White Bear Lake Cohort Reflections

I just finished teaching two Cohorts of teachers who earned a Graduate certificate in Teaching & Technology from Hamline University.  In this cohort, teachers complete four courses for the certificate. 

1. Creating a Community of Learners with a Global Perspective
2. Curriculum in the Cloud
3. Authentic Assessment using Technoloyg
4. Emerging Technology and Trends

The following are a few final reflections from the teachers in the White Bear Lake Cohort.  It is fun to see how much they have changed as teachers and learners and they ways that learning will change in each of their classrooms.  Enjoy!

* Edina Cohort reflections coming soon!

White Bear Lake Cohort Reflections

Abby


Carol



Cassandra


Christine 

Elizabeth's Final Reflection

Jacob's Final Reflection in MoveNote

Jeanne's Thinglink


Reflection from Jim

My aha moments included signing up (I almost didn’t) and finishing each class (which I also almost almost didn’t).  My growth is in not just getting by but doing the homework (which is really hard for me), presenting to other teachers (which also is really, really hard for me).  The assignments were great and the the technology options covered was at times overwhelming, but truly awesome.  The motivation to keep trying to improve and to always be thinking of how I can be better for students, is my aha moment keeping motivated and always looking for ways to motivate students.

I have grown in my confidence, skill base, and am becoming more organized in using more resources efficiently.  To say that technology is a powerful learning, is an understatement.  Using technology in the classroom will increase independence and empower students to be better learners, in school and out.

My classrooms include more independent learning with increased options, both of which are very important for my students.  Students have many chances to learn in a variety of ways with support when needed and freedom to be more independent when they progress.  My classrooms have always been differentiated, but now I can do it in a much more organized fashion with much more meaningful collaboration.

I have always been willing to try new things, but I have gained skills and knowledge of resources that will increase the learning potential for students and and maintain more purposeful outcomes.  I have gained knowledge of tools, resources and ideas. Learning is forever and challenging students to do more, be more independent, and increase their ability to learn with technology will help them be more prepared for their future (the expected and the unknown).

Joshua Lane (Prezi is embedded below, but if you can't see it click on the link)


Lindsey's Voki

Melisa's StoryJumper

Read this free book made on StoryJumper

Deep Thoughts by Seth



Shannon's Favorite New Tool and reflection

One of my favorite tools is Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a free visual bookmarking site that gives you access to anything you bookmark with a tile from any computer. It takes bookmarking to a whole new level.

Here’s a video that explains what Symbaloo is. There is also a free app for your phone or ipad.

You can create tiles to create a webmix which is a collection of websites for a specific subject. Each tile is a link that will take you directly to the website.

I have created a webmix for each unit in our textbook. I then share these with parents, students and colleagues so they have easy access to helpful websites. Here is an example of one of my units. I have also made a webmix of my favorite classroom resources. This tool has made my website organization a breeze!

Here is an interesting article called 11 Ways to Use Symbaloo in the Classroom that may give you some ideas.



Shawna's Reflection on Collaboration



Allison's Final Reflection

EdTechTeam South Africa Summit

It is amazing to me that Google Apps for Education is transforming education all over the world.  Last week I had the opportunity to lead the second annual EdTechTeam South Africa Summit in Johannesburg and network with amazing teachers that are transforming learning all over the country.

The Summit was a huge success for a variety of different reasons.  First, the host school, SchoolNetZA and  team were amazing to work with.  Anthony Edgbers and Pam MacMillan from Dainfern College were rock stars who worked tirelessly to make sure that the Summit went off without a hitch.  “The ladies” from SchoolNet South Africa helped us to connect with educators all over the country and invite them to the Summit.  From planning calls, ordering or much needed Google Beanies and Fleece scarves, to overseeing catering and conference supplies - SchoolNet South Africa is a committed group of people dedicated to transforming learning in their country.  The Planning team for the South Africa Summit rocked!

The Summit would not have been the same without the amazing student helpers from Dainfern.  The students not only helped direct teachers to the different classrooms around the College, but they were the first to respond if there was a technical challenge, they worked with the Keynote speakers to get their computers and audio set up for their presentations, and the students fully ran the audio, visual and lighting in the auditorium for the entire day.  I was amazed to see the amount of trust, respect and confidence in the students from the staff at Dainfern.  We love hosting summits with student volunteers and the Dainfern students amazed us!

South Africa is an emerging market for Google and we were excited about their participation at the Summit.  First, Google Education Go Digital in South Africa sponsored 25 local teachers to attend the Summit.  Google also launched the Google Educator Group for South Africa at the Summit.  There are very exciting things happening to connect like minded educators in the country.  It has been fun to be a catalyst for this kind of change.

After leaving the two day Summit my inbox and Twitter stream is still full of educators from South Africa expressing their excitement to take what they learned at the Summit and change what they are doing in the classroom.  This is my favorite thing about our Summits, teachers leave excited, reenergized and committed to transforming learning in their classroom.  We are thrilled that we are going to be hosting another Summit in South Africa in 2015 to continue to network and learn with these teachers.  Thanks to an amazing group of educators from the EdTechTeam, the local talent who presented at the summit, our amazing hosts at Dainfern College and SchoolNet South Africa, the Support of Google South Africa - and the 300 teachers that are going to take what they learned and change the world!

Creating and Editing Video using WeVideo in Google Drive

WeVideo is one of my new favorite tools to use with students.  It is an online video editing program that is fully integrated with Google Drive so students don’t need to create a new account.

First, students should connect WeVideo to Google Drive.  When in Drive, click on the red CREATE tab and at the bottom click on Connect More Apps.  Search for WeVideo and add it to your Drive.

Screencast on how to add WeVideo to your Google Drive

When you connect WeVideo to your Drive you can pull images and video from your Drive into your WeVideo storyboard, and your WeVideo movie is saved all right in Drive.

Screencast on basic creating and editing of video using WeVideo

WeVideo has differentiated storyboards for students to work with based on their familiarity with video editing.  Students can start out in the Storyboard and move on up to the Timeline mode when they are ready for more layers of video, narration and audio.

The FREE version of WeVideo gives each user 15 free minutes of export before you have to start paying for the product.

Saving Images for your WeVideo Project

Students can find and save images from a variety of places on the web.  One site that we like to use for copyright friendly images is Pics4learning.com.  The great thing about using Pics4learning.com with our Chromebooks, Google Drive and WeVideo is that there is a “Save Image to Drive” button on each image.  This allows for very easy collecting of images for your WeVideo movie.

Another great way to get images into Google Drive to use with WeVideo is the “Save to Drive” extension from the Chrome Web Store.  First, install the “Save to Drive” extension and then once you have found a copyright friendly image you can right click on the image (two finger click on the Chromebook trackpad) and one of the options is to “Save Image to Drive.”  This way students will have their images in Google Drive and can easily import them into their WeVideo project.

Classroom Example

Let’s say you went on a field trip to the Science Museum and you wanted students to create a WeVideo movie sharing what they learned on the field trip.   Make sure that someone on the field trip takes lots of pictures of the students and all the activities that they were doing.  When you get back to the classroom, download all the pictures from your phone or camera onto your desktop computer.

Getting the Image to the Students

Screencast of Sharing Images with Students Via Google Drive

One of the easiest ways to get all the images to the students so they can use them in their WeVideo movie is to create a shared folder in Google Drive.

1.  Go to Drive and Click on Create>Folder

2.  Once you have clicked on that folder, click on the upload button (to the right of Create) and select all the images of your field trip from your desktop so they are upload into Drive.

3.  Share the Folder – hover over the folder until you see the little drop down arrow to the right of the name of the folder.  Click on Share and then Share again.  Share the folder with each of your students in your class.

4.  HINT – if you have all of their email addresses in a spreadsheet you can just copy and paste from the spreadsheet.

5.  Now that the folder of images is shared with the students, each of them should be able to access all the images to upload them into their WeVideo project.

