Experience the World in your Classroom with Google!

I had the great fortune to visit the Google for Education booth at ISTE 2015 on Tuesday in time to experience Rich Kiker's presentation. In case you don't know, he is a Google Master! While he didn't share everything here, his website complete with Symbaloo is full of Google related resources.

Inspired by the tools he shared, I have created this Symbaloo that spotlights the tools he did share but not all (so you don't get lost).



Beginning in the upper left are links related to location and mapping:

• Google Maps - a no-brainer but just in case....
• Google Maps for EDU - Click on the resources tab to find a collection of video tutorials for Google Maps and Google Earth
• Street View - Stunning photography will transport you and your students to places far and wide! Explore world landmarks and discover natural wonders through 360-degree images! Street View is going away in August. Here's the info on where it's going!
• Tour Builder - You can create your own story using Tour Builder! Think about... a personal narrative, plotting movement in a novel or historical event! This could be a really great project for your students as well as for you. It allows you to create Google Earth type projects using your web browser. Here's a YouTube tutorial. Only bummer - You must use a different browser than Chrome as Chrome no longer supports the Google Earth plug-in. Hopefully, that will change in the future!
• Google Maps - Smarty Pins - This fun and interactive game tests players' trivia AND geography knowledge! Could be a fun and easy starter or end of class activity! 
• GeoGuesser - Click Single Player mode and you're off! You'll be in street View somewhere in the world. Look around. Use any information available and figure out where you are. Click on the map and place the marker where you think you are. Click the Make a Guess button!

In the middle:

• TREKS - Join the Google team as they trek the wonders of the world! Each trek is unique with videos, 360 degree panoramas and more! Meet chimpanzees in Gombe National Park. Hike the Grand Canyon. How might you set your students loose here?
• Connected Classrooms - Bringing field trips into classrooms via Google+. You need to join the Connected Classrooms Community on Google+ to learn about the opportunities.
• Expeditions - Google's latest EDU project. Click the Learn More button to request an expedition for your classroom. Scroll down and learn about Google Cardboard, More to come!

• Google Cultural Institute - Discover exhibits and collections from museums around the world. You can even create your own collections and share them. Think of how you might use this to share specific pieces/works with your students! Below are links to the specific categories of works:
• Art Project - Explore works of art and exhibitions. Virtual tours available as well.
• Historic Moments - View exhibitions of the stories behind historic moments in our history.
• World Wonders - Experience the wonders of the modern and ancient world.

Lower left corner:

• Constitute - Explore the world's constitutions to read, search and compare. Talk about primary sources!
• Google New Archive - Search for web news content until the year 2003. 
• Google Lit Trips - Tracing the movement of characters from literature, Google Lit Trips are designed to encourage higher level thinking skills and  make real-world connections. They work with Google Earth. Be sure to look at the information on the right sidebar.
• Google Books - Search here for free books and books for purchase.

• Music Timeline - See how artists and genres have gained and dropped in popularity over the decades and more!

Super Bonus! Build with Chrome - As a mom who loved Legos as a kid and invested in lots with my own children (and looking forward to my granddaughter and I building together in the future), here's a digital platform! what's not to like!. Click Start Building and go! Or, select Build Academy to be challenged! Enter the World of Build to see what others have built. You can too!

How might these tools be used for learning in K-12? Share your thinking! Please comment and share! Together we can grow and learn!

Google Forms upgrades are a real winner!

Recently, Google  made a BUNCH of upgrades to Google Forms. In addition, in Spring Branch, we finally have all students and teachers in the same domain - which also improved what we can do with Forms! Let's take a quick look at what these changes mean for you in classrooms!

Form Settings
With moving everyone into same domain, we can now collect the GAFE Username of the person logged into the form. If you recall, in the past, we always added a Name field because this feature was unavailable to us! So, as a teacher, you at least know who is logged in and responding to the form.

A new feature from Google allows us to limit each users to one response which can be handy. For example, last year one of our high schools wanted to use Google Forms for the selection of their Homecoming Court but we couldn't limit each student to one vote. Now, we can! No more worry about stuffing the ballot box!

