Google Classroom - The Gift of Time

Time is the universal gift!  Benjamin Franklin said - "Lost Time is never found again.”  In the world in which we live, we are always looking to add more time to our schedules, sadly,  extra time eludes us. Technology has always been a time sucker. ALWAYS! 

When we started using email years ago, it was a time sucker. The first version of web pages was a time sucker. When we first got laptops, logging onto those things was for sure a time sucker. How about the Smartboards? They were awesome in the beginning, but, a time sucker. 

Now, we have something which is NOT a time sucker. In fact, this is the first time EVER, where we can say, "THIS IS A TIMESAVER!"

Google Classroom is truly a timesaver! A great workflow solution for almost every grade, this tool can help start the transformation of learning in your classroom. Everyone has the opportunity to use this tool and for many, this year it is the expectation! (Grades 2-5, https://goo.gl/NoCZbm) (Grade 6 - https://goo.gl/2rzGpw) (Grades 7-9, https://goo.gl/6D33bZ)

Google Classroom guru Alice Keeler has an awesome site. If you want to start slow or if you want to start fast, Alice has the tips for you! This is just a sample of the last several weeks. 

60 Ways Math Teachers Can Use Google Classroom 

Google Classroom: Student Quick-Sheet Guide

Google Classroom Essentials Infographic

Google Classroom: 8 Essential Tips Infographic

10 Things That Students Want To Know about Google Classroom

5 Things You May Not Know About Google Classroom

Google Classroom: 6 Tips to Level Up

Google Classroom: Do Not Jump In The Deep End

Google Classroom: Middle Option = Collaborate

Google Slides: Collaborate in 40 Seconds

Google Classroom: Assign to Multiple Classes

Google Classroom: Hear From Everyone

In September of 2014, Alice wrote about "Getting Started in Google Classroom" and she has posted hundreds of things since that time. Her site is packed with great mini-lessons and is searchable too!

Alice Keeler is the authority when it comes to Google Classroom and her ideas can help you to become a true integrator AND most importantly, help give you, The Gift of Time!

Ditch That Textbook with Matt Miller

Just prior to our winter break, I had a great opportunity to participate in a Virtual Tech Conference. This virtual event was conducted by a technology guru by the name of Matt Miller. Some of you may have heard of Matt and his book entitled, "Ditch that Textbook" or possibly read his weekly blog.

Matt came up with this idea of conducting a virtual event and interviewing some influential technology people in a nine-day time span. At the end of the virtual conference, all of the interviews would go away. His conference would be like any other "conference" where you would attend a speaker and then once you left the session, you would only have your notes and memories to carry back with you to your classroom.

The interviews were very enlightening and a couple, like Paul Solarz and Dave Burgess were quite motivational. All of the sessions were good.

As Matt promised, the sessions did actually disappear. Apparently, there were many people like me who shared the positive messages but the videos were taken down because the conference was over. Matt has decided to reopen his conference for one more week from 1/12-1/18 and allow full access to the videos and the associated PDFs of each session.

I highly recommend trying to catch some of the sessions. Here is a link to be included in Matt's announcement mailing list.  https://goo.gl/2555P8

Additionally, if you want to read Matt's most recent blog post, I have attached that link too!
http://ditchthattextbook.com/2017/01/05/sketchnotes-of-all-9-dtt-digital-summit-presentations/

Now - you too can participate in a tech conference without ever leaving your home. The videos can be watched at any time during the week, and they can be watched in their entirety or just in snippets. Remember though,  - as of January 18th, they will be gone forever.