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Finding time to learn new things for ourselves can be challenging. Today, I actually had some time to sit, read, and catch-up on some of my instructional technology blogs, tweets, articles, and newsletters that help me keep up-to-date with what is going on in the world of instructional and educational technology.

If you have not had a chance to check out Alice Keeler's website and use Google Apps in the classroom, I encourage you to check out a few interesting (and totally useful) blogs from her:

• For Science Teachers: Adding PhET Sims to Google Classroom
• For Any Subject or Teacher who uses Google Forms: Google Forms: One Form for All Periods
• For Teachers who use Google Classroom and have an Android Device: Google Classroom Student Chooser Feature
• I tried this one on my android phone. It is so cool! 😎
• For any class that writes: Google Slides Essay
• For Math Teachers: Open Middle: Equivalent Fractions Activity
• You can find out more about this website in our online newsletter.

Digital Reflections and Explanations

The last few years #BookSnaps with SnapChat has been all the rage. A BookSnap is a digital, visual representation used to explain/reflect on a book or excerpt. In a digital age where most students live, it's a way of engaging and connecting them to text. But what if you have younger students in which SnapChat, a social media-photo sharing tool is not the most appropriate?






Here are a few more options to get your students connecting with text and sharing what they've read with BookSnaps:

Google Slides

Google Drawings

Book Creator

PicCollage

Skitch


Creating a BookSnap is easy to do:
1. Have Text
2. Pick Appropriate Tech Tool
3. Snap a Pic
4. Highlight, Annotate, Sketch, add Stickers to Question, Reflect, Explain, Connect, or Clarify
5. Share

Check out our latest PD in your PJs, BookSnaps in Action or the following resources from #BookSnaps Expert, Tara Martin: #BookSnaps - Snap for Learning.

Back-to-School Ideas

Ideas with a Technology Twist

Turn your first day of school from dull to OH YEAH! 😎

Here are a few ideas to get students eager, energized, and excited for the new school year. 

From Kasey Bell & Shake Up Learning: "Back to School with GSuite: 6 Activities for the Classroom"

• Google Forms to create Student Interest Surveys
• Google Slides to create Vision Boards
• Google Keep to set learning goals
• Google Experiments to play an Emoji Scavenger Hunt
• Check out Kasey's FREE template to create magnetic poetry * This fun template can be used all year long to reinforce vocabulary skills.
• Follow Kasey's step-by-step directions to design and create a custom Google Classroom header.

Other ideas:

• Flipgrid Introductions
• STEM Challenges to get those brain muscles awake and thinking
• 50+Back to School Ideas from Matt Miller's Ditch That Textbook
• Adobe Spark Video Introductions
• A Kahoot or Quizlet Live Game
• A GooseChase Scavenger Hunt
• From Britany Hernandez at Lake View High School: Emoji Ice Breaker 
• Example Padlet: Get to Know You Activity & Direction Slides

Have other FUN ideas for the beginning of school? Please share yours in the comment section. 

Repost: Critical Thinking Skills with Google Trends

GOOGLE TRENDS

Google Trends is a search tool that allows teachers and students to see how often specific keywords, subjects, and phrases are being searched on Google around the world for a specific period time. The data is shown using visual graphics, charts and tables. Users are then able to see and compare trends(what's being searched). Trends can also be broken down in to categories. 

Google Trend is the perfect tool to spark discussion in the classroom and have student use their critical thinking skills. For example, simply ask students "iPads or Chromebooks? Which do you think is used more as a learning tool?" Go to Google Trends, type the keywords in the search boxes, use the category feature to keep breaking down the comparison, click enter, and a great visual will populate. Discuss. Infer. Predict.  Here's an example:

*This shows worldwide

*This shows for the US. 

*This shows for Texas. 

And underneath these graphs are even more visual charts and graphs leading to more discussion, questions, and research. I didn't include them here due to space. 

If you don't want to create your own, you can always use, explore, and interact with the google trend graphs and charts already created on the site. 

Use Google Trend in the classroom to...

• Interpret Results
• Analyze Data
• Find Patterns
• Make Hyphotheses
• Predict Future Trends
• Encourage further Questioning and Research

I'm curious to see how you and your students will use this tool. I look forward to seeing your comments and reading about your experiences. 

Google Arts and Culture

Forgetful Friday

Driving home yesterday and reflecting over the awesome technology ideas discussed and planned at Alta Loma, I realized that I didn't send out a Website on Wednesday. And now I notice that I missed Monday, too. I apologize to all our Blog readers out there. Better late than never. Right?

This cool tool can be accessed as a mobile app from the itunes store or google play store or from the Google Arts and Culture website. Whether on a screen, big or small, art from over a thousand museums across 70 countries are a click away.

In Projects, pick a topic and immerse yourself in art work, articles, stories, videos, online exhibits and 360 virtual tours. Here's a few that caught my eye:

• Day of the Dead
• First World War
• Second World War
• Space Exploration

In Experiments, explore art with machine learning created by coders and artist. 

• Free Fall uses mathematical formulas to place pieces of art into a 3D environment. *Cannot be used on phones. 
• T-SNE Map uses Machine Learning algorithms that lets you explore an interactive 3D landscape of art work. *Cannot be used on phones
• X Degrees of Separation uses Machine Learning to connect 2 random works of art by analyzing features, finding patterns, and creating a chain of art work. 
• Curator Table lets you search a topic, compare works of art and see how they've evolved over time all in a 3D setting. 

You can also search Arts and Culture by

• Artists
• Mediums
• Art Movements
• Historical Events
• Historical Figures
• Places

Keep up with the latest and greatest that Google Arts and Cultures have to offer at their YouTube Channel.

*This is not a site that I would let younger students just explore on their own. As with all things online, it is always best to preview before allowing access in a classroom. 

GSuite Training is SWEET!

Tech Tip Tuesday

While EdTech with Howard and Feck has shared this seriously sweet training tool from Google in their face-to-face trainings and webinars, I couldn't believe that we hadn't blogged about it. Well, wait no longer; here it is.

G Suite Training is an absolutely free must have extension for all Google users. It is interactive training that walks users step by step on how to set-up and use Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Drawings, AND Classroom. 

What's great is this tool should already be available for use on the school chromebooks. If you cannot see the extension icon located in the top right- hand corner of a doc, slide, form, drawing, sheet, or classroom, just follow these easy steps to add the extension:

Go to Chrome Web Store>Search: G Suite training> click the blue Add to Chrome Button> Allow for extension to be added> Open a Google App Product and begin training. 

Example of what it will look like once activated in Google Classroom.

Check out all the short interactive training videos offered for Google Classroom

Learning how to use Google Apps like Docs, Slides, Forms, Sheets, Drawings, and Classroom has never been easier for teachers or students. 

Critical Thinking Skills with Google Trends

Website Wednesday

GOOGLE TRENDS

Google Trends is a search tool that allows teachers and students to see how often specific keywords, subjects, and phrases are being searched on Google around the world for a specific period time. The data is shown using visual graphics, charts and tables. Users are then able to see and compare trends(what's being searched). Trends can also be broken down in to categories. 

Google Trend is the perfect tool to spark discussion in the classroom and have student use their critical thinking skills. For example, simply ask students "iPads or Chromebooks? Which do you think is used more as a learning tool?" Go to Google Trends, type the keywords in the search boxes, use the category feature to keep breaking down the comparison, click enter, and a great visual will populate. Discuss. Infer. Predict.  Here's an example:

*This shows worldwide

*This shows for the US. 

*This shows for Texas. 

And underneath these graphs are even more visual charts and graphs leading to more discussion, questions, and research. I didn't include them here due to space. 

If you don't want to create your own, you can always use, explore, and interact with the google trend graphs and charts already created on the site. 

Use Google Trend in the classroom to...

• Interpret Results
• Analyze Data
• Find Patterns
• Make Hyphotheses
• Predict Future Trends
• Encourage further Questioning and Research

I'm curious to see how you and your students will use this tool. I look forward to seeing your comments and reading about your experiences. 

Okay Google and Google Tone

Tech Tip Tuesday

Here are two more Google products that make it easier to use Chrome in the classroom.

Okay Google lets students use their voice to search.

Make sure students are signed into their chrome account. Check that the Chromebook or iPad microphone is enabled and on. Go to google.com, look for the picture of the microphone in the search box and say, "Okay, Google" and whatever the student needs to search. This is a great tool for younger students.
Visit Google Help Center for directions on how to enable Okay Google Voice Search for an iPad or Android.

