Scratching the Surface of Google

This is just the best way to learn during summer vacation.  Many thanks to SimpleK12 for the day of Google learning!  I have had a gmail account for years and I used it a little through my masters work at USF, but I didn't know all the features that would make life a little easier and more organized until today.  

Disclaimer:  None of this is likely to be helpful to anyone, other than the links.  I like to post my notes here so there will be a good chance of finding them again!  Information overload, anyone??

Session 1:  Productivity and Collaboration in the Cloud With Google Drive
More learning to follow with the resources provided by the presenter, Kyle Pace:  Google Drive Resources

I learned a new trick to keep my school and my personal Google accounts easily accessible.  While in one Google account, do the following:
1.  Click on your picture.
2.  Click on "Add Account."  
After adding the details of the second account (email address and password), both are easy to view in the top of each Google App you might be using.

Sharing documents from Google Docs with a link seems like fewer steps to take than adding as attachments to emails and within websites like TeacherWeb.  

I found last year that I filled my Dropbox account very quickly with videos and pictures.  I learned that Google Docs has a 30 gig max capacity.  However, what does NOT count toward the 30 gigs would be any docs created in Google Docs, any docs or files uploaded and converted into Google Docs.  This is good news for me, since I neared my max capacity with Dropbox last year.

Session 2:  Simplify Data Collection and Documentation with Google Forms
Monica Burns' Blog
classtechtips.com/2014/01/23/25-more-ways-to-become-a-tech-savvy-teacher/
I am looking forward to creating forms to use in a variety of subject areas.  Creating docs for those observations we need to make regularly throughout the year will be so convenient when, at the push of a button, the data can be sent directly to a spreadsheet.  

This past school year I kept daily anecdotal records about the behaviors of a couple of students.  This would have been great for me to use collaboratively with the parents.  Type up the text within the form, save, and share with parents, with each days' data saved in a spreadsheet.  

I can envision a few ideas right off the top of my head related to tracking student needs and progress within the writing workshop.  If I were teaching Everyday Math again this year (which I am not), I would make a checklist of skills each child mastered at the end of each unit.  There are papers in the assessment binder, but this would be a better snapshot, I think.

Session3:  Going Google:  the Quick Start Guide to Getting Started with Google Tools
Kimber Thompson
This is kind of cool.  When searching with kids, you can click Search Tools then narrow the search results by readability level.  

Safe Search - Turn off/on as needed to keep explicit video and images OUT of the search results.

Virtual Field Trips:   Cultural Institute/Virtual Field Trip