Geek Central

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged…and it’s not because there’s nothing new happening!

Have any of you found the “Would you like to try Google Drive” message pop up when you’re in Google Apps?  I finally clicked on it, and decided to try it out today.  Essentially, there is an app that you can connect to your Google Apps easily on your PC and Mac, Android devices, and coming soon to iPhones and iPads.  You get 5 GB of space for free, and for a small monthly fee you can upgrade to 25 GB.  For a “tour,” click here.  Just as a comparison, DropBox gives you 2 GB for similar functionality, and I filled that up in NO time.  Those 3 extra GB will be helpful!

The bottom line is, if I want to access something quickly on Google Apps, sometimes it’s not always easy to find, unless I’ve Starred it.  With Google Drive, it alphabetizes everything, listing your Collections (or Folders) first!   This alone makes the switch worth it!  I’ve downloaded the app to my Droid phone, and I’ll just wait until the app’s available for the iPad…which is one the things about my iPad that drives me crazy.  I’ve spent a lot of time uploading to Google Apps, only to have VERY limited access to my Docs on my iPad.

Try it out!  I’m curious what you think!

For  you  TED devotees, there’s a TED Ed channel on YouTube.  For those of you who haven’t discovered TED (Technology, Education, and Design), it’s time you did!  TED is a on-going, global conference which proclaims that they have, “ideas worth sharing.”  Need some inspiration?  Need a new way to explain something?  TED is for you.  With iPhone and iPad apps, you can take TED wherever you want to go!  The TED Ed channel currently has 13 videos, and TED will be launching a new website just for TED Ed videos in April 2012.

Get your feet wet with this 2 minute video, Questions No One Has the Answers To.  

So, what ideas will YOU be sharing?

Need some help in finding online resources?  Whether it be slideshows, videos, interactives, quizzes, or a “wild card,” Gooru might QUICKLY assist you in finding information for a missing piece in your unit.  To access Gooru, login to Google Apps, and scroll down to Gooru.  From anywhere you have access to Google Apps, you’ll have access to Gooru!  Not only is Gooru an amazing resource for teachers, it’s a fabulous resource for kids too!  I’ve just scratched the surface, but you can search, and SAVE what resources you want!  This alone is a very cool feature!

Gooru Fact Sheet (PDF)

I haven’t posted these in a while…thought that the following list might be of some use to you!

Have you thought about a web page for a project, in place of something else you’ve always done?  We had an 8th grade LA teacher who changed up a project this Fall, and created Bio Pages using Google Sites – and they were COOL!  I sent her to Google Sites, gave her a few tidbits, and then said, “Let the kids figure it out!”  They were FOCUSED!!  Jen, I wish I’d had this list of YouTube videos to share with you then!  Think about it – a Google Site might be a creative way to hook the kids into content, just by changing up the end product!  Make ‘em all web designers!

Thanks to:  @mistersill via Twitter for his great heads up!

I’m not a big “gamer.”  I’m more of an Atari in the ’80s with the joystick, playing Pac-Man, type of “gamer.”  And this, in the eyes of my students, makes me lame.  And OLD.  BUT, I’m pleased to say I have played Angry Birds, and do have it installed on my phone, browser, and iPad.  I’m seeing more and more Angry Birds paraphernalia out and about – t-shirts, pillows, etc., so when I came across this blog post about using Angry Birds to teach Math, History, and Science, my interest was piqued.  Read on to see how you can use Angry Birds, to teach “those kids today.”  

This CNN article  was emailed to me by my aunt who taught Elementary school for 37 years.  As we look at conferences next week, it helped me think about how my conversations might go…and what I’d really LIKE to tell parents and kids!  This is great lunch time reading!

CNN Editor’s Note:  Ron Clark, author of “The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck — 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers,” has been named “American Teacher of the Year” by Disney and was Oprah Winfrey’s pick as her “Phenomenal Man.” He founded The Ron Clark Academy, which educators from around the world have visited to learn.

Welcome Back!  It’s a new school year, so I thought that we’d kick it off with some Unnecessary Knowledge.  Ah, the tidbits I find via Twitter…in just 140 characters or less, I’m lead to nuggets such as Unnecessary Knowledge.  This might be a Fun Fact Friday thing, a dinner conversation for kids, or maybe just a time filler…OR it might come in handy for Trivia Night!

My DVR will never be the same.  Oprah broadcast her last show Wednesday, and the most poignant thing she said in her last show, was something simple and useful to everyone, especially teachers…”I would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: ‘Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?’”

“Try it with your children, your husband, your wife, your boss, your friends. Validate them. ‘I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.’”

Transcript of Oprah’s Final Show

When trying to re-teach how to take Cornell Notes from text, I went to my go-to spot for kid-centered news, TeenTribune.  It’s a free subscription for starters, and  it’s a great spot to find kid friendly, appropriate articles on Current Events.  With the kid-centered news that’s updated daily, and archived by day, kids feel like you really know what’s going on.   Up your “street cred!”