We’ve all been there: You’re creating something to use with students, and you copy and paste from another document. Next thing you know, you have a chunk of pasted text that is not only in a different size and font than your other text, but it also copied and pasted some weird background color! Or maybe you’re building slides and change the font in one text box, but still have more to go. The solution? The “paint format” button!
How it works: Highlight a word (or simply place your cursor in a word) that is formatted the way you want. Click on the paint roller icon in the Google Docs/Slides/Sheets toolbar. Now, highlight the text that you need to change to match, and, ta da!
A similar feature is available in many other programs, so keep your eye out for it! For example, it is also available in Canva and Microsoft Outlook (as a paintbrush).
Exciting news, educators! Canva has changed the way their educational plans work, and now it is super easy for any teacher to sign up for a FREE Canva account! An education account gets you access to all of the premium features, including my favorites, like premium elements and the life-saving “resize” option for your creations.
The education plan also provides opportunities to use Canva with students, allowing you to assign creations to students, accept them for feedback, and have students collaborate. Canva also integrates with Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Schoology, Canvas (the LMS closest to my heart), and more!
Canva for Education features:
Thousands of templates
Premium images, videos, and animations
Premium fonts
Ability to upload school logos & fonts
Ability to add Bitmojis and GIFs
Share assignments with students & have students turn them in (with or without an LMS)
Group activities with real-time collaboration
Roster students manually, or via a link, Clever, or Google Classroom
COPPA & FERPA compliant
100% free
If you haven’t used Canva yet, it allows you to create professional-looking designs with pre-made templates and simple drag-and-drop editing. Create flyers, posters, presentations, handouts, certificates, logos, and so much more. To get ideas for having students use Canva to demonstrate their learning, check out my FREE PDF resource, “25 Ideas for Using Canva to Make Learning Visible”. Additionally, learn how to use Canva by visiting “Canva How-to for Teachers & Students” [Coming Soon!]. Here you will find student-friendly how-to videos, as well as videos that walk teachers through assigning Canva creations to students with or without an LMS. Don’t forget to grab your copy of the “Canva Cheat Sheet for Students” to help scaffold your students’ use of this great tool!
A long-awaited feature previously only available with the Canvas app is now available for all users: Student Annotations! This feature allows teachers to create an assignment and have students annotate a teacher-selected file. Students can annotate PDFs, slideshows (e.g., PowerPoint), word processing files (e.g., Word), and images. Tip: To have students annotate a Google Slides or Docs file, download the file to your computer as a Microsoft Office file (e.g., PowerPoint, Word, etc.) or PDF.
Students can then mark up the file with the following tools:
highlighter
textbox
add a comment with flag
box a selection and add a comment
strikethrough
draw
Creating a student annotation assignment is simple!
Step 1: With the file you plan to have students annotate on your computer, create a new assignment in Canvas. Keep in mind that all files will appear as static images in Canvas. Meaning, if you choose to have students annotate a PowerPoint slideshow, the document will no longer be editable by students. Instead, the file will behave like a PDF, and each slide will show up as a different page.
Step 2: Under “Submission Type,” choose “Online” and then “Student Annotation.”
Step 3: Click “Upload File” and upload the PDF you want to have students annotate.
Step 4: Complete the other assignment details and setting options, such as title, instructions, due date, etc.
Step 5: Save & publish!
To see how your assignment looks in student view, click the “Student View” button in the top right corner of the assignment page and try it out!
Tomorrow I will be presenting my philosophy when it comes to making technology choices in the classroom. This presentation is a part of the 2020 Utah Coalition of Educational Technology (UCET) conference, where I have been honored to present for four years in a row!
Below is my presentation on just how we can approach technology choices to leverage learning instead of solely increasing engagement.
Are you a teacher worried about academic dishonesty on Canvas or about keeping parents happy? Or maybe a school or district administrator where Canvas is used? Save yourself some headaches! Here are six ways to efficiently address academic dishonesty and increase course transparency for happy parents, teachers, & administrators!
#1: Model Through a School Canvas Course (Administrators)
Model Canvas features & best practices for online pedagogy and hosting of online materials by creating a school Canvas course. This course can be used for:
Professional development materials
General school information & documents
Event calendaring
Submission of IPLC, committee, or team notes
Important teacher evaluation information
Technology-related “How To” materials
Etc.
Homepage of example staff development Canvas course.
Standardize homepage layout school-wide by providing teachers with a fill-in-the-blank template that can be shared through Canvas Commons or as a Canvas export package. Also standardize the course navigation menu to help parents and students know where they can expect to find different types of information.
Note: Canvas also offers full course templates which can be purchased, but a simple homepage template can be made and shared for free!
Example course homepage template with standardized course navigation menu.
