Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Telling Stories with Data

I recently shared a timeline creation tool called Timeline JS, the brainchild of a community of developers at Northwestern University's Knight Lab whose mission is to create tools for reporting, data management, research, and storytelling. With Timeline JS, users can simply enter data into a spreadsheet template, which, when published to the Web, will transform into an interactive timeline with images and annotations. The Knight Lab team has developed several other tools that classroom teachers might find useful:

Juxtapose JS: "Juxtapose helps storytellers compare two pieces of similar media, including photos, and GIFs. It’s ideal for highlighting then/now stories that explain slow changes over time (growth of a city skyline, regrowth of a forest, etc.) or before/after stories that show the impact of single dramatic events (natural disasters, protests, wars, etc.)." Users can simply copy and paste the URLs of two images they'd like to compare and add labels to create side-by-side visual comparisons.

Soundcite JS: "Audio is a powerful device that can add emotion or context to a story. Unfortunately, audio clips force uncomfortable choices: read or listen, but not both. Until now. SoundCite is a simple-to-use tool that lets you add inline audio to your story. The audio is not isolated; it plays right under the text you choose." To get started, users must publish audio recordings to the web with tools like SoundCloud and share the link to their work on the Soundcite website. From there, users can select start/stop times for their audio recordings to add inline audio to a story.

Storymap JS: "StoryMapJS is a free tool to help you tell stories on the web that highlight the locations of a series of events." Users can place markers on a map and add text or media on a series of slides to tell their stories.

Storyline JS: "Storyline is a tool that enables anyone to build an annotated, interactive line chart. To make Storyline as flexible as possible, we've just included the chart, axis labels, and cards." The process is as simple as putting your data in a Google Sheet, adding your story, and publishing to the Web.
Check out my Juxtapose JS project with a side-by-side comparison of West Genesee High School, 1957 and 2018. Use the "slider" to view the full images.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Upcoming Online Professional Devlopment

 As the school year starts to wind down (can you believe it's already April?!), most teachers are busy helping their students prepare for end-of-year assessments. With that in mind, I will be offering several online classes called "One-Hit Wonders" to help teachers learn how to leverage a variety of digital tools to assess student learning. Each mini-course starts focuses on ONE tool and a WONDER statement.


Flipgrid
Have you ever wondered how you can assess your students' metacognition, reading fluency, or content knowledge by listening to each one of them respond to your prompts? In this One-Hit Wonder, you will learn how Flipgrid can allow your students to share their thinking through video posts in response to a discussion topic.


Edpuzzle
Have you ever wondered how you can transform your teaching from "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side" to support every student's learning? In this One-Hit Wonder, you will learn how Edpuzzle can help you deliver video-based instruction for students to consume at home or in-class, holding them accountable with your own assessment questions and allowing you to use class time more efficiently.
Nearpod
Have you ever wondered how you can present information to your students and assess their understanding in real-time? In this One-Hit Wonder, you will learn how Nearpod can help you deliver content-rich presentations to students and check for understanding through a variety of interactive questions.
Padlet
Have you ever wondered how you can set up a collaborative "bulletin board" for you and your students to share ideas? In this One-Hit Wonder, you will learn how Padlet can provide you and your students with a virtual canvas to curate and share notes, links, files, images, videos, and audio recordings all in one spot.
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Thursday, April 5, 2018

Fun With Spreadsheets---Yes, I Said Fun!

One of the most powerful, and candidly, one of the most underutilized tools in Google's G Suite platform is Sheets, Google's answer to Microsoft Excel. When I taught SUPA Public Affairs, Dr. Bill Coplin, Director of the Public Affairs Program of the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, made sure that students were able to enter and manipulate data using spreadsheets as a means for information analysis, a skill he considers among the most important for career success. Many educators are unfamiliar with the power of spreadsheets, but there are several ways teachers can create engaging activities for student learning that start with a spreadsheet template.

Flippity can turn a Google Spreadsheet into a set of online flashcards and other cool stuff like a quiz show, typing test, random name picker, bingo card, memory game, bingo card, and more. Simply visit Flippity.net to view instructions, copy a template, enter your data, and share with students.


TimelineJS is a tool that enables anyone to build visually rich, interactive timelines using nothing more than a Google Spreadsheet. to get started, visit TimelineJS to make a copy of the spreadsheet template. Enter your data (dates, descriptions, links to images and video files), publish your spreadsheet, and share the link. You will be impressed with the results!
Learn More About Google Sheets:
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Monday, April 2, 2018

Collaborative Whiteboards: Show Your Work!

I love having conversations with teachers that start with "I wish there was a way I could..." I am eager to meet their challenge by pointing them in the direction of instructional technology tools that support their goals. When I look for web-based tools I typically start with some basic criteria:

  • Does it support 21st-century teaching and learning?
  • Is it free?
  • Does it work on a Chromebook?
  • Is it easy to use?
  • Can it be used in a variety of grade levels and subject areas?
Recently a teacher asked if there was a way her students could use their Chromebooks to "show their work" in math. The answer is YES! In fact, there are a couple of tools I would recommend as they meet all of the criteria listed above: AwwApp and Scratchwork.

AwwApp
AwwApp stands for A Web Whiteboard. It provides users with a touch-friendly online whiteboard that makes drawing, collaboration, and sharing easy. With a free account, users can take advantage of AwwApp's basic tools like drawing, highlighting, erasing, and inserting text, shapes, and post-it notes. Users can also upload and annotate images and invite others to collaborate in real-time.
Scratchwork
Scratchwork, like AwwApp, is a virtual collaborative whiteboard that allows users to draw, type, import and annotate images, and write math equations. What sets it apart is that it also allows users to use a webcam to take a snapshot of hand-drawn notes and equations, which it will convert to a digital format.

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