Does your school use Gmail and Google Calendar? Feel free to share these very basic directions with staff who many need assistance creating an event and inviting others to it. You can also view them here.
Create a Meeting in Google Calendar
Open your Gmail Calendar.
Find Other Calendars in the left navigation bar.
Type the person’s name in the search box.
Select their email address when it pops up.
That person’s name will appear in your calendar list.
Make certain the box to the left of their name has a color. If it is white, click on it once. That will make their events appear on your calendar.
Find a blank spot on the calendar.
The completely white spaces on the calendars are times that you are both free. Select one by double-clicking on it.
If your screen looks like this you did not double click; you only clicked once.
Click Edit event.
Fill in the event information.
1. Give the event a title.
2. Check that the date and times are correct.
3. List a venue.
4. Write a note regarding the meeting.
Invite guests.
On the right side of your screen, click in the search box below Add: Guests. Start typing the person’s name.
Select their email. Click enter.
Each time you add a person their name is added to the guest list.
You can delete someone by clicking the X after their name.
Click Save.
Send invitations.
Verify the date and time on your calendar.
If you need to make changes, double-click the event. Remember to save your changes.
You have now invited someone to a meeting. You can double-click on the event on your calendar to see who has responded to your invitation.
I spent part of this afternoon prepping for a lesson I am teaching tomorrow. The lesson should help our grade four students take what they know about non-fiction text structures and help them transfer it to reading online. Here is what I have planned.
(5 minutes) First we will use this presentation to make the connection that text features, like facial features or road signs, help us navigate. Then we will review some common text features. (NOTE: The text feature posters in this presentation were created by Beth Newingham. She shared them on the Scholastic.com blog.)
Next, we will use this Text Feature Scavenger Hunt. I created it as a Google spreadsheet so we can all use it at once. (Hopefully we will be blessed with speedy internet. If we aren’t, we will have to work in larger groups or all together at the IWB.)
(5 minutes) I will model how I scan a webpage to inventory it. On the scavenger hunt I put a 1 in the column of each text feature that I find. As the students work, the totals for each feature will appear at the top of the page.
(10-15 minutes) Students will work in pairs to inventory the text features on their assigned web page. I am pairing them by computer number since this is a quick activity and reading level should not be a problem. I want them seated near each other so they can discuss which features are and are not on the page. I am hoping that by pairing them they will locate more features per page and that the discussion they have will help them learn. (I used the reading level feature in Google’s advanced search to find pages that should be of an appropriate reading level.)
If they finish quickly, they can scroll down and inventory another web page. If all the sites are taken they can visit sites already evaluated to see if the first pair missed any features.
(5 minutes) When all the pages have been inventoried, we will come back together as a class to discuss what we discovered. After our discussion, I will model how to complete one of the red cells near the bottom of the spreadsheet. That space is for explaining how that text feature helped me navigate the page and understand what I was reading.
If time permits, our final activity will be for students to add a post to their blogs regarding what they learned. They can use the red rows on the spreadsheet to help them get started.
In the next lesson, I might use a form similar to this one. I’d want to find really high interests sites since the activity itself won’t enthrall them.
A few words about the websites:
You could improve this lesson by drawing pages from a greater variety of websites. I drew quite a few pages from the same site because it was pulling in quite a few different text features.
I avoided pages with almost no text features. However, if time permits I may pull some up to show that they are more difficult to read.
Feel free to use this tutorial. If it isn’t displaying well, you can also view it here.
I created it using Clarify software. If you use that and would like the original file to make modifications, leave me a comment.
Creating a Google Site
In Google Chrome, open your Gmail or Google Drive
Find the black menu bar near the top of your screen. Click on Sites.
Click Create.
1. Click Blank template.
2. Type the name for your site. This will become part of your site’s address.
3. This shows entire address of your website.
4. Select a theme. Click on a theme to see how it looks. The theme can easily be changed at any time.
5. Click Create.
Write on your home page.
Click on the pencil to start writing on your home page.
Change the Page Name
By default the front page of your site is titled Home. Type over the word home and that will change the page’s name and address.
Save your page.
Create a New Page
Click the page with a + next to the pencil to create a new page.
1. Type the page title. It will appear at the top of the page and in the page’s address.
2. Select a location.
If it is a new type of page put it at the top level. In the example below, Class Photos, Calendar, Word Study, etc. are at the top level.
If it is a new page of the same type, choose the second option. For example, if you make a new page for each newsletter, you might them all under a main newsletter page. In the example below, each week page is beneath Home.
3. Click Create.
The MORE Button
Use the More button to manage your website.
Go to the Page actions section if you want to delete the page you are on. You cannot delete the home page.
Most of the time you will go to the Site actions section. Let’s go there now to Edit site layout.
Sidebars
You can have one or more sidebars on your site. The site below has 3 sidebars, Classes, Quest Boards, and Helpful Information. You can also turn off the sidebar.
Add a sidebar
Click the Sidebar + sign to add another sidebar.
Next, select what type of sidebar you want. If you want to add links, select Navigation.
To hide all sidebars click the sidebar button. Click it again to reveal them.
Horizontal Navigation Bar
This site has a sidebar and a horizontal navigation bar. Weekly Update, Schedule, Blogs, Music News, Contact Info. and Classroom Policies are pages on this website that can be accessed from the horizontal navigation bar.
Edit Horizontal Navigation Bar
Click above the sidebar to edit the horizontal navigation.
Click Add page.
Type the name of the page you want and click the search button,
or,
find the page in the site map, then click OK.
Click on a page in the list and then use the arrow keys to move it to your desired location on the horizontal navigation. Click Done.
When you are done editing the site layout click the Close button to return to the website.
Embed a Calendar
Google Calendars can easily be embedded into your site. First you need to change the calendar’s settings.
1. In Google Calendar click on the name of the calendar you want to use. Click on the arrow that appears to the right of the title.
2. Click Calendar Settings.
Click the link to Share this Calendar.
1. Tick the Share this calendar with others box.
2. Tick Make this calendar public.
3. In the drop down menu select See all event details.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Back to calendar.
Add the calendar to your site.
Go to the page on your site where you want to embed the calendar. Click the pencil to edit the page.
Click the Insert menu.
Click Calendar.
Tick the calendar you want to embed.
Click Select.
Select the View.
Tick the Display Options you want.
Click Save.
Save the page to view your calendar.
Embed a Google Doc into your site
To embed a Google Doc, open the doc in your Google drive.
In the File menu click Publish to the web…
Tick the box to Automatically republish when changes are made.
Click the Start publishing button.
Click Close.
Click OK.
Go to the page on your site where you want to embed the page. Click the pencil to start editing the page.
Click the Insert menu.
Select Document.
Tick the document you wish to embed. If you don’t see the document, use the search field to find it.
Click Select.
Tick the Display options you want to use.
Click Save. Save the page to view the document.
Creating a Google Site by Susan Sedro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
I am always on the lookout for effective digital citizenship activities for elementary students. This fall I was delighted to learn that Common Sense Media developed a website for students in grades 3-5 focusing on digital citizenship.
I have been impressed with their teaching materials but the lessons were always too long for the time I had with the children. This new site is brilliantly made. There are five modules. For each module the lesson plan gives you an opening activity. Then students login to the website. The format for each online part of the lesson is first there is a video with middle school kids. This imparts some information. Then the kids play a game using and building on that. Then more video or other information, followed by round 2 of the game. Then there is a final round of the game and a wrap up. Completing all of that unlocks a paper and pencil mission.
For the digital privacy lesson I modified the lesson a bit and it was highly effective. First, we watched this video,
We watch it through once. The kids really seem to relate to it.
Then we watch it again with me pausing it to think aloud or give them chances to pair and share.
Next I teach them to login and they play. Students found the games engrossing and the questions asked during the games were a just the right level. No one failed miserably or always got them all correct.
When they finished, they logged into their blogs. Earlier we had created a blog post that lists our school’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, fairness and compassion. Under each heading they listed what they already knew about being safe and respectful online. Now, using a color other than black, they listed their new learning. Some students needed to be prompted a bit to write anything but even those students had gleaned the important information from the games.
All in all, this has been a highly effective and engaging lesson with high quality materials. I recommend it without hesitation but with a few tips.
I set up the student accounts using their school username and the strong passwords they developed at the start of the year. When they first login to the site, after they select their avatar, it tries to make them change their password. We just hit the browser’s back button and logged in again and it didn’t ask again.
Sometimes a window pops up during game play asking the child to reset or logout. Quickly hitting reset allowed the game to continue. Wait to long and you are logged out and must start again.
One day Share Jumper would freeze for approximately 30 seconds. Sometimes, using the up arrow would unfreeze it.
The biggest challenge was setting up the student accounts. You can upload a class at a time as a .csv file. However, the process is quirky. After lots of experimentation here is what worked for me.
Export my workshop of all my class logins from Google Spreadsheet to Excel.
Open the Excel workbook. Right-click on a class tab and select Move > to a new workbook.
Cut out any unneeded rows, all headings and any line highlighting.
