Google Docs with Forms

Okay, I am just too excited about this... We've been using SurveyMonkey for our climate survey for several years. The thing I liked about it was the ease of configuring the survey and also the ability to analyze the data quickly. What I didn't like about it was having to pay $20 just to be able to download the answers.

Then I learned about using the Forms feature in Google Docs. This afternoon I sent out our climate survey to certified staff using a form I created in Google docs. It was extremely easy to use. I emailed the survey link out, and as people enter their answers it is automatically entered into a spreadsheet, and then I hit one button and it puts it all in a graph for me. It's just as easy (if not easier) to work with as SurveyMonkey, but it's not costing any money. Now I just need to get the student survey and the classified survey in there :)

This is something I highly recommend checking out!

I'm also curious to find out how others are using Google Docs, since there are so many things it can do... If you have used it at your school and have ideas on how it can help streamline some of the administrative work we do, please share!

Blabberize - Are you brave?

I wanted to try out Blabberize.com after learning about it at NCTIES. One of my teachers used it in 8th grade and his students loved it.  Imagine the possibilities of what a class could do with a project like explain how you find the area of a circle in a step by step procedure using Blabberize.  I would listen, after I laughed.   I just started playing, but it seems like you are limited to 30 sec of sound.  You need a head shot picture, a sound recording, and practice to figure out which part of our jaw to move.  Look at other previews to figure out what looks best.

Here's what I came up with...

New Ning

A new Ning has been created for administrators and leaders in Pitt County Schools. Please click here to access the ning.

If you're not familiar with nings, they are social networks that can be used for a variety of reasons, in this case professional learning. On a ning you have a profile, join (and create) groups, chat in real-time, post to a forum, or engage in discussions with other members. And, unlike posts on a public blog, everything is private and can only be seen by people in the ning. Think of it like a private facebook community, but only limited to those who are approved (in this case, administrators and educational leaders in Pitt County Schools).

Once you click on the link above you will have to register for an account (which only requires an email address) and it will go to the ning administrator (who happens to be me). Once it's approved you're in. It's that simple.

If you'd like to see some other nings you can follow some of the links below to see how they work and operate.

Ning in Education - General education oriented ning with over 9100 members
Educator's PLN - Another general education ning; approximately 3200 members
Classroom 2.0 - Perhaps the largest education ning with over 41,000 members; focuses on using technology in education
K12 Online Conference - a virtual conference on education and technology

Engaging Conversation

I had a conversation with a teacher today that really helped me realize that ENGAGING teachers are people, not necessarily a new program or a technology.

He asked me help him be part of an example of foreshadowing during a formal observation.  He set the kids up, hoping that "no one" would come in to this class, turned on some music, and left clues for them.  That enabled him to SHOW them what foreshadowing was and to LIVE through it when I showed up for an observation.  He used technology to help make his point, but it was his interaction with the students and what would catch their attention that intrigued me. The look on one girls face when I walked in was priceless.

I also saw the other end of engagement.  Watching a PowerPoint or a document camera used as a $2,000 overhead projector is not what engages students (at least not past the 3rd time when the novelty wears off). When students just listen and do nothing else, they are NOT engaged.

The key difference is what STUDENTS are doing.  jaycross wondered on his Twitter why schools were ineffective.  Ineffective schools are full of students that aren't doing much...So what are we going to do about it?

Defining "Student Engagement"

Yesterday I read an interesting article from NASSP entittled Recognizing Rigorous and Engaging Teaching and Learning. The article made the following statement:

"What would an observer expect to see in an engaging classroom? How does an administrator know when teachers and students are performing at a rigorous level? Having clear expectations and knowing what engaging instructional practices look like enables leaders to identify rigorous teaching and learning. When teachers know more specifically what to look for in their teaching and student learning, they are able to assess and reflect upon their own practice. These “look fors” identify what might be observed during a highly engaging, rigorous lesson. They also provide a deeper understanding of the expectations for a highly engaging, rigorous classroom. Let's look at the indicator "Engages students in learning." If the teacher is engaging students in learning, the teacher might begin a new lesson with an activity such as an anticipation guide to develop student knowledge and thinking. During the lesson, the teacher might provide opportunities for students to question and challenge each others' ideas, using well-reasoned arguments. These “look fors” identify what might be observed during a highly engaging, rigorous lesson.

