In a world where education is constantly evolving, the need for innovative tools that ignite students’ creativity and passion for learning is more important than ever.

Night Zookeeper, an interactive online platform, is revolutionizing the way teachers inspire imagination in their classrooms.

In this post, we will explore how Night Zookeeper can foster creativity in the classroom.

Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom: How Night Zookeeper Sparks Students’ Imagination

What is Night Zookeeper?

Night Zookeeper is an educational online program for children aged 6 to 12+ (Grades 1 to 6) that uses gamified learning to help them develop reading and writing skills.

It offers a full language arts curriculum while transforming “boring school work” into fun and engaging games, challenges, interactive lessons, and collaborative projects – children often don’t even realize they’re working!

Night Zookeeper also provides a safe space for all children, including awesome community and blog pages which they’re free to explore and use to further improve their reading and writing skills.

A team of highly qualified tutors reviews all content shared within the program.

Are you ready to make reading and writing fantastically fun for your students?

*Related: 3 Essential Guides for Teachers: Adapting Instruction to Every Student Ability

At its core, Night Zookeeper is designed to make learning fun and engaging. The platform revolves around a captivating world where students create and interact with magical animals, embark on quests, and engage in creative writing challenges. It’s this blend of storytelling and interactive gameplay that captures the imagination of young minds, making them excited about learning.

One of the most significant ways Night Zookeeper sparks creativity is through its focus on creative writing. Students are encouraged to write stories, poems, and reports about their unique magical animals. This not only helps improve their writing skills but also allows them to express themselves in a safe, imaginative environment. As they create their narratives, they learn the power of language and storytelling, skills vital in all areas of education and life.

Another aspect where Night Zookeeper shines is in its ability to personalize learning. Every student’s journey is unique, with the platform adapting to their specific learning pace and style. This personalized approach ensures that students remain engaged and motivated, as tasks are neither too easy nor too challenging. It’s in this tailored learning environment that creativity flourishes – students feel confident to explore, make mistakes, and learn from them, which is essential for creative growth.

*Related: Say Hello to FigJam: Your Jamboard Alternative with Endless Possibilities

Check out Night Zookeeper’s downloadable learning resources, great for getting your child excited about reading & writing.

Night Zookeeper for Schools and Teachers

Teachers are not left behind in this creative journey. Night Zookeeper offers a suite of tools for educators to track student progress, provide personalized feedback, and integrate the platform’s resources into their lesson plans. This ease of integration means that teachers can effectively use Night Zookeeper to complement their teaching methods, making lessons more dynamic and impactful.

Night Zookeeper is more than just an educational platform; it’s a catalyst for creativity in the classroom. By blending the art of storytelling with interactive and gamified learning, it provides a unique space for students to explore, imagine, and create. For teachers looking to spark imagination and foster a love for learning in their students, Night Zookeeper is a valuable resource worth exploring.

Get the FREE Trial!

Classroom Reading & Writing Program

• Make reading & writing fun for your students!
• Boost their vocabulary, spelling, and grammar!
• Save yourself hours of grading time!

*Please note that this post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links. This helps support the maintenance of this blog and allows me to continue sharing valuable content.

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom: How Night Zookeeper Sparks Students’ Imagination appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

Help Students Get Organized, Track Progress, Take Notes, and more with Google Keep!

Google Keep is a robust Googlr tool that can help teachers and students create and share notes, lists, and reminders. There are so many possibilities that I decided to put together this post and infographic with ideas for how Google Keep can be used in the classroom: 15 Ways for Students to Use Google Keep!

Get the Google Keep CHEAT Sheet (Form Below)

Learn more about how to use Google Keep from my Google Keep CHEAT SHEET (free download form below), and be sure to check out all of the Google Keep resources I am creating and curating.

Using Google Keep in the Classroom

I love to think of all of the possibilities that Google Keep creates for the classroom. Google Keep is part of Google Workspace for Education and integrates sweetly with Google Docs.

Google Keep is loaded with fun features that can help students get organized, track progress, take notes, and more. The infographic hits the highlights, but more details are also included below. Use this infographic as a reference and resource.

Download the Infographic

Click here to download a PDF version of the infographic.

Listen to this article.

15 Ways for Students to Use Google Keep

Below are some more specific details for each of the fifteen ways mentioned in the infographic.

1. Time Management and To Do Lists:

This one may seem very obvious, but helping students learn how to manage their time and get things done is a very important skill. Google Keep will help students track their assignment tasks, set up reminders, so they don’t forget and manage their time in and out of class.

2. Bookmarking (use the Chrome extension)

The Google Keep Chrome extension makes it easy to bookmark a web page and add it to your Google Keep notepad. This is particularly useful for saving relevant classroom websites, tutorials, and resources that students need for particular assignments and throughout the year.

Related: 25 Ways for Teachers & Students to Use Google Keep  

3. Vocabulary and Spelling Lists

Google Keep makes it easy to keep lists, so this is a no-brainer! Students can keep their spelling and vocabulary lists and easily access it from any device to study.

4. Location-Based Reminders

Not only does Google Keep allow you to set up time and date reminders to remember all of your due dates, but it will also help you remember to complete tasks when you arrive at a certain location. For instance, students may need to remember to talk to a certain teacher when they arrive at school in the morning. With a location-based reminder, Google Keep will send a notification to your device when you arrive at that location. To learn how to set up location-based reminders, visit this support page.

5. Class Notes

This may seem like another obvious suggestion but think beyond old school class notes. In Google Keep, students can jot down quick notes to themselves about a particular class or subject. They can then share those notes with other students in their group or class. Notes can even be completely collaborative! (Notes are so much more powerful when you share!) Take that one step further when your notes get too long, you can copy over to a Google Doc. Boom! Google power!

6. Project Management

As we move to more project-based learning initiatives, it is important to help students and teachers track and manage those projects. With Google Keep, students can easily keep track of each project, tasks, notes, and due dates. These notes can be shared with the teacher so he/she can monitor progress and help students learn how to manage big projects.

7. Genius Hour

Genius Hour moves beyond just managing projects. Google Keep can help students through each stage of the process. Students can use Keep for brainstorming ideas, research, drawing a prototype, tracking progress, reminders and due dates, taking notes, reflection and more!

Related: 4 Ways to Use Google Keep for Feedback and Assessment

8. Tracking Learning Goals

No matter what you call them, student objectives, learning targets, or goals, we all know how important it is to help students understand what they are and recognize success when they reach them. Teachers can create notes and lists of learning goals for a particular unit and share with the class. Students can then refer to these throughout the unit, confer with their teacher to ensure they reach them, and celebrate success! Bonus idea: Add badges and images to Keep to gamify the process. (I’m still working on some ideas for this one!)

9. Research Notecards

The research process is not easy, nor is it easy to teach. Number two above suggested using Google Keep for bookmarking, but let’s take this a step further. Students can use Google Keep as their digital notecards, not only bookmarking, but adding notes, citations, page numbers, etc. What a great way to help streamline the research process.

10. Reading Logs

Reading logs are great for keeping students accountable and tracking progress. Use Google Keep to log titles, dates and duration, the number of pages, or whatever else you normally have students track on paper.

11. Annotation and Illustration

Google Keep has this super cool feature that allows you to draw, and it will also allow you to draw on top of an image. This means we can annotate and illustrate learning! Think of all the possibilities! Students can demonstrate their learning with a drawing, think through a process by drawing a mind map, or upload an image of a reading passage, life cycle, map, etc. to annotate! Learn more about drawing from the Google Support Center and my Google Keep Cheat Sheet.

12. Daily Habits and Tasks

We have a lot of daily tasks and procedures in our classrooms–the things we do every day, like bellringers and warmups, writing down the agenda, silent sustained reading, journals, etc.. What if we put these into a daily checklist for students to help them create habits? This is also an excellent way to create other types of habits as well, like remembering to take your backpack home, drink water, exercise, etc.

13. Group Projects

Collaboration has always been the number one feature of Google tools. No other product comes close! Google Keep is no different. When it comes to managing group projects, let’s give students the tools to succeed. Google Keep can help the group share and create notes, assign tasks, remember due dates, and hold each other accountable!

14. Mobile Voice Notes

Voice Notes is a feature available in the iOS and Android mobile apps (not currently available on the desktop version). This is a great way for students to take notes on the go, on a field trip, record word pronunciations, practice reading aloud for fluency, and more. Plus, voice notes can help some of our students who struggle with writing and typing. Of course, voice recording is also a great way for our little ones to talk about their learning, tell stories, and leave notes.

Related: Personalize Google Keep for You and Your Students

15. Journaling

Reflection is such an important piece of the learning process! Students can use Google Keep for daily journaling and writing reflections on daily learning, projects, self-assess their progress, and share what they did well and what they could improve upon.

How are you using Google Keep in the Classroom? Please share in the comments below!

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post 15 Ways for Students to Use Google Keep [infographic] appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

In this guest blog post by Mike Mohammad, Mike shares a fantastic, yet unconventional idea: read-along storybooks using audio in Google Slides!

I’m always amazed at how Mike innovates in his classroom. You’d never guess from this post’s title that this idea is from a high school physics teacher!

But we all have stories to tell, and at every grade level and subject area.

Mike takes the idea of storytelling a bit further and puts his students in the seat of a teacher–creating read-along books for Kindergartners. This creates a fantastic and Dynamic Learning Experience for Mike’s students.

Mike is also the author of one of the most popular blog posts on Shake Up Learning, How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites.

Read-Along Storybooks Using Audio in Google Slides

Google Slides is the Swiss Army Knife of G Suite Tools for a good reason. The full rollout of inserting audio has opened up even more possibilities. Specifically, it allowed my Physics students to create read-along books for a kindergartners class in our district.

Related: 25 Things You Didn’t Know Google Slides Could Do!

The books allowed my high school students to connect with the kindergartners in an authentic way when our district transitioned from an in-person to a virtual learning environment k-12.

The finished book is a published Google Slideshow. I provided instructions virtually to my students even though they had never used the audio feature or published a slideshow. Below are some samples of the products students created.

CLICK HERE to view

5 Steps to Creating Read-Along Storybooks

In this post, I’d like to walk you through the creation process to show you how simple it is. While this may have been done in a high school physics class, creating a read-along book could be applied to any grade or content area.

I broke the process into five steps to be completed over six days of virtual learning.

1. Brainstorm story topic and concept
2. Write the story
3. Add the text to Google Slides storybook
4. Add the images to Google Slides storybook
5. Record and add the audio for Google Slides storybook

1. Brainstorm Story Topic and Concept

The first day, students had to choose whether they would start with a physics topic of interest or a story where they could apply physics.

It was important that they not dig too deep into the content as this was intended for a kindergarten audience and keep their story idea small as they would be limited to 100 words for their story. 

Related: How to Insert Audio in Google Slides

2. Write the Story

Before students got too far into trying to design a storybook for kids, students typed the text of the story in a Google Doc in two parts: 1) The story itself (70-100 words) 2) A science explanation (30 words max). I instructed them to keep sentences short, use vocabulary appropriate to the audience, and explain any big physics words.  For the scientific explanation, it needed to relate specifically to the events in the story. 

3. Add the Text to Google Slides Storybook

I created a Google Slide template for students to develop their book and adjusted the slides’ size to 8″ x 8″ to replicate the square shape of many children’s books and make it look a little different from a regular slideshow.

Changing the slides’ background is an easy way to make them visually interesting and look less like a Slideshow.

Students broke their text up over a maximum of 10 slides. Moving away from fonts like Arial is another way to add a storybook feel to the slides.

4. Add the Images to Google Slides Storybook

Students created their own images/drawings or searched for appropriate ones within Google Slides to add images. Those looking to create their own images used Google’s AutoDraw to turn rough shapes using a touchpad into nice illustrations. These images were then downloaded and uploaded to the slides. These images were then downloaded and uploaded to the slides.  

Related: The Google Sides Master Class

The other option was to search for images in Google Slides. Using skills like grouping images, cropping, and adding shapes helped students create images that fit the story’s needs.

Group Images to Make a Picture

Combining Images and Shapes in Google Slides

5. Record and Add Audio for Google Slides Storybook

The final step before publishing the book is adding audio to each slide. Students used Cloud Audio Recorder to record audio because it is free and has a simple workflow for recording directly to Google Drive.

Related: 13 Tools to Record Audio on a Chromebook

The most overlooked aspect of adding audio to slides is that the audio has to be shared with anyone viewing the presentation. So, students created a folder to house the audio files and shared the folder so that anyone can view the files within. If the folder with audio doesn’t have the right share settings, no one will be able to access the audio. 

Once the folder is created, students can use Cloud Audio Recorder to make an audio file for each storybook page.

Once all the audio files are recorded, students can easily add them to each page using the INSERT -> AUDIO feature in Google Slides.

Once this is completed, students share their book using the Publish to the Web link. This will give the best experience for the reader. 

Reflections

The project was a success, and the kindergartners were very appreciative!

Check out these Flipgrid videos from the Kindergartners:

There are a few changes I’d like to make for the next time I do this. The first is taking more time to construct and review the stories themselves. Due to time constraints, this process was rushed. I asked students for their ideas but didn’t have time to truly make sure that the physics was appropriately explained. I’d like to have more time to ensure all terminology is correct and explained at an appropriate level for kindergartners.

The other aspect I’d like to spend more time with is consistency in images across a single story. I’d like to have the time to workshop and conference with students around this idea. I had several students who still used images that were copyright protected, had a watermark, or a background that clashed with the slide. This would definitely take more time. So, this would no longer simply be a week-long project. It could still take the same number of days, but those days could be spread over several weeks. This would allow time for me to provide feedback and have conferences with students. 

About Mike Mohammad

Mike Mohammad has been teaching high school science for 17 years. He has been teaching at Brookfield High School for the last 14 of those. Mike attended UW Madison where he received his degree in Secondary Education in Broadfield Science and Biology with additional certifications in chemistry and physics. In his time at Brookfield Central, Mike has taught Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and General Science. He is currently teaching Physics and AP Physics. His interests in education focus on putting students at the center of their own learning experience. He lives in Brown Deer, WI with his wife.

Connect with Mike:

• Twitter: @mo_physics
• Website: https://mophysicsmoproblems.blogspot.com/

Join the Google SLIDES Master Class Online Course – 50% Off

I frequently refer to Google Slides as the Swiss Army Knife of the G Suite tools because it is capable of being so much more than a presentation tool. In this course, you will learn how to use Slides in new and unexpected ways in your classroom that will engage your students and make learning more dynamic!
K-12 teachers are going to LOVE THIS COURSE!

This class is perfect for beginner to intermediate users to take their skills to the next level and become a Google Slides Master!

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Learn All About the Course

What’s Included?

• Self-paced
• Video-based lessons
• 3 BONUS Lessons!!!
  • Bonus 1: Stop-Motion Animation
  • Bonus 2: How to Create Magnetic Poetry with Slides and Drawings
  • Bonus 3: 50 Google Slides Lesson and Project Ideas
• Supporting Resources
• Best Practices and Tips
• 6 hours of professional learning credit
• Purchase orders are accepted (Just email Kasey[at]ShakeUpLearning.com (replace [at] with @.)
• Bulk license discounts
• Get your whole team, campus, or district on board

Click here to learn more and to ENROLL TODAY!

Check out all of my Google Slides Resources here!

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post Read-Along Storybooks Using Audio in Google Slides appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

As a former reading teacher, I know how difficult it can be to support struggling readers, English Language Learners, and to improve the fluency of all of my students.

I wish I’d had Fluency Tutor to help!

I don’t endorse a lot of products, but Texthelp produces some of the best accessibility tools and they work seamlessly with my favorite Google tools.

You can get access to Fluency Tutor for FREE, and it’s perfect for remote learning.

Below is some information to get you started.

FREE access to Fluency Tutor for Google Chrome 

The folks over at Texthelp have created some amazing accessibility tools to support all students, including digital tools to support literacy, struggling readers, and ELL. Oh, and since Texthelp is a Google for Education partner, their tools work seamlessly with your Google login, and integrate with Google Drive and Google Classroom.

One of my favorite Texthelp tools is Fluency Tutor for Google. And, Texthelp has recently dropped some MAJOR news for this product. Texthelp is currently providing FREE access for students, teachers, and parents to Fluency Tutor for Google Chrome through the end of the school year! 

What is Fluency Tutor?

“Fluency Tutor for Google is a Chrome app designed to help students improve reading fluency while saving busy teachers valuable time. And because it’s web-based it’s great for remote learning. 

Fluency Tutor helps students of all ages and ability levels become more avid, engaged, and confident readers. What’s more, it gives teachers a clear picture of every child’s reading attainment and progress over time.

This easy-to-use app lets students record themselves reading aloud on their laptop, Chromebook, or tablet, from the comfort of their own home, and then send it to their teacher for feedback.”

Fluency Tutor is great for emerging readers in grades K – 4 and struggling readers or English language learners in older grades.

Introduction to Fluency Tutor

Student View

Benefits

• Makes reading aloud fun and satisfying for readers of all ages, abilities and grade levels
• Saves time for busy teachers, allowing them to focus on other classroom tasks
• Encourages students to practice reading aloud at their own pace without direct supervision in a relaxed environment, at school or at home
• Simple, friendly and seamless: one easy-to-use app for teachers and students
• Allows reluctant students to freely choose their own reading content
• Frees teachers to listen to each student’s reading progress wherever and whenever it suits them best
• Give students extra help with text-to-speech, dictionary, picture dictionary and translate tool
• Great for early readers, and individuals learning English as a second language (ESL)
• Integrates seamlessly with G Suite for Education, Google Drive, and Classroom
• Plays nicely on any device: Chrome browser app for PCs, Macs, and Chromebooks

Features

• Friendly dashboard interface for teachers and students
• Teachers can pick from the pre-selected library of over 500 leveled reading passages, based on content, Lexile level or reading age
• Teachers can also create reading passages from existing curriculum materials or online sources
• Students can pick their own reading passages that interest them – great for reluctant readers
• Share passages with individual students, or with the entire class using Google Classroom ‘share’ button
• Passages appear in student’s Google Drive
• Students can record their own assigned reading passages whenever and wherever it suits them
• Extra help with text-to-speech, dictionary, picture dictionary, and translate tools
• Quick Score gives immediate feedback to students without the need for a full assessment

How Much?

• Texthelp is currently providing FREE access for students, teachers, and parents to Fluency Tutor for Google Chrome 

How to Get Fluency Tutor for Google 

• Install the Fluency Tutor for Google Chrome App in the Google Chrome browser.
• Sign-in to Fluency Tutor with your Google account.
• Get Started! Here’s the Fluency Tutor for Google YouTube playlist to help you learn the basics. 
  

Check out these related posts:

• How to Create a Dynamic Reading Experience
• How to Check Spelling and Grammar in Google Docs
• How to Easily Assess Writing in Google Docs
• 9 Ways to Improve Student Writing with Google Docs

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post FREE Access to Fluency Tutor to Support Student Literacy Remotely appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

Book studies can be a great way for teachers to grow, connect, and learn together.

There are many ways to facilitate professional book studies, so I decided to put together The Teacher’s Guide to Professional Book Studies to share some best practices.

Teacher book studies can be impactful. They can also be painful with the wrong approach.

In this episode, I will take a deep dive into book studies including, purposeful planning and implementation tips, as well as tips for meaningful participation.

Level up your professional learning with effective book studies!

...

The Teacher’s Guide to Professional Book Studies

This guide is for leaders and for teachers who want to maximize the book study experience.

If you want to see results from your book study, follow the tips and best practices below.

Planning an Effective Book Study

Define Your Audience

Who will be reading this book? Is it open to educators at all levels and subject areas? Or is this a study for administrators? What type of administrators? Maybe this is a study for instructional coaches, a tech team, or even one that involves parents and the community.

Think through all of the possibilities for your audience and be sure you are forming a group with meaning. If not, consider forming multiple groups to better meet the needs of everyone. Trust me, nothing is worse than being forced to read a book about something that doesn’t really pertain to your role as an educator.

If you are unsure who will be participating, send out a Google Form survey.

Select Book Study Leaders

Do you already have a group of leaders? Or do you need to recruit?

Be sure to include a good mix of classroom teachers, instructional/tech coaches, and administrators.

You need to ensure that someone is taking the lead so this whole shebang doesn’t fall apart. Is that person you? Maybe. Better yet, form a collaborative partnership or team to take the reigns and help the group navigate.

This doesn’t have to be complicated, but in my experience, a book study without a leader can often lead to less participation and far less implementation.

Define Your Book Study Goals

Why are you doing this book study? Is it because your admin says you have to do two book studies per year? I hope not. A meaningful book study should always start with the why, just like the learning in our classrooms.

• Is your goal to help teachers become more comfortable with technology? Is a book going to do that? Maybe.
• Is your goal to get teachers to make the shift to facilitator?
• Is your goal to help shift the mindset of your faculty?
• Is your goal to help teachers learn how to develop better assessments?
• Is your goal to focus on PBL?
• Is your goal to introduce innovative ideas?

Think carefully about the vision for your organization, school, or group and connect this book study to your mission and goals. Make sure every one of the leaders is on the same page and in agreement before you move forward.

Choosing a Book for Your Book Study

Once you have defined your audience and selected your leaders, it is time to select a book. Give your participants choice! If you want buy-in and to truly effect change in your organization, you must give the participants a say in what they read. There is no shortage of books out there.

My suggestion is to have the leaders of the book study pick three to five books that fit the needs of your specific audience. Then share the choices to your participants for a vote. (Looking for ideas? Check out 50 Awesome Books for Educators, or check out my Amazon faves here.)

Voting on a book can be fun! This can be something you do as a group, face-to-face, where you offer a “tasting” of the book options. Or with larger groups, you can create a Google Form for voting. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ also offer some easy-to-use polling options, depending on how you communicate with your group.

If your group is over 20, DO NOT send this out as a mass email and ask for replies! What a waste of time. Use a digital tool to do the work for you.

Leaders, READ the Entire Book Before the Start Date!

Sometimes we rush to get started with our book studies and the leaders haven’t even read the entire book yet.

Leaders, please read the entire book before you start! You need the big picture to help you plan an effective book study.

You may even want to do a mini study among the leaders to help you better prepare.

You will find more practical ways to organize the study and facilitation strategies that you can model by planning this as a whole study and not in pieces.

Decide How You Will Facilitate the Book Study

Facilitating a book study doesn’t have to be complicated if you plan and organize.

• Plan out your timeline and decide on due dates for each chapter.
• Create discussion questions for each chapter.
• You may also have activities associated with each chapter. If so, now is the time to plan those out.
• Consider having participants create something to represent their learning, share reflections, sketch notes, booksnaps, lesson ideas, or other content related to the book’s topic. (More on that below.)
• When and where will you meet to discuss?
• BLEND IT! Choose an online platform to support the study. Even if you are meeting face-to-face, you will need something online that will help participants remember due dates and expectations.
• Platform suggestions:
  • Google Classroom – great for assignments, calendar, and discussion in one location!
  • Any type of website creator
  • Facebook group
  • Twitter with a unique hashtag
  • Google Sites
  • Wakelet
  • Padlet
  • Google Groups
  • Goodreads group

Facilitate with Finesse!

Facilitate your book study with some TLC and genuine support! Build relationships and go beyond the content of the book.

Set clear expectations about what is expected!

Find ways to connect and learn with your group. Don’t just ask and respond to questions, model how to respond.

Check-in with participants who don’t seem engaged.

Make this something special for participants.

• Find ways to show positive support to those who struggle keeping up.
• Make it fun and engaging!
  • Give away some swag or door prizes.
    • books
    • planners
    • something for the classroom
    • stickers
    • conference registration
    • chocolate
    • jeans pass (“jeanious!”)
  • Brag to administrators! Be sure you invite and tag your administrators if they are not participating so they can see the learning and support.

Create a Reading Schedule and Calendar

Make it easy for your participants to keep up with the book study assignments and due dates by creating a shared digital calendar.

I recommend Google Calendar, which makes it easy for participants to add all the calendar events and due dates to their own calendars.

If you are using Google Classroom to blend the experience, it will create a Google Calendar and share it with the participants automatically.

Connect with the Author

One of the awesome things about this crazy, connected world is that you can sometimes connect with the author of your book!

Consider inviting them to your study, your Google Classroom Class, or setting up a real-time Google Hangout!

This will give participants the opportunity to connect with the material in a new way, ask questions, and go deeper.

As an author myself, I do this all the time!

Follow Up

One of the critical missing pieces to most professional learning experiences is follow up.

Don’t forget to set a few reminders, schedule some tweets or posts to help your participants review important concepts and IMPLEMENT ideas from the book study.

Offer a way for participants to share what they have implemented with the group. Just don’t let it all fade away.

You may also want to connect this back to a bigger project where participants are required to design and implement by a certain date.

Check-in, follow-up, and coach your participants along the way!

Tips for Participants

Tip #1: Go in with a positive attitude and growth mindset.

No matter how much you really don’t want to participate, take a deep breath and focus on the growth opportunity that a book study can provide.

Tip #2: Don’t just answer the required questions, engage with other participants, ask your own questions, respond to others comments.

Tip #3: Mark up your text and highlight important points.

Tip #4: Try Booksnaps!

#Booksnaps, an idea from the fabulous Tara Martin, are simply a digital, visual representation used to annotate and share reflections of any excerpt of a book or text.

There are lots of different tools you can use to create a booksnap, but it just starts with a picture or screenshot of your text then you mark it up, add stickers, whatever you want.

Tara has several tutorials that you can find on her site here.

Below is a booksnap from the Shake Up Learning book by Mason Mason. He created a booksnap for each chapter of the book and shared them on his blog.

