Doing my usual Sunday-lesson-planning, I ran across this quote and was deeply moved by it:
"Washington taught the world to know us. Lincoln taught us to know ourselves. The first won for us our independence. The last wrought out our manhood and self respect" (The Expositor).
Somewhere in there is a connection to our our Mission and Vision. I humbly leave that as a thought for the day.
A number of folks around campus use Google Calendar as a collaboration medium. Web Worker Daily (a great blog on productivity) has a great collection of tips and tricks that are well worth looking through. Some are on the more-technical side of things, but if you need help, the Tech Department and/or I can help.
Tips and Tricks: Making the Most of Google Calendar
If you are not yet using Google Calendar in any way and are interested in learning more, please let me know. Google Calendar works well with Apple iCal, and a small plug-in allows Windows-folks to use it with Outlook too.
In August, one of the workshops that I offered was on Google Docs. A newer feature of theirs, Forms, was widely received as having great potential. I wrote before about using Forms as a digital worksheet when I returned from Kairos and needed something for the students to do while I caught up on life and work. Here is another concrete way in which Google Docs can be used - this time as a way to begin analyzing data on your exams.
One of the more time-consuming parts about using data is collecting the data itself from student work and then entering it into a spreadsheet. That is the real reason that more of us do not do it on a regular basis. Enter: Forms.
I created a simple Form with eleven questions, asking students to enter the data from their own Midterm, and submit it.
Students just see these eleven short questions, and a "submit" button. But, behind the scenes, I see their data filling in a spreadsheet.
Right there, I have just saved myself hours of work - literally. Now all I need to do is scroll to the bottom of each column and have the spreadsheet total the data, and from there I can crank out some basic statistical analysis for myself about how students did on each sub-section of the Midterm. (Any Math- or Science-person can help you with this Excel-like data manipulation.)
This new-ish tool from Google is especially timely given today's in-service on curriculum renewal, and the role of data in curriculum redesign. Let me know if you are interested in setting this up, or have any questions.
One difficulty that Math and Science face in integrating technology with learning is that the user-interface for most computer-based applications is linear, like sentences being typed on a single line, whereas these two disciplines need to enter and manipulate equations that do not follow the same linear conventions. Google has made collaboration around equations slightly easier by introducing two new features into their Google Docs product.
The Document application (a Microsoft Word-like program) has a new option under its Insert menu that allows complex equations to be entered into a document.
The actual editing of an equation takes place in a pop-up window that uses drop-down menus to insert pieces of an equation which the user can then edit and customize.
The pop-up window shown above cannot be edited by multiple users simultaneously. Collaborators can go back and change equations that were entered by others; they just cannot do it at the same time.
The second addition to the Google Docs suite that assists with equations is in the Presentation module. By adding simple sub- and super-script options, Google allows easier and more accurate collaboration on math-based presentations.
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=d7qpvbb_48cd8cr6d4
This is a move in the right direction, but it is just the nature of mathematics that it lends itself best, in many cases, to simple paper and pencil for working through equations. The two new features addressed above are for the presentation or publication of work.
Millions of photos from the LIFE collection have been available on Google for quite sometime – I've posted on this before.
Now, however, the entire collection (Nov 1936 to Dec 1972) of LIFE Magazine is available as well. Perhaps you are interested in teaching about
There is just so much to find in these archives! I just realized that I've been reading LIFE Magazine article for the last few hours; It's after midnight, and I should stop . . .
... is an amazing invention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA
We aim to develop "leaders in collaboration," here at Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. Web-applications such as Google Docs are the way of the future. I believe that every teacher ought (and I use that word intentionally) to teach their students the (current) tools and habits of collaboration.
Back from Kairos and still barely treading water, I need a day to catch up. Years ago, I might have shown a documentary tomorrow in my World History 1 class, but I'll try something different this time: a constructivist lesson wherein the students become responsible for teaching themselves and each other.
In terms of outcomes, I want students to be able to:
In my absence, students read about the 1,500 years covered by these outcomes. Using CatLink's News Forum (which sends a post into each student's @siprep.org inbox), I asked students to bring their laptop to class if they have one.
World History 1,
I'm back from leading the Senior retreat - though I haven't caught up with your grades and such yet. For Monday's class, it would be helpful if you brought your laptop to school. If you don't have one, that's okay - we'll make do with what we have.
Those of you who do have a laptop to use in class, you'll need to bring it to the Tech Office before class, so you can access the school's internet connection. Just bring your laptop into the Tech Office and they'll set it up for your in no time.
- Castro
At the beginning of class, I'll see who has brought a laptop and who hasn't, and students will pair up, Haves and Have-nots. (This does introduce a certain element of classism that I am very uncomfortable with.)
Then, they will complete a digital worksheet, reviewing key concepts that they had read about in my absence. I made the worksheet with the Form function in Google Docs - it took no more than ten-minutes. The results get dumped into an easy-to-grade spreadsheet.
Second, the partners will work on creating a brief presentation on an assigned portion of the Chapter they read. They will present their topic area tomorrow (giving me a second day to catch up, while reviewing the key material with their classmates.) The directions, in the form of a Google Doc, took another ten-minutes to prepare, and the demo Presentation took just five-minutes.
All-in-all, I spent 25-minutes and was able to create two days worth of lessons. The resulting lessons are far better than simply showing a movie, I feel, but, at the same time, I'll get the breathing room that I need to catch back up after things being so hectic these last few weeks.
Forming "leaders in collaboration" requires that we explicitly teach ways and means of working together. The skill of being a good collaborator (that is, someone who shares in the work at hand) is something that all of our students will need in all facets of their lives, while in high school and beyond.
One way of practicing this skill is by having students work together on something as simple as a study guide - and Google Docs is a great tool for this job. There are plenty of uses for Google Docs, which is why I hosted a full workshop on the topic in August. Using the speadsheet function, you can create a simple study guide for each student to add one piece that they are responsible for - all without any kind of login or passwords. Taking the link for the spreadsheet, you can easily add that to Catlink or your class website.
A student in First Period would click on the link for 1* Ch 1 Collaborative Study Guide DUE, find their name, and then fill in information for their assigned task. If you click on that link, you will see what my freshmen produced this week as their first experience with Google Docs and with a collaborative study guide for the Ch 1 test.
As I write this, Justin's Zero Period AP Gov class is in the Beta Lab working on a similar activity. Below is a screenshot from about 5-minutes into the class activity wherein students were asked to read a section of the US Constitution and then summarize is.
As an aside, the colors you see around some cells in the above screenshot are because a student is actively typing into that cell on their own computer. Each color is keyed to a particular student; we found a drop-down menu that showed the key for student & color just this morning.
If you are curious or interested in how to set up a collaborative document like this, just let me know!
I have previously written directions on how to subscribe to shared Google Calendars via iCal on a Mac and via Outlook on a Windows computer. Here are a list of possible calendars that you can subscribe to (copy the link below and follow the directions for either iCal or Outlook above):
SI Daily Events Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/siprep.org_rvhlrh5dhm18tgk9kuot3i5lpc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
SI Faculty & Staff Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/siprep.org_74j0gcouu1hd86242se4j5viv8%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Choral Room Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/9c3rc5capn1anb9btqdt23hprc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Wiegand Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/o551f8smspli2aaomtoqi70bp4@group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Bannan Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/92qng32lopio1lbcc129b9pt3s@group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Campus Ministry Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/f8stq7nam14f2i9e41tj5u4cto%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
First, these are long links (hence the UGLY formatting of this post); if they are split into two separate lines, when you paste them into iCal or Outlook, you need to delete the line-break. That is, make sure the link remains one long and complete "sentence." Second, these calendars are read-only. You can neither add nor delete content from these calendars; to do that you must go through the relevant personnel (namely Tom, Donna, or Peggy).
When all is said and done, you'll have a nice unified calendar that you can add items to (under your own category - like my green "SI" items below):
A number of departments around campus are using a Google Calendar to coordinate meetings and resources. If you are using a Google Calendar but have not yet sent me the sharing address, then this post is for you. Following are the two screenshots that will help you find the sharing address.
After you log in to google.com/calendar, click on the small triangle to the right of the calendar that you wish to share.
On the next screen, scroll toward the bottom and click on the green ICAL button.
A small window will pop up with the URL that others can add to their Outlook or iCal to view (but not edit) the shared Google Calendar.
The above assumes you have already setup a Google Calendar for sharing. If not, you can click on the "Share this calendar" tab at the top of the Calendar ...
Finally, if you have a shared Google Calendar, please find the sharing address via the second screenshot above, and email it to me. When I return to work on Monday, August 3, I will email out to all school personnel the various shared Google Calendars that are in use on campus. Let me know prior to that if you have questions.
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