Sharing Google Forms with Colleagues

Video Guide to Sharing a Google Form

Visual Guide to Sharing a Google Form 

Newsela - A differentiated News and Reading resource for schools

Newsela looks like an interesting new resource for teaching current events and reading strategies that dynamically adjusts reading levels for differentiated instruction. The site integrates with Google Accounts for easy sign-up and sign-in and allows you to create class groups for assigning and monitoring students. In addition, some of the articles include reading comprehension quizzes.

Learn more here 

A Guide to creating “Flipped” and Blended learning resources

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by Scott:
 http://flickr.com/photos/proudfoott/237234776/

If you are thinking about Flipping direct instruction or creating blended learning resources that students can access independently but still have accountability for doing the work then I recommend using Google Forms or Moodle Quizzes for getting started.

Google Forms

The fastest and easiest starting point (in my opinion) is to use Google Forms to create what I call a “Fast flipping form”. I often use this example to demo the idea of a Flipped Form. Students open the form link, watch the embedded video, and answer a few formative questions. The teacher gets a spreadsheet that is time stamped, shows their user name, and provides data on their level of understanding. You also have a summary graph view for visualizing the aggregate scores on the assessment questions.

Here’s my visual guide and video tutorial for creating the “Fast flipping form”.  You can put the form link on a Moodle page, Weebly site, etc. It can also be embedded so that the form is viewable right on the Moodle page and not as a separate link.

Pros: Google “Flipped” Forms are fast to make, simple for students to access and use, and provide a quick at-a-glance dashboard (the spreadsheet) for checking who did and did not do the assignment and what they did or did not understand.

Possible Cons: The only videos you can embed currently are YouTube videos (the workaround is to put a link to any video or any web content in the description field), also the summary view graph for your data will reflect all students and isn’t able to be broken down by sections.

A few other suggestions:

• I recommend collecting student names using two fields (last name) and (first name) to assist with sorting in the spreadsheet
• Create a drop down or multiple choice listing for separate section hours. Again this is to assist with sorting the data.
• Force students to be logged into the school’s Google Apps Account to view the Form to ensure that the data is tracked to the actual student.
• Optional. Use Moodle to deliver the form and embed the form on a page. This would give you the ability to check if a student(s) are viewing the video resource fully by looking at the activity data which tracks the amount of time spent inside an activity. It’s a way to say “Look, I can check if I think you are opening the form and clicking through the questions without watching.” Also, constructed response questions that require some understanding to write the response can help with accountability.

Moodle Quizzes

Another way to structure a “Flipped” assignment based on video and assessment questions is to use the Moodle quiz feature. You create a quiz question and embed the video in the first question (see below), or use the “Description” option for displaying video content. You then add any additional questions that will help you assess student understanding.

Pros: You can provide automated feedback, remediation, or extension activities based on student answers. You have another question styles including matching, Cloze, and mathematical response. You have the ability to sort data by sections and to have longitudinal data of individual student activity because of Moodle’s grading and database features. It also automatically calculates a score (there is a way to do this with scripts in Google Forms). A quiz can be completed over multiple login sessions and automatically force the student to retake if they don’t master the material.

Cons: Not everyone has or uses Moodle. Moodle quizzes take longer to create and the construction of quizzes and analyzing the results is sometimes less intuitive.  

I’ve included a couple of screenshots to help you visualize what a Moodle “Flipped” activity would look like.

Universal Design for Learning tip: Audio recorded reading accommodations using Vocaroo.com

Vocaroo.com is the simplest free audio recording tool I know of. It's not perfect (no editing and no permanent storage) but it works well and it works fast. It also has simple tools for downloading, linking, and creating QR codes for the audio you've recorded. This makes Vocaroo great for quickly adding audio supports to any instructional resource.

Unlike verbal reading accommodations, I've noticed that students are more engaged by audio recordings and tend to pause and review the recordings more than they would ask me to repeat myself. The recordings also provide students greater autonomy over the pace of the reading. 

In my old school we even started providing screencast and audio recordings as an option for all students. It became a universal support, destigmatized the accomodation, and became an embedded practice for supporting all instruction, not just assessments.

An Interactive Menu for Student Project Technology Tools

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by Dean (leu)  .: http://flickr.com/photos/leunix/518329490/

Today I'd like to share a resource to support digital student projects in your classroom. The premise behind this menu is to provide "voice and choice" (an essential component of Universal Design for Learning) vs. a one size fits all product of learning. Not every tool listed in this menu will be appropriate to the task you've assigned your students but many offer flexible formats for organizing and representing learning.  The key here is to have a clear set of learning targets, aligned to standards that avoid strict formatting criteria like "12 point Times New Roman font" or "10 slides with 3 facts" and instead focus on content specific criteria like "demonstrates a thorough understanding of the main character's motivations based on evidence from the text" or "draws relevant connections between the historical event and a current event impacting society today". 

As teachers, we can't expect to learn every digital tool out there but our students are often capable and motivated to learn and teach each other (and us) given the chance. Some of the guides, video tutorials, and student examples that I've located are better than others. Some of the resources may be better suited to older or younger students. For that reason you may also want to look at other menu type resources out on the web that are directed toward a specific grade level as well.

This menu can be presented to students in full or can be modified by cutting and pasting a smaller selection together if limiting certain choices is needed. If you would like to contribute to this Student Project Technology Tools Menu or have a tool that you'd like to see added to the list please feel free to contact me with your request. Enjoy!

Click here to view the full interactive menu

4 new resources for Elementary Math instruction

Over the past two weeks I've bookmarked four new resources for Elementary Math instruction that I believe are worth sharing. Two of these are more focussed on instructional practices and CCSS are not strictly technology resources but are in my opinion well suited to a technology enhanced classroom. 

Common Core Standard: Third Grade Math Strategies - The first resource is from Edutopia, a great resource for every educator and well worth a look. In this article the author looks at one of the 3rd Grade CCSS for math and shares how an inquiry based, student-centered exploration of patterns and relationships between addition, multiplication and division can not only foster critical thinking and a deeper understanding but also collaboration skills.

Ready to use fact family iPad station - This post by Mrs. Wideen outlines precisely how she sets up and structures a math iPad station that promotes student application of fact family strategies. It's a great example of how to utilize a limited number of iPads, monitor student work, and develop a bank of student created "think alouds". One tool I might suggest in  lieu of the Draw n' Tell app which is $2.99 would be the free Educreations app and to use a generic classroom account for collecting student work.

Maths Frame - 170+ Free Math Games - Richard Byrne who blogs over at Free Technology for Teachers shared a good resource for Smart Board and Interactive Whiteboards or for the computer lab. There you can find tons of interactive math practice games geared to the K-5 classroom.

http://www.mathplayground.com/ - Math playground is another smorgasbord of math practice games but has a couple very nice iPad apps the mirror their web based tools. In particular, I recommend taking a look at the Thinking Blocks activities for modeling word problem strategies using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and subtraction.  

Using the Pic Collage App as a Graphic Organizer for Vocabulary Instruction

Pic Collage is one of my favorite iPad apps. In the short video demonstration below I show how to use the frame tool to set up a basic vocabulary template and look at some ways to use Pic Collage with students as a graphic organizer. 

Tip: The frame tool may not work for every graphic organizer layout you would like students to use. Take a picture of a Venn Diagram, Character map, etc. that you've used in the past and set the image as a background using the background tool instead of the frame tool. 

Video link

I'd also highly recommend this blog post by Joe Bower on the importance of direct vocabulary instruction tied to best practices. Pic Collage fits nicely with Step 3 (non-linguistic representation) of Marzano's vocabulary strategies. 

Edtechkit Weekend Report - 2/17/13 "We don't glue pencils onto our students' hands, right?"

Links of the week

I love student created content especially when I learn from it too. Check out the Tech Sherpas blog (students from Central Maine at Nokomis Regional High) for informative student created video webcasts covering all number of education technology topics. The kids are Smart with a capital "S". This week they covered the sharing features in Google Drive. This could be a great jumping off point for having your own students creating meaningful content for the world to see.

I'm a big fan of graphic organizers to help students visualize their learning and organize their thinking. I like this article by Ryan Knoblauch that unpacks how he is using graphic organizers to support his students. He has tons of resources for templates you can use plus a great glimpse into the methods he is using in his classroom.

And here is one from my "Bartleby" collection. Patrick Larkin is an Assisting Superintendent in Massachusetts that is bravely writing against the continued push for increased testing in our schools.

News and Upcoming Events in Michigan

MASSP iPad Summit March 26 (MSU Henry Center) - Only 50 seats left for the Michigan Association of Secondary Schools Prinicipals iPad Summit conference. If your district is implementing or planning to implement iPads at the Secondary level then you won't want to miss this opportunity to learn how schools  in Michigan are transforming student learning using iPads. I'm honored to have been asked to keynote this exciting event and look forward to setting the stage for the day with what I think will be a very fun theme: "iPad Magic - How to Wrangle the Unicorns"

Save the date. April 20, 2013 Jackson ISD will be hosting an innovative conference that plans to be half edcamp half brain trust (bringing in the REMC Connected Educators from around the state). It's sure to be a can't miss. Details to follow.

Another date worth saving will be Thursday August 22, 2013. That's the tentative date for this year's 21st Century Learning Symposium hosted by St. Clair County RESA. This annual event has been host to some of  education's leading thinkers including Yong Zhao, Will Richardson, Mark Prensky, and Stephen Heppell. This year we are excited to have Kevin Honeycutt join this impressive list along with 600+ of Michigan's best.

Last call for MACUL - Michigan's premier education technology conference is just around the corner March 20-22. This statewide event is an awesome opportunity to learn and network with some of the most innovative educators in our state. This year's MACUL conference is hosted in Detroit at the Cobo center. I'm facilitating two sessions this year - The Appcessible iPad (UDL strategies for the iPad) and co-presenting with Laura Chambless - Cooperative Learning and the iPad.

New Apps to check out

Wow! This was a good week for apps.

First. Michigan's very own Brad Wilson has released his first iPad app called "Write about this". The app uses high quality and thought provoking imagery combined with writing prompts that are tied to different levels of Bloom's taxonomy to inspire students to write more. The app is very intuitive, includes a writer's notepad area, and voice narration of the writing prompts to assist emerging and struggling readers. The app is really an embodiment of the Universal Design for Learning principals because it clearly provides "multiple means of  Representation, Expression, and Engagement." Read more about Brad's journey creating this app here.

Science teachers - Take a look at Color Uncovered and Sound Uncovered to provide inquiry based resources that are sure to pique your students' curiosity. The interactive, hands-on manipulatives and informative accompanying articles are incredibly well done and very interesting. I'd keep my eye out for more apps from the Exploritorium Museum in San Francisco that developed these apps to accompany their brick and mortar exhibits.

I'm taking a second look at the Davinci Note app after coming across another interesting web app called tackk.com. Both iPad friendly programs provide a beautiful templates for mashing up pictures and text to create high impact informative writing. I'm drawn to the simple user interface of the Davinci Note app for the potential to create attractive research reports, quick writes, and other blog like reflections with students. Tackk is similar but is web based, giving it the advantage of working on multiple devices and has the distinct advantage of not requiring a student login for creating and sharing. One key piece is that e-mail sharing feature does NOT use the iPad's native e-mail to send and therefor let's students e-mail their work to the teacher without needing their own e-mail. 

Roll your own professional development

First, here's a great resource for teachers using Google Apps with iPads in the classroom Google Drive for iPad by richardbyrne

I also have a couple of new screencasts to help those wanting to get more organized using their iPads.

Thought for the week

This week someone tweeted out something along the lines of "we don't send kids to the pencil lab". On Wednesday I was challenged to model some lessons across a K-5 building that put technology into the students' hands the entire time. To be honest it felt a bit forced, and had I not felt the pressure to model in this manner I might have dropped the tech from certain parts of some of the lessons. At the heart of my lessons was a very non-techy modified think, pair, share strategy for keeping all students accountable and engaged. Had I left this out I think my lessons would have been a disaster. What if I had left out the technology? The answer is that the delivery of content to each child's device via Nearpod personalized the information and helped hold their attention. The formative classroom response tools helped me gauge mastery of the concepts, increased accountability, and made the lesson fun. But these tools could have been less front and center and been just as effective. It didn't need to be a tech lesson. It merely needed to be an opportunity for everyone to learn. The technology went a long way in supporting this goal of reaching "everyone". Until it didn't. Until the technology became the focus. We don't glue pencils onto our students' hands, right?

Write About This - A writing app designed by a teacher with a Universal Design for Learning focus #scc21c

I'd like to share with you a brand new app that was developed by a fellow Michigan educator, Brad Wilson. Brad was a 4th grade teacher before taking a position with Jackson ISD as an Education Technology Consultant.

His app, called Write About This, uses high quality and thought provoking imagery combined with writing prompts that are tied to different levels of Bloom's taxonomy to inspire students to write more. The app is very intuitive, includes a writer's notepad area, and voice narration of the writing prompts to assist emerging and struggling readers. The app is really an embodiment of the Universal Design for Learning principles because it clearly provides "multiple means of  Representation, Expression, and Engagement."

The app costs $2.99 and is primarily targeting grades 2-5 but could easily be used in other grades, both younger and older as well. I could see this being used whole class as a quick write activity by displaying the app from the teacher's iPad or having students rotate through a single or small set of iPads. It could also be purchased for an entire cart using the Volume Purchase Program.

Finally, as a matter of full disclosure, Brad is a friend of mine, and he consulted me for feedback and suggestions during the development of this app. That being said, I'm confident that this app is worth purchasing for your classroom if you want to help students become more active and engaged writers. If you decide to download and use this app with your students please share your impressions with me or with Brad on how it is working and how it might improve.

You can also read about Brad's journey and vision for developing his app here.

The fist whisperer and other tales of iPad integration

Yesterday I was challenged by one of the elementary schools that I work with to help model iPad integration by using iPads 1:1 with students during direct instruction and then transition into a 1:1 iPad independent activity. I developed four different lessons targeted at K-1, 2-3, 4th and 5th grade. The lessons ranged from reading comprehension and academic vocabulary to comparative adjectives and research skills (at the teachers' request). Needless to say I was pretty pooped by the end :-)

Interestingly enough, one of the most popular strategies I used to facilitate my lessons was not tech related at all. I'm sure this strategy has a real name, but let's call it a modified think, pair, share. Whenever I asked questions, I asked students to whisper their answer into their closed fist first, then whisper share with a partner and then alternated between choral response or picking a random student depending on the nature of the question. The students seemed to really enjoy this and I had nearly 100% participation through out the lesson.

For my mini-lesson I wanted to minimize the number of apps we would use and ensure a high level of engagement during my presentation, so I selected Nearpod as my platform. I was pleased with the way that the app helped hold the student's attention while I moved through the slides and interspersed my presentation with interactive formative tools. The problem is setting up my Nearpod presentations took a bit of tech ninja skills to get the results I wanted. And after talking with several teachers I learned that many were most attracted to the whiteboard feature in Nearpod after seeing my demonstrations.

As luck would have it, later that night I learned about Infuse Learning from the #miched chat that occurs every Wednesday at 8pm. It has many similar features to the classroom response app Socrative, but with the additional feature of a whiteboard responder and (drum roll please!) text-to-speech. I have only had a brief time to test Infuse Learning but my feeling is that it this web app has great potential and a lower learning curve than Nearpod.

I'm still really pleased with what I was able to do with Nearpod especially because I was seeking a way to move seemlessly between the slides I created in Haiku Deck and the formative classroom response tools I wanted.

I loved the challenge of creating these lessons and wish I would have had even more time to develop the underlying lessons. The best part though was working with so many great students. What Fun!

Providing test reading accommodations using the Soundcloud app and QR codes #scc21c

There are several ways to record audio for test accommodations that can then be accessed by students during a test or in other settings where audio would support the learning needs of the student. The procedures described below were specifically designed to support a 1:1 iPad setting but could be modified to meet a variety of classroom settings.

One other note: Offering audio to all students and not just students who require accommodations is great Universal Design for Learning strategy. You may be surprised who chooses to listen to your narrated test when given the option!

Procedures for using Soundcloud app on the iPad for test reading accommodations

iPad steps

Step 1. Download the Soundcloud app from the iTunes app store.

Step 2. Open the Soundcloud app and register for a new account.

Step 3. Make a demo recording, name it, select “private”, and save.

Computer steps

Step 1. Download the Chrome Browser. (You can use Firefox and Internet Explorer, however the steps for adding a “bookmarklet” may differ).

Step 2. Go to the Active History QR Bookmarklet page.

Step 3. Click on the Chrome settings icon, hover over the “bookmarks” and select “show bookmarks bar”. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ctrl-shift-B to reveal and hide the bookmarks bar.

Step 4. Drag the red “QR Coder” bookmarklet into the bookmarks bar.

Step 5. Go to http://soundcloud.com and log in.

Step 6. Click on “You” and select “tracks” to locate the recording you made earlier on the iPad.

Step 7. Click on the “Share” icon for the track you wish to share.

Step 8. Copy the “secret link”, Open and new Chrome tab and paste the link

Step 9. Click on the “QR Coder” bookmarklet. This will generate a QR code link for the Soundcloud recording.

Step 10. Right click to save the QR code image or Right click and copy to paste the QR code into a document or click ctrl-P to print the QR code

Step 11. Attach, paste or post the QR code where students will be able to access using a QR code scanning app from their mobile device

Why I'm excited about ImageCodr.org for schools - #scc21c

Update: Check out this great Creative Commons Attribution Helper Chrome Extension

Copyright, Creative Commons, Fair Use? As educators we should be familiar with these terms as well as our obligations to use and properly cite the work of other individuals. But in the flury of getting lessons together or beating out another presentation it can be extremely difficult to credit others in this age of instant digital media, not to mention helping our students do the same.

  by  karindalziel 

Thankfully, a new tool has arrived that helps to streamline the proper citation of creative commons images - ImageCoder.org. What ImageCoder does is help you find images licensed under the various creative commons licenses on Flickr, presents you with a concise overview of what the license does and does not allow, and then provides you with an embeddable html code that properly cites the image for your blog or website.

Here's a screenshot of the license information and embed code for the image above.

Unfortunately, this won't work on Word documents or PowerPoint but would great for classroom and student websites or blogs. 

Thanks to Richard Byrne and his fantastic blog for pointing me to this great new resource!

App Review: Croak.it audio recorder

Croak.it is a super simple audio recorder that works on multiple devices including iOS (iPad, iTouch, iPhone), Android phones, or via your computer browser. It is similar in many ways to vocaroo.com with the added benefit of having a mobile app. The advantage of using a cross-platform program like croak.it is the ability to use every computing device available whether these be student or school owned.

Another advantage of the Croak.it recorder is that it does not require any account sign up. This means students can quickly create and share their recordings without the hassel of logging in. One suggestion that I have for saving recordings is to create a simple Google Form that students can use to submit their recording links. (see video below) This allows you to collect student recordings with out having to use an e-mail account.

(Use Google Forms to collect screenchomp, glogster and youtube links)

The recordings are limited to 30 seconds or less which could be both an advantage or disadvantage. I often warn teachers to be careful when assigning video or audio projects to students due to the time it takes to listen to each recording depending on the length. Because of the 30 second time limit you may want to encourage students to rehearse (never a bad idea) before they record.

App Review: Make Dice Lite - Differentiating with cooperative learning structures and thinking cubes

Here is a brief video app tour of Make Dice Lite. This app allows you to create up to six custom six-sided dice. One or multiple dice can be thrown at a time. Creating custom dice is relatively simple and could be created quickly by having students open a document or website that contains pre-written questions or categories and then copying and pasting these onto your custom made dice. The one drawback to this Free app is the pop-up adds that occur between rolling events.

For more information on using Cooperative Learning to differentiate instruction with or without the iPad I highly recommend these resources put together by St. Clair County RESA Math and Science Assistant Director, Laura Chambless.

I've also included a few links to Cube and Thinking Dot activities and examples to help get you started.

Kagan Cooperative Learning - Learning Cubes
Cube and Thinking Dot Activities
Thinking Cube resources
Thinking Cube example

Edmodo overview video with embedded formative assessment using the new quiz feature in Camtasia 8

I wanted to share this 7 minute introduction to Edmodo that I recently created using trial copy of TechSmith's newest version of their screencasting software Camtasia 8. Previously, Camtasia provided the option to embed assessment questions into their videos, however, the results could not be collected by the video creator. In this newest version of Camtasia the results are e-mailed nightly to the creator or an e-mail recipient selected by the creator as a spreadsheet file. This could be a fantastic way to promote active viewing within the video and determine how well the information is being received.

Feel free to check out the video below to see how the embedded assessments function or to learn more about the basic features of Edmodo. You can select the option to skip the quiz if you like by clicking on the "watch video only" link. Enjoy!

Curating the web with Scoop.it

I'm exploring options for curating and sharing the web as I find apps, articles and how-to's that support student centered learning. As you can see from the screenshot of my Chrome toolbar, I haven't exactly settled on one tool to use.

Diigo, Scoop.it, list.ly, livebinders, edmodo, twitter, pinterest - What tool are you using curate the web?

 

Getting Started with Educreations and Screencast-o-matic

Getting Started with Educreations and Screencast-o-matic

Educreations - http://educreations.com

Educreations is a recordable interactive whiteboard that captures your voice and handwriting to produce amazing video lessons that you can share online. Students and colleagues can replay your lessons in any web browser, or from within our app on their iPads.

Educreations works on both the iPad and on any internet browser.

FAQ - http://www.educreations.com/faq/

Educreations iPad app - http://goo.gl/jHwu8

Highlights

• Insert images and screenshots from the web to create narrated/annotated guides and tutorials.
• Create multiple pages for longer presentations (tip: pause recordings to preload images or draw annotations.
• Tutorials can be shared privately with students, by school, or with the whole world.
• Publicly shared screencasts made by other educators and students can be viewed, linked to and embedded in a class website.

Tips

• You cannot start over or re-edit a screencast once you begin recording. Be prepared and don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.
• Keep your presentations brief and engaging (your voice is a critical component)

Screencast-o-matic - http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

One-click screen capture recording on Windows or Mac computers with no install for FREE! Record up to 15 minutes.

Screencast-o-matic is great for creating screencasts of powerpoints, TI-emulator tutorials, NCTM applet and Geometer’s sketchpad activities, and narrated directions or test accommodations.

Getting started video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4rk5ACdGk4

Highlights

• No account required (Great for quick use with students). However the free account lets you store and link to your files online as well as upload to youtube automatically.
• Capture anything on your computer screen and your webcam.
• Pro-version is only $15 for one year

Tips

• You cannot start over or re-edit a screencast once you begin recording. Be prepared and don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.
• Keep your presentations brief and engaging (your voice is a critical component)

Other screencasting resources

Kit’s screencasting website - https://sites.google.com/site/mctmmultimath/

Other iPad apps for sreencasting

• showme (FREE)- http://goo.gl/2MKKf
• screenchomp (FREE) - http://goo.gl/mQV3r
• explain everything ($2.99) - http://goo.gl/ZkhJb

Other screencasting software and websites

• Screenr (FREE) - http://screenr.com
• Camtasia ($299) - http://goo.gl/JRpFE

Upcoming PD:

• http://sccresa.org/toolsforschools/professionaldevelopment/workshopcalendar/
• June 26 iPads for beginners, June 28 iPads for intermediate, July 24th No more Death by PowerPoint, July 25 Cooperative Learning with or without and iPad, July 26 Blended learning with edmodo, August 9th screencasting for the classroom, August 14 iPads for beginners, August 16 iPads for intermediate

Kit Hard

Education Technology Consultant

St. Clair County RESA

hard.kit@sccresa.org

810-455-4121

website/blog: http://edtechkit.com

How to enable diigo bookmarking in Safari on the iPad

While I am no diigo guru, I have come to rely on the bookmarking and highlighting features it offers. I use the diigo browser extension for chrome to make saving websites and web highlights a snap. I recently learned how to enable similar features using the iPad's Safari browser and have create a brief tutorial showing how to set this up. The tutorial assumes that you have downloaded the diigo app for iPad and that you have created a diigo account.

For more information about diigo and its uses in education take a look at this resource.

Love Internet Explorer 7? There's hope. Stuff it full of Chrome.

Chrome Frame brings the best of the modern web to older browsers.

Image Source: http://www.watblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ie-vs-chrome-vs-ff1.png

Even though I moved on from Internet Explorer in the early 2000's, first to Firefox and now to Chrome, many of my colleagues and schools that I work with continue to use Internet Explore 7 (released in 2006) or Internet Explorer 8 (released in 2009). Seeing that it is now 2012 I would love to encourage that they all upgrade to a browser developed in this decade, but alas Internet Explorer 9 is only available on computers running Windows 7. In my building and in most of the schools that I support Windows XP still rules the day making this upgrade an impossibility. And while I could campaign for wider adoption of a modern browser that works on Windows XP, one that automatically installs updates and plays well with the modern internet (...ahem - CHROME!), it has been my experience that folks like what they like or in some case are not allowed to install or use "alternative" browsers. There are also instances where legacy software that schools run on dictates the use of older versions of Internet Explorer.

I could live with this browser based digital divide except for the fact that nearly everyone I work with and many of the schools I support have started using Google Docs. If you have ever opened Google Docs in an older version of IE then you have likely seen, and ignored, the little yellow warning stating that your browser does not fully support Google Docs. Ignoring this message generally results in parts of the web page not opening properly and features not working. In my experience, in spite of the warning, people don't realize that the problems they are experiencing is due to their browser, so they continue to hack at their computers until they cry out in frustration "I give up, Google Docs doesn't work". Believe me, I have seen this scenario more than I care to tell.

This problem led me recently to an open-source plug-in for Internet Explorer called Chrome Frame that essentially takes over whenever you browse to a website that was created using newer web technologies such as HTML5. The free download takes only seconds to load and does not require administrative rights to be installed. Voilà! The modern web all wrapped up in a browser that is still in love with Brangelina and Donald Rumsfeld.

Now for the caveat.  I'm working with my IT department to test Chrome Frame a bit further before I extoll its virtues to the people who write my pay check. We want to check it against some of the legacy software we run and to run it in some test cases with users who don't freak out the moment a problem shows up. I'd suggest the you do the same before installing Chrome Frame. And if you need to uninstall here is how.

If you have any experience using Chrome Frame in your schools or at home I'd love to hear what issues you found or success stories if you have them.

Quick thoughts on Qwiki for iPad #iear #edapp #edtech #ttdn

Just before the end of the school year I was able to check out an iPad from our RESA Assistive Technology lending library and test a few different apps with students. One of the apps I felt had great potential in the classroom was Qwiki. Qwiki compiles reference information from sites like wikipedia, images, videos, and maps to create an immersive information experience. But the most unique feature is the text-to-speech narration that accompanies every Qwiki. Captioning at the bottom of the screen is read by the text-to-speech engine giving the user the option to listen or read along. In essence, Qwiki turns your searches into movies.

In the short video clip above, students used Qwiki to research elements from the periodic table for a science project. I was impressed by the engagement level I saw, but also noted that the students using the Qwiki app were jotting down notes for their projects and reviewed their Qwiki search multiple times before moving on to the related searches presented at the end of the presentation. Because we were testing in an open environment without headphones other students paused to watch as well and even started discussing some of the qualities of the element being shown. This was vastly different from the disinterested search process that I had witnessed before I introduced the app.

It is worth noting that Qwiki is not just an iPad app. Their website http://www.qwiki.com offers an identical experience minus the intuitive touch screen interface. I'd love to see Qwiki develop some editing features that would allow students to curate their own resources and create dynamic presentations that could be shared.

Have you used Qwiki in your classroom? Please share your thoughts on how you think this website and app might support struggling learners or help increase engagement.