Playing part of a YouTube clip in Google Slides

Google Slides is one of my favourite educational technology solutions and recently I discovered another extremely useful feature. As an educator, I often want to show my classes just part of YouTube clip. That might be because only part of it is relevant, there is not enough time to show the full clip or it may contain content that might be confronting and I would rather give students the choice to view it if it is not essential for the lesson.

So I’ve messed around with a number of different solutions – none of which seemed to work effectively, much to my frustration. And then, quite by accident, I found out I could set start and end times for YouTube clips embedded in a Google Slides presentation. What a revelation!

See below for full instructions.

Instructions

Open your Google Slides presentation and insert your selected YouTube clip.
Right click the YouTube clip in your presentation.
From the pop-up menu, select “Video options…”
You will see 2 fields where you can enter where you would like the clip to start and finish.

And that’s it! Below is a short video tutorial showing you how it all works.

Google Drive freebie: scientific method digital workbook

It seems everybody loves a freebie! The Google Slides free writing j ournal with picture prompts from a few weeks back has been a big hit. Hopefully it’s being used, shared and modified in classrooms around the world.

For this freebie, I thought I’d move beyond language arts and in to STEM (science technology engineering maths). Once again using Google Slides, I have created an interactive, digital workbook based on the scientific method. I like the flexibility of layout in Google Slides which is why it’s probably my most used app.

STEM activities lend themselves to multimedia, as do Google Slides. The workbook has been set up to encourage the inclusion of multimedia. This can either be audio, video and images found online or those created by students as they research and complete their experiment.

The digital workbook can be used as a digitised version of a traditional workbook or can be used as the springboard for a hyperdoc. A hyperdoc is a:

…carefully crafted digital lesson plan…[that is a] visually engaging and packaged learning experience…[for students to] create, collaborate, think critically and connect.

http://hyperdocs.co/about_hyperdocs

I highly recommend the above website for more ideas on utilising hyperdocs in the Google Classroom and for lots more great freebies!

What’s included in the FREE digital workbook

Created in Google Slides so you can create your own copy to modify and share
An interactive menu to navigate the workbook
A slide for each of the following areas:
- Problem
- Background research
- Hypothesis
- Health and safety
- Experiment
- Results
- Conclusion
Instructions on what to include in each section
Links to more detailed explanations in the speaker’s notes
Placeholders for multimedia and links

The screenshot below illustrates the typical structure of each slide:

Scientific method digital workbook screenshot

Accessing the FREE digital workbook

The link below to the template is VIEW ONLY. This means you will need to create a copy IN YOUR OWN GOOGLE DRIVE to be able to edit the file and share the file with your students. To do this use the following menu path:

File > Make a copy…

FREE Google Slides scientific method digital workbook:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Z8g3bqRH7hSZ4h8BTHPvfX8Fcj2_4ILEQyHSIPZlEO4/edit?usp=sharing

Ideas for using the workbook in the classroom

Can be used with any STEM activity.
Best suited to middle to high school students but can be adapted to all ability and age levels – for example, for student requiring more support, create and add your own mini-YouTube video explanation.
Can be used individually or as part of collaborative projects.
Can be used across platforms including Chromebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. (Not all features available on all platforms).
Use with Google Slides tablet and smartphone apps so students can capture video and photos of their own work into the digital workbook.
Take photos of experiment setups using Google Slides on tablet or smartphone and label using the desktop version (including on Chromebooks).
Encourage students to personalise the workbooks to match their own style.
Record results data in Google Sheets and insert charts into the Results page.
Use the Doctopus add-in to create a copy of the workbook for each student.
Provide teacher or peer feedback using comments.
Distribute the workbook to students via Google Classroom.
Can support science fair projects.
Can be used as evidence of learning as part of project based learning (PBL).
Embed finished workbooks in your school website to share with parents, carers and the community.

