Some ideas for Course Management Systems and Apps

There are a lot of course management tools available for educators, including Blackboard and PowerSchool, that allow educators to do attendance, grading, post and organize resources and lessons, and interact with students. Many of them cost money. Moodle is free, but you have to pay to host it somewhere, or host it yourself. There are some great, free alternatives available. Here's a list, in no particular order.



Google Classroom - web based, integrated with Google Apps, easy to use. Post announcements and assignments - students turn assignments in electronically, and then you can return them with a grade and comments. If you are a GAFE school, this is a great option.




Schoology -Schoology is a free course management system for educators that allows them to manage their lessons, post resources and assignments, create quizzes, link to additional resources, conduct online courses, provide one-on-one help sessions and host discussions.




Edmodo - Edmodo is a tool that many teachers already use and more are discovering every day. Edmodo is a free social learning network for teachers, students and schools, providing a way to connect and collaborate, share content, access homework and grades, and much more.





My Big Campus -  My Big Campus allows schools and teachers to create a virtual classroom to use with their students. There is a resource library with videos, web sites, wiki’s and more. You can create groups and blogs and use the messaging system. Teachers can create a classroom calendar and even create, assign, and grade student assignments. The teacher can keep up with what the students are doing through the notification system too. Teachers can upload files to share with their students.





Coursekit - Coursekit combines a variety of tools for educators to use for extending their classroom or even creating an online course. Discussion groups, assignments with grading, resource sharing, a class calendar, and a community forum are just some of the tools available. Educators can post links, videos, and other files, hold online discussions, and even write a blog post.
UPDATE: It has changed names to Lore http://lore.com/



 
You can also use Blogs, Web sites, and Wiki's to organize and share lesson materials, have discussions, and create assignments. My district uses PowerSchool for attendance and gradebook, but I have used classroom blogs, a class website, and Google resources to share resources, post information, and communicate with my students.
Here is my old classroom site and Physics blog as an example:
https://sites.google.com/site/dandradeedusite/Home
http://mrandradesphysics.blogspot.com/



I also know some teachers who use Google+ as their CMS using Circles and posting resources and announcements there and most teachers are now using Google Drive in some way to host files and share them. Evernote can also be used - share notes with students and they can share notes back to you.


What course management system do you use? Why do you like/dislike it? What would be your perfect course management system?



Related:
My most used/favorite Apps and how I use them

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The Importance of Communication in Education

Communication is paramount in education. Whether it is teacher to student, student to student, teacher to teacher, teacher to parent, teacher to admin or admin to parent, or vice versa, communication is needed to make sure our students are successful.

Communication is something that doesn't always happen. Sometimes is a lack of time, a lack of resources, a lack of knowing how to get the point across or a language barrier.

Technology can help improve communication in education:

Email - connect with staff, teachers, students and parents through email.

Websites - post relevant information and resources on district, school, and classroom websites. Include a parent section.

Google Classroom, Edmodo, etc - use these systems to share assignments and announcements with students and parents.

Phone blasts - there are a lot of automated systems that will robo-call phone numbers with information.

Social Media - use social media at all levels to connect and communicate with teachers, parents, students and the community.

Translation tools - Google Translate and other translation tools can help ELL parents and students access the communication that you share with them. This exists for websites, email, social media and even the phone blast systems. This is huge in our district where there is a large ELL student population and even larger ESL parent population.

Variety of media - technology allows you to provide communications in a variety of formats - written, images, audio, and even video to help everyone access and understand the communications.

Reaching students who are absent - online resources, video recordings of classes, video conferencing, and more can make home or hospital bound students part of the class and keep them engaged. In addition, these resources can help connect parents and schools.

Technology can also help educators research topics, find resources, and connect with other educators to learn and share from each other.


Related:

Helping Educators Get Started with Educational Technology

The How's, Why's and Value of Educational Technology

Parental Involvement is major factor in student success - how do we increase it?


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My most used/favorite Apps and how I use them

I have a few apps and resources that I use on a daily basis. I thought this might be a nice way to end the year.

Here they are and how I use them:


Email - I use Google's Inbox for most email, and Outlook at work. In Outlook, the Evernote Clipper is my main tool to get things out of Outlook and into Evernote where I can use it. I love Inbox for email as I can create reminders, add reminders to emails, more easily categorize and organize them.

Evernote - I use this for everything. Here are some examples:
 http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2014/12/examples-of-using-evernote-as-teacher.html

Google Apps, especially Drive, Classroom, Chrome browser, Calendar, Blogger, and Sites - use Drive for all of my files that I use with classes and all of my legacy files (most new things are in Evernote). Classroom for assignments and communicating with students, Calendar for organizing, Blogger for this blog, Sites for technology resource sites and classroom sites.



