Google Add-Ons are services that add features to Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms.  After installing an Add-On, you can access them in Docs and Sheets through the Add-ons menu, and the puzzle piece icon in Forms.

Form Limiter will turn off a form at a time a date you choose, or when the form has reached a number of responses that you choose.

FormRecycler is a Google Forms Add-On that allows you to copy questions from other Forms in your Drive.

Copy Folder is a Google Sheets Add-On that allows you to copy complete folders in Google Drive

Flippity is a Google Sheets Add-On that creates flashcards and quiz games.  It can also create random student groups from a class roster on a spreadsheet.

Save As Doc is a Google Sheets Add-On that will save the data from a Sheet into a Doc.  Each row of data is saved onto a separate page of the Doc.  This can make it easier to read the data by reorganizing each row of data onto a single page.  This works well for spreadsheets created from Google Form responses.

Doc to Form is a Google Docs add on that will create a Google form from the text of a Google Doc.  This is useful for creating forms from existing assessments.

Google Slides will now import videos from Google Drive in addition to YouTube.

Blind Kahoot is a different way of using a Kahoot activity at the beginning of a unit to introduce material rather than checking for understanding or reviewing at the end of a lesson.

OpenEd is a directory of open educational resources (free) that can be browsed or searched by standards, grade level, or keyword.  This has the potential to save time searching the web for quality resources since this site has already curated many videos, assessments, and activities into one place.  OpenEd integrates with Google Classroom, which makes it easy to share resources with your existing classes.  When you find a resource you want to share with a class, click the Classroom link at the top of the resource listing and a window will open giving you the option to create an announcement or assignment and select which class you want to receive a link to this resource.  You will then have the ability to title the announcement and assignment and include any instructions before posting to Classroom.

Participate Learning contains a database of free and paid educational resources (apps, videos, and websites) that are reviewed by teachers.  These resources  are linked to standards and can be searched by keyword and filtered by content type and grade level.  By registering with the site, users have the ability to create their own bookmarks and collections of resources.  Search results will also show the resource collections of other educators.  Participate Learning also includes ParticipateChat, which maintains a calendar of educational Twitter Chats and hosts an interface for participating in Twitter Chats.  ParticipateChat also allows users to create resource collections from the links and resources shared during a Twitter Chat.

Nearpod has introduced a new activity slide called Collaborate.  This slide allows students to post sticky notes to a shared board similar to Padlet.  Teachers can moderate the board and delete any inappropriate sticky notes.

Matt, Jamie, Allison, and I recently attended the Powerful Learning Conference hosted by the Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project. The conference focused on implementing the PLC philosophy in schools throughout Missouri.  From the several hundred Tweets generated during the conference, I have compiled a few highlights from Powerful Learning Conference in a Storify.

New features were recently added to Google Classroom

• The ability to assign work to individual students or groups of students (differentiation)
• New email notifications for work submitted after the due date and re-submitted work
• Improvements to integrations between Classroom and non-Google web tools

EDpuzzle helps teachers customize video content for their classrooms by giving them an easy way to edit video clips, add voice overs, and embed questions. Teachers can assign a video to a set of students and track students’ viewing history and quiz results.  EdPuzzle integrates with YouTube and Khan Academy and easily allows you to search for and annotate these videos with audio, comments, and quizzes. EdPuzzle supports Google sign-in and integrates with Google Classroom.

• Three Minute EDpuzzle Tutorial

There are still district licenses available for Nearpod.  Nearpod is an online presentation, blended learning, and assessment tool. Nearpod sessions can be teacher-led or assigned to students for independent or collaborate completion.  Assessment data is shown immediately to the teacher and saved in a printable report.  Fort Osage has purchased a district license to Nearpod which provides access to all Nearpod features and question types, along with a district library to facilitate the sharing of Nearpod presentations/assessment.  Contact me if you are interested in learning more about Nearpod or getting a district Nearpod license.

• Getting Started Checklist
• Getting Started Tutorial
• Creating a Lesson Tutorial
• Advanced Tutorial

EasyBib has changed their privacy settings and student accounts using the @student.fortosage.net Google sign-in will no longer work.  Students can create an account using EasyBibEDU by following these steps:

1. Go to https://edu.easybib.com/auth/register/osagemsmo or click the EasyBibEDU Registration OTMS link in Clever
2. Create a unique username that does not contain any identifiable information
3. Create a password
4. Use https://edu.easybib.com/auth/login or the EasyBibEDU Login link in Clever to login to EasyBibEDU in the future

If you prefer to share a video with your students, I have created a two-minute screencast that walks through these steps. Teachers can still log in to EasyBib with Google.  I have the ability to reset student EasyBibEDU passwords if they forget a password.

For the next few weeks, I will be sharing some “tried and true” web tools.  Although some of you are already using these tools, they are worth sharing again–either as a reminder or as an introduction to those who are unfamiliar with the tool.  These tools are linked on the OTMS Instructional Technology Resources site.

Actively Learn allows you to annotate and assign texts to classes of students.  Students can create accounts with their Google login and join your classes with a class code.  After you import a text (as a Google Doc or PDF), you can insert questions, notes, or links anywhere within the text.  Students must answer questions inserted in the text before they can move ahead to the next section of text.   Additional resources are available in their blog, resources page, and help center.

NewsELA is a familiar tool to many of us that contains news and current event articles at a variety of reading levels.  Each article is rewritten in five reading levels, allowing the whole class to read the same article (at different levels) and participate in the same follow-up activities. NewsELA supports Google sign-in and integrates with Google Classroom.

The ISTE Student Standards were refreshed last year and the new Student Standards were  introduced over the summer.  The new standards reflect the suggestions made by students, teachers, and administrators as they anticipate future shifts in education and the role technology will play within instruction.  More details about the philosophy behind refreshing the standards are available in this article and the new standards are published on the ISTE website.

MobyMax is now fully operational (a few subjects weren’t working correctly).  MobyMax is now integrated with Clever, allowing students and teachers to access MobyMax without a separate login.

Diffen is a website I recently discovered that will support the strategy of comparing similarities and differences.  It is setup similar to a search engine, but requires two search terms.  Those two terms are then compared in a table.

Registration is still open for EdcampKC–there were still 21 available slots as of Friday morning.  It will take place Saturday, November 5 from 8am to 4pm at Truman High School.   https://edcampkc.wikispaces.com/