Google Tone/Jeopardy Style Quiz Show with Flippity.net/EduWins

Google just launched a new extension that makes it even easier to share websites. Say goodbye to bit.ly and goo.gl. When you and your students have Google Tone installed, all you'll need to do to share a URL is click on the extension icon, and that website URL will be broadcast to any computer with the icon installed that is within earshot.

Since Tone is an experiment, it is not easily found in the Chrome Web Store. To install it, start with going to g.co/tone

and add the extension to Chrome. It'll install a
small megaphone next to your omnibox. Your students, or anyone you would like to share URLs with, will also need to install the extension. Then,  next time you want to share a URL, make sure your volume is turned up and click on the megaphone. Nearby computers will receive a message notifying them that you are sharing a URL. When they click on the message, the URL will open in a new tab.

Managing the Google Tone extension is easy, just right click on the extension icon and you'll be able to disable or remove it from Chrome.

Any computer with the extension will be able to broadcast a URL. If a student is attempting to broadcast a Google Drive file, they will have to make sure it has been properly shared. A private file cannot be shared with Google Tone.



Jeopardy Style Quiz Show with Flippity.net

One of my favorite activities on the last day of school was always a Jeopardy-style game. I'd load the game board with questions covering curriculum, projects, and fun times in class, and I always included a "Mrs Lynch" category. My first games were written on a piece of paper and the game board was drawn on the white board. This transitioned to a PPT and a SmartBoard game. While you can still use this method, Flippity.net makes it really easy to make one using Google Sheets, and you can easily share it with the other teachers in your grade level.

Here is a short How-to video to get you started:

EduWin/Dawn Ullmark, Kaitlin Klein, Elise Plutt, Sharon Victorine, Lisa Mata, Annie Van Zante

Providing students with real-life opportunities to visit (even virtually) with experts in their field, and to have experiences they might not otherwise have can contribute to a student's deeper understanding and appreciation of a topic.

Kudos to all of the many teachers, some who I'm sure are not recognized here, for providing their students with those experiences. Dawn and Kaitlin took their students on a California Gold Country field trip provided by the California Parks PORTS program. Elise's students visited Palua's coral reefs along with over 800 other classrooms throughout the world with a program through The Nature Conservancy, and were lucky enough to have one of their questions voted up through Google Moderator and answered live during the broadcast. Sharon's students watched San Jose's annual falcon visitors as the eggs hatched and the fledgling birds took their first flight. Lisa and Annie's 4th grade classes will share the California Gold Rush and learn about the Colorado Gold Rush through a Skype call.

It takes time to find a virtual visit and to prepare the students with enough background information to ask thoughtful questions. And then there's the technology that needs to be tested ahead of time. Thank you to all the dedicated teachers who make it possible for their students to have these experiences.

If you or one of your colleagues are doing something in your class that uses edtech tools, please let me know. I'd love to share it with other teachers.