ZamZar turns Documents into MP3s!

Yes, you read that right... ZamZar can convert text documents into MP3s!!  Now, if this is not news to you, then I apologize.... But it was fantastic news to me!!  I have a large number students with IEPs this year and this is going to help quite a bit.  

All you do is go to ZamZar, upload your document, choose MP3 and wait for an email with the link to download your file!!  Now, it is not perfect (think about the two different ways to say the word "read") and it sounds like Stephen Hawkings but it is a whole lot easier than trying to record the document myself!!

I only tried it with a Word document so if anyone tries it with other types of documents (or have had success with other types of documents) please pass on the good information!!!

By the way, I found this out looking through the site called 21things4teachers. If you have never looked at it, it is worth a look!

Google updates sheets to allow inserting Trendlines

Today ladies and gentlemen I am happy and sad at the same time.  As many of you are aware, I created an "add on" for Google Sheets to allow for adding trendlines to graphed data.  I recently made version 2 public (here is link Trendline Add on Ver 2).  In this version I included the statistical analysis to include showing the "r^2" value as well as the slope and y intercept.

I just learned today that Google has updated Sheets to allow.... wait for it.....  adding trendlines to a chart!!!

Here is a link to a GoogleGooru video that discusses adding trendlines: Adding Trendlines to Charts

Something that the video did not cover is how to show the "r^2" value and the equation of the trendline.  The "r^2" value is easy: there is a box that you can select to show it.  To show the equation you need to select the "Label" dropdown and choose "Use equation".

So, I am a sad that Google added something that I spent a lot of time and energy working on... but happy that they did so!!!

New way to locate files in Google Drive!

I really just uncovered this wonderful feature of the new Google Drive interface.  I love the search capability of Drive but as a teacher I usually have other docs that correspond with the doc I am looking for so I need to know what folder it is in.  I know I can look at the details but there just needed to be a better way.  Well today I found it... do a search for your document, in the results you can right click on a file in and select "Locate in My Drive"!

I don't know about you but this is going to be a wonderful tool for me!!

Change the background of a PDF?

Excellent question.... and this was asked by Stephen Colley in a recent  Google+ post 

I know that you can use Micro$oft Word to convert the PDF to a Word doc, then change the background then re-save as a pdf but this requires Word. If you convert the pdf to a Google Doc then all you have is an "image" of the pdf and changing the page color does no good.

So, I went to my trusty pdf editor known as PDFEscape  and I found out something very interesting... I can open the PDF, add a rectangle over the whole page, set its color and, wait for it..... change it's opacity!!  I found that if the PDF was on a white page then an opacity of 30% makes it look great! I then took it an extra step and tried it with an image, and guess what.... it works!! Here is a link to a the pdf that I edited (note that it will show up in PDFEscape's read only viewer) Change the PDF background

My only compliant with PDFEscape is that it is not connected to Google Drive (at least as far as I can tell) so you have to do a "download - upload" dance.  But for me, it is worth it!!

Let me know what you use to edit PDFs or if you have a better way of changing the background of a PDF.

Trendline Addon Version 2

After some long delays I am happy to announce that Version 2 of "Trendline Addon" has been made public! (To skip the rest of the post and get straight to it here is the link: Trendline Addon Ver2  Make a copy, open script editor and run "onInstall")

The most feedback I got from version one was the need for the "coefficient of determination" or the "r² "value.  After some trial and error I came up with a solution that I think will work just fine.  What happens is when you create a graph now you have the option to run a "linear regression analysis".  When this option is selected, an analysis is done and the results are placed on a hidden sheet called "STATS" and the important parts of the analysis (namely the slope, y-intercept and coefficient of determination) are then added to another sheet called "mbr^2".  If you unhide the "STATS" sheet you might want to look at "Google Sheets Linear Regression Info" to get an understanding of what all the numbers represent.

The stats and the data are connected.  So if you change your data the "STATS"and "mbr^2" sheets are updated appropriately.

Here are the basics steps to use Version 2:

1. Click the link, save a copy, 
2. Go to "Tools - Script Editor" and run either "On install" or "On open". This will add a menu command on your "Add ons" menu.  
3. Click "Create Graph" and follow the instruction in the sidebar!  

Please let me know what you think! I am working on how to add more trendline options such as power and exponential.  

List of links:

The spreadsheet:  Trendline Addon Ver2  

The original post: Adding a Trendline to a Google Sheets Chart

BlogBooker - Blog Book

BlogBooker - Blog Book:

This is a handy tool that many teachers and students can use.  It will turn your blog into a pdf document complete with a table of contents.  This can be handy for an archive or to share with a publisher.

The steps are simple: export your blog, go to BlogBooker, select your blog service (Wordpress, Blogger or LiveJournal), select PDF, upload your blog, set some options and create your blogbook!

I did this for this blog and the whole process took 8 minutes from exporting my blog to viewing the pdf generated.  I can see students using this service at the end of the school year to have an archive of the blog they created during the year.

Evaluate Traditions While Leading Change - Leadership 360 - Education Week

Evaluate Traditions While Leading Change - Leadership 360 - Education Week

"Our most important job right now is to manage the raising of standards and educational rigor while protecting the space and attention given to the social emotional aspects of learning.  While we still face the challenges of teaching children in poverty, or with learning or language difficulties, we cannot be resisters of change.  We need to lead change. "

This is a very interesting article.  The authors make the point that education leaders need to be aware of

"traditions" but to be proactive and not afraid to create new ones.  When I was in high school, I was fortunate enough to have a Commodore 64 computer but my mom still typed my papers on a manual typewritter.  Today, I can use my smartphone and dictate to Google Docs tor create my lesson plans.... Times have changed.....

It is up to us, the educational leaders  to see how using educational technology can influence new traditions.  I have been steadily moving to a paperless classroom the last couple of years with Google Apps for Education as the main technology.  I feel I have one more year and I will not need to use any printed material.  I believe this is a move to a new tradition that is aligned with how our students operate now.

Traditions are great, it is what makes our society who we are, but we need to be careful to not lot outdated traditions define us.  Times have changed......

How do you see educational technology being used to create new traditions?

Easily create amazing graphic designs with Canva

Canva – Amazingly simple graphic design for blogs, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers and so much more.:

OK, a week ago I posted about Lucidpress, the Microsoft Publisher replacement.  Well, I reread a post by Mr. O Trussel about Canva and have to give this one a shout out also.

It is as easy to use as Lucidpress, but I feel it's main goal is for web based graphics, much like the "infographics" you see.  It has templates for many things such as Twitter headers, Google+ Photos, Photo Collages, etc.

Here is an example I did in about 5 minutes:

Teachers and Coffee

You can easily download the images to be used however and wherever you wish.

The one thing that I do not like is that it is not integrated with GDrive like Lucidpress is.  At any rate, it is a very useful app that I imagine many of my students will enjoy using this year!!

Try it out and let me know what you think!!

Stoodle: A web based collaborative whiteboard

A came across Stoodle awhile ago.  I have only tried it out with one other fellow teacher and it seems to do a very good job.  It is a web based collaborative white board. I do have to say that it is difficult to use unless you have some kind of touch pad with a pen (like Bamboo Pad from Wacom)  It has the basic shapes, colors and the ability to rotate objects.  It does offer the use of your microphone for voice chatting.  I did try out the file upload but ran into some issues.  It seems to only be able to upload pictures and it would not remember my connection to Google Drive.  I had to keep granting access every time I used it.  All in all however, it does do a nice job and has some promise.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!!

Should principals stop visiting classrooms?

"Just pretend I am not here....."

Should principals stop visiting classrooms?:

What?!?! Principals are supposed to be instructional leaders, how could they do that with out visiting classrooms?  The post by Daniel Willingham offers some insight into a study conducted by Jason Grissom, Susanna Loeb, and Ben Master on the issue of instructional leadership.
As Mr. Willingham points out, the method of the study is what makes it interesting.

 He states: "Instead of simply asking principals how important is instructional leadership to you or having them complete time diaries, researchers actually followed 100 principals around for a full school day, recording what they did. "

A conclusion that the researchers came to was:

Time spent coaching teachers--especially in math--was associated with better student outcomes. So was time spent evaluating teachers and curriculum. But informal classroom walkthroughs--the most common activity--were negatively associated with student achievement. This was especially true in high schools. 

As a hopeful future principal, this conclusion is interesting.... but not surprising to me!! I view the principal as an instructional leader who collaborates with the teachers to improve their teaching.  When this relationship and understanding is clarified between the principal and teacher, the classroom visits are viewed as a positive, supportive experience; not a negative evaluative experience.

So, should principals stop visiting classrooms? No, they need to.  They need to know what is happening in the classrooms of their school.  But the principal needs to cultivate a relationship with the teachers so they understand the visits are to support and help them become better teachers.

