasing comprehension.

So what do we do when we want to annotate digital documents like PDFs, websites and digital images? Fortunately, there are some great online tools available that make marking the text a reality in a digital environment.

Check out the options below and decide which tool is best for your needs.

Kami

• PDF annotation tool (draw, add text, highlight, etc.).\
• Split and merge PDFs.
• Account required (login with Google).
• Freemium Chrome extension (Free basic. Upgrade to annotate images, etc.)

DocHub

• Sign and edit PDFs. Use text, draw, highlight, comment and more.
• Open PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS, TXT, DOCX, PPTX and more from your computer or Drive.
• Merge, reorder, append, rotation and delete pages. Fill in fields on PDF forms.
• Free Chrome extension.

Xodo

• Open, merge, insert, delete, reorder and rotate PDFs from your computer or Drive.
• Open and annotate pdf, docx, pptx, jpeg or png file types.
• Use touchscreens to write in ideas and answers on pdfs or images.
• Free website. No account required.

Print Friendly PDF

• Turn any website into a PDF.
• Eliminate ads or any other web content you don't want to have on your document.
• Once you've created a PDF, you can annotate with one of the previous tools.
• Free Chrome extension.

New Features Added to Google Suites

New Features Added to GSuites

There are some really nice new features being released in the Google programs.  Some have already rolled out; some are coming soon. 

Gmail Smart Compose

If you type your Message first, then go to the Subject Line, Gmail will offer you a suggested subject to use. 

Write now, send later with Schedule send in Gmail

You will soon now schedule your emails in Gmail to be sent at a later date and time.

Full release date: April 15

Enhance presentations in Slides with audio

You will soon be able to embed audio files from your Drive into Google Slides (under INSERT--> audio).

Full release date: April 18

Quickly find support resources in Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar and more

You will now see a ? icon in the programs to gain quick access to support resources.