Technology came front and center this past spring as teachers everywhere suddenly turned into remote learning specialists managing the ups and downs of all things digital. While eLearning did have a learning curve, the sudden thrust does have many teachers bringing their digital distance teaching knowledge back into the classroom… whenever that will be.

       I anticipate teachers everywhere to be brushing up on their tech infusion as we eagerly await to see how COVID-19 transforms the traditional classroom. To further your remote learning expertise, you may be interested in some of these apps and extensions that can easily be adapted in your balanced classroom.

Five Google Apps for School

Grid View: 

For those of you using Google Meets, but want to attain the Zoom “Brady Bunchlike” visual to be able to view all participants, you will want to add the Grid View extension. This is a free extension that will allow all the students’ faces (should they have a camera enabled) to show. I like this because it feels more like a classroom when you can see all of the kids.

To add it, simply click the link above and click the blue “Add to Chrome button”. You can also Google “Chrome Web Store” and search for Google Meets Grid View.

Google Keep: 

Executive functioning skills are really being tested right now. Google Keep can help with that. This extension is like a digital post-it note that can be accessed on all devices that are linked to the account. This is helpful for students that may forget an agenda book at home or at school.  Students (or teachers) can

– create assignment reminders

– record voice memos

– draw pictures

– keep passwords

Students can also take their notes on Keep and copy them to a Google Doc. I see that as a great brainstorming opportunity for assignments.     

To add it, simply click the link above and click the blue “Add to Chrome button”. You can also Google “Chrome Web Store” and search for Google Keep.

Scientific Calculator: 

Super basic, I know, but this will come in handy when there are not enough calculators in your classroom or for students who simply cannot afford them. Also, cut down on excuses for not being able to do homework. (If you are looking to expand on your digital math infusion, check out my previous blog post on Equatio).

To add it, simply click the link above and click the blue “Add to Chrome button”. You can also Google “Chrome Web Store” and search for calculator.

Edpuzzle: 

I love this site for the flipped learning classroom. It takes watching videos to a whole new level. Whether you decide to create your own video, upload a video you found on the internet, or use one of theirs, Edpuzzle takes the video and allows you to embed questions, notes, or add voiceover to clarify the content. Students cannot fast forward through the video and pretend as if they have seen it. Read more about Edpuzzle and check out my video on States of Matter here.

Insert Learning: 

I stumbled across this recently and really like it. With Insert Learning, you can take any webpage and turn it into an interactive lesson. Basically, you are perusing the internet about a topic that you are studying. You find this great site that is perfect for the kids… but we all know that the students will pretend to read it because they might not be as enthusiastic about it as you. Insert Learning to the rescue. You will take the said website and embed activities throughout such as notes, highlighting important information, questions, etc. to ensure that students ARE reading and learning from the site.

       My class is learning about tides. I used this to allow me to test their knowledge using a website that has the tide cycles from their area. Through my questioning about the charts, graphs, and reading, I can ascertain their level of understanding.

       A really cool feature regarding the questions that you can embed. I inserted multiple-choice questions throughout. You can choose a point value and what I like MOST is that if a student gets the answer wrong, the point value will decrease. They will keep answering until they get it correct but each time they answer it wrong, the point value goes down. I like this because students will walk away with the correct answer, but you will see when they understood. It also decreases the urge to randomly guess.