Teacher Tech

Crazy Easy: Make a list in a Google Form

admin — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:56:15 +0000

Legacy Google Forms if you had a whole list of options you wanted students to choose from you had to copy and paste each item separately No more! The new Google Forms allows you to copy and paste a list right into a multiple choice, choose from a list or checkboxes question type.

Step 1: Highlight a list in a Google Doc, Word Doc, Website, Spreadsheet….

Step 2: Copy (command C on a Mac, control C on a PC).

Step 3: In the options field paste (command V on a Mac, control V on a PC).

The video above show you how to create a calendar quickly in a Google Spreadsheet to get a list of dates and then copy and paste the list of dates into a Google Form for question options.

Adding an Embed Code to a Google Site

admin — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 04:16:49 +0000

If you use Web 2.0 tools there is a possibility that what you create can be embedded in a Google Site.

Step 1:

In your Web 2.0 tool find where you can publish and obtain the embed code. This procedure will vary from tool to tool. Copy the embed code (control C)

Step 2:

Go to your Google Site and find the page you want to insert the content on.

Step 3:

While editing the page type in **INSERT CODE HERE** where essentially you are yelling at yourself for where you want the video to be located.

Step 4:

In the toolbar is an option for , click on this option to toggle to HTML view.

Step 5:

Locate the **INSERT CODE HERE** within the code. Highlight this phrase and replace it (control V – paste) with the embed code. Click the update button. What you embedded will likely not be visible until you click on the save button for the page.

Embed a Google Hangout on Air on your Google Site

admin — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 03:32:39 +0000

Google Hangouts on Air allow you to record your hangout. Sometimes I hangout with myself just so I can use all the fun Google Hangout (GHO) tools including screen sharing and have a video archive.

Once you conduct your Google Hangout on Air you may want to embed that video in your Google website.

Step 1:

Go to https://plus.google.com/hangouts and create a Google Hangout on Air event. Do not forget to start the broadcast once you are in the GHO and to click end broadcast when you are finished.

Warning that this button (for now) is half way down the page.

Step 2:

In the Google Hangout on Air is a small blue link that says “embed” and that will give you the YouTube link, or you can go to http://youtube.com and go to your channel and you will find the video in your list of videos.

My YouTube channel is http://youtube.com/mrsalicekeeler
Your link to your YouTube channel will end with your YouTube user name.

Locate your video on YouTube and right click over the video to obtain the video URL.

Step 3:

Go to your Google Site where you want to embed the YouTube video. Go to the insert menu and choose insert->video->YouTube

Step 4:

Paste (control V) the URL of the YouTube video into the options. Click Save.

Step 5:

Before you save your changes on the Google Sites page you will not see the video display. The embedded video will show AFTER you save the page.

Pre-Populating a Google Form in 4 easy steps

admin — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:18:26 +0000

One of my favorite tools is Google Forms. They work great on almost any browser and on almost any tablet device. Using Google Forms with students allows me to give quizzes, collect information, or use as a digital inbox.

Sometimes I need to have specific information put into the form. For example, if I am using a Google Form as my warm-up and I used the same form each day I may want to ask the students to write the question before they answer it.

Previously I had blogged on how to create pre-filled URL’s for a Google Form under the Legacy Forms. This method no longer works with the new Forms, so here is a new tutorial.

Click Here for a Sample Warm-Up Form

There are 2 problems with having students type in information.
1) It is tedious to fill out several fields, especially if it is information you have to write a lot.
2) Students will not enter in the information exactly the same way which causes problems for sorting, organizing and using pivot tables.

Google Forms (not the legacy Forms, the new ones), allows for you to create a pre-filled URL so that when students click on the link it automatically fills in information.

Click Here for the sample of a Pre-Filled Google Form.

Steps

In the form edit view, go to the responses tab and choose “Get Pre-Filled URL”
You are taken to what looks like the live form, but is actually how you will submit the default answers. For the fields that you want default answers to appear type those default answers into the field.
At the bottom click the “submit” button. You are not submitting the form, but submitting your default answers.
You will be given a unique URL that when shared with students will pre-slug in the information to the form.

Tips

Go to the edit screen of the form daily to create a new Pre-Filled URL in order to use the same form and spreadsheet daily, but have different default information submitted.
Use http://goo.gl to obtain a short URL and QR code to help students to quickly get to your customized Google Form.
Create a customized URL for each student that they can bookmark on their computers or tablet devices. If they are going to fill in the same form repeatedly (for a digital homework inbox perhaps), create a pre-filled URL that has their name, email and student ID so the student only needs to input their assignment link.

Share the Tab of a Google Spreadsheet

admin — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:41:49 +0000

When using a Google Spreadsheet, it is likely you will want to share your spreadsheet either for viewers or collaborators.

By default the spreadsheet is private, looking at the blue share button in the upper right hand corner you will notice a pad lock.

Clicking on this blue share button you will be able to change the viewing options to anyone with the link can view or public on the web. Sharing a spreadsheet URL with someone who does not have viewing permissions will result in them seeing an error screen.

With students typically I want them to have viewing but not editing rights so that they can not change the information so I will set the viewing rights to anyone with the link can view.

On this screen is the URL that you can use to post to your website for students to click on to access the spreadsheet. You may want to use a URL shortener such as http://goo.gl to create a short URL and/or QR code to help students locate the spreadsheet if they are not first visiting your classroom website.

Sharing the link from the share button will take the student to the first tab. You can move the tabs around so that “Form Responses” or “Sheet 1″ is not the first tab. Whatever tab you drag to the first position will be seen first by using the URL from the share button.

However, you may want to direct the students to a tab other than the first tab.

Go to the desired tab. Notice the URL at the top changes based on the tab you are on. By default the first sheet ends in #gid=0. Subsequent tabs end in #gid=1, #gid=2, etc… Copying the URL from the desired tab and sharing that URL will direct the user to that particular tab, even if you move the location of the tab. Dragging the tabs around does not rename the #gid number. Thus, if you move “Form Responses” from being the first tab to being the 5th tab, it will still have the #gid=0 in the URL.

Thus if you share the URL ending in #gid=8 your students will be directed to the 9th tab created. (Remember counting starts at zero)

Golden Keyboard Shortcuts

admin — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 21:05:00 +0000

If I can give any educator a piece of advice, it is to learn some keyboard shortcuts. The faster you are with keyboard shortcuts the more productive you are. We spend so much time planning, grading, creating, interacting with students, doing yard duty, meeting with parents, attending meetings, cleaning our own whiteboards, etc… we need to find ways to save time.

If you use a MAC you want to use the command key

If you use a PC or chromebook you want to use the control key

I am primarily a Mac user so I will refer to “command,” PC users should substitute this for control.

Stop right clicking or using menu commands to copy and paste, please.

Command C – Copy
Command V – Paste

Make a vow to not copy and paste any other way. Try using Command C and Command V multiple times a day until it is muscle memory. Mastering these 2 keyboard shortcuts will change your life (really, I do not feel I am exaggerating here).

Your new favorite keyboard shortcut is

Command Z

Command Z is the UNDO key. I probably use this about 50 times a day. This gives you license to try something. Become a button pusher. “Hmmm, I wonder what happens if I push this button, if I change this font, if I insert this thing…” Wonder no more, just go for it! You can just press command Z in almost any program or web 2.0 tool and undo what you just did if you do not like it. Anytime you say “oh shoot” just go “command z” and probably smiles will return to your face.

If you are using the internet (and obviously you do), you want to be master of the tabs!

Command T

Command T creates a new tab. I have 47 tabs open right now, I use command T all day long. As I am thinking of something I want to look up… bam, command T.

In a Google Form I may ask students to submit a URL to their project. A quick workflow for me is to use the arrow keys to move down the spreadsheet where I am on the cell with the URL. Command C, Command T, Command V push enter. This copies the URL, opens a new tab, pastes the URL and when I push enter takes me to that website. This workflow helps me to be very efficient.

Command B – Bold your text
Command U – Underline your text
Command I – Italicize your text

Command P – Print
Command A – Select All
Command S – Save

Some lesser known keyboard shortcuts

Command W – close the tab on your browser
Command + Shift + T will open the tab you accidentally closed (chrome).
Command R – refresh
Command Y – redo
Command F – Find

Click Here to link to MAC Keyboard Shortcuts poster

Google Forms: How to deal with formulas in the spreadsheet

admin — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 20:32:34 +0000

If you have ever used a Google Form where the data goes into a spreadsheet you may have noticed the tab where the Form data goes acts a little funny. For the most part I like to leave the “Form Responses” tab alone and use other tabs to write my formulas and organize the responses.

Method 1: Duplicate the sheet. Click on the little arrow on the tab and choose duplicate. This allows you to change the data, move columns, write formulas, delete data you didn’t want, etc… without messing up the original data.

This is my method of choice if I am done collecting the data, I find I frequently want to go back and look at the original data set, but like being able to totally mess up the spreadsheet. If I do mess it up, I can always make a new copy of the data and start over.

Method 2: Link to the “Form Responses” information on another tab. If you create another tab and put =’Form Responses’!A1 into the new sheet, what is in cell A1 from the form responses tab will show up.

You can then insert columns, delete columns or rows, or can just change the data without destroying your original values. What you type on the new sheet does not change the values in the “Form Responses” tab so you can play with the data without risking messing it up.

Method 3: The problem with using =’Form Responses’!A1 is that you can not sort that data since it is mirroring what is on the Form Responses sheet. The other problem is if a new response is submitted into the form it does not go to the next row on the Form Responses sheet it inserts a new row. This is an important distinction. If the form simply put the next persons responses on the next line, let’s say row 10, then on the new sheet you created =’Form Responses’!A10 would show the timestamp for that form submission. However, since it INSERTS a row, what WAS row 10 is now row 11. Spreadsheets automatically adjust your formulas when you insert rows or columns so your formula =’Form Responses’!A10 is automatically changed to =’Form Responses’!A11. Meaning that 10th row on Form Responses will not show up on your other sheet ever unless you redo the formulas.

This is the same reason why when you write a formula on the Form Responses sheet in a blank column that when a new response is submitted the formula does not appear next to that response.

Solution: Use =importrange(“spreadsheet key”,”tab range”)

While I usually use =importrange to bring one Google Spreadsheet data into another spreadsheet, you can actually use this within the same spreadsheet.

Create a new tab. In cell A1 write the formula =importrange(”
The URL at the top of the spreadsheet contains the spreadsheet key. It is a long string of weird numbers and letters. It is NOT the whole URL. Make sure you put this in quotations.

Comma

In quotations put the name of the tab, an exclamation mark and the range of cells.

=importrange(“0AiqrAI5UxSJNdGs2a1dZbkRuMWozak5Sanc5Wm95LWc”,”Form Responses!A1:C300“)

Even though I may only have 20 responses in my Form Responses I will still write my import range to be from 1 to 300 so that as new responses come in I do not have to modify the formula.

Using the import range method when new responses are submitted, they will be referenced on the new tab and the formulas you write will still work.

Broadcasting a Google Hangout on Air

admin — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:56:10 +0000

What is a Google Hangout (GHO)?

A GHO is a video conference similar to Skype. GHO allows you to hangout with other people virtually. You can have up to 10 people in a Google Hangout. What is nice about a GHO is that you can not only see all 10 people on video, but there are add on’s to allow for collaboration and fun.

Collaboration

In the hangout the left side has different options that allow you make your hangout more productive and interactive.

The first icon allows you to invite people to your hangout. This works the most smoothly when the people you are inviting are already in your Google Plus circles. You can also grab the URL at the top of the hangout window and email or text the link to allow people to join your hangout. Posting this link on your classroom webpage is an easy way to get students to join your Google Hangout.

The second icon allows for you to have a chat window for side conversations so you do not have to interrupt the person talking or for sharing links and resources.

The third icon allows for screen sharing, which is a great way for demonstrating Web 2.0 tools or doing a web tour together.

The fifth icon is a Google Drive icon. You are able to choose from documents in your Google Drive to have them show in the main window. Participants would click on the Google Drive icon on the side to choose from documents other participants have shared. This is not just a screen sharing of the Google Doc but rather a live collaborative document the participants can type on at the same time. At the bottom of the GHO are the tile images of everyone’s video so that you can have more of a feel for having a conversation while working together on the Google Document than you would when simply being in a Google Doc together.

Setting the Focus

The person talking the loudest will be featured in the main video screen. Everyone else will be tile thumbnails at the bottom. This will cause the video focus to switch as different people talk. By clicking on any one person’s tile you can switch the video focus to that person and stay on that person. Click on the persons tile again to return to auto focus.

When using GHO for a presentation and the main presenter is using screenshare you may want to click on the screenshare tile to maintain focus on the presentation.

Thank you Krista Moroder ‏@edtechcoaching for letting me take a picture of our hangout.

Go Mobile

In addition to being able to access Google Hangout on your computer there is a Hangout app for your smart phone. The Hangouts will even work over the cellular network. While you can participate in a GHO while driving, this is not advised.

Unfortunately the hangout on mobile is not quite as robust. You are unable to participate in the chat while hanging out and you can not multi-task (leave the GHO app without being kicked out).

Thank you to Robert Pronovost @pronovost for demonstrating GHO on a mobile device.

