Edmonds Digital Learning

Google Forms is a fantastic and versatile software for quick data collection. It is relatively easy to use, free, and collaborative. What's not to love? Like an onion, a parfait, or young-adult vampire literature, Forms has a lot of layers. The more you peel, spoon, or leaf through, the better experience you'll have. Plus, Forms usually won't make you cry. That's right, I'm looking at you, onion. Here are six tips for getting the most out of Forms.  Use FormRecycler to Reuse Items Remember the Google Form survey you wrote last month? It sure had some great questions! If only there were a way to reuse some of them on your new survey without retyping or copying and pasting line-by-line. Enter the Add-on 'FormRecycler'. This nifty add-on lets you import items from any of your previous Google Forms with no typing required! 1. Go to forms.google.com  and create a new form. 2. Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner and se...

Save time with this new tip from Google tools! You can now open any of the Google Tools by typing the name of the tool and .new into a browser tab. So open Chrome and type: - docs.new for a new document - slides.new for a new slide show - forms.new for a new form or quiz - and sheets.new for a new Google sheet Or watch the video to see the shortcuts in action. Credit to the Google Docs Twitter account for inspiration. 

Today I want to offer a few keyboard shortcuts that will hopefully make navigating Chrome and other web browsers much easier! How many times have you accidentally closed a window because of a sensitive track pad or a stray click? Don't fear, there is a quick and easy way to reopen the last closed tab in the Chrome browser. (It also works to see what students just closed as you walked by them! 😉). If you want to  reopen a closed tab you can press these three keys together: Ctrl + Shift + T  (Ctrl + T opens a new tab) To close the current tab or window you are viewing press: Ctrl + w  To move to the next tab in the Chrome window press: Ctrl + Tab  To move to the previous the tab open in the Chrome browser window press: Ctrl + Shift + Tab  If you are interested in more shortcuts in Chrome, check out this help page . If you want to learn more Gmail, Drive or other Google tools the Google Product Forums are a good place to bookmark. Simil...

If you're reading this, chances are you attended our presentation at NCCE 2015.  Thanks for visiting! The resources from our presentation can be found here: Google Slide deck Annotated Common Core ELA Standards Student Tech Skills Document To share your learning from the day, or ask us a question that we didn't have time to answer, you can use this Padlet: View this wall directly on Padlet. And, in case you are interested, here are the results of our AnswerGarden: We'd love to connect with you, your school, and/or your district.  If you have questions for us, or want to give feedback, please respond in the comments.

With the Chrome extension Dualless, you can easily split your Chrome browser and its tabs in two. Download it from the Chrome Store here After clicking the extension's button, you have the option of splitting your windows in a number of different ways: Students can use this on their Chromebooks, so that they can have a text on the left of their screen, and a Google Form on the right to answer questions.  This is an easy way to mimic the SBA and prepare students for the format of the test.

With the arrival of many Chromebooks in our district, some students may struggle to adjust to the new computers and operating system.  To ensure that all students are ready to use their new learning tool, here is a checklist they can go through, which includes links to short lessons on how to perform the various functions: Download the Google Doc here.

This is an interesting website that I discovered recently -- 60SecondRecap -- it offers help and advice for Language Arts students through a variety of entertaining blog posts.  What's most beneficial is the series of titular recaps -- short, one-minute videos that serve as a refresher for main concepts in language and literature. Here is a typical example, focused on Huxley's Brave New World : For other subject areas, this is a great, engaging template to work from.  Think of the possibilities: 60 Second Lab Reports -- students actively film and photograph their progress in science experiments, and use the video as a precursor and framework for their written reports. 60 Second Vocabulary Blitz -- foreign language students take a theme and create a one-minute video reviewing key vocabulary and its meanings. 60 Second History -- focusing on a small area of the class topic, Social Studies students produce short films to reinforce their understanding and ser...

Continuing our series of subject-based apps, here are five tools that can enhance the Language Arts classroom: 1. Road to Grammar Download it from the Chrome Store A series of practice quizzes on various aspects of grammar, along with interactive lessons to support/extend classroom instruction.  Also features a games section that will be very useful for ESL students. 2. OverDrive Download it from the Chrome Store For Chromebooks only!   Allows students to access books, ebooks, and online audiobooks through the public library system.  Students will need to have a library card in order to access the system, which can be obtained for free from Sno-Isle . 3. Classic Literature Download it from the Chrome Store An online library of free, classic books that allows students to annotate as they go.  Great for keeping track of new vocabulary, important quotations, and fully searchable for when it comes time to write that paper or prepare for ...

You may have heard a lot about the "flipped classroom" which, if you're worried, has nothing to do with upturned furniture.  It's part of the blended learning model of instruction, where online learning is integrated into a regular classroom. The "flip" occurs when students use homework time to view lectures, videos, or lessons, and are then able to spend more time in class working with their teacher to increase their understanding. There are several resources out there that are free to use, and may align perfectly with your curriculum.  (Just do a quick search on YouTube to get started.)  But what happens when a resource isn't available, or what's available differs from your own methodology, or if it just isn't very good? This guide will show you how to capture and create your own online lessons.  Full instructions and videos are after the jump.

Chromebooks and the Chrome browser allow teachers and students to access all manner of interactive educational tools online.  Over the next few weeks, we'll highlight some of the best subject-specific tools out there.  We start this week with Science: 1. Chemical Elements Download it from the Chrome Store This presents a periodic table of elements, an elements list, and molecular weight calculator. Elements are given with their properties and images.  2. MolView Download it from the Chrome Store MolView allows teachers and students to draw structural formulas, view 3D molecules, search and view compounds, proteins, and crystal structures. 3. Physics Dictionary Download it from the Chrome Store Physics Dictionary (or PhyDicS, to give it its TMZ nickname) presents  fundamental physics concepts in an interactive way. A second section of the app contains information about some famous physicists and basic laws of physics. 4. Astronomy ...

Feeling overwhelmed with all the new instructional technology? Do you wish you had a document providing step by step directions as a reference guide? If you answered YES, then this resource may be just for you.   How To Guides: Visit  How To Guides  to find several documents that provide step by step directions that you can print out or save to your computer.   Current topics:     Chrome Extensions and Apps Chrome, Drive, Docs Basics Flubaroo:  Grading in Forms More topics will be added throughout the year so bookmark the folder and check back.  If you have a request for any specific how to guides, please feel free to leave your request in the comments.   These documents will also be posted on the Edmonds Instructional Technology Site as well.

Are you looking for ways to use more technology in your classroom? Try out some of these online tools. Trading Cards:  Use this free program to upload photos and create a trading card about fictional characters, historical figures, events, or many other possibilities. http://bighugelabs.com/deck.php Digital Timeline:    Create a class and provide a code to allow students to join.  Students create timelines and can turn them in to you.  Teachers can assign timelines to students.  Timelines can include quiz questions, videos, images, text, and more.   http://www.hstry.co/ Mindmapping:   These two tools can be used to record ideas of the class or students can create their own.   Both of these are web based and require Google Account logins. Coggle - https://coggle.it/ Connected Mind (Chrome App) - http://goo.gl/K2hpq Jeopardy, Flashcards, and Quizzes:   Use this site to help you do more with Google Sh...

Have you seen this? This is a new feature that YouTube has enabled that keeps certain videos hidden, and disables embedding of certain other videos.  It's all in the name of keeping YouTube a safe place for students to browse, and for teachers to display without any inappropriate content cropping up inadvertently. But what if I know the video is appropriate and I want to see it? Simple -- scroll down to the bottom of the page and you should see this toolbar: Click the "Safety" button to turn this feature off (or back on again later).  This needs to be done through the YouTube website, and is currently unavailable through embedded videos or the mobile app.

One of the benefits of using the Google Chrome browser are the many different extensions that can be added.  What are extensions you ask?  They are features that can be added to the browser allowing you to customize it to fit your needs.  Once an extension is added, it is simple to access from any webpage.  A right click on the mouse, a left click on an icon next to the URL, or a simple left click on the double arrows (>>) at the top right corner of the page will provide access to the extensions that have been added. How do you know which extensions are the best?  You are probably thinking that there are numerous options available in the Chrome Web Store and I do not have the time to search them all.  Do not fret!  Here is a list of some extensions that you might find useful. goo.gl URL Shortener Want an easier way to provide a link to a website or document?  This extension is a MUST have for the classroom teacher.  Instead ...