Quick Google Tips from #METC15: Drive, Docs, & Calendar

In my last post I listed some of my favorite Google things from #METC15 a few weeks ago. Today, I'd like to share some specifics. 

The following tips and tricks were presented in the "Google Like a Ninja" session led by Greg Lawrence (@greglawrence) and Michael McCann (@mccann1776), two Google Certified Teachers and instructional technology coaches in the Wentzville School District. Their "Google Ninja Showdown" slideshow is shared here, though it only lists what they demonstrated. Their presentation was a live demo in Google Apps, a showdown of rounds in each app with the audience voting on a winner (when they could connect to the internet, that is).

DRIVE - Force your students to COPY a file to their drive:

Sharing docs in Drive via a shareable link is a lifesaver for many of us. I love that uploading a document to Drive and using that link on Moodle lets me edit or update the file for a new school year without the multi-step process of uploading it to Moodle again. 

If I want every student to have her own copy of the file to edit (a worksheet, for example), but don't want all of my students to edit MY copy, I can follow these steps to simplify things in class when they need to access the file:

1. In Drive, access the file you want to share (you can open it or simply select the file within drive)
2. Click the SHARE button 
3. Click "Get shareable link" and change the sharing settings to "anyone with the link" and "can view" or "People at [your organization] with the link can view" 
4. Click the COPY LINK button or "Get Shareable Link" to copy the URL to the clipboard
5. Click Done
6. Go to the website, doc, email, or wherever you want to post your link
7. Paste the URL into the space
8. Note where the word "edit" is in the sharing URL:
   
9. Replace the word "edit" with "copy" in the URL 
10. When your students click the link, they will be prompted with this screen: 
    
11. Students click the MAKE A COPY button and the file is now saved in their Drives

DOCS - Use "Replace with" codes for grading comments:

A simple tip for giving feedback in a Google Doc was to create your own special codes that Google recognizes and replaces with longer text. Helpful for those commonly used phrases when grading papers. In TurnItIn, we make them QuickMarks (or they are provided in the pre-made sets). This is a way to create a version of those marks in Google Docs.

1. Open a Google Doc
2. Under Tools, click on Preferences, which will show you this pop-up window: 
   
3. You can see some of the commonly "replace with" codes. Add your own! Some examples:
   
4. Use these codes when adding feedback for your students... but only in the body of the document. I thought our presenters said you could use the "replace with" feature in comments, but I cannot get them to work... I find that to be a bummer. Hopefully you can find other ways to use custom "replace with" options.

CALENDAR - Share attachments with your events:

I guess I never paid attention to the "Add attachment" option when editing the details of an event on Google Calendar before METC. Now that I'm a Google Ninja, though, I'm loving it. I see this as a great tool for my teachers who put their assignments on a Google Calendar that is embedded in their Moodle page (CJ teachers - I'd love to help you do this!). If they store their homework files (reading assignments, worksheets, project descriptions, etc.) in Google Drive and share them from there anyways, this is a great option. Also great for having people sign up for time slots for conferences, to bring food to an event, etc.

1. Make sure you have the appropriate sharing settings applied to the Doc/Sheets/Slides/etc. file you are attaching
2. Open your calendar
3. Create your event or choose a previously existing one and click "Edit Event"
4. On the event details page, click "Add attachment" next to Attachment (about halfway down the page, just above the Event color choices)
5. Choose a file you already have in your Drive or click Upload to add a file from your computer
6. Click the SELECT button
7. The file name shows up next to "Attachment" on the event details page
8. Click the red SAVE button at the top of the page
9. Now when students view the event on the calendar and click "more details", the attachment will appear as a link in the window

Stay tuned for more #METC15 sharing - Google and beyond!

Google Domination at #METC15

I look forward to the Midwest Educational Technology Community Conference (METC) for approximately 362 days each year; give me a day to recover from it and I'm counting down to the next one.



My time at METC this year ended up overwhelmingly Google-influenced. Yes, I chose to attend a few sessions that had Google in the title. But even if the session wasn't declared to be all about Google, there was some kind of Google influence. Maybe the fact that Jaime Casap (@jcasap), Global Education Evangelist at Google, Inc., was a keynote speaker had something to do with it, I don't know. Check out his address here - well worth a watch! He was full of insights, an engaging speaker, and really delved into the nitty gritty of the past and future of education and technology. Some favorite nuggets:

This generation of students doesn’t think who can I work for? They think who can I work with to have an impact. @jcasap #metc15
— Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom) February 11, 2015

We used to have to call the Internet. And the Internet was busy. #METC15

— Stacey Kenney (@stacey_kenney) February 11, 2015

"Education isn't broken... The world it was set up for just doesn't exist anymore" @jcasap #metc15

— Michelle Fank (@mfankopedia) February 11, 2015

#Technology is not the silver bullet. #Education is the silver bullet for lasting change - @jcasap #METC15 pic.twitter.com/Rv0qJPkfGS

— Drew McAllister (@drewmca) February 11, 2015

The devices kids are using today are the worst devices they will ever use in their lives. #metc15 pic.twitter.com/X9nXdQbGJ1

— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) February 11, 2015

I'll be devoting a few future blog posts to more detailed explorations of favorite tools, tricks, and concepts from the various presentations. And any resources from sessions are available on the METC website for anyone to view, so take a look! But in the meantime, a rundown of JUST the Google topics/tools I loved would be...

