ClassFlow - a great FREE resource for live and interactive lessons!

ClassFlow is a free resource.  Here's an introductory video that gives you a sneak peak of it's features!  It's an online version of ActivInspire, designed to be used completely online.  It works on all devices with internet access without requiring any downloads.  Teachers are able to present live lessons and have students interact with the lesson either in-person, virtually, or on their own time.  

Different Ways of Interacting

The level of interaction that students has depends on how the teacher wants to setup the lesson.

• A teacher can present information on the screen and students just view.
• A teacher can add in games/activities/YouTube videos etc that students can click and play.
• A teacher can use the different polling options for students to respond back and the class sees each other's reponses on the teacher's board. 
• A teacher can create sorts or writing activities and send the slides to the students using the 'creative' poll feature to complete and return.
• A teacher can share the link to a lesson and all students are able to work in the lesson at the same time (great for any activity where you want multiple students work on one activity at the same time).  
• ****A teacher can differentiate by creating different slides within the same lesson for different students.  During the lesson, they can select which student gets which slide.****

Two Setup Options for Your Class

• Google Classroom Type Setup - students log in with their Google information and add the class code.  The format is just like Google Classroom.  (There are many options with this setup).  Teachers can post activities, assignments, games, resources, etc, for students to see in their feeds.  Students can also use the feed to go back to review past lessons!  To join a live session, they click on the 'Join Class' button.  They can also boomark the 'live session' link to their Booksmark bar during their first live session.

• Pick Your Name Setup - great for young students.  Students go to a 'class link' and click their name.  Students can only see what you send to their screens.  This method only allows students to interact during live sessions though. Once a teacher ends a live session, students won't see anything on their screens.   

Built In Lesson Building Options / Tools

Instant Whiteboard - can use with Quick Poll or by itself.  Can add resources from your Classflow Resources library.

Create Lesson - can use Quick Poll, Quiz/Assessment, or Activities features in a lesson, create your own lesson, embed content from other files (including Google Drive), or embed websites into the lesson.  

Polling Options During Live Lessons: Creative (Drawing/Sorting), Word Seed (students submit multiple words), Text (students submit one word), Number, Multiple Choice (up to 5 choices), Scale (Agreement, Confidence, Generic), True/Flase, Yes/No/Don't Know.  

Activity Options: Categorize, Crossword, Flashcards, Labeling a Diagram, Matching, Memory Game, Sequencing, Timeline, Venn Diagram, Word Search.  You can embed these into your lesson or assign them seperately to students through their class feed.  

Create Quiz or Assessments:  You can create questions to create a quiz or assessment or embed them into a lesson.

Other Options

• Creating assignments for students.
• Creating rubrics and attaching them to assignments for students to reference.
• Built in resources teachers can use to build lessons - spinners, graphic organizers, templates, etc.
• Marketplace - lessons / materials that other teachers have shared (Classflow's version of Promethean Planet).
• Ability to send students 'badges.'
• Ability to save website addresses into Classflow Resources to reuse in different lessons.  
• Ability to embed YouTube videos into a lesson.  

Learn More:

Learn Promethean's YouTube Playlist on Classflow - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTTWdUcy0p-4jTg7Lba_qpQEyj3VjHG4m

Classflow Channel (this is an older playlist and hasn't been updated in a while - https://www.youtube.com/user/MyClassFlow

Check Out Classflow - to register - select 'I'm a teacher' and click 'SIGN IN WITH GOOGLE.'

Kami Work Around - Creating Lessons with Manipulative Activities (Sorts) for Live Lessons (Updated 1/31/2021)

      Kami has so many uses.  One thing that many teachers would like with this pandemic is the ability for a teacher to share an activity (through a distant lesson) with students where the students can move and/or sort objects live.  At the moment, kids can't simply drag and drop or move anything the teacher puts in the document (or any of their peers for that matter) when working inside of Kami.  Here's a way you can work around this with only a couple extra steps....

Teacher Steps (Nothing real different from what you already do!)

1. Create the Kami document.  (You can import from Google Drive, upload from your computer, use the blank document feature in Kami, etc.)

• Please note, you cannot import a Google Slides or other document that is setup for manipulation into Kami.  It will lock the images down.  You will need to remove the manipulative images, import it, and bring the manipulative images back in in Kami.

2. Share it with the students.  (Make sure all settings in the Kami document and the Google file are set to 'anyone can edit.')

• Make sure all settings in the Kami document and the Google file are set to 'anyone can edit.'

Student Steps

1. Open the document.

2. Click on the SELECT tool.

3. Click on SELECT ANNOTATIONS.

4. Click on the object they wish to use.

    a. Click on the object.  A menu will open with the options 'Copy,' 'Paste,' and 'Delete.'

    b. Have them select COPY, then click PASTE.

    c. They will then have a copy of the object to move about as they please!

