Back to Blooket...

 If you know me, you know I can get really passionate about some things, and when I find something I am passionate about, I want everyone to know about it. Last week, we hosted our first Tech Tuesday and had a decent turnout. Three out of four grade levels attended, including the tech director, instructional coach, and our building principal.  So, I decided to revisit Blooket (blue-kit) this week, but before I get to that, I want to share that I did a thing. I put myself out there; I shared my blog.  Yes, I know the point is for others to read this and to learn something that they can use in his/her own classroom, but y’all, I shared my blog with my colleagues, and they liked it. Now, did they really like it or did they just say that they liked it? I’m not sure, but I am going to go with them. They actually liked it, and it helped them.

Now, I mentioned that when I am passionate about something, I want others to know about it and hear from others who are using the tool. I wanted to know if my grade level was the only one using this amazing tool in our district. Turns out we aren’t! Third-grade, fifth-grade, seventh & eighth-grade science, 9th-11th-grade history, and Junior English all using Blooket. That’s a wide spectrum for one tool. I decided to interview some of these teachers who are using this tool, and then I went two steps further and chose one of my own students and a parent to interview. I changed all of the names to protect the privacy of the interviewees. 

Kate

Kate is a 5th-grade teacher. Kate likes Blooket because it is a gamified opportunity for skill practice. It grabs students' attention and is engaging to them. It is easy to use. You can create your own content or use pre-created options from other teachers. Fifth graders like friendly competition in their learning. Blooket is a great tool for vocabulary practice, review games, formative assessments, and math fact fluency. Kate was drawn to Blooket because it is fun, has many options, is user-friendly, and is free. Kate uses Blooket for live practice and for homework assignments. I use it for vocabulary practice, to review skills, and to build confidence in math fact fluency.  When asked how often she uses the tool, she said it depends. Once students are more confident with math tasks, I will use it as a way to build fluency with algorithms/strategies. Blooket encourages students to solve problems quicker and pinpoint strategies that help them become more efficient in solving math problems. I use it to practice vocabulary. Kate recommends Blooket to fellow teachers because the students love it. There are many game options to choose from, and it is great for differentiating student interest. 

Jessica

Jessica is our Junior High science teacher. Jessica likes using Blooket because she can add her own questions. Her students like Blooket because of the games. Jessica was drawn to Blooket because she was looking for a fun way for students to review for tests. She has the paid version of the site because it allows her to save data from the reviews to assign skills for individual students to practice. Jessica recommends Blooket to others because “Most of my students really appreciate having it as an option for studying. They are very engaged, and it is an excellent way to keep track of who is practicing and where they are at in their learning.”

Dawn

Dawn is a secondary English teacher who likes using Blooket. Dawn states that her favorite part of Blooket is that she can import Quizlets into the website.  She can set the kids up to study on their own Quizlet and then use the same concepts in a class competition. She also likes that you can post a Blooket into Google Classroom for students to play independently. Dawn was drawn to Blooket when she saw the secondary history teacher using Blooket during an instructional round. Dawn uses Blooket for vocabulary review once a quarter.  Dawn says she would recommend Blooket to a fellow teacher because “It’s fun, novel for the kids and keeps students engaged.”

Jen

Jen is a parent in our district. She has four children and has one in each building. One is in high school, two are in the intermediate, and one is in the primary. Jen has seen her students use Blooket in different settings. This fall, her youngest missed school and could participate in the class Blooket review session while they were two hours away, thanks to the wonders of the internet. She used her mobile hotspot on her cell phone, and her child could connect using her tablet. She states her children like Blooket because it is fun, and they are excited when they get to use it. 

Taylor

Taylor is a student in our district. She loves Blooket and is excited when she gets to use the website. Taylor told me that it makes learning fun. She likes to play games. She can answer questions, score points, and sometimes even win! Taylor likes it when we play as a class, but she also likes it when we play independently. Simply stated, "I think it's fun!"

My son is in college, and I have a high school helper in my classroom this year. Both have used Blooket in high school, mostly for review. They both like Blooket as it is fun and the questions are on their screen, whereas with Kahoot! the questions are not on their screen. (They have to select a color/shape to answer, which gets confusing.)

After doing multiple interviews, I am so happy to hear others in my district use this amazing tool. The more I use Blooket, the more I want to do more with it. Next week, we have our review day, followed by an assessment. I want to use Blooket not only as a review tool but also as an assessment tool. I feel like the kids would respond well to it because they love the tool that much.

All in all, Blooket gets a thumbs-up from me. Not only is it suitable for our littles, it is a tool that can be and is being used in multiple grade levels. So, if you still need to give it a chance, I hope these reviews help you take the plunge and try it!

 I had my summative evaluation about a week and a half ago and told my principal I felt I had more to give to my colleagues and needed to find a way to fill that gap. This blog has been the answer for me. I am able to help my colleagues and other teachers in a way that isn’t time constricting on either of us, asynchronous learning is the answer for this busy teacher. I like how I can work, and you can learn at your own pace. I take requests of topics and then break the tools down to help others learn the tools at their own pace, so if you have a suggestion on a tool you would like me to explore and break down, leave me a comment, and I’ll get it on the agenda! Remember, this blog is dedicated to primary teachers, so the following questions will be answered: What is it? How much does it cost? How do I use it? Are my littles too young for this? 🤍

-SW

PS:

I'll also mention that after the interviews were conducted and this post was written, three more teachers responded to my call that they use the tool and would be happy to discuss it with me!

Musings...

 One of my biggest fears is having someone misinterpret my written words.  Has that happened to you? Texting is probably the hardest to decipher at times. I remember having the conversation with my mother a few years ago that all caps signifies yelling in text. She had no idea what I was talking about, so we talked about how authors use exclamation points, capital letters and bold print to show emphasis to their readers.   I am happy to report she no longer uses all caps in her texting, and has even removed her "signature" from her texts! 

Putting this out there is putting trust in myself and others.  I mentioned in my bio that I am a laid back, relaxed and sarcastic person.  What I didn't mention was that while I am laid back and relaxed I am also anxiety ridden at the same time, it really depends on the topic.  Miscommunication is one of the things that gives me major anxiety. When you post on the internet, it is there for-ev-er.

I will forever use this clip to emphasize the word! 

So, what happens when you inevitably screw up? If you take it down or delete your Facebook post is it gone? According to Facebook, it is gone, but never assume your misstep is truly gone. Screenshots. Everyone has the capability to screenshot what you put on the internet, or send in a text, or an email. People can (and do) take photos of everything. 

Here are some ways to help you preserve your digital reputation:

1. Proofread. 
2. If you wouldn't say it to your grandma, don't say it. 
3. If it needs to be said to someone, say it to them, do not take to social media to bash another person. If you need to sit behind a screen and get people to bolster your confidence, it probably shouldn't be said.
4. Know your audience. The internet is not private, your words and actions can be shared. 
5. Never post when you're angry. Sleep on it, then if it is something you truly feel you need to share, then share it, but see above.
6. Don't be fake. People are smarter than that. Give people the real you, and if you can't be honest with yourself and your followers, don't post it.
   And probably the most important of all...
7. When in doubt, don't post!

I mentioned before about screenshots. People have long memories when they feel they have been wronged, or if you have crossed someone, people become bold and do things they wouldn't usually do. Like crucify you in the comments. 

If you don't want repercussions of your actions, then don't post.  If your words can be misconstrued, don't post. 

Protect yourself and your students. 

This is not just for Facebook. The same rings true for Snapchat, BeReal, Instagram, X, etc. As educators, we are put to a higher standard.  Do we have lives? Yes, but do you want to discuss your life at your next parent-teacher conference when your families ask why you were taking shots and dancing on the bar last Saturday? If you want to keep your personal life private, don't share it. We are role models for our youth, we give our students a positive person to look up to, please do what you must to protect that.

I mentioned that we are humans and we do have personal lives, however we are also viewed as leaders in our communities.   When I was growing up my parents had several friends who were teachers.  These ladies lived in our community, but did not teach in the district, they taught in neighboring districts.  At that time in 1980-something, if they were to go out in the community they could only be seen at the community country club, as it was considered a high class establishment, if they were seen in the local bar in their district it was grounds for contract termination. My aunt is a retired teacher, my parents had friends who were teachers, I grew up around teachers, I idolized them and wanted to be them when I grew up but I also knew they were people who had personal lives, jobs and kids. Not everyone saw teachers outside of the school, but I did.  I knew that teachers were real people just like my parents, but other didn't always see it this way. Even today forty years later, people still put teachers on pedestals as leaders in our communities and we are treated differently. I don't think it is unwarranted, but it does require educators to use discretion and make good choices.