• Using "replace with" codes for adding quick comments (so simple!)
• Lab-scheduler add-on for Sheets
• g(Math) add-on for forms
• Using Drawings within Docs to format a template
• Changing the word "edit" to "copy" at the end of your sharing URL to force students to make a copy of a shared file
• Adding attachments (collaborative docs?) to events in calendar
• Research tool
• Using Google forms for a plethora of formative assessment: exit slips, 3-2-1, performance rubrics, quick writes, etc.
• Google Drive Template Gallery for school-wide document templates
• Doctopus and Goobric (mind blown!)
• Saving Forms to a tablet or smartphone home screen for quick, on-the-go access to save classroom observations, to-do lists, etc.

I'll add some links above as I find them. And I'm excited to share more details about the above tools and tricks. 

For now, I'll just leave you with this...

Small victories with Google Sites

I spent the spring and summer creating a website that would be home base for a technology professional development program at CJ. I created it using Google Sites, partially because I was modeling it after a program that had been done on Google Sites and partially because I just wanted to explore yet another of Google's products.

I'm a little obsessed now.

I know that my work isn't the most complex when it comes to  web design. I still haven't learned HTML code (when I asked a friend who works in web publishing for a big newspaper about recommended font and font size for a text heavy website, his response that his paper's "tags are 1.4em on a line height of 1.6em" left me dumbfounded). And I still don't understand a lot of what goes on in the background of websites regarding analytics and search engines. But for designing a site that is really only meant for internal use at work, it was an excellent tool for this amateur.

The Tech Charge Challenge website is staying private right now, so I made a copy of the website (small victory when I discovered how!) to make public and removed any personal data from teachers. That's what I've linked here. It isn't perfect (still needs a few tweaks and tutorials), but I'm pretty proud.

A few weeks ago, I decided to make another, much simpler, website as a home for any and all technology-related professional development resources and opportunities at CJ. Small victories all over the place as I set up this page. I created links using images to represent my main websites. I embedded a Google calendar on an "announcement" page. I even figured out how to give only teachers at CJ permission to edit a "list" page (and only that page) so they can add web tools to the list. Now I'm ready to put tools into the list and find a reason to use other templates.

Sometimes on a Monday, we just need to celebrate those small victories.


For more info about Google Sites, check out...

• Beginner's Guide to Creating a Site from Google Site's Help Center
• Mary Fran's Getting Started with Google Sites (a Google Site from a Google Certified Teacher)
• 47 Page Guide to Google Sites for Teachers from Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers

Curious how you can use Google Sites in the classroom? Check out...

• How to Manage Classroom Digital Portfolios by Using Page-level Permissions in Google Sites from Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers
• 5 Ways to Use Google Sites in Schools from Richard Byrne
• Google Sites for Teacher Web Pages and Student Projects from Flipped Education - this page contains links to many example pages and resources

Google Driving: General Resources for Exploration

A recent faculty meeting really showed me how interested our teachers are in exploring the features of Google Drive and Apps. When given the freedom to choose between one of six ed tech topics to explore for an hour, an overwhelming majority of my colleagues flooded the "Google Drive" area of the library, inundating my few "experts" who were there to help people. A few others jumped in to assist their colleagues and if I understand correctly (I didn't really get to check in; I was leading a small group exploring Twitter for professional development), people really made progress in learning about this Google cloud thing that's all the rage.

However, I know some people will need reminders and tutorials, so I want to share some of my favorites here.  Whether revisiting how to share a Google doc or moving on to creating forms and analyzing the responses from them, we all need step-by-step instructions or visual help sometimes. So here are some favorites to get you started:

• Google Drive Help Center: That's right - they make the tools, so they better make some good resources to accompany them.  I usually find anything Google to be user-friendly, including these resources.  This link will take you to the main menu, but each topic takes you to a sub-menu, which then takes you to another menu; very specific help here.
  

• GCFLearnFree Google Documents: From the Goodwill Community Foundation's LearnFree program (a non-profit providing educational materials to help people around the world "learn the essential skills they need to live and work in the 21st century", the lessons/tutorials provided here are clear and easy to follow... and include quizzes. We won't talk about my score on the Google Drive quiz that I thought I could just breeze through - I didn't think about the questions enough at all and almost failed it.

• AnsonAlex YouTube Tutorials: This playlist contains a number of tutorials for those of us who are more visual and auditory learners.

Have a Google Drive/Apps tutorial that really helped you? Share it in the comments below!

Webinars on the Way - sign up for more free PD

Webinars really can provide us with great professional development for free and without leaving the comfort of our homes and/or desks.  Often they take on a very informal atmosphere because they are done via a social forum like Google Hangouts.  When we participate in them live, we can contribute to the conversation via chat, video conferencing, etc., depending on the format and venue.  

As a follow-up to my last post listing archived and on-demand webinars to explore, I thought I'd link you to some upcoming webinars that might be of interest. All of these are free, but do require registration.

EdWeb.net is a "professional social and learning network" for educators and is free for anyone to join.  Within the network, there are over 1,000 "communities", or groups, to join as global PLCs. Something to consider joining for professional development and networking.  Or if you don't want to register for yet another group, you can follow the network on Twitter @edwebnet.

The group provides a calendar of upcoming webinars here, sometimes providing multiple a day.  I specifically thought these might be interesting...

Get your students involved with this session!

WHAT: Interview with a Hero: Lessons of Personal Bravery and Self-Sacrifice

WHEN:  Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (Eastern Time)

ABOUT: 

Hosted by Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation

In this special webinar presented by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, teachers are invited to bring their students and colleagues to hear the personal story of the Medal of Honor Recipient, Harold “Hal” A. Fritz, who received his Medal for his actions near Quan Loi, South Vietnam in 1969, during the Vietnam War.  Hal Fritz is currently the President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which is comprised solely of the 75 living Medal of Honor Recipients.

During this webinar, Hal Fritz will discuss what the Medal of Honor means to him and how it has affected his life.  He will take questions about his experiences and will share his thoughts on character, commitment, and bravery.  The program will be moderated by Noel Wall, Director of Education at the Medal of Honor Foundation.

This webinar is part of a series of webinars on the free Character Development Program, based on the Medal of Honor Recipients' stories, which includes 50+ lesson plans and 100 video vignettes on aspects of courage, integrity, sacrifice, commitment, citizenship, and patriotism.

Webinar attendees will receive details on how to access the full free Character Development Program, available online and on DVD.

Not flipping? Have your students create the videos!

WHAT: Video Creations as Demonstrations of Learning

WHEN: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) 

ABOUT: Presented by Richard Byrne, Digital Learning Consultant - Free Technology for Teachers

Between cell phones and tablets, it seems that nearly every student has access to a video camera today. In our community’s next webinar, Digital Learning Consultant Richard Byrne will share some of the ways that your students can demonstrate knowledge of content and process - through the use of free video creation apps and web tools. From short, one-take video reports to longer documentary videos to bringing creative writing to life, there is something here that all teachers can put to use in their classrooms. Here are some of the topics Richard will explore during this session:

• Flipping the flipped classroom by having students create short video lessons for each other
• How to video blog with YouTube and Blogger and why you might want your students to blog this way
• Adding videos to augmented reality experiences
• Creating animated videos to bring students' writing to life
• Sharing students’ video projects while being mindful of privacy concerns

Join us on March 26 to learn ways to use video creations as demonstrations of learning with your students.

 EdTechTeacher.org is a professional development group with a goal of helping "teachers and schools leverage technology to create student-centered, inquiry-based learning environments". You can sign up for a monthly newsletter from the group, or visit the Tools for Teachers page to get resources. The group seems to specialize in webinars, some of which I linked in my previous post.  

Here are two upcoming webinars that sound relevant to CJ teachers.  The links provided take you to the list of webinars and registration is available on that page...

Get collaborating and using the cloud...

WHAT: All Things Google!

WHEN: Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - 7:00pm EST

ABOUT: 

Google Apps, Chrome, and Drive - use one of these Google tools, or all of them, and endless possibilities open up for creation, communication, and collaboration. In just one hour, we'll give you a speed tour through "all things Google" to give you some ideas for how you can bring these tools into your classroom.

Gaming in education - it's a thing.

WHAT: Games Are Good for You! What Games Teach Us About STEM & Learning

WHEN: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - 7:00pm EST

ABOUT: 

What can we learn from games? Come explore the many ways that you can use game dynamics and gamification to increase learning and boost engagement in your STEM classroom. Discover how popular games such as Minecraft and SimCity provide playgrounds for creativity and robust opportunities for collaboration and critical thinking in the classroom. Finally, learn about the many opportunities for coding and computer science that are embedded in the process of having kids designing and programming games as a demonstration of their learning.

Sign up for one of these webinars? Get something good from it? Comment below to let us know!