Google Reader in the Classroom

As a first grade teacher, the thought of using Google Reader with my students was difficult to figure out at first. Not many children sites publish daily news and information that students that are six and seven can easily digest. I did find however that I could use Google Reader to find lesson ideas that I could use with my students! Many websites dedicated to sharing lessons can be added to Google Reader. For example, I receive lesson ideas from the Teaching Pre K-8 website almost every day through Google Reader. The great part of this is that Google Reader will also make recommendations for similar websites based on your subscribed sites. This is a great way to have the best content delivered to you instead of the completing an endless search!

Handwriting Key to Learning | Newsweek Education | Newsweek.com

http://www.newsweek.com/id/67956

Above is a link to a fascinating article on handwriting and learning.
Previously I posted a link to an article on handwriting that had me
questioning the value of handwriting skills in our new digital age. By
the way, if you did not get a chance to read the comment left over,
please take a look. It is a personal response that truly touches the
heart of the issue and opens avenues for greater discussion and
reflection.

The article above from Newsweek argues that handwriting is an
important part of the learning process. What do you think. In my first
grade classroom we cover the process of writing but I do not heavily
cover the handwriting "talent" of each child. I am constantly pushing
and trying to get better stories from my students. Have I been missing
the key all along?

Maurice Draggon

Technology and the death of handwriting

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Technology and the death of handwriting

The BBC has a fascinating article on technology and handwriting. As students use text messaging and other technology tools their handwriting often suffers and they struggle to express themselves in written form. Is this just a "sign of the times" or are kids really missing out on an important skill?

I wonder about this issue of handwriting often. Is this just like when people moved from pictorial representations on caves to writing on scrolls? I am sure there were some who thought we would loose the ability to express ourselves through art and storytelling. We have seen a return to this type storytelling with digital storytelling somewhat however.

Is handwriting a critical 21st century skill?

Google Calendar Sync: Getting Started

Google Calendar Sync: Getting Started

I just saw on webware.com that Google has released a free product to sync your outlook calendar with your web calendar. This tool was sorely needed! I have tool for the Mac that I use and I  had to pay for it. This sync software is currently only for the PC but it is definitely a step in the right direction!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Re: First look: new and improved Zoho with (some) OOXML support

This document has been imported into Google Docs on your behalf:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgjnf4q6_761hr79zwhn&invite=
Just FYI,
The Google Docs Team

First look: new and improved Zoho with (some) OOXML support

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080229-first-look-new-and-improved-zoho-with-some-ooxml-support.html

Zoho docs is a worthy competitor to Google Docs. Zoho has more editing
features and an interface that is close to Word 2003 than any other
web application I have seen so far. My main concern with Zoho is that
it is not " one stop shopping" like Google Docs where all the other
services you use are quickly available. If you want to try online
document editing however and Google Docs just does not seem to do
enough you should give Zoho a try!

Maurice Draggon

Pranksters invade Starbucks with desktop computers - Engadget

Pranksters invade Starbucks with desktop computers - Engadget


What does this have to do with teaching with educational technology? Think about this video the time you only use technology that was available to when you were in school to equip your students with the knowledge they need to enter into the real world. They may look a lot like the people in this video! Knowledge is important. The way we impart knowledge and the way students learn are changing. Catch up!

I needed a good reason to post this hilarious video! ;-)

"Think Before You Ban"

http://techomnivore.wordpress.com

Above is a link to a New York teachers blog that went to FETC this
year. They have a link to an interesting video on their blog that
encourages the decision makers in schools to examine Web 2.0 tools
before they ban them from school usage. Looks pretty interesting!

Maurice Draggon

TeacherTube - create a google account

TeacherTube - create a google account

Gaggle is a service that allows you to create managed email accounts for students in your classroom. You can use Gaggle and Google together to create Google accounts for your students! The video above shows a  student with a Gaggle account how to sign up for a Google account.

