From TechHelp

Gizmos by ExploreLearning.com

Contents 1 What are Gizmos? 1.1 Site overview 1.2 Finding Gizmos 1.2.1 Search or Browse Gizmos 1.2.2 Add Gizmo to Class 1.2.3 Teacher Materials 1.3 Gizmo Anatomy 2 My Homepage (Teacher Page) 2.1 Managing Classes 2.2 Manage Classroom Gizmos 2.3 Enrolling Students

[edit] What are Gizmos?

Gizmos are interactive manipulatives, created and distributed by ExploreLearning. Gizmos requires Shockwave to work properly. Here is the companies answer to the question What are Gizmos?

[edit] Site overview

To begin working with Gizmos you will want to open your web browser and go http://www.explorelearning.com/
which is their homepage and where you will want to login.

Login

This is located at the top of the ExploreLearning homepage and when you click on it you will have to enter your username and password. Once you have logged in you will be directed to your homepage.

Navigation bar

The main navigation on the Gizmo page is in the top right hand corner of the page. It includes the following links for you.

My Homepage

This is your planning book within Gizmos. It allows you to create classes, and add gizmos to them.

My Profile

To view and edit your profile you will want to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the navigation link there. This area allows you to change your password and other account information.

Buzz

This area is where ExploreLearning shares the recent Gizmos that they have added as well as any important updates. This is a good place to check once in a while especially if you haven't logged lately.

Help

This is where you can get information about a problem that you have, written by the Gizmo experts.

[edit] Finding Gizmos

Once you are logged in you will most likely want to start looking or perusing for Gizmos to use in your classroom. Here is how to do those tasks.

[edit] Search or Browse Gizmos

When you first begin using the Gizmo site you will most likely want to begin by using the Browse feature which will let you find Gizmos as they relate to your grade level and subject area.

So if you are a 6th grade Math teacher you can simply select from the topic list to see what Gizmos address that topic.

So I might choose geometry, and then I can choose a geometry concept such as triangles, which then shows me a list of Gizmos that I can use.

Once you have used the site a bit you might want to be able to find a Gizmo quickly but not have to browse through to find it. This is when you might want to use the Search. The nice thing is that you always have the search bar available to you no matter where you are in the Gizmos site. It works just like Google or any other search. It searches the Gizmo site for keywords that you are looking for.

[edit] Add Gizmo to Class

You will want to eventually add Gizmos to your classes.

To do this once you have found a Gizmo that you would like to use you can simply click on the add Gizmo to class button. Which will open a new window that lets you select the classes to add the Gizmo to by checking the class and then clicking the add to class button.

[edit] Teacher Materials

Lesson Materials or Exploration Guides are available with every Gizmo. They are there as resources for you to use. Some of the materials aids to the teachers where as others have things specifically for students. The documents are printable as well as ExploreLearning says that teachers may copy and paste from these worksheets to make them work in their own classroom.

[edit] Gizmo Anatomy

Note: Gizmos may appear slightly different based upon when they were created, not all features are available on each Gizmo.

Tabs

Not all Gizmos have tabs. However, some Gizmos have tabs to toggle whether students are working with a Data table or an Experiment. If the Gizmo has tabs you will see them at the top of the Gizmo work area.

Assessment Questions

Each Gizmo provides Assessment Questions for students to check for understanding about the concept in which they are interacting.

Lesson Materials

Lesson materials may include teacher guides, student exploration guides as well as vocabulary sheets. These materials are available in both Microsoft Word (for customizing) and PDF formats.

Snap Shot

With GIZMOS you are able to capture a screenshot or Snap Shot of the Gizmo as it appears. This is handy if you would like to use a screenshot of a particular concept, to display images of student work, post on a website, or to use in creating a review document.

Arrows

Using the Arrows you can highlight important concepts within the Gizmo. Using this during instruction teachers can highlight areas for students to focus upon. Coupled with the Snap Shot feature (see above)makes creating a quiz, test or review item is easy.

Tooltips

You are able to toggle (switch between) whether you would like to see the Tooltips displayed when the cursor is hovered over an area in the Gizmo.

Sound

Similar to the Tooltips feature the Sound icon allows you to toggle on/off any sound that may be available within the Gizmo.

Demo

The Demo button will provide a demonstration on how the Gizmo works. Note: Not all Gizmos have Demos at this time.

[edit] My Homepage (Teacher Page)

[edit] Managing Classes

Import Gizmos

Import Gizmos from another class. Because many Gizmos are cross-curricular, you can add Gizmos from another class saving you time from searching or browsing then adding the Gizmos.

Manage Gizmo List

Add, delete, reorder Gizmos. You may want to add, delete or reorder Gizmos based on the readiness of students or the unit of study.

Manage Roster

Manage the Roster for this class. Add or remove students as well as view student login information.

Enroll in a Class

Students who already have an account will need the Class Code (see below) in order to enroll in a particular class.

Class Code

View the student code for this class. Class Codes are needed for current students, those with a username and password, to join a class.

Student Login

When you give a student a Class Code they will be prompted to login (used if they have an existing account) or to create a login including their first and last names. Student logins can also be created as you add students to a class. Once you add a student, a password is automatically generated for them, the student can then login using that username and password and proceed to change their password to something more memorable.

Zap Class

Remove all Gizmos and Students from this class. Use this to "end" a class at the close of the semester or school year.

[edit] Manage Classroom Gizmos

Within each class you can manage the order of the Gizmos and add headings to sort Gizmos perhaps by concept. To do this you will want to be on your Home page and click on the Manage Gizmo list which will open a window showing you all of the Gizmos you have. By clicking on them and using the arrow keys to the left of their names you can reorder them as well as add the headings you would like.

[edit] Enrolling Students

The easiest way to enroll students into your Explorer Learning class is to have students enroll themselves using a classroom code. To do this the first thing you will want to do is go to your Explorer Learning Home Page. From there you will want to click on the Class Code.

This will open a pop up window that displays that classes Class Code.

Now all students have to do is go to http://www.explorelearning.com/ and have them click on the enroll in a class here link at the top of this page. At this point it will ask them if they have already created an account, if they have they can enter at this point. If they don't have an account they can continue to enroll in your class and create an account.