Tuesday 2nd June 2015
Yesterday I made reference to an article highlighting the inappropriate use of slide show software, such as PowerPoint. (Powerpoint should be banned)
We can (and should) apply similar judgments to the use of technology in the classroom – digital technologies aren’t necessarily the best tool for many learning activities.
It doesn’t hurt to be non-digital – in fact it is sometimes a more appropriate option.
Monday 1st June 2015
“Invented in 1987, the Microsoft presentation software PowerPoint is reportedly installed on more than 1 billion computers around the world. It is estimated that more than 30 million PowerPoint presentations are given every day.
“But as PowerPoint conquered the world, critics have piled on. And justifiably so. Its slides are oversimplified, and bullet points omit the complexities of nearly any issue. The slides are designed to skip the learning process, which — when it works — involves dialogue, eye-to-eye contact and discussions. Of course PowerPoint has merits — it can help businesses with their sales pitches or let teachers introduce technology into the classroom.
“But instead of being used as a means for a dynamic engagement, it has become a poor substitute for longer, well-thought-out briefings and technical reports. It has become a crutch.
“We should ban it.”
Do you still need a local file-server on your school network?
If school-owned shared computers are being used by staff and students only to access their personal files or shared resources on remote cloud servers (such as Google Drive), there is little need to have individual local network logons, or roaming profiles, etc.
So long as the computer has a network connection, it can be setup with a generic image, with a common auto-logon for everyone who uses it. Authentication isn’t required until each user connects to their remote server account – and that is managed by the cloud provider, not the school.
Tuesday 19th May 2015
Digital normalisation occurs when the use of digital technology across all facets of the school operations is so natural, and so accepted, that it appears to be almost invisible.
While the young people of the world, their parents and developed societies have normalised the use of digital technologies in their everyday lives, and moved their daily operations to an ever higher plane, the majority of schools globally have yet to do so, with most lagging behind general societal norms and expectations, and still operating in a lower order paper-based culture.
BYOT is a critical precursor to digital normalisation. The school has to develop a culture where it is prepared to trust and respect childrens’ and parents’ choice of technologies. The school must distribute the control of teaching in order to genuinely collaborate with its homes and to recognise and capitalise upon the learning that is happening 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Monday 18th May 2015
The structure of the corporate workplace can be very different to that found in schools.
While the infographic below (reproduced from Jacob Morgan) is designed to demonstrate the differences that our current students might find in their future workplaces, it also neatly captures the structures and purposes of current K-12 school activities, and the role of teachers in those schools.
Progressive schools are providing opportunities for older students to learn anytime, anywhere and are giving them greater autonomy over their learning to prepare them well for university and working life.
Modern technologies are now a large part of the equation that makes those opportunities possible.
Does your school’s technology infrastructure support progressive outcomes or entrenched processes?
Tuesday 13th May 2015
Presented by the Illawarra Environmental Education Centre, this Teacher Professional Learning event will explore the use of iPads to support authentic learning outside the four walls of the classroom.
When: Monday 22nd June 2015
Where: Illawarra EEC at Killalea
For more details, and online registration…
Monday 11th May 2015
Using Google’s Office Editing extension for Chrome, you can view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files – without needing Office installed on your computer.
Once the extension is installed, Office files that you drag into Chrome, open in Gmail or Google Drive will be opened in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for viewing and editing.
You can save each file back to its original Office format, or convert it to Docs, Sheets, or Slides to unlock additional features, like inviting others to edit with you, commenting, chat, and more.
Thursday 7th May 2015
Google has released an update to its Google Classroom software, bringing several new features to the mobile app.
Teachers can now create assignments through the mobile app, edit them and distribute copies to their students. Teachers can also now grade assignments (with private comments or feedback) on their phones or tablets.
Monday 4th May 2015
Bailey Brooks and Tilly Warby have been going to school together, 900 kilometres apart, since pre-school.
From 8am until 2pm the six-year-olds chat, make sock puppets and do yoga together, along with 13 other students in their class – spread as far as the tropics of the Tiwi Islands to the terracotta desert of Corella Creek.
The whole learning experience for these students could change when the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) satellite is launched from French Guiana in South America later this year.
Wednesday 29th April 2015
Computers will mark the written component of Australian NAPLAN exams from 2017 under plans from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
ACARA’s general manager, Stanley Rabinowitz, said he was “very confident” that the auto-scoring method would work when introduced in 2017.
Schools with low Internet connectivity will be able to download the tests securely beforehand to avoid overloading broadband connections. USBs could also be delivered to remote institutions.
Tuesday 28th April 2015
Think3 is presenting a series of Google Apps workshops for teachers…..
Google Apps for Education provides a mature, web-based suite of apps to support learning and collaboration in the classroom – on any device.
Getting Started with Google Apps is a one day workshop that equips teachers, school executive and IT staff to explore the collaboration, flexibility and ease of use provided with Google Apps for Education.
This hands on workshop will cover:
Monday 27th April 2015
If you are using a YouTube video as part of a prepared lesson you want it to run when you click the button!
As shown in the image above, this Firefox extension adds a download button under each YouTube video – you can download video to your computer, so that you can run a ‘local’ version of the video, without being caught out by the vagaries of the Internet.
Wednesday 22nd April 2015
Google has added a number of new features to Classroom, including the much-requested option to have multiple teachers for each class. A new ‘Invite Teacher’ button is now available on the class’s About page.
Another much-requested feature is the option to prepare Assignments and Announcements ahead of time, and save them as a Draft, so that those items aren’t visible to students until you choose make them ‘live’.
Tuesday 21st April 2015
Google have updated the Conditional Formatting feature in Google Sheets, with a major makeover.
The example below shows how a business might use a ‘heat map’ in Sheets to provide a visual indicator of comparative success across financial periods.
Teachers could apply a similar model to gauge student progress in academic indicators, such as reading levels, etc.
Tuesday 7th April 2015
Google Classroom provides an online classroom environment that you can ‘blend’ with your regular class activities.
Use Classroom for sharing resources, submitting and evaluating class assignments, along with co-ordinating class discussions.
Thursday 2nd April 2015
This weekend we will experience a total Lunar eclipse, commencing at 9pm on Saturday night. (Unfortunately the NSW coastal weather forecast isn’t great!)
The Sydney Observatory site provides some useful classroom resources, including a fact sheet.
Friday 27th March 2015
Do you have a Google spreadsheet with a column containing students’ full names?
And maybe you would like to sort the spreadsheet by students’ last names?
This neat (and free) add-on will split a column of full names into separate First name and Last name columns – with just a click!
Tuesday 24th March 2015
Both devices are great for education, though there are many myths and fallacies about each device that need to be explored.
Thursday 19th March 2015
Many schools now use Google Apps for Education, and other online services, on a regular basis for both curriculum and administrative functions.
However, the companies providing these services have a minimum age restriction for the use of their services – usually 13 years of age.
In the US the use of such services by children is governed by COPPA – the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Are there any similar Australian Acts / Regulations / Guidelines for use of online services by children in this country?
Wednesday 18th March 2015
Microsoft has confirmed that it will use a new name for its upcoming browser successor, codenamed Project Spartan. Speaking at a Microsoft event yesterday, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela revealed that the company is currently working on a new name and brand.
Tuesday 17th March 2015
When ‘pen and paper’ activities that focus on Lower Order Thinking Skills are transferred to a digital format, they don’t magically transform themselves to become activities that promote Higher Order Thinking Skills.
As educators we must continue to focus on developing an appropriately challenging learning environment for our students, whether or not the activities involve the use of new technologies.
Dull and mindless time-fillers are still dull and mindless regardless of the involvement of digital technologies in their presentation. A worksheet is still a worksheet!
Monday 16th March 2015
Weebly is a popular option for teachers to create a class web page. The free drag ‘n’ drop site builder is easy to use, and Weebly sites look great.
If you have been on an excursion, or students have been involved in an activities day, a slideshow is a great way to show off photos of the event. And it is quick and easy to add a slideshow to your class’s Weebly site.
Thursday 12th March 2015
If you, or your students, are producing longer documents in Google Docs, the Table of Contents feature may be useful.
Here’s Google Gooru’s video about how to add a ToC to to your document….
Wednesday 11th March 2015
Spice up your next staff presentation, or your students’ book reviews or other class presentation activities, with one of these free Google Slides templates….
All fully editable – open a demo presentation in Slides, then go to File > Make a copy.
| Free Templates | ||
 |
 |
|
Slides Carnival template gallery  |
Free Google Slides Templates |
|
| Make your Own Slides Templates | ||
 |
||
| Learn how to make your own Slides templates |
||
| See also: | ||
 |
 |
|
| Google Slides Quickstart (pdf) | Google Apps Quickstart Guides | |
Thursday 5th March 2015
Pivot tables help you summarise and analyse large amounts of data by displaying the information in more digestible formats.
While pivot tables have always been available in Microsoft Excel, they are now even easier to make using Google Sheets.
Check out this Google Gooru video on how to create a Pivot Table in Sheets…
Tuesday 3rd March 2015
Not too long ago Google altered the Drive interface, so that any documents that others shared with you were found in a folder called ‘Incoming‘ – I always expected to hear the sound of choppers and see Radar O’Reilly scurrying around the corner!
Thankfully, Google has renamed this folder ‘Shared with me‘. How sensible! Who would have ever thought that might be a good name for items that are shared with you!!!
Here is what you will see next time you log into your Google Drive….
Happy sharing!
Tuesday 3rd March 2015
Schools that have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy are encouraging independent learning and asking teachers to innovate in a fashion that would’ve been unimaginable to most just a few years ago.
For teachers, the opportunities and challenges are extensive. They need to be supported by the school leadership, technically and professionally, as they explore new pedagogical approaches. The ideal of “classrooms without walls” becomes possible when a teacher creates the “goldilocks conditions” that allow students to collaborate with experts and peers beyond the school gates. (Darcy Moore)
Monday 2nd March 2015
Google have announced some more updates to Classroom…
Thursday 26th February 2015
Google is continually rolling out minor updates and new features to Google Apps….
This most recent feature update has been eagerly awaited – adding different headers (and footers) on the first page of a document to subsequent pages in the document.
No need to download or install anything – the update is available now in your Docs.
http://youtu.be/GAh2sZLCg84
The video below may be a useful discussion starter for your next curriculum planning meeting, or some pre-class viewing in a flipped professional learning environment…
http://youtu.be/NsBna5IVBYg