And lastly, from the Form Settings at the top you can also select to Shuffle question order which again, is another great feature for a teacher when using Google Forms as a quizzing tool.

Enhanced Themes
As any avid Google Forms user has known, the themes available for user in Forms were very limited. well now, not only are there lots of new themes from which to choose, but you can also customize and add your own images to Google Forms. Watch this brief video from Google Gooru: Customize themes in Google Forms for a quick glimpse into the feature!

Embedding YouTube Videos
Think how cool it would be to actually insert your instructional video into a Google Form and then ask your students questions based on the video!

Create a Google From. Then go to Insert in the menu and select video. Either search YouTube or enter the URL you have already copied and pasted to the clipboard. Click Select.

Then, you can title the video. Add a caption and align the video as desired. Click Done.

Now, create questions based on the video! How easy is that?

Got other Google Forms features you like! Share them here!

Automating the Peer Critique Process with autoCrat

This past spring, I was fortunate to connect with Amanda Breland at Northbrook HS, a 10th grade ELA teacher. She was grappling with how to increase student engagement and decided to try a project-based learning unit with her 10th graders. She allowed me to come in and brainstorm through the process. We both learned a lot during the unit.

One of the biggest challenges proved to be student academic conversations. Amanda really wanted to get her students sharing ideas and offering feedback to one another. She quickly realized that it was a process that she would need to start earlier in the year.

During the first peer critique, not only were students struggling with the thought and communication processes, but they were also struggling with the paperwork. Students were completing feedback forms, quickly showing them to the student in need of feedback, but then filing them in the paper tray for Amanda to have evidence of conversation and to ensure students had the feedback the next day. Some students though, were willing to work on their projects after class, but didn't have access to the feedback.

I had heard about autoCrat and thought this might be just the project to try it. We made a peer feedback rubric using Google Forms and had the feedback sent to all parties involved - the "critiquee:", the "critiquer" and Amanda had the submission spreadsheet with links to the pdfs there. Watch this video to learn how we did it!

Don't want to watch the video? Here are the steps:

1. Create the Google Document (using your rubric)
2. Create the Google Form (using your Google Document and/or rubric)
3. Set up the autoCrat script to run
4. Have students complete the Google Form

We are both looking forward to working together in the fall to improve student communication and can see lots of opportunities to use autoCrat!

Generating LOTS of QR codes is easy in Google Spreadsheets!

Do you even NEED to create lots of QR codes for self-checking workstations, scavenger hunts, bulletin boards, etc? Jeanette did! Google spreadsheets made it so easy! We used a formula to generate columns of QR codes that then can be easily printed and used! Jeanette laminated the codes on this cute owl stationary and had a self-checking multiplication workstation in no time!
The formula is:

=image("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=150x150&cht=qr&chl=" & B2)

(when the information you what the QR code to disclose is in cell B2). Don't have the information in cell B2? You can change the formula to look to any cell you want!

Need more information than just access to the formula? Watch this brief video that walks you through the entire process that Jeanette used! I think you'll find using Google spreadsheets to generate your QR codes a real time saver!

Managing your data transition: Google Drive and Chrome Sync

Last night, I was still thinking about how we could help teachers with their data migration from their old teacher laptop to their new one. Thanks, Cathy Roth at Woodview! Here are some tips!

Chrome Sync:
We spent some this after their training setting up Chrome Sync for her. I realized that teachers first thought is to sign in to Chrome on their new laptops which is what Cathy did. However, in order to have anything to "sync" she needed to sign into Chrome on her old laptop first, click Yes, to sync the data, and THEN sign into the new laptop.

Google Drive and MS Office (and more):
While teachers can use the Data Migration Tool to transfer their files and folders from their old laptop, I have heard a few say they wish they hadn't done it because it brings everything over - even some junk they didn't want. Another option for teachers is to create a folder, drag their desired files and folders into that one and then up to their SAN folder and then drag it down to their new computer.

