Well, I have to say, I had a much easier time creating this form. It was actually kind of fun! Thank you for the detailed lecture and example in class.
Google Forms can have many applications which will be discussed below:
Gone are the days of having to pull out the red pen and hand-grade your student's tests!! Teachers can use these forms to administer tests and analyze the responses given on a test, as demonstrated in our assignment for this week. While I only created a multiple choice test, I did experiment with the other test question options. Teachers can create tests/quizzes in many forms, depending on what kind of response they are looking for.
Forms can also be used for other types of evaluation. They have the options of keeping track of behavior, grades, progress, student information survey's and parent survey's. Teachers can even keep track of these things via their mobile devices.
It is also a good way to follow student's strengths and weaknesses. This could be beneficial for faculty meetings or even parent-teacher meetings. Having an ongoing record of the student's progress makes the meetings more efficient.
Forms are not only beneficial for teachers and administrators, but also students. As a part of the Common Core, students will need to be able to use this technology to prepare for college and possible careers. Anchor standard 1 discusses using digital data-gathering techniques and how it can save time as well as prepare students for the future.
In a world where we have become accustom to instant information, this is just another way that we can provide instant feedback to our students, instant analyzation of the responses we get back, and have instant information at our finger tips in case we need to convey it.
URL of Sample Test:
<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KfsQ3sGHv6Ro_wgq06c2maHVq_3-S2BytSI7dI67zS8/viewform?embedded=true" width="760" height="500" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe>
URL of Sample Test Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmCb6csWKhr6dEtXSEVrczZ1dGR5cXRha0tvdUVoN2c&usp=sharing
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Apple versus Microsoft Applications and a few other things....
Apple's Pages, Keynote and Numbers all function very similar to Microsoft's Word, PowerPoint and Excel. In fact, not having used the Apple applications prior to this assignment, it was hard to point out too many differences in the programs just based on the tutorials. I did notice that Apple's programs seem to be very intuitive. This is not a new realization, as I have always found Apple products to be easy to use. However, I would say that in some cases, you might have to figure out what the icon is representing before realizing it is intuitive. For example, I might not have thought the paint brush icon on Pages to be where I would find the editing tools. However, when I stop and give it a little bit of thought, it does make sense.
I do not feel I can adequately speak to any one Apple versus Microsoft application to completion. However, there are some differences I can point out just by simple observation. For example, the use of the mouse is not required for iPad applications. It is nice not to have a peripheral device to keep track of. Moving pages around and manipulating the menus is easy to do.
In Pages, it appeared to be easy to insert and crop images into a document. While this is not a difficult task in Word, the ability to just grab the picture, squeeze it together with your hands to resize it or rotate it, seemed simple. It is also a nice feature that Pages can be put into Google Drive.
For Keynote, there were a couple of features I found to be appealing. Adding animation appeared to be an easy process and there were many animation options available. In fact, I know of one professor who prefers the options of Keynote (backgrounds, animation, colors, artwork) better than PowerPoint but still prefers to display the presentation in PowerPoint. I also like the fact that you could use your iPhone as a remote when giving a Keynote presentation. When looking at the iPhone remote, you could see any notes that you had added to the presentation as well as see each step in the animation chosen for the presentation, as opposed to just having the presentation view as your viewers have.
As for Box.com, I did sign up for an account. I have experience using Dropbox, as I frequently use it with my transcription business to share large voice files. I found Box.com to be very similar. An application such as this is a nice way to share either documents that are too large to e-mail, items that you want to remain confidential between you and the person whom you chose to share it, or working collaboratively. When using the Box, you can edit documents and share them easily. I know from personal experience that my mother-in-law and husband share a recipe folder. As cooking is one of their hobbies, they can easily trade recipes and have them on-hand at all times without having to call each other to "get your recipe." Box.com is also available for mobile devices.
When comparing iBooks and Kindle apps, again, they are very similar in function. However, in order to purchase something through your Kindle app, you do have to log on to Amazon and purchase your reading material there. This differs from iBooks where you can simply purchase your item from the link which routes through iTunes. Both can be uploaded to the cloud. I did notice on the tutorial that iBooks allows you to organize your books into customized folders in a very easily. When researching if this could be done on Kindle, it did not appear there were options beyond organizing by title, author or recent date.
Lastly, Safari and Rover. Rover is a cloud based streaming system. It is an answer to Apple not using Adobe Flash. Safari is a web browsing application used by Apple. One feature I was not aware of when using Safari was the ability to search a document for a particular word. If I am not mistaken, this is just a feature available for iPad. This feature caught my attention as I can think of times when I have opened a webpage from a Google search looking for a particular phrase and have had to search for the one sentence I needed.
Overall, I think both Apple and Microsoft offer good productivity applications. I wonder if part of people's preferences is based on what they learned to use first.
I do not feel I can adequately speak to any one Apple versus Microsoft application to completion. However, there are some differences I can point out just by simple observation. For example, the use of the mouse is not required for iPad applications. It is nice not to have a peripheral device to keep track of. Moving pages around and manipulating the menus is easy to do.
In Pages, it appeared to be easy to insert and crop images into a document. While this is not a difficult task in Word, the ability to just grab the picture, squeeze it together with your hands to resize it or rotate it, seemed simple. It is also a nice feature that Pages can be put into Google Drive.
For Keynote, there were a couple of features I found to be appealing. Adding animation appeared to be an easy process and there were many animation options available. In fact, I know of one professor who prefers the options of Keynote (backgrounds, animation, colors, artwork) better than PowerPoint but still prefers to display the presentation in PowerPoint. I also like the fact that you could use your iPhone as a remote when giving a Keynote presentation. When looking at the iPhone remote, you could see any notes that you had added to the presentation as well as see each step in the animation chosen for the presentation, as opposed to just having the presentation view as your viewers have.
As for Box.com, I did sign up for an account. I have experience using Dropbox, as I frequently use it with my transcription business to share large voice files. I found Box.com to be very similar. An application such as this is a nice way to share either documents that are too large to e-mail, items that you want to remain confidential between you and the person whom you chose to share it, or working collaboratively. When using the Box, you can edit documents and share them easily. I know from personal experience that my mother-in-law and husband share a recipe folder. As cooking is one of their hobbies, they can easily trade recipes and have them on-hand at all times without having to call each other to "get your recipe." Box.com is also available for mobile devices.
When comparing iBooks and Kindle apps, again, they are very similar in function. However, in order to purchase something through your Kindle app, you do have to log on to Amazon and purchase your reading material there. This differs from iBooks where you can simply purchase your item from the link which routes through iTunes. Both can be uploaded to the cloud. I did notice on the tutorial that iBooks allows you to organize your books into customized folders in a very easily. When researching if this could be done on Kindle, it did not appear there were options beyond organizing by title, author or recent date.
Lastly, Safari and Rover. Rover is a cloud based streaming system. It is an answer to Apple not using Adobe Flash. Safari is a web browsing application used by Apple. One feature I was not aware of when using Safari was the ability to search a document for a particular word. If I am not mistaken, this is just a feature available for iPad. This feature caught my attention as I can think of times when I have opened a webpage from a Google search looking for a particular phrase and have had to search for the one sentence I needed.
Overall, I think both Apple and Microsoft offer good productivity applications. I wonder if part of people's preferences is based on what they learned to use first.
Monday, May 27, 2013
My hands-on spreadsheet experience!
Well, I must admit, I am not very proficient in spreadsheet use. The few times I have attempted to use Excel, I have given up, gotten my calculator out and just added the data myself! I have mixed emotions about spreadsheet use. In theory, I know it is supposed to simplify life. However, I struggle to figure out how to set up the formulas and make it all work correctly. Then, I spend a bunch of time double checking the spreadsheet's work to make sure I have put the right formulas in. I know this is just a beginners issue that I need to work out but up until now, I have had minimal use for a spreadsheet, and, as I said, the data that I do keep on it, I just calculate for myself.
That said, I did find this assignment useful. It forced me to sit down, listen to all the atomic learning lessons about spreadsheets and to dive in and figure out how to use it. Now, I can think of a couple of ways I can incorporate it into the bookkeeping aspect of my transcription business. So, I guess I can say, "I learned quite a bit in the embarrassing number of hours I spent on this project!!"
Okay, so on a more formal note, here are some of the things I learned:
That said, I did find this assignment useful. It forced me to sit down, listen to all the atomic learning lessons about spreadsheets and to dive in and figure out how to use it. Now, I can think of a couple of ways I can incorporate it into the bookkeeping aspect of my transcription business. So, I guess I can say, "I learned quite a bit in the embarrassing number of hours I spent on this project!!"
Okay, so on a more formal note, here are some of the things I learned:
- How to set up formulas. I now have a better grasp on how to write the formulas so that they work. When we started the project, I had no clue how to weight the different assignments. After some research, and a bit of help from a friend, I now know how to make that happen.
- Formatting. I had seen fill-color option and boxes used on spreadsheets before, but never taken the time to color code and organize the data.
- Settings. The tutorials helped explain the importance of setting up your information under the settings tab. For example, if you are working in currency, you can set the currency tab to default to "United States" and the program will know that you are working in dollars. That is handy if you are working with collaborators who may not be working with the same currency. It makes the conversions easier between international collaborations. The time zone setting can also be of benefit for collaborative settings in which collaborators are in different time zones. For example, if there is a deadline that is to be met, having the time zones coordinated can be of great benefit.
- Deleting. If you delete a document from your GoogleDrive page and have synchronized with your desktop, that document will remain on your desktop, possibly in the trash folder, but if down the road you change your mind and need that document, there is a place it can be found. I particularly like this feature of GoogleDrive because sometimes you want to clean the space that you are working from frequently but it is comforting to know that your document is floating out there somewhere-in this case, your desktop-just in case you change you mind about needing it.
- Importing. I learned that you can import documents from Excel. In fact, in order to double check my work, I used both Google Spreadsheets and Excel. I imported a portion of my work in attempt to learn a little bit more about both programs.
- Organizing. You documents can be organized into folders for easy access.
- Charts. I also found the feature to create charts to be very enticing. With just the click of a button, your spreadsheet data can be converted to a chart.
- Comments. I found this to be a nice feature too. On the attendance/discussion grade that we were required to put in our spreadsheet, I added notes to two of the students scores. In the field of education, this is a nice feature so that you can remember the circumstances surrounding a particular grade when it is not a "black and white" assignment.
There are a couple of things I still could not figure out that I would be interested in learning. For example, it is a very simple thing, but I could not figure out how to re-size columns of data without resizing the entire document. On that same note, I was not able to resize the titles of my boxes either :(
So, those are just of few of the highlights I found in this lesson. Overall, the learning experience came from the hand-on nature of the assignment. I am a visual learner and doing a project such as this was very beneficial to my learning how to use the technology.
Tablets in Education
There is a lot of information about how schools have integrated technology into their classrooms and libraries. It would appear that iPad is overall the favorite tablet. However, many people had good things to say about Nook and Kindle.
Nook has been successful in library settings. One particular librarian's experience was that she was able to personalize the e-book readings for students emotional, social, and academic needs. This allowed these students to have their own personal library. The benefit to personalizing a students e-books is that you can capture either their interests to promote the love of reading, or you specialize their academic needs for research purposes.
One blog in particular discussed the struggles with paying for the e-books from Barnes and Noble. Due to purchase order requirements by the school system, the school credit card was used to make the purchases and then the credit card information had to be removed from each device before passing them out to the students. In order to purchase subsequent material, the information had to be re-entered and re-deleted. While this was not a problem for this librarian, it was an inconvenience.
Another topic discussed was the difficulty or resistance of some teachers to implement the technology in their classroom. It appeared that the resistance was less significant for iPad users, as iPads are more usable in the classroom, having plug-in capability for a projector and increased apps selection over the competitors.
I found the blog suggesting 103 Interesting Ways to use iPads in the classroom to be very interesting. Over time, I would like to explore many of these apps. The apps suggested on this site benefit both students and teachers. Some of the apps were designed to help teachers track student's progress, develop pin boards and even tutoring. I like the concept of making learning interactive, because it is one more avenue to being able to reach your students.
However, on an opposing note, some discussion centered around whether purchasing an iPad, or any other tablet, for students was beneficial because skills such as keyboarding still needed to be taught and spending money on tablets as opposed to a laptop was not advantageous. The questions of how useful the iPad could be for applications requiring flash was raised as well.
I also found that users were happy with their Kindle uses, but the same concerns about integrating them into the classroom due to the lack of projection was raised. It was also discussed that Kindle no longer allows for e-material to be put onto 6 devices using one account. You must have an account per device, which can cause a bit of stress for administrators, especially those who originally bought this technology under the agreement that you could use this feature.
Some articles suggested that educators purchased Nooks or Kindle to integrate into their schools and once they were able to overcome that hurdle, the desire for more uses of technology grew. They then had to reevaluate options and procedures used with their technology and in some cases, they moved to a new tablet option.
My personal conclusion after reading through this material is that if you are going to invest the time and money into purchasing a tablet, it only makes sense to go with the tablet (iPad in my opinion) that has the most applications so that even if your primary purpose is only for library use, you have a technology that can be expanded as you are ready to use it for more things. I think in the long-run, while the initial cost is higher, it will spark the most interest in the technology and will also be more usable to a wide range of people.
Overall, it seemed that while the educators who purchased the respective tablets were happy with their purchases, they still were not confident that that was "The" tablet to buy. Through reading the articles, I still felt like the question remained, "which is the best?" A question that will probably continue to be asked as schools begin to integrated technology into their institutions.
Nook has been successful in library settings. One particular librarian's experience was that she was able to personalize the e-book readings for students emotional, social, and academic needs. This allowed these students to have their own personal library. The benefit to personalizing a students e-books is that you can capture either their interests to promote the love of reading, or you specialize their academic needs for research purposes.
One blog in particular discussed the struggles with paying for the e-books from Barnes and Noble. Due to purchase order requirements by the school system, the school credit card was used to make the purchases and then the credit card information had to be removed from each device before passing them out to the students. In order to purchase subsequent material, the information had to be re-entered and re-deleted. While this was not a problem for this librarian, it was an inconvenience.
Another topic discussed was the difficulty or resistance of some teachers to implement the technology in their classroom. It appeared that the resistance was less significant for iPad users, as iPads are more usable in the classroom, having plug-in capability for a projector and increased apps selection over the competitors.
I found the blog suggesting 103 Interesting Ways to use iPads in the classroom to be very interesting. Over time, I would like to explore many of these apps. The apps suggested on this site benefit both students and teachers. Some of the apps were designed to help teachers track student's progress, develop pin boards and even tutoring. I like the concept of making learning interactive, because it is one more avenue to being able to reach your students.
However, on an opposing note, some discussion centered around whether purchasing an iPad, or any other tablet, for students was beneficial because skills such as keyboarding still needed to be taught and spending money on tablets as opposed to a laptop was not advantageous. The questions of how useful the iPad could be for applications requiring flash was raised as well.
I also found that users were happy with their Kindle uses, but the same concerns about integrating them into the classroom due to the lack of projection was raised. It was also discussed that Kindle no longer allows for e-material to be put onto 6 devices using one account. You must have an account per device, which can cause a bit of stress for administrators, especially those who originally bought this technology under the agreement that you could use this feature.
Some articles suggested that educators purchased Nooks or Kindle to integrate into their schools and once they were able to overcome that hurdle, the desire for more uses of technology grew. They then had to reevaluate options and procedures used with their technology and in some cases, they moved to a new tablet option.
My personal conclusion after reading through this material is that if you are going to invest the time and money into purchasing a tablet, it only makes sense to go with the tablet (iPad in my opinion) that has the most applications so that even if your primary purpose is only for library use, you have a technology that can be expanded as you are ready to use it for more things. I think in the long-run, while the initial cost is higher, it will spark the most interest in the technology and will also be more usable to a wide range of people.
Overall, it seemed that while the educators who purchased the respective tablets were happy with their purchases, they still were not confident that that was "The" tablet to buy. Through reading the articles, I still felt like the question remained, "which is the best?" A question that will probably continue to be asked as schools begin to integrated technology into their institutions.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tablets
TECH
With the amount of tablets on the market today, it
is very difficult to decide which tablet will best fit your needs. I think the
foundation of deciding which tablet is best for you lies in your personal
needs. A tablet that is sufficient for me, may not be for someone else.
For instance, I have a Kindle Fire. For my needs, that has been
sufficient...until I began the Educational Technology class! I have found
that some of the features of an iPad better fit the classroom needs. For
example, our book's website suggest apps that could be used in the classroom
for various ages. I tried to load these apps for my children to use but
they were not available for the Kindle. This is not an isolated incidence.
I have run across several educational app suggestions that have not been
supported by the Kindle technology, (i.e. e-storia).
Through research, here is what I have found
regarding the tablets on the market:
Microsoft Surface:
- · Microsoft Surface is a hybrid, tablet and laptop. If use with Microsoft Office is the dominant concern, Microsoft Surface tablet with Windows 8 is the clear choice.
- · That said, the other tablet options do have software comparable to the features of Microsoft Office.
- · When looking for a tablet, Office features are often not the primary concern. Many people looking at tablets are concerned with apps. The Windows Store still is being developed and does not yet appear to have a large base of apps and what they do have are largely games due to the connection to the Xbox.
- It should also be noted that the Surface is noted to be a bit larger and heavier.
Apple:
- · Holds an advantage in books, as it provides access to iBooks, Kindle, Nook and Google Play.
- · When looking at Movies/TV/Video and Music, Apple continues to have a strong advantage. Apple downloads this material so it is available for use with or without a WiFi or cellular connection. However, the same is true of Androids due to their use of Amazon.
- · Apple has a long relationship with schools, medical facilities and arts and therefore can be expected to have a stronger advantage in relevant apps for education.
- · Apple does not use Flash player, which is used provide a way to efficiently deliver large video and interactive files. Apple uses HTML5, which can be converted to Flash in some cases. Some consider this to be Apple’s greatest weakness.
Andriod:
- · When looking at Movies/TV/Video and Music, Amazon gives androids a good advantage. However, the same is true of Apple. On the other hand, Android streams purchased material, rather than downloads it, and this might be a consideration if WiFi is not an option or no cellular connection is established.
- · Apps use different, “real estate,” offering varying versions of apps. Amazon has a strong app base but if considering android use for schools, only about 10% of apps are educational.
In regard to connectivity, it should be
considered that Barnes and Noble (Nook) and Microsoft (Surface) do not offer
cellular connectivity options. When considering connectivity needs, the availability
of WiFi as well as the upcharge cost of cellular connectivity should be
considered. In most school setting, I would think WiFi connectivity would be
sufficient.
An additional piece of information necessary in
researching what is available for a particular device is that Kindle solely
uses apps, movies, books, etc, sold by Amazon. Nooks apps are sold by Barnes and Noble. Nexus uses Google and some Amazon
apps. Apple uses iTunes and Amazon
apps.
When considering cost, Android technology is
considerably less up front but when comparing to the app options, I do not
think it is an adequate choice for school use.
I personally also favor the larger size of the
iPad. For longer periods of use, I
think a larger screen is advantageous.
I also think that in a school setting, the larger screen size can
decrease issues such as cheating, as discussed in class this past week.
When considering using tablets in a school setting,
I think it is noteworthy that Apple has a long history of relationships with
schools. Nowhere else in the
literature did I find that any of the other tablet makers have purposed to
include schools in their product’s development. Also, the way in which Apple
has developed their software as a closed operating system is also a positive
for Apple. When looking at putting
a system in place in a school, a system with the least likelihood for potential
crashes, etc, is preferable.
Another thing I noted in my research was that other tablets were trying
to “compare to” or “match” what Apple was doing. Therefore, my recommendation
would have to be for Apple products to be the tablet of choice.
GAIN
Today I learned a lot about Google Presentations. While I have to admit my knowledge about PowerPoint is fairly basic, I found Google Presentations to be almost as user friendly as the features I have used in PowerPoint.
I enjoyed the fact that Google Presentations would automatically save your presentation every few seconds. This feature came in especially handy for me, as I was working on putting together a presentation and the internet went down. When it came back up, my presentation looked exactly as it did prior to the internet disconnection.
A feature that I did not find as user-friendly was that fact that in order to import personal photos, you first have to put them into Google photos. I was unable to add the images straight from my iphoto program into a Google Presentation. While importing the photos into Google was easy, it was an extra time-consuming step. In the tutorial I also learned that you can import additional templates and I thought that was a nice feature. However, when I went to import a photo album template like shown in the tutorial, the option to import additional templates was not listed in my drop-down menu.
Additionally, I liked the font options presented and there were a variety of background choices. There were also multiple options for pulling in internet images, which could be useful for educators who do not happen to have that collection of pictures on their computer. Animation could also be added to your presentation, which further enhances its attractiveness.
I also like the fact that I could import previously made PowerPoint presentations and use those slides in Google Presentations. Not only could they just be used, but they could also be edited and the backgrounds changed to match the template you picked in Google. I explored this option and was able to pull in slides with ease.
Overall, I found Google Presentations to be easy to use with multiple options. The cost benefits and the sharing benefits of this technology make it very appealing. The collaborative nature of this will aid students in fulfilling Common Core Standards. (Anchor Standard 5: Speaking and Listening). A feature that I did not use in my presentation but that would be advantageous to students is the ability to add notes to the bottom of each slide and then the ability to print those notes. During the editing process, students can add notes regarding the information they are adding to the slide to help better inform their class partners as to why this information was edited.
Lastly, the cloud storage offered for this program makes it nice in that your presentation follows you to any computer with internet access. This feature is particularly nice for busy students and teachers.
My presentation can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19r87tDt7Q0NLEFbyC-rwZ3UnV3loMbhJsM7I0RC0skI/edit?usp=sharing
Today I learned a lot about Google Presentations. While I have to admit my knowledge about PowerPoint is fairly basic, I found Google Presentations to be almost as user friendly as the features I have used in PowerPoint.
I enjoyed the fact that Google Presentations would automatically save your presentation every few seconds. This feature came in especially handy for me, as I was working on putting together a presentation and the internet went down. When it came back up, my presentation looked exactly as it did prior to the internet disconnection.
A feature that I did not find as user-friendly was that fact that in order to import personal photos, you first have to put them into Google photos. I was unable to add the images straight from my iphoto program into a Google Presentation. While importing the photos into Google was easy, it was an extra time-consuming step. In the tutorial I also learned that you can import additional templates and I thought that was a nice feature. However, when I went to import a photo album template like shown in the tutorial, the option to import additional templates was not listed in my drop-down menu.
Additionally, I liked the font options presented and there were a variety of background choices. There were also multiple options for pulling in internet images, which could be useful for educators who do not happen to have that collection of pictures on their computer. Animation could also be added to your presentation, which further enhances its attractiveness.
I also like the fact that I could import previously made PowerPoint presentations and use those slides in Google Presentations. Not only could they just be used, but they could also be edited and the backgrounds changed to match the template you picked in Google. I explored this option and was able to pull in slides with ease.
Overall, I found Google Presentations to be easy to use with multiple options. The cost benefits and the sharing benefits of this technology make it very appealing. The collaborative nature of this will aid students in fulfilling Common Core Standards. (Anchor Standard 5: Speaking and Listening). A feature that I did not use in my presentation but that would be advantageous to students is the ability to add notes to the bottom of each slide and then the ability to print those notes. During the editing process, students can add notes regarding the information they are adding to the slide to help better inform their class partners as to why this information was edited.
Lastly, the cloud storage offered for this program makes it nice in that your presentation follows you to any computer with internet access. This feature is particularly nice for busy students and teachers.
My presentation can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19r87tDt7Q0NLEFbyC-rwZ3UnV3loMbhJsM7I0RC0skI/edit?usp=sharing
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Google Drive
GAIN
I briefly addressed Google Drive in the previous blog but will go into more detail here. It is a document sharing application.
One of the benefits to Google Drive is that your work can go with you anywhere. Programs such as Word require the user to either work on the same computer or carry their work with them on a portable drive. With Google Drive, your work can follow you to any computer with an Internet connection due to cloud storage. One document can be as long as 500 pages and there are no limits on the number of documents a user can create. In comparison to other word processing applications, I found Google Documents to be user-friendly and have a number of features.
Google Documents is also tied to the Common Core Standards in the following aspects. The common Core Standard for Writing, Anchor Standard 5, can be enhanced by Google Documents, as it has the ability for students and teachers to see a revision history of their work. The work is saved every two seconds, creating a trail of revisions. A student can even delete a paragraph during the writing stage but go back and find it later if they decide to add it back in.
Anchor Standard 6 deals with collaborative work. I have first hand experience with discussions regarding the effectiveness of this application. This application is used in the academic world amongst researchers who are involved in collaborative research. The ability to collaborate is a large benefit of Google Drive. Multiple users can work on a project without having multiple versions of the project, which can cause confusion in the editing process. This standard will allow students to learn to work collaboratively and will allow teachers to see a student's progress and leave feedback. Students can also publish their work on the Web or to other select people with just a click of a button when using Google Documents.
Anchor Core 10 focuses on collecting research from the Internet by using copy and paste features for links, text or pictures. The material can be saved in Google Docs to be reviewed by other collaborators.
Anchor core standards for Production and Distribution and Writing state that students must produce writing using digital tools, meaning they will be required to begin exploring keyboarding skills as early as Kindergarten. By fourth grade, students should be able to produce a one-page paper. Correcting mistakes is also part of this process and students will be introduced to features such as spell-check. These are just a few of the writing standards associated with the Common Core Standards that can be made possible by the use of Google Documents.
Lastly, for the contents of this blog, Common Core Standards also require collaborative note taking skills using Google Documents. Students can be instructed to type notes which later can be revised and saved for future use. This feature can also be useful because students can see what others are typing and can enhance their learning experience.
I think it will be interesting to see how Google Documents and other Google applications will be integrated into the classroom. It is an exciting time in technology for schools and I am excited to be a part of it.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
A few Google Applications
TECH
I had never explored the features of Google. I knew there were applications available but I had not taken the time to explore them. I can see how many of these applications could be very beneficial, especially in the education field. As an increasingly collaborative field, many of these features such as e-mail features, task lists, calendar sharing capabilities and document sharing would make life easier.
Gmail offers a variety of organizational features to streamline your email. You can add labels to your e-mails to categorize them into folders such as family, work, school or vacations. You can have contact lists that can also be categorized into groups. As a teacher, having group lists is very helpful for sending e-mail out to parents of your students. E-mail is a great way to communicate reminders and helps save paper. The ability to create a contact list saves you the time of having to enter the addresses multiple times or even just remember to enter them individually. I have sent many e-mails out to parents but have never taken the time to make a group. I just mentally go through the list of students to make sure I get it out to everyone. Finding this feature is going to be of great benefit. Gmail also allows you to personalize your messages. If you need to have a professional looking page with a signature on it, you have that option. If you prefer a fun, whimsical page, that option is available too. Of course, these features are not necessary to the content of your message but sometimes adding personalization to you e-mail can make it stand out. Another personalization Gmail offers is to generate a vacation response. This feature could be useful during times when you are away from your computer such as teachers meetings or on days you have a substitute teacher.
Google calendar also has a lot of features to offer as well. I could see it being very beneficial to schools. Office administration could easily use it for teachers so they could schedule faculty meetings, school events, field trips, or even days that teachers would be out of the classroom. Personally, I could also see it being beneficial for family use. For a busy family with kids going in all different directions, having a central schedule for everyone to post their events could help maintain organization. Other than the calendar's ability to be shared computer to computer, you can access it on your smartphone. You can also sync the calendar with other desktop applications such as iCal. Another feature I find particularly enticing about Google calendars is the RSVP feature. You can send an invitation to an event to your contacts and they can RSVP as to whether they are available to come to the event. This creates an easy way for your recipients to let you know if they are able to join you for the event. You can also add a task list in the calendar application. You can make multiple task lists but only one will show on your calendar. Adding a task list can help to organize your to-do list through the ability to add notes and dates to the list.
Google Drive, formerly known as Google Docs, appears to be a great way to share documents. I found the template and features to be user-friendly. I also found that there were many font options and template options. The benefit of sharing a document in such a way is the ability to collaborate on a document. I know first hand this feature is used by scientists at NASA. They are able to share documents while working on papers for publication. The ability to work collaboratively helps in smoothing out the process of writing and re-writing.
Overall, I found the Google applications to be very user-friendly and I can see the benefit of incorporating them into the field of education.
Monday, May 13, 2013
GAIN
This is my first real experience with a blog. I have heard
people talk about having a blog or following a friend’s blog, but I never have
been involved with blogging. I enjoyed tonight’s assignment of creating a blog
page.
In looking at the blogs listed on tonight’s GAIN blogger
assignment, I found the blog by David Warlick to be the most interesting. It first caught my eye because it
was colorful. As I looked further,
there were quite a few interesting stories with both pictures and video. I like the way he incorporated multiple ways of
catching the reader’s attention.
