Google Sites

I used Google Sites to create a Classroom Web page.  It was pretty easy to use, once I watched the tutorials on how to perform various tasks on the site.  I enjoyed using it and would see myself using something like this for my future students and parents.  I see how it would be a very useful tool in communicating with them.  It was a lot of fun to create the pages and insert images and things.  I like the various options for themes and formats.  I still need to work on Linking things and will work on that.


Here is the sites page I created:

https://sites.google.com/site/msgavinsclassroom/

Google Forms

I watched the tutorial on using Google Docs Forms that Dr. Krug gave us and tried to understand the process. I was able to access the new Forms folder and create an exam and got it to transfer to a spreadsheet. I also read the blog RPollack wrote on "How to self grade test with Google Docs Spreadsheets."  I have not been able to get the functions to work that Dr. Krug gave us for the self grading portion.  I tried changing the functions portion to work with my form and got an Error in the cell when I applied the function. I think I could get it if I had someone show me personally why we use some of the numbers in the formulas.  I promise I'm not totally inept when it comes to math, but just need practice with this concept.  I will continue to try it, maybe I'll get it soon!!
     According to the Common Core State Standards, students will " present information, findings ans supporting evidence." They can gather information from peers, family, friends, etc. and use that information to make decisions and form conclusions about chosen topics. They will make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to help them and those viewing their work understand the data presented. They need to accomplish these tasks to get them ready for their futures in college and with a career. Completion of small projects using the Google Forms with Spreadsheets, will help them to utilize many disciplines.



Link to my Form:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cBxPcyeAfD9H-9GmlamNIvKTw5cW67NmrwoA3jKyU7M/edit?usp=sharing

Literacy for Education

     The first app I will discuss in the Presentations section, is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary App for I-pad and I-phone. It is very easy to use and has some nice features.  You can start typing in the word you are searching and a list of several words with the first letters the same.  You click on your word and a definition of the word pops up as well as correct spelling and annunciation is shown.  This dictionary app has a play back mode and when wanted will have a voice that will pronounce the word properly.  This is a great feature, especially for students still learning the English Language. Not every word has the play back mode feature however.  Synonyms and antonyms are displayed for each word and examples of how the word is used in a sentence is provided. Another great feature is Voice Search.  This feature allows you to say the word out loud that you are searching for and it will find it and display it.  There is also a list of the most recent words you have searched that is stored here as well.  You can also touch another word on the page you are on and it will search that word as well.  This app will also work offline.  I felt that this app had a lot to offer and it is free.  This would be handy in the classroom for children, when they don't know what a word means and if for example they have to do a report, they can look up how to spell words, their definitions, pronunciations, etc.

     In the Visual category, I chose to discuss the Drawing Pad App for I-pad.  This is also a free app and is very fun and easy to use for any age student.  It has the choice of using pencils, crayons and markers to draw anything you want. There is an erase feature that allows students to be able to erase the whole picture or just specific things on their picture. It has backgrounds to choose from and then students can draw on that.  Students can save an image and e-mail their picture with a message to someone. I feel this app is geared more toward young children, K-1.  

     I really liked the Educreations app.  I know this is also an app in the Visual category, but I wanted to discuss it also.  It is primarily a white board app that is very useful for teaching.  You can have lessons already recorded into this program and show steps to problem solving.  It has an undo and redo app that is helpful in showing these step type problems for Math as one example.  You can also save pages that are kept in order and can easily be clicked on to explain problems.  It also has a record feature that you can use to go along with your lessons.  Children could go back and listen to it to help them learn how to work through problems on their own. You could also download a teacher's study guide for a class and would then be able to highlight parts of it or underline on it, etc. for older children.  Recording video onto a concept is also available. This is a free app and I thought it would be very easy to use in the classroom for any age. 

