Tracking Student Projects Using Trello

When students are working on long or short term projects, it is important for the teacher and the students to be able to easily track group progress. Trello does this in a very visual and drag-and-drop fashion. Signing up for Trello is easy, especially if you use the Google sign-in option. 

The website uses the metaphor of a board where users create lists and cards. Each list can have multiple cards and users assigned to each card. Once the teacher creates a board and lists, students can easily be searched for and added to the board.

Trello board for my students' screencasting project.

Currently, my students are working on a video project with multiple steps. I have created a board for the project and a list for each step along the way. After adding my students to the board, they each create a card with explains where they are at on that step and who is in their group. When a group finishes a step in the project they simply drag their card to the next list, which is also the next step in the project. When I login to Trello I am able to see at a glance where each group is at and which groups may need my help to get to the next step.

Before using Trello I would walk around to each group and ask for a status update. This process could be time-consuming and frequently I would get stuck helping one group, only to discover another group needed my attention. Trello boards for each project let me see at a glance track student and group progress and intervene when and where necessary.

Here is a video explaining the basics about how to setup Trello from the Youtube channel InfoSharer.

Gallery "Walk" Using Google Slides and Padlet

I am currently trying one of Engage NY's ELA modules in my English class. In order to build background for the novel for the unit, the module has the students complete a Gallery Walk with primary sources. The sources range from poetry, to images, to quotes from historical figures.

I decided to digitize this process and brainstormed the best solution. I needed to recreate the sticky note aspect of a gallery walk, but also keep all of the student comments organized. I thought about putting the primary sources on a Google Doc and then having students add comments, but this would create too many comments in the margin since each student had to comment on each source.

I decided instead to put each primary source on a Google Slide and create a link to a Padlet wall for that slide. Students spent time reading and observing each slide for the gallery walk, and then clicking on the link to add to the padlet wall for the slide. Students were able to add their comments about the slide and interact with other student ideas. The Padlet wall functioned as the sticky notes for each artifact.

I staggered which slide each student started on in order to cut down on the number of students adding to a Padlet wall at the same time. Once each student had contributed a comment for each artifact  of the digital gallery walk, I put students in groups in order to summarize the comments for each slide.

Using Google Slides and Padlet for the gallery walk had a couple of advantages. First, the gallery walk now had a permanent digital home. Students could access the artifacts and comments at a later date. Padlet allows the creator of the wall to make it "View Only," therefore students can access the artifacts and comments at a later date. Second, this activity could be used in a flipped classroom model. Students could complete the Galley Walk at home and then the discussion of the artifacts could happen in class.

This process would never replace all Gallery Walks in class. But when you need one that students can complete in the cloud, this process seemed to work. 

Google Classroom

As the new school begins you may be looking for ways to use Google Drive with your students. Recently Google created a new tool called Google Classroom and made it available to all GAFE accounts. This tool allows teachers to use Google Drive to distribute, collect, and grade assignments using Google tools. If you have ever used Drive before with students, you know that it can be a bit tricky to set up efficiently, especially for non-tech-savvy teachers. Google Classroom makes this much easier and I think it will be very appealing to many teachers. Thankfully Google has made available a lot of tools to help with the setup and use of Google classroom. Below is a link to the help section.

Google Classroom Help

Google has also included a short video that explains the basics of classroom.

In addition many teachers have created walkthroughs. Roger Nixon created the video below that shows the teacher and student view side-by-side.

Finally, Google made the image below that walks you through 10 best practices when using Drive.

Digital Research Part 1: Teacher Guided

At a recent Edcamp, I facilitated a discussion about student research online. At the beginning of the session all of the teachers agreed that students have poor research skills. In addition, teachers felt unsure how to help students develop the research skills they needed. Based on the ensuing discussion at the Edcamp and input from other teachers, I think there are at least three ways to help students effectively conduct research online. In this first post I will focus on teacher guided research strategies.

#1 Link List

Perhaps the most basic method is creating a list of links for students to click through. This could be as simple as creating a list of hyperlinks on a Google document. Or it could be something more visually appealing like creating a Blendspace lesson. This website allows a teacher to drag-and-drop resources onto a grid that can be shared with students via a shortened url. Students can then proceed through the lesson one step at a time. I have included a link to video tutorial on how to use Blendspace.

#2 Google Custom Search

Another option is for a teacher to create a Google Custom Search Engine.  This Google tool creates a unique search page which limits student searches to a list of websites the teacher chooses in advance. An advantage to this choice is that it allows students to practice their searching skills with a small set of web pages that have been vetted by the teacher. I have included an online tutorial below created by Nancy Minicozzi.

The next blog post will describe how to teach students how to do online research using Instagrok.

Chrome Extensions for Educators

One feature that makes the Chrome web browser so powerful is the ability to add extensions. You can find extensions in the Chrome Web Store. They are easily installed with a one button click. Below you will find a list of Chrome Extensions that you can start using right away.

Adblock for Youtube
I was recently observing a lesson by another teacher which used a video from Youtube. Unfortunately, a video ad played first. This extension will solve that problem. It eliminates all video ads from Youtube and allows you to only show the content you intended.

Adblock

This is the first extension that I install on any web browser because it is so helpful. It blocks the ads on any web page. In addition and also keeps pop ups from opening in a new window. Therefore you can browse the web without all of the annoying distractions.

Checker Plus for Google Calendar

One feature I miss from Outlook is desktop notifications. Luckily, there is a Chrome extension that adds this feature to the web browser. Once installed, you need to give the extension permission to access your calendar. Then you will start receiving notifications of your appointments. You can even add events quickly to your Google calendar.

Video Download Professional

Previously I have written about extensions for Firefox that allow you to download videos for YouTube. I was not aware that the same kind of extension existed for Google Chrome. But this is an extension for Chrome that lets you download a YouTube video and save it to your hard drive. When watching a video, the extension icon changes to a green download arrow. Click on the arrow and choose "add video to video list" and then chose "show video list." From the video list you can download a copy of the video to your hard drive.

Pocket
See something on the web that you want to save for later? Pocket is the extension for you. You can save articles, videos, images, etc. to view later. A great feature of Pocket is it syncs across all web browsers and devices.

Awesome screenshot
We all need to create quick screenshots from time to time. This Chrome extension lets you take a screen shot and edit it all within your browser. You can even save the images to Google Drive.

Picmonkey
This extension lets you grab images from any webpage and instantly begin editing them. Or, using the Chrome app, you can edit pictures from your hard drive. Picmonkey has all of the features you need to quickly edit and share images from the web.

Onetab
Open tabs in Chrome can use up a lot of memory. This extension converts all of the open tabs into a list. You can then open the tabs one at a time or all at once when you need them.

Black Menu for Google
Miss that black bar with all of your Google apps? This extension gives you a one click access to all of your Google services. A great feature of this extension is that you can use it from any webpage.

Split Screen
Ever wanted to have two web pages open in a single window? This extension allows you to type in two URLs and have then open in the same tab. Great viewing assignments and then entering grades into an online grade book.

Clearly
Sometimes you just want to read an article on a webpage and remove all of the distractions. The Clearly extension removes all extra content from a webpage and presents the article in clean, easy-to-read format. If you are an Evernote user, you can also clip the page to your Evernote account.

Now its your turn to supercharge your Chrome web browser. Choose one extension that fits your needs and install it today. Leave any extensions that you love and I forgot to mention in the comments.

Getting Started with Google Drive

Install the Desktop Application

The beauty of Google Drive is your files do not have to only exist on the web. By installing Google Drive for Windows or Mac, you can access your files on your computer without having to open a web browser. The application creates a Google Drive folder on your computer that syncs any files put into it to your web account. This allows you to have drag and drop capabilities for your files. Any changes you make to a file in Google Drive are immediately synced to the web and any computer that has the desktop application installed. In addition, anything you add to a shared folder is immediately updated to all other users who have access to the folder.

Create and Share a New Folder

This is perhaps the easiest thing you can do. Login to the web version of Google Drive. Click on the folder icon with the plus sign and give the folder a name. Then right click on the new folder you created and add the email addresses of the people you want to share the folder with. Each of the recipients will receive an email notifying them that you have shared the folder. Initially the folder will show up in the "Shared with me" drop-down menu. Each recipient can make sure the shared folder shows up in their own drive by clicking on the shared folder and selecting the "Add to my drive" button.

Create Something

Google Drive also includes Google's full office suite. This includes a word processing application, a spreadsheet creator, a presentation tool, a form creator, and drawing tool. You can immediately begin creating an office document without needing to open Microsoft's Office Suite. Once the document is created you can work on it wherever you have an internet connection. Documents can be shared with others and can be edited by more than one person- even at the same time.

Experiment

Finally, take time to experiment and discover new features yourself. Google Drive is a pretty powerful online environment that Google is constantly updating and adding features to. If you are looking for other things to try you can visit this website and try some of the tips and tricks mentioned.

Getting the Most Out of a Google Search

The folks over at HackCollege recently posted an excellent infographic about how to get the most out of a google search. I frequently use the tips they provide. For example, I was looking for a list of subjects to help students create theme sentences. I used the search parameter “filetype:pdf” and then searched for “theme list.” I found an excellent list of over 100 subjects that students could use to discover a theme in literature. The infographic would also be an excellent resource to share with students.