Great Guide for Learning to Use Google Apps

As we all know, next year the School District of New London will be moving to Google Apps for Education.  While Google Docs will look as familiar as Microsoft Word to most, Google Docs has the advantage of having its storage completely online and allowing for easy document sharing and collaboration.  You can even create quizzes using Google Forms and install a script called Flubaroo to automatically grade them. 

I know for some the whole idea of using Google Docs seems daunting and new.  Fortuantely Richard Byrne from Free Technology for Teachers has created an easy-to-follow guide for teachers new to Google Docs.  You'll learn not only how to create documents, but also how to design presentations and use forms to never grade another multiple choice quiz again!

Open publication - Free publishing - More google

You Can't Just Google It!

Those of you who know me well have heard how much I dislike when we teach students to research by sending them directly to Google.  Beginning with a Google search is not an effective research strategy nor does it always lead students to high quality academic resources.  Below is a fun video shared by a fellow educational blogger explaining why students should not be using Google as a primary research tool.

What should students use then?  They should begin with our high quality, reliable educational resources: academic databases, library print materials, and a search engine made especially for students, Sweet Search.  Using these resources will not only lead to the highest quality information, but it also teaches students how to conduct academic research in the appropriate manner.  This is a 21st century skill that students need for success in future jobs and education!

For a good laugh and a good lesson, here is a video created using the website xtranormal. 

You Can't Just Google It!
by: SweetSearch

Resources for Finding Web Tools

There are so many cool tools, but so little time!  How do we know which tools are the best out there to use in our classrooms?  There are many great sites out there that organize web tools by topic.   Here are a few of my favorites:

Teach Web 2.0-  http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/

Cool Tools for Schools-  http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

 ICT Magic- http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ 

 

WebTools4u2use-http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/home

Web Resources for Schoolwork- http://learningtechno.weebly.com/index.html

Great Tools for the 21st Century Classroom

Below is my presentation from the School District of New London's April 4 teacher inservice. There are so many great tools to share; it was difficult to limit it to 21!