"It is essential that administrators and staff members have the knowledge and understanding of each component within the framework and know how to use the indicators and “look fors” to improve rigorous teaching and learning."

Here are some of the look-fors the article mentioned:

1. Develops students’ background knowledge
2. Activates student knowledge and thinking
3. Makes connections and integrates new learning with previous learning
4. Models and thinks aloud the thinking and learning processes
5. Provides opportunities for students to use and create graphic organizers to facilitate their learning before, during, and after instruction
6. Uses instructional materials that appeal to diverse backgrounds and cultures
7. Provides opportunities for students to apply complex concepts and processes
8. Provides opportunities for students to reflect upon and summarize their learning
9. Checks for understanding in a variety of ways and modifies instruction to meet student needs
10. Provides opportunities for all students to think and discuss their ideas with other students
11. Integrates a variety of technology tools and applications into instructional design and implementation
12. Uses a variety of techniques that provide for total student response to learning.

Which made me think, what do others look for in classrooms to recognize student engagement when you walk in a classroom? I know for me I'm always looking at #3, 5, 6, and 11 (among others), but I thought maybe this would be an opportunity for other people to chime in on what they look for.

For the original post, click here.

Great Blogs to Follow

If you're not signed up for a Google Reader Account (or using some other RSS reader) you are missing out on a ton of great reading from other experts around the country. I have a Google Reader Account but also use FeedDemon so that I don't have to logon to the internet everytime I want to read my blogs (it can run in the background). It does sync with Google Reader, though, which is a great feature.

I spend maybe 20-30 minutes a day skimming through my feeds and find something to send out to my staff at least four times a week. But more than that I find it's a great way to keep current on lots of stuff that's going on. Below are some of my favorites - and if you follow any not listed below, please let me know so I can add them to my list!

(okay, now that I've typed them up this seems like a long list, but trust me - once you start using Google Reader (or something similar), it doesn't take long at all to skim them all)

Leadership Oriented
John Maxwell on Leadership - Not education oriented, but Maxwell has great insight's into leadership
EdWeek's LeaderTalk

School Finance 101
21st Century Principal - Great for Technology from an administrative perspective
The School Principal Blog

Education Research
EdWeek's Inside Research
McREL's Research
Practical Theory
The Quick & The Ed

Technology
Classroom 2.0
Dangerously Irrelevant (Perhaps the BEST one on here)
Free Technology for Teachers (My personal favorite, behind the previous)
Mind Dump
The Fishbowl
Transparent Learning

Law, Policy, & Special Education
Developments in Special Education Law (a must read)
Education Law
Education Policy
EdWeek's K-12 Policy Blog
School Security
Special Education Law
Stories from School: Policy Meets Practice
Edjurist
EdWeek's School Law Blog

General Teaching Oriented
A Passion for Teaching
Angela Maeirs Educational Services (a VERY good read)
ASCD Inservice
Educational Leadership Magazine
So You Want to Teach? (I don't always agree with him, but he raises some good points at times)
Successful Teaching (recently had a FANTASTIC one about how teacher attitudes)
TeachPaperless
ASCD's Whole Child Initiative

Great Info on Using Google Docs in Schools

Google Docs in Plain English
This is a quick intro – basic, but a good first step in using Google Docs. The idea of eliminating flash drives would certainly help to eliminate the need to infect computers with viruses from home and the chance to collaborate with students and other teachers is amazing.
http://dotsub.com/view/17eaa9f0-787b-4fd8-b1c7-f8d61db2e310



New to Google Docs?
This website is from Google Docs and contains help topics covering a wide arrange of topics from: Getting Started, Editing, Uploading, Collaborating, Fixing a problem, and Docs for Teachers and Students.
http://docs.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=15114


Using Google Docs in a class to revise and write

http://www.google.com/educators/weeklyreader.html - Teach Collaborative Revision with Google Docs


Be sure to look at the “Getting Started” – Step 1. It was how I figured out that we could sign up for Google Docs using a current email address. The PDF files on this page are a teacher’s survival tool to getting started in Google Docs.


