BP14_Google Docs: Presentations_ Sharing and Presenting

I just completed the next chapter of tutorials about Sharing, Collaborating, and Presenting within Lynda.com. With ease in not having to deal with compatibility issues among users, Presentations have a strong sharing, collaborating and presenting platform.

Sharing: Presentations has a feature where you can invite viewers and collaborators to the presentation. Collaborators can edit and make changes and invite other collaborators and viewers to the presentation at the same level as the owner. The owner can limit the access to the collaborators to not be able to invite third parties, as well as, the owner is the only person that can delete a presentation. Viewers can be added to see the presentation in a presenting form. Viewers can not make changes to the presentation.

Collaborating: Group collaboration is powerful in presentations because multiple people can work on a presentation. The platform will email collaborators and you can give instructions on what you need the collaborators to do. At the top of the screen, there is a update area to let you know when the last edits were made and who performed them. This feature takes away the barrier of wasting valuable time to send presentations to people to make an edit, then you have multiple versions of a document. This feature ensures that there is only one version that is always current and updated.

Presenting: Presentations allow users to display the presentations in many forms. Presentations can be printed from the web or as a PDF with or without speaker notes, can be sent out as a live presentation where people are invited to watch the presentation as a collaborator controls the slide show (great feature because there is a chat box where viewers can ask questions during the presentation), or published to the web where presentations can be embedded to blogs and other places on the web.

I think that Google Docs: Presentations feature will help me with my AR project because I must work with a team on PBIS to produce information to present and train the teachers. This platform will help us to collaborate ideas and be more efficient. I can even see its use with future professional development presentations.

BP13_Google Docs: Presentations

After going through a thorough tutorial of the Presentation feature of Google Docs, I learned that there are many power packed features. After viewing the basics, I learned that slide formatting is a seamless process. Presentation works like the common PowerPoint application because it has the ability to add and edit slides, change themes and backgrounds. Presentations can be created from scratch entirely from the web, uploaded from a hard drive in the form of a .ppt file, or imported from a web URL, where a presentation has an address online. There is even a template gallery to choose different themes and background set-ups.

When viewing the chapter on working with media, Presentations can work with different types of media. You can insert and edit images that are either stored on a computer’s hard drive or you can drag images from other websites. I found the dragging feature very valuable in that it saves time from having to browse for images. The only thing the user should remember when dragging images is to make sure that they are not using copyrighted material and or attaining the proper permissions. Presentations include a new “Drawings” feature by which you can insert and edit shapes and enter in free hand drawings. That way users can add visuals such as charts, and graphs or use the scribble feature to circle or draw any item of choice. Presentations have an interface with YouTube so you can embed videos strait into a slide. The only drawback to Presentations is that it is limited on the animations and if you upload an animation that is not covered in Presentations, the animations will be removed.

BP12_Google Docs

I would like to explore the capabilities in entire suite of Google Docs to implement in my learning, professional development, and work environments. I am knowledgeable that it is a free online word processing suite that is powerful for collaboration, but I want to see how I can effectively use its capabilities as I work on projects for my personal studies, guiding students, and communicating with my peers.

Through my initial research of the tool via several Internet search engines, I learned that

Google Docs is a free word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form application tool. These tools allow teachers and students to erase compatibility barriers and work collaboratively on documents. Documents can be created or edited online by multiple users and it offers instant feedback during collaboration.

I have used the word processing feature as a student at Full Sail University as our group worked on several collaborative projects, and gained first hand experience on how the tool is valuable for working in groups. I also viewed the forms capability to make surveys during a presentation our instructor made during a Wimba session. However, I would like to delve into the other features such as presentations and drawing. If I learn how to incorporate these features, I can save time and paper when I assign work and my students will be able to instantly critique each other. I will take some time to view tutorials on Lynda.com so I can sharpen my skills on the use of Google Docs.

BP11_MeeGenius Infomercial

BP10_Comments to Tonneche

Please follow this link to Tonneche's blog on the Quizinator Web 2.0 tool

BP9_Comments to Kiylise

Please click on the link to follow my comments on Kiylise's blog on Edublogs

BP8_Intel Teaching Tools

My Web 2.o tool of choice this week is a suite of tools from the Intel Education website. This set of tools is free for teachers to use and is great for collaborative projects or individual activities for students. The tools on this site promote critical thinking and analytical skills and can seamlessly trigger higher order thinking skills. There is a Visual Ranking Tool that enable students to rank a list and discuss the outcomes. This will teach students to have civil discussions and to respect differences. The Seeing Reason Tool will let students create concept maps and show cause and effect relationships. The Showing Evidence Tool will allow students to create reasoned arguments supported by evidence.

