Happy Tech Tuesday. I'll be here after school today to talk about Chromebooks and the upcoming distribution to students as well as Google Classroom (I've found some quirks over the past week). If you have questions about submitting lesson plans through Google we can cover that as well. Let me know if you plan on stopping by. In addition, several people have asked about meeting up during the day. I have prep F and H today, so if you would like to stop in and ask some questions let me know and we can meet. I also have prep E and so if one of those periods works for you, shoot me an email and well can schedule something at a later date.
Tech News/Tips:
- News - Google announced last week that all GAFE (Google apps for education) will soon have access to Google Drive for Education - The big news here is for us teachers is that it will have UNLIMITED storage (let that inner hoarder yelp for joy). You never have to worry about deleting anything. There are some perks administratively as well that could aid in bullying prevention. Read more here: https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-09-30-google-s-drive-for-education-offers-unlimited-file-storage-compliance-tools
- Most of you know about viewing a document's revision history, which helps a great deal in seeing how much work a student has put into a project, especially when it is a group project, as well as seeing when they completed that work. What many people may not realize is that Chromebooks, to a small extent, will work without the internet. That's right. If a student's house gets attacked by hackers the night before your lab report is due (yes, that was used on me already this year) they can still type it and save it and upload it the next day under our hacker free CPS internet. https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/3214688?hl=en
- Along the same lines, lets just say a student came in and said that "Google didn't work last night!". There is a way to actually check. Bookmark this link:http://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=status This is the Google App status dashboard and if you ever need to check on the validity of the student's argument. If you check that link and go to 9/25, you'll see that there was a service disruption on 9/25. It may not happen often, but it helps to know for sure.
-Lastly, here is a link to an article I read over the weekend that I thought shared some important ideas. If you're not a smartphone user/tweeter/facebook poster this may not be relevant to you, but for many of us that use technology constantly there is a definite struggle to maintain focus and to "unplug". The author gives up social media for a year and writes about his experience. I think it's a balanced look at an increasingly problematic lifestyle dilemma. If you've ever thought, "I have to stop looking at my phone" (yes, believe it or not, it's not just students that have this problem) then give it a read:http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/media/Reboot-or-Die-Trying.html
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