#3: Parent Observers
Invite parents to observe published course content and their student’s submissions without being able to edit or make submissions.
https://youtu.be/zBl-ZQJHWMM
Video: Canvas Parent Observers
Note: Click here for updated options on exporting lists of pairing codes as a teacher.
#4: Quiz Log Auditing
Although designed to help teachers troubleshoot issues that students may have in a quiz, quiz logs show a teacher timestamps for when quizzes were accessed and when certain questions were answered, as well as quiz action statuses to indicate whether or not a student may have navigated away from the quiz page. While nothing a quiz log shows is definitive, it can be used to help a teacher start investigating a suspicion of academic dishonesty.
Quiz Log Auditing is an opt-in feature, and must be enabled under “Settings” > “Feature Options.” Quiz Log Auditing is currently available for original Quizzes.
https://youtu.be/iC-T89SLibM
Video: Canvas Quiz Log Auditing
#5: Plagiarism Checkers
Use a plagiarism checker in tandem with Canvas to either identify academic dishonesty or to help teach students about proper quotation and citation habits. There are several plagiarism checkers, such as Unicheck and Turnitin, that work with Canvas to identify instances of plagiarism when students copy content from the internet or other student work.
In the gradebook, these tools provide a quick, color-coded look at what percentage of a student’s submission is original (below).
from https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-13020-415295583
Plagiarism checkers, also referred to as originality checkers, can also provide in-depth reports on the originality of a student’s submission (below).
from https://www.turnitin.com/static/feedback-studio-demo/
#6: Student Access Report & Page View History
The student access report and page view history features in Canvas provide a close look into a student’s activity on Canvas. This information can be used to investigate claims of “But I swear I turned it in!” or even “The assignment wouldn’t load.” These reports include timestamps, information on browsers used, number of times a student participated, and page view statistics.
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Today I got was lucky enough to be a presenter at the 2020 Utah Coalition for Educational Technology (UCET) conference, where I again got to discuss how educators can use Flipgrid to make learning visible. Unlike the last time I had the pleasure of sharing these ideas with teachers, I modified my presentation for more than just teaching English language arts!
You can see my presentation below. Navigate to other related resources on this site using the following links:
Whenever a new educational technology tool became the topic of conversation online or in my district, I would push aside the 170+ essays I had to grade in the measly 60 minute prep period I had and play around with the new tool until the bell brought me back to reality. So when my district adopted the learning management system (LMS) Canvas, I jumped in head first. I posted my daily class schedules with available materials so that I wouldn’t have to deal with “What did I miss when I was absent?” I assigned essays through Canvas so I wouldn’t have to take home stacks of papers and so I could use voice dictation on my Mac to leave comments. Do you see what I did there? I did it for me.
Now, most the time when I adopted educational technology, I did it because it enhanced my abilities to implement a teaching best practice and made learning more visible. And this is how I approach being an educational technology specialist: Learning first. Everything starts with content standards and pedagogical moves. There’s just been one exception, and that’s Canvas. I’ve been promoting Canvas as a way for teachers to address some of their needs and pet peeves. Hate that “What did I miss?” question? Then focus on the calendar and posting your materials. Can’t stand students claiming that you lost their work? Start assigning through Canvas. You get the idea.
Recently, I started my ISTE Certification and had to do some work surrounding universal design for learning (UDL). UDL is “a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn” (www.cast.org). Instead of making accommodations for some students, it’s about implementing the principles of UDL so that learning is accessible to all students. For an example outside of the realm of education, ramps alongside stairs accommodate wheelchairs, but they also provide access for people pushing strollers, people with bad knees or uncertain balance, people carrying heavy loads, etc. They benefit anyone who might need them. More specifically, the UDL principles, as outlined by CAST, are:
Engagement: Stimulate interest and motivation.
Representation: Present knowledge and content in different ways.
Action & Expression: Provide differentiation in the way students can demonstrate their understanding.
This is where my “Aha!” moment came in. We shouldn’t be adopting an LMS to meet teachers’ needs. This provides an easy excuse to not use an LMS because it is a lot of up-front work. We should be adopting an LMS because of how it makes access to content more equitable. By hosting content and assignments online, it is easier to provide a wider variety of content resources (e.g., videos, articles, educational games, etc.) that have accommodations built in (e.g., closed captioning and subtitles, text-to-speech extensions, etc.). It is easier to provide choice in product (e.g., an essay, Adobe Spark video, Canva infographic, Google Slides presentation, etc.). And it is easier to stimulate interest and motivation by linking to authentic resources, providing a more authentic platform for communication, and promoting student collaboration in a safe environment.
In short, there is nothing wrong with adopting an LMS that improves your workflow as a teacher (so long as it doesn’t hinder learning). But it is even better practice to adopt an LMS because of how naturally they support universal design for learning and therefore make student access to learning more equitable.
