Finding and Using Google Drive Templates

Have you ever wanted to use a template instead of creating a doc from scratch?  Well there is an abundance of them by simply searching for Google Drive Templates.  The sheer number of templates out there is sure to make your mouth water.   This is great if you want your students to search for and find a template which matches their personality and requirements of the project.



Once you or your students search for and click on the link for Google Docs Templates, it will come up with the McLean County Templates Window.

This window indicates there are no McLean County Templates available, but we want the PUBLIC templates. Click on the Public Templates link.  This window will show you numerous templates which can be used immediately within your Google Dive.



Choose from Most Users, to Highest Rating, or select a category specific to the template you are searching for.

Once you have discovered the template you want to click on USE THIS TEMPLATE.  It will open in Google Drive.  Rename your template and place in the folder of your choice.

 

Classroom Users:
If you are working with Google Classroom.  You can save to your drive then send the template of your choice to your students by selecting the make a copy for each student.  Happy Hunting!!!

Google Forms: New Add-Ons Expand Functionality

Google Forms are an efficient, simple way to collect data. Some teachers use it to record data on themselves (i.e. a record of travel, self evaluation, or what I had for dinner last night). Others distribute forms to their colleagues to collect information about a training session, workload, what they had for dinner last night, etc... But most teachers use Google Forms to obtain data from their students. Some ask their kids what their next read aloud book should be. Some administer short formative assessments with Forms. And still others gather their student's thoughts and the best lunches from the cafeteria. Phew, maybe I should not have written this on an empty stomach!

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Google has just announced that developers can start creating Add-Ons to Google Forms to further increase their flexibility and functionality. For instance, one of the first Add-Ons is called g(Math), and it can be used to embed mathematical expressions, graphs, or statistical models into a Google Form.
If you're a math teacher who has wanted to use Google Forms but found the lack of an equation editor a sticking point, this is the Add-On for you! More information about g(Math) can be found here.

 

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formLimiter is another simple Add-On that performs a useful function that was previously missing from Google Forms. With this tool, you have the ability to limit the date and time that the form is available, as well as the number of responses that the form will accept. A good example of how this can be used is if you want to have a sign up for an activity, but can only allow 45 individuals to attend. formLimiter will close down your form once that limit has been reached. More information about formLimiter can be found here.

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docAppender is an intriguing Add-On that allow you to take selected answers from your Google Form and append them to the bottom of  Google Documents.  Using an example is the best way to illustrate how this could be useful.

Let's say that you want to provide feedback to your students on a project that they are working on.  You can share a Google Doc with them (perhaps it has the project rubric on it as well), use a Google Form in class as you observe their work to record your thoughts and observations, and when you submit the Google Form, the answers to your Form questions will be appended automatically to the bottom of the Google Doc that is shared with the kids.  And what is great about this method is that you can choose which questions from your form get appended to the Google Doc.  That means that you have have questions whose answers remain private to you, only showing up in the responses spreadsheet.  Administrators could use this method with walkthroughs.  Special Education teachers could use this method to collect data on their students by having each teacher fill in the form and then sharing the resulting Google Document when those who need it (possibly even the student).

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Google Forms are incredibly powerful and the addition of Add-Ons will only expand their functionality and range of uses. There are other very exciting Add-Ons that will be discussed in future Teacher's Corner posts. For more details, you can view the official Google post here.

Use Tech to Connect with Parents and Students

It's hard to argue against relationships.  They are the cornerstone of education; from Kindergarten through Senior year.  Positive relationships start with and are nurtured through communication.

 

Face to Face when you can, Technology when you cannot.  Without a doubt, nothing replaces or is better than face to face communication.  This applies to your students as well as their parents.  In elementary school, this face to face communication with students lasts most of the school day.  As kids move into junior high and then high school, the individual contact with their teachers starts to diminish.  This is where solid communication tools offer great educational benefits to the teacher.  Here are a few ideas for keeping up the communication with students.

• Having an online component to your classroom using CMS or Google Classroom that is accessible 24/7.


• Sharing a folder with students using Google Drive that contains up to date information for class.


• Emailing students using their district Gmail account.  This can be done through Outlook, or a special block in CMS.


• Using third party technologies like Twitter, Remind, and others to be able to contact students on their schedule.

 



Relationships with parents are equally, if not more, important to foster.  Because we do not see them on a day to day basis, communication with parents is unquestionably more difficult.  The can make relationships more difficult to maintain.  Here are a few tips for using technology to establish, develop, and maintain relationships with families.

• Use your website.  And we mean, really use it.  Not just as a place for your face and a schedule, but as a true communication tool.  Unless you make it clear otherwise, you website is your public face.  It is where parents will go first if they are looking for what their child is doing in class.  You can insert a calendar into your Schoolwires page and update it with your Unit Topics, big projects, or assignment deadlines.  If you have another place on the web that you maintain and want your parents/students to be directed to, put that link on your Schoolwires page.


• Blog.  Teacher's Corner is maintained through the Unit 5 blog system.  It uses Wordpress, and is available for all teachers in Unit 5.  It's easy to use, and blog entries are a great way to give quick updates to the public about your class.  You can discuss class projects, post images of what's going on in your class, or do a daily homework post.  There are many teachers throughout the district already using U5 blogs to communicate with parents and build relationships outside of the classroom.


• Skyward.  Our gradebook system is not only for entering grades.  Try out features like the Messaging Center to send mass emails to parents about upcoming events.  These messages, once sent, also create a place in their Family Access for replying without having to email you directly.  You can also consider putting comments along with the individual grades that you assign your students.  These comments appear on their Student/Family Access screens and can be a nice way to provide context on an assignment.


• Third Party Technologies.  Just as you might use Twitter or Remind with your students, you can extend that communication with parents.

 

No matter the technique you use, it is indisputable that communication builds relationships, and relationships are the foundation of communication.  If you are interested in working on any of these communication tools with your building or district technology coaches, please let us know.

PowToon: Animation Projects

Animations are all the rage right now.  Just take a look at the popular John Green web series "Crash Course" (animation starts at the 3:20 mark), or a similarly themed series called "In a Nutshell".



These types of animations not only appear in educational videos, but also pervade traditional media, such as commercials.  Giving students the option to create animated videos for their products should be something that you consider, and PowToon is there to help you out!  Here's a short video created in PowToon that explains how it is unique from PowerPoint or Prezi.



The best part about PowToon is that it can be integrated directly into our student's Google Drive accounts.  They simply navigate to their Google account online, click the "create" button (or "new" if they are in the new view of Drive), choose "Connect more apps", and then search for Powtoon.  Completing these steps will allow students to sign up and use PowToon through their Google account.  No new usernames or passwords needed!

   

Once they are signed in and have started their first project, they will instantly be reminded other presentation software (PowerPoint, for example).  There are slides on the left side, a timeline at the bottom, and a gallery of objects on the right.
Animating with PowToon invovles placing objects in a scene, adjusting the length of time that they are present, and choosing entry and exit animations.  Tutorials of all kinds can be found on PowToon's website (here) and YouTube (here).

Finally, I will leave you with a short piece of animation that I put together using PowToon.  This was put together on a student Dell 1:1 machine using the built in mic to record the audio (please excuse the low rumble of the air conditioner in the background).

If you would like to learn more about PowToon, contact your district instructional technology coach today!

Google Update: Unlimited Storage Coming!

Here's something that my have flown under your radar.  Late last month Google announced that it will be making a few improvements for schools who are a part of Google Apps for Education (like us).  You can read the official post here, but the most immediate, and impactful update is......unlimited storage.  Period.  No limits on how much can be stored in your Google Drive account.  That goes for students as well.  And if you're wondering about individual file size limits...2 TB.  That's terabytes.  That's means an individual file can now be as large as 600x your previous maximum for ALL of your files (30 GB).

If you have not already switched from using your H: drive to using Google Drive, this is one more reason to start that process.  Find a colleague in your department/grade level who has, and talk to them about the benefits.  Or, you can always talk to your building or district technology coach(s) to learn more.

Oh, and here's a link to the official Google blog entry that discusses some of the other updates (some of which may impact us down the road).