BIG ANNOUNCEMENT from ClassDojo: App Messaging

ClassDojo iOS and Android apps now include ClassDojo Messaging — a new feature enabling teachers and parents to easily and meaningfully communicate about student progress. Users of Class Dojo and BYOD advocates will appreciate the ease with which they can keep parents connected to the classroom. Take a look at the screenshots below showing how ClassDojo Messaging will look on a personal device. 



I'll be honest, I struggle with maintaining contact with my parents.  I do the best I can between phone calls, email and Edmodo, but unfortunately I most often initiate specific contact when something negative has occurred.  I really like that ClassDojo promotes positive interactions. ClassDojo Messaging users can blast out messages to the whole group of parents or direct message individuals, and with read-receipts there is no question that parents are looking at the messages.  I also like that it is an app I can use on my personal device so I can walk around the room and not be tethered to my computer.

I have to applaud ClassDojo for working to bridge the edtech gap between home and school, making all students, teachers, and parents, connected to learning.

                           

#CUE14 Pictures using Loupe Collage

I wanted a creative way to compile and share my pictures from my recent trip with Curriculet to CUE 2014 conference in Palm Springs, California. Searching through the Chrome Web Store, I found Loupe Collage. Similar to creating a customized word cloud in Tagxedo, Loupe Collage allows users to pull in pictures from Facebook, Google +, Drive, Dropbox, Twitter, the web, Instagram, and files (ok, everywhere) to create a collage where the shape and background can be customized. Once the collage is created, users can share it via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Gmail, Drive, link, and embed.

I am really impressed with the ease of this tool. I grabbed all my pictures from CUE and pulled in those that others took and shared with me to create the collage below.  It took me just a few minutes to create!  While I love social photography, I do get overwhelmed trying to manage the photos, and while I have automatic backup of my pictures via Facebook and Google +, I don't often do much with the pictures after they are backed up. Using Loupe Collage, I can create a collage for each special event and share it with my colleagues, friends and family who were also there. To see each image, simply hover over it to enlarge.

Rather appropriate, this is my 100th blog post.  While I write about edtech tools and activities, what is more important are the people and enriching experiences. Edtech is more so about fostering connections than the tool itself. The technology brings us all together: friends, colleagues, companies,  we are all digital compatriots. Thank you all for reading, sharing, and collaborating.

#CUE14 People Pictures

I need a smartphone with a better front camera, and I need to perfect my selfie-taking skills, because I am HORRIBLE! With that being said, I had such a blast at #CUE14 and seeing all of my favorite California Twitter folks and hanging out in Curriculet's booth telling EVERYONE who passed how much I LOVE my favorite digital reading tool of all time! Dude, seriously.  #NoHyperbole 

 

  

Also, another selfie with @KtBkr4 at #cue14 because why not? pic.twitter.com/fbKwPtLM1e
— Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers) March 22, 2014

So this happened. After @willkimbley admired my thinglink. @KtBkr4 #cue14 #spatula pic.twitter.com/eVNmxBsctD
— Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers) March 22, 2014

All of the #cue14 gang (except @jstevens009) @ls_karl @sampatue @crystalkirch @KtBkr4 @bennettscience @thomasson_engl pic.twitter.com/UY5FTc3RkN
— Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers) March 22, 2014

All of the #cue14 gang (except @jstevens009) @ls_karl @sampatue @crystalkirch @KtBkr4 @bennettscience @thomasson_engl pic.twitter.com/UY5FTc3RkN
— Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers) March 22, 2014

Using Curriculet for Short Reading Texts & PARCC Prep

My all time favorite tool for digital reading is Curriculet because of its versatility and ease of use (oh, and the price: FREE!). I can assign novels, poems, short stories, and current event articles for my students to read, and they can answer Common Core aligned questions and quizzes in the text.  Since it is web-browser based, Curriculet can be used on any device or computer which is a must for my BYOD, 1:1 one day a week with Chromebooks classroom.

Whether you are signing in with your own email, using the Edmodo app, or signing in with Google, accessing your Curriculet is simple. Go to the website and log in or in Edmodo, launch the Curriculet app.




While Curriculet can be used in the Language Arts classroom for flipping reading instruction of novels, any subject area teacher can use Curriculet for implementing Common Core aligned reading of short texts.

• Science teachers can pull articles from the web into Curriculet's reading platform.  Check out this curriculet on Nobel Scientists bringing Chemistry into Cyberspace. 
• History folks can assign primary documents with annotations and questions embedded in the historical source. Check out a Curriculet I made for the Declaration of Independence, which my students read in conjunction with our study of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. 
• Language Arts teachers of all grades can assign poems such as Jabberwocky for seamless integration of poetry into their curriculum.
• Anyone who wants to give their students reading short passages can access Curriculet's ever-growing library of ready-to-use current event curriculets. Take a look at this curriculet I used with my students during the Olympics. 

Since many titles, especially in the current event section, are ready to use curriculets with questions and annotations already in embedded, I don't have to spend extra prep time creating them. I can just assign and let my students read! No matter the subject area, there is no easier tool for implementing reading instruction in your class. My students are reading more, more often, and I can see their progress and performance.

In addition, the digital literacy and navigation skills they are using while reading with Curriculet helps prepare my students for the PARCC testing that is coming (ugh.).  While the visual design is different, the skills the students need for being able to navigate through the digital PARCC tests can be practiced using Curriculet.

I can get my students acclimated to digital reading and writing without stressing them out.  By increasing the frequency with which we read online, the students will perform better because they are more comfortable with the technology. I can also scaffold the process and increase the difficulty level of the texts so that when they get to difficult passages and questions on the PARCC they won't shut down, but instead use the strategies I have taught them for breaking down the text and finding the answer.  While I am not in favor of testing or teaching to a test, I can unobtrusively prepare my students by getting them reading more often with Curriculet.

I can't stop stop talking about Curriculet (seriously), and if you swing by the Curriculet booth at CUE 2014 (PLEASE DO!!!), I will personally show you how Curriculet has transformed my classroom and revitalized my reading instruction.