Skype, Blogging and Beyond: The Many Uses of Google!

1. Welcome to Skype, Blogging and Beyond: Day 2!Please sign in at the desk when you first walk in.Help yourself to some more Twizzlers!  We will be getting started momentarily. While you wait, feel free to login to wordpress or edublogs to work on your blog from last week.

2. Skype, Blogging and Beyond: The Many Uses of Google! Day 2: March 1, 2012

3. Google Accounts In order to work on today’s technology, you will need a Google account. A Google account is very easy to get. It’s free and you actually already have one through Howell! Being signed into your Google account on any browser, or through Chrome, makes it easy to customize your internet experience.

4. Google Documents Google documents provide Google users with a way to access documents. It is free, easy to use, and easy to share. Google Docs are saved in the CLOUD- never need to be backed up/saved. You could use Google Docs to share assignments with your class, or to create a database of lessons/activities that can be accessed any time, anywhere, and on any computer/mobile device. Google Docs contains Word Processing, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Form-making, Drawing, or Graph making software.

5. Google Chrome • Google Chrome is a web browser that is easy for students and teachers to use. • Chrome makes it easy to research several topics at the same time. • No search engine is necessary- type right into the top of the screen! • Search within a search • Saves your favorite/most visited pages • Synchronizes browser from one computer to the other • Synchronizes with Android phones • Pages load more quickly than other browsers

6. Chrome Apps Web-based applications are programs that are designed to be used entirely within the browser. Using apps, you can do things like create documents, edit photos, and listen to music, without having to install complicated software. These days, websites are capable of dynamic functionality that you expect from desktop applications on your computer. We call these robust sites web apps, or "apps" for short. If you use services like Gmail or Google Maps, you're already using apps! Apps have the following advantages over desktop applications: Apps install in seconds, with one click of a button. You don’t even have to restart your browser or computer. Your apps are always available. No matter what computer you’re using, you can always access your apps. Apps are always up-to-date. Because apps are hosted on the web where they can be instantly updated, you can be sure you're always using the latest version of the app that's available. Apps won’t crash your computer. If one app misbehaves, just close its tab in the browser. Your browser and computer won’t be affected.

7. Chrome Apps Some apps are hosted online like regular websites. Therefore, some app icons on your New Tab page may simply take you to their corresponding websites (e.g. see the Gmail app). Other apps are websites that have been specifically developed for use within Google Chrome and may contain features that are not found on their regular websites (e.g. see The New York Times app). Last but not least, some apps rely on certain Google Chrome features and therefore can only be used within Google Chrome (e.g. see the Scratchpad app).

8. Google Time! • We will be taking this time to set up a Google account, either through the school email or create our own. • You may want to create two accounts; one for you personally, and one for a “class account.” • You can get a Google account by going to www.gmail.com and clicking on “get gmail.” • OPTIONS: • 1.) Use your howell email as a login, and abc123$$ as a password. • 2.) Create your own username and password. • 3.) Create a generic username and password your class can access.

9. Google Time! Once you are signed into Google, you can now start customizing Chrome. Open a new tab to access the Chrome App Store. Search by category or keyword. Install any apps you find interesting. You can always delete/organize them later. If you find any awesome apps, feel free to share! When you get back to school (or home), install Chrome and login with this Google account. All information will be saved.

10. Skype, Blogging and Beyond: Video Chat in the Classroom Day 2: March 1, 2012

11. Video Chat Applications • Language Exchange: Chat with others in their native language • Distance Learning: Students who are sick/absent for long periods of time can be taught virtually • Cultural Exchange: Regions, countries, history (Revolutionary war from British/American persepctives?) • Connect with Experts • Virtual field trips • http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/2008/12/podcast-163-using-google-video-chat-to.html • Collaborative Learning (projects)

12. Video Chat Platforms • Google • Linked to gmail • Available on mobile • Users must both have gmail account • Skype • Free video chat • More popular application; must be downloaded • Available on mobile • Adobe Chat

13. Connecting • Use your new Gmail address to find a teacher, class, author or place to connect with via video conferencing. • http://education.skype.com/ • First, you must sign up for skype. When you go to this page, you will automatically be asked to do so. Registration is quick and easy. You can also use your new Gmail address for this!  • Next, you will be prompted to create a profile for Skype Education. This is the easiest and most widespread way to communicate with other classes via Skype. • Once you’re logged in, you can search specific teachers (by country, language, or keyword) or projects. Try a keyword if you want to find someone with a specific interest.

14. Other Resources • http://skypeinschools.pbworks.com/w/page/11008318/FrontPage • Search by state, topic, or “guest speaker” • Authors who Skype via “book club”- School Library Journal • 20 authors who Skype for free (20 minute book talks) • http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/ • Authors can be searched by last name; requires some research (unknown authors; most have web sites) • Visit our class website, ceucutillo.wordpress.com, to be directly linked to all Skype-related sites.

15. Skype, Blogging and Beyond: TED.com Day 2: March 1, 2012

16. Intro to TED • Tying your shoes? • Technology, Entertainment, Design • Specialists passionate about research area

17. What is TED? • TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

18. From TED.com • On TED.com, we make the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 900 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. All of the talks are subtitled in English, and many are subtitled in various languages. These videos are released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license, so they can be freely shared and reposted. 

19. Continued… • We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it. Have an idea? We want to hear from you. • The springtime TED Conference is held annually in Long Beach and simulcast in Palm Springs. More than a thousand people attend, and the breadth of content includes science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter presentations, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn't work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole

20. TED Resources • Intro Slideshow (linked on blog) • List of previewed/4th-8th grade talks • Classroom Application • ‘Student-Safe’ Talks- must be screened for appropriateness. • Vocabulary • Links to Curriculum: Health, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music • Students give their own “TED Talks”

21. Exploring TED • Visit http://www.TED.com • Search by keyword, or the type of talk decided by the site. • Preview a video (with headphones) that you think either you or a colleague could use in their classroom. • As you watch, record some vocabulary words you think the kids might be unfamiliar with. • Also look for potential discussion topics/curricular connections.