How to use those "old" worksheets during the "new" era of teaching
- mrshannon112
- Feb 6, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 23, 2021
Although this month's post is geared more towards teachers, I do think it is beneficial for parents to check out the different resources your kiddos are now being asked to use while in remote/hybrid learning. So, many teachers have their go to worksheets that they have used for years, but now they are stuck on how to use them in a virtual classroom.
First off, teachers, your school print/copier is your BFF! Most school printers/copiers will allow you to copy a Doc, turn it into a PDF, and send it directly to your school email address. Yes, it can be time consuming, but hey, what can you do? Once you have scanned your Doc and sent it to your email, you can download it into your Google Drive or save it to your computer.
Most teacher's are using Google Classroom during this time of COVID learning. So, you can just download your scanned Doc into your Drive and done. Now, how do you get it to the kids? Well, you can easily create an assignment in Google Classroom and attach the PDF you previously scanned. BOOM! The kiddos have the worksheet that you would normally hand them in class, but they still have to be able to write or type on it. So, how do the kids access this magical PDF you created?
There are many different online tools students can use to access and edit PDF's. I am only going to focus on three of them, because three is any ELA teacher's favorite number. The first resource we are going to look at is DocHub. I like it because it is the first PDF editing tool I ever used, and why fix something if it ain't broke? You can log into DocHub, create an account, add the DocHub extension to your Chromebook, and Bob's your uncle! Here is a quick video on how to set up and use DocHub. This video is helpful, not only for teachers, but also for parents, because chances are your kiddo will be asked to edit a PDF this school year.
The second PDF editing tool we are going to look at is Kami. I was introduced to this tool by my former principal. It does the same exact thing as DocHub, but it's a little different. My principal liked Kami, therefore questioning why any teacher in the building wouldn't use it! Isn't that always the way? Principals, just give us a list of your favorite tools, resources, books, etc. over the summer so we can look into what the heck they are, figure out how we can use them when we know you will be "popping" in, and avoid being reminded about them every time you observe our classrooms. So, as stated earlier, Kami does everything that DocHub can do. You and your kiddo can check them both out and use the one you find to be more user friendly. Here is a quick little video on how to use Kami.
The last tool we are going to take a look at is called TeacherMade. I discovered this through my daughter's first grade teacher. It's pretty cool, but I would say that it is better suited for primary school students than older students, as they will just screenshot and text each other the answers to these types of worksheets. A teacher can use a preexisting worksheet, open it in the TeacherMade app, and add multiple choice answers using a drop down. My daughter's teacher uses this in just about every subject she teaches the kids, and again she isn't reinventing the wheel. The kiddos can open the PDF in Google Classroom, sign into TeacherMade with their Google email, and complete the task. It will then get sent to the teacher for grading. There are a lot of features in this tool so kids can answer fill-in the blank questions with drop down options but they can also add a textbox to type in a short answer response. I really like this tool for teachers and students. Here is another quick little video on how to use TeacherMade.
There are many different tools students can use to edit PDFs, but they will ultimately use the ones their teachers prefer. When introducing a new tech tool to kids, make sure you show them how to install, use, and download a finished product to their Drive. Attaching a quick little video can be very helpful because it also allows parents to be in the know. Here is a helpful article I found about the Best free PDF editors of 2021. DocHub, Kami, and TeacherMade are not on this list, go figure! Any who, I hope you found this month's post to be helpful. Next month's post will focus on how to have class presentations when no one is actually in class...yes it's possible.
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