PD: Using Google Meet, Jamboard, and Flipgrid

Te Awamutu Int Meet and Jamboard 21 April

Technical how-to on Google Meet with Mark: 1 - 2:30pm

This was a slight recap over some of the tings that Lara had already taught us about Google Hangouts - Mark explained that they are very similar, but Meet is designed more for enterprise business customers and can have at least 250 participants. Because Google is constantly adding features, it is really good to learn about both. There were a few new things on Meet - sharing links through the chat, inviting others to join the Meet with the specific code (apparently we need to reset these codes as students are using the app and the codes given by teachers to have their own chat rooms etc which can easily get out of hand), pinning or unpinning people so their image can be seen on the presenter's screen, removing participants if they are not meeting expectations, using the calendar to schedule Meets with students, trouble shooting with video/microphone issues and many more!

I have now added Nod, through Google Meet as it was suggested that this is a great way to illicit responses by participants without having to ask for them to put thumbs up etc. 

 Jamboard is a really great interactive tool that you can use for many purposes in a rang of curriculum areas. TAI Music teacher shared one she created for the members of the school Choir to share their current 'fav' songs. Mark demonstrated a range of different ways to use this platform to encourage participation.  There are the usual pen tools, which he showed us can be quite tricky when you want legible writing! Sticky notes were also used to share answers or ideas etc. We are also able to share this in Meet, if we are the presenter, to demonstrate how to use it.

By this stage I was feeling quite overwhelmed by everything we had been shown and trying to think of all the possible ways I could use these platforms to create content applicable to Soft Materials... my thinking cap is still on. 

The very last tool that we were briefly shown was Flipgrid. I will have to negotiate my way around this at a later stage as my brain was overloaded whilst Mark was talking about this. 

Other useful tools to engage students whilst you are waiting for them to log/sign in to a Meet are:

- Google Forms

- Word puzzles

- Family Fued

- Kahoot

- 99math

- Side kick

- Mind meister

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Video Recording Link - click here to rewatch the call.

PD: Google Hangouts

Google Classroom Webinar

Google Classroom Fundamentals

11am - 12pmPresenter: Lara Kirk

Jam Board - Collaborative tool we can use to share ideas. We were asked to use the pen tool or post it note to write our thoughts about Challenges we are currently experiencing (in relation to preparing and teaching during the lock down). 

Lara informed us that the webinar would focusing on building a Google Classroom and assigning student work.

 
The first tip is to ensure we are logged into our school gmail accounts when creating a google class. Lara used the words waffle and pancake - took me a second or so to click! The waffle refers to the 9 dots that allows you access to anything on Google Suites and the pancake  refers to the three lines that give you a range of options in what ever app you are using.
 

 Once your have Google Classroom opened:
- Create a class.
- Give it a name (don't have to worry about the Section/Subject/Room).
- Share a message to say hello to your class.
- Choose where it will be posted - the default is set so all students receive an invitation.
- When you are ready to post the class there are a few options: post/schedule/save (once you have posted it, it is very hard to edit any settings).
Once posted, students can comment privately or publicly. The students view of GC is slightly different to  ours - we have a marking section.
The stream is where announcements pop up.
The picture that accompanies the GC can be changed by selecting a theme or uploading one (this can be created in Google Drawing).
You can invite all the students you have selected through an email or by sharing a code. When they sign into GC they can join the class, using the code.

To create content for the students, you click on Classwork at the top of the page. We are able to share videos, links to specific websites etc in order to focus the students and direct to the right information quickly. Assignment (task) > Title > Instructions >...
You can make or attach a Doc/Sheets/Slides with planning, exemplars or notes with Add or Create.

When you have share a Doc, give it a title and you are able to make a copy for each student which will then have their name on it when they work on it. You can dictate whether students can view/edit/make a copy. You are able to assign points to each assignment and set due dates. Due dates are automatically added to Google Calendar. You can create a Rubric to show specific marking details and curriculum levels. Make sure you save and the rubric will be attached to the assignment. Rubric: public > create > reuse > import.
There is an Originality report that helps to ensure the student's work is authentic.
In terms of editing, once you have posted the assignment, there is not much you can do to change/edit. A shortcut to get around this is to 'reuse' the post and edit any aspect of the assignment you need to. Once posted you can then delete the previous one.
There are Quiz assignments which are self marking. These can be sent via a link. I'm not quite sure I understand how this works, but I will investigate this once I've got my GC up and running.
There are loads of materials that you can attach - links, pictures, videos etc.Resources can be assigned to specific students if they need extra support.
Once you have created anything in GC, it will automatically be added to your Drive.StudentsThere is a "Turn In" tab students can click on to submit their work. This can then be returned to them once you have provided feedback/forward or a mark. Lara said that once a student has turned the assignment in that can still 'un-submit' and continue adding to or editing their work. They can 'add' or 'create'.
Students can also send private comment if they have any queries.
When reviewing students' work, the 'suggesting' mode is automatically enabled. This is a much better option to use as you can highlight specific aspects of their work to model correct use of grammar or provide links to useful resources. Lara's tip here was to make suggestions on the first paragraph/slide and encourage the student to recraft the rest of the work themselves - this also saves a lot of time as I have done this before on Google Docs and spent so long reading through pages of students work!
When making suggestions, you can create a comment bank of comments you would often use. It works like predictive text, as soon as you start typing a sentence, it will make suggestions based on what is saved in your comment bank.
Document information is all in History. This is helpful to see the amount of work a student has done, as well as when they have attempted the work e.g. used the resources and/or links you have provided. This is also helpful when conferencing with guardians.
You can receive notifications through email for any aspect of the assignment you have set - most will automatically go into your Google Calendar. You can manage how you receive them and precisely what you are notified about.
People
You have the option to invite other teachers/colleagues to view/share your classrooms. This is great for collaboration in terms of continuity of expectations, curriculum levels, rubrics and knowing where your students are 'at' in other curriculum areas e.g. Technology!
There is also the option to contact guardians and share information about their child/ren.
Marks
These show up in grid form and you can add marks in this area as well as 'return' all assignments. There are options to transfer or import marks to present in different apps - sheets etc.  

The last tip Lara gave us was to archive classroom's from previous years rather than delete them. You can reuse resources from any classroom that has been archived.

This was a great webinar. There were times when the information was delivered quite rapidly - hence why I took lots of notes and we were provided with a really great overview with images that I have embedded below. Lara was professional, likable, and clarified any questions we had. 
I'm looking forward to setting up a 'classroom' for Year 8 and 7 Fabric, that will extend their knowledge of a range of technology processes.

Here is another helpful link for using Google Classroom: https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-11-tips-using-google-classroom?utm_campaign=14119361&utm_content=Daily-Register-190320&utm_source=exact-target&utm_medium=email 

Creating Online Learning Tasks - Zoom PD with Lara

 

Fabric Room - Blank Walls