Wednesday, March 21, 2012

How to create a teacher-managed blog using Blogger

If you are not comfortable with letting students run rampant with their own blogs, you can always create your own teacher-managed blog to maintain control.  Students can still contribute to such a blog through comments and discussions.

To set up a blog, follow the directions on the previous post: "How students can create their own blogs for personal reflections

Setting up permissions 


Using permissions, you can make your blog private to only you and your students. To change permissions, follow the directions below

  1. In the dashboard dropdown, click on Settings. This takes you to the "Basics" settings page.
  2. Click on "Edit" in the Blog Readers section.
  3. Change your option from "Anybody" to either "Only Blog Authors" or "Only These Readers." When adding students as blog authors, they will be able to post to your blog. By manually adding students as readers, you can . 
  4. After choosing to add students as readers, manually add their email accounts to this page.



Setting up comments 


With blogs, you can turn off comments completely, turn them on with moderation, or turn them on so they display automatically. To change permissions:


  1. Go to Settings > Posts and comments
  2. Change the "Who can comment?" option to only users with Google Accounts, or only students who are members of the blog.
  3. Change the "Comment moderation" section from "Never" to "Always" or "Sometimes"


How students can create their own blogs for personal reflections

Google hosts a variety of web apps, including Blogger, an easy to use blog platform. With Google Apps for Education, we can provide our students access to their own blogs, managed by the school.

Creating a blog with Blogger


To create a Blogger blog using a Google Apps for Education account, your network administrator will need to turn on access to Blogger.

At Capital City PCS, we have decided to turn off Blogger for all students unless their guardians sign and return a copy of the Blogger and Picasa Terms of Service. Once these forms are on file, we will turn on a student's Blogger account.


2. Sign in with your school email account
3. On the next screen, choose a "Display Name" that will be associated with your Blog. Check the Terms of Service box, then click "Continue."



3. You will be taken to the Blogger dashboard. Click on "New blog" to create a new blog.


4. On the next screen, create your blog by adding a title, choosing a unique address, and your starting template (which you can always change later.) Click on the orange "Create Blog!" button to create your blog.


5. Your blog will now appear on your Blogger dashboard. Click on the orange New Post link to quickly create a new post. Click on the grey "Post List" to see all of your blog posts. Click on the drop down to access additional options quickly. Click on "View Blog" to see the live blog page.


Writing a blog post


Once you have your blog created, you can begin writing your first blog post.

1. Add a title for your post.
2. Type your blog in the main section on the website. Use the "What You See is What you Get Editer" (WYSIWYG) to update styling and more.
3. Add labels at the right side of the screen. This way you can easily make your blogs searchable by subject.


Recommendations for setting up blogs for reflection


There are different ways that schools can go about setting up a blogging program to capture ongoing reflections. Here are a few ideas for setting up a successful blog reflection, ideal for our Capital City PCS portfolio model.

  • Require weekly reflections in all subjects either as homework, or as part of curricular instruction. By using a blog for these quick reflections, students can easily contribute to their blog's body of work.
  • Require each blog post to have multiple labels. One label can be for subjects, (Math, Humanities, etc.), one label can be for thoughts about the assignment (whether good, bad or in-between), and one label can be specific to an expedition or project.
  • Make blogs private, or only viewable with a CCPCS email account. 
  • Open some blog posts for commenting to encourage communication amongst students.
  • Use links to refer to previous blog post reflections and external websites and google docs.

Schools that are blogging with students


Check out these sites for great examples of student blogs in action. Blogging has become an integral part of the curriculum at these schools:



These articles and blog posts contain links to exemplary student blogs:


For more information


For more on how to use blogs in the classroom, read this post on Mr. Chase's other blog, Make EdTech Happen: Blogging with Students for Reflection, Collaboration, and Literacy


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

How to create a Google Sites template for your students

One of the great things about Google Apps is how you can easily create templates for your students.  In the same way that you might create a template in Google Docs, you can easily create a website, and then share it with your students as a template.

To do this, simply create your website like you normally would. Once your website is just how you want it and ready for students to begin adding content, follow the instructions below.

Note: Once your students begin creating a website from your template, you cannot go in and make changes to your template expecting those changes to effect the student sites. Those pages will now exist separately from the others.

1. Go to More > Manage Site at the top right of the webpage.

2. On the main Manage Site page, click on "Publish this site as a template" in the middle of the page. 


3. On the next page, choose how you will be listed as author (full name or user name), name your Site Template, and enter a description of your site. Then click the red "Submit" button.


4. After you click submit, a blue bar will appear at the top of the screen, and on the middle of the page a link will appear.



For directions on how your students can create a website using your template, follow these directions.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Creating a Google Sites Website from Scratch

With a Capital City PCS Google Account, students not only have access to Gmail, but also powerful online tools like Google Sites.  Google Sites are an ideal tool for students to easily create their own website.

Accessing Sites


Students can access Google Sites after logging in to their school email account by clicking on the "Sites" link at the top of the screen.


Once on Sites, students can easily click on the big red "Create" button to begin creating a site.


On the next page, you can choose to create from a blank template, or browse from a list of templates to give your website a shape.  For more information about how to create a site from a Google Template, read this blog post.

Choosing Styles and Templates

After choosing a template or going with a blank template, you must name your site, change the site location (or web address,) and if you would like, choose a new theme. You can also change the privacy settings to make your site more secure.



Editing your Google Site


Once you have created your Google Site, it is fairly easy to edit your page. On the newly created site, you should see a white bar above the page with the title of the page, as well as 4 icons. These icons let you control your website





1. Edit Page


Click on the first icon in order to edit the site. After clicking this button, a "What You See is What you Get" editor will appear. Additional dropdown options including Insert, Format, Table and Layout will be available as well.


2. Add New Page





Click on the second icon to add a new page. After click on this button, you will be prompted to name your page, choose the template for the page, and then select the location under which the site will appear.


3. More Features



The third icon lets you access all other features, including the important "Manage Site" section. Click on this button to access a drop-down of options.


4. Share


The fourth icon lets you update the sharing of your site in order to make it private, or accessible for more people. Add user email addresses in order to share access to your site.

Announcing New Tech PD in 30 - Blogger and Google Sites with Students

For the next two weeks, the Tech PD in 30 Minutes session will focus on how teachers can use blogs and websites in the classroom with Google Apps for education. These sessions are designed to be completed within one planning period. Sessions will also be held after school.

Check out the Tech PD in 30 website for more information.

3/19- 3/30
Blogger and Google Sites with Students
In this session, teachers wil learn:

Friday, March 2, 2012

Accessing CCPCS Home Access + & IT Resources

Teachers at Capital City PCS now have access to our private intranet, called Home Access Plus, or HAP. On this intranet, teachers can find links to special resources, and also access their network files from a home computer.


Login with your netlogin (what you use to access your work computer)

Using Home Access Plus


To access your files from home, click on the "Browse for Files" button towards the top right of the screen.


When prompted, choose the basic version.


To access your files, download them to your computer. You can then upload them back to your network folder after working on them from home.


Using IT Resources


Also linked to on the home access plus is the IT Resources reservation page.


On this page, teachers can reserve the use of IT equipment, including
  • Cameras
  • Camcorders (including flip cameras)
  • Expedition Sets (6 cameras, 6 flip cams, class set of audio recorders)
  • iPads (teachers may reserve iPads for an entire week)
  • Other AV Equipment (such as a document camera, extra projector, clickers and speakers)

If Upper School teachers wish to reserve laptop carts, a box of netbooks, or an extra Macbook, please continue to email Mr. Chase. You will not be able to reserve computers through this website. (In the Lower School, the process is different.)

To reserve equipment, search by category. Choose the category from the drop-down towards the top left of the screen.



After choosing the category, reserve equipment by following the directions below:




Thursday, March 1, 2012

Apps for All Disciplines

As iPads are being more and more by educators, companies are creating more and more niche apps for use in education. Many of these apps focus on drill and kill functions, but others provide unique ways for students to connect to material.

Polling Apps for Instantaneous Assessment


  • Socrative - "Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets."
  • Poll Everywhere - Web-app - Poll students using a variety of web-based means, including SMS (text messages).

Textbook Apps


  • Google Books - Cost of the book - "The Google Books app offers access to over 3 million Google eBooks on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Take your favorite books with you on the go. Shop in your browser at the Google eBookstore, and read in your app."
  • iBooks Textbooks - $15.00 per textbook - "With the Multi-Touch magic of iBooks textbooks, interactive photo galleries bring images to life. Animations burst off the page. 
  • Inkling - Cost of the book - "Inkling is a platform for interactive textbooks, built from the ground up for iPad. It turns paper-based textbooks into engaging, interactive learning experiences while staying compatible with the print book for classroom use."

Research/Resources


  • Discover: Wikipedia in a Magazine - "Discover is a completely new way to explore Wikipedia, inviting you to sit back, relax, and expand your knowledge through a delightful experience that doesn't feel like you're reading an encyclopedia."
  • Livebinders - "LiveBinders app version 1.0 for the iPad gives you quick access to all of the binders you've created and those you've collected on your custom shelves. This version uses Safari browser to present and edit these binders."
  • Evernote - "Evernote is an easy-to-use, free app that helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use." Evernote is the hot new thing in education, particularly 1 to 1 programs. Check out Evernote for Schools for more information.

Flashcard Apps


  • iBooks Textbooks with Study Cards - $15.00 per textbook - "All your notes and highlights automatically appear on study cards. Flip them over and find the definition of a glossary term or the note attached to the highlighted passage."
  • Evernote Peek
  • Flash Card Deluxe
  • Mental Case Flashcards HD - $2.99 - "Mental Case is The Study App. It's the premium flashcards app for your Mac, iPhone, or iPad."

