The Power of Using Boom Decks In Science

Digital Resources such as Boom provide students easy access for learning science concepts. If you are in search of an app or digital option for self-checking task cards Boom Learning decks are self-checking, interactive, digital task cards. Going virtual this year has upped my game in terms of finding ways to assess my virtual lessons and which students comprehend the new concepts. There were several tools and apps that I found very capable of helping my students and me be excited for the next lesson! Boom did not fail me. Once I figured out how to create them and post them for my kiddos, I got Boom Fever!

Here's How They Work: 

Boom Cards are also compatible with Google Classroom and Google Apps, so, if you use those platforms, this is a resource for added science learning. A set of Boom Cards is called a Boom Deck. Boom Cards may contain fill in the Blank Answers, multiple choice, move-able pieces, clickable answer choices and more.

Creating student logins is quick and easy! In your dashboard, you’ll click "Add Many Students," and enter nicknames for each student. Boom Learning will automatically generate passwords, but you can create personalized passwords too! {Often times, students already have a login and password for another account—like Google Apps/Google Classroom so you can just use the same ones!} With older students, you can share the classroom username and password and let them set up their own account details.

How My Students Can Play:

Boom Decks can be played in two ways: Fast Play: With your free account, you have unlimited access to playing any purchased or free Boom Cards through an interactive whiteboard, tablet, or other device. In Fast Play, you are unable to record student progress (however, Boom Learning regularly offers free trials of the student data component for new users, so be sure to check the latest info on that!) With a free account, you can create 5 students (think, 5 groups with differentiated assignments assigned to each. This works well in stations where you can have students access the activities they need to practice).

Once you access a Boom Deck, it is in your "library". You will always have free access to assign and play your Boom Decks in "Fast Play" mode. In Fast Play mode, student data is not recorded, but students receive instant feedback. Fast Play mode is perfect for modeling on an interactive whiteboard, and playing whole group, in partners, or small groups. Fast Pins expire after 5 days. These are for practice or instruction only and don’t record student progress. To assign on any site with a Fast Pin, go to your Library, find the Boom Cards deck to be assign, click the blue Action button and select Fast Pin. 

The second way to use Boom Decks is by sending Hyperplay Links or assigning decks to Students. You can send Boom Cards to individual students or groups of students. Hyperplay is available with the Basic, Power, and Ultimate Accounts. When I want to gather data I will then use Hyperplay Links which prompt students to sign in and they result in student progress being recorded. To assign on any site with a Hyperplay Link, go to Library, find the Boom Cards deck to assign, click the blue Action button and select Hyperplay Link.

                                                                   

What Can Students Use: 

BOOM Learning is app available for Apple products, Chrome Books/android devices, and Kindle. Boom Learning can also work within Google Classroom. I tend to use a fast play for practice which my students on their ipads and hyperplay when I need to assess progress. 

How Can I use Boom Cards?

*with a group on an interactive whiteboard.
* beginning and end of the year assessment tools
* allow fast finishers computer time and practice time
*use them as part of your science stations/centers
* assign specific decks to students, so they can master specific content or review a concept that they might be struggling with 
* as homework assignments for students. Students have a login of their own, so they can login to Boom Learning from any computer or device anywhere, but they will need internet access. 

Can I see how it works?

I've included a link for you to practice any of the first four pages of any of my resources. Give it a try!

Boom Learning Science Decks

TPT Science Decks

Give Boom Decks a try...I am so glad that I did. My students love the "game" like feel of review and assessment!

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IPad Adventures and AirDropping

This year, each of our over 400 students at our school received an Ipad to use at school. This adventure was something my Encore coworkers were ready for. Our Encore is made up of our PE, Art, Music, Media, and Science Specialists!

It wasn't an easy start, but we had to figure out what programs we could use, lessons we would need to teach (we had some regular ed. classroom teachers not ready to dive in to allow the students to utilize the Ipads in their own rooms let alone the specialists' rooms) so we worked as an ENCORE team to help everyone!

Our district controls all apps that are placed onto the student Ipads, so we needed to figure out what we had to work with. Here is what we focused on first:

1. How can we use Explain Everything in and out of the classroom?
2. Is there a way to make the Ipads replace some of my many science worksheets?
3. How can we easily upload those images so that the students don't have to?

Our amazing Media Specialist started with teaching lessons on the apps that we chose to focus one...most importantly Explain Everything so that we could create folders for each one of us.

To deal with the second goal on my list, I wanted to find a way to use the Ipads for assessment, uploading worksheets, and go more paperless.

