Get Started with Boom Cards

Getting started with a new tool can be a bit intimidating - even with the promise of saving your time and solving all your problems! It can be hard to find the time to learn a new platform or a new type of activity. That’s where I come in! I’m breaking things down and giving you just what you need to know to get started with Boom Cards in your classroom! 

What are Boom Cards?

Boom Cards are digital exercises that are interactive, self-grading, and paperless! Many teachers have shifted their classrooms to be more digital friendly or even fully virtual. Boom Cards are a great tool to gamify learning for students, while providing data for teachers. 

Boom Cards are created by teachers on the Boom Learning website. You can create your own activities for your classroom or you can purchase an activity created by another teacher. Many different platforms sell these Boom Cards. Boom Learning has its own marketplace, but other marketplaces have Boom Cards for sale, such as TeachersPayTeachers or Amped Up Learning. 

Preview Game Map Skills Boom Card Deck

Click the image to play a preview game!

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Do I need a subscription to Boom Learning?

Yes, you will need to create an account with Boom Learning to access Boom Cards. Boom Learning offers a free account and a paid version. So, you do NOT have to pay for a Boom Learning account to use Boom Cards. The free account provides you and your students with unlimited Fast Play. This means students can play the activities, but you won’t receive the data. However, the Fast Play does provide instant feedback to students if the deck is self-grading. 

Boom Learning offers 4 types of accounts: Starter (free), Basic ($15/year), Power ($25/year), and Ultimate ($35/year). To choose the right plan, consider the points listed below. 

• How much creating will you do?

• How much data do you need?

If you are not planning on creating more than 5 Boom Card decks or selling any of your Boom Card decks, then the Starter or Basic accounts will be just right. 

If you are planning on creating more than 5 Boom Card decks but NOT selling them, then you might consider choosing the Power package. 

If you do not need data from your students’ performance, you can use the free Starter account. 

However, if you need data from your students’ performance, you’ll choose from the other three accounts by the number of students. The Basic covers 50 students or less. The Power covers 150 students or less, and the Ultimate covers 200 students or less. 

GREAT NEWS!! 

All purchases from other marketplaces (ie. TeachersPayTeachers, Amped Up Learning, etc.) include a free 90-day trial of the premium student performance reports. 

During your 90-day free trial, you can create 3 classes and add up to 150 students. You can assign Boom Cards using Fast Pins (just the game without data), or you can get live and stored performance reports. You can also create 5 Boom Card decks. 

When your free trial ends, you still have access to your Boom Card decks (those purchased and those you created). You will be “downgraded” to the Starter account, so you will be able to have 1 class with up to 5 students. You can still assign any of your Boom Card decks using the Fast Pins (just the game without the data). 

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Can I use Boom Cards with Google Classroom?

Yes! You can use Boom Cards with many different Learning Management Systems, such as Google Classroom, Schoology, SeeSaw, Dojo, Microsoft Teams, etc.. The process is simple! 

You’ll select the Boom Card deck, and click “Assign”. Then you have 2 options: Fast Play and Hyperplay Link. The Fast Play link does not collect data and its link will expire after 14 days. The Hyperplay Link will collect performance data and will prompt students to login before playing. Choose your link and add to an assignment in Google Classroom or your LMS.

What are “Points”, and how are they used?

Boom Cards are bought and sold by a points system. Points are credits buyers purchase to use in the Boom Learning Marketplace. For example, you can purchase 400 points for $5. Most sellers use a “1 point = $0.01” policy. This means that a $2 Boom Card deck will likely cost buyers 200 points in the Boom Learning Marketplace. 

Have more questions?

Boom Learning has a great Help page! Click the button below to learn more details about getting started with your students, details on the data, how to create your own Boom Cards, and much more! 

https://help.boomlearning.com/en/support/solutions

Use my Referral Link: https://wow.boomlearning.com/author/sarahmillertech?ref=blogBoomCards

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Print or Digital? Now you don't have to choose!

I have the most exciting news ever! All of the PDFs in my TeachersPayTeachers store can be converted to interactive pdfs and assigned directly to Google Classroom with the click of a button!! Well, it’s really a few clicks, but it’s still super easy and kind of a game changer in the world of distance learning or virtual teaching! 

Literally, you and your students can annotate on E. V. E. R. Y. S. I. N. G. L. E. one of my Social Studies reading activity packets with this new TpT Digital Activity Tool! 

TpT launched this Digital Activity Tool recently, so this tool is only available in a small number of stores at this time. This means that not all pdfs you purchase from the great, big land of TpT can be turned digital - it’s by the store. My store is 100% available! If you’re shopping somewhere else on TpT, you’re on your own. Just kidding! If you’re shopping somewhere else, look for the signs - there will be a few! You can even filter your search by selecting only TpT Digital Activities. 

How to Annotate on the PDF

First, choose the pdf activity and open the page on TpT. Click the “Open TpT Digital Activity” button. Next, the editing begins! 

The first step is to title your activity, then edit your pages. This is where you can delete any pages that you don’t want to assign to students, such as covers, terms of use, or answer keys. Remember, you’re editing for the Google Classroom assignment - not the original purchase pdf. You can still access the answer keys later from your purchases! Click the green “Edit Pages” button. A new window will open that will allow you to select pages. 

Click on the pages you want to remove (a blue check should appear in the top left corners). Then, click “Remove” and “Save Changes”. Accidentally remove a page you needed? No biggie! Click “+ Add from original” and select it again. 

Now, you can add extra directions or answer fields onto the pdf from the “Prepare” tab. 

To add extra directions, click on the “text” tool. Then, click on the margin or on the pdf where you want the text to be inserted. Start typing! You can change the size and color with the format tools in the top toolbar. You can adjust the size of the text box by clicking and dragging the blue circles on the outer edges of the text box. If you don’t see the blue circles, click out of the text box, and they should appear. 

To add answer fields for students to type in, click on the “answer box” button in the top toolbar. Once you click this, your mouse will turn into a crosshair or + . Now, you’ll click and drag to draw out your answer box. You can edit the size by clicking and dragging on the blue circles on the outer edges of the answer box. If you don’t see the blue circles, click out of the answer box, and they should appear. 

Need to add another answer box? If your mouse is still a crosshair or + , you can just click and drag for a new one. Unless you click another button, you should not have to click “answer box” between each one. The answer boxes will turn blue to depict where they will be located for students. 

Pro Tip: Add answer boxes EVERYWHERE you want students to type an answer. Don’t rely on them to add their own text boxes - even on a fill in the blank where it should be obvious.

How to Assign to Students

Once you’ve added all your answer boxes and extra directions, you may PREVIEW the activity. This will allow you to see the file from the student’s view. One thing to note, is that you’ll have to use the arrows by the top toolbar to switch pages. 

If you need to make changes, click the “Prepare” tab. If you are ready to push this to students, click the “Assign” tab.

 Things to note: 

• Students access the activity through Google Classroom, but the work will remain on TpT

• Students will login with their school Google account

• Students will automatically get their own copy of the activity

If you’re ready, click “Create access link”! 

Click “Share link in Classroom” or the Google Classroom icon and follow the prompts. 

Select the Google Classroom you want to assign, select Assignment, fill out the activity prompts, and click assign.

Note: Students might be prompted to login through Google when they click the link before they can access the assignment. 

How to Access Completed Student Work

Even though you assigned the activity through Google Classroom, all student work is housed on TeachersPayTeachers. 

Here is how you access it: 

1. Go to this link: https://digital.teacherspayteachers.com/activities 

2. Here, you will see a list of all your Digital Activities, then number of responses, and when it was last edited. 

3. Click on “Responses”

4. Click “Review Responses” and select students’ work. 

5. Provide feedback with the annotating tools provided and “Return” to students. You may also “Return” if students accidentally submit too early. 

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Reading Activity packets are great for distance learning and for traditional learning! They are incredibly versatile. My store offers reading packets for every 5th, 6th, and 7th grade Social Studies standard covered in Georgia. Now, these reading activity packets are offered as a digital resource for no extra charge! 

Use the shopping guide below to help you find exactly what’s right for your classroom! 

Not sure where to begin? No problem! Use this shopping guide to find exactly what you need for your classroom!

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For how many days should I plan?

Did I forget anything?

What about Fast-Finishers?

How detailed should I make my sub directions?

Do I need answer keys?

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Creating a Jeopardy Game in Google Slides™️

As you know, jeopardy-style games can be a really fun way to review content with your students. They are a great test prep activity! You might be really excited about the idea of creating your very own game in Google slides or maybe you’re a little worried about it – either way, I’m going to share some simple steps with you on how to create your very own jeopardy-style game on Google Slides! I will

have linked in the description below a step-by-step guide, so you can view that after you watch the video. There will also be a link to a generic template, a planning workbook, and a review game that you can purchase that is ready to go (if you’re 5th grade social studies)!

Before we jump right into the techy stuff, I recommend that you go ahead and do some planning before you start creating. You’ll need to know how many categories you want and how many points. Plus, you’ll want to have your prompts and answer key on hand. To help you out with the planning process, I created a free digital planning workbook that’s linked below. It’ll make this process super easy because you can just copy and paste your prompts from there into your new game!

Digital Planning Workbook

in Google Slides™️

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Completed Version

5th Grade Social Studies Example

Let’s start with the end goal! The Jeopardy-Style review game includes a Game Board slide that is linked to prompts (Categories), which is linked to an answer slide. Consider how many categories and prompts you’d like to use. To do this, consider the depth of the content you are covering. For example, if you have a light or shorter unit, you may want to consider less prompts. So, instead of having 4 categories that range from 10 points to 50 points, you might have 3 categories that range from 10 points to 30 points.

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Game Board Slide

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Prompt Slide

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Answer Slide

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Linking the Prompt Slide to the Answer Slide

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The Rest of the Prompt Slides

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Linking from the Game Board

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Coaching Tech PD: Using Digital Templates and Printable Guides

The “Why” Behind Using Templates

As you know, digital activities and virtual learning are becoming more and more mainstream. Maybe you’re loving the idea of coaching your teachers on digital activities or maybe you’re still not comfortable yet – either way, today I’m going to share some advice with you on how to set up your professional development in a way that will help you reach all of your teachers. I will have linked in the description below a step-by-step guide, so you can print that out after you watch the video. There will also be a link to sample templates and guides to get you started!

Using templates with my teachers was simply a game-changer for me. They truly allowed me to zero in and focus on my core objectives in a way that was effective for my “not-so-techy” teachers and my “techy” teachers.For example, if you’re trying to teach how to create a sorting activity in Google Slides, you can give your teachers a template so they can jump right into the “sorting part” instead of spending so much time on the things that have to be done to lead up to it (like backgrounds, formatting fonts, etc.). While those skills are important, they tend to make these learning days frustrating to those who are not comfortable with the technology. Before I started with the templates, I felt my teachers who were uncomfortable with the technology were getting behind and feeling overwhelmed. Once teachers feel like they’re behind and overwhelmed, it can be difficult to recover. And that can, unfortunately, set the tone for your PL.   

Providing templates and using a “breakout”-style PD helped to overcome those challenges, while still accommodating my tech savvy teachers.

We called it a “breakout” style PD because I would give little directions before teachers partnered up and began creating. I would go over my objectives, then show a “goal activity”, give them their printed guides, and let them create. Once they finished and turned in their work, they were dismissed. This was great for my tech savvy teachers! They were much more involved because I was still able to give them little nuggets of information they didn’t know before, but they weren’t “stuck” waiting on everyone to finish. I feel like this also had a positive effect on my “not-so-savvy” teachers. They seemed to be more relaxed because they weren’t rushed, and they didn’t feel like they were “wasting” someone else’s time. Plus, they got me more one-on-one. For us, this strategy was successful! 

Let me show you some examples of the templates and guides we used!

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Examples

Upper Grades Example

Let’s start with an 8th grade social studies template. Above is my objective for this particular Tech PD. Now, this is a long list of objectives because we worked our way up to this. Know your teachers! If they, as a group, aren’t ready for this many just pick one or two. See the “Breakout Guidelines”. This was displayed, so teachers could see the keyboard shortcuts.

Printable Teacher Guide

Digital Template for Teachers

This template has a lot that is already created for teachers for a couple reasons. One, I wanted to expose teachers an interactive lesson that had a variety of activities. Two, I wanted to focus only on my learning objectives. My learning objectives don’t require them to write a whole passage or even copy and paste one, so I did that part for them. They must start by inserting the text placeholders. Also, my learning objectives don’t include finding a background or formatting titles, so I did that for them. I want them to spend their time with me wisely – the last thing I want is to waste their time.

On the slide above, all teachers were required to do is create the items to be sorted and link in a “hint”. The directions for these was located on the printed packet. Switch screen to the “Tasks” Doc.  

With an activity like this, I would typically include a completed version of the activity to the teachers afterwards. I really tried to be aware of what the teachers were teaching at the time and I tried to create activities that reflected that.  

This is just one sample, and it’s pretty complex. Now, let me take you through an example from lower grades.

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Lower Grades Example

Printable Guide for Teachers

Digital Template for Teachers

Above is a template we used for 2nd and 3rd grade teachers to create their own math and literacy printables. As you can see, this looks very different from our other example because the learning objectives and the needs of the teachers are very different. In both slides of the template, the teachers are given a big head start. They are basically completing the pattern I set up for them using the guide.

This is the guide for teachers to use while they’re working with their template. As you can see, it has every single detail written out. This, honestly, is a TON of work for me. However, it was SO worth it. Teachers were so much more comfortable and engaged when they had these printed guides.

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Don’t have time to make your own printable guides?

I’ve got you covered!

Click Here!

Tips for Implementation

Using templates in tech PD can be a major step towards meeting the needs of your teachers, no matter where they fall on their technology comfort-level.

When you’re creating your template and PD, make sure that you have a clear objective in mind. What skills are you really wanting your teachers to be able to do when they leave today?

Your whole template and guide should revolve around those objectives. You can even split up groups with different objectives. Just be clear on what your takeaways are. This is a great way to increase buy-in for your tech resistant teachers and your tech savvy teachers!

The whole point of using templates is so that you can really zero in on your objectives, so make sure that your template takes care of all the “background” work. If you’re teaching how to insert text placeholders for students to type their answers in a Google Slide activity, go ahead and put in a sample passage or prompts to scaffold that learning. You don’t want your teachers wasting 10 of their 30 minutes with you trying to find a background they like or hand typing a passage.

I’ll be honest, when I first started, I did not provide step-by-step guides. I just modeled how to do it, we practiced it, and that was it. I got request after request for printed step-by-step guides. I finally decided to make one, and it was a TON of work. I was like, “no way – this takes waaayyy too long. It’s not worth it.” Until the next PD and I saw the impact it had. These guides were great for those who wanted to keep a hard copy of what they learned for later reference, but it was also what led to a shift towards the “breakout” style tech PD. With the guides, teachers were able to be more independent and work more at their own pace. This was well-received by teachers at all tech comfort-levels.  

This just means to try to eliminate wasted time searching for clip art. For example, I had 1st grade teachers create an interactive number bonds activity with a farm theme. I provided a folder with farm clip art, so they wouldn’t have to waste time searching on Google for the clip art. Sometimes this isn’t a big issue, but my lower grades were on such a limited time frame for PD. We had a 30-minute block, but by the time everyone gets settled, logged in, etc. we had closer to 20 minutes. I really tried to include everything they’d need, so we could focus on the objective.

Each time your teachers come to a Tech PD, challenge them to use keyboard shortcuts. This will help increase their efficiency. The key to this is to ask them to use a specific shortcut for each activity. This helps them practice it in a relevant setting. For example, the shortcut for “copy and paste” might be more relevant than the shortcut for “print”. When you’re giving your overview of the template, share their “shortcut challenge” and demonstrate how it works.

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6 Tips to Get High Quality Work from Students during Digital Activities

The “Why” Behind Using Templates

As you know, digital activities are becoming more and more mainstream. Maybe you’re loving the digital activities or maybe you’re still not comfortable yet – either way, today I’m going to share some advice with you on how to set up your digital activities so that you get quality work back from your students. I’ll leave you with a printable guide and access to sample templates. Find that at the bottom of the blog post!

