Keystone Tech Talk

Resource Roundup 5.23.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 May 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Google Apps for Education

Get the Most out of Google Apps for Education with Synergyse Training (Now Free!), from friEdTechnology
I have used the Synergyse training on a trial basis in the past, and it is good! This is a great way to keep up with new Google Apps features or get answers to your questions.

15 Awesome Blogs to Follow for All Your Google Needs, from Shake Up Learning
You may want to add some of these blogs to your Feedly account.

Believe Your Students CAN, by Alice Keeler
Watch the embedded video to learn how four-year-olds (YES, four-year-olds!) use Google Classroom!

More Tech Tips

I'm Not Techie, by Alice Keeler
Love this quote: "The only difference between 'I'm techie' and 'I'm not techie' is the willingness to click on stuff and see what happens."

This Job is Too Hard to Go It Alone--#StealEDU, by Alice Keeler
Keeler lists links to blogs of teachers who share their stuff with other teachers. More blogs to add to your Feedly!

My Top 10 Favorite Ed Tech Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 May 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Have you set up your Feedly account yet? As promised, I'm listing ten of my favorite blogs (in alphabetical order) so you can continue to stay current on the latest ed tech developments. I suggest using Feedly to subscribe so you don't miss any updates to these outstanding blogs!

1. Catlin Tucker
Tucker teaches high school English in a district with little technology, yet she is a master at integrating blended learning and the students' own devices.

2. Free Technology for Teachers
Richard Byrne writes about a wide variety of tools, including Google Apps. He posts several times a day.

3. FriEdTechnology
This blog covers Google Apps and a range of other ed tech topics.

4. Google for Education Blog
Get the latest Google information right from the horse's mouth!

5. iPad Apps for School
This blog, also from Richard Byrne, has a wealth of information on instructional apps for iPads.

6. iTeach with iPads
A primary teacher shares how she and her students integrate iPads into the curriculum.

7. Jonathan Wylie, Instructional Technology Consultant
Wylie writes about a variety of instructional technology topics.

8. Learning in Hand, with Tony Vincent
If you teach with iPads or other handheld devices, you won't want to miss this blog!

9. Shake Up Learning
This is another great Google Apps resource.

10. Teacher Tech
In my opinion, Alice Keeler is a Google Apps and Classroom expert!

Friday Food Flash

Yes, I'll throw in a couple of blogs that I read to get new recipes for my cook! :)
The Pioneer Woman
Lulu the Baker
Iowa Girl Eats--This blog has transitioned to gluten-free recipes but many can be adapted.

Do you have a favorite blog that you'd like to share? Please add the link in the Comments section below!

Resource Roundup 5.16.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 May 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Language Arts

ReadWorks Publishes Summer Reading Packs for K-12, from Free Technology for Teachers
These packs are free to download and print and include ten articles per pack.

Google Apps

4 Google Apps for Education Updates You Might Have Missed, from Free Technology for Teachers.
Check this summary of recent updates.

Google Drive: Use the Search Filter, by Alice Keeler
Google Drive uses Google's powerful search engine to help you easily and quickly find files you've created or that others have shared with you. Did you know you can search by file type?

How to Blend Images in Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers
Learn how to use transparency to blend one picture into another using Google Slides. I strongly suggest that you guide your students to Pixaby or Photos for Class to find Creative Commons images that they have permission to use in their projects. Alternatively, send them to the Creative Commons search, where they have access to images, music, etc. from several different sources.

Stay Up to Date with Feedly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 May 2016 00:30:00 +0000

My blog, Keystone Tech Talk, will be shuttered at the end of the current school year due to my impending retirement! However, I hope you will continue to read and learn from the many great ed tech resources that I've shared over the years.

One easy way to access up-to-date ed tech information is to subscribe to quality blogs. I personally use an RSS reader to compile updates in one place to all of the many blogs that I read. Updates are sent automatically; I don't have to go to each blog to see what's new.

