Spice Up Your Tech Integration with These 4 Amazing Tips!
A Clickbaity Title Because That’s How the Internet Works
Here are four random tidbits I want you to know about.
1. Remember This Tip?
Is Schoology just not exciting you anymore? I mean…it’s totally fine, but more and more often you find yourself wondering, “Where’s the excitement gone, Schoology? You used to woo me.” It’s no surprise really, it’s been around so long, and you already know all of its tricks. Or do you? Here’s an old but oft overlooked idea for spicing things up with the old standby.
Switch Up Your Schoology Landing Page
By default Schoology sends your students to the materials page, where you’ve undoubtedly slaved away to create a beautifully logical organization of folders and resources only to find that your kids can’t seem to make any sense of the place and spend more time looking for what you want them to be doing than actually doing it. Avoid this bit of infuriating disconnect by changing your courses default landing page from materials to updates.Once that’s done, just start each day with a quick update complete with a hyperlink to the exact resource you want your kids to be working on. Boom! One-click access. Headache gone. One caveat, if your kids are working on iPads, add the link you want at the bottom (as pictured) rather than as a hyperlink within the text of your update. In-text hyperlinks to internal pages don’t fly in the mobile app.
P.S. — I’ve told you this one already. If you forgot, it’s ok…I’ve been around for a while too.
2. Someone Jump On This Resource!
Many of our students will undoubtedly need some academic support outside of the normal school day, but how can we help ensure that they’re getting high-quality advice? How about if it’s provided by a college student or young professional who has undergone a rigorous screening process and certification program? I’d say that’d about do it.
Upchieve.org
Upchieve.org provides free and easy 24/7 math homework help and college advice (other subjects coming soon) to students, with just the click of a button. Students simply go to the site, start a chat, choose a topic they need help with and start getting the help they need. Here’s the rub though, this service is just getting off the ground and looking to serve a select number of schools or teachers during the 19–20 school year. If you’re a math teacher or a building admin in a school that meets their targeted audience, (east coast, Title I, 1:1 environment…hhhmmm, I feel like I know a school like that…) give them a call and get in on the ground floor now! Learn more here.
3. Free is for Me
You’ve probably all done online reading before, so you know what it’s too often all about. You’re lured in with promises of fancy features only to find they’re hidden behind an ever-increasing pay wall. Well, lament no more. There’s a new player in town, and it’s 100% free!
CommonLit
CommonLit.org is a completely free collection of thousands of stories, poems, historical documents, and other nonfiction texts that caters to students grades 3–12. Texts are associated with guiding questions and assessment questions and can be printed or completed digitally. Students can also translate texts or have them read aloud. Annotation tasks require students to read closely with a specified focus, while guided reading mode allows students to receive the additional in-text supports they may need. Texts and assignments can be further differentiated through individual and small group assignment options. These are great features, but they’re essentially all borrowed from other existing services. However, what sets CommLit apart is that it’s all free, including access to data reports! And you know, if it’s free it’s for me!
4. Teaching is the Best Way to Learn
It’s cliché for a reason. It’s straight-up truth. Anyone being honest with themselves remembers the first time they taught a particular concept and the moment they realized that in doing so they had actually, finally learned it inside and out. If we all know this idea is true, why is it that the traditional classroom experience involves the student in the teaching process so little?
Genius Plaza
Geniusplaza.com strives to give students a space to learn collaboratively through shared understandings where teachers and students alike take turns exploring ideas and explaining concepts to one another. The platform is centered around “sparks,” which can take the form of games, videos, ebooks, open-ended questions, or other more traditional exercises. Both students and teachers can create sparks and review and respond to others’. The interface seems like it carries a steep learning curve at first blush, but if you’re willing to devote a bit of time to exploration, the overall ease of the process becomes apparent. Teachers can create classes to assign sparks and other challenges to their students, but students can also freely create their own outside of teacher assignments. I found that adding a student to my class and logging in as them was the easiest way to familiarize myself with the platform.
That’s all I’ve got for today. Thanks for reading, learning, teaching, and just being generally awesome! If you’ve got any questions or comments, I’d love to hear them, so feel free to reach out!
