Make Google Drive work for you!

At HHS we are using Google Drive for two purposes, which can be hard to distinguish and lead to confusion.

Right-click on any doc
to locate in My Drive

First, we use it for its "original" purpose -- to store and access our Google Apps for Education tools (Docs, Sheets, etc.) online. All our Google documents are stored in "the cloud" and the best way to get to your Google documents is through a browser. BUT, we also use Google Drive as cloud storage for all our other kinds of files (Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, images, videos, etc.), the best ways to get to those is through the desktop app.  Here's how to decide which way to access and use your documents to make sure you are getting what you need how you need it.

Use a browser:

• When you want to open and/or use any Google file 
• When you want to share any kind of file, either by link or by person
• When you want to search for a file whose location you don't remember -- then use "Locate in My Drive" to find it
• When you need to find something that has been shared with you (before you move it to your Google Drive)

  

  Right-click on shared files
  to add to My Drive 

Use the desktop app:

• When you want to open and/or use any non-Google document
• When you are off-line

Some Google Drive tips no matter what you are using it for:

• When someone shares a file or folder with you, add it to your "My Drive" so that you can find it easily, and so you can access it through either a browser or the desktop app
• You can move shared folders around your own Drive but be careful not to move files or documents out of shared folders (or the other people won't be able to see them anymore)
• If you are using Google Classroom a lot, you may want to start converting your non-Google files to Google format to make student access easier
• Stick with using ONE BROWSER for your school Google account and nothing else (don't log in with multiple accounts) to minimize confusion

Here's a diagram of how the desktop app and the browser view communication:

GradeCam app for smartphones

All Homestead teachers have access to a GradeCam account, which allows you to create scantron-

esque multiple-choice assessments and use your document camera and/or the webcam on your laptop to grade (contact the library if you need help with your account).
GradeCam also has an app available for both iOS and Android phones and devices that does much the same. You can create new assignments, view previously created assignments and student results. You can also use the camera on your device to scan student assessments. You'll get a report of the questions missed by each student and can view a graph of student summary results
The app is slow and prone to some of the same issues as the web version, but it's still a helpful tool for grading assessments, especially as finals approach. Check out Gradecam for Android and for iOS.

Tech tools for quick responses

For teachers who are using either Chromebooks or all-class student devices, there are some easy-to-use tools that allow you to gauge the level of understanding in the room, solicit student responses anonymously, and create engaging quick quizzes, exit tickets and more.

GoSoapBox -- http://www.gosoapbox.com/  
GoSoapBox is a web-based clicker tool. Students can interact anonymously, but the teacher can see who said what. It features polls and quizzes, but also a “confusion barometer” to quickly take the pulse of the room. It is limited to 30 students per class (free version) so it may not accept all student participation but it is definitely worth some experimentation.



Socrative -- http://www.socrative.com/

Socrative is similar to GoSoapBox and Kahoot in offering quizzes and quick discussion questions. This used to be very geared toward iPad programs but has become much easier to use with Chromebooks, phones and other devices. You can see live results of student response or have them compete against each other with a Space Race. You can prepare quizzes, questions and materials ahead of time, but there’s also an Exit Ticket feature (which asks how well did you understand the subject, what you learned and a place to “answer the teacher’s question”) that can be used on the fly. 

Formative -- https://goformative.com/

This is a really flexible and interesting tool that allows a variety of responses, including “show your work” with drawing feature, and the ability to embed text, video, images and your own “whiteboard”. You can see a live view of student responses and quickly modify questions or response mechanisms. You can create classes to keep groups organized or just use it without preparation. .

AnswerGarden (https://answergarden.ch/) is another flexible tool that allows anonymous short answers to quick questions and creates a word cloud where the most frequently submitted words or phrases are the largest. A quick and easy way to gauge pre-knowledge or focus on review topics.

Try one of these tools in your classroom!

Managing devices in the classroom

Many teachers are using technology (either school- or student-owned) more and more in the classroom. Here are some recommendations and best practices from teachers on how to manage the devices and the classroom.

Set explicit expectations and processes around using devices.

• Establish a social contract around device use. When is it OK and not OK during your class? Don't leave it to chance. 
• Clarify the vocabulary you use (e.g. "lids closed" vs. "log off" vs. "devices away") so students understand what is expected of them at different points during class. 

For school-owned devices and shared carts: 

• Create a sense of value. Make sure students understand why you are using them in the classroom, what is to be gained from the use and what will happen if they are misused.
• Create a process for getting and replacing Chromebooks (or other devices). Don't have all students get them at once or replace them at once.
• Make sure the same student uses the same device each time (assign a number) to maximize "ownership " and minimize confusion if any damage takes place
• Have one student (a TA or trusted student) manage unplugging and plugging in the Chromebooks and passing them out to the class 
• Model responsible use as a teacher! No food and drink near the devices, don't stack devices or slide them across surfaces, etc.

 Classroom management tips

• Move around the room consistently so you can see what students are working on and minimize off-task behavior
• Teach from the back of the classroom as much as possible
• Change desk layout when using devices for ease of motion and line of sight
• Allow a moment for off-task behavior before using a new tool, especially one involving class collaboration
• Make sure the activity is necessary and engaging! Boring tasks will lead to off-task behavior with or without technology
• Establish logical consequences for undesirable behaviors (loss  of device privileges, clean the devices, etc.) Students can lose privileges to their own devices if they are misusing them during class time. 
• Use Ctrl-Shift-T to re-open closed tabs if students are using inappropriate sites or quickly close tabs when you approach
• Communicate what can be done when the class activity is completed

• For laptops/Chromebooks:
  Lids closed (but not logged off) when not active (For most devices, a "sleep" mode can be quickly revived with a simple login.)
• For phones: face down when not in use (if out)
• Devices flat on desk at all times when in use (not in laps or hands)

Plan ahead for possible issues

•  Appoint tech monitors in class to assist with common issues (students having difficulty logging in, device usability, etc.).  Login issues are usually related to typos in username/password!
• Allow students to help each other
• Use tech-savvy students as support tools
• Always have a backup plan for non-charged devices, non-working websites, network issues, other ideas

Digital skills for teachers

If you are looking for ways to stretch yourself in using technology with and for your students, here's an interesting post from the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning blog (often a useful resource for teachers). It lists 20 digital skills teachers should have, from social networking for professional development to curating online content for students to understanding copyright. Where are you confident and where do you want to grow?

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/33-digital-skills-every-21st-century.html 

"Share to Classroom" Chrome extension

If you are using Google Classroom with your students, you may have noticed a new Chrome feature appear in the last few weeks. A "Share to Classroom" button has been enabled for all teachers and students in the district.

This allows you to quickly take content from the Internet (newspaper articles, blog posts, YouTube videos, etc.) and create Classroom announcements or assignments for any of your Google Classrooms. Just click the "Classroom" icon and choose how you want to share.

If you don't see the Share to Classroom extension next to your, try restarting your browser. If you still don't see it, go to the Chrome Web store, search for "share to classroom" and click "add to Chrome" to manually install it. 

Support for student researchers

If your classes are embarking on research papers this fall, Homestead subscribes to two web-based tools to support the research process (identifying and using sources, organization and synthesizing information, and correctly citing sources).

One, which many teachers have already used. is Noodle Tools. NoodleTools uses virtual notecards on a virtual desktop to help organize research. Each individual notecard has a Main Idea (the title of the card) and sections to quote, paraphrase and make original connections to the source. Each card can be linked to a source in the bibliography, to keep student research organized and allow quotes and ideas to be appropriately cited in the final paper. Notecards can also be tagged and categorized, stacked and sorted on the virtual desktop, and searched and printed. Projects can be shared with teachers, who can view student progress and give feedback.

NoodleTools also has a citation creator, which walks students through the information needed to correct cite a source, and then creates the properly-formatted citation. To use the full subscription version, Homestead staff should log in using their FUHSD accounts via this link.

New this year to Homestead is EasyBib. EasyBib has a free citation generator, which is well known to many students. Its subscription service offers much of the same functionality as NoodleTools, with a slightly different interface and usability. Students and staff should log in using their Google accounts here.

Both are integrated with Google Apps for Education, which means you can create, access and share Google Docs from within the app, and use your FUHSD login to access.

Grading Google Docs with a rubric

Using Google Classroom makes giving formative feedback on student writing very easy, but final grading can be more challenging. Paperless grading using a rubric can be even more daunting. Orange Slice, an add-on for Google Docs developed by a teacher, lets you view a virtual rubric, select grades and automatically process the grade

Here's how to try this out:

1. Go to a Google Doc and choose Add-ons --> Get add-ons. 
2. Search for Orange Slice
3. When you first launch this, you'll create a rubric. Choose your setting for the type of rubric, the skills you are assessing, and the point value.
4. Once the rubric exists, you can modify the content, type and point value, and can cut and paste rubrics from prior assignments (so you only need to create it once). 
5. Then, grade the assignment using the rubric. You can make changes until you process the grade. Once you process, Orange Slice will give you a completed rubric and a a score (either percentage or grade, depending on your settings). 

This is not without its flaws, but it's worth playing with, especially if you're looking to move toward more paperless evaluation. You can read more about it at the developer's Google + page.

Have you used this tool or do you have another solution for rubric grading? Please share!

New resources for research

The library is expanding the resources available to teachers and students on campus. This year we have added two new subscription databases: Gale Opposing Viewpoints and JSTOR.

Opposing Viewpoints covers controversial social issues with a variety of scholarly yet accessible sources. It has some great usability features, including an "add to Google Classroom" one-click option that allows teachers and students to link an article to a Google Classroom post or assignment. This can be a quick way to see the sources students are considering as they research.

By popular demand, JSTOR is also now available, providing access to a variety of scholarly journals, primary sources and books, particularly in humanities and social sciences. JSTOR does a particularly good job of helping students understand the background and context of the sources they're using. It's largely limited to scholarly journals (unlike Gale and EBSCO, another database Homestead subscribes to, which both aggregate consumer publications as well). 

You can try these tools through the Homestead library website.   

Start the year with Google Classroom!

If you are planning to use Google Classroom with students this year, there are some exciting new features. The best is the ability to share assignments from School Loop to one or more Google Classroom(s) quickly and easily. From your School Loop assignment, use the Publish & Google Share button and select from the list of Google Classrooms you manage.  Click here for more about that process from School Loop.

If you haven't yet set up a Google Classroom, Classroom gives you a very manageable way to share assignments and documents with students and give formative and summative feedback on student work. If you are interested in using it, go to classroom.google.com and click on the + sign in the upper right to start your first class.  Google Classroom will walk you through the process of setting up your class. You can have your students enroll using a class code which Classroom provides. Click here for more about Classroom from Google.

A few summer tech PD opportunities

If you have a little time this summer, you may wish to consider some professional development opportunities for new ideas about integrating technology into your curriculum. Here are a few options to check out:

The Santa Clara County Office of Education offers a variety of short (mostly free) sessions on different topics. Some upcoming ones include a tour of Google Classroom, intro to Google Apps and getting the most out of Google Drive, and creating infographics in the classroom. See June's offerings here.

On June 6th, The Harker School and SVCUE hosts the annual Teacher Institute ($20) with a variety of sessions for a variety of levels of comfort with technology. Some of the topics covered this year include more on Google Apps; math games and math modeling; design thinking in the classroom; reinventing summer reading; research skills mini-lessons; teaching with Minecraft and more. Registration is here.

There's also GoogleDriveCore, a two-day workshop covering sharing, use of forms, research, tables, comments, add-ons (like Flubaroo, Flippity and Kaizena), spreadsheet basics and organizing tips and tricks with Google Drive folders and portfolios for students. This is primarily geared for independent schools and is pricey, but Google Apps for Education works the same for public and private schools. Do some exploring and see if any of these work for you!

Searching Google Drive from the desktop app

Once you've made the switch from My Documents to Google Drive, you may miss the ease of searching for documents when you're not sure of the location. If you've been frustrated by the  "no items match your search" response, there's an easy way around it. Just search "libraries" instead of Google Drive (or you can repeat the search in libraries if you forget to start there) and you should see all the files, folders and locations that match your search. It's even smart enough to open a Google Doc in a browser and an MS Word document in Word. Here's a short video to illustrate:

Somewhat counterintuitive, but gets the job done.

Free online Google conference

As you start to plan for next year, you may want to think about more effectively utilizing some of the Google tools available to you and your students.

Here's a free online conference that could get you started. Google Tools: Connect and Communicate is taking place May 16th from 10-3:30 (Eastern time, so that's pretty early for us, but then the day is still young when you are done!). It covers intros to Google Docs, Classroom, power searching, Google Hangouts and connecting with other teachers for your own professional growth. I've seen two of the presenters at other real-life conferences and they are very informative and engaging.

The event is online and free so check it out! Here's a link to more info if you are interested.

Chromebook quirks: changing the languages

On occasion, students may discover that their Chromebook's language is not the one they prefer. It's a pretty easy fix to change it back -- here's a short video showing how. 

Let us know if you have other recurring issues with student Chromebooks. 

Using videos to create complete lessons

If you are interested in flipping your classroom (where students watch the lecture at home and do the work in the classroom), you may be assigning videos as homework. There are a number of tools that let you modify your own videos (or videos from YouTube, Khan Academy and lots of other places) to get better information about how students are interacting with and learning from what they're watching. Two easy-to-use tools are EdPuzzle and Zaption. Both let you crop a video, add your voice and embed quizzes at specific parts of the video for student response. You can also view analytics (student quiz results, time spent on the videos, etc.) for each.

With EdPuzzle, you can log in with your GAFE account, and select a video from wherever you want. Then you crop it to use only the part you like. You can add a vocal overlay, or you can add audio notes (like text notes). You can also add as many embedded quizzes as you like, with open-ended questions, multiple choice, or "comments". EdPuzzle also allows you to set up classes (like Google Classroom) where you can see data on who viewed the video and how they did. Students do need to have an account to join a class (but they can also log in with their GAFE accounts). You can see an example here, although you'll need to join my class to participate.

Zaption is another tool with much the same functionality. It looks a lot like Google Drive in its interface, so it feels familiar and is pretty easy to use, but is intended for a broader market (EdPuzzle seems primarily for education). Zaption does have the option to add videos to a single lesson, so you can have multiple clips from different sources in the same lesson, which is very useful if you really want to flip your classrooms It also does not require that students join a class -- they can simply follow a link and enter their names. Here's a Zaption sample.

Both have "pro" features, which are paid accounts that can enhance functionality, but you can do most everything you might want with a free option.  Check them both out and see which works for you! This video below does a great side-by-side comparison of the two tools as well.

Web-based ways to design beautiful posters and infographics

Made with Canva in 15 seconds

One of the benefits (or limitations) of using Chromebooks and mobile devices in the classroom is our reliance on the design tools of MS Office, like brochures in Word or slide shows in PowerPoint. There are well-known web-based options for presentations, like Google Slides and Prezi for presentations, but there are also some great tools for posters, infographics and more.

Piktochart (www.piktochart.com) and Easel.ly (www.easel.ly) lets you create an infographic, report, banner or presentation graphic from a variety of templates. It provides a huge number of shapes, icons, backgrounds and fonts to beautifully customize a poster or document. You can import and display data in various ways and can even connect an infographic to dynamic data (like a Google Form that continues to populate). It's a good alternative to the design features of the Microsoft suite and an addition to the limited design options available in Google Apps for Education.

Canva (http://www.canva.com) is a beautiful and very easy-to-use option for posters, brochures, and other display formats. It also offers design tutorials, with lessons on using color, fonts, images and backgrounds, and even an introduction to branding.

There are Pro options for Piktochart, Easel.ly and Canva, but most of the features in the free versions are plenty for creative presentation of information.

Google Classroom update

For those of you using Google Classroom to manage and respond to students' assignments, there is a new Classroom app for both iOS and Android, which allows students to view class resources and interact with Classroom from their mobile devices. It's also now on the campus Chromebooks.

Check it out on the App Store for Apple devices or on Google Play for Android. You can also learn more from Google here.

If you want to know more about Google Classroom or other tech tools, please contact the library or sign up for a training here. 

"My Documents" no longer syncing to network

As you've heard, we are now utilizing the greater storage and flexibility of Google Drive over our network server. A few things to be aware of:

After you’ve restarted, you may experience a longer than usual “Welcome” screen while logging in: This means the computer is applying the new policy. Please be patient and be prepared to have a login time that may take from 5 to 20 minutes the first time you log in after you’ve restarted. This delay should only happen once, but if you experience it more than once, please put in a help ticket and we will look into it.

When you open your “My Documents” folder, there will be note at the top of the window stating that some library features are no longer available: This message is stating that the synchronization feature is no longer happening with our server and these files only exist locally on your computer.

