Working with Google and some progressive network admins in Vermont to offer a panel on Google Apps for Education at the state's annual Tech Pizza Conference.
[Jeff Keltner from Google and Google Apps administrators from Vermont schools, Lucie deLaBruere, Eric Hall, Katie Dugan, Rick Armitage, and BJ Behrendt fielding questions about implementing Google Apps for Education in K12 environment]
We set up a Google Moderator site to collect questions participants would like addressed at this panel.
You can access the Moderator site at tinyurl.com/googlepizza
If you have teachers who are interested integrating Google products in their classroom, check out this summer professional development opportunity
TEACHING THE GOOGLE GENERATION
St. Albans City School w/ Lucie deLaBruere, Google Certified Educator - August 10-14
(With Orientation Session on June 1 - followed by 3 hours online prior to intitute.
Register: http://cvedc.champlain.edu/event.view.php?vid=1237906525
Learn how to use the extensive suite of free Google Tools in your Classroom to support 21st century learning. Gain access to hundreds of resources and lesson plans from Google Teachers Academy. Tools such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Docs, Google Video, Google Sites, Custom Search Engine, Google Reader, and more are changing the way today's students learn. Use them to change the way you teach and the learning culture in your classroom.
Reporting back after the Panel:
Lucie deLaBruere started the session by announcing that applications are currently open for the next Google Teachers Academy and encouraged folks to apply. She then introduced the panel.
Jeff Keltner from Google provided a quick demo of Google Apps. A panel of Google Apps admins from Vermont Schools briefly introduced how they use Google Apps in their school including Rick Armitage, Eric Hall, Katie Duggan, BJ Behrendt
We then introduced the questions participants had submitted to the Google Moderator site set up for this session. www.tinyurl.com/googlepizza
Jeff answered some of the questions posted on the Google Moderator and also fielded questions from staff.
Although we did not get a chance to answer all the questions, the panel agreed to post some input to the questions we did not get to.
Lucie closed up the session by inviting teachers who want professionial development in Google Apps and other Google products in education to consider her class "Teaching The Google Generation" this summer.
http://lucie.typepad.com/blog/2009/04/what-im-teaching-this-summer.html
Here are some highlights from the panel session.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff reminded folks that Google Apps has several benefits for schools, included no advertisement. The one thing that changed his life was able able to use 'search' instead of organizing his life. It takes a while to accept that the world does not need to be organized, when you can the world when you can just search.
Jeff highlighted the benefits of 'chat', video communication, and calendar, Google Docs, real time collaboration, Google forms, google sites, and free tech support.
The panel then highlighted some of the Google Apps implementation at their schools which included curriculum mapping, student sharing documents, 7th and 8th grade, secretarial staff.
Everyone's implementation seemed to evolve from trying to solve a problem, (i.e. shared calendaring, increased student access at hoome, collaborating with parents, needing to chat. student writing project, curriculum mapping, live web calendaring, needing private video sharing.
Google releases new code every 2 weeks. New features are constantly being added. The goal is not to add every feature requested, but to be responsive for features requested.
Question: How responsive is Google to bug request. Very responsive, go to Help button,
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/request.py?contact_type=suggest
Jeff got applause from the panel as he listed some of the features coming up (soon) including group and user management, distribution list,
Question: Does Google Apps work with subdomains. What are best practice to get users across different domains collaborating.
Jeff suggested not to go down the subdomain group and felt that one domain was a better scenario. He announced a coming ability to create groups and change permission based on membership in groups. (applause from panel)
Jeff continued to address questions about being able to disable and enable feature and being able to restrict what students can do w/ the tools.
The panel jumped in and commented that Google Apps has helped them address ethics and safety in real time (not just theory). The group questioned the wisdom of using technology to avoid conversation and opportunity to have those conversation.
Question: How can we address needs for archiving.
Jeff mentined that Google does not provide free email archiving, but they do partner with Postini and offer discounted e-discovery services school for archiving and that it can be down on a user basis. The challenge with addressing archiving is that different lawyers have different interpretations. Some believe that you need to archive all, others believe that you just need a policy that tells folks to not delete certain types of message, or to CC a copy messages that need archiving to an archive account.
Google honors privacy but keeps everything until a user deletes it; if empty trash bin, then its gone forever.
Google is currently working with to offer filtering to schools for free. Expected launch will be June 1. The system will filter email differently for different users in your domain on content and have options such as delivered/ flagged.
Jeff mentioned that Google Moderator is now available to Google Apps. He then demonstrated Google Moderator (which was used by President Obama in a recent town meeting forum)
Help File for adding Moderator to Google Apps:
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=114246&ctx=sibling
Question: Can you add aliases. Yes, you can add as many domain to a single domain as you would like. When you set them up as one domain, you can share across subdomains.
Questions: What is the impact on bandwidth.
Bandwidth can vary. Panel responded that their bandwidth issues were more from other application such as You Tube than Google Apps. Some panel members said that their bandwidth use went down.
Question: What are some of the issues you ran into in implementation:
Panel:
Questions: Does Google plan to offer cloud storage for all kinds of files.
Answer: It currently uploads pdf in the doc dashboard. You can also use google sites (page type called file cabinet) to put files in the cloud. Files are searchable in google sites and has some files management capacity that allows it to be used like a storage cabinet with document repository
Quetion: Do you have to add a new team member to shared document.
Yes at this time. Google Sites allows search across all the sites which can store up to 100 gigabyte per domain...
Time ran out, but the the Google Panel has been kind enough to include some of answers to the questions that did not get addressed in the Google moderator. They have also offered to help others by answering other questions, allowing visits, or even doing training. Lucie is currently working on a 3 hour hands on workshop for NECC that helps first time Google Apps administrator understand the possibilities and options for administrating a domain.
Thanks to Jeff and the Vermont ed tech panel for helping out with this workshop at Vemont's annual techies conference for School IT staff.
Along with my workshops at NECC, I will be be teaching at two Tech Institutes this summer. And as usual I'll be offering 2 summer camps: Tech Savvy Kids and Tech Savvy GIrls Summer Camp.
1) FLIP into the World of Video for
your Classroom July 13 - 16 in Castleton, VT
http://vtmidi.org/
Inexpensive, simple to use, video cameras that fit into your pocket have expanded the use of video from citizen journalism to student's classrooms. Although the FLIP video camera's simple 4 button design has made capturing video a simple, no fuss process, the possibilities for producing or publishing the videos are endless ranging from free programs to online video editting tools. This session will give you a chance to master different approaches to producing and publishing videos for your educational projects, whether they be student projects or teacher projects, such as creating instructional videos. Join a network of educators who are discovering the power of video in education. FLIP camera required for this course and included in the registration fee.
2) Teaching the Google Generation
(where I will be teaching you how to apply a whole suite of free Google Tools in your classroom)
TEACHING THE GOOGLE GENERATION
St. Albans City School w/ Lucie deLaBruere, Google Certified Educator - August 10-14
Register: http://cvedc.champlain.edu/
Learn
how to use the extensive suite of free Google Tools in your Classroom
to support 21st century learning. Gain access to hundreds of resources
and lesson plans from Google Teachers Academy. Tools such as Google
Maps, Google Earth, Google Docs, Google Video, Google Sites, Custom
Search Engine, Google Reader, and more are changing the way today's
students learn. Use them to change the way you teach and the learning
culture in your classroom.
This is part of a 3 strand hands on Institutes. Other strands listed below.
All 3 strands of the hands on institutes start with face to face session on June 1 and an additional face to face session in the Fall along with 9 hours of Online Coursework.
Franklin Country Professional Development Offering -
AUTHENTIC TEACHING and LEARNING for the 21st CENTURY Tech Int Flyer CVEC.pdf
Featuring choice of 3 different hands on Institute
------------------------------
21ST CENTURY TEACHING
St. Albans Town Ed. Ctr w/ Diane Lemieux -June 22-26
Register: http://cvedc.champlain.edu/
How will your teaching need to change to include 21st Century skills in your curriculum? What are the tools you’ll need to learn, and how can you manage your classroom to support 21st Century
Learning? How can you engage your students? Are you trying to
understand the new language of wikis, blogs, Ning and Jing, Digg,
Twitter. social websites and tools, Skype and more? Learn about these
tools and websites that will allow you and your students to begin your
journey into 21st Century methods of teaching and learning.
STUDENT 2.0 -21ST CENTURY MULTIMEDIA¶
Missisquoi Valley Union H.S. w/ Stefanie Blouin & George Raynak July 6-10Register: http://cvedc.champlain.edu/
Are
you interested in finding innovative ays to engage your students in
learning? In this strand, teachers will explore and experience many
multimedia tools, such as Voicethread, Animoto,Photostory, Imovie,
Moviemaker, Gimp, and Inspiration. Using the tools and knowledge of the
21st Century teaching and learning
strategies, teachers will create a multimedia project that integrates
technology into their curriculum
TEACHING THE GOOGLE GENERATION
St. Albans City School w/ Lucie deLaBruere, Google Certified Educator - August 10-14
Register: http://cvedc.champlain.edu/
Learn
how to use the extensive suite of free Google Tools in your Classroom
to support 21st century learning. Gain access to hundreds of resources
and lesson plans from Google Teachers Academy. Tools such as Google
Maps, Google Earth, Google Docs, Google Video, Google Sites, Custom
Search Engine, Google Reader, and more are changing the way today's
students learn. Use them to change the way you teach and the learning
culture in your classroom.
All 3 institutes start with face to face session on June 1 and an additional face to face session in the Fall along with 9 hours of Online Coursework.
(cross posted at Infinite Thinking Machine)
This week's Friday Five will not only help you anwer this question, but will also challenge you to contribute to the number of female role models students and adults are exposed to as they explore the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. (often referred to as S.T.E.M.)
How many of you had Ada Lovelace's name at the tip of your tongue?
Ada Lovelace wrote the world's first computer program for the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose machine that Charles Babbage had invented. She also wrote the very first description of a computer and of software. Ada died an early death in 1852 at the age of 36 and never had a chance to explore her understanding of computing. The high level computer language "Ada" developed by the U.S. Department of Defense was named after her.
If you were not familiar with Ada's significant contribution to the computer world or had trouble naming at least 10 leading women in tech, this week's Friday Five will serve you well. It includes a list of sites where you can easily locate names, pictures, stories of female role models to share with your students or colleagues. And best of all the list is about to expand exponentially!
March 24, 2009 has been designated as Ada LoveLace Day, an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. On that day, thousands of bloggers have pledged to publish a blog post about a women in tech who they admire using the tag AdaLovelaceDay09 for Delicious, Technorati etc. or #ALD09 for Twitter.
The data continues to show that the challenge of attracting women into technology related careers continues. While the causes are complex and the solutions are many, everyone agrees that female role models have a huge impact on the career choices of girls.
“Outstanding women can function as inspirational examples of success,
illustrating the kinds of achievements that are possible for women around them.
They demonstrate that it is possible to overcome traditional gender barriers,
indicating to other women that high levels of success are indeed attainable”,
(Penelope Lockwood, University of Toronto)
One of the most rewarding activities I organize to provide girls exposure to female role models year are the Power Lunch with Women in Tech offered at annual TechSavvyGirls activities. The female role models who attend continue to talk about the value they feel being able to offer advice and inspiration to girls in their formative years. Not only do the girls leave the luncheon with enough pictures, audio, and video to create a webpage about their new role model, but they often refer back to the advice and inspiration they received that day in 'college applications', 'scholarship applications' or in their own mentoring of younger students.
If you desire to organize an activity that will connect girls to role models face to face, organizations like the Society of Women Engineers , AAUW, or other networks of women are great resources for role models. The National Girls Collaborative can help you get started by providing resources, a program directory of organizations and projects and mini grants to support collaborative projects between organizations. The Anita Borg Foundation Tech Bridge Program has compiled a fantastic guide called Get Involved to help prospective role models inspire girls in technology filled with practical suggestions and strategies.
I challenge you to consider how you might use this week's Friday Five Resources to design a classroom activity that introduces female role models to your students (both girls and boys). The images and stories of women in tech are beneficial to all students, and to society as a whole. The next generation of innovators will come from the curiosity and spirit of innovation we inspire in today's students. Helping girls see their future as women in tech will give birth to a more diverse wave of infinite thinkers. What can we as educators do to help?
So I challenge you to use the comments sections to share your ideas of how to use AdaLoveLace Day or to add to the collection of post that will be published. Looking forward to having you join me in fulfilling my #4 on my New Years Resolution post.
Friday Five - Sites with Role Models of Women in Technology
Women in Tech: The Executives
Women in Tech: The Entrepreneurs
Women in Tech: The Gamers
Women in Tech: The Evangelists
Women in Tech: The Activists
Women in Tech: The Bloggers
Women in Tech: The Brainiacs