Social Media - Google+, Twitter, and Facebook - Google+ is my go to for education and technology resources, connections and sharing. I love that you can have longer posts and discussions than on Twitter. I also use Twitter for education and technology resource finding. Facebook is just for personal connections.
Google+ is a thriving community and I find some great discussions and resources on it.


Feedly - I subscribe to a lot of sites and blogs and use Feedly to organize and read them, as well as easily share them to Google+, Twitter and even Evernote. This is where I find a lot of resources for use in my job, life and for this blog.



Pocket - I use this to save articles and blog posts for later reading/action, including reading them offline later.



Tech & Learning - great resource for educators and administrators on educational technology. I go subscribe to the site and blogs and magazine.



Hardware- HTC One Android Smartphone, Nexus 7 tablet, Chromebook
-- access every app and piece of data on any of my devices, anywhere.
My smartphone comes with me everywhere. I use my tablet for browsing social media and watching Netflix and my Chromebook is my main work horse.




Related:


My Favorite Resources for Teachers and Students

Technology I'm using daily as a School District CIO

Technology I use on a Daily Basis - updated for 2011

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Examples of using Evernote as: teacher, student, admin

Evernote, my main resource, is a very useful app. Many people want to learn to use it, but aren't sure where to start. So, here are some resources and examples of how to use it.

Evernote allows you to create notebooks, notes, stacks of notebooks, attach any kind of file to a note, link notes to each other, create lists and more. It is a very powerful tool and lets you really organize things. For example, in one note, you may have a person's name as someone that is a resource. Their name can actually be a link to their contact note (which can be manually created, a scan of their business card, and even connected to their LinkedIn profile).

Evernote for Education Resources - links, tips, articles, how-to's, best practices, and more


Example setup of Evernote as a teacher:

Notebooks and stacks for Curriculum Units
The main notebook for the Unit Plan has note links to each lesson plan note
Other notebooks have lesson plans for each part of unit and are linked back into the United plan.
Each notebook for a lesson plan has the lesson plan, links, file attachments and even links to other notes in Evernote.  This means all of your resources for a class are in one place.
Notebooks for each classroom to collect and share resources with students
Meeting notes
Parent contact logs
Reference materials
Teacher evaluation resources
Contacts
To Do List
Lesson Schedule - weekly schedule of what is being done in each class, with a note link to the lesson plan note in Evernote.

Example setup of Evernote as a student:
Notebooks for each class, with notes like written notes
assignments
attachments
to do list
resources




Example setup of Evernote as a Administrator:
To Do list
Contacts
Teacher Evaluation Resources and notes
Meeting notes
Parent contact log
discipline logs
project planning
research materials



I also use it as a consultant and for my private life and have notebooks like these:

Blogging:
Blog post ideas and links
Blog notes
Blog awards and shares

Consultant
Contacts
Clients - contacts, notes, contact logs, project lists,
Project Management - task lists, schedules, project notes, meeting notes, vendor and client information, attachments, resources

Personal
Contacts
Task List
Travel - packing lists, schedules, tickets
Recipes
Receipts
Financial Records
Digitized versions of important paperwork
Baby reference
Digital Baby Book
To Get, Wish Lists
Property Lists (what is at home - for insurance purposes)
Fun stuff to do
References and Resources

Two services to Backup your cloud files and data, in the cloud

Many people want to go completely with cloud services, but many, like me, like having a backup of our cloud data somewhere besides that service. I keep backup's of my Google and Evernote data on my home laptop, which also gets saved on my archive hard drive.

But what if you don't want to use any sort of backup/download on your own devices? What if you are going completely Chromebook?

Here are two of the services that are out there:




1. Backupify: automatically performs scheduled backups of 10 different online services, including Google Apps, Wordpress, Facebook, Flickr, and more. They offer Twitter backups for free and three additional premium plans that range from $3.95 to $14.95 per month, depending on how much storage you need. Backupify also encrypts data, gives you version history, cloud based restore, and two-factor authentication. They seem more geared towards the enterprise vs. individual users. 

2. Revert.io. It automatically backs up your Evernote, Tumbler, MailChimp and ConstantContact data in the free version and keeps the data for 30 days. If you upgrade to the paid version ($9.99 per month) that will keep your data longer and also add Dropbox, Highrish and Pipeline. Google Drive backup is coming soon. There is also a "Team" version coming in 2015 for groups and organizations, like schools.


My district uses Backupify to back up all 26,000 Google Apps accounts and data. It has come in handy for restoring user files that they deleted, then realized they needed back later. It's also very easy to use and set up.

