FTT - Updates to Google Drive

Google On! New Google Drive Features You'll Want To Know About.

@LisaBerghoff / @joe_edtech

This is part two of a two-part series outlining some new features Google has cooked up for us. Last week's post outlined some of the new features of Google Classroom.  If you are a Google Classroom user and have feedback for the Classroom developers, please do not be shy about sending feedback.  Many of the changes have been the result of suggestions sent in by teachers.

Today is all about Google Drive and Docs and some of the changes that have been made in the past few months.  

Voice Typing

The new voice typing feature is built into docs and the technology has gotten amazingly good.  This tool allows you to speak into the microphone on your computer or Chromebook and it will type what you say.  Speech to text technology is not especially new, but it has gotten so much better and previously you needed to use an app.  When you are in a Google doc (not to be confused with a Word document stored in your Google drive), you will click on the Tools menu and there you will see voice typing as an option. 

An icon will open and prompt you to click to speak into the microphone. As you speak, the text will appear.  Give it a try, you will find that it is really pretty accurate as long as there is not a ton of background noise going on around you.

Research from Google Docs

The research tool has been around for a while in docs.  Now the tool enables you to search any topic and quickly insert the information into your document.  You can filter your search with images, academic articles, quotes, dictionary, or tables.  Without the filter, you can simply search "Everything".  The research tool will also automatically cite your source for you using MLA, APA, or Chicago format.  In addition, you have the ability to filter your results for images by usage rights so you won't be violating copyright laws.  This tool is a real time-saver and can have your students focusing more on analyzing the content of their research and less on formatting and citations.  

Templates

There are new, well-designed templates that help you create letters, essays, reports, class notes, to-do lists, calendars, and more.  Did you know that there are individual sites for docs, sheets, and slides?  If you go to docs.google.com, you will see templates right there all ready to go. The same holds true for sheets.google.com and slides.google.com.  In addition, you will also see all of your docs on that same page.  You can click the "more" button to see more options. They are organized by type, such as work or education.  

"Explore" In Sheets

Explore is a new feature added to Google Sheets. It automatically creates several different charts for you. This helps you get quick insights into your data, without any extra work on your part. Plus, those charts update automatically as you change the variable. You can also highlight specific fields to make quick charts out of that particular data. You will see the new Explore button appear at the lower right-hand corner of your screen when you are in sheets. 

Prevent A Doc From Being Copied, Downloaded, Printed, or Cut/Pasted

Have a doc you want to protect? When you click the blue "share" button, there is teeny tiny writing in the bottom right corner of the box that says "advanced". Don't worry! You qualify as being advanced. Whether you think you are or not.  When you click on advanced you will see a check box with the words "Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers".  You can check that box and then go ahead and share your doc, giving commenting or "view only" privileges.  When the commenters and viewers look at the doc, they will not have the options to make a copy or download.  In addition, if they try to highlight text to copy and paste it, they will get a friendly message letting them know that the action is not allowed.  

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What are some of your favorite Google docs features?  Please share them in the comments below. We all have lots to learn from one another! 

FTT - Updates to Google Classroom

Keeping Up With The Google

A Summary of Recent Updates to Google Classroom

@joe_edtech / @LisaBerghoff

Last week at both DHS and HPHS, we had a chance to show several people some of the recent updates to Google Apps. However, we know that this is a busy time of year for a lot of you (in fact, we haven't really found a time of year when teachers and technologists aren't busy!) So, over the next two weeks, rather than introducing new Web 2.0 tools to you, we are going to summarize some of the major updates we've seen in Google Apps for Education this Fall. This week's blog will focus on Google Classroom and next week's post will look more closely at Drive, Docs, and Sheets.

Google Classroom

I've been saying it for some time now, but this tool is getting better and better every day. It isn't a full learning management system, but Google Classroom has become a great way to organize your class, share content with and from your students, and host classroom conversations! 

Share to Classroom:

Closing the gap quickly on Hapara as a classroom management tool, Google released a new extension called "Share to Classroom." It allows a teacher to take resource they found on the web and immediately share it with their students in Classroom. If the students are logged into Google Classroom, the resource will open in a new tab on their device, whether they are using one of the school's Chromebooks or not. Simply go to the Chrome Webstore and add the extension to your browser.