Today I will leave you with these words that I tell my students, "Make good choices." 🤍

-SW

Blooket!

Yesterday, we had our first Tech Tuesday, and it was great! I love it when teachers share tools with one another. It was a nice change of pace to be able to share resources that we know work with our primary students and that are not overwhelming for our students or teachers to use.

Prior to last year, I had heard of and used Kahoot and Quizlet, but Blooket was something I had no knowledge of.  One of my teaching partners shared the website with me, and I was hooked. When I started using the website, I would search through the database to find one for my students to use that related to the topic we were learning about, or I would just search for a fun topic. Now, I create my own. I add photos to the questions and the answers. My students LOVE it. It is probably their favorite way to review. 

If you are someone who prefers step-by-step written directions, keep reading! If you prefer a video tutorial, I found this great one from EdTech Classroom on YouTube. 

You will see this home page when you go to the Blooket website. You can sign up for free with your Google email. 

When you get logged in, I recommend clicking on the "Discover" button on the right of the screen underneath the "Create" button. You can review the list of already created sets when you click Discover. My district uses CKLA for our literacy curriculum, so I decided to search for our next unit: insects. 

Twenty-seven sets came up on the first page. 27! As you can see, the third one listed is for a different domain. I recommend searching through the already created sets before you create your own. Do not create the wheel! I selected the second set; when you click on the set, it will show you the list of questions included in it. 

When you click on the question, it will show you the answer choices, and there will be a checkmark on the box indicating which one is the correct answer.

The drawback to using a pre-made set is that you can not edit it, but you can make a copy and edit it! The copy button is located to the right of the purple menu bar, below the two purple buttons you will see "Favorite," "Copy," and "Report" buttons. When you click "Copy" it will ask if you want to make a duplicate, click ok, then you will and editable copy for yourself. 

Things to remember about Blooket, your sets are automatically saved as "Private," meaning no other Blooket user can access them, nor can you share your set with anyone else. To adjust this, you need to click on "Edit Info" and then slide the slider from private to public.

If you decide to make your set public, you can share the set with your co-teachers by clicking save. Then, on the previous screen, you will need to click "Save Set" again and click on the sprocket to get to the settings. Here, you will find the link button, and you can share the link with others.

You can also create sets by the blue button that says "Create." You can create sets by manually adding questions, inputting the data, or Blooket talks to Quizlet. You can import questions from your Quizlet account; it also reads CSV files (spreadsheets). I choose to manually create my sets. When you begin adding questions, you have several options. 

You can add an image, a math formula, or record audio to your question. All answers are set to be multiple choice, but you can switch to a typing answer (I have never used the typing answer with my 2nd graders). For the multiple-choice questions, you must give at least 2 answer choices. Here you also have choices, you can type the answer, add an image or a math formula. Then, you check the box for the correct answer. 

Hosting a set is where the students come in. You can choose from 13 games if you have a free account; paid accounts have an extra game to choose from. I personally usually choose "Classic" unless the kids are playing during indoor recess or free time, then they can play one of the games. My favorite part of Blooket is the questions and answers show up on the student screens! They do not have to look at your screen to see the questions or the answers! Classic mode is my favorite because it isn't as game-y as the other choices. Just questions and answers, and less distracting for my kids.

Once you select your game choice is selected and you've clicked host, you have more settings to choose.

 These are the boxes that I select...all of them. I found it is important to select "Use Random Names," as the website will assign a student a random name. This bit of anonymity helps the kids to remain private. No one will know who is who, which bolsters your students' confidence. The shy kiddos who don't always want to share or feel comfortable with others knowing how they are doing really soar with this bit of anonymity. it teaches students to protect their personal data while online! Once you have your settings set, click "Host Now." I have a link in my Google Classroom to Blooket, so my students will take the shortcut, get to Blooket then type in the game code, once everyone is in, you can start the game.  Users can also play with their cell phones (if they have one). I often join via my cell phone to play against my students. 

After each question, it will reveal the answer and tell you how many students chose each answer with a pie chart. The following screen will show how fast students responded, and points are awarded.

