North Idaho EdTech

One of my favorite things about Google Forms is that the amount of class-work related things that it can automate for me. I’ve used them for quizzes, beginning of the year surveys, to collect web addresses, and much more. One of my favorite things to do with them is to collect student ideas and work. As a teacher of Advanced Placement Language and Composition students, I was collecting a large amount of written work daily. I wanted students to be able to share this written work amongst their classmates in an organized fashion, without doing the old-fashioned “Pass your notebook to your neighbor” process (not that it’s bad practice, but it never really allowed for full class discussion and it meant uncontrolledly sharing their private thoughts with the person who is next to them – some would even refuse). Then I discovered a way that the class could collaborate in small groups and present their ideas to everyone, controlling what they share and doing it all in a very safe environm...

In looking for a solution for teachers who need to have students grab a document and make a copy in Google drive from an iPad (which is not possible in the mobile version or the Drive app), I stumbled upon two great solutions for "passing out" templates to students. Both solutions require that there be a document template that you wish to "pass out" to students already created.  The first solution I found is a Google Script written by Arun Nagarajan. Using this script, a teacher can now give students a link or QR code that they navigate to and click "Open Document" which makes a copy of the original document directly into the students' Google Drive account.  To use this, follow the simple steps below. If you are using a Google account within the Cdaschools domain, you won't have to do anything special. If you are outside our domain, you'll want to set up your own version of the Google Script following  these directions given by the author...

Purpose is always something that, as teachers, we are asked to provide for students regarding everything that we do in the classroom. Why do they have to read that book? What are the uses of that skill outside of the classroom? When will we use that formula? Why are you assessing students in that manner? And so on... The same question applies to technology use in the classroom. We must always start our thinking with the purpose questions: Why are we using that tool? What purpose does it serve for students? What does technology allow students to do that they cannot do without it? Once we have found the answers to these questions, we are then able to take the technology and use it more effectively than ever before. One model that many teachers and educational technologists have started to use is referred to as the SAMR model. This was developed by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, founder of Hippasus, a consulting firm whose goal is to "help transform education by combining a broad range...

As I was catching up on my Twitter feed yesterday, the tweet out of  this posting  by Alice Keeler caught my eye. At first, I thought, what would that do for me? How could that help? But then, I read closer and found out how nice this could be.  One thing that many teachers have told me is that getting students to fill out certain parts of a form correctly is always very difficult. With this simple tool, we can pre-fill certain lines in our form. Take a few moments to check out Alice's blog (and explore as there is a lot of good information) and try out this easy to follow tutorial to ease the use of Google Forms.

In an earlier post, I wrote about the use of scripts within our Google Apps for Education domain. The scripts that are available in Google Drive make some everyday tasks automated with very little set up and no need to know any coding. Scripts exist that will auto score assessments taken in a Google form, pull data from a Google spreadsheet and auto fill a document template, create folders and subfolders that are shared for easy classroom set up on Google Drive, and so much more. The script that I will share today, called  Flubaroo , will auto score any assessment that is given via a Google spreadsheet. It requires very little setup, but will save precious time that is spent pouring over individual student papers to grade a quick quiz or even longer assessments. Before we begin talking about this script, though, one principle of Google scripts must be mentioned. Each script must be "installed" and authorized for each document in Google drive. So, even though you may ...

In my last post, I   discussed Google Drive and the Coeur d'Alene Schools District's Google Apps for Education domain. Now, we have more ways to integrate this resource with apps that don't support Google Drive with in-app connections. One such application is the iWork suite offered by Apple (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote). At first glance, one might think that you are unable to use the two together, but using the iWork app and the Google Drive app together, a connection can be made very easily. The thing that we all have to get used to, which took me a little bit to wrap my brain around, was that Google Drive is now cloud storage, not just for Google formatted, Google friendly documents. I can put any kind of document that I want in my Google Drive for safe keeping. This does not mean that Google can open it, but it does mean that I can save it there and access it from accessible programs or apps anywhere that I need to.  In order to do this, I follow the steps belo...

Welcome back everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that I'm very excited to be back here this year and embarking on a new adventure for our district. Since we have not had a technology coach for a very long time, I am honored to be in this position and I hope to work with as many students and teachers in the district as possible.   I plan to use this blog to promote different technology tips and tricks throughout the year. Please remember to check back and see what new things I have for you each time.   Also, please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like some support with any technology that we have or you are hoping to use. I'm just an email away and will get back to you very quickly.