From Google For Education Blog

Integrate Zaption or EDpuzzle Assignments directly to Google Classroom:

A lot of teachers have been using tools like Zaption or EDpuzzle to flip lessons or provide extra opportunities for students to interact with and master content and skills. However, those tools have always existed "outside" of Google Apps. No longer, on many Web 2.0 tools, when you have a completed project to "share," you'll see a "Share to Google Classroom" icon. If you click the button, you can add your Zaption or EDpuzzle creation directly to your Google Classroom. Here's Zaption's quick video on Sharing to Classroom:

Sort Students for Grading:

When it is time to grade an assignment, you can now sort assignments based on whether or not they have been completed, or based on student first or last name. One cautionary tale is, and we learned this from Hapara sometime last year, some of our students names appear to be reversed (I think that has to do with the way we set up accounts in Google Apps, but I'm not sure. This is also a very sporadic problem.)

Google Calendar Integration:

The biggest complaint I had with Google Classroom when it was first introduced was that it didn't automatically add things to a Google Calendar for students. FINALLY, that problem has been solved. There is a calendar for every class you create in Calendar, and assignments automatically get added to the calendar and shared with all of the students. Here's a short video explanation from Google Certified Trainer Jenn Scheffer:

Post Short Answer Questions:

Earlier in the year, it became possible to add Google Form Quizzes to your Classroom Stream. But, what if you just want to ask one question to check for understanding or spur a deeper conversation? Now you can ask short answer questions in Classroom the same way you post assignments or announcements. On the lower right-hand side of your Classroom Stream, you'll see a "+" sign. Click that and select "Create question." You can ask your question live in class, or you can give it a due date and give the students time to think. As with assignments, it is easy to see who has completed the question and who has not. And you can decide whether or not you will allow students to see and respond to other answers posted in the class.

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Have you tried Google Classroom yet? If not, why not?

FTT - Text 2 Mind Map

Text 2 Mind Map Home Screen

Support Both Linear & Non-Linear Thinkers With Text 2 Mind Map

@joe_edtech/@LisaBerghoff

You don't have to spend very much time trying to solve a problem or work through a set of directions with a group of people before you figure out that people think about things differently. I have two friends who love to put things together and are considerably better at that than I am. However, they go about it in very different ways. One is meticulous about reading every word of the directions provided or manuals included before he ever attempts construction. Then he will lay out all of the materials and tools and follow the directions line by line until he is finished. Friend number two is a tinkerer. He believes that directions and manuals represent the least possible creative way to complete the job. Since I've seen them both build some amazing and beautiful things, it is impossible for me to say which one of them is doing it "the right way."

The same kind of thing applies to the classroom. I've worked with teachers who insisted that their students take notes a certain way, sometimes using a certain color of pen, highlighting, and underlining, and numbering the items exactly as the teacher would have done it if the teacher were taking the notes. I even understand this method of teaching - some students really need some directions on taking notes. However, in my first year of teaching AP European history, I met a student that simply didn't think in a fashion that fits with structured note taking. Often times, when he was trying to understand relationships, he would draw pictures. Since he was easily the best, and most engaged student in the class, it would have been silly for me to require him to take notes in a manner that is awkward and foreign to him. That is why I believe it is important for us to offer students choices, and help them learn how they best learn.

In a previous blog post, I wrote about the importance of making Mind Mapping available to kids who don't necessarily think in a linear fashion. But what do you do if you have to accomodate both linear and non-linear thinkers in one group? Text 2 Mind Map is a pretty simple Web 2.0 solution that allows kids to create Mind Maps from outlines. They maps can be downloaded or shared via email. Here is a brief overview of using Text 2 Mind Map:

The downside to Text 2 Mind Map at the moment is that it isn't truly a collaborative Web 2.0 tool. In other words, your students can't create accounts (that is a premium feature) and share editing privileges with another student or with you. This is strictly for creating a mind map from an outline.

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What tools do you use to help kids think about their own thinking?