Track Changes in Google Docs

For those who spend any time creating documents online, track changes is a must-have!  For collaborative projects, peer edits and more, track changes lets you see the edits that others make to your document. Then, it lets you decide if you want to accept/reject/continue editing them.  

While Google added this feature last year, they DID NOT call it "track changes" like their MS Word competitors.  Instead, it's called "suggesting".  

Here's how to activate it in Google Docs:

Click on EDITING in the toolbar.  Choose SUGGESTING.  
Be sure to ask those with whom you're collaborating to do the same thing.

When you’ve done this, any changes that are made on the document are recorded out to the right.  Click the check to accept, the x to delete and the horizontal dots for more revision.  

Another great tool available in Google Docs is the SEE REVISION HISTORY tool.  Find it by clicking on FILE and choosing it from the menu.  This feature allows owners of the document to not only track changes, but the ability to restore a previous version.   

This feature is also priceless for teachers who have students working in collaborative groups.  It allows teachers to see who has been working on the document, which in turn helps with accountability.

Padlet: An Oldie But A Goodie

Technology has given students the ability to share information globally.  Collaboration opportunities are everywhere, and Padlet is just one way to communicate, express ideas and share information with peers.

Padlet, a user-friendly website is a "wall" where students can post content, thoughts, videos and pictures.  It is accessible from any device with an internet connection, so creating or adding to a Padlet can be done any time, anywhere.

Padlets can be shared, embedded, and downloaded into PDFs, Excel sheets and jpegs. And of course, as a huge fan of all things Google, I was thrilled when I found the Padlet Chrome extension, which allows users to share content directly with a wall they have created.   That. Is. Awesome! But wait, there's more!  With Padlet, you have infinite space.  Keep double clicking and the screen will adjust.

Nervous about everyone adhering to proper netiquette which using Padlet?  Visibility of the walls you create are completely customizable.  In addition, as the administrator of your wall, you can moderate comments and posts.

There are SO many ways to use this tool in the classroom. Below you'll see a Padlet that gives ideas to get you started.  Feel free to add!

Created with Padlet

Google Classroom Tutorial

In an effort to reach more staff for professional learning, this month's Tech Wednesday went digital with a webinar introducing Google Classroom to those who have yet to use it.

AirScanner: A Handy Tool

AirScanner is a handy tool that, quite honestly, I didn't even remember downloading.  I tend to hit places like  Appsgonefree to download apps that look promising.  I'm glad I chose this one.

AirScanner turns your cell phone into a document camera.  Why is this great?  Well, typically the document cameras in teachers' rooms are wired and must be plugged in to the computer.  This is a wireless version.  This is a fantastic tool to use when you want to show hard copies of documents, newspapers, magazines and more.  In addition, it's a great way to showcase student work.  Since you're no longer tied to your wired document camera, you can show images, manipulatives and other student produced items as they are working.  Pretty neat, right?

How To
After downloading the app:

1. Start Air Scanner
2. See the numbered IP address at the bottom of your camera display (looks something like this - 192.168.0.5:8283)
3. Open your browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) on your computer and type in the IP address EXACTLY as it's shown.

You're on your way!

It can be a tad laggy (taking about 2 seconds to show the image), but it's definitely worth a look.  At .99 cents, it's very reasonable or you can haunt AppsGoneFree until it comes around again.  Download it here for iOS.

Linkville: A "Tasty" Second Grade Community

2nd Graders at Wiley Elementary got a taste of what building a community is like in Kristi Link's class. Focusing on Social Studies Common Core Standards that center around communities and what makes them thrive, students spent time brainstorming what was important for all communities to have, what citizens needed, and how buildings might be designed. Then, using a variety of items, the kids set to work building their community (they named it Linkville).  Kristi's class is part of a larger, multi-state project called a "STEM to STEAM" challenge. During the week of December 16-20 classes will Skype with each other to compare/contrast their engineered communities and discuss what it is like to live where they do.  To read more about this activity, you can visit the project website here.

Blogs - Some of the best PD available

Blogs -  a ubiquitous term in our society today.  However, what continues to baffle me is the fact that so many people don't follow them or write their own.  Of course there's the age-old excuse of "no time", and I totally get that.  It seems, of late, things have been going at warp speed both personally and professionally, and I know I'm not alone in that feeling. But one of the things I feel passionate about in education is professional development.  As teachers, we need to stay up with best practice and crave collaboration with other teachers. In addition, we hate reinventing the wheel, so if we can find something to tweak or build on that will work in our classrooms and is aligned with Common Core, we're on it!  That's why we should take some responsibility for our own professional learning; one way to do that is through following blogs.  With curation tools/websites like Bloglovin and Sqworl, keeping track of information and reading on your own time is a breeze.  Not to mention...wait for it....they're free!
       Taking advantage of the incredible amount of information out there is a must. So, where do you start?   One easy way is by visiting this Edublogs site.  Each year, Edublogs holds a contest to find the "best of the best" in the blogging world and then they share that information with us. The link above is the best of the best in Education.    Along the right side of the homepage,  users will find a list of topics.  Navigate through them and pick something that interests you.  Math teachers who follow blogs will tell you that Dan Meyer's is a fantastic one.   Heck, I follow him and I have never taught math.  Mr. Coward's Teaching the Outsiders blog is fantastic.  He has loads of followers - yet not all of them teach English. He is also hysterical...an added bonus. Don't even get  me started on blogs I follow for personal use.  Let's just say that I know way too much about the Pioneer Woman her Food Network show and her family and leave it at that.  :-)
  By reading blogs, you immerse yourself in new ideas and and give yourself the gift of collaboration - something every teacher can use.  If you have questions about how to get started with reading or even creating blogs, contact me!