     In the Stories category, I will review the Puppet Pals app for I-Pad.  This is also a free app that comes with a western theme.  If you want other themes you do have to pay for them.  There are several western  backgrounds to choose from, once chosen you pick you actors form several provided.  You can place them into the backdrop you chose and make a recording, which is a good first movie creation experience for a young student.  There is also a section where custom actors can be created by students themselves and also has the capability of downloading a picture from your own files and using them as backdrops and actors in your show.  Also a child could take a picture right then and upload to your program to use as well.  This seems to be a fun app for young students.  It makes them use their imagination and creativity.  Some of the features would probably not be used in the classroom, such as downloading their own pictures, but could be used to some degree. 

Disciplines in Education

     Since I am concentrating on K-6, I chose apps that I felt would be useful for this age group in a classroom setting.  

     The first app I chose to review is the Stack the States Game App. for the i-pad.  It is an interactive game, that helps students learn the states, their shapes and placement on the map.  It allows you to study the states first, if wanted on flashcards.  You can then concentrate on game play.  You basically answer questions about the states, and if you get the answer correctly, you begin a "pile of states." You continue to stack your states to a certain point to win. The more you win, it unlocks more games to play with states.  You can also click on states for some brief information about that state.  This app also allows younger students to learn the shapes of each state and where they belong on the map.  The app is very colorful and the states are given faces which makes it attractive to younger children. I felt this app would be very useful for students in the classroom, for probably 4th grade and under.  It helps students learn social studies and uses thinking and reasoning skills. This is a free app.

     The second app I chose to review is the Sketch Pad Explorer app for i-pad. It is rated as one of the best educational software programs.  It can be used for most all grade levels 1st grade and up.  It uses activities and workbooks and has the ability for students to create and share with others.  It is very easy to use, you can drag shapes to explore math.  Teachers can create lessons and then the students can bring it up on the i-pad and perform actions by using the action buttons and hot text links. It helps with understanding of fundamental concepts of math.  Students can explore and interact and investigate concepts.  The touchscreen aspect makes this fun for the students.  It also has a tool for interactive whiteboard use.  It meets the CCSS for chart and graph use.  I felt this would be very useful in the classroom for many age groups and it seems it can be utilized to fit the lessons the teacher is focusing on. 

     The third app in disciplines for education I chose to explore is the Globe app for i-pad.  This is an app that contains a 3-D globe that students can explore.  It can be rotated with your fingers by touch or drag motions.  It shows all the countries of the world.  By pinching the screen you can zoom in or out to look more closely at details.  There is a search button to tap on that tells some brief information and flags of the different countries. I'm not sure if I would use this app in the classroom.  Although it is a free app, I'm sort of old school in that I think an actual hands-on globe is more interesting and fun for younger children.  They could always research the countries on the computer if detailed information is needed.  I guess the advantage would be that more than a few students could be learning the globe at the same time.  

Rover vs. Safari

4.  Rover is a very safe browser for children.  It uses flash content by streaming.  It does meet school accreditation so it is safe to use in the classroom.  The app keeps a list of sites inappropriate for the classroom.  It does not support multitasking, so that students could go to a page and back again.  They would have to bookmark their pages. Rover does have a free version but it is very limited and only provides access to view filtered websites. The most popular version is $9.99 and opens the door to a wider range of web content.
  Safari is a free browser.  It is much faster than Rover and has the ability to sync between all apple devices by using cloud capabilities.   It offers private browsing if wanted.  It does have multitasking capabilities and is easy to use.  It is not as kid-friendly, meaning not as "safe" by filtering out inappropriate websites.

Spreadsheets

While learning to use the Spreadsheets portion of Google Docs, I have to be honest, I had a hard time.  I have never used a spreadsheet app. before.  It was easy to figure out how to add information into the sheet and how to change the color and type of font.   I had a hard time figuring out the math functions and am still a bit confused about this.  The tutorials did not help me very well, they were hard for me to see and follow, since I had never seen a spreadsheet program before.  I did go to undergrad in the "ancient" days as most of my classmates would probably feel to be true!  I have never had to use one in my health field career.  I will keep trying to learn how to use this portion of Google Docs as I see how useful it is in preparing and keeping track of student grades.  It will make things much easier, when I figure it out!

