Taking Google Apps to the Next Level

If you are excited to learn more about teaching and technology, need a flexible class schedule, and want clear expectations and little busy work- this class is for you! I enrolled in Taking Google Apps to the Next Level through the University of Virginia's College at Wise even before the pandemic began, planning to rely on my in-laws for occasional childcare so that I could focus on small projects, maintain my teaching certificate, and help my kids stay accustomed to time with their grandparents.  I completed this course with all three of my children at home full time, and the predictable structure helped me to succeed even under unusual circumstances. This year has looked completely different than I imagined, but this course included many truly useful assignments, or Quests, and included a reasonable workload. 

Each week was organized into a group of 4 Quests or challenges which were available to complete from Sunday to Sunday. I finished the majority of them during this twelve week course, but there was the flexibility to skip a few. Here are the top ten that I plan to use over and over again.

1- Personalized Learning Plans

During this period of pandemic driven virtual learning, teachers continue to differentiate for all students, perhaps more than ever before. Finding ways to keep students connected to their peers and school community while also meeting individual needs can be overwhelming. These tech tools can provide student choice while still being structured and connected to the curriculum. About ten years ago I used Renzulli Learning for some students in my classroom.  This platform offers personalized learning journeys for students based upon interest and aptitude/preference.  It was an interesting platform but did not seem connected to the curriculum and seemed too contrived. The resources shared in this quest overcome those challenges but are also not as all-encompassing as a platform like Renzulli Learning. These options could be used to kick off and guide a problem based unit or a distinct lesson. 

The instructor assigned us a Padlet full of ideas to explore, and my favorite ideas were created by ThingLink.  I have long loved Padlet for class responses and reflections (even for student book reviews), but the idea of using this platform as a hub or home base was new to me. In addition to ThingLink, the instructor included information about differentiation and personalized learning and also sample lessons in the styles of choose your own adventure and choice boards. Two of my favorite examples are shown below. Animal Habitats and Virtual Field Trips are both designed so that students explore according to numbered place markers. Optional information points are also available for Animal Habitats. I already teach frequently using slides with options and using choice boards, and I plan to incorporate ThingLink regularly. ThingLink's ability to make images and videos interactive is a total game changer in a time necessitating virtual field trips and a school day driven by technology.

2- Blogspot! 

I have always been interested in blogging, but I needed a focus and reason to use my voice. One of the final assignments in this class, to start this blog, gave me the final nudge I needed to try out Blogspot.

3- YouTube Playlist

I always shied away from YouTube, but during this year of virtual learning with my own children in our home, I've come to appreciate the many great features in YouTube. I now subscribe to channels belonging to my children's teachers, musicians, picture book readers, yoga groups for children, and news and scholastic channels. There is a lot to explore! As a teacher, I had not set up a channel and playlist before, so this was eye-opening. I am a huge fan of consolidating information because as a teacher I am also helping students learn how to organize and prioritize as they learn. Sharing a playlist by topic can place all the videos that students need in one easily accessible location. Below you can see how a playlist displays.

4- Calendar Events with Boomerang and Google Groups

Two topics that will really increase my productivity are Boomerang for Calendar Chrome extension and Google Groups particularly within gmail and Google Drive. With Boomerang for Calendar, I am able to offer meeting times to multiple people in real time while avoiding conflicts. Boomerang for Gmail is a separate extension that allows emails to be scheduled rather than sent immediately. 

With Google Groups I am able to share information (documents and emails quickly with the same group of people. While my school system has its own secure email system, this feature will come in handy in my daily life. This is also a great way to share documents and forms with others even if members are not part of a Shared Drive or are not planning to maintain the documents long term. 

5- Google Translate and Google Maps

Google Translate continues to become more impressive each year- as does Google Maps. This course provided time to explore both the Translate + Add-on for Docs and the mobile Google Translate app. I have always enjoyed teaching international students and English Language Learners, and these tools are truly invaluable free tools for students and teachers alike. The Google Doc add-on is easy to use and provides immediate translation. The Google Translate app also provides real time translation of written text as viewed through the camera. This would be a fantastic tool to use while traveling, though I am curious about data usage. With family in the Philippines, my family is excited to use these tools both to communicate long distance and when traveling. 

My Maps, Google Maps, and Google Earth were assigned during this course, and I took longer than necessary to explore Google Earth. Google Earth is available in both a downloaded and browser based form, but Google Sky is only available through the Downloaded Google Earth, and I began with the mobile version and had to shift to Google Earth Pro. I have used Google Earth before both to help students get to know one another and to follow along with the scenes in a novel students are reading. Google Maps mobile has also improved to now adapt according to real time traffic patterns. Even though I've used Google Maps in the classroom, it was very useful to practice using My Maps to create journeys that can be shared easily with students. 

6- Creating Differentiated and Self-Graded Assessments

Learning to write assessments with my team that could be auto-scored immediately was a game changer. Like other Google offerings, Google Forms continues to improve each year. In the past grading had to be done using a spreadsheet and formula writing, but today Google Forms is set up with an answer key step included. I had used Slides to create review activities, but I had never considered using Google Forms to differentiate review or remediation. Using Google Forms, an assessment can be written that includes a link to helpful notes, videos, images, etc. depending upon the answer provided. Rather than providing a general study guide, I can't wait to provide linked notes and resources to help students prepare. I also believe this plan would be a great unit resource to refer to year after year as lessons adapt and evolve. It is also possible to create Sign-up Genius style forms which can limit the number of volunteers for each task. 

7- Interactive Vocabulary Book

Teaching reading and writing are my passions, and I vocabulary instruction has always been a big part of the curriculum, especially for Advanced Academic learners in reading and writing. I've used the Caesar's English program for many years and most importantly work with students to select words to examine in great detail from their own reading and the world around them. Choice Boards have been important parts of vocabulary instruction and I like to assess using Google Forms (see #6) or using authentic examples of the vocabulary in writing or dictation assignments. I use Google Slides to prepare study guides for students, but this was the first time I've created GIFs, and they definitely catch the eye and may be more memorable than traditional print. The instructor suggested using Sumo Paint, Giphy, or GifIt to create animated images. I used GifRun and the GifIt extension. Another possibility is MakeGif.  

I found GifIt and GifRun to be relatively easy to learn. I didn't like Sumo Paint for this assignment, but I believe students would be inspired to create very unique art using this extension.  I plan to use Giphy.com for a fantastic library for GIFs. In class meetings, breaks, creative writing, and as explained above, for vocabulary practice, I believe these engaging interactive images will be memorable and useful.

8- Digital Signatures using HelloSign for Docs   

     We've recently purchased a printer and scanner (Hello, online learning!), but finding a program to make PDF forms fillable is still a huge need in my life. This program is also designed as a digital signature device, but that won't be my primary use. I hate wasting paper, and I would always prefer to fill out a form electronically and send back immediately. HelloSign meets this need. The program did require some experimenting, but I will use it regularly. 

9-Choose Your Own Adventures

I've used Slides to create Jeopardy games, review practice (self-checking), and lesson delivery, but the idea of having students write a Choose Your Own Adventure story really appeals to me. I wrote a Halloween tale complete with family pictures with my children, and I also created a math review lesson for my first grade daughter using slides. I believe this would be a creative way to experience a story as a class and also for individual students and groups to write or to share their findings at the end of a unit. 

10- Autopopulate with Autocrat and Office Editing for Docs, Sheets, and Slides

For lesson planning and grading, compatible programs are key. I enjoyed learning about Autocrat for non-confidential merging of documents in Google, but I believe it's still necessary to use Microsoft Excel for all files with student names and other identifying information. I use Excel to create midterm grade reports, to provide detailed feedback at the end of the quarter or semester, and to print student schedules and assign teachers to students. In middle and high school these tasks are built into grading software, but elementary schools are often not equipped for these tasks. Beware, Autocrat relies on very specific naming of items rather than fillable fields, so attention to detail is key.

When lesson planning, I need to take old files from Microsoft Word and manipulate them in Google Docs so that my team can easily access documents and also adapt them as needed each year.  With a Google extension called Office Editing for Docs, Sheets, & Slides, that is possible. While these are less exciting than some student focused apps, teachers' behind the scenes work needs to be efficient and effective; there's no time to waste!

Other Resources

This class cast a wide net to share many, many resources. Most did not disappoint. While I am not a huge fan of Gamification just for the sake of Gamification, I do love the design of this class. I think leaderboards would be useful for a house system in a school focused on build unity and healthy competition across a grade level or an entire school, but I prefer less competition in the academic setting. Writing this post was a valuable way to wrap up any professional development experience- especially one of this breadth. Below are just a few notes about other topics that didn't make it into my top 10- but might be of use to you! 

*Screencastify

*Teacher podcasts and YouTube Channels to enhance professional development

*Professional Learning Network resources- Edublog self-paced online course with tips for maximizing Twitter, using curation tools (like Instagram and Pinterest which require analyzing, editorialing, and sharing), blogging, planning collaboratively, organizing teacher-led study groups, and  

*Google Drive tips--- how to use Google Drive offline and set up a "Priority" folder in Drive

*More Google Add Ons- Orange Slice for rubric creation, Outwrite (formerly GradeProof) for editing specifically with style suggestions beyond basic grammar and spelling corrections, Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) for preparing mail merged documents for many recipients

*More Google Extensions- Add-to Classroom to make additions more efficiently to Google Classroom, Google Tone to share links with others in real time, OneTab to save, organize, and sync browser tabs across devices

*Explore- a tool built into Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for quick research and images