In the last few weeks of this quarter, I am now savvy enough to make some fun, interactive activities that work along with our FOSS kits. Where some people use Chrome Books or laptops and can have movable parts in their activities, I have learned that with Ipads that doesn't work. What can we do with our Ipads?

Discoveries:
1. I can Airdrop all sheets that I save as a JPEG/PNG to the students!
-swipe the bottom of your screen to open the Control Center
-Tap on the button that says AirDrop
-Chose one of the options (off, contacts, everyone) I always choose everyone when I airdrop to my students. Your students will now need to accept the photos by pressing the accept button.

Now that they have the photos that I airdrop...it's time to upload those pictures. Some of my friends use PicCollage which is a great free app that could be used instead of Explain Everything.

2. Let's get into the app your kiddos will use to work on the sheets. Explain Everything...PicCollage...The airdropped pictures can be found in Photos. Follow the rainbow...
3. They can then open up Explain Everything, go to + button, go to the top add a photo (we say go to the mountains).


4. They need to now go to see the rainbow on the mountain (okay the photo key) Here they will see the pictures that were airdropped.

Have them pick the one that they want to add to their page. Once it is picked, they will need to press the bottom corner DONE button. The picture will now be there for them to use. Often I have the older students lock in the background.

5. If students want to lock in the background, we go to the i with the dots around it. I say, "Press the I...I want to ...now touch the picture...want this picture....now press the set as background...I want this picture as background...I want this picture...touch the picture again... and say to work with while you press the finger at the top.

           Check out what we are doing to integrate technology!

Find Digital Science Resources HERE!

Want to try it out first? Here is a JPEG for you to upload to your iPads using the directions above to see it in action! I used this with my first graders for our rock unit. We did a "How do we use rocks?" scavenger hunt around the school. We inserted pictures into each box to share how we use rocks in our school! They loved it! You can see one of my firsties using it above!

Rock Scavenger Hunt Freebie

Let me know how it goes! Digital Science Lessons are a great way to add engagement to your school day in a whole new way!

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Science School Yard Year In Review

I was reading over some fun year in review articles now that 2016 is nearly over and I thought that it would be fun to look back at the Science School Yard and review this year's checklist.

My goals this year were fairly simple...set up a new classroom instead of being in the teacher's lounge...continue to add STEM and a bit of Makerspace into my science lessons, figure out how to use the Ipads that each of the 400 students that I work with will bring to me each and every hour of my school day!

Not a small task by any means, but one that I was ready to tackle. I also threw in a graduate class on Inquiry Based Science, and Positive Growth Mindset...not to mention our district's new programs such as Itslearning and Explain Everything that they want us to use. I am always up for a challenge! I think I did pretty well!

I look back at how clean and empty the room looks, but I was so excited to get my own room after spending 4 years in a small lounge that we called the science room. I might have had only a week to get it ready, but waiting for "real" science tables and chairs was worth the wait!  Now, the room looks lived in and the counter is filled with activities ready to go!

This one was the hardest at first because it was such a huge learning curve~however we have an amazing library/media specialist that worked out a plan to help us implement apps that we could use in our Encore/Specialist classrooms. We started with Explain Everything. Check out the video to see how to use it! (I made a how to video to show others how to use this great resource!)

What I am most excited about are my Digital Activities that I have been making and using in my room! I am using FOSS and going 1:1 and using all those packets and sheets were killing me. So I created packs that would help my classroom teachers and myself to go digital! Teachers can use them on the Ipads or Chrome books that we have at our school! Want to go digital? Check these out!

Go Digital with my Digital Science Resources (HERE)!

I even started making packs that I could use along with my FOSS packs so that I could have my students use their Ipads instead of all of the paper worksheets! The students love them and it is a great way to assess what they know! I have even started using Itslearning to add quizzes, tests, and tickets out the door that are automatically graded and put in a gradebook for me. This is our district's new way of housing all of our plans, tests, sites that we use, but in the end if I have to use it next year I might as well start figuring it out now.

My students LOVE STEM. I use this opportunity in all of my FOSS kits to add some hands on learning opportunities as well as team building! We created pipelines during our first two weeks of our water unit to get the BIG picture as to why we need to study and learn about how important water is!

We even found a way to learn about water and buoyancy by building a boat for the gingerbread man!

 Wanting more STEM for the New Year... I have got you covered! There are so many great ways to add STEM into your school day by integrating them with a great picture book...nursery rhyme...or science fun! Find it here in the Science School Yard!

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