Donors Choose- iPad

I am so incredible excited to say that my donorschoose.org project was funded! My sweet children will finally be getting an iPad. I cannot wait for it to arrive. My project was funded this morning, so I haven't had a chance to tell my children yet, but boy will they be excited.

Adding your favorite website shortcuts to your desktop

I know it's been a while since I've last posted. I thought I'd ease myself in a little with a quick and easy Teacher Technology Tip. Have you ever wanted to create a desktop shortcut for one of your most used sites so your students can get to it directly? Well, today I'm going to show you how!
First visit the site you'd like to create a shortcut for. Next you will want to restore your window down, or make it smaller like I've done in the picture below. Once you've done this, click and drag the icon that appears before the URL onto your desktop.

Just like that you now have a desktop shortcut!

Run with the wolves!

First off I'd like to apologize for my absence lately. I'm trying to get my kids ready to take their end of level exam. Let's just say that it's pretty much taken over. Anyway, I wanted to stop by and advertise for my school. We really want a P.E. teacher next year and we are trying to raise funds for the program. We are hosting a 5k run/2k walk on May 25. Below is the information and if you'd like to attend or just simply donate go HERE!

Dropbox in the classroom

There is not enough time during the contract day. If you're anything like me than chances are, you work at home too. Before I had dropbox I would create things and email them to myself. Once I got to school, I'd have to download it and re-save it if I made any changes to it, then I would re-send it to myself. That got old really fast, so I decided to try the jump drive route. I would work on things at home and then magically forget to bring it to school or visa versa. I even lost it a time or two. That was not working either. My husband had used dropbox in the past to share files with other people so I decided to give it a try.

I love it. It allows me to work at home and save it to my dropbox folder. When I get to school, I can click on my dropbox folder and all my creations are there! I love that I don't have to re-save or re-send anything. I just downloaded the program on each computer that I would be using it on and ta-da!

Another feature that I love about it, is that even if I'm not at home or at school, I can still access my files, by visiting my online account. It also let's me share folders with other people. Here at my school, the third grade teachers have a dropbox folder we share. It makes it quick, easy, and very accessible to share with others.

If you're having file accessing issues, dropbox is a wonderful option!

Google Forms

I have recently re-discovered my love for Google forms. For those who are unfamiliar with Google forms according to Google they are, "a useful tool to help you plan events, send a survey, give students a quiz, or collect other information in an easy, streamlined way."  I've used it before to create simple surveys, but I've never used it in a teacher setting before. It's amazing how items, or objects can take on a new light when you are a teachers.  Suddenly you start thinking of all the things you can use it for in the classroom. Google forms has been one of those for me. I have created simple quizzes, surveys, or sign up forms.

I think the most powerful thing about Google forms is how it records the responses in a spreadsheet. It is such a simple way to view the results! First of all, it has made grading SO much better. I can instantly see the results and I don't have to lug around a bunch of papers. Second, It has made grouping my students so much easier because anyone who got question 1-3 can now be in a group. Lastly, did I mention how I don't have to cart around all these extra papers?

Would you like to learn how to create a Google form? Keep scrolling for a full tutorial.

First of all, you need to have access to a Google email account (gmail). If do not, you can easily create a new account by click on the link here.

Once you've created a gmail account you'll need to log in. After logging in click on "drive" at the top of the page.

Once you're in your drive you will see any Google documents that you have created or that have been shared with you. To create a form you'll look to the left side of your screen and click on the "create" button.

When you click on "create" it'll will automatically drop down a Google document menu. Click on "form"

When you click on form it will then direct you to a page where you can choose a title and theme. Here you'll need to;

1. Choose a title

2. Choose a theme (what you want it to look like)

3. Click "ok"

Once you've clicked okay it will bring you to a page where you can start created questions for your form.

There are several elements on this page that you'll need to make sure you do. 

1. Write a description of the form. (Only if you choose to)

2. Give the question a title or just simply start typing the question. You may also offer some help text in the box below. 

3. Choose what type of question you want. In the example below I chose multiple choice. This will allow me to have option for them to choose from. 

4. Type in some possible answers.

5. Decide whether or not it is going to be required. Required means that they cannot finish or submit the form without answering the question. 

6. Click done.

You've created your first question! To create another one you just simply click on "add item" and just follow those same steps mentioned above.

Please note that you can change the type of question you are asking. Simply click on the drop down arrow by  "Question Type" and you will be able to choose from a list. 

Text-Type a short amount of text

Paragraph-Type a large amount of text

Multiple choice-Choose from several options

Checkboxes-Click all the boxes that apply

Choose from a list- Choose one from several options

Scale-Use a scale to describe how you feel

Grid-Column headings and row categories allows the person to select one row per column

Once your form is finished you have the option of creating a message that they will see upon finishing the form. After that you need to decide if you want your students to;

1. Be able to submit more than one response

2. Look at all the responses that have been submitted

3. Edit their responses after submitting 

The last step is to "send the form" or finish it! 

Now that you're finished and you've clicked "send form" you are ready to share it with the world! There are two different ways you can share it! You can either share it using a link, or sending it via email. I usually put the link on my classroom website and my students can click on it from there!

The last thing you need to do is set up a Google spreadsheet so you can view your responses. To do that follow these steps;

You are ready to create a Google form! To visit this form and response spreadsheet again just simply log into your Gmail account and click on "drive" at the top. These documents will appear there. 

If you have any questions feel free to post a comment.