My RSS reader of choice is Feedly, and I like it because:

It's free.
It allowed me to use my Google or Facebook credentials to create an account.
I can access my blogs on a computer via Feedly's website or on my phone or iPad with the free Feedly app. I do most of my reading on the iPad app.
I can sort the blogs by category--ed tech, design, food, etc. (I like to read about food; I just don't like to cook it!)

The short video embedded below will show you how easy it is to add content once you've created your Feedly account. I'll be back in a few days to share a list of ed tech blogs that I recommend you follow!

So what are you waiting for? Go to Feedly.com and create your account today!

Resource Roundup 5.5.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 May 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Source

Subscribe to the U. S. Department of Education Newsletter, by Alice Keeler
I didn't know that the Ed Department produces a newsletter. Did you?

Explain VR Virtual Zoo - Animals in Virtual Reality, from Free Tech for Teachers
Have your students use your Google Cardboard with this app to learn about animals in virtual reality.

Chrome

17 Chrome Extensions for You, by Alice Keeler
Admittedly, I haven't tried all of these extensions. Are there any on this list that you use or love? Or any that you recommend we stay away from?

Google Apps for Education

Google Classroom: Make Everything an Assignment, by Alice Keeler
The advantage to using assignments (instead of announcements) for everything is that assignments allow a private conversation between you and a student about his/her work.

Giving Thanks (and Time Back) to Teachers with New Updates to Google Classroom, from the Google for Education blog
Learn how to "schedule" assignments and announcements AND read about the exciting updates coming in the fall that will allow you to keep parents in the educational loop! You'll find step-by-step instructions for scheduling assignments and announcements here.

How to Use the New Q & A and Laser Pointer Features of Google Slides, from Free Tech for Teachers
Now your audience can ask questions during your Slides presentation for a more interactive experience. See how this works in the Slides app. Also, you now have access to a laser pointer as you present.

Friday Food Flash

The Best Chocolate Cupcakes, from Lulu the Baker
I can't wait to try these!

Resource Roundup 4.26.16--Google Apps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Google Apps

11 Tips When You're New to Google Apps for Education, by Alice Keeler
Even though we're not new to Google Apps, take a minute to review these tips. I'll bet you learn something new!

How to Add Word Art to Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers
Yes, Google Slides includes word art.

Stay on Task with Updates in Google Keep
Google Keep is a note-taking app that integrates with Google Apps. Read about the potential educational benefits of the recent updates from Free Technology for Teachers and Teacher Tech.

Google Slides: Create Branching Slides for an Interactive Google Slides Experience, by Alice Keeler
Learn how to create a Google Slides presentation that advances depending on choices made by students. For example, design a self-checking formative assessment that gives immediate feedback! Or have students create interactive storybooks (like these that former KHS students wrote years ago) that allow readers to choose their own endings. There are so many possibilities; let me know if you need help!

Google Forms: Creating a Branching Quiz Question, by Alice Keeler
Use a Google Form to create a self-grading formative assessment that gives immediate feedback and additional instruction when needed. Let me know if you want to try this and need help!

Google Classroom and Newsela Now Integrate!
Did you know that you can now integrate Google Classroom with Newsela? Newsela is in the process of allowing educators to upload their Classroom rosters and then to distribute articles via Classroom! If it doesn't work for this school year, it should certainly be an option for next year. Read more about this new feature on the Teacher Tech blog and find instructions on the Newsela website.

Resource Roundup 4.20.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Language Arts and Other Content Reading Subjects

ReadWorks Offers a Nice Set of Poems and Guiding Questions for Poetry Month, from Free Technology for Teachers
ReadWorks also offers free Standards-aligned fiction and nonfiction passages listed with Lexile scores and suggested grade levels. Sign up for a free account!

The Best Places to Get the "Same" Text Written for Different "Levels," from Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day
This list includes several new-to-me options in addition to Newsela.

Tech Integration

Tech Tutorial Videos from Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers
If you get stuck while working with technology, or you just want to learn something new, check out Byrne's extensive playlists of YouTube videos.

Apps Unlock "A-Ha Moment" from District Administration
Mobile devices lead students to deeper learning with videos and other multimedia.

