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Category Archives: Google Certified Teacher

Research with Google Docs

Posted on by Posted in 21st Century Education, Education, Google Certified Teacher, Google Tools, Literacy, Professional Development, Research, Technology, web literacy Leave a comment

Did you know that there is a research tool built right inside of Google Docs that will allow you to gather information from around the web, cite your

sources, and search multiple types of information? Last week I wrote about how to get started with Google Docs as well as some thinking about research. This week I want to expand on both of those themes and show you how to organize your sources (or searches) using the Google Docs Research Tool.

1. To get started, log in to Google Docs and create a new document.

2. Once you are in the document, click on “Tools” and select “Research”. This will open a sidebar entitled “Research” that has a search field at the top.

3. Type your topic in the search field (see this post for search tips) and click enter. By default this will do a search of the entire web giving you results just as Google would and give you the results in that side bar. To narrow your search click on the down arrow beside your search term and you can search specific areas of Google.

  • Everything- this searches all areas of Google just as you would on the Google homepage or in your search bar in the browser
  • Images- this searches Google Images for your particular topic. If you choose one of these images, it records the image URL as a footnote on the page.(great for citing images – more on image settings later)
  • Scholar- this searches Google Scholar for articles and academic writings. This tool has many (but not all) of the same sources you’ll find in databases.
  • Quotes – this searches the web for specific quotations including your search term.

4. Look at your list of results and choose the one that you either want to refer back to later and you can either go ahead and cite the source using the links provided, or you can click through to the document or webpage. Each piece of information that you pull will add a footnote or a citation to your document allowing you to reference it later. Don’t forget, as you create this document, everything is automatically saved and accessible to anyone you’ve given access permission to. (See this post for information about sharing in Google Docs). This makes collaborative research easier than ever.

Sample web result Sample Scholar result
Sample Footnotes

 

5. The last thing that you’ll want to know about is about some of the settings in the Research Tool. When you first open up the research sidebar, down at the bottom there is a space where you can change the settings.

  • Citation format – choose from MLA, APA and Chicago citation styles based on the research
  • Filter image results – many images on Google Images are copyrighted. If you select “Free to use,share or modify, even commercially,” you will only get images that are copyright free and are free to use in projects.

At one point I might have struggled with this for students thinking that they need to know how to cite their sources and that they should have the pleasure of figuring out where the commas and periods go for each kind of source they use in their research. However, I also realize that that’s not the way I do research. The tools are available and students should use them. More than anything, this may help to ensure that sources actually get cited. That would be an #eduwin of great proportions.

Finally, I don’t believe that this will replace research practices, in fact, I see this as simply a way to organize and keep track of your sources during research. Information should still be fact checked and verified for accuracy  but to keep everything in one place, this is a great way to get started.

If you’d prefer to see how this works, check out this video.

Intro to Google Docs

Posted on by Posted in 21st Century Education, Education, Friday Flyer, Google Certified Teacher, Google Tools, Professional Development, Technology 1 Comment

This week I helped a number of people get started on Google Drive so I wanted to create a general overview to help folks get going when I wasn’t around.

Google Drive (formerly Docs) has become my “go to” tool for most anything I create anymore. Instead of opening up Microsoft Word, I fire up my browser and compose whatever I’m creating online. Essentially, Google Drive is an online productivity suite that includes word processor, spreadsheet, online form, and presentation programs that can be created, edited and shared using only your browser. There are certainly challenges that come with this, but the benefits go a long way to outweigh those issues.

  1. Share and collaborate in real time – The ability to share a document is huge for me. No longer do I have to email documents to everyone I need to collaborate with, I simply share the document and everyone has instant access to it and everyone has the same version document and can see updates as they’re being made.
  2. Edit and access the document from anywhere – Regardless of which computer or device I might be using, as long as I have an internet connection, I can get to and (typically) edit my document.
  3. Save and export copies – If I need to share a document with someone who doesn’t use Drive, I can download that document in all of the Microsoft formats as well as a PDF. This gives me great flexibility for how I use these documents.

I could go on and on about why I use these tools and how it has changed my workflow but instead, here are some resources to get you started.

Video Tutorials

Sign up for a Google Account - This video is a little older but the process is generally the same.

Creating and sharing a document in Google Drive

Sharing a folder in Google Drive

This is a small list but should at least get you started.

Cross posted to Parkway Northeast Middle School Friday Flyer

Great isn’t good enough

Posted on by Posted in Education, Google Certified Teacher, kids, PLN 2 Comments

One year ago I was selected to be a Google Certified Teacher and off I went to Chicago to spend a day at Google’s offices.  Aside from all the terrific people I met and the network that I acquired through that process, I was in awe of the Google Goodness.  Let me be clear, I use Google tools but I wouldn’t say that I’m a Google fanboy.  There are concerns there that don’t belong in this post.  However, throughout the day, we had the opportunity to interact with some of the folks who work at Google and got a little peek into their philosophy. After a year, the one phrase that sticks out most in my mind is, “Great isn’t good enough”.  I don’t remember who said it or really even the context in which I heard it but I remember distinctly the fire that it stirred in me.  The want to do things big.  To not be satisfied with “good enough” or even “great” but to push past that to another level yet undefined.

Great isn’t good enough.  How would that philosophy play out in education?  Is it about students making the “perfect” project?  Is it about making AYP year after year?  Is it high scores on standardized tests?  It could be, but I look at it not in terms of measuring oneself against a set bar or in comparison to another district/state/program etc., but rather, I think it has to do more with internal motivation.  Everyday when I go to work, my hope is that I’ve made my building, my district and education as a whole a little better than it was the day before.  It could be the culmination of a 6 month project, or it could be as simple as showing a teacher how to use a tool, but whatever it is, I want every interaction that I have with teachers and students to be meaningful and “great”.  As my own kids have started school, I want every day to be beyond great for them.  I want them to discover and grow.  I want them to have that internal drive to strive for their best and to know that there’s always room for improvement.  Yes, in some case, “great” will have to do and it others “good” or “good enough” will work.  But, when it comes to my work and the importance that education plays in the lives of students everywhere I don’t know that “great” will ever be “good enough” for me.

NOT Embedding Objects into Google Maps

Posted on by Posted in Google Certified Teacher, Google Maps, projects 1 Comment

Back in September when I went to Chicago for the Google Teachers Academy I found out about a project that another Google Certified Teacher was doing entitled “Greetings From…” Postcard Geography. It’s a great project that I wanted to get involved in so I contacted a Social Studies teacher from one of my schools and asked her if there was any way we could incorporate the project into her curriculum.  She was working with a group of her students on a project that detailed the history of some of the neighborhoods in St. Louis.  Her students have created PowerPoint presentations and it was my hope to use these as a part of the project.  I spent a great deal of the day today trying to figure out a way to embed their presentations into the placemarks as a part of the Google Map.

Unfortunately, and much to my chagrin, I was not successful.  My first thought was to put the PowerPoints into Google Presentations and, hopefully, embed them.  I knew that it would be problematic because the embed code from Google Presentations uses the <iframe> tag which Google Maps doesn’t support.  So I tried services like Slideshare and Zoho which uses <object> and <div> tags.  I even went about trying to hand code it using <embed> codes.  It works in a blog and on a regular site but it didn’t work in Google Maps.  So, it looks like rather than embedding the presentations, I will be linking out to them.  It’s not my first choice, but after lots of research and lots of frustration, I think that I’m going to give up on it and focus my energies elsewhere.  So be it.  Maybe someday Google will get all of their services to talk to each other.
View Larger Map

Back from GTA

Posted on by Posted in Google Certified Teacher, PLN, Professional Development 7 Comments

This morning I arrived back in St. Louis after spending about 48 hours in Chicago for the Google Teacher Academy.  On Wednesday September 24th, 53 educators from 17 states converged on the Google Offices invited by Dr. Mark Wagner, CUE and Google for the purpose of networking and looking at the educational applications of the suite of tools offered by Google.  The process began with an application in which we were required to make a one minute video and post it on YouTube.  About one week later, those who were accepted received an email with an invitation to become a Google Certified Teacher.

The day after I found out that I was accepted I created a Google Site and started inviting others that I knew would be attending to contribute their own information to the site hoping that before we all got together, we would at least be able to put a name to a face.  I began searching Twitter posts and blogs for anyone who had posted that they too had been accepted.  (The site was down for a short while, but that’s another story.)  Over the next three weeks I found a total of 18 future GCT’s and invited them to contribute.  Interestingly enough, it paid off.  Stephanie Madlinger and I traveled together and met Paul Hieronymus (a GCT from Ohio) at the Rock Bottom Brewry for dinner on Tuesday evening.  We had a great time sharing ideas and experiences and speculating about what the following day would hold.

On Wednesday morning, Stephanie and I walked the eight blocks from our hotel to the Google offices.  As we passed the front of the building I recognized Fred Koch standing on Kinzie Street and knew that the site had paid off.  We all introduced ourselves, checked in with Allison Merrick and began our amazing day of sharing and learning.

Over the course of the day we collaborated with fellow teachers, were introduced to tools and applications and became inspired by speakers.  The day flew by and before we knew it we were done.  I’m still reeling a little from the sheer volume of information and learning that took place that day but one of the most important things had to do with the people that I met.  My personal learning network has expanded yet again and I’m excited about the possibilities.

I have had many professional development opportunities during my educational career and many of them have been very transformative.  GTA is now at the top of my list of these experiences.  As I reflect on the day, the most valuable parts of were the connections and conversations in which I participated.  The opportunity to be a part of such a diverse and forward thinking group was well worth the trip and I look forward to future opportunities stemming from the event.  I encourage anyone with any inclination to apply and have the same experience.  To all my new friends, thank you for your expertise, sharing and vision.  Let us all continue to share our knowledge and learn from each other as often as possible.