Distance learning is on everyone’s mind. It brings up a lot of questions for teachers and one of them is–will I be able to recreate the classroom magic via a computer screen? Sigh. I don’t know. While digitizing reading quizzes I’ve been trying to add things to make assignments more visually appealing. It’s a small thing, but absent bulletin boards, pillows, quiet places, etc. we’re really relying on the small things. One fun thing to do is design a themed header for Google quizzes (through Google Forms). I did this for my The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Charlotte’s Web quizzes. I like the way they turned out! I…
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An Efficient Way to Digitize Multiple Choice Quizzes
Sometimes I try to imagine how many of us our out there, going through our files and digitizing everything. It’s a gargantuan task and I’m slowly learning how to make the process easier, faster and more foolproof. Lately I’ve updated a series of multiple choice assessments that are part of my The Girl Who Drank the Moon novel study, and I developed a few tricks to make the whole process smoother. Here’s how I’m digitizing my multiple choice quizzes for distance learning: Mise en Place First up, get everything ready. So pull up the quiz you want to digitize and create a new Google Form. Pull up the quiz. Then…
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Finding Clipart for Your TpT Store
If you’re a new TpT seller looking for advice in the Seller’s Forum, you’ll notice a recurring them: clipart. More specifically, you’ll hear people suggest that you invest in good clipart. I concur, with some reservations. When it comes to Teachers Pay Teachers, the bottom line is this: quality content sells…but only if it’s packaged well. Teachers can’t view your whole product before purchasing, so a good cover and preview suggests something about the quality of the content. Here are my three recommendations for finding clipart. One is free, one is paid, and one can be accessed through a free trial. This is not a sponsored post. Purchase a Clipart…
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How to Design Eye Catching Graphic Organizers Using Keynote
Creating your own graphic organizers gives you a lot of freedom. You can design organizers that fit your instructional goals, student needs, and context better than most ready-made graphic organizers. Of course, this takes time, and you may find that you’re not so good at the design-y element. Well, neither am I. Designing resources for TpT has forced me to improve in this respect. Here are three simple things I’ve learned about designing graphic organizers without spending too much time or money: When I began making graphic organizers I tried to dress them up with purchased borders. I felt the same way I did about font–cute font/border makes the page…
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A Non-Designers Guide to Creating a Simple Brand for Teachers Pay Teachers (Steps 1-3)
Branding isn’t just for hardcore TpT sellers, it’s for everyone. Here’s why simple brand can benefit you, even if you’re a novice TpT seller: With a brand, you’re never starting from scratch. When you create new resources you already have fonts, colors, and templates picked out. A brand makes your resources stand out. You want buyers to recognize your logo, colors and cover designs. A brand makes your store look cohesive. That being said, here are three posts to get you started: First, choose a color palette. Next, choose a font family. Finally, create a template for product covers. Voila! You’re a TpT pro.
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A Regular Person’s Guide to Creating a TpT “Brand,” Step 3: Create a Template for Product Covers
Now that you’ve chosen a color palette and a font family, you’re ready to create a template for product covers. Creating product covers has been challenging for me. I feel more confident creating resources than I do with the packaging (I’m not a designer!). I used to start from scratch each time I designed a cover. Now, I use a simple template for most of my covers. It looks something like this: This template gives me space for a title, a subtitle, and an image. The two text boxes prevent me from squishing as many words as possible onto the cover. Here’s how some of the finished products look: How…
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Using Keynote to Make Classroom Materials & TpT Products
Much has been said about the benefits of PowerPoint over Word when it comes to making Teachers Pay Teachers products, and I wholeheartedly agree. If you’re frustrated with rogue images, it’s time to switch to PowerPoint, or Keynote. Here’s a little primer on using Keynote to make multi-page documents, quizzes, and task cards for your classroom or Teachers Pay Teachers store. Changing Keynote Dimensions for Multi-Page Documents, TpT Covers, TpT Previews, Pins for Pinterest, and TpT Banners. Here’s how to change Keynote slide dimensions so that each page is the equivalent of a 8.5″X11″ page: Open Keynote and create a new presentation. Select Document at the top, right of your…