Cathy actually uses her personal folders in Outlook to store emails with important attachments. She was terribly concerned about losing them. We imported her data file (personal folders) while I was there and she was a very happy camper! As I was leaving though, I suggested she consider just transferring those files to her Google Drive. Then, she would have access to them no matter where she was, no worries at VPN or setting up Outlook on another computer. She WOULD have to open all the emails and download the attachments, but if she Installed Drive to her desktop, then she could just drag everything into here Google Drive.


When you do download drive to your desktop, you'll log into your Google Apps account and a Google Drive shortcut will appear on your Desktop as well as in your folder structure in File Explorer.

Every time you connect to a network, your Google Drive will sync and your files will be updated. You aren't limited to only Google files either! You can also save your MS Office files, your pictures, your flipcharts, etc. to Google Drive.

This video from Google Gooru  provides a quick explanation of how to save your MS Office files to Drive.

QR Codes - They REALLY are easy to make!

I know there have been a lot of blog posts (I'll link to them here.) over the past several years about using QR

codes in the classroom; yet, we see very little of their use taking off in our classrooms. As we begin the new year with new teacher laptops (They really are coming!), please consider giving QR codes a go! There are so many ways they can help students, staff and parents access information quickly, and they work across all mobile devices.

Here is a Google presentation that I have used over the past several years to train teachers. There are lots of ideas for HOW to use them in the classroom pictured. Many teachers seemed to like the idea of using a QR code to "attach" a student's digital project (Ex: Prezi, Google Presentation, Stupeflix, or YouTube video) to their paper notebook such as a Intereactive Journal. That way, when students and teachers want to view all of the work around a particular topic, everything is right there. Very handy!


Recently, I came across this Prezi by Nicole Zumpano which is worth a view! She shares lots of different QR code generators and apps as well as some terrific ideas for classroom use.

Creating and Using
Since we are a Google Apps district, probably the easiest way to create them (in addition to Google Spreadsheets) is by using the goo.gl Chrome extension (which you should be using for a number of reasons anyway)! To read them, I have had great success with the QR Code Reader and Scanner app  for the iOS devices although there are zillions out there and you should spend some time playing with several to suit your needs/personality!

If you need to create a number of QR codes, say you're making a self-checking workstation, then using this
formula is really handy (directions for setting this up is in my presentation above).
  =image("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=150x150&cht=qr&chl=" & A2)

Additional resources for QR Codes in the Classroom
http://www.schrockguide.net/qr-codes-in-the-classroom.html
http://www.pinterest.com/tabithacarro/qr-codes-in-the-classroom/
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/qr-codes-explained-and-ideas-for.html#.UrSCe_RDvh4

So, start out the year with a new tool in your toolkit! You'll be glad you did! Leave a comment and let us know how you're using QR codes in the classroom!

Google in Education Online Courses

Google has released several self-paced online courses designed to help you meet your teaching and learning

goals. For teachers in Spring Branch, the following courses would be most beneficial:
Google Drive for Educators
Chrome and Chromebooks for Education
Internet 101

By registering for the course, you can track course progress and take the assessment(s).
To received district PD credit for taking the course, simply request out of district credit in Workshop and attach documentation.

Formpl.us - Add File Uploads to your Google Forms!

Wow! Have you ever wanted to have people actually attach a file to a Google Form? Form+ (Formpl.us) does just that. Watch Randy Rodgers short video and learn how! It's as easy as adding the Form+ app and creating a form!  I can see teachers really enjoying this capability. Students could attach Word documents, pdfs, pictures, and more...

AND, a big plus - you can access the Camera Roll and Camera on an iOS device! So, teachers could use these forms to collect work done non-digitally at a workstation!
Thanks Miguel Guhlin for sharing!

Voice Commenting in Google Docs! Can it get any easier?

Collaborators can now comment on documents in Google Docs which is a terrific feature for classroom teachers! How? You'll need to install the free app Learn.ly to your account, open the file differently, click record, and then share the recording with collaborators. It is really easy. Watch this brief video which walks you through the process!

Google Takeout! Where have I been?

