5 Google Apps that Help Teachers Differentiate Instruction Meet Janelle, an intelligent, creative, computer-literate animator in training, who is a self-motivated sophomore. Meet Tony, also intelligent, creative, shy, somewhat computer-literate, and an English-as-a-second-language junior. Meet Justin, a creative, outgoing, somewhat computer-literate sophomore who works as a DJ on the side. I could go on, describing 20 students in the same high school class who have very diverse interests, talents and learning styles. While there is no magic, one-size-fits-all answer to those questions, our school has tapped Google Apps for Education to help answer them. Google Classroom Classroom is Google’s version of a learning management system and was released to most schools at the beginning of the 2014–2015 school year. Posting tutorials for commonly asked questions is one of the more useful ways to differentiate instruction with Google Classroom. Google Documents Google Forms Google Slides Google Sheets
15 Ways to Maximize Google Drive Productivity It’s hard to believe that Google Drive is just three years old … yes, really. For a tool still in its infancy, it’s remarkable how quickly it has inspired the question, “How did I live without it?” Google Drive is now ingrained in the daily lives of millions of people, many of whom rely on it for work. What started with humble—and admittedly limited—beginnings as Google Docs has transformed into a storage and collaboration powerhouse that serves as the focal point for G Suite and the centerpiece for many workers. If your organization is using G Suite, it’s essential that you know how to use Drive to its full potential. 1. Wi-Fi during plane flights is expensive; in rural areas, it’s hard to find, but with offline access you can make adjustments when the time calls for it—not when it’s convenient. In order to take advantage of offline access, your G Suite admin needs to enable offline access to Google Docs editors. Google also offers a Google Drive desktop client for both Mac and PC. 2.
Google Offers A Free Online Computational Thinking Course for Educators July 4, 2015 Several students confound computational thinking with computer science when, in fact, the two refers to two different concepts. Computer science is the corpus of knowledge and studies that deal with computation and the ways computers function. Computational thinking is a cognitive process that involves the use of different skills and ways of thinking to solve computational problems and to write computer programs. As a method of thinking, computational thinking is not restricted solely to computer applications but applies to any other discipline or content area that requires thinking and problem solving. In this sense, computational thinking is ‘a problem solving process that includes a number of characteristics and dispositions. Watch the video below to learn more about Computational Thinking for Educators.
Two Handy Google Docs Rubrics for Evaluating Educational Apps July 5, 2015 Here are two interestingly simple app evaluation rubric you can use with your students to assess the educational apps you want to use in your class. The first one is a rubric we learned through Kathy Schlock’s iPad4teaching page. This is basically a Google sheets template available for free in Drive Template Gallery. The second one is a template we discovered through running a search query with the key phrase 'app evaluation' in Template Gallery. These are probably the only two app evaluation templates available in the Gallery so far. 1-App Evaluation The rubric features several criteria for assessing apps. 2- iPad App Evaluation This is another handy and down-to-earth simple document to help you assess educational apps. For a list of some excellent app evaluation rubrics and resources, Kathy Schrock has this wonderful page packed full of everything you need.
Feedback through Google Forms | Teaching in the Primary Years Earlier in the year I was asked to write an article for ACEL (Australian Council for Educational Leaders) looking at how I use Google Forms in the classroom. Article below or click this link Feedback allows teachers and students to continually learn, develop and improve their practice. John Hattie’s research into the theory of Visible Learning emphasises the importance that feedback has in the classroom. “Visible Learning means an enhanced role for teachers as they become evaluators of their own teaching. learning through the eyes of students and help them become their own teachers.” – John Hattie Thinking about this, I was confident that I was setting clear learning intentions and prompting my students through effective questioning, but from my students’ point of view was this really effective? Generally, when we discuss feedback within the classroom, we automatically assume it refers to students receiving feedback from their teacher. Teachers can receive feedback in a variety of ways. or
Creating Collaboration Groups Google Classroom can be used for more than just creating a class or professional development session! Google Classroom is Google Drive Management. Using Google Classroom for a collaboration group helps to keep files neatly organized in Google Drive. If you are working with a group on creating and curating, where group members are all contributing, and you need a specific file structure, Google Classroom is a great way to go. When you create a class in Google Classroom it automatically creates a folder as a subfolder of the Classroom folder in Google Drive. I suggest manually renaming the folder in Google Drive. The “teacher” of the collaboration group will want to go to Google Drive and share the class folder with the collaborators. For the teachers in the collaboration group, you want them to add to the Google Classroom as a student. For each assignment, a folder is created in Google Drive. Instead of manually creating folders in Google Drive, create an assignment in Google Classroom.
Understanding the Classroom Folder Google Classroom automatically creates a “Classroom” folder in Google Drive for the teacher and the student. This is awesome but may lead to some confusion. Here are some tips about the Google Classroom folder. The class folder in Google Drive for the teacher and the student has the same name but is NOT the same folder. If a teacher adds files to the class folder in Google Drive, these files are NOT visible to the students. This is good because teachers and students can put files that are associated with the class into the class folder to keep organized. A common misconception is that files shared via Google Drive are shared with others in the class. Teachers wanting to share files with their students can create a folder within the class folder and share that folder with the students. A great use for Google Classroom is professional development or collaboration groups. To allow 2-way sharing of files, go to the class folder in Google Drive. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Like this:
Using Google Tools in Project-Based Learning Infographic Teacher Infographics Using Google Tools in Project-Based Learning Infographic Using Google Tools in Project-Based Learning Infographic Project-based learning is a dynamic approach in which students actively explore real-world problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge. Project-based learning should be student-driven, with a real-world connection. Many of the digital tools used in classrooms are made especially for education. Inquiry Tools Once you’ve decided what the students will be focusing on, they’ll need more information on the topic. Communication and Collaboration Tools As a part of their work, students will likely need to connect with others – with collaborators in the classroom and with folks around the globe that can help them learn about what they need to know. Expression Tools An integral part of project-based learning is students having a voice in their work. Tools for Sharing, Presenting, Feedback, and Assessment Via: dailygenius.com
Google Forms: Streamline your Data with FilterRoster Script If you re-use a Google Form for attendance, turning in homework, daily warm-up, peer evaluation data, or anything where there are multiple rows per student in your Form data my script FilterRoster may be helpful. It creates a tab for EACH student with a filter to show just that students data. Rather than filtering the Google Form data one student at a time, this will filter ALL of your students at once. I have known JavaScript and Google Apps script for about 2 weeks now, I am still playing around with it. This script works, but should be considered in beta. This will take you to the code for the FilterRoster script. This script should work with a Google Form data that has a unique student identifier such as student ID number or if students have different names (ie: you do not have 2 Amy’s in your class.) Spreadsheet The script actually goes with the spreadsheet data. Close out of the splash screen. Delete Default Text Video Demonstration Like this: