October 10, 2014 – Thanks for Giving

Happy Thanksgiving Friday everyone!!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who encourage me to continue writing the Tech Tidbits.  Although I sometimes find myself struggling to come up with new and useful tech to be used in the classroom, speaking with the many teachers and administrators who are reading, and using them J, makes the whole process worthwhile.  So, this week I’m giving thanks to you…

On that note, thanks to Karen Hayhurst for sharing with me how she is using Google Classroom in her grade 6 class.  By creating multiple Google Classrooms for her students, she can differentiate her assignments for all of her students.  Just as you would have a variety of guided reading groups based upon their reading and fluency levels, so too can you create levelled classrooms for your students and delegate assignments to them, which are at their academic level.  This way modified students will participate in all of the same classroom activities while receiving assignments, which are at their skill and grade level.  What a great way to differentiate for your students without centering anyone out!

Also, a big thank you to my little buddy Kristian, for sharing this tip with me.  When students are working with online websites they can still utilize Google Read & Write by clicking on the green Read&Write icon in the web address bar.  This will open the Read & Write tool bar and you can continue to highlight text and have it read aloud to you.  

Additionally, if you have a student who is distracted by unimportant ads and images on the screen you can click on the ‘Simplify Page icon’ (see arrow above) and it will re-open the website in another tab in a more streamlined version.  From here you can choose to click on the + or – sign at the top of the page to further reduce or enhance the information on the page.  A super easy way to restructure the webpage to make information students need much more easy to find.

Finally a BIG thank you to everyone for continuing to follow my blog and weekly tips. If you have an idea for a future blog topic or would like some assistance with a particular piece of equipment, please feel free to pass it along to me.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Cheers,

Stace

September 19, 2014 – Read&Write

Welcome back to a new school year!  I hope that everyone has had the opportunity to get settled with their new students, roles and possibly schools.

This week I’d like to share with you some of the new and exciting functions offered by Read & Write on UGCloud. 

First, ensure that your students have access to the Read & Write function.  When they open a new Google document, the Read& Write symbol (see image at the right) should appear at the top of the window just under the web address bar.  If this is not present then ensure that the student has signed into Chrome on a desktop or laptop in the school.  Signing into chrome from a mobile devise such as an iPad or Chromebook will not ensure the availability of the Read&Write function. Here’s how to sign into Chrome…

• Click on the chrome symbol to open Google chrome web browser on your computer
• Click on the ‘Hot dogs’ in the upper right hand corner of the web address bar  (there is a more technical term for this icon but the kids understand the ‘hotdogs’ best) and it will open a drop down menu
• Scan down until you see ‘sign into chrome’ and click on it
• Sign in with you UGCloud email (first initial last name @ugcloud.ca) and password
• Go to www.ugcloud.ca and sign in as staff or student with user name and password
• A pop up window should open asking if you would like to ‘link your data’, click to link
• This should open more tabs on your computer (all of the applications and extensions) 
• They may need to be ‘accepted’ for them to work on your computer, however this will likely only need to be done the first time

Once you have allowed Read&Write on your account, this tool bar will appear at the top of the page when you open or create a Google doc.

This is called the ‘Study Skills’ toolbar and is where you will find the icons for the app.  If you are having trouble seeing the toolbar for the document you can click on the double arrow on the icon (pull down) it will hide it for you.  Similarly, if you would like to use the study skills toolbar just click on the double down arrows and it will re-emerge for you.

You may notice that there are a couple new icons on the tool bar –

is the crystal ball and allows the student to access the new word prediction tool, and 



 
is the audio headset which opens the voice to text feature.

Word Predictor - By clicking on this icon while working in a Google doc, a small window will appear near the cursor and begin to offer potential word options as you begin to type.  When the word you wish to use appears, simply click on the word in the box to insert the words, or hover their mouse over the words to get them read aloud.  Although similar to Word Q, this tool does not require students to open multiple programs, which will need to work together; it’s all right in the Google doc.

Voice-to-Text – When working in a Google doc, simply clicking on this tool and speaking into the device’s built-in microphone, or an externally added microphone/headset combination, the program will recognize your speech and convert it to text, writing it directly into the doc for you.  There may need to be some additional editing for punctuation or slightly misheard words (i.e. ball written for fall) however this will offer far more opportunities for students whose typing skills are holding them back from sharing their knowledge.  One thing to note is that while the internal device’s microphone may be sufficient for use in quieter settings, utilizing a microphone/headphone combination headset will offer the best results when working in a busy classroom.

Following the motto of ‘what is good for some, is good for all’, these new tools are now accessible on ALL UGCloud accounts, not only on SEA Equipment devices, so any of our students can have the opportunity to share their knowledge, thoughts and creativity without restrictions.

If you require additional information regarding Read&Write on the UGCloud, please feel free to contact me.  Additionally, past Tech Tidbits posts can be found on my blog at http://techtidbitz.blogspot.ca.

Cheers and have a great weekend,

Stace

April 25, 2014 - 'Add-On' to Your Google Know How

Happy Sunny Friday everyone!!

This week I would like to share a new Google tool which is meant to be used in conjunction with Google Docs and Sheets on the UGCloud.  You may have noticed the ‘Add-Ons’ in the tool bar within the Google Docs page and wondered about its use (see image).

Similar to Google Extensions (Read&Write, Google Dictionary, etc.), Add-Ons improve ease of use and increase the possibilities linked to the documents you (and your students) can create.  Some ideal add-ons to begin with include:

Openclipart- access to over 50 000 clip art images while working in a Google Doc

Easybib – have a bibliography created for you in APA, MLA or Chicago style by pasting in a book ISBN, title or web address into the search box

Table of contents – creates a table of contents right in your document for you

Thesaurus - an in-document thesaurus to aid in word choice and selection

To download an add-on, click on "Add-ons" in the top menu bar and select "Get add-ons."

A pop-up window will open with a variety of add-ons to choose from. You can search out the preferred add-on by typing in the search box or simply browse for something that catches your eye.

 Once you find the one you wish to install, you can either hover over it and then click on ‘free’ or click on it for more information, and then tap ‘free’ to download it to your account.  A final window will appear asking for permission to access your information; simply click ‘Accept’ and the add-on will be available to you immediately in your document or spreadsheet.

To access your add-ons while working within the document, simply click on the ‘add-ons’ drop down in the tool bar and select the add-on you wish to use.  The add-on will open a communication box on the right and side of your document where you can utilize its capabilities and resources.   

Add-ons you no longer feel as desired can be removed by clicking on the add-on drop down menu and selecting ‘manage add-ons’.  Then click on the ‘manage’ box linked to the add-on you wish to have removed and when the drop down menu appears selecting the ‘remove’ option.

I have found many of these tools to be extremely useful (especially Easybib!) and hope that you too can benefit from them.  Please give them a try and let me know if you have found any others that need to be shared 

Have a great weekend!

Stace

November 22, 2013 - Read&Write Update

Happy Friday Everyone!

Considering everyone is busy with parent teacher interviews this weekend, I thought I would pass along a quick update on an earlier post – ‘Getting started with Read&Write and Google Docs…’ (bit.ly/1aUPxYq)

If anyone has been working with Read & Write for Google Docs lately you may have noticed a new icon on the left hand side of the study skills toolbar. 

This is Read& Write’s version of Word Q for students and it is currently available on the Google Documents with presentations and webpages being added soon. 

By clicking on this icon while working in a Google doc, a small window will appear near the cursor and will begin to offer potential word options as you begin to type.  When the word you wish to use appears, simply click on the word in the box to insert the words, or hover their mouse over the words to get them read aloud.

Although this version does not build a vocabulary file of frequently used words as Word Q does, it offers a wide variety of options and words for students to select from.

Cheers!

Stace 

November 8, 2013 - Using the Template Gallery

Happy Cold and Snowy Friday Everyone!!

By now I’m fairly certain that almost everyone has become at least a somewhat familiar with the creating of Google Docs, so today I’d like to share how you can use templates to enhance your writing experience. 

Begin by logging onto your UGCloud account and clicking on the drive icon.  From here, click on the red ‘create’ box and choose the type of document you would like to create (form, spreadsheet, document, presentation, etc).  Once your new document has been created, click on ‘file’ in the toolbar and select ‘new’ from the dropdown menu.   Here another menu will open to the right of the current menu and you can select ‘From Template’. 

Another window will open which will display the various types of templates available (i.e. resume, newspaper, storyboard, etc.)  In the search box you can type a keyword to search all templates or you can use any of the more specific selections on the left hand side of the webpage (‘narrow by type’ or by ‘category’). 

The templates default to searching the ones created by the UGDSB Staff as indicated by the highlighted tab at the top of the page.  To change to ‘Public Templates’ or ‘Templates I Have Used’ simply click on the hyperlinked words and the search category will change as well. 

Once you have found a template which you feel may be suitable for your task, simply click on the thumbnail image of the template.  A preview of the template will open in a new window so you can take a closer look and determine if it is what will work with your assignment.  If you feel that this is not what you were looking for, click on ‘close this window’ in the upper right hand corner or ‘browse template gallery’ and you will be taken back to your previous search.  If however, this template is suitable, simply click on the ‘Use this Template’ button in the upper left hand corner and a copy of it will be downloaded and added to your Google Drive where you can begin typing.

Templates for resumes, newspapers, lesson planners, daily schedules, brochures, storyboards and more, can all be found in the template gallery.  Have a look and see if there’s something you might be able to use for yourself or your students’ next project.

Cheers,

Stace

 

October 25, 2013 - Getting started with Read&Write and Google Docs…

Many of you have seen this icon appearing when you open the documents on the UGCloud.  Today, I’d like to offer a brief outline of how to use it…

First, when you open a document you may recognize

 this toolbar at the top of the page. This is called the ‘Study Skills’ toolbar and is where you will find the icons for the app.  If you are having trouble seeing the tools for the document you can click on the double arrow on the icon it will hide it for you.  Similarly, if you would like to use the study skills toolbar just click on the double down arrows.

With the Read & Write app, you are able to have documents (including scanned and uploaded PDFs) read to you.  There will be no need for Kurzweil any longer, and anyone, not just students with SEA equipment, will be able to have text read to them.

First, open the document from your Google drive (simply click if it is a Google Doc, if it is a PDF right click on the title and select ‘open with’ and then select “Read&Write for Google”).

When the document opens, highlight the text by clicking and dragging the mouse along the text you would like read.  Then in the toolbar, click on the black triangle and the text will be read to you. To stop the reading, click on the square box or tap the double bars in the ‘study skills toolbar’ to pause the reading. As the text is being read aloud it will be highlighted so that it will help the reader with comprehension and word recognition.

The voice of the reader can be altered from male to female and from a faster reading pace to one which is slower.  To change the voice, speed, or translation language, click on the gear in the upper right hand corner and select from one of the voices in the drop down menu.  Of the available voices, I prefer the US – Ava, as I find she is the least robotic and recognizable.  By choosing French – Virginie, you are able to have Read&Write read French texts aloud for you.

One of the key features of Read&Write is the Highlighting aspect.  By selecting text, you can then click on one of the coloured highlighters in the ‘study skills’ toolbar to change the text to that colour.  Although this appears to be nothing new, the highlighted information can be collected and placed into a new document.   By clicking on the ‘collect highlights’ icon, only the information you have highlighted will be organized into another Google document.  You can choose to have it collected by colour (so say you highlighted everything about dogs in yellow, and everything about cats in blue, all the dog and cat information would be grouped together) or order it chronologically by selecting “position” from the drop down menu when you click on collect highlights.  This is a great tool for students who are learning (or need practice with) how to summarize key points in an article they have just read (CASI).  

Additional Fun Tools

Dictionary - by double clicking on a word (or selecting it with click and drag) and then clicking on the dictionary icon (dictionary), the app will give you what part of speech it is and a definition for it.

Picture Dictionary- by double clicking on a word (or selecting it with click and drag) and then clicking on the picture dictionary icon , you will be given a clip art of what the word means.

Translator - by double clicking on a word (or selecting it with click and drag) and then clicking on the translator icon it will give you a few translations of the word in French or Spanish.  If you find the translator is translating to Spanish, simply click on the gear icon on the right hand side and select French from the drop down menu next to ‘translation’.

Vocabulary builder - when you highlight words and then click on the vocabulary icon a new document is created which lists all of the selected words in a table, including their dictionary definitions, a symbol for it, and a place for students to write in notes.

Fact Finder - helps find information quickly by searching the web for relevant information about a topic.  To use Fact Finder, click on the fact finder icon. Type your search term in the Manual Text Search Box and click OK. Fact Finder will open another browser window and display search results for your keyword using the default search engine. Great for students working on research projects.

I hope these are helpful for you and for your struggling readers.

Cheers,

S