edtechsummer

5 Things I Love About Google

/ Alicia Ray / Leave a comment

This is a bit unorthodox for me lately. I used to blog more about ed tech tools, tips, and ideas, but since #DBC50Summer, it’s become more about reflection and professional growth. However, the only way I could see sharing my implementations of several books from #DBC50Summer is a list of all things Google! So… let’s go.

  1. Google Sheets: Seriously, friends, if you aren’t using Sheets, you’re missing out! I took a Go Slow course on Sheets from Alice Keeler in the Fall and was blown away by all the things Sheets can do that have nothing to do with formulas and data. From this, I have two suggestions… 1) Take an Alice Keeler course. Any of them. Really. I learned *SO* much! 2) Use Alice Keeler’s Template Tab. This was my #DBC50Summer implementation for Google Apps for Littles and I loved it so much that I shared it with teachers and administration in a PD session this year. It’s amazing. For more info on how it works, check out Alice’s blog post!
  2. Google Keep: It’s sticky notes with all the GAfE functionality that we know and love! We have used this to communicate classwork with homebound students and their parents. Teacher creates to-do list, shares with student & caregivers, and as work is completed it is checked off. I use it at conferences to create a list of sessions I’d like to attend, then create another note with sessions I actually attended for CEU credit. Check it out at keep.google.com! You’re going to love it! One student emailed me after I introduced it as the month’s tech tool, saying, “Google Keep is the best!!!! I can now remember what exactly I have for homework and other things! Thanks so much for introducing us to this!” Using Keep was my part of my #DBC50Summer implementation for Shake Up Learning and Be The One For Kids!
  3. Google Certified Teacher: It’s a thing! I took both of the Google Certified Teacher Exams this winter and learned so much about the functionality of Google and many of the apps I wasn’t aware of! I’m very interested in the next levels, which are Certified Trainer and Certified Innovator! This also completed my #DBC50Summer implementation of Shake Up Learning! If you’re a bit uneasy about attempting these, check out Kasey Bell’s resources here & her reasons why you should get Google Certified here! Google Certified Level 1 and 2
  4. Google Classroom: I use Google Classroom as my primary method for delivery of instruction for media classes. Each month’s media class is given a topic (month and year) so students can easily find our activities for the day and reference them as needed. As my #DBC50Summer implementation of Alice Keeler & Libbi Miller‘s 50 Things To Go Further with Google Classroom, I had planned to number my assignments as suggested in the book. However, I found that simply using the topic feature to put assignments and activities had the same results. If I had my own classroom however, I would definitely be numbering assignments!
  5. Google Forms: I have a problem. I’m obsessed with surveys. I teach the entire school, nearly 400 middle school students, and I cannot possibly remember all the feedback I’m given verbally. Enter Google Forms. I create surveys and collect information using Forms all the time! I get information from students and teachers. I ask for feedback on lessons, students give me a numerical grade (1-5) each quarter, and I collect responses to hold students accountable for goal setting and research topics. I also used Forms to collect responses for a bulletin board matching game in which students had to match teachers with their favorite book! Google Forms are quick and easy to make, and the responses tab creates quick charts for you so you can see certain data visually! Recently, Matt Miller created an epic blog post highlighting 40 Innovative Ideas for Using Google Forms in Your Classroom.

So there you have it! Five things I love about Google (and several #DBC50Summer implementations)! If you’re ever wanting to know more about Google Apps for Education, Chrome Extensions, etc, your GO-TO websites belong to (in no particular order) Alice Keeler, Matt Miller, and Kasey Bell!

 

**Helpful Hint: Did you know that you can open a new tab in Chrome and (when logged into your google account) simply type forms.new, slides.new, docs.new, sheets.new to get a new Form, Slides Presentation, Doc, or Sheet respectively?! Yep! Go try it. Mind. Blown.

EdTech Summer – Periscope

/ Alicia Ray / Leave a comment

The latest phenomenon in social media is Periscope – a live video streaming service provided by Twitter.  I was instantly intrigued by the possibilities of use in the classroom, so I went straight to iTunes and downloaded the app.  Signing on via Twitter was quick and simple.  None of the people I follow on Twitter had live videos at the time I downloaded, so I checked out the map view to see where people were periscoping throughout the world.  Wow… they’re everywhere!

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I figured I’d check out India, and lo and behold, there was a live streaming of someone taking a tour through the Taj Mahal!  I couldn’t understand a word they were saying since they were broadcasting in a different language, but to actually go on a tour from my couch was amazing!  How cool would that be for my students!!!  Tony Vincent (@tonyvincent) has created an awesome infographic giving The Scoop on Periscope.  It is a comprehensive look at Periscope and how to use it in the classroom.  There is a community of educators on #periscopeEDU who are gathering ideas for classroom use.  I’ve read ideas about using it after Mystery Skype, broadcasting live from edcamps and conferences, and chatting internationally as 21st century pen pals.   I also love Mike Paul’s How to Use Periscope for Education for tips to keep students safe.  Follow Mike at @mikepaul.  One important point to note: videos are only available for 24 hours, but you can save your own broadcasts under the settings feature to your camera roll.

So, what are your ideas?  How do you plan to use Periscope in your classroom?

EdTech Summer – ThingLink

/ Alicia Ray / Leave a comment

ThingLink is fantastic.  It is user-friendly for all grades and allows for quick formative assessment in individualized, differentiated ways.  Basically, ThingLink is a quick way to add notes, links, and relevant images/videos to an image or video that is uploaded by the teacher or student.  It layers information using tags.  Check out this video to see how easy it is to create a basic ThingLink.

With a free teacher account, I can add up to 100 students under one class.  For only $35 per year, I can upgrade to the teacher premium account and have 30 groups and up to 1,000 students!  Purchasing the premium account also enables video uploading and editing.  As an added bonus, ThingLink is offering free Professional Development for Teachers, as announced at ISTE 2015.  To enroll in the ThingLink Teacher Challenge, simply click the link and scroll to Join Us (or click here).  Complete the Google Form and they will send an invitation code and more information.

I plan to use this tool next school year as my students complete Genius Hour projects.  They can choose the topic and showcase their learning using ThingLink by layering tags of text, links, and other photos.  My fifth graders will be using ThingLink in math.  I will give them a word problem and have them solve it.  Then they will take a picture of their problem and solution and upload it into ThingLink.  They will record themselves explaining the thought-process in solving the problem and tag it on their ThingLink image.  They will, then, share the ThingLink with peers for peer review.

For my younger students, I want to work on text features, so I will upload an image of a magazine/newspaper article and have them label the text features with tags of text.  My first graders learn how to read a map in class.  I plan to use ThingLink to upload an image of a map and have students identify the various components of the map through text and image tags.  There are so many ways ThingLink can be used in the classroom.  What are some ways you have used, or will use, ThingLink?  Share a link to your project in the comments if you’ve used it before!