Google Educator Certification - Docs and Drive (Session 6)

We're now up to Lesson 8 of the Docs and Drive Level 2 training. This is a huge lesson, so it is probably best to cover it in a number of sessions.

Today we will look at the first section Sharing, Privacy, Printing, and Publishing.

We will continue to take notes on our collaborative document, and don't forget to share classroom ideas.

Google Educator Certification - Docs and Drive (Session 4)

Today we will be looking at Lesson 5 and Lesson 7 of the Docs and Drive Level 2 training. Lesson 5 deals with Slides, the presentation tool, and Lesson 7 looks at the Google Drawing tool. We'll leave lesson 6 until next week, as it deals with Forms, and I think it would be best to dedicate an entire session to this.

We will continue to take notes on our collaborative document, and don't forget to share classroom ideas.

Now that we will soon be on holidays, I'd suggest that you should take the time to complete your Google Basics Exam, and get your certificate. I heard some good advice from the Google Education Podcast - When completing your Google exams, using Google is not cheating.

Google Educator Certification - Docs and Drive (Session 5)

Today we will be looking at Lesson 6 of the Docs and Drive Level 2 training. This lesson deals with Google Forms. A Google form is an information collection tool. The information is collected in a Google sheet, which makes it a sinch to analyse.

We will continue to take notes on our collaborative document, and don't forget to share classroom ideas.

Locking down Facebook

Being an education professional mean maintaining a professional profile, and many education institutions believe that your public image impacts upon that professional profile. Social networking sites have become a big part of your public image, and, if you don't manage them properly then they could have a significant impact upon your professional profile.

This short video explains the current privacy setting on Facebook.

Edvertisement: Google Ate My Excuses

How to set this up

I believe that the best practice for setting up sharing with students in Google Drive is to have them create a folder for you class, and then share that folder with you. This normally takes 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning of the the subject.

Once the folder has been shared, anything that the student creates in that folder, you automatically have access to.

The video below show the steps needed to make this happen.

Tips: Resetting your student's passwords

At our College, students have a number of different passwords, and, inevitably, they will forget them from time to time. Fortunately, as a teacher, you have the ability to reset two of these.

When you do rest them, remind students their passwords will need at least:

• 8 characters
• An uppercase letter
• A lowercase letter
• A number
• A symbol (like * $ . ! etc)

myBCE Account

Student's myBCE is provided by Brisbane Catholic Education and is used by students to access their email. The video below show you how to reset this password.

Google Apps for Education

The College provides students with a Google Apps for Education account. This account is used for students to access their Google Drive and other Google services. The video below show you how to reset these passwords.

Edvertisement: PowToon

PowToon in a web based presentation tool. It is simple to use tool has powerful animation effects, resulting in quite beautiful animations. PowToon allows you to upload voice-overs, and has a library of background music.

Using in the Classroom

The obvious use for PowToons is presentations, and students find it simple to use.
Our year 8 ICT used PowToons for an anti-bullying task. Using easy to find tutorials, they produced presentations of the quality below.

Getting Started

To start, go to www.powtoon.com. This is a freemium service and you can sign-up for free using your Google account. The free account has some limited services, but provides plenty of material for students to use.

The video below shows you how to use PowToon.

Google Educator Certification - Docs and Drive (Session 3)

Today with our Google session we will be looking at Lesson 4 of the Docs and Drive Level 2 training.

This lesson introduced Google Sheets, which is the Google Apps spreadsheet tool. Since the lesson assumes a little understanding of spreadsheets, first we might look at what spreadsheets are.

We will continue to take notes on our collaborative document, and don't forget to share classroom ideas.

Edvertisement: Chrome Apps and Extensions

Google Chrome is the world's most used browser for many reasons, and two of those reasons are Apps and Extensions. So what are they?

Apps

Apps are in-browser applications. That means that they are build in the web infrastructure (HTML 5, java etc), but more and more are becoming usable off-line. They are comparable to phone apps, programs that run within the Chrome.

An example of the Chrome App is the Biodigital Human which is a 3D anitomical model in which lets you explore all the body systems. You can turn systems on and off, zoom in, turn labels on and off. Look at the video below to see what I mean.

Extensions

Extensions are little add-ons which make Chrome easier to use. They may provide you with short cuts to web services you use, or spell and grammar check you on-line typing. Again there are is an huge range, so your best bet is to go look at them.

