Mr. Sal’s Educational News and Views

I have been using Documents 2, the free version to use as a word processor on the iPod Touches. We have an issue and are trying to find a work around. My students can edit and add information to documents that were originated on Documents 2 and uploaded to our districts’ Google Apps Domain, but cannot edit documents that originated in another program.

I paid for the upgrade to Documents 2, the pay version and it does not address the issue. Students will only be using iPod Touches in my classroom. In study hall, or outside of school they will be using some other form of computer. I will be working on this fix for awhile. I tossed it out to the students, offering extra credit to the first to find the fix. So far there have been no takers.

I am in the process of contacting Savvy Soda, the app creator, to see if they know how to correct the issue.

After about 2 weeks of use, and not continuous due to my schedule, we are down to about 5 minutes to sign the iPods out and another 5 minutes to sign them back in. This time has decrease dramatically with us getting used to the system. I hand them out in a linear fashion, I just run down the list of students from 1 to 25, calling out their names, the iPod number, and the students double check the number as they initial the sign out form.

To sign them back in, if I get a bit distracted, imagine that, the students remind me that we are under 10 minutes remaining in class. I have them start logging off, and as they are ready they come back to my desk and turn them in. I again call out their name and iPod number as they turn in the equipment. They again initial by their iPod number to state that they turned in the correct iPod.

If I did not have hall duty, we could start the process sooner, but I stand right outside of my door and get started as soon as the bell rings. Still, using 10 minutes out of a 40 minute class for administrative stuff is a lot of time, but until we convert to block scheduling, it is what I have to work with.

I hope to start having the students take quizzes using the iPods shortly, but that is another post.

After several days of limited roll out with the iPods, we went all in. I have 24 to 25 students in each class. I allotted about 10 to 15 minutes for signing the iPods out and another 10 to 15 minutes for signing the iPods back in. I was hoping it would take less time. The first day, we averaged about 10 minutes with each process, a little longer turning them back in. This is an issue with 40 minute periods, but time for logging in and out should decrease as we get used to the system.

The students were able to jump right in with Google Docs using Documents 2. They began using Documents 2 to type definitions for class and take notes. Some students chose to use Evernote, which is also a free app to take notes. I left the choice up to the students.

If a student needed to use the hall pass, their iPod was turned over to me until they returned.

All of the resources we are using to gain information are Internet based, so students can jump around on the Internet with Safari to view sites and record notes on the program of their choosing. In the beginning their was a bit of awkwardness with the system.

On the third day of our PSSA retakes, my classes were once again around ten to twelve students per class. I had about a fifty-fifty mix of experienced users to new users. Granted my experienced users had one or two days of using the iPods in class, but it was enough for this type of setting.

The students were able to review the sign out and sign in procedures, and explain why they had to give the iPods back to me if they were using the hall pass during class. Basic review is good, we need to make these procedures second nature, normal class sizes are around twenty-five students per class.

The rest of the period we had the new users set up Google Apps if their iPod was not already set up. Students who had used the iPods previously served as mentors for the new users. They worked with Google Apps, Documents 2, and Evernote. They also jumped on Safari and worked on accessing the class Diigo account and my Netvibes class page. The students practiced expanding or making the screen larger by using their fingers on the screen. The typical practice is to place two fingers close together on the screen and move them away from each other to expand the text. The opposite action makes the text smaller so you can see more of a web page at one time.

To me it looks like the old “Kids in the Hall” skit where they “crush each others’ heads.” They would look at each other through their thumb and forefinger so the other person’s head was located in the space. They would close their fingers together and say, “I am crushing your head!” There was a way to block this, if a person noticed what was going on…but I digress.

This was the last day of small group work and I had seen most of my students on one of the days. My students were ready to mentor each other as needed. I gave out five participation points for each day of class for their promise to do this. The students seemed at ease with the iPods in this short time. So far, so good…

The second day of the iPod rollout was similar to Day One; PSSA make ups kept my class numbers around ten students. I had a mix of students from the previous day and a few students who were logging in for the first time. I had the students partner up one to one with iPods and review how to set up the Google Apps info on the iPods. That went smoothly.

The next step was to have the students use the iPods to log into their Evernote accounts. Evernote on the iPods allows you to create text notes and voice notes. It also allows you to view pictures you have captured. We concentrated on text notes. The students logged into their accounts and typed information with the iPod Touch keyboard. They then synchronized the notes by hitting the “Save” button in the upper right hand side of the screen. You also have the option of sending the note to an e-mail address. I do not plan on using this option much, all of my students are signed up for free Evernote accounts.

I walked around the room and monitored the students as they worked and was able to work one on one with them if they had questions. Towards the end of the period I collected the iPods in about fivc minutes time. Once again, the students intialed a roster sheet as they signed the iPods out and in again. The students were starting to see how useful the iPods could be in a class setting.

This post was started back in October, I am finishing it now….

Yesterday could not have been set up better for the iPod rollout. We have PSSA retakes going on for the seniors. It worked out well for me that many of my students were retaking the PSSA Math section yesterday. I had 9 and 10 students in each class. I ran through the process of setting up the iPods with my seniors. It went rather smoothly, if I do say so myself.

I handed out the iPods one at a time, with the students initialing next to their name when they received the iPod. Each student is assigned a specifically number iPod that they will use throughout the year. The hand out process only took a few minutes since numbers were low.

The first thing I had the students do was scroll around the screen and look at the apps that are loaded on the iPod. All of my students were familiar with how to scroll about the screens, so we did not spend much more time doing so.  I focused on two apps in particular for the first day. I downloaded the Google App for the iPods and Documents 2 by Savvy Soda. Currently I am using the free version of Documents 2.

I had the students go into Google and set up the iPod to access our Google Apps domain for the school district. They did this by opening Google and clicking on the settings tab at the bottom of the screen. It asks for the domain name that you would like to work with. The students typed in our school’s domain and we were set. The info will look like this on your iPod if you do this…

I had them then log into their school Google account and work with viewing items in their account.

The next step was to log into Documents 2 and access their Google Account using the “G” icon at the top right hand side of their screen. This allows students to log into Google and then access their documents for editing purposes. The process is simple. The click on the “G” icon and log into Google Apps when prompted. They then have access to all of their saved documents.

Student sthen choose a document by tapping the screen and choose “Download” when prompted. They will be notified when the download is complete. They then navigate back to the Documents 2 main section by using the back button on the top left hand side of the screen. This will take them to the main document section of Documents 2. They tap on the document to begin editing. I have found that there are issues with the free version when trying to edit files originally typed in Word. The screen is blank, so I think I may need to upgrade to the paid version. That being said, files started in Documents 2 open easily.

To save back to Google Apps students click on “File” in the upper left hand corner of the screen. They will be prompted to choose from “Save,” “Save Ax,” and “Discard.” They choose “Save Ax,” which takes them to the next screen where they can edit the document name and choose between saving to the iPod, uploading to Google, emailing the document, or moving it to another folder on the iPod.  I have my students use the “Google Upload” option. They are notified when the upload is complete.

Since my students share iPods, I have them delete the copy on the iPod and close out of the programs. We signed the iPods back in the same way they were signed out. The sign in and sign out process did not take long since we only had a few students in class. Overall it was a success.

I am trying to get back into the tech tip blog, but things are hectic with the end of the nine weeks here already. I was working with Easiteach in Mrs. Velto’s class today and found an easier way to pull up files onto Easiteach. This takes away the need to copy or cut, and paste.

You can just “Merge” files into Easiteach from your “u-drive” or computer. It is a rather simple process unless you are going to try a Word Document, that is another step or two, but manageable. Previously we were copying and pasting everything into Easiteach from open documents, but this removes that step. Once you have them on Easiteach, save the information as a master file and then you can make changes and adjustments from there.

The actual written directions can be found on this page of our CFF wiki. If you have any questions about doing this, feel free to e-mail me at dsalvucci(at)nbsd.k12.pa.us.

I have known about Edmodo since sometime during the 2008/2009 school year. I set up an account and even set up my classes. I just never enrolled my students. I was using BlackBoard, which the district had invested in BlackBoard licenses, and I had wanted for my students for years. Why try something new when I finally got what I had originally wanted? The redundancy factor between the two also played a roll in not using Edmodo. I was a classroom teacher AND CFF Coach, so I did not have the time to experiment with many tools that did the same thing.

This year, BlackBoard is gone, I still have my Edmodo account, I set up new classes, but…I still have not enrolled my students. Why is this? I hope to use our school Moodle site once everything is up, running, and open outside of school. My plan is to build a complete online course in support of my traditional classroom, much like I had in BlackBoard. I am currently using my class wiki in that capacity.

So, if I do not use Edmodo, why am I promoting it? Two of our staff members are using it with their students. Bryan Pasquale, who teaches social studies, and Kerri Heymann, one of our high school math teachers. They love the ability to quickly set up classes, and HAVE THE STUDENTS ENROLL THEMSELVES. All you supply is Internet access and a code for the students to type in. The students do the rest. This is great if you are not planning to build an entire online course in Moodle!

What does Edmodo do? Why should I use it in my class? Well, for the limited time we have used it this year, we have created threaded discussion boards for the students, posted formative surveys/polls for students to respond to, posted assignments online for students to access, collected assignments electronically from the students, and set up an easy, secure, and monitored channel for communication between staff and students.

Now, what we will do beyond the first day we used it in class…

Seriously, it is that easy to use. The Edmodo page looks and acts like a Facebook homepage. The kids picked up on that right away. Most of them use Facebook, all of them have seen Facebook, now is our chance to show them how to use a similar tool appropriately. We can see everything that is posted, the students may post to the entire class, or directly to the teacher. Staff and student files may be posted in the same fashion. You can also use the built in calendar feature to keep students aware of the class schedule, and there is a handy links feature so students can jump from Edmodo to important class Internet sites.

Here is a screenshot of what the Edmodo home screen looks like,

The Edmodo Class Homepage view

So, there is a quick overview of what you can do with Edmodo…and I almost forgot…Edmodo is FREE!

If you would like anymore info on Edmodo, fell free to e-mail me or fill out a request on the CFF wiki for Tech Tips.

Here is my first Tech Tip Blog Post. It deals with the basic practicalities of making your job easier. There are three programs you need right now, and they are all free. The reason that you need them is that they will allow you to work with others and will make life so much easier once you become comfortable with them.

The first one mentioned, Google Apps, is supplied by the District. It allows you to store documents, PowerPoints, and Excel files online. You can not only access them from anywhere there is an Internet connection, but you can also collaborate with others easily, no cutting and pasting, no e-mailing attachments, and all that other rigamarole. New Brighton’s start page to log in is http://partnerpage.google.com/nbasdcff.wikispaces.com. If you need your log in information, please e-mail me. We are setting up student accounts so they can have the same sort of access to their work. By creating accounts for the district we will be able to administer student accounts for such tasks as fixing lost or fogotten passwords. You can also set up a personal account at http://google.com.

The second is Diigo, a social bookmarking site. It allows you to store your favorites, or bookmarks online, so you can access them on any computer once you log in to the site. You can also share bookmarks with other individuals and groups. This allows you to have access to the research of others, once again without much effort. There is a group for New Brighton Teachers, and there are numerous other groups for educators. You can also create groups for your classes to give students access to approved bookmarks for your class in a secure setting, see me for details. The general site to create an account is http://www.diigo.com. Once you have created your own account, you can go to sign up for an educator’s account at http://www.diigo.com/education.

The third program dovetails nicely with existing programs in the district. Many teachers use Kidspiration and Inspiration software to create graphic organizers for use in the classroom. There is a free web-based, (online), program called Webspiration that allows you to do the same thing. Webspiration allows you to upload existing files to the Internet, download files to your desktop, and share your files with others, just by typing in their e-mail address. The people you share with must also have a free account to acces your files. You can edit the files together, or just pass them around by sharing. Webspiration also contains free clip art and media to drop into your graphic organizers to make them more interesting for the students. The program has many other features that I will not get into yet. This tool is available at http://www.mywebspiration.com.

The main themes that bind these three programs together, beside the fact that they are all free, is that they allow you to access information from anywhere in the world, and that they allow you to easily collaborate with others. Let’s face the fact that there is not enough time in the day to accomplish everything we would like to do. By working together, we make tasks easier and can accomplish more in the limited time we have. if you would like help setting up any of these accounts feel free to contact me at school.

Q: Why did Australia’s GDP hold up better than most in the developed world?

A: Mostly because of our trading with China, that has helped us recover from this global crisis.

Q: What are you trying to get out of the G20 summit?

A: The key of the G20 summit is for us to go beyond the trilateral Australia-China-U.S. relationship.

Q: What helps your economy during this economic crisis?

A:  Mostly the aggressive action we take spending money on infrastructure and also our trading with China.

Q:  Why do you think China should have greater voting rights in the IMF?

A: China has recently become more economically important and because of the they should have a greater say.

Q: Do you expect Australia’s GDP to shrink or grow in the future?

A:  I expect there will be some ups and downs. Our economy has been better than others because of our aggressive actions and trade with China, but it still is fragile.

reported by AUSTRALIA PRESS INC