Google Chrome Bookmark Groups

Ever wanted to open up a series of websites with a single click?  It's easy!


1.  open up the websites in their own tabs
2.  rearrange the tabs to your liking
3.  select Bookmarks --> Bookmark Open Windows from the Chrome Menu
4.  name your bookmarks group and you're set!

Watch the video below for details:

Create bookmark groups for the different subjects/sections you teach, your favorite teacher resources, your daily routine (email, attendance, etc.) or anything else that comes to mind!  Think of all the time you'll save...oh, and you'll also look like a rockstar in front of your kids.

Google Tone in the Classroom

Google just released Google Tone, a new Chrome extension that allows someone to send a URL to all other Google Tone users within earshot.  Clicking on the Google Tone icon emits a series of pleasant chimes that are received and then interpreted (via microphone) on the other devices which prompt the other users to open the broadcasted URL.

I see HUGE potential in the classroom.  Imagine the amount of time a teacher could save by simply broadcasting the URL to all student devices rather than writing it on the whiteboard, publishing it to a website/LMS, etc.  Of course, there are other Chromebook management resources (gScholar, Hapara, Insight) that offer the same functionality...for a price.

Sure, there are several factors (broadcaster's speaker volume, microphones turned on/off, ambient noise) that would need to be considered before implementation, but the one feature that I feel must be made available is the ability for admins to make the extension hidden on student devices.  For all practical purposes, students probably wouldn't be broadcasting URLs regularly (or appropriately for that matter).  I feel students should simply have a "receive only" version of the Google Tone extension that's hidden (doesn't show up in the Chrome Extension bar).

So, Google Tone.  Awesome concept, but until some refinements/versioning is developed, might only prove to be a novelty.  Check it out, try it out, and leave a comment below!

Google Classroom Rubric Hack

I love Google classroom.  It's an easy and intuitive tool for managing student work.  It even comes complete with an online grade book that's exportable (via CSV) to your district's grading software-of-choice.  Grading student work in Classroom, however, is limited to point totals and qualitative written feedback.  Students are going to want to know why they received a 36/40.

If you truly want to go paperless, here's a nifty hack to provide your students with quantitative feedback using a Google Sheets rubric Google Classroom assignment.

Step 1: 

Create your rubric template in Google Sheets.  Make your own or find one online (this one from +Alice Keeler is pretty awesome.)

Step 2: 

Create your assignment in Google Classroom.  Attach whatever resources are required to complete the assignment, but also attach the rubric template.  Be sure to select the "Make a copy for each student" option after attaching the rubric.

Step 3: 

After students have completed the assignment, open their rubric and their work and easily grade their work by switching between tabs.  When finished, close both tabs and assign them their score.  Done!

The end result: a document with your qualitative assessment (feedback, comments, etc.), an automated rubric with your quantitative feedback, and the final grade with private comments in Google Classroom.

No exchange of paper necessary!

Try it out, and let us know how it works within your classroom by leaving a comment below!

EDpuzzle: a Go-To Platform for the Flipped Class Novice

Flipping a lesson, let alone an entire classroom, is a time-consuming, laborious, chore.  Yes, the payoff is spectacular (differentiated learning, individualized pacing, higher-order thinking, etc.), but many teachers take one look at the legwork it takes to produce, edit and host video content and throw in the towel.

My job as an Instructional Technology Specialist, is to show them the light at the end of the tunnel.  Today, I hosted a training on blended classrooms and flipped learning (presentation below).  In my research on ideal platforms for the novice teacher, I found EDpuzzle.

My initial reaction was an increasing head-nod of approval as I saw that it could:

- Sign in via Google (+1).
- Search and import video from sites like YouTube, Vimeo, TeacherTube, LearnZillion, and Khan Academy.
- Allow teachers to record their own audio track over the existing video.
- Allow teachers to add voice comments inserted within the video.
- Insert quizzes within the video.
- Manage who in your class has watched the video, when and what scores they achieved on the embedded quizzes.
- Host the video in a minimalistic browser window...
- ...or embed the video elsewhere!

In my training, I exposed teachers to ~10 websites they could leverage to create/host video for their sample flipped lessons.  75% of them went with EDpuzzle as their solution.  Comments that I overheard were:

- "I love how it walks you through the process of customizing the video."
- "So all I have to do is just log in with my Google account and I can begin creating?!"
- "Wait...I can keep track of who has watched the videos?  Awesome."
- "Cool...I can rerecord the entire thing or just put in a voice comment."

In well under 30 minutes, one teacher (with no previous screencasting experience nor PD on how to use EDpuzzle) managed to create this video:

Some feature requests that teachers had were:

- the ability to export the video to .mp4 or re-upload the new video (minus quizzes) to their YouTube channel
- the ability to add in Video comments
- the ability to add in text comments that can link out to another web resource

All in all, EDpuzzle is a fantastic platform for novice and experienced Flipped educators alike.  Take a moment and check 'em out!

+Bob Petitto's Flipped Class *reFRESH Training:

Teacher Highlight: Ms. Bachara's First iPad Experience

Below is a brief slideshow of Ms. Bachara's initial takeaways from her first experience of using iPads in the classroom!  Enjoy!

Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad