LEX Talk Tech- Mrs. Hall's Technology Blog

A technology tool I have used in the past is Flipgrid. Flipgrid is a socially designed video learning platform. It is a free web based service that allows for teachers or students to submit discussion questions or topics. Students can then upload unlimited videos up 90 seconds each. There are various settings and paid versions, but the standard free version is extremely useful. In order to get more than one grid you must have a paid version of the service either a classroom, school, or district subscription. These paid versions also open up the opportunity for students to share videos of a much longer length. Student response videos are organized in a social media type grid format that students/teachers can review and respond to easily. Flipgrid allows for fun, easy, engaging discussions to occur from outside or inside the classroom. I particularly like to use this resource when we are working on group projects. I plan to use this tool in the next few weeks while we prepare for disse...

This week on his blog, Richard posted "10 Ideas for Classroom Podcasts" and he has shared some great information! To go along with these awesome ideas, he also posted a video on how to create a podcast and it seems very easy to do and is definitely something I am interested in and plan to share with other members of my school. Below I have summarized some of his ideas and have explained how my school could incorporate them into our daily procedures. 1. Getting to know people within the school Not every student is going to have the opportunity to get to know every staff member. My school consists of about 100 staff members and I think it would be a great idea to showcase these members on the morning news. All of these individuals care about our students and have interesting facts that they could share if given the opportunity. I imagine this could be a great opportunity for incoming 7th and 8th graders to learn more about 7th and 8th grade teachers, administrators, and coun...

A technology tool I plan to use in my classroom this week as an informal assessment tool is Padlet. I. Love. Padlet. and my students do, too! Padlet is the perfect tool that allows individuals to create a product while communicating ideas simply & effectively. Padlet starts as a blank wall and users (who have access to the wall) can put anything they want on it- anywhere! Users can type, add images,  recordings, videos, links, and music. It really allows the users to personalize their wall and my students love this! In my classroom this week, I plan to use Padlet while incorporating a digital Jigsaw Activity. Students will be individually researching an assigned body system in small groups. As students find valuable information, they will add this information to their Padlet wall. Students should not duplicate information because they will be able to view what other members of their group have posted. Because we are pushed for time, students will not be able to present their ...

This week on his blog, Richard Byrne introduces a FREE K-12 science educator's resource produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This resource is called Science NetLinks. The tools, such as lessons, hands-on activities, interactives and podcasts, can be printed or used as Internet-based resources. The science resources are sorted according to grade or standards (science benchmarks) or by science theme. A few themes include: Earth, Chemistry, Biology and Careers. This would be a great resource to implement for intervention- with students who are struggling or excelling. During my brief time exploring the site, I found interesting themes that would engage all of my diverse learners. When you first go to the website, sciencenetlinks.com, you will see various screens that focus on daily science news or updates in science. There is a list of scrolling resources that focus on popular topics in the media. For example, this month the site is showcasin...

A technology tool I plan to use in my classroom this week is GradeCam. GradeCam allows educators to scan and grade multiple choice assignments instantly through a web-based camera (document camera, iPad, or cellphone). It's kind of like an advanced Scantron machine. This is a free resource, however my school has purchased the full version and we are able to access all of the additional features. GradeCam makes grading quick and easy. Teachers are able to offer instant feedback to students on how well they performed on the task.  Teachers can also share and analyze data in order to guide further instruction and discuss data collected in common assessments. This type of feedback is very beneficial in helping students demonstrate mastery. My classes will begin a unit test on Wednesday. This unit test is composed of 15 multiple choice questions and 3 extended response questions. I am able to assign assign my multiple choice questions according to a standard or target so implementing...

This week on his blog, Richard Byrne, presents an hour long PD on inquiry-based learning. His focus is initially centered around what inquiry-based learning is and what it is not. As a 7th grade science teacher, i nquiry-based learning is no stranger to my room or my instructional tool kit. This video did help me take a step back and look at how I implement this in my room and really look at the qualities of inquiry-based learning that Richard Byrne mentions and being able to refine these. Richard Byrne mentions 4 qualities that teachers of inquiry based learning should possess: leader, monitor, facilitator and evaluator. In inquiry-based learning, students often jump into it with a huge c oncept and end up getting lost because teachers do not facilitate and mentor throughout the learning as they should. The main issue students struggle with is evaluating their explanations with evidence. Students find many examples online and students should work towards being able to...

During an assignment this week we were asked to create a how-to video on a common technology tool that we are familiar with and use regularly. Of course I chose a product of G Suite :) My video focused on Google Forms and I had  to condense {most} of what I know about Forms into a presentation less than 5 minutes long. This was tough because I could literally talk about Google Apps for 5 hours. Finally, after about 8 recordings, I had a video less than 5 minutes long, but it was not as detailed as I wanted. In this week's blog I am going to focus on answering questions that were asked in response to my video and elaborating more on some of the things I had to choose to leave out due to the time constraint.  1. Short Answer Questions on a Quiz Until about 6 months ago, all short answer questions on a Google Forms quiz had to be graded by hand. Google now has a feature that allows for streamline short answer grading. Teachers can create short answer/fill in the blank question...

This week, Richard Byrne gave me a great idea of some lessons to incorporate into my instruction for my accelerated classes (or anyone who may finish their daily work early). He has shared a playlist of videos about the science behind the Winter Olympics. Each video comes with an inquiry guide and question list. These videos are from the 2014 Winter Olympics and the content presented matches up beautifully with NGSS and its 3D Learning approach. The videos include real-life application of STEM through physics, engineering, chemistry, design and mathematics. The videos are interesting to watch because many include stories by the actual athletes who competed in the games along with engineers and scientists who work alongside the National Science Foundation and NBC Learn. My favorite part is that the inquiry based lessons include an experimental design section where students have the opportunity to design systems. Students can participate in designing these systems which will lead to them...