All you principals and administrators out there, what do you think?

Blogger and Google+

I have been using Blogger of and on for awhile.  It has all my thoughts and ramblings and insights..... As things move forward, I know I should use Google+ more.  I do like G+, but I really like the layout and ease of use of Blogger... ok, I am just very comfortable with it!!

I have found a problem however, I believe I have all the settings set in the right places on Blogger to automatically post publicly on Google+ when I post from Blogger.  For whatever reason, this is not working for me!  My posts are not going public.  I have to go back into blogger and "share" from there.  I would imagine many people are getting things twice from me and I am sure that is annoying....

So, this post is an experiment.  I am going to post it and see if it shows up.  I a also going to do a one liner post and schedule it for 2 hours from now and see it is shows up.....

If anyone knows what I might be doing wrong please let me know..... and thanks for the patience as I figure this out!!

Lucidpress - a Microsoft Publisher replacement?

I have been meaning to post about Lucidpress for some time now because it is amazing.  I am a huge fan of Google Drive and everything it offers.  I have not opened up Microsoft Office on my home computer for about 8 months now!  Everything is done with GDrive.  However, when I talk to teachers about it, many ask  does it have an app like Microsoft Publisher?  And I have to say: no.

BUT wait!!  Someone has come to the rescue!!  Lucid Software may have saved the day!!  They have created an amazing  Online Print & Digital Publishing Software app that will give Publisher a run for its money. (Quite easily I might add since Lucidpress is FREE!)

It is super easy to use, very intuitive and very powerful!! Click the link below to see an example that I did in less than five minutes ( try clicking on the pancakes in the upper right)

Lucidpress Test Flyer

So, why all the talk about GDrive and Google apps if Lucidpress is not part of Google?  Well, Google has done amazing things that allow other developers to work with GDrive.  So, you can connect Lucidpress to your GDrive!  This way all your work is in one place! (Note: to connect apps go to the Chrome Webstore or watch this video: Google Drive - Connect more apps )

Try it out and let me know what you think!!!

PS: Here is another post about Lucidpress from Mr. Bass and you might as well checkout Lucidchart also!

Adding a Trendline to a Google Sheets Chart

(Note: if you want to skip my story and get straight to the Add On I wrote here is a link Trendline Add On Make a copy and run "on install")

As a science teacher I have always had my students graph data from a lab activity or experiment.  As many of you know, by graphing you can create (or determine) the mathematical model that describes the data.  This is a crucial skill for ALL students to learn!  It is also one way that we science teachers can show the students how what they are doing in math class works in their science class!

Before Google existed (yes I am old....), I would have students use Microsoft Excel to enter their data and create an xy-scatter graph.  They could then "right click" on a data point and add a "trendline" and even have the equation displayed.  This was wonderful!!!

Flash forward to today, using Google Spreadsheets I can have the student enter their data, create an xy-scatter graph BUT they cannot "right click" and add a trendline!!!  So frustrating and I have heard many science teachers NOT use Google Spreadsheets because of this one little (read HUGE) shortcoming of Sheets.....

So, I would go through a quick lesson on how to do a linear regression in Google Sheets (Here is a GDoc that I created for this - Using Google Sheets - Linear Regression)  I would then show them how to create another column of data using the generated linear equation and how to plot it on a graph.... but I am sure some of you have stopped reading by now so you could only imagine what some of my Physical Science students felt about this.....

I knew I needed something better.  There had to be a better way....  As I was looking at some Google Apps developer stuff, I happened across this page: Google Charts - Trendlines.  WHAT?!?!?  You can put a trendline on a graph on a web page!?!?  Why can't this be done in Sheets?!?!  All the pieces are there: the equations, the data, Google apps script.... What?!?! Google apps script??!  How could I use it........

So I am happy to announce the creation of Trendline Add On Version 0.01!!!  Click the link, save a copy, go to "Tools - Script Editor" and run either "On install" or "On open".  This will add a menu command on your "Add ons" menu.  Click "Create Graph" and follow the instruction in the sidebar!  The basic steps are to select your data, make sure it has labels in the first row (these are used for the axes titles), pick your colors, give it a title and click create!

Once the graph is created you have complete editing capabilities, you can even put the graph on it's on tab.

It is EXTREMELY rudimentary BUT it does make generating trendlines EASY.

I tried to comment the code as best as possible so it should be very easy to follow and there is a "Readme.gs" file with links to where I found other information.

Have fun with it!  Use it! Improve it! Let me know what you think!!