Okay Google on a Chromebook: 

Google Tone is an extension that once enabled it turns on your computer's or chromebook's microphone and broadcasts a URL(web address) to other computers in the room.  Click here to see how to add the extension and how Google Tone works.

Holiday Fun from Google

Website Wednesday

Want to relax and have some fun after a day of grading essays or projects? Then I have the place for you. Or maybe you need a moment of peace? Then I have a website for your children. 

Visit Santa's Village at Google Santa Tracker

This site opens a new game or learning opportunity daily until Christmas. You or your children can

• Play games such as Wrap Battle, Gumball Tilt, or Gift Slingshot
• Learn about other countries' holiday traditions or how to say "Merry Christmas" in another language. 
• Complete coding Challenges to create snowflakes or make elves dance. 
• Track Santa's journey on Christmas Eve using Google Map. 

So after a long day of grading or taking exams, sit on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa, and visit Santa's Village for some holiday relaxation. 

Happy Holidays 

from EdTech with Howard and Feck

Connected Classroom and More on Google+

Website Wednesday

You're probably asking yourself, "What is Google+?" Simple answer: A wonderful Google product that is a should have for ALL teachers. Google+ is a social network owned and operated by Google. If you have a Google Account then you can access Google+. 

Google+ has many communities which are groups created on a specific subject. 

After purchasing Google Cardboard, I was left asking myself "Now What?" I made my way to Google +, found, and joined a Google Cardboard Community. Now I'm able to chat with other educators about how they use Google Cardboard in their classrooms. I also have access to Google Cardboard resources and videos. 

Want to take your classes on virtual field trips? Go to Google+ and Follow Virtual Field Trips from Learn Around the World. 

In preparing for our monthly focus of Global Connections and how to take classrooms beyond the classroom walls, we stumbled upon an amazing community - Connected Classrooms a community on how to utilize technology to enhance education. It is a community for educators to collaborate and share technology resources, classroom strategies for integrating technology effectively, and ideas on how to use technology in and beyond the classroom.

Reading a novel? Working on a Science Lab? Completing a History Project? And your class wants to work with or discuss ideas with another class from a different state or country? This is the social network for you. 

Better Research with Google Scholar

Website Wednesday

Let's face it we don't want students just "googling" for research. Teachers expect quality resources. So where to look? Try Google Scholar. 

Google Scholar is a free search engine that searches scholarly literature providing the user with physical and digital copies of various articles from books, universities, web sites, academic publishers, and many more.  It's like researching through your school library but online. 

Google Scholar offers a variety of ways to search for an article such as author, title, or date. Users who log in can even create their own library to help them save and keep track of articles they use for their research. 

Example Search Result and Features:

1. Search Result will let you know how many times this article has been cited in other publications or web sites.
2. A link is provided sending a searcher to other related articles to view.
3. The cite link will help the searcher properly cite the source.
4. If you are a logged in user, you can save this search result to your library.
5. Many of the search results will include the .pdf version of the article. 

Due By...

Tech Tip Tuesday

How to Put an Expiration Date on Google Files

After a due date is set, you can restrict access to certain files once a project is completed by setting an expiration date. 

1. Open a file in Drive.

2. Click the share button.     

3.  Share the File with others.

4. Click Advanced.

 

5.  Hover your mouse over the person's name that  you shared the file with and choose set expiration date.

6. Change the access expires date.

7. Click Saves Changes.

8. Click Done.

Read All About It - Google Newspapers

Google has done it again. Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers) provides hundreds of newspapers from different countries and different centuries. I read one newspaper from 1738 and another from 1980 - Amazing! I love that technology can preserve these resources for us to access and use.

A special that you to the technology specialists at Brenham ISD - #BISDWired. I found this resource on their blog - http://brenhamtechdaily.blogspot.com. If you haven't taken a look at it, you should. You won't be disappointed.

To Share or Unshare? That is the question.

Tech Tip Tuesday

It's more a question of how do I stop sharing a link, a file or folder if that person no longer needs access?

To turn off the share link in Google Drive or in any of the Google Apps, click the share button. Click Get Shareable link.

