Spoiler Alert: I am a talker... and thus a writer. You're not a big reader... don't worry. I've been teaching 22 years, I got you and your different learning styles (no matter how debunked those are, lol). If you prefer visuals, scroll down to the bottom for video directions!
Okay, so I know AI is the educational buzzword of the moment. I also know that some of you probably want to run from this post screaming at the very mention of the term; but don't. I'm not going to overwhelm or scare you. I promise. Instead, what I'd like to do is show you in one teeny, tiny way, how AI can make your teacher life so much easier. Now, I'm not saying fire up ChatGPT for your next lesson; this is a baby step, folks. You're going to love this! Promise! So let's get down to it. Last month I asked that you go ahead and set up your schoolytics account so that you were ready to roll with me this month. I know. Teaching is tough, life is hard, etc. But you want to do this. Stop where you're at, and go sign up. It's fine; I'll wait right here until you're back. You back? Okay, awesome, so let's do this! High 5's are just the tip of the iceberg of what my desert island site, Schoolytics, can do for you. But it's an amazing tip, so I'm going to lead with it! Buckle in y'all; this is good. How many times have you wished that you had more time to really tell little Suzie what an amazing job she's doing and how incredibly proud you are. We ALL know and value those kids in our rooms. Unfortunately, little Suzie probably doesn't get a proportionate amount of our teacher time... because she doesn't "need" it. As much as we may hate to admit it, it's probably the squeaky wheel in your room that gets the most oil too; am I right? With schoolytics, you can show Suzie how amazing she is in about 1 minutes and 3 clicks. After you log in, you're taken to your dashboard. There, on the left hand side, the third word down is high fives. Click that. Click send high 5s click send to recipients. Done! Now, you can definitely get fancy with it and filter in all sorts of ways. I even added Christmas emojis to mine over the holidays! But just those 3 clicks let's all those Suzie's in your room know how proud you are. I've gotten great feedback using this. I get responses from students thanking me every single time I use it. It's a fantastic relationship builder. See high 5s in action: www.canva.com/templates/?query=quizizzFour Days ago at FETC, Canva and Quizizz announced to the world their new partnership, and I am so here for it! You can now make your quizizz assignments even more engaging using the power of Canva! The possibilities are endless when appsmashing these great tools. You can completely personalize your student's meme experience or even try making one of your own awesome escape rooms like those quizizz gives us on holidays and special occasions! You can read all about it in this canva blog post as well as get access to a few templates canva already has going. Wanna explore on your own, check out all the quizizz templates here. Check out the cute one I made to head this post! This year marks my 22nd year in the classroom. During that time, technology has evolved at break-neck speed and impacted education in ways I never imagined. Throughout this long span, I have presented powerpoints on tiny tv screens, booked computer lab days, embraced BYOT, checked out iPad carts, implemented 1:1 chromebooks, and taught virtually. Perhaps the only constant throughout this time of rapidly developing educational technology was my personal EdTech quest. No matter the program, no matter the LMS, no matter the device, I was always searching for that EdTech unicorn. That one app that was going to revolutionize my teaching by ticking all the necessary boxes. It was going to store contact information and logs, lesson plans and ideas, and, of course, grades. It was going to support student feedback and data analysis. It was going to make missing work easily attainable, flag questionable work, and help me with parent conferences. Basically it. was. non-existent. But like so many before me (think the search for the Fountain of Youth or El Dorado, or Rudy's quest to play for Norte Dame), I did. not. give. up. I tried tool after tool after tool, and many were very good. Teacher's Assistant Pro does a great job with parent communication, google classroom provides a list of missing assignments, Planboard is great to curate lessons. But while each was excellent in its field, nothing did everything I was looking for. Y'all, I seriously contemplated learning to code so I could make my own. But seriously, between teaching classes, grading papers, and Netflix binging all my fave shows from Vampire Diaries to Friday Night Lights, who has time, ya know?! Then. I. found. it. In May of 2021, I found my unicorn. Enter Schoolytics, and my teaching has never been the same. Schoolytics is that magical tool that analyzes data, curates lessons, logs contacts, and really so much more; they roll out more all. the. time. Obvi, I'm wordy! And I've been told I jam-pack tech tips into learning sessions. So, with our new school blog, what I would like to do is focus on my EdTech unicorn. Each blog post, I'd like to tell you and show you (there will be videos too!!) why I rank Schoolytics as my #1 desert island EdTech pick. Seriously, if I was allowed only one platform, this would be it! I can't wait to show you what this amazing platform can do for you and how it can revolutionize your teaching. In order to start this epic journey, I'll need you to head over to Schoolytics, and sign up for your free teacher account. Yes, I. said. free. What'd I tell ya; it's a unicorn! Sign up, play around on the platform, and check back next month to see how schoolytics can electrify your student feedback (it's one of my faves)! |
AuthorHi y'all! I'm Christie. I am a teacher at Empower Virtual School in Coweta County, Georgia. I have more than 20 years experience in the classroom. During those decades I have taught grades 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11 and the following subjects: Social Studies, US History, Reading Skills, Literature, and English/Language Arts. Additionally, I have been an adjunct professor at multiple universities and have taught Remedial Reading, US History, World History, American Military History, and Instructional Technology in the Classroom. I have long been an advocate of the integration of technology and believe that it offers a low prep, high impact element to your classroom. Finally, I base my classroom, my projects, and my professional development sessions on the simple, bold idea that technology should work for you, it should not be more work for you! As a classroom teacher myself, I know that is something we can all get behind! Follow me on this journey, and let's learn together! ArchivesCategories |