Google Add-Ons

Google has done it again.  They have made awesome products even better! Add-ons provide increased functionality from right within Google Docs and Google Sheets (the new Google Spreadsheets) with a growing number of applications.  Some of these may be familiar to those of you who used Google Scripts like Doctopus and Flubaroo to many that have been used for research like EasyBib and Lucidchart.  To get started, simply click on Add-ons and then choose Get Add-ons.

If your tool you installed doesn't automatically load, then select your tool from the under the Add-on tab and follow the directions for each.  Most open in a side bar just like your research tool and have simple step by step instructions.  Here are a few of my favorites:

EasyBib Bibliography Creator

Easybib has been a favorite tool for creating bibliographies for papers and now it is even easier.  When you select manage Bibliography from the Add-on menu, Easybib opens to the right.  Select whether you would like to cite a book, journal or a website, then insert the Title, ISBN number, etc... and SEARCH.  You will have a list of possible matches listed below.  SELECT the one that matches your source and it will be added to your bibliography.  

Once you have added all of your sources, you simply click on ADD BIBLIOGRAPHY TO DOC to plug in your WORKS CITED list at the bottom of your document.  I recommend inserting a Page Break right before so that it will be on its own page.  

Doctopus

Don't be scared by the name, Doctopus is not from Spider Man or James Bond, but rather a fun group from the NewVisions for Public Schools that have really pushed the limits of what Google Apps can do for Schools by writing scripts that work with the Google API.  Doctopus manages assignments using google docs by creating copies and automatically sharing them with students or groups of students, managing sharing, grades and feedback all from a single spreadsheet.  This used to be a Google Script that required a bit more savvy to install and run, but it is now a Google Add-on for Sheets making things much easier for all of us.  Read more about Doctopus and how it works here.

There are many more Add-ons and they are being added weekly.  What is your favorite Google Add-on?

Doctopus - The best tool for sharing Google Docs assignments

Doctopus

Don't be scared by the name, Doctopus is not from Spider Man or James Bond, but rather a fun group from the NewVisions for Public Schools that have really pushed the limits of what Google Apps can do for Schools by writing scripts that work with the Google API.  Doctopus manages assignments using google docs by creating copies and automatically sharing them with students or groups of students, managing sharing, grades and feedback all from a single spreadsheet.  This used to be a Google Script that required a bit more savvy to install and run, but it is now a Google Add-on for Sheets making things much easier for all of us. 

When installed, Doctopus first asks what roster you are working with.  You will need to have a list of your students (First Name, Last Name, Google Apps Email) to create a roster for sharing.  The beautiful thing about this feature is that, not only does it remember your roster for future assignments, but it can create a series of shared folders that manages all of your shared documents with your students!  This is an absolutely essential function for managing many assignments with students (whether you use the other features of Doctopus or not).  

Once your roster is created, you will need to set up your assignment for sharing.  The settings are for the following:

• Sharing type (individual, group, etc...)
  
  
  
• Whole Class Access - Whether or not students can view other students work (helpful in group projects and facilitates peer editing)
  
• Student Access [to document] - does the student have edit, comment, comment or view only rights to the google doc you are sharing.  You can also control whether or not students can share these documents with others by allowing editing rights.  By limiting this, it controls students sharing their work with others to copy.
  
• Add Co-Teachers 
  

Once all of those settings have been made, it is time to select the document that you are going to share for this assignment.  You will have to first select the folder in which the document resides, then select the document that will be used as a template for this assignment.  It is called a template, because the actual document is not changed - Doctopus actually makes a copy of it to share with each student.

Once you have identified the document template, you need to determine where the assignment will reside in your google drive.  You can choose an existing folder or create a new one.  You can then also use Doctopus to send a personalized email to your students.  

The last step is to review your settings before creating a copy and sharing it with your students.  Once you have created the copy, Doctopus, inserts columns in your spreadsheet that will allow you to easily monitor each of the student's assignments and provide grades and feedback right from within the spreadsheet.  You can click on the link to the document to see what work has been completed to comment and provide a grade - there is no hunting through your Shared With Me folder in your drive or wading through all student assignment folders.  This simplifies the entire process of using google docs for assignments and is where the real power of Doctopus resides.  Some other neat features are the ability to Embargo documents for grading (if you say you have to have it completed by Friday at noon - then you can enforce that deadline - however, you can un-embargo the assignment for editing purposes.)  You can also send an email to students with their grades and feedback once the assignment is done.  Now - if this was all possible inside of an LMS like Schoology or Edmodo, I would be jumping for joy!  I believe the new Google Classroom is supposed to have such features - I can't wait to see. 