Backing up your data and files is very important. Make sure you have a plan.

Intel releases App to easily transfer contacts, photos and files to Chromebooks

Chromebooks are extremely popular devices, especially in education. Many use ARM processors but more and more are using Intel processors, increasing their computing power (Acer's C720 was the first Intel powered Chromebook).

Intel's new "Easy Migration" app lets users easily transfer files from their Android, iOS, and Windows machines over to an Intel-powered Chromebook. This information goes to your Google Drive account associated with the account you are logged into the Chromebook on. Photos go to Google+ Photos, contacts go to Google Contacts and the rest of the data goes to Google Drive.

This is a nice tool for users to migrate their data to their Google account, and therefore Chromebook. Especially useful for schools going from one system to Chromebooks.

It is a one time sync and does not modify anything on your phone or PC.

You can read more at the source link below.

Source: Intel

Google Classroom Student Quick Guide

Alice Keeler's blog has been a great find for me as she posts a lot of items about Google apps, especially Google Classroom. You should definitely check out her blog.

She created a great Student Quick Guide for Google Classroom. Go here to view it: http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2014/12/01/google-classroom-student-quick-sheet-guide/

Excellent infographic of Google tools and uses

I found this excellent infographic of Google Tools and Uses for them in education on the Daily Genius site.

It's a nice summary of the different Google Tools that are out there and how to use them in education.

You can find out more about Google for Education here.



Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

EdTechGuy - The Most Read Posts this Week

Happy Holidays - Christmas is a few days away and we are off to see Santa today with my daughter. Above is her picture with Santa last year and a family photo at Christmas.

Hopefully everyone gets a chance to relax, recharge and spend some time with family and friends this season.

Here are the most read posts for the week:


10 Great, Free Apps for Students for Notetaking and Class Planning

Fur.ly - URL shortener for multiple URLs

Chromebooks - definitely awesome for education

Free alternatives to Microsoft Access, including a web based one

Some Great Chrome Apps for Chromebook Classrooms

Google Translate adds 10 more languages.

The Periodic Table of the Figures of Speech: 40 Ways to Improve Your Writing

More Great Uses for Binder Clips

Illustrate - Word Quiz - free English quiz app on iOS and Android

Google URL Shortener - lots of great features

Google Updates and Improves its Learning Center for Teacher Training

Google has updated and improved its Learning Center for Teacher Training with new use cases and best practices, making it even more useful and easier to learn about Google apps.

The site has some great resources and training for:

• Android Tablets for Education
• Calendar
• Chrome
• Chromebooks
• Classroom
• Digital Citizenship
• Docs Suite
• Docs
• Drawings
• Drive
• Forms
• Gmail
• Google Maps
• Google Play for Education
• Implementing Google Apps
• Search
• Sheets
• Sites
• Slides
• YouTube

Each topic has an introduction, basics, and advanced sections depending on your level of experience with that app.

There are lessons, case studies, examples and best practices, and ways to connect with other educators.

It is an excellent resource for all educators

Google Inbox - a replacement for your email with some new features

Google's Inbox is there new email client that has a different layout and different ways to handle emails. I've been using it for a while now and love it.

Your emails are bundled by category (Promos, Purchases, Social Media, Travel and others) to keep them organized, you see each email at a glance in the main page, you can snooze an email (reminder for later) and pin emails to make sure they stay put if they are important. In addition, you can mark emails as "Done" which moves them into a different folder, but doesn't delete them, so you can still search for them. 

You can even set reminders for tasks at the top of the inbox - no more separate task list (this is new). There are also "assists" that help you remember what you need to do with that task and gather information related to the task (like your confirmation email, person's phone number, etc.) You can read more about these new features here: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/assists-in-inbox-extra-helping-hand-for.html

These features are great for educators too - sort emails easier, snooze an email to work on later, set reminders, and more. 

You can read more about it and request an invite here: http://www.google.com/inbox/

Aviary Photo Editor Acquired by Adobe

Aviary, the popular web based (and mobile app) photo and imaging editor has been acquired by Adobe.

Aviary's site has the announcement front and center and there is a full press release from Adobe.

I've used Aviary for years and loved it, especially for capturing images online and editing them for use in this blog.

The press release from Adobe says that they acquired Aviary to help them "Accelerates Delivery of Mobile Apps that Integrate with Adobe Creative Cloud". They also state that "This is great news for developers because thousands of mobile apps will have the opportunity to become compatible with industry-defining desktop tools like Photoshop CC, as well as new Creative Cloud services."

There is no information on what will happen with the current portfolio of free Aviary apps. Hopefully, they will stay free and just get better.

