Expanding Google
Thanks to Google, we have access to a plethora of tools to help us get stuff done. This week’s Teaching Tip focuses on a few ways to extend the functionality of the Google products we already know and love – Chrome and Google.
Category Tools and how to (tips)
This is for tools and ‘how-to’ items
Free and open-license graphics
There are at least two great ways to search for images you can use in your course materials (or homework):
-Google Images search
-Website repositories of graphics labeled for commercial or non-commercial reuse
Data tracking
How do you know they are listening? You put an incredible amount of effort into your online or flipped course. If you’re curious to see how often–or, how long–people are listening, reports and data help. Blackboard, SoundCloud, and YouTube track user views.
If This Then That
My life is complicated and technology sometimes complicates it rather than simplifying it. However, I can use automation to turn a frustrating series of tasks into a single task by using a tool called If This Then That.
Managing Google without logging in and out
Many of us have several google accounts for different purposes. We all have our official UA google@alaska account. You might have a consumer account for personal or professional reasons, you might be tied to one of the school districts that uses Google for email and other Google applications. Your department or program may have found it easier to have a shared account for department-related content that doesn’t belong to just one person.
CTL – faculty resources online
This week we're highlighting CTL because we recently made some changes to the web site. If you haven't already, check out the following links:
-Find Upcoming Teaching and Technology Training
-View Teaching and Technology Resources
-Get Inspired and Connect with Others
-Read Weekly Teaching Tips
-Find Out Who We Are and What We Do
Add-ons
When using a Google Document or Sheet, have you found yourself asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I could do [insert task] like I can in Word or Excel?' Google Documents (Doc) and Google Sheets are part of the UA Google Applications package and are available for all students, staff, and faculty.
Interactive video
PopcornMaker is a free to use, drag and drop video editor that makes mashup-making easy, even with multiple types of media. This is no ordinary video editor. It goes beyond basic edits, enabling creators to augment video and audio files by layering media resources on top of the timeline.
It’s in the syllabus – part two
How many times do you find yourself answering questions whose answers are outlined clearly in your syllabus? Probably more than you’d like. So how do you get students to read the darn syllabus?
Take Control of Collaboration in Google Drive: Share folders
If you’ve been using Google Drive for some time you may find your “Shared With Me' file list feels more like clutter than a productive space for collaboration. Maybe that’s even a bit of an understatement, but there’s no need for file frustration. You can manage the madness a couple of ways, and they both start by sharing folders not files.
Socrative
Using a student response system helps us gauge how well students are grasping the concepts being discussed in class. "Clickers" revolutionized this by providing real-time feedback, but unfortunately require students to purchase and register a device ahead of time. Now nearly all students have at least one electronic device with them in class, be it a smart phone, tablet, or laptop.
Visual notetaking
In school I’d sometimes get scolded for “doodling' during class. The charge was that because I was drawing, I couldn’t possibly have been paying attention. Since then I’ve learned that for me, and for lots of people like me, drawing and attention are linked, the former often improving the latter.