In this section I go over how to better curate your students' Active Learning experience. This includes easy to use recording software, setting up your YouTube channel, embedding Google Forms with videos, using GoGuardian to direct research, and setting up your Google Classroom so all of your information is at their fingertips.
Your YouTube Channel
Everyone with an LCS email also has a YouTube channel. This can be a great landing spot for all of the videos you create or find on the site. The organization of these videos is best done through playlists titled with the unit or chapter that you are covering. This website does not give the best organization for all of your videos but it is better than posting them all to google classroom.
You can also have multiple channels on YouTube which can be helpful if you teach multiple subjects. |
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Creating your own Website
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By creating your own website you can be more creative with how you present your information. Wix and Weebly are two great free options. Their themes help you create a professional looking website in a short period of time. By posting shareable links and embedding YouTube videos you can put all of your information out there without having to pay for additional storage.
There are two things I would recommend with a personal website. First, be creative not distracting. Second, make sure it is organized well. It should not take your students 10 clicks to get to today's notes. |
GoGuardian
GoGuardian is available for all LCS Teachers. All you use is your google classroom and your normal log in. While it is great to make sure students are not on websites you don't want them to be on it is just as good at getting them on the correct website. This can be done either by pushing out a website during an ongoing session or by setting up a scene to put your students on the right page from the beginning.
I can also send individual students to an article that can help their research or to a YouTube video that explains a concept in a different way. This video goes over how to create a scene that starts students off on the correct pages. |
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Mixing Google Forms and Video
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Google Forms simplify the process of collecting and grading information from your students. When you embed videos in the form it can become a great way to present new information with a fun video. Or, you can direct a student that gets an answer wrong to a screencast of you explaining how to get the right answer before you send them back to the question to try again. In the video to the left, I explain how to effectively use a video in Google Forms
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Screencastify
Screencastify is a free app that allows you to record your screen then quickly share it as a YouTube video or with a Google Drive shareable link. I use this to give students quick feedback on their papers as I read through them and dictate. This app further enables me to give directions to my students when I cannot be there. It can also be helpful to record lessons, explanations for difficult problems, or often repeated directions. In this video, I explain how use Screencastify to make and share a video.
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Curating with your Google Classroom
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The "About" tab on Google Classroom is a great starting off point for your curated collection. I say that because you do not want 50 links here under your class materials.
Here are the links I would say are a must for a well curated classroom
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