Using in the Classroom

Apps and extensions are so diverse, that the classroom opportunities they present are astounding. I would suggest that if you are looking for tool for you class, to go to the Chrome Web Store and search for that type of tool. You will most likely find something to meet you needs.

To give you a taste, I've included links to some apps and extensions that you might find useful for teaching:

Apps

• 3D Functions Plotter  an on line application to plotting two-variable real functions and integral and derivatives calculations.
• 3D Solar System Simulator is what it says it is
• Ancient History Encyclopaedia a website that provides free peer-reviewed ancient history information
• Biodigital Human a 3D anatomical model
• Cal Concentration a handy calculator for preparing solutions and buffer
• ChemReference: Periodic Table a powerful periodic table and chemistry reference tool.
• Chords Free ear training application
• Geograbra is free dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education 
• Lucidchart for Education diagramming software
• Planetarium An interactive sky map for exploring the stars and planets
• Ray Optics Simulation simulates reflection and refraction of light
• TimeMaps: World History Atlas easily navigate to any time and place in history. 
• Timer is a simple timer with countdown and count up features

Extensions

• 1 Click Timer is a quick countdown timer
• Adblocker blocks ads from appearing on pages in Chrome
• Awesome Screenshot captures a whole page or any portion for annotation and sharing
• Clearly makes blog posts, articles and webpages clean and easy to read
• Creative Commons Flickr Search searches Flickr for images and videos licensed under a Creative Commons license.
• Diigo Web Collector bookmarks, archives, screenshots & markups webpages
• Extension Defender provides malware protection for Chrome extensions
• Google Dictionary lets you view definitions easily as you browse the web.  
• Grammarly for Chrome a grammar and spell checker for the web
• Hola Better Internet lets you access websites which are block via countries
• Print Friendly & PDF removes ads, navigation and junk before printing of saving to pdf
• Read&Write for Google Text-to-Speech engine for Google Chrome 
• Save to Google Drive saves web content to your Google Drive
• Search by Image allows you to initiate a Google search using any image on the web

How do I get started?

The two thing that you will need to use Chrome's Apps and Extensions is to have installed Google Chrome onto you computer, and to have a Google Account. 

Once you have done that, go to the Chrome web store, and then adding apps and extensions is as simple as one click. If you want more information, watch the playlist below.

Google Educator Certification - Docs and Drive (Session 2)

Today is day two on Level 2 training for the Google Educator Certification. Last week we got through lessons one and two, so today we will start with lesson 3.

Don't forget that we have our collaborative note taking document. There is also a collaborative document to share any classroom ideas that you think of during the sessions.

1000 Views

Just a quick post to celebrate this blog ticking over the 1000 views mark.  What I find really interesting is that a blog written to share information to my work colleagues in Australia, has had so many international viewers.

The international audience include people from:

• United States
• Germany
• Switzerland
• France
• Malaysia
• Poland
• Indonesia
• Ukraine
• Spain
• Belgium
• Lithuania
• Cyprus
• Macedonia
• China
• Canada
• Argentina

Thanks to all of you for your support.

Edvertisement: Soundation

The ease of music creation in Soundation means it lend itself to a wide range of possible uses. It is quick and easy to make music. The loops are all in key with each other, and adjust their speed to the set BMP, so it is just click and drag.

This is the service that I used to create the background music for the Edvertisment videos. The footage for the Edvertisement video above was the entire production of the song below.

Soundation is also powerful enough to create complex pieces of music. Unlimited tracks, effects and automation will please the most demanding composer. Soundation is a freemium service, which means that you can pay for more features. These features include extra loop libraries, and the capacity to record straight into Soundation.

Using in the Classroom

Soundation uses fall into two categories. The first use is as a source of music for production purposes. Soundation creaes royalties free music that can for use in anything which requires a backing track. A second way I've had students use Soundation is for them to create backing tracks that they can then rap over or sign over. I have found this effective in with some students whom I was struggling to engage.

How do I get started?

You can get to Soundation by going to soundation.com. You can create an account, or just log in using your Google account. The site has a pretty good 'How to' section, including some helpful videos.

Do I need a paid account?

The two reasons you would have a paid account is more loops, and being able to record straight into Soundation. I have used Soundation for many years, without a paid account and this is why. The number of loops available provide plenty of scope for a wide range of music, so I see no need to buy more. Secondly, to record, download the wav file, import it into a free audio software (like audacity) and record in there.

Google Educator Certification - Docs and Drive (Session 1)

Today we start on the Level 2 training for the Google Educator Certification. Each course is fairly long, and very comprehensive, so I am uncertain as to how long this will take. 

We are going to start with the Docs and Drive course. To assist in the training I have created a document for collaborative note taking. There is also a collaborative document to share any classroom ideas that you think of during the sessions.

Finally, following on from our two sessions on Google Basics you might want to take the Basics Exam. Upon completion your certificate will be emailed to your account. Therefore, you might want to log into your personal account to take the exam.

Edvertisement: Google Earth

Using in Class

Google Earth has an extensive array of classroom applications. It can be used for everything from exploring the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and teaching geologic map interpretation, through mapping global energy consumption or glacial change, to mapping journeys from literature or exploring "All Quite on the Western Front".

Basically, if your subject involves the world, then there is probably a way that Google Earth can enhance your teaching, and the tour feature would be fantastic for multimodal presentations.

How to get started

Google Earth is a desktop application, which you will need to install on your computer. You will need to download it form this site.

Once you have installed the program you will need to know how to use it. The playlist below has six videos which introduce you to Google Earth.

Resources

Now, armed with your new understanding of Google Earth, it's time to look at applying it to your classroom. I think the best place to start is the Google Earth Section of the Science Education Resource Center website. Beyond that there are countless other websites and resources, below I have collated a sample of some of them, but if you really want to explore, just search for Google Earth Lessons.

• Google Earth Tour Builder
• Google Earth for Educators
• Google Earth for Educators: 50 Exciting Ideas for the Classroom
• Google Earth Lessons

Google Educator Certification Training (session 2)

Welcome to the second session of the Google Educator Certification training. For those who were not here last week, the plan is for these to be support sessions where we, a a group, work towards becoming Google Educators. The idea is for use to work through the training offered at the Google for Education site.

Initially we are working through the basics videos on six Google tools. Last week, we covered Docs and Drive, Search, and Sites.

This week we will look at:

• Calendar
• Chrome
• Gmail

Don't forget, that as we work through these tools, we're trying to keep a record of ideas for their classroom application using this document, and links to all websites we discus will be kept on the Tuesday Arvo Sessions Diigo group. There is a permanent link to both of these resources in the blog sidebar.

Google Educator Certification Training

This is the first session of the Google Educator Certification training. These sessions are designed so, as a group, we can support each other as we work to become Google Educators. We will be working through the training provided by Google on their Google for Education site.

The first couple of sessions will be used to familiarise ourselves with various Google tools, and to discuss their us in the classroom.

Today we will focus on the Basics Tutorials for:

• Docs and Drive
• Search
• Sites

To keep a record of these discussions, and to assist fellow staff members who could not attend the training, we'll fill out this document.

In addition, any links that we have discussed during these sessions will be available at the Tuesday Arvo Sessions Diigo group.

Edvertisement: Auphonic

Using in the Class

Auphonic could be a useful tool for both teachers and students in any scenario where a voice is being recorded. It would be very useful when students are doing voice over presentations, videos, screen-casts or radio/podcasts.

The mobile apps, make the use so easy, and can also be used to record in the field.

The best thing is that it is very effective. I started using this tool in response to improve the audio of the Edvertisement, with excellent results.

Getting Started

Web Version

To access Auphonic just go to their website, and sign up using your email. The video below will show you how to use Auphonic.

The Web version of Auphonic doesn't record the voice straight from the computer. Rather it processes an audio file that you upload. If you are not sure how to record audio on your computer, then check out the links below:

• Windows 8.1
• Windows 7
• Mac

Mobile Vesion

You can also get it for the iPhones and iPads and for Android devices. For the most part these tools have the same features as the web version, with two differences.

The first is a plus. The tool records for the user, so there is no need to use another app to record. Although, there is the ability to process audio recorded by other apps.

The second difference is a negative, in that you cannot access the download the processed file onto you device for the use with other apps. You will need to use a PC for that.

Edvertisement: Referencing

Using in Class

These tools help users collate their references whilst writing and researching. When users have finished their work, the tools will generate a bibliography for the end of the document. Both tools allow for different styles of referencing, including APA, and allow for different types of sources.

There is one notable difference. The Word tool requires users to enter the source details.  With the Google Docs tool, the user enters the source and the tool searches the web for the details. At the time of writing, the Google Doc tool has no way to manually enter details, although the developers have promised it soon.

Getting started

Microsoft Word

Word comes with a built in referencing tool, all you have to do is start using it. The video bleow show you how to use the referencing tool in 2013.

Google Docs

To use the referencing tool in Google Docs you first need to install the add-on from EasyBib. The video below show you how to install and use the EasyBib tool.

Edvertisement: Hemingway App

Using in class

Both teachers and students can benefit from the Hemingway App.

Teachers can use it to ensure that their texts are clear and easy to understand. The readability score indicates the minimum reading level needed to understand the text. This can help teachers write at the correct level.

Students can use the Hemingway App to check the style of their work. Highlighting the hard to read sentences assists students in getting their message across. Encouraging boldness and clarity will enhance any persuasive text.

This article explains the theory behind the app.

Getting started

The Hemingway App is one of the easiest eLearning Tools to use. Go to www.hemingwayapp.com, delete the place-holder text, and paste in your own. The app will analyse and highlight your text.

Hovering over the highlights provides suggested remedies for passive voice, and complicated phrases.

The panel on the right provides a readability score, some simple analysis. There you will also find controls to turn different highlights on and off.

Edvertisment: Tricider

Using in class

Tricider's three of features suggest different classroom activities.

The ideas posting allows for easy brain storming. Not only can students quickly add ideas, but there is ample space to write a detailed explanation of their ideas. Ideas can also contain pictures and URL links.

The pros and cons section allows students to argue the idea's merits. The students are required to designate their statement as a pro or a con, which eliminates fence sitting. Students can put forward a number of arguments.

Finally the voting section allows students to put their support behind an idea. The more popular ideas will move to the front.

In addition, Tricider allows you to ask multiple questions within one Tricision (yes, that's what they are called). Here is an example of a Tricision using multiple questions.

If you want to see a  lesson which uses this tool, then check out this post.

Getting Started

To get started, go to the Tricider website. You can create an account using your Goolge login. You don't have to create an account, although having an account makes it easier to manage your different Tricisions.

The video below gives you a simple overview of how Tricider works.

Lighten the Draft Marking Load

It is around this time every term where you can see teachers disappear under piles of drafts. Over the years I have developed an approach which reduces the amount of time I spend of drafts.

The process aids students in correcting their own grammatical errors. This allows me to focus on the content of the documents. There are many ICT tools which can support this process, and I've included them below.

The Drafting Process

Step 1 - Spell and Grammar and style check

The student must spell and grammar check the document. If I get a document with red or blue lines under the words, I give it straight back to the. Students are also encouraged to use readability tools to check the style of their writing.

Step 2 - Text to Speech Recital

Using a text to speech tool (depends on the type of document), the student must listen to their entire document read back to them. In doing this they will hear what they have actually written, not what they think they have written.

Step 3 - Peer Review

They have to share their document with another student, who reads it and leaves comment. These comments are evidence that their peer has read the document.

Step 4 - Submit for draft check

After completing the three prior steps, the student can now submit their draft for checking.

The ICT Tools

There are many ICT tools which can support this process. Which tools you use will depend upon how the student created the document.

Below is the presentation that I show my students when I explain my draft process. I have slides for both Word and Google Docs. Feel free to copy this presentation and adjust it for your needs.

Edvertisement: Voice Over Presenations

How to do this

PowerPoint

With PowerPoint you can record within the program.  The video below shows you how.

Prezi

Prezi is a little more complicated. First you need to record the audio and get it onto your computer. 

Here's a couple of ways you can do this:

• Most phones come with a simple audio recording app, or you can add one. You can then email the recording from you phone to your computer.
• All Windows computers have a sound recorded installed (just type "sound recorder" into the search box). You need to make sure that you have a microphone (most laptops have them built in).

The video below will show you how to add the voice over.

Edvertisement: Diigo

Using Diigo in Class

There are so many classroom applications for Diigo, mostly because it has so many features and these features can be used to create a myriad of classroom experiences.