In Chapter 6 of the Graham text on Spreadsheets, it discusses that spreadsheets can be used to help meet the Common Core State Standards, particularly with Math. Using Google Spreadsheets to incorporate math into other subjects, such as history and science can teach a child about decision making and reasoning. It is a way children can share what information they have collected with others and therefore give themselves a voice.    As far as the CCSS for Math, students develop critical thinking.  They are to learn the "processes and proficiencies" of math.  They can show how they use the math they have learned.

Link to spreadsheet I created:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NkLsNA4BVJTVWobPv0WZLPKaxa-I_-sEHsEYzGzLjuw/edit#gid=0

iThought

3.  I have never used a mind-mapping app. before, until I tried iThought.  It was fairly easy to use and I liked the click and drag features that made it easy to "change your mind" which I often do. If you want 2 thoughts to be linked into one bubble for example, it is simple to hover a topic over another and then insert it.

 When thinking about how this app could be useful in a classroom, in my opinion it would be best used as a teaching tool.  The teacher can present the main idea in the center and get students to help add in all the links for a particular topic. The teacher could write as the students offer their ideas and information.  The students could even take turns typing  their ideas on a collaborative map the teacher has created and has showing on the screen in front of the room. It gets the children to think and participate while they are learning. If they are involved, they will learn and hopefully remember the topic of information better. Also, the color features help to make the map more appealing and help keep the students attention and make it more fun.  The teacher could also use this app as a way to organize ideas and thoughts to teach a particular topic.  

iWorks Pages vs. Word

1. This post is my discussion of iWorks Pages vs. Microsoft Word programs.  There are many similarities and differences in these two programs.  To begin with, I noticed that iWorks seems to be easier to access all functions than Word is.  Word has almost 50 icons on its pages, whereas Apple iWorks Pages has about 12 icons.  iWorks is less complex but still has the capability to make very impressive documents, presentations, etc.  Another difference between these two is definitely the price.  Microsoft Word has to be purchased in the Microsoft Office Program.  Therefore, because of all that is included with that software it is much more expensive, costing about $200.  iWorks costs much less, approximately $60.  To share your work from these 2 programs, iWorks has I-Cloud built in and so it is easier to instantly share your work with others.  Microsoft Word has to be shared by e-mailing a hyperlink to the person or persons you are sharing with.
     The similarities in these two programs are few. They can both be used to create very acceptable documents.  They can both be used for making reports, resumes, projects, etc.  They both have the capability of adding images, text and tables.  Microsoft Word and iWorks Pages both have many templates to choose from in making different creations.
     I feel that the Ipad influences the similarities and differences in these two programs by providing touch screen capabilities which seems to work well with iWorks and its features but may not be so easy with Word, which in my opinion is more complex.  Also the I-pad can be accessed by the users I-phone and Mac computer as well and can make sharing and editing more accessible and user friendly.

Google Drawings

  In my experience trying Google Drawings, I found it to be quite easy to use. I found the selection of choices varied and very useful in making all types of creations.
  In an elementary classroom, as I reviewed a sample lesson plan, students could use this app to learn and practice shapes and turn them and understand how they are changed or unchanged when flipping them and turning them. Students could create drawings using the shapes that are being discussed.  Students can use the paint button to change colors of the shapes or lines on their pictures.  Students would be able to form words and label their pictures and there is a spelling check to help them spell correctly.  Writing letters and forming graphs and charts to help organize their work would be challenging but useful to students and teachers.  Teachers could create a specific template for students to use or help them make their own.  The possibilities are endless and I could definitely see this being used in the classroom often.
  In reading the Graham Chapter 8 on Google Drawings App, there are many other uses for this application. The Common Core State Standards Anchor Standard 1 for Writing wants students to "read closely" to understand the text and make analytical conclusions from it. This needs to be taught throughout the reading standards as well as Reading in the Content Areas. The Google drawings helps students and teachers meet this criteria but in a fun and interesting way.
  Teachers can also create graphic organizers to help students organize their thoughts and facts they have gathered. Everything the students have created on their drawings app will be saved to their google drive account.  All of the commands they will need to use are in the graphical toolbar at the top of the screen. Many of them are in the insert menu as well, making them easy to find. Flow charts are also another feature that can be created. These would be very helpful to teachers to make information more organized and appealing to the students.
  Google Drawings is a great way students can learn, using art to express themselves and learn a new skill of graphic design that will be useful for many years to come.

