#WMSwizards May 2018

Last #WMSwizards tweets of the year... Let me know what you think!


#WMSwizards Tweets

Have a great summer!

#WMSwizards March 9

#WMS Wizards March 9 - Curated tweets by wizardwarren

#WMSwizard Feb23 - Curated tweets by wizardwarren

#WMSwizards 2-9-18

How to make a Family Feud game for your class

Our staff had a great time playing Family Feud the other day, and you could do this in class as well. Better yet, get your students involved in collecting and analyzing the data to create the game. You could have students work in groups to create and administer some survey questions, then secretly give their results to you to build the game.

Here are some thoughts for tying it to curriculum:

• Math/Science Class: This is the obvious fit, as you are having students collect and analyze data, but you could also ask content questions that have multiple answers. (What is the most important safety rule? Name a planet in our solar system.)
• Foreign Language/ELL: Focus the questions on vocabulary you are learning. (Dame el nombre de una habitación en una casa.)
• Language Arts: Ask questions that relate to a book you are reading. (What weapon would you train with if you were selected to play in the Hunger Games?)
• Social Studies: Use it to review history or geography, or ask questions to determine background or bias. (Name a country in Europe. Name a country in Africa.) 

I'm sure there are lots of other ideas for tying this to other subject areas... art history, sports rules, review procedures, etc.

Step 1: Conduct a survey
The first step is to conduct a survey. Google Forms is a great way to do this digitally, I made all my questions in the form of short answer questions, because I didn't want to limit their responses to just my ideas. If you are having students create the questions, you can have each group create their own Google form. You could also conduct the survey on paper or better yet, face to face. Either way, make sure you ask more questions than you really need for the game.

If doing this in student groups or having one class create questions for another, make sure to emphasize secrecy in collecting and analyzing data.

Step 2: Analyze the data

• Next, you'll need to analyze the data. 
• If you used Google Forms, you'll be able to generate a Google Sheet of the results by clicking on Responses, then clicking on the green Sheets icon.

• You'll want to review all the answers for each question. First, click the triangle at the top of the column, then click Sort A-Z. This will organize most of the similar answers together.
• Next, you'll want to read each answer and check for similar answers. If you notice several similar answers, you can edit the responses so that they all match exactly, then re-sort. For example, if you want to combine "Watch TV" "Go home and watch tv" and "watch netflix," just paste "Watch TV/Netflix" over all three answers and then re-sort.
• Count the responses for each question. If you are using Sheets, just sort the sheet and highlight all the matching answers, you will see a count in the bottom right corner of your screen. I made a new sheet with a summary table so it was easier to see the top responses. (Generally, responses that only show up one or two times can be ignored. )

Step 3: Prepare the questions

• Decide which of the questions are best to use in the game. 
• Questions with too many different responses don't work. You need some consistent responses to be able to come up with at least a top 3. You can have up to 8 answers, but you'll have to use your judgement as to which ones really should be included in the game.
• Questions with only one dominant answer aren't very useful either, except maybe as tiebreakers or in the "Fast Money" bonus round.

• If you are having student groups do this part, have them submit their best questions and answers to you. Be sure to have them submit the number of people with each response in parenthesis after each answer. Ex: sleeping in (31)  I'd also suggest limiting the number of characters in their answers so they will fit on the answer board.
• Note: If you are doing a fast money round, you'll need to collect extra questions and you must get all possible answers and their totals, even if only one person said it.

Step 4: Download this powerpoint slideshow
Youth Downloads has created this free PowerPoint template. As much as I love Google Slides, there is no way to reveal the answers in the order they are guessed, which in my opinion, kind of ruins the game. Plus, this template has great animations and buzzers. You will probably have to rearrange the slides to fit the number of answers you need, but don't try to customize it too much, just plug in your questions and answers and go!

I chose to print my slides 2 slides/page so I was sure to have the answers in front of me, because the presenter view was hard to see on my screen. If you do this, you'll need to hand-write the questions on the slides, as they are animations that won't show when you print.

Step 5: Find a buzzer and a scorekeeper
I downloaded the Game Buzzer app from Cube 8 on my iPad and upgraded it for $2.99 to avoid ads. It's a simple 2 person buzzer that worked well for the Feud, but there are lots of other ways to do this... bells, buzzers, even a picture of a single buzzer on the table, that participants slap. (Think slapjack. Whoever's hand is on the bottom wins.) If you want to splurge you could get these game buzzers from Walmart.

Don't forget to choose a couple of students to be scorekeepers for you as well.

Step 6: Play the feud
We divided the staff into 4 teams of 6-9 people and it worked well, 2 teams playing at a time while the other 2 teams were the audience. Then the 2 winning teams each chose a representative to play the Fast Money bonus round at the end to determine the winner, but you could easily do this with 6 or 8 teams. If your students aren't familiar with the game show you might want to show a few minutes of a video like this one to help them understand the rules and procedures.