Earth Day

16 Educational Resources for Earth Day 2016, from Free Technology for Teachers
Explore these excellent resources to supplement your Earth Day activities this Friday.

Games

Kahoot Adds a Team Mode, from Free Technology for Teachers
"Team mode" may be a good option for classrooms that don't have enough devices for every student. And team mode promotes collaboration as well.

Resource Roundup 4.17.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

English/Language Arts

Authentic Audience Matters, by Howard Pitler on the ASCD In-Service Blog
The PA Core Standards for English Language Arts include the publishing of writing beginning in Kindergarten (CC.1.4.K.U). In this post, the author advocates for the publication of finished student products for an audience larger than one--the teacher.

Google Apps

How to Change Your Google Profile Image--and Why You Should, from Free Technology for Teachers

Six Tips for Tabs in Google Chrome, from Teacher Tech

Earth Day

Lively Lessons: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, from Discovery Education
This lesson, adaptable for a variety of grade levels, is a good one to add to your bag of tricks for Earth Day on April 22!

Google Reminders Added to Your Google Calendar on the Web

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

You may have noticed that a new feature has been added to your web-based Google Calendar recently. (This functionality was added to the Google Calendar app a few months ago.) When you click in your calendar to add an event, you now have the option to add a Reminder. Like Calendar events, Reminders can be set as "all day" or for a specific time of day. Reminders can serve as your to-do list!

The Reminders on your calendar automatically advance daily until you click on them to "mark as done."

To begin using Reminders on your Google Calendar, click the arrow to the right of "Tasks" under "My Calendars." Choose "Switch to Reminders."

Of course, your Reminders will sync among all of your devices. Currently, although Reminders works with Gmail's Inbox app, a list of Reminders doesn't appear on our Gmail web screens like our Tasks lists. Hopefully that feature will be implemented soon! **UPDATE: The Gmail Inbox app does not support Google Apps for Education accounts at this time.

Learn more about Reminders:

Reminders Come to Google Calendar on the Web

Create and Change Reminders in Google Calendar

Reminders Make Google Calendar an Incredible To-Do List (Discusses Reminders on the mobile Google Calendar app)

Resource Roundup 4.12.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Student-Made-E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning, from the Cult of Pedagogy blog
Watch the short video embedded in the linked post to learn how to use PowerPoint or Google Slides to make e-books in pdf format. I like it!

Design Your Own Digital Choice Board, by Catlin Tucker
One way to differentiate instruction is to give students a choice in how they will practice a skill and/or demonstrate what they've learned. This blog post includes a Google Doc template that you can use to design a digital choice board for your students.

Resource Roundup 4.8.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Have You Used Photos for Class?

This is good site to send students when they need images for a project and can't take their own pictures. Why Photos for Class? The images are age and school appropriate, the downloaded images automatically include citations, and the photos have Creative Commons licensing for public use. Links to Photos for Class are included on both the KHS Students and KES Students pages under the Multimedia category. Note the citation on the picture above that I downloaded from Photos for Class.

New in Google Classroom--Polling Questions!

If you click the plus sign in the bottom right of the Google Classroom stream and then choose "create question," you'll now have an option to add a multiple choice polling question. The Google for Education blog suggests four ways to use the polling option.

Resources for Earth Day 2016: Trees for the Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Earth Day 2016
Friday, April 22

Trees for the Earth

Learn more about Earth Day at the official Earth Day website

Discovery Education: Earth Day Content Collection includes video segments, clip art, writing prompts, etc. Find more content by searching by standards, specific topics, or by grade level. Log into your Discovery Education account to view these resources. (Email Barb for help.)

Discovery also featured a Content Showcase on Earth Day in 2015. Again, you will have to log in to your Discovery account to view.

BrainPOP: Peruse the Science units or do a search for Earth Day to connect with many topics related to the Earth. Contact Barb for login information.

BrainPOP, Jr. has a video on the Earth and you'll find additional resources by searching Earth Day. Again, you'll need to login for access.