The writing process is a staple in most elementary and English language arts classrooms. A crucial component of the process is revision, revision, revision. But how hard is it to get students to return to their writing once they’ve submitting their first draft? Too many of them have the “one and done” mentality and either don’t return to it, or they pretend to submit a revised version. Ugh. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to comb through versions of a student essay submission to see what, if any, changes were made, because the resubmission sounds remarkably similar to what I remember in the first submission.
Now we have Google Docs to save the day! As you read about three features to help you hold students accountable for the writing process in your classroom, keep in mind that you need to have editing permissions on a document to use them.
Renaming Versions
One of the sanity-saving features of Google Docs is how frequently is auto-saves your work. You can find previous versions of a document under “File,” or you can click on the “All changes saved in drive”/”Last edit was made…” alongside the menu. But did you know you can rename up to forty versions of your document?
This means that you can have students name their drafts! Once a student feels (s)he has completed the first draft of an essay, for example, (s)he can navigate to the Version History and name the version “First Draft.” Similarly, after the same student returns to the document to make revisions based on peer or teacher feedback, for example, (s)he can rename it “Second Draft.” And so on. This makes it easy as a teacher to see and navigate the various versions of a student’s work to see that (s)he has been engaging in the writing process.
This also provides a great opportunity for reflection, as students can see the progression of their writing from the first draft to the final draft all in one place!
To rename a version in Version History, go to File > Version History > Name Current Version. To retroactively name a version, view the Version History > click the 3 dots next to the desired version > Select “Name this version.” Both ways are demonstrated in the GIF below.
Naming the current version & previous version of a document
“See New Changes” Button
Google Docs now has the “See new changes” button on shared documents. If you view a document, close it, then return to it later, a blue “See new changes” button will appear alongside the menu if changes have been made while you were away. Now what does this mean for the writing process?
“See new changes” button
Once you’ve viewed a student’s first draft, you can revisit that draft after revisions should have taken place. If there is no “See new changes” button, you know that no revisions have been made since first draft! Similarly, if only small changes have been made, clicking the “See new changes” button will show you what has been edited since the last time you viewed the document. No more guessing or searching the Version History to see what changes were made and when!
If you have a student who struggles to stay on task and engage in the writing process, you can have him or her share their Google Doc with you. At the end of each day, visit their Google Doc to look for the “See new changes” button, and you can either praise the student for being on task that day, or have a conversation about staying on task.
Comparing Documents
As of June 2019, you can now compare documents in Google Docs (available only for business and education accounts, e.g., G Suite for Education). This is a great option if you have students submit essay revisions as separate documents (although why would you now that you know you can rename versions?), or if you have two students submit what sound like surprisingly similar essays but don’t have access to an originality checker.
First, in the initial document you’d like to compare, go to Tools > Compare Documents. Then, select the document to which you’d like to compare the first. Google Docs will open a third document and show the differences as suggested edits in a particular color. Think of it this way: Color = originality. If you don’t see any suggested edits, then you have a 100% match! Even if portions of the content match between two student papers, you’ll be able to tell, because suggested edits won’t appear for those portions of text.
Our students are surrounded by aesthetic, visually stimulating content every day, and we also want to model how to be thoughtful creators of content. If you’ve ever read about the principles of design, you also know the importance of creating a visual hierarchy for influencing the way a slide is read by your audience. But what educator can afford to spend much time making their presentation slides…pretty?
Fear not! There are four free tools that can help make the creation of beautiful, professional-quality slides a cinch:
GIPHY stickers are an easy way to add movement to a slide to draw students’ attention to the slide at hand. Search for what you’d like at giphy.com/stickers. Save the GIF you’d like to include on your slide (on a Mac, right click and “Save Image As”), then drag & drop it onto a Google Slides presentation!
GIPHY Sticker by Trap Bob
Google Slides Explore Tool
If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent way too much time in your career choosing themes and repositioning your images and text for maximum effect. Give yourself a break with the Explore Tool in Google Slides!
After adding text and an image to your slide, click on the Explore icon (bottom right corner) to choose from a variety of recommended layouts. Google Slides will come up with different options depending on your text (e.g., titles, subtitles, etc.), your image, and the size of your image. Just click on the one you’d like to apply to your presentation!
Google Slides Explore Tool in action!
SlidesCarnival
SlidesCarnival offers a seemingly endless collection of FREE Google Slides themes/PowerPoint templates. Browse their gallery, or filter your search by color and categories (e.g., formal, playful, etc.).
Once you find a template you like, click on it, then scroll down and choose to either download it as a PowerPoint template or click to open it as an editable Google Slides theme!
Use SlidesCarnival to find engaging Google Slides themes.
For those of you who are Canva users, SlidesCarnival also has Canva presentation templates available.
Flat Icon
Flat design is a very popular, simple style that uses two dimensional elements. Add flat visual elements to your presentations for free at flaticon.com. Think of flat icons like a more contemporary alternative to clipart!
Search for the image you’d like, then download as a PNG in the size you need. PNGs will maintain the transparent background, and I always opt for the larger size and then shrink it down on my slide if needed.
If you register for a free account, you can also use Flaticon’s editing tool to change the color of monocolor icons. The free account (whether you register or not) also allows you access to thousands of icons, as long as you credit the icon creator. A paid account will allow you access to all icons without needing to credit the icon creator.
There is even a Flaticon Chrome extension so that you can add flat icons to your Google Slides, Docs, Forms, and Sheets without even leaving the page!
Download a FREE flat icon to add to your presentation (just credit the author!)
What other great FREE tools do you use to make visually aesthetic presentations in a snap? Share in the comments below!
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Tomorrow I have the pleasure of presenting to Utah English teachers at the 2019 conference for the Utah Council of Teachers of English (UCTE)! We are going to discuss how educators can use Flipgrid to make learning visible.
You can see my presentation below. Navigate to other related resources on this site using the following links:
Kids can be sneaky. If students spent half the time they do pulling odd tricks with their Chromebooks…they’d have lots of time for actual learning!
Do you use Chromebooks with students? If so, here are a few must-know hacks for beating them at their own game (or at least keeping disruption to a minimum).
When you see Chromebook mischief taking place, simply step in, fix the issue with a quick keyboard shortcut, and walk away without a word. Mic drop. You’ll solve the issue and look like a Chromebook wizard. And let me tell you, students don’t find Chromebook mischief as fun if their teacher knows how to use them…
Shortcuts to Catch Cheating/Off-Task Behavior
Find “hidden” windows: Think a kiddo is hiding an open window when you come around? Type Alt + tab to see them all.
Reopen the last tab or window closed: Spot a student quickly closing a tab or window as you get near? Type Shift + Ctrl + t to reopen it.
Navigate to the previous page in the browsing history: Alt + Left arrow.
Shortcuts to Fix Chromebook Mischief
“Un-rotate” a rotated screen: Rotate the screen 90 degrees by typing Ctrl + Shift + Refresh/F3.
Fix a black screen: First step is to make sure the student didn’t just turn the brightness all the way down.
Zoom out: Reset the zoom on the Chromebook by typing Ctrl + 0.
Remove the circle around the cursor, extra large cursor, or pop-up keyboard: Click on the clock (bottom right corner) & choose “Accessibility.” Make sure nothing on this menu is checked. If you don’t see the accessibility menu, then there probably isn’t an accessibility feature enabled.
Turn off “high contrast mode”: If everything on the screen looks like neon colors on a black background, type Search + Ctrl + h.
Have any other Chromebook shortcuts that are particularly helpful in the classroom? Comment below!
As a middle school English teacher, I found myself getting stuck in the read-answer questions-review answers cycle. If I was bored, what were my poor students feeling? A great alternative to this predictable lesson sequence comes in the form of game-based learning, during which student learning occurs through the playing of games. In other words, it is the game that is the learning activity and “by playing the game, students reach the instructional objectives” (Blass & Tolnai, 2019)*.
It happened. An epiphany. A flipiphany if you will. This idea came to me as I was preparing teachers for their Google Certified Educator (Level 1) exam. I wanted them to share a problem they faced as a teacher for which they hoped to find a Google-y solution in our class, and 27 heads are better than one, so I thought Flipgrid would be the best platform for sharing. However, just before we were going to get started, I looked at the clock and the dragon of an age-old teacher fear reared its ugly head: We were running out of time. I wasn’t about to forgo the activity, as it was a chance to be sneaky and introduce them to a potentially new tech tool.
I bought my daughter’s Halloween costume two months ago. Two months early. That’s a record for me, considering I’m normally throwing up decorations only hours before the first trick-or-treaters arrive on my doorstep. She’s been wearing this costume off and on all month. To the zoo, to Grandma’s house, to school, and now out trick-or-treating. And you know what? No matter how many times I’ve seen the costume, there are still handfuls of people who melt over my daughter’s gleeful “neighing” because the costume is new to them (although, I won’t lie, I still giggle every time I see her butt wiggle as she gallops away from me).
What does it mean to “upgrade instruction”? When you upgrade software, you are uninstalling a previous version and replacing it with a new and improved version (Well, hopefully. Anyone remember Windows Vista?). What’s interesting is that this isn’t how I promote technology in education. I believe in making small, manageable changes that are sustainable for the busy teacher. It’s about getting kids typing, preparing them for a future workplace, instead of them handwriting their essays. It’s about saving files online to help those students with the black holes for backpacks who lack executive functioning skills. Heck, it’s about not carrying home so much to grade that you need a small carry-on to get from Point A to Point B. Work smarter, not harder. Prepare them for 21st century communication. Engage them.