References

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml

https://18670-presscdn-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/scientific-method-graphic-organizer.pdf?sfvrsn=0

http://barnett.nebo.edu/sites/barnett.nebo.edu/files/Scientific%20Method%20Graphic%20Organizer.pdf

Online learning communities with Google tools

Recently I read an interesting article by Christopher Pappas, 8 Tips To Foster Knowledge Sharing Through Online Learning Communities. In the article, the writer looks at ways that online social and collaborative experiences can enhance learning outcomes and improve knowledge sharing in a corporate environment. I was inspired to look at how these strategies might be used in a K-12 environment using Google and G Suite for Education (GSfE) solutions. Of course, the same ideas can be applied to vocational and higher education environments as well. Also, many of the ideas can be implemented without having G Suite for Education (however, you will need access to G Suite for Education to use Google Classroom).

Below is a presentation giving an overview of the strategies and the corresponding Google tools. Read below for more details.

Before you start…

Before you start, you need to think about a few things with regards to your online learning communities.

Who will be part of the community? For example, your class, multiple classes, the whole school, the wider community, etc. It may be that there are multiple online learning communities that are used for different purposes
What is the purpose of the learning community? What are you hoping your students will gain from the experience?
What are the terms of use? It is very important that all participants agree to and understand the community guidelines. These should be simple and clear. Look at the post Collaborating for success with Google Apps for ideas on developing a suitable framework.
Understand which tools are available to you and which aren’t. For excample, Google+ and Google Collections are not always made available in GSfE environments and the terms of service do not allow access to people under the age of 13.

Idea 1: Online forums and groups

Online forums and groups are not a new idea and these can be useful for students to share questions, opinions, knowledge and resources and for teachers to communicate to the whole class or smaller groups. The idea is to create a forum or discussion around a specific topic.

Google tools for forums and groups

Google Classroom allows for posting in the class stream. However, this can get a bit messy although the labelling and filtering feature can make it easier to find topics in the stream.
Google+ Communities is essentially a social media platform and allows discussions and threads. You can control who has access to a Google community. There is a search function.
Google Collections is a feature within Google+. It is a bit like Pinterest. However, only one person can own a collection and post new items to the collection but other users can comment on items in the collection. For more on using Google Collections, see the post 5 tips for using Google+ Collections at school.
YouTube allows for commenting. If you or your students upload videos and mark ‘Unlisted’, only people with the link can view them and comment on them.

Idea 2: Collaboration projects

Working on projects together with peers helps build belonging as well as developing communication and teamwork skills. The good news is many Google tools were made for collaboration!

Google tools for collaboration projects

Google Drive, particularly Slides and Docs. One student or the teacher creates the file and then invites the other group members to edit the file. The built in revision history feature makes it easy to see who has done what.
Blogger is a powerful and often overlooked tool. You can make your audience and collaborators as wide or as narrow as you like.

Idea 3: Peer-based learning teams

This is an important emerging concept, the idea of learning to learn. Peer-based learning teams encourage students to create individual learning goals and place students in teams to support each other in achieving their goals.

Google tools for peer-based learning teams

Google Hangouts allows students to ‘get together’ on line to provide feedback via video, audio or messaging.
Google Drive, particularly Docs and Slides, allows students to document their goals, progress and barriers with the comments feature enabling the peer team to provide assistance, feedback and encouragement.
Google+ Communities allows the peer team to create a private community to provide and ask for support and feedback.
Blogger allows for the creation of a blog shared only amongst the peer learning team. Students can share their learning goals and progress as well as commenting on the posts of others in the group to provide feedback.

Idea 4: Micro-learning library

Ditch the outdated text books! As students learn about a topic and become emerging experts, create a crowd sourced ‘learning library’ of resources that can be used by current and future students.

Google tools for a micro-learning library

Google Drive (Docs, Slides) can be a handy repository for useful links, just give students editing privileges to the file.
Google+ Communities is a useful way to share resources, documents, pictures, etc, providing a preview and allowing for a description. Students can search for specific information using the search feature.
Blogger is an easy-to-use repository for many different kinds of resources including links, written information, embedded videos and Google Drive files.
YouTube allows users to collaborate on playlists and create a repository of videos relevant to a particular topic. Click here to learn how to add collaborators on a YouTube playlist.
Google Classroom allows users to share links to the class stream, allowing the sharing of resources. If you use Google Chrome, the Share to Classroom extension makes it even easier to share a relevant webpage. Be careful of cluttering up your class stream.

