Flubaroo - Testing and Grading with Google Forms

Hi!

I had a conversation a while ago with a friend at work (an inclusion teacher), and she mentioned that one of the English teachers in our building was using Flubaroo with great success. I had heard about it, but hadn't really looked into it.

Now, I'm hooked.
I HATE copying test papers. It's so wasteful. I don't like either using all of my allotted copies to have them collated and stapled, but I also don't like spending the time to do it myself after using the less fancy copier without a code.

I've tried lots of ways of getting around paper testing and paper wasting. I've tried class sets, but I like to change tests every semester (typically because I want to protect the test questions, or I want to improve the assessment).

Here's what I've tried:

• Just copying one for everyone. Feel free to write on it, kids!
• Class sets - and don't you dare mess it up! (Inevitably followed by "Can we write on this?" at least 10 times, then "Dylan! I JUST TOLD YOU NOT TO WRITE ON IT! That better not be pen!"
• Posting a PDF of the test on the class website, kids write answers on notebook paper
• Posting a PDF, kids answer using infuse learning/socrative
• Typing questions into infuse learning/socrative
• (the problem with these - the infuse and socrative servers can be unreliable and slow)

My fear with posting a PDF is that they will email the file, or view it in a previous class period if they know it's test day. I also struggle with letting them test online - I don't want them to be tempted to google a question. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven the day I found out about Guided Access on Ipads - no more googling! Guided Access locks an Ipad into one screen/website/app until a teacher unlocks it with a code.

So on to the discovery. 

Flubaroo is a script that you install with a Google Form. 

• You create a Google Form with your questions
• How to make a Google Form
• How to use PICTURES as questions in a Google Form (this is what I recommend - just take and save screenshots of a scanned paper copy test or an existing digital file)
• How to send a Google Form to your students
• Once your students take the test, install Flubaroo and have it grade your tests. 
• How to install the script and grade with Flubaroo
• Send your students their grades automatically!
• How to send grades and view results with Flubaroo

I'll be using this on my next test, with Guided Access, so that my tests are graded for me, students receive quick feedback, and I can make sure they aren't cheating using Google. I spent this afternoon making sure all the features work well together, and I'm confident this will be a method I can continue to use reliably with my students. 

Just thought I'd share this awesome piece of technology goodness! Have a great weekend, everyone. 

Update: The English teacher from my school that uses this enlightened me that now with the new Add-Ons, it makes this process more efficient. Update your Google Spreadsheet to the new Google Sheets in Settings, then under Add-Ons click Get Add-Ons and install Flubaroo. That's it! 

Sharing your ISN with Parents

So the past few weeks, I've been dealing with a parent. You know the type. She emails you within 30 seconds of your response. He checks online grades 4 times daily to see if anything has changed. She wants a detailed explanation of at least 3 sentences beside each grade. He organizes Junior's notebook for him every night at home because "he's just not great with organizational skills." 

Honestly, these types of parents don't usually get to me. Until last week. I finally just gave in and decided to post my ISN pages - yes, every single last one of them, online. Because otherwise, I was never going to hear the end of it. And quite honestly, I think it will help my students keep track of everything. I'm envisioning a student that was absent pulling out their phone or any other internet-connected device, and updating their notebook at home based on what's online. Last summer when I worked with a middle school teacher to present on interactive notebooking for our district, I was inspired by the fact that each day, she posted not only their topic, homework, and a link to a video daily, but also pics of her ISN for each prep. 

(I said inspired - that's definitely teacher-code for saying WOW she must be awesome, and then I did nothing to improve my own system. SMH.) 

But talking with this parent finally motivated me to get it done. I've seen lots of teachers with ISNs use Slideshare with pictures, I've seen them take doc cam screenshots (which in my opinion, is probably easiest), and I've even seen some walk downstairs and scan each page every day to post it. 

My doc cam is barely good enough to use for notes - so that wasn't an option. Not to mention, I knew for sure that if the method I chose took ANY work at all, it wasn't going to happen. 

So I chose Evernote. I'd already been using it a little (I have the free version) for organizing some online resources. But I'm fairly new to it. But in about 5 seconds (literally) per prep per day, I post my pages for the day. 

I downloaded the free Evernote app onto my cell phone. I added the "widget" to my home screen. I set 2 notebooks up called Algebra 1 ISN and Algebra 2 ISN (one for each prep). I copied the link to each notebook onto my class website so students can access the notebook as public. That's it!

