Moving to Google Apps

I had the pleasure of attending a workshop with Rushton Hurley at the FETC Conference, "Google Docs and Forms in Gory Detail."  I enjoyed it and am feeling more confident than ever that moving to cloud computing and Google Apps is the right thing for my school district to do next year. 

According to Rushton, "The collaborative nature of Google is why we all should switch from Microsoft to Google."  Another teacher said  "Using Google Apps has been the best innovation in my career; there is not a more dynamic tool to impact student learning. "

It will be a change for our folks, and change is always difficult.  Users will have to make a shift when working with Google Docs.... Example: the home screen is just too huge.  However, once you remember to switch to using the Google tool at the top to search for files, it's not a big deal. 

I look forward to working with teachers in my district.  I learned some things that our teachers are going to love, such as  how to make a self-correcting quiz, how to take advantage of the data in Google lists when using spreadsheet, and providing feedback to students that they cannot throw away after looking at their grade. 

Some things I like about Google Apps (short list):

• I like the convenience of being able to work on a file on one device and open it up and continue on another without ever having to hit a save button! 


• I can work on a project with someone who lives far away in real time.


• There is less email!  Revisions are saved without having to send the latest version to other team members.


• One username and password for a whole slew of applications.


• Once you set up the people you want to share files with in a collection, you're done; all you need to do to share with the same group is drop a file in the collection.

Some things I still need to figure out:

• How to work on Google Docs offline if I am in an area where I am unable to connect to the Internet.  At the conference I used Evernote when the wireless was down, but I heard there was a way to use Google Docs offline.


• The toolbar options are limited when using a mobile device (tablet). There may be a way around that, too. 

Infographics as a Creative Assessment

I attended one of Kathy Schrock's sessions at FETC and the topic was using infographics as a creative assessment.  I saw the value of using infographics with students before there was a term for it, so I huried to this session.  (I even subscribed to USA Today just so that I could cut out the "snapshots" that were always on page one and incorporate them into lessons with my 6th grade class.)  

Recently, I have been working quite extensively on the role of technology in the Common Core Curriculum Standards.  I know that using infographics could be extremely useful as a means to:

• Integrate information using multimedia


• Write with formatting and illustrations


• Collect info from multiple sources


• Create technical information in a visual format


• Understand and use sources in acceptable ways, following copyright laws


• Strategically use multimedia in presentations


• 
  

   Translate quantitative/technical words to a visual form

  
  

What are infographics, you ask? 

 See Kathy's intro video below (2.5 min) and then take a look at all of her examples and how-to's.

Infographics as a Creative Assessment from Kathy Schrock on Vimeo.

 Her extensive list of resources can be found here.

Software, sites, and tools to create infographics:

• Glogster (example)


• Picktochart


• Inkscape


• Aviary Phoenix


• Aviary Raven


• Sumo Paint


• Sketchpad


• Pixlr

I challenge all educators to look around for infographics in their day-to-day lives and to think of ways to help students understand and create them for themselves!

Walled Lake Schools Spice it Up! Technology Conference

Every year, just before school starts, the Walled Lake Consolidated School District hosts a technology conference. The conference is planned, organized, and facilitated by Walled Lake staff for Walled Lake staff. This past August, a huge wind storm blew through the area the night before the conference.  The morning of the conference, we discovered that there was no power at the hosting school, so we had to cancel it.  Hundreds of teachers and administrators were disappointed to find out that their yearly dose of tech medicine was not available. 

 

The planning team was determined to reschedule the conference for an upcoming Saturday. This proved to be more challenging than we figured. We needed to work around "big" football games, holidays, and the schedule of our keynote speaker. Rescheduling for a Fall Saturday was impossible! We couldn't find a date until January 21, 2012.  Therefore, the organizing and planning process needed to start all over, and we did the work we needed to do.  We soon discovered that over 200 people registered to attend, which is unheard of for a local conference held on a Saturday.  When a winter storm was predicted to come through the night before, we just could not believe it.  The storm turned out to be just a few inches of snow, and we had power. Hooray! 

 

Our Keynote speaker, Dr. Rebecca Harris, General Motors' Social Media Strategist, delivered a perfect message to a perfect day. She explained the importance of social media in the business world, and challenged the teachers and administrators attending the conference to personally experience the worlds of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. This is an important first step that is critical as we prepare our students the important skills they will need to survive in the world they are currently living in. 

 

The Walled Lake teacher leaders delivered a smorgasbord of learning opportunities for their peers. I believe that our home-grown method of providing professional develment is tops. People can reach out to their peers to ask questions and ask for advice. "If he/she can do it at that school with the same resources, then I can, too!"  

 

Our little conference garnishes professional relationships, provides needed encouragement, and tweeks learning that promotes the kinds of skills that our students require to survive in the world they will live in after they leave us, their college years and beyond. I am so proud of the teacher leaders who volunteer their time and share their talents to help make the Walled Lake Consolidated School District the best place to educate children.