My New Techie Love

I'm sorry, Safari. I'm really sorry, Firefox. I'm kinda sorry Internet Explorer. I have a new love.  Chrome has stolen my heart.

Now, I don't pretend to be a Chrome expert - I honestly don't think there is anyone out there who knows it all since new features are added all the time.  But, I have recently learned about three extensions that I think everyone should have.

Note - as far as I know, you must use Google Chrome and be logged into your Google Account  in order to access Google Apps.  Please correct me in the comments if I am wrong.

In no particular order:

• Screenleap for Gmail - this extension allows you to remotely share all or part of your computer screen with others. After downloading the extension (see Google's instructions for downloading extensions here), you launch the app by clicking on the Screenleap icon in the upper right hand corner of your Gmail screen.
  
  Instead of recreating the wheel, I did a Google Search for "how to use chrome app screenleap" and found this article from Screenleap.com with the directions and screenshots. No sense recreating the wheel...
• AdBlock Plus - this extension will block all the ads on the different webpages you visit.  Take a look at the two images below. The top one was taken from msn.com using Internet Explorer without Ad Block Plus loaded. Notice the Geico ad on the right?  The bottom image is from msn.com using Chrome with AdBlock Plus installed.  Notice there the ad is gone, replaced by news videos.  I highly recommend this extension, especially if you visit a lot of website with your kids. You never know what kind of ad will appear.

AdBlock Plus not installed

AdBlock Plus installed

• Sexy Undo Close Tab - I constantly have tons of tabs open and then will suddenly feel overwhelmed and start to frantically close them.  Alas, I closed that blog I just found this morning and still wanted to read.  With Sexy Undo Close Tab, I can retrieve that closed tab. Click on your extensions tab opener (the two arrows) and select Sexy Undo Close Tab.  The list of all your closed tabs will appear and you can choose the one you want to reopen. This has saved my life a couple of times now...
  

  

  Click the double arrow to open the list of your extensions  - these are some of those I am trying out.

  

  Select the link you want to open.  Feel free to open multiple tabs.

  I'd love to hear about your favorite Chrome extensions!

School Loop Google Drive Integration

Carlsbad Unified, along with hundreds of other school districts, use School Loop for their major home-school communication system.  Recently, the company announced that they are working on a Google Drive Integration project (currently in beta). This allows users to access their Google Drive from School Loop lockers (online file storage portals).  Districts must request this feature in order for it to be turned on, and Carlsbad was one of the first districts to do so.

Some of  the benefits of Google Integration include:

• It is easy to move files back and forth between Google Drive and School Loop lockers.
• Students can actually submit assignments stored in their Drive via their School Loop locker without having the download and upload the files.
• Creating the document in Google Drive and then copying it to the locker will create a link to the file in Drive (not just a copy), so any changes made to it will be reflected in the locker.  This solves the "multiple copies" issue that many have experienced using the lockers to transfer files to and from home.
• Have a typo your document? No worries. Teachers can make changes to assignments/resources and give students immediate access to the most updated version. 
• Use the same documents/resources year after year in your classroom? Now teachers can safely store their documents in Google Drive and easily link them to School Loop lockers when appropriate during the school year.
• Schools can ensure all documents linked on their webpages are the most up to date by using Google Drive. 

I asked Ashley Crawford (@AshleyC13368912), teacher at Aviara Oaks Middle School, if she was interested in playing with the new system and she jumped at it.  AOM is currently piloting Google Apps for Education (GAFE) for our district, so most students have a Google account they can link to their locker. I spoke with her yesterday and she is absolutely loving it.

A couple of things to note before linking Google Drive and School Loop lockers:

• The user (student/teachers/staff) must be using the new updated Locker system in School Loop.  This new version makes it easier to navigate through the many different lockers teachers may have (personal locker, different course lockers, group lockers, website lockers, etc) and to use a drag and drop feature to add files to them. To activate it, open your locker and click on Try our new locker.
• Your Google Drive must have a folder in it before you attempt to connect it to School Loop lockers. That is a little glitch in the system that will be fixed on the next update.
• Once you are using the new locker, you can connect to your Google Drive using the button shown below.  You will be asked to enter your Google Account name and your Google password. Just agree to the Terms and Conditions and you're done.
  
  

For more information on using Google Drive and School Loop lockers, check out these School Loop webpages here and here.

While Carlsbad is working on the transition to GAFE, any teacher who has their own Google account can use that to link to School Loop lockers. So go for it! Try it! And let me know how it goes!

My Takeaways from CUE 2014

This year, I was lucky to attend CUE 2014 with nine other great educators from my district. It was the first time so many of us were able to attend. The conversations over dinner were worth the price of admission alone.

I created a Google doc for Carlsbad attendees to share their notes from the sessions they attended. Keep in mind, this is a work in progress. Most of my fellow attendees are classroom teachers who went back to school the following Monday to face 30+ parent teacher conferences. Now they are dealing with SBAC testing. I'm sure these notes will become clearer over time, but the links/sites/apps mentioned are worth taking a look at.

I personally had a few ah-has myself and, while the list below is seemingly random, I thought I would share anyway...

•  Everyone seems to be blogging regularly, but me. Why is that? How do they think of the things to share? I have no idea, but intend to use the rest of the year to find out...
•  @bcoeedtech (Butte County Ed Tech) shared the word of the day on March 20th in her session - bi-techual. I love it because it totally defines who I am (PC at work, Mac at home, Google everywhere)
• @levarburton (LeVar Burton - aka the Reading Rainbow guy) gave me two great terms: 
• Self Selected: teachers have "self selected" to be responsible for preparing future generations to do great things.  We are on the front lines, but only because we actually put ourselves there.
• Initiating Events: life changing moments come to fruition for years to come.  One of my initiating events was having my oldest son while still in college. I realized I didn't want to become a physical therapist and changed my major to elementary education. Enough said...
• @Dowbiggin (Diane Main) may just be one of my heroes.  I just love her personality and any professional development she offers will be amazing. Her YouTube channel, especially her parodies, make me wonder where she finds the time...
• Thinglink is a really cool site that I'd never heard of before, but everyone else seemed to know about it.  It allows you to take an image and embed links to websites - virtual field trips or even interactive student reports are great ideas for this.  It's a lot easier to use than I originally thought.
• SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) for technology integration seems to be everywhere now. It can be a little daunting, but I always encourage others to try to ascend one level at a time. Makes it much more manageable that way.  I wrote two Tech Tidbits articles (issues 5.8 and 5.9) on the subject a few years ago.  It's great to see it truly catching on. Thanks to @dvocicka for his foresight.
• @sjbrooksyoung (Susan Brooks-Young) - her presentation on happier educators included something I've always taught my student teachers to help them remain organized, only she said it much more succinctly -- just remember the 4 D's:
• Do it now
• Defer it (but set an appointment)
• Delegate
• Dump/delete
• Finally - want your students on your district's wi-fi instead of their 3G or 4G?  Remind them that they won't be using their data plan!  You'll get parents on board immediately!!  Thanks to Cheryl Fiello for that priceless tidbit!

So, that was my first attempt at blogging. I'd love your thoughts, but be kind this first time around. I'm sure my blogging skin will thicken over time...