Idea 5: Learner blogs

Learner blogs can help document the pathway to knowledge and skills development. It allows the sharing of useful knowledge with peers and provide proof-of-learning. They are multi-modal, allowing students to express themselves in different ways.

Google tools for learner blogs

Google Sites are easy to use and allow users to easily combine text, embedded videos, images and Google Drive files. It is easy to create attractive websites but the features are limited at the time of writing.
Blogger is a traditional blogging platform (as the name would suggest!) You can take control of how wide the audience is (down to individual users) and allows for multimedia as well as text.

Data, charts and Sheets, oh my!

Scroll down for video tutorial

Information and communications technology (ICT) skills are these days found across curriculum areas in education throughout the world. Much of the focus is on literacy based applications such as documents, presentations, etc. This is partly because these applications tend to be much easier for educators and students to learn how to use.

The representation of numeric data using technology is sometimes overlooked in the classroom. There are many subject areas in K-12 education that benefit from the use of technology to represent data including:

mathematics
science
social studies
geography
design and technology
business, economics and commerce

Charts and graphs can be a powerful tool to visually represent numerical information. For some educators and students, the idea of working with data is intimidating. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be.

Tools like Google Sheets, part of the Google Apps for Education and Google Drive suite of products, make it easy to create attractive, easy to read charts and graphs from your data.

The video tutorial below shows how quick and easy it is to create a chart in Google Sheets. The topic area is a social science subject, geography, and representing contributions to population changes across Australian States. And it all happens in just under 4 minutes:

Note:

At the time of writing, you will need to use the full, Chrome browser based version of Google Sheets in order to insert and edit charts. You can view them on the portable version of Google Sheets but you cannot insert or edit charts in these versions.

Google Apps for Education and Universal Design for Learning

I recently had the opportunity to attend an excellent workshop presented by Leanne Woodley from AIS NSW on Universal GAfE and UDL: supporting inclusion Design for Learning (UDL). UDL has inspired me to look at inclusion in a different way. It is a step beyond differentiation as it may be typically implemented which I discussed in the context of Google Classroom in a previous post. Within the UDL framework learning is designed to be inclusive rather than making adjustments as an after thought.

According to National Centre on Universal Design for Learning:

Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl

Here is a short video giving an overview of UDL:

So where does Google Apps for Education fit in to all this? UDL does not require technology to be implemented. However, technology can be a very powerful tool. It embeds digital literacy into learning which is a relevant 21st century skill, with relevance being part of the UDL guidelines. For some students, it also allows them to use skills and technologies they are already comfortable with. Building on existing student knowledge is also within the UDL guidelines.

I am looking forward to implementing UDL within my classes. In the meantime, I have put together a table of three GAfE tools and how they may work to support UDL. I plan to add to this as my experience with UDL grows.

[table id=2 /]

4 Google Apps for Education essentials: one educator’s toolkit

Google Apps for Education (GAfE) has become part of my every day life as an educator. I use GAfE tools for both planned and spontaneous learning activities. Here I have listed 4 of my daily go-tos; tools that I use regularly as part of
my day as an educator.

In terms of what I have to work with, our IT infrastructure is reasonable, with technology available with planning but not available to the level of one-on-one or BYOD school. Sometimes it takes a bit of Macgyver-ing to get the desired result. It’s all about problem solving and working with what you’ve got.

I have excluded the ‘vanilla’, Chrome desktop accessible GaFE Apps from the essentials – I’m assuming they are a given. Also, essentials may vary from educator to educator depending on the infrastructure available to them.

1. Chromebooks

I’m not one to be ungrateful but, if there is one ‘I wish’ that I have, it is that I wish I had more Chromebooks available at ou chromebook-505728_960_720 r school. These go from zero to productive in about 5 seconds and have an impressive battery life. Many students love them because they work so well with their Google Drive accounts and they don’t have to wait forever for an operating system to load.

I often walk around with one under my arm, ready to pop it open to help a student with an assessment or to look something up. If we’re logged into the Chromebook under my account, sharing with the student’s account is quick and painless.

Chromebooks quickly and easily plug in to a TV, data projector or IWB via HDMI to view a video, present a Google Slide show or review student work (with permission, of course!).