From the drop-down menu on the "Share with others" window, choose OFF - only specific people can access. 

To stop sharing a file with an individual in Google Drive or in any of the Google Apps, click the share button. In the "Share with others" window, click on Advanced in the bottom-right corner. In the list of "Who has Access", click the X beside the people who no longer needs access to the file. 

Other Available Resource: In Google Docs, to access "Share A Document" tutorial which includes how to stop sharing a link and document, please download the extension "Training for Google Apps" from the Chrome Web Store. The same tutorial video can be found in Sheets, Slides, and Forms using this extension. 

Do and Learn at the Same Time with Training for Google Apps

Late night working, assignment needs posting by morning, all help lines are closed for the night, and you need HELP.
You're not sure how to reschedule an assignment in Google Classroom, set an expiration date on a shared doc, or change the owner of a file. Don't worry the answers are an extension away.  

Training for Google Apps is a free extension that offers interactive lessons while you work on various Google Apps such as Classroom, Docs, Slides, Sheets, or Forms.



This useful tool is quite handy. It has answered many of my last minute questions. All you have to do is download the extension from the Chrome Web Store, open a Google App and click on the extension icon found to the right of the share button. A list of topics will pop-up, click on any topic and begin learning. It's that easy. Training for Google Apps answers many how-to questions through short, interactive, step-by-step videos. Now learning and doing at the same time is quick and easy.

Doodle 4 Google is Here!

Thanks Charlyn Doyle for sharing this information with us!

FYI!  The Doodle 4 Google contest is open thru December 2, 2016

“What I see for the future…”

The 2016 Doodle 4 Google contest kicked off on Wednesday, where art-loving K-12 students from across the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico are invited to bring their imagination to life in a doodle of the Google logo, using any medium they choose. The winning masterpiece will hang on the Google homepage for a day, where millions will enjoy it.

Students can apply here!

On the Road Again: Google Lit. Trips

 WEBSITE WEDNESDAY

Bud, Not Buddy  is a story of an orphaned 10 -year old boy who during the Great Depression goes on an adventure of a lifetime in hopes of finding his long, lost father.  The only clues he has are the flyers about a band left by his mother in an old suitcase. Along the way he meets interesting characters who lend a helping hand in the search for his father.

Now imagine while reading this story with your class, you can follow in Bud's steps and experience his travels? You can with Google Lit. Trip. 

Google Lit. Trips are downloadable files that mark the journey(s) of character(s) from famous works of literature on the surface of Google Earth.

To begin your first  Lit. Trip

1. Go to Google Lit. Trip
2. Fill out the GLT Globel ED Member Registration so that you can      access all the incredible trips and resources.
3. Install Google Earth on your laptop or desktop.
4. Browse the Lit. Trip Library *The library holds titles for all ages from  The Armadillo from Amarillo to My Brother Sam is Dead to The Grapes  of Wrath. 
5. Request a Lit. Trip

But wait...Google  Lit. Trip is more than just following a story's map on Google Earth. Along the way there are links to audio files, websites with more information on a topic, videos, and much more. 

What adventure will you and your class take this year? 

A book is a device to ignite the imagination.

–Alan Bennett

Step-by-Step Google App. Help is a Click Away

Google Apps Learning Center is dynamite.

This website is a guide full of tips and examples to help a new user get started and get the most out of their Google Apps for Education.

The step-by step directions are easy to follow. Moving from topic to topic is a breeze.

Open Sesame: An Undo for Accidentally Closed Tab

 

As we begin another school year, one is always looking for new lessons to use in the classroom or to make the office work a little more efficient.
Have you ever been working so hard and realize too late that you closed that tab?  That one tab that you needed information from. Sitting there, sighing, and thinking how do I get back? If Google Chrome is your web browser of choice, then problem solved.
Simply press Ctrl+Shift+T (undo close tab), and it's as if saying "Open Sesame!". The accidentally closed tab will reappear, and you can continue your search for awesome material or ideas to use in the office or classroom.

Get in Sync with Google Sync

Google has a sync option much like Microsoft O365. The sync allows you have a connection to your Google Drive directly from your Windows Explorer folder. This makes it much easier to move and copy files from your computer to your Google Drive. Here is a video that shows you how to set it up. 

https://youtu.be/7MtjZDpSTEE