Apps for English Language Arts


  • iA Writer - $1.99 - With its emphasis on focused, no-frills writing, this app is ideal for students who may struggle with their attention and writing skills.
  • Shakespeare by Readdle - Access all of Shakespeare's plays with this app, including detailed scene breakdowns, and font customization. A pro version for $9.99 provides you with search, glossary, facts, and more features.
  • Chicktionary - Expand your vocabulary with this game.
  • Demibooks Composer - Create your own textbooks with interactive elements using this iPad app.

Apps for Math

  • Quick Graph - "Quick Graph is a powerful, high quality, graphic calculator that takes full advantage of the multitouch display and the powerful graphic capabilities of the iPad and iPhone, both in 2D and 3D."
  • Alge-Bingo - $0.99 - "Created by a high school math teacher with over 25 years of experience in the classroom. Develop your algebraic equation solving skills through playing a Bingo game. "
  • Algebra Touch - $2.99 - This gesture-based app lets students combine equations to refresh their algebra skills.
  • Geometry for iPad - $1.99 - This app "offers quizzes, tutorials and flashcards to help you learn Geometry"
  • Math Sheet Calculator - This app lets you write down your calculations to keep track of your computations.
  • SAS Flash Cards - "With SAS® Flash Cards, you can download and play flash card decks in numerous subjects, create new flash card decks in a variety of question formats, and share your flash card decks with others."

Apps for Social Sciences



  • Constitution for iPad - "Senator Sam Ervin pulled one out of his pocket during the Watergate Hearings... Now prepare to own any legal debate with a copy of the US Constitution on your iPad!"
  • MyCongress - "MyCongress is a portal to detailed information about your elected U.S. Congressional officials. Track their news, video and Twitter feeds."
  • World Book: This Day in History - "This interactive multimedia calendar that displays historical events for the current day or any selected day, along with related media such as photos, illustrations, music, and speeches."
  • History Maps of the World - This app collects high-resolution historical maps.

Apps for Science



  • LabSolver - $0.99 - "Lab Solver is a bundle of powerful features designed to simplify the day-to-day work of science students and professionals." 
  • 3D Cell Simulation and Stain Tool - Create your own cell image in order to explore a 3D cell with this app.
  • Gas Laws HD Lite - "Beginning chemistry students can use this app to study the various relationships that exist between pressure, volume, temperature and number of particles of a gas."
  • 3D Brain - "Discover how each brain region functions, what happens when it is injured, and how it is involved in mental illness. "
  • Video Science - "A growing library of over 80 hands-on Science lessons that are great for home and the classroom. These short videos demonstrate inexpensive and easy to recreate experiments that are designed to inspire and excite kids of all ages."
  • Science Glossary - "An extensive glossary of scientific terms and short biographies of key scientists. Formatted specifically for the iPhone and provided by Visionlearning, Inc."

Apps for Spanish



  • Learn Spanish Levels I & II with Bueno - "Learn Spanish I & II is the very best Learn Conversational Spanish program in the history of the World. Kind of like Rosetta Stone meets South Park meets Grand Theft Auto. Learn Spanish in 5 weeks (30 classes of 40 minutes each)."
  • Spanish-English Translation Dictionary by Ultralingua - $19.99 - "Over 290,000 translations. Conjugates thousands of Spanish and English verbs • Hundreds of usage notes and examples. No internet connection required."
  • Rosetta Stone Total eCourse HD - Requires Subscription - "This dedicated iPad® application allows you to take the Rosetta Course lessons anywhere your iPad device is connected. Continue discovering your new language. And voice."
  • Conjuverb - "ConjuVerb makes it easy to look up Spanish verbs. ConjuVerb contains over 600 of the most used verbs in Spanish. We don't waste your time with verbs that are rarely, if ever, used. You can focus only on the most important verbs!"

Apps for Inclusion/Differentiation/ESL


  • Dragon Dictation - "Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application powered by Dragon® NaturallySpeaking® that allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages. "
  • Reading Trainer - $2.99 - "This app provides everything you need to read texts of all types faster, more effectively and most of all, with better retention."
  • Miss Spell's Class - "Miss Spell’s Class is an original word game that lets players test their spelling skills against the most commonly misspelled words on Dictionary.com."
  • Proloquo2Go - $189.99 - "Proloquo2Go is for anyone who cannot afford spending thousands of dollars on an AAC device and yet wants a solution that is just as good if not better. SLPs, teachers and parents recommend it for children and adults with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, developmental disabilities, apraxia, ALS, stroke or traumatic brain injury."
  • Language Builder - $7.99 - "Language Builder is designed to help children accomplish the following educational goals: 1) Improve sentence ideation ; 2) Improve sentence formation; and 3) Improve receptive and expressive language."
  • Special Education Edition for iPad: eCOVE Software - "Gather objective data while observing teaching practices and student behavior. Nine very easy to use timer, counter, checklist, and scale tools included with more available."
  • English for Kids - "English for Kids is an immersion, 'Rosetta Stone' style, learning game"
  • Reading Trainer - $2.99 - "This app provides everything you need to read texts of all types faster, more effectively and most of all, with better retention."