Google Calendar: Lesson Planning

I've talked about setting up a Google calendar before...today's Google calendar tip is really easy.  I connect my Google calendar to my school district's calendar so I can see all the events.

Select the plus sign on the Google Calendar you wish to add, then select Yes, add this calendar.

Under More button, choose print. Print the calendar for the work week.

Once I print the calendar I input a brief statement/activity for each class of the week.  It's hard to see here but on Friday there is a field trip so I note the number of students that will be on the field trip and plan my activity according to the other activities at the school.  Since I added the school calendar I can note when there is a major athletic contest that may interfere with several students completing homework.  This is a brief overview before getting to the real plan with precise instructions, standards, and objectives but one more reason for centering my planning around my calendar.

Share how you use Google Calendar in your lesson planning via the comments.

Making Sense of the PARCC “Tech Prep” Tools (Part 1)

ELA

It seems that there are plenty of tools to help you prepare your students for the demands of online testing such as PARCC but what tools should you use and when?  Can any of these tools be implemented into the daily curriculum of your class?  Should these tools be used for teaching computer/tech skills OR should they be used specifically to prepare for THE test?  I try to make sense of this “stuff” for my technology classroom and how to connect with classroom teachers in this post.  I’m not saying I have the answers, I cannot even say how these methods help students prepare or perform on the tests…they haven’t happened yet, but this is how I’m making sense of them.

Recommendation #1 – take the practice test yourself.  Find the grade/subject you teach and take the test closest to your course so you know what is expected and how it works.

http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/

                There are two things teachers will notice when taking a practice test. 

1. Types of questions being asked (what content students need to know)
2. What technology skills they need to be able to complete a task 

I will focus on technology skills in this post because that’s what I teach.  

Different online tools will be helpful for preparing for the new content assessed and the skills needed to complete.

Click and Drag aka Drag and Drop

                Practice tests ask students to find statements in boxes and click on a box and drag it to another location and drop it.  Some students will want to click on it once to select it but actually you have to click, hold in the mouse button, drag, and then release the mouse when the box is moved to the proper location. For students to practice this skill visit:

This onlinepractice allows students to practice highlighting and inserting text in a sample word processor.

Features that are holiday themed on www.abcya.com also allow students to practice

Drag and drop features

http://www.abcya.com/kids_make_a_gingerbread_house.htm

Drag to highlight features

http://www.abcya.com/christmas_word_search.htm

In Ohio Infohio resources are available for many schools/districts/communities.  Using http://www.infohio.org/students/er/grade/gk5 and choosing BookFlix Puzzlers will allow students to practice the drag and drop feature and allow students to practice comprehension after reading a story.

Multiple Choice/Dropdown lists

Google Forms: Sample

                       Make your own see video 

Schoology Tests/Quizzes

Join sample course: 3J9FZ-J4R4K

Make assessments see video

Scroll to see entire page

A lot of this will depend on screen resolution.  Have students practice visiting webpages and use the scroll wheel, click on the scroll bar and drag and use the mouse pad such as on a Chromebook. 

It is important that they can click the scroll bar and drag the scroll as well as use the scroll wheel.  I had a student tell me they couldn’t view the entire page because the mouse was broken…the scroll was broken but the mouse still allowed for scrolling.  Students need to be able to do simple trouble-shooting while testing.

Keying Text

Schoology Discussion Posts

Google Forms

Microsoft Word Text Boxes – using text boxes is important because the tests are not traditional word processors, they are boxes and windows.

Keyboarding

www.typingweb.com/tutor

Dance MatTyping

Videos

Online Computer Literacy Practice: Watch a Video

YouTube www.youtube.com

Digital Video Collection Infohio users

Google Calendar for Work and Home

I used to be addicted to my Outlook calendar.  I color coded everything!  Work events, kids, holidays, birthdays, to do list...EVERYTHING!  The one problem with my Outlook calendar was I couldn't take it with me.  Think 2009.  I did not have a Blackberry or an iPhone.  I did not have money for a phone plan anyway.  So, for Christmas I asked for a PDA.  It needed something that would work with my already established Outlook calendar, and had WiFi access, you know for when I went to Panera Bread or McDonalds. It could NOT rely on a phone plan to work.  So I got a cute little Pocket PC and took it everywhere.  It worked great, and my love affair with Microsoft continued. My husband at the time was using Google calendar already.  His band dates were on Google calendar, his work appointments, and I refused to convert.  "Email me if I need to know what's on your calendar," I would say.

Then it happened.  I got a MacBook.  I went back to school to teach and thought, I need a new computer, so many schools use Macs, I don't have a Mac, I don't know how to use a Mac...I better get in the loop.  Of course the Mac needs the Microsoft Office Suite too.  And it was so.  Problem...alert! Alert!  My Mac that communicated with my PC and shared my Outlook calendar would not communicate with the Pocket PC.  My organizational world was OVER.  I needed a new plan.  That is when I learned to embrace Google Calendar.  

I have 2 Google accounts. One for home, one for work.  I have 5 Google calendars, and share 2 additional calendars, and have access to view 3 other calendars.  It's not as complicated as it sounds because they are all color coded.

One of the best things about Google calendar is my school uses Google calendar as the district calendar so I can quickly save an activity on the district calendar to my own calendar, but only the activities that pertain to me and my building if I want.  

Video How To ...

Connecting your Google Account to Schoology

Start by logging in to Schoology.  If you do not have an account yet you can Sign Up quickly and easily.

Click on Resources at the top of the page. Then select Apps.

 Select Install Apps

Then check the box next to Google Drive (or any other app you would like). 

Click Install button.

Approve authorization

Then connect.  After you connect you will need to login to Google unless you are logged in already in another tab. 

Then viola.  You can pull resources from Google to your Schoology account to share with students or show your students and they can submit Google files in Schoology.