SMSBGS Digital Learning Newsletter Setember 2012 by Chris Wyatt

This edition of the Digital Learning Newsletter highlights a range of resources related to online tools. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Please email us with any ideas or feedback relating to the latest instalment. -

Digital Learning Committee

Contents: St Margaret’s Senior School Newsletter Page 2 – Links and Shortcuts -

Website of the Issue: ThingLink

Page 3 – Tutorial: Using InFocus.cc to highlight the important parts of web pages. Berwick Grammar School Newsletter Page 4 – Links and Shortcuts -

Web of the Issue: Google Docs/Drive

Page 5 – Tutorial: How to set up Google Forms. Junior School Newsletter Page 6 – Links and Shortcuts -

Web of the Issue: Symbaloo

Page 7 – Tutorial: How to open multiple internet pages in Safari.

Interesting Blog Post:

On the Video Feed:

Social Bookmarking:

Sept 2012 Issue 3 Website of the Issue Title- ThingLink Link:

http://www.thinglink.com/

Thing link is a fabulous and versatile resource for bringing media together in one place. The site enables you to grab an image from your computer or on the internet and make it interactive by adding ‘hotspots’ that link to other media on the internet. These could be articles, videos, other pictures, or even your own Google docs for tasks you may have set. See the link below for an example of one created for Neil Armstrong. http://bit.ly/P53lJL

More Useful Links:

Shortcuts/Tips:

3 Act Maths Tasks

Taking screen shots can be a useful tool in explaining a problem or how to do something. Getting the perfect shot can be a challenge. The tutorial below explains very well how to do this effectively using the print screen button.

Location: http://bit.ly/TnXBxp An educator from the US, Dan Meyer, has created an excellent set of math problems that help teachers provide students with challenging problems. These are all authentic real world problems using a variety of Maths concepts. The links are in a Google doc on the link above.

Digital Citizenship Location: http://bit.ly/NP3bb8 / YouTube has produced a digital citizenship course for educators. It is based around its video sharing site but you can adapt many of the concepts to suit a range of circumstances..

http://windows.microsoft.com/enUS/windows7/Take-a-screen-capture-print-yourscreen

Online PD Location: http://bit.ly/Q2FbQq A great list of some online PD available to teachers around the world. Many of them are free although some carry a small fee. Some of them are just professional reading from a range of worldwide sources.

Time Glider Location: https://timeglider.com A very useful free resource for creating interactive digital timelines. The free account entitles the user to 3 free timelines and 1000 visits per month which would be plenty for most school applications. Can embed photos with the explanations of key dates.

PD News: The ribbon hero challenge was released this month and has been a very popular way to learn new skills. The DLC would love to hear your feedback, comments and concerns related to the challenge. Please email one of the members so we can share this at the next meeting.

©2012 Digital Learning Committee (Chris Wyatt Head of Digital Learning) Please let us know if there are any tutorials you would like us to add to the next issue or PD/Workshop ideas for us to share next time. wyattc@stmargarets.vic.edu.au

Ever wanted to create a web investigation but eliminate the wasted time spent looking over irrelevant content on the page? InFocus.cc is a great resource that allows you to create custom URLs (links) that highlight the snippets of the web pages you want the students to focus on. With this you could create great investigations sending students to only the intended sections of the webpages they need to be concerned with. http://infocus.cc/ Step 1: Open the website you would like the students to be working with.

Step 3: Click get focus. Step 2: copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into the infocus.cc URL search box. (you can also use a bookmarklet to save time)

Step 4: infocus will then open the page with a similar tool to the snipping tool. You then select the region you want the students to see. The red is what will be highlighted.

Step 4: Once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy with the region you can test what the students will see by clicking on the Test It! Button.

To see the final version of the example in this tutorial click here: http://bit.ly/RfJJo8

Step 5: Once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy with it click copy URL and you can send that with the task to the students.

