Upload PDF to Google Drive

Images and Captions Using Google Drawing in Google Docs on iPad or Computer

Our students have conducted interviews with people in their families.  To enhance the papers that have been written, students will insert images with captions utilizing Google Drawing.

On Computer Tutorial

Important Items:

• Insert Google Drawing within Google Doc
• Add Image (from Google Drive)
• Add Text 
• Adjust Text with Font, Size, Color
• Save & Close
• Wrap Text
• Adjust Picture in Document

On iPad Tutorial

Important Items:

• Google Docs App
• White Pencil In Blue Circle (edit documet)
• Plus Sign
• Image From Photos (or camera) (Download from Google Drive to Camera Roll)
• Place Cursor Below Image, Center, Add Text For Caption
• BONUS: Using Explain Everything or PicCollage
• Place text on top of image 
• Save Image to Camera Roll
• Insert Image via Plus Sign that has Text on Top Of it

Google Slides: Larger Area To Work

Game of Chromes

While perusing my Instagram feed, I came across this picture from Adam Bellow.

I had not heard of Game of Phones, but immediately thought, "How can I create this with Game of Chromes?" in an educational setting.

If you are not aware of Game of Phones, it is EXTREMELY easy to play.  Game of Phones is a Kickstarter project by two design students in New York City.  It's simple! Use your smartphone or iPad/Tablet to acquire ten cards as fast as possible.  Consider purchasing your own deck!

As far as implementing it into a classroom, a set of cards were made using a two column table in a Google Document with Arial Font 18.

Students (as many as can fit in a comfortable circle) need to have a device with Chrome (or Safari or IE) so that game players can find the necessary items on the card.  The directions from Game of Phones fits perfectly for Game of Chromes.  In an educational setting, the educator may not create 100 cards.  As an example, I created only 20.

I do not own these directions and give all the credit to Game of Phones creators.

From one of our World History teachers, Mrs. Schartner, I acquired the information from an upcoming unit, The French Revolution.  I created interesting cards for the first Game of Chromes.

To introduce the concept, I will be playing some questions from "Game of Phones" with our staff at Lunch N' Learn tomorrow.  Join us and bring your Smartphone!  Don't have one, join us any way!  You'll be glad you did!

GAME OF CHROMES TEMPLATE  

HOW TO PLAY: Game of Phones (with iPads) In Eighth Grade Social Studies

Timeline Options For English Using Chrome

Options for timelines using Chrome:

• Timetoast  - account needed

Since we are a Google Apps for Education school, other options exist:

• Using Google Draw, create date images, add those images to SMORE.
• Use a Google Template for students to create timelines
• Option 1
• Option 2
• Option 3
• Option 4

World History Digital Resources

History: Maps of World - Free

Incredible amount of maps that can provide an insight into world history.  Minus the ads due to it being free.

Today In History iPad Edition - Free

Significant world history easily found via  a "Choose Date" section.

World History Matters - Portal to World History Websites - Great starting point!

Chopping A YouTube Video With TubeChop

One of our seventh grade teachers, Mrs. Kust, would like students to choose a song, more importantly a 30 second clip of the song, to represent one of six themes from the book, The Outsiders.  To do this we are utilizing TubeChop.  Some features of TubeChop:

• Exact time of video able to be acquired
• Preview chopped video
• Slider or exact time available for chopping the video
• Able to embed chopped video
• Able to link to chopped video

Process For Chopping:

• Find YouTube Video
• Copy URL
• Travel to TubeChop
• Paste URL into TubeChop Site
• Determine Length of Clip
• Preview
• Assign Title To Chopped Video
• Chop It
• Copy Chopped Link
• Paste To Teacher

Watch the Process:

TubeChop is NOT new, but it is the first time that I created an instructional video for this tool that will be utilized in a classroom.  If you need other examples of how a video can be chopped, the Teachers & Technology blog has some examples.

RESULTS: Our students completed a Google Form that allowed them to submit three videos that matched a theme from the book.  VIEW THE RESULTS

PowToon To Promote Middle School Forensics

Ms. Barszcz, Title One Reading Support Teacher, asked me if a video could be made to promote participation in middle school forensics.  While a video could be made, some challenges always arise with creating videos that include

• Time to shoot the film
• Who's going to be in the film
• Where's the setting
• Time to edit the film

Instead of filming a video for the promotion of forensics, I suggested PowToon.  I created a promotional video for our bi-weekly professional development at the high school and middle school.

Her creation rocks, was created in a few short hours, and will be shown today and tomorrow in homerooms!

Lunch N' Learn PowToons Promotion

Utilizing SQWORL For Individual Planning Conferences

Today, Mrs. Gerth and Mrs. Wagner, school counselors contacted me about a way to have all the web resources (six) available with one click while conducting eighth grade planning conferences.

We initially tried "pinning" tabs in Chrome, but was unsuccessful in keeping them pinned after logging off/logging on.  Not sure why, but it could be that we were on a virtual machine.

Because of that failure, I remembered creating multi urls a year or two ago and decided SQWORL would be the best.  SQWORL touts itself as "Simple Visual Bookmarking for Educators".  One of our counselors created an account.  It took about 15 minutes to create the link.

The LINK works perfectly and is now able to be shared with other counselors.
(This would not have happened if we pinned each teacher's Chrome browser)

Google Forms: Only One Response, Shuffle Questions and More

Google continues to improve FORMS!!!

For assessment, data acquiring, surveying, t-shirt options, and more!

New features in Google Forms could be utilized to validate the data.  I created a form to specifically test all of the new features.

Google Form Options
Clicking the final two boxes provides some options.

Only allow one response per person provides this if a responder wants to fill the form out again.

From my testing, I have concluded that this works even if the Require "your organization" login to view this form is NOT checked.

It occurs Incognito mode as well.

I also tested the "Shuffle Question Order"

My original form looks like this.

Another feature while adding multiple choice or choose from a list questions is shuffling the answers.

I completed the form four times and each time the form questions were in a different order.  I did notice that the PASSWORD question was always first - that's a good thing!

The responses in the spreadsheet were all in the same order! The form questions were not.  That rocks!

View LIVE form

View RESPONSE sheet

Google Templates, Google "Save As A Doc" Google on the iPad

Google Template
Many items that pertain to content area, classroom management, and personal computing can be found in the Google Template Gallery.  People around our school district and the world can submit "documents for use" so that students or teachers can use them in their classrooms.

The Google Template Gallery is not automatically in your Google Drive.  You will need to restore the gallery into your drive.

Having students or teachers submit documents/forms/sheets/presentations to the gallery can provide some great resources for YOU to use.

Mr. Barszcz, English teacher, created a Sub Plan Template that could be used by any teacher for any subject.  Consider using it.

Mrs. Moehr, FACS teacher, created a grocery order form that can be used during each project.  No need to recreate.  An "automatically created" new document is created for you.

Mrs. Forsberg, middle school teacher, created a paragraph/essay planning template.  When students "use this template" a new copy will be created for the students.

Google "Save As A Doc"
Through this blog post, I was provided a solution to a problem that has perplexed our teachers who use forms for some time.  When lengthy questions are entered into a Google form, it is challenging to read in the "sheets" format.  Finding the "Save As A Doc" add-on, places all chosen cells of data from a sheet into a document which is easy to read.



Google Shuffle Questions on Forms
GET THE AMAZING INFORMATION

Google on the iPad
Mr. Ken Westphal, technical support, provided our staff with excellent directions that explains why/how a Google doc, spreadsheet, or presentation can be edited on the iPad.  Remember, the Google Drive app (video is from 2012; some slight current differences) now does not allow for editing one of these three items...

• If users want to Edit a Google Doc, they'll now need the Google Docs iPad app - see here
• If users want to Edit a Google Spreadsheet, they'll now need the Google Sheets iPad app -see here
• NEW - If users want to Edit a Google Presentation, they'll need to the Google Slides app -see here

Searching Google Drive Using Filters & Creation Tools

Tired of trying to organize the plethora of Google Drive files you create or that have been shared with you?

Stop.

Learn to search with key shortcuts that will help you be more efficient.

• Dropdown Menu Icon
• Search Operators
• " " Quotes
• OR
• - Hyphen
• from:
• to:
• type:
• before: YYYY-MM-DD after:YYYY-MM-DD
• owner:
• title:

Video Link


Add Apps Search To Gmail
Video Link


Search Your Google Drive

Engaging New Web Tools!
FutureMe 
Make Badges

Engaging New iPad App Tools!
Tellagami (Free)
Fuzel (Free)
Fuzel Tutorial Video Link

Attachments For Gmail Extension...In 20 Seconds

GET THE EXTENSION



Video Link

Attachments For Gmail is a great way to quickly get a visual of what type of attachment is connected to Gmail.  I used the Google Translate option for creating a different introduction.  Consider getting this extension to help make sorting through Gmail easier.

Library Media and Technology Integration Specialists Raider Camp

Yesterday, was an incredible day in which educators from our district were able to meet and brainstorm!  As library media specialists and technology integrators, we discussed a number of items.

• Summer Updates:  As a group, we need to be ready to answer all of the questions that staff members will have as it pertains to technology updates.  Our IT staff has put together some resources to aide in the transition.  Because we are allowing teachers to add information they would like we provided...
• A Back To School page
• Summer Information page

• Project & Process
• The graph above is a great graph that explains the process of projects
• Will share with teachers to keep them informed of the progress
• Most Important - After imaging Information
• When teachers return, their computer desktops will look different
• We need to facilitate their transition
• Learning: We spent a great deal of time teaching each other and learning from one another

• iBooks Creator - create on Mac, read on iOS mobile device
• iTunesU - Create in Safari, read on iOS mobile device
• Google Plus - open to our staff - instant help desk with shared screen
• Chrome Webstore - our leader created this which ROCKS
• Freedom Flix & True Flix - video resource options (paid)
• NETS and ITLS 
• Discussed what we were doing well and what we needed to work on
• We needed to read 
• Transitions to Digital Media
• ISTE.NETS-S

I am so thankful to be a member of this dedicated group of individuals who have one purpose:

Serve Educators!  

We are willing and eager to help with technology integration in the all classroom settings & to find a great book for students and staff!

Day 2 begins today with another great opportunity to learn and grow!

Chrome's Three Little Lines

Chrome's three little lines provide so much information!  Discover the helpful items that lie behind the three little line at Tuesday's Lunch N' Learn.

Check IP Address...In 20 Seconds

I needed some tech help from our amazing tech department.  They needed my IP address.  There are two ways to do this.

On a computer (Also Works On iPad):


On a wireless network on an iPad: