I love Google #127

After looking through all the Google in Education posts that were shared to my various subscriptions recently, here is a selection that looks useful for teachers who enjoy using Google applications in the classroom. The link to the previous posts can be found at http://bit.ly/2Inr7Q7 and prior to that on the SchoolNet blog here https://goo.gl/CNO3M2)

Two GEG meetings in Cape Town in March

For those of who are Google in the classroom fans, this is good news. There are two gEG meetings coming up this month in Cape Town

GEG WEST COAST MEETING

Topic: Experience Virtual and Augmented Reality
Date: Tuesday 22 March
Time:3:15 - 17:00
Place: Parklands College Secondary, Sandown

A message from the organiser and GEG leader, Paul Myers:
'Join us at Parklands College for GEG West Coast on 20 March 2018 to Experience Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality and see how these can be used creatively in your classroom

App List for GEG (to make sure you get the most out of this experience):

For those using an Apple iOS device here is a link to a list of apps on the app store
MetaVerse
Google Chrome
Google Docs
Kahoot (Register online)
Google Expeditions
Virtuali-Tee by Curiscope
CoSpaces (Basic)
Figment
Popplet Lite
Jigspace (if your device supports this)
BBC Civilisations AR'

GEG CENTRAL GEG MEETING

Topic: Digital citizenship
Date: Friday 23 March
Time:2:30 - 4:30
Place: Wynberg Girls High School
Bring: Laptop or Chromebook 

The organisers will be covering the topic of Digital Citizenship. Please fill out the Google Form to sign up: Click here or alternatively go to: bit.ly/GEG12018

Student Blogging Challenge 2018 - Week 1

This is our first week of the 2018 Student Blogging Challenge run by Edublogs. This week there are several things we need to do: This is a post giving instructions to my classes.

1. Naturally we'll need our own blog
We all have one made with Blogger, but just in case someone new joins the class, here are the steps to making a blog.




2. Make sure you have an avatar

If you don't have an avatar, follow this link to make one https://goo.gl/dWQhKZ and then add it to your blog. 

3. Create an About Me page
Create an About me page. If you are not sure how to make an About Me page, follow the instructions on this presentation.

4. Create an About Me poem
Create an About Me poem to put on your About Me page. The idea for this is adapted from Oakdome's Autobiographical Portrait Poem https://goo.gl/MsaZa. Here is the structure:

5. Complete the form on the challenge blog
When you have finished all the above, it is time to register for the Student Blogging Challenge. Fill in the form at the bottom of https://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/

Once you have completed all of the above, then visit a blog belonging to someone your age and with your interests, who is also doing the Blogging Challenge. Say hello in the comment boxes https://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/march-2018-students/. Invite them to visit your blog by adding your blog address.

We have joined the 2018 Student Blogging Challenge

I am joining two grades to the 2018 Student Blogging Challenge which is run by Edublogs - Grade 5 and Grade 6. My Grade 3, 4 and 7 classes also have blogs so those will dip into the challenge now and again. All my students from Grade 3 – 7 have blogs as this is a fantastic way to learn about online safety. The blogging challenge starts at the beginning of March – this week is Week 1! I have also registered to be a commenter on some of the blogs.

How to join the challenge

Step 1: Register
The first step is for students to register on the required page https://goo.gl/wtMuNS by filling in the Google form. This is what it says on the page (I am adding the info here so that I can refer to it).

"Who should register

• Only students who have their own personal blog can register
• Students who want to connect with other students around the world
• Register only once – I can usually work out incorrect URLs by visiting class blogs or contacting teachers

A few days after you have registered
1. Check the student participants page which will appear in the header area to make sure you are there. Check very carefully under your age group as we don’t need names being doubled up

2. If you are not on the participants page, register again being careful that your blog URL is correct.

3. If you are on the participants list, start visiting other students your age or with your interests.

4. Fill in the subscription by email widget so you are notified when posts are published each week – first challenge will be March 4 or if you have Edublogs reader, click on follow then you will be able to read posts in your reader.

5. Make sure you have some great posts written so others can start leaving comments.”

6. There is a Twitter hashtag for this event, so I will use that - #stubc - to notify others of our posts."

Step 2: Add the blogging challenge badge
The badge can be found on the page https://goo.gl/tsSZtb. It needs to be added to the sidebar of each participating blog.

                                 
Step 3:  Enter a class blog
You can also enter a class blog. This is mainly teachers with classes – and the blog would be all about their classes. I am wondering if it would be worth my while to add my technology blog since I am the ICT teacher at school and don’t teach one particular class but rather all the classes. Yes, I think I will!

Step 4: Add your student blogs to your blog sidebar 
Since I have decided to enter my blog as a class blog this applies to me. This is what the post found at https://goo.gl/xRtPNx says:

“Below is the list of classes taking part in the challenge. Remember to visit classes with similar age groups as your blog. Leave comments on their posts, if they have student blogs on the sidebar- comment on their posts.

When your class has completed a post for the weekly challenge, please come back to that post and add the URL to the form so our commenters can visit and check out your class and student blogs.”

This is to remind me about what to do when the class has completed a post.

Avatars: Make a Meewee using Weeworld

This is a post I wrote about using Weeworld to make avatars for the SchoolNet blog in 2015 but it is still relevant in 2018. My classes have joined the 2018 blogging challenge so we are busy with making avatars. My plan is for different classes to make different avatars.

Getting started with Weeworld
Weeworld can be accessed at http://www.weeworld.com/. Young students enjoy using this type of avatar-making applications.

When students open Weeworld they’ll see a lot of adverts on the page. This is a good opportunity to teach Grade 1s and 2s about the dangers of advertising and clicking on anything that sparkles and moves.   They will need to click on the big, green play button.

They are taken to a scene with a figure that needs to be dressed and created. I always tell the students to create someone who looks like them!

As they work through all the options a dressed figure starts to emerge.  You’ll notice that there is a Save button at the bottom.

I let them stop at the point where their avatar is created and we take a clear screengrab of their avatar.  Note that if one clicks on the Save button it takes the students through a registration process. If kids are under 13, they need a parent's permission to register.  As it is unlikely that we’ll never use the application again I don’t go this step.

Examples of Grade 1 WeeMees
YouTube tutorial on how to use Weeworld
This YouTube tutorial will take you through how to use Wee world.



Uses in the classroom

• The main way that we use it in the younger classrooms is for teaching basic ICT skills.
• The students like to talk about their creations and what they are wearing so this application is useful for oral purposes.
• One could get them to make up an oral story about the little Weemee they have created and share it with the class.

Avatars: BeFunky for cartoon-like avatars created from photos

This is a post I wrote about using BeFunky to make avatars for the SchoolNet blog in January 2016 but it is still relevant in 2018. My classes have joined the 2018 blogging challenge so we are busy with making avatars. My plan is for different classes to make different avatars.

Today we look at Be Funky. BeFunky is a picture-editor app for Web platforms and mobile devices. Best is - no registration is required Just take your picture, add some crazy effects, and share it online.  This avatar creator requires actual photos. Before the lesson starts make sure that you have taken a portrait photo of each student and that these are uploaded to a place where they can access them easily. 

Getting started with BeFunky

1. Open Be Funky
Be Funky can be accessed at https://www.befunky.com/create/. 
When students open BeFunky they’ll see the landing page that asks you to upload a photo. 

2. Upload a photo
You'll notice that you can upload from different places. In my case the photos were stored in a shared folder in Google Drive. 

3. Use Artsy to cartoonify your photos

You'll notice all sorts of icons at the side but the one I used with the class was the ARTSY one in the very left column which has a flower icon as shown in the diagram below. 

The ARTSY section gives so many great options.  My class oohed and aahed as they tried them out. Some are paid options but there is a lot of free stuff as well. 

4. Save your image

As you explore all the items you can easily save your choices. All you do is click on the Save icon and download to wherever you would like it. For my students I wanted the pictures saved in the same folder with their name and a number next to it. 

Examples of BeFunky images

  

The class had a lot of fun creating avatars in this lesson. Some of them told me they went home and showed their parents how to create avatars. 

YouTube tutorial on how to use BeFunky
This YouTube tutorial will take you through how to use all the different features of BeFunky.

Uses in the classroom

• The main way that I use avatar creation in the younger classrooms is for teaching basic ICT skills. I usually don't use photos for this. 
• With the older classes we create avatars to use on various online sites and applications that we use in class, for example: such as Gmail. Edmodo, Classroom etc. where one wants a profile picture to be more cartoonlike. 

Try BeFunky. I am sure you'll love using it!