The power (and simplicity) of videoconferencing

I was just chatting with Olaf V about his robotics team.  Turns out there's a team at South Burlington HS doing similar work and their coach and Olaf thought it would be helpful to collaborate. 

Yesterday, they set up a Google Hangout (a videoconferencing app similar to Skype, Facetime, or Zoom) so that the students at each location could see what those at the other location were doing.  There was a webcam at either end, and some students also joined the Hangout with a phone, so they could use it to zoom in on details. Students asked each other questions and were able to help one another out.

Sound complicated? It's not!

• There's no software to install
• Just make a new calendar event or start a chat and you'll have the option to videochat

• You and students can connect on any device-- Chromebook, other laptop or desktop, phone, or tablet
• Plug in the webcam and it works (no drivers to install), or use the built-in in camera on your device.

Trust me-- you can do this! And it makes a difference.  

Olaf reports that the connections students made were powerful-- our kids helped out their South Burlington peers and vice versa.

Let's make even more of these connections-- whether it's the school down the road or somewhere across the world.

Making connections

One of the most transformative learning experiences that technology can afford is connecting to others outside of the classroom. This might be an expert on a topic talking to students from their location or another classroom in Vermont (or across the world).  Also, there are also many institutions (NASA, art museums, etc.) that offer streaming events for classrooms.

Here at CVU, we've recently had classes talking with Senator Sanders and Representative Welch, students in Uganda and Denmark, and local experts in the areas of business, coding, and more.

Let's make more of these kinds of connections at CVU.  The technology has become easier to use.  Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Skype are three great options.  I'm happy to do that end of it and/or assist in finding others to connect to.

The biggest challenge tends to be timing-- particularly when time zones are different.  But the effort is worth it.

Interested? Let's talk!

Should you use Team Drive?

You've likely noticed Team Drive as an option within Google Drive.  What is it...and should you use it?

Team Drives are meant for small teams who want to share files.  The biggest difference in Team Drive is that files belong to the "team" rather than any one individual.  This means that if the original "owner" of a file leaves the team, the file is not lost (nor can any individual delete the file).

Files in Team Drive can still be shared with others, as in "regular" Drive; however, folders cannot.  Also, subfolders in Team Drive cannot have different privileges than the main folder.  So, for example, you could not have a Science Department folder in team drive for all science teachers, and within that, a Biology folder for biology teachers only.  You also can't choose to nest a Team Drive folder within folders in My Drive; they're always separate entities.

Because of this, my recommendation is to stick to "regular" Drive.  

Please let me know if you have questions about this.

Here's more info from Google.

Google Slides now has a Grid (Slide Sorter) view

Here's a nice new addition to Google Slides-- you can now view your slides in a grid view (like"Slide Sorter" in Powerpoint).  Just click on the icon on the lower left of the screen and your slides will show up in a grid, like so:

In grid view, you can move slides around or select a group of slides to apply a transition to, etc.

Here's another idea--I just read a post about a teacher  who using grid view with her students.  Each student has one slide in a presentation. By viewing the presentation in grid view, the teacher can see the progress each student is making.

Videoconferencing Tools

Some of us are old enough to remember actually dialing telephones (that only reached as far as the cord would stretch).  As well as busy signals and having to call back because people didn't have answering machines.  Back then, adding video to a phone call was an exciting idea, but it took the tech world some time to get there.

Well, times have surely changed.  There are now many ways to videoconference.  The educational applications are many; you can invite guest speakers to connect from their location, hold discussions with classrooms around the world, facilitate distance learning, and more.

Here are some tools that you can use, with a brief discussion of each (note that these apps are frequently updated, so you may find different functionality in the most recent version).

First off, here's what all of these apps support:

• Sharing your screen, so other participants can see a presentation or document, etc.
• Multiple participants
• Ability to mute audio and/or video
• Ability to participate by phone
• Chat/text messaging 

Skype

This was the first well-known application for computers It requires installing software on your Windows of Mac device.  If you're on a Chromebook, consider a different application at this point. Users need to have a Microsoft account (Skype is now owned by Microsoft). 

Google Hangout/Meet

Works in the browser, so it's great for Chromebooks as well as Windows and Mac.  Detects who's speaking, changing the video focus to that person. You can invite people who don't have Google accounts.

GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, Adobe Connect...

These are popular apps in the business world.  They requires downloading software or installing a Chrome extension.  Free versions are limited. You may be invited to one of these by an organization or business, but I would not recommend using this for your class.

There are many other computer-based applications, as well, but I would start with either Google or Skype.

One thing I have found using these tools for distance learning is that they allow students to participate in the mode with which they are most comfortable.  Some like to broadcast video, others audio only, and others by text.  

Hour of Code week

This week is the Hour of Code!  Lots of great resources again this year to get everyone to try coding for one hour.

Here are students in Chittenden Core working on their programs.

And here is the CVU Computer Programming class videoconferencing with a class from New Jersey, sharing what each class has done.

Why not give coding a try yourself!

Creating a shared Google map for your class

I've posted before about teachers using Google Maps for students to place annotated markers, routes, and regions on.  This can work well as a group activity, where each student creates a marker for a particular place on the map, for example.

Some ideas?  Create a map that marks important locations in a novel, or different regions in an area, or the routes taken on an historical journey.

I just wrote up teacher instructions on how to create a shared map in the first place.  If you'd like to give it a try, I hope these help.  I'm also happy to get you started.

The map below is editable.  Feel free to give it a try.

Resources for using Diigo in the classroom

Dear teachers and students,

I've updated my guides on getting started with Diigo.  These may be found in the Faculty and Staff Moodle and CVU Students Moodle pages, respectively.

Some FAQ:

What is Diigo?
It is an online tool that allows you to bookmark, annotate (add highlighting and notes), and share web pages and PDF files.
Why should I try it?
You can keep all your bookmarks in the cloud (access them from any computer), mark up pages, create groups for collaborative research, and more.
Do I have to use the Chrome browser?
To access your bookmarks, you can use any browser and log in to http://diigo.com.  If you want to have the highlighting/annotation tools, you need to use the extension in Chrome.

Using Shared Folders in Google Drive

How can I create a folder that all students in my class can access (and contribute to)?

(note-- after writing this post, it dawned on me that I had already written a very similar post back in October! I'm posting this one, anyway, as it has more detailed step-by-step, but here's a link to the older post-- which includes a screencast and a link to GClassFolders, a more sophisticated tool for creating shared folders in Drive).

This is easy to do in Google Drive.  Once you create and share the folder, any files added to the folder are shared, as well.

To do this:

1. Go to Google Drive, click Create... Folder

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2. Name it

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3. Once the folder is created, find it in My Drive, click on it, and click the Share icon (the person with the + sign).

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4. In the screen that pops up, you have two options:

• If you want the folder to be visible to your students, you can change Private to Anyone with the link.  Then just provide the link to your students (for example, on your Moodle page).
• If you want to invite only your students and/or allow students to add files to the folder, paste in their e-mail addresses where it says Invite people.  

• You can tell which folders are shared by the person inside the folder icon.

Shared folders in Google Drive

Here's a tip that can save you a lot of clicks!  If you create a folder in Google Drive and change the sharing/visibility of that folder, any document that you put in that folder will inherit those properties.  This can be very useful in the classroom setting.  Say, for example, that your students are working in groups on a project.  You can create a folder for that group that is shared with all group members.  When anyone in the group adds to the folder, the document will be automatically shared will all other group members.  Some teachers have gone the route of creating and sharing individual folders for each of their students-- essentially creating a "drop box."  This process has even been automated by a tool called GCLassFolders that was developed by a Vermont educator.

Here's the process:

1. In Google Drive, click "Create," then "Folder."
2. Name the Folder.
3. Hover over the folder name and click the pull-down arrow to the right.
4. Choose "Share."
5. Share just as you would any Google Doc-- with specific individuals or an entire group.
6. Now if you move an existing document, presentation, etc. to that folder (or create a new one within the folder), it will be shared with the same people.

And here is a screencast of the process:

Let me know if I can help you get started with this!

Wallwisher

(originally posted 4/7/11)

Has anyone tried Wallwisher? It's a ridiculously easy-to-use web tool for creating a "wall" that students can post notes to. It's a great way to hear from students about what they're learning, where they want to go on a field trip, etc. Walls are by default publicly viewable, so students should not use their full names.

I've create a sample wall here. Try posting a note to it! On the wall, I've posted a link to some sample uses, as well.

If you have used this in class, or do use it, let us know how it worked out.