Finds of the Week: May 24-28

Since this blog was started, many great resources have been shared for the staff here at A-C. It is important to remember that when you are thinking about integrating a tool into your classroom that you are doing it to help enhance your lesson, and not just to use it for the sake of using it. I have offered some small suggestions on how some of the tools can be implemented, but that doesn't mean that there aren't uses out there that haven't been thought up yet. I am available to help out all secondary school staff during the school year during my non-teaching periods: 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9 (I try to keep one of these periods as a prep period, and I have the ability to shuffle that around daily as needed). If you are unencumbered during any of these periods, I can meet with you to discuss different uses and ways to reflect on what you are doing with your lessons and students.

During a meeting, you and I will look at the lessons you have identified and discuss what the goal of the lesson is and then determine what, if any, technology could be implemented. There will be times where technology will take away from the lesson and integration won't be recommended. Of course, implementing a new technology could be a bit unsettling for a teacher who may not be completely familiar with the particular tool, but I am also available to come in and coteach in your classroom with you. Again, I am available the same periods as listed above, and if absolutely necessary for one of my teaching periods, there is always the possibility that I can get a cover for my own classroom. For any elementary teachers, you have Jeremy Paul that you can set up time with. If you are in need of some resources, you could send me an email with what you are looking for and when you need it by and I'll see what I can do!

So whether you need some resources, you want to have someone to bounce ideas off of, or you need some "just in time" training, make sure to use the resources that are available to you in your tech directors, tech integration coach, and librarians!

And speaking of resources, here are some great finds for the week!

1. Google Docs Self Grading Quizzes - The end of the school year. A time of finals. And having to get senior grades in immediately. And waiting in line at that Scantron machine! Here's Google Docs to the rescue! Through this Screencast-O-Matic, a wonderful educator (I wish I knew who he was so I could give him proper credit) has shared how anyone can use Google Forms and Spreadsheets from Google Docs to create a self-grading multiple-choice quiz or exit ticket. There is a slight learning curve to setting up your spreadsheet and form, and you have be a little familiar with using formulas within spreadsheets, but once you have it set up, it is a breeze to use. And you can even let your students know what their grade is as soon as they submit their answers. Talk about immediate and timely feedback! As a bonus for you, you get a breakdown of how each question was answered in the summary for your form.

You can view the screencast below or click on the link above to see how to set up your own form and spreadsheet. This will also be provided in summer professional development on August 4 and 11.

2. bomomo - Here is another site that's for our art teachers out there, or for other teachers that want to get that creativity shared with their kids. I don't have much of an artistic talent, but knowing some of our students, I'm sure they can come up with some extraordinary pieces of art with a tool like this.

Bomomo is a free web app that works in Firefox, Safari, and Chrome (and I'm told in many other browsers, too) and allows a user to get to work as soon as the site loads. There is a level of experimentation that goes along with using the site, but this experimentation also can lead to so interesting discoveries. When you have created something you like, you can save it as a low or hi resolution jpg.

3. Quizinator - Have you ever left your laptop at school, created a quiz or worksheet on your home computer, and then forgot to save it to a flash drive or email it to yourself? Or what if you want to share with other teachers? Quizinator is a site that allows you alleviate these problems and even to make it easier for you to create a multitude of worksheets and quizzes. With Quizinator, a bank of questions is kept from questions you enter, and you are able to select the questions you want and rearrange them using drag-and-drop. Once your document is complete, you obtain a PDF version for printing or posting online.

Quizinator has stated that they will always be free, but they are planning on adding premium features on top of what is currently offered. You can follow them on twitter (@quizinator_en) or read their blog for even more information and ideas. This resource was shared on twitter via @thadhaines.

Google Docs Gets an Update

You many not have noticed a change in the way you can access Google Docs or any of the new features if you are not a member of a Professional Learning Network (PLN) such as twitter, facebook, or an educational Ning. If you are, then surely you saw posts yesterday about the updates in Google Docs. If not, then let me fill you in on what these changes mean for you as a teacher, and how they might benefit your classroom.

Drawing
One of the nice new features in Google Docs is Drawing. This will allow you to add diagrams and create drawings within Google Docs for use or sharing. This is something many have been asking for, and Google has answered. You are able to bring in images from your computer or the web to work with (be aware of copyright!) and you can then download the files as images or in other standard formats.

Real Time Collaboration
This addition isn't far off from what Google Docs had allowed before. Earlier, multiple users could work on a document (or spreadsheet) at the same time, and the changes would show up eventually. But Google has acquired the technology from Etherpad that allows for instant multi-line changes to occur within a document, spreadsheet, or drawing. In all, up to 50 people can collaborate on one document, which leaves this as an even greater tool for educators and students.

These are just a few of the new features. Mashable had a great writeup on the new features, which you can read here. Also, you can sign in to a Google account (they're free) and play around. There will also be a summer inservice on various Google tools this summer on August 4 from 8 AM - 11 AM and again on August 11 from 12 PM - 3 PM.