New Google iPad Apps

Google recently released two new apps for iPads: Google Docs and Google Sheets. These apps work in conjunction with the Google Drive app that is already on our cart iPads, and many of our teacher devices. The good news is that Google promises to also release a Google Slides app soon, which would allow creation of Google Slide Presentations on an iPad - yay!

However, one major caveat of this new venture is that the Google Drive app itself no longer allows users to edit Google Docs or Spreadsheets. Google Drive remains an app on the iPad to show your files stored in the cloud, but if you attempt to edit a document, that document opens automatically in either the Google Docs or Google Sheets app.

This is particularly troublesome for anyone using our iPad carts for projects in their classroom and relying on Google Drive for storing partially completed projects or relying on Google Drive to share completed projects with the teacher.

The Technology Department is working on conjunction with the LMC Specialists to determine the best time to collect the iPads, transport them to the middle school and make the necessary updates. If you have the cart checked out and plan to use Google Drive, please consider revising your plans or letting your LMC Specialist know that you won't be using the iPads.

If you use Google Drive on your own iPad, you will need to visit the App Store and download two new free apps: Google Docs and Google Sheets.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Radcliffe

Become a Google Educator

Becoming a Google Educator: An Opportunity for CFAUSD Teaching staff

This semester, we have been able to offer many courses in Google Apps for Education (Gmail, Calendar, Google Docs, Drive, Sites, etc) after school as part of Google After Hours. The instructors for Google After Hours are “Google Qualified Individuals.” To achieve this certification, these teachers took part in a two-day training in the Spring of 2013, culminating with 6 multiple choice exams. Passing of these exams allows an individual to reach the status of Google Qualified Individual.

Google has since changed some of their qualification measures. Now, passing of exams in four required areas, plus at least one elective area achieves a status of Google Educator. Once you pass the exams, you will receive a Google Educator certificate and be off and running with a deeper understanding of Google Apps for Education and all it encompasses. You will be more able to begin working toward integrating technology with your curriculum in a way that allows more effective and efficient teaching.

Exams:

All (Required): Gmail Calendar Docs & Drive Sites

At least one (Electives): Chrome Browser Chromebooks Tablets with Google Play for Education Implementing Google Apps

Benefits from Google:

• certificate indicating completion of exams
• option of applying for Authorized Google Education Trainer or Google Certified Teacher

Benefits from CFAUSD:

• opportunity to attend paid training by (almost) Authorized Google Education Trainers from our district to help you with the material needed to pass the exams
• exam fees paid by the district
• demonstration of teacher leader qualities by attaining certification
• opportunities to provide training to fellow colleagues starting August 2014
• beneficial skills set important for applying for Chippewa Falls Innovative Teacher Grants for Technology

Timing:

• Training opportunity will take place June 23rd and June 24th. You are required to attend both days.
• June 24th - July 31st work independently or in small groups to study for and pass exams
• Week of July 28th work with Cara and Sarah on preparing for delivering August professional development

If you are interested in pursuing becoming a Google Educator, please fill in the following form with your information. We will get in touch with you in the next few weeks to discuss further. Teachers may be chosen based on curricular readiness and teaching area (grade, school, etc) upon recommendation of building principal. Further information can be found here: Google Certifications.

Thanks for considering. If you are interested, please fill out this form by May 18th.

Interest Form

Google After Hours - Get Them While You Can!

Can you believe it is halfway through April? Neither can I. But, it is - which means that we are closing in on the end of Google After Hours sessions for this school year. There is still some time left to "Get Your Google On" before summer.

Google Projects and Project-Based Learning: This session will focus on using Google tools to create projects and allow students to creatively meet common core state standards and learning goals. There will be basic information about what project-based learning is, example projects from our school district, and lesson planning templates for starting a project. You will have time to explore resources and begin planning a project of your own. If you'd like to attend this class, sign up via the staff portal. You will meet at the middle school in computer lab 410 from 4:00-5:30.

On April 16, Jennifer Handrick will walk you through using Google (web)Sites to create a digital portfolio to demonstrate student learning. Jennifer has been using Google Sites for art portfolios for her students for some time. She has practical tips and ideas about how to get started. A basic knowledge of Google Sites is helpful, but this class may be applicable for any teacher considering using digital portfolios. This class will meet in HS lab 135 from 4:00-5:30.

If you haven't been to a basic Google Drive/Docs session, you have one more chance to get your feet wet with Google Drive before summer. Kris Kolinski and Michele Nuttleman will explain the basics of cloud sharing, finding and organizing files in Google Drive and some of the basics of creating a Google document. They will also demonstrate different ways to share documents with your students, other teachers, or parents. Kris and Michele will demonstrate these skills on April 17. The location is yet to be determined. They have also promised to deliver this training completely in English!

If you've taken some basic training or have worked with Google Apps for some time on your own, you may be ready for something more advanced. Google has some tools called Add-ons (also known as Scripts) that will create and organize folders, send work out to students, grade multiple choice assignments, and allow you to create and digitally grade using a rubric which also sends feedback directly to the student's email. This session will be the grand finale for Google After Hours for the semester. Chrissy Seibel and her team will present this information on April 23 in HS lab 135 from 4:00-5:30.

If you're not able to attend Google After Hours, but still have a burning desire to improve your Google Apps for Education skills, don't worry. Cara and I are working now on putting together another dynamite summer session of offerings for teachers. If you have specific questions or suggestions, feel free to email your technology coaches.

Sarah
radclisa@chipfalls.org

and

Cara
schuelcc@chipfalls.org

How To Not Invite the Entire District to Join you on LinkedIn.

Some people have been mentioning receiving multiple email invitations from fellow employees to join them on LinkdIn. There have been a lot of questions and concerns about these emails. When you receive an invitation to connect with someone via LinkedIn, please check to see who the invitation was sent to. 

If it was not sent directly to your email address, do not click the connection. 

There are two mistakes that can happen when creating a LinkedIn account.  Well, I suppose there are more, but these are the two most common for our district users. Read on as I explain how they happen and how to prevent them.

When creating a LinkedIn account, or updating your profile, the website often recommends ‘people you may know.’  Look twice at the screen and the items that are selected before clicking the Continue button.  It may have suggested hundreds of people and will have them selected by default. If you click continue it will invite them all.  It should give you a spot to click “Skip this step”.  If you would like to connect with some of the people it suggested, uncheck the Select All box and manually select the ones you choose.

Frequently, it also asks if you would like to connect to your email address book.  If you say yes, or if you have inadvertently connected it in the past, it may select all the contacts from your address book.  This can be a large number of people, for instance, every person in your address book, which could include parents and students. It should give you a spot to click “Skip this step”.  

The biggest problem with this second step is that you may have a lot of group email addresses in your contact list, such as watercooler@chipfalls.org or the building all_staff email addresses. It will send an invitation to all those groups.  This means if I am a member of several groups in your contact list, I will get several invitations.

If that is not frustrating enough, it gets even messier.  If I click through the invitation that was sent to one of the group messages, for example, an invite sent to Watercooler, it will try to log in to or create an account for that email address. That means if I click on an invitation that went to watercooler@chipfalls.org and don’t realize it, LinkedIn will think my email address is watercooler@chipfalls.org. As soon as people start connecting with this new account it will send updates to the group email address, which means all notices would be sent to everyone in the watercooler email group.

In summary, when setting up a LinkedIn account, please take your time and read each screen carefully before you click Continue.

Upcoming Google After Hours Classes

It has been a snowy week in western Wisconsin. We have had to cancel 4 Google After Hours classes due to weather conditions! Please keep checking the staff development link on the staff portal for updates. Some sessions with high interest are being rescheduled. If you have questions about the course content a session will cover, please email your tech coaches. Next week, we will be offering the following sessions:

2/25/14 - Uploading Your H: Drive to Google Drive (Basic) @ Hillcrest

Although CFAUSD employees still have access to H:/ drives and I:/ drives, there is limited space available to store documents. Your district Google account gives you 30 times the space allotted on your H:/ drive. Come learn about the benefits of cloud storage, tips about Google Drive and begin uploading the documents from your H:/ drive to your Google drive to give you more space and 24/7 access to your files. 

2/26/14 - Google Drive, Docs and Sharing (Basic) @ Hillcrest

This will be an overview of Google Drive, creating documents, sharing and collaborating. Participants should be able to log in to Google Drive prior to attending.  

2/26/14 - Collecting Student Work and Organizing Your Google Drive @ Chi Hi Room 137

Organizing your Google Drive can be a daunting task. Students share documents with you and your Drive can become overwhelming. Attend this session to learn ideas for alternative ways for students to electronically hand in their work, ways to organize student work in your drive, and other tips about electronic document management. Working knowledge of Google Docs and Drive is required for this session. 

2/27/14 - Google Projects and Project-Based Learning @ Parkview

Throughout our district and especially in our 1:1 program at the high school, innovative teachers are using Google Apps for Education to allow students to create fun, meaningful learning projects based on standards and curricular content. This session will give you an overview of some of those projects as well as providing discussion time for brainstorming ideas. Follow-up Technology Coaching will be available upon request to assist you with implementation.

Calendar Reminders and Notifications

You can change the way that Google Notifies you of calendar invitations, changes to invitations, responses from other guests, etc. Please see below for a tutorial. Be sure to click save when you are finished.

Digital Cornell Notes Template

Many teachers in Chippewa Falls are using Cornell Notes as a way to help students organize information for note-taking. I created a Google Docs template for use with Cornell Notes in Google Drive.

Students and teachers can use this template for digital note-taking*. Simply create a Google document, click File->New->From Template and find Cornell Notes in the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District Templates tab near the top of the page.

This will create a copy of the template so that it can be modified and renamed with an appropriate file name, such as Chapter 1 Social Studies Notes right in Google Docs/Drive. This document can be shared or collaborated on with the same capabilities of other Google documents.

If you have any questions, please contact your Technology Coaches at x2216.

*Please note that it is not currently possible to utilize Google Docs with tables on them in Google Drive on the iPad. If you have specific questions regarding students using the iPads to utilize Cornell Notes, contact Sarah Radcliffe at x2216.