Week 8: Exploring Formative Assessment Apps

Week 8: Exploring Formative Assessment Apps

Using Common Sense to Narrow the App Choices

I decided to look at the Common Sense website reviews to search for formative assessments apps that would be beneficial to use with my students. I set the timer and set out to find the apps that I thought would work best for my preschool class. There were several things I was looking for in apps during this search:

1. Preschool/Kindergarten apps
2. Content: What is offered besides the assessment tool?
3. Teacher & Commonsense ratings
4. Does it have a Free option?

During this timed search I was looking for these 4 criterion and was able to narrow down to 2 options, Sesame and Freckle. Sesame was at the top of my list because it specified it is for Preschool in addition to upper grades, it contains a portfolio and a parent communication component, the ratings looked fairly good and it has a free option. 

Sesame

Website

I was excited to explore Sesame because it advertised as an app for preschool students as well as upper grades. This was the only one I saw that said it was intended for preschool use so I was interested to see how it all worked. I was also interested to find out if the portfolio and parent communication options would be an easy way to share student work and successes with family and if it would double as another communication option for parents. 

When I first found the website I saw a little banner at the top of the page that read......

Sesame is shutting down on June 30, 2020. Click to learn more.

So, I clicked on it to read the Dear Jane/John letter that they are shutting down because it is "no longer a sustainable business." 😩

Sesame shutting down

Needless to say, my research into Sesame ended just like that!

So, my attention focused on my #2 Freckle.

Freckle

Website

The Freckle website is easy to find and navigate once there. It is easy and quick to sign up with a Google or Facebook account. Overall the website is easy to navigate and has site contents neatly located on the left side of the screen. I like the layout of the website and that the Help Center is set apart from the rest of the topics (bottom left).  

Freckle

Help Center

The Help Center has FAQs and an option to Submit a Support Ticket. There are many topics in the Help Center including Getting Started Guide, General, Signup & Login, Teacher Dashboard, Student Dashboard just to name a few. It appears that the Help Center is inclusive of many topics that would be important in getting started and to maintain the app as a classroom resource. 

Help Center

Getting Started Guide

The Getting Started Guide is located within the Help Center of the Freckle website. It has numerous articles on signing up, how to get students started and how to use Freckle for different grade levels, K-2, 3-5, 6-12.  In the Getting Started Guide is has more support information linked to their education blog. 

Video Overview & Tutorials

Within the Help Center and Getting Started articles, there some videos and tutorials available for certain topics. I did a YouTube video search for Freckle tutorials and came up with many options such as the following:

My Freckle Rating

My overall rating for Freckle is 3 stars. 

My criteria for rating: 

• PreK friendly                                                                                   ✖
• Easy to navigate                                                                             ✅
• Help and guidance available                                                          ✅
• Assessments are editable or easy to create for differentiation       ✖
• Free option available                                                                      ✅                                                                                         

I think Freckle would be an easy way to provide formative assessment tasks for young learners, K-2. One of my criteria for choosing an assessment app was that it needed to be manageable on a preschool level or at least adaptable for preschool use. Although it is recommended for K-12 usage, it appears that it may be adaptable for some preschool students but not for all for formative assessment tasks. 

In the Video & Tutorial section above, the first video describes some of the pros and cons of Freckle. In this video it is discussed that teachers cannot include specific questions based on student/teacher data needs. For this reason I do not think it would be an assessment tool that could be used for all of my students since they are on many different levels. I could, however  possibly use the app for those students who are on the higher end of the spectrum. For me though, it is important to work with an app that could be adaptable for all of my preschool students, and, easy for me to differentiate assessments based on their needs and levels.

One of the features I really like is the "view student app" feature, this provided me with a general idea of what students would see and how it would work for them. Freckle seems to be easy to navigate and has many options for getting started and help when needed. I like that there are various videos on YouTube for tutorials of the app and working with specific components of the app. 

I played around a bit with Freckle and signed up a student and assigned a pre-assessment on the Kindergarten level. I found that it is more advanced than I thought and I am not sure if even my more advanced students would be able to access it without extensive guidance/prompting. But, I do think for Kindergarten and higher grades this would be a great tool to use with students....it is colorful, engaging, easy to navigate with picture and word prompts. 

Week 7: Formative Assessment with Google Forms

Formative Assessment with Google Forms

A look at Formative Assessment

Formative Assessments are assessments that occur during the learning process. I like to think of formative assessments as a "check in" to see how students are doing with the material or concept. Formative assessments do not need to be full length quizzes, instead they can be fun interactive ways for students to show their knowledge. It is a way for teachers to assess their own teaching strategies as well. It is a great way to see where student learning is taking place, and where more attention is needed. Formative assessments should occur on a daily basis as a way to assess progress before the more high stake summative assessments take place. 