Using Google Docs in the Classroom: As Easy at ABC...

http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dcdn7mjg_72nh25vq#Create_an_account


Step 1: Set up a Google account
To set up an account, go to docs.google.com. Instructions for setting it up are on the site. Students can create a Google Account with their existing email address. For a Google Account, they just enter their present email address and select a password. It simply lets them take advantage of all the free Google services.

1. Set up Google Account for your students. [If you prefer, you can also set up a Gmail account at gmail.com. That also provides access to Docs.]

2. Begin using Google Docs by simply typing “Docs” into your web browser or go to docs.google.com.

3. Sign into Google Docs with your Gmail login name or Google Account username and password.This website is another crib sheet on Google Docs for schools. It includes more technical info on using Google Apps which is a for fee service that allows you to upload emails easier ($50/user). It is written like Cornell notes that gives things to think about on the right side as it list the basic info on the left.As I was searching info on Google Docs from the 2010 NCTIES Wiki, I found the following link that opened my eyes and gave me step-by-step handouts on how to use the revision features in Google Docs. Some of the info is from the beta version and has since been updated, but it's the one of the better overall explanations to how to use Google Docs to collaborate.

Good Teaching??

This posting is the email that Kevin Smith emailed recently.  This way it is saved on the blog.



Dear Colleagues,
I came across this article from the New York Times and thought you might find it interesting.  It is long (9 pages) but does provide some fascinating insights into how researchers are struggling to quantify "good teaching."  Something that stands out right away is this quotation:

"Eric Hanushek, a Stanford economist, found that while the top 5 percent of teachers were able to impart a year and a half’s worth of learning to students in one school year, as judged by standardized tests, the weakest 5 percent advanced their students only half a year of material each year."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html?pagewanted=1

Skype Connections

A very good friend of mine that taught with me at Eppes Middle School, Kyle Leonard, posted this from his personal blog Ukulelear:

"We had a lot of fun in fifth grade today - I have Skype unblocked on my classroom computer so I can videoconference with one of my students who is out of school for a long-term medical reasons. She watches the math lessons from her bed at home (not quite as bad as it might sound). We can all see her and talk, ask questions and make her feel like she is part of the classroom again.

I had a teacher gift card I won from Walmart so I ordered a HP webcam a couple of weeks ago, and now we are connected to the world. We went ahead and Skyped a school down in Alabama who wanted to partner read a book. We found out that kids in New York are just like kids in Alabama. They have a unicycle club and we have a ukulele club, so one of my uke kids went home and got a unicycle on eBay. School is cool again."

If used properly, imagine the connection that could be made with a simple tool like Skype. The internet can be a daunting and scary thing if it is not used properly. But with the proper guidance from a teacher that is not afraid to take a chance (and set up the ground rules) school can be "cool again."

The possibilities of new technologies like Skype are amazing. The chat feature can be used as an intercom feature in more realtime than email - it's an in-school instant messaging system, if it's limited to registered users. Imagine a teacher that can see the AP at her desk and type a quick message have a quick chat with a student that is a little too "hyper". The suprise of that in person visit that was made with an on-line tool is cool. That's without even using the video part of Skype.

There are other new programs like the more controversial Twitter, or the school version of Twitter/Wiki/Blogger in one - EDMOTO. No matter what the program is, the key theme is the same - to engage our students to be responsible for their learning.

Sometimes that means figuring out what the hype about Skype is all about...