With the Chromebook Management License that allows admins to manage the devices in your GAfE domain, in theory it makes it easy to manage what users can and can’t access. However, just like many of these types of system management tools, it is not always 100% foolproof.

2. iPad Mini

This would probably work as well with a high end Android device.

My iPad Mini is like my right hand and the iOS Google Apps work beautifully on it. Sure, they might not have as many features as the ‘full’ versions but they are improving all the time. Just like the Chromebook, they have a fast (almost instant) start up and are very portable. And, just like the Chromebook, I use it opportunistically when I need to spontaneously help a student. It’s also easy to snap, upload and share photographs for project work.

I also take photos of student work (e.g., art work), upload it to Google Drive and share it with the student and anyone else that might need access. One example is a portfolio of work created by our vocational beauty class that has been saved to a folder in Google Drive.

My iPad has cellular and a reasonable amount of data so, if the WiFi is slow or down in class (one of the downsides to living in rural Australia), I can use it as a hotspot and keep on going.

For students that struggle with writing and typing, the iPad voice-to-text feature works brilliantly to allow students to ‘voice’ type directly into a Google Drive file. This can be empowering as students can work independently rather than relying on scribes or trying to avoid writing all together (as sometimes happens). Here is a video showing how it works:

Another great use of the iPad with Google Docs is for note taking, particularly during professional development sessions. I I usually use Google Docs and incorporate typed notes with photos of handouts, relevant slides, etc. It means all relevant information is stored neatly in one place and easily referred to in future.

3. Apple TV + iPad Mini

This would probably work as well with a high end Android device and a Chromecast.

My iPad Mini makes another appearance, this time teaming up with an Apple TV. This works particularly well with classes with ipad-718411_960_720 learners who may be reluctant to work independently but work better where we ‘crowd source’ solutions; i.e., we discuss possible responses/answers together and type it up using the iPad, working in a Google Drive app (usually Docs or Slides) and mirroring to a TV or projector using the Apple TV with students copying it for themselves.

Often I start off as the typist/editor but, as we warm to our task, I find students are keen to volunteer to ‘drive’ the iPad. This is easily done by passing around the iPad. The other advantage is that the work is saved in Google Drive for students who may need to catch up or for future reference.

4. “Save to Google Drive” Chrome extension

This handy free Chrome extension allows you to save just about anything you have open in your Chrome browser to your Google Drive. It’s a great way to quickly and instantly save resources you have found, including PDFs, into your Google Drive. Once installed, you just click on the “Save to Google Drive” icon to save. Once saved to Google Drive, you can easily find the file, rename it, organise it, etc.

This has mixed reviews from users. Personally, I have found it reliable and easy to use. The trick for me is organising my files (especially renaming to something relevant) as I save then to Drive.

Download the “Save to Google Drive” Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store using this link:

http://bit.ly/save2driveext

What are your Google Apps for Education essentials? Why not share in the comments!

4 Google Apps tools to blend your classroom today!

Blended learning is not a new concept. It’s been around for a while. Better and more affordable softwar Easy blended learning with Google Apps e solutions and improved internet access means more educational institutions are implementing blended learning solutions. Blended and elearning isn’t ‘good’ just because it is digital; it needs to meet student needs and learning goals.

Even on a budget and with limited resources, any educator can look at implementing some level of blended learning. Blended learning can help create a more individualised and flexible learning environment. Free Google Apps put blended learning solutions within everyone’s reach, whether or not you’re in a Google Apps for Education (GaFE) school. And you don’t need to be an IT expert to use them. You also don’t need to have the latest and greatest hardware and operating systems to use Google Apps.

Here I’ve collected four Google Apps that are easy for beginners to start using as part of a blended learn environment. I’ve included some ideas on how you can use them and links to resources to get you started.

But before that, maybe we should talk about…..

…what is blended learning, anyway?

1. Google Classroom

Only available as part of Google Apps for Education
Available on iOS, Android, Chromebook and full Chrome browser (Windows, Linux, Mac)

Okay, this one might be a no-brainer but no discussion about Google Apps and blended learning would be complete without including Google Classroom.

Google Classroom is described as:

…a free web-based platform…[that] makes it easy to create classes, distribute assignments, communicate, and stay organized. Teachers can quickly see who has or hasn’t completed the work, and provide direct, real-time feedback and grades right in Classroom.

https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020279?hl=en

Google Classroom is a very strong ally in creating a blended learning environment. As well as distributing, monitoring and marking assignments, you can share resources, post a quick question to the class and view results (great for checking understanding), and create and monitor discussions. The great thing is it allows you to share any clarifying questions or comments with the whole classroom.

Once you understand the basics, Google Classroom can be a useful tool to help you implement and manage differentiation.

It is very easy to create your first class and assignment and to have students join, especially if you have your class setup in Google Groups.

Look at the post Google Classroom Goodies for more on using Google Classroom – from the basics to pro tips.

How to access Google Classroom

Log into your GAfE account.

Go to the following website:

http://classroom.google.com

2. Google Sites

Available free with any Google account, including Google Apps for Education
Editing functionality best with full Chrome browser (Windows, Linux, Mac)
View Google Sites on any device using Chrome Browser

As great as Google Classroom is, if you try and cram too much content in, it can become cluttered and unwieldy. If you want to share content, Google Sites is a great way to do it. It is easy to create a simple site even if you’ve never created a website before.

Google Sites is described as:

… a structured wiki- and Web page-creation tool… People can work together on a Site to add file attachments, information from other Google applications.

It is a great way to keep all relevant content related to a class in one place and makes it easy for students to stay up-to-date. You can easily organise different topics or modules into different ‘levels’ on your Google Site and develop it as you go. It also allows students to work at their own pace, provides opportunities for you as the teacher to include formative assessments and to easily make available extension tasks for students who need to be challenged.

As well as embedding other Google apps and YouTube videos, you can also embed other media into your Google Sites. I often include Prezis and Zaption videos, allowing me to use and curate existing content rather than having to create everything from scratch. You can also include the Google Classroom calendar on the site to help students keep track of due dates or a quiz using Google Forms.

Google Sites are also a great way for students to present evidence of learning and portfolios of work. Just like Google Drive apps, Google Sites can be collaborative.

And you don’t have to know anything about web design to use Google Sites. Try the Beginner’s guide to creating a site if you’d like some direction.

Not sure where to start? Create a page with a YouTube video and a Google Form with a few questions to check for understanding. Instant (well nearly) online mini-class!

Web design purists like to criticise the limitations and quirks of Google Sites but I have found no quicker or easier way to create websites as I need them.

How to access Google Sites

Go to the following website:

http://sites.google.com

3. Google Slides

Available free with any Google account, including Google Apps for Education
Editing functionality best with full Chrome browser (Windows, Linux, Mac)
Apps with fewer features available for iOS and Android

Ahhhh, Google Slides. One of my (almost) daily go-tos. So versatile, so easy to use and a great way to introduce blended learning practices.

Google describes Google Slides as:

… an online presentations app that allows you to show off your work in a visual way.

Google Slides can be used as part of a blended learning solution in several ways:

Create and develop attractive ebooks to share information
Develop mini-lessons to help students with essential knowledge, incorporating a student activity
As part of a Google Hangout
As evidence of student learning

Google Slides can be embedded into a website or blog (like the one above in this post). They are easy to use and easily allow the insertion of links, videos, diagrams, etc.

Google Slides is part of the Google Drive suite.

4. Google Forms

Available free with any Google account, including Google Apps for Education
Editing functionality best with full Chrome browser (Windows, Linux, Mac)
View Google Forms on any device using Chrome Browser

Google Forms offer a lot of possibilities, from the basic to the complex. The great thing is you don’t have to be a guru to get started with Google Forms which is the reason I selected it as part of my easy-to-use blended tools list.

According to Google:

You can plan events, make a survey or poll, give students a quiz, or collect other information in an easy, streamlined way with Google Forms. You can create a form from Google Drive or from an existing spreadsheet that can record the responses to your form.

Google Forms is so easy to use that you could set up your first short quiz in 5 minutes even if you’ve never used Google Forms before. Your students answer the questions and these are saved in a Google Sheet for you to review the answers. If you are part of a GAfE school, you’ll now exactly who has (and hasn’t!) taken the quiz.