Bookmarking

The core feature of Diigo is it's ability to bookmark websites and centralise these in the cloud. This means that your bookmarks are available from any device with Internet access.  Put simply, Diigo is the best way to gather and organise your online resources. All the sites you have bookmarked are added to your Diigo Account, along with a description and any tags you add. The description and tags are used for searching in your account.

This video shows you basics of using Diigo.

To see an example of using Diigo in class, check out my Lesson: Researching Sacred Stories post.

Annotating

Diigo goes beyond merely bookmarking a site. Diigo, also enables you to highlight web pages, and comment on them. These highlights and comments are also collated into you account where you can view them. This way you can view all the notes you have collected from each website.

Groups

Groups are a powerful organising and collaboration tool. Groups can be private or public to allow for many users to collaboratively build a library of online resources. There are different levels of collaboration, allowing you to decide the level of participation for different group members.

Lists

Lists are Diigo's tool for displaying your bookmarks. You can send bookmarks to a list that you can then share to different platforms. Lists are only only for display purposes, but are a simple way to embed an up-datable sources of bookmarks.

Educators Account

Diigo also offers a free educator account. This account gives you access to a teacher console where you can create accounts for your students and allocated them to groups.

Mobile Apps

Finally Diigo has apps for both Android and iOS. This means that you, or students can use Diigo's features on your phones or tablets.

Getting Started

To get started with Diigo, go to the website an create an account. You can use Google, Facebook, Twitter or Yahoo accounts, or create an account using your email address. Once you have created your account, then it is time to start bookmarking.

The easiest way to bookmark in Diigo is to install either Diigolet, or the Diigo Extension in your browser. The tools can be found here. There is a tool available for every browser.

Sharing Files and Folders using Google Apps

The short video below show how share files and folders using Google Apps.

Keeping track of student work

I normally keep track of students' work using Google Sheets and make the sheet available online. I have found this useful in three ways:

1. I can easily, visually identify students who are falling behind.
2. Students can check if they are up to date.
3. Parents can check if their children are up to date.

To streamline the process, I have created a blank student work submission template. All you need to do it add student names and task names. 

You can record students submitting work by entering the following numbers in the appropriate cells, the cells will automatically change colour.

• Enter 0 for work not submitted, turns the cell red
• Enter 1 for work submitted, but with problems, turns the cell amber
• Enter 2 for work submitted, turns the cell green

To get a copy, sign-in to your Google Account, open the template, and then choose File > Make a copy.

The video below shows you how to delete the instruction box.

Introduction to Google Apps

Links

Google Apps Resources

Planning Sheet

Introductory Video Tutorials

Edvertisement: Feedly

Using Feedly in education

Feedly's ability to bring timely information to the user, and allowing them to save it, open a host of possible uses.

The most obvious use is professional development. With a range of news feeds it is easy to stay up-to-date, and with the capacity to add blogs from fellow educators, you can continue to develop your pedagogy.

In the classroom, Feedly can provide the latest information in your subject area. It can be a source of articles for your students to analyse. Encourage students to create their feeds.

Finding sources

Feedly already has connections to many great sources. Just click on add content.

If you're looking for education sources, TeachThough (itself a blog), has a list of 31 top education blogs. Check it out here.

If you are on a site with this symbol. It means that you can subscribe to updates from it. Just click on the symbol and copy the URL into Feedly's search and you should be able to add that feed.

Getting started

To start, go to http://feedly.com and sign in using your Google account.

You will want to find some sources, so subscribe to some things that might interest you. A word of warning from my personal experience, don't go overboard. Your feed should now populate. 

Feedly has both Android, and iOS apps. There are also many other apps which can display your Feedly feeds, on a number of devices. The full list can be found here.

Finally, the video below will give you more of a detailed introduction.

Tools: Cram

Flash Cards are a tried and tested method to help remember things. Students have probably been using these since the days of papaya, so it is not surprise that there are digital options.

Cram is a simple site which allows the user to make flash cards. That is all it does, and it does it well. 

The interface is nice, clean and easy to use. The cards can allow for inclusion of images, and the user can create three sided cards (the third side is for hints).

In addition to creating your own flash cards, there is a whole collection of card sets created and shared by other users.

The cards can be viewed on the web, or via iOS and Android apps. If you really want to be old school, you can print the cards out as well.

You can log in using Google, Facebook or Twitter accounts, or you can create you own account with email.

Edvertisement: Video Ant

Using Video Ant in class

Video Ant's annotation can be used a number of ways in class. The teacher can identify important points in a video, or students can analyse a video an mark important findings.

The collaboration feature works on two levels. Firstly, it enables students to work together annotating the same video. In addition, it allows people to comment on others' annotations.

Video Ant works with Youtube, HTML 5 and Flash videos, which covers most videos found on the web.

Below is an example of a Video Ant which is analysing emotive language in a news report.

Getting Started

To start using Video Ant go to ant.umn.edu

You can sign in using your Google, Facebook or Twitter account, or you can use the service as a guest.

The video below will show you how to use Video Link.

Edvertisement: Thinglink

Using ThingLink in Class

ThingLink has many uses in class. I have already written about it's use as an interactive infographic tool. If you, or your students analyse images in anyway, then ThingLink can be used.  Below is a ThingLink where I have analysed a graphic design using the CARP principles.

Getting started

To start using ThingLink, go to www.thinglink.com.

You can sign in using you're Google, Facebook or Twitter accounts. I would recommend Google, for ease of getting through school filters.

The interface is pretty straight forward, but the video below by Hisham Alaoui should help you through.

Lesson: The Heroes' Dinner Party

Details

Subject: Religion and Ethics

Grade: 11

Tools: 

Focus Question: What would your hero do?

The Lesson

This was the final lesson preparing students to write an article on their chosen hero. The students had been researching their chosen hero, and were aware that they would be role playing as their hero during the lesson.

Prior to the lesson, I had created four chat rooms. using Neat Chat!. Neat Chat is a simple website where you can make temporary Chat-rooms. Each chat-room was to be a virtual 'dinner-table' where the heroes would converse.

I used tab.bz in Chrome to packed these rooms and email them to the students (although you could use any LMS, or site, or blog for this). I had also prepared questions to ask my dinner guests.

The students entered, were allocated a chat-room, and then the conversations started. I've included some extract from the conversations below.

Initially the guests explained why they have been invited to the heroes dinner.

On Australian Indigenous health

On removing national parks protection

On raising children

Follow Up

The following lesson the students were writing about their hero's life. Hopeful, with a deeper insight into who they were.

Edvertisement: Google Drive

Getting a Google Account

For my colleagues, the College has a Google domain. If you're not sure of your account details, then speak to IT services.

For everyone else, or if you want a private account, Google accounts are free. Just go to Google and in the top right-hand corner is where you will find your Google account details, and / or sign-up.

Google accounts can also be used to access many more Google services and many third-party services.

Using Google Drive in class

I will be posting about the use of Google drive throughout this year, but if you want some ideas now, I would suggest checking out some of the thinks below:

Google Documents for Teachers
40 Ways to Start Using Apps in Schools
Google Tools for Schools: Google Drive and Docs
The Google Educast

Collaborative Research Tools

Collaborative research allows the class to assist each other in finding sources. It also make life a little easier on the teacher, as you now have 30 people scouring the web looking for resources instead of one. Not that this makes you redundant. Students will still need to be show the best way to search, and how to critique their sources. Here I have included a number of eLearning tools which can facilitate collaborative research.

Diigo

Diigo is the first tool I turn to for collaborative research. It is one of the kings of social book-marking and offers some fantastic features. Diigo can be accessed using Google, Facebook, Twitter or Yahoo accounts, or you can create you own Diigo account. It also offers free educators accounts, which allow you to automatically set up student accounts and classes.

When I use Diigo, I create a Library for that topic and then add my students to that library (made easier by the education accounts). Students then research the topic and add bookmarks to the library.

Diigo also allows for students to highlight text on a website, and add annotations. These highlights and annotations are also added to the library. All members of the library can access the bookmarks, highlights and annotations. In addition they can add comments, and 'like' bookmarks. The highlighter is especially useful as it supports note-taking methods.

Diigo offers browser tools that make this process almost painless. It also offers many other features such as tag clouds, library searches, screen captures, read-it-later services, and web-based notes.

I love Diigo, but the amount of time needed for set-up and familiarisation means that it is best suited for long reseach tasks.

Pros: Many features; extensive collaboration; highlighting supports note taking techniques, tagging
Cons: A bit of set-up is required; students require accounts; familiarisation required

Pearltrees

Pearltrees is an interesting take on social book-marking. When you bookmark in Pearltrees you place those bookmarks in within a tree diagram. This allows you to categorise your bookmarks as you go along.

The nature of Pearltrees puts it somewhere between brainstorming and researching. These features, combined with it's collaboration ability, provides many classroom opportunities. For example, a new pearl could be created and shared with the class for a brainstorming storming session. Students can then assess the brainstorming results to distil a group of topics to research. Then the students can then research the topics adding the bookmarks to the Pearltree.

You can access Pearltrees with a Google, Facebook, or Twitter account, or you can create a Pearltrees account. Pearltrees has a browser tool (Pearler) that makes it easier to add pearls to your tree. Pearls are really easy to move around and copy.

Peartrees looks great and really helps students visualise relationships. It could work well for general research and for tasks where categorising is important.

Pros: Visually appealing; collaborative; categorising
Cons: A bit of set-up is required; students require accounts; familiarisation required; no highlighting

Padlet

Padlet (formerly Wallwisher) may be the least powerful of these tools, but it makes up for that in it's ease of use and speed of set-up. Padlet is essentially an online post-it board where people can add virtual post-it notes.

It is brilliant for a quick brainstorm, but it's ability to post URLs (web links) to it means that it can also be used to research. When you add a URL to the wall, Padlet embeds the relevant info from that page and adds it to the post-it.

Padlet doesn't have any of the more powerful features, and the wall can get quite crowded, so it's really not suited for any serious research. Never-the-less, you can go from having nothing to have student collaboratively posting research on-line in less than an minute. Just go to padlet, click create wall, type a title, and give the students the URL for the page.

Padlet doesn't require you to have an account to create or use walls, although having an account makes sure you never loose your walls. Log in using your Google account, or create a Padlet account. The best thing is, students will not need an account, you just give them the URL.

Padlet is a gem for quick research, or to expand on that 'techable moment'.

Pros: Realtime collaborative; quick; no accounts required
Cons: Few features; gets crowded

Lesson: Researching Sacred Stories

Details

Subject: Religion and Ethics
Grade: 11
Tools: Diigo
Focus Question: What are some examples of sacred stories?

The Lesson

The class is ready to prepare for their assessment. The students will be rewriting a sacred story into a modern day equivalent. The first step of that process is finding a story to rewrite, and that is the purpose of this lesson.

Previously we have used Diigo, so all the students have an account. If you haven't used Diigo, students can sign in using Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Yahoo accounts, or just create a stand alone Diigo account. Diigo also offers teacher accounts which assist in managing your class groups.

I created a Diigo group called Sacred Stories and provided the students with the URL. Once I approved their application the students then started book marking examples of sacred stories they found on the web.

Some of the sites bookmarked were a little off the mark. These sites were analysing sacred stories, or talking about the importance of sacred stories, rather than the stories themselves. To address this, I 'liked' all the stories that would be appropriate for the assignment.

Follow Up

The students now have to choose a story from all the 'liked' bookmarks to rewrite.

Tools: Infographic Tools

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends. Inforgraphics can be especially useful for topics which have a great deal of data.

Below is a selection of three tools you and your students can use to make infographics.

Easel.ly

Easel.ly is very aptly named, as it is a simple way to create infographics. It is more focused on graphic design than it is on data analysis. It is the perfect tool for students to create the equivalent of an on-line poster. There is a wide range shapes, objects and themes, as well as the capacity to upload your own images.

Students will require and account, so you will need to allocate some time to set these up.

Using easel.y is equivalent to drawing on a piece of paper. It won't generate anything for you. If you want to put a graph in, then you will have to draw the graph yourself. You can produce quite impressive inforgraphics, but you have to do every bit yourself.

When you are finished you can share the link or embed the infographic in a website.

Easel.ly is a nice easy way to introduce infographics into your class and is especially useful if you don't have to do any number crunching.

Pros: Easy to use, sharing and embedding, templates

Cons: No graph creation, students need accounts

Venngage

Venngage is like the big brother of easlel.ly. The interface is a little more complex, but this site is really about crunching numbers. The emphasis on data is evident in their slogan "Data meets design".

Venngage offers the usual range of shapes, objects, backgrounds and you can upload images, or import from the web. There is limited pre-created themes, although the user can save their own designs as themes. There are a limited number of maps you can use (although, not if you're in Tasmania).

The big place that Venngage stands out is in it's presentation of data. It has two features to express data; pictographs and charts.

