Recent Changes in Google Forms

If you have not introduced yourself to Google Forms, you are missing out on a very handy feature of your Google Drive.  Google Forms is a part of your Google Docs suite.  Create a Google Form for quizzes, survey, gathering information, getting a better understanding of a group of people, and many other creative uses.  And because it is part of our GAFE (Google Apps for Education) domain, it is so easy to share with students and staff.

Recently Google has been doing some upgrading with Forms and have added some great new features, like Add Ons.  Below are links to Google Drive's blog describing some of these great new changes with Forms, making Forms much more inviting to use.

• Your Forms, your way
• A few more ways to make Forms you own
• Add ons for Forms bring a little something extra to your surveys

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a large repository of much digital content like video, imagery, and much more.  You can set up virtual classrooms for you students and assign certain content.  At it's basic level, there is a ton of video from reliable and primary sources that you can not find anywhere else for free.  Not only can you view video from its site, but you can download the video to your machine.  Our district pays a monthly subscription to DE.  It is a valuable resource that I do not think enough of our district staff take advantage of.

Take some time to review DE for your self; search for content and see what is available for you and your students.

Using Video in PE

Thanks to +Clay Reisler I found some great ideas for using video to help students with some of their challenges in PE.   A teacher is using an app call CoachMyVideo (CMV).  This app allows the user to view the students performance frame by frame in slow motion, as well as allows viewing of before video and after video to the the students progress.  This teacher also uses Google Drive to store the video; since the iPad only has so much storage.  This way the teacher can share a Google Drive folder the video with the individual students and parents.  The teacher also documents the learning goals, the date, and a link to the video stored in Drive.  Here's an example they provided.

Below is a video demo of a teacher using CMV.  Also be sure to visit their site.

If you have any questions about this and/or would like to try this yourself, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Free STEM teaching materials available via iTunes U & iBooks

A message from our own MLTI:

Dear MLTI Schools,

The following information is being shared with you on behalf of Apple and the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Moulton at moulton@apple.com. 

Thank you 

The MLTI Team 

====== 

This summer, the E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation made a collection of powerful STEM teaching materials available for FREE via a 7 volume "Life on Earth" iBooks textbooks series, as well as an iTunes U course. 

        https://search.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZContentLink.woa/wa/link?path=lifeonearth 

We are reaching out to all schools participating in one of the Apple MLTI solutions with an effort to identify teachers who have begun using the FREE materials that are made available via iBooks and iTunes U. 

If you have begun using these materials, please let us know - and know that we understand that these materials just became available this summer, so we have no expectations of "degree of use."  Rather, we are simply seeking to identify educators who have begun to use these resources in some way with their students - as auxiliary or foundational materials in support of teaching and learning. 

So, if you have not taken a look at these great resources, please do, and if you have begun using them, please be in touch via e-mail to Jim Moulton at moulton@apple.com
In addition, if you have questions about these resources, please let us know by sending your questions to Jim Moulton at moulton@apple.com or (207) 449-8668

Free Images

Just wanted to feature a Google+ post I found yesterday by +Tony Vincent.   He gives a great explanation of the importance of giving attribution to whatever we take online for our own use and gives some resources of free imagery that can be used, royalty-free.  Giving proper attribution to imagery or any kind of digital content online is something that students do not know enough about.  I believe many students think it is ok to download images and video online without giving credit or getting permission.

This video would, also, serve as a great tutorial for students.  Tony, also, explains some methods to finding the right imagery for your presentations.

Creativity: The Future is Now

Here is what is going on outside our school systems.  "The Real World."  Growing businesses and organizations are realizing that this type of creativity is what makes them successful.  This is where our students are headed.  Will they be prepared for this?  How can we, as mentors, model this?

The Baltic Triangle - Liverpool's New Creative Hub from Baltic Creative CIC on Vimeo.

Gmail Labels

Learn how to be more email-efficient; learn how to organize your emails using Gmail's labels.