how to – Jackson Elementary Library

Today some kids had fun creating circuit cards in the Jackson Library. This awesome idea is from Left Brain, Craft Brain. Steps below!

Left Brain, Craft Brain Instructions

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may the 4th craft — Left Brain Craft Brain instructions

My instructions:

Make A Digital Name Plate

Posted in remote learning, and technology

Thanks to Spark Creativity, Betsy Mork, for her digital name tent idea and Google Drive template! The fourth and fifth graders are loving it during remote learning! Just post in your Google Drive, share it with your students, and share the link to it in your Google Classroom! The kids love it. Check out their creativity!

STEPS to post this assignment to your Google Classroom:

Download the zip file to your C Drive
Choose the Google Drive Editable Printable file
Click the ENABLE EDITING button
Right click on the assignment link
Choose OPEN LINK
It will ask: Would you like to make a copy? Click the blue MAKE A COPY BUTTON of Hi My Name Is
The template will open. Click on the name of the file and rename it for your class
Go to your Google Classroom
Click the black +CREATE button
Choose ASSIGNMENT
Create the title and type the instructions
Click ADD LINK
Paste the link to the renamed assignment in your Google Drive. If you can’t find the link, click SHARE again on the assignment in Google Drive to get it, copy it, and go to ADD (paperclip) under your assignment description and paste the link.
When you add the assignment link, be sure to use the drop down menu next to it to choose EACH STUDENT WILL GET A COPY
Change the menu settings on the right:
TOPIC: Is Week (1): August 17-21
POINTS: I put UNGRADED
STUDENTS ASSIGNED – I don’t assign it to certain stu
AT THE TOP: Click black ASSIGN button to get the pull-down menu
Choose SCHEDULE and set the date you want the students to receive the assignment
If you change your mind when you want it to be assigned, you can go back to the black ASSIGN button and go to SCHEDULE and change the date.

name tent

name plate

Check out Betsy’s awesome blog!

August 15, 2020

Amy Kincaid

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Story from Space! Kahoot Remote Learning!

Posted in games, picture book lesson, and reading skills

Did you know? You can assign a Kahoot game to be played when students have time during remote learning? Did you know? Astronauts provide read alouds in space! Here’s the info:

Here’s an astronaut reading the book: If I Were an Astronaut.

Here’s how to play the asynchronous Kahoot game:

Log in to your Kahoot account.
Create the Kahoot
Synchronous: Choose for virtual classrooms
Asychronous: Choose for self-paced learning
Choose the start end date time frame. Choose other settings. Make sure it says ‘Challenge’ instead of ‘Game’. Challenge means on their own time and Game is to play live.

Assign challenge time frame due dates

6. Copy the URL to give to the kids.

copy the URL to send to the kids

Here’s the game I made for the kids to play to go with If I Were an Astronaut:

Asynchronous Kahoot game for If I Were an Astronaut — If I Were an Astronaut quiz

astronaut read aloud

August 11, 2020

Amy Kincaid

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Meet the Teacher-Librarian! Make Your Own GIF!

Here’s how you can make your own GIF to put in Google Slides:

Record yourself doing something. Be sure you make all of the movements similar so the start and end loop don’t look strange.

2. Upload it to a GIF-maker app. Mac offers these in their app store:

GIPHY GIF maker

3. Upload the GIF to the Unscreen web app and remove the background.

Use Unscreen web app to remove the GIF background

4. Upload your finished file to Lunapic. Choose ANIMATIONS from the menu at the top. Click EDIT GIF animation. Click drop down menu next to LOOPING and choose how many times you want the GIF to loop. Click APPLY.

5. SAVE it and import it into Google Slides.

You can move it and resize it there.

July 21, 2020

Amy Kincaid

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Make a ‘Thinglink’ with Google Drawings and Slides

Posted in PD, and technology

Best purchase this summer? Eric Curts’ Control Alt Achieve professional book! In part 27, he shows how to make Googlink Interactive Images. I did this incorrectly several times before producing something acceptable so I will share some tips! I made an ‘about me‘ one for our new principal and new staff members.

Go to your drive and NEW + (on the right)- go to MORE and locate Google Drawings. I tried to find Drawings in the 9 dot menu on the right and didn’t see it there. 2. Open drawings and begin building your picture. Be sure to locate copyright-free pictures from a reputable source. I like to use Pixabay. Insert pictures by using the toolbar menu: INSERT: image. You can add pictures-on-pictures. Plan out everything you want to add. I’m making an ‘about me’ so I added the Twitter icon, blog icon, etc.
When finished, Go to FILE – download – as JPG
Open a new blank Google Slide document
IMPORTANT: Go to insert BACKGROUND and find your jpg-Do not, do not just insert the picture – the sizing will be all wrong. I tried it. It will also just move around when anyone tries to click on anything. It is a mess.
Now find an image you want to link. Go to INSERT text box and make it transparent:
Right click and choose INSERT – LINK. Paste the link you want there.
Click on this symbol to make the border color of the text box transparent. I forgot to do this at first and you could see the little boxes around the symbols: Nooooooooo – so make them transparent! You can go back and do this at the very end if you want.
IMPORTANT: If you are linking to a file in Google Drive, be sure to share it correctly first. I made mine public. Click on the blue words to change with whom you share.9. Be sure to adjust the sharing settings of EVERYTHING you share: other Google documents, photos, audio files, etc.
For example, I made this Google Drawing to go in one of the links. After you create it in Drawings, click ‘Download’ and choose as ‘JPG’. Upload this JPG to your Google Drive.
ADJUST the sharing settings of this JPG to ‘public’ or ‘only ppl w the link’
Note: you can type on the Google Slide to provide instructions if you need to. I added the ‘Click to find out about me.’
Now here’s where Eric Curts really helped me out:
SHARE YOUR CREATION IN PREVIEW MODE:
1. This allows it to open in full screen instead of the editing window.
2. To do this: Click SHARE again and highlight the ‘edit’ part at the end of the line:
3. Now change that to ‘preview’
4. Done! Eric reminds us that when you send someone the link, all of your hotspots will be ready to be clicked. (p. 85, Control Alt Achieve, Eric Curts, Dave Burgess Consulting, 2020)
5. Double check: Did you share: docs, photos, audio, Google Drawings linked to the Google Slide? Did you share the Google Slide? Did you change the end of the link to preview or preview/template?