WeVideo can also Record from WebCam

Interested in some self reflection from students via video.  Have students go to WeVideo, and in the media/video option they can record from WebCam right into their WeVideo project.  Authentic self assessment or reflection, all captured on video!

Around the World With Google

Over the past three years, I've had the opportunity to travel around the world and connect with teachers that are implementing Google Apps into their classrooms. I've had the privilege of planning the speaker schedule at the Google in Education Summits Produced by the Ed Tech Team and it’s taken me to may different corners of the earth to meet some of the most amazing, talented and creative teachers.

I’d love to share some of the amazing ways that teachers are implementing Google Apps all around the world. I recently sent a Google Form to my network and asked them about a project that they have recently done with students. Take some time to learn from this Global group of teachers.

View the Interactive Map Here

Add your own Google Project Here

Meet Jane MacKenzie-Hoskyn from Cape Town, South Africa!
School: Parklands College

Google Apps Project
Zoom to the d'Orsay

Description of the Project
In addition to a demonstration, students are given both verbal and digital instructions, together with a rubric, on how to access and 'walk' through the virtual Musee d'Orsay to enter the Impressionism Gallery. The instructions are made available through a Virtual Learning Environment. To develop VISUAL LITERACY, in pairs, they EXPLORE, COLLABORATE and IDENTIFY Impressionist works, discuss the characteristics and the techniques, SHARE their ideas and observations, before answering some questions and doing a VISUAL ANALYSIS in a Google form. The form is shared to all the students so that they can see each other's answers. The teacher then discusses their responses before the formal lessons on Impressionism commence. This is an engaging activity that serves as an introduction to Impressionism before the commencement of formal lessons.

If you want to learn more about Jane MacKenzie-Hoskyn’s project, visit these links.
http://one2onejourney.blogspot.com/2013/05/zoom-to-orsay-visit-to-virtual-art.html

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Forms, Google Art Project

Meet Matt Wells from Sydney , Australia!
School: All Saints Catholic Boys College, Liverpool

Google Apps Project
Using Forms and Scripts to Automate My Day

Description of the Project
In my daily work I am making use of scripts such as Autocrat, Formmule, Doctopus and Flubaroo to automate my own work and the work of others. I am also actively promoting the use of these tools to others. I recently presented to our school support staff of a method of delivering telephone messages to staff using a From and Formmule.

When I implemented the Google Ninja program at All Saints Catholic Boys College, I redesigned the quizzes to be powered by Formmule so that students would receive instant feedback when they completed the quiz.

If you want to learn more about Matt Wells’s project, visit these links.

Presentations:
https://sites.google.com/site/mbw761/flubaroo
https://sites.google.com/site/mbw761/formmule
https://sites.google.com/site/mbw761/doctopus

ASCBC Ninjas
https://sites.google.com/a/syd.catholic.edu.au/ascbc-ninjas/

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, Google Sites

Meet Wes Warner from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia!
School: Genesis Christian College

Google Apps Project
Awards data collection

Description of the Project
We are going paperless to collect student data eg: What events have they participated in, what church and community events have they been involved in. We are using forms now to collect and publish this data term by term.

I am wanting to use a script like autocrat that will automate the entire process.

If you want to learn more about Wes Warner’s project, visit these links.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1991uPS7UPet7NZ1zyYaIz1_jVhBA-kdLpF9KV9jant8/viewform

Apps used in this project 

Gmail, Drive - Forms

Meet Shaun Kirkwood from Singapore , Singapore!
School: Singapore American School

Google Apps Project
Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling

Description of the Project
We use the Autocrat Script and Google sites in combination to create hyperlinked documents for parents and teachers to use to sign up for conferences. This is in place of a wiki which used to cost us $6000 a year, and didn't allow simultaneous editing, editing without an account, and required hours and hours of back end work. Now that we have our website set up, we simply run the script, then documents are created, and since the spreadsheet is already published on the site, the parents always have the most current link. It's a thing of beauty!

Apps used in this project Drive - Docs, Drive - Spreadsheet, Google Sites

Meet Kern Kelley from Newport, Maine , United States!
School: Regional School Unit #19

Google Apps Project
Digital Portfolios

Description of the Project
We use Google Apps to collect, manage and publish digital portfolios from Pre K to graduating seniors. It's help students not only see how learning does not happen in 9 month chunks, but as a continuum throughout their academic career and beyond.

If you want to learn more about Kern Kelley’s project, visit this link.
http://thetechcurve.blogspot.com/2013/01/digital-portfolio-system.html

Apps used in this project 

Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive- Presentations, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, Drive - Drawings, Google Sites, YouTube, Blogger, Google Voice, Calendar, Google+, Google Search, Google Maps, Picasa, Google Books, Bookmarks, Hangouts

Meet Dorothy Burt from Auckland , New Zealand!
School: Pt England School

Google Apps Project
Why do we pay Taxes?

Description of the Project
I was invited to take a group of ten year old children to speak to the senior managers of the Inland Revenue Department about how they learn in the digital age. This meant flying children to our capital city, Wellington - some of whom had never been on a plane before. This cohort of children represent two groups who the government traditionally struggles to connect with in terms of the taxation system; young people and Maori/Pacifika people.
How do you prepare young children for this? Especially when I am not their class teacher and they would need to conduct this Inquiry independently. I set up an Inquiry with them "Why do we need to pay taxes". We found a shared Google Doc and email and chat VERY helpful during the learning process. The children used Google tools and explored online, interviewed family and teachers, and other resources. They published their findings on their blogs and we used a Google Site to collate their independent findings. We sent this URL to the IRD in advance of our visit.
https://sites.google.com/a/ptengland.school.nz/ird/
PS. The experience on the day in Wellington went amazingly from both perspectives - the children and the IRD folk.


If you want to learn more about Dorothy Burt’s project, visit these links.
https://sites.google.com/a/ptengland.school.nz/ird/

https://picasaweb.google.com/115739482497647806762/2013AmbassadorKidsInAction?authkey=Gv1sRgCMfew97OzoGM_gE

This photo shows the kids with the bosses of NZ's tax system

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, Google Sites, YouTube, Blogger, Google Search, Google Maps, Picasa, Hyperstudio

Meet Rab Paterson from Saitama, Japan!
School: International Christian University

Google Apps Project
Educational Multimedia Projects

Description of the Project
I have the students chose a research topic and group them according to topics chosen. Then they research their topics using Google Search, Books and Scholar, collect data using Google Forms, write their papers and peer review them using Google Docs, make presentation slideshows using Google Presentations, narrate them using Quicktime X and / or iMovie and upload these video presentations to Youtube and at the end the groups design and build a Google Site that stylistically matches their group theme and this site hosts all the papers, slideshows, narrated video presentations and all the other digital bits and pieces the students created in their projects. Finally they write up their reactions to this project on their blogs at Blogger.com including what they feel they learned from this.

If you want to learn more about Rab Paterson’s project, visit this link.

https://sites.google.com/site/hiptomusic/ - for an example of a final group project website hosting papers, slideshows, presentations, narrated screencast presentation and intro video.

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive- Presentations, Drive - Forms, Google Sites, YouTube, Blogger, Google Search, Scholar and Books from Google, QuicktimeX and iMovie from Apple

Meet Lise Galuga from Ottawa, Ontario , Canada!
School: Ministry of Education, Ontario

Google Apps Project
Connecting Kids

Description of the Project
Ontario is Canada’s most populated province spanning an area of nearly one million square kilometers. Although our country is officially bilingual, only 4% of Ontario’s population speak French as their mother tongue. This reality means that our French-language schools, especially those in outlying areas, have few students and, by extension, few teachers. Some schools may only have three or four students in the same grade. When working in such isolated environments, teamwork is key and requires the support of online collaborative platforms. Google Apps are becoming the universal standard toolkit for connecting our classrooms. To maximize the effectiveness of these tools, I leverage the collective expertise of the GCT community which allows me to optimize cooperation among our teachers and students, allowing them to cultivate success in their communities.

If you want to learn more about Lise Galuga’s project, visit these links.
www.galuga.ca

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive- Presentations, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, Drive - Drawings, Google Sites, YouTube, Google Voice, Calendar, Google+

Meet Jason Jurotich from St. Louis , Mexico!
School: EBC

Google Apps Project
Exams

Description of the Project
I use Google Spreadsheets/Forms for the monthly exams of the students and Google Docs for their writing assignments. The real time collaboration to correct their work and functions within Spreadsheets to automatically grade their exams has been wonderful.

If you want to learn more about Jason Jurotich’s project, visit this link.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfCL9tw4dakOuZR2qVS60jGriTZ_FH5R_

Apps used in this project

Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, YouTube

Meet Abena Bailey from Putrajaya, Malaysia!
School: NISP

Google Apps Project
Cultural Crossovers

Description of the Project
We use GAFE to connect with classrooms. One example comprises of our learners making requests for media from our partner school in a Google spreadsheet on a given topic e.g. cultural events. Our partners respond by putting their names beside the requests and then fulfilling them by recording media in their local context. We reciprocate in the same way. Once we have received the media, it is incorporated into a presentation which compares us to our partner school and all findings are collated on a website which we browse and feed back on.
This is a great handshake project for learners to get to know about each other before we continue with more ambitious collaboration through the year.

If you want to learn more about Abena Bailey’s project, visit these links.
http://goo.gl/GKtcu9

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Spreadsheet, Google Sites, YouTube

Meet Dianna Pratt from Singapore , Singapore!
School: Singapore American School

Google Apps Project
Migrant Workers Outreach Program Computer Classes

Description of the Project
Migrant Workers Outreach Program, known as MWOP, is a HS service club. The mission of the club is to help the Migrant Worker Adult population in Singapore to enhance their computer and english skills. The workers come from all over the region from India to the Philippians. The club has been in place for over 10 years and recently changed the curriculum to include Google Apps. The curriculum is about Productivity and Communications. For example, students make resume's with Docs, set up a budget with Spreadsheets, use advanced search techniques to find useful resources in their own languages, and learn about creating a site for a business to name a few of the learning. HS students have created the curriculum and they teach the classes and they are amazing. I am just their sponsor and do what they say.

If you want to learn more about Dianna Pratt’s project, visit this link.

Here is the FB page the students have made: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAS-Migrant-Workers-Outreach-Program/205588786122886

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive- Presentations, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, Google Sites, YouTube, Blogger, Google Search, Google Maps

Meet Tracy Poelzer from Kamloops, BC, Canada!
School: School District #73 Kamloops/Thompson

Google Apps Project
Four Shot Video Project

Description of the Project
Inspired by Jim Sill's YouTube workshops and his description of 4 shot videos, I put together this project for use with both staff and students. Everyone I have done the project with loves it! Participants work in teams to create short, 4 shot videos that tell a story and have a "surprise" at the end. Participants draft a storyboard on paper and have it approved by the instructor prior to getting a device/camera to use to do their recording. Using YouTube video editor, they edit their video clips and add a music track, making it into a polished finished product. All videos are marked "unlisted" in YouTube privacy settings. Participants share the link to their finished video through a Google form embedded onto a page of the project site, and the finished playlist is embedded into the final page of the project site.

If you want to learn more about Tracy Poelzer’s project, visit these links.
https://sites.google.com/site/4shotvideos/ (Template that anyone can copy and modify/adapt)
http://fourshot.weebly.com (original project site with student playlist)

Apps used in this project
Drive - Forms, Google Sites, YouTube

Meet Jessica Hale from Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia!
School: Oasis International Schools

Google Apps Project
Diversity and Web Connections

Description of the Project
As part of the High School 'tech bootcamp' for our 1 to 1 laptop program, we facilitated a session entitled 'Diversity and Web Connections' to help the students visually understand how small the world can get when they are connected digitally. First, we provided a link to a document with explanations, instructions, etc. On the document, there was a link to one google map for entire high school (250+ students). Each student linked to the map and placed a pin on someone in another country. We were then able to facilitate a discussion on how these connections affect them socially and educationally.If you want to learn more about Hale, Jessica’s project, visit these links.

Link to Session Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11oYwIrYUm9ArYKbHS8s1MwfgSLsSjoSnDhmpUPBwz0w/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Google Map: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209322096228454097568.0004aa255cfec21aa6551&msa=0&ll=39.095963,128.320313&spn=143.350882,310.078125

Apps used in this project
Drive - Docs, Google Maps

Meet Linda Lindsay from Makawao, HI , USA!
School: Seabury Hall

Google Apps Project
Student International Hangout

Description of the Project
We joined Jennifer Scheffer's first Student International Hangout http://jennscheffer.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/a-student-run-international-google-hangout/ Though there were technical problems, our students liked the idea of an open forum. They came away with ideas for hosting their own international hangout.

If you want to learn more about Linda Lindsay’s project, visit these links.

I am working on a blog post about our school's participation in the hangout.It will appear in the next day or two at www.mauilibrarian2.com

Apps used in this project

Google+

Meet Holly Hoskins from Dubai , UAE!
School: American School of Dubai

Google Apps Project
Web Design

Description of the Project
Students in Web Design host their websites using Google Drive. This has allowed them to publish websites they create using both HTML and CSS from scratch and Dreamweaver without having to pay for or register a domain.

If you want to learn more about Holly Hoskins’s project, visit these links.

https://googledrive.com/host/0Bzq-o_PGWQY4NV9RYXk1NUVvM2M/
https://googledrive.com/host/0BxQcupleclllbTRFMU82Q2pKZkk/index.html
https://googledrive.com/host/0BwE6vvn3IZQwZGlBT191SHNWTk0/

Apps used in this project
Gmail, Drive - Docs, Drive - Forms, Google Search

Meet Jennie Magiera from Chicago, IL United States!
School: Chicago Public Schools / Academy for Urban School Leadership

Google Apps Project
Layering Google Apps for Student Success

Description of the Project
Our students are leveraging Chromebooks and Google Apps on the iPad to become authors, artists, curators and community leaders. They are creating original content through YouTube, collaborating through Google Drive and curating their world through Google Art Project and other powerful Google Tools. Students are rocking performance tasks by creating interactive Google Maps or developing media-rich Google Presentations. All the while, student achievement is measured daily through formative Google Forms assessments, which are graded and analyzed through a suite of Google Scripts.

Apps used in this project
Drive - Docs, Drive- Presentations, Drive - Forms, Drive - Spreadsheet, Drive - Drawings, Google Sites, YouTube, Blogger, Calendar, Google+, Google Search, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Scripts

It is so amazing to see this global network of teachers working to transform how students create and collaborate for learning.  To hear more about how teachers are using Google Apps all around the world follow the hashtag #gafesummit.

Don't miss the Google in Education Summit coming to a region near you in 2013-2014.

Illinois Google in Education Summit - March 1-2, 2014

Minnesota Google in Education Summit - May 10, 2014

Additional US and Global Summits at www.gafesummit.com

Google Sites Design Features

Google sites is a great way to publish content to the web for a wide audience. Teachers and students are using Google Sites in a variety of ways in education.  

• As a classroom web page
• For Student ePortfolios
• For a unit or project
• As a digital resource for teachers, parents, board members, community members or clubs
• See examples here

To take Google Sites to the next level, I like to start with the simple theme in Google Sites and then begin playing with the colors, fonts and design of the Google Site.  

Organization

In order to get more real estate on your Google Site (more links visible on the front page) in an organized manner, I like to use Horizontal Navigation.  With a few simple organizational clicks you can change the navigation from the side bar to horizontal navigation with drop down menus.

You can learn how to use Horizontal Navigation here.

Design

In order to help you with creating a new header for your Google Site I like to use ColourLovers and PicMonkey (a replacement for Picnik).   Using ColourLovers you can find colors that look good together and create a pattern based on the colors you like.  Then, you can import the colored pattern into PicMonkey and add some text, boarders and images if you would like.  Then, I add this new header for my Google Site.

You can watch my screencasts on how to use ColourLovers and PicMonkey here. 

• How to use ColourLovers and Picnik (now use PicMonkey) to replace your Site Logo
• 
  

  
  

  How to use ColourLovers and Picnik (now use PicMonkey) to create an image for your Site

*Note...the screencasts are examples of me using Picnik (no longer active) and not PicMonkey.  I think you'll find that both of these sites use the same type of editing and you will be able to create and edit in PicMonkey just as easily as Picnik. 

To learn more about Google Sites and see examples in education click here

-Molly

Want to learn more?

Join us at one of the Google Apps for Education Summits this year!

CA Google Apps Summit- Santa Clara, CA July 12-13

CO Google Apps Summit- Boulder, CO August 2-3

Maine Google Apps Summit- Yarmouth, ME August 16-17

Latin America Google Apps Summit- Mexico City August 31-September 1

New Zealand Google Apps Summit- Auckland, NZ October 9

Midwest Google Apps Summit- Wisconsin Dells, WI November 12-13

Google Chrome Ninja Presentation on Education On Air Conference

Google Chrome allows you to personalize and customize your browser experience.  Efficiency is the goal when you are swamped with papers to grade, parents to email, a personal learning network to connect with and have a little fun while surfing the web.
Google Chrome browser allows you to install extensions that help your work flow in all your daily web activities.

Some of my favorite extensions for Google Chrome are...

Instant goo.gl URL shortener and QR Code Generator

This extension is now retired. You can still use it, but it is highly recommended that you upgrade to the next version, which is called ShortenMe. It now has the very frequently requested feature of saving links to your goo.gl account!

Google Dictionary

With this extension, you can:
1) Double-click any word to view its definition in a small pop-up bubble.
2) View the complete definition of any word or phrase using the toolbar dictionary.

Foreign words are automatically translated to your language of choice.

Turn Off the Lights

With one click on the lamp button, the page will be fading to dark. And automatic focus to the video. Click again, the page will return back as normal.

Clearly by Evernote

With one click, Clearly makes blog posts and articles clean and easy to read. Clearly eliminates all distractions from your online reading experience, and even allows you to browse multi-page articles in one, seamless view.

Send from Gmail

This extension will open a Compose window in Gmail when you click any email address on a webpage. It also provides a button that will create a Gmail message when clicked, using the page title as the subject and selected page text and link address as the message.

Amazon Wish List

Amazon Wish Lists are universal. You can add anything from any website to your Amazon Wish List making it easier than ever to keep track of all the items you want in one place.  Once you download the Amazon Wish List extension to your Google Chrome browser -- start shopping. When you see something you want on any website, just click the Amazon “Add to Wish List” button. 

Google Tasks

Easily add and manage your tasks from Chrome in one of three ways:

*  Simply type "t Your new task" into the Chrome Omnibar to easily add a task from whatever web page you're on.

*  Click the Tasks icon to add a task, see your tasks and task lists and mark a task as completed

*  Highlight text on any web page, right click and add that text to a new task.

Recently I presented at the Google Education On Air Conference with more Google Chrome Ninja tips.  View the recorded Hangout below.

To learn more about Google Chrome and all the Google Apps for Education, join us at a Google Apps for Education Summit!

Register now for the CA Google Apps for Education Summit July 12-13th in Santa Clara CA and the Rocky Mountain Google Apps for Education Summit August 2-3 in Boulder CO.