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.

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.

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.

Introduction to Google Apps

Links

Google Apps Resources

Planning Sheet

Introductory Video Tutorials

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