An Infographic on the Benefits of Online Learning.

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Essential Google Drive Skills for Teachers

As Butler prepares to transition to Canvas, our new learning management system, one skill we all need to brush up on is how to utilize Google Drive.  Google Docs are stored on Google Drive and are easily embedded into Canvas. Not only are they easily embedded, but a Google document that is used in several different locations within Canvas only needs to be updated once in the Google document and is "auto-magically" updated everywhere.  Here is a great article entitled, "Five Essential Google Drive Skills for Teachers" that will help us all get started using Google Drive.

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C2C takeaway

A shout out to the great presenters at the Spring CDC Symposium in Hutchinson last Friday!
While it is still fresh in my mind, I want to mention some of the quick takeaways we got from Anibal Pacheco, the champion of the latest in opensource applications.

I didn't realize that there were so many great things in browser, Firefox in particular add ons and plugins.
Speed Dial gives you direct access to your most frequently visited sites  - sort of a cross between LiveBinder and the Bookmark toolbar.
QR Link Maker is an addon that generates QR codes for webpages, an embedded image,or a selection of text from a webpage
I like the looks of Mozbackup, a backup utility for Firefox user information, including bookmarks and passwords that you can use for restoring, or using on a different/new computer, but I was a bit hesitant since it comes from Eastern Europe.
As I get a chance to reflect and check out a few more of his picks, I will let you know what I think.

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Put a CORK in it!

We’ve all read about the importance of group work and collaboration but sometimes getting things started is part of the challenge! One way to get students to form teams is to use corkboard.me (www.corkboard.me). You can use this tool to facilitate a brainstorming session - my example is on “healthy lifestyle choices”. They can add suggested topics to your corkboard (anonymously) then when you’re ready, they can sign up for whichever topic they want to work on.

I’ve also seen it used as a way for students to introduce themselves to the class. Play with mine and see if it might be useful in your class! http://corkboard.me/oCgczOvjhd

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Time Toast

If you ever need to show a timeline or have your students create one, this tool is for you! It’s free and allows you quickly and easily create a timeline on a topic you teach. Try it out and let us know what you think! Meanwhile, check this one out on the Beatles!

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Taking a Poll...

A few of us went to an E-Learning conference last week and picked up some new cool *free* tools to share with you! In many of the ones I attended, they took polls to gauge the audience (“what education level are you representing?”), check for comprehension &/or relevance (“do you feel like you could use this tool in your class?”), or provide a quick mental break (“what is your favorite candy bar?”) At first, I was the girl in the back bumbling for my phone, trying to be the first one to text my answer and see it appear on the projector, but as it continued, I realized the benefit these would serve in many classrooms! The kids want to use their phones anyway, why not turn them into an engaging teaching tool? Maybe start your class with a question to assess whether they’ve read the assigned material? Or do one halfway through to see if they’re following you? It’s easy and fun, and might be just what you’re looking for to freshen up your next meeting, whether it’s online or face-to-face! Polls can be taken via email, text or even tweet and can be embedded into a PowerPoint, ANGEL, or a variety of other options. Check them out (flisti & polleverywhere are two I saw) and let us know if we can help!

Introducing Poll Everywhere from Poll Everwhere on Vimeo.

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A Day in the Internet

What do you do online on a daily basis? This infographic, A Day in the Internet, provides a peak into what many people do. Some of the information provided is amazing. For instance, iPhone sales outpace the human race?!
I was also surprised also to see that Pinterest is closing in on Google+ and LinkedIn for the number of different visitors. Hope your find this interesting. After opening the link, click on the graphic to enlarge it.

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Clearing your cache

Sometimes, issues in ANGEL arise that are resolved by clearing an Internet browser's cache. This wikihow page has links to instructions for clearing a browser's cache. All the major browsers are listed, including some on mobile devices. and from the looks, it is kept pretty current. Feel free to make a link to this resource within your course, maybe in the Click here to begin folder, or the Resources tab.

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Notes in the Cloud

Do you lecture and encourage your students to take notes? Penzu might be the tool for your class! It's promoted as a secure, cloud-based, online journaling tool but since many of our students are toting around a laptop/netbook anyway, I think it'd be great for students to use for taking class notes too! The basic version is free, it date stamps each entry, and you can organize and delete your notes at will. Suggest this the next time your student says that the notes she took in your class are on her (lost) flash drive! Check it out at www.penzu.com and let us know what you think!

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Searching the Web

If research is required in your class, you can count on your students using the Web. Do they however, know how to efficiently search for information?

Most of our students are familiar with looking up small bits of information on the Web and just aren't aware of how to narrow down their search results. Commoncraft has produced a short video that could really help your students with their research. This video demonstrates different techniques for researching the Web, is only three minutes long, and very informative.

Commoncraft is a company that focuses on taking a variety of topics and explaining them in three minute videos. They also produce custom videos for other companies, but they have a online repository of videos for evaluation.

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Is your Private Information Listed on Spokeo?

Spokeo is what I consider a dangerous invasion of privacy. Anyone can type your name in Spokeo and access information such as street address, phone number, marital status, spouse's name, names of children over 18, etc.

For a mere $2.95 per month the user can get even more information such as email address, income, etc.

Go to Spokeo to view the information provided about you! Then remove your page from the listing. To do so:

1. Copy the URL of your information page


2. Click the tiny Privacy link on the bottom left of the page


3. Paste the URL in the appropriate field


4. Enter your email and the Capcha code


5. You will get an email with a link to verify that you want your page to be unlisted. Once you click the link your name and information will no longer come up in a search.

"Spokeo aggregates publicly available information from phone books, social networks, marketing surveys, real estate listings, business websites, and other public sources. Spokeo does not originate data or publish user-generated content. Rather, Spokeo indexes third-party data in ways similar to Google or Bing."

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