Broadcasting

Optionally you can host a Google Hangout on Air. Be aware that this is PUBLIC and RECORDED. You can not have a private Google Hangout on Air, so if you are wanting to discuss students or other confidential information a GHO on Air would not be advised.

There use to be multiple ways to start a Google Hangout on Air, and I suspect it will be fixed, but for now you must go to the Google Hangout on Air Google Plus page. Go to http://plus.google.com and hover over the left side of the screen so that the menu tray pops out. Choose Hangouts on Air.

Once on the Google Hangouts on Air page, under the featured hangouts is a blue button to start a Hangout on Air.

Once you start the hangout, name it and invite people to participate in the hangout the broadcast will start preparing.

Once the broadcast is prepared it can be found on your YouTube channel. Directing people to your YouTube channel will allow them to see your hangout, however they can only view the hangout they can not interact, participate or be seen in any way.

Before the broadcast will be visible you must click on the start broadcast button.

The embed link next to the broadcast button will allow you to grab the URL to the YouTube video that is live broadcasting or to grab the embed code of the video. Remember these options do not allow people to participate. Allows for lurkers.

Using GHO on Air with a Google Plus Event

If you are wanting to host a GHO on Air as a way of sharing presentations at a conference or between classrooms or as a student showcase here is one way to do it.

Create a Google Plus Community
On the Google Plus Community page there is a box to share comments, pictures, video, etc… Note that the hangout option is NOT an on air hangout.
Click on the text box and you will be given the option to create an event. You will want to do this so as to create excitement about your On Air broadcast in advance of the actual broadcast. Note that you can not pre-make the URL for your On Air hangout.
In the advanced settings of your event creation you are able to choose that this event will be a Google Hangout on Air. The event page will display an On Air icon. This is NOT a link to the On air hangout, it is simply a visual cue for participants that they will need to find and join the On Air hangout rather than be physically in a location.
In the event you can invite people to the event and they can indicate that they are going to attend. Attendees can talk about the event and ask questions before the event or post pictures.
Right before the event you will want to go to the Google Hangouts on Air page https://plus.google.com/hangouts and click on the “Start a Hangout on Air” button.
Click on the embed link in the upper right and copy the YouTube URL (not the embed code).
Go to the Google Community you created for the occasion and choose video in the “Share what’s new….” box.
Paste the YouTube URL into the YouTube search and choose the On Air video you are going to broadcast.
This will embed the video into the Google Community page. Note that the video will automatically be embedded and broadcast on your Google Plus page, your followers streams and on your YouTube channel.
In the event you can not embed the video but you can link to it. Simply paste the URL to the YouTube broadcast video into the share something box and visitors to the event page will be able to link to your YouTube broadcast.
Direct participants of your event to your Google Community so they can find the videos being live broadcast (there is a couple minutes of delay) and can comment on the broadcast in the Community. The video will also remain embedded as an archive once the broadcast is over.

Do not forget to START and END the broadcast so that the video recording and broadcast will be captured.

You can delete the recording by going to your Video Manager in your YouTube account.

Sharing a Google Spreadsheet Template in 5 Easy Steps

admin — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:13:56 +0000

&newcopy

It is no secret that I love spreadsheets. However, I also love to share my spreadsheets. If you share a Google doc with viewing rights users have to use the file menu to create their own copy if they want to edit it or have it for themselves. Google Sheets has a nifty trick that allows you to share your spreadsheets and to automatically create a copy.

Example: Click Here to link to a template for creating a self grading rubric.

Notice when you click on the above link you are prompted to make a copy of the document. This is relatively easy to do and is great for sharing your spreadsheet work with colleagues or more importantly with students.

Having students create spreadsheets has so many practical applications for any subject area. Just using it to organize text is incredibly useful, let alone having it set up as a graphic organizer or template with project requirements already organized for the student. Sharing the link to create their own copy will allow for the teacher to more quickly and easily get students to work.

Step 1: Create a Google Spreadsheet or a Google Form that uses a spreadsheet as the response destination.

Step 2: Click on the blue share button in the upper right hand corner to make the spreadsheet visible by anyone with the link.

Step 3: Modify the spreadsheet URL.

Notice at the end of the URL you have #gid=0 or #gid=24 or #gid=a number
The #gid= is the reference code to the tab the spreadsheet is displaying. Notice if you click on different tabs the #gid= displays a different number.

Remove the #gid=0 from the end of the URL.