Be sure to share your #booksnaps with the hashtag!

And, of course, try this strategy with your students!

Tip #5: Take Notes

Yes, I know it’s a shocker that a teacher is recommending you take notes as you read, but everyone needs a reminder!

Write in the margins if you like, or if you are reading Shake Up Learning, I’ve provided reflection space at the end of each chapter. Or, use a notebook, journal, or go digital and take your notes in Google Docs, One Note, Evernote, Google Keep, wherever you prefer.

Tip #6: Try Sketch Notes!

Sketch notes are purposeful doodles that illustrate you own visual thinking and reflections as you listen to a speaker or read text.

Sketch notes do not have to be works of art, they are just a way for you to learn and process information. In fact, there’s a lot of research that supports this strategy so it is great for the classroom as well.

Keep in mind, there is not right or wrong way to do this.

Below is an example from Pam Hubler, where she sketchnoted ideas from the Shake Up Learning book!

To learn more about sketch notes, check out Kathy Schrock’s resource page.

Tip #7: Add Due Dates and Assignments to Your Calendar

Keeping up with all of the reading on top of everything else you have going in your life and classroom can be a challenge.

Don’t forget to add all of the reading assignments and due dates to your own calendar, whether you use paper or digital.

Tip #8: Implement!

Don’t let this simply be a reading experience, use this book study as an opportunity to implement in your classroom.

Many teachers don’t make time to plan and implement, but hopefully, that won’t be you!

If you want to grow and improve and help your students to grow and improve, we have to be willing to implement new ideas!

Podcast Question of the Week

“What is your biggest challenge with professional book studies?”

Share your response on social with the #ShakeUpLearning hashtag, or join us in the FREE Shake Up Learning community to discuss further.

The Shake Up Learning Book-Study-in-a-Box!

This is something I’m working on and I’d like to gauge interest.

I’d like to put together book study packages that can make it easy to lead a book study with your group. This is still a work in progress but the Book Study in-a-box will most likely include autographed copies of the Shake Up Learning book, bookmarks, stickers, and a t-shirt for each participant, as well as access to ready-made materials to guide the book study, like discussion questions, pacing guide, images, challenges, etc., that will be available in a shared folder.

If you are interested, please fill out this form so I will know if this is worth moving forward!

The Perfect Book Study Package!

The Shake Up Learning book was designed with book studies in mind! Not only is this book a great read for any educator, any grade level, any subject, any role, but this book has the entire package to help you facilitate a successful book study!

Included in this book,

• Discussion questions after each chapter. You don’t have to write your own! These are ready to go!
• Dedicated reflection pages after each chapter, helping you to encourage participants to think and reflect on their reading.
• An entire website of resources to support the book! (ShakeUpLearningBook.com)
  • A FREE Shake Up Learning Quickstart Guide to use for reference during reading and after.
  • A dedicated webpage for EVERY CHAPTER with additional resources, videos, articles, and more. So you can really bring the content to life and make it interactive.
• The Shake Up Learning Community: Join the Facebook group to share your reflections, ideas, questions, lesson ideas, and connect with other like-minded educators.
• Planning and Implementation Chapters, to help readers TAKE ACTION on the content they read by designing meaningful lesson plans.
• FREE Downloads and Templates to make it even easier to implement!
• A Lesson Plan Database, where you can search and find dynamic lesson plans.
• Submit Lesson Plans, you can also CONTRIBUTE and share your dynamic lesson plans on the website. (Hint! You could make this the culminating project for your book study.)
• The Online Course, take your study a bit further and enroll in The Dynamic Learning Workshop, the online companion course for the Shake Up Learning book.
• This book has it all and then some!

Join the Shake Up Learning Online Book Study!

I facilitate 3-4 online book studies each year. They are completely FREE, fully online, and asynchronous so you can respond to discussion questions at a time that is convenient for you.

Get all the details for the latest book study on this page.

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post The Teacher’s Guide to Professional Book Studies – SULS031 appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

How to Create a Dynamic Reading Experience with Read&Write for Google Chrome!

Dynamic Learning is all about going BEYOND the traditional bounds of the classroom and the class day. In this post, we will look at How to Create a Dynamic Reading Experience that goes BEYOND what was previously possible. Going “Beyond the Tools” is one of the five characteristics of the Dynamic Learning Framework.

Think beyond using digital tools to complete only traditional assignments such as papers and reports, or simply reading a digital version of an article. Use digital tools to do NEW THINGS, things that are not possible without technology.

A digital tool is not inherently dynamic. It is the student’s use of tools and the ways it’s used to create and demonstrate learning that is dynamic.

You can learn more about Dynamic Learning here, or dig deeper and explore the entire framework in my book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic.

Again, thinking BEYOND just reading digital versions of books, articles, novels, etc. Why not kick things up a notch and create a Dynamic Reading Experience.

[Tweet “How to Create a Dynamic Reading Experience @Texthelp #edtech #shakeuplearning #k12 #edchat #engchat”]

Read&Write for Google Chrome

One of my favorite digital tools for reading (and writing) is theRead&Write for Google Chrome toolbar (Chrome extension).

It is a Chrome extension that is fully loaded with tools that allow us to do new things in the classroom, and help make reading and interacting with text a dynamic learning experience.

Teachers can get a FREE premium subscription to Read&Write. Click here for directions on how to get all of the features for free.

Click HERE to install Read&Write for Google Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.

Want to see some of my other favorite Chrome extensions?

Check out the Chrome App and Extension database.

Simplify Text on the Screen

Sometimes, technology creates new problems. So before we can make it dynamic, we need to prep the learning environment. The web is full of junk, junk that can distract any reader. Even the most educational articles can have advertising and other distractions on the page.

[Tweet “A digital tool is not inherently dynamic. It is the student’s use of tools and the ways it’s used to create and demonstrate learning that is dynamic.”]

Simplify Page Tool

Help simplify things for your readers by using the “simplify page” option in the Read&Write for Google Chrome toolbar. This will clean up the junk so readers can just focus on the text. This will prep the environment for more dynamic learning without unnecessary distractions.

Screen Masking Tool

Some readers have trouble keeping their eyes on the correct line and paragraph as they read. With paper, some students use a ruler or bookmark to stay on the line. That’s what the screen masking tool was designed to do. You can grey-out the background and choose a custom color, usually a lighter color like white or yellow that will follow the mouse and help students stay focused on the right paragraph as they read.

Text-to-Speech (Reading With Your Ears)

One thing you cannot do with paper is just click a button to have it read aloud. Using the text-to-speech tool is not just for struggling readers. It is a fantastic way to help readers of all ages. Of course, this is a tremendous way to support Dyslexic students, struggling readers, emerging readers, and English language learners, but it’s also a great way to support all reading levels.

Benefits of Text-to-Speech

• Relieves the burden of decoding
• Focus on comprehension
• Improve endurance and completion
• Identify and correct more errors

Text-to-Speech Tool

The Read&Write for Google Chrome Toolbar makes it super easy to click the play button and hear the text on the screen read aloud. What’s great is that this toolbar works on any webpage as well as functioning inside G Suite files like Google Docs so students can use it to listen to text read aloud anywhere on the web.

Oh! Did I mention that you can customize the voice, the speed, and even have it translate the text? Yep! Pretty cool, huh?

Audiomaker Tool

The audiomaker tool takes text-to-speech a step further. Highlight the text you want read aloud, click the audiomaker icon, and it will download an mp3 file of the text being read aloud. This is like creating a little podcast version of the text for students.

Interact and Explore Vocabulary

Dictionary Tool

Students don’t need to lug around giant dictionaries anymore, and they don’t even have to open a new tab to Google a word. Simply highlight a word and click on the dictionary icon in the toolbar to get the part of speech and a definition. Students can even have the word and definition read aloud. Old school dictionaries can’t do that!

Picture Dictionary Tool

The picture dictionary is particularly great for young readers, struggling readers, and ELL students. Highlight a word and click on the picture dictionary icon to see an image representation of the word.

Vocabulary List Tool

Click on the vocabulary list tool and it will magically create a new Google Doc with a table for students to create a vocabulary list with the word, the meaning, a symbol, and notes.

Highlight and Take Notes

Highlighter Tool

The highlighter tool allows you to highlight text in four different colors, which is great if you want to give students little color-coding assignment like highlighting vocabulary words in pink, important dates in yellow, etc.

Collect Highlights Tool

Now, hold on to your seats, because this is super cool! The collect highlights tools will then take all of the highlights and their various colors and magically add them to a new Google Doc! BAM!

Increase Fluency By Reading Aloud

Practice Reading Aloud Tool

By clicking on the last icon on the toolbar, students are taken to a new page where they can record themselves reading aloud and send that file to their teacher! How great is that?

What do you think? Can these tools change the reading experience for students?

ISTE 2018 Book Signing at the Texthelp Booth!

Since I am such a fan of the Read&Write for Google Chrome toolbar, my friends over at Texthelp invited me to do a book signing at their ISTE booth! So if you are coming to ISTE, be sure to bring your book and come to say hello.

I will also have a very special surprise for everyone I see at ISTE with the Shake Up Learning book (details posted soon)! So if you don’t have a copy of the book yet, be sure to order yours today!

Book Signing at Texthelp Booth

• Booth #1076
• Monday, June 25, 2018
• 11:30 AM (CST)

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post How to Create a Dynamic Reading Experience appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

A Hyperdoc Unit That Will Blow Your Mind!

Hyperdocs are amazing, but this is an entire Hyperdoc UNIT that will blow your mind!

This Hyperdoc has it all, y’all! Designed to help students dig deeper into the book, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.

And guess what, it is VERY DYNAMIC! This is actually much more than just a dynamic learning experience, this is a dynamic learning unit! And you get it ALL for FREE!

In fact, this unit was one of the five lessons I selected to be included in my book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning from Static to Dynamic. You can find this one and even more great lesson ideas in the Dynamic Learning Database, a lesson plan database that is searchable and filterable. You can even add your own!

[Tweet “A #Hyperdoc Unit That Will Blow Your Mind! #shakeuplearning #gsuiteedu #edtech”]

The Wild Learning Hyperdoc Unit

(Created by this AWESOME team: Sean Fahey, Karly Moura, Michele Waggoner, Heather Marshall, and Becky Ogbouma)

Don’t let the name scare you away. Even though this hyperdoc is designed for a reading class, I PROMISE you will find a ton of ideas that you can use in just about any classroom!

