Create a Google Form to track professional and parent contact

Why a form?

By using a form you don't have to remember what information to log and all the information is in one place and easy to access.  This type of information makes sense if you want to track all communication or log time spent on activities all in one place.  If you prefer to log information per student this might make more sense to put in your gradebook.  You can always copy the information from the form responses into your gradebook comments to keep a log AND keep with student records.  I find it easiest to keep all contacts in one place.  Emails are easy to save but you still may want to log emails and reference the save location in case you need documentation.  Either way, it's smart to log your communication somewhere and I found this to be a quick and easy fix.  The initial form takes 20 minutes to make and logging contacts at the time is a breeze.

 Start with a form that allows you to select the type of contact Parent or Professional

Question type choose from a list.

Then you can choose the box go to page based on answer if the form will be different based on the contact type.

I then select the information I want to collect.  I make sure I add a time/date option but the form will be automatically time stamped for the date you fill it out so if you fill it out at the time of the conversation you don’t have to put in a separate time/date.

The results will print to a spreadsheet for you to have a log.

Finally, share your link with yourself on your desktop.  I put it on my webpage.  It could be a resource in Schoology or you can put the link in a Word document and save the document to your desktop for easy access.

Brainstorming: Near and Far

Last week I decided I wanted to brainstorm ideas for an upcoming project in class.  Each student has a computer so I wanted to do it using their devices.  I considered a Google form but I wanted it to be in real time.  Google forms allow you to see previous responses AFTER you submit if the option is selected. Then I thought about Poll Everywhere but it's so difficult to organize the ideas and work on them later after collecting the data.  That's when a quick Internet search led me to Stormboard.  Stormboard is free to educators through December 2014 so check it out.

Stormboard allows you to collect ideas, color code them, vote on your favorite ideas and organize ideas in a number of creative ways.  I fould for large classes it works best if you only have 4-5 brainstormers at a time but you can enter your idea, rearrange and categorize it then print a report or Wordle of your results.

I created a Stormboard for us to use to brainstorm for fun!  What is your favorite Tech resource for your classroom?  

P.S. you can signup using your school Google account if you have one and have your students do the same.  THEN you can see their official names instead of them making up their own accounts.

P.P.S. I don't get anything for you using this service or following the link.  There is no free space etc.

Connecting a Projector

Video: Connect to a projector

Getting back to school finds many teachers eager to show kids new "stuff" but what happens when you're prepared on your laptop and you want to show the entire class.  I received many questions this week stating "what's wrong with my projector?"

If you see your desktop background screen on your projector but not the“stuff” you want to project, odds are good that you are in extended screen mode. 

To fix this you go to start ->

control panel -> 

(depending on your setup you may have to go to appearance and settings before display) -> 

display ->

connect to a projector -> 

select duplicate.

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.