Step 4: Replace #gid=0 with &newcopy

Original: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiqrAI5UxSJNdE93dHAyTmNXVE9Bd0w2ZGg4TTViREE#gid=0

New: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiqrAI5UxSJNdE93dHAyTmNXVE9Bd0w2ZGg4TTViREE&newcopy

Step 5: Share this new link with students.
Suggestion to use a URL shortener such as http://goo.gl to create a short URL that students can more easily type into their computer to access the spreadsheet template. http://goo.gl also creates a QR code automatically for the teacher to possibly make it easier for students to obtain the template on their mobile devices.

Shortened URL: http://goo.gl/Lnn3z

For more information on QR codes visit: http://alicekeeler.com/qr

A big thank you to Mark Hammons @mhammons for showing me this trick.

Reflection: Technology and Assessment

admin — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:47:20 +0000

Prompt: This module has explored the use of technology tools for both formative and summative assessment. As you think about how you will implement formative and summative assessments in the online and blended environments, what are some of the factors you need to consider?

I struggle with formative assessment in an online environment. To me, formative assessment is more than just giving quizzes, it is something we do frequently to gather data on student progress and use that to adjust instruction. I do not like include formative assessment in the gradebook as something that impacts a students grade since it is a tool for me to use to better understand how I can address student learning needs. More importantly for me to address individual student weaknesses and how I can modify the learning environment to help that student.

Online instruction is not as flexible as face to face. With face to face instruction I am able to immediately use the information from what students are doing in class to make adjustments immediately. As we are doing an activity or lesson and students seem confused or need supporting skills, I can make those adjustments on the fly. In an online environment the students are probably not working synchronously with me and I am reacting to how students did after the fact, rather than being able to modify while the student is still in the module. Also, changes I make tend to be more global to the design of the online course rather than individual modifications and adjustments.

Emailing students or leaving comments in the online environment giving a student feedback and recommendations based on how they do on a formative assessment task is useful, but still limiting. I am unable to see how the student is responding to the instruction as they are interacting with it, thus when frustrations arise I can not make those immediate adjustments. It is my experience that when a student completes a large amount of work and then receives feedback with corrections they are not typically motivated to go back and correct or redo not only the assessment but the instruction.

Technology can help support students receiving immediate feedback, but is limited. I am confident that technology and online learning paradigms will continue to improve so that the online/blended environment will be more responsive, have more community, be more individualized and be better than a face to face classroom. For the most part online is not there yet.

When I do formative and summative assessment I will consider …

How the students will interact with the assessment.
Is it authentic?
Can the student receive immediate feedback?
How will they receive feedback?
Does the assessment assess their knowledge of the content or does it reflect their comfort with the technology?
What will I do with the information?
How will it influence how the students learn?
How will it influence adjustments to instruction?
What happens when a student does not perform well?
Are there multiple ways a student can demonstrate the learning objective or is this one form of assessment the best/only way?
Are there reasons beyond their understanding of the content the student may perform poorly on the assessment, how do I handle that?
Can the computer do the assessment, is this a good idea?
Is the assessment compliant for students with disabilities? Flash based tools such as Prezi can not be accessed by screen readers.
Does the tool take additional time rather than enhance the quality of the assessment?

Teacher Tech

Crazy Easy: Make a list in a Google Form

Adding an Embed Code to a Google Site

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

Embed a Google Hangout on Air on your Google Site

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

Pre-Populating a Google Form in 4 easy steps

Steps

Tips

Share the Tab of a Google Spreadsheet

Golden Keyboard Shortcuts

Command C – Copy Command V – Paste

Command Z

Command T

Command B – Bold your text Command U – Underline your text Command I – Italicize your text

Command P – Print Command A – Select All Command S – Save

Some lesser known keyboard shortcuts

Command W – close the tab on your browser Command + Shift + T will open the tab you accidentally closed (chrome). Command R – refresh Command Y – redo Command F – Find

Google Forms: How to deal with formulas in the spreadsheet

Broadcasting a Google Hangout on Air

What is a Google Hangout (GHO)?

Collaboration

Setting the Focus

Go Mobile

Broadcasting

Using GHO on Air with a Google Plus Event

Sharing a Google Spreadsheet Template in 5 Easy Steps

&newcopy

Reflection: Technology and Assessment

Command C – Copy
Command V – Paste

Command B – Bold your text
Command U – Underline your text
Command I – Italicize your text

Command P – Print
Command A – Select All
Command S – Save

Command W – close the tab on your browser
Command + Shift + T will open the tab you accidentally closed (chrome).
Command R – refresh
Command Y – redo
Command F – Find