Google Docs and Wikispaces are a Good Combo

Just when I was growing a little tired of wikispaces, Jason Levy has shown me something new. Not only is it possible to embed Google Spreadsheets, Google Presentations and ustream broadcasts into a wiki page, you can also embed a Google Doc into a wiki page as well.



This is really something special, because you can also edit the Google Doc from within the wiki by scrolling right down to the bottom and clicking on 'edit this document if you have permission'.



We have been using Google Docs all year in so many different ways, and the school wikispace serves as a great archiving site for these documents and spreadsheets.

My only reservation about embedding Google Presentations is that they can result in the web page being slow to load up. However, the resulting effect of the embedded files is really great.

Flies on the Wall

I have referred to myself before as a 'fly on the wall' in my work with C.I.S. 339 School of Technology, and today I had two other 'flies' observing proceedings. The two visitors were Dr. Michael Fox (psychologist and high performance coach for athletes and businesses), and his wife Karen, an Assistant Principal at St. Ursula's College, and one of the best educators with whom I have had the pleasure of working along side.

Michael and Karen sat in with me during two morning Skype meetings, and were astounded by the ease with which the teachers and administrators at C.I.S. 339 handle not only the technology, but grapple as well with pedagogical issues like differentiation and student goal-setting.

The visitors were first treated to a Differentiation Task Force planning meeting with the AIS, IEP and Bilingual Coordinators, Ms. McHale, Ms. Lovett and Mr. Betancourt respectively. After making the initial Skype contact, we flicked between shared Google Docs and Google Presentations, and ventured into discussions about how we would live stream the next Differentiation Task Force meeting using ustream.tv.

This level of comfort not only with the technology but also with such effective collaborative planning, barely existed before the start of the school year. Without a doubt, technology has been our accelerant for positive school change.

Following this first meeting, Karen and Michael were welcomed into a Curriculum Team session, with noone in the team even slightly fazed by their virtual presence. This time Google Spreadsheets came into play as we discussed our need to 'close the loop' in terms of some systems in place to support teachers. These systems involve members of the Curriculum Team providing instructional and goal-setting feedback to teachers on Google Docs, which are all tracked on a spreadsheet.

Every day there are exciting new developments, whether they be a class recording podcasts, a teacher using chat for the first time, a novel use for blogs, or making contact with educators in other schools through an iteach-ilearn ning, set up by Lisa Nielsen.

What is most exciting about all of this is that there is a sense of a shared vision and a united commitment to improving learning opportunities (for everyone within the school community) together.

The Twitter Plunge ...again

Okay...so this time I'm going to attempt to get into twitter properly. I've been signed up for about 7-8 months, and have re-signed probably twice since then.

I just couldn't seem to get into twitter as I was still getting so much out of blogs and the exciting school community that I'm working in. We've had Google chats and gmail flying about since the start of the year - not to mention the Google Docs, Google Groups, now Google Sites, and so on. So to be honest, I've felt well connected and not PLN-deficient in the least.

I wasn't intending to be dismissive of twitter, it's just that there was so much else to read and do. Not that this situation has changed. But here goes. The time has come. Now if I can just figure out how to reply to people...

Google and Goals

At the beginning of the school year, each staff member developed SMART goals for four areas - intervention, extension, professional development, and communication - and these goals were recorded on Google Docs and then linked to a Google Spreadsheet.

Even though this seemed a cumbersome procedure at the time, the shared digital records are really paying off now. When we conduct our midyear reviews of these SMART goals, we can now use another Google Doc as a teacher reflection sheet, and a Google Form to capture the reviewer's feedback during the 1-1 meeting.

In addition, to help explain the review process, it was easy to create a Google Presentation with appropriate links for those who are shared in on these documents.

Instead of shuffling paper forms back and forth, the system has become quite streamlined, but more importantly the meetings have been great for both teachers and reviewers.

Think about your systems!

(Links to docs have been removed)

The Hollywood conference hosted by the Insight Education Group was a great learning experience. In addition to the captivating location, the conference hosts made every effort to make sure that participants were engaged and enjoying themselves.

Jason Levy, David Prinstein, Jesse Spevack and I presented a session detailing our school's integration of wikis, blogs and Google tools.

Here are some of the slides that we used for the presentation:

841 Are the Best

Currently I am in an ESL classroom at 339, talking with some great students about the rationale behind Google Docs and blogs as collaborative documents. I'm looking forward to seeing their creations.

Writing a Book in Google Docs

A tip from Jason Levy brings me to consideration of a new venture being tried by blogoscoped: writing a book in Google Docs.

When you think about it, it makes so much sense, especially when you have the ability to hyperlink not only other pages or chunks of text, but also many other forms of media.

From an application that is quite simplistic in its editing capabilities, you can end up producing an incredibly rich, more user-friendly text.

So why not consider this same concept with students. Our students are already using Google Docs for drafting (and sometimes publishing) shorter texts, but they also have the potential to produce much larger, more complex texts as group projects in any subject area.

Using Google Presentations

Google has now added Google Presentations to the Google Docs & Spreadsheets application. Although it does not have as many features as PowerPoint, it is very useful due to the fact that it can be a shared document accessible from anywhere. In addition, unlike Slideshare, it won't be blocked in schools, so it is excellent for classroom use. Imagine the possibilities for groups putting together a slideshow. Gone will be the days of one student doing all of the work.

Getting Going with Google

Google spreadsheets have proven very useful for sharing meeting agendas, minutes, and next steps. However, you need to ensure that not too many people are trying to edit the same document at once, otherwise new changes can be over-written.
The ability to upload both Word and Excel documents as Google Docs or spreadsheets is a great function.