Ready for Their Closeups: Get Going with FlipGrid

Give your Students a Chance to Shine with FlipGrid

Here's an easy way to get students sharing their thoughts on camera. They have a minute and a half to answer questions, share their learning, and get a little screen time to boot. After they've recorded their responses, you can add the option of commenting or adding likes for each short video.

Another great option is turning on teacher preview and approval before it winds up on the webpage. You know how "creative" some students can be!

If you decide to try it out, I'd suggest a practice question to get over their camera jitters, like what they plan to do over the weekend, their fave foods/movies/places, etc. You can then hide it after everyone's had the chance to practice.

Another helpful point if you're using it in a lab setting, invest in those great headphones with attached microphones, or pull every other student from the computer next door. The computers tend to pick up everything!

One classroom FlipGrid is free. If you have multiple classes, you'll need to use the paid option. 

Click here to visit FlipGrid. Click here to see a basic promo page on FlipGrid.

Pixar in a Box... in Your Inbox!

 

Pixar Opens the Door to Khan Academy

Khan Academy's been a great way to engage students in grade-level content. They now offer Pixar in a Box, which takes 5th graders through high school into the animation industry. 

Students move at their own pace, watching videos with execs and programmers from Pixar, learning the process of computer-generated animation. It's a great way to fill that STEAM need in your curriculum. Consider choosing one day a week to show the intro video, and have students work through the lessons. Their latest offering covers storytelling. 

Signing up for Khan Academy has been a bear in the past, but they've just added the ability to import your entire class from Google Classroom. Once students are logged into their Google account, they just click on the Google button to sign in. They next need to accept you as their coach, and accept the curriculum you've assigned. 

Click here to visit Khan Academy's intro to Pixar in a Box. Be sure you're signed into your teacher Google account. 

Math Games with... MathGames.com!

Great Graphics, Customizable Learning with MathGames.com

Looking for quick math games tied in to grade-level state of national standards? Or a way to tie in your class to the math skills in your chapter of study? Or a high-interest set of games to practice math? Try MathGames. It includes detailed questions and hints to help when that certain student needs to see the concept from a different angle. Your free teacher (or parent) account includes detailed reports on your class' progress.

Sign up by clicking here.

Perfect PNGs with Stick PNG

Great Popular Graphics with Transparent Backgrounds

When you're creating a message or lesson online, a simple graphic or two can make your lesson pop. StickPNG.com offers free graphics with no background. Check them out!

Because of the limitations of the blogging site, our friend Grumpy Cat, below, isn't beautifully transparent; however, it should work on most other apps.

(FYI: When you find the graphic you want, just drag and drop it to your desktop or window... ignore the "Download" button, which is trying to get you to subscribe to one thing or another.)