Blendspace

Blendspace is a FREE online tool that pulls together resources that can be shared with students in the form of digital lessons.  This supports flipped classrooms, differentiation and additional practice.  It is hosted by TES, which is a resource for educator-designed lesson plans, activities and units.  

Once you create your free account, you create your class.  It will give you a link to share with students so they can sign up.  You can track the students that have signed up and how far they've progressed.

Creating lessons literally takes about 5 minutes.   After you click on "+ New Lesson", you add a title and start researching resources with the search tool.  You can search through YouTube videos, Google images and webpages, Flickr, Gooru, Dropbox, Google Drive, or upload your own documents or photos.  To add these to your "canvas", you just drag and drop.  You can also add text directly into the "tile", or add a quiz.  Once you've added what you want, you can change the titles for each "tile" and rearrange them by dragging and dropping them.  Finally, you can add common core standards tags with a drop down menu.  

The Gallery feature lets you search other people's lessons through the search tool.  When you find one that meets your needs, you "copy" it and it will populate under your Lessons as a "copy".  Now it's available to your class!

Now that you're done creating your lesson, you can share it.  There's a share button that lets you share directly through Twitter, email, Facebook, an embed code for blogs, or a QR code.   You can collaborate directly with your co-workers.  You can invite them by email or provide them with a link.  There's also an option to set the lesson to private so no one else can access it.

Students can progress through the "tiles" with the arrow buttons.  They can comment on these and rate them as well.  It is advisable to start the lesson by using the first tile to provide lesson objectives and expectations for the assignment you want completed.  

Although Blendspace is extremely user-friendly and easy to naviate, they have a resource page.   They give you more ideas of how to incorporate Blendspace into your classroom and tips on how to use it.

The possibilities are truly endless!  You can use Blendspace strictly as a place to store your resources by each standard or topic.  You can use Blendspace to flip you classroom, by providing students a one-stop-shop to find the videos and resources you want them to access before coming to school.  You can have students access different lessons as a way to differentiate your instruction.  You can use it to extend learning for students who need more of a challenge, or you can use it as a way to remediate students who have gaps.  Blendspace is incredibly versatile and fits perfectly with every teacher and every classroom!

iPad as a Document Camera

I've had many teachers ask me how I use my iPad with my Smartboard in my classroom.  It's pretty easy and inexpensive.  I use my LCD cart as a projector for my iPad.  I can't manipulate the iPad through the Smartboard, it just projects.  But you can see everything I have on my iPad.  My favorite way is to use the camera - it creates an instant document camera!

First, in order to connect you'll need a cord - the type depends on your projector.  You'll either need a VGA or HDMI adaptor.  Splurge for the Apple brand.  Since their latest update, my generic cord won't work.  I had to get the Apple brand, and now it works just fine. If you're not sure which cord you need, ask your IT person.  They will be able to help you hook it up, too.  My guy hooked  mine up so I can go back and forth between my computer and my iPad with the touch of a button.  (Thanks, Justin!)  

The stands are pretty expensive, and I have yet to find one that will work with an Otterbox case.  What I use instead is a locker stand.  Yes, a locker stand.  I found mine at Walmart for $3 on sale!
 

I simply place my iPad on top of the stand so the camera is not blocked by the grid.  Voila - a document camera!  The picture is sharp, and I can zoom in pretty tight.  I've used other document cameras that didn't zoom or didn't have a quality picture.  They were so frustrating!  Now, I can easily show measurements, work with maniuplatives or work out problems for students on paper that they can see on the Smartboard, and I don't have to turn my back on them!  It makes teaching a much more personal experience!

The only drawback to the locker stand is that the legs get in the way when I'm zooming in and I need to move the paper around.  For now, I am learning to work around that.  But one day, I hope to find someone to make me this, and also allow for the thickness of the Otterbox case and let it swivel.  

In addition to using the camera on the iPad as a document camera, I use an app called CamDraw ($.99).  It lets you sketch right over the live view from the camera.  I can work on handouts without having to take a picture of it first, and without having to waste a copy.  This is particularly useful when we work on graphing equations - saves me a ton of graph paper!



If you already have an iPad and a projector, it's a great investment to buy the cord so you can project your iPad screen.  Using my iPad as a document camera has changed the way I teach, and I feel it has made me a more effective teacher.