Showing posts with label google documents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label google documents. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
As a student success teacher, I spend many hours helping students organize the chaos that happens when a backpack is used as a filing system. When I think about the fact that learners spend countless classroom hours copying chalk notes onto lined paper, I can't help but see the three-ring binder as one of the great anachronisms of modern education.
A few months ago, we learned that we would be supported in re-imagining some of the learning spaces in my school. Now that a colleague has managed to garner the support of Apple Canada, we'll be collaborating to deliver an iPod/iBook pilot in his geography courses. In concert with this project, we're taking the leap to leverage cloud-based course binders.
EverNote will be the linchpin of student and teacher digital notebooks, allowing each participant to tag, organize, and share text, audio, photo, and web-based resources. Ideally, each student will be able to access 'curated' course materials on any of a wide range of devices.
We'll also be introducing students Google Documents, and DropBox, as planning and sharing tools for the rich multimedia elements students will be producing with Apple's iLife suite. It's going to be an exciting project, and it all starts when we 'retire the binder'.
As a student success teacher, I spend many hours helping students organize the chaos that happens when a backpack is used as a filing system. When I think about the fact that learners spend countless classroom hours copying chalk notes onto lined paper, I can't help but see the three-ring binder as one of the great anachronisms of modern education.
A few months ago, we learned that we would be supported in re-imagining some of the learning spaces in my school. Now that a colleague has managed to garner the support of Apple Canada, we'll be collaborating to deliver an iPod/iBook pilot in his geography courses. In concert with this project, we're taking the leap to leverage cloud-based course binders.
EverNote will be the linchpin of student and teacher digital notebooks, allowing each participant to tag, organize, and share text, audio, photo, and web-based resources. Ideally, each student will be able to access 'curated' course materials on any of a wide range of devices.
We'll also be introducing students Google Documents, and DropBox, as planning and sharing tools for the rich multimedia elements students will be producing with Apple's iLife suite. It's going to be an exciting project, and it all starts when we 'retire the binder'.
You may find this hard to believe, but it's sometimes easier for me to make a short video than to write a blog post. I think this explanation works well in this format.
You may find this hard to believe, but it's sometimes easier for me to make a short video than to write a blog post. I think this explanation works well in this format.
Mashable shared this artistic use of Google Docs that may be worth considering if you teach technology, mathematics, or visual arts:
The theme of this piece certainly fits with all the snow we've had in southwestern Ontario in recent days, but with these instructions and free access to the spreadsheet template, a comparable project could be undertaken, with just about any subject matter. And while I love the collaborative nature of the project above, similar work could also be carried out by an individual student, perhaps using non-digital tools like paint and paper.
An artist might start by borrowing a rich creative commons licensed image from the Multicolr Search Lab then using photo-editing software like the free and very powerful Picnik, to manipulate the image. The 'pixelate' tool can be used in concert with other effects tools to help students create transferable images with specific numbers of pixels.
Mashable shared this artistic use of Google Docs that may be worth considering if you teach technology, mathematics, or visual arts:
The theme of this piece certainly fits with all the snow we've had in southwestern Ontario in recent days, but with these instructions and free access to the spreadsheet template, a comparable project could be undertaken, with just about any subject matter. And while I love the collaborative nature of the project above, similar work could also be carried out by an individual student, perhaps using non-digital tools like paint and paper.
An artist might start by borrowing a rich creative commons licensed image from the Multicolr Search Lab then using photo-editing software like the free and very powerful Picnik, to manipulate the image. The 'pixelate' tool can be used in concert with other effects tools to help students create transferable images with specific numbers of pixels.
Have you seen how simple it is to use Google to create an online survey?
Google Documents, the free online document creator has been available for a few years, and though still in 'beta', now boasts documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Even so, new treats continue to be added...
Whether or not you have a Gmail account, you may be very interested in this video tutorial that demonstrates how to harness the new survey tool to gather data that will automatically populate a Google spreadsheet.
If you're new to Google Documents, you'll appreciate the explanation below, courtesy of the folks at CommonCraft:
Have you seen how simple it is to use Google to create an online survey?
Google Documents, the free online document creator has been available for a few years, and though still in 'beta', now boasts documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Even so, new treats continue to be added...
Whether or not you have a Gmail account, you may be very interested in this video tutorial that demonstrates how to harness the new survey tool to gather data that will automatically populate a Google spreadsheet.
If you're new to Google Documents, you'll appreciate the explanation below, courtesy of the folks at CommonCraft:
Everyone knows that Google is "The Search Engine that Became a Verb", but relatively few people are aware of the steps Google has taken to become a Webware company. Educators who have yet to discover the value of the Read/Write Web, need to become aware of Google's Tools. (That sounds funnier than I intended...) You may have heard of Blogger, YouTube, Google Maps and more, but have you actually used them. Google Documents is less well-known, but it has powerful literacy connections.
