Class Tag

Here is a tool for keeping in contact with parents.  It translates!

Reach every parent with ClassTag

Have you heard of ClassTag? I’m a big fan of this parent communication tool. I even spent time with them at their booth at ISTE a few years ago. ClassTag is a popular family communication tool with lots of special features for teachers and families.

ClassTag is totally free and includes direct messaging using both email and text messages to communicate. Teachers can set up class-wide announcements as well. So you can send a notification to everyone or a special message to just one or a few families. There is the option to share videos and photos too making it perfect for every day sharing or sharing after a field trip or assembly. Teachers can also use ClassTag for meeting signups during parent-teacher conferences.

Parent Features

ClassTag adapts to parent preferences. When you send a message, directly to a parent or to the class, they automatically receive it in the way they choose. For example, there is an automatic translation into over fifty languages. So if a parent signs up with your unique code, they will receive messages from you in their native language. Parents can also decide if they want to receive messages from teachers via email or text. ClassTag is available on any device, so families can read messages and receive updates from their go-to device like a cell phone or laptop.

Teacher Features

In addition to these special features for families, there are lots of perks for teachers too. Teachers using ClassTag can see who is the loop. That’s because ClassTag lets you know who has read a message, and who hasn’t seen a message yet. This information can help you make sure families see all of the critical information you share. Teachers will also receive notifications when a family’s contact details are in need of an update. This way you can send notes home or make a phone call to families who may be hard to reach electronically.

Click here to sign up for a ClassTag account - it's free!

January tips for family engagement

To kick off 2019, a free ClassTag account can give you opportunities to take control of everything on your calendar. In addition to the features mentioned above, I want to spotlight a few activities you can create with ClassTag to try out this month!

1. Create Events: This year, keep your upcoming events organized through ClassTag. You can create an event in ClassTag that lets every family know about the next parent curriculum night, school play, or anything else on this month's schedule.

2. Request Volunteers: Whether you're hosting a car wash or looking for parents to present on career day, ClassTag can help you manage volunteer requests. With a few clicks on your ClassTag teacher dashboard you can request volunteers for anything going on in your classroom this month.

3. Item Requests: If you have a list full of to do items and know that families in your class can help, you can create a "to do item" in ClassTag. This means you have the opportunity to ask for help from families and know who has committed to making sure things run smoothly in your classroom this month.

4. Conference Sign-Ups: Are parent-teacher conferences on your schedule this quarter? You can create a sign up schedule for families using the ClassTag platform.

In the image above, you can see how easy it is to click on the Activities tab and choose which activity you'd like to create for your class.

Another way to use ClassTag this year is for weekly summaries. At the beginning or end of each week - you choose the time - you can send out a weekly summary to families. This way you can keep everyone up-to-date and start 2019 off strong!

Click here to sign up for a ClassTag account - it's free!

Read & Write Webinar

Hello everyone!  I hope your year is off to a great start!  I have hit the ground running and not stopped yet. 😊

I shared in an earlier blog (April 2018) a great resource for working with students called Read&Write.  The resource has expanded and now provides services for Windows, Edge, and Mac.  They are offering a series of free webinars on product features and use that you should check out.

You can sign up for the webinars here.

Have a great year!  I will see you soon.

How I Teach Paragraph Writing to ELs

I have been using a book by Margaret Wise Brown for many years to teach paragraph writing to students. We begin by watching the video or reading the book.  Sometimes I will stop during the reading and ask the students what they think the author will say is important about the object.

After we hear the book, I ask students to pick something they think is important. We begin listing on chart paper some of the ways the object is important. I then introduce the sentence frame: The important thing about ________ is _____________. Google translate may be used to help create the sentence frame in Spanish or other languages if available.

I then use a tri-folded half-sheet of paper to create our own mini-book. On the first page, we write our important statement. On the following pages, we list additional things that are important about the object, one statement per page. On the last page, we add the word but. The word but is added to show that a paragraph begins and ends with the topic sentence.


This story would be read: The important thing about erasers is that they erase. They come in many colors. They are soft. They get warm when you use them. They leave little crumbs when they work. They come in many different shapes. But, the important thing about erasers is that they erase.

The students would then write their important book as a paragraph.  Later, we discuss how the concluding sentence may be written in a different way. We refer back to our important books as we write future paragraphs.

You Should Know About Read & Write for Google

For several years now, I have been sharing with everyone I meet a very useful tool called Read & Write for Google Chrome (also available for Windows). 

Read & Write for Google Chrome is an extension that provides comprehensive reading and writing supports for Google Docs and the web as well as PDFs, and other files stored in Google Drive.

Some of the benefits offered by Read & Write for Google Chrome include:

• An easy to use toolbar that integrates seamlessly with Google Drive and the web.
• Tools like talking and picture dictionaries and a translator to support struggling readers.
• Text to speech for reading accessible and inaccessible content in Google Docs, PDFs, ePUBs and on the web.
• Writing tools like word prediction and voice dictation.
• Colored highlighters for researching and extracting information from documents and the web.
• Typewriter and post-it annotations for PDFs and ePubs in Google Drive.
• Vocabulary can be gathered and turned into a picture dictionary that is automatically created and sent to your Google Drive.

Individuals who download the free trial of Read & Write for Google Chrome from the Chrome Store get access to all features free for 30 days.  After the trial expires, text to speech and translation supports for Google Docs and the web remain free.  Premium features are available with the purchase of a subscription.  However, teachers can receive continued access to ALL premium features at no charge!

