After learning about Digital Breakout activities at IETC 2018 last week, I tried making my own. It was easier than I anticipated and I only had a few glitches. Although I set the data validation for each question and set up the sections to work properly, I did forget to make the quiz self-grading. My first students to finish needed for me to manually check each of their answers. Not too bad for my first try!
A couple of hints to remember:
Put students into groups of no more than 4. I think the groups of 2 and 3 worked more productively than the larger groups of 4.
Allow much more time than you expect for it to take. My students were all working on question 2 of 4 when the time limit expired. Next time, I will allow 45 minutes instead of 30.
Double check the data validation carefully. Google does not allow more than one possible data validation option, so plan the questions carefully so that students are not struggling with whether to write a plural form. I used the hints to help with this.
Add a Certify em' certificated by using the Certify em' add on for Google Forms. Then your successful students will automatically be mailed a completion certificate.
Plan another activity in case the Internet goes down. This has not been a problem all year, UNTIL I started this activity. Ugh!
Don't forget to set the answer key, too. Once I put correct answers into the data validation fields, I forgot to add the same responses into the correct fields for self-checking.
I would love to find a timer that would embed into the Google Form or that would automatically countdown. For now, I just used the Google timer found by typing timer into the Google search bar. Displaying this on my Smartboard worked fine.
Here is my First Thanksgiving Breakout using the Scholastic First Thanksgiving website for searching for answers to the questions.
As I am creating resources to accompany the Wonders Fifth Grade Reading program, I will post them here. I hope to create one or two resources per week as I use the series this year. Check back for the links to Google Slide Pear Decks for introducing skills and vocabulary and Book Widget resources review. Subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss out!
As a pilot teacher of the McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders series, I am just starting to feel like I am figuring out a workable routine for this series. Here are my initial thoughts to anyone who is just beginning to use the Wonders Reading Program.
The website is not teacher friendly!
After completing Unit 1, I can finally locate resources that seem to be hidden away in the depths of the digital program. In fact, I bought binders to organize the weekly resources including pocket dividers for vocabulary cards and extra binders to hold copies of the annotated teacher's edition of the Your Turn workbook and Grammar Workbook. It is tiresome searching online each time that I want to grade an assignment.
Take Your Time Setting Up the Calendar
I also finally figured out how to adjust the calendar feature and redistribute lessons as needed. The digital tutorials were not as helpful as they could have been. A hint to remember: setting up the calendar is an essential part of utilizing this program. Take your time to do it right.
Take the Tests and Complete the Worksheets Yourself
The Weekly Assessments are very difficult, so try them yourself before using any of them with your classes. I have heard repeatedly from teachers that the approaching level test is the one to use during the first year of implementation. I agree! You will also want to teach strategies for completing these tests that are fresh reads for the students. Pay attention to any vocabulary included in the questions that could be difficult. My students knew the meanings of the vocabulary words for the week, but they did not know some of the words that were included as synonym choices on the tests. Vocabulary and finding text support for answers are heavily weighted in this program. You won't find the pitfalls until you do the work yourself.
Watch for Errors
After Unit 1, I have reported 5 content errors in the digital program, including typos and mislabeled spelling sounds, to content support. Be persistent and make sure that you follow up if you get an email saying that there is no error. Eventually, you will get to talk to someone who will want to fix the problem.
Create Your Own Resources as Supplements
With the difficulty of the program, my students have needed additional resources and practice that are not provided in the program. I have been making my own. Some of the hidden gems that I found useful are the Weekly Writing Frames that help students to summarize and use the vocabulary from the Reading/Writing Workshop selection. I also found this website to be helpful: http://theteachersguide.com. Here you can find a weekly informational letter, printable vocabulary cards, and vocabulary lists.
Sample of a Weekly Writing Frame
I have begun to make Google Slides with embedded Pear Deck questions to go along with each lesson. With the free Pear Deck add-on and 1:1 Chromebooks, I can present on the Smartboard and push multiple choice and short-response questions to students during the presentation to increase engagement. Without these, I struggled with the lengthy, large group instructional sequences built into the first 2 days of the recommended plan. I will be posting those Pear Deck slides in another post. Be sure to subscribe to get updates if you want copies of all of them. Here is the Unit 2, Week 3 (Gr. 5)Pear Deck Google Slides slide set as a sample:
Book Widgets and Spelling City have also provided easy ways to increase student engagement with Wonders. It is very easy to create sequencing activities, vocabulary crossword puzzles, timelines, word webs, and story maps with Book Widget tools. Spelling City integrates nicely and includes pre-made spelling lists at 3 levels and vocabulary practice for every Unit and Grade level. This is a handy addition.
