Author: Admin

Sharing in Google

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The easiest way to collaborate is by ‘sharing’ Documents in your Drive. We have talked about how to create Docs and folders. Now, just take it one step further and ‘share’ those to have dynamic, cross-grade, cross-district PLCs. It’s quite easy.

Sharing a Document (or presentation, form, spreadsheet, drawing):

Once you have created your desired document, click the blue share button.

Type the names of those you wish to share with. You can allow others to edit or view. The default setting is ‘edit’. If you would like to retain control over who is allowed to have access to your document, click on the ‘change’ link on the bottom right. Change the ‘share settings’ to ‘Only the owner can change the permissions’. When finished, click ‘Done’.

Sharing a Folder:

Now there are many times when you will want/need to have ‘shared folders’, with your PLCs. That is the same process as sharing a document. The advantage with sharing a folder is that whatever is placed in that folder, it is automatically shared with everyone.

First find the folder you would like to share with others, select it. Then click the ‘share’ icon at the top of the page.

You will then be taken to the ‘Share Settings’ to select others to share the folder with.

I currently have several shared folders. I share an ELD folder with prezos and documents with several teachers in my district. I also share a Math folder with homework forms.

I have shared documents with 10 other teachers to create one OUTSTANDING document. One document was created within 12 hours by teachers in a 50 mile radius. Several of us were creating, sharing, and editing at the same time. It was an amazing experience. This type of sharing makes our lessons better, makes us better teachers, and allows the creativity to seamlessly flow.

Student Video Tutorials

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As we all know, one of the large pushes for Common Core is that students will have a deeper understanding of the standards. One way in which this can be accomplished is through peer tutoring. Add in a video camera and you have 21st Century tutoring. The focus of the videos/projects should be the content, not the quality of  the videos. The following video is a student explaining the process of multiplying 3 – single digit numbers. Viewing this video, I immediately know that the student has a firm grasp on multiplication. The focus was on the process. Admittedly, my one suggestion to the student would be more details for clarity (i.e. first explain that in order to obtain the final answer, one needs to multiply 2 of the numbers then multiply that product by the third digit).

Multiplying with 3 numbers from Lisa Nowakowski on Vimeo.

 

This particular video was filmed with an iPod by a 3rd grader. The video was then uploaded to Vimeo.com (Vimeo is a great alternative if your district blocks Youtube & Youtube Education). I then put the video on my classroom website for all to view. You will also notice that nowhere in my description did I mention editing. The videos can be done in one take. Again, the focus is on the content of the material.

Videos are also a great way to assess student understanding. The videos can then be placed into a digital portfolio.

Some parameters could be:

  • Giving time limits
  • Telling students where to stand in the video
  • Specific topics

Have fun with it! Your students most definitely will.

Create a Folder In ‘Drive’

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In order to help you stay organized it is highly recommended that you create folders in your Google Drive. This is a very easy process.

From Chrome

Folder 1

Folder 2

 

Once there, you will see a red ‘Create’ rectangle. Click on that and you will see your options. Choose ‘Folder’.

 

You will then name your folder

 

This folder will appear in your ‘Drive’ in the list located to the right. Once you have your folder created you can then place items into that folder. To do so, locate the file you wish to move. check the box to the left. This method allows you to choose as many files as you’d like to move at once. Then at the top of this window you will see a folder icon. Click on the icon and check the folder you would like to place your item. Remember to ‘Apply changes’ and you’re done. Yup, it’s that simple!

 

 

Google Teacher Academy

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Well, I have just submitted my application for Google Teacher Academy New York 2012. As I was filling out the application and working on the 1 minute video I was nervous. However, that is nothing as to what I feel now…Super nervous! Then some self doubt entered. That was so not nice or welcomed! That silly little voice that says, “Google wants someone who can reach large crowds. You don’t.”

To that voice I say, “QUIET! I did more with 3rd graders than most teachers do with middle school kids 😛 I am an amazing teacher!”

Then that silly little voice says, “Good point.”

So all that aside, I’m nervous, but hopeful. I am a tech savvy teacher. I do amazing things in technology with 3rd graders. Now that I am going to 5th grade, the possibilities seem endless! My brain is spinning with all the project based learning that will happen.

Oh, and here is that video…

Internet Safety

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There are some basic rules to keep in mind when you are on the Internet:

  • NEVER put pictures of yourself online.
  • NEVER use your last name.
  • NEVER say where you live (street, city, area).
  • NEVER enter a chat room.
  • NEVER respond to threatening email or messages.
  • ALWAYS tell an adult (parent or teacher) about scary messages, chats, emails,or other communications.
  • TELL your parents about any ‘new’ friends you meet online.

Parents, there are some simple things you can do to help keep kids safe:

  • Monitor what your child is doing online. Keep your computer in a ‘high traffic’ area.
  • Have your child show you what they like to do online.
  • Sit with your child as they play games, chat, email, etc.
  • TALK constantly about online safety.
  • Install child safety software on computers, phones, iPads, iPods, tablets, etc.
  • Open communication at all times.

Great Resources:

Inspiration

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I love it when I am in the middle of a lesson and I get a ‘brainstorm’. My students are so used to it at this point in the year. Today was another ‘brainstorm’ kind of day. We were just beginning a lesson on Geometry. Today was the review of 3-D shapes — sphere, cone, rectangular prism, pyramid, cube, and cylinder. So there I am ‘blah, blah, blahing’ away, when it hits me… Have the kids make ’em… Out of pipe cleaners and paper and whatever else! Brilliant! And of course I stop the lesson to write it down. Wouldn’t want to forget my own brillance!

When I am finally finished, sounding much like Charlie Brown’s teacher I’m sure, I share my idea with the students. Together — because most of my great ideas are just a base, and not fully formed — we worked out the specifics. So in the end, groups worked together on how to make the shape assigned, find out how many vertices, edges, and faces AND then make a short video. They did a great job. Here is a sample video.

And tomorrow I will try that whole flip the classroom thing again. Hope it goes better than last time.

Different ‘Sheets’ in Google Spreadsheet?

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Yes, it is possible to to create several pages or ‘sheets’ in Google Spreadsheets. Many people avoid spreadsheets due to their complexities. However, they don’t have to be difficult. This is an example of a spreadsheet my site uses to keep track of AR goals.

You will notice that on the bottom left of the page, the months are listed

 You are seeing a view of March.

Simply click on the desired month and enter the data (student names in this case).

The ‘Sheets’ were easy to create. By simply creating the desired format (or template) you are then able to copy that to another sheet. For this example, I clicked the small arrow next to March. I then clicked Duplicate. The next sheet was created as ‘Copy of March’.

On ‘Copy of March’ I again clicked the arrow and chose Rename… I can then Rename it ‘June’ then ‘Move right’ to place the sheet in the desired location.

 

The ‘Flipped’ Classroom

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I recently stumbled upon the concept of a ‘flipped classroom’ — Yes I know, it’s not THAT new. I have been fascinated with it for months now. Essentially a flipped classroom is where the ‘basic’ learning and lecturing is done outside the classroom — generally at home for ‘homework’. This allows students and teachers to arrive at school the next day ready to dive into deeper concepts, projects, and/or tasks. As I teach 3rd grade and not all students have access to a  computer (or internet) at home, I wasn’t (and still aren’t) sure how to accomplish this successfully. So today I ‘dabbled’ with flipping a classroom. We are fortunate to have a computer lab with 30 computers. We are also fortunate enough to have EnVision Math (Pearson) in our district for grades k-5. So the students were assigned certain learning videos. Then later in the day, we had our lesson. Was it a success? Not so much. I’m guessing it has more to do with the learning objectives than the process. You see, we are beginning ‘long division’. That wonderful task of dividing a 2-digit (or more) number by 1-digit. As it was a hard concept for 3rd graders, I will try ‘flipping’ the classroom again. Maybe with something a bit easier. I’m thinking I may have better luck with some Science concepts. I’ll keep you posted.

Please share any experiences you have with flipping a classroom. What worked? What didn’t?