Stop the Madness! Keep Your Kiddos Organized with Google Keep

Everyone and I mean EVERYONE is turning to online learning in K - 12 education right now. It's tough enough for our teachers, but what about our students? My daughter is in middle school and she has 8 different subjects, 8 different teachers, 3 different learning platforms, and 4 different ways she receives information about her assignments. It's insane and hard enough for parents to stay organized!

Google Keep is a helpful tool to help your student (or child) keep all of their assignments organized and check-off completed assignments as they occur. Here is a quick video on how it works:

Screen Recording on an iPad! Plus 2 Visual Tools to Help You Reach Students

Need to screen record on an iPad? It's very simple to do. Check out my brief video on how!

Here are some additional tools that you might want to use to enhance your screencast!

1. Keynote - use the drawing tools in Apple's version of PowerPoint, to make your iPad a whiteboard!

2. Photos - use the editing tool in photos to annotate pictures. For example, why not take a picture of a worksheet or text and annotate it?

How You Use Topics in Google Classroom Could Impact Your Sanity!

If you are like many teachers that I am working with, you are trying to adapt to the new online style of learning that most schools are going towards. If you are a Google Classroom user, simple tips and tricks can mean the difference between increased or decreased frustration.

Many teachers that I am working with are saying that using topics to organize content by the date is making life so much easier!

Here is how it works:

Step 1: Visit the Classwork Section of Google Classroom

Step 2: Choose the Create button and select "Topic"

Topic are used to organize your content in the Classwork section of Google Classroom.

Step 3: Give Your Topic a Name!

Many teachers use labels to organize by chapter, unit, topic; however, it may be a good idea to organize content by date. This will help reduce any confusion for students.

Step 4: Drag and Drop Your Assignments and Content

Last but not least, you should drag and drop any assignments, materials, etc. underneath your label! This will help everyone stay on the same page.

10-Minute Crash Course on Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle is a great way to create interactive video experiences for students. You can easily embed discussion questions, open-ended questions, and other interactive resources like links, notes, and voice-overs.

It is easy to set-up and works very well if you have an existing Google account. Check out my 10-minute crash course on using Edpuzzle.

Create a Checklist in Google Sheets and Force an Individual Copy

If you are not used to online learning, it can be overwhelming for students, parents, and teachers. How can you help students complete assignments in a virtual environment?

It may be helpful to create a visual for students to keep everything organized for the entire week. Google Sheets is a great tool that you can use, plus it uses checkboxes. How could it work?

Check out my video below on how to do this and tips / tricks for forcing an individual copy in Google Classroom:




Step 1 - Create Your Document

It will be important for you to put together a list of assignments / activities, plus additional scaffolds and supports for students, such as websites, videos, screencasts, and virtual office hours.

Step 2 - Add Checkboxes

Add checkboxes to your Google Sheet for students to check off their progress. How do you do this?

• Select the cell (or cells) that you want to place a checkbox in
• Choose the Insert Menu
• Choose Checkbox

Step 3 - Distribute to Students

Send your checklist to students using your favorite learning management system or tool. Google Classroom allows you to make a copy for each student, which could be very helpful for students to use the checkbox feature in Sheets. 

Don't have the ability to make a copy for each student? Here is a simple trick for creating a link that forces a copy of any Google Document. 

Bonus Idea: Force a Copy of Any Google Doc

Need a quick and easy way to force students to make a copy of any Google Doc? This is a great trick to force a copy and make a "template" for students.

Here is how it works:

1. Open up your item (Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Drawing)

2. At the end of your item's URL, you should see the word "edit." Change the word "edit" to "copy."


3. Make a copy of your URL and share with your audience

Now you have a quick and painless way to help your viewers make a copy of a document, presentation, spreadsheet, or drawing.

Crash Course on Doing Screencasts

Are you new to screencasting and need help? Check out my free webinar below on how to screencast. You will learn a variety of different tools like Screencastify, Screencastomatic, and QuickTime.

Take Classkick to the Next Level with Virtual Manipulatives

Want to take your Classkick use to the next level? Why not try out the virtual manipulatives feature? This tool provides students with hands-on learning opportunities to manipulate virtual objects. How does it work?

Check out my brief video below:

3 Things to Keep in Mind

First, it may be helpful to choose a background, upload a graphic organizer, or draw your own object for a location that students can drag, drop, and categorize objects. Classkick has some amazing pre-made Venn diagram and t-chart backgrounds that you can choose from!

Next, it might be helpful to provide instructions for students by drawing a textbox. Do your students need additional scaffolds and supports? It might be helpful to include links to helpful websites or videos. You could also add a voice recording explaining the directions or giving hints. If you have students that require accommodations, this is the perfect tool to have on tap; however, it may be helpful to think that the accommodations for one student may benefit other students too.

Finally, create your virtual manipulatives. You will need to have an already created PDF, JPG, or PNG file available with your objects. I would recommend using Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Google Drawings to create your graphic. I created the following in Microsoft Word. Notice how I changed the color of the text and added a picture. This can be helpful for some students to process and categorize information. I saved the document as a PDF and took pictures of each object using the manipulatives feature in Classkick. See my video for more information.