Please share at below if you have used doctopus and how you like it.

Enabling Google Docs for Offline Use

One major frustration of working in the cloud is when it is a sunny day and there is no cloud available for you to work in.  Google has provided you with an opportunity to work with Google Docs, Slides (Presentations) and now the new Sheets while not connected to the internet.  To do this, you need to enable Offline Mode in Google Drive on each computer that you would like to use Offline.  To do this you need to first have the Drive Web App installed.  If you haven't, you will be prompted to do so when you attempt to enable this access.  First, click on More from your Google Drive left-hand menu, then click Offline.  If you haven't installed the Drive Chrome Web App, you will be prompted to do so at this time.  Once you have installed this, you will then be able to Enable Offline Access.  Check out the animated Gif below.

When you are working on a document while in offline mode, you will see a circle with a lightning bolt to the right of the name of the document indicating that You are Offline.  Once you are again connected, your changes will be synced to your drive

There are a few important caveats to using Google Drive offline

1. You will need to enable Offline Mode on every computer that you wish to use.  
2. Anyone using your computer will have access to your offline docs so only enable offline mode on a computer that only you use if you are worried about security of your documents
3. Only one Google account per Chrome profile can set up offline access to Drive. If you are unable to set up offline access because another user has already done so, you can create a new Chrome profile and then follow the above steps to add offline access for your account. Learn how to create a new Google Chrome profile.

You Can Now Listen to iTunes Podcasts on Your Chromebook

Till now, the only way to download an iTunes podcast was through iTunes itself, which you cannot get on a Chromebook. Whether you are already using podcasts from iTunes in your classroom or would like to start and your students are using Chromebooks, here is a great workaround that we learned about from Bryan Weinert on Leyden Techies.  

Normally what you would see when you go to a listing for podcasts that are in iTunes would be this:

Just have your students install the iTunes Audio Prevgiew/Podcast Downloader extension from the Chrome web store

Now, when you go to your chosen podcast page, the extension will add a Download link next to each audio file that the students can click on and listen to or download to their chromebook or Google Drive.  This will also work on your laptop when using the Chrome Browser.

Once on the new tab, you can get the url for that specific podcast to share with your students...  Check out the iTunes podcast listing page, for thousands of free podcasts organized into dozens of searchable categories.  Once you find a podcast you'd like your students to listen to, you can share the URL with them by posting it on your website, in your LMS (Moodle, Edmodo, Schoology), or just email it to them. Unfortunately this extension only works for audio podcasts and not video podcasts.

Update - 10-10-14

Aside from iTunes, there are many Chrome apps for listening to Podcasts.  There are too many to mention them all, but just based on ratings in the Chrome web store, here are 3 you may want to consider

Cloud Caster is a podcast player for Chrome that keeps track of all your podcasts in the cloud.Cloud Caster can be used on your Chromebook, PC and Mac as well as on almost all mobile devices running iOS, Android, Windows Phone or Blackberry. This means you will always have access to your podcasts and have a playlist in sync. Cloud Caster remembers where you left off on one device and lets you resume from that position if you continue to listen on another device. You can start listening to a podcast at home on your desktop computer, keep listening on the bus with your mobile device and finish the podcast on your computer at work/school when you get there.

Airing Pods as a Chrome web App is a shortcut to launch airingpods.com.

Airing Pods give you various ways of finding Podcasts (Shows). Comes with an easy to use Podcast Player, which plays your podcasts all in the browser. No plugin/software to install, and it make this a well suited podcast manager for your Chromebook as well.

ShortOrange is a cloud-based cross-platform podcast player with which you can listen to your favorite podcasts via the ShortOrange Chrome app, online via our web application, or with our iOS app (android coming soon!). In addition, ShortOrange syncs your podcast data between all platforms via the cloud to enable a seamless transition between devices. ShortOrange is the ultimate app to listen, subscribe, and manage all your favorite podcasts in the cloud. 

