Add Images to Your Google Forms

Until adding images directly into Google Forms becomes available, check out the great solution put together by James Eichmiller.  It's really easy to use.  You can find the step-by-step instructions at

http://tech-in-school.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-forms-with-images.html

Here is the URL of the spreadsheet you'll need a copy of: http://goo.gl/mWWbl

I put together the video below to demonstrate the process.

Complete List: 15 Ways to Be a Smarter Teacher

I really enjoyed reading the 15 Ways to Be a Smarter Teacher series posted by Ian Jukes on the Committed Sardine blog.  Here's the list he put together.  Click on each one to read more.

1. Smart Teachers Understand That It’s About Them Not About Us.
2. Smart Teachers Study Their Students.
3. Students Take Risks When Teachers Create Safe Environments.
4. Smart Teachers Exude Passion As Well As Purpose.
5. Students Learn When Teachers Show Them How Much They Need to Learn.
6. Smart Teachers Keep It Clear Even When They Can’t Keep It Simple.
7. Smart Teachers Practice Vulnerability Without Sacrificing Credibility.
8. Smart Teachers Teach From the Heart.
9. Smart Teachers Repeat the Important Parts.
10. Smart Teachers Ask Good Questions.
11. Smart Teachers Don’t Just Pass Out Information.
12. Smart Teachers Stop Talking and Start Listening.
13. Smart Teachers Let Their Students Teach Each Other.
14. Smart Teachers Avoid Using the Same Approach For Everyone.
15. Smart Teachers Never Stop Teaching.

Guest Blog Series About 1:1 with Chromebooks at Leyden

In case you missed these, here are the links to the complete series of guest posts that were written for Scott McLeod's Dangerously Irrelevant blog about Leyden High School District 212 going 1:1 with Chromebooks this year.  We very much appreciated the opportunity to share our story with Scott's followers.

• Why 1:1?  Why Chromebooks? - September 17, 2012
  
• Chromebooks at Leyden - The Logistics of 1:1 - September 24, 2012
  
• What can you expect when moving learning to the web? - October 26, 2012
  
• Tech Support Internship: Student-led support for Leyden’s Chromebook initiative - November 5, 2012
  
• The Student Perspective on Chromebooks at Leyden High Schools - December 5, 2012
  

Getting Started With Google+ for Educators

On November 15, 2012, Google announced that Google+ became available for Google Apps for Education domains.  That was really exciting news!  Like many others educators, I had been using Google+ through my personal Google account to connect with lots of different people.  Now that it's available for all of the faculty and staff in my district, I can imagine some amazing ways we can use it to expand our personal learning networks, provide professional development opportunities, hold group meetings, and much more.  The most interesting question will be if and when we should enable Google+ for our students.  The available premium features appear to be excellent options for limiting student usage to within their domain.  We'll see.  But it all starts with getting our teachers familiar with and using Google+ first.  I put together the following narrated presentation to assist the Leyden teachers with getting started, but hopefully others find it beneficial, as well.  So, if you'd like to learn more about Google+ and how to get started, turn up your volume and play the presentation below (I'd recommend viewing it in full-screen).  I'd love to hear how others are using Google+ in their schools and if this presentation was helpful, so please consider leaving a comment.  Enjoy!

Advanced Gmail Search Operators

Did you know that you can quickly search your Gmail account for messages to or from specific people?

Did you know that you can search for email that only contains attachments?

Did you know that you can search for email within a specific date range?

Did you know that you can search for email by size?

If you haven't recently reviewed the advanced search operators available in Gmail, check them out here.

You can also watch the following video from The Google Gooru that was recently created and highlights a few of the operators.

Read&Write add-on for Google Docs

Thanks to the Free Technology for Teachers blog by Richard Byrne, I learned about the Read&Write add-on for Google Docs.  Installing this Chrome Web App provides the following features within Google Docs:

• Text To Speech with Dual Synchronized Highlighting.
• Talking Dictionary
• Picture Dictionary
• Vocabulary Tool
• Study Skills tools to capture Google highlights

This could be a valuable tool for students at all levels, but especially those with learning disabilities, struggling readers, and English Language Learners.  Check out the video below for more details and a demonstration.

New Gmail Compose and Reply Experience Coming Soon

On October 30, 2012 I read a blog post that announced the new Gmail compose and reply experience that will be rolled out in the near future.  I found the ability to test this out in my personal Gmail account and put together the following sneak peek of what's to come.