Thesaurus in Google Docs

I was just asked whether Google Docs has a built-in thesaurus.  The answer is, "yes, but you need to know where to look!"

Highlight the word or phrase for which you want to find synonyms. Then choose "Define" from the Tools menu.  If available, synonyms will appear with the definition(s).  Some of these are hyperlinked, so you can maneuver in as you would in an actual thesaurus.

For example, I tried the word big and got

I did find that some words yield more results than others (and some only give a definition).

There is also a Google Docs addon called Thesaurus, but it currently has a 2.5 star rating on the Chrome store, so...

Of course, there are also online and print thesauruses (thesauri?).  

Oo... now I get to tell my thesaurus joke:

"I lost my thesaurus the other day, which is really frustrating and....um....frustrating!" 

Anyone have a particular thesaurus they find useful?  Please post in the comments.

Branching stories with Inklewriter

Here's a new tool I discovered today-- Inklewriter.  It's for creating interactive branching stories (where the reader chooses how the story will proceed).  This could be a lot of fun for you creative writers out there!  If you try it out, let me know what you think!

Vignettes using WeVideo

Jeanne McCormack's class recently wrote vignettes.  To bring them to life, students used images and music to accompany their narration of the vignettes.  The tool they used is WeVideo.  I've mentioned WeVideo before-- it's a great web-based video editor that connects to Google Drive for easy access from anywhere.  WeVideo has lots of capabilities for editing video, but in this case, students used WeVideo to create simple, elegant slide shows to which they added narration and music.

Here is a set of instructions I created for the class (with editing help from Jennifer Lucey!).  And here is what two students created:

Rainy by Sage

We Climb Together by Devon

This kind of project can be done with other tools, as well.  In the past, PhotoStory was a popular choice.  One big disadvantage to using PhotoStory, however, was that students had to use the exact same computer to access files they created.  With WeVideo, they can work from any computer (or even use the app on their phones or tablets).

"Refrigerator Magnets" in Microsoft Word

Kathleen Gibbs' class was creating "found poems" and wanted a way to manipulate text.  This is a perfect application of technology.  I created a template in Microsoft Word that is comprised of text boxes that have no borders, can be moved and placed on top of one another, and can be re-sized and rotated (somewhat like those refrigerator magnets that people arrange into poems).

Here is what one student did with it (using text from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest):

Would you like to try this with your students?  I can't attach the template file here, but I will do so in a post to the faculty & staff forum.

Using Google Maps/Earth in the classroom

There are lots of great applications for Google Maps/Earth in the classroom.  Science classes can plan out natural areas (check out the CVU example below), English classes can go on "lit trips" (seeing the actual places described in a novel), math classes can explore the geometry of the "real world," etc.
Richard Byrne-- the author of the amazing Free Technology for Teachers blog-- has posted several helpful resources in a recent post.

Using Doctopus for an improved Google Drive workflow

Many teachers create documents as templates for their students to copy and then edit.  One way to do this is by sharing your document as "View Only" and asking student to make their own copy.  Another is by uploading to the Template gallery in Google Drive.  Both of these methods can be clumsy, however.  Students have to share back with you, they often don't rename the document well (lots of "Copy of _____" file names), and so on.

Doctopus is a tool (technically, a Google script) that automates the entire process.  Basically, you make a folder in Google Drive, put a document into that folder to serve as the template, put your roster into a spreadsheet, and it does the rest.  Each student ends up with his/her own copy of the document automatically and its in the folder that you specify, shared with you.
Here is a nice explanation of the process (in two parts):

I would be happy to help you get this set up if you would like to give it a try in a class.

Classroom Scenarios

(Originally posted 3/7/11)

Need some inspiration/ideas on how to integrate technology and 21st century skills in the classroom? Take a look at these "Classroom Scenarios" that were developed around the new Vermont state technology GE's. They are broken out by grade level- use the links to look at the 9-12 examples. Some of these are units that have actually been done in area classrooms. I'd love to team with people who might want to put something like these in place in their classes.

GooRu

GOORU
There's a new site that looks promising for classroom resources called GooRu. You can get to it through Google Apps, by opening your GMail, then choosing Gooru under "More." I'd love to know what people think- are these useful resources? 
(originally posted 2/10/12)

Using Google Docs for letters of intent (and more!)

Here are some tips for using Google Docs (note- the first two tips also apply to Microsoft Word- with some differences, but are easier to do in Google Docs):

1. Comments in Letters of Intent (Grad Challenge). Try opening your junior’s letter of intent in Google Docs, then using “Insert Comment,” rather than typing directly in the doc. This makes it clear to the student where revisions are needed and separates your comments from the work itself. Each comment can also become a conversation (just hit reply) and/or be “resolved” once the issue is addressed. Here’s an example of a letter I was working on today (blurred to protect the innocent!).
2. Using Paragraph formatting. Next time you make a heading in a doc, try using paragraph formatting (it’s just to the left of the fonts- the default is Normal Text), rather than just increasing the font size. This serves two purposes: 1) you can automatically generate a table of contents and 2) for those using screen readers, they can skip from section to section rather than having to listen to the first 12 pages to get to content on the 13th. The video at the bottom of this post (which, BTW, I uploaded to Google Docs and shared) explains this further.

3. More fonts! Google Docs just added over 450 fonts, so you can now spend 5 minutes writing a document and 90 minutes choosing the perfect font for it! To check out additional fonts, click “Add Fonts” at the bottom of the font list.

4. Easier printing. Google Docs has improved the printing interface. Just click on the print icon in Google Docs (do not choose “Print” in the brower), choose your printer, and print.

More word cloud tools

You probably have seen Wordle, the tool that analyzes text for word frequency, then arranges the words graphically (the Advisory wordle is a good example of this). There are other tools that are similar and are worth a try. Here are two:

Tagxedo is much like Wordle, expect that it allows you to decide the shape of the final image. Here, for example, is our course catalog in the shape of a hawk (note that these screen shots are not as much fun as the online version- try it yourself and you'll see what I mean):


WordSift is not as pretty as the others, but clicking on a word in WordSift brings up images and a visual thesaurus representation. This might be especially useful for ELL students. Again, here's our course catalog:


Unfortunately, neither of these have built-in printing, so you need to take a screen shot if you want them on paper.

Want more? Here's a blog post that discusses other word cloud tools:
http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=364