Tech Tip - A Fondness For Folder Functionality

Now that you have been using Google Drive for a while you may have realized a need for organizing all those files so that you can actually find what you are looking for.  The beauty of folders in Google Drive goes beyond just organization.  It allows you to organize your sharing of those files.

Creating and Organizing Folders

Creating a folder is as simple as creating a document.  You can either click on the Red Create Button and select Folder or click on the Folder Icon above the list of documents.  Once you have done that, then give your folder a name and click on the Blue Create Button

If you don't see your folder in the menu on the left, be sure to click on the little arrow next to My Drive to see all of the folders you have created.  Viewing your folders in the left menu also allows you to easily nest folders for organizational purposes and allows you to drag and drop files into your folders.  

Once you have created your folder you can add things to it two different ways - either drag and drop, or select the item and use the Move To button at the top of the page.

Organizing your folders works in the same way - either drag and drop them into the folder you want to nest that folder into, or select that folder and click on the Move To button at the top of the Page.

Sharing Folders

You can share your folders in the same way that you documents.  The benefit of sharing a folder is that anything that is either created in or moved to that folder takes on the sharing settings of that folder.  In that way, you don't have to share each individual document with your colleagues or your students.  Whether it is editing, just comments or only view rights you give to someone for a folder, those rights apply to everything in that folder.  To share a folder you need to select the drop-down arrow to the right of the folder as it appears in the lefthand menu when you mouseover that folder and add that person to the folder the same way you would for a document.  

Google Nation

Google has become an integral part of our internet / information based culture and has even become part of our lexicon with  Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary listing Google as a verb since 2006.  It is no surprise that Google has become one of the tools commonly used in schools and now, with Google Apps for Education providing their suite of communication and productivity tools free to schools, it is no surprise that many school districts have decided to get on board.  While the savings on servers for email and storage are attractive to districts, the ease of collaboration and communication between teachers and students and the engagement of students is profound.

District Savings

Districts can migrate all of their email to Google apps saving them thousands of dollars in server space and staff time by not having to maintain their own servers and monitor email quotas.  One district in Michigan estimates that they saved over $400,000 by switching to Google Apps for Education and the State of Oregon Department of Education estimates that they will save $1.5 Million.  The benefits to districts don't stop there.  In my mind, the benefits to students and teachers is even greater.

Increased Engagement and Collaboration

Students live in a digital world and embracing this allows educators to help move and mold that energy instead of fighting it.  Google Drive exists in the cloud enabling students and teachers to access their work from anywhere, from any device.  This fluidity allows students to share their documents with each other and with their teachers, work on those files together in real time making the process of collaboration easy and fun.  The students light up when they see that what they are typing on their project is immediately seen by others in their group.  The chat feature is something that is familiar to them and is an easy way to ask each other questions without talking if they are right next to each other or without the use of a phone if they are working from home.

No Dogs Here

While "the dog ate my homework" is an overused cliche it speaks to difficulties that students do have with keeping track of their work and for teachers in tracking and grading assignments.  Google Drive allows students to store their documents in the cloud and access them anywhere.  This levels the playing field for those students who don't have technology at home, or have it, but can't afford more expensive word processing software. By simply sharing their documents with their teachers, students can turn in their work even when they aren't at school, and teachers can track when work was completed and who did how much work on group projects. Tools like shared "Drop Box" folders or Learning Management Systems like Edmodo or Schoology, make the process of turning in work to teachers more easy to track.  These Learning Management systems also simplify the process of tracking assignments when they were "Turned In" and providing feedback to students by keeping it well organized in an easy to use interface.

Increased Accountability

The File Revision History of Google Docs is a very useful tool to educators.  It makes it easy to spot copying, track how much time was spent working on and revising work, and see who in a group project was doing the most work.  The history shows who wrote what and at what time, so if a document was started at 10:00pm and was completed by 10:04 with 3 pages including footnotes, chances are, there is something fishy going on that students will have a hard time explaining away.

Whatever the reasons for moving to Google Apps, the benefits are many.  If you are looking for ways to use different features in your classroom, be sure to check out our many workshops being offered.  (see calendar to the right or check out My Learning Plan).