Sum it up!

This was a short week, but a busy week. Students played a game called KerSplash at illuminations.nctm.org. They had a great time learning about combining like terms in this interactive game.

Students also had fun browsing Hooda Math http://www.hoodamath.com/games/index.html. They rated their favorite 7th grade math games using a google form.

Students in Mrs. Mall's classroom playing math games using Hooda Math

Finally, students took a quiz today scavenger hunt style using QR Codes and a QR Code reader app that they downloaded to cell phones and Nexus Tablets. They loved it!

A student uses her cell phone to scan a QR code and check answers on her quiz

Another student uses the Nexus Tablets to scan a QR code to check answers

That about sums it up!

Awesome Screenshot Extension

Each week social studies students do an Article of the Week (AOW) that connects with the 7th grade curriculum and/or global current events.  Students are expected to read and annotate the article before completing another task--writing a paragraph summary, answering questions, having a small-group discussion, or participating in a debate.

Since moving to 1:1 Chromebooks, I have tried to figure out a way to have the students annotate using technology.  After exploring several tools, it appeared that Awesome Screenshot was the way to go!

Awesome Screenshot is an extension that allows you to capture a whole page, a screen shot, or a selected portion of the page.  It then opens in a new tab with a toolbar that allows you to box, circle, underline, or blur items.  It also has a free-hand drawing tool, and a text tool to type in commentary.  You can then save your annotations for later.

Yesterday I introduced this extension to my seventh graders as an option.  They also could choose to annotate the old-fashioned way--with paper and pencil.  Interestingly enough, 43% of them chose to work with paper and pencil.   Those that did choose to try Awesome Screenshot really liked its capabilities as it was easier to annotate using this extension than Google Drive.

That said, there were some parts that weren't so awesome about Awesome Screenshot.  For example, I shared the document with the students via Drive.  Awesome Screenshot would only capture a screen shot and not the whole article; as a result, students had to find the article online and capture it from the original webpage. (Now I know that it's best for me just to send them a link.)  Some students said that they wish there was a highlighting feature and that the margins for comments were limiting at at times. Lastly, there were a couple students who lost their work from clicking on a link or accidentally clicking on keys on the keyboard. There is no autosave feature, which is something we've gotten quite used to by using Google Drive.

With some practice, Awesome Screenshot can benefit many students.  However, I will continue to offer up various options to my students in order to best suit their needs.  If that means almost half of them continue to work with paper and pencil, so be it!

Dog Blog!

In Science recently, we started a project on dog genetics.  The kids have had fun researching various dog breeds and discussing the advantages of specific adaptations.  Today, students paired up, picked a dog breed, and started their research.  

Here's the cool part... In the past, the end product of this research project has been a poster made with construction paper and markers.  These paper posters could only be shared with whomever walks into the classroom while the posters are hanging on the wall.  But today, the notion of showing off their hard work in Science changed! After researching, the kids made a "poster" on a Google Presentation and saved it as a JPEG.  This image file was shared with me and I was able to post this image to the 7th Grade White Team website for anyone and everyone to see.  The convenience of having the 1:1 Chromebooks has given our students an authentic audience to showcase their work publicly! 

Here is an example from my Core 2 (Period 2) Gallery:

To see more work, visit the SMS 7th Grade White Team website!

Virtual Team Meeting

Due to today's "cold" day, we used Google Hangouts video calling to hold our regular Monday team meeting.  Did it work?  For the most part.  We did have one member whose Internet connection was acting up, and my own connection was delayed or cut out a few times.  That said, we were able to discuss all the things we would have discussed in school today in the comfort of our own homes.  What made it extra neat were visits from our team members' loved ones in today's meeting--a visit from Mike's kids, my kids, and even Mallory's adorable pup, Begonia.  Besides that, we all were able to show up in costume with the effects Google has.  I mean who doesn't like dressing up as a pirate or a queen for their regular team meeting?  It certainly made the experience fun as I watched my colleagues change costumes and even backgrounds.  (Tom, a monocle really suits you!)

Would I do this again?  Absolutely.  It was an easy way to meet with my colleagues today and with the added effects Google offers, it also was quite entertaining!

Google Hangouts

This afternoon we got the call--no school tomorrow due to another round of subzero temperatures from the Polar Vortex.  Since last week was also cut short due to a holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) and we lost meeting time due to several special schedules for the spelling bee and pep rally, our team needed really needs a way to connect tomorrow on our "snow day".  The solution? Google Hangouts:

At 10:00 am tomorrow, we will all be home, safe and warm, but we will be able to connect for our usual Monday meeting thanks to our Chromebooks and Google accounts.  The Polar Vortex may temporarily close down schools and businesses in Chicagoland, but it's business as usual for this team!

Solving a Problem: NiftySplit (Google Chrome Extension)

Since receiving our Chromebooks a couple weeks back, I find that I'm spending less time worrying about securing computers and dealing with all of the computer-related issues--moving the cart, making sure the computers stay tidy in the cart, etc.--and more time on what I find REALLY fun: finding cool apps and extensions we can use in social studies.

The way I see it, I think about each unit and, as I like to call them, "the hairy warts".  In other words, what's something I want to do differently because it's really just not working or not pleasant for whatever reason.  By identifying this problem, I then am making the first step in the process of finding a solution!

My most recent problem involved a Prezi and taking notes.  I created a Prezi about economics terms, which you can view here: Economics Vocabulary Prezi. My goal was for students to get an introduction to economic terms that would be used throughout our unit.  They needed to view the Prezi and take notes using two-column format, which I put together in a Google Drive document for them and shared.  Sure, I could have played it on my Promethean board for all to, but, as any teacher knows, some students would want to move more quickly, some more slowly, and some would want to replay certain video clips.  In order to make this a student-centered experience, I e-mailed them the link and need to figure out a way that they could have the Prezi playing on one half of their Chromebook screen while taking notes using the Google doc I shared with them on the other side.  Here's where NiftySplit comes in!

NiftySplit is a free Chromebook extension I got in the Google store and helped all of the students install on their Chromebooks.  What it did was allow students to open their notes page, then open up a new tab to their e-mail with my Prezi link.  They right clicked the Prezi link, selected "Open with NiftySplit" and the extension automatically splits the screen into two windows, so students could view their notes on one side while watching a Prezi on the other.  Pretty nifty! 

Sum it up!

This week I've been preparing students for their midterm in Accelerated Math. As a resource, I've created a few video lessons to help students review various topics. These videos are uploaded to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4KMgQBAApE, and then posted on our team website. The feedback has been awesome!

We also started exploring Illuminations on the NCTM website. We started a game called "Ker-Splash"  where students are working to combine like terms to earn coins.

That about sums it up!

Cacoo!

This week has been a terrific week in L.A. because of a new app students have been using called Cacoo (kay-koo).  Basically, it allows students to create a visual representation of what they've been reading about for their Change the World/Scrapbook project.  Students start with a template in which they can engage in what they're reading by pulling out the main ideas, supporting ideas, and details and putting it into a visual map.  Students are finding it easy to use and share, and it looks nice, too (bonus!).  Chromebooks make a lot of things easier. :-)