The formative assessment process is beneficial to teachers and students in a variety of ways. These quick check ins allow teachers to informally assess whether or not students are understanding concepts. If they are not, teachers can go back and reteach the material or find ways to differentiate their instruction for students who need extra help. This type of check in process can help teachers see which students are ready to move on and which students need additional instruction. Formative assessments also help students assess themselves to see if they are understanding the material and concepts. Students can ask for more help if needed, or feel confident in knowing they are on the right track.  Teachers can guide students in self-assessment practices through providing formative assessment opportunities.

Creating Formative Assessments with Google Forms

Although I have had many occasions where I have filled out a Google Form, I have not had the opportunity to create my own Google Form. This assignment was a great way to explore ways to create formative assessments with Google Forms. I found Google Forms easy to navigate and was able to create a very basic Exit Ticket using the template found within the tool. I wanted to create a formative assessment for the e-course I am working on for early childhood teacher professional development so that is where I started. I created an Exit Ticket that I can insert into the e-course at the end of each section to gain an understanding of how teachers are doing with the material. I used one of the assessment strategies found in the resource 10 Innovative Formative Assessment Examples for Teachers to Know, 3-2-1 Countdown to create the exit ticket. 

Here are the steps I took to create the basic Exit Ticket:

• Once in Forms, I clicked on "Exit Ticket" under create new form
• This gave me a basic form to build my own exit ticket from
• I started at the top and changed the theme of the exit ticket first by clicking on the top right paint palette; here I could change the picture at the top--click on image upload and choose the image; once the image changed it gave suggestions for complimentary colors to choose for the border and background colors.
• From there I clicked on each section to change the wording and questions asked.
• I clicked on and changed the Title and description box to better suit my needs for the e-course
• I chose to keep the name and email section the same and made sure I put the "required" setting on--located on the bottom right of each section. When "on" it requires learners to answer the question before it can be submitted
• I changed the first question to:  "List 3 things you learned today" and set it to required; Forms has many options for ways questions can be answered I chose "Paragraph" for this one by clicking on the upper right drop box
• I clicked on the next section and changed it to "List 2 things you want to know more about" and set it to required and answer in "paragraph"
• I clicked on the last section and changed it to "List 1 thing you will start doing in response to what you have learned" and set it to required and answer in "paragraph"

Overall, the Google Forms process was easy to follow and create. I liked the way that templates were already there to build upon since I have not created one previously. I can see where Forms would be an easy way to provide formative assessment tasks to students that would not take up a lot of class time. Learners will be able to provide feedback to teachers quickly and easily by using Forms. Teachers can then use the feedback to prepare, change or alter instructional strategies and activities to suit the needs of students.

I would like to explore more with Google Forms to create a survey for the program evaluation I am working on for another class. I think Forms would be an easy way to get a survey out to many people and easy for them to fill out quickly. I am looking forward to exploring more with Google Forms for this purpose.

e-Course Formative Assessment

Week 6: Exploring Adobe Spark Videos

Exploring Adobe Spark Videos

My Experiences Working with Adobe Spark

I enjoyed switching gears this week and working with Adobe Spark. I wanted to take a break from the usual education projects I have been working on and wanted to focus on something for myself instead. I chose to create a video with Adobe Spark using some quotes that I see daily at my school and have provided some inspiration for me, especially on those days when I ask myself "why am I here?" 😱

Last year my school focused on building an environment of community and lifting others up. So, in response to this challenge the staff decided to paint murals and quotes all around the school as a way to encourage and lift up our students, as well as ourselves! As I walk down the hallways I am constantly seeing these uplifting quotes and images so I wanted to collect some of my favorite quotes and create a way I can see them anywhere instead of only at school. I figured putting them into a video with some calming and relaxing images would fit the bill.  That is why Everyday Inspiration was created.

Creating Everyday Inspiration

Before creating the video for this assignment, I explored with Adobe Spark for a bit, played around with images and sound before actually starting on my creation. I wanted to initially use my desk top to create the video because I figured it would be easier to save and then embed into this blog. However, when I was playing around with sound in the video, I realized that my microphone on the desk top was not working so I had to go to Plan B.....the iPad. 

I downloaded the Adobe Spark app onto my iPad and started to explore again with the video. I was pleasantly surprised when I began the creation, the iPad app was user friendly and worked similar to the desk top version. I really did not run into any issues as I created the video, overall I think the process was pretty straightforward. It helped to explore the app before trying to create the video to get familiar with the options. 

Here are the details of how I created the video on Adobe Spark: 

1.  I started by choosing what kind of video I wanted to create--by choosing the story template

• There are several story templates to choose from
• Creating your own story template is also an option

For this project I decided to use one of the story templates--Promote an Idea

2.  Next I started to create my inspiration video

• I started by locating the video options on the top right of the screen
• There are many options for Layouts, themes, sizing, and music
• Here are the options I chose to begin creating my video--I chose these before I began putting in pictures, text or slide sound:
• Layout:  Caption--this puts the image as full screen and has text as the caption over the image
• Theme:  Tidal--the theme changes the font of the text and how the slides and text appear on the screen
• Resize: Widescreen--the options here are widescreen and square
• Music: Sunlit Valley--there are numerous music choices here, they are grouped into categories; there are also options for choosing from iTunes or from a file

3. Now it was time to start choosing the quotes and images I wanted to use. I remembered parts of the quotes I wanted to use but could not remember the authors so I conducted a google search for positive, uplifting quotes and found the ones I wanted to include in the video. Then I started searching for the images I wanted to use that are inspirational, relaxing and calming. Here is information on how I selected the images I wanted:

• First, I clicked on the first/top plus sign, clicked on photo to add the images to each slide
• There are many options for choosing images to add to Spark: Access your own photos on the device; find free photos from Adobe Spark; take a picture; and syncing to various apps to collect images--Facebook, Google drive, Dropbox, light room, etc.

• I chose to Find Free Photos on Adobe Spark
• I entered in phrases such as waterfall, path at beach, dreams that would provide me with images that would match the quotes I chose
• I ended up selecting 3 images to go with the 3 quotes I chose and an image for the title slide
• Once I found the image I wanted I clicked on the image and it automatically appeared on the slide
• I went to each slide and added the photos I wanted using the steps above

4. After adding the images I needed to add the quotes to the slides, here is how I did that:

• After adding the images, there is only one plus sign left on the slide, this is for the text of the slide
• Click on the plus sign and a text box appears so you can enter in the text for the slide
• I added text on each slide with the quote I chose for each image; the first slide is the title slide and has the title Everyday Inspiration; I added quotes on the other slides 

5.  Once I created the slides I wanted I went back and deleted the slides I did not use, leaving the last two slides for credits

6. After I had the images and quotes ready on each slide it was time to add the voice over for each slide; I simply said the quotes for each slide:

• Press and hold the red microphone button under the slide 
• Read the text on the slide or add any instructions, explanations, etc that you want
• Let go of the button when finished
• Move to the next slide and follow the same steps

7. I then went to the credits slide and added a credit for the websites I located the quotes from; the images I used in the video were already in the credits

8.  Once I thought I had the slides complete I hit play to see how it looked; Something that surprised, and I had forgotten I chose was the music. Even though I had spoken on each slide, the music kept playing throughout the video. I think this added a great effect to the finished project. 

9.  Once I was pleased with the video, I hit the share button on the top right, there were several sharing options:

• Save to Camera Roll
• Post to Facebook
• Post to Twitter
• Send an email
• Send a message
• Copy link to clipboard

I copied the link the clipboard and then tried sending it to one of my own email addresses. After several unsuccessful attempts of sending an email I decided to save it to my camera roll. From the camera roll I could then access it and send it by email. After I sent it to my email, I downloaded it to the desk top and saved a copy to my documents. From there I was able to access the file when I clicked on Insert a Video on blogger and added it here to my blog. The finished video is below👇

How I will use Adobe Spark

I liked the ease of using Adobe Spark, I think it is a straightforward and simple way to begin creating videos. I really liked the selection of images that are free to use as well as the music choices. The options they have to select images, music, etc. from other sources will be useful to complete a variety of creations. 

I would like to incorporate the use of Adobe Spark in my classroom by using it to create review videos, picture stories of our classroom activities, and end of the year slideshows for parents. Adobe Spark will be a great resource to use to create short videos of special projects we do in class that I can share with parents. Spark will be useful in creating documentation of student work and as a means to review concepts. Using Spark as a means of introducing concepts will be a creative way to grab student attention. I would also like to explore using Spark as a way for students to be creative in their own work by creating their own story videos, classroom story video, and concept videos. I may explore the use of Spark in creating a video of the Friend book we completed a few weeks ago in class. It would be great to show their work in video form--and to let them talk on the video to explain their own pictures. 

Overall I enjoyed working with Adobe Spark and plan to continue to explore the possibilities it holds for my classroom.

Week 5: Google Slides and Beyond Again

Google Slides and Beyond Again

Revisiting Project #1

Last week in my blog post I talked about the My Friends book I was helping my students make in class. We were able to finish that up last week and I was able to finish up the tech side of the book. To finish this project up there were two more steps I had to complete:

1. Change the Page Setup: I changed the dimensions of the pages of the book to better resemble a notebook size book. My intention is to print out the pages, laminate them and insert them into a 3-ring binder for added protection, then display the book in the classroom library for the class to view. 

2. After changing the dimensions of the pages it was time to create the PDF: I took these steps when creating the PDF version of the book:

• File
• Download as...
• PDF Document

That completed the eBook and it is now ready to view and/or print out for the classroom. I plan to have it available for parents to view as a hard copy and digital copy on the Smart Board during parent/teacher conferences in March.

Our Friend Book 

Revisiting Slides Again:  Professional Development E-Course

This week I wanted to try my hand at creating an e-Course for professional development purposes. I have a connection to a local early learning center and the director has asked me to conduct a training on discipline strategies. I am currently taking a 10 session course on this subject and wanted to begin creating a document that could be used by me (to teach) or by the staff at the center for professional development. I thought creating an e-course would be beneficial for me to use as a guide and then to share with others who would like to learn about discipline strategies. 

As I started my adventure in e-course creating, I wanted to make this first experience as painless as possible. I began with the link in 30 Interactive Google Slides Activities for the e-course templates. This template activity gave some tips on creating the e-course and how to link slides together within the slides presentation. Basically, before I could think about linking slides and the presentation of the e-course I needed to get the slide presentation completed and the material onto the slides. 

e-Course Basics

I thought it would be easier to download a theme for the slides presentation instead of creating one from scratch. I remembered seeing a slides theme link in our course material so I investigated that for a child-related theme to use. I perused the SlidesCarnival site for a child theme for my e-course. There were many options to choose from, but, I wanted a child theme that was not really "professional" looking, something that would be preschool related but not too babyish either. I was disappointed that I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but then settled on a "pets" theme mostly because when I downloaded it to slides, I really liked the slide options it had. 

Before beginning the e-course, I knew it would be a learning process for me and I knew I would not have a completed course this week. With that in mind, I set a goal for myself to build the basic layout of the course and complete the slides for Module 1. This way I could see what would work, what I could add in later modules, how I want the course to look, etc. without being totally overwhelmed.

Here are the basic steps I took to create the e-course Module 1:

1. Download the selected theme: "Crabs" theme from SlidesCarnival
2. Created the Introduction/Title page slide
3. Created the Module Intro page slide where all the modules are linked to: Only Module 1 is linked right now
4. Created each slide for Module 1 with information and material I want to present
5. Linked the end of Module 1 with the Module Intro page, this way Module 2 can easily be accessed when it is available

Within the e-course I wanted to utilize some different tools and make it interactive and easy to navigate. Here are some of the tools I have built into the e-course so far:

• Links to slides within the presentation 
• Audio links from YouTube 
• Video links from YouTube
• Visuals to represent big ideas and course themes
• Visually pleasing layouts and formats
• Review slides
• Self-assessment slides
• Reflection slides

Directions for linking slides within presentations:

• Create a rectangle shape that is the same size as the slide
• Use the paint bucket icon and change the color to transparent
• Click on Insert > Link  click on slides in this presentation and click on the slide you want to link it to (for me I wanted to link slide 35 to slide 2
• Right click then choose Order > Send to Back, this sends it to the background 

I attempted to create a few slides that would be interactive, however, I was not successful and will need to revisit this at a later time. On slide 11, I wanted to create a locked background drop/drag slide similar to what I did last week with the rhyming words drop and drag. This time, however, it was not successful. I was able to create it like I did last week and it works in edit mode but not in the present mode. This is something I will consider revisiting and possibly changing. I am wondering if I can make a drag and drop activity within slides or if I will need to create one and then link it onto the e-course slide?  

e-Course Ideas to Consider

As I work on this e-course there are several things I want to consider adding to the slides:

• Adding Assessments or Assessment links at the end of each module. Right now there are Reflection Slides that participants can consider and reflect on, but I would like to investigate an assessment tool that could be added after that or added as a link for participants to gauge their understanding of the concepts.
• Creating memory games to practice big ideas and concepts that are important 
• Downloading or creating Interactive Notebook tools within the slide presentation that will work in present mode.
• Adding additional video/audio clips to highlight and enrich concept development and learning.
• Adding interactive activities where learners can match concepts, definitions, etc. or can participate in games/activities that will reinforce what they are learning.

e-Course Reflection

 Overall I am pleased with the creation of the e-course so far. As I have said, I really want to investigate other tools that can be used to make this course interactive and easy to navigate for learners. I am glad I chose to download the theme, I think this saved a lot of time that otherwise would have been wasted on creating the theme. I was able to focus more on the content I wanted to present and how I wanted to present it. I am excited to continue working on this project and then utilizing it as an actual training tool. I am simply amazed when I think about how I am actually creating something that can be used to help others in the field learn! A year ago I would never have guessed this would have been possible!

My e-Course Creation

Week 4: Google Slides and Beyond...

Google Slides and Beyond...

Reflecting on Google Slides

Last week I really wanted to challenge myself with using Google Slides in a different way and utilizing more of the tools it has to offer. This week I wanted to take a step further and challenge myself to create an activity for my students that I can use in the classroom. 

As I explored the site links this week, I saw many ideas that I would love to utilize with my preschool students. I particularly liked several ideas in 30 Interactive Google Slides for Classroom Excitement. The ones that most interested me included creating a PDF e-book with my students, creating concept memory games, and using the game show formats to create fun concept driven activities. I also really liked the idea of drag and drop activities to create theme based learning concept activities. There were other activities that I would like to explore for professional development such as creating game show activities, creating online courses and creating PDF e-books. 

As I explored the site and wrote down the ideas that spoke to me, I realized that my interests far outweighed the time I had to create an activity for this week. So, I gathered the ideas I liked best and thought about which ones would be feasible to complete or get a good start on this week. I was able to narrow down the options to a few I wanted to do in the classroom that would aide my instructional activities for the next few weeks where I could involve my students. 

Project #1 -- PDF e-book

I have been teaching my students this year about books, parts of the book, that the author writes the words of the story and the illustrator draws the pictures, so I really wanted to give them an experience of writing their own book. This led me to the idea of creating a classroom PDF e-book with my students. This week was a great week to start it with our theme being Valentines and what Valentine's Day is all about--showing your friends, family, etc. that you care for them. We talked a lot this week about how to be nice to friends, how to show parents you care for them, etc. It was fitting, then, that we draw pictures of our friends, things we like to do with our friends, why we like our friends and create our very own classroom friend book. It was a simple way to get the book writing process flowing with my preschoolers. 

To get things started I first asked my students to draw pictures and/or write about why they like about their school friends. I explained to them they would help me create an e-book, a book we can look at on the computer, with their pictures and dictation. Last week most of my students were able to draw a picture for their friends for our "friend book," and then told us why they like their friends. With the help of my assistants we dictated why each child likes their friends and then set off to actually start creating the book. My assistants took pictures of each child's artwork to use in the book and emailed the pictures to me, I downloaded them to my school computer and we began to create. We sat down at the Smart Board as a group and I explained that we would use Google Slides to create our book together. I showed them examples of things I have that are in Google Slides and talked about how we could use different colors and shapes in our book. After the pictures had downloaded to the computer, I showed the class how to find the pictures and then Insert them onto a slide in Google Slides as a Background by doing this:

1. Click on Slides tab

2. Click on Change Background

3. Click on Choose Image

4. Select image

5. Done

I figured that inserting the pictures of artwork as a background would be the simplest way to show my preschoolers how to do it, this way, I did not have to spend a lot of time sizing the image to fit the slide. Then I clicked on the text box for each slide and began each page with the same beginning "I like my friends because," then left it open for each child to say why they like their friends. I showed them then how to change the background color of the text box by using the paint pot icon and let them choose what color they wanted to use for their page of the book. 

There were several children out due to illness and some that had to leave early the days we worked on the book so the whole book is not complete yet, but, we will continue working on the book next week when the other children can contribute. After it is complete I will show the class how we can then turn it into an e-book:

1. Click File

2. Click Download as..

3. Click PDF document

4. It will be saved to the classroom computer!

Even though it is not fully finished I have a link below for the Google Slide of our creation in progress!

Our Friend Book

Project #2 -- Drop and Drag PreK Rhyming Words Activity

Along with learning about books, my preschoolers have been working hard on learning rhyming words. I have several ways in which I teach and let my students practice rhyming words including you tube videos, rhyming houses, rhyming dice, etc. But lately I have been wanting to have an actual activity that my students can do on the Smart Board where they can practice rhyming words. But, I really wanted something that I could pull up and then let them actually do themselves without needing teacher assistance. 

Needless to say when I saw the drag and drop activity on 30 Interactive Google Slides for Classroom Excitement and the link for How to Create Drag and Drop Activities for Google Slides I was super excited!! This is exactly what I have been wanting to have for my students. I have to admit that I was nervous to think that I could create something like this myself. After I viewed the You Tube video by Kasey Bell I was shocked and amazed at how simple it looked. Okay so she did use a very simple example without a lot of bells and whistles, but for my class, I do not need a lot of bells and whistles, they would be happy with anything that allows them to manipulate and use the Smart Board on their own. And so it began.

Challenge accepted! This was super simple and easy to create, okay, I used the step by step process You Tube video but still I was really impressed with what I created for my students. Here are the steps I used to create this fun rhyming word activity:

1. Start with clearing out the format of the Google Slide: Right click on slide; Apply layout;    Click on the BLANK one

2. Choose the Background; Click on the Background tab and choose colors, shapes, etc, 
I just chose a green background for the slide

3. I then chose the shapes I wanted to use to create the actual activity. I wanted to keep it    simple but have it colorful and have 3 distinct spaces: 1 for the rhyme pictures (top); 
1 for rhyming words with "dog;" and 1 with rhyming words with "bee"

• Top-- I used a rounded corner square and extended it into a rectangle for the student's name and the rhyme pictures to live; I used the paint pot icon to choose the fill color for this box and used the icons for border thickness and color to make the box stand out
• Bottom left--again I used a rounded corner square and used half the bottom space and chose the fill color I wanted. 
• Bottom right-- I used rounded square for the other bottom half and chose the fill color and the border and color icons to define the boxes so they are easy to use    

4. Next I conducted an image search within slides to find the images I wanted to use for the two rhyming boxes on the bottom (these will not move) and the images that rhyme with        them for the top box:

• Click on the INSERT tab
• Hover on image
• Click on "search the web"
• First I wanted to find an image of a dog and bee because those are the words that students will be finding rhyming pictures for: clicked those, sized them then put them where I want them to live on the slide

5. Now that I have created the basic format for the activity and have what I need for the        background I want to download it as a PNG image;This is where the magic happened          for me! I loved learning how to do this, it will save a lot of time and energy in the future          when I want to use this basic format again for a different activity! 

• Click on File
• Click on Download as
• Click on PNG image I then saved it under a name I would remember so I can go back to it as I want to

6. So now I have a downloaded png image of the background I want to use for the activity.    These images and boxes will not move now! They will stay in place so students will not        have to worry about accidentally moving them when they do the activity. Now, I open            up a new slide presentation (slides.new) and upload that png image file to the new              slide presentation

7. Now I am ready to do another image search to look for pictures I want to add for the drag  and drop portion of the activity. Again I do a search within slides and choose the images I      want that rhyme with dog and bee, I did add a couple images that do not rhyme with              these for an extra level of challenge for my students.

8. Before introducing the activity to my students I make a copy of it and label it as a 
 template so I can go back and use it for different activities in the future

9. Now it is ready to present to my students!

I had a lot of fun creating this project and it was simple and easy to do. I will definitely use this process to create more activities for my classroom. 

*I tried my hand at embedding the Google Slide, check out the bottom of the post*

Projects To Be -- Other Ideas I Will Explore Later

As I was exploring the activities that can be utilized with Google Slides I came up with many other ideas I want to eventually work on. Below are the projects that have peaked my interest and I want to delve into in the near future:

1. Game Shows  I have been asked to conduct early childhood professional development trainings so I would like to incorporate the Game Show theme into these as a means for review and a fun way to remember or test participants knowledge on the training topic
2. Online Courses I would like to create online courses for the professional development that I am asked to conduct. I think this would make for a great way to present information either in person or as an online training. I am interested to see what this involves and if it would be beneficial for professional development purposes
3. Memory Games I would like to create theme based memory games for my students to do on the Smart Board and this may be an easy way to accomplish this goal

Week 3: Exploring Google Slides

Exploring Google Slides

Reflecting on Google Slides

I have been using Google Slides for a while now in my own preschool classroom, in college courses and within the context of the school district. I am a part of a school system where slides are often shared by administration and supervisors for communication purposes. I have utilized slides to create book reports and research presentations for college classes, in addition, as a collaboration tool within the online classroom construct. I have also created assessments and visual prompts for preschool students using Google slides that I use in conjunction with the Phonological and Literacy Awareness Screening (PALS) in my classroom. 