This is the widget on my home screen. When I want to post new pages, I click the camera button, which opens a new "photo page," and automatically starts the camera.

This is the camera started - you take as many photos as you need (I do 1 per page)
by hitting the green button.

Once you've taken pictures, it shows the number you've taken in the bottom right corner. 

Select the check once you've gotten that day's pages.

Hitting the check brings you to the "note" that contains all the pictures. 

All that's left to do is label the note with a title and place it in the correct notebook.

In green, it lists the notebook - this note is set to go into Algebra 1 ISN.

Below is the space for the title.

 I use the page numbers as the title (here, I put 65 for page 65.) 

Then hit the check, and it saves automatically. It syncs as soon as you
connect to wifi or turn on data. 

So you can see what students/parents see, click the link below - it will take you to the Algebra 1 or Algebra 2 ISN online notebook.
 (Keep in mind I JUST started doing this - there aren't many pages up yet. We started our 2nd 6 weeks notebook on Pi Day.)

https://www.evernote.com/pub/mrs_spencer_schs/algebra1isn

https://www.evernote.com/pub/mrs_spencer_schs/algebra2isn

I know if you're unfamiliar with Evernote, this process can seem like a lot. But once you get started, the daily upkeep takes only a few seconds (which is what makes it worth it for me). Email me through my profile if you want/need more info to get started, or post questions in the comment section. 

How to make a stations activity in a hurry

Hi! 

So we've had quite the busy semester so far, but my focus this semester has been to develop interactive/cooperative learning fun stuff for my Math 1 kids. I moved schools last year, and my old school had a department-wide bin of games. There weren't many in it, but it was nice to know at the beginning of the unit that I could take the folder for that topic and instantly have a couple of really good resources to use. I've made it my mission as math department chair at my new school to recreate that setup, with electronic files, interactive notebook pages, and games/stations activities. I currently have 2 milk crates filled with games and activities sorted by topic - I'm going to try to share as many of these as possible.

One of the things I recently started planning was my professional development session this summer on making your secondary classroom more engaging. With the help of a couple of AMAZING coworkers, I'll be presenting sessions on interactive notebooking, using games and centers with secondary students, and how to help students track progress with skill-based assessments (basically, my version of SBG).

As I wrote up the documentation needed for the PD for games, I realized that while I have created plenty of different activities, I don't have electronic versions of very many. The reason for that (as well as the reason I'm willing to create them) is because I can create enough of these types of card games to have a set per group in my class pretty quickly. The reason it's so quick is because I use a test generator or Kuta to print the questions, and then physically cut and tape them onto a pre-made template. 

That's the process I want to share today. 

First, print out a worksheet answer key, test with answers, or KUTA page with answers. Double the number of questions to determine the number of cards you'll need to make.

You'll need the card template (shown is a 12 card template - I've since switched to 9 cards, since they're a bit easier to play with.) Download the card template by clicking here. Print out enough of them for the number of cards you plan to make.  You'll also need scissors and tape. 

Cut out each question and answer separately. No need to worry about keeping anything in order. Don't worry if the edges aren't straight. This is where I love using KUTA worksheets - everything's aligned, and I just cut out the columns then snip it apart. Tape the pieces onto the template, one per box. They don't have be perfectly straight. I also typically lay out a page, then tape them all at once with larger strips of tape, rather than tiny pieces on each box.

I'd like to take a moment here to mention that if you're feeling ambitious, you can cut and paste screenshots of questions/pictures to use, or you could type in the template. I typically don't do that only because it takes 5 times as long to make the same type of game, and it still looks typed and neat when done this way.

Once you've got them taped, now's your opportunity to scan the page to save an electronic copy, or copy it for a neater hard copy. 

Copy your pages onto different colors of cardstock - I use a different color for each set, so if a card goes missing it's easy to figure out where it goes.

Cut apart the blocks by following the guidelines on the template. Using a template without lines around the edge not only saves cutting time, but also ensures that every bit of the page is used - no waste!

I use a large craft cutter from Michaels. Use a 40% off coupon and a teacher discount of 15%, and they're quite reasonably priced! 

Put each set into a snack or sandwich size baggie.

Put all baggies into a gallon size bag labeled with the topic, activity description, and number of sets of cards.

