Google Reader & Original Comments Chrome Plug in = Easy Assessment of Student Blogs

So you want to get your students blogging and commenting on each others blogs, but the thought of checking every blog for new posts and comments is stopping you.  Using Google Reader and and the Chrome Plugin "Original Comments for Google Reader" you can easily read through all the student posts and comments right from the Google Reader screen.

Google Reader allows you to subscribe to Blogger feeds (and other RSS feeds) all on one page, bringing student posts directly to you.  Check out this easy setup guide from Google.

Usually, Google Reader only gives you the posts, and you have to go directly to the Blog in order see comments. With the Original Comments for Google Reader plugin for Chrome you can add comments to your Google Reader feed.

To install Original Comments for Google Reader click on this link while in Chrome. 

Note: In order for the comment drop-down feature to function, you must be in the "list view" of your Google Reader. In order to select "list view" click on the following icon in the upper right corner of Reader. 

Make giving and grading exams easier with Moodle & Safe Exam Browser

Moodle allows you to create exams that students can take online. Questions can multiple choice, matching, short answer, essay, numerical, etc.  Many of these can be graded easily and quickly by the computer providing students with immediate feedback, and allowing you to quickly assess student progress. Even grading and commenting on essays is easier when you don't have to interpret handwriting.

The drawback in the past had been that when taking an exam on the computer there were concerns over student access to outside information. Now, with Safe Browser, you can:

•  block access to other websites
•  block the copy & paste function
•  block access to other programs on the computer

When you create an exam in Moodle you can make it so that students can only access the exam if they use Safe Browser.  This paired with the ability to make the exam only accessible in school makes giving online tests safe and easy.  

For more information on Safe Exam Browser check out their website.

In Moodle 2.0, once your admin has enabled the feature (which we have)  you can make exams only accessible if students are using the Safe Exam Browser. This option can be accessed under the exam settings:

If you would like to use this feature and would like further training please contact me. 

Google Science Fair

All students ages 13-18 are invited to participate in the Google Science fair. You may compete as an individual or in teams of two or three.


For science teachers Google provides resources including posters, lesson plans, and activities to help you incorporate the Science Fair as part of your curriculum.

Student prizes include:

• National Geographic Expedition to the Galapagos
• $50,000 scholarship for college
• Experience with Lego/Google/CERN

For more information, including the details of how students can enter and a complete list of prizes and rules, see the Google Science Fair website.

Why you should be Tweeting.

What is Twitter? Twitter is microblogging. What does that mean? That means I can say what I want to the whole world for free as long as its under 140 characters.

So why am I so adamant that all teachers should be using Twitter? Because it is simply the most powerful, useful, free PD you can find.

Here are 5 reasons that you can start using Twitter today:


1. Use is as a great resource locator. Hashtags let you find great resources on a topic that interests you. A few of my favorites are:
       #edtech - Ed Tech conversations
       #edchat - Education conversations
       #elemchat  - Elementary Ed conversations
       #spedchat - Special Education conversations
       #ntchat - New Teacher Conversations

2.  Twitter encourages reflective practice.  Share what you have learned and learn from others.

3. Make connections with great educators around the country and around the world. It's a great way to find collaborative partners on projects.

4. The online Twitter community becomes your own personal brain trust. You can use all the amazing  educators on Twitter as resources. More then once I have asked for help from the Twitter community and gotten great responses within minutes!

5. Twitter is fast, easy, and painless. Even if you never tweet a thing, you have great content streaming to you continuously.  It's a great way to find a new online tool, follow the news, learn about grant opportunities, etc.

If you would like to learn how to use Twitter check out the following online resources or see Jim or Rita about getting started with the best PD out there! (our inservice sessions excluded... of course.  ;)  )

Mashable's Twitter Guidebook
Twitter Search in Plain English
Twitter for Teachers Blog

SlideRocket

UPDATE - SLIDEROCKET.EDU HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED

SlideRocketEDU is an online presentation maker that is available to all our students who have Google accounts.  SlideRocket allows students to create online interactive presentations that include video, voice recording, sound, pictures, active hyperlinks, polls, etc. (See example below)

There are a few important things to keep in mind if you would like to use SlideRocketEDU in the classroom.

• Students MUST access SlideRocketEDU via their school Google Apps accounts, if create a SlideRocket account any other way, they will not get the EDU features, including collaboration and voice recording.
• Once they sign into their Mail, they can get to SlideRocketEDU by clicking on "More" and then selecting SlideRocket.

• Students can collaborate on a SlideRocket, but they cannot work on it at the same time. To add other students simply click the "Collaborate" tab and then add the group members as editors. (Note: all editors should create their SlideRocketEDU accounts first by following the step above)

If you would like more information about how to use SlideRocketEDU, please contact your Technology Integrators (Jim & Rita).

Happy Geeky Valentines!

I just couldn't help but send this one out to everyone. Just follow the instructions for a Happy Valentine's Day message from your tech dept.

Go to Google.com

Type (just the highlighted section):  sqrt(cos(x))*cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5 in the search bar.

Happy Valentine's Day!

TED talks "courses" now available on iTunes U

TED talks and iTunes U have joined forces to create "courses" listed by subject for educators, students, and life long learners. Find out more in iTunes.

Current courses include:

•  Psychology
•  Mastering Tech Artistry
• Creative Problem Solving
• Excavating Origins
• Climate Change
• Understanding Islam

While on iTunes U take the time to explore other courses as well as other TED talks that have not yet been bundled into courses.