Matt Davis updated for 2016 his Edutopia article entitled Earth Day: Lesson Plans, Reading Lists, and Classroom Ideas.

Time for Kids offers Earth Day printables for Grades K-6 as well as an Earth Day mini-site with other articles and resources.

NEA has an extensive list of Earth Day curriculum resources for Grades K-5.

Scholastic has also compiled a list of Earth Day ideas for all grade levels.

Read Write Think has Earth Day-related lesson plans for Grades K-9.

Science NetLinks had a collection of Earth Day activities, also.

Don't forget to check Newsela for nonfiction news articles appropriate for Earth Day! Remember that Newsela publishes the same article at five different reading levels so ALL of your students can read and enjoy them!

Email and RSS subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

Resource Roundup 4.4.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 00:30:00 +0000

English and Language Arts

The 21st Century Book Report
Read how one high school English teacher got his students to read more. His ideas are adaptable for elementary classrooms.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything--Augmented and Virtual Reality
This is the place to look if you want to learn more about augmented and virtual reality. Check out Schrock's list of tutorials, apps, and other resources to bring these new technologies into your classroom.

Google Apps for Education

Capture Student Ideas with VideoNot.es and Google Classroom
How can you be sure that students are attending to and learning from that assigned YouTube or other video? Use the VideoNot.es app in Google Drive!

Professional Development

Highlights from the Free Technology for Teachers "Practical Ed. Tech. Handbook"
Download your free copy of the entire handbook here to get ideas on good tools for tech integration.

No More Ads

I've deactivated the "Delicious" feed connected to my blog, so you should receive no more ads from me!

Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

Resource Roundup 3.29.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 00:30:00 +0000

How to Use Augmented Reality to Transform Your Classroom

At KES, we recently introduced teachers to Google Cardboard and have also experimented with other Augmented Reality apps like Anatomy 4D, Chromville, and Quiver. This post lists additional apps that might benefit your students.

How to Use Skype in the Classroom
Skype is yet another way to connect your students to others around the globe--to authors, to experts, to other classrooms--or to take them on a field trip to a place that they might not otherwise get to visit. Take a few minutes to watch the embedded videos if you can!

How to Crop and Filter Images in Google Slides
Watch the short embedded video to learn how to work with images inside Google Slides.

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/en/virtual-reality-population-reality-1220293/

Resource Roundup 3.22.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Tools

What to Do with Web 2.0 Tools--Padlet

If you still haven't tried Padlet--or even if you have--here are some ideas for integrating this free, easy-to-use tool. Just for fun, please go to this Padlet, click on the wall and add your first name, your title, and where you're from. Feel free to add any additional information about yourself!

Three Ways to Save Ink and Paper When You Print

Good tips, including a bookmarklet and extension to add to Chrome. Take a few minutes to watch the video.

Google Apps

5 Ideas for Using Google Sites in Your Classroom

Remember that Google Sites is part of our Google Apps for Education suite. You and our students already have accounts for Sites.

Google Cardboard in the Classroom
We have been experimenting with Google Cardboard at Keystone Elementary. I prepared this document to get us started.

Six Tools for Creating Videos on Chromebooks

Science

A Nice Set of Animated Science Lessons for Children
Lessons for primary children from the Children's University of Manchester covering seven science topics.

Resource Roundup 3.18.16

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 00:30:00 +0000

It appears that my Delicious links have stopped emailing automatically again, so I'll go to Plan B.

Google Apps
Three Google Drive Features that Impress New Users

Poetry
Digital Poets! Web Tools, Apps, and Lesson Ideas
Poetry is not just for Language Arts classes.

Video
Three Tips for Planning Video Projects

5 Video Tutorials for Green Screen App by Do Ink
These short videos share new ideas for using the Green Screen app. Fun!

Friday Food Flash!
Oven Nachos with Mexican Crockpot Chicken
This looks like a great snack to enjoy during March Madness--or while you watch your favorite Hallmark movie!

How To Create a Textbox in Google Docs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 01:30:00 +0000

A teacher asked me recently how to create a textbox in Google Docs. I didn't see a textbox option in the Docs toolbar, so I cheated and looked it up! :) I thought you also might like to know how to insert a textbox.

1. While in your Google doc, click Insert > Drawing. (Yes, you go to Drawing to get a textbox!)

2. Click the textbox icon. Your cursor will turn into a crosshair. Click below the Drawing toolbar and drag to draw your textbox.

3. Type your information in the new textbox. While the textbox is selected, use the menu options to format the text and the box. Drag by the little blue boxes in the perimeter to resize.

4. Click Save and Close. The textbox will be inserted into your Google doc.

5. To move your textbox around in your document, click on it and choose the "wrap text" option.

Create an Electronic Rubric with Google Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 01:30:00 +0000

Have you considered using a Google Form to create a rubric for student presentations? I hadn't until I came across this idea while working through the Google Training Center. Contact me if you'd like to try this process and need help getting started.

Why use a Google Form to assess presentations?

You'll eliminate the need to juggle 80+ paper rubrics!
You can evaluate presentations electronically. Most of us can type comments faster than we can hand write them.
The scoring data can be transferred to a Google Sheet that you can program to calculate numeric totals.
All scores are on one Sheet, so you can further evaluate the student data as needed.

For demonstration purposes, I'll begin converting this sample rubric to a Google Form. By the way, have you seen Kathy Schrock's extensive Assessments and Rubrics webpage?

Let's build a sample rubric:

1. Open your Google Drive and create a new Google Form.

2. Create short answer questions for Last Name, First Name, Period, and other demographic information. Each of these fields will become a separate column in the Google Sheet, so you'll be able to sort your data accordingly. Click the + sign on the right to add additional questions.

3. Click on "Required" for each question so you don't accidentally skip it as you score the presentations.

4. Now you're ready to build the rubric. For each criterion, create one multiple-choice question with either values or levels as choices. I will follow the sample rubric for my example, but you can adapt your Form to meet your own needs.

You may prefer to work with numeric values instead of text so that you can calculate total scores on your Google Sheet.

5. I suggest adding a "Comments" section after each criterion so you can expand on your evaluation if needed. Choose a "paragraph" question format for these.

6. Continue adding multiple-choice questions for your assessment criteria and paragraph questions to add comments until your rubric is complete.

7. You'll find additional options in the upper right of your Google Form. See the screenshot below.

Change the appearance of your Form by choosing different colors or images for your header.
Click Preview to view the live version of your Form. This is the version you will see as you actually use your Form to assess your students.
In the Settings menu, you can choose who can complete your form and whether you will collect login information. Since this Form is for your own use, you probably won't need to make any changes.
Under More Options, you can "Create a copy" of the Form for each of your classes if you'd rather separate the assessments instead of having data for all of your students on one Sheet.

8. Click Send when you're ready to use your Form. Click on the link option to get the URL where you can access your Form. Copy and paste this link into your browser; bookmark this web page for easy access.

9. After you've assessed each student, submit the form. You will see the "Your response has been recorded" message; click "Submit another response" to get a new Form to evaluate the next student presentation. Repeat these steps until all presentations are assessed.

10. After you begin using the Google Form for assessment, you can open the editable form from your Google Drive to view the responses.

Click on "Responses" to see options to view either Summary or Individual responses.

You'll want to click on the "Create a spreadsheet" option, though, to access more meaningful scoring data.

Choose the "Create a new spreadsheet" option.

Your data will be converted to a Google Sheet, saved in your Drive, that you can format to meet your assessment needs. If you are not comfortable working with a spreadsheet, I can help!

Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

Sorry About the Ads!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 14:44:00 +0000

If you subscribe to Keystone Tech Talk by email, you probably noticed that a few ads have been sent out recently. As far as I can tell, they are coming from Delicious.com. This is the online service that I use, and have used for years, to bookmark the sites that I share with you. Another service, Feedburner (a Google product), emails you the links to these sites. Both Delicious and Feedburner are free for users, so I suppose it was inevitable that they would begin using ads to pay their bills.

