Google Voice and Video

I am a big fan of almost all things Google!  I use Google Drive everyday, I have several Google Sites that I use with my students, and if it weren't for Gmail I do not know what I would do!

Which brings me to this thing called Google Voice and Video.  Now I have used Windows Messenger before with my web cam back in the day, but it just never seemed to work right.  Windows Live messenger was better but.... still lacking.  Now, using the video and chat features integrated with Gmail, well, it just works.  Period.  No huge setup, no drivers to download, no extra "nothing"! (NOTE: you do have to "install Google Voice and Video" but it takes seconds to download and seconds to install).

Once the installation is complete, go to your Gmail settings then click the "Chat" link.  In the middle you will see something like the picture below:

Make your selections and then click "Verify your settings" and make sure things are working.  Once done you are all set!!  You can make video calls to your contacts, then move that into a Google Hangout and invite others!! (A really good article about using Google Hangouts in education can be found be found at this link Using Google Hangouts for Teacher Development)

If that is not enough, you can now make phone calls using Google Voice..... more on that in a future post!

So, do any of you use Google Voice and Video and if so how are you using it?

Education Week Teacher: The Time-Tested Dos and Don'ts of Using Classroom Technology

The Time-Tested Dos and Don'ts of Using Classroom Technology

This is a very quick read about the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of using technology in the classroom.  If you are "testing the waters" or have been apprehensive of using technology this article will give you a very good perspective on what to do and try.

So, how many of you are doing the "Do's" mentioned in this article?

Five Ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom | Edutopia

Five Ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom | Edutopia:


I have been contemplating the use of online portfolios for awhile now... but I just can't seem to get started!  Mostly because the task seems rather daunting!

In an article by Heather Hiles from edutopia titled "Five ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom", she discusses 5 key points to consider when implementing the use of online portfolios.

Armed with this information, I feel a little more brave about using portfolios and will definitely explore their use more.

How about you?  Any of you have any success stories or pointers as to how to implement online portfolios?

Just ASK Publications and Professional Development - Just for the ASKing!

Just ASK Publications and Professional Development - Just for the ASKing!:

I have been a follower of Bruce Oliver and "Just ASK" for a few years now.  The information offered covers everything from the classroom to educational leadership.  Recently he presented an article about "Technology as an Instructional Tool".  As I read through the article it was nice to see that I am using some of the technologies that are discussed.  There are 7 individuals who responded to the question: "What technological tools and applications have you used or seen used that have made the greatest impact on student learning in rigorous and relevant ways?"  A nice part of the article is a list of the technologies mentioned along with links.

So, what are some of the technologies you are using and how are they improving the education of your students?

Google Apps Certified Trainer

I just completed 35 hours of training at the Franklin office of SOITA to begin my journey to becoming a Google Apps for Education Certified Trainer!!  I am happy to say that after completing (and passing) all 6 tests I am now a "Google Certified Individual"!!

If you have the opportunity to participate in this training.... do not hesitate!   It was awesome!  I have been using Google Docs for several years and considered myself to be an advanced user.  I did however, learn a great deal more about using Google Docs. 

One thing I would like to share with you quickly is how to get a document to appear in two (or more) folders.  You may recall that before "Docs" changed to "Drive" you were able to have a document "belong" to 2 or more "collections".  This was great!!  I have several documents that I use in different classes.  Using Windows, I would have to have a copy of the document in each folder I wanted it in.  For instance, a parent letter that I use with all my classes would have to be copied to ALL my class folders.  Then if I edit the one in my Chemistry folder, I have to copy it to all the other folders!  Terribly time consuming and what happens if you forget to update the other folders?!  Chaos!!

Collections made that scenario of thing of the past.  I could now have my parent letter belong to each of my classes collections!  If I edit the one in the Chemistry collection it is also edited int the other collections because it is the same document!!   Then Drive came along, and "collections" were changed to "folders".  It seemed that no matter what I did I could not organize a document and have it "belong" in 2 different folders.

Well, thanks to the training at SOITA, I learned that all you have to do is hold down the control key and click..... So simple!  Why did I not think of that?!?!  

So, with the control key I can now organize documents into as many folders as I want..... Chaos has been averted!!

A nice file converting site

I am always in the need to convert one file type to another.  Wether it be an MP3 to M4A or AVI to MPEG  or JPEG to GIF.....  I recently had an issue with an XPS document.  This is microsoft's version of Adobe's PDF.  XPS stands for "Open XML Paper Specification". Windows Vista and 7 both have the ability to "print" XPS files.  You just choose "Microsoft XPS Document Writer" from the list of printers and away you go!

I needed a PDF version of a document on a webpage.  So, I decided to play with the XPS Document writer. (Yes, I know, I could have copied and pasted into Word or Google Docs then created a PDF from that, but hey, it was time to learn something new!!!)  I printed the page to the XPS printer, saved it and then went to Zamar, my trusty converting page.  But wouldn't you know it.... Zamzar can't convertXPS files!!  Oh nooooo!  Not to worry, a quick search and I found Convert.Files .  They can convert everything Zamzar can  but also XPS files!!  Whooo Hooo!  Upload my file, choose PDF as the output, and presto! All done!

Combining PDFs....for free!

Recently I had to combine several PDFs into one.  At school I have the full version of Adobe and boy it is real easy to use it!  However, I am not as school and I do not have the full version of Adobe.  So.....

A quick Google search gave me a large number of sites that could combine PDFs for me.  I found FoxyUtils.com  and gave it a shot.

I uploaded 3 PDFs, clicked on "Merge PDF" and very quickly was presented with a download link to my newly combined PDF!  Awesome!  One word of caution, before clicking "Merge PDF" make sure you have your files in the order you want!!  You can easily use the up and down arrows provided to rearrange your files to your hearts content!

Painless, smooth, easy and ......FREE!