A New Look at Wordle

I ran across this and thought I would share.   Using Wordle to create posters and original pieces had never occurred to me!  She also links to other sites and ideas at the end of the presentation as well as includes how she created some of the slides.  It is worth checking out!

Wordle Ideas

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Skype in Education

I recently polled my staff on various technology training topics.   Surprisingly the most requested training was on Skype and webcams.  What is the hook with Skype and how can it be used in education?

I started putting together a wikipage on the ins and outs of Skype and uses.  I can see how this can make a difference.  Today I was researching through my PLN on twitter and ran across a presentation by Robert Marzano who was emphasizng the need for feedback and how interactive whiteboards and clickers helped provide that for students.  This got me thinking about how vital videoconferencing could be on doing the same thing.

Student could connect with others, explain learning, and perform a band piece to an expert and get immediate real-world feedback on their learning.   No longer are they doing the work for the teacher to see, but for a real person that they can see and talk to.  I am getting more excited about Skype.

Google Earth: Adding Placemarks

Using Google Earth in classrooms sometimes mean making your own trips to guide students through valuable resources and avoiding the distractions.  It can also mean that the students create the tours and learn the process of designing a trip for their classmates.  Our 7th Grade students are going to teach the class about the Texas Revolution by presenting their research through placemarks in Google Earth.  The teacher is going to use the placemarks to teach the class about the different events in the Texas Revolution. 

Student and teacher need to know the basics of placemark creation to get started in this process. 

Here are some basic instructions to get you started:

Placemarkers in Google Earth

FormattingPlaceMarkers

Video Tutorial:

Flip Cameras - Basics and YouTube

I've been working with the Flip Cameras recently and have created a few videos to show how easy it is to work with the movie files the camera creates.

Taking Flip Video straight to YouTube:

What MovieMaker can do for your Flip Video:

For step by step directions on editing Flip Videos in MovieMaker download this handout: Flip Cameras and Movie Maker

Google Forms: Self-Graded Quizzes

Google forms can be used to create a quiz that can be graded automatically in the spreadsheet using formulas.  To save you time, these instructions are for a 20 question (or less) quiz using the template with the formulas already entered. 

Self Graded Quizzes in Google

1. Open up the following spreadsheet: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AuuREHWQtmebdHo1UjVINzRCaVIwVGhJb2c2YV9nNHc&hl=en


2. Save a copy of the spreadsheet into your own Google account.


3. Make a copy of the spreadsheet for a new quiz. Important so any changes on this quiz will not affect future quizzes! Open the spreadsheet and go to File – “Make a Copy.” Give the spreadsheet a new name


4. In the new spreadsheet go to Form – Edit Form


5. Do not remove the name or class period fields, as that will affect the formulas to grade the quizzes. You may edit the class periods field to represent just the classes you teach.


6. Add your question items to the form. Remember spelling will count against the results, so choose wisely when making your question types.


7. Make any changed to the theme


8. Save your form.


9. Open up your quiz and answer the questions correctly to create the answer key. Suggestion is to use Answer and Key as the first and last name fields.


10. Submit your answers.


11. Open the spreadsheet.


12. On the “Answers” worksheet, select and copy row 2.


13. Go to the “Test Answers” worksheet and paste the copied row into that worksheet’s Row 2.


14. Fill in the number of questions the quiz contains into cell B8.


15. Go to worksheet “Results.” If your quiz contains less than 20 questions, delete the extra question columns.


16. Make sure everything is saved.


17. Share the quiz link by directly linking to the quiz, or by embedding it into another webpage.
    
    
    
    • TeacherWeb - Enhanced Text page in the html view
    
    
    • Wiki - an html widget box
    
    
    • Blog – into a post with the html view
    
    
    
    

To get grades:

1. After students have taken the quiz, open your spreadsheet.


2. Go to the “Results” worksheet. If needed, fill the formulas from Row 2 all the way down the worksheet.


3. The averages should be displayed in column D. Check a few responses to make sure the formulas copied correctly.

To create a new quiz be sure to start from the original spreadsheet and not from a used quiz.

Download the directions here with screenshots:  Google Forms - Self Graded Quizzes

Survey in Google Forms

These instructions are geared for creating a simple one question survey where you want the results published online. This is great for voting on a favorite item. (Remember that people can vote as often as they want.)

Create a one question survey using Google Forms.

Directions to create a form: Google Forms

Share that survey to gather data. This can be done by linking directly to the survey or by embedding it into another webpage.

 

Share the Results:

1. Open the spreadsheet for your survey. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tTCzY6mXhDU8SsuRXWa895A&single=true&gid=0&output=html


2. The answers to the survey are shown in column B.


3. In Column D type in the possible answer choices starting with cell D2.


4. In Column E type in the formula to count the number of responses to each color.
   
   
   
   • Ex. =Countif(B2:B100, "Red")
   
   
   • =CountIf – formula to count by certain criteria
   
   
   • B2:B100 – the range of cells where the formula is going to count from. If you expect more than 100 results, then increase the last number to represent the amount of responses expected.
   
   
   • "Red” – type in the exact text the formula should look for in counting.
   
   
   
   


5. After you type in each formula, the spreadsheet will calculate the results and return a number in place of the formula.
   
   
   
   • You can see the formula again by double clicking in the cell.
   
   
   • If you see “#Name” or “#ERROR!” instead of a number – recheck your formula.
   
   
   
   

 To create a graph of the results:

• Highlight the cells you just completed in rows D and E.


• Select Insert – Chart from the menu bar.


• Choose the type of chart you want to use and set the labels, axis and other settings.


• Click “Save chart”


• A chart will appear on the spreadsheet.

To Share the Chart –

1. Click on the “Share” Tab on the spreadsheet.


2. Select “Publish as a webpage.”


3. Make sure the option “Automatically republish when changes are made” is checked.


4. Click Close.


5. Click on “Chart” in the graph window.


6. Choose “Publish Chart.”


7. A window will appear with the HTML code to paste into your website.


8. Paste the code into:
   
   
   
   • TeacherWeb - Enhanced Text page in the html view
   
   
   • Wiki - an html widget box
   
   
   • Blog – into a post with the html view or in a sidebar widget
   
   
   
   


9. Note:  Graphs changes will be updated every 5 minutes.

The graph below will update the results of the survey every 5 minutes or so.  You need to refresh the page to see the changes.



Download Directions Here - Google Forms - Simple Survey

Flip Camera - Uses in the Classroom

So now that you know how to use the camera, the question is what can I do with this in my classroom?

Here is a presentation that outlines Forty Interesting Ways to Use Your Pocket Video Camera in Your Classroom.

http://docs.google.com/present/view?pli=1&id=dhn2vcv5_6tv55j7g9

Some of the ideas include:

1. How-to video


2. Record Science Experiments


3. Take on Field Trips


4. Record something that the students will then have to explain what they are seeing.


5. Interview fellow classmates


6. Film Sports or PE - watch in slow motion to break down skills


7. Record information/celebrations for parents to see via website.


8. Record key parts of your lesson.


9. Attach camera to objects to get different Points of View.


10. Have students video what they are doing to show at Parent Nights, etc.

...and 30 more ideas.  Check it out and let me know if you think of any other uses!

 

Another resource I have found lists multiple web pages that deal with flip cameras and education:

http://marynabadenhorst.globalteacher.org.au/flips/ - Flip and Digital Camera Resources

I am looking forward to seeing what cool things the teachers and students can do with this cool new tool!