If you are a teacher and don't have Google's Read & Write installed, you should head to the Chrome Store and download it.  After you have it installed, go to https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/products/read-write/free-for teachers/ and register by filling out the Teacher Registration form with your name, email, school, administrator, and other details that confirm your eligibility. For it to work properly, be sure the email you provide is the same as the one you used to install Read & Write for Google Chrome.  And remember, this is only for teachers. Entering student information in the form could be against your school or district's student privacy policy.

That's it! Once confirmed, your trial of Read & Write for Google Chrome will automatically be converted into a premium subscription.

Let me know what you think of the extension and feel free to ask questions.


From: "Read&Write is Still Free for Teachers: Texthelp Education Blog March...."30 Mar, 2016, https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/company/education-blog/march-2016/read-write-is-still-free-for-teachers/. 

Do You Use Symbaloo? I Think You Should

03/17/2018

Symbaloo is another one of the Websites I have been using for several years now.  When I taught EdTech to teachers it was invaluable and they have come a long way since then.  I like it so much that it is my computer's homescreen.

Here are a couple of my pages for ESL:

Sharing some Symbaloo ♥: Learning English w/ Mrs.G Webmix https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/learningenglish2
https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/cgmorelearningenglish

Symbaloo is sort of like hyperdocs, before hyperdocs were a thing.  I have organized many pages for myself with with my favorite links for a focused topic.  No more searching for "where did I put that link?".  If I want to find that awesome link showing me how to create a video, I just look in my tab titled video. The icons are usually something specific to the site, or you can make a custom icon to help you remember.

Google even has an extension that allows you to add websites to your Symbaloo account as you view them.  Find it in the Google Store.

Learning Paths are another great feature of Symbaloo.  Learning Paths allow you to create a series of links that students complete either with you or as a flipped or independent lesson.  You can incorporate video, multiple choice and short answer questions, Google docs and Google Forms as part of your Learning Path so that it includes a formative assessment and/or summative assessment as students progress.

Here is an example by Rob Greer:

Learning Path About Cancer

Here is one about Subject-Verb Agreement:

Subject-Verb

Go to Symbaloo.com and signup today.  They now offer Pro accounts to teachers for free.  You can upgrade for more options, but the free account does a lot.

As always, let me know if you have questions or need help.

Make an Animated Dictionary

I saw an advertisement not long ago with a cutout word with action going on behind the letters. I thought to myself, I can do that, what a great way to animate vocabulary for my English Language Learners. What a great tool for students to use to create a word list that will also provide meaning.  Take a look at the link below to see an example I created to introduce the concept.

Animated Dictionary

To make an animated dictionary of your own you will need three tools: Google Slides, Photoshop (or a new site I found called Sumopaint.com), and an extension for Google called MakeGIF which allows you to make gifs from videos.

• First, select your vocabulary words. 
• Then, find a video segment that illustrates the word. 
• Use MakeGIF to create a short GIF for the word from the video.
• Generate and then save the GIF to your desktop.
• Open Google Slides.
• Adjust the page setup to widescreen 16:9.
• Use Word Art in the Insert drop-down menu to type your chosen word in ALL CAPS. (Using Word Art will allow you to drag to make the font bigger while keeping it proportionate.)
• Change the font to one that is bold with a lot of open space in the letters.
• Use the fill button and fill the letters with white.
• Make the lines around the letters transparent.
• You won't be able to see the word, so, you will need to change the background color to something that will compliment your Gif.
• Go to file - download- and download it to your desktop as a png file.
• Now go to Photoshop or Sumopaint and set the canvas size to 960 x 540 to match the screen size of the image and make it transparent.
• Next, upload the word image you saved to the desktop.
• Select the magic wand tool and click inside the letter to select the white space inside the letter.
• Hit the delete button and the inside of the letter is removed to show the transparent background.
• Continue with each letter.
• When the letters are all transparent go to File -  Save As - and name your file (I like to add trans to the end of the name to identify it as transparent.)
• Go back to Google Slides and on the blank slide open your GIF and drag the corner to make it fit the screen.
• Next, click on Insert - Image - select your edited word that was saved to your desktop.  It will be loaded on top of your GIF.
• Finally, in the notes area at the bottom of the screen, the definition of the word can be added.

That's it!  Have fun creating your own Animated Dictionaries! If you need help with any of the steps just send me a message.  

No Regrets

We all have our struggles.  Sometimes things happen to us that we have little to no control over.  Other times, things happen because of the choices we make.

When I was younger, I tended to beat myself up with regret.  I regretted the choices I made.  I regretted my reactions to things that happened to me.  I wondered, what if I hadn't married when I did?  What would have happened if I had ended it sooner?  What would have happened if we had not moved out of state, and I had accepted the scholarship I was offered to pursue a career in art?  So many what-ifs.

Now that I am older and tend to spend more time reflecting, I have decided to throw out all those regrets and instead see them for the learning experiences they were.  If I had not married, I would not have three wonderful children that mean the world to me.  If my marriage had ended sooner, the time would not have been right to meet my current husband.  If I had gone to college to study art, I would not have had the fulfilling job of teaching English learners.

There will always be things out of our control.  There will be things we cannot change.  We all make mistakes in life; it is how we deal with and see these things that make the difference.  Don't choose to live a life of sadness and regret.  See life as a learning experience and make the best of it.  Smile, show kindness, and enjoy life.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  (In the grand scheme of things, it is all small stuff.)  We are here too short a time to live it in past regrets.