I will keep an eye on the ads, and if they get inappropriate or overly annoying, I will figure out another process to spread the ed tech word!

Annotate Screenshots with the "Awesome Screenshot Minus" Chrome Extension

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:00:00 +0000

Awesome Screenshot Minus

Recently I was asked how to take and annotate a screenshot. A "screenshot" is a picture of your computer screen and is often used to provide instructions, to highlight and save information during research, etc.

I know many of you use the Snipping Tool in Windows, which has limited annotating options. I personally use Skitch (free download) on my Macbook. Another good tool for those who have Evernote accounts is the Evernote Web Clipper extension for Chrome.

I went in search of another option that is easy for everyone to install and use--including students. I found the "Awesome Screenshot Minus" Chrome extension, which has good reviews.

Click here for instructions on installing and using the "Awesome Screenshot Minus" Chrome extension. If your students need such a tool, they too can install this extension. Make sure they are logged into Chrome before they begin.

Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

Common Sense Media Helps Parents and Teachers Sort through the Digital Overload

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 01:30:00 +0000

How can we parents, teachers, and caregivers sort through the thousands of new websites, apps, books, games, and other media released weekly to make good choices for our children and students? How can we be sure that the hottest new movie is appropriate for our families or that a particular app or video game has some redeeming educational value?

It's Common Sense Media to the rescue! This organization provides free "unbiased information, trusted advice, and innovative tools" to help parents, educators, and policymakers use media and technology in a positive way to benefit children.

Their website offers:

A free newsletter for parents
A parent blog
The ability to search for reviews by age (2-18) and media type (movies, games, TV shows, books, apps, websites, music)
Free iOS and Android apps so you can connect on your phone or tablet
A Facebook page (CommonSenseEducators), Twitter feed, and Pinterest board
Free classroom tools and a K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum for educators
Graphite, a free educational rating system that helps educators discover high-quality digital tools for their classrooms

You might want to check out Common Sense Media before your next purchase of apps or video games or before your next family movie night!

Thanks to Jennifer Ehehalt, Common Sense Media representative from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, for presenting this information recently at our Riverview IU 6 Tech Integrators meeting.

Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

#GoogleTips--Google Docs Tips and Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 18:53:00 +0000

We've used Google Apps for Education for a couple of years now at Keystone. Although we did some "crash course" trainings early on, I thought it might be beneficial to revisit Google Docs and explore some of the more advanced features.

Did you know that in Google Docs, you can

Select from a variety of templates for MLA reports, resumes, letters, essays, brochures, and more?
Install more than 450 additional fonts?
Search Google, Google Scholar, and Google Images without leaving your document?
Find and insert copyright friendly images from Google, Life Magazine, or stock photos from your doc?
Add programs such as a bibliography maker, rubric builder, thesaurus, or mind mapping tool?
Dictate what's on your mind instead of typing?

To learn how to use these great features and more, take a look at the Google Slides presentation embedded below that I created for recent teacher training sessions.

If you'd like to receive more of these posts, subscribe by entering your email address at the top left of this page. Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

#GoogleTips--Get More Out of Your Google Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 17:32:00 +0000

Although I have been "preaching Google" for a couple of years now, you still might be unclear on how you can productively use your Google Drive. (Parents, do you realize that if you have a personal Gmail account, you also have a Google Drive with free software?) Why you should convert to Google Drive when you are perfectly happy using Microsoft Office?

Consider these reasons:

Google Drive is your "online hard drive." Files that are stored in your Drive can be accessed from any computer that has Internet access. Start your work at home tonight in Google Drive and finish it tomorrow at school; you won't have to email your files or save them to a flash drive.
If you download Drive to your computer, you will have access to your files even when you are offline. Your files will sync automatically when you connect again to the Internet. There are also free Drive apps for your tablet and smartphone.
Your Keystone Google Drive has UNLIMITED storage. Flash drives do not! And your files are backed up on Google's servers, so you won't lose them if your computer crashes. (Personal Google/Gmail accounts give you 15 MB of free Drive storage with the option to purchase more.)
From your Drive, you can create word processing documents, slideshows, spreadsheets . . . just like in Microsoft Office. The difference is that Google software is free!
You can store almost any file type in your Google Drive. This includes Microsoft Office documents, videos, photographs, pdf files, and more.
If you use Chrome or Firefox as your Internet browser (and I recommend using Chrome with your Google accounts), you can drag files from your computer's desktop and drop them into your Google Drive for safekeeping and easy access.
Any file created in Google Drive can be shared with others for collaborative editing, commenting, or viewing.