Sync Office and Google Docs

syncs-your-ms-office-docs-with-google

I have not tried the service above but it does seem like a welcome program for those seeking to have documents online and on their computers at the same time. The program will sync your Google Docs with your documents on your computer. The software is currently windows only and I have a Mac so I cannot try the beta yet.

As an educator is may be interesting to try this out with a few set documents in the classroom. You can set up a folder with documents that the students will work on. The students can the write on the computer and you can check their work in Google Docs without the worry of uploading each document yourself or your students having a Google Docs account.

Google Docs Tutorial Video

Above is a great video on how to use Google Docs by a Teacher Tube user. If you would like to start using Google Docs but you are just not sure where to start, this video is the place!

On Webware today I read an article about a new Google service called Google Apps Team Edition. The Team Edition version of Google Apps allows those who work within an organization to easily share files and calendars with each other through Google. I have not had a chance to really play with it yet but it seems like a great way to try Google Apps in an organization without signing up or switching anything! More information can be found here.

gDocsBar for Firefox...a second look...

I mentioned gDocsBar for Firefox in an earlier post and I mentioned that it was a handy tool to help organize the windows that open when you use Google Docs. The plugin for Firefox also allows you quick and easy access to your documents no matter what website you are on.

One section of the plugin that I really underestimated is its ability to quickly upload documents to your Google Docs account. It is as simply as drag and drop and just may be the easiest way to get documents you have on your computer on Google Docs. You can email documents to yourself but you have to open your email program and enter in your email address. You can upload them through the Google Docs web interface but who has the time to do that when you have a lot of documents on hand? Drag and drop is simple and easy and quick!

Publish from Google Docs to your Blog

One of the great things about using Google tools is that they integrate fairly well with each other. Google owns the company Blogger which is the platform that this blog is created on. You can use Google Docs to directly post to your Blogger account! To accomplish this simply log into your Google Docs account and create your post. When you are complete, select the Publish button. You will be given the option to publish to a blog. You will be given the option to select the blog you would like to publish to and once you are set-up, your post will magically appear on your blog when you are complete! You can now easily publish without ever visiting your blog page and logging in. Google Docs publish to Blog option works best with Blogger but it will also work with other blogging platforms such as WordPress. If you have Blogger account give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

In you classroom you can create a blog and allow your students to type their reflections and other classroom activities in Google Docs. You can then have them publish their work to the classroom blog and have a single place where parents can go and view the work of their child in your class. Wouldn't this be much easier than attaching twenty documents to a website? Let me know what you think!

PBS on iTunes U

If you use iTunes to download podcast and other media content you now have another great resource at your disposal! The website iLounge is reporting that iTunes has added content from PBS to their iTunes U section of iTunes. You can download not only videos but also teacher guides from PBS. The offerings are free and are worth a look!

Randomly Speaking » MY FETC Adventure Day 1

Randomly Speaking » MY FETC Adventure Day 1

Why use Google Docs Video

Photo from: http://docs.google.com/

http://www.commoncraft.com/video-googledocs

Above is a link to a great video on why you should use Google Docs and not email to share and edit files. Collaboration requires everyone to "be on the same page." If you send a document via email to several collaborators to make changes to however you now have several copies of that document that need to be combined into one. Google Docs eliminates needless redundancy and creates one document that several collaborators can edit.

In a classroom environment for example, we can use this newfound collaboration to instantly update or give students feedback on documents they are working on, as they are working on them! The possibilities are endless!

A "del.icio.us" Google Bookmarks alternative!

The social bookmarking website del.icio.us is a great tool that you can use in your classroom in conjunction with search done through Google. Del.icio.us allows you to save your bookmarks for viewing anywhere on the web, but unlike Google bookmarks, you can share your bookmarks with other web users and your students. You can create categories such as Math, Science, etc, and give your students direct links to the bookmarks that you create. A great example of del.icio.us bookmarking can be found here.   

To get started simply visit: http://del.icio.us/

Once you create an account you can add the browser buttons to easily tag the new sites that you find.  You can then share the direct link to the websites you have tagged to your students. 