Using templates with my students was simply a game-changer for me. Even though I loved using technology in the classroom, I avoided the “create a presentation” type of assignment like the plague. It seemed like every time we did an assignment like that, my students would spend 3 days or even a week, and then turn in nothing of quality. They’d have all kinds of crazy background images and wacky fonts, but their content was really lacking. Then, I had the crazy idea to give them a template. In Google Classroom, I can give them a pre-made template in Google Slides and assign it in a way that each student gets their own copy to edit. Life-changing Moment. 

There are so many advantages of using a template. First, it gives structure to the assignment. You are able to set very clear expectations on each and every slide RIGHT where they’re looking (as opposed to on a paper with a checklist). Second, it allows you to truly differentiate. You can send different templates to specific students. Also, templates allow you to take advantage of using visual clues which helps students know where to place images and text on the same slide in a way that makes sense to a viewer.

Personally, I used templates with 7th graders. During my instructional technology specialist days, I’ve seen this work for grades ranging from 2nd all the way up through the middle grades. I’ll share some examples of different grade level templates with you.

Tips for Implementing Digital Templates

I have 6 tips for implementing digital templates with your students. These tips will help you get high quality work back from your students as they work in digital assignments.

When you’re creating your assignment, make sure that you have a clear objective in mind. Are students exploring? Are they applying knowledge? Or are they being assessed? Once you have determined your objective, be sure to design your template in a way that best fits your objective. Avoid assigning the template just so you can say you’re using technology! 

Also, when you’re creating your template, think about expectations and make those clear on each slide. For my students, I typically included the title of the slide and directions. Students should not have questions about WHAT to do. They should only have questions about HOW to do it.

You’ll want to make sure you give a thorough overview of the assignment and your expectations before you allow students to even login to their devices. So, after you’ve created and assigned the template, show your students how to use the template. For example, show them to move the red text lower so they have room to type without deleting it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a student say they don’t know what to do because they deleted all the red text FIRST, before completing it. Model moving the text and emphasize the importance of keeping that text there until the end.

Each time your students work on a digital assignment, challenge them to use keyboard shortcuts. This will help increase their efficiency. The key to this is to ask them to use a specific shortcut for each assignment. This helps them practice it in a relevant setting. For example, the shortcut for “copy and paste” might be more relevant than the shortcut for “print”. Have a running list in your classroom, so you can add new shortcuts throughout the year. When you’re giving your overview of the assignment, share their “shortcut challenge” and demonstrate how it works. If you are unfamiliar with keyboard shortcut options, simply do a Google Search of “Chrome keyboard shortcuts” and a list will pop up for you.

From experience, it takes FOREVER for some students to decide on their backgrounds and fonts (we called this “decorating” in my classroom) To keep them on track, I’d set a timer at the very beginning. When the timer runs out, you should be working on the content of your assignment – no more decorating. Remind students that they need to choose a theme first because if they do it last, it might affect the formatting – meaning it might move their images and text around and they’ll have to go back and fix it. For my 7th graders, I would give them between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on the group of students. Use your judgement there and you can make adjustments for the next time. Now, they don’t need to spend the entire 5 to 10 minutes decorating- they can move on when they’re ready.

Just like any assignment, some students need help moving forward. I noticed that some of my students would get fixated on choosing that “perfect” picture for their presentation. Look out for this, take note, and be patient with them. Sometimes having too many options can be overwhelming. After class (or during if you’re limited on time), go into the student’s assignment and insert 3 picture options. Ask them to choose 1 from those they like and delete the other 2. You can also do this with prompt responses, too. If an open-ended question is too overwhelming, offer support via feedback in their assignment. Then the next day before students open their assignments, tell them some might have a message from you. They’ll need to check for that first before moving on.

Consistency always makes things easier! I know that not every assignment will be the same, so the templates should not be the same either. However, being consistent with certain things will make life easier. For example, keep all the text that should be deleted the same color. I chose red. So in every template we ever used, red text indicates text that should be deleted. Also, for every template, my feedback or notes were always in purple text. If a student saw purple text in the margins, it was likely a note from me.

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