Week 7: Google Searches

Google

I'm older than the internet.  It blows my daughter's mind, but it's true.  In fact,  I attended the first technology class for teachers at the University of Kansas in 1995.  Our final exam consisted of making an overhead, loading a film strip into the projector, laminating a picture, and............... sending an email!  So, most of what I have learned about the internet, search engines, and how to research and find materials and information, I did NOT learn in school!  I have had to figure things out on my own, ask younger colleagues, and ask my students.

However, this week, in SCHOOL, I learned more about how to more quickly access information and how to more effectively use Google.  Of course I have used Google for years, but there have been a lot of gaps in my understanding of how to use Google and there are more ways to use this powerful search engine than I was aware.  For example, I didn't realize how adding a few characters to your search could give you more specific results.  Using quotes helps you find the exact words or you can find sets of words.  I also didn't realize that you can ask Google to search only within a specific site.  

What I found even more helpful, however, was finding out that I could add a zip code to my search to get results for my part of the world.  I have my students do projects that involve making travel brochures, writing newspaper ads, and trying to sell products.  For each of these, students need to have information about specific countries.  Google searches can help students to figure out the currency and exchange rates in a few clicks as well as what the weather is like currently, what movies are being shown, and prices for products sold in that area.  While I am sure my students know more about Google than I do, I still think that it would be a good idea for me to demonstrate some of these quick tips to my students and not assume that they are familiar with them. 

Check out the video below for more ideas about how to search Google effectively:

Week 6 Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board that allows the user to clip and save pictures or videos in a paperless way.  It also enables users to share pictures with other Pinterest users.  You can search Pinterest and find boards or pincers that you want to follow.  There are pictures, links, and ideas on almost any topic.  I love this web tool!  I began using Pinterest to gain ideas for birthday parties, receptions, and recipes.  However, in the last year, I have begun a couple of virtual bulletin boards for school.  Pinterest has tons of creative ideas for use in the classroom.  Recently I did a search on activities to use with my Smart Board.  I can gain ideas from other sites, but the ones pinned on Pinterest tend to be more visually appealing and more creative.

Unsure of how to set-up and use Pinterest?  Check out the video below:

Week 5 Google Forms

Google Forms

This was an exciting week as I learned to use what is now one of my favorite new tools:  Google Forms!  To make forms for the classroom, go to Google Drive, Click on "New", select "more" options, and then click on "Google Forms."  From there, you will get something that looks like the screenshot above.  You will be prompted to enter your title and the type of question you want to include.   Your options include text, multiple choice, paragraph text, and checkboxes.  Each is helpful for different circumstances.  Google forms quickly allows people to create forms that look professional (you get to choose from several templates) and that are easy for students to access and complete.

One of the most exciting aspects of Google Forms is that it can allow the creators to gather information and collect survey results in a spreadsheet form.  Then, there are other tools that can be used to grade the quizzes if the teacher desires.

Here is Google Forms link to a quiz I made. The quiz was used as a comprehension check after I reviewed the Preterite and Imperfect past tenses with my Spanish 3 classes.

Google forms are fantastic for student surveys, quizzes, and comprehension checks.  They are intuitive to make and take virtually no time.  In fact, the hardest part for me was learning how to correctly share the link with my students.  Google forms are a great tool to add to your teacher's toolbox!

Would you like more information about how to make and use Google forms?  Watch the video below:

Week 4 Diigo

Diigo 

Link:  https://www.diigo.com/

Diigo stands for "Digest of Internet Informations, Groups, and other Stuff.  I like the "other stuff" part!  This tool is cloud based so that users can sync their information from multiple devices.  It allows users to bookmark, highlight, and put virtual sticky marks on things they are reading or have written.  Other people can also leave notes on a page and these notes and bookmarks can be shared.  Information can be organized by tagging it and users can choose to make their notes public or private.

 This tool is new to me.  However, I can see that this might be a good tool for teachers or students who want to do a lot of research.  If, for example, I was looking for information on Spanish 3 classes, Diigo would allow me to bookmark articles and make notes as I read and finally, to organize that information into one piece.  I could share this with my colleagues and they could add notes as well. This tool could also be helpful if someone wants to search a certain word or topic.  Simply highlighting the important word will give the user a drop-down menu and you can decide how to proceed.