In today's Teacher 2.0 podcast-mini, I've highlighted one of these tools: Google Documents. But before educators can make effective use of these tools, they have to see their usefulness in their own work. Will Richardson's summer commentary hit the mark: "I’ve been trying of late to convince folks that until they understand the uses of these tools in their own learning practice they’ll be really hard pressed to deliver the different pedagogies that go along with them in compelling and effective ways."
In short, Google Documents is an online word processor that allows for the creation of documents (and spreadsheets, and slideshow presentations) that can be edited collaboratively. Google Docs tracks all changes to a given document over time, so a teacher can browse all draft versions of a document highlighting any one person's contributions. This is doable with paper and pen, but now it's a new RSS: Really Simple Supervision!
But wait... There's More! Google documents also provides 'one click publishing'. This is the simplest way I know of, to publish any 'document' online. Your students can have global audiences for their written work if you can find a way to share the links to their work. Any document can be posted to the web. For an overview of how simple it is to do this publishing, view this really short tutorial (What can I say, it's simple!).
Search Skills are still needed! Even though these new tools are being harnessed by new users every day, there are many, many teachers who have yet to master basic online search skills. If educators knew that they could limit their searches to PowerPoint files; or PDF files (colouring pages anyone); or today's news articles... they'd feel empowered to use the web, and would truly be able to Google for Gold.
It's still just a constantly growing sea of information for too many... Little do we realize how this information is 'self-organizing' itself to be the a 'thinking machine'. If you have yet to see Robin Sloan and Matt Thomson's future vision: Epic 2015, this would be a good time!
Maybe the day will come when a user will identify him/herself as a student or teacher, and Google will intuitively provide the most relevant search results. Some search engines already provide personalized responses... but that's another story!
Everyone knows that Google is "The Search Engine that Became a Verb", but relatively few people are aware of the steps Google has taken to become a Webware company. Educators who have yet to discover the value of the Read/Write Web, need to become aware of Google's Tools. (That sounds funnier than I intended...) You may have heard of Blogger, YouTube, Google Maps and more, but have you actually used them. Google Documents is less well-known, but it has powerful literacy connections.
In today's Teacher 2.0 podcast-mini, I've highlighted one of these tools: Google Documents. But before educators can make effective use of these tools, they have to see their usefulness in their own work. Will Richardson's summer commentary hit the mark: "I’ve been trying of late to convince folks that until they understand the uses of these tools in their own learning practice they’ll be really hard pressed to deliver the different pedagogies that go along with them in compelling and effective ways."
In short, Google Documents is an online word processor that allows for the creation of documents (and spreadsheets, and slideshow presentations) that can be edited collaboratively. Google Docs tracks all changes to a given document over time, so a teacher can browse all draft versions of a document highlighting any one person's contributions. This is doable with paper and pen, but now it's a new RSS: Really Simple Supervision!
But wait... There's More! Google documents also provides 'one click publishing'. This is the simplest way I know of, to publish any 'document' online. Your students can have global audiences for their written work if you can find a way to share the links to their work. Any document can be posted to the web. For an overview of how simple it is to do this publishing, view this really short tutorial (What can I say, it's simple!).
Search Skills are still needed! Even though these new tools are being harnessed by new users every day, there are many, many teachers who have yet to master basic online search skills. If educators knew that they could limit their searches to PowerPoint files; or PDF files (colouring pages anyone); or today's news articles... they'd feel empowered to use the web, and would truly be able to Google for Gold.
It's still just a constantly growing sea of information for too many... Little do we realize how this information is 'self-organizing' itself to be the a 'thinking machine'. If you have yet to see Robin Sloan and Matt Thomson's future vision: Epic 2015, this would be a good time!
Maybe the day will come when a user will identify him/herself as a student or teacher, and Google will intuitively provide the most relevant search results. Some search engines already provide personalized responses... but that's another story!
As a student success teacher, I spend many hours helping students organize the chaos that happens when a backpack is used as a filing system. When I think about the fact that learners spend countless classroom hours copying chalk notes onto lined paper, I can't help but see the three-ring binder as one of the great anachronisms of modern education.
EverNote will be the linchpin of student and teacher digital notebooks, allowing each participant to tag, organize, and share text, audio, photo, and web-based resources. Ideally, each student will be able to access 'curated' course materials on any of a wide range of devices. 
We'll also be introducing students Google Documents, and DropBox, as planning and sharing tools for the rich multimedia elements students will be producing with Apple's iLife suite. It's going to be an exciting project, and it all starts when we 'retire the binder'.
