Favorite Finds from TCEA

Guest Post by Candice Karas, Old Union Elementary School Science Lab Teacher

My name is Candice Karas, and I teach Science Lab at Old Union. This was my second year to attend the TCEA conference, and I found it just as beneficial (and overwhelming) as I did the first year! I definitely recommend attending if you get the chance.

Here are my top 3 favorite finds from TCEA 2015:

AnswerGarden.ch – a quick and easy way to assess students

• Create an AnswerGarden in less than 60 seconds – no account required.
• Type a question or prompt and give students the URL; they can answer on any device with a browser. Any time someone from the audience submits an answer, it appears in your “Answer Garden,” which is a word cloud. The more times that answer is submitted, the larger the word grows in the cloud. 
• This is a super-fast way to see what your students are thinking and how many students are on the same page. This tweet shows how I was able to spontaneously use AnswerGarden when a class of 4th grade students brought their devices to the lab.

Page Eraser – erase unwanted portions of a webpage before you display it to your class

• This is a Google Chrome extension.
• Very easy to use: install the extension in your Chrome browser, click its icon when you’re ready to use it, and then click portions of the webpage you’d like to disappear. 
• Nice for getting rid of distracting or inappropriate elements on an otherwise great website.
• The presenters had lots of other useful Chrome tips on their Tackk, and Kristie Johnson has a great ThingLink with more Chrome extension ideas.

Appear.in – video chat tool

• No registration, account, or downloads needed
• Connect up to 8 people in the same video chat
• You could use this to connect to more than one classroom during a Mystery Skype session, hold a debate between up to 8 classes, or to let more than one class take advantage of a guest speaker or virtual field trip. 

Bonus: http://bie.org/resources is a website full of PBL resources.

If you’re looking for other resources, check out my technology blog, search #tcea15 on Twitter, or visit this website to take a look at all of the handouts from this year’s conference.

Enhance YouTube with Chrome Extensions

Open! Open! Open! YouTube is open! So where do you go from here? A good start would be to read the blog post by Jennifer Waldroop titled "Key Strategies for an Epic Win: Using YouTube in Your Classroom." Click here for that link. This article will walk you through these strategies:

• Getting started - creating an account, creating playlists, how to use the "watch later" feature.
• FYI...if you have a Google account then you can use that to log in to YouTube.
• Downloading videos for offline viewing.
• Annotate videos you upload.
• Add captions.
• Editing your videos, combing multiple videos, etc.
• Flip your classroom using the YouTube web cam feature.

The next step deals with the technical side of using YouTube in the classroom...ways to block seeing unwanted videos in the side stream. 

The first three recommendations are Google Chrome Extensions. To use these extensions you must first install the Chrome Browser. (click here to download). Second, you can click on the links below to download these extensions. The first two will appear in the URL bar when you go to YouTube.

Turn Off the Lights
This extension allows to you blackout all information on a webpage except the video. Use this with YouTube in the classroom because the videos shown on the sidebar will be blacked out by just clicking the light bulb in the URL window to turn off the lights.

Magic Actions for YouTube
This extensions is great for YouTube videos. Features include videos played in HD, ads     blocked, 1-click for cinema mode so the whole page is shaded. The features will appear underneath the YouTube video once opened.

AdBlock Plus
This extension blocks annoying ads in YouTube, Facebook, banners, pop-ups and all obtrusive ads. Once enabled the user can see the number of ads blocked in the extension. Also the blocked ad leaves the screen white where an ad would normally be located.


The last trick to clear the YouTube site of unwanted videos that stream on the right side is a website called ViewPure. ViewPure offers that same concept as the above extensions...blocking out all videos on the page except the one you choose to watch. You can also search YouTube videos inside ViewPure and then click play to watch without having to go to the actual YouTube site.

Google Chrome: Reasons to Try it Now

Having a job that requires many hours online, I've been reluctant to switch from Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox to Chrome browser. However, I've come across enough extensions and apps to make switch. The additions really make the use of the internet faster and more efficient. I will share a list of extensions and apps that have made a difference in my work day. First, let me describe the difference between Google Extensions and Google Apps.

Google Extensions are extra features and functionality that you can easily add to Google Chrome. By using extensions, you can customize Google Chrome with features you like, while keeping your browser free of things that you don't use. Extensions are added to the upper right side of your URL bar. See example below:

 

Google Apps are web apps that are designed to be entirely used within the browser located on your Chrome dashboard. The great part of installing applications is that when you sign into Google on any computer your applications will follow. See picture example below:

My Favorite Google Chrome Extensions and Applications:

Download Google Chrome browser and give these extensions and applications a try. They are time saving applications and really enhance your time spent on the computer. 

Google Apps and Extensions from Kristie Johnson