Take it to the next level and add images and YouTube videos and have students answer questions based on those.

You can even create self-grading quizzes with a free add-on called Flubaroo. Another use for Google Forms is creating branched learning scenarios where students are directed to, for example, a video or link depending on their quiz responses.

However you choose to use Google Forms, part of its power is that you can quickly and easily check student understanding, apply any required intervention and keep track of progress and student development.

Of course, this would be part of a wider blended learning and assessment process.

Google Forms is part of the Google Drive suite.

So what are you waiting for? There’s no excuse to not start blending today!

6 tips for creating student made ebooks in Google Apps

I have long been a fan of the ebook and have often created and distributed them to support my training and teaching activities. I have also at different times published and sold ebooks (look me up on the iBooks store!). Google Apps for Education makes it easy for both students and teachers to create attractive ebooks that can be shared in a number of formats.

Here are 6 tips to help you (or your class) create your first ebook using Google Apps for Education. These techniques are just as useful to anyone looking to self-publish an ebook, including general users of the free Google Drive and Google Apps for Work users.

1. Why create ebooks, anyway?

Ebooks can fulfil a number of purposes including:

Creating an eportfolio of a student’s work (or a number of students’ work).
Using students to ‘crowd source’ the creation of resources and text books, created for the target audience by the target audience.
Can be used by students of all ability levels.
Developing relevant 21st century skills.
Easily show evidence of learning to a wide audience (including parents) in an environmentally friendly way.
Create your own text books and resources that you can easily update and distribute.

2. What app should I use?

The app that will provide you with maximum flexibility in terms of presentation and layout is Google Slides, particularly if you are combining text and images.

This is not the perfect book publishing solution but allows for a lot of flexibility and creativity without a steep learning curve.

3. What size should my ebook be?

There is no ‘standard’ ebook size. It’s probably a good idea, though, to set-up the pages in portrait orientation and in you standard printer size, i.e., A4 or Letter depending on what part of the world you are in.

[table id=1 /]

Here is a short tutorial showing you how to change the page size in Google Slides.

4. How can I make sure my ebook looks good?

Do your homework. Investigate websites, books, ebooks, posters, etc, that you like the look of and use them as inspiration for your style, fonts and layouts.

There are also lots of online tools to help you select colour schemes that look good together and even give you the hexadecimal colour code to be able to put in your colour choosers in Google Slides.

Whilst you can have multiple page layouts within your ebook (for example, 1 large picture, 1 large column text, 2 smaller pictures with 2 even columns of text, 1 smaller picture with 2 uneven columns of text, etc) use the same basic elements throughout:

1 font style for page headings
1 font style for subheadings
1 font style for your body text
3 to 5 colours for your colour scheme
Make sure your inside covers are blank and you have the ‘half page title‘ to make your book look authentic.

Below is a video on how to easily create page layouts for your ebook in Google Slides (note: all images used are either my own photos or public domain imaged from Pixabay):

5. What platform should I use to create my ebook?

Although you can create your ebook on mobile versions of Google Slides (e.g., iPads or Android tablets) you will get the most flexibility and creativity using the full version through Google Chrome (e.g., Windows, Linux, Mac and Chromebook).

That doesn’t mean you can’t ‘mix and match’ devices. For example, do most of your editing using a Windows computer but use the iPad version to take photos and add them straight into the pages of your ebook.

Click here to access a free ebook template I created in Google Slides. To use it, from the FILE menu select MAKE A COPY...

6. In what format should I distribute my ebook?

The great thing is, you don’t have to stick to just one format!

Share the actual Google Slides file (view only)
Embed the Google Slides file into a website or blog (File > Publish to the web… > Embed)
Save the file as a PDF to easily view on most devices and platforms (File > Download as > PDF document)

PDF results in the most attractive ebook (I don’t know why, try it for yourself and see!) and, depending on the size, can be emailed or made available to download from a website or blog.

