The Google Classroom

Whew - it's been awhile since I've posted 'round these here parts, but I'm back with more EdTechSec info! As always, I'd like to remind you to just scroll through old entries and the archives - you'll surely find something useful!

So - Google! Yes, Google is "The Man" and Google is taking over the world, but this is a case where world domination is actually working for some of us. Google has become like our favorite superstore - everything under one roof. That's pretty handy - having a Gmail address gives you access to everything they've got!

Google Classroom is a nice little wiki set up to give you a quick rundown of Google's apps that work great in the classroom.

Of course we all know about Google Earth, but there are lots of other useful classroom goodies as well. The Google Classroom wiki gives a simple rundown of only the apps that have really proven useful in classrooms - not the whole Google bag of tricks. It's descriptions are pretty simple. When you click on one, for example Google Earth, it will take you to another wiki page where it explains some suggestions for ways to use the tool in class. You are given just a couple of links that will help you get it, and some nice short video tutorials telling how to get started with it.

So rather than having to navigate all of Google's vastness, Google Classroom keeps things nice and tidy - a great time saver for teachers wanting to know more about using Google in the classroom, but have felt like they just don't have the time to tackle it all.

Of the 18 tools listed on Google Classroom, I personally use 8 of them pretty regularly with my students - and there 3 more that I've used for myself.

Google is "the Man" for a reason! I'm a lifelong fan (until they start charging!)

iGoogle, You Google, We All Google!

Today marked the final day of setting up iGoogle pages for the middle school students! All of the students now have Gmail accounts (we have the passwords) which of course gives them access to one of the most powerful free web tools available.

In our school we have a 1:1 program for our middle school students, but setting up an iGoogle page is a pretty handy thing even for students who don't tote around their own laptops all the time. If you have some "resident" computers in your classroom that the students can access, it's still pretty worthwhile to have students create their own iGoogle pages.

I consider iGoogle pages to be the equivalent of a digital locker. Students can pick their own theme (and change it about a million times before that gets old). They can also pick their gadgets that suit their fancy. So far this year, I've seen the total sports page with a sports theme and plenty of sports feed gadgets and sports related game gadgets. I've also seen the "monster lover's page" with some relatively weird theme (they have to be appropriate), strange quotes feeds, and "monster of the day" images! This is the great thing about the iGoogle page and the reasons why students LOVE them. They are totally personal - finding their identity is a big part of a teenager's life, so an iGoogle page can say a lot about who they are, which is great for them as they are constantly looking for an outlet for this!

What's in it for teachers you ask? Well, it's a good opportunity for us to get our own interests in. I have several gadgets I require students to have. One is a gadget that links to my class blog page and our class wiki sites. Another is their gmail gadget so they can always see their inbox. Right now I have had them all put a to-do list gadget on the page as well. Coming very soon, they will also be required to have a Delicious (bookmarking) gadget, and a gadget for their Google Calendar. All of the gadgets I (and their other teachers) require MUST be above the fold so that students can see and access them easily.

Our 1:1 students set these iGoogle pages as their homepages. I do have one class of students not in 1:1. They also have iGoogle pages, and like them very much as they can access their "homepage" from any computer with an internet connection. Even at home, they can access this page and all of their important gadgets.

If you want to get a better idea about how these pages work, try setting one up for yourself first. You just need a Gmail account (easy to set up). Then go to iGoogle and set up your page. It's that easy. I use mine as my homepage too!

GoogleForms - a beginning

By now, some of you may be familiar with GoogleDocs. Very simply, GoogleDocs is a web-based word processor. If you sign up for a simple Google account (same thing as a Gmail account) you can create as many GoogleDocs as your heart desires! There are the obvious benefits of a web-based word processor, such as being able to access your documents anywhere and any time. But GoogleDocs has some added benefits, such as being able to share your documents with others, and best of all - collaborating on the same document in real time. If you can use MicroSoft Word, you can use GoogleDocs - it's even easier than Word.

Part of GoogleDocs is something called GoogleForms. There are many, many uses for GoogleForms, but for the purposes of this post, I'll begin with a useful one teachers will like - making on-line tests. There are lots of ways to custom create your own tests on GoogleForms, but the simplest way is to just create a form from Google's custom template.

Here is an example of how I created one of these for a French Test I gave today. I went into my GoogleDocs, then clicked New>Form. The template opened up, and since my test was all short answer, I chose the "text" option for all of my questions. You can also choose paragraph text, multiple choice, check boxes, choose from a list or a scale.

It was easy to enter my test title, my test directions, and then just enter the questions or problems for the test.

Here was the best part - I had two options for how to use this test - both great. I could email the test to my students, or embed it in my class blog or wiki. I've embedded part of the test in this blog so that you can see what it looks like. My students entered their answers on the computer, and submitted them to me. I received their responses on the form immediately!

The benefits of this? I have one student who is away on a trip - she can take the test while she is gone (under the supervision of her chaperone). This benefit applies to any time I have students absent on test days - easy to make special arrangements this way! I don't have to make paper copies of the test and I have a permanent record of the test. I can easily monitor the integrity of the test-takers in my room via Network Observer, or walking around and looking over shoulders. And dare I mention - students who don't have access to a computer can take the test on their cell phone if it has internet access!

Here is a sample of part of the test I gave today - it gave me an embed code for blogs and wikis that I just pasted in here (I put it on the class wiki for my students). Students can type their answers in the blanks, scroll down to the end and "submit" - voila! I have their test!

A cautionary tale for your students about their social networks...

This is a post copied from Seth Godin's Blog. Seth Godin is a sort of internet and marketing guru and author of several books, including the recent bestseller, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (it applies to lots more than business and I highly recommend it).

We know that many of our students have social network spaces on services like MySpace and FaceBook. Many of us don't know enough about how these social sites work, but it seems as though we should be giving our students some guidance regarding their use.

This recent blog post from Seth Godin is an excellent starting point for discussion with your students. It is a story that illustrates so many points about social networking perfectly. There is nothing wrong with social networking - but kids need to be aware just how "out there" their information really is. There are a lot of positives to be gained from social networking, but like anything else, kids need to use it responsibly.

Do your students a favor - share this story with them:

Personal branding in the age of Google

A friend advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper.

Three interesting resumes came to the top. She googled each person's name.

The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking."

The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings."

And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.

Three for three.

Google never forgets.

Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.

A tool for teaching kids to be discriminating about information from the internet

All About Explorers was developed by a group of teachers to teach students to be critical readers of the content they find on the internet.

All About Explorers is a series of lessons for elementary and junior high students (can be explored by a single or several lessons, or as a webquest) that demonstrates that just because something is out there for the searching does not mean it is worthwhile.

For example, if a student is doing a search for information about Christopher Columbus, typically they will just do a Google search or type something like www.columbus.com. If you click on this link, that is not helpful. Neither is www.columbus.org, which takes you to the Columbus, OH, Chamber of Commerce.

This site carefully takes students through what looks like a typical research project or webquest, and has plenty of opportunities built in for students to make choices and look critically at the information they are finding.

It's easy to use for teachers and students - for teachers wanting to see what is offered, the site is easy to navigate.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Being a Librarian in the Digital Age (prathambooks.org)