Need more information on how to use Diigo?  Check-out this video of how a teacher uses Diigo for her classroom:

Week 3 Edmodo

Edmodo
Link:  https://www.edmodo.com

This week in EDU 5312 we learned more about how Edmodo can help educators connect with their colleagues.  I always knew that Edmodo was a useful tool for connecting with my students.  It's a great way to present project, take polls, distribute notes and other resources.  All of this can be done without the use of paper.  Using Edmodo can make the classroom really feel like a community of learners where everyone is contributing and connecting.  All of this is great, but I hadn't thought much about using Edmodo to share and collaborate with my colleagues!  There are so many resources available through Edmodo and while it takes more time, I like it that teachers can choose to share and collaborate with you or choose not to.  Edmodo can be as big or as small as you want it to be.

In my quest to find good communities to join, I came across a few that were interesting, but in my opinion, too large!  While it was interesting to connect with teachers from Croatia, Russia, Paraguay, etc,  I don't have time to wade through all of the questions and information in this community.  This was a lesson and I realized that I will have much more success if I narrow the search a bit.  If I'm interested in Spanish, that is what I search for rather than the broad topic of "World Languages."  I'm more likely to find what I'm looking for in this way.

Interested in making an Edmodo account?  Here is how:

Week 2 Twitter

Twitter 
Link:  https://twitter.com

This week in EDU 5312, we learned about how teachers need the help of other professionals to learn and to grow as educators.  It is valuable for teachers to build their PLN's or Professional Learning Networks.  One of the best ways to do this is through the use of Twitter.  I began using Twitter just last year.  I teach Spanish at an area high school and I decided to try using Twitter as another means of reminding students of upcoming quizzes, projects, or tests.  Most of my students who already used Twitter were happy to follow me and to receive additional reminders.  At the end of the year, I cautioned them to unfollow me as they might not want to receive information about a class they are no longer enrolled in!  While last year I had about 54 students following me, this year I have very few.  I'm not sure why, but some students have said that their parents don't allow them to have accounts and others have said that since adults have discovered Facebook and Twitter, it's not as fun anymore!  Ha!  In any case, even if teachers aren't using it to specifically connect with their students, their are many reasons to use it to connect with other educators. 

 But first, here is how to make a Twitter account:

While I have used Twitter to connect to my students, I am excited to explore the use of Twitter for connecting with other educators.  This week I explored Twitter chats that meet on assigned days, at assigned times to talk about specific topics.  I plan to lurk during some of their chats to see what I can learn and to see how my students or I might be able to participate in the future.  

It was also interesting to see the number of teachers that I can follow.  There were teachers of all subject areas as well as technology topics that interested me.  This week I began following a couple of teachers and it was fun to see a name that I recognized in the group.  I know that following these two people will help me to continue to expand my PLN as through them I will discover other educators that would be valuable for me to follow.  Twitter is not just for teens!  It's for teachers!

Week 1 Blogging and Organizing Blogs with RSS and Feedly

Blogging and Organizing Blogs with RSS and Feedly

Feedly Link: http://feedly.com/#welcome



This week in EDU 5312, we primarily learned about how to organize a blog.  However, I want to back-up and talk about blogging in general.  While setting-up a blog takes awhile to do, having a blog can be a wonderful tool for the educator.  It can act as an online journal for a teacher to help her keep track of what she is learning, tools she has discovered, and what has worked and not worked in the classroom.  I had also not really thought about the benefits of having a blog vs. having a website.  One of the biggest benefits of having a blog is that two-way communication is possible and encouraged.  The blogger can receive online comments from those who read her blog and she can receive both positive and negative feedback that can be important for improving in the classroom.  Here is a link to a tutorial for setting-up a blog:http://youtu.be/w7yr2nzqweI

For the educator who is constantly trying to learn and improve, it is a good idea to read and follow several other blogs.  While the educator can keep track of all of the blog addresses and add them to "favorites" or "bookmarks," there is an even better idea.  The educator who wants to learn, but doesn't want to take valuable time to go to each blog and check-it for valuable information each day, there is a shortcut!  RSS is a format that can be used to keep track of web content.  In fact, the changing content of each blog that is followed is delivered to one location so that it can quickly and easily be read.  The teacher will know that they are up-to-date without having to visit each of the sites.  I was surprised by how easy this was to do.  In fact, it was more difficult to figure out which sites to follow than it was to use the RSS format.  Thirdly, using Feedly and RSS is a great way for the educator to share what SHE is learning.  As I document the things I am learning on my blog, others can add my blog to their feed and follow me.  We now have another level of communication.  Teachers are often isolated in their classrooms and having a blog and using Feedly and RSS to organize my interests will keep me connected to the outside world and to other educators who I can collaborate with. "Feedly" is one of the most popular, if not the most popular feed reader.  It allows people to organize and read all of their favorite blogs but to access them from one spot.  Here is a tutorial for using Feedly: