Tag: how-to

How to Compare and Contrast Authentically

To students, knowing how to ‘compare and contrast’ sounds academic, not real world, but we teachers know most of life is choosing between options. The better adults are at this, the more they thrive.

Common Core Standards recognize the importance of this skill by addressing it in over 29 Standards, at every grade level from Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade. Here’s a partial list:

Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. (K-5 and 6-12 Reading Anchor Standards)

With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories and With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (K Reading Standards–2)
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Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories and Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (1st grade Reading Standards–2)

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coding

Hour of Code: Program Shortkeys

shortkeyCreating a shortkey for a program will quickly become a favorite with your students. I use it for the snipping tool–because we use that a lot in class–but you can create one for any program you use a lot. Then I discovered how to create a shortkey for it:

  • Go to Start
  • Right click on the desired program
  • Select ‘properties’
  • Click in ‘shortcut’
  • Push the key combination you want to use to invoke the snipping tool. In my case, I used Ctrl+Alt+S
  • Save

Here’s a video to show you:

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paperless

How to go Paperless in Your Classroom

paperlessEvery Earth Day, someone in your school, maybe the parent group, raises the question of WHY NOT a paperless classroom? Everyone nods their heads, agrees this is a revolutionary idea, and moves on as Earth Day passes.

Really, though: Why not? There are benefits to adopting web-based alternatives to paper:

  • it’s easy to collaborate when everything’s online
  • nothing gets soda dripped on it or eaten by the dog
  • students can collaborate without requiring parent time and gas fumes
  • teachers can answer questions in a timely manner
  • teachers can provide feedback on projects that students respond to and resubmit
  • student work is simple to copy, back up, and share as needed

To kickstart your paperless digital classroom requires a modicum of preparation. Take a few weekends this summer to set up a class blog and class website and get comfortable with the digital side of your school. This may include:

  • Google Apps for Education and/or Google Classroom–this serves as a basic digital portfolio for students, a collaborative tool with classmates, the teacher’s inbox, and her tool for returning graded and analyzed student work.
  • an LMS like Edmodo, Otus, or MyBigCampus–these often include an interactive gradebook, parent inclusion devices, a student discussion forum, polls, a way to collect and share resources, a class calendar, and access across a variety of digital devices.
  • digital portfolios for students–this can be accomplished with the LMS you use, Google Apps, Google Classroom, or even Dropbox

Four school-based pieces you’ll need:

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email

Tech Tip #112: How to Open 2 Gmail Accounts at Once

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

Q: I have a home Gmail account and a school one. How do I open both at once so I can keep track of what my kids/home business/etc is doing while at my teaching job?

A: The quick answer I got from e-friend and tech guru Chris Hoffman is: Open each account in a separate browser (in my case, I use Firefox and Chrome). Click here to get all the details why this works. It has to do with each browser keeping its own cookie.

Why do you need this:

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compare contrast

How to Compare and Contrast Authentically

compare contrastTo students, knowing how to ‘compare and contrast’ sounds academic, not real world, but we teachers know most of life is choosing between options. The better adults are at this skill, the more they thrive in the world.

Common Core Standards recognize the importance of this skill by addressing it in over 29 Standards, at every grade level from Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade. Here’s a partial list:

Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. (K-5 and 6-12 Reading Anchor Standards)

With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories and With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (K Reading Standards–2)
..
Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories and Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (1st grade Reading Standards–2)

(more…)

Learn How to Play a Musical Instrument on Your Smart Phone

digital musicAATT contributer, Sara Stringer, is looking at digital music tools this month. This is a topic I don’t say enough about so I’m thrilled Sara’s sharing her thoughts with you. There are at least three tools below I’ve never tried. After you read this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on her choices and any she didn’t mention you love.
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Do you want to learn how to play an instrument or sing? Your smartphone or tablet is your gateway to the world of music. There are plenty of apps that can help you get started, and help progress your musical interest and talent. In addition to the apps listed below, you could also find a music teacher to help advance your artistic abilities.

Note Perfect!

Note Perfect! makes a game of learning to read notes. It is a timed game testing the student’s ability to recognize written notes, which is a crucial skill for all musicians. The game design is both fun and intuitive for easy learning.  The app allows play in four different clefs, and in three different levels of difficulty.  You can even play with friends to try and capture the high score.

GuitarBots

According to the GuitarBots website, “The future of guitar learning starts here.” The app allows the use of either an electric or acoustic guitar, and it employs the tablet or phone’s microphone to hear what the student plays to assess progress.  Awards are given to induce practice and development.  Subscriptions allow the student to dig deeper into the content and features for a greater experience. The FCC has parental control guidelines and information to keep children safe online, with this app, controls can be activated to protect younger students from accessing inappropriate content through the app on the internet.

Sing Sharpdigital music

Don’t let the name fool you; Sing Sharp will help you sing in tune. It is a game learning platform that gauges your pitch accuracy in real-time. This will help you learn to find the right note as you go. There are ten game levels with over a thousand ear training and vocal exercises. Warm-ups at the beginning of each session get your voice ready to sing. The app learns your vocal range and tests it each time to make you a stronger singer.

GarageBand

Garage Band can make a complete novice sound like a virtuoso, but still has functionality that an experienced musician can use. Mac owners should read cultofmac.com’s, How to get all the awesome extra sounds for GarageBand 10 to get the most out of the app. The touch instruments and loops can have a newbie composing and recording in no time. A more experienced musician can plug in their instrument, and a guitarist can choose amps and effects to capture the perfect sound. The Inter-App Audio feature allows third party apps to combine with GarageBand so you can add in your favorite drum machine and effects.

Find a Teacher

There is nothing better to take you to the next level than to find a teacher.  Learn from their experience as they tailor your training to your natural ability. Lessonrating.com can help you find a teacher close to you to help further your musical interests. Just enter your area of interest and zip code to find the teachers close to you. Check the reviews to locate the right mentor, then contact them and get started.

Technology has given many resources to musicians all around

the world.  They can help the beginner master their instrument and the advanced player hone their skills.  Get started with an app or use it to augment the learning you get from a music teacher.  Either way it is a win-win situation for the student wanting to become a better musician.

Sara Stringer is a former medical and surgical assistant who now does freelance business consulting. She enjoys blogging and helping others. In her spare time (translation: the time spent doing what’s most important), she enjoys soaking up the sunshine with her husband and two kids.


Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor/author of dozens of tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is webmaster for six blogs, CSG Master Teacher, adjunct professor in tech ed, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, a tech ed columnist for Examiner.com, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.