Don’t Flop over Flip, Try VoiceThread!

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VoiceThread – Group Interaction For All Students

Flip is no longer available as a standalone platform. Microsoft, the owner of Flip, has decided to integrate its functionality into Microsoft Teams for Education, leading to the discontinuation of the Flip website and app. As a result, all Flip content is now in read-only mode, and users have until September 30, 2024, to download any content, including student responses, from Flip.

Voicethread is the closest alternative to Flip that HCSD recommends and supports. It is a multimedia presentation and group interaction tool that accommodates various media types, including images, videos, audio (via microphone or phone), and text annotation. Similar to Flip, Voicethread centers interaction around a central piece of content, and then allows users to “thread” their responses. Importantly, Voicethread integrates seamlessly with Canvas  and allows for connections to the gradebook.

So what exactly is VoiceThread, and how can you get started using it?  Take a look at these videos and the resources below:

 

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High School Science Databases

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Science Content

Quality, curated, and current content for your science lessons, projects, and research. As a part of an in-person or Canvas-based lesson use Gale Science Databases

PDF: Gale in Canvas Guide

Video: Link and Embed Sources in Canvas LMS

Hall County Subscriptions

Hall County subscribes to two science databases from Gale (BLaST resource).

Science in Context (9-12)

  • Accessible via LaunchPoint for High School
  • Hidden within Course Navigation in Canvas

Science Interactive (9-12)

  • Accessible via LaunchPoint for High School
  • Hidden within Course Navigation in Canvas

All Schools offered Demo+ Work Session

All schools have been offered a tailored science department meeting with training on the database and the Canvas integration. Every school has an example course with option for ways to present the different content available from Gale and via Canvas LMS; the course contains the training/presentation notes for easy replication. If you are interested in more information, you can reach out through your BLaST leader or Media Specialist for support.

Agenda:
A 10-20-minute overview of Gale Science Databases is available in HallCo.

20-30-minute overview/examples/support of how to use (a) in-person and (b) in Canvas.

Beyond Science

Gale offers more than Science content. HallCo purchases the Gale in Context for grades 6-12. Here is information on linking or embedding documents within Canvas from Gale.

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Due Dates in Canvas LMS

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Below are all the reference materials associated with this mini-training.

Training Recordings:

Canvas Guides:

Instructor Guide: Grades

How do I use the to-do list for all my courses in the List View Dashboard as a student?

What is the difference between assignment due dates and availability dates?

How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?

How do I add a page to the student To-Do list as an instructor?

Redelivery Cheat Sheet:

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Increase the Quality of Discussion Posts

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Discussion posts can engage a wider variety of students than in-person, time-driven discussions. The deep thinker, the shy student, the serial responder can all use a discussion post to further engage with your course content – if you correctly set one up. Consider the following tips and use the resources referenced to add a new depth to your Canvas courses.

Discussion Post Guidelines

Discussion Posts benefit from specific guidelines to assure successful participation by students. Provide a link to your Discussion Post Guidelines for every class Discussion Post. The bottom of the RCE is ideal for this or a similar notice:

Of course, that means you need to create a page to link to which contains your Discussion Guidelines – and that you have Discussion Guidelines. Both are easy to accomplish. Discussion Guidelines help students meet instructor expectations and allow the instructor to thoughtfully craft a discussion. Consider the two versions in Commons: Search Discussion Guidelines in Hall County Commons.

Sample Discussions

Consider importing the Sample Discussion Post from the Hall County Canvas Commons to customize. Link your Discussion Guidelines and then duplicate for multiple modules:

To Grade or Not to Grade?

Graded discussions do not count toward user storage quotas. Also remember that grading can be as simple as complete/incomplete. However, if you want to be more precise – and take advantage of the awesome Speedgrader – consider adding a rubric to your discussion.

Consult the Canvas Guides on Discussions for more specific information.

 

 

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2020 Summer Courses

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2020 is our 5th year of Blended Learning June offerings, we are excited to offer Hall County teachers access to professional learning around the most effective tools to use in a blended learning setting. Online offerings open for enrollment May 22nd.

All eLearning sessions are online this year.
Some sessions have a synchronous component, please check your calendars in advance of signing up.

As always eLearning keeps a waiting list and strives to fill any vacancies which arise, so please consider signing up for the waitlist if you were not able to get into your favorite offering.

*teachers are not eligible to participate in certifications if they already hold that certification.

Visit Catalog when signed into Canvas to sign up for these courses and more!

 

 

 

 

 

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