Google Calendar

The balancing act of teacher schedules seems, at times, possible. Knowing who is where and when, though, is a vital part of doing our job well. This task is made easier - or, at least, more manageable - by Google Calendar. This tutorial, then, begins to show you the functionality of this online scheduling option. Should you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask one of the Technology Team. 

Best Chrome Apps & Extensions for Google Chrome for Classrooms

This past Monday at "Appy Hour," Cheryl Baxter presented "Speed Dating with Chrome Extensions!" This Apps/Extentsions  documents lists what you can use them for and then they are linked to the Chrome Web Store. Have fun exploring some new tech options to use with your students!

Symbaloo

Symbaloo is a phenomenal website that allows you to organize multiple website links on one compact sized rectangle. You can embed the Symbaloo into your Canvas page as well!

This works great for research projects, organizing games, or Youtube videos you want your students to watch.

Registering for Symbaloo, Creating a Page,  

and Embedding into Canvas

Searching exisiting Symabloos

Work smarter, not harder!

Classroom Management - Tattling

We have a lot of students who LOVE to tattle. They feel the need to tattle constantly. In order to alleviate your lessons being interrupted and trying to keep track of all the information, try this.

On your classroom Canvas Page, have a link to a Google Form (Learn how to make a Google Form) with the following questions:

          1. Your name  (Write In or Selection of all the students in your class. Choose 1)
          2.  Who are you tattling on? (Write In or Selection of all the students in your class. Choose 1+)
          3. What did they do? (Write In or tailor to your students needs with Multiple Choice)
          4. What school rule did they break? (Multiple choice)
                    Polite
                    Respect
                    Integrity
                    Discipline
                    Effort

When they submit the form, a Google Sheet will be made for you documenting all the above information along with a time stamp. It helps with your paper trail and conferences.

Enjoy!

Idea taken from:
http://www.soaringthroughsecond.com/

How to Make a Google Form

The specific Google Form I made is in conjunction with the Classroom Management Blog Post. Google Forms can be used in many ways! I am using this in the sense of a survey, but they can also be used to make quizzes for your class and anything else your mind can come up with. 

Creating a Canvas Home Page with links to your other Courses in Canvas

As the IGNITE Model Classroom teachers and I have been working together, we figured out an "easier" way for your students to access all of their courses with the click of the mouse- instead of many!

Part 1: Finding and creating pictures for Canvas 

&  

Uploading Images to Canvas

In this video, you will learn how to not only create your own subject images for your Canvas page, but also find beautiful, FREE images for it too! Then we will continue to add titles and upload them to your Canvas page. Doing the majority of work not will pay off with organization later on down the road. Have fun!

Photos found at: pixabay.com

When you are searching for images make sure to think outside the box. Go from broad to specific.
For example:
Search Science, then maybe search Chemistry or Biology, etc. until you find the image you like!

Part 2: Link pictures to the additional courses on Canvas

For this part, you will need to have multiple tabs open at once. The concept is simple. 

Click on each pictures individually. Then copy (CTRL + C) the URL (web address) of the page course (Ex: Reading). Return to Canvas, click on the chain link and paste (CTRL + V) the URL in the rectangle. Hit OK. Repeat until all images are linked.

If you need any help let me know!

Audio Recording & Uploading to Canvas

For some of you with students who work better when things are read to them, this is a great option! You can read the book, or chapters of the book and record yourself (Voice, not face). When you are done recording, you can upload it where ever you please in Canvas, for an assignment, discussion, or for a resource. This video will show you how to find a great Chrome Extension, record with it, save the content, then upload it to your Canvas. Have fun!

How to Make a Google Slides-how

Another handy feature of Google Drive is that it allows you to create presentation Slides. Like it's technological cousin - Microsoft PowerPoint - Google Slides provides you with all the tools necessary to create a dynamic presentation. Even better, if you know how to create a PowerPoint, then you pretty much know how to create in Slides. Google just calls certain things by different names and places the functions in different locations. To learn how to navigate those differences, watch the video below. And should you still have questions, be sure to speak with someone on the Technology Team. 

Creating Folders in Drive

Google Drive has many useful features, namely the ability to save your important work. But more than creating Docs and Slides, Drive also allows you to organize your work into Folders. Even better, you can create sub-folders within a folder. (You can even create sub-folders within sub-folders of a folder to create... like... this educational-Inception-type-of-thing. But, I digress.) Regardless, it's a very useful feature, and the video below will showcase exactly what you need to know. However, should you have any additional questions, be sure to speak with someone on the Technology Team. 

Setting Up Your Canvas Page

Setting Up Your Canvas Page

SPS has provided two templates for us to use for our classroom homepage. These pages work great for some teachers and grades but may not be the best fit for each teacher. 

If you want simple and easy, watch "Video Option 1: Importing Your Page From Canvas." 

This will teach you how to import a page from Commons. The differences between the pages are shown below. 

If you want to give you homepage your own flare and enjoy a challenge, then scroll down to 

"Video Option 2: Creating Your Page From Scratch."

Have fun and feel free to come to us with any questions!

Option 1: Importing Your Page From Commons 

The Differences Between Template A & Template B 

SPS Template A

SPS Template B

 Option 2: Creating Your Page From Scratch

To learn how to create your own clip art, stay tuned for the next video.

Please be mindful of Copyright laws. Give credit where credit is due.

Hyperlinking an Image in Canvas

Once you have imported a Home Page template from the Commons and into your Canvas Course, your next task is linking the images on that template to webpages that you would like your students to visit. Some images will already be linked; the online locker, for example, will take students to that specific Canvas page without any additional work on your end. However, for the images that remain link-less, you have to establish that hyperlink. That sounds much more complicated than it actually is, for the entire process only takes a handful of steps. Watch the video below to discover just how easy it is, and should you have any additional questions be sure to speak with someone on the 

Technology Team.

Sharing a Document in Google Drive

Google has made life so much easier with it's share feature! No need to send out an email with attachments, all you have to do is share it inside the Drive! With this wonderful feature you can do one of three things:

1) Collaborate: With the CAN EDIT option, many people can work on the same document at the same time. Or you individually make your changes and others can go back and look at them or make their own edits.
2) Present without being there: With the CAN VIEW option, you can share a piece of work (spreadsheet, presentation, or document) and the individuals working on it CANNOT change it!
3) Share and get advice: With the CAN COMMENT option, you can send out a presentation and have individuals comment questions they may have. Or share a document and have them comment their edits and changes.

Whichever one you choose, it make a WORLD of difference! 

Importing a Canvas Home Page Template

As devices are distributed to staff and students, a greater emphasis will be placed on the use of Canvas, the online classroom tool. Specifically, teachers will be required to create a Canvas Classroom. This sounds like an immense task, but it may be made easier by a feature in Canvas called Commons. 

There, it is possible to find material previously created and used by other educators. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, you can simply import their material into your course. In this tutorial you will learn how to import a Canvas Home Page Template from which you can begin shape your online classroom. Should you still have questions, be sure to speak with someone on the Technology Team.

Sharing to Canvas Commons

As devices are distributed to staff and students, a greater emphasis will be placed on the use of Canvas, the online classroom tool. Specifically, teachers will be required to create a Canvas Classroom. This sounds like an immense task, but it may be made easier by a feature in Canvas called Commons. 

There, it is possible to find material previously created and used by other educators. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, you can simply import their material into your course. This works, however, only if teachers are willing to share or export or upload their own material to the Commons. 

This tutorial, then, details exactly how to do that. Should you have additional questions, be sure to speak with a member of Pittman's Technology Team.

Creating a Module Discussion

As devices are distributed to staff and students, a greater emphasis will be placed on the use of Canvas, the online classroom tool. Specifically, teachers will be required to create a Canvas Classroom and, within those classrooms, activity modules.

A variety of different activities can be created/uploaded to these modules, and it's actually easier than you think. Below is a brief tutorial on how to create a Discussion within a Canvas module.

Creating a Module Content Page

As devices are distributed to staff and students, a greater emphasis will be placed on the use of Canvas, the online classroom tool. Specifically, teachers will be required to create a Canvas Classroom and, within those classrooms, activity modules.

A variety of different activities can be created/uploaded to these modules, and it's actually easier than you think. Below is a brief tutorial on how to create a Content Page - replete with a hyperlink to a YouTube video - within a Canvas module.

Installing Apps

Before we can use our device for all it's worth, we probably need to download apps to it. At the very least, with a tablet in hand and running an educational app, we'll look cool doing what we already do well - teach. To learn how to install apps to your device, watch the video below. Should you have any additional questions, be sure to speak with the Pittman Technology Team. 

Pinning Apps to Your Task Bar

We all have our favorite apps, those that we love to use for personal or professional purposes. To learn how to pin those apps to your task bar, watch the video below. Should you have any additional questions, be sure to speak with the Pittman Technology Team. 

Personalization

Many different options for customizing your device were thrown at you on D-Day (Deployment Day). So many, in fact, that there were difficult to keep straight. Such was the case for the changing your desktop's background. Have no fear, though, for the Pittman Technology Team is here.

To make this as painless as possible, we have included a video tutorial on how to set or change your desktop's background. Doing so allows you to both view and pause the video, thus giving you time to follow along or work at your own pace.

To begin making changes, view the Desktop Background Tutorial and be sure to see the Technology Team if you have any further questions.

Google Sign-In

In order to use Google for all it's worth, you must first sign in to your SPS Google account. Watch the video below in order to learn exactly how to do just that. If you have any further questions, please speak with anyone on the Pittman Technology Team.

Transferring Files to Google Drive

Saving our work is incredibly important; wiser still is the choice to save your work in multiple locations. And so, although many of us have our work saved on our desktop computers or on a jump drive, it is an excellent practice to save our work to Google Drive. Not only is Drive one more safety net for our data, it is accessible on any computer that has access to the internet. Better still, transferring our work to Drive is incredibly easy to do.

To learn exactly how that is done, watch the video below. Should you have any additional questions, be sure to speak with someone on the Pittman Technology Team.