Don't Give Up!
It gets easier to wade through the resources. I finally feel like I know the differences between the Reading Writing Workshop, Literature Anthology, Your Turn workbook, and Close Reading Companion books! There are so many resources, I have to choose which ones to use each week, but it is getting easier. Check back here or subscribe so that you don't miss the other tools that I am creating for 5th grade!
The Cream in My Google Coffee: 6 Chrome Extensions
Ever wished that you could add a touch of whipped cream and flavoring to your Google programs? These are the extensions you need. Extensions are programs that you can add to Google Chrome to change or extend the functionality of your browser and they will make your teacher-life easier! Unlike apps, they do not work independently, but instead, add features to existing programs. To add an extension, you can go to the Chrome Web Store and search for programs by name. To check on the status of your extensions, go to the 3-dot menu in the upper right corner of Chrome, choose More tools>Extensions. From this screen, you can add, delete, or turn-off extensions. (This is a great place to look if your student's Chromebook suddenly locks up, too.)
This is your online grammar/spelling checker. Look for the little green circle in the corner of your emails, blog posts, text messages, and online communications to ensure correct grammar once this extension has been installed. This is for anyone who wishes that they could unsend some poorly written communication...
Full Google Integration makes it easy to create engaging assignments in Google Classroom. Adding the Book Widgets extension allows you to create a crossword puzzle, quiz, word search, drag and drop, graphic organizer, or more than 30 other question types to Google Classroom. Try out Book Widgets for free, and continue to use any widgets you create. To continue integration with Google Classroom beyond the trial, you will need a subscription, though. Totally worth the expense for the time and functionality it provides you. Check out these samples:
Always waiting in the toolbar to capture and annotate your screen, Awesome Screenshot is easy to use and share. Add text, arrows, drawings, and shapes to any image. Link your Google account to save your screenshots to your Google Drive account, share through social media, or download. This free account also saves all of your screenshots within the app if you choose.
The EdPuzzle extension adds a link to your EdPuzzle account to YouTube. This extension adds the Edit with EdPuzzle button so you no longer need to copy and past URLs to EdPuzzle to create a quiz.
Use Share to Classroom to take every student to any website or link instantly. With this extension, students don't need to type URLs and you don't have to post to Google Classroom to share a link. The extension icon sits in your toolbar. Just open the webpage you want to share, click the icon and choose your classroom from the pre-populated list. This is a real time-saver.
Create your avatar and use the images in Gmail, Twitter, Snapchat, and blogs. This is a fun way to send feedback to students and colleagues that they will actually read and remember. The extension sits in the toolbar of Gmail or images can be copied and pasted. Be sure to personalize your Bitmoji so that it looks like you and even change your clothes with the seasons. Your students will want one, too, if they haven't already created one for Snapchat!
Do you have other favorite extensions? Start the conversation below!
It took me 23 years! Two plus decades of teaching without asking for honest parental feedback... I'm not proud of this statistic, but I know I am not unique. In fact, as a parent, I don't believe I have ever been asked to give feedback directly to any of the hundreds of teachers who have interacted with my 4 children! Not once. But why?
1. Why ask for complaints?
We teachers frequently hear the negative and assume that every parent is unhappy. That quick text message with the angry tone that we got when Johnny missed the bus, the email that was sent to the principal when your child was bullied at recess, and the gossip at the softball field about which teachers are "too strict" makes us leary. We constantly hear when something is going awry, so we anticipate parental discontent. Teachers sometimes close the communication gate as a survival technique because we view parents as our greatest adversaries and eye-roll the public relations game that we have to play. "Keep the parents in the dark and they have less to criticize," can become the motto by the end of the year.
2. Why do I have to explain my decisions?
Just because you have been to a hospital doesn't mean that you know how to be a doctor, but every parent has ideas on how a classroom should be organized, the amount of homework a teacher should give, where their child should sit in class, and the best way to evaluate learning. I was afraid that if I invited parent scrutiny, that I would also have to justify every classroom decision. Who has time for that?
3. Why would I care what parents think?
Yes, teachers can be that arrogant. I thought parents would be happier if I just gave no challenging work, did art projects all day, watched movies, and doled out A+ grades like candy. If parents disliked challenging expectations then we were at odds. I was a professional, after all, not Mary Poppins! I was so wrong...
