How to protect yourself with good, strong passwords
How to recognize hoaxes
What makes up your digital footprint
How to manage your online identity
The importance of privacy settings
How to build resilience to be able to handle challenges
I'd argue that this should be the first unit, but sometimes you don't know what you don't know. This may be the final unit in the first stage of becoming a Level 1 Google Certified Educator, but it is by no means, the least important.
Kids think they know everything about being online because "online" has always been there for some of them. They never worried about Y2K crashing the tech world, and have always had a time when what happened in school was talked about in social media before they got off the bus. But that doesn't mean someone really taught them about being a good Digital Citizen.
You will need to show them that for each one of them that thinks they know everything, someone, somewhere else, actually does know more. There are no perfect passwords, but there are stronger passwords. Teach them how to create personal, memorable, but strong passwords.
Some people make a living off of lying and hoaxes. Teach them how to recognize these, by showing them what WILL be asked for, and what will NEVER be asked for.
Show them how to not only Google themselves, but to use multiple searches, and free programs to Creep for themselves, and their friends. They may think it's funny - until they find it's creepy. Better they realize in a safe place what is already out there. Or at least show them how to search about you, and report from home about what they find on themselves. Then show them how to clean it up - and how to bury what can't be removed.
Then show them how to be private - now that they know WHY they should keep things private. And why privacy settings don't mean you should share things you wouldn't want to be public. If you wouldn't say it face to face, and wouldn't want to do it in public - don't think a setting will always protect you.
The internet is an awesome place, and can really make it seem like a small world, able to show us all the wonders of the world in a 40 minute class, in a small town, in a small school. But in a single second, a poor decision can live on forever - teach them how to protect themselves, and how to protect each other.
How to create meaningful and effective collaboration in the classroom
How to support collaborative learning with Google Docs and Drive
How to assign and collect assignments using Classroom
The ins-and-outs of using Google Docs to review group contributions
How Google Docs can support the writing and revision process
Best practices for driving discussion inside and outside of the classroom
How to choose the best tool to support synchronous and asynchronous discussion
To facilitate group work with a range of Google Tools
So this unit ties many of the previous units together, and I've commented on how some apps already flow into other apps. But now lets talk about how you plan it that way, instead of tweaking it that way.
Create a lesson plan or agenda in a Google Doc that you can share (view only) with students. You could attach it in a Calendar event or Google Group for those that can't physically be in class. Provide instructions and examples in a Google Presentation, embed links and videos. Have students work in groups in shared Google Docs to create presentations for the class. Have them create quizzes for the other groups in Forms, and collect the data in Sheets. Create charts and graphs, which can also be inserted into a class Presentation to summarize a unit. Create a site to share your class's brilliance and collaboration with others. Use GoogleDocs to track changes, use the revision history to see who has been doing the work and who hasn't. Throw out the books and paper and pencils, grab your Chromebooks, chargers, and stylus...We're Getting Connected!
Yes, this is short - you really do know it by now, you just have to trust yourself. And trust your students. Learning is messy. Get in there!
Search and find content creators and videos using YouTube
Identify best practices for using YouTube in the classroom
Harness the YouTube subscription feature to develop a stream of top quality educational content
Curate educational videos based on topic, genre, or standard in playlists
Share videos through playlists, forms, and slides
Create the optimal viewing experience for students by adjusting YouTube controls
YouTube at one point brought to mind only videos kids made in their basement that they didn't want their parents to see. Much like Wikipedia, its reputation has changed, and teachers that choose to use neither are now behind the times. YouTube can be integrated with so many audio-visual programs and used to store the uploaded files, the only hard part of using it is getting the access if it is banned, blocked or heavily filtered in your schools' Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).
There are many ways to convince your school board/tech department/content area specialist/person in charge that you do in fact need YouTube access.
YouTube will let you filter through playlists, channels, create subscriptions to content, search keywords...there are many ways to find things. There are many things that you don't want your kids finding - and just like filters and SafeSearching in Google Search, you can teach and protect your students in YouTube.
There are obvious things you can do with YouTube (upload and share a video) that I'm not going to get into. What I really like, and what I think is the most important when discussing GAFE is that these videos can be not only linked to documents, but the can be embedded in a Presentation or a Form, as well as a Site. Links are fine, but change where you are watching. Embedding means you can create a Form as a quiz or test, provide a video, and have students respond without leaving the Form, or having multiple distracting tabs open.
Once you have found Channels and created playlists you like, you can share those playlists with your students, so if it is important to watch something in a certain order, you can do that. Or if you want to shake it up, let them shuffle and discuss the experience of a different process (if applicable to your lesson.content area). Sometimes changing the procedure nets beautiful learning opportunities. Using YouTube can be a free, and easy way to kick it up a notch, and let your students know you are as engaged as they are.
How to make your presentations look better and more effectively communicate your point
How graphic design can help with your messaging
How to add dynamic and engaging content into your presentations
Where to find resources for class that other teachers have tried and recommend
How Google Play for Education can augment your class
How apps can help engage your students
If you're still following me at this point, first, thank you for slogging through this with me! Second, it's starting to look a lot like Connected Educator stuff now! Who doesn't want to build interactive lessons? anyone raising their hands - you're in the wrong blogosphere...
So there are some free parts to this area (YAY!) and some affordable but not free parts (Yay if someone is paying for you). I'm all about free for education. I'm also all about paying someone for their hard work, but we're not in this for our fat paychecks, so I'm going to really focus on the free part here, and provide you some basics on the pay parts. Check it out if you're interested!
First up, Google Presentation which is the slide format app. Slide presentations are easy to slap together in a short amount of time, but if you have more time, you should use the formatting and insert options and really make it engaging. For example, in this provided sample from Google, compare slides 1 & 2. Slide 1 is a slap down of information you need to share. Slide 2 is what people want to see. It has visual appeal, but beyond that, plastering words into a slide is not teaching visually, it's being lazy. Adding images, and labels, and providing relevant text is teaching visually. Lecturing via presentation slides and handouts is not differentiated instruction. Providing intractable links and graphic organizers with instructional figures and links to the presentation that attendees can follow along with in their own devices is differentiated - and engaging!
Imagine your class is 1:1, all students have a Chromebook, or similar, with access to GAFE. You create a presentation with links to interactive lessons, create forms for mini-quizzes, provide the links with study questions on slides, separate the students into groups, and share both the presentation, and a class google doc for students to work in their groups, summarizing their results. Now take it one step further. The students create their own presentation on their group's lesson, and provide links to the shared Doc, and now the class is flowing from group to group, presentation to presentation, fully engaged, without a pile of photocopied handouts being recycled later. Sign me up!
The last part has to do with Google Play for Education store. There are a lot of apps targeted for education, without ads, for reasonable price ($3). These have reviews from teachers, for teachers. Not everything worth doing in class is free - that's why we have budgets. You may find an alternative to that paperback you were planning on buying 50 copies of. Or that $300 per copy Science text for 300 students, because the old copies have theories that need to be updated. Get digital copies, and use the savings to buy apps that let students Play with those theories! When you buy the app, you can choose the number of license you need for your students, and then send the link to download at the same time to their school email. Only downside is this is often a one-shot deal, so while you're only spending $3 for a student, you would do it every year (or semester). Text books can live much longer (or well past their usefulness). You will have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself, but in specific situations, you may land upon that engaging tool you've been missing to really make the connection to your students you have been trying to find.
The essential digital literacy skill of searching online
Simple steps to evaluate sources
Easy processes for filtering search results and an understanding of why this is important
How to avoid plagiarism in the context of Web research
How to customize your online experience using Google Chrome
The potential for creativity and curiosity to be fostered using Chrome Apps and Extensions
Ah, the smell of early #DigCit! Why wait so long in the series to get to it? Because it was really only the last 2 units that had you thinking, "hey, I could do this! I could bring my classroom online!" Before you give your students your first online lesson, or collect your first online assignment - teach them the necessary online skills! You might assume they already know it, but we all know the maxim about assuming. So don't do your kids a disservice, or yourself. Make sure You teach Them good #DigCit!
Using Google Search has become so commonplace that we also simply say "Google it" so maybe you think you know everything and have strong GoogleFu. You can easily and quickly find everything you want, and find stunning photos and sites and videos you plan to share with your class, and you're going to share everything you know with them so they can make stunning sites, and videos.
STOP. Have you given credit where credit is due? Did you make sure what you want to share is available to share (beyond the "assumed" entitlement we think we have as educators to "borrow" for the good of the kids)? If you needed to filter a search to only the images and videos available to reuse, would you know where to look? If you are nodding your head, GREAT! If you're shaking your head, fear not! Magdule GoogleFu is here for you!
Under Images, you will find a search filter labeled Usage Rights. While it will drastically reduce the results, you know that you will be using what you rightfully have access to. And if your students create something amazing, and want to share it, and put it in an online portfolio or site, they should know to give credit to the source, so that when their dream college sees it, they don't lose the dream scholarship due to plagiarism because they didn't know about usage rights because you ASSUMED they already knew and never took 30 seconds to show the easy and IMPORTANT drop down menu.
Everyone wants the credit for their hardwork. We're creating kids who will be adults, and possibly our bosses. If we want them to acknowledge our hardwork, they have to know how to. Ok. That's enough soapboxing.
After they know how to filter for usage, they will also want to know how to protect their information from being stored without their permission (choose incognito mode to browse in private, or create your own user to keep your info separate from others using the same computer or device). Show them how a site will ask to store information, and remind them they might not remember to clear it out later. We're not trying to scare them into refusing to use technology, but we would like to convince them they are not digitally invincible, and their footprint already exists most likely.
Now you can let them search. Teach them how to string together stronger search terms. Unlike some scholarly databases, Google Search will turn up responses to questions and phrases. Don't be afraid to "ask" it questions. Unlike Siri, I actually get usable results without having to groom it to like me too. Google Search has yet to direct me to an underpass for the highway I'm trying to find in the middle of a warehouse district with no working streetlights. Siri...does not have that track record with me.
Let students know the difference between sponsored results as "ads" and the regular results that appear below. There is a poster you can share with your students to help provide some stepping stones into solid and dependable search results. Once students start focusing on what they want, and how to get it, being able to verify the appropriateness of the content is key. How to cite, and find the author, or voice of a site - is this satire or serious? Should you use this name or that name in the citation? The more students are encouraged to prove the quality of the sources, the more they will have confidence in the quality of their products.
Finally, while there are many browser options, using Chrome while using GAFE will bring the utility full circle. The search bar is an "omnibox" and can do multiple tasks for you without you having to bookmark a variety of sites. It can provide definitions, a timer, or calculations, as if a pocket version of Google Search were stored within the search bar itself. And what you may have started on one computer while signed in, you can continue on a different one, bringing true mobility to your creativity.
Determine the correct type of data to collect as an educator
Develop effective methods of collecting the data required
Organize and configure information to accurately represent the results
Determine what lessons are needed to help students keep their information secure
Pick the right tool for the learning objective you are trying to reach
Determine what process to use to discover various methods of data analysis
Ahh, the Data Team and SLO Goal Unit of GAFE. Who doesn't love data collection, amirght, or amiroght? Yeah. No one really loves it, but we need to do it, so how can we do it without completely losing our minds, and precious time? FORMS AND SHEETS!
I am actually excited enough to warrant CAPS LOCK for that. Google Forms and Sheets are easy to use, and can actually be fun. You can use them for basic activities such as keeping data in a Sheet, and creating a Form for students to check in, with a Sheet being generated by the Form. Or you can make quizzes and tests. You can also make your Forms do the work for you. Anything you can think of to ask a student, that you want to keep a record of, can probably be done through a Form. Unique logins can be activated, school emails can be used, and once the Sheet is created, extra Sheets (tabs) can be created so you can manipulate the data you collect. If you teach 5 classes, you can have all five take the same Form, and copy the data into unique tabs within the same Sheet file, and monitor specific classes, or you can create a similar Form with a specific Sheet to collect the data. Data can be manipulated with formulas, or with colors, or text. Need to make differentiated Forms for different students? Provide the link to those that need it. And you can access your information anywhere you can get your Drive. PD with a personal device? Check! Commuting time? Check! Home during a grading cram session? Check! PLC to collaborate on growth toward objectives? Check!
Need to create a visual from your data? Charts and Graphs can be created within Sheets. anything created can also be published to the web with dynamic updates. Instead of printing copies of all of your internet stored data, or sharing the Forms/Sheets, create your final representation you need to discuss in that PD or PLC, and share the Published link. Once published, the link will redirect to changes made to the final product. Or you realize you need to unpublish? That is ok. You can do that too, change up what you want to share, and start over.
I love to use Forms and Sheets for check-ins and exit tickets with my classes. I can keep all of the responses and conference with students to redirect when grades start slipping. "Hey, I noticed your stopped responding in detail, and you haven't turned in the last assignment. Do you need some help with this project still? Did it get turned in or do you need help on something new?" Or I can ask other teachers if they are having similar issues and have data to support RTI and Tier 2 responses.