If you choose to do a Fast Money bonus round at the end, you will have to sequester the competing players until it is their turn, so they don't hear the questions ahead of time. We had each winning team choose a player and asked them the same 5 questions, but have your survey data ready.

Since they are competing against each other, you don't have to worry about repeating answers, but you will need to recruit someone to track the players responses and look up the point total for each answer. You can have them do this on paper, or in a separate slide show that you will play to reveal answers.

Step 7: Discuss your learning
This is the step that I always forget to plan for, but it's so important. Give your students an opportunity to reflect on the process, either individually or as a group. What did they learn from creating the survey? What did they learn from playing? What will they remember? Was this a good learning experience? Remind students of their learning goals and ask them how they feel they did and what they still need.

#WMSwizards 1-26-18

Want to try Tweeting Yourself - watch this short How To video!

Control-Alt-Achieve

Do you have any heroes? I do, and a lot of them I follow on Twitter. I'd like to share one of them with you. His name is Eric Curts. He's a Technology Integration Specialist for a school district in Canton, Ohio and I swear he never sleeps. The best thing about him is that he shares so much of what he does openly and for every educator's favorite price: free! Here's some quick things to look for on his website.

The best place to find Eric's Resources is on his web page at www.controlaltachieve.com

On the home page, you will find Eric's Blog. He's a prolific blogger with a ton of quick reads on really innovative and often easy teaching ideas. If you check out the sidebar on the right, you'll see his top ten most popular posts, all of which are pretty cool. If you want, you can sign up for his newsletter, follow him on twitter or add his blog to your RSS feed.

http://www.controlaltachieve.com/p/resources.html

What's even better is his Resources tab. If you scroll down just a bit, you'll see that he has posted links on all kinds of Google Tools. On each one you'll see a list of blog posts, google docs and training videos on the topic. Below that he even has pages for 5 main subject areas. Each of those pages, is then organized the same way, but categorized by Google Tool. Most of the tools he references are part of the Google Suite for Education that our district is a part of, so they are tools we already have and have permission to use. You can always come to me for help with these too, but I thought I'd share one of my favorite resources! Just go to www.controlaltachieve.com.

Good luck!

#WMSwizards 1-12-18

#WMSwizards 12/8/17

DitchSummit: A PD Opportunity

I don't know how many of you got the chance to see Matt Miller speak last year, but here's a free opportunity to hear him and see him interview some other awesome people. Last year he started up a GREAT free online conference for teachers in December. I participated last year and it was some of the best PD I saw.

It’s called the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit. There are nine video presentations from awesome presenters on topics related to tech and solid teaching and learning. Get your free ticket at: DitchSummit.com.

HOW IT WORKS: New presentations are released every day from Dec. 15-23. You can watch as many as you want. They remain available until Dec. 31 so you can re-watch or catch up on any you’ve missed. They’re pre-recorded, so you can watch them whenever you want until Dec. 31. After that, the summit ends and the videos are unavailable to watch anymore.

FREE PD HOURS: You can get FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS for watching the videos. There’s a form to fill out after each presentation, and you’ll get an automatic PD certificate emailed to you. CEUs or CREDITS will be available through the Weld Re-4 technology department if you choose to participate.

FREE CHROMEBOOKS: They’re giving away two free Acer Chromebook 15’s, courtesy of Acer Education, the giveaway sponsor. Be sure to join the Chromebook Crash Course session on December 22 to enter the drawing.

Sign up for the digital summit at DitchSummit.com. I know it's a crazy time of year and time is precious, but based on what I saw last year, I don't think you'll be disappointed! If you don't have time for all 9, you pick and choose which topics work for you!

The schedule looks like this:

December 15 (Fri) -- Combining Tech and Solid Teaching Effectively (Tanya Avrith and Holly Clark, authors of The Google Infused Classroom)

December 16 (Sat) -- The Science of Happiness (Kim Strobel, happiness coach and educational consultant)

December 17 (Sun) -- Brain-Friendly Learning that Works (Dr. Pooja Agarwal, cognitive scientists and educator)

December 18 (Mon) -- How in the Google Did You Do That? (Eric Curts, Google Certified Trainer and tech blogger)

December 19 (Tue) -- How to Learn from a World of Educators (Sarah Thomas, tech coordinator and uber-connected educator)

December 20 (Wed) -- Plan Smarter, Not Harder with Edu-Protocols (Jon Corippo, interim executive director of CUE)

December 21 (Thur) -- How to Make Learning a Game (Michael Matera, teacher and author of eXPlore Like a PIRATE)

December 22 (Fri) -- Chromebook Crash Course: What You NEED (Matt Miller, Google Certified Innovator, blogger, speaker and author of Ditch That Textbook)

December 23 (Sat) -- What Schools Can Learn from Start-Up Culture (Don Wettrick, teacher and founder of StartEdUp)

#WMSwizards 11-17-2017

Wow, it's been a busy November!

What's with Twitter? Check out this video: Twitter in 60 seconds!

#WMSwizards 10-27-17

From Consuming to Creating

There's been a lot of talk in education lately about creativity. Many people will tell you that you should move your students from consuming information to creating, but you rarely hear much talk of how to do that. I know that when I challenged my students to create instead of consume, they often looked at me with blank faces, sometimes even panic and worry.  So how do you get students to create? I recently heard a podcast by Jon Spencer (one of the authors of Launch) that got me thinking about how we move from consuming to creating, and what steps happen along the way. He argues that moving students from consuming to creating is not a knee-jerk change but a process. Whether you agree with his 7 Stages or not, he presents some interesting ideas... It's a quick read, and it might just get you thinking...

Seven Stages in Moving from Consuming to Creating

John Spencer Posted on June 19, 2015 I used to believe that creativity began in the mind. Ideas popped in and people responded externally by making things. I would get frustrated when students came into class having only used technology to consume rather than create. I would beg them to take risks creatively.

#WMSwizards 10-12-17

Google Teacher Translate: The Ultimate Report Card Helper

Nothing new this week, just a funny to watch when you need a break from finishing up your quarter grades! Who doesn't love Gerry Brooks?

#WMSwizards 9-29-17

Tech Tool Spotlight: Screencastify

Ever get tired of saying the same thing over and over again? Do you have detailed instructions for students to follow and they just can't seem to pay attention or keep up? Consider screencasting! I tried it and loved it. 

I used to hate the day that we set up Science Notebooks. There were specific procedures and directions for students to follow, but some kids would get confused. Maybe I hadn't been clear, maybe they were in the back of the room and couldn't see or hear very well. Maybe they weren't ready when we started. Maybe they just weren't listening. Whatever the reason, it would invariably slow the whole class down and stress me out. 

Then I discovered screencasting. I recorded myself setting up a sample notebook and shared the video with my students. Kids could now start when they were ready. They could play, pause and rewind my instructions as needed to follow the step-by-step procedure. I went from scrambling around the room restating instructions and redirecting bored kiddos to watching as my kids completed the task. I could stroll around the room and watch for misunderstandings, stop and help a kid who was confused or manage behavior and materials. It was like co-teaching with myself! 

I highly recommend it, maybe not daily, as that would get boring (for them and for you), but as a regular part of instruction.

Two great ways to screencast:

1. Screencastify Extension: Add this extension to your browser and start recording! It's limited to 10 minutes, and you can't edit with the free version, but it's integrated with Google Drive and easily gives you a shareable link.

Here's a screencast showing how it works:

Here's a  screencast of how to get the extension:

2. QuickTimePlayer: The name is misleading. QuickTimePlayer not only plays, but also records. It creates a video file that you will need to share, but is NOT limited to 10 minutes and can be edited in iMovie or WeVideo, if you want to get fancy! Best part: it's already installed on all our macs.

Here's a screencast of how it works:

A word of advice if you try this... don't be a perfectionist. You will make yourself crazy trying to get the perfect take. Let's face it, we aren't perfect when we teach live and in person either. (If you watched any of these videos you'll see what I mean.) It gets easier the more you do it. Just take a deep breath and give it a shot, and let me know if you need any help!

Upcoming PD Opportunities:

• Transformational Teaching and Learning - open to all faculty, collect badges and earn CEUs or credits (Curtis Andres/Sheila Bowman)
• Computer Science: Building a Foundation for Student Choice (Curtis Andres)
• Design Thinking Student Playground (Curtis Andres/Sheila Bowman)
• SuperConnected: Saturday, September 4, 2017 (Poudre/Loveland/WeldRe4 Collaborative Conference) - Call for SuperConnected Presenters
• Meeting Standards 101 (Jackie Hertzke)
• Fall Online Book Studies (Jackie Hertzke)
• Behavior 101 (Jackie Hertzke)

#WMSwizards 9-15-17

Tech Tool Spotlight: Google Url Tricks by Tony Vincent

There's no way to top this blog post by Tony Vincent. You may have heard that you can change the "edit" portion of a url to force a copy, but it goes so much farther than that.

Tony will teach you how to take a shareable link and...

• give viewers a view only link with no toolbar (think "read only")
• force viewers to make a copy
• combine these two options to create a preview with a "template" button
• OR EVEN create a preview with a download PDF button

Look like a pro with these SIMPLE EASY tricks. Here's how.

These quick reference pics and a link to the blog has also been added to the Tech Tips part of our WMS Staff HomePage

#WMSwizards 9-1-2017