Digital Components in My 1:1 Chromebook Classroom

Here is a recap of the digital components that in my 1:1 Chromebook classroom. Click on the links to go to learn more:

• Google Apps for Education We are a Google school using Chromebooks, Classroom, Docs, Forms, Sheets, Gmail, Drawings, etc. Each student has a google login to connect to the school district wifi network. 
• Hapara  Through Hapara, teachers are able to monitor student screens, access documents, message students, and create collaborative workspaces for projects.
• Spelling City  Spelling City replaced our printed spelling workbooks several years ago. It also integrates with our newly-adopted nders Reading program and GoMath series.
• McGraw-Hill Wonders Reading  The Wonders 2017 program provides digital access to all components, tests, and student responses.
• Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math For our 5th grade classes, the completion of 20 AR points and 20 AM objectives per quarter is required.
• GoMath  Think Central provides the digital link to our math component. Students can complete tutorials, watch video explanations, and gain immediate feedback using the Personal Math Trainer assignments. 
• XtraMath My students complete XtraMath each day as part of their morning routine. This 5 minuted fact review builds fluency and allows me to track and report progress easily.
• Read Theory After a placement test, Read Theory provides leveled reading passages and high-quality questioning for students. Not only do the topics increase background knowledge, but the reporting features clearly show student growth in reading levels and lexiles. Writing components are optional.
• EdPuzzle  Flipping the instruction and providing remediation is easy when questions can be added to instructional videos. EdPuzzle integrates seamlessly with Google Classroom, too.
• Planbook Digital lesson planning puts sub plans, yearly lesson units, and the ability to share assignments into one place. Planbook makes it easy to print, alter, and save lesson materials for easy access.
• BookWidgets This site provides tools for adding alternate digital lesson options to any lesson. Make digital breakout experiences, crosswords, word searches, drag and drop, fill-in-the-blank, timelines, and sequencing options to Google Classroom.
• Bloomz After using Class Dojo and Remind in previous years, I have settled on using the free version of Bloomz for communication. Parents do not have to respond to the sign up link to get your digital communications by email! Create a class photostream, add reference documents, make alerts, sign-up for conferences, request materials, and message privately through this one app. The read receipts are such a time-saver, too!
• Pear Deck I like this app and extension so much that I paid for the premium version to get even more features. The Pear Deck extension with Google slides turns any device into a digital responder. Collect brainstorming ideas, multiple choice responses, drawings, etc. and save them into student take-aways to review later. This one supercharged my student engagement. Don't forget to try the Pear Deck Flashcard Factory, too. Awesome!
• Quizlet All of my test review materials are housed in folders on Quizlet. No more waiting for review materials for an upcoming test. Students know they can find practice sets here and use games to make learning fun. Quizlet also exports easily to flashcards and to Gimkit.
• Gimkit If you have played online quiz games like Kahoot and Quizizz, you will love Gimkit. I finally broke down and paid a subscription fee. It is a little pricey for my taste. This quiz game beats all of the rest by adding power-ups, insurance, multipliers, themes, and gifting to the individual, homework, and team modes. After playing this one, the students didn't want to go back to the other game formats.
• Flippity This website turns a Google Spreadsheet into fun review games. Check out the options.
• Jeopardy Labs Use this site for students to create and play their own Jeopardy-style games.
• Flipgrid Post a question for your class and compile all of the responses in one place. This is a great way to facilitate classroom discussions and give every student a voice.
• Khan Academy Khan Academy allows you to set up classes and assign content to your class through Google Classroom. This is the perfect way to add remediation for any subject. I like to attach it as an assignment to a Google Forms Quiz based on the students' scores. Use some forms add ons to make this happen automatically.
• NoRedInk For most grammar units of study, students complete a pretest, remediation practice, and a growth assessment through NoRedInk. This is mastery-based program so the length of student practice is based on their success. Once they prove mastery, using sentences created based on their own interests, they are finished. 
• Brainpop After having a school account for years, I finally discovered how to create a My Brainpop account for my class this year! Now I can assign videos, games, and quizzes to students, track their completion, view digital work, and view a digital gradebook easily. Brainpop also integrates with Google Classroom so it is very user-friendly.
• Kidblog Kidblog is a secure classroom blog with options for sharing privacy that made this my classroom choice. I did opt for the paid version, since I liked the format and features.
• Epic! Find digital texts, quizzes, and reading content for your class. There are over 35,000 texts in the library that you can access and share with your class. The students love this site.
• DOGO News  Find current events, high-interest news for kids here. Most stories include video clips, vocabulary lists, and word searches, too. Teachers can create classes and assign content seamlessly. Through the DOGO News classroom or Google Classroom you can share content that is curated just for students and the content if free!
• Padlet I use Padlet for sharing introductions, posting questions and responses, and for Revolutionary War projects. Students can record audio/video, share images, add links, embed slide shows, write, and personalize their Padlet walls. I especially like the privacy features that allow me to monitor and approve posts before they are visible for my class. There are so many options here.
• EduTyping Our keyboarding class uses this and students like returning to practice touch-typing skills in their choice time.
• Mystery Science Our school will have access to Mystery Science next year for all classes! Woohoo! These open-ended science tasks require critical thinking and collaboration to complete. Check out the 

Wonders Resources for Grade 5

As I am creating resources to accompany the Wonders Fifth Grade Reading program, I will post them here. I hope to create one or two resources per week as I use the series this year. Check back for the links to Google Slide Pear Decks for introducing skills and vocabulary and Book Widget resources review. Subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss out!