More resources

Student-Made E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning:

http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/student-e-books/

How to Create an Ebook with Google Slides:

http://www.shakeuplearning.com/blog/how-to-create-an-ebook-with-google-slides/

Free, high quality public domain images:

https://pixabay.com/

5 tips for using Google+ Collections at school

Google+ Collections was added to the Google Apps family in May last year. Google+ Collections is a bit like Pinterest, and allows you to group posts together and share them publicly, with your circles, particular users, only yourself or, if you are using Google Apps for Education (GAfE) of Google
Apps for Business, just within your domain. As well as the browser based version, you can access Google+ Collections on your Android and iOS devices using the Google+ app.

I’ve kind of played around with it but this school year I plan to use it as an integral tool in my Community and Family Studies (CaFS) class. I’ve already started setting up boards for some topic areas and am planning how I will have students collaborate and contribute using Google+ Collections.

Here is an introductory tutorial on using Google+ Collections:

And now for some tips on using Google+ Collections within an educational environment.

1. Google+ Collections is only for ages 13+

Because it is part of the Google+ suite of products, the Google terms of service means it can only be used by students 13 years and over (unlike many of the other GAfE apps used by schools). Also, Google+ might not automatically be enabled within your GAfE environment – check with your administrator if you are not sure.

2. Think about privacy settings when you are creating Collections

Note: you cannot change the privacy settings once you create a Collection.

Be very cautious when setting privacy to ‘Public’. For example, would it be appropriate for the content to be published in the local paper? If the answer is ‘No’, think about setting the privacy to within the domain or to a particular group of users only.

Also, it’s a great opportunity to teach students about digital citizenship and responsible online behaviour by assisting them with the appropriate privacy levels.

3. Encourage communication using the comments feature

Users with access to a collection can add and respond to comments. This is a great way to encourage a dialogue about a particular topic or issue. For many students, it will have a bit of a ‘Facebook’ feel which would be familiar.

For example, in my CaFS Collection, I have added a link to the article You told us what it’s like being 15 in 2015. I love the black and white image with the article that now appears in the collection. I will ask students to discuss what they feel is similar and different in their experiences and why they think this is.

4. Using Collections as a research tool

When conducting research, students can use a private or shared collection to ‘park’ links of interest for a project. They could also reflect on the quality of the sources curated using comments and share the Collection with the teacher. Or, the assessment of the quality of sources could be crowd-sourced, with other students being able to provide comments.

5. Encourage small group collaboration

Currently, you cannot have multiple contributors to a collection the way you can in Pinterest. However, students can still collaborate on a Collection in small groups by working together on the same computer, iPad or Android tablet. One student account would need to be the owner of the Collection but other contributors could be acknowledged in the Collection tagline or even in a post in the collection (selfie time!)

Interested in exploring Collections? Here is a link to a Google Drawing template I created that you can use to create size optimised Google+ Collection covers:

https://drive.google.com/previewtemplate?id=17_WBfHZqvOkH9q2lurfN5vbAvzJp7yPkZFK4l1J5RrQ&mode=public

More Google Apps magic on more platforms

As the Google Drive and Google Apps for Education (GAfE) suites have matured, so have the available compatible apps across mobile platforms. This means you can do more on-the-go and using whatever device available than ever before. It also puts the power of GAfE in the hands of more people as they can be accessed on devices across many price points. And, of course, the apps are free.

It is important to note that not all ‘smart’ devices can access Google Apps effectively – read the post Does Google Apps for Education play nice with BYOD? for more on this. It also has ideas on how to breathe new life into old technology.

Also, the mobile apps tend not to have all the features of the browser based versions; this can be an advantage. Fewer features can sometimes mean greater productivity, particularly for people distracted by ‘bells and whistles’ like hundreds of fonts (yep, that’s me!). You can potentially use the desktop versions through the Chrome mobile browser but I have personally found this to be a frustrating experience.

Sometimes, the mobile versions liberate you to do things that are difficult on a desktop or laptop. Have a look at the post Create a comic in 3 minutes or less with Google Slides (with bonus puppies!) for one idea using Slides on an iPad.

Below is a quick reference table for many Google Apps across devices. It has already changed from when I first put it together as the mobile apps have improved. Some of the mobile apps are closer to their browser based counterparts than others. You will need to do more research to find out specifically what won’t work on the mobile apps. (I tried to find the definitive Google list but I was unable to).

The great thing is most apps retain their collaborative and commenting ability.