Set up your columns without headings in this order: First Name, Last Name, Unique Identifier, Username, Password. The unique identifier is supposed to be able to be left blank. However, for me the upload failed unless I had something in their so I used the student’s ID numbers.
Copy all the data and paste it into a new blank worksheet in a new workbook.
Set the print area.
Save As > Windows comma-separated (.csv)
Then I could cleanly upload the data. Why the extra step of pasting into a new worksheet? I don’t know. All I know is that those are the only steps that consistently worked.
Note: Since I created this tutorial, Google has turned of the “use old look” setting. As a result, these directions may no longer help you. That has made it trickier to get your Google Drive organized after it migrates to the new look. I hope to create a screencast to replace this post since new users still need to organize the shared items in their Google Drive.
I created his rather lengthy handout for a workshop I am teaching tomorrow. Please feel free to use it for your own workshops. You may find it easier to print a copy from here: http://ssedro.clarify-it.com/d/mnf6hf. If you use Clarify and would like a copy of this file so you can modify it for your own use, leave me a comment and I’ll email it to you.
Organize Your Google Drive: A Beginner’s Workshop
Goals
Learn Google Drive Basics
Organize your Google Drive
Learn how to keep your Google Drive organized
Let’s get started with the basics of moving around in Google Drive.
Expand and Close Folders
Right now, this My Drive folder is closed. The folder’s contents are hidden.
This My Drive folder is expanded. We can view the folder’s contents.
Expand a folder by tapping once on the small triangle to the left of the folder name. Try it now!
Close a folder by tapping the triangle again. Try it now. Practice it a few times.
Vocabulary
Find each of these items in your own Google Drive.
1 = Create Button: Click it to create new documents or folders.
2 = Navigation Pane: Click these folders to view your files.
3 = Main Window: The main window displays the contents of whatever folder you have clicked in the navigation pane.
4 = Sort Button: Changes how files and folders are sorted in the main window.
5 = View Buttons: Lets you view the main window as a list or as icons. Click on the View buttons to see what happens.
6 = Settings: Click on the gear to change Google Drive settings.
What is in Google Drive?
There are two types of items in your Google Drive.
Personal folders and files are ones that only you can see.
Shared foldersandfiles are ones that both you and some other people can see.
How can you tell the difference? There are two ways. First let’s look in the Navigation Pane.
Personal folders are a solid color.
Shared foldershave a person on them.
Look at the folders below. Can you tell which ones are personal and which ones are shared?
Next, look at your own Google Drive. Use the Navigation Pane to find one personal and one shared folder.
Shared and Personal Files
Looking in the Navigation Pane works for folders. It does not work for files. We find out if files are personal or shared by looking in Main Window. The key is to look to the right of the document’s title.
If the file is shared, it will say Shared right after the title.
If a file is not shared it may be blank after the title. If it is not blank, it will list the folder(s) in which the file is stored.
Let’s practice. Look at this list of files.
Which ones are shared?
Which ones are personal?
Next look at the Main Window of your own Google Drive. Find one shared and one personal file.
Consolidate
Before we move on, let’s consolidate what you have learned so far. Go to your Google Drive. Locate each of these items.
1. Navigation Pane.
2. Main Window
3. a folder that is Personal
4. a folder that is Shared
5. a file that is Personal
6. a file that is Shared
7. Gear button where we go to change settings
Google Docs Old and New View
Google Docs = old view
Google Drive = new view
Some day there will no longer an the old view. It is good to start using the new view before that happens.
Old View
Look at the picture below. You are in the old view if you have these two folders…
My collections
Collections shared with me
New View
Your are in the new view if you see My Drive.
Go to your Google Drive. Check to see if you are in the old view or the new view.
Switch to the Old View
Now that you can find your way around the Google Drive window, you are almost ready to start organizing. It is easiest to organize your Google Drive when you are in the old view.
1. Click on the Gear button.
2. Click on the words Temorarily use the old look. If you don’t see those words, then you are already in the old view.
Find Collections shared with me
1. Look in the Navigation Pane.
2. Scroll down until you find Collections shared with me.
3. Expand the the folder by tapping the triangle which is to the left of Collections shared with me.
Find Top Level Folders
Look at the Navigation Pane below.
– The first two folders are all the way to the left. That means they are top level folders.
– The next two folders are indented to the right. That means they are inside another folder. They are subfolders.
When we organize your Google Drive, we only want to work with top level folders. Ignore the subfolders.
Organize a Folder into My Collections
We are ready to start organizing. When we organize, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to never drag folders. Dragging may hide the item from other people. Here is the correct way to organize folders.
1. Control-click a top level folder in the navigation bar.
2. A menu will drop down.
3. Click Organize.
5. After a few seconds, an Organize window will open.
6. HOLD DOWN THE COMMAND KEY ON YOUR KEYBOARD.
7. Tick My collections.
8. Click Apply.
9. Let go of the command key.
Holding down the command key ensures that other people can still find the folder. It is essential that you hold it down during steps 7 and 8.
If you are on a Windows computer, hold down the control key instead of the command key.
Tips
You have successfully organized a shared folder into your My Drive. Now work your way through the Collections shared with me folder. Here are some tips to help you with your organizing.
– You may not need every folder. Click on a folder and then look at its contents in the main window. If you don’t need it, don’t organize it.
– Folders that start with ti are Teacher Dashboard folders. Do not delete any of them.
– For now, do not delete any folders. Just leave the ones you don’t need in Collections shared with me.
Switch to the New View
When you are done organzing the Collections shared with me folder, it is time to switch to the new look in Google Drive.
1. Click on the Gear button.
2. Tick Upgrade to new look.
Using Stars
If there are certain files or folders you use frequently, you may want to make them easier to find. One way to do this is to add a star. There are two ways to add a star.
In the navigation pane…
1. Control-click the title of a folder.
2. Select Add star in the dropdown menu.
Another way to add a star is in the main window.
1. Find the file or folder in the main window.
2. Tick the star to the right of the title.
Any time you want to find an item that you starred, click on Starred in the navigation pane.
Colored Folders
Changing the color of a folder is a way to make it easier to find high priority folders in your navigation pane.
1. Find the folder in the navigation pane.
2. Control-click on the folder.
3. Select Change color.
4. Click on a color.
Sort Your Main Window
Now that your Google Drive is organized, starred and color coded, let’s make the main window easier to use. Many teachers find it most useful to sort the main window in this way.
1. Click on the Sort button.
2. Select Last opened by me.
Now the main window should mostly show the files and folders you are actually using.
Organizing New Files Shared with You
Here is a good work flow to follow so you can more easily keep track of new files that are shared with you.
1. When you receive an email informing you that a new file has been shared with you, click on the link in that email. The file will open in your Google Drive.
2. In the top, left corner of the file, is a folder icon. Click on that.
3. HOLD THE COMMAND KEY and then tick the folder where you want to put it.
4. Click Apply changes.
5. Let go of the command key.
Notice that at the bottom of the window there is an option to Create a new folder. Now practice this with the email Susan Sedro sent to you for this workshop.
The graphics aspects of creating a game were still bothering me. I know of people who have gamified their classroom with almost no graphics, so they aren’t essential. However, in my readings, most recently Kapp’s The Gamification of Learning and Instruction by Karl M. Kapp, the aesthetics of a game do affect engagement. Since I am creating games to engage kids, it seems I should not overlook that aspect entirely.
In an earlier post I shared my idea to hire someone to create some basic graphics. I still like that idea and would like it for my big tech game. However, in the mean time, I’ve decided to work on a smaller game that is needed more immediately. My husband’s class will pilot the project. While we were on holiday last week I enjoyed thinking about how the game might be structured. I must have been working on it in my sleep because I awoke early one morning with two ideas.
I could use our school’s Bitstrip‘s account to create comics to further the narration for the game’s story.
I might be able to find free online icon sets that could be made into badges.
When I had internet access I looked into both options. Bistrips has added more scenes to its art gallery. Many of the rooms are now furnished. That will save me time. Still no dogs or cats but I should be able communicate my story line through a combination of comic strips and paragraphs of text. Bitstrips are easy to embed in a blog or website so I think this is one problem solved.
My search for free and attractive icons also went well. Cruzine.com has a section of freebies on their website. Some of those freebies are icon sets! Here are some that I thought could work.
And these character illustrations might work as stand alone graphics for teachers in the game’s story.
A month or two ago I purchased Logoist when MacUpdate had it on sale. Yes, I could make badges in Photoshop but it always takes me a long time to find my way around in it. Using Logoist I stumbled around for 15 minutes and created the badge below. My next one should be a snap, especially if I create a template.
Now if only I could figure out how to get them to the students so they could easily add them to their Blogger blog. They don’t yet have school emails. It may be that I put all the badges in a folder and they download and then upload the badges. I suspect the group will be self-policing so that if someone takes a badge they have not yet earned, that won’t work out so well for them. In any case, badges aren’t the point of the game. Maybe my next post will lay out the reasons for creating the game.
