Getting a Full Nights Sleep

Many of my students (and colleagues) struggle to get a full nights sleep. As great as it is to live in a time of the internet and social media, it does mean that sometimes time escapes from me and before I know it... I've spent three hours blog hopping.

These are three websites that I suggest to my students (and friends) that may help you get some more shut eye.

In my study skills classes we are talking about how to study without distractions and http://www.getcoldturkey.com/ came up. Students can use it to set times where social media is “blocked.” For example, they can set 6:00pm-8:00pm as their homework time and have Facebook, Twitter, and 9gag blocked.  

To be honest, I find that site a bit cumbersome, and personally I use minutesplease.com/5minutes/facebook.com as a way to, “reward” myself when grading without worrying about getting sucked in. You just put how many minutes you want to visit a site and then the site name and it will open a window that is only open for that long. So, minutesplease.com/15minutes/gmail.com puts me on my personal gmail for 15 minutes and then closes the window. This is great if you want to do something like put aside 10 minutes every morning to read news. This lets you stick to that limit without getting sucked into the internet for too long.

Not all of us are night owls

On another note, I’ve had some students complain that working on the computers at night keeps them up. It's true, the light of a computer screen messes with your brain's natural clock. Luckily, https://justgetflux.com/ is a nice download. It works with your time zone to change your screen's lighting based on the sun. In layman's terms, When the sun has set it uses warmer colors that don’t mess with your body as much and let you go to sleep more easily.

Finally, I occasionally rock http://sleepyti.me/ This site helps you find the ideal time to fall asleep. The idea is that we sleep in cycles that normally last about 90 minutes. When we wake up in the middle of a cycle, we feel like we didn't sleep well. The calculator lets us find the best times to fall asleep so that we can wake up at the end of a cycle. This way even if you don't get as much sleep as you would like, you won't wake up feeling like you slept badly. 

What about you? Any great sites you use to limit time online or help your body go to sleep faster?

Global Gazebo - Share Your Day to Day with Cultures Worldwide

I have had the opportunity to learn and teach with some amazing teachers when I lived in other countries. It is amazing to catch up and see what they are doing. You may remember I posted about my friend who was planning a trip for her imaginary student.

In this case a friend is working at a school where the students are trying to figure out how teenagers around the world respond to different cultural questions.

How cool right!

This is done as part of "The Aspen Challenge," an innovative cultural exchange project connecting students across the world. It encourages students to show their ingenuity, creativity, and teamwork to strengthen their leadership skills as they really let their awesomeness show.

The Washington Latin Charter School have set up a site called The Global Gazebo where students of all ages are invited to share their answers to different questions either in pictures or short videos via an app called Burst on their smartphone (Android or iPhone both work). If your students are unable to access smartphones you can e-mail them via theglobalgazebo@gmail.com with the video or picture.

This is all relatively short, and would probably take no more than 10 minutes for even a low level class. However, you could make it into a larger activity by looking at responses already given, discussing why they may be different from your culture and then putting students in groups to plan their answers. 

Since these students are high school students,the focus of the site is teenage, but responses from all ages are welcome.

I think this is an AWESOME opportunity, but it doesn't last long. Questions will be asked this week and next, but they stop collecting answers next week.

Alula - Great Creative Writing App

There's always that great go-to assignment whenever you need a no prep activity. You have one student say/write the start of a story, "Once upon a time there were three beautiful butterflies."Then the next student would continue the story, "They wanted to be explore the world, but they were afraid their wings wouldn't fly."

I am going to discuss three reasons I love this app for my students, and a few ways I think you can use it, and include a video showing you how it works.

1. I hate to say it, but the app is free. When you use as many different apps as I do in class it can be tough to charge students all the time. So, when you find a great free app, it kinda feels like you won the lottery.

2. It is offered on iTune and Google Play. My classes are about equally divided between Mac lovers and Mac haters, so having an app that works on both devices is great.

3. It is ridiculously user friendly. A fast sign up and voila, you're ready to get creative. Also, because the stories are so short, students shouldn't get overwhelmed.

As far as how to use it:
1. Have students collaborate to make stories. Then vote on the best.
2. Have students select their favorite quotes from a text that you are reading in class to start an Alula. See how others change the meaning from the original text.
3. Have students pick a story that they like and make it longer on their own.
4. Choose a story that has some errors and have students correct it.
5. And more!

What's it look like? Check out:

Using iPads for typing

I think I am a very interesting age. I grew up with a lot of the technology students today had. I was a little girl when my family got our first computer, but I also remember card catalogs in the library. I can't imagaine having to hand write a whole essay (have you seen my handwriting?!?), but I am still not quite comfortable having students use their smart phones to take notes.It is an interesting middle ground and I really enjoy the unique perspectives that it gives me.

One of the adaptations I have been making is to iPads and other tablets. Don't get me wrong, I like iPads. I think making videos on them and using other multimedia or study based apps is amazing. However, many of my students use an iPad and pretty much ONLY an iPad in class.

I quickly realized that while for me creating things in an iPad was a struggle (I am typing this blog on my laptop), for students it came much more easily. What they were missing was software. They didn't have anything they could use to create their documents.

This is where Document Writer comes in handy. I don't know if you have noticed, but even though most of my students are tech "natives" they are REALLY bad with new technology, "Teacher what now?" "Teacher what do I do?" "Teacher what now?" They expect to know automatically how to use something without spending much time learning.

Here is a manual annotation

This was a typed annotation

Different brush strokes students may select

The good news is that is exactly what this app is. Students can link it to their Google Drive or their Dropbox to easily access files. They can also annotate any PDF on their iPad.

Basically, they can complete any handout you give them access to without using a sheet of paper. YAY for going green. Here's an example with one of my handouts about proverbs (that ties into an essay) You can see that one of the photos is landscape and one is portrait. Since this is an iPad students can pick the view that works best for them That includes zooming to stay focused.

From there they can add their answers by writing them in (with a stylus or in some cases their finger), or using the text tool to type their answers.

Students can also use the document writer to write a basic text document: short responses, journals, etc.


This is also available for iPhones, though that's another generation gap! I have no idea how they manage to type so much on those tiny keyboards nor how they manage to see everything on such tiny screens. Nonetheless, if you have a student who is limited to their phone, you may want to have them look into this.

Would you be comfortable with your students completing a handout or other work on their iPhone/iPad? Do you think this app may help? I would love to hear more in the comments!

Organization Apps for Teachers (and others!)

"Oh good, you brought me papers to play on top of!"

My life lately has been SWAMPED! I am teaching, planning, and having absolutely no social life....unless you count hanging out with my cat as a social life...

As a result, I am trying to find a few ways to stay organized and get things done more efficiently.

I have an iPad through my school, but I still use the Android tablet I used in Mexico.Here are a few apps I find really helpful.

Want to stay productive? Does grading nonstop make your mind wander? Check out any of the pomodoro timers that are out there to let yourself take programmed and beneficial breaks. Here's one of my favorites!

My friends all seem to love Remember the Milk, but I am a bigger fan of Any.do. Whatever your preference, I encourage you to look into a "to do list" app. It really does help me stay on track and become less likely to forget things.

With all of these apps your tablet or phone is probably getting a little cluttered. Well, you're in luck because I know of an AWESOME free app that helps streamline your screen! The EverythingMe launcher is PERFECT for fellow app addicts. It acts like your personal administrative assistant. There are a few different features of this app. My favorite is the Prediction Bar. If I am at school then it knows I am probably going to be clicking on the timer app! However, if I am at home at 11pm, it instead makes Netflix easy to select. It also managed to put everything in nice folders making my home screen seem much more manageable and making everything easier to find.

What am I missing? Are there any apps essential to your sanity?