Take a look at this Google Doc that I created for a staff training to learn more tips on Chrome and Google Drive.

If you'd like to receive more of these posts, subscribe by entering your email address at the top left of this page. Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

Wi-fi Assist in iOS 9 Could Get Expensive!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:32:00 +0000

"Wi-fi Assist" is a new function in iOS 9. If you've updated your iPhone (or iPad with cellular access) recently, wi-fi assist is turned on by default. This feature automatically switches your device to cellular data when your wireless connection is poor. Although wi-fi assist comes in handy when you don't want to drop Internet connectivity, it could potentially put you over your cellular data limit. And that could get expensive!

To turn off wi-fi assist, on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 9, go to Settings > Cellular. Scroll way to the bottom under the list of your apps. Slide the wi-fi assist button to turn it off.

Email subscribers: Visit the Keystone Tech Talk blog to access archived posts and search for resources!

Summer Tech Camp with Google Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 01:00:00 +0000

Last spring, I read Edutopia's article on Technology Summer Camp, and the wheels started turning. I decided that I wanted to offer a Tech Camp to our teachers. I ran the idea past our superintendent, and he was immediately on board.

We offered Act 48 hours (Pennsylvania professional development credits) for participation, and the Keystone Education Foundation purchased two iPad Minis to award to those who finished the greatest number of challenges. We would have a drawing for the iPads in case of a tie.

Organization
I set up the Summer Tech Camp in Google Classroom. I emailed the class code to teachers who indicated interest, and we had 32 enrollees.

Activities
I created six activities that I aligned to the PA Core Standards. I also considered technology professional development needs as identified by a survey we conducted last spring. Each activity included links to related articles and resources and required the use of multiple tech tools to complete. My plan was that the teachers would create resources they could actually use in their classrooms in the fall.

Topics Covered
The six activities included (1) Discovery Board Builder, (2) Providing Reliable Web Resources for Students, (3) Using Graphics in Instruction, (4) Creating a Screencast, (5) Publishing Student Writing, and (6) The Grand Finale. The last assignment included projects using Canva, Thinglink, and Padlet. The teachers earned two Act 48 hours for completion of each activity.

Challenges
The greatest challenge for me was developing activities that would be meaningful to K-12 teachers, whether they taught math, reading, history, music, or any other subject area and regardless of grade level.

The Results
Ten teachers finished all six activities and earned 12 Act 48 hours each. They are high school teachers Alison Albright, Kami Coursen, Bobbie Heller, Kathy Rutkowski, Franki Sheatz, and Pam Warner and elementary teachers Suzanne Buckley, Brandi Fisher, Barbie Milliron, and Amanda Phillips. Four more teachers completed at least one of the activities.

We held a drawing for the iPads as part of our District in-service days in August and recognized each teacher who completed Tech Camp. High school chemistry teacher Alison Albright and elementary music teacher Barbi Milliron took home the new iPad Minis!

Conclusion
I got nothing but positive feedback from the teachers who attended Tech Camp. Some did say that they worked through some frustration at times, but we all agreed that we learned a lot! Google Classroom worked great as a platform for making assignments and turning in work, and the teachers benefited from seeing the "student" side of Classroom. The teachers also shared links to their work in Classroom so we could see how other campers applied the tools in their curricula. I was so impressed by the quality and originality of the completed projects!

Additional teachers have asked if they might work through the Tech Camp activities during the current school year, so Tech Camp Session 2 is underway!

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Earth Day 2016Friday, April 22

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