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Saturday, May 30, 2020

8 Tech Tools for Teachers on a Tight Budget

1. Flipgrid

Flipgrid is a fantastic tool for teachers to capture information about student learning and growth. Flipgrid is a free app where teachers can post a question or other cues for student response, and students can then reply with short videos of their liking. 
 
Menachem Moscovitz

2. InsertLearning

Menachem Moscovitz believes that the Insert Learning tool is a great free app. It can also be used with a Chrome browser extension that allows teachers to turn almost any web page into an interactive and live classroom lesson.

Teachers can highlight text; add questions, comments, test students, and videos inside the app with a Google Classroom code. This is a free version available for a limited number of lessons/chapters, as well as a relatively inexpensive paid option.

3. Google Docs

Google Docs is one of the most versatile digital tools for teachers. Its greatest strength is that it helps teachers to create a collaborative classroom. That is not only what it does. Menachem Moscovitz believes that the option for education add-ons, most of which is free of cost, is one of the tool’s strongest strengths. 
 
Menachem Moscovitz

4. Viewpure

Videos are a great educational tool. But using YouTube videos in the classroom is dicey because of inappropriate ads and suggested content that often pops up. Through videos students can learn and understand a topic in a fast and better manner. That is why lots of teachers advocate using ViewPure, a free toolbar widget that purifies YouTube videos. The tool removes the page clutter where questionable content could appear.

5. Prezi

Another tool which is good for teachers on a budget. Prezi is a web-based tool for creating creative digital presentations. Teachers have adopted this tool because of its visual presentation capabilities, which help engage students during lessons. The standard version is only $7 per month, with more expensive plus and premium versions available.
Menachem Moscovitz

6. Book Creator

Menachem Moscovitz personally likes the Book Creator app. With the help of this app, teachers and students can create, publish, and share digital books at a single go! Being a teacher it is hard to make time, this app here will help teachers manage time as well.

Teachers can create a shared library of books for their class students, and they can assign the creation of books as formative or summative assessments as well to test students’ knowledge. The most basic version of this tool is only $60 per year, or $5 per month.

7. Pear Deck Flashcard Factory

Thousands of teachers use this app to turn presentations into interactive and fun activities. The platform allows teachers to see student responses to questions immediately when posted. This free tool can make a lecture livelier which will keep students engaged. 
 
Menachem Moscovitz

8. Kahoot

Last but not least Kahoot is a game-based learning platform that helps make education more fun. The games are made up of multiple-choice questions, which can feature videos and images. Students can have healthy competition against each other and in groups when completing the games.


Saturday, May 23, 2020

Examples of Great Teaching During the Pandemic

How successfully have you and your school handled the lockdown situation? Menachem Moscovitz believes that even with online teaching you can teach a great deal of syllabus to the students. Moving on we have been observing what online teaching feels like during the pandemic and we bring you examples of some genius teacher from all over the world that are fantastically doing their job amidst all the chaos that is been going around

The first example is from Angus, Scotland. Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county, and a lieutenant fancy area. Jen Rankin runs the Creative Academy of Performing Arts Angus (CAPA).

She posted a video on the dance group’s Facebook page, with pupils singing lines each from the song Rainbows, by Kacey Musgraves. In her post, she says, “I wanted to do something really special with our students during this difficult time and pay tribute to everyone who is struggling through the hardship.”


Caption for the image: Two of the CAPA dance pupils singing their lines during the performance of Rainbow, by Kacey Musgraves.

“I have been working on this lovely project for a few weeks now and I hope that you all enjoy the sentiment behind the song. From me and my little darlings to you and yours. A big thank you to Garry Morrison for helping me with the video.” We need more teachers as Jen Rankin Menachem says. He was impressed by the kids' enthusiasm.

This second example is from Frisco, Texas. Teachers from an elementary school in Frisco, TX, cheered up some students by parading through their neighborhood, honking and waving from their cars during this struggling time.

And an elementary school teacher in Mesquite, TX, drove to each of her students’ homes to check on them -- from a safe distance -- and remind them how much she misses them.


Everyone is suffering in their way, Menachem Moscovitz shares that all of us have to be strong and stand with each other at a time like this. Teachers can inspire students and their families with their passion for work and dedication. We should try to be there for each other.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Menachem Moscovitz: Explaining Google Classroom Tool

It is next to impossible to ignore Google’s most popular tools- Gmail, Google calendar, and Google Docs. All these tools have now become staples for getting organized and getting work done fast. Menachem Moscovitz believes that these tools have revolutionized the way we communicate, work together, and store information online.
 
Menachem Moscovitz
 
Especially during the ‘world’ lockdown, teachers and students can utilize the friendly platform Google Classroom- an education platform with the benefit of paperless sharing and digital collaboration to classrooms. Millions of teachers and students are currently using this amazing tool around the world to continue with their courses, making it the most loved edtech tools.

Menachem Moscovitz shares his concern regarding online teaching but believes that it can be handled with proper supervision. Today we are going to try to give an answer to the most commonly asked questions about this platform, on how you can use Google Classroom with your students.

What is Google Classroom?

Menachem Moscovitz shares that lots of teachers and students ask him this particular question often. Google describes Google Classroom as “mission control for your classroom,” and this might be the easiest way to explain this tool. 
 
Menachem Moscovitz

In simple words, it is a platform that ties together Google's G Suite tools for teachers and students. It acts as a digital organizer where teachers can keep class materials/notes and share them with students- all paperless!

You can pick and choose the features you want to incorporate. It provides you the flexibility to choose your favored tools, its seamless integration with Google's popular tools, is what makes Google Classroom one of the most widely-used edtech tools.

Is Google Classroom a Learning Management System (LMS)?

Technically no, Google Classroom is not a stand-alone LMS, Course management System, or student information system. That said, Google regularly keeps on adding a new function to Google Classroom. 
 
Menachem Moscovitz

In June 2019, for example, Google announced that schools will soon be able to sync new grading tools to an existing student information system. As Google continues to add features, it's likely that it may start to look, and function, more like an LMS. But for now, it is best described as a one-stop-shop for a class organization.

Who Can Use Google Classroom?


Anyone can use Google Classroom, it offers free service for anyone with a personal Google account, and it's also free for organizations using G Suite for Education or G Suite for nonprofits. In most cases, teachers and students can access Google Classroom using a Google account provided by their school as well or can use their personal account if needed. 
 
Menachem Moscovitz

How do teachers use Google Classroom?
  • Menachem Moscovitz shares that because it's a fairly flexible platform, educators use its features in different ways. With Google Classroom, teachers can:
  • Streamline how they can or do manage classes. The platform integrates with Google’s other tools like Docs, Drive, and Calendar, so there are lots of built-in "shortcuts" for classroom-management tasks.
  • Digitally organize, distribute, and collect assignments, course materials, and student work during lockdown period for smooth online teaching.
  • Teachers can also post an assignment online to multiple classes or modify and reuse assignments from year to year.
  • Teachers can easily communicate with students about their classwork.
  • You can use this platform to post announcements and reminders about assignments, and it's easy to see who has or hasn't completed their work.
  • We will discuss Google Classroom in our next blog as well, so make sure to check again!

Saturday, May 9, 2020

The Dos of Online Teaching- Tips by Menachem Moscovitz

Right now teachers are working hard to keep studies on during the coronavirus lockdown, how can teachers make the most of online teaching experience with your class? There are many teachers who are already learning – can they offer insights? Virtual school lessons are delivered in line with each person’s personalized curriculum.

Menachem Moscovitz

Menachem Moscovitz has years of experience in teaching and shares his expert tips on online learning. Teachers can take help from the below-shared tips to know how they can make teaching sufficient during the lockdown.

Dos of Online Teaching

  • Collect email addresses and contact numbers of all the students’ parents and create a group to discuss online classes.
  • Prepare yourself before going live aka doing the online class. It is best to rehearse offline before your actual class.
  • Check all the necessary equipment and services, like your internet connection, laptop, and its battery, is camera working, etc. before your session.
  • Be ready with the assignments that you want to share after your online class session, such as a list of questions related to the specific topic.
  • You may also ask one or two students to be volunteers and help you out in passing important information about the online session to other students in the group or of class if required. It will reduce your workload; you would not have to inform each and every student. This may be beneficial in conveying last-minute changes if any you want.
  • Give your students every instruction required so that your online class runs smoothly and is fruitful.
  • During online sessions during a lockdown, give proper breaks so that the students will have the time to think about the topic and not feel bound and frame their questions as doubts.
  • It is better to keep your class short or as a series of short sessions; this depends on various factors, like the topic, student’s participation, and the teaching plan.
  • You may ask a few open-ended questions related to the said topic during the online session to make students more responsive.
  • Encourage students not only to ask their queries or doubts related to the topic but also to answer questions asked by their peers. You may set up an online discussion forum for this to work out.
  • Post assignments just after your online session and announce the details in your session.
  • Do not forget to take feedback from the students. It will really help you learn their point of view about the session.
Menachem Moscovitz
Conclusion: During your online class/session, you may request students to wash their hands properly at regular intervals to spread awareness. Students should know that it is important for them to attend these classes in order to stay ahead and keep up with their syllabus. As a teacher, you can make them understand this by motivating them from time to time.