Google Drive & Google Forms

Google Drive & Google Forms

Google Drive has easily become one of the most user-friendly tools for educators to use. What is so great about it? It has transformed over the years to allow educators to create folders, share, edit, collaborate, communicate, and assess student work! Are you new to Google Drive and Google Forms? Take a look below to learn more about these valuable tools!

Google Drive:

Documents, spreadsheets, drawings, and more! Google Drive offers a one-stop shop for nearly anything you would need to do. Whether it is creating a graphic organizer for your classroom (check out Google Drawings here) or creating a template for an essay (check out Google Docs here), Google Drive offers a platform for collaborating with students online! Our students are becoming ever-dependent on technology. Many of them would be considered "digital natives." Google Drive creates an environment that is easy for these students to connect with. Drive offers many apps and it allows you to control who sees your work and who can edit the work. Don't be afraid - there is a lot that Google offers, but it is important to know that each application is user-friendly. There are a multitude of videos and articles that walk you through the steps of using each application. Check out this article to find ways to use Google Drive in the classroom.

Google Forms:

Google Forms is a quick and easy way to assess students, survey parents, or even sign up for an activity! Having used other survey-type websites, Google Forms is the easiest one I have used. The feature that I enjoy most is the fact that the responses are logged in a spreadsheet! Being a user of Edmodo, which is great - don't get me wrong, I do believe that Google Forms trumps the Edmodo quiz. I have encountered multiple issues with Edmodo quizzes and have yet to encounter an issue with Forms. I think forms is much easier for students to use, read, and submit answers. Try out a sample quiz that I created using Google Forms here! Want to know more basics about Forms? Watch the video below:

Google Forms doesn't stop there; it offers a variety of different add-ons. One of my favorite add-ons is Flubaroo. Flubaroo is an add-on that grades my Forms and creates a spreadsheet with the data. It breaks the assessment down by question, which allows me to see the percentage of students who answered each question correctly. As an educator, this makes data collection and formative assessments much more effective and it takes half the time! Flubaroo also highlights the names of students who score below a certain percentage, which would help me identify students who may need additional support. Flubaroo isn't the only Forms add-on available. Check out the article here to see some great add-ons for educators! Want to know more about Flubaroo? Follow the link here to see how wonderful this tool is.

Google is great! Google is good! Let us thank Google for these tools!

-Mrs. Adkins

Google Tips: Searching & Gmail

TIPS for searching and using Gmail

Google never ceases to amaze me. I have been a Google user for at least 5 years and Google is always changing - adding new tools, updating its look, and staying a step ahead of everything else. Despite the continual transformation of Google, it is never difficult to use! This week I learned so much about refining my Google searching experience and keeping my Gmail account organized. Below are some tips and tricks I learned:

Tips for Searching with Google

 #1: Translate 

- Google makes translating a word or phrase SO simple. All you have to do is go to Google Translate here. Choose the language of origin for the word/phrase (or let it auto detect the language), then choose the language you want it to be translated into, hit enter and BOOM! That's it! Obviously, it won't be perfect. If you are in a pinch, this will definitely suffice!

 #2: Calculate 

- Have a tough math problem you need solved? Don't have a calculator handy? Have no fear, Google Calculator is here! Insert your problem and hit the "=" sign and that's it!

 #3: Research with Google Books 

- Have you ever needed to find a good book for research or just to read? Well Google Books is an excellent and easy tool to use when searching for the perfect piece of literature. Go to Google books here and type in a topic of your choice. If I searched "World War II" it would bring up a list of books related to this topic. I could select a book of interest and actually preview parts of the book. If I were researching I could use small excerpts from the text and easily create a citation. I can add books to my library that I might want to purchase. I could also share a shelf in my library with students - that way they could see a specific list of suggested reading material on a given topic!   

Check out this tutorial on using Google Books in Education

 #4: You can use Google Custom Search to create your own search database! 

If you are going to have your students do some research in your class create your own search database for them to work with. This is such an amazing tool because it alleviates the problem of students using Wiki's, personal blogs, untrusted .com's and more. Instead of just having them type their topic into the Google search bar, you can actually embed your customized search onto your teacher blog/website! When they type in a topic, they should bring up the website that you added to your custom search. How cool is that?!

Check out my custom search on Genetics!

If you would like more information on how to create your own custom search go here. 

Tips for upgrading your Gmail experience 

 #1: Gmail Tabs 
Get your Gmail emails organized NOW! I can tell you that I am not someone who filters through my emails multiple times a day. This can be troublesome because now I have a TON of emails that are clogging up my inbox and it is very difficult to find a specific email that I want to read. My Gmail experience was totally changed when I realized that it has a feature called "tabs" which automatically sorts your emails into different categories such as: social groups, promotions, your primary email, and forums. If I am out shopping and I want to find that email from BeautyBrands that had the 20% off coupon, all I have to do is click the "promotions" tab and I can see all of the emails I receive with promotions. It makes it so much quicker and easier to find what I'm looking for! Follow the link here to find out more about enabling Gmail Tabs. 

 #2: Preview your Emails 
I have been used to my Outlook setup for work and the ability to preview my emails while still viewing a list of emails in my inbox. When I started my Gmail account it didn't have quite the same look. This week I learned how to enable the "preview" feature on my Gmail! It is quite simple and it makes my email viewing experience much easier (for me that is). To add this feature to your Gmail, check out the instructions below (courtesy of About Tech.com):

1. Click the "Settings" gear in Gmail.

2. Select "Settings" from the menu that appears.

3. Go to the "Labs" category.

4. Type "preview pane" under Search for a lab:

5. Make sure "Enable" is selected under "Preview Pane."

6. Click "Save Changes."

Hopefully these tips and tricks help you streamline your Google searching and Gmail experiences. They have certainly done that for me! Stay tuned for more amazing information about Google!

Mrs. Adkins

Google Chrome

What's so cool about Chrome?

After many years of using the Internet, I have tried nearly all the different web browsers. From the likes of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and of course Google Chrome. There are a variety of options for digital citizens to browse the web. You may find yourself asking: what makes Google Chrome superior to its companions? What's all the hype about Chrome? Should I just bite the bullet and download it?

To make your decision a bit easier, here are some of the benefits that I have found from being a "Chrome crony."

Simplified surfing

- Searching the web is SO much easier with Chrome. The browser offers many different search filters to help you get the search results that you want. Search filters include: web, images, videos, apps, news, books, shopping, flights, and more. Google Scholar is an excellent tool that refines your search to academic articles, journals, and websites. 

Easily Customizable

- If you don't have a Google account, make one. Click here to sign up for Google. Once you've done this you will be able to customize your Chrome experience! I have my Chrome browser open up with tabs that I frequently visit (like my school's online gradebook and school district website). I also love to pin bookmarks to the Chrome browser so that I can easily access other websites that I view on a regular basis. Since I have a Google account, my browser shows me notifications for emails, messages, and more. 

One Stop Shop

- If you have a Google account, Chrome is the only way to go. Stop using Internet Explorer and Firefox. Why not open one application and see everything? Email, videos, documents, messages, pictures: Chrome has it all! I can open my Chrome and see everything I need and access great applications (Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, etc.) 

Convinced? Click here to download the Google Chrome browser on your desktop!

Check out the video below for more benefits of using Google Chrome!

Happy surfing!

Mrs. Adkins