Google Presentations

     No, I have never used Power Point type software before, its been many, many years since I was in college.  However, while working through this Google Presentations application, I was surprised by several capabilities it has and the ease of use.
      One surprising note about this application is that it is device neutral, meaning it can be used on any computer, Mac, Windows, without downloading anything or without purchasing anything. This makes it teacher and student friendly in the classroom.  According to the Common Core State Standards, teachers have to prepare students to have an extensive knowledge of presenting information.  It supports collaborative work in which students can work together and also share easily their presentations with others.  By adding video and images and making their presentations come to life, it teaches them how to capture an audience and improves their communication capabilities.  It also teaches them to organize their information and learn how to decipher pertinent information.
     As far as the ease of this program, anyone can learn to use it. The many options such as adding images, videos and text are easy to use and are available in drop down boxes.  The color of words and changing font sizes and adding shapes, symbols and charts are easily attached to each slide produced.  Each presentation is saved in Google Drive Cloud-based storage. I have included a link to a practice Google Presentation I created to see how easy it is to use. https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive?ltmpl=drive

Tablets in Education

     In looking at all the options for Tablet selections for Education, I have learned that the options seem to be subjective.  The options have to be weighed and compared to the budget, need and population of use.

      I-pads seem to be the most popular.  Cell phones are an option for educational use as well, but the majority of schools still ban them.  The most likely competitors of the I-Pad are the Nook and the Kindle.  There are a few other less expensive tablets, such as the Android.  For my purposes, I will discuss the Nook, Kindle and I-Pad.

      The Nook is a medium-sized option, with a screen of 6-7", which makes it still easy to read.  It is also a size that is easy to hold with one hand.  In the link to The Adventures of Library Girl Blog,http://www.librarygirl.net/2010/11/our-e-reader-adventure-part-i.html, she states Nook is very supportive to those who purchase these.  She stated that they provided 3 training sessions for the staff.  They offer coming out to the school for hands on support if needed.  The Nook can also be replaced easily if anything goes wrong with it. It is very useful with e-reader, but keep in mind e-books have to be purchased for the Nooks, which will cost more.  Also, accounts with Barnes and Noble have to be made on all of the Nooks and a Credit Card has to be kept on file, which could be a concern of schools.  

     The next tablet of discussion is the Kindle, which is also a medium-sized tablet.  It too is easy to carry.  Kindle has taken many years to finally enter the school textbooks contract for purchase. As was discussed in the Tampa Bay Times, /businClearwater H.S.http://www2.tbo.comess/tech/2010/sep/16/kindles-replacing-textbooks-today-at-clearwater-hi-ar-30616/, is one of the first schools to receive a Kindle for all of it's students.  They were each given one with their school books for their classes already downloaded on them.  Students were not only excited to get them, but were excited to get started with their classwork.  They liked the feature that it included a built in dictionary.  The school like the cost-effectiveness of the Kindle compared to the purchase of all new textbooks. This article was very exciting to me and helped me to realize how important technology can be in schools. 

     The last tablet I will discuss is the I-Pad. It is a larger tablet, not as easy to hold, but less easy to misplace.  It has many uses in the classroom, such as writing papers, doing internet research, taking notes, used for presentations, video producing and also has many apps for learning available to download.  In education, I-Pads are relatively low-cost, compared to computers, they have the ability to be used in place of textbooks, which can show much wear and tear after a year of use. Also, textbooks change editions often and with an I-Pad, you can just download the new book. They are able to receive low cost apps to assist teachers with instruction. The touch screen is easy to use for students.  They have many features, such as cameras, microphones and also has the ability to edit software.  This eliminates the purchase of separate technology apparatus that has to be purchased by the school.  In the article, "Schools see rising scores with i-Pads,-sehttp://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/05/09/schoolse-rising-scores-with-ipads/ educators are seeing that students are more engaged in their studies with the use of these touch-screen devices.Test scores are improving.  This is exciting in the world of Technology.  

     

Word vs Google Docs

When comparing Google Docs with Word, I am much more inclined to use Word, simply because its always been available through my purchased computers, and I have grown to like its features and ease of use. While Microsoft Word has many more options for editing that I will ever use, I like the ease of font size and color, annotations, page breaks, columns, drag and drop images, and page margins that are useful on every paper.


Pros of Word:
Ease and accessibility of these listed features, more options on the action bar, and professional editing features.


Cons of Word:
Word lacks the robust collaborative editing that Google Docs offer, updates are not automatic; you must update them personally.


Pros of Google Docs:
Biggest advantages of collaborative editing, suggestions for soft edits without permanently changing the document until owner approves, much more straight forward than Word which makes images, formatting, and drop box support more readily available.


Cons of Google Docs:
Mobile version misses a lot of features like adding an image. It can only be used for simple documents, must use Word for more advanced essays.

Tablet Options

In recommending a tablet option for our school, my work partner and I agree, as does our principal, on the best choice for a tablet, but also agree there are a few options with advantages and disadvantages of each that we need to consider.

I agree that the I-pod/MP3 players, that have a screen of about 4-5" are much too small for our school. They easily fit in a pocket and therefore could be stolen with ease.  Also, these are very hard to see in a learning environment due to the smaller text and cannot fit entire paragraphs onto the screen. They could be hard for younger children to keep track of due to size and they may be misplaced often.  

The medium sized devices, with screen 6-7" are still easily portable and easy to hold, even with one hand. An example is the Kindle.  They are easier to read, being able to fit more text on a page.

A large size device with screens 8-11" are not as portable and are harder to hold, especially for younger children.  They cannot be held in one hand. They are therefore easier to drop and may therefore have more maintenance issues.  The text with these devices are much easier to view.  They would be much harder to store because of their size. 

The options for medium sized devices we will consider are the different i-pads.  The i-pad 2 and the i-pad 4 each have different amounts of storage in GB, 16,32 and 64.  Apple i-pads are easy to use and are easier to use applications that can be downloaded to perform certain functions.  I-pads have the best accessibility to eBooks.  They are well-known for the movie/tv/video selection and are downloaded easily.  The cost of i-pads start $399 and increase depending on the options you choose. One con is the batteries are not replaceable and new tablets would have to be purchased.  

The Android, google offers the Kindle,Barnes and Noble Nook Book and android tablets.  Google has a strong CPU and reasonable rates for Cellular service.  Barnes and Noble offers most selection of books to download.  They however, have the lowest amount of storage at 32 GB. 

Windows, Microsoft, offers Surface Windows RT and Surface Windows 8 Pro.  Their experience creating a tablet is fairly new.  They are more known for their software.  These devices come with Microsoft Office already included. 

In discussing the Pros and Cons of each of these devices, we have to consider what the devices will mainly be used for and for what age group.  Apple is the best option if we want our students to be able to use for downloading usage.  Windows would be best for students to use to blog and create documents.  Android and Google are best for reading exercises. My partner and I both agree that the Apple is our choice for purchase.  It has multitudes of uses and are very compatible and easy to use.  

Some of you were interested in a cellular device. These devices have to have connection to a cellular phone tower in order to operate online functions. It must be something built in to the device we choose because it is not something that may be added later.  It would require a contract with a monthly charge to a cellular company which would increase the cost.  

Beginnings

I live in Morristown, Tn.  I have 3 children who are also in college. I am looking forward to the MAP program, but it is something I will need to work very hard every day and every moment to keep up with everyone.  I have learned a lot already!