Digital Storytelling - The Digital Storytelling Process displayed in a Thinglink

This is an excellent way of presenting information using an interactive image made with Thinglink.
I really like the clever way the Digital Storytelling Process is outlined here by Toniamcm:
(https://www.thinglink.com/scene/382359211410980864).



https://www.thinglink.com/scene/382359211410980864

Tips for Foundation Phase reading lessons using a tablet offline - as inspired by the IkhweziLesizwe Foundation Phase teachers

This is a cross post that I wrote for the SchoolNet blog at the beginning of October

Tablets are revolutionary devices that hold great potential for transforming learning. In the hands of skilled teachers and interested learners, tablets can be used to create some fantastic learning opportunities.

Learners at IkhweziLesizwe Primary School

Western Cape Microsoft Windows tablet devices
Recently Microsoft and the Western Cape Education Department delivered 99 Windows 10 tablets, in three cabinets, to 42 Western Cape Schools that would otherwise never be able to afford such devices. Selected Grade 1,2 and 3 teachers from each school, along with teachers from other schools in the vicinity, were provided with a day’s training presented by SchoolNet facilitators. These teachers shared what they had learned with the rest of their staff when they returned to their schools; and then, a few weeks later, each school was visited by a SchoolNet facilitator to see how the teachers and classes were managing with the tablets.Mostly, no Internet is available in the classrooms at these schools, so the teachers have to use offline apps in their lessons. The Windows 10 tablet is well-suited to offline use as it is very similar to using a Windows 10 computer offline.

My visit to IkhweziLesizwe Primary School 

I was privileged to visit IkhweziLesizwe Primary School situated in Khayelitsha, one of the poorest areas of Cape Town, as part of this visitation programme. The minute that I stepped out of my car I knew I was in a happy school environment. People greeted me and smiled and I could hear the happy buzz of children learning in the classroom. 

IkhweziLesizwe Primary School, Khayelitsha

Generally, like in most Khayelitsha schools, the class sizes are large, ranging from 40 - 47 learners. The principal Mrs Mayeye is a very pleasant person who is extremely proud of her school and its achievements. 

Mrs Mayeye showing photos of the school's hockey and drama achievements

As we talked in her office and I told her of some of the exciting things that are happening in technology around the world in classrooms, such as the ever-popular mystery Skype sessions, she grew very excited and begged me to come back once Internet has been installed at their school, to get them involved in these opportunities. I found that teachers at the school had developed a tablet timetable from Grade R to Grade 3 and and they were well into using the tablets routinely every week. They mainly used an offline program called Talking Stories on the tablet, for reading lessons; but they were very keen to hear more about how they could use the other apps in their lessons when I presented the coaching session after school. As I watched the teachers using the tablets, whilst observing them in their classrooms, I had the idea of writing a post about using the tablet offline for reading in a Foundation Phase classroom.

How the IkhweziLesizwe teachers use the tablets for reading
Some teachers use the tablets for group reading sessions while others use them for whole-class reading. The reading app installed on the tablets, Talking Stories, has been installed in such a way that it can be used offline; and since there is no WIFI in the classrooms at the school, this is a great advantage. Although the teachers enjoyed this app with its English stories they really longed to also have isiXhosa stories on their devices especially as Grade 1-3 learners learn in their mother tongue. Since the classes are so big the learners have to use the tablets in pairs.

Grade 2 learners

Grade 3 learners

Different ways to use tablets for reading

Here are a few ideas for reading:

1. Read aloud
The teacher reads to the whole class, modeling fluency, thinking processes, and the type of expressive reading necessary for comprehension and engagement. The read aloud often builds upon the learners' existing knowledge and skills, but it also serves as a useful way to introduce new types of text and reading strategies. In the read aloud the teacher often thinks out loud so that students can learn they techniques they use to make connections, visualize stories, make inferences, use fix-up strategies when they don't understand what they read, determine unknown words, and formulate questions about the text.

2. Paired reading
It really helps when learners can read to someone. A reading partner, sometimes called a reading buddy, is a good choice in the classroom. The learners can read to one another and help one another.

Two learners doing paired reading

3. Shared reading

Shared Reading is an interactive reading experience that occurs when all the learners join in or share the reading of a big book or other enlarged text while guided and supported by a teacher or other experienced reader. Students observe an expert reading the text with fluency and expression. The text must be large enough for all the students to see clearly, so they can share in the reading of the text. I noticed that the teachers had the BIG Book versions of the Talking Stories which would enable shared reading to proceed smoothly. (If one didn’t have a Big Book available a data projector projecting on to a screen could work,) The Department of Education developed an excellent booklet called Teaching Reading in the Early Grades some years ago. It explains the process of shared reading really well. It can be accessed at https://goo.gl/oXKP4V .

4. Group-guided reading
Group-guided reading is an instructional approach that involves a teacher working with a small group of learners who demonstrate similar reading behaviours and can all read similar levels of texts. (The challenge to a teachers is always what to do with the rest of the class while group-guided reading is taking place.) Very often, the teacher will begin a session by introducing the text and modeling a particular strategy. The teacher and student engage in meaningful conversations about what they are reading, and the teacher can build on their use of different reading strategies over time. This time of classroom reading instruction is essential to promoting essential reading skills.

5. Independent reading
Independent reading gives learners the opportunity to practice the strategies they’ve learned through group-guided reading, shared reading, and teacher read alouds. In independent reading time the learners choose their own stories.

Components of a successful reading lesson
There are said to be five components to a successful reading lesson, and teachers need to incorporate these into their lessons; namely phonemic awareness, word recognition of both sight words and phonics, comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. Teachers will use various activities during their reading lessons to develop these components. For example, to develop comprehension teachers might use 'retelling'. The learners retell the story in different ways to a partner, a group or the teacher.

Reading strategies
A reading strategy is a plan of action designed to help learners understand the material and direct their attention to the details.. Strategies usually combine a number of skills simultaneously. It is important that teachers are aware of different reading strategies. The essential thing is that teachers have a plan of what they will do to start the reading lesson, during the reading lesson and after the reading lesson. A post by Teachthought ‘25 Reading Strategies That Work In Every Content Area’ https://goo.gl/XlFA5G shows some useful reading strategies such as:

25 Reading Strategies That Work In Every Content Area via TeachThought

Finding digital isiXhosa reading material for Grades 1-3

When the teachers mentioned that they would dearly love digital reading material in Isixhosa, I immediately thought of the African storybook project http://www.africanstorybook.org/ developed right here in South Africa for Grade 1-3 learners.

Isixhosa books on the African Storybook website - all free

The stories are all free in the languages of Africa, and they are downloadable, with beautiful illustrations. The project has an app for Android and iTunes but I don’t see one for Windows devices. The only way I can imagine downloading these lovely stories in isiXhosa to the tablets, with my limited understanding, is as follows:
Download the stories to a computer using WIFI and then:

a) Transfer them to a SD card and store them in a Windows device with a link on the home screen
OR
b) Transfer the stories via Bluetooth to another Windows device.

Download the African Storybook Project app from the African Storybook website

Further Reading lesson resources for teachers

• Scholastic Reading Strategies: Everything You Need to know https://goo.gl/jicUyZ
• Reading Lesson Plans https://goo.gl/aX8hT
• Reading Rockets http://www.readingrockets.org/

10 ideas for using the Paint app in a Foundation Phase class - as inspired by a visit to Isikhokelo Primary School in Khayelitsha

This is a crosspost of the post I wrote on the SchoolNet blog 

Tablets are an attractive device to use in the classroom because they are halfway between laptops and mobile phones. This means they are big enough to work on for a period of time, on a desk, in a classroom. Their touch screen capability allows them to be used with a stylus which is similar to using a pen or pencil. The use of touch-screen tablets can bring many advantages to the classroom. One such advantage is that learners become more enthusiastic in their lessons. The big challenge to teachers is to consider not only the apps and the technical side of the tablet devices, but to be aware of pedagogical considerations as well.

Recently Microsoft and the Western Cape Education Department delivered 99 Windows 10 tablets, in three cabinets, to 42 Western Cape Schools that would otherwise never be able to afford such devices. Selected Grade 1,2 and 3 teachers from each school, along with teachers from other schools in the vicinity, were provided with a day’s training presented by SchoolNet facilitators. These teachers shared what they had learned with the rest of their staff when they returned to their schools; and then, a few weeks later, each school was visited by a  SchoolNet facilitator to see how the teachers and classes were managing with the tablets.Mostly, no Internet is available in the classrooms at these schools, so the teachers have to use offline apps in their lessons. The Windows 10 tablet is well-suited to offline use as it is very similar to using a Windows 10 computer offline.

I was privileged to visit five schools in one of the poorest areas of Cape Town, Khayelitsha, as part of this visitation program. In this post  I’ll refer briefly to my visit to Isikhokelo Primary School in Khayelitsha. In Khayelitsha, generally, the class sizes range from 40 - 47 learners.

The Grade 1 class at Isikhokelo Primary using their tablets

I found this visit very inspiring, as the teachers who were trained had shared what they had learnt with the other Foundation Phase teachers after the training, and the school had drawn up a timetable and a plan for using the devices. When I visited some of the classes I could see that both the teachers and learners were feeling comfortable using the tablets. One of the apps I noticed them using when I visited their classes was the Paint app. This post will focus on some ideas for using a painting app such as Paint in the classroom.

10 ideas for using Paint in a Foundation Phase class Microsoft Paint doesn’t appear in the alphabetical list of apps on a Windows tablet, but it shows up when one types 'Paint' into the search bar. This is a very useful app, especially in Foundation Phase, as it can also be used as a whiteboard with colour pens and an eraser.
Benefits of using the Paint app in the classroom

• The learners can identify different colours, shades of colours and sizes of pens. They can develop their fine motor skills when they use a stylus with this app.
• The nature of this app taps into a learner's creativity.
• The Paint app can be used as a whiteboard in a lesson.
• Learners can manipulate different shapes.
• Learners can use a text tool to type words. 
• The work can be saved if desired.

Using the Paint app in the classroom

Paint can be used in a number of different ways in a Foundation Phase classroom. Here are ten ideas.

1. In reading lessons learners can paint a favourite scene from the story just read. They can describe what they have drawn, and why it was their favourite part of the story.
2. Learners can illustrate sentences from the story. The teacher could highlight a sentence and the learners draw what they visualise. 
3. Learners can redraw a picture that appears in the story.
4. Learners can also complete an unfinished story in the form of a picture.
5. In phonics lessons learners can listen for the beginning sound of a word spoken by the teacher and they can write it in Paint. The teacher could also call out some of the phonics they have learned and the learners could practise writing the sounds on their tablet devices. 
6. Paint is useful in Life Skills lessons. For example, when learning about dental hygiene, learners can draw a picture of a beautiful smile that demonstrates healthy teeth. 
7. Learners can easily draw diagrams and label them. For example they could draw a body and label the body parts when learning about the body.
8. In Maths lessons that involve using shapes, Paint provides a great selection of shapes that can be manipulated and coloured in.
9. In Maths lessons Paint can also be used for writing the Maths sum and working out the answer by means of a sketch. The learners could be asked to explain their thinking to a partner.
10. Paint can be used in an Art lesson especially when art resources are limited at a school.

An example of a lesson using Paint
Topic
Draw a picture showing a new end to a story.

Objective:
The learners will create their own story ending after listening to a story.

Before class begins
Locate an interesting story for the class. You will either read the story to the class or tell them the story, but remember to leave out the ending.