This is a great suite of tools that I have been able to gain experience in. I have created a wiki that has a lesson plan that I created using the tool. Check it out and feel free to use it in your classrooms. The link to the wiki is http://cherylwalker2006.wikispaces.com/

BP7_Globster EDU_Video

BP6_Comments to Mario's Blog

Click the icon to view the comments I made to Mario's Blog.

BP5_Comments to Kiylise's Blog

Click on the Smilebox icon to view my comments on Kiylise's Blog.

BP4_Glogster EDU

Glogster EDU is a classroom friendly web 2.0 tool that lets users create an online, interactive poster that can be accessed over the web or printed to display in the classroom. This tool is a great way to keep students engaged in their course work and allows for collaboration in that it has a mechanism for students to publish and share their creations and work with others on team projects.

The tool can be used in schools because it is private and secure. The teacher can monitor all content before it goes out for public view, and the teacher has the option to keep it closed to only the students. Because the teacher handles registration, there is no need for student emails and the teacher has the ability to edit student accounts and provide feedback. Teachers can also regulate the progress of all student work. Glogster has messaging capabilities, but it is limited to only the teacher and the student, however, students can communicate with each other by posting a comment. Even then, the teacher can monitor all comments before they are released. Teachers can assess student work by either rating the Glog using a five-star system (free) or can give a numerical grade (with purchase of the premium edition). In the free addition, a teacher can enroll up to 100 students, while the premium account can enroll 200 students.

Teachers can use Glogster in just about every subject and it can be used with any grade level. There are many examples available on the website to show how it can be used.

The tool has many graphics and backgrounds to make stunning posters and spark student creativity.

There are many instructional tutorials available to show users how to use the tool and a database of example work in each subject area.

The free version has the capabilities to successfully use the tool in the classroom, but the premium version has the ability to set up projects, assign numerical grades and provide feedback on finished work, as well as, freehand draw or write on the Glog poster.

The basic subscription is free and the premium subscription is $59 dollars through the end of July which in a 40% savings.

I encourage you to click on the Glogster EDU link or icon and explore its capabilities. You won’t regret it.

Get a Voki now!

BP3_MeeGenius!

MeeGenius is a Web 2.0 tool that will enhance any K - 2 classroom. MeeGenius is a virtual library with free books that students can read in theclassroom, home, and on mobile devices such as iphones and ipads. The site has many books and several features to promote early literacy and engage reading. Each story has audio and highlights each word as it is spoken to allow students to hear and recognize words, as well as, read along. Once the student becomes familiar with the words, the stories can be read without the audio. The stories can also be personalized by adding familiar names to each character in the story. This feature will help students to make personal connections to the story and assist with reading comprehension.

The tools that operate MeeGenius books are user friendly and with the answering of a few questions, that books are easily personalized.

What is so wonderful about this tool is that it can be used in the classroom and parents can use it at home to bridge the home/school connection. When stories are personalized, it can be saved to be used again or it can be purchased. This 2.0 tool is free to use and only charges a fee if a personalized book is purchased, which is a great option for parents who want to build a personalized collection of books.

Imagine a classroom where there are no worn books with marks and torn pages . . . Imagine a classroom where students are practicing reading in small group centers with audio playback, highlighting, and personalization . . . Imagine a parent being able to pull up the same books that are used in school to reinforce what is being taught in the classroom . . . Imagine a child reading stories from a mobile device while they are riding in the car on a long trip. Well imagine no more! MeeGenius is the answer.

Check out this demonstration of the product.

BP2_iGoogle Screen Shots

ETC Page

AR Page

FSO Page

iGoogle Page

BP1_Google Reader

I chose several great RSS feeds to follow form my professional purposes. The first feed that I subscribed to is the PBIS News Feed which I can use to get information for my AR project on creating a Positive Behavior Intervention Support System (PBIS) at my school. The next site is the Edutopia RSS Feed that I will use to connect with others that talk about K-12 Education and Learning Innovation. The third feed I chose is the Grant Opportunity Feed from Grants.gov. This feed will keep me in touch with funding opportunities so I can apply funds to enhance my teaching program. The fourth feed I subscribed to is Education Sector which is a feed designed to give innovative ideas in education. The last feed I subscribed to is Bright Hub which is a feed of science and technology articles that I can use to integrate technology in the classroom.