Tammy Worcester’s Tech Tip of the Week

Tip 82 - New! Static Pages in Blogger

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:19:08 -0600

I was extremely excited to learn that Blogger has recently added a new feature - you can now add up to ten static pages to your blog! This opens lots of possibilities such as creating an online portfolio or building a classroom website.

Note - if you don’t already have a blog, follow the instructions here to create one: Tip 64 Blogger

Blogger Static Pages   
 Creating a static page:
1. Go to: www.blogger.com
2. Go to the settings (customize) area for your blog.
3. Click the Posting tab.
4. Click the Edit Pages link.
5. Click the New Page button.   
 Adding Information to the Static Page:
1. Enter a page title.
2. Enter the desired information.  Note - in this area you can add text, pictures, hyperlinks, and even embed code!
3. Click the Publish Page button.   
4. Determine whether you want the links to the pages to appear in the blog sidebar or at the top under the title.   

 Editing the Navigation Bar
1. Click the Layout tab.
2. Click the Page Elements link.
3. Locate the “Pages” gadget.
4. Drag and drop the “Pages” gadget to move it from the top to the side bar (or from the side bar to the top).
5. Click the Edit link to change the name of the “Home” page and to change the order of the pages.   

Viewing / Navigating the Pages
1. View your blog.
2. Click the links at the top or in the sidebar to move between pages.   
3. To view an example, go to: http://worcesterclass.blogspot.com/  

Please post ideas for using this new feature by clicking the “Add a Comment” link below.       

Tip 81 - Google Docs Self Check Quizzes

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:46:02 -0600

Many of you have discovered the power of using Google forms and spreadsheets to gather data. In fact, they can be a step forward in creating paperless classrooms!

For this week’s tip, I have created some templates for self-checking quizzes that are easy to use (I hope). The formulas are all entered for you, and the form and spreadsheet are there, ready to be used. Just have your students fill out the form, and their answers will be automatically scored!

Note - these forms work well on computers as well as cell phones and other web-enabled handheld devices such as iPod Touches.

Google Docs Self Check Quizzes
Note – Templates are provided with 5, 10, 15 or 20 questions.

Basic Instructions: For experienced Google docs users:
1. Open one of the templates below. (It will open in the form-editing view.)
2. Edit the quiz title and the questions (optional).
3. Send the students to the online form.
4. The students complete and submit the form.
5. Go to the provided spreadsheet.
6. Enter the correct answers in row 2.
7. Click the “Scores” link at the bottom of the page.
8. View the student scores!

Step-by-Step Instructions:
Click below to download a PDF with step-by-step instructions for using the templates:
 GoogleSelfCheck.pdf

Templates:

Tip 80 - Read Write Think

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 13:31:08 -0600

This week I’m sharing a website that has been around for years, but has recently been remodeled. The Read Write Think website provides dozens of interactive learning and publishing tools for students of all ages.

Read Write Think
http://www.readwritethink.org/

This website contains a wealth of tools and information. My favorites are the student interactives: 
Important note – The publishing activities cannot be saved, so be sure to provide plenty of time for students to complete each activity from start to finish.

1. Go to: http://www.readwritethink.org/
2. Pull down the Classroom Resources tab to Student Interactives.   
3. Click the links a the left side to filter the results by grade level, type, learning objective, or theme.   
4. Or use the window in the upper left to search by keyword.    
5. Choose the desired tool, and then click the Get Started button.    
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the activity.    
7. Use the provided buttons to print your final product.

Tip 79 - Odosketch

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 14:48:32 -0600

This week I’d like to share a simple, yet powerful, on-screen drawing tool. It provides a palette of colored pencils and a blank page, and you do the rest.

Odosketch
http://sketch.odopod.com/

Creating a Drawing
1. Go to http://sketch.odopod.com.
2. Use the tools at the bottom of the screen to draw and erase. Note – Drawing slowly results in a thin line; drawing more quickly results in a thicker line.
3. Click the Reload button at the bottom to see a replay of your drawing.
4. Take a screenshot of your creation or click the “Save” button. Note – You will need to set up a free account to save your drawings.   

Viewing a SlideShow It is fun to look at art created by others, and Odosketch provides a gallery of featured sketches that can be viewed individually or as a slide show. The best part is that when viewed, you will see a replay of the creation from start to finish so you can see exactly how the artist composed the piece.

1. Go to http://sketch.odopod.com.
2. At the top of the screen, click the Sketch Slideshow link.
3. A slideshow will begin and will randomly replay sketches from the gallery.    
Classroom Ideas 
• Students can draw sketches to illustrate original stories. 
• Students can have fun while being creative and enhancing their artistic skills. 
• Use a projector to show a sketch slideshow as students are transitioning into the room or between activities. 
• Please add your own ideas by clicking the “add a comment” link below.

Tip 78 - Cool iPod Touch & iPhone Apps

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 10:23:58 -0600

Tip 77 - BibMe

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:40:27 -0600

If you are old a baby boomer, like me, you probably remember using 3 x 5 index cards to organize your resources while working on a term paper or project. (If you are too young to remember, you can ask your parents or grandparents!) And then there was the fun of typing the bibliography - yes on an actual TYPEWRITER! 
Anyway - you won’t believe how easy it is to do a works cited page with the help of BibMe.

By the way, I need to thank Linley, Tamara, and Kim for sharing this resource with me last year. They are fabulous educators from Inman, Kansas.

BibMe 

Getting Started:
1. Go to www.bibme.org  
2. Create an account.  (Actually, if you just want to generate individual citations, you won’t need an account. If you want to be able to save your resources and generate a works cited page, you will need an account.) Note - For student accounts, you might want to look at last week’s tip. 
3. Sign in.

Gathering Resources:
1. Click the pencil icon in the upper-left corner to change the name of your project. (See images below.)     
2. Click one of the resource tabs at the top of the screen. (We’ll use a book in this example.) 
3. Enter the title of the book. 
4. Click the Find Book button. 
5. Choose the appropriate book form the list and click Select. (See image below.)   
6. Review the provided information, making changes if necessary. 
7. Click the Add to Bibliography button. (See image below.)   
8. Repeat for each resource.

Creating a Works Cited Page:
1. In the project area at the right, you’ll see a list of your resources. 
2. Choose the desired bibliography format. (MLA, APA, etc.) 
3. Click the Download button.   
4. Your Works Cited page will open in Microsoft Word with your resources properly cited and in alphabetical order -- ready to turn in!   
5. In Microsoft Word, you can make changes if you want, and you can copy and paste the citations into other applications!  
How easy is that? No fair, huh...
 