Blooket can reach all levels of the SAMR model, depending on how it is used. If you are just substituting your regular review with the Blooket, it is simply substitution because the only thing you are doing differently is having the students answer questions on a screen rather than paper/pencil. It reaches augmentation because you can insert images into Blooket to reach more learning styles. I've inserted images as questions and answers before, which spices it up a little bit. There are also different game styles to increase engagements, personally the classic style is my favorite, the rest are too busy for me! Blooket can be used asynchronously, so this achieves augmentation, and the games can be played more than once. Finally, Blooket could reach redefinition if you had students collaborate to create their own Blookets. In my second grade classroom we reach augmentation, I insert images in to the questions and the answers; while I am a fan of the classic game, my students love to explore the other games when we have "free time."

I might have mentioned before that I have the paid version of Blooket, but know that all of the essential features are free! With the free version, you can host 60 students. It costs $36/year or $5/month to host up to 300 students, and I receive more in-depth reports and have more game options with the paid version.  I did not purchase Blooket until I knew I was sold on it. 

I can not reiterate how easy this website is. My students are on average 8 years old, but I have a few who are still 7. My students love it; they can easily navigate the website, and with the ability to add audio and images, pre-readers can easily use this website! 

To review, here's how you use Blooket:

• Blooket.com
• Create an account
• Click "Discover" to review the list of already created sets.
• Click "Create" to create your own set.
• Input questions
• Input answers and select the correct answer
• Save set.
• Make it public and share your link with colleagues.

 

I highly recommend giving this a shot with your kiddos, as it is a fun way to review or assess students! 🤍

-SW

Tech Tuesdays

Tech Tuesdays, Shona, it's Friday. 🙈 I know, I'm late, I'm sorry! Life happened this week, but here is what Tech Tuesday is all about.  It is an informal meeting among colleagues in the primary building to share technology that we use in our classroom. Tech that others might not know about or realize they can use with their students. In our building we refer to primary as PK - 3rd grade. 

I was one of those lucky teachers who got a job right after I applied and it just so happened it was where I student taught. My cooperating teacher was also the lead on the tech team, and you can say I dove in head first! When I first started teaching and even while I was student-teaching, teachers met every Thursday to discuss the apps we were using in our classrooms and new/exciting things we were doing, we called it "Appy Hour." Now we're doing the same thing on Tuesdays. Anyway the first two items on the block are Classroom Screen and Blooket. I will be completely honest, until a week ago, I had never heard of Classroom Screen and now I'm wondering how I survived without it! Ok, maybe not that drastic, but it's a good one, I promise!

Classroom Screen is the winner take all of screens.  Here is the one I used during math yesterday. The kids were working independently on a math page, then they could go to the library and when they came back they could work on IXL. I had five students gone yesterday, so I only had 13 there, we did some group work earlier in the day and I used the widget to create groups.   

Top left: Group Work widget. I input my students names and selected how many groups I needed and it randomly placed students into groups.  

Top Middle: Timer, just select the time you need it set for and push play.

Middle: This is the list of activities they were to do in the order of completion. This helps me not having to repeat myself over and over again. They can look at the board and see what they need to do next.

Top Right: This tells the kids what their voice level should be. 

Bottom Right: Volume meter. You can set how high you want to the volume to be at a max, then allow the program to access your microphone. If the room volume meets or exceeds what you set it at, it will ding to signify it is too loud in the room.

Bottom Middle: Tool bar. See next image...

The tool bar. This is your friend.

 

You can change the background, take a class poll, if you click on the randomizer you can input your class list and it will randomly pick a name for you and remove the name from the list (no more drawing sticks), sound level, imgae, work symbols - silent, whisper, ask a neighbor and group work, traffic light, timetable - you can input your schedule for the day with timers to let you know when to switch, timer, clock, and "more."

And there is so much more, indeed!

We'll start at the top left and work left to right, top to bottom. I previously mentioned the group maker, this is where you can find it. The next option is "video," if you select this widget, then you can input a URL to a video. 

Dice is next. If you click this widget, then select the sprocket for settings you can adjust what kind of dice you want to have on this menu. 

The webcam widget rounds out the top row. Next is the visual timer, it is just like the other timer, but has a different look to it. The calendar is next with the event countdown next. You can insert an event and, it will show you how long until the event. Have a class party coming up? This will count down the days, hours and minutes until the event arrives! The last widget in the second row is a stop watch.

The third row begins with the drawing widget. Should you choose this widget, you will see a white space on your screen and you can draw on it. For those of you forty-somethings, think of the "Paint" on the old PCs you had in high school, that is what I would compare it to! The next widget is "embed" where you can embed HTML code. After that is a QR code widget where you insert text or a URL and the widget will create a QR code for you to scan with your camera app. The last option is hyperlink, where you insert your URL and it will create a button for you to click on to take you where want to go.  Stickers is next, and it is exactly what you think it would be, digital stickers to decorate your classroom screen. The last option might be my favorite, the scoreboard. 

How many times do we play games in the classroom and not have a handy way to keep score? Problem solved.   First, you can select how many teams, then you can select which kind of score board you would like to use. 

Another feature that I love is the pages. You can create pages to flip through and have different features on each page. 

The only drawback to the free version is you can  not save your screens. They do have a paid version for $30/year. I use the free version, and it works just fine for me! 

I know this was like the Cliff's Notes version of Classroom Screen, but I hope you explore it and give it a chance.  See what works for you and your classroom, and then make your screen your own! 

Next week, we'll discuss Blooket, and I'm shooting for a post on Tuesday evening, keeping with the Tech Tuesday theme. See you next week, until then, keep exploring and drop me a note if there is something you'd like for me to check out! 🤍

-SW

Tech for the not-so-techy, techy teacher.

Welcome to Technology for the Primary Classroom! This blog is dedicated to the not-so-techy, techy teachers. 

We all know them; in fact, you might consider yourself one of them. The not-so-techy, techy teacher.  The one with all of the technology the district has available in your classroom but very limited knowledge on how to use the tools at your fingertips.  That's what I'm here for. I'm here to help you figure out the tools you have and how to use them for your primary-grade students. 

I've taught second grade for eleven years. I have been blessed with an abundance of technology during my teaching career.  When I first started, I worked in a small district where my eleven (yes, 11) second-graders were 1:1 with iPads. Three years into my career we consolidated and after a few years we made the switch from iPads to Chromebooks. For the last seven years my students have been 1:1 with Chromebooks. In my district, each classroom has a ClearTouch board, a document camera, two teacher Chromebooks (one being a larger Chromebook with a 10-key and the other being the same as the students) and each student has their own Chromebook.

The purpose of this blog is to help you learn more about the technology that is available to you and your students. I am not a hardware person, my goal is to help you learn the tools that are literally at your fingertips. I'll share the tools that I use daily in my classroom, and you can connect with me via the "Contact Me!" widget to the left with tools that you have and would like me to explore. 

I'm a sharer.  Some might say I'm an over-sharer, so I communicate what is going on in my classroom with my families, a lot.  I was the parent who wanted to know what was going on in child's classroom, I never wanted to miss a thing. My nephew was in high school when my son was young, so we had a busy life bouncing between little league events and high school events, and I wanted/needed a calendar to keep everything straight. Knowing that other families are just as busy as I am (or was, life has slowed down now that my son is in college) I try to keep everyone informed. Our school is on a six-day cycle, rather than the M-F schedule you might remember from your childhood, so I send home a monthly calendar with our schedule, as well as the home sporting events for our high school varsity teams, birthdays, no school days, etc. I send a paper copy home for families to post on their refrigerator, and I use the message center in JMC to send a pdf copy to families. 

I also use Remind as a messaging app. My families join our class group and can message me with questions or dismissal changes. I use this for snow days, early dismissals, late starts, etc. 

Each year I create a private Facebook group for my families to join to "see" our class. I share our district events on here, as well as photos of what we are doing in our room, so our families can see the students and connect with what we are learning.  I want to reiterate that I create a private group, so only members of the group can see the content. I do not have a Facebook page that people can "like," due to privacy. I also do not have a classroom Facebook account to become "friends" with others, because I do not want to have to unfriend past parents and family members.  With a private group, your posts are private, only the members in the group can see the content, if families want to share the content, they must screenshot the information to share it. 

Each week I try to send a classroom newsletter home. I keep it simple, giving a brief overview of what is going on in our classroom. Below is the latest newsletter from our room. I bought this newletter and calendar bundle from TpT, and it is completely editable and have PowerPoint and Google Slides options.  

Now, I know what you are thinking, I need to do all of that?! The answer is no, absolutely not. Start with one, and use what works for you. If you find you want to add another mode of communication, do it. My families love knowing what we are doing and what is coming up. I can also add we have had an increase of second grade families at our sporting events because the families know what is going on in the district!🤍 

-SW