Appy Tuesday: Voxer

I have to admit when I first downloaded voxer and started to use it with just my family, I wasn't impressed. I thought why do I need this if I want to send them a short message I will just text them. I left the app sitting on my iPhone for a year unused and unloved. Over the summer I joined a professional learning experience "PTcamp" and was reintroduced to "The Vox" man oh man did I quickly start to realize all the potential this once misunderstood app held for me in the classroom and beyond.

What is it...

Voxer is a walkie - talkie like app on steroids. You can hear audio messages right as people speak or wait and get caught up on your messages later.  As well as voice messages you can send text, images, or even share your current location. Groups can be formed to organize those amazing PLN discussions you have going on.

How to use it...

I have started incorporating it right into my classrooms. Parents love it, they can quickly ask a question if they aren't sure what their child is supposed to be working on, or if they just want to check in on their son or daughter. Students have really started to get the hang of being able to ask any question they have pretty much anytime of day. I can listen to their questions and respond in the car hands free, no need to try to email them or text a message. Those quick questions that students think of when they are in homeroom. Honestly I was a little nervous as I initially rolled out "the vox" to my students and parents I was afraid they might abuse it and I would be getting voice messages at all hours of the day and night asking silly random things. While I do get messages throughout the entire day, they have never once abused it, and thanks to the voxer I can listen and respond to their questions when it's convenient for me (my 30 minute ride to work and home everyday).

Outside of the classroom I have found Voxer to be an irreplaceable tool for connecting with other educators. Through my voxer groups I have connected with educators as far across the globe as Australia. We can discuss everything from our differences in our classrooms to our differences in our culture. I have connected more with other educators outside my district in my 6 months of really using voxer than in my six years of prior teaching.

How to get started...

Download Voxer, have your students and parents download it as well (I created a short tutorial for my parents that is included on my class homepage) share your voxer handle with them and get started "voxing"!

Interested in connecting with me on voxer? You can contact me at cnidli834

My Teacher Lifeline - Part 1: The Calendar

If you are like me it can be difficult at times to keep track of everything you have going on.  I had a desk calendar, a calendar on my computer, a calendar on my phone and then a calendar in my plan book. I could never find the exact thing I need to help me keep it all together.  Sooooooo I decided I would create my own.  I am a huge fan of Erin Condren and if you haven't seen her stuff it is a must for any educator, but I still just wasn't finding exactly what I needed for a middle school setting.  I did however use her teacher plan book as my inspiration for creating my very own calendar/planner/gradebook aaaannnddd because I love it so much I wanted to share it with YOU GUYS......

Introducing.... My Teacher Lifeline (calendar installment)

The calendar includes all twelve months, and some really great quotes on each of the those months. And while the design is really cute and catchy I think my favorite part is that it is very flexible as the actual dates haven't been filed in. Just circles where you can put the correct number in. This way you don't need to re-download a new version come December. I hope you enjoy it and get as much use out of it as I am. Please let me know if you have any questions or you see a correction that needs made. Keep checking back for the rest of My Te
aching Lifeline - my gradebook and lesson planning sections, as well as all those little miscellaneous documents that are vital to a teachers life. Enjoy!!!

My Teaching Lifeline - Calendar

Checking for Understanding: The Drive By

I have a lot of different topics that I want to hit on soon but as I was working in my classroom today I thought I would throw this quick and easy idea out there.

One of the most important things about the flipped classroom is making sure that each and every student has that 1 on 1 assistance when they need it. In my class students are working on different lessons, multiple projects, and even taking a variety of assessments all at the same time. It is critical that I can quickly see who needs assistance immediately and who I need to meet with at some point during the class period.

Here is the link to the google doc: Teacher Time: Sign Up Sheet

I have come up with a couple different strategies to handle that. The first being a google doc that I created that allows students to schedule time with  me during class. I spend a lot of time working with small groups and wanted to have an easy way to see if there were several people who were in need of a little assistance on one specific topic. I form small groups all the time but usually use exit tickets and other informal assessments to form my groups I felt like this really gave students a voice in their learning.

The second tool I use to quickly access if my students need me are these little sheets that I have placed on each students desk.

It is kind of difficult to see but there are little clear velcro tabs on each of the red, yellow, and green rectangles. I have small buttons that have the other side of the velcro tab on them, that the students will use with these. At the beginning of each period students will start with their buttons on the green box and if they feel they need some extra assistance they can move their buttons to either the red or yellow box. This enables me to quickly see as I do a quick drive by around the room who needs immediate attention and who needs assistance as soon as I can get there. This little laminated sheet has saved me lots of lines at my table while I am working with other students.

If you are interested I have included the file here for you to download and use.

Check for Understanding: Drive By Sheet

If you have a really great idea to check for understanding quickly let me know in the comments.