Tech Tuesday (September 30th)

Announcing Drive for Education

Announcing Drive for Education

Posted: 30 Sep 2014 02:03 PM PDT

Today we announced that we’ll bring Drive for Education, with unlimited storage and enhanced administrative controls, to the Google Apps for Education platform. In the coming months, the features below will be added to all Google Apps for Education accounts at no charge:  

· Unlimited storage: Store as many Google Drive files, Gmail messages, and Google+ photos as you need. Individual file sizes up to 5TB will be supported.

· Vault: Use Google Apps Vault to archive emails and chats, to search Drive files, and to preserve important information for your organization.

· Enhanced auditing and controls: Gain insights from new activity and audit reports for Google Drive.

Release track:

Specific launch timeline information will be added to the Google Apps Release calendar once available

Google Sheets add-on for linear optimization

Google Sheets add-on for linear optimization

Posted: 30 Sep 2014 04:50 PM PDT

Your work depends on the best solutions to some tough problems. Whether you're working to optimize distribution networks or delivery routes, or simply getting the best staff schedules and optimizing your finances, the Google Sheets add-on for linear optimization can now help you do the math.

This add-on is one of many available. Remember to check out the complete store for Docs and Sheets often--more useful tools are being added each week.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

Ways to Use Google Calendar to Enhance Instruction and Empower Student Self-Directed Learning

Modifying Google Forms

     This past week, I read a post from Mr. Clay Reisler (iPaddiction) on creating custom banners and password protecting forms.  This inspired me to tinker around with Google Forms.  I love having the ability to customize, so naturally, having the ability to have my own banner across the top of a Form is an added bonus, visually speaking.  Password protecting a form is an easy way to make sure no one fills out, let's say my mileage form, other than me.  I love to have a form 'Add to Home Screen' on an iPad, using Safari (no other web browsers on an iPad support this), so I can quickly submit data.   Here is an example below:
 
(Password is Password)

 Here is how I set a password to a Google Form:

     Recently, I worked with a teacher who wanted to be able to have a Google Form for checking off student homework completion on his iPad ('Add to Home Screen').  We designed the form to have two questions for each student; first, a 'checkboxes' question of all the potential homework subjects. Second question is a 'paragraph' style kind, where any notes could be typed in such as if a student didn't do their math homework the teacher could state exactly what was the missed assignment.   Now he can go into his spreadsheet, since each submission is date stamped, and then sort by question  to see each time a particular student hasn't completed their homework.

     Last year, I started to reach out, through Google Forms, for feedback & suggestions.  Every week I send out a Free Friday 'App'etizer email with an app suggestion.  I also included a link to a recommendation Form where teachers could submit an app which they enjoy using.  After every morning share, I send out a follow-up email with further information, a digital copy of their sign-in sheet for their records, and a link to a feedback Form on how helpful my professional development session was for them.   Both of these Forms get sent out at different times throughout the school year and I didn't want to have to constantly check the Google Sheet, so setting up a notification email when something changes has been awesome!  From within a Google Sheet, I go to 'Tools', 'Notification rules...', on the pop-up choose the settings you would like and click save!

     I hope these ideas/tips inspire you to try something new with Google Forms.  If you need help, reach out to one of us for assistance, we're all in this together!


This was also posted on: A tech perspective... or something like that

More ways to build and share Google Forms

More ways to build and share Google Forms

Posted: 29 Sep 2014 12:50 PM PDT

Several new features have launched today in Google Forms, making them easier to build and share:

Find what you’re looking for

· Search the menus: Quickly access nearly all features in Forms without having to dig through menus. To use this feature, press Alt + / or look under the Help menu.

New ways to manage your questions

· Shuffle questions: Randomize the order of questions on quizzes or surveys

· Allow one response per person: Ensure that a person only responds to your form once

· Validate information for grid questions: Limit people to one response per column for grid-style questions using the new option under “advanced settings”  

Get the word out with shorter URLs

· Shorten URLs to your forms: Make it easier for people to get to your form

Release track:

Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks for all features except the “search the menus” feature, which will launch to both release tracks today

(CMS/GMS) Update for week of 9/22

This week, we got to meet with individual teachers and co-teach some classes.  It’s exciting to see that there are lots of great things happening in classrooms already!  Please continue to reach out to us whenever you have an idea on how we can collaborate and work together.  

Remember that you can add questions, resources, and other ideas to our collaborative backchannel document:  https://docs.google.com/a/wwprsd.org/document/d/10cSLNqC3It8FufVOOsc8rf7Db7xRU43woLThgsU0FOA/edit  Also, more helpful resources are being developed for you and will be available shortly.

As a reminder, based on feedback from all of you, next week’s scheduled training sessions will be on Ways to Use Google Calendar to Enhance Instruction and Empower Student Self-Directed Learning.  These sessions will review basic functions of Google Calendar as well as ideas for how to incorporate Google Calendar into your lessons and regular classroom routine.  Session times and locations will be:  

CMS - Google Calendar

Tuesday, 9/30	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Lab 619 Lab 619
Wednesday, 10/1	8:27 - 9:07 1:54 - 2:34	Lab 619 Lab 619
Thursday, 10/2	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Lab 616 Room 704

GMS - Google Calendar

Tuesday, 9/30	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Media Center (corner) Media Center (corner)
Wednesday, 10/1	8:27 - 9:07 1:54 - 2:34	Media Center (corner) Media Center (corner)
Thursday, 10/2	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Media Center (corner) Media Center (corner)

All staff are welcome to attend during these posted times and attend as many sessions as you would like.  If you travel between buildings, you can attend at either location.  If you cannot attend during the times posted, please contact us so that we can arrange another time to meet and discuss the topic with you.

Planning ahead:  The following week, the week of 10/3, our training sessions will be focused on Using Google Search to Optimize Self-Directed Learning.

This information can also be found in a Google doc:  https://docs.google.com/a/wwprsd.org/document/d/1oKDdUlZwpVlqbJdBMPBuAtlZAF-Iam3b8YSYgIS4xzo/edit

Have a great weekend,

~Allan and Melissa

Tech Tuesday (MRS September 23)

NYC Google Educators Group

Today, we had the opportunity to attend a meetup with the NYC Google Educators Group at the NYC Google offices.  There, we met with teachers and administrators from schools in NY, NJ, and CT, all using GAFE, at various stages of 1:1 learning initiatives.

Highlights of the day included:  

• Exploring scripts and add-ons to help organize Google Drive
• Teacher-led share sessions about GAFE 
• Learning about the Google Classroom development process and listening to feedback from the pilot teachers

We are excited to come back to WW-P with this new information and communicate it with all teachers. On twitter, you can follow the hashtag #GEGNYC to join in the discussion.

~Dan, Melissa, Stacey, and Laura

(CMS/GMS) Update for week of 9/15

CMS/GMS Update for week of 9/15

This week, we offered overview and refresher sessions for all 6th grade, 1:1 educators using Hapara’s Teacher Dashboard.  Next week, we will be coming around to visit individual classrooms and co-teach some lessons.  Some teachers have already scheduled times with us, but there are still plenty available.  Please contact us so we can discuss how we can best work with you.

The following week, the week of 9/29, we will offer training sessions on Ways to Use Google Calendar to Enhance Instruction and Empower Student Self-Directed Learning.  These sessions will review basic functions of Google Calendar as well as ideas for how to incorporate Google Calendar into your lessons and regular classroom routine.  Session times and locations will be:  

CMS - Google Calendar

Tuesday, 9/30	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Lab 619 Lab 619
Wednesday, 10/1	8:27 - 9:07 1:54 - 2:34	Lab 619 Lab 619
Thursday, 10/2	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Lab 616 Room 704

GMS - Google Calendar

Tuesday, 9/30	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Media Center (corner) Media Center (corner)
Wednesday, 10/1	8:27 - 9:07 1:54 - 2:34	Media Center (corner) Media Center (corner)
Thursday, 10/2	9:34 -10:14 10:17-10:57	Media Center (corner) Media Center (corner)

All staff are welcome to attend during these posted times.  If you travel between buildings, you can attend at either location.  If you cannot attend during the times posted, please contact us so that we can arrange another time to meet and discuss the topic with you.

Additionally, many topics and resources have been added to our 1:1 Learning Initiative backchannel document this week:  https://docs.google.com/a/wwprsd.org/document/d/10cSLNqC3It8FufVOOsc8rf7Db7xRU43woLThgsU0FOA/edit#

Have a great weekend,

~Allan and Melissa

Tech Tuesday (MRS)

WWP 1:1 Learning Initiative and GAFE ~ Resources & Backchannel Doc

New version of Google Drive app for iOS

New version of Google Drive app for iOS

Posted: 03 Sep 2014 11:30 AM PDT

A new version of the Google Drive app for iOS is now available in the App Store, containing the following features:

· Faster syncing

· New upload experience that shows progress and destination

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

Improved publishing interface for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Improved publishing interface for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Posted: 02 Sep 2014 03:57 PM PDT

We have launched a new publishing interface for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The interface makes it easier for people to understand how document, spreadsheet and presentation content can be published as a webpage or embedded in their own website(s). In the new Google Sheets, the new interface also provides the ability to publish specific sheets and charts without publishing the entire document.

Release track:

Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in three weeks