I would love to work with anyone interested in trying these resources. Email me to make a time wyattc@stmargarets.vic.edu.au

Website of the Month: Google Docs Link:

Sept 2012 Issue 3

www.docs.google.com

Google docs (also known as Google Drive) is a ‘Google version’ of Microsoft Office. It allows you to do word processing and create spreadsheets, presentations and forms. It also has facility for you to store documents online so you can access them anywhere that you have internet coverage. All you need to do to access Google docs to create a Google account (Gmail) and you will have access to these resources. One reason you might want to use Google docs is because it allows you to have students collaborate on assignments without work coming to a halt if one of the students is absent. They simply jump online, login and continue with their work. The tutorial component of this edition of the newsletter outlines how to use a Google Form and have wok marked automatically. We will happily discuss other potential uses of Google Docs/Drive with you on an individual basis.

More Useful Links: Google Docs for Educators Location: http://www.google.com/educators/p_docs.html Google’s own website offering information on Google Docs specific for educators, offering a number of resources to help you make the most of Google Docs in your classroom.

Shortcuts/Tips: Windows Button + Tab This allows you to cycle through the programs you have open. Releasing the buttons will lead to the program highlighted becoming the active (or selected) window.

Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age Location: http://marynabadenhorst.global2.vic.edu.au/google-

stuff/google-docs-in-class/

This website offers a good compilation of links to other sites focusing on the use of Google Docs in the classroom. Be sure to check out number 6 that showcases the use of forms in class.

Making the Most of Google Docs Location: http://catlintucker.com/2012/05/making-the-most-of-

google-docs-drive/

This blog provides an excellent overview of all of the Google Docs applications and includes annotated screenshots.

Flubaroo Script for Google Spreadhseets Location: http://www.flubaroo.com/flubaroo-user-guide This easy to follow guide explains how to use this free script in order to automatically mark student responses in Google Forms.

Do you want to email a student’s teacher(s) without emailing the entire staff? All you have to do is login to Teacher Kiosk, select the students tab, then enter details of the student in one of the boxes, then select ‘Email Students Teachers’ from the Tab on the left hand side. This brings a list of all the students teachers up, and you can select ‘Email all Teachers’ at the bottom. This brings up a new email with all the students teachers listed.

©2012 BGS Digital Learning Assistant Heads of Department (Andrew Lardner and Scott Chittenden) Please let us know if there are any tutorials you would like us to add to the next newsletter or you have any PD/Workshop ideas for us to conduct. lardnera@berwickgrammar.vic.edu.au ; chittendens@berwickgrammar.vic.edu.au

This step-by-step guide outlines how to use the forms feature of Google Docs. Forms are used in many schools as a quick method of assessment for, as and of learning, with the results automatically inserted into a Google spreadsheet. The spreadsheet can then be customised to mark itself through the application of a freely available script. Follow the steps below to set up (and automatically mark) a form for use with your classes.

Step 1: Create a new Google account for use at school so your private email address is not revealed to students. Sign into this account.

Step 2: Click on the Drive menu item .

Step 3: Select Create and then Form (Will open in a new tab).

Step 4: Complete the following: 1. Form title 2. Select a “theme” if non-default desired 3. Question title (Include a text question asking the student’s name) 4. Select question type 5. Complete options (if applicable) 6. Save regularly to keep any changes 7. Click on “Email this form” to invite students to complete it.

Step 5: Have the students use the link emailed to them to complete the questions on the form and submit it. Step 6: Complete the form with the model answers in order to have the student responses marked automatically.

Step 7: Select original tab (Titled “My Drive”) and click on the name of your form to view the student responses in a spreadsheet. The responses will be “timestamped” to show when they were submitted, and will have the student name as a response if you included this as a question in your form (see step 4).

Step 8: With the spreadsheet open, select “Install” and then “Script”. Search for “Flubaroo” and install this.

Step 9: Click on the new “Flubaroo” menu item and follow the steps outlined to grade/mark student work. Once completed a new sheet is added with a summary of the student results. You can view the student responses by selecting the first sheet in the workbook. ASK FOR HELP at any time. Andrew and Scott would be delighted to assist you however we are able to.

September 2012 Issue 3 Website of the Month Title- Symbaloo

Link: www.symbaloo.com A website that allows you to create links that go directly to other sites! Create tiles that link to your favourite websites. This platform allows teachers to customise a page so students can go directly to selected webpages efficiently.