• This is helpful in that kids can't delete what you put into the document.
• Con - Remember - just like a student can't move or edit your object, you can't edit or move their objects that they create!  
• You can 'turn off' their work on the document by clicking on their name icon on the bottom.  
• If you need a clean slate, you will need to go to FILE > VIEW ALL > MAKE A COPY.

Click here to see a video of how to do it from a student's perspective!

 

UPDATE FROM 1/31/2021 - There has been some confusion on whether or not you can use Kami and have kids complete sorts.  As noted above, not in a sychronous unless you do the steps above.  You can in a asychronous setting if you create the activity in Kami, then assign it to the students through an LMS (like Canvas, Schoology, or Google Classroom (not Seesaw).  The LMS creates a copy for the student to complete the task, so they are able to manipulate the objects you put in to sort!  

Presenting Recorded, Live, or Interactive Lessons

      There are so many ways to provide lessons to students.  With the attached document, I will share some resources you can use for providing instruction students and the possible features you have to use with them.  Click here for a list of suggested resources!  There are many out there, but I tried to use resources available in my district, resources that were free (or had enough free features to still be used after trial periods, and resources that any content created could be reused when school resumes).  If you have a suggestion, please let me know and I may add it to the list!  This post also assumes that you are using Screencastify, Google Meet, or Zoom to record your lesson and Zoom (or Google Meet if allowed by your district) to present the live lesson.

Key Features of the Chart

Type of Lesson - What type of setting can this resource be used for?

• Recorded - Good for teaching content -  students watch.
• Live - Good for teaching or demonstrating content - students watch, question, and discuss
• Interactive - Students participate / interact through out the lesson - students watch, question, discuss, and interact with content.

Student Interaction - What are the different ways that students can respond or interact with the lesson.

Game Features - Can you create games for students to play either during the lesson or on their own time.

Assessment Tools - Are you able to collect data, score, or provide feedback to students?

Homework / Missed Class Options - Can students interact / complete activities just like during a live session.

Google Classroom Integration - Can you assign activities with Google Classroom?

Initial Setup - How challenging is it to setup this resource for teachers and students?

Online Platforms for Interactive Lessons

        In our area, there are two major companies that provide smartboard software - Promethean (through ActivInspire) and SMARTBoard (through SMART Learning Suite).  Both companies have online platforms that don't require Smartboards.  The students can use any device to access the content.  Promethean has a free web based app.  Click here to learn about ClassFlow!  SMARTBoard has opened up their SMART Learning Suite to all teachers impacted by recent school closures.  Click here to learn about their SMART Learning Suite!  Since everyone is working from home, you could use either platform to model lessons and send activities to students!  You should consider though that if you plan to reuse your work when school starts, which platform will you have access to in your classroom?  In my class, I have an Epson Projector so I could use either program!  Both apps can be used on multiple devices, has polling features, has the ability to assign activities to specific students, able to create interactive lessons, plain whiteboard feature, and able to create games for your students once you put in the content.

ClassFlow - ClassFlow syncs with Google and has always been free.  I found the way you create activities and lessons to be cumbersome and challenging to navigate.  It has a similiar format to Google Classroom from the student side - which can be challenging for younger kids.  It has a different feel then ActivInspire, so it's like learning a new platform when working with it.  Activities created in ClassFlow do not sync well with ActivInspire and the same goes for when you convert your old ActivInspire Charts to ClassFlow.

SMART Learning Suite - SMART Learning Suite now has Google integration.  The user interface online is the same as on the computer - so there's no learning curve creating new charts.  Also, if you create charts online, you can download them at school and use them in the classroom.  Their Games/Activities section was much easier to use.  The interface was more kid friendly.  You can also record your lesson to then share with kids at a later time!  They charge per year (starting at $109 for one teacher).  (Right now its free).  Click here for all their features!

Turning On / Off Touch

To turn on/off the touch sensor....

Using your remote...

1. Click Menu on the remote.
2. Arrow down to Extended, select (using return/click mouse button).
3. Select Easy Interactive Function.
4. Go down and select Touch Unit Setup.
5. Select Power.
6. Then turn it on or off based on your needs.
7. Continue to hit ESC (right click mouse icon) until menu disappears.

Turning on/off Hovering on Epson Projector

With the remote...

1. Click Menu on the remote.
2. Arrow down to Extended - select by hitting enter/mouse click button.
3. Select Easy Interactive Feature.
4. Arrow down to Hovering - select your preference.
5. Hit Esc until menu disappears.