The pictographs allows you to easily click and drag the image you want repeated. Then you merely need to double click and choose the number of row, number of columns, and how many units are full.

The chart feature has a wide range of options, from the trusty bar and pie charts through to bullet and tree charts. There is a wide range of them, The best part about the charts is the ease of getting data into them. Upload an excel sheet, choose the worksheet and then drag and drop the data onto the chart.

This tool is powerful enough to provide a wide range of analysis on pretty much any topic. If you have data, you will be able to create an infographic to express it.

Pros: Can represent any data, charts, pictographs
Cons: Limited templates, students need accounts, slightly complex interface

Thinglink

Thinglink is not actually an infographic creation tool, but it's capacity to turn static infographics into interactive ones rates it a mention here.

Basically,Thinglink allows you to place markers on an image. The viewer then interacts with these markers by hovering their mouse over them. The markers can contain text, or can be web links. The web links options allows the image to become very media rich indeed.

Thinglink is very simple to use and produces an interactive image that you can link to, or embed. Students will have to sign-up to create images. Images can be set so they can be modified by anyone, which allows for collaboration, but you can restrict access.

Thinglink allows students to create media rich, interactive infographics, which could be a nice change to PowerPoint for multi-modal presentations.

Pros: Simple, interactive, media rich, collaborative
Cons: Can't restrict collaboration, students need accounts.

Useful Links

• Infographic lesson plans 
• an easelly infographic 
• a thinglink example

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Control Over the Screen

"IMG_4646" by Tom Woodward (licensed CC BY-NC 2.0)

For years I have worked in a computer room that our head of IT services designed with classroom management in mind. There are two distinct design elements he used.

Firstly, where I sit behind all the students and we all face the projector. This may seem a bit weird, but it gives me a very important advantage, I can see all of their screens from my desk. The second designed element is that the computer room has two separate electrical circuits. One of those circuits is for the monitors and is fitted to the kill switch, so at a press of a button, all the monitors go blank.

While these two designs may not be possible in a normal classroom, but they do highlight a very important classroom management concept - having control over the screen. So how can this be applied to the normal classroom?

Viewing the screen

Ok, so talking to the back of your students' heads, or having them turn around to face you, may not be a practice, you wish to use. It is not a big issue for me, as most of my courses are designed with minimal 'face time' from me. 

In practice, viewing a student's screen isn't for when you are in front of the class. Viewing their screens is for when the students are engaged in their task. The time when a teacher traditionally moves around the class observing students' work. During this time it is really helpful to have students arranged so that you can easily see their screens. I even go as far as to state it explicitly "Please turn your laptop so I can see it.". 

How you arrange this will be dependent upon your room, it may be easier to mover yourself rather than all the students.

Remove temptation

There are times when you are addressing the class and the students do not need to use the laptop. During these times make it easier for them to focus by removing temptation. 

I remember my teachers saying "pens down", so why not use the digital equivalent? The most commonly used phrase is "Screens at 45 degrees". This means that students tilt their screens down enough that they can't see them, but not far enough to put the laptop to sleep. A colleague of mine has a different take, he tells the students to turn the laptops around to face him.

Conclusion 

Remember, focusing on work is one of the skills that we have to foster in students. Both of these methods will assist you in preventing the students from "digitally wandering off", but, in the end, especially with younger grades, some students will need assistance to focus on their work.

Lesson: Creating Netiquette Rules

Details

Subject: Information Technology Systems
Grade: 11
Tools: YouTube, AnswerGarden, Google Docs, tricider
Focus Question: What is appropriate on-line?

The Lesson

The lesson started watching Beaker's Ballard on YouTube.

We then used AnswerGarden to garner students' experience about inappropriate behaviour on the web.

The concept of Netiquette was introduced by introduce by Will (he's a high school junior) via Youtube. This was expanded on by "The Core Rules of Netiquette" provided by Albion.

The class was then challenged to collaboratively summarise this into a "Netiquette 10 Commandments". Originally this was done using typewith.me, but now I would choose to create a Google Document.

Finally, the video "How to Follow Proper Netiquette Rules" showed the students how generalised 'commandments' can be distilled down to very specific rules. The students were then asked to create specific rules and post them to tricider.

Follow up

For homework students were asked to check over the rules that had been posted on tricider, and vote on them.