The circular green synchronization app in your system tray may give messages that changes you make to any files in “My Documents” have not uploaded: These messages are related to the synchronization feature being disabled on the server’s end, but if you’ve already moved to Google Drive and work from it exclusively, you may not be seeing this message at all.

If you need assistance with installing the Google Drive Sync App or if you still feel you need more Google Drive training, please contact us.

Office 2013 rollout

As you know, we’re rolling out Office 2013 next week. (See the schedule below for when your area will be upgraded.) Here's a very short preview of the small differences between Office 2007 and your new Office suite: 

If you’d like extra training once you’ve gotten a chance to play with it, please sign up here:

http://bit.ly/1AHPxeB

or view some MS Office support videos here for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (especially Calendar basics).

Office Upgrade Rollout Schedule

3/2/15

A Building Downstairs: 6.30 (Office Staff, SpEd Office)

A Building Upstairs: 9.30

3/3/15

B Building Downstairs: 8.30

B Building Upstairs: 10.00

3/4/15

C Building Downstairs: 8.30

C Building Upstairs: 10.00

3/5/15

S Building Downstairs: 8.30

L Building Upstairs: 10.00

3/6/15

All Other Buildings: 8.30

If you are unable to teach without your computer during your floor’s designated timeslot, please let us know and we can schedule another time for you to give us your computer at a later date. If you are a person we’ve notified about getting a new computer, you will receive the Office update when you receive your new computer. We will not be upgrading student lab computers until a later time.

Educational Technology professional development opportunity

Silicon Valley CUE (Computer Using Educators) is holding its annual Teach Through Technology conference at the Harker School in San Jose on Saturday, March 7th from 8-3.

There are some great sessions on Chromebooks in the classroom, digital storytelling, design thinking, Google Apps for Education, technology in science and math classrooms, lots of web-based tools for teaching and learning, and lots more. 

Check out the listing of sessions and speakers at http://www.svcue.net/teach-through-technology.html. If 4 people register together, the 5th one is free. At least one Homestead teacher will be in attendance. Thanks to Andrea Westgate for the reminders!

Technology integration trainings for the spring semester

If you'd like to discover or improve some tech skills to integrate into your curriculum or workflow, check out the tech trainings below. We'll cover easy ways to grade with Google Apps, online video editors for classroom movie-making and other creative tools for students, improving workflow and reducing paper, and blogging with students. Please use the form below to sign up for one or more.

And don't forget to Subscribe to Tech for Teachers by Email

Grading assessments using Google Apps add-ons

One of the challenges of using technology for more formal and informal assessments is managing the grading portion. Even for quick form-driven assessment, grading can be difficult, and giving more meaningful, in-depth feedback can be extremely time-consuming.

Flubaroo is a Google Forms add-on that allows you to automatically grade Google Forms submissions, as either a formative or summative assessment. To get Flubaroo, go to a Google Form, click on add-ons and then go to "get add-ons". Once added, you'll go to add-ons to select and enable it for any form. When you are ready to grade, go to the form's "responses" spreadsheet. Then you can choose "grade assignment" to let Flubaroo work its magic.

You'll select a points value for each of the questions and an "answer key" which is usually the test that you take yourself.

Flubaroo will generate a second tab in the spreadsheet that lists each student's name, contact info, grade received and questions missed. You can even email grades to the students automatically. Pretty quick and easy! Several Homestead teachers are already using Flubaroo for grading Google Forms-based assessments.

For more involved feedback, as with essays and written work, there's Kaizena. Kaizena allows you to give verbal or written feedback on shared documents, grade some or all of student work using a rubric system and link to resources for students that need to re-learn or reinforce key concepts.

Kaizena is automatically enabled for our district; all you have to do is log in. You can create boxes for individual classes or assignments, and students can request feedback by sharing their documents with these boxes. I've included a short tutorial here:

Some teachers here are already using this very effectively. We'll be doing some Kaizena trainings later this year; let me know if you are interested!

Using Google Forms to create online flashcards and quiz games!

Flippity is a Google Form template and web-based tool that allows you or your students to easily create online flashcards and Jeopardy-style quiz games.  By downloading the template and inputting or copying and pasting your own information, you can

Here's an example of flashcards:

Click here to interact!

and of the Jeopardy game (you can name the teams, increase the number to 5, or decrease to 1, and keep score if you wish).

Click here to play!

Get the templates at http://www.flippity.net/