Google Drive

Google Drive includes Document, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Drawing and Forms.  If you've wanted to start using these and haven't yet because you are just not sure exactly how,  google provides detailed tutorials.  Here is one for google drawings.  If you are part of the Watertown School District, you can find all the tutorials about how to use Google Apps on your Google Apps for Education Course in itslearning.

Create a drawing

To start creating drawings in Google Docs, go to your Docs list, click the red Create button and select Drawing.
Then, use the menu options and the buttons in the toolbar to create flow charts, design diagrams, and other types of drawings.
Once you're done, you can add your drawing to your document, presentation, or spreadsheet.

Edit

Click this drop-down menu to cut, copy, paste, duplicate, and change a shape.

Insert

Use this menu to insert lines, arrows, scribbles, polylines, text boxes, and images. You can also click the individual buttons in the toolbar to do this. Once you select an option, follow these instructions:

• Line: Click to place one end of the line, and drag to the other end.
• Arrow: Click anywhere to place the end of the arrow, and drag to add the arrowhead.
• Scribble: Click to choose your start point, and drag to create the scribble. It will be automatically smoothed out once you've finished.


In line, arrow, and scribble modes, you'll keep adding lines until you go back to select mode by clicking the Select button from the toolbar (the small arrow to the left of the Shapes button), or pressing the Esc key.


• Polyline: Add continuous lines composed of multiple segments by drawing a segment of your polyline, clicking to end the segment and beginning your next segment. Learn more about using polylines.
• Word art: After selecting this option, type your text and press Enter.
• Text box: Click where you'd like to add the text box, enter your text, and press Enter. Your text will be added to your drawing. Use text boxes instead of word art if you'd like to use word wrap or specify a different text size. Learn more about using text in Google drawings.
• Image: Enter a URL of an image or do an image search to find what you're looking for, and click Select. Learn more about adding images to your drawing.

Format

Click this menu to change the background of your drawing, align and rotate items, select snap to grid or snap to guide, change the order of the items (for example, bring a shape forward), and group items. Learn more about formatting your drawings.
Here are some of the buttons available in the toolbar:

Undo or redo changes

You can undo and redo changes by clicking the two arrows to the left side end of the toolbar.

Zoom in and out

To zoom in and out on your drawings, click the Zoom button in the toolbar.

Shapes

Select a shape from the Shape menu in the toolbar. Then, click anywhere in Google drawings to insert the shape in the default size, or drag your mouse to change the size of the shape.
Create word art by clicking the Shape menu and selecting Word Art (the letter "T" in the second row of shapes). Then, type your text and press Enter. Learn more about using text in Google drawings.

All of the shape editing options are available with word art, so you can rotate, choose fill and line color, and change line width.

Fill color, line color, line width, edit text, bold, and more

These and other editing options are available only when you've selected a specific item. For example, when you insert a text box or word art, you'll see the Edit text button at the right end of the toolbar. Click it to change the selected text.
Note: To duplicate a shape, just hold the Ctrl key (Command key for Macs) while dragging the shape.

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Google Sites in Watertown

Teachers in Watertown are beginning to use google sites to replace their teacher web sites.  Here are two excellent examples.

Kathleen Fucchi is a first grade teacher at Lowell Elementary School.  Her site is fun to navigate! Mrs. Fucci's Classroom Website.  I especially love her welcome page that has a great slide show of her class.

Lowell Kindergarten teacher, Jacquelyn Porter, has created a really engaging site: J.R. Lowell School Kindergarten

Tinamarie Piscatelli,  an ELA teacher  at the high school, has a site where students can find their homework, videos and more.  You can see it by clicking here:  Piscatelli-WHS-English.  

Brushes 3 and SketchBook Pro @ Hosmer

Two of our teachers at the Hosmer Elementary School, Maggie Mattson and Beth Lloyd, have been taking a class where they learn to draw on the iPad.  They have been using Brushes 3 and SketchBook Pro.  You can click on each link to learn more about these apps.  Here are some of the amazing pictures they have created with these two apps using their iPad and their fingers!

Another Story Creating Tool: For iPad's

Book Creator 2.4 lets you create books and narrate them. It's a free app for your iPad.  Click on the video below to see how it works.



Book Creator for the iPad from Red Jumper Studio on Vimeo.

The video below shows students in a Chinese class creating talking books:

The Difference in "Free" Student Publishing Online Applications

As an Ed Tech teacher and now coordinator, I'm always looking for student publishing tools.  The problem is that those that say they are "free" typically don't have the functionality needed in the "free" version.  With this in mind, I am reviewing a few "free" online publishing applications.

FlipSnack

I created a test book and got all the way to the end, only to find out the embed option was not part of the free tools.  I created this book in google, downloaded it as a PDF and then uploaded it to FlipSnack.
You can view it here, but I can't embed it.  http://snack.to/f1nlbfin

Simplebooklet


I used the same PDF and was able to get an embed code.  Unfortunately, with the free version there will be advertisements on the page.  I like this better than FlipSnack because I can continue to add pages.
Issuu

Issuu's been around for a long time.  Again, you need to create a PDF first and then upload.  You do have the opportunity to make the ads "kid friendly."

Free Technology For Teachers by Richard Bryne

Here is a sample of what you will read on this excellent blog: Free Technology for Teachers

Google Releases an Official Save to Drive Extension

Last week I wrote about a Google Chrome extension that allows you to send images and files to your Google Drive account with one click. That extension was not made by Google. Today, Googlereleased an official Save to Drive Chrome extension. 

The official Save to Drive Chrome extension allows you to right-click on an image, link, or file and send it directly to your Google Drive account. After a file is saved in your Google Drive account you can rename it, share it, and move it into a folder just like any other item in your Google Drive account.

Applications for Education
Save to Drive could be used by students to collect links and pictures that they will use in their research projects. To send to Google Drive students will need to be signed into their Google Accounts when they're searching the web. And, of course, if your students are saving pictures from the web please talk to them about Copyright, Creative Commons, and Fair Use.

Educreations

My very favorite app of the moment is Educreations.  You can create presentations, reports, books, or just a picture.  The best part is the whole thing can be narrated by you or your student.  Here's a little creation I made to show you what can be done.  This took me about 7 minutes to create, upload and now embed here on this blog.  You can learn more about this very useful app here: Educreations