Sunday, October 25, 2015
Staying Connected
This week I began my final classes needed for completing my Masters! I look forward to all the new learning that will take place over the next seven week. This week, I got to focus on educational blogs that can guide me as I continue to pursue meaningful ways to integrate technology in my classroom. While I love a good blog just as much as the next teacher, keeping up-to-date on blog posts can be incredibly time consuming. This week, however, I was introduced to Feedly, which is a great way to keep up with all my favorite blogs in one simple location! Not only does Feedly allow me to keep up with all my favorite blogs, it is incredibly able to use! An account is free and you have several different options for signing up for an account, including using an existing google account. For more information on how to use Feedly, check out the video below!
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Google Sites
This week I had the opportunity to pull together everything I have learned so far in my Google Tools for Educators class. I must say it has been a whirlwind of new learning! I've discovered several new and unique ways to integrate technology into my classroom. Google Earth and Google Story Builder were definitely my favorites along the way!
In the end, I was able to create a Google Sites that can be used to keep parents and students up-to-date regarding the team I coach at school: Stucky Academic League. I did have some struggles along the way, but overall Google Sites has been an extremely useful tool! The Google Site I created for my Academic League team is viewable only with whom I have shared the link. Because the site will eventually contain pictures of the team throughout our season, I have chosen to NOT share the link on this blog. I have, however, included a video tutorial below on how you can create your own Google Site!
In the end, I was able to create a Google Sites that can be used to keep parents and students up-to-date regarding the team I coach at school: Stucky Academic League. I did have some struggles along the way, but overall Google Sites has been an extremely useful tool! The Google Site I created for my Academic League team is viewable only with whom I have shared the link. Because the site will eventually contain pictures of the team throughout our season, I have chosen to NOT share the link on this blog. I have, however, included a video tutorial below on how you can create your own Google Site!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
YouTube and Picasa
This week I had a chance to explore different features that YouTube has to offer, as well as, Picasa. I'm definitely excited to incorporate some of these into my classroom!
I frequently use YouTube to locate videos that I can use in my classroom, but I have been completely missing out on YouTube Education! It can be a struggle to find a student-friendly video on YouTube given the sheer number of videos available. Time is a very precious resource for most educators, so wading through thousands of videos is not always an option. YouTube Education allows you to search for educational videos only, which can be a huge time saver! Click here to check out YouTube Education.
I also had the opportunity to explore TubeSnack, a site that allows you to create custom playlists. I found it to be very easy to use. It allows you to search for videos using key words or phrases just like you would on YouTube. You can also use the url from a YouTube video to find the video on TubeSnack. A plus to using TubeSnack is that you don't need to create a separate account; you can log in using an existing Google account. Check out my TubeSnack playlist here! You can also click here for more information. The only down fall I encountered while using TubeSnack is that you have to pay for a premium membership in order to download your playlist.
This week I also had a chance to explore Picasa. I vaguely remember using Picasa in the past, but didn't stick with it. It has some really great features that includes the ability to make photo collages, as well as, picture slide-shows. Picasa can also be set to sync to your Google Photos. One feature I did not like, however, is the automatic scan feature. Upon downloading, Picasa scanned and uploaded all of my pictures files present on my computer. You do still have control over which albums automatically sync with Google Photos; however, if you accidentally saved a picture file to the wrong folder on your computer, it could be automatically uploaded. I wasn't really a fan of this, because I like to be slightly more selective in what I do and do not share. Even though, I'm not completely sold on Picasa, I do think it's worth checking out! Check out the video below for more information.
I frequently use YouTube to locate videos that I can use in my classroom, but I have been completely missing out on YouTube Education! It can be a struggle to find a student-friendly video on YouTube given the sheer number of videos available. Time is a very precious resource for most educators, so wading through thousands of videos is not always an option. YouTube Education allows you to search for educational videos only, which can be a huge time saver! Click here to check out YouTube Education.
I also had the opportunity to explore TubeSnack, a site that allows you to create custom playlists. I found it to be very easy to use. It allows you to search for videos using key words or phrases just like you would on YouTube. You can also use the url from a YouTube video to find the video on TubeSnack. A plus to using TubeSnack is that you don't need to create a separate account; you can log in using an existing Google account. Check out my TubeSnack playlist here! You can also click here for more information. The only down fall I encountered while using TubeSnack is that you have to pay for a premium membership in order to download your playlist.
This week I also had a chance to explore Picasa. I vaguely remember using Picasa in the past, but didn't stick with it. It has some really great features that includes the ability to make photo collages, as well as, picture slide-shows. Picasa can also be set to sync to your Google Photos. One feature I did not like, however, is the automatic scan feature. Upon downloading, Picasa scanned and uploaded all of my pictures files present on my computer. You do still have control over which albums automatically sync with Google Photos; however, if you accidentally saved a picture file to the wrong folder on your computer, it could be automatically uploaded. I wasn't really a fan of this, because I like to be slightly more selective in what I do and do not share. Even though, I'm not completely sold on Picasa, I do think it's worth checking out! Check out the video below for more information.
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