Trying made easy

I often have people without a google account wanting to know how google apps work. I spotted  this on the google docs blog, a demo site where you don't have to login or register. nice. Presentation - Google Docs

Blogs from schools in Hamilton

Class	Blog address	Year Level
Room 14 Hamilton East School	http://room14-hes.blogspot.com/	Year 3 & 4
Room 15 Hamilton East School	http://room15hes.blogspot.com/	Year 2 & 3
Room 16 Hamilton East School	http://room16hes.blogspot.com/	Year 2
Room 13 Hamilton East School	http://room13hes.blogspot.com/	Year 3 & 4
Room 10 Hamilton East School	http://room10hes.blogspot.com/	Year 5 & 6
Room 11 Hamilton East School	http://room11hes.blogspot.com/	Year 5 & 6
Room 12 Hamilton East School	http://room12hes.blogspot.com/	Year 5 & 6
Room 5 Hamilton East School	http://room5hes.blogspot.com/	New Entrants
Room 4 Hamilton East School	http://room4hes.blogspot.com/	Year 1
Room 1 Hamilton East School	http://room1hes.blogspot.com/	Year 1 & 2
Room 2 Hamilton East School	http://room2hes.blogspot.com/	Year 1 & 2
Room 8 Hamilton East School	http://room8hes.blogspot.com/	New Entrants
Room 7 Vardon School	http://room7vardonschool.blogspot.com/	Year 3 & 4
Room 8 Melville Intermediate	http://melvilleroom8.blogspot.com/	Year 7 & 8
Room 9 Glenview Primary School	http://glenviewgo.com/	Year 1 & 2
Room 3 St Andrew’s Middle School	http://sams.ultranet.school.nz/ClassSpace/53/	Year 7 & 8
Room 7 Frankton School	http://room7frankton.blogspot.com/	Year 3 & 4

Going Mobile

This Is my first mobile post. 


Typed/swyped mainly on a mobile. What I'd like to push myself to do is be more transformative in my actions. Lately I have become read alot (obsessed) about what features are to be available in the latest version of Google Android versus Apple's iOS.
This is an area that is changing so fast that new utility,applications and features are being added daily. 
There are people writing and reflecting on this even more often. We can read multiple updates and perspectives on this as easily as going to the web or even easy if we have them come to us using aggregation (reader) software.
My feeling is that we are a bit myopic in our adoption of Apple products fantastic though they are; without enough people testing other ways of doing things. My reading would tell me there is some realistic basis to this ie that the alternative are not without merit or functionality.


So There is some purpose to this Reading/Finding out but it is limited.

• preparing for purchase decisions 
• predicting future capability 
• finding useful applications 
• to be knowledgeable in the area of rapid change
• this is the fastest developing focus area for new tech

There are a few downsides

• lack of impact beyond the above
• this can become a habitual response 
• more passive than active 
• comes at opportunity cost for other learning 
• often relates to content acquisition rather creativity or adding value

So to break the cycle ...

I am limiting myself to set periods of reflection and to keeping a focus on 

the relationship of this learning to what it can bring for schools and learners as a result. When I read and follow I will put the GEMS into this blog or spaces for others. 

And on that note...

A great tool for android are the swype type keyboards have a look at this video to see how they work. Think this works on iOS but only jail broken phones/pods/pads.

This shows touchpal but swype is another great one.

Great Recipe from Chloe

COOKED  APPLES AND LOLLY SAUCE.

WHAT WE ARE MAKING:

• We are making a yummy quick desert in seconds.
• This desert comes with a sweet sticky lolly sauce and mushy sweet apples perfect for any occasions.
• Great for the out-doors for a Delicious desert.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar.
• 1/2 cup of water.
• 2 apples.
• 8 lolly snakes.

Equipment

• Billie including lid.
• Cup.
• Knife.
• Gas canister.
• Wooden Spoon long enough to not get burnt when stirring.
• Flat surface.
• Bowl to put in when serving.

INSTRUCTIONS
[Make sure the Billie is on a flat surface and Gas Canister is turned on)
1:First make sure you have boiled the water in the Billie for a least 5 Min's.
*TIP*make sure you have boiled it with the lid on at high temperature for 5 Min's straight and make sure the Gas Canister is on a flat surface.
2: While water is boiling Cut up the apples into eat-able slice or squares.
3:Once the water is boiled add one cup of sugar into the Billie.
4:Stir until sugar is dissolved.
5:Add in the chopped apples and the lollie snakes into the Billie.
6:Stir the lollie snakes and apples for 5 Min's.*TIP* Stir well so you don’t burn the bottom of the Billie
7:After stirring let it boil for 10 Min's at high temperature stir occasionally to stop the bottom of the Billie burning.
*TIP* If you  have to much water you may have to drain it, the less amount of water the sweeter it is.

EVALUATION
1:Check the snakes, if melted or in tiny pieces its done. If not boil for another 5 Min's and stir.
*TIP* Let it cool down for about 1 min so you don’t burn your tongue.
2: Once done poor into bowls[Best served when hot and sticky]



OPTIONS:
Best served:

• Whipped cream.
• Vanilla ice cream.
• Sponge cakes or a plain slice.
• If cooking at home, follow the same instructions but instead of a Billie use your stove with a Saucepan.

WARNINGS

• Make sure you are careful around the Billie as you don't wont to get burnt or for it to fall over and burn yourself.
• When serving beware that the Billie is hot and it may burn your.

          

How Google Docs Might Help?

During the last school holidays I worked with colleagues looking at the use of Google Docs for literacy and at teacher dashboard an interface layer that works with Google Docs. We asked those present to add their ideas about what they already knew about Google Docs, Teacher dashboard and their use (White Hat – “What information is available” thinking). Let’s start by reflecting on what they said.

TEACHERS: What we already know about Google Docs?

“Lots of people can work at the same time. Documents can be shared with others easily. Students can file away you work in subject areas. That is collaborative and can be accessed anywhere. Useful in collaboration. Edit, change, comment, assess, note label et cetera on work as it happens. That allows teachers to print student work. Helpful to teacher marking-Can edit the same (or a copy of the doc) and send it back to the students are instant feedback and feed forward.”

Or in a wordle

 

STUDENTS:  Key thoughts  about working with Google Docs in Teacher Dashboard

Lets us become able to complete our work to a higher neatness and a lot quicker.

Teacher can see it at the same time or I you are working in a group then you can work on bits at a time so one person does not have to do all of the work.

lots of people can work on it as well so it can make the completing of the document much faster and it could have more information on it.

I think that teacher dashboard is easier for us so that we don’t have to keep on sharing our work with Mr Clark, we just have to save it with a title.

It is also really great as Mr Clark / the teacher gets to look at every one's work at once instead one by one.

Or in Tagxedo

.

The students reference the idea of collaboration and the power of this more than the teachers as well as the ease with which everything takes place. The students also seem to have a clearer description of the capabilities within Google documents.

Finally interms of what we think/believe I’d like to outline what I believe will work best for learners using Google Docs and why.

I believe documents with multiple readers and collaborators add most to learning…

These documents allow students to: see how others write and to build on ideas. This motivates them to present themselves well in a highly visible environment. Because others are working with them it is more likely that the work will have meaning beyond compliance (sometimes a significant feature of individual work). We could almost add documents with a purpose on the end of the multiple users and collaborators. I believe we will see more educators working in this way as they come to understand the significance of this new paradigm of access. There are a couple of little tricks and organisational ideas that might help when working with many people to one document. It wont happen overnight but it will happen. I'll put these ideas together into a next post.

As I write this this is a little bit of a broken record element to what I am saying

Time to move on…

My understanding is that people will adopt things, change practice and persist when they have a clear reason for doing so:

so

The next steps are to work and share in a similar environment to the students ourselves for our own learning and modeling…