The Tech Savvy Science Teacher

Teaching Students Email Etiquette

2025-09-14T10:47:00.006-04:00

Does it drive you crazy when you get an email from a student and they put the whole message in the subject line? Or they write like they are talking to a friend, " hey can u plz send the hw thx"

Wayground (you know them, they used to be Quizziz), created a quiz game you can use with your students to help them understand what to do. You can also edit the quiz to better meet the needs of your class or school.

What's a good app/website to use in your classroom?

2025-08-31T14:32:00.005-04:00

In today's digital age, educators are inundated with so many tools and resources. It's often hard to figure out what is good to use and Common Sense Education is a great site to help you out with this.

Why Common Sense Education?

Comprehensive Reviews: Offers unbiased evaluations of edtech tools, helping educators make informed decisions.
Digital Citizenship Curriculum: Provides age-appropriate lessons to instill responsible online behavior in students.
Professional Development: Features webinars, articles, and training materials to enhance teachers' digital literacy.

Classroom Application: Imagine integrating a new app into your lesson plan. Before implementation, consult Common Sense Education's reviews to assess its suitability. Additionally, utilize their digital citizenship lessons to prepare students for responsible usage.

Common Sense Education isn't just a resource; it's a partner in fostering a safe and effective digital learning environment.

Save Time with AI: Brisk Teaching's New Tools for Teachers

2025-08-17T14:58:00.008-04:00

I was reminded about an AI tool from Monica Burns' blog. This could be a game-changer for getting ready for the new school year. You know that feeling, right? The one where you're drowning in lesson planning, grading, and trying to figure out how to give every student what they need. Well, what if you had an AI assistant that could handle a lot of that for you?

I'm talking about Brisk Teaching, and their new updates are pretty cool. They’re all about saving us time and helping us with that whole differentiated instruction puzzle.

So, What's the Big Deal?

It syncs with Microsoft. This is huge for me as I'm a Microsoft School. Now you can sign in with your Microsoft account, and their new Edge browser extension lets you save all your generated content directly to OneDrive. Super simple.

Lesson Planning, but Smarter. They have this feature called Brisk Next that gives you personalized suggestions for your lesson plans. It's like having a planning buddy that knows your curriculum.

One Prompt, a Full Unit. This is probably my favorite part. The new Bundles feature can generate a whole set of aligned resources—like handouts, quizzes, and even a quick activity—all from just one prompt. Think of all the time that will save you!

Real-time Student Insights. With Boost Learning Insights, you can get real-time data on how your students are doing. It's great for quickly seeing who’s got it and who needs a little more help.

Grading in a Flash. Let’s be real, nobody loves grading. But the new Batch Grading feature lets you grade multiple assignments at once with different feedback styles. This could seriously cut down your weekend workload.

I think it's definitely worth checking out. They're even offering three free months of premium access through a special link.
Let me know if you end up trying it! I'd love to hear what you think.

Innovate and Inspire: Leveraging Edutopia

2025-05-03T17:30:00.001-04:00

Staying updated with effective teaching strategies is crucial. Edutopia offers a treasure trove of research-backed practices and real-world classroom insights.

Why Edutopia?

Diverse Content: From project-based learning to social-emotional learning, explore a wide range of topics.
Practical Resources: Access videos, articles, and case studies that provide actionable strategies.
Community Engagement: Join a community of educators sharing experiences and best practices.
Classroom Application: Implement project-based learning by having students design experiments to solve real-world problems. Utilize Edutopia's resources to structure and assess these projects effectively.

📚 Explore Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/

From Grading Papers to Conquering Lesson Plans: Level Up Your Work From The Couch Setup

2024-01-17T20:46:00.007-05:00

While I hate bringing work home, it's an inevitable truth. We all know the struggle: lesson plans that pile up like epic boss battles, grading marathons that stretch into the wee hours, and emails that multiply like pesky side quests.

I usually work from my couch and recently received a lap desk from CouchMaster. This isn't your average, rickety lap desk. It's a premium workstation designed to conquer even the most demanding educational workload. It has cooling ventilation slots to keep your laptop from overheating.

Comfort is key here and the plush cushions keep the lap desk at an ideal height so you don't have to hunch over. Plus, the storage pockets keep your pens, sticky notes, and other essentials ready. I will say that this is no small setup, so be prepared for it to take up a good amount of space on your couch.

It was very easy to assemble (see my video below), but I have to note that the velcro on the removable pocket isn't very strong and the pocket fell off when I put my mouse in it.

Let me know what your setup at home is like. Share your favorite WFH hacks and must-have tools in the comments below! We're all in this together, and knowledge is power (especially when it comes to surviving the teacher life).

Cast your Android device to your computer

2023-04-25T20:15:00.003-04:00

Vysor is a program I like because it works with Android and iOS and has wired and wireless options. Of course, what I like most is that there is a free option. You are limited to the wired option in the free version, but I actually like that because it glitches less. Plus you don't have to worry about the devices being on the same wifi network. I also like that can use your computer mouse and keyboard to control your phone. One thing to note is that you have to enable USB debugging on your phone. Here is a quick article on how to do that.

The free version will display a short ad every half hour or so. If you decide to upgrade, in addition to removing ads, you will get some other features that include fullscreen mode, drag and drop files and the ability to share your screen with someone with the link.

Problem-Attic Test Generator

2023-03-12T18:39:00.000-04:00

Problem-Attic is a website that provides teachers with a database of questions from state and national assessments to create tests and worksheets.

If you are looking for a bank of question from the NYS Regents, SAT, AP Exams or other state assessments, Problem-Attic might be what you are looking for.

The video below will give you a quick overview of what it is all about.

Why you want to check out Microsoft Search Coach

2023-02-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

Search Coach is a tool I learned about last year and think it's a tool that everyone should be using. We use search engines everyday and this tool teaches students how to form efficient search queries and evaluate their results. What I really like is that the feedback that Search Coach gives you are tips that you can use on any search engine. The video below gives you a quick overview of what it is. Microsoft has also created some lessons that you can use with your students.

How to create an email group in Gmail

2023-02-21T18:21:00.000-05:00

Creating an email group in Gmail is a great way to easily email a group of people such as students, parents, clumb members, or deparment colleagues. Here are the steps to create a group (mailing list) in Gmail as of 2023:

Navigate to contacts.google.com
Check off the people you want in the group (a checkbox will appear when you hover over it)
Click the icon at the top of the page that looks like a tag (it will say "Mange Labels" when you hover over it)
Click "Create label."
Type in the name you want to give the group. I like to add in the school year as I might have another group with the same name the following year (such as 2022-2023 Parents or 2019-2020 Robotics Club). Click "Save."
You will see your group on the left side under labels.
To add people to the group, you can repeat step 3 and select the name of the group to add more people.
To remove people from the group, click on the label and check of the people you want to remove. Click on the label icon and uncheck the label.
Your contacts can be a part of multiple labels too.

You can now use the label to send emails to multiple people at once. In Gmail, start typing in the name of the group and click on it when it appears.

How to hide part of a picture in PowerPoint

2023-02-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

Many of us use animations PowerPoint and Google Slides to strategically reveal specific information. Usually, you would select the textbox or image, click on the animations tab and select the animation you want. The trouble lies when you want to do something like hiding and revealing part of an image. I made a quick video to show you the process I use for this. (TLDR: use a shape to cover the part of the image you want to hide.)

As you choose your animations, I have some suggestions. Don't overdo it; too many animations can be districting. Along with that choose the right animation; you want it to emphasize key points not distract the kids. Simple is better.

How to Convert Word to Google

2023-01-30T20:32:00.002-05:00

You might be in a school that uses both Google and Microsoft or maybe you came from a Microsoft school and are now in a Google school. Perhaps you downloaded some Microsoft documents and now want them as Google files. Either way I made a short video to walk you through the process.
The short of it is that you can either convert files individually or set your Drive to automatically convert all documents to upload.

Did you miss these top posts of 2022?

2023-01-23T18:57:00.002-05:00

I always like looking back to see what posts people read the most. It gives me a good idea of what things people are interested in. In 2022 the three posts that were read the most were digital exit tickets, works cited, and google forms feedback.

Here's a brief summary of each and a link to read the whole post.

Digital Exit Tickets: 4 Ways to use digital exit tickets in your classroom

Creating an Easy Works Cited Page: 3 ways to create a works cited page

Individual Student Feedback: How to give individual feedback to students using Google Forms

5 Free Programs to create Screen recordings

2023-01-16T16:42:00.001-05:00

If you are looking to make a screen recording, there are so many free programs about there that you can use. Here are my top five. They are roughly in order of my favorites (it's hard to pick a favorite!) I've listed some features of each and will include links to more in depth tutorials on each. Let me know what your tool of choice is.

Loom

web based and downloadable program
freemium (teachers can get the premium version for free)
camera and screen options
option to highlight cursor and annotate the screen

Screencastify

web based (extension for Chrome or Edge)
must have a Google account, option to connect to Google Classroom to accept video assignments
Free or paid options
10 video limit for free version, 30 minutes per video
Ability to add interactive questions
option to annotate the screen, highlight the cursor and add stickers
camera and screen options

Powerpoint

desktop version only (paid)
unlimited time
no annotation options

Screencast -o- matic

web, tablet, and desktop versions (options to upgrade for premium features)
option for screenshots and annotations
15 minute video limit
connects with variety of LMS

QuickTime

Mac only
Desktop only
option to connect iPhone or iPad to record that screen

6 Basic Formulas your Need in Excel

2023-01-09T20:24:00.000-05:00

I know not everyone loves Excel or Google Sheets as much as I do, but it's something that we use often. Knowing these basic formulas will help you out and save you time as you do some basic analysis.

Ugh, break is over

2023-01-04T19:07:00.002-05:00

Well, it looks like break is over and we are back at school. It’s also a new calendar year, but if you are like me the year really starts when school starts. I’m not big on resolutions, but I do want to focus on sharing science resources with you more.

Hopefully, you’ll be hearing from me more so I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself. I’m a science and technology teacher. I have taught both middle school (7th and 8th grades) and high school (Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, and Technology). I also had a brief stint as an adjunct professor teaching at a community college.

I have an email list where I send a monthly recap of blog posts. If this is something you want to receive, you can sign up for my list here.

I hope that I can provide some tips and tricks that will help make your teaching a little bit easier (because we all know how hard it is).

Orange Slice: Google Doc Rubric Extention

2022-12-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

OrangeSlice is a rubric extension for Google Docs that comes in two parts: a teacher rubric and a student rubric. The teacher rubric works to provide grades and/or feedback to students. The student rubric can be used for self or peer review.

There are three types of rubrics: holistic, competency and analysis. A holistic rubric gives the student an average of their performance across all categories you set up. Competency rubrics gives the student a score based on their weakest category. An analysis rubric is the one we most think of when thinking of rubrics and gives a number grade based on the total of all categories. The nice thing is that you can start off with a holistic rubric during the assignment to provide feedback before the assignment is due and then switch to a competency rubric once a final grade is needed.

Would you be interested in more posts about creating OrangeSlice Rubrics? Let me know. You can also view their help doc here.

How to insert Superscripts and Subscripts in Word

2022-11-28T18:49:00.000-05:00

My students never know how to put in subscripts and superscripts so I made a quick video to show them. I'm sharing it with you in case you or your students need a quick overview.

2022 Kahoot! Meetup

2022-02-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

Share your stories, connect with teachers, and amplify awesome!

Join us for a free virtual PD event where you will learn:

How teachers around the world engage their students
Best practices for using Kahoot! at every age level
Updates from Kahoot! at School and Kahoot! Academy

And of course, play lots of kahoots!

Thursday, March 17th

10:00am - 2:00pm PDT

Register early for a chance to win awesome swag!

Register now!

Not able to attend? Register to receive a recording of the event and a recap of the main takeaways!

Everything you need to know to teach with Google

2022-02-21T18:26:00.003-05:00

The Google for Education Training Center is your one stop shop for professional development on using Google tools in your classroom, both for you and your students. Here you will find step by stop videos on integrating Google Classroom, Sheets, Docs and others into your classroom. There are user guides for each product along with quick tips sheets.

You will find lesson plans that are a combination of teaching students to use these tools and a variety of content areas.

If you want more, you can take one of two tests to earn Google Certification or apply be a Certified Trainer, Coach or Innovator. Lastly there are the communities to connect with other Google Educators in your area.

Crossword Labs - easily make crossword puzzles

2022-02-15T20:10:00.007-05:00

Crosswords can be a fun way for students to review or a great activity for the students who finish early. The problem is that it is hard to find a crossword puzzle that goes along with the content you are teaching. Crossword Lab is a free site that allows you to easily make your own crossword puzzles. All you need to do is to enter the word that should appear in the puzzle and then the clue for it. For example: dog man's best friend. In this example dog would be the word that would be in the puzzle and man's best friend would be the clue written.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Grammarly - an extension for better writing

2021-12-27T16:23:00.003-05:00

We do so much writing on our computers, as do our students. I always want to make the best impression when sending an email to parents or an administrator and I hate when I find out I sent something with grammar mistakes. I've been using Grammarly on my computer and I'm ashamed at the number of mistakes that it catches. I've mentioned it to several students and they have been using it for their writing as well

You can use it in several different programs, but I have been using it as an extension in Chrome and Edge, in Outlook, and in Word. There is also a desktop app, but I haven't quite figured out how to use it and these other ways are easy to use. It does the basics of finding spelling and grammar mistakes but also points out when something is unclear, when you are being wordy and when you aren't consistent in your tone.

As with most things, there is both a free and paid version. The paid version is $12 a month, but you don't really need it. While the program will let you know of the number of additional things that can be fixed with the premium version, the free version does enough for me. Who doesn't want free right?!

If you use Grammarly, let me know what you like about it and what programs you use it in.

If you want to see it in action, take a look at the video below.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Certified Media Literacy Educator

2021-11-22T20:27:00.003-05:00

Media literacy is something that I feel is very important, but I sometimes struggle with how to teach it in a meaningful way. The students seem to think that approaches so far have been corny. I've found that this course has some better resources (hopefully my students will find these less corny 😉)

PBS has a Media Literacy course for educators to develop and hone literacy skills across several forms of media and communication. These skills are important to help your students grow. The PBS Media Literacy Certification gives you tools to implement lessons that help students foster media skills.

The modules in this course include: Evaluating Online Information, Analyzing Media, Creating a Code of Conducts, Evaluating Online Tools for Classroom Use, Making Media for Classroom Use, Assessing Student Media, and Implementing Media Projects (an option for either Early Childhood or Upper Grades).

If there are modules that you don't feel comfortable with or don't want to take the whole course) PBS offers courses that focus on just one of the modules. Even if you don't directly teach media literacy, these skills are important for all teachers to have. We all use the internet with our students and we need to be able to ensure that we are guiding them in the best way possible.

A quick video walkthrough on creating a Microsoft Team

2021-09-06T12:47:00.007-04:00

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Enhance your reading with Picture Dictionary

2021-08-02T19:03:00.002-04:00

Picture Dictionary is a great addition to Microsoft's Immersive Reader. Immersive Reader is in so many apps and websites, Flipgrid, Wonderopolis, Buncee, Wakelet, ThingLink, and Nearpod just to name a few. I especially like this for English Language Learners. When learning English reading (or trying to read) a definition might not be sufficient. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and this is one situation in which I would say this is true.

When Immersive Reader mode is one, one can click on a word and a picture pops up.

Leave a comment and let me know how you would use this in your classroom.

Save the date: Join the Kahoot! EDU Summit on June 16-17!

2021-05-12T16:11:00.003-04:00

Reserve your spot at the Kahoot! EDU Summit!

Join us on June 16 and 17 at 9:00am PDT for our FREE virtual PD event! As countries gradually return to in-class instruction, our ambassadors, pedagogy experts and partners will host two days of inspiring sessions focused on how to make coming back to the classroom awesome for students, teachers and school administrators.

Register for free

Here are some of the sessions we're planning:

Expand your innovative classroom toolkit together with Leslie Fisher;
See a demo of all the most exciting Kahoot! features for all learning environments and be the first to hear what’s coming for back to school;
Hear how Kahoot! Academy will help you find ready-to-use high quality learning content and connect directly with your favorite content creators;
And, of course, play live kahoots, join our competitions, and win prizes!

All attendees will receive a certificate that can be used to claim PD credits.

Hurry and reserve your spot! By registering, you’ll be able to watch session recordings if you’re not able to attend.