EdTechnocation: 3 Ways to Have Online Discussions with Google Classroom We often just don't have enough class time for those deep and thought-provoking conversations with our students. Online tools like a Google+ Community and a Google Group Web Forum allow you to extend the conversation beyond the walls of the classroom. But how do you use these tools in conjunction with Google Classroom? Let me show you 3 ways you can have online discussions with Google Classroom!Use the Comment Thread in a Google Classroom Assignment Every Google Classroom Assignment (and Announcement) has a built in public comment thread. Some other benefits to using the Comment Thread are: The teacher receives an email notification every time a student posts a comment.The teacher and students can mention each other in a comment. Another great option for having an online discussion is to use a Google Group. To set up an online discussion with a Google Group web forum, start by creating a new post in the Group. A few more reasons for using a Google Group web forum are:
R U Engaging Your Students? Strategies and Tools for the Texting Generation Students and Smart Phones Go Together Like Reading and Writing. Let’s Put Them to Use in the Service of Learning! In the U.S., and increasingly abroad, students of high school and college age require a smart phone as a standard part of their lifestyles. In fact, the pervasiveness of these devices can be a real distraction for teachers, who often have to ban the use of them in classrooms. Of course, it is also possible to embrace these ubiquitous gadgets, and put students to work on them! There are many types of assignments and tools that can be used to engage students using their beloved devices. Research – Access to the Internet means that countless research opportunities are at your student’s fingertips. Another great way to put those phones to use is to use Remind to make sure they know about upcoming quizzes, tests, or assignment due dates. So let’s go put those smart phones to use in the service of teaching, learning, and student engagement! About Kelly Walsh Print This Post
50 Reasons to Embrace Google Classroom This week’s #FractusReads is a brand new book from cutting edge educators Alice Keeler and Libbi Miller. 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom is an in depth practical guide to the ever-popular and ever-evolving Google Classroom. As two teachers using technology to transform learning everyday, the book’s focus is on the real classroom applications of Google Classroom, making for not only an actionable EdTech handbook but also a well informed spread of ideas and inspiration. While each of the fifty tips and tricks read as a techie teachers to-do list, Jonathan Rochelle, the Product Manager responsible for building Google Classroom, provides a wonderful foreword to the book. He describes the real power of Google Classroom as the meeting of great technology with expert educators, using the tool to share, connect and collaboratively solve problems. But the most impactful positive force for teachers in applying Google Classroom and other ed-tech products has been their peers.
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: A Must Have Google Drive App for Teachers May 8, 2014 Since the introduction of add-ons to Google Drive a few weeks ago, I tried several of these extensions on my Google Drive and I am really impressed by the great service some of them offer. Today, I am sharing with you one of my favourite apps to use on Google Sheets. This add-on is called Doctopus. Doctopus is a handy Spreadhseet script which allows teachers to make copies and hand out google Drive files to students listed in a Google Sheet. Watch the video below to learn more about how to use Doctopus on your Google Sheets. Google Classroom: A Free Learning Management System For eLearning As eLearning professionals, we are always looking for tools that help save time when it comes to the organization and maintenance of our online courses. We want to offer our audience the best possible experience, but keeping everything streamlined can be quite a challenge. The good news is that Google Classroom may be just the free learning management system that you’ve been looking for! What Can Google Classroom Offer To The World Of eLearning? Google is already a powerful design and development tool in eLearning thanks to Google Applications for Education. Google Classroom can be utilized by any eLearning professionals and online educators who have already created a Google Apps for Education account for free. Online facilitators and other eLearning professionals can create assignments within the application and distribute them to their learners online within a matter of seconds. Here are just a few of the ways that Google Classroom can be used as a free learning management system:
Add a Class Hashtag You may already have a class hashtag to post some of the amazing things your class is doing to Twitter. Suggestion to use that hashtag or create a hashtag to use with Google Classroom also. When sending an email to students from Google Classroom the email include the hashtag in the subject line. This allows students to filter the messages in their Gmail. From an assignment in Google Classroom you can checkbox students you wish to send an email to and click the “EMAIL” button. This creates a blank email to the selected students. Gmail makes it easy to find emails using the search bar at the top. Students can create a filter in Gmail to automatically star or label any emails that come in with the class hashtag. The default filter is to filter emails from a certain person. The next screen prompts the student for what actions will occur if the filter criteria is met. Using this technique will help to ensure that students receive the email and are able to search for and find the email later.
5 Great Educational Resources for Modern Classrooms In the digital age, many innovative organizations have branched off into educational initiatives, and their timing couldn’t be better. Recognizing the need for visual literacy, digital citizenship practices, and guided ed-tech implementation, many of these organizations strive to offer our students and teachers versatile tools and the most rewarding experiences possible with them. Such educational resources are designed to appeal to both the teachers and students of modern digital classrooms. They make terrific use of design tools, social media applications, and a healthy dose of the tech our students love to work and connect with. The following 5 educational resources in this article represent exactly the types of learning environments that are meant for today’s students. Canva Educational On March 24 2015, the web-based design startup Canva announced the launch of its new visual communication support program for teachers called Canva Educational. iPad in Education Skype in the Classroom
A Handy Google Drive Tool for Annotating PDFs June 5, 2015 Notable PDF is a useful tool to use for viewing and annotating your PDFs. Notable PDF works with Google Drive and is also accessible offline. You can use it to view PDF files on your browser. You can easily highlight text, add comments, underline or strikethrough text and instantly share your PDF files with your colleagues and collaborators. Notable PDF also enables you to insert your own digital e-signature to your PDF files. Watch this short video to learn more about Notable PDF. The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Google Drive For Teachers The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Google Drive For Teachers First came cloud-based word processing in the form of Google Docs. With cloud-based word processing in education, teachers could remotely access student work, students (provided they had internet access and had a Google account) could retrieve their work from anywhere, and writers could collaborate in real-time with their peers to double-team the pain-staking work that is the writing process. Then Google finally delivered on the long-rumored Google Drive, giving teachers and students the ability to store both documents and images, pdfs and presentations, video files, and more, turning Google into a cloud hard-drive of sorts. Which brings us to the latest–and perhaps best–evolution of Google Drive for teachers. Kaizena voice feedback. To be clear, this isn’t a Google project, but rather an app that integrate with Google Drive to work its magic. The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Google Drive For Teachers
Google Classroom - @GUHSDtech Overview Classroom is a new tool created by Google to allow teachers to push assignments out to students and for students to turn those assignments back in to the teacher. Here is the basic workflow: Teacher creates an activity / template in Docs, etc.Teacher then creates an assignment in Classroom.Students receive that assignment.When finished they turn it in through Classroom.Teacher can check to see who has submitted them and can open each document to grade it.When finished, the teacher can return it to the student. Key Features Teachers can assign a Google Doc, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Drawing, a link, a YouTube video, an attachment, OR can just give a text description. Classroom manages folders in Google Drive. What does Google Classroom look like from the student's point of view? It's a good idea for you to have an idea as to how students interact with Google Classroom. Practice Create a classAdd studentsSample students: 969696@guhsd.net, 979797@guhsd.netCreate an assignment