The Truth
Teachers need to open channels for both positive and negative feedback from students and parents! Not only do I pass out my home phone number now on the first day of school, but I give an anonymous digital survey to parents at the end of every school year. The feedback has changed my perspective. Parents have great suggestions and insight. They see our classrooms from an outside perspective--an important parent one! I learned that they are worried and overworked. They want to help their children succeed, but they don't have the discipline or knowledge to be effective. Many of them, the ones who rarely speak up, are thankful for your time, dedication, and professionalism. They do think you make a positive difference!
And I learned that I need them. Because of their feedback, I will spend more time helping parents sign up for email alerts from Skyward and Accelerated Reader. I'll explain where to find those review resources for our math program, and send home test dates a little sooner. I will answer their evening phone calls and stay every night after school to help their child complete make-up work. I discovered that parents appreciated my challenging classroom, relied heavily on my frequent communication, and loved our Bloomz photostream. They also want what is best for their children who they know best. I am a better teacher because of parental input You should give it a try.
Evolution of thinking...that is what has changed my classroom more than any specific tool or computer program. After 3 years of teaching a 1:1 Chromebook classroom, my first thought is no longer, "What am I going to grade?" I find myself asking, "What could the students do to show their knowledge?" I'm sorry to say that I spent too many years trying to get the required grades as we trudged through another page in our workbooks!
My favorite tools have also been evolving. Here are my current favorites (the ones that I bookmark and link to Google Classroom before the first day of school.)
After working with Class Dojo and Remind, I have settled on Bloomz as my favorite classroom communication app. I love being able to post messages, alerts, documents, and photos for my families without worrying about privacy concerns from social media. Best of all, I can connect with parents by email through Bloomz even if they don't set up their Bloomz account. I used the alert feature after our field trip returned early, and only one of my students was left standing around while the other teachers waited for student's rides. Having read receipts and the ability to resend announcements to parents who did not view the announcement are bonuses, and Bloomz has a behavior component that can be turned on or off to meet your needs. This app even lets parents view your classroom/Google calendar, sign up for parent conferences, and like/add photos from one location. This is sharing made easy.
EdPuzzle is the best way to turn any video into an interactive lesson. I like being able to crop, add my own audio narration, and embed free-response questions. I think this improved student proficiency with PARCC tests that require the use of video information and computer writing tools. Grading, leaving comments, and assigning through Google Classroom are also easy to learn with EdPuzzle tutorials. This year, I created a video EdPuzzle assignment for students to create for the first time. My 5th graders were able to choose the best videos and create thought-provoking questions for their classmates. They even reviewed peer responses to their questsions.
We begin every day with XtraMath and ReadTheory. The key to success with this independent reading program is teacher-monitoring of progress. My students became adept at setting goals for knowledge points and tracking their reading levels with both grade equivalents and lexiles. During the second semester, I began to use the written response option and required that students write one response in paragraph format per week. This writing component replaced journal writing in my classroom. I do wish that Read Theory had a way to archive graded writing assignments to view growth over time.
I utilize the free-version of NoRedInk, but I wish that our district had funds for the premium version. With 5th graders, I begin each unit with a Diagnostic Test, use the results to assign practice, give weekly growth quizzes, and differentiate instruction based on this data. This is not at all complicated with NoRedInk. When assigning work, each student has a color-coded dot to show mastery level, and NoRedInk adjusts the practice assignments to address the skill deficiencies shown on the assignments. No student is stuck with repetitive practice of mastered skills, but mastery is expected to progress. The silly sentences based on student interests makes this program a no-brainer for grades 4-12.
Quizlet has been a great study tool for memorization of vocabulary, but I like the new Quizlet Live feature! Just go to www.quizlet.com, choose your study set, and open Quizlet Live. Students type in a game code and their first names to be grouped randomly into teams for the game. Everyone in the team sees the same question on-screen simultaneously, but only one team member has the correct answer. This game requires conversation and collaboration which improve comprehension. Expect a few enthusiastic outbursts as the competition can be fierce!
Quizizz and Kahoot are game show review possibilities, but the search and assignment features of Quizizz are user-friendly and especially useful. Assign directly to Google Classroom, too. Students can compete with their friends, review errors, and challenge their classmates even if they are not logged in to Quizizz at the same time. My students beg for these review games!
Premium membership is the only way to go! This year I have 2 different grade levels of spelling words and 3 different list lengths in my classroom. All of this differentiation occurs seamlessly and students don't even realize that the word lists are varied. The newer games for rhyming words and sound counting are perfect for some lists. And Spelling City can generate a multitude of helpful reports.
Fact mastery has been proven to improve long-term math achievement, so we practice for a few minutes each day. My students know their math facts because it is a part of our routines. Check out this free program that automates fact acquisition.
Two years ago, when planning for an extended absence, I started using Planbook to help make the transition easier. I liked being able to link and embed all of my visual materials to lessons for the sub. This year, I was able to import many of the plans from last year to provide a sketchy outline of the year before the first day of class. Some plans were kept for this year while others were tweaked for better results. I even have used Planbook to send work home to absent students. Just send the student share link home through Bloomz! I have much more planned for this resource next year.
This audio-visual response app creates the cutest highlights reel in seconds. Just type in questions for your class, choose the maximum recording time, and watch the students explain their understanding via Chromebook webcams. Students like listening and commenting to their friends, too.
If you have other apps to recommend, please leave your ideas in the comments below and follow this blog. Let's explore 1:1 Chromebooks, blended learning, and technology together!
Book Widgets is my new favorite tool! It has taken me weeks of tutorials, trial and error, and even an early morning video chat with Lucie Reinard from Book Widgets to feel like I am progressing. I suggest choosing one or two widget types, practicing with those until you are comfortable, and then moving on to another. With 40 to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming!
First you need to add the Google Chrome extension to your school account so that it will sync with Google Classroom. Just follow these steps:
Creating Your Account and Adding the Extension
1. Go to Chrome Web Store. Search for "ibook widget" and it should appear. Don't forget to put the letter i in the front! Add to Chrome.
2. This icon should appear in the extension bar of your Chrome browser.
3. Type: bookwidgets.com into the address bar at the top of the page.
Watching a few tutorials is helpful!
4. Click on "Start for Free" and Sign up with Google. Accept all permissions.
Always sign up with your school Google account.
5. Register the account and sign in. Then choose your grade level and complete the quick tour.
Google Integration
Book Widgets is now an assignment option in Google Classroom.
This is the first extension that I have found that runs right in Google Classroom. Now that this is installed, you will see the Book Widgets choice every time that you make an assignment in Google Classroom. Just click on the Plus icon to add an assignment and you have an choice for assignments. Book Widgets will open directly in Google Classroom allowing you to create or link any of the 40 widgets directly to classroom seamlessly.
Create and assign from the Book Widget app.
Scoring and Reports
Seamless integration
Grades and work are imported into Classroom, so you don't have to leave Google Classroom to find student scores. Adding comments and hand-scoring are simple, and you can click an arrow to move from one student's work to the next. Easy-peasy!
View, comment, and edit scores easily.
Project Samples
Here are just a few project samples that I have used so far. Be sure to visit the example pages on Book Widgets to get ideas.
Mind map
Interactive, auto-graded crossword
Drag and drop to sort
Matching Pairs
Automated math practice
A completed timeline
Pricing
Lucie was kind enough to offer us a license key for any Tech Tuesday teachers who wanted to try Book Widgets. You get 3 months in your free trial instead of 30 days! Yeah! I do plan to purchase a subscription for next year at the end of my trial, so let me know if you are interested, too. Individually a subscription is $49 a year per teacher, 5-9 teachers get additional perks for the same price, but $35 a year will cover the cost if there are 10 or more teachers in a district.
I have put in a request for clarification, because I understood that the widgets that were created were fully-functional after the trial period expired, but the website says that widgets cannot be shared in a classroom unless you have an active subscription.
Do you prefer grading essays by hand because it takes too long in Google Docs? Feel like you are writing the same comments over and over on student papers? Add the CheckMark extension to streamline this process!
CheckMark provides an editable list of comments for student docs. Just highlight some text and choose the pre-existing comments. A pop-up box will appear to the right in the student's document with the comment tagged to your highlight. Check out this video of CheckMark in action.
You can custom tailor your comments, too. I added plagiarism, title punctuation, figurative language, and, quotation marks to the comment list. The comments can be detailed (I didn't find a character limit) and you can include links to Youtube video tutorials, Google Drive documents, or NoRedInk practice on specific topics. Try it out today!
Our students are tech-savvy so monitoring Chromebooks can feel like chasing your shadow! We know it is important, but it is a challenge. Teachers are responsible for how students are using technology under your watch. The Technology Guidelines even make this statement (emphasis added):
It shall be the responsibility of all members of the Mt. Zion CUSD #3 staffto educate, supervise and monitor
appropriate usage of the online computer networks and access to the Internet in accordance with this policy, the
Children’s Internet Protection Act, the Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection Act, and the Protecting children
in the 21st Century Act.
My first 2 years of 1:1 Chromebooks were filled with trial and error. Here are the steps that have worked for me, but you will need to adapt them to your own classrooms.
1. Inspect what you expect!
The greatest deterrent to inappropriate Chromebook behavior is periodic, unpredictable inspections. Have you ever noticed how some classrooms have desks completely cleared at the end of the day and others don't? Some classrooms consistently fill out assignment books and others don't? Teacher expectation and follow-through are crucial. So, if students are continually going to inappropriate sites or mishandling their computer privileges, it is the teacher's fault. Ouch! When you start teaching students what you expect and checking to be sure they are following through, the problems lessen.
Start the year with frequent checks of student history. I call it "History and Hands Off." Whenever I say those words, my students click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of their screen, choose "history," and put their hands on the desk or in their laps. I take a quick trip around the classroom and then students go back to work. After the first week of school, students know that a check could come at any time, and that keeps most of them honest. If I see any site that students were not directed to open, I take the student's Chromebook. After a week of writing down all of the questions, answers, assignments, spelling tests, etc. Students know that I have a zero-tolerance policy. I did have a student who lost privileges the second time this year, but that is rare.
2. Show students what you can access.
Begin the year with an explanation of the Mt. Zion Student Technology Guidelines. Be sure students know that every click that they make on that Chromebook is trackable, permanent, and monitored. I explain to students about my personal and school accounts on Google. I tell them, "Mr. Rockey doesn't need to know when my sons are sick or what I ordered for Christmas on Amazon." Students need to know that their @mtzschools accounts are like their writing journals and textbooks. These accounts belong to the school and everything on them is public whether they share it or not. Here is the exact language from the Student Technology Guidelines. (Emphasis added.):
E. Security of System and Responsibilities of System Users Security in the system must be a high priority for all users. Do not disclose your log in ID or password to anyone, or attempt to log into the system as another person. Passwords should be changed periodically. The user is responsible for anything that occurs under their log in. If you become aware of any improper use of the system, or violation of security rules, you must notify an administrator, teacher, or the computer network system administrator immediately. Users should not expect files stored on school-based computers or on their school-based Google account will be private. Electronic messages and files stored on the school-based computers or on their school-based Google account may be treated like school lockers. Administrators and faculty may review files and messages to maintain the integrity of the system and ensure that users are acting responsibly. Files will be scanned on a regular basis.
To reinforce this, I open Hapara and show the students how I can access my daughter's email, documents, and web history from my teacher account. I open one of her documents from another classroom right on my Smartboard in the classroom. Then I send her an email and let the students see it pop up on the screen. After that, I give them a few minutes to delete anything that they don't think should be on their school account. I remind them that starting the next day, I will be checking to see that they have eliminated all personal information, Minecraft accounts, games, and additional bookmarks. Then I do it!
3. Teach them Open/Close prompts.
Just as I tell students to get out textbooks, scissors, or markers, I monitor when Chromebooks are opened and closed. Teach your students to close the lid on command. When I say that we are moving on to the next subject, I tell students to file papers and to put away textbooks, so it only makes sense that they should be able to put away a digital project as well. When I say, "Close your Chromebooks" my students have about 5 seconds to do so. We practice this routine until it is second nature. With Google, work is typically saved, so there is no reason to entertain long transition times.
4. Display Hapara Current Screens
I don't have time to sit at my desk and verify that all of my students are following the rules. Students need my interaction and assistance, so I publicly display the Hapara Current Screens desktop on my SmartBoard whenever students are using their Chromebooks independently. Just knowing that their actions will be visible encourages smart choices. This isn't infallible, though. Some of my students figured out that if they split their screens, Hapara only shows the one that is active. When I give a test, I use the lock tab option of Hapara to ensure that students aren't accessing the calculator app or Google search.
Educational Resources
Here is a Youtube video that I show about Chromebook care to start the year:
I understand the concept of using technology in new, engaging ways rather than reinventing the worksheet. However, sometimes teachers need to take baby steps in the right direction. Book Widget can be a giant step forward. Is it possible to simply recreate a worksheet to encourage student regurgitation of information? Sure. Are there possibilities beyond "chew and swallow" assignments? Absolutely. Book Widgets is versatile!
In the past 2 weeks of experimenting with my 30 day trial of Book Widgets I have created a crossword puzzle group research activity, played Bingo review for a science test, and created a PARCC test ELA simulation activity so my students could practice with the two column format. I will be purchasing the subscription for next year. Here's why:
1. Google Classroom Integration:
Book Widgets connect seamlessly with Google Classroom. Students can complete widgets, click the envelope icon, and submit completed work easily.
Google Classroom tracks due date, completion, and even student scores. You can assign widgets directly from the creation tool, save assignment drafts, and scroll through the assignments with the forward arrow.
2. Ease of creation:
I found the creation tools to be fairly intuitive. It is important to use the preview option frequently as you are learning each tool, though. Be sure to look at some of the example widgets here first to get an idea of what each tool will do.
3. Reporting:
Student results are synced with Classroom. Individual answers can be rescored by the teacher as needed. Students are able to see a cumulative score at the top of their assignment with skipped questions shown in bold print and incorrect answers in red. Individual question comments and assignment feedback areas teacher-friendly.
4. Variety:
There are 40 different Widgets available to diversify your assignments. Building proficiency with the entire library is part of my summer plans. Some of the widgets will be especially helpful for early elementary teachers who want to use picture matching, jigsaw puzzle, hotspot images, and frame sequencing activities.
My students worked in groups discussing and searching Google for the answers to this Literary Terms Crossword Puzzle that I made to review for PARCC. Here is the teacher link that you can use to copy my puzzle to your Book Widgets account to use with your class. It took my 5th graders two 30-minute class periods in groups of 2 and 3 to finish. I like that once they submitted the first assignment in Book Widgets, the submission process was identical for all of the other widget types. That consistency is important!
What did I dislike? I accidentally deleted a few completed projects when I was trying to organize the My Widgets page with folders. Creating and naming the folders was confusing to me. You must hit enter after naming the folder. Then you can drag and drop Widgets to the folders. The folders do not "nest" in the way I expected and I deleted what I thought was an empty folder only to find that it was my primary science folder. The folders really need to have a number next to them showing if they actually contain completed widgets. I keep finding extra folders in my account that were not intentionally created, too. The popup warning before deleting is the same whether the folder is full or empty. This will take a little more practice for me. Once the widgets were deleted, they still functioned in Google Classroom, which was helpful, but I could not retrieve the assignments and add them back into Book Widgets after deleting.
Hapara is a robust program that has solved so many classroom technology problems. This past month, I find myself sighing, "Where have you been the past 33 years!" whenever I explore a new feature. For today, let's look at just Focused Browsing.
First, open Hapara Teacher Dashboard. If this is your first visit, find the name of your classroom by clicking on Classes>Manage Classes at the top of the screen. Click on the star in front of the name of your class to add the classroom to your list of classes.
Then open your classroom tab and find the link symbol in the blue header. Open this link to take all of your students immediately to the web addresses that you choose.
On the next screen, type in up to 10 web addresses that you want your students to access. If you just want to open tabs for your students, leave the slider to No for Focused Browsing. Turning on Focused Browsing will open the tabs listed on every student computer and lock out all additional web browsing.
To schedule a browsing session to open automatically at a specified day and time, move the slider next to scheduled browsing. Choose the date and time from the calendar or pop-up menus. The scheduled browsing option can be used independently or with a focused browsing session.
Session duration can be set for 15-180 minutes, and you have control over whether the session ends quietly or if student tabs will be returned to their previous state. I usually turn off the "At the end of the session restore student tabs" box as shown above.
Uses
Focused browsing solved some major classroom problems for me:
Students can quickly be taken to the same websites without first having to post links to Google Classroom. I used to use the Share to Classroom extension, but students had to be logged into Google Classroom to receive the web links. Hapara does not require any student action and will automatically open student computer tabs for you.
Students cannot misspell a web address and go to the wrong site.
I can focus student research on reputable sites and block out Wikipedia.
Focused browsing eliminates digital cheating for tests and quizzes. No more google searching for spelling words or using the online calculator on math tests!
Not only does this give teachers control over their student's web usage, it allows you to schedule secure sessions even when you will have a substitute in your room. Simply set up focused browsing sessions for your classrooms in advance.
Monitoring and Deleting Focused Browsing
To review, edit, or delete a browsing session, go to the Schedule option on the Highlights screen. Use this menu to view sessions for this week or in the future.
I'm not exactly sure how this blog will evolve, but for now, I am using this site to share some of the topics that we are exploring on "Tech Tuesday." With busy schedules, it is difficult to meet consistently for professional development, but I hope you will find what you are looking for. Be sure to search the tags in the margin and leave suggestions for posts, too. Let's learn together.