"Go to" Classroom Apps!

Evolution of thinking...that is what has changed my classroom more than any specific tool or computer program. After 3 years of  teaching a 1:1 Chromebook classroom, my first thought is no longer, "What am I going to grade?" I find myself asking, "What could the students do to show their knowledge?" I'm sorry to say that I spent too many years trying to get the required grades as we trudged through another page in our workbooks!

My favorite tools have also been evolving. Here are my current favorites (the ones that I bookmark and link to Google Classroom before the first day of school.)

1. Bloomz: 

After working with Class Dojo and Remind, I have settled on Bloomz as my favorite classroom communication app. I love being able to post messages, alerts, documents, and photos for my families without worrying about privacy concerns from social media. Best of all, I can connect with parents by email through Bloomz even if they don't set up their Bloomz account. I used the alert feature after our field trip returned early, and only one of my students was left standing around while the other teachers waited for student's rides. Having read receipts and the ability to resend announcements to parents who did not view the announcement are bonuses, and Bloomz has a behavior component that can be turned on or off to meet your needs. This app even lets parents view your classroom/Google calendar, sign up for parent conferences, and like/add photos from one location. This is sharing made easy.

2. EdPuzzle: 

EdPuzzle is the best way to turn any video into an interactive lesson. I like being able to crop, add my own audio narration, and embed free-response questions. I think this improved student proficiency with PARCC tests that require the use of video information and computer writing tools. Grading, leaving comments, and assigning through Google Classroom are also easy to learn with EdPuzzle tutorials. This year, I created a video EdPuzzle assignment for students to create for the first time. My 5th graders were able to choose the best videos and create thought-provoking questions for their classmates. They even reviewed peer responses to their questsions. 

3. Read Theory: 

We begin every day with XtraMath and ReadTheory. The key to success with this independent reading program is teacher-monitoring of progress. My students became adept at setting goals for knowledge points and tracking their reading levels with both grade equivalents and lexiles. During the second semester, I began to use the written response option and required that students write one response in paragraph format per week. This writing component replaced journal writing in my classroom. I do wish that Read Theory had a way to archive graded writing assignments to view growth over time. 

Track Reading Growth with ReadTheory Charts

4. No Red Ink: 

I utilize the free-version of NoRedInk, but I wish that our district had funds for the premium version. With 5th graders, I begin each unit with a Diagnostic Test, use the results to assign practice, give weekly growth quizzes, and differentiate instruction based on this data. This is not at all complicated with NoRedInk. When assigning work, each student has a color-coded dot to show mastery level, and NoRedInk adjusts the practice assignments to address the skill deficiencies shown on the assignments. No student is stuck with repetitive practice of mastered skills, but mastery is expected to progress. The silly sentences based on student interests makes this program a no-brainer for grades 4-12. 

5. Quizlet: 

Quizlet has been a great study tool for memorization of vocabulary, but I like the new Quizlet Live feature! Just go to www.quizlet.com, choose your study set, and open Quizlet Live. Students type in a game code and their first names to be grouped randomly into teams for the game. Everyone in the team sees the same question on-screen simultaneously, but only one team member has the correct answer. This game requires conversation and collaboration which improve comprehension. Expect a few enthusiastic outbursts as the competition can be fierce! 

6. Quizizz: 

Quizizz and Kahoot are game show review possibilities, but the search and assignment features of Quizizz are user-friendly and especially useful. Assign directly to Google Classroom, too. Students can compete with their friends, review errors, and challenge their classmates even if they are not logged in to Quizizz at the same time. My students beg for these review games!

7. Spelling City:

 Premium membership is the only way to go! This year I have 2 different grade levels of spelling words and 3 different list lengths in my classroom. All of this differentiation occurs seamlessly and students don't even realize that the word lists are varied. The newer games for rhyming words and sound counting are perfect for some lists. And Spelling City can generate a multitude of helpful reports. 

8. XtraMath: 

Fact mastery has been proven to improve long-term math achievement, so we practice for a few minutes each day. My students know their math facts because it is a part of our routines. Check out this free program that automates fact acquisition.

9. Planbook: 

Two years ago, when planning for an extended absence, I started using Planbook to help make the transition easier. I liked being able to link and embed all of my visual materials to lessons for the sub. This year, I was able to import many of the plans from last year to provide a sketchy outline of the year before the first day of class. Some plans were kept for this year while others were tweaked for better results. I even have used Planbook to send work home to absent students. Just send the student share link home through Bloomz! I have much more planned for this resource next year.

10. Recap: 

This audio-visual response app creates the cutest highlights reel in seconds. Just type in questions for your class, choose the maximum recording time, and watch the students explain their understanding via Chromebook webcams. Students like listening and commenting to their friends, too. 

If you have other apps to recommend, please leave your ideas in the comments below and follow this blog. Let's explore 1:1 Chromebooks, blended learning, and technology together!