Why creating rosters will help you organize your assignment workflow
How to use different Google tools for creating rosters
How to assign work to your students
What strategies are available for managing assignments
The importance of providing feedback to students
Different strategies for giving student feedback
This might be may favorite unit thus far. My MA work is primarily in Educational Technology, so bringing the classroom alive, and making it portable are two key things I am trying to do in my first year of teaching. To do so, it is recommended by this unit to make use of Groups, Sheets, Drive, and Classroom.
Groups are part of Gmail, and something many of us have probably made use of - add Contacts to a Group to make contacting that much quicker instead of searching through to find everyone each time. as a teacher, I can make a group using the school accounts of the students in my classes and label the groups Period 1, etc., to make sending a reminder easier, and to make sure I don't leave anyone out when trying to send a note out in a hurry. As a bonus, the Groups show up in other contact lists throughout Google Apps. So if you are using Classroom, you can invite a Group to a Classroom, and you've just saved yourself more time! Students can also use a code, so if you want to add someone to the Classroom but not to the normal Group, you can do that too. There is a limit to the number of teachers (20) and members (1000) to a classroom. I would not exceed that limit in my normal use, but it does allow for some epic online-cross-classroom discussion.
Classroom will let you create an assignment, share it to the appropriate students (which will send a notification to students that haven't turned them off), collect it, grade it, and return it. For those of us trying to get away from paper, and trying to make the most of the technology we have access to, this is a great way to reinforce that students should continue to check your Classroom, and interact with their teachers, and other students through it. I also love Drive, and reinforcing to students to create projects through it so they don't lose them. If students are working in a group, I can check who has participated in the completion (unless there was an agreement to do research and someone else did all the typing). also, when a student submits an assignment to be graded, it becomes locked for editing until the teacher grades it.
Editing, and providing feedback through comments is easy and it is not as intrusive as it sounds. A created suggested edit will appear like a highlighted section with a comment to the side. Comments can be replied to in case clarification or discussion is needed. Once a comment is taken care of, it can be resolved and it is removed from the view. It is not removed from the document because it becomes part of the history. This is a huge bonus for a teacher in case students are being inappropriate or suggesting they provided feedback but it was deleted. The average student should not pose a problem, but the history does allow for behavior management if needed or necessary, and can be a learning experience for students thinking they are just "having fun" at someone else's expense.
Even not using Classroom, Drive and Docs can keep an English classroom busy without losing papers. I've accidentally renamed a file instead of making a copy, and written over the same paper three times, only to learn I later needed to resubmit all papers in one document. I was able to use the revision history to find ALL the papers I had typed in the same document, make copies at the appropriate history and save all of my work for a semester. Using it for my own needs has made me more confident in helping my students as well.
Why it’s important to plan your meetings for maximum efficiency
How to hold more productive and efficient meetings
How to schedule a meeting, add participants and book resources
How to keep track of who will be attending your meeting
Why you should use a shared Google Doc for meeting agendas, minutes and follow-up
Which tools from the Google Apps for Education suite can help you run more productive meetings
How you can use Google Hangouts to conduct productive online meetings
How to invite others to a Hangout
How to share your screen with others during a Hangout
"Oh really, Google Training Center? That seems like a tall order," you may find yourself thinking. You're not alone. I'm thinking it too. But, we've learned all of the other menu options previously, so let's dive in. Sorry for the food analogies. Apparently, you shouldn't blog when you're hungry.
So the first point seems like something everyone, everywhere, that ever has to have a meeting should want to know - maximum efficiency means no one is wasting their time. Planning to save everyone time so we can get on with our crazy lives? Yes, please! so how can we hold more productive and efficient meetings? Making sure everyone is on the same page! Literally! If you use a Google Hangout to meet, you can phone conference through your computer (if you have a webcam) so you can see each other, but did you know you can also share what is on your computer screen? Instead of trying to flip through a power point while watching someone in a videochat present (because that never has problems), let your monitor do the talking. You don't have to use the whole monitor either, you can choose which parts to share. Need to do a Round-robin presentation? Just change who your presenter is, and the Hangout will change focus.
If all of the participants are using Google Calendar, by creating a shared Calendar, it can find the free time and add the attendees for you. Need to make sure everyone has access to the minutes without worrying about who checked their email or mailbox? Attach it to the event! Use a shared GoogleDoc as the the minutes, then everyone can add to it during the meeting, make comments, and notes...your next set of minutes flow from the agenda! Need to meet face to face instead of in a Hangout? Need resources? Book those too while creating the event! When the event is shared, people with access can help with the responsibility of creating effective and efficient meetings.
Sure, you can get a few people together, but certainly there is a limit to the awesome that is a Hangout? Yes. 10 people are the max...unless you are part of Google Apps for Education, then you can get 15 people together. Maybe that isn't your entire class of students. But it could be a sports team, a PLC, or it could be students meeting with peers in another school, in another country. Hello, Authentic Audience! And when the Hangout closes, it banks the conversation until the next time it is needed, so if you asked some great questions at the end but had to cut it short, all is not lost!
That went quick. And so will your meetings when you use Calendar to schedule, book resources, share Google Doc agendas, and meet in the comfort of your own room or office with up to 14 other colleagues, or double dip, and use the projector and whiteboard in the conference room to bring 14 more people to your Hangout in a PD when the money is tight. (When isn't it?)
To set reminders and notifications for events in your calendar
How to manage multiple calendars
To manage to do lists in Google Tasks and Google Keep
To integrate Google Tasks with Google Calendar
To add media and share notes in Google Keep
Calendar, Tasks, and Keep are three applications I have not used but I'm curious how they are used, and how students can benefit from them as well.
First up is Calendar. Between smartphones, and Outlook email/calendars which many schools use/support, I'm not sure how often I would use this. However, in a few minutes of use, I'm realizing that a teacher can create a calendar and share it with students, providing a more visually appealing and MEANINGFUL deadline schedule. Anytime I've created a rubric, and a schedule for students, I find myself going to a daily planner and plotting out when things will happen, and looking at a desk or wall calendar before adding info into a gradebook. Instead of bouncing around between different calendar formats, just create a class calendar! You can add guests to an event, and you can attach files, so if you are creating an event for a peer review, students have access to the rubric and checklist from home while preparing, as well as once they get to class, without having to print copies and then recycle the copies. Events can be color coded, so if you teach more than one course, or multiple sections, you can glance quickly to see what is coming up without always having to read the details.
Google Keep is another useful app, but not one I'm likely to use just because of my own habits. I like the feeling of sticky notes, physical little bright squares that I can have in my real space. I keep a few notes on my smartphone for grocery lists or to do lists. I personally do not want all of my apps trying to help me merge work, grad school, and home life in every aspect. Some people need it. I like keeping it separate. I can see the appeal of having cloud accessible sticky notes though. Say you are brainstorming ideas, sticky notes all over your desk, and even within a few books scattered across your desk. Maybe the notes end up in the wrong place, someone borrows the book, or you forgot to copy it into a place you will take with you when you leave - Google Keep to the rescue! Make a note you can get anywhere you can get Keep (which is both an app for mobile devices as well as for a variety of web browsers). Notes can have images associated with them, and can be tagged with labels, and colors! Google Drive does not allow files to be labeled or tagged, though a description can be made (however it doesn't really enhance search capabilities as my tests today showed me).
If you have a checklist or agenda for a class, and need to create files in your Drive, you could create a Note/List and label the list. It would require you to look through your lists first to find the labels to files you want, but the index would also be cloud-accessible. I still prefer handwriting sticky notes because it activates my memory better - so if I lose the note, I'm not as messed up, but also it keeps me sharp, and I find I check off more items without needing to keep looking at the Note. If you love sticky notes, hate handwriting, and love to label and archive things, then Keep is the answer you may have been searching for.
Finally, Tasks is an aspect of both Gmail and Calendar that allows you to create lists and set events with both the functionality of a Calendar as well as Gmail access to conversations and contacts. I don't think a person needs to use every option in this unit to stay organized, however any one may be more appropriate to a specific lifestyle. If I didn't have access to a school email account and had to rely on my personal Gmail account, the Calendar would be a welcome option. If I didn't have access to a desktop, and used a Chromebook with apps, the Tasks and Keep feature would help me as a student stay in tune with my class needs and stay on top of my assignments.
My school uses both GAFE and Schoology. Some of the functionality of GAFE I do not use because I'm required or encouraged to use the similar functionality in another program...however GAFE is free. And free will always take people a long way through necessity even when it might not fill every need.
Apply the organizational benefits of Gmail in your classroom
Explain how to use the Translation feature in Gmail to communicate with a diverse audience
Identify the benefits of real-time communication with students
Explain how to use instant messaging in Hangouts from any device
Identify how Google Groups can be used in your classroom
Identify the value of having a class website
Create a customized Google Site for your classroom
I'm very excited for this unit because it gives me a reason to practice a Google Site, though for my cousin's wedding and not for my classroom. But we can pretend it's for a business class, and the students are creating cooperative applications, and my model is for a wedding planner. Yeah. Let's go with that...
Before we get there, let's start with Gmail. I've been a fan since it was in Beta, and invites were required to create an account. I love that if I want to tie multiple accounts together (one for free coupons, one for games, one for school, one for family) I can check them all very easily, and if I forget a password, it's also very easy to reset it. Despite being that easy to use, I've never had my accounts hacked. Some of that is due to my own diligence and internet savvy. Some of that is because they haven't had batches of data hacked and freely shared for all the world to see. Like Sony. Or banks.
What I've known for awhile but have never played with is that I can create my own folders for mail to go into, and then label the emails so when I search for it later, I can find it without rereading every email. What I didn't know is that I could color code things to make finding it even easier. I've recently re-discovered the All Mail tab, where mail I think I've deleted has gone. But I have to tell it to delete it twice. Once takes it out of the normal folder...and usually out of sight, out of mind. But let's say you didn't mean to delete it, so you go to check your trash...and it's not there. And you check trash, because you deleted it...and if it's within 30 days, you should find it there. But day 31? 100? Because Gmail gives its users so much space, it isn't in a rush to delete your information. Before you give up hope that the coupon you meant to use before it expires is gone, and you won't be saving on a holiday clearance sale, check your All Mail folder. It's probably in there, and you may even find missing socks.
The next tasty treat in this unit is Google Hangouts. Because every platform must have messaging capability! This isn't just a messenger though. Normally, in a messenger, you have a separate window for each person you are talking to. In a Hangout, you can have up to 150 people in one room. It combines the utility of a forum, with the instant gratification of a messenger, and the personalization of Google/Chrome! And if the purpose of the conversation is over, the hangout and associated conversations can be deleted. DIGCIT TIP: Only when all members of the Hangout delete the conversation will it truly be deleted. Think before you type! Even if it is deleted, you can't truly know if someone has taken a screenshot, so don't be careless. It could be a great tool for a classroom, a PLC, PD groups, or school clubs. The strongest feature for a classroom is that it can be impossible to hear everything every student is saying in class, especially in group work. But you can be a part of every Hangout and never miss an insight, question, or teachable moment! It's similar to a Twitter Chat, only the hashtag is private.
If you aren't looking for the immediacy of a Hangout, but still need to get information to a group, or a group needs to share on a regular basis, sure you could just make an email group and make attachments and pray you don't exceed file limits...or you could create a Google Group! Some schools that use GAFE also use Schoology for posting class events, assignments, and having limited conversations. Google Groups is the same thing, in that a Group can have a purpose, a forum, share dates and information with members - maybe parents don't need to be involved in the classroom Hangout, but you want to remind them of the fieldtrip coming up - Add them to the Group! Students are running a school store or webstore, and need to share responsibility in answering customer questions? Group! Have more than 100 people you need to email in a shot? Group! You can set the group to share access by the link, and the email list will update itself, so no one has to be the address book moderator - and that can be a headache and very time consuming.
And finally, the Google Site. We ask students to create audio-visual projects all the time, or paper and story one after another. In a digital age, with emphasis on portfolio growth, a Site is one way a student can keep track of all of their work, for every class. Create a home page for the student, add a new page for each class, and even a new page for each project, modifying the layout as necessary. Or a class can make a page together, or a group instead of bulky tri-fold posters. There are really many reasons to make a Site, and the more you do it, the more you can find a reason to. With 1:1 initiatives popping up in many schools, Sites can give students the agency they need to own their learning, and really display what teachers are looking for.
And because you're just dying to hear me describe it on a school-issued
headset that makes me sound like an alien, here is my Screencast of
using Google Sites:
How Google Drive can be used for your own cloud storage
How to upload documents to Google Drive
How to create documents within Google Drive
Tips for organizing your Google Drive
How to collaborate using Google Docs
Tips for using the Google Docs suite in your classroom
How Classroom works with Docs and Drive
I will preface my experience with this unit by stating the biggest downside to using a cloud-based system to go paperless is when the wi-fi isn't strong or when the cloud gets laggy, and then your planned time goes out the window because half of your students can't access their work, or because students working collaboratively can't save since they all have hands in the cookie jar. This is not a constant problem - but it needs to be anticipated in case it does actually affect your classroom, agenda, schoolwide activity.
What programs are key to using the cloud?
Docs - standard/basic word processor document creator (basic in final format options)
Sheets - standard/basic spreadsheet creator (basic in final format options)
Slides - standard/basic slideshow creator (basic in final format options)
Forms - more than meets the eye form creator
Drawings - imaging program with potential
Drive - cloud storage access to all of the above, as well as files you upload - almost limitless
Classroom - cloud based collaborative classroom with ability to create/submit/assess assignments
Even if your school uses another Classroom style application (such as Schoology), everything else in the Drive is a wonderful addition to a tech-forward approach. With Docs, students can work together even if they aren't in class together, and the teacher can see every keystroke. Also, students that forget to submit work for a due-date can prove the work was done on time because of the timestamps on all of the keystrokes. Not that it is a reason to allow late work, but it's a nice feature. Creating forms for check-ins, exit slips, quizzes, tests, surveys (it keeps going on...), and having all of that data transfer immediately into a real-time spreadsheet is amazing! Students can log in with a school email, which is automatically tracked, fill in info for the class (book log, media log, interest survey) and that sheet never has to be passed around to other students or lost on a desk.
Bringing in another teacher for a cross-content lesson, co-teacher, admin wants to see your class in action? Share the Folder for your class, and let them marvel at all of the data at your finger tips. Your Data Team / PLC needs to keep SLO Goals for the year? Wants to compare to other years? Tech guy/gal at the main office retired and no one knows what to do with the piles of data? Aren't you glad you kept your own cloud records so you could query your heart out in meaningful inquires!?
Let's talk Differentiation...
Need to make three versions of a test? No worries! Make the first version, copy it and edit for your second version, and again for your third. Need to put video or images in one but not another? No problem! Each Form has it's own unique address, so the students that need it, and only the students that need it can have the right assessment! Want to share with the school, or post on social media for larger audiences? You can do that too!!!
Are you getting thirsty for the Google-Aid yet? It's tasty!
What online resources are available for you to search for answers
How to participate in online help forums to both find answers AND help others
How to create a network of peers who you can reach out to when you need help
How to contribute to a network of other Google for Education users
How to join a Google Educator Group for networking, support, and fun
How to find local experts when you need that extra bit of support
It's all well and good to know how to do something when it works perfectly, but knowing what to do when it's not is what makes someone an expert. I look forward to becoming one!
Useful tools to know are
Google+ : Circles and sharing; Photos and Auto Backup; Hangouts and events; and mobile device apps
GoogleGroups : There are four types of groups: email lists, web forums, Q&A groups, and collaborative inbox - with the main purpose being a way to communicate to a collective without contacting everyone individually
GoogleSearch : My GoogleFu is strong, I've been told. The key is to not be afraid to type thought fragments or whole questions, then filter by date or time, by type of source (image, news, scholarly)
ProTip: Often a 30-second video is worth a page of text. If you click on Videos
at the top of your search results, you’ll find a set of videos that can
walk you through a step-by-step solution to your problem.
The Google Help Center can also guide you step-by-step through troubleshooting in your suite of Apps and tools.
If that still leaves you stumped, there are the Google for Education Help Forums. You can read and respond to other teachers, and knowing that the people using it are generally using it for the same purposes means there's less explaining WHY you need help, and more discussing WHAT you need to do/fix. Also, teachers from around the world can share their ideas, so the forums aren't just for when something goes wrong, but for when everything goes right!
Create a Personal Learning Network (PLN): One way to do so is to join a Google Educator Group (GEG) which are locally run groups, bound by common goals, and able to stay in touch through the same suite they are using, GAFE! You can double-dip and join a Google+ Community made up of multiple GEGs, from around the world, all sharing the same goals for an app, or content area.
Maybe you want to reinforce the awesomeness that is GAFE during a PD. What can you do? I'm so glad you asked...
You could bring in a Certified Trainer, a Certified Innovator (your tech team will thank you!), join up with a Reference School (co-teach GAFE training with a school in another location?! *mindblown*), or an Education Partner (think swag for teachers).
This first unit is comprised of four modules, offering to explain:
How technology can benefit teaching and learning
Why and how technology can support the work you currently do
How you can use technology to prepare for the future
What tools are available in the Google Apps for Education suite
How to pick the right tool for your objective
How you can help your students behave responsibly online.
Some questions to consider in your own practice:
How has technology affected your life?
Identify one way technology has saved you time and made you more efficient.
What are other teachers doing with technology in the classroom that you’d like to try?
Some thoughts: Benefits of a digital classroom - technology was designed to provide solutions faster than we can think of them or provide them on our own. It was still designed to operate within parameters that resemble our own mode of function, so the biggest benefit is that students and teachers have an endless ability to engage in each other, in authentic learning. The only limit is what you can imagine.
How has technology affected student learning? Students can reach out to authors directly, via email or even Skype and find out more about the writing process. They can challenge themselves to research in the moment instead of "waiting to do it at home."
Words of wisdom for getting started - you don't have to know more than your students, you only need to know enough to keep them engaged, and let them help design. It encourages problem based learning, and could even be part of games based learning, depending on the technology employed.
What is in the Google Apps for Education suite?
Google Classroom: Similar to Schoology (though unavailable when GoogleDrive and other aspects decide to freeze), students can turn in assignments, and get feedback in one place.
GoogleDrive: This cloud-based magic folder amazes me with the ease of creating, saving and sharing. I no longer need to worry about the size of my thumb drive, or if I even brought it with me.
GoogleDocs: I once wrote all of my papers accidentally over each other, renaming the file instead of copying the file. Because this magical program saves ALL keystrokes, every revision is stored. I was able to go back to each version of the document, and make a copy of the pre-existing papers. Also, when students are collaborating in a shared Doc, all keystrokes are saved, meaning as a teacher, you can see who has contributed, and who has been writing nasty things and deleting them, thinking none would be the wiser. Only downside is that there are less formatting options to make a document extra snazzy for a final presentation, but I'm sure there's an app for that...
GoogleSheets: Like Docs, it also lacks the fine-tuning that paid-for programs come fully loaded with, but the true awesomeness of this app is the way it ties in with Forms...
GoogleForms: These two go together for me. I can create a Form as an Entrance or Exit slip, with questions already set-up, have my students respond, and not have a ton of paper lying around. I can give a quiz, or a survey, and all the answers go into a spreadsheet. I can add to the spreadsheet, keep a sheet for each class/section, keep track of grades...without carrying around papers, tests and quizzes, gradebooks. Magic!
GoogleSlides: Also lackluster, but wicked easy to use. It allows the basics to take shape, can easily be collaborated on, and can be uploaded to some of the fancier programs such as eMaze.
GoogleDrawings: The only main app I have yet to try to use to it's true potential. So far, I've used it to paste images in, and then import the GoogleDrawing into a GoogleDoc. It's a little unwieldy and not very intuitive - for me. I've used MANY drawing apps/programs before so I may just be dealing with antiquated schema and I look forward to diving into it more.
Gmail: Love it! Clean, lots of space, easy to use. I only dislike the weird creeper way it reads my email to suggest links on the side.
GoogleCalendar: Haven't used it - ever. I'll get back to you on it.
GoogleHangouts: Used it once in another grad class, though I find collaborating through the comments within a GoogleDoc to be simple enough. Or even a TwitterChat. Again, I'll have to find out more about this one.
GoogleSites: Free, and easy enough to use, especially for a classroom to play with. There are other options such as Weebly and Wix, but it's not bad and keeps "it all in the family."
Additional associated programs include:
Chrome: Meh. Not my favorite. Seems to be a resource hog, though not as glitchy a history as InternetExploder. Firefox is my go to, but in a Chromebook school, I do like the integration of all passwords into one experience.
Google+: A fine social media platform, but it's hard to promote it past the FB behemoth.
YouTube: About as prevalent as Google itself; it's become synonymous with watching a video.
GoogleMaps/Earth: My go-to mapping and navigation sites. I love how current these are kept!
Blogger: Take a look at the hosting site for this blog...'nough said. It's wicked easy to use, and has enough options to make each blog feel unique. <3
GoogleGroups: Similarly to Hangouts, not really enough experience to talk on this one yet.
Respect and Protect - the foundations of DigCit, and the three Pillars of good DigCit:
Think Beyond the Textbook: Enhance your curriculum with technology - don't throw out the textbooks you have, but augment with modules from the publisher, Skype with the author, blog with other schools! A very detailed start to what promises to be an exhaustive run through the GoogleApps for Education suite. I'm excited for what's in store, and all the tips and tricks I will learn along the way! Stay tuned for UNIT 2: Expand Your Access to Help and Learning...