Opening activity

• Read or tell the story to the class modelling as much reading expression as possible. Do not mention the end of the story.
• Discuss possible story endings with the class.
• Tell the learners they will draw a picture showing their own ending to the story.

Task: Draw an ending to the story

• Introduce the Paint app to the learners if they have not used it before. Talk about the paintbrush sizes, the colour palette, the paint pot for colouring in, and the eraser for rubbing out mistakes.
• Let the learners use the stylus when using Paint to have better fine motor control. The stylus in this instance is their paintbrush.
• Walk around and help those learners who require assistance. Be quick to compliment the learners on their drawings.
• Let the learners use the A icon in Paint to type their name. They could also type their own sentence about the picture they have drawn.

Ending the lesson

• Let the learners discuss their story endings with one another.
• The image can be saved to illustrate how to save, but this will need to be erased after a while to save space on the tablet. 

A tutorial on using Microsoft Paint

Whatever tablet you use in your classroom, make sure that you have a similar app to Microsoft Paint that can be used as a whiteboard as well as an art programme. You'll be surprised how often you'll use it in your lessons. 

THE AMAZING RACE Google Style - Invitation to a Google GEG event in Cape Town

Here's a GEG (Google Educator Group) event that you don't want to miss if you live in Cape Town! The Amazing Race! It is offered by the GEG Cape Town Central group.

Details
Date: Friday 14th October 2016
Time:  2:30 - 4:30pm
Place: Wynberg Girls High School
Topic: The Amazing Race Google Style!
Register: bit.ly/2016GEGWYNGHS

Google Slides: Create an e-book using Google Slides

Google Slides is a great for creating e-books.  We created them as part of a Natural Disasters project in Grade 7.  Each students chose a different project. I outlined the instructions in Google Classroom.

This is what we did:
First we created the template for the e-book as shown below. https://goo.gl/kKJss7

The task
I provided the task in a Google Doc and we discussed it at length https://goo.gl/UwyyFu . We also revised how to research and how to provide links to the material used.

Examples
The students did these really well. Here are a few examples:

Hyperdoc poetry lesson: If I were in charge of the world

I came across this lovely lesson idea on Laura Chandler's wonderful poetry page:  http://www.lauracandler.com/filecabinet/literacy/poetry.php : At the bottom of the page she has a section called:

Poetry Multimedia Project - If I Were In Charge of the World
"Idea submitted by Radene Girola
Last year one of my newsletter subscribers described a wonderful multimedia project she does with her students. She uses PhotoStory 3 which can be downloaded for free from Microsoft, but other multimedia programs would work as well. Radene has her students take the poem "If I Were in Charge of the World" by Judith Viorst and asks them to rewrite it in their own words and create a PhotoStory. She sent me a sample PhotoStory she created for her students, and I have her permission to post it online. Please be aware that this file requires Windows Media Player, and if you have a Mac you might not be able to view the file. (Download the free VLC player fromhttp://vlc.us.com and that should allow you to view it.) She also sent me her lesson overview. I have omitted the original poem by Judith Viorst due to copyright concerns, but you can order the book from Amazon.com or look for it in your library. Take a look at Radene's sample PhotoStory and prepare to be inspired! This would make a great end-of-the-year project! If you have questions about this activity, feel free to contact Radene at radene.girola@comcast.net."

I felt this would make a perfect lesson for my Grade 6 class and I decided to create a Hyperdoc lesson.

Reusing an already created Hyperdoc

I found a suitable Hyperdoc that someone had already created called "If I were President" which I copied into my own Google Drive. https://goo.gl/I87EyJ . I then changed it: https://goo.gl/zCj4QP

The original Hyperdoc:

My changed Hyperdoc:

Examples

I was really thrilled with the poems my students created. They used images and their own voice with created music. 

Example 1:

Example 2:

Do you know this free Google App for making downloadable collages - Fotojet?

Today I wanted to make some online collages in order to save space with photos in a blog post I was writing. I noticed that on the Google Chrome Web Store there is an app called Fotojet, so I  added it to my Google Chrome Apps and tried it out. I really like it.  Fotojet is a free online collage maker, graphic designer and photo editor.  It claims that it can turn your photos into a work of art! You can also find Fotojet online at https://www.fotojet.com/app.html .

Here’s how I used it once I had opened the app online.

1. Click on Make a Collage

2. Select Classic Collage

When the collage page opens there is quite a choice, I was pleased to see. However, I decided to select Classic Collage to suit my purposes.

3. Choose your template

There was a great choice of classic template designs.

4. Select your template option and add your photos to Fotojet.com

When you add the photos you have the option of choosing from Facebook or choosing from your computer. The photos I need I saved on my computer so I took that option.

5. Save, share or print your collage
Above the collage you create are the options to Save, Share or Print your selection. I selected Save and it immediately gave me a number of options for the Name, Quality and Size of the photo.

6. Do you want to share your image on social media?
You also get the option to share your image on social media should you wish to.

This is a great app for making colleges. I really recommend it. I can't wait to try out all the different options it offers.

A great way to easily download videos from YouTube...

In South Africa the Internet can be a real problem in the classroom at times. You want to show a Youtube video clip to your classes as an introduction to a lesson,  but when you click on it the video buffers and buffers! Ever experienced that? So the best thing to do in my opinion is to download the video. That poses the question: ‘How do you download a video from YouTube quickly and easily?’ There are several ways one can do this. One way is to use savefrom.net.

This is what I discovered when trying to download a YouTube video using Windows 10.

1.  Remove the http://www. details from the YouTube URL

Find the video that you want to download. Replace the initial part of the YouTube URL, http://www. (including the full stop) with ss  (For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1AqXLCsC1c becomes:  ssyoutube.com/watch?v=A1AqXLCsC1c).

2. Download the video

This will take you to  a page on savefrom.net http://goo.gl/f3x3c4 .. You’ll be asked if you would like to install the program (I did). By the way beware of other enticing video downloaders advertised on that page. Just stick to the green download button next to the image of your video.

3. Check the video on your deviceIt works!

4. The download button appears under online videosBest is that the green download button now appears under all YouTube videos AND on Vimeo videos I have discovered! From this point onwards you don't have to do the 'ss' thing or anything else. All you have to do is press the green download button and the video downloads. Awesome right? 

Try this process especially if you are a teacher.

Google Slides: Make a cheat sheet

When I came across @cogswell_ben's superb Google Cheat Sheets I realised that these are a great example of a different way of using Google Slides.  Ben has kindly given these a Creative Commons license so that they can be reused. One can't embed them but if you click on the images below you'll be taken to the originals. However, this is such a useful way of providing tutorials to students. 

CLICK ON THE IMAGES

https://goo.gl/GSJCh7

https://goo.gl/hZuGz1 

https://goo.gl/zjcrQT

https://goo.gl/EDylt6

This concept is so useful for creating documents for students to use in the classroom.  It is definitely worth pursuing the topic of Hyperdocs! Visit Ben's blog https://goo.gl/OqQh1M 

Google Slides: Publish a Google Slides story in different ways on the Internet

Google Slides is great for writing stories. One can use half a slide for the story and the other half for the illustration.  My Grade 5 class took part in a writing project with two schools in other countries - one in the USA and one in Argentine. We wrote collaborative stories, with my class working in groups of three and starting the story. We were also responsible for the final editing and the illustrations. We used a purchased program that is no longer available to do the illustrations.

It can also be presented online as a Google slideshow as illustrated below. However, the great thing about writing a story in Google Slides is that it can be downloaded as PDF and then uploaded to a variety of free online sites such as Slideboom, Slideshare and Youblisher among others.   The example below shows the story in Google Slides as a presentation and then in Youblisher as an e-book.

a) As a Google online slideshow



b) In Youblisher.com as an e-book
Click on the image below to be taken to Youblisher.com http://goo.gl/QPd6Nn

Google Slides: How to make a brochure using Google Slides

Google Slides is a great tool to use for making a six-sided brochure.  I decided to try it out with my Grade 5 class. They were learning about the heritage sites in South Africa in Social Sciences.

The task
Create a six-sided brochure showing two important heritage sites in South Africa that you would like to visit.

This is how I went about it

1. I created a template and uploaded this to a shared folder in Google Drive. All I did was divide two slides into three and added a guide for the answers. These division lines can be removed when printing. (The presentation below shows the template)
2. I put the link to this shared folder into Google Classroom so to ensure an easier workflow.  The students had to make their own copies which would automatically go to the shared folder as first option. 
3. I also added the link to a Google Document I had created with some brief information as a guide for the class https://goo.gl/TZqDU4 . 

Google Slides work really well for making a brochure. Until I have some completed work to show I'll use this image from https://goo.gl/kJtAVr.

Why not join the Mini Web Contest for K-12 Classes...

I have participated in the full 6 month Global Virtual Classroom project in the past. The good news is that they are introducing a much shorter 10 week option. The following information about this is taken from the Global Virtual Conference wiki http://minigvc.wikispaces.com/ 


What is the MINI GVC?
MINI GVC is the outcome of some serious thinking regarding preparedness in the context of Collaboration, Commitment, Contribution and Copyright while participating in GVC contests. After functioning as a Teacher-coordinator for GVC Contest from 2009-16 one of the participants noticed that quite often teams do not shine in collaboration which is primarily the aim and purpose of GVC - to share and care. It could be due to various valid reasons but yet we would like not to compromise on the quality and productivity of our websites.

What is the GVC Contest?
MINI GVC is a prelude to GVC Contest in which students from various countries supervised by their Teacher Facilitators would represent their schools to create a website on a pre-decided age appropriate theme. The Mini contest is open for approximately 10 weeks during September-November, February-April and June-August. The contest is open for students from K-12 schools around the world to create a collaborative website on a topic of world interest. Groups are assigned by GVC, and may consist of anywhere from 2-4 schools.

Contributions
Contributions can be text, illustrations, multimedia, recorded/textual discussions, interviews, etc all original created by the participants themselves.Copyright rules have to be strictly followed while utilizing content (text /illustrations/photos/videos etc) from another website. Attributions and Citations are a must for every post in the website.

Results
Results shall be announced after every trimester and winners will be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Star Certificates. Assessment will be based on Creativity/Originality, Social Responsibility, Team Spirit, Technical Skill and Copyright.

Features of MINI-GVC

• Perfect for schools with time constraints. One can choose a convenient trimester.
• Acquire new technical skills and improve existing talents.
• Improve and acquire collaborative communication skills.
• Understand and appreciate cultural differences.
• One school can participate in one or more trimesters.
• One school can register more than one group in a trimester.

Want more? Move on to the GVC six month contest.

Have Questions?
Contact:
Project Manager - lakshmi.srinivas@gsbi.org
Program Manager - jbarnstable@gsbi.org

This program is a project of Give Something Back International Foundation. www.gsbi.org

5 great Chrome extensions I have just added!

I recentlylogged in to and booked for the Simplek12 Chromebook webinars day and there was a free resource included showing  nine Chrome extensions or add-ins.  I haven't used some of these so I am going to highlight the ones I want to get started with today!

Noisli https://goo.gl/UTaMkH 

Improve your focus and boost your productivity. Block out annoying noises and create the right environment for working or relaxing.Noisli is the best and most beautifully designed productivity companion throughout your day. No matter if you are in an environment where it is too loud or too quiet, with Noisli you can create and listen to your favorite background sounds in order to focus and concentrate on your tasks.

Evernote https://goo.gl/SJp74 
I always thought this was a paid app but I see there isa   free plan...so let me try it. This web clipping tool allows you to clip various web pages as you browse so you can go back to that information at any time, or share with others. You can keep the resources you clip bookmarked and organized with Evernote. Evernote even has a highlighting tool so you can draw attention to a particular part of the clip that you found to be inspirational.

Web of Trust https://goo.gl/zSA7
This sounds good. Maybe the kids should install this at school. Web of Trust is a safe browsing tool that ensures and protects against malware and dangerous links. Various reputation icons located next to the website name tell you the site’s rating and reputation. Best of all, Web of Trust won’t slow down your browser.

Wunderlist https://goo.gl/BnLeYA
I'll try this and compare it to using Google Keep. Wunderlist is a tool that creates organized to-do lists for all those projects. Each project and all the information and communication can be placed in its own special folder. Wunderlist will also send you reminders and set due dates to keep you on top of everything. These lists can also be shared with others for collaborative projects.

Lazarus Form Recovery https://goo.gl/ySTGK2
Have you ever been in the middle of filling out a form when you time out? Or your computer crashes? Re-entering all that information can be time-consuming. Lazarus Form Recovery is an add-on that saves as you type so you don’t have to lose all your information due to an untimely power outage or other type of disaster. Simply click a menu item, and all your information can be reinstated.

Two ways to participate in ISTE 2016 from afar ...

One of the biggest technology conferences in the world is about to take place next week - ISTE in Denver, Colorado in the USA. However if you are not attending here are two ways to participate from afar for free:

a) Join the NOTATISTE online Google Community
Experience similar fun events with them. This group was formed by Jennifer Wagner last year. I joined in and it was a really great experience. https://goo.gl/LF6UZF  I've joined again for this year.

b) Join in the EdtechTeam's ISTE ON AIR event

This is what the EdTechTeam says:
"Can't make it to ISTE in Denver this year? Don't fret -- we're providing the #NOTATISTE crowd some fun and learning virtually! Door prizes given all day, so stop on by! We'll be patched in LIVE from the EdTechTeam Teaching Theater Booth all day, Monday, June 27th. RSVP and pop into this link at any time to pick up some just-in-time inspiration on a ton of different learning topics! We'll be highlighting sessions on Creating UnGoogleable Questions, Using Data in the Classroom, Telling Stories with Tourbuilder, Critical Thinking with Google, and MORE!"

Date: Monday, June 27th

EdTechTeam backchannel: http://todaysmeet.com/edtechteam

Landing page to watch this live event, and RSVP: http://bit.ly/isteonair

Some of the presentations to listen to live:

• How to Create an UnGoogleable Question 
• Apps That Make You Say HMMMM - Cool Apps for the classroom and professional use
• Google Cardboard - See the world in Virtual Reality 
• Let the data do the talking 
• Trending Up: Critical Thinking with Google Trends 
• Digital Portfolios with Google Tools 
• Google A - Z: The Unknown Google Gems 
• Souped Up Searching - Getting just what you need just when you need it
• Telling Stories with Tourbuilder - Creating Context with Geo Location 
• Shake Up Learning with Google Apps 
• GAFE Trail Mix: Creating Engaging Lessons for Learning
• Google Slides, More than Just a Presentation Tool 
• Keeping it Real While on the Go - Google Keep

The biggest technology conference in the world, ISTE, is due to take place in Denver, USA this month. I have once again joined the NOTATISTE Google Community which runs parallel to ISTE with exciting ideas and great sharing. It’s amazing what you can learn from this community! I have already picked up some great things about Periscope, the free broadcasting app, by reading something that Tony Vincent posted in the community.

What is Periscope
Periscope is a free, live-streaming app. It was purchased by Twitter and made its debut March 26, 2015. It is available on Android and iOS devices. It allows you to “go live” via your mobile device anytime and anywhere. You almost become a live broadcasting station, streaming video and audio to any viewers/followers who choose to join your broadcast. Read more here. I have used Persicope once as a live broadcasting tool,  but I sometimes tune into the little whistle that tells me that a live Persicope session is taking place.

Last year Tony Vincent took Periscope and his iRig Microphone HD to ISTE 2015 to interview teachers who were presenting poster sessions. At that time Periscope only recorded vertical video but with its updates it now broadcasts vertical video. I learned so many interesting things by watching Tony's video of his Periscope recordings on YouTube. I’ll share one of the poster sessions he recorded of the 'From wandering to wondering' project on using the Big6 for teaching information and technology skills. I learned about two interesting applications/ideas from this interview:

1. The Big6?
I hadn’t heard about this before but the“Big6 is a six-stage model to help anyone solve problems or make decisions by using information and technology. Some call it information literacy, information communication, or ICT skills, or a process, but we call it the Big6.”

2. Smore.com
Smore is a way to display a beautifully designed newsletters or posters online.

The interview using Periscope
I used Tube Chop to cut this Periscope interview on the Big6 out of the YouTube video. The URL: http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8070310



The Smore example
Here is the project 'From wandering to wondering' outlined in Smore: https://www.smore.com/1pcw1-from-wandering-to-wondering. In this project the students brainstormed the things they 'wondered' about  and then they each chose their own wonder to research. "The method was simple ... sticky notes and a bulletin board! Posting wonders in the classroom encourages more wondering ... students can wonder any time of the day and post it up on the board. And, can begin the research process anytime in the classroom!"

Tony Vincent is going to be broadcasting from ISTE again this year using Periscope's updated features. Follow his blog post and find out more at http://learninginhand.com/blog/iste2016  

An introduction to Google Photos (Alas, no more Picasa!)

Most of my photo collections are stored on Google's Picasa. Now I hear that in March 2015 Picasa will be no more!!! Help! So today I am researching Google Photos. 

Google is retiring Picasa
The Google Picasa blog says: We’ve decided to retire Picasa over the coming months in order to focus entirely on a single photo service in Google Photos. We believe we can create a much better experience by focusing on one service that provides more functionality and works across mobile and desktop, rather than divide our efforts across two different products..."The date is March 15th.

When did Google Photos start?
The official Google blog says in a post entitled, 11 things to know about Google Photos "Google Photos was created in May 2015...we wanted to make all these experiences even better—with unlimited high quality storage so you never need to worry about where to store your snapshots, automatic organization and great search so you can quickly find the photo you’re looking for, and easy sharing so you can send any photo to anyone with just a link." This sounds amazing! By October 2015 100 million people were using Google photos!

The GIF that keeps on GIFing
As I read through the post on the official Google blog itt makes an interesting read. It mentions what it has noticed about photos so far with the 100 million+ people's uploaded photos. I want to try this one! "Haven’t made a GIF yet? Start by selecting photos, tapping the + button, then select “Animation.”

Are videos included?
Google says, "With Google Photos, you can now backup and store unlimited, high-quality photos and videos, for free. We maintain the original resolution up to 16MP for photos, and 1080p high-definition for videos, and store compressed versions of the photos and videos in beautiful, print-quality resolution. For all the storage details, visit our help center" (it is worth clicking on this Help centre link).

How do I find Google photos?
Google describes Google Photos as "a new, standalone product that gives you a home for all your photos and videos, helps you organize and bring your moments to life, and lets you share and save what matters." You won't find it in your Google+ account, I noticed, but you will find it connected to your Google Account. So log in to your Google account and then type in:  

https://photos.google.com/ and there you have it! 

How do I automatically back up photos from my mobile phone?
I discovered that it is best to download the Google Photos App. from the Google Play stores (for Amdroid) or iTunes  (for iOS). You can then set your phone to automatically upload photos that you take whenever you are using WIFI.