Unsuccessful Narrowing Down

Friday is pretty packed with Common Core, but please let me know if I can help with anything at all. All morning I've been unsuccessfully narrowing down all the great ideas I have for you to just five, so I decided to just sort them instead...

Something about Google... 

http://www.google.com/webfonts Check out all of the awesome fonts that you can add to your Google Docs account! 

http://goo.gl/kg2lw Here is a place for you to try out Google Docs WITHOUT logging in! Test the waters, see how it works and play with it. You will find that it is very similar to PowerPoint.  

Something about Common Core... 

Friday morning seems pretty packed with Common Core follow-up, so I am going to remind iPad users of the 

app at: http://goo.gl/I5f76 so that you do not have to print out the Common Core standards. 

Something to make you think... 

http://goo.gl/y8dA7 Despite being blocked in China by the Chinese Government, the most active Tweeters are from China. I experienced firsthand social media being blocked by a government entity when travelling in Turkey, but ironically enough the concierge at the hotel gladly provided me with a route around that he said "works for today, let me know if problem tomorrow." So, I pose the unanswerable question, is a social media site the most active website during school hours (regardless of device) across America, despite being blocked? 

Something to help you collaborate... 

http://pinsi.de Pinside is a quick way to create an online board to share information: http://pinsi.de/board.php?id=419 This example shows a way that we could post different iPad apps that we like to this site. It might be a great way for 1:1 students to study as well. 

Something to download... 

https://www.dropbox.com Dropbox is a great way to share documents from one computer or device to another. You can download it on your computer at school, your home computer, your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android Device and access the documents. I know I have talked a little about this previously when you can hook it up with http://dropitto.me so students or parents can "drop" something right into your Dropbox. 

Something with videos... 

http://www.youtube.com/teachers boasts over 300+ curated YouTube playlists of videos that align with the Common Core. Might be worth checking out if you are interested in flipping or just some videos to integrate into your classroom. 

Something about Nature (for kids)... 

http://www.maine.gov/doc/foliage/kids/movie.html has a great video by the Maine State Parks about why the leaves change color. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2007-10-08-fall-colors_N.htm?csp=34weather Has a great infographic by the USA Today about fall with interactive graphics as well. 

Something about writing... 

http://oneword.com will give students one word as a prompt and they have 60 seconds to write about it. Student can submit themselves to the website and then email a copy to their teacher. 

http://www.plinky.com gives quick writing prompts and would be a good bell ringer activity. 

Something for iPad users..

Sync your iCal to your Webmail Calendar by going to your iCal app, tapping the 'Calendars' button in the upper left-hand corner and selecting Exchange to make sure that your Webmail calendar is synced with your iPad. You can do the same with your other email addresses and your other iDevices as well. 

Something about Google... again.. 

http://www.google.com/edu/collegetips/#tab=prospective This site has video tutorials about using Google Apps for College Students. I know we aren't all college students anymore, but these are well done tutorials. The 'Current College Students' talks about using Google Calendar as well as how to create groups. 

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Dropbox Ideas, Videos, and Questions Answered

I have had a few questions about how to set up a file management system to submit student work to a teacher for grading. I have successfully used Dropbox integrated with dropitto.me to turn in student work. It also works well with the iPad, but you do not need an iPad to correct the student submissions.

Dropbox can also be used to upload your own documents and share them from one computer to another. The video below talks about this more about the private, not educational application. Go to www.dropbox.com to download the app to your computer (it does not matter if your computer is a Mac or Windows or if you are using your iPad/ iPod Touch/ iPhone or Android phone it will all be compatible). 

Like most things that I am going to show this year, there are other ways to do this. This is just one way and if you think it would work for you, I will be happy to help you set it up.

 

The video above was produced by Dropbox and gives you the overview of the product. You are given 2GB of free space to store information, which is a good amount to work with for most people. It probably wouldn't be enough for a major backup source, but for student file submissions it will work well. You can also delete old submissions at the end of the semester or year.



The second video was produced to show the way DropBox and dropitto.me work together. Here is where there is one downfall for our small school. Unfortunately, the work submitted through dropitto.me to your dropbox will appear in a folder called "DROPitTOme". They will not be sorted. To combat this, I had students title assignments with the assignment name and then the student last name. For example: TermPaperWalder or OutlineWalder

Here is what my folder looks like:

You can sort them after they are submitted into folders. As you can see, on the top of the list there is a place to make a new folder. It may take a little time though, which is a downfall.



Above is one last video about setting up your dropitto.me account, but remember, you do not have to do this all by yourself. I am here to help. Email me or stop in and I will help at any time.