Keep Your Skills Sharp, Use Google Apps When Making Unit Plans

This year I have decided to try to integrate more multiple intelligences activities into my units. One of my first road blocks was trying to keep all my ideas, resources and planning in one place. I decided to try using Google Document to meet this goal and so far I like the result.

More Time?

Like anything new, there it can be more time consuming initially. However, I think in the long run, having everything in one place will be time saving in the future.

Useful Skills

There are a few basic skills that you will need to make this effective.

1. Scanning

2. Uploading and converting

3. Bookmarking and linking

4. Make A Folder

Why?

The biggest reason I did this change is to have everything in one place that is accessible at one time. When I started working on my magnet unit (after not having taught science for a number of years), I always seemed to be missing something. Either I was working at home and forgot something in a binder at school or I was working at school and had left something at home. By having everything online, I could access everything I needed anywhere.

A secondary benefit is the fact I am keeping up on my Google Apps skills by using them regularly.

The third reason maybe wishful thinking. My thinking is that I could share my unit plans with other grade two teachers and that could lead to some collaborative planning.

Example and Steps

Here is a unit I have in progress. It is a math unit on equalities and inequalities. Here are the steps I used.

1. Create a Folder for the unit
2. Scan Materials to PDF
3. Upload Word Documents and scanned PDFs to Google Drive  * If you have your unit folder open in your Google Drive when you upload your documents, it will automatically add them to that folder. If you do not, you will have to move the relevant items to the folder.
4. Create a Document that will be the core of your unit plan.
5. Create a table of contents.
6. Create headings in your document (such as curriculum outcomes or scope of lessons).
7. Highlight these headings and make them a bookmark. Then go back to the table of contents and link the contents to the related headings you just bookmarked.
8. Begin to plan/write. As I get to a lesson that requires one of the items I've uploaded, link it to your plan.
9. Share your folder (it will therefore share everything that folder) with those you wish to collaborate with.

So No Paper or Word Documents?

I still have paper copies of things I want to photocopy and I still have my Word documents for now...

Reflections On ESPB Edtech Community of Practice (COP), October 29

EPSB EdTech Google Apps Community of Practice

Today was this school year's first EdTech Community of Practice (COP) for Edmonton Public Schools. For me, these sessions are not only to learn new things but it is a chance to confirm I am on the right track as well as network with other educators using technology.

Android Apps And Grade Two, Part Two

Android Apps And Grade Two, Part Two

I was so excited to hear that my new school had tablets; I even did research over the summer. I do a lot of centres in class across the curriculum and I anticipated that tablets would enhance them. Then I started to look into how to use them and my excitement waned.

So, getting started with our tablets was not as smooth or as quick as I had hoped. It is almost November but we are finally going to start using them in classrooms.

Road Blocks

I know tablets are intended to be single user devices but I had seen iPads used successfully without too much headache in a kindergarten classroom. Being an Android user myself, I was pleased that we had Android tablets. However, Apple has somewhat of a way to help schools manage iPads and apps. It has not been as simple with the Android tablets. Here are some of the road blocks:

• Logging onto the WIFI is not simple for younger students (and reminding users to log off WIFI when done).**
• Paid apps are user specific.
• By using the Google Play store, the tablet automatically connects to your Google account. You have to delete your account EACH time after using the Play store.
• You have to go into Settings, then select Accounts, then select Google and then select the option "remove account".   

** We still wanted to be able to track individual users and that is why we still want to have students sign on to the WIFI with their own usernames and passwords.

Work Arounds

• Like all technology, it is important to take the time to teach the skills to students and provide them opportunities for repetition so they can become proficient at logging in and out of WIFI.
• NO paid apps (means many free apps have ads)
• Plan ahead - get a list of all the apps you want to install on the tablets so the long process of signing into Google Play and then removing the account only happens a few times.

Resources

• Android4schools 

Chrome Books in Grade 1... CRAZY... not really...

Getting Started
First thing you need to know is all passwords must be changed if your students have not done so. I recommend you add a 1 to all existing passwords as that seemed to be the easiest for me. They were eager and excited to go as was I. We used a buddy system so only half my students had to log on so I only had  half the problems. The next time they would swap so after two visits everyone would have logged on. This provides scaffolding for the students who may struggle.  I had a plan to show them what they could do once they got on, so they were motivated to be independent. I chose a free app called Lego builder that I would help them get.(Fits with building things curriculum in science) Everything was going as well as expected with 11 of 22 grade 1's logging on for the first time when we reached a road block. After they got all of the email and password in they received a security message where they need to type the funny written letters. In grade 1 they have a hard time with proper letters so this required a lot of patients from myself and them.This happens the first time you use the email and password. As it turns out having only half log on at a time was smarter than I thought. I have an EA who was able to help so those of you that are flying solo you may want to do this one at a time in the class or have a couple volunteers to help you.

Step 1-I started modelling in the classroom showing them the basics of what logging in to a computer would             look like. I also showed them how it did not work if they even made one mistake. We talked about               how to problem solve by checking each letter one by one and retrying the password carefully and                 slowly.

Step 2- I took out one Chrome book and modeled how to log on and how to get @ symbol. They chanted               "hold shift, tap 2" repeatedly until they had it stuck in their brains.

Step 3- Show them the Lego building app they will use,  if they can get on. Insert " wow, cool, so fun"                  here. This is the carrot you need to dangle for motivation. Go on the Chrome book look for what will              work in your class. Under apps, education there are many free ones that your students will love. Just               remember you will have to model how to get the app and help them get it. Once they have it, it will be           there forever.

Step 4- Release the Chrome books to the partners. Wait for it.... they all get on with minimal assistance                     (funny written security word)  and enjoyed the app. Some students did it in 10 or 15 min others only              had 5 min to build but they all were successful. They were able to take turns and build.

Step 5- Repeat next time so the other 11 students can log on.

A Small Step Is Still A Step (A Reflection)

How Do You Know All This Stuff?

Today I was casually sharing with a colleague some of the things I do with Google Apps. Her response was, "how do you know all this stuff?" The answer is by playing and trying. A significant amount of my playing and trying was because of the professional development I have received from EPSB.

My First Exposure To Google Apps For Education (GAFE)

I remember when I went to my first professional development day for GAFE, at the time called the Portal Project. I was a deer in headlights. Teachers were talking about what they were doing with their students and I couldn't even wrap my head around how I would do it myself, let alone with grade twos. Now when I talk about what I do with my grade twos, I get grade six teachers giving me that same look.

Where To Start? One Small Step!

The best advice I can give is start small but start.  It's amazing how one small step at a time can accumulate to a long road of knowledge and skill! With all things technology, what I find useful is to pick just one subject area to focus on. When Smartboards first came out, I chose math to focus on. By picking one subject it became manageable and less overwhelming. That's not to say I never used the Smartboard in other subjects. Rather that I tried to use it as often as I could in math and gave myself permission not to use it regularly in other subjects. I was quickly able to apply what I figured out during my math lessons to use in other subjects once I felt comfortable. 

I did the same for GAFE. I chose social studies as the area I was going focus on with my students. My students did many of the summative projects using Presentation over the last two years. As a result, many of my blog posts related to social studies and technology! 

What Am I Crazy? Moving My Class Website to Google Sites

Some History

When I first started using the Internet with division one students many many many years ago, it was quickly apparent that too much time was spent having them type websites into the address bar. Initially I created a Word document with hyperlinks and saved it in a shared folder on our server. I taught them how to open that document and all they had to do was click on the hyperlinks. I just changed the content of that document for each technology lesson. Eventually I made my first class website on Tripod way before it was Tripod.Lycos! Later I moved it to Wordpress as I did not like the banner ads Tripod had.  

I Like Wordpress

I like Wordpress and have used it for over five years. It was relatively easy to learn and use. The URL for my site is http://msmondor.wordpress.com/ which meant when students searched "msmondor" my site was the first thing they found. I made Ms Mondor a spelling word in the first weeks of school. Things I like about Wordpress:

• You can schedule posts.
• It is user friendly.
• It is free without a lot of annoying ads.
• You can customize an easy to find URL.

So Why Move?

When EPSB first "went Google" I tried Google Sites and I hated it. It was clunky. So I pretty much ignored that part of Google Apps for Education. Last year I made a landing page for my former school using Google Sites. My, had things changed. It had all the things I liked about Wordpress plus I could make the interface more division one friendly than I could with Wordpress. I will miss my short and convenient URL. Things I like about Google Sites:

• You can schedule posts.
• It is free without annoying ads.
• Can upload files for parents. For example on my math page I have math games that we've played at school.
• Division One friendly interface.
• Can integrate other aspects of Google Apps for Education easily.
• It is easy to use after some initial trial and error/instruction.
• There are templates to use create class websites.

Links to Consider Viewing

• my old class website - Ms Mondor's Grade Two Website
• my new (still building) class website - Ms Mondor's Website
• my post Benefits of a Class Website

Student Profile Template

Multiple Intelligences Survey

I used multiple intelligences surveys this year as part of working toward integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into my teaching and in my grade two classroom. I initially sent home the survey for families to do with their children. My intention was to give students a simple half page summary of their strengths and areas for growth based on the survey. However, while most families completed the survey promptly, not all of the families handed them in. I did not want to have any students left out of the next step which was to discuss goals for a strength and an area for growth. So I decided to administer one in class as well.

Home Survey 

As a part of the collaboration my staff is doing with a number of other schools, the grade two teachers decided to not include the existential component. I found a survey that did not include it and modified the language  very slightly to make the format a little more accessible. The grade one teachers in our school drafted a parent letter that explained the survey. 

• Orignial survey
• My modified survey and parent letter

School Survey

When I decided to do a survey in class I wanted something would not be too time consuming but have grade two wording. The survey I used was short and on one page. We completed this as a class. I read the statement and gave examples of what a 0, 1 or a 2 might be. 

The formatting was not very user friendly for grade twos. Next year if I were to use this in class I would number them and make the font larger. I did change the scoring from 0-5 to 0-2. I also only had students put the number beside the question. I later put their numbers in the bold boxes and tallied them. Actually, I delegated that to my husband! :)

• Original survey

What Next

After these two surveys I was left with a lot of paper but still not the overall picture I was looking for. So I decided a one page summary of each student would be more useful. Alberta Education has a document called Developing Learner Profiles. I found this very useful and from it I created a Google Doc called Student Profile Template. I have set the settings to view only but I would love comments on the document for suggestions about how you would use it.

I will also give my students a short summary of their "smarts" so that we can discuss goal setting next.

Microsoft Word? No! Google Docs! A Habit Shift.

As I have begun to research UDL more this year, I have tried to use as many available resources as possible. I have also tried to share things that I am creating. I almost have always exclusively used Word to create documents for planning, parent letters and student work. I still like Word better for creating student activities. However, I have started to make a mental shift to creating new planning documents and parent documents using Google Docs. It is much easier to share what I am doing. I encourage others to make the shift and not just create in Google Docs but share what you are doing with others.