If your students have del.icio.us accounts also you do not have to worry about them visiting your website. You can send links to them! 

Del.icio.us is a wonderful tool to use to share interesting and academic links to teachers, students, and even parents.  If you do not currently use del.icio.us its certainly worth taking a look at!

Scan Your Computer for Viruses Online

Photo from: Pics4learning.com. Photographer(Stacy Savickas)

As we use Web 2.0 tools in our classrooms, we become susceptible to viruses and other malicious items on the internet. Many of you already have a strong antivirus program. If you do not, get one now!  Sometimes you forget to run the antivirus program that you have on your computer. There are online programs that you can use. Here is a handy quick tip via webware.com that you can use to scan your computer online quickly and easily. 

Google Docs Offline

Image from: http://gears.google.com/

One the the greatest strengths of Google Docs is ironically also one of its greatest weakness. The ability to edit a document online at any computer, any time is great until you no longer have online access. Google is working to solve this problem using a tool called Google Gears. Google Gears is still in development but when complete it will allow you to view your documents in Google Docs even if there is no internet connection!

You can use Google Gears with both Internet Explorer and Firefox on a PC and Firefox on a Mac. More information about Google Gears can be found here and here.

gDocsBar for Firefox

http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9859665-2.html

I found a link to this great add-on for those who use Firefox and Google Docs! You can manage your docs from a sidebar instead of an extra tab window. More information can be found at the link above.

The picture on the right is credited to Sandosh Vasudevan and taken from the website: http://www.gdocsbar.com/

If you are a Firefox user try it out and let us know what you think!

Creating Bookmarks in Google

Every have a website you love and added to your favorites in your internet browser? What happens when you are not using your computer at home and want to visit that link? You cannot!  Having your favorites or bookmarks on just one computer is just not practical anymore with the different computers you can use at work and at home. Google provides a bookmarks service that allows you to save your bookmarks online and access them wherever you are, no matter what computer you are using. 

Getting Started:

Google provides its bookmark service at: http://www.google.com/bookmarks

You will need a Google Account.  Once you log in you will see the following screen:

To add bookmarks to your Google account, simply follow the directions above and drag the icon to links area. You can then click on the words "Google Bookmark" and it will automatically add the page you are viewing to your Google Bookmarks online. You will get the chance to add keywords, or tags to your website to make it easier to find later. 

There are other websites that allow you to save bookmarks online but if you are already using Google for all your other information it may be easier for you to store your bookmarks here also. Bookmarks on Google are for your personal use only. There is currently no way to share pages you bookmark.

 If you have bookmarks already saved to your personal browser, you do not have to save them again to add them to Google Bookmarks! You can import them. More information can be found here. 

FETC Google Tools Session

It was great to see all of the educators who attended our presentation
at the Florida Educators Technology Conference! The group was very
interactive! We have much more to share than what we were able to
mention at the conference and will be updating this blog to share the
information. Check back often!

Converting YouTube Videos

If you work for a school that blocks access to YouTube, one option you may have is to use some of the tools listed here. Remember to respect others copyright and if in doubt of the copyright on a video, ask permission!

Google For Educators Discussion Group

Google has a great discussion area for teacher who are using Google Apps in their classroom. You can view a lesson sharing discussion group here.

Sharing a Document in Google Docs

When you share a document in Google Docs, the document will automatically show up in the Google Docs account of the person you are sharing with! They do not have to check their email or have access to email to start editing the document. All they have to do is log into their Google Docs account and they will see the document added to their list. More information about sharing Google Docs can be found here.

A Quick Trip to the Park

Here is a quick tutorial you can use to create an appointment in Google Calendar. You can use the steps here to share any calendar items you create!

A Quick Trip to the Park 

Google for Educators!

Thanks for coming to our presentation!

An Educators Guide To Google Apps for Education

• Recycle! A Photo Journal
• Google Earth Flight Simulator