App Highlight of the Week

App Highlight of the Week - Classhook

This week is a site that I stumbled upon. When I was in the classroom, I used as much pop culture references as possible to connect my class material to the subject that we were currently teaching. This was a way that I could hook my students to continuing to learn about the topic at hand, while also consuming media in a lens of full understanding. This goes beyond the Schoolhouse Rock videos that most of our kids have seen. I cannot tell you the number of times that Family Guy and The Simpsons were brought up in my classes.

Enter Classhook. Classhook is a site that collects clips from YouTube and Vimeo that teachers look at and use, and applies it to a database that we can search for by standard or topic. It is incredibly cool. One of the best parts? Your students do not need accounts, only you. Most of the clips are readily available elsewhere, but this site organizes them for busy teachers. The site is continuing to grow, with it just starting recently and growing in popularity as you read this. Be sure to check it out!

Here is a English Language Arts clip that deals with tense. It is a blast to watch. It applies to 7th - 11th Language Arts standards.

Here is another one from The Simpsons on the Salem Witch Trials. Basically, if you have a topic that you teach, there is likely a clip from some show that can help you teach it in your class.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

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Chromebook Shortcut of the Week - 10/14/2016

This weeks shortcut of the week is to help you project your Chromebook. Due to resolutions, your Chromebook will likely default to the “Extended Screen” mode. If they happens, you will see your desktop background on the screen upon plugging in your Chromebook (your Chromebook needs an HDMI connection, if you need a cable, I can get you one!). In order to change this, you will use the “Ctrl + Full Screen” button. This will quickly switch between the two modes, allowing you to switch back and forth. A quick word to the wise, the extended screen is usually to the right!

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This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a REMC and MDE event on Open Educational Resources (OERs). This event was the launch of a new #GoOpen push within Michigan schools. While OERs have been a part of our school and an option, little has been done to truly push these into the classrooms. The #GoOpen Summit was put on to launch a new initiative in Michigan. Michigan will be launching a database of OERs created by and used by Michigan teachers. This is incredibly powerful. The beginnings of the site can be viewed on this MDE page . The biggest part of the website, something that has been missing from so many OER databases is the fact that these resources will be evaluated before publishing to ensure their openness and their quality. Some of the biggest takeaways from the event is the reminder that there is a significant difference between an Open Educational Resource and something that is free on the internet. The difference comes in the restrictions on use. Some resources, su...

App Highlight - Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a relatively new app from Google's Area 120. It is available on both the Android and iOS operating systems. In this app, you complete challenges through writing bits of JavaScript. I like to compare it to Duolingo, the popular language learning app. It is free and allows you to work on the puzzles at your own pace. This is a step up from the Blockly coding that has been popularized by Hour of Code and Code.org. The best part is, you get nearly instant feedback and multiple tries to master the material. While this will not get you a Silicon Valley coding job by itself, it will definitely start you down a path that allows you to start growing your coding skills. It is really worth checking out. Learn more at here .

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