 

And that's it!

You now have an easy game card set that can be used as a matching activity, go fish, old maid (if you leave one card space blank per set), memory/concentration, etc. This same deck can act as any of those games, and can be reused again and again. 

Here's the scanned copy of the set I made:
  matching linear equations with their graphs. 

Enjoy!

(By the way, if you have ideas for other fun activities/games that you use in your classroom that work across different content areas, please share in the comments section. I'd love to include them in the PD session over summer, so that other teachers can make their classrooms more engaging for their students.)

Graphing On The Wall

I love my graphing board. I got the idea from a teacher friend that made a board out of masking tape on his white board during summer school. I went a little crazy with the idea, but I love the result. It's already come in handy to have to reference while teaching the linear functions review unit with my Alg 2 kids.

So here's what I did:

I started with some fabric, and a yard covered up enough of the board once I added the borders (click the link for the printable template). Then I used (well, stole, then used) my husband's laser level. 

I had these foam popsicle sticks leftover from a project last year, so I used them. I wanted the x and y axes to be really perpendicular, so I took my time with this step. I stapled each one on the ends as I went across, then went back and reinforced them once I was sure they were in the right place.

Then I started adding cording (scavenged out of my grandmother's sewing closet) at two inch intervals. I just guessed at the length - they're uneven, but they're covered by borders, so it looks good. I marked the two inch intervals on the foam (see the indentations from my pencil above?) then just twisted the laser to meet the dot. This step was what I had anticipated spending tons of time on, but once I did the first 2 or 3, it went by super quickly. Attaching all the cording took maybe 20 mins. total. 

 Here's a close up of how I was lining it up and stapling. (And also the proof of how uneven these really were. Less measuring = less time spent) 

Once the vertical lines were attached, I repeated the process with the horizontal lines.

Overall, I'm so happy with how it turned out. Here are a couple tips:

1. Don't use yarn for the grid lines. That's what I tried originally, but it's too stretchy. 

2. It will sag after a few days. Just staple it back up, and it should be fine after that point.

Here's what I'm using to attach points.

Small command hooks hot glued to foam squares. They clip wonderfully!

(Side note - the small command hooks aren't great for graphing lines. I've been using jumbo paper clips for lines, then attaching yarn to the paperclips AFTER the paperclips are in place. So far, it's the most accurate way to keep a line where it needs to be.)

Here's that finished product: finished with borders, and book covers cut in half, then stapled up to hold the hooks and paperclips. 

Freebies on Friday! Editable, printable bulletin board borders!

I got a little bored this morning, so I made a few things to share: printable, editable bulletin board borders. I can never find ones I like, and even using scrapbook paper to cut out custom ones can get time-consuming and pricey very quickly. So I am printing them this year, and of course I'll laminate as well so that I can continue to use them in years to come.

I've made several templates in Word, and all you have to do to make them your own is change the fill for the shapes! I usually download some free background paper from TPT, or use one of the built-in patterns from Word.

It's not too difficult to make your own template as well. Just in case my templates don't give you the type of border you want, here's how to make your own!

1. Open a new Word document, and change the paper orientation to landscape, with narrow borders.

2. Find an image (ANY image) of the type of edge you want on your border. Paste the image in Microsoft Word, and adjust the length of the image so that it is around 10 inches. If you picked a short image that you do not want to stretch, simply copy and paste more images to create a longer border. Also, change the "Wrap" setting on your image to "Behind Text."

3. Click the Insert Tab. Then click Shapes. In the dropdown menu, select the "Freeform" shape under the Lines category. This will allow you to create a custom shape, by tracing over your image. Each time you click, another section of the shape is created. I recommend zooming in on your figure so you can be very precise as you click around the edges over your picture. 

4. Once you have traced all along your shape, you can fill the shape with any color or picture you like. To do this, click the Format tab, then Shape Fill. If your edges seem choppy, sometimes it helps to add a white 3-pt. border for your shape, which you can do by clicking the Format tab, then Shape Outline, then weight, 3-pt. The shape really doesn't have to be super smooth, since you will be printing it out and cutting it out. Any rough curves can be smoothed out when you cut it out. 

5. Copy and paste a second (or third!) shape onto your page - so there's less paper waste when you print. 

To download the FREE templates I've created, visit my TPT store at tinyurl.com/learningwithtapeTPT !  Below are the templates I posted: