Edmonds Digital Learning

For months now, we've been shouting about EasyBib as a great way for students to create bibliographies.  A challenger has appeared, however: RefMe Like EasyBib, RefMe allows students to create a bibliography in MLA format by either searching for their sources (books, websites, YouTube videos, and 36 other source types) or filling out details in a form. It has a Chrome extension to allow for one-click citations, and also a mobile app that allows students to scan the barcode of a book  in order to create a citation. This is a great way to harness the power that is already in the pockets of many of our students, and to shift the paradigm of cell phones in class. Have you used reference tools with your students?  Do you have other tips for using cell phones in class?  Let us know in the comments.

If you want to see a playback of your Google Doc writing and revisions in an easy to view format, give the extension Draftback a test drive. Draftback allows you to play back everything you’ve written in a Google Doc and view it as a movie. With a Google Doc, the revision history tracks every keystroke and the history is available to anyone you give “Edit” permissions to. As a teacher, you can easily play back and analyze the process a student used on a piece of writing. Draftback can be found in the Chrome Web Store in Extensions. Unlike other extensions, this one appears in the document on the upper right-hand corner. After selecting the Draftback button you can see a playback of your writing that looks similar to this: Document data and a stats summary are also available and can be found in the document graphs and statistics link. Once Draftback is installed, it will work in any Google Doc no matter when it was created. Draftback is great way to peer over the sh...

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.

Continuing our series of subject-based apps, here are five tools that can enhance the ELL classroom, or assist ELL students in other subjects: 1. Read&Write for Google Download it from the Chrome Store This is the all-in-one support tool for Google Chrome that allows you to hear words, passages, or whole documents read aloud with color highlighting; see the meaning of words explained with text and picture dictionaries; hear text translated into other languages; turn words into text as you speak; highlight text in documents or the web; and simplify and summarize text on web pages.  The only drawback is that many features are premium, and will vanish after 30 days if you don't pay.  The next four apps will replicate many of its features for free, but in separate apps. 2. Voice Recognition Download it from the Chrome Store Talk to type with this Chrome app.  It works in its own browser window, so will need to be copy-pasted later, or use the "Expor...

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.

In a previous post I wrote about Synergyse , the fabulous training tool embedded in Google Drive/GAfE. I use the short audio/visual lessons as my first go to when I have a question about any of the Google apps.  The Synergyse peeps have released an updated version of and some of the new features you will see are: Improved search The search feature has been enhanced to provide more accurate results for training content, additional Google Apps training & tips from the Synergyse Blog are also returned when relevant. Japanese support Synergyse is now available in Japanese for all clients, you can access the interactive training content by switching your Google Apps interface languages to Japanese. Video portal link for unsupported languages When using an unsupported language, a link to the video portal will be provided in the training menu as an alternative option. Related links lists open automatically When watching a custom video with relat...

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.

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 ...