Paperless Grading Using Flubaroo, Google Sheets, and Google Forms

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To many, going paperless seems like a daunting task. Most teachers have gotten into a comfort zone. They know how things run, they know how long tasks take, they have it down. However, as we progress as educators, we must change with the times. Kids are growing up in a digital age, and it only seems logical that we would teach them the way they are growing up.

The age old pen and paper tests can often be digitized. Let’s face it, many of the tests teachers give are multiple choice. Google Forms is an excellent way to digitally deliver the same test. It saves paper, ink, and grading time. Yes, grading time. One of the chief concerns I hear from teachers is they don’t wish to go paperless because they don’t know how to test and grade tests on a computer. This is where the Google Sheets add-on Flubaroo comes in. Continue reading

Writing Across Subject Areas (and an aside about the Teen Mind)

We had our first official professional development day as a precursor to returning to school. While I know some parts of the world still have a month or more, we in the southern US are down to a couple weeks.

The topic of the training was teaching writing across the subject areas. We were two of the only three English teachers in attendance. Most of the teachers taught Social Studies or Science. It was nice to see so many teachers visibly open to the idea of having their students write in other subjects.

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Google Certified Educator Level 1

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Ok, let me preface this post with the following:

If you are looking for inside information on what is on the test, you have come to the wrong blog spot. You would be better served by clicking HERE.

Now, on to the post.

I took the Google Certified Educator, Level 1 exam this morning. It allowed plenty of time, 3 hours. I went through the online course, and made sure to perform each and every task.  Continue reading

Google Sheets and Essay Metrics for Writing

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A couple of weeks ago, I read a tweet about a Google Sheets add-on called Essay Metrics, by Oli Trussell. I clicked the link and did a little reading, and quickly realized just how awesome this tool could be. I added it to my Google Sheets and played with it, and confirmed, yep… this is awesome.

This is one of those add-ons that are great for any subject area. Let’s take a look at it and see how it works, and go from there.

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The Power of the Parent

Ok, I know, some of you are wondering what this post is doing here. Stick it out, and we will get there.

Parents. That one word can evoke a wide range of reactions from teachers. After this many years in education, I think I have seen and/or experienced all of the possible reactions. The key to a child being successful is a team effort. How can we foster that partnership with parents, and how does EdTech factor in?

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Book Review: The End of Molasses Classes by @ronclarkacademy

end of molasses classes

You know, if a person were to decide to make a summer of reading professional books in hopes of finding inspiration and ideas, they would choose well. This summer, so far, I have chosen well. Over the past few weeks, I have reviewed a few really good educational books, by some really great authors. This time around, I asked around on Twitter and was asked to review The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark. I had already read this book back in 2012 when I first got it, but it had been some time, so it wasn’t so fresh in my mind. I decided to give this book a go, and am glad I did.

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Getting to know Google Classroom

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It’s summer break for many of us. It’s the perfect chance to experiment with new things. Schools are making the change to including more EdTech. Some districts more slowly than others, but in general, we are getting there. Talking to teachers at conferences and presentations, we often hear the same reasons for not using more technology… Continue reading