Other blogs had more of an academic look. In fact, the blog of George Siemens
reminded me of a page from an academic journal, with no color or pictures used
on his page. Other bloggers incorporated a
background color or a banner across the top but used a lot of text on their
page. I personally prefer a page that incorporates visual aids. I also liked the page of
Jeff Utecht, “The Thinking Stick.”
The icons used at the top of the page catch the readers attention and
make the page interesting. He does a good job of engaging the reader's curiosity.
The first night of class
TECH Assignment:
To be honest, I have been a little slow at learning some of the technological advances of our age. We did not grow up with a computer in our house, as most children do today. I was in high school before we bought a computer and it was a dinosaur, with only very basic processing applications. Therefore, it has taken some time to build my confidence for jumping in and trying new things on a computer. However, as the technology age is always evolving, so is our use and reliance on technology such as computers, tablets and smart phones. Even my three year-old knows how to work these electronics!
I have basic knowledge of both Microsoft and Mac operating systems. For many years, due to cost, I worked on a Window's operating system. I was vaguely familiar with Mac's as my husband worked in the journalism industry where Macintosh was the industry standard. It was not until about three years ago that I got my personal Mac. This came about because of its ability to have a remote backup system. After a couple crashes of my Window's based programs, and the loss of a lot of very valuable work data, we made the switch to all Apple products.
I found working on a Mac very easy. There were many similarities for what I used a computer for. However, the ability to have a time machine backup system that was not associated with a monthly fee and the ability to move my information easily from Mac to Mac was amazing. (The time did come when I had to upgrade from a Mac mini to something with more memory and a faster processor.) Due to the fact that my husband worked on a Mac, we were able to share files easier. I also enjoy the iphoto and imovie applications. Editing tasks are much easier with this technology. The only negative that I have to report is that not all programs are available for Mac. For example, I do transcription work. Because one of the formats that some of the doctors use is not supported in the Mac version of my transcription software, I had to install a partition on my computer and run a virtual PC for these program files. However, I do understand the reason not all software is available for Mac is because it is not cost effective for software developers to develop the software for for Mac since three is not enough demand amongst Mac users for the software. In my case, this is a bitter-sweet.
I also explored a few of the keyboarding sites online. I was not aware that programs existed to track and report student's typing progress. This has come a long ways since the days of typing class where you sat at a typewriter and then hand counted your mistakes. I found this to be a very interesting option that could be easily incorporated into a classroom to help make students more efficient typists.
To be honest, I have been a little slow at learning some of the technological advances of our age. We did not grow up with a computer in our house, as most children do today. I was in high school before we bought a computer and it was a dinosaur, with only very basic processing applications. Therefore, it has taken some time to build my confidence for jumping in and trying new things on a computer. However, as the technology age is always evolving, so is our use and reliance on technology such as computers, tablets and smart phones. Even my three year-old knows how to work these electronics!
I have basic knowledge of both Microsoft and Mac operating systems. For many years, due to cost, I worked on a Window's operating system. I was vaguely familiar with Mac's as my husband worked in the journalism industry where Macintosh was the industry standard. It was not until about three years ago that I got my personal Mac. This came about because of its ability to have a remote backup system. After a couple crashes of my Window's based programs, and the loss of a lot of very valuable work data, we made the switch to all Apple products.
I found working on a Mac very easy. There were many similarities for what I used a computer for. However, the ability to have a time machine backup system that was not associated with a monthly fee and the ability to move my information easily from Mac to Mac was amazing. (The time did come when I had to upgrade from a Mac mini to something with more memory and a faster processor.) Due to the fact that my husband worked on a Mac, we were able to share files easier. I also enjoy the iphoto and imovie applications. Editing tasks are much easier with this technology. The only negative that I have to report is that not all programs are available for Mac. For example, I do transcription work. Because one of the formats that some of the doctors use is not supported in the Mac version of my transcription software, I had to install a partition on my computer and run a virtual PC for these program files. However, I do understand the reason not all software is available for Mac is because it is not cost effective for software developers to develop the software for for Mac since three is not enough demand amongst Mac users for the software. In my case, this is a bitter-sweet.
I also explored a few of the keyboarding sites online. I was not aware that programs existed to track and report student's typing progress. This has come a long ways since the days of typing class where you sat at a typewriter and then hand counted your mistakes. I found this to be a very interesting option that could be easily incorporated into a classroom to help make students more efficient typists.
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