While I am familiar with and have been using slides, I really reflected this week on how I currently use this tool and how I can broaden my usage and deepen my understanding of it. I have realized that I have only been touching the surface of what Google Slides can actually be used for. For the most part, I have been using slides as an informational tool where I plug in the information I want someone to know and then simply present it or turn it in. In the future, I wish to venture into the administration or supervisory aspect of the early education field so I am interested in finding different uses in which to use this presentation tool. I would like to broaden my own understanding and usage of the product so I can better utilize this tool in future positions. 

So, with this in mind, I wanted to focus this week on using more of the tools Google Slides has to offer and use some things I have not previously used. I wanted to take a different approach with Google Slides and use it in a different way. I am currently working on a program evaluation of a Kindergarten Transition Program for another college class so I wanted to incorporate that evaluation with the Google Slides tool. It is my intention to work on the evaluation with the Coordinator of Preschool Services and several preschool teachers during the evaluation process. My hope is to use Google Slides as a platform for which  we can collaborate on the program evaluation together. As we gather information, ideas and brainstorm the process we can then add the information to the presentation slides.  

Using Google Slides

This week I challenged myself to dig deeper into Google Slides. My goals in using slides were to:  

1. Create a slide presentation for a different purpose (different from my usual use)
2. Use more of the tools within slides, i.e. shapes, links, arrange on page, etc.
3. Add visuals to the presentation
4. Insert links to resources--website links, etc. to use as references or info
5. Be able to use the slide presentation for a project based purpose instead of a single use
6. Make it useful for collaborating 

With these goals in mind I set out to create a Google Slide presentation for the Kindergarten Transition Program I am evaluating.  It is my hope that I can utilize this presentation throughout the semester to share, collaborate and brain storm with the program stakeholders--coordinator, preschool teachers, assistants, kindergarten teachers and administrators. 

The Kindergarten Transition Program Presentation

After creating the slides presentation, I revisited the goals I had set out to accomplish and although it is a work in progress, I think I have accomplished the goals I set for myself.
I created the Kindergarten Transition Program slide presentation in order to use as a working document to collaborate with others on the evaluation (different purpose/useful for collaborating/project based). I included visuals and used more Google Slides tools in the presentation with adding a background picture, using shapes, arrows, adding color to some slides and text boxes, and arranging some information in visual form. One of the purposes of the presentation is to use it as a working document where it is revisited and revised as needed, instead of using it as a one time presentation tool. I also utilized more resource based links and information into the presentation including links to websites that can be consulted for further information.

Including Visuals in Slides
To include the background visual in Slides:  
Click the background in the tool bar and then click choose image; I then searched for the image I wanted by typing in "children in line." Select the image and then click insert to use as the background for the slide.

Using Shapes and Arrows
Using shapes and arrows is a great way to create a flow chart of information:
Click on circle and angle icon on the tool bar, when hovering is should say shapes, to select the shapes you want to create with. Click the shape you want and drag it where you want it to be on the slide. You can then enter the text onto the shape directly. Use the same icon and procedure for the arrow options. I used this tool to create the organizational flow of the program I am evaluating. You can use as many shapes and arrows as necessary to create the visual chart you want to display the information. 

Adding Color
Click on the text box you want to add fill color to and click on the icon that looks like a cup pouring, when hovering it should say "fill color." Brings up a drop down box to choose the color you want to add to the text box. 

Videos
To insert the videos for the presentation I clicked on the Insert tab and clicked on video, this brought up a window to search in YouTube. I put in what kind of video I wanted, a description, phrase, etc. and it pulled up videos to choose from. Click on the one you want for the presentation and hit the select button on the bottom left and it uploads to the presentation. You can click and drag it to where you want it on the page.

Overall this was a positive experience and I think I extended my own learning by using more of the tools and options that Google Slides has to offer. 

Kindergarten Transition Program Google Slides Presentation

Week 2: Learning Hyperdocs

Week 2: Learning Hyperdocs

Reflecting on Hyperdocs

Before actually listening to the podcasts and visiting the Hyperdoc website, I was interested in learning more about this to see IF it would actually be a useful tool I could incorporate into my preschool lesson plans. I have to be honest....I was skeptical...I did not really think I was would be able to utilize Hyperdocs as a learning tool with my students; I just could not see a way to use it in a meaningful way that is relevant to my young students. But, alas, I do like a challenge and I do like learning about new things so I went into this with an open mind thinking I should be able to use this tool for something!!