New to hyperdocs? Pick up a copy of the Hyperdoc Handbook or visit their website to learn more.

Lesson Summary

This Hyperdoc novel study was designed to accompany the reading of the book The Wild Robot by Peter Brown during the Global Read Aloud (GRA). The creators used Google Slides to create and organize the Hyperdoc activities.

I’ve embedded the slide deck below.

Get the FREE Template

See the Slide template here, or click here to make a copy.

Activities

This hyperdoc is LOADED with fun and engaging activities. Inside, you will find ideas for teaching:

• vocabulary
• theme
• summarizing text
• reading responses
• making STEM connections
• booksnaps (If you are new to booksnaps, check them out! It’s an awesome idea from Tara Martin.)
• extension activities
• performance tasks
• digital breakouts
• and quizzes!

These activities go far beyond just using the Google Slides, they have integrated many other great digital tools like Flipgrid, Padlet, and Seesaw.

Teacher’s Guide

They have even included a teacher’s guide to walk you through each step, week by week! (Click here to see the entire guide.)

What Makes This Hyperdoc DYNAMIC?

Just to review, below is my definition of Dynamic Learning:

Dynamic learning is characterized by constant change and activity. This learning takes place organically, growing and evolving through more unconventional means, with the learner collaborating, creating, and communicating to demonstrate progress and mastery. Dynamic Learning also extends beyond the boundaries of a traditional school day, beyond the physical location of the classroom, beyond using tools as digital substitutes, or even the traditional notion of hard-and-fast due dates.

Beyond the Walls

Because this learning experience was designed to accompany the Global Read Aloud (GRA) activity, it went completely beyond the walls of the classroom. By participating in the GRA and using the HyperDoc, students were collaborating with other students across the globe. The use of Padlet and Flipgrid also allows students to publish to a larger audience.

Beyond the Grade Level & Subject Area

This learning experience also goes beyond the language arts subject area with the additions of the STEM activities. These activities allow students to problem-solve, build, and connect to the science, engineering, and math they were reading about in the book.

Beyond the Tools

This lesson takes a standard presentation tool, Google Slides, and turns it into a series of packaged learning materials in the form of a HyperDoc. Google Slides are used again to create a collaborative classroom dictionary. Creating Booksnaps using SnapChat, Seesaw, or Google Drawings allow students to go beyond the intended use of the tool and create visuals that represent their thinking of the text. The simple website builder, Google Sites, is used to create a digital breakout game as a collaborative problem-
solving activity to wrap up the unit in a fun and exciting way.

But Wait…There’s More!

A Dynamic Learning Experience should also incorporate the ISTE Standards for Students and at least one of the 4 C’s. Well, this unit doesn’t disappoint! They covered at least two of the ISTE Standards, knowledge constructor, and creative communicator, as well as ALL of the four C’s, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity!

Are You Thirsty For More Dynamic Learning Experiences?

If you love lesson ideas like the one above, you are going to love my new book, Shake Up Learning!

Shake Up Learning by Kasey Bell

Check out my new book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic.

About the Shake Up Learning Book

Technology is not a magic solution for education. It is an opportunity! An opportunity to shake things up, to connect and grow, and to create dynamic learning experiences for our students!

In this three-part book, you will explore WHY it’s time to Shake Up Learning, WHAT changes we can make in our classrooms to support dynamic learning experiences, and HOW to plan meaningful lessons for your classroom.

Shake Up Learning is a powerful guide and planning tool to help educators at all grade levels make the most of technology. Educator and blogger Kasey Bell guides you through the process of using technology and proven techniques to make learning dynamic.

You’ll discover . . .

• Practical strategies to help move from static teaching to dynamic learning
• Straightforward and easy-to-use templates for crafting engaging learning opportunities
• Tips and tricks for fearless implementation of powerful lesson plans
• Advice for moving from one-and-done activities to learning that evolves and inspires throughout the school year—and beyond!

AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON

Be DYNAMIC and SHAKE UP LEARNING in Your Classroom This Year!

But wait…There’s more!

With this book, I have also created several interactive resources, templates, and downloads, all available on ShakeUpLearningBook.com.

• Get the FREE Shake Up Learning Quickstart Guide
• An online community
• Discussion Questions, Chapter Actions, and Embedded Resources for all 20 Chapters!
• An interactive companion website to help you continue and deepen the learning
• A lesson plan database (submit and search for dynamic lesson plans)
• Tons of free resources, videos, templates, and downloads, all available on the website: ShakeUpLearningBook.com.

Shake Up Learning QUICKSTART GUIDE

Join the email list to get the latest information about the Shake Up Learning Book AND Get the FREE 20-Page Quickstart Guide that will help you Shake Up Learning in your classroom this year!

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© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post A Hyperdoc Unit That Will Blow Your Mind! appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

Welcome to week three of the 2015 Shake Up Learning Super Sweepstakes!

IXL

Aligned to Standards

FREE Trial

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post The Adaptive Learning Platform You Need to Know About: IXL! appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

Google Spotlight Stories

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post Google Spotlight Stories: 360º Immersive Stories for Android and iOS appeared first on Shake Up Learning.

2 New Google Apps for iOS Released!

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

The post Google Cardboard Comes to iOS – Now 52 Google Apps for iPad! appeared first on Shake Up Learning.