Animated GIFs and JamBoard Bring Creativity to Vocabulary Words

Animated GIFs and JamBoard

Bring creativity to Vocabulary Words.

Created by Scott Aten, November 25, 2019

Another cool lesson idea coming your way! Jennifer Alacchi is a third grade teacher at GPS. She found an idea online and scheduled me to come assist her in working out the details. The idea was to use animated GIF images to help her students work on their vocabulary words. Jamboard was selected as the tool that would be easiest for the students to assemble this type of project. For each
vocabulary word the students were instructed to add the following on a Jamboard page:

• Use the insert image feature to put an animated GIF on the page
• Use the "sticky note" feature to add the word, a definition, a synonym for the word, an antonym for the word, and use the word in a sentence.

Check out their progress on this assignment. Mrs. Alacchi plans on using this Jamboard project as a possible replacement for their written vocabulary sheets and allow the students to build on to this project with the new vocabulary words as they are assigned. Here is a sample I made to show her
how Jamboard would work with her project idea (NOTE: there is also a link in the presentation to a site
that allows you to make your own animated GIFs).

Jamboard is a Google App that is simple to use. It is really designed to be "whiteboard" software. Google sells an actual piece of hardware called Jamboard, but you do not need the board to use the app as we have demonstrated in this project. If you have ever used Padlet, Jamboard is a scaled back version with all the benefits of Google (sharing features, saves in Google Drive, can be assigned through Google Classroom, etc).

Amanda Popovich, GHS Spanish teacher, has used Jamboard with her class as well. This project is an example of students collaborating on a single Jamboard to develop their Spanish skills. This lesson shows that you can use a Jamboard activity collaboratively much like other Google apps.

The tools used in these projects are available to all Green Staff and students:

• Google JamBoard
• Google Image Search (done inside JamBoard)

If you would like some help using Jamboard, feel free to schedule me to come and help you plan

and develop your lesson idea.

I would love to see any lessons you have created using technology in an innovative way. I am hoping to continue to create posts like this one to share with the district. Just let me know when your lesson is happening.

[Green Google Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

K20 LEARN ~ Strategies for the Classrom

K20 Learn ~Strategies

Filterable list of strategies to help with the OIP 5 step process.

Created by Scott Aten, November 21, 2019

During a recent DLT meeting, a teacher in my group expressed some frustration with Step 2
of the OIP Improvement Process. As I am sure you are aware, Step 2 deals with "Research
and Select Evidence-Based Strategies". The frustration came from selecting a "strategy" to
implement as a part of this step.

This summer I attended a session called "High Yield Google" and it focused on instructional
strategies through Google that work alongside "insert your favorite educational theorist here". [link to the session notes in case you are interested]. One of the items discussed was the K20 LEARN website created by the University of Oklahoma. While this amazing tool was not Google based, I feel it may help address some frustration you and your TBT may be feeling during Step 2.

Here is how the K20 LEARN site works:

1. You determine what is the size of the group of students (Small, Whole Class, Individual)
2. You determine how much time do you have to complete the strategy (less than 10 minutes, 10-20 minutes, 20-30 minutes, more than 30 minutes)
3. Select the strategy to see an explanation of how to use it

NOTE - The advanced filter allows you to also filter by placement in the lesson, intention/purpose and grade level.

For example - if I choose "small group" and "Less than 10 minutes" I will see a strategy called "Sticky Bars" is one strategy from 22 available to me.

This strategy quickly assess students' ideas concerning a concept or question and can be used as either formative or summative assessment (but is most appropriate for a formative assessment). Sticky Bars helps students see that there is often a range of opinions concerning a concept.

When I click on the image to the left I am provided with a summary and procedures to use that strategy.

All together their are 121 different strategies that a teacher can examine along with an explanation on how to implement in the classroom.

Hopefully you will find this to be a useful tool during your next TBT meeting when it come time to talk about what strategy to try with you students.

Remember I would love to see any lessons you have created and would like to share with the
district including the implementation of some of strategies from this site. Just let me know
when it is happening. I would love to come see them in action.

[Green Google Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

GIS Students Participate in a Digital Breakout

GIS Digital Breakout

The students in Nicole Marchick's class use the four Cs to "break out" in class .

Created by Scott Aten, November 12, 2019

Many times we hear about the 4 Cs as they are related to Technology Integration - Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking. Today I had the opportunity to witness an activity that hit all four. If you are a forth grader in Nicole Marchick's class you get to experience
a "Digital Breakout" activity several times during the year. In Nicole's class a story theme runs
throughout the year and different activities merge into this theme. Today's activity was a "Digital
Breakout' that reviewed several concepts the students had been learning:

• Compare and contrast in text structures
• Sequencing of events
• Cause and Effect

In a "Digital Breakout" students are provided clues to "unlock" various "locks". In this case the clues allowed the students to apply what they had learned about the topics above. The "keys" to these

locks are not obvious, the students have to use critical thinking to come up with the correct solutions.

Nicole structured this activity as a whole class collaboration, but on upcoming breakouts they will work in small groups and the clues will become more and more challenging. When a student comes up with a solution it is shared to the group on the board and as a class they moved to the next "lock". Communicating the correct "key" that unlocks the puzzle is important or part of the group will be left behind and thus part of the collective brain power too. There is a little pressure as a countdown clock is running limiting the time the group has to escape the activity. Fortunately in today's class, the students worked together and were able to successfully "Break Out". This was a very creative way for the students to review what they have been studying and the students I talked to, all loved it.

Watch a short video of the lesson and students doing the activity together.

If you would like to see what Nicole made, here is a link to the activity. This type of activity can work
at just about any grade level or content area.

I have worked with other classes and created "Digital Breakouts" with teachers to use.

• Famous People Breakout (used as an introduction to Biography Reports)
• Reach For Reading Unit 5 Review Breakout

The tools used in these are available to all Green Staff:

• Google Forms (to make the locks)
• Google Docs (for some of the clue documents)
• Google Sites (a great way to assemble all the pieces)

If you think this is something you would like to try. Feel free to schedule me to come and help you plan

and develop your own "Digital Breakout"

I would love to see any lessons you have created and would like to share with the district in a post like

this one. Just let me know when it is happening. I would love to come see how teachers are using

the chromebooks creatively.

[Green Google Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team