Google Forms Update!

FINALLY, you can customize your own Forms theme.  If you are like me, you are bored with the standard themes for Forms, well...Google is finally allowing you to customize your own theme.  Here's how it's done. In Forms, select the 'change theme' option and in the list of themes on the right of your screen go to the 'in this form' theme and select the customize option underneath.  Then, in the header image, select 'choose image...'  You can go the bottom of the insert image box and choose to upload, take from your albums, or select from your Google Drive.

Don't want to customize? You can select from Google's new list of 23 cool themes as well. Many of these new themes even contain gifs for those who want motion in their themes. Well, there it is guys.  Try it yourself and see how many cool forms you can create.

Best,
#mr.ford

SCRIPT ALERT!! formLimiter!

One of my favorite little scripts is formLimiter.  Have you ever given a Google Form quiz or test and ended up screaming at your students who refuse to turn in the damn thing at the end of class because they want more time? Have you ever sent a link of that Form to a student who missed the quiz/test and it takes them two weeks to a month before their responses end up in your spreadsheet because the student knew there would be no time limit to handing it in?  Have you ever used Flubaroo to batch grade an assignment only to have that one student tell you they just handed it in after you have already sent student scores back?  The reinforcement of deadlines in a Google Forms can be ever annoying. Well, with formLimiter, reinforcement of submission deadlines just got real.

Unlike most scripts, formLimiter is easy to set up for beginners in script using. It is pretty straight forward. After you install the script, select how you want to limit the responses to the form by time limit, total number of responese or spreadsheet cell value.   For me the time limit is most useful. I can select a date and time to set for deadline submission.  After set, the form will no longer accept submissions.  This is great mostly because it will train students to respect deadline submission time and allow the teacher to stay better organized.  You can even send a notification to editors when the time limit is reached.  For more on formLimiter or more scripts in Google Forms, check out http://cloudlab.newvisions.org/

Best,
#mrford#techsavvyteacher

Techsavvy Tips for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

There are literally hundreds of articles about BYOD in the classroom, so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and share my experiences with you. As a paperless educator, BYODs are the common core for my flipped ESL classrooms as they are already common use and practice in the business world both domestic and foreign.  Employees of big companies and adult learners carry their personal devices into the boardroom and the classroom.  BYODs were first shunned from big companies and businesses for the obvious lack of control and security issues, but as more and more companies are taking advantage of secured cloud storage; school systems public and private are beginning to accept the idea that students can be responsible for their own devices and conduct in the classroom. Though the most popular BYOD is the smart phone, laptops and even the handheld gaming console are also popular BYOD devices.

I first employed BYOD when I was expected to deliver quality ESL material to a large group of students with very little or no technology.  During my interview with my first ESL company, they boasted to me about their use of technology in their classrooms. They even showed me a room with a whiteboard and overhead projector; only to find out that was their ONLY room with a whiteboard and projector and you had to reserve the room a week in advance.  I also got tired of standing in long lines to use the crowded copy machine or have my printed documents disappear into thin air after I sent them to the printer.

Though I have successfully managed to flip my classroom by way of BYOD, it doesn't mean that I haven't been met with obstacles along the way.  I have been met with resistance by both administration and my own students when I first implemented using smart phones in class.  I had challenges trying to share information to all students with different devices.  Poor Internet connection always ruined my day. And you can only imagine how I felt when a student just forgot to bring their device to class.  

So if you are thinking about starting your own BYOD classroom, or already have started yours, here are a few tips I would like to share with you from my experience.

1. Slowly impliment BYOD into class. Sure, your excited  about BYOD, but not everyone else is. You'll be suprised to see how your  admin, co workers, and students will show resistance towards BYOD.   You'll definatly want to be ready to answer a bunch of questions and face criticisms. Your best bet is to create a policy for BYOD in your classroom, register your students for a Google account if they don't already have one, and create a classroom circle for your students in your Google Hangouts account for sharing.  
2. Create your own BYOD policy for your classroom. I'm very liberal with the use of BYOD in my classrooms, but establishing a policy for using BYOD, like a class syllabus, makes it clear and cut what is expected/tolerated of the students use of BYOD. If you don't already have one of your own, here is a link to a nice list of sample BYOD policies. 11 Sample Education BYOT Policies To Help You Create Your Own
3. Use cross platform sharing applications. Cross platforms are ideal for sharing links, documents, audios, videos, and messaging. Apps for phones like Viber, Tango and Whatsapp are popular with smart phones, but not compatible with many pads, notebooks, and laptops.  Your best bet is to utilize Google. Not only is its messaging system, "Hangouts" available on Apple and Android products, you do not require your student's personal phone number to register. You simply use their Gmail address.
4. Take advantage of cloud storage accounts. Once again, Google folks! Cloud storage systems like Google (Drive) and Dropbox allow your students to pull their work from any device and free themselves of hefty laptops and those easy to lose jump drives.  
5. Don't be afraid to use social media. Social media outlets like FB, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, and Glide are great tools for creative assignments and finding resources outside of the box. Use blogs as a place to display student writings.  Share or make YouTube videos to help students understand grammar points,  Have your students create a survey with their FB friends. Use Glide for a one-on-one video debate. Use Google Hangouts for a video conversation and then make it a YouTube video on your YouTube page. There are so many ways you can use Social Media in your BYOD classroom. Get creative. Here's a link to my current class blog via Blogger.  EF Atlanta B2.1
6. Be ready for things to go wrong. With technology, things WILL go wrong. Sometimes,  emails won't get delivered. Some devices just won't be compatible no matter what you do.  Internet connection will be slow. And yes, some of your students will spend more time on their own social media sites rather than their classwork. Be prepared by using alternative resources, and if worse comes to worse, there's nothing wrong with making paper copies of resources before class starts if you can foresee the problem ahead of time. 
7. Be consistent.  Start with one aspect of BYOD and stick with it.  The worst thing you can do to your class is start them out with the idea of BYOD and then two weeks later, bring them back to paper and pencil.  Pace yourself and stay consistent. You as the instructor are their key to success. No computer, smart phone, or Mobile device can replace the leadership of an instructor.

Best,

#mrford#techsavvyteacher

Top 10 uses for the smartphone in the ESL Classroom for an ESL Instructor

Top 10 uses for the smartphone in the ESL Classroom for an ESL Instructor

1. Dictionary/Thesaurus- This is so obvious, but necessary for anyone working with international students. Apps like Dictionary.com and Oxford Dictionary of English are among the most commonly used.
2. Attendance- Apps like Foursquare an even FB are awesome for check in.  My favorite app however is Eval Safety Attendance which creates a specific QR Code for each student as you scan their phone to take attendance.
3. Quizzes- Using Google Forms is a great way to deliver quizzes to your students on their devices. Use a script/extension like Flubaroo to grade them and email scores to students.
4. Platforms for sharing-Whatsapp, Viber, Line, and even FB Messenger. These platforms are a great way to share pages, videos, photos, documents, etc.
5. Video conferences-Google Hangouts can be installed on both Android and Apple devices and is the best video conference sharing app on the market. Have up to 10 people in one conference.
6. Paper scanner- This is great not only for scanning pages of school books with very limited supply, but I can't tell you how many times students have asked to use the facility scanning machines to send something to their embassy.
7. ESL Podcasts-Podcasts are a great way to help lower level learners increase their vocabulary and listening comprehension skills.
8. Gradebooks- Engrade is a great way to enter grades while you are on the go and not in front of a laptop or desktop. Other apps like QuickGrader are just as good.
9. Scorative- Socrative is a killer app that makes your classroom more interactive for learning.  Assign  your quizzes as a team race game and watch how students get excited as their team scores and their rockets move forward in a 'Space Race".
10. Note Card Maker- There are several versions of note card makers available on the Android and Apple market. Have your students make note cards of their vocabulary words to help them study for their tests. Just remember to have them put away their phones during a test to ensure no cheating.

Best,

#mrford#techsavvyteacher

Google Chromebook: Review

I bought my Acer Google Chromebook  C720 back in November 2013 from a Best Buy in Newnan, GA. My previous laptop, also an Acer, but was infected with a virus from a memory stick that was given to me by my job. After my employers refused to accept responsibility for infecting my laptop, I was in desperate need of a replacement at an affordable price.  As an educator who spends over 60% of his day inside Google, I figured that a Chromebook was the obvious choice for a renewal.  The price was also a great lure. A Google laptop for under $200 was flipping Awesome! Boasting features like; virus resistant security design, extremely light weight and to go size, instant on, web based applications and video conferencing, I was overwhelmed by the salesperson who seemed to be a bigger Google guru than me.  The personalization aspect became apparent as soon as I signed into Google and all my Google applications appeared at the bottom of my screen. Instant access to my files in Google Drive, my videos on YouTube, my Calendar and Gmail.  It seemed like Chromebook was perfect for me. But after a few months, I'm starting to think I should have done a little more research before I just dived on in. Here are my gripes;

• No VPG plug. This is a big time deal buster for me that I didn't notice before I purchased.  Not only are VPGs necessary for class presentations, but conference presentations as well. 

• No CD player. For me this is not a big deal, but for those big movie goers who have no idea that the same movies are available online and faster download speed, this is more annoying than a car alarm that refuses to stop blaring off.

• Can't install Windows. Since there is no CD player, of course installing programs is impossible.  Personally, I am not a huge fan of Windows, but as I have recently been searching for part time work as an online tutor, I am finding that ALL online tutoring companies require Windows.  

• Small storage capacity. This is a big deal for some, but then again, when you do most of your storage in the clouds, do you really need a laptop with a lot of storage space.

Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase. I love the battery life and its quick recharge time.  Its weight and small size takes up more space than most books in my book bag; And for $200, I can't complain too much. I just wish I had done a little more research before I purchased. So, with that being said, I hope this quick review helps you make a sound decision if you have been in the market for a Chromebook.

Best
#mrford#techsavvyteacher

Using Google Forms to Create Quizzes for Your ESL Classroom

I've been a paperless teacher for over a year now and I honestly can't tell you the last time I actually had to stand over a copy machine. Thanks to Google, myself and tech-savvy educators across the world have ditched the traditional paper based Microsoft Word and opted for cloud services.  For me, the transition was almost invisible. I didn't even notice I had become a paperless teacher.  Features inside of Google Drive such as: Docs, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Forms and the Chrome App Store with their easy integration and organization have made it easier for educators to create, share, and store information like never before without the need for printing papers or documents.

Such is the case with Google Forms. Over the last few months, Google Forms has been my most used app inside Google Drive, especially when designing interactive TOEFL quizzes to be delivered to students over their phones or tablets.  Most ESL teachers I come across have NO idea that Google Drive even exists.  They are still avid users of Microsoft Word and rarely touch a Word product other that MW and PowerPoint.  They still consider Google to be just a search engine. During my presentations at conferences all across Georgia, I can't tell you how many times I still hear educators with over 20 years experience in the classroom scream, "WOW" when I show them how to use Google Drive products in the classroom.

Google Forms is originally designed to execute questionnaires, inventories, and surveys, but can also be used to design classroom quizzes featuring images and YouTube videos.  Along with a very famous script known as Flubaroo, theses classroom quizzes quickly become self grading and scores are stored in spreadsheets and emailed to students within minutes.  I first discovered Forms when as a student life coordinator, I wanted to make a small questionnaire for students exiting the institution I worked for.  After playing around with it, I quickly discovered that Forms could be used as a replacement for multiple choice tests we administered to our students who took their level up moving tests.  Not only was my discovery very effective, it eliminated the use for our outdated scan tron machine and the expensive papers that were piling up in our storage room.

The best part of Forms in my opinion, is that it provides transparency between students and teachers as the answer sheet can be attached to the students' email reported scores.   I usually review the quizzes immediately after they are scored and the answer sheet helps make it easier for students to recognize their mistakes.



Forms comes with a nice amount of colorful themes for its templates and includes a question types such as; Text, Paragraph Text for longer answers, Multiple Choice, Check Boxes, and Choose from a List. To find out more about Google Forms, try it yourself today! Just go to your Google Drive and select Form from the 'Create Menu.'

#mrford#techsavvyteacher

Google's Chromecast vs Samsung's AllShare Cast aka 'dongle'

Samsung AllShare Cast Dongle

So earlier this year I purchased a 'dongle' from Samsung in order to reflect images from my phone to my TV. I spent around $100 for a device that did exactly what it was advertising.  I was so impressed by it, that I HAD to bring it to work the next day and show it off. I actually brought my own 32 inch TV with me to work in order to show off how my 'dongle' worked.  My students and colleagues were not as blown away as I was, but they were nonetheless impressed. Seeing how I was then already on the verge of completely giving up on cable, I thought my 'dongle' would replace Comcast and I could spend all day watching YouTube and Netflix from my Note 2. And for a long time, I did just that. I let my cable bill go and I spent my free time watching The Young Turks and music videos on YouTube.  If I wanted to watch a movie, I hit up Netflix.  

Since I move around a lot, my 'dongle' was the perfect solution to entertain myself as I could plug it into any TV; and from my phone entertain myself.  So when a few months back, Google was advertising a similar device known as Chromecast for $10-$15 dollars, I scoffed at it. I mean, I already had a 'dongle' and it worked flawlessly.  I soon learned that the orders for Chromecast were set back for months and that it was damn near impossible to get one in a store.  

Recently, I had seen  a commercial for Chromecast again, but for $35.  And again, I scoffed at it. That was until someone got a hold of my phone and broke it. I was forced to spend $175 in replacement fees just go get another phone of the same model (Thank God I pay the insurance on it). 
Unfortunately, after I received my new replacement phone, it refused to connect to my 'dongle'.

Google Chromecast

 Forced to live a day or two with no way to reflect my phone to my TV, I caved in and bought a Chromecast from Best Buy mainly because of its cheaper price. Even though the 'dongle' price is now reduced by $30, it is still not as cheap as Chromecast.  I was also impressed by one or two features that Chromecast held vs. Samsung's 'dongle'. For example, with Chromecast, I can multitask; such as remain streaming live videos while taking phone calls or surfing chrome from the same phone.  You can't do that on Samsung's device.   On the other hand,  it appears that Chromecast does not feature HD options on Youtube videos, something that Samsung 'dongle' does very well.

So at the end of the day my good persons, Chromecast is cheaper, works with multiple phone brands, and allows you to stream videos and make phone calls at the same time; as compared to Samsung's 'dongle'.

And there you have it. I'm #mrford, your #techsavvyteacher!

 



                                                  



APP ALERT! GOOGLE CHROME TO PHONE

     OK, so it's really not an app; it's an extension of Chrome browser. Extensions are like features of Chrome that should have already been incorporated in the world's fastest browser, but weren't. So in a sense-they really are apps, but just for Google Chrome (I know that was confusing for me too).  This particular extension allows you to grab videos on your desktop or laptop and download it to your phone or tablet. Sounds useless to you? Have you ever been on YouTube and found a video on your laptop only to discover that the same video is not available on your smartphone?  Well, just install Chrome to Phone in the Chrome Web Store and you can instantly download that particular video to your smartphone and share it with others. This really works well for mobile teachers who want to share specific videos with their students via their smartphones.  I can't tell you how many times I have found a great ESL video on my laptop that I really wanted to share in Whatsapp for my students, but couldn't do so because Whatsapp and other SMS platforms are not compatible with desk and laptops.  Now, all I have to do is watch the video in Chrome and click the Chrome to Phone extension in my browser and within seconds the video is downloaded to my phone for me to share in Whatsapp!  This is a great extension and is most helpful to educators.  Add Chrome to Phone to your Google Chrome experience today and try it for yourself!

Best,

#mr.ford