Live Event: Best Google Tips for Your Classroom

On Saturday October 25th, Simple K 12 will be hosting a free Google day of learning designed to provide educators with The Best Google Tips for Your Classroom. Educators can enjoy a series of webinars throughout the day, starting at 10 AM EDT.

I am looking forward to hosting Improve Writing Skills Using Digital Writing and Google Docs  at 1:00 PM. The session is designed to help educators learn to use Google Docs to thoughtfully incorporate digital writing into the curriculum. 

Improve Writing Skills Using Digital Writing and Google Docs 

Would you like to improve your students’ writing skills and help them bridge the gap between writing in school and writing in the real world? One way of doing so is by using digital writing and Google Docs, the documents editor available in Google Drive. Since Google Docs is collaborative and available 24/7, students using Google Docs often write more frequently and better than when given traditional paper and pencil writing tasks. Join Susan Oxnevad as she shows how to use Google Docs to thoughtfully incorporate digital writing into the curriculum. She will explain how to fully utilize the latest Google Docs features, such as integrated reference tools and collaborative revision tools to help you and your students embrace digital writing.

Learn more about the webinars offered throughout the day and register at Simple K 12. 

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3 Great Ways to Use a Google Form

I am a big fan of using Google Docs forms to collect and organize information. Forms offer efficient ways to monitor and manage digital resources. There are many ways to put this fun, multimedia capable tool to work in the classroom

Discover three great ways to use a Google form.

Use a  Google Form as an Exit Ticket

• Create a simple form to check understanding.

• Add Flubaroo from the Google Apps store and create a self-grading quiz in a flash.

• Use advanced features to provide students with feedback based on their answer.

• Embed images and live video in a form to go beyond a paper and pencil worksheets.

Use a Google Form as an In Box

• Create a virtual in box to collect links to ThingLink images. 

• Information collected lands in a sortable spreadsheet to help you stay organized.

• Filter data and work efficiently.

• Enjoy easy access to the work of all of your students on all of your devices.

Embed a Google Form into a ThingLink

Just share and publish a Google Doc. Copy the link. Paste it into the ThingLink image editor. A live and embedded form appears right on the page. Collect information easily. Use the sheet to organize, sort and access all the work of your students in one place.

Explore 3 Great Ways to Use a Google Form

//www.thinglink.com/card/563510166897557506

Free Online Event: Improve Writing with Google Docs

Would you like to improve your students’ writing skills and help them bridge the gap between writing in school and writing in the real world? 

One way of doing so is by using digital writing and Google Docs, the documents editor available in Google Drive. Since Google Docs is collaborative and available 24/7, students using Google Docs often write more frequently and better than when given traditional paper and pencil writing tasks. 



Join me and Simple K 12 for a online event and learn how to use Google Docs to thoughtfully incorporate digital writing into the curriculum. We will explore ways to fully utilize the latest Google Docs features to help you and your students embrace digital writing.

• Learn to use built in research and reference tools available in Google Docs to redefine writing.

• Explore ways to incorporate peer editing and collaboration into writing instruction.

• Take a peek at the Google Classroom to learn how to manage digital writing assignments.

• Explore the use of Google Docs Add-Ons as options for adding functionality to Google Docs.

• Learn to help students become digitally responsible by teaching them to credit sources.

Google Tips & Tools for Teachers All Day

Good news! This webinar is one of 6 webinars offered throughout the day during Simple K-12’s free online event on August 9, 2014.

Learn more about more great webinars and register for this free online event.

Improve Digital Writing Skills with Google Docs

Would you like to improve your students’ writing skills and help them bridge the gap between writing in school and writing in the real world? 

Join me and Simple K-12 for a free webinar on June 24th at 3:00 PM EDT to learn how to use Google Docs to thoughtfully incorporate digital writing into the curriculum. 

Sign up for this free webinar at Simple K-12. Be sure to check out additional webinars offered during this free online event to help you  “Become a Google Tools Expert“. 

Explore my collection of resources

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View more through the tab at the top of this blog.

Google Docs Add-Ons – A New Feature

If you open a Google Doc or Spreadsheet you will find a new option in the menu bar named Add-Ons. An Add-On is a way to add functionality to Docs and Sheets through integration with 3rd party apps. It’s similar to the Google Chrome Apps store. 

There are many useful tools to Add-On to Google Docs to improve the efficiency of working in Google Docs. You’ll find Add-Ons to help you get your own work done, and also for use in the classroom.




To grab an Add-On, select the Get add-ons… option from the Google Docs menu bar on any Document or Sheet. You will be taken to the Add-ons store where you will find many useful Add-Ons to choose from. 

Many of the Add-Ons are well suited for the type of work teachers and students do, such as Hello Sign for utilizing electronic signatures, and Table of Contents. With so many Add-Ons to install and explore I decided to narrow the results and take a closer look a Add-Ons labeled for education. At the time of this writing, there are three. 

EasyBib

The EasyBib Bibliography Creator provides Google Docs users with direct access to citation formatting. Users can create citations, format them, and insert them directly into a Google Document. this one click access is an extremely useful way to streamline the process of teaching students about acknowledging the relevance of the works of others. Watch this video to learn more.

Text Help Study Skills Highlighting Tools

Highlighting just got more efficient with the use of the Text Help Highlighting Tools. This Add-On provides the functionality of collecting and organizing highlighted text that is displayed in separate document for use. This trick to using this tool could be the need to think about and define the organizational structure of a piece of writing prior note-taking so the colors can be used effectively. One way to teach students to think about organizing notes as they highlight information is to  help them define the organizational structure of a piece of writing through a well-designed rubric.  

Kaizena Shortcut

The third option labeled for education as a Google Docs Add-On is a shortcut to Kaizena. When users choose this feature their document leaves Google Docs and opens in Kaizena for even more options. Since this Add-On requires more than one click to access, I haven’t yet fully explored it, but you can learn more about Kaizena by watching their tutorial. 

I’m looking forward to learning more about Add-Ons and watching them develop.

Using Google Drive Forms to Power 1:1 Instruction

As I explore teaching and learning in a 1:1 iPad environment I’m excited about the potential of using Google Drive Forms as a teaching tool. Forms display well on any Internet connected device, and they are packed full of features that can be used to collect feedback, communicate, check for comprehension and best of all, teach. 

I’ve created several successful surveys since we launched our 1:1 initiative at the end of January and I am eager to share these ideas with other educators

Google Drive Forms to Create an Interactive Survey

When our school improvement team decided to take on One School, One Book this year, I designed a Google Drive Form as a vehicle for collecting information and more in one shot. 

The form efficiently collected votes from our entire school community, a diverse group of stakeholders age 5-105. The form functioned like an interactive multimedia powered journey. It introduce participants to the book selections to help them make informed decisions before casting a vote for their preferred book. Call it one stop shopping, or simply call it efficient, this form worked well. Please check it out for yourself to understand the power of the tool. Feel free to actually submit feedback, it has served it’s original purpose and is no longer in use. 

Explore a Copy of the Survey

More Innovative Google Drive Forms at a Glance

Within the past month I’ve used the Google Drive Form to drive instruction in quite a few efficient and effective ways. Here are a few highlights.

• Educreations Expertise – I created and successfully used a form to introduce students to all the features of Educreations prior to a collaborative project with 1:1 iPads. 

• Flipped Lesson for Parents – I recorded and narrated a required slideshow presentation for parents. I embedded the video broadcast into a Google Drive Form along with questions to check comprehension and eventually provide answers.

• In Box – I’ve been creating and using Drive Forms as In Boxes to collect and organize student assignments for more than three years now. This is a very popular idea otherwise known as an Assignment Tracker which originated on the blog of an innovative teacher, John Miller.

Learn More About Google Drive Forms

Join me and Infinitec for a free webinar designed to highlight the best features of Google Drive for Collaborative Learning. I’ll be sharing forms, ideas and demos along with some updated highlights of a Google Docs Glog I designed in 2012. The webinar is open to all.

Webinar: Using Google Docs / Google Drive for Collaborative Learning

Tuesday March 11th
4:00 PM CST 

Sign up

Webinar 2/4: Using Google Docs to Construct Knowledge

Google Docs Presentation Slides is tool well-suited for use to fuel everyday student driven research  because of the availability of efficient integrated research and writing tools right on the page. 

Teachers can use the tool to design student driven learning experiences that require students to construct knowledge as they create, an idea supported by the Common Core State Standards. (CCSS)

Webinar Resources

Using Google Presentation Slides to Construct Knowledge 
2/4 @ 4:00 PM CST
A free webinar, sponsored by Infinitec

Google Tools for Teachers – Free Webinars on 11/16/13

On Saturday, November 16th, Simple K12 will be hosting a full day of free webinars on Google Tools for Teachers. I’m excited to be presenting webinars at 2:00 and 3:00 PM EST and I’m looking forward to learning from a talented lineup of SK12 presenters!

November 16th, 2013 Lineup – Google Tools for Teachers

Go Google for Presentations 10:00 AM EST, presented by Tia Simmons 

Productivity and Collaboration in the Google Cloud with Google Drive
11:00 AM EST, presented by Kyle Pace 


Save Time and Simplify Your Grading 
12:00 PM EST, presented by Kim Munoz

Going Google: The Quick Start Guide to Getting Started with Google Tools 
1:00 PM EST, presented by Kimberly Thompson 

Using Google Docs Presentation Tools to Construct Knowledge
2:00 PM EST, presented by Susan Oxnevad

Improve Writing Skills Using Digital Writing and Google Docs
3:00 PM EST, presented by Susan Oxnevad 

How to Get the Most from the Teacher Learning Community4:00 PM EST, presented by Kimberly Thompson

Learn more and sign up!

Google Docs for Learning Glog on Edudemic

Read on Edudemic

I was excited to see my Google Docs Glog featured in a post by Jeff Dunn on Edudemic last month. This morning it has been getting some attention on Facebook and Twitter, so I thought it would be a good idea to direct the readers of this blog to the post, 12 Effective Ways to Use Google Drive in Education.

I’ve received some requests for the link to the live glog through my PLN, so I’ve embedded it here. If you’re looking for more Google Docs resources, be sure to check out my Google Docs page on this blog or attend one of my upcoming webinars.

Many thanks to Jeff for sharing this resource!

http://edu.glogster.com/glog.php?glog_id=2673930&scale=57

4 New Ways to Use a Google Docs Forms with Students

Go to GettingSmart.com