Creating a Site

My American History Site

https://sites.google.com/site/americanhistorywithmrisaac/

     Creating the website was quite interesting. It is not as straightforward as the other apps. I had to use the tutorials to figure out the basics. However, after I got a handle on what I was doing and things started to feel more familiar, I was able to find what I needed.
     The only difficulty I had in the pages was moving images around. I decided to create a "history" course so I could put a timeline in and play with the images. It is easy to line the images up, but I could not find a drag and drop feature where I could move the images to any part of the page that I wanted and the text just simply wordwrap. Instead the images all acted like very large text. The only other qualm I had was that there were only three settings for the image sizes and not a bar or percentage drop box to adjust the size to what I wanted. Thankfully the images all shrank to an even size when I selected "small" in the size part of the tool bar for the images. Creating the time line was simple after that, it was just like creating one in Word.
     Another difficulty I had was with the way that I needed to lay out the site. I made a mistake and created the assignments page as being under the "American Presidents" page. The only I found to fix this was to delete the page completely and create a new page. I could not find in the tutorials or on my own a button like Sakai's reorder button where I could just move the page out from under "American Presidents."
     A fun part about playing with the site was that Google Forms links work. So I found that I could integrate Google Sites, Forms, and Sheets in order to give kids content, assessments, and grades. All I would have to do after creating the site would be to link the Forms in the site and then wait for the kids to take the quizzes or tests. The only drawback is that I could not find any way to keep kids from working to far ahead or skipping assignments. They would have access to all of the Forms if I linked them. Well, I just thought about it, I could just link the pages as the course goes on.
     The revision history was very straightforward but kind of scary. I only had two versions because I worked on the site in two long sessions. I was afraid I might click something wrong and revert my site back to the first version so I didn't play with it other than looking at the layout and watching the tutorial. I feel that it is a very good feature for if you make a major mistake and want to fix it or if you want to reformat something. I really want to use this for one of my future classes, it was difficult to come up with something for a whole class because I have not taught a classroom yet; but I did create a layout that I think I will use if I use Google Sites for one of my classes.

Forms and Spreadsheets

     Creating the form was pretty easy thanks to the handout from class on the 13th. The only difficult part about the Forms is that I with that every new response to the Form would automatically use a new row and fill out the information. However, even though that feature does not seem to be available, the Form was fairly easy to create and will be easy to adapt to future lessons to the extremely straightforward layout and tools.
Below is the link to "my" Form and the Gradebook/Spreadsheet.

         Form Link
         Autograding Spreadsheet Link
        Gradebook Spreadsheet Link

     The Gradebook is from the Spreadsheet that was submitted on the 16th. Therefore I did not recreate a new one and instead just used what I had already created. It was only after I had created the Spreadsheet that I had discovered that different sheets on Google Docs can interact with each other's formulas. What I mean is that a cell with formula can moved from that particular sheet into a new sheet while still interacting with the old sheet instead of the new sheet. Thus different sheets can interact. Therefore, gradebooks for whole classes can be easier because one sheet could be responsible for different types of assignments. One sheet could be quizzes and another be attendance and then the final sheet in the workbook can be the sheet where all the grades are converted into a final score. The interaction between Forms and Sheets is extremely helpful.
     The import range trick was a little difficult to grasp but I got it and it works great. I highlighted the area of my Gradebook where I used the import range formula for the Autograding Spreadsheet that is linked to the form.
CONFESSION: I feel so techy now.

Google Sheets, creating a gradesheet

     I liked Google Sheets. I have used Excel before and it is quite useful; however, the formulas can be tricky because they abbreviate everything. In Google Sheets, all of the formula's are spelled out so I knew exactly which one I wanted to use. The only other difference between Excel and Google Sheets that I found while formatting the gradesheet was the way that one can create percentages. In Excel, you can move the decimal place anyhow you want. In Google Sheets, I was not allowed to make a whole number a percentage. Therefore, when I put "95" in a cell and clicked the "%" sign, the percentage became "9500.00%" and I could not decrease the percentage using the decimal moving buttons. I discovered this after I had put all of the information in so I had to go back and change the grades from whole numbers to decimal numbers. The problem was fixed after that. Formatting the Final Grade was easy as well because the cell formulas work much like a scientific calculator and you can just separate out numbers and equations within a cell formula using parenthesis.
     Here is a LINK to the gradesheet if you would like to look at it. I didn't create a "Midterm" section because the section with "Final Grade" would be the midterm grade at midterms. Thus, at midterms the grades would be recorded elsewhere and then the grades would continue to change as the year went on.
     I understand how Google Sheets can be used to meet the Mathematical Practice 3 Standard: "Construct viable arguments..."  However, I am struggling to understand how it could be used for the second part: "Critique the reasoning of others." Well, now that I think about it, you could take someone's spoken argument, give the points of the argument mathematical representations on the spreadsheet and then plug those into a formula of some kind. If that were the case, then I see how Google Sheets could be used to enhance critical thinking in students because it gives them a tool for dissecting arguments and thinking through them to see if they are logical or not. Also, I guess another way that it helps with the mathematical standard is that it can be used as a tool to demonstrate one's thinking and not simply as a help for thinking. Students can create graphs and charts to display their reasoning and arguments to other students.

Google Drawings

I played around a bit with the tangram lesson by downloading the image from the link within the lesson plan and arranging the shapes some.
The software is almost the same as Educreations or some other white board. The two biggest difference is some added features and the fact that Educreations and other whiteboards usually have video record feature. The way I understand Graham when he discusses how Google Drawings play into CCSS Anchor Standard 1 is that it allows the kids to demonstrate their thinking and practice critical thinking and showing their thought process. This will then allow them to better write because they will be able to organize their thoughts much like an outline.
While playing with Google Drawings, I feel that for myself it would be difficult to integrate Google Drawings for such reasons. The controls are too complex and I feel students might spend more time trying to figure out how to work the software before they would actually be able to use it effectively. However, I do understand that some kids needs something more than a simple sentence outline. On the other hand, I feel that teaching Google Drawings might take more time than necessary to implement effectively.
The controls are very straightforward except for the fact that you have to use the "backspace" to delete objects instead of the "delete" button. There are tons of colors, shapes, and sizes to make the possibilities nearly endless. However, it is the sheer volume of these options that I feel would make it difficult for students to use to organize their thoughts through the creation of images and so forth.

Presentation Software

I use Microsoft PowerPoint alot when I have to do a presentation of some kind or preach or whatever. When I was comparing Google Slides/Presentations against Microsoft PowerPoint I found that both were just about the same. The only difference I could notice was that Google had less options in the fonts, transitions, and animations. Microsoft offers in slide animations but I could not find them in Google's presentation software. Additionally Microsoft offers far more fonts and transition options compared to Google.
One major difference is obviously the collaborative aspect of Google Presentations. I would see why schools might prefer Google Presentations over PowerPoint despite the more versatile PowerPoint. I read the Google Apps book ;) and found that Google Presentations meets the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. Students are able to work collaboratively and can work on presenting all kinds of information within a certain context for a certain task. Students are not able to collaborate effectively using only PowerPoint.
PowerPoint would obviously be more useful for a teacher; however, if the teacher were to give students a group presentation assignment, then it would be far more feaseable to use the free Google Presentation software which would allow students to work together on the same document.

GAIN: Google Docs vs Microsoft Word

     Google Docs is almost exactly the same thing as Microsoft Word with just a few minor difference. Before I get into the differences I want to talk about the similarities.
     The first similarity which is awesome is that Google Docs and Microsoft Word both use the same keyboard shortcuts to change the size of fonts. The next best similarity is that the ruler at the top of the page is virtually the same as Microsoft Word and allows you to create a permanent indention style for each paragraph you make without having to reset setting after pressing return.
     The biggest and most difficult difference is customization. Microsoft Word and Google Docs offer all of the same features such as page numbers, headers, etc.  However, on Google Docs you cannot customize the features, you can only work with the preset features. This makes it difficult especially when you are having to write a paper in APA format because you need to customize the header settings so that it will display a different header for the first plus a page number while the rest of the pages need a different header from the first page and a page number.
    The second and final difference that I notice is that Microsoft allows you to change settings through the use of an overhead list of tabs and buttons which lead to windows where you can change settings. Google Docs does nearly the same thing only with less settings. Google Docs also uses dropboxes instead of windows. This makes it difficult for me personally; however, this is a matter of opinion and not an actual downside I think everyone else will have.
     I have already used Google Docs many many times before and have loved sharing feature. The way that people can go in and change documents is incredible. A really nice feature is that one can change things in real time while the other person watch. Thus, should the the two users need to be apart yet work on a document, they can simply talk on the phone while both working on the document and seeing the changes that are being made. Google Docs makes collaboration extremely easy and practical. This is important because it helps digital citizens who desire to work collaboratively on projects. Google Docs provides a practical tool for anyone to work together in real time from different locations.
    I couldn't find anyone who could real-time chat with me to test out that feature, but it is a helpful feature for when people have limited phone access and still need to work on the document. I actually used it to communicate with my partner for our TEAM presentation and show her my thoughts. The way to add people to the list so that they can change the document is very straightforward.

GAIN: Will Richardson on "Personal vs. Personalized" Education

     I watched a TEDx Talk by Will Richardson that he gave in New York a few years back (just as Common Core was being implemented). I loved just about everything he said from teachers needing to adapt to the way kids learn to the way that the government thinks of education. He provided light on the subject of the "personalized learning" being supported by Zuckerberg and Gates. According to Richardson, at first glance the "personlized learning" initiative seems great because it is an attempt to cater to individual students needs in education. However, the goal is basically to improve test standards; therefore, schools become simply "test prep."
     I have not had time to really process his thoughts but his point is challenging and something worth looking at and thinking about.
     On Richardson's daily blog on June 8th, I commented on his blog "This is Why Personalized Learning Will Fail." According to Richardson, personalized learning will fail because if it works it everyone will become "achiever's" and get A's. This will result in their being no actual standard and the system will fail. Either this or not everyone will achieve as a result of the initiative, thus the initiative will still be viewed as a failure.
     I like how Richardson draws a line between "personal learning" and "personalized learning. According to him, personal learning is where students (and anyone for that matter) take their own initiative to learn and use their resources to improve their learning. Personalized learning is where individuals outside the learner attempt mold the school system to suit the students rote memorizing skills so that they can pass tests using information that they will eventually forget later.
   Challenging thoughts. Confession: I felt like a bit of an idiot when commenting on this blog because everyone else was using super awesome words and sentence structures that demonstrated critical thinking skills I have yet to attain.