Edmonds Digital Learning

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...

Now that we all have Google Drive on our computers, and it comes with unlimited storage , chances are that you're finding it increasingly difficult to actually find what you're looking for. Sure, you can use the Windows search feature to find all your files with the word "test" in them, but if you have 5+ years' worth of tests on your computer, how handy is that really? By visiting Google Drive on the web , you can use their search bar to find files more accurately by using the following search operators: title: – search by the file’s title (group phrases in quotation marks) owner: – search according to who owns the item (works best with owner:email address) type: – search by the file type (this covers: document, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, image, video, image_or_video, pdf, and textdoc) is:starred – search items that you’ve marked with a star For example, if I wanted to find a Google Doc that was called "test" that a colleague h...

    Whether you are new to GAFE or an expert, you may find these lessons useful.  Some can be used as is or may need tweaked in order to fit your specific curriculum.  Either way, these lesson ideas can help inspire ideas for using GAFE.   Many students are likely to go see the movie, Interstellar .  Some Google Educators spent time creating lesson plans that were inspired by the content covered in the film, but these some of these lessons can easily be used without actually seeing the film.   As a former Social Studies teacher, my favorites were the “Message in a Bottle”, “Video Time Capsule”, and “Dust Bowl Planet.”  Check them out! VISIT THE SITE HERE https://interstellar.withgoogle.com/for-educators

This week’s technology tip: Skyward:  Cool Home Page Widget for Teachers.    Click here for Cool Teacher Widget Info

YouTube is a great resource for finding videos to make your lessons visual and engaging for students.  However, there can be a lot of clutter on the page, and sometimes those "related videos" can be inappropriate and distracting for students: I know all this!  It's annoying!  What can I do about it? The Quietube Chrome Extension  or the Bookmarklet on the Quietube site will allow you to silence all the extraneous links, videos, comments on YouTube and just leave you with the content that you want your students to see: Breathe in all that lovely white space...

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.

Full answer after the jump...

Teachers are always looking for quick and easy ways to assess student work.  Google Forms might be the perfect tool for you.   Don't people use Google Forms for surveys?  Yes, but it can do a lot more.  Create a quiz, assignment turn in sheet, or a grading rubric all within Google Forms.   Take a few minutes out of your day to watch at least 1 or more of these videos and it may just change the way you approach grading. Create a Rubric:  (4:55) Create a Quiz and Grade it in Seconds:   (3:13) Collect and Manage Student Work:  (4:03)

Create a contact group in Outlook 2013 Use a contact group to send an email to multiple people without having to add each name each time you want to write them. To create contact group: Open Outlook On the Navigation bar, click People. Click Home > New Contact Group.  (Top left) On the Contact Group tab, in the Name box, type a name for the group.  (Example:  Journalism Class) Click Add Members. Select from Address Book and then pick which option meets your need: Search district emails by name and click on the correct name. (It should now appear in the bottom line titled “Members.”   Type nondistrict email address in the bottom line titled “Members.”  (Place a semicolon ; between different email addresses.) Export email addresses into Excel from Skyward OR create a list of email addresses in Excel or Google Sheets.  Copy all of the addresses on the spreadsheet and paste into the bottom line titled “Members.” ...

Full answer after the jump...

Google Docs is more than just an online word processor.  It's a tool for online collaboration, formative assessment, reflection, and grading.  To really unlock the power of Google Apps in your classroom, here are 10 important features of Google Docs that you should know. Full article after the jump.

This week’s technology tip: 1.     DO shut down your Yoga computer! Shut down or Restart once a week. Do this from the power icon (located on your Start/Tiles screen) , not by pressing the physical power button on the side of the computer.

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 ...

This is a ThingLink about chihuahuas that I created last night after watching the videos of top 15 websites of 2014. It was easy to learn and makes a great instructional presentation tool. It has the option of being touch so it can be used with a smart board or students can take turn tapping on the screen of the yoga. Just place your curser or finger over the picture to see the links I added about chihuahuas. One tip--check your sharing settings when you publish and make sure your picture is unpublished if it has information you don't want the whole world to see.

Glasbergen, Randy. "Randy Glasbergen – Today's Cartoon."  Randy Glasbergen Todays Cartoon . (Cartoon ID:  toon-1377) Web. 17 Oct. 2014. < http://www.glasbergen.com/office-cartoons-2/ >. A caffeine injection is not the answer, instead use your stylus! Who has actually used their laptop as a tablet or used their stylus for a writing tool since first receiving the device?  For some, receiving a new computer is exciting, but for others it induces anxiety because you just figured out the old device. One of the unique features of the Lenovo Yoga is the fact that it has multiple uses.  This is good news for those individuals who happen to write quickly, type slowly, or think better with handwritten notes, but still want to make sure that the information is legible.    In a few quick steps you can convert your handwritten notes into typed text without needing to type the information yourself.  YIPPEE!!! Taking Notes Using the Stylus ...

As a teacher there is never enough time to simply explore the full features of many different programs so we tend to miss out on the cool add-ons that would enhance instruction, learning, or assessment. When you open a Google Docs or Google Sheet there is a tab at the top titled Add-Ons.  This is likely one of those options that you have avoided because you have no idea what it actually means.  Who really has the time to explore and figure this out?  I am providing you with an overview of what can be found in the Add-Ons section by highlighting some of the features teachers may find useful.  In addition to these, check out a previous blog post about highlighting in Google Docs which is also a beneficial Add-On. Give assessments and collect data using Google Forms and Sheets Create a quiz or exit task in Google Forms, view the data in Google Sheets, and allow Flubaroo to score and calculate your results.  This is a great way to get quick feedback on ...

I've always had an aversion to highlighting books. The idea of taking a neon yellow felt pen and marking up a pristine page in a book, for any reason, seems sacrilege. I don't feel the same about highlighting digital text, probably because it's so easy to erase or wipe the page clean. And, as a teacher, I see the benefit of showing students how to highlight text (with discretion, of course) to identify text-based evidence, the main idea, or words and phrases that create associations. In Google Docs and Slides, the highlighting tool is not front and center but easily accessible (if one knows where to look!). In Docs or Slides, move the cursor over the section you want to highlight, go to Text Color: Click the Highlight side and choose the color you want to use: Presto chango, the text is highlighted! Unfortunately, this process needs to be repeated for each selection you want to highlight which brings me to Option 2: Getting a highlighting "Add-on...

 We are so lucky! Embedded in GAfE is a wonderful, often overlooked, training tool called Synergyse provided for you by the Edmonds School District. It can be found by going to your Google Drive and looking at the top of the page for the Synergyse icon next to Training. From the drop down arrow, you have easy access to an interactive training system for Google Apps and Drive. The training available is a combo of audio and visual lessons that are short, easy to follow, and take place right inside the app you're working in. While you're in an app, the lessons allow you to learn and take actions at the same time so you don't have to toggle back and forth between screens. Two of the many great things about this feature is that you can watch as few or as many lessons as you want and you can search for specific topics. The peeps at Synergyse provide regular updates allowing you to learn all about the cool new GAfE updates easily. So give it a try next time you're w...

Today's post is brought you by Kim Mathey, tech gal extraordinaire! Did you know that our grade 2-6 keyboarding program, All the Right Type , is available online, with both school and home access? The target keyboarding levels are: Use correct finger position to type: 3rd – 9 wpm                    3rd graders will be learning correct finger position. 4 th   – 10-12 wpm             4 th  graders and up will use home row and touch type. At this speed they can type faster than they can compose with paper/pencil. 5th - 13-15 wpm             5th grade and up should touch type 6th  - 16-20 wpm 7th - 25+ wpm As you start the year, please provide time for your students to practice keyboarding in class and encourage families to help students pract...