UCCS EdTech Tips
Your Weekly Dose of Technology for the Classroom
IN THIS ISSUE: Evernote Scannable, Explain Everything, Synergyse Google Apps Training, tips for preparing your files for Google Classroom , CISD Camp Inspire (Aka: Google Camp)
Monday, June 1, 2015
Evernote Scannable
Explain Everything
Synergyse Google Apps Training
Getting Started with Google Classroom
1. Organize and upload files to Google Drive
In the fall of 2014, Google Apps for Education increased users' file space on Drive to be unlimited! You and your students have unlimited storage in the cloud with your Union City Schools Google account. This means you can upload all of your files (images, audio, video, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) to your Google Drive without worrying about how much space you have available. Besides freeing up space on your laptop, this will also make it very convenient to add the files to your Google Classroom assignment stream when you are ready. Try to think of a good organizing system. You can create a folder for each class that you teach and then create folders within that folder for each unit of study. Keeping yourself organized will make your life easier this coming school year.
2. Gather resources for your "about" tab in Google Classroom
Think of the "about" section as a classroom resources page within Google Classroom. Start organizing a folder in Google Drive of resources you may want to post on your "about" page that will remain there for the duration of the class. This would be a good place for a class syllabus, class calendar, links to frequently visited websites, videos or directions they may need to refer to mulitple times during the school year, etc. You can add to this page at any time during the year, but generally this should be reserved for items that will be needed often and not pertaining to one particular assignment or unit of study.
3. Start converting to digital assignments whenever possible
Sure there are certain assignments that the students will have to do on paper, but if it is a worksheet that can be converted to a pdf or Google Doc, start doing that now. Watch my tutorial for Scannable above and see how easy it is to scan a worksheet with your iPad and upload it instantly to Drive as a pdf. If the worksheet is nothing more than text, consider typing it up as a Google Doc instead for a much easier format for your students to work with online.
4. Choose your file format wisely
Apple Pages is a beautiful program and works very well on the Macbook Airs and the iPads, however it is not the most efficient format to use with Google Classroom. If you upload a Pages document or Keynote presentation to Google Classroom, the students will be given an option to download it onto their laptop or it will give an option to open in another app on the iPad at which point they can choose to open it in Pages or Keynote. If you are creating a brand new document/assignment for your class, you may want to consider creating it using Google Docs. This will work seamlessly with Google Classroom by opening in the Google Docs app automatically when a student clicks on an assignment that was created in Docs. You can also choose to convert your old .pages files to Google Docs files. This works fairly well as long as you don't have images or too much formatting done to your document.
5. Expand your PLN!
Many of you have your own network of teachers and websites you go to for expertise on the subjects you teach or great ideas for the classroom. Because I have never taught my own class using Google Classroom, I have been able to learn from those who have by reaching out on Google+ and other websites. Here are a few places that I found to contain the most valuable information:
- Google+ - Google Classroom Community
- Follow "Google Classroom Experts" on Google+
- Read Teacher Tech: Alice Keeler's blogs about Google Classroom tips and tricks.
- Visit Google's "What's New in Classroom?" Support Page for updates.
- Attend all of our UCCS PD on Google Classroom and Google Drive this coming year.
- Ask me for help! - my contact information is below and I will be constantly researching these same sites to make sure I bring you the latest updates as needed. I will also be happy to assist you one-on-one in your classroom whenever I can.
CISD Camp Inspire
Tuesday, Jul 28, 2015, 08:15 AM
Lakeview High School, Helmer Road South, Battle Creek, MI, United States
Sarah Overholt
Union City Community Schools
Technology Integration SpecialistEmail: soverholt@unioncityschools.org
Website: uccstech.weebly.com
Location: 430 St Joseph St, Union City, MI, United States
Phone: 517-741-3316
Twitter: @silvertechie