Quizlet Live - "Deemed best game ever" by my students!

Quizlet Live is a new game option within Quizlet that practice vocabulary through student collaboration with other team members.  Quizlet Live generates teams of 3-4 students randomly from those students logged into the game.  Students must then work with their team members to decide who has the correct definition/answer for each vocabulary term.  Teams can be shuffled each game to have students work with many different classmates and the their results are live as each team answers correctly or incorrectly.    This game was so popular with my students that they didn't want to leave to go to their next class.  They consistently begged to keep playing "one more game"!  Hope you and your students enjoy this tool as much as we did!!

Video of Quizlet Live

EDPuzzle for Individualized Instruction or Assessment

Today I utilized EDPuzzle for the first time in my Spanish III classes to introduce the concept of impersonal expressions.  It worked fabulously and students really liked that they could start the lesson and move at their own pace.  I really liked that I was able to stop the students during the video to check for understanding with multiple choice and open ended questions.

Process for implementation:  I pre-recorded the lesson using Screencast-O-Matic and then uploaded the video to YouTube.  Next, I used that video within EDPuzzle  and created my own questions throughout to make sure students were understanding the concept.  To share the EDPuzzle easily with my students I linked it to my class blog/website or had them open it via the EDPuzzle Ipad app and gave them the class code.  (Students did need to log in with their school Google account to access the lesson.)  

Other ideas: In addition to using EDPuzzle for instruction of a concept/skill, it could also be used in a language classroom for listening activities or assessment.

Video of the tool within my classroom (Video created by Clay Reisler):

Improving oral proficiency via the Ipads & the Smart Recorder App

Last week my Spanish 3 students utilized the Smart Recorder app to record their 5 minute conversations on a variety of topics in the target language.  Afterwards, they listened to the recording and reflected individually on their oral proficiency, using a proficiency rubric that was created by our world language department.  (The rubric was developed by using the ACTFL guidelines for oral proficiency.)   


The great thing about this activity is that it allowed students to really focus on their speaking abilities and reflect with greater precision.  I will be implementing this activity more in the future to allow students to become more comfortable speaking in the target language,  to help them improve their oral proficiency, and to become better at self reflecting and self correcting.

Adding some culture to Kahoot!

Kahoot is a great game-based classroom response system and students absolutely love it!!


How I use it in my Spanish classes:  I use Kahoot to practice reading in the target language and learn new vocabulary.  I usually write each question/description/definition of a word along with the answers/choices all in Spanish.  Each student enters the game individually or in small groups entering a game specific code @ Kahoot.it.  It is an engaging activity for students completly done in the target language!

To add some culture:  There is an experimental feature in Kahoot that allows you to add a video to automatically play while waiting for students to join the game (See screenshot below!).  To take advantage of this 1-2 minutes of downtime on my most recent Kahoot created game, I included a video tour of Barrio Gótico in Barcelona, Spain. It was a great way to expose students to one of the more famous neighborhoods of Spain, since we are currently studying how neighborhoods differ and how where you live affects daily choices/routines, and further maximize learning in the classroom!  

Google Glass! Wow!

Just saw a demo on Google Glass!  Seriously amazing cutting edge technology!  Will record what you see, take a picture with a wink, speak to make calls, answer your questions, translate, and so much more!  It is just in the trial phase now, but has huge potential for the classroom!  Check it out here!

Google Mini Summit @ UWGB 2014

I am really looking forward to the Google Mini Summit being held at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay today! I am anxious to attend my sessions and also present.  The hashtag for today's summit is #gbgs and the hashtag for my presentation will be #byt2014, if you would like to follow along with the discussion/backchanneling.

Take a look at my presentation here for more info. here!

PCSD Inservice - Screencasting

For the January district inservice, a variety of technology related sessions will be offered to district staff and also led by district staff.  This is always a well-liked day of professional development due to the option of choice involved.  Staff in our district can choose from a variety of topics and zone in on what they are most interested in learning.

I will be presenting on Screencasting today.  Staff in my session will learn how to create instructinal videos via Screencast-O-Matic and SMART.  See below to access my presentation.