Analog (ie paper) resources that work with digital

Not everyone likes to, feel comfortable, or can go completely paperless. Some like the feel of paper. Sometimes it's easier to take notes on paper. Sometimes, digital equipment isn't allowed in an area. Whatever the reason, there are some great paper-based resources that work with digital.

I often share tips and resources for getting organized and have shared some paper-based solutions in the past.

Here are some tips/resources that are paper based or similar:


1. plain old paper - yup, plain old paper is still around. You can easily take notes, sketches and more with any notepad and pen or pencil. Want or need it digital? Just take a photo of it with your smartphone or scan it. You can also use paper based organizers and do the same thing.




2. Moleskin Notebooks - these are specially made to work with Evernote and your smartphone camera. Write in the notebooks and then take a photo of it with the Evernote app and your notes are now in Evernote. You can make them private, share, tag and more with them.




3. Livescribe Pen - write with the special pen on the special paper and capture your notes digitally. The WiFi version automatically syncs over WiFi. I love mine and sync it to my Evernote account. No WiFi where you are? No worries, the data is stored in the pen and can be synced to your computer later. This is a great compromise for using paper while saving the info digitally. You can also record audio with it.


4. Boogie Board - the Boogie Board is an electronic pad that allows you to write on it with a stylus and then erase it. There are also models that let you store what you write and sync it to your computer. I use the basic model for quick notes at home and the Sync model for notes at my desk (instead of using post-its). I can then save the notes if I want by syncing it to my computer (and my Evernote account) or via Bluetooth to my smartphone. Nice for quick notes and meetings.


There are a variety of ways to capture information - use what works for you.



Related:

Tips and Resources for Getting Organized

Getting Students and Teachers Organized - includes some tips for paper based systems

Evernote for Education Resources

A great comparison of Chromebooks vs Windows

I'm a huge believer and user of Chromebooks in education. Even with the huge popularity of Chromebooks, there are still a lot of people who don't understand them or think that they can't do a lot of things.

I found a great article that compares Chromebooks vs Windows, explores the claims and misconceptions and is a great resource for anyone thinking about Chromebooks. Many people don't realize how powerful Chromebooks are and how much they can really do.

Microsoft has a bunch of cheap laptops coming out from different manufacturers (around $200) to compete with Chromebooks. People may be swayed to buy them - I recommend against it. They are underpowered and will not perform well.

Chromebooks vs. Windows - The Real Story
The article is setup with a nice column structure and explains each point. I highly recommend taking a look at this.

Related:

Chromebooks - definitely awesome for education

Google Apps and Chromebooks resources for Education

Prezi - the zooming presentation tool - gets mobile presenting features

Prezi is a very cool presentation tool that allows you to create zooming presentations with images, text, video and animations. It has a thriving educational community and is easy to use.

Prezi has just announced Mobile Presenting. With this, you can deliver and watch the presentations in real time. It is currently only available on iOS and web (ie laptops), but I'd imagine the feature will come to Android soon.

Your audience (students) can follow along on their own device and stay in sync with where you are in the presentation. You can share with up to 30 people at a time and it is as simple as selecting "present remotely" and sharing the link it generates.

I use Prezi for certain presentations. I like it because I can be more creative than with PowerPoint or Google Slides for some things.

Acer has some new Chromebooks coming

According to this article, Acer has some nice new Chromebooks coming in early 2015. My district has around 6,000 Acer C720 Chromebooks and they are great - fast, powerful, relatively sturdy and a great price. These new ones sound even better. I'm a huge believer of Chromebooks as an technology tool that works great in schools.

The first one is the Acer C740 which is supposedly going to be a rugged Chromebook with Intel's 5th gen Broadwell processor with a starting price of $259 for 2GB RAM/16GB SSD and $279 for the 4GB RAM/16GB SSD. I recommend 4 GB of RAM. The rugged features are a huge plus for education. There will also be a 32 GB SSD option, it will have AC WiFi and Bluetooth 4, USB 3 an SD Card Reader and HDMI out wiht a 8.5 hour battery life.

In addition, the article states that Acer will introduce a 15.6 inch Chromebook with the same specs as the C740. This is great for those wanting a larger screen.

Both are great news for the education market. Keep and eye out for more information on these and other new Chromebooks.

Some Great Chrome Apps for Chromebook Classrooms

Holly Clark has a great article with some great apps for Chromebook classrooms. It has an interactive image of the apps. As you hover over the app icon, it gives short description. Click on it and it takes you to the Google Play page so you can install it.

There are some great apps here. Take a look and see what might be useful for you and your students.

There are also some other great resources on her site.

Related:

Google Apps for Education Resources