I just found out about Google Takeout today from Brian Gray of St. Stephen's Episcopal School! Google Takeout lets you take your data our of your Google products in one fell swoop or bit by bit! What does this mean for SBISD? This service will provide a viable way for our graduating (and exiting) students and/or staff to take their Google portfolio of work with them! And, it is EASY!

Go to http://google.com/takeout. You'll be prompted to login to your account. Then, you'll be in Takeout! Determine if you want all of your data from all of the listed services, or select Choose services from the menu and select your desired data. You can even select just a folder or two!










Click the download button. You can also request to receive an email once the download file is ready for download to your computer.

From here download the zip file. Your data is in portable and open formats. It should be easy to import to other services or into your personal Google accounts.






This seems to be just what our exiting students need to retain their work! We should also use this at the end of 5th grade for our students when they migrate to the mysbisd.com domain from the e.mysbisd.com domain.

Managing your Classroom with Google Apps

When SBISD became a Google Apps district, we were so excited because it is a great tool for collaboration (and more). It moved a suite of tools to the clouds for easy access from most devices. Teachers and students could share documents, presentations and more without needing to send through email. But, I never really thought about how challenging it might be for a teacher - particularly a secondary teacher with 5-7 classes - to manage classes and student submissions until a physics teacher at Memorial High School mentioned it early last fall.


Managing Workflow
After our discussion, it was clear to see that teachers might want need a way to manage the influx of products created and shared by students. Looking for solutions, I came across Hapara in the Google Apps Marketplace. Hapara has a wonderful interface for teachers and can help manage not only submissions, but offers additional features for managing email, Internet browsing and more! We are currently piloting it with a small group of teachers, but I'm not certain that it will be something we can afford district-wide.

What else is there? Recently, Carrie shared this Free Technology for Teachers written by Richard Byrne post on gClassFolders with me which, while not Hapara, would certainly be a better solution than nothing at all! gClassFolders is a Google Spreadsheet script that creates folders for you for any number of course sections. It creates a series of folders that will assist you with the management of the Google Apps classroom.

The video and this detailed printable sheet do a great job of walking you through the process of setting up your spreadsheets and running the script. I encourage you to spend a few minutes of your time on this post.

If the idea of running and managing scripts is overwhelming for you at this point, then here's another way to manage the workflow. Create and share (view only) a PickUp folder for each section. (If you haven't already added your classes to your Google Contacts, then follow this process. Then, sharing with each class is a breeze.) Then, create another folder for StudentWork for each section. Have each student create a folder with the section/period number and their name (ex: per2-KJustl) and share it with you. Once you have the folders in your Shared with Me list, drag them into the matching StudentWork folder. Then, when students add their work to the folder, you will be able to access it easily.

Here's another option. Holly Davis, one of our elementary teacher also shared that she creates a shared "drop"folder each week and color codes them for her reference. Here's her process:  "I create a weekly folder for each class with the date as the title then homeroom.  Having the date first keeps me organized.  I then color code the folders for each week.  As students share work with me, I drag it into the folder.  When I read, I mark the yellow star and comment.  The yellow star tells me at a quick glance that I've responded to their work."

Project/Product Workflow
It could be that you are just looking for a way to deal with project submissions when offering students choice. You might like a way to collect all of the links in one place rather than receiving a hundred emails from students with their links. Or, maybe you are trying to collect project embed codes so you can embed student work on a blog or website. Think about creating a Google Form! Create fields for student(s) name(s), period/class, project title, and embed code and any other desired information. Then, save as a template so that you can  create a copy for each project and post the link on a class blog or webpage.

Got some ideas/processes for handling workflow of your own? Looking forward to hearing from you!

Stupeflix Studio Update

Just noticed that one my first blog post on this blog was about Stupeflix Studio. Well, it is time for an update!  Stupeflix makes it really easy to mix photos, videos, music or voice to create stunning videos in seconds!We are no longer limited to the 1 minute limit for a free video! Spring Branch has purchased 15,000 accounts for teaching and learning! Teachers join the domain and are granted teacher privileges. Students join the domain and then teachers select their students to bring into their classroom! Teachers can then see student videos and projects without going elsewhere! Here's a brief video to explain the process!