I was pleasantly surprised by each of the podcasts, they gave a lot of information about Hyperdocs in a small amount of time. However, I still was not convinced that I could use this tool in my classroom with preschool students.  Sean Fahey and Lisa Highfill talked about using Hyperdocs in a way that would allow for student exploration before lessons, this sounds great, but my preschoolers do not have access to their own device on a daily basis and personally I would be concerned if they did since they are still learning about school processes anyway. Here again, I put my reservations on a shelf and just focused on learning about Hyperdocs, what they can be used for and how they can benefit students and the classroom as a whole.

What I learned about Hyperdocs

Like I said in the beginning, I did have my reservations about this tool and using it with preschool students. However, after listening to the podcasts and exploring on Hyperdocs.co I now can see how this tool can be used with my preschool classroom!! I was able to see several examples of topics and templates that would be perfect for teaching with preschool students, 😎!

So here are the key take aways from the podcasts with Sean Fahey and Lisa Highfill.

    Sean Fahey Hyperdocs                              Lisa Highfill Hyperdocs Lesson Design

• Hyperdocs can be used to package content, put content in activities and let students be in control of their own learning
• This tool can redefine instructional strategies when designed in a meaningful and purposeful way....it can free the teacher up to work in small groups or one on one with students
• This tool can be used to package instructional lessons, or parts of instructional lessons, in a student-friendly way
• Hyperdocs can be designed in the format of Google Docs, Slides, Maps, Sites, etc.
• Hyperdocs are well designed, student-friendly lesson plans that students can access and come back to and learn from
• An advantage of Hyperdocs is that they have the ability to be shared freely and modified to suit the needs of students
• Backbone of Hyperdocs work is Explore; Explain; Apply
• Leads to "less assigning and more designing" --Lisa Highfill
• Teachers are able to be creative with their lessons and individualize lessons based on student need
• An important part of lesson design that Hyperdocs can help teachers with is allowing students to EXPLORE the content first before the teacher EXPLAINS it
• Enhances inquiry-based learning instead of passive-based learning

After listening to the podcasts, I took some time to review my notes, reflect on the highlights of the podcasts and my main take aways. I really wanted to focus on how I could design and utilize Hyperdocs in my lesson planning that would enhance the lessons I teach and be engaging and relevant for my students. I also focused on how to incorporate this tool within my lesson planning that would not be a lot of extra work and take time that I already don't have. As I read over my notes I noticed that Lisa Highfill made some really great connections between Hyperdocs and teaching/learning, below are some ideas that are a culmination of her ideas and my own reflections based on my classroom's needs. 

• Hyperdocs can be used to update or modify lessons that are outdated or have not been successful in the past
• By using this method, teachers can solve some time management issues by designing a Hyperdoc that is student-friendly that can be used individually or in small groups while the teacher can provide small group or one on one lessons
• Hyperdocs can be used in association with Project Based Learning 
• Teachers can use Hyperdoc processes to help meet additional state/district requirements while providing lessons that are relative in content and tech based
• Teachers can ultimately package several learning standards or requirements into Hyperdoc lessons which will save instructional time
• Students will be able to work at their own pace on the Hyperdocs or could acquire help from classmates
• Hyperdocs could be designed for group projects where students can work together
• Hyperdocs can be utilized to build confidence and autonomy of learning in students by allowing them to explore and work at their own pace if need be
• Hyperdocs could be used as a guide for content learning for whole group instruction, small group and individual learning
• Preschool teachers could design Hyperdocs for many themes throughout the year and incorporate many Foundation Block standards into one document as a weekly lesson guide
• Hyperdocs would be a great way to introduce young students to a variety technological tools they will be utilizing as they progress through grades
• It could provide basic technology skills for young children while working on content requirements in fun and engaging ways

As I reflected on Hyperdocs and how I could utilize this tool with my preschool classroom things started becoming clear. For the Hyperdoc assignment, I reflected on what I want my students to learn and how I want them to learn it. I am in the process of taking the Conscious Discipline Course through my school and I wanted to incorporate something I learned in Conscious Discipline into a Hyperdoc to use with my students. So, the product of this reflection is a Hyperdoc guide that I will use with my students this week to introduce the concept of breathing and relaxing with STAR Breathing. I really had a fun time designing this Hyperdoc and I found it to be easier than expected. Here is a link to my Hyperdoc:

STAR Breathing Artifact

I am excited to introduce the STAR Breathing Hyperdoc to my class this week, I will update with how it goes in the comment section.