Entries Tagged 'Web 2.0' ↓

Example of a Google Docs spreadsheet PDA

• Create a new spreadsheet
• Create headers across the top - you can format the text and background color if you like.
• I used Subject, Date, Notes, Details
• At the bottom of the screen you will see a tab for the sheet you are working on.. If you click it you have several editing choices, including delete, duplicate, rename, and move right or left. For now you might want to rename it work.
• Now click again and duplicate it (I did this twice) You now have three sheets with the same headers and you can now click on and rename the other two sheets. I have named my sheets Work, Home, Ideas.
• Now here is where it gets fun
• You could just enter information directly into the spreadsheet but with Google Docs you can create a form that will make it easier to quickly enter data and have it automatically update in the spreadsheet.
• We will create a separate form for each sheet and show you how you can use those links to populate your spreadsheet PDA
• Click on the tab for one of the sheets so you will have that sheet open.
• You should see a row of light blue tabs across the top of the document - click the tab for Form
• Click create a form
• A new page will open with your form already created according to the column headers you used in your spreadsheet.
• As you move your mouse cursor over each field in your form you will see that you can edit that individual field, you can move it, you can even add or delete questions. Just remember that what you do on the form will be reflected on the spreadsheet. If you delete a field it will no longer exist on the spreadsheet either. A good rule of thumb is that the form is “the boss” of the spreadsheet.
• Now choose “next choose recipients” You can put in your own email address and if you look on the right you will see a note saying that if you have trouble viewing or submitting this form, you can fill it out online and there will be a link. This is the link you want to save as a shortcut on your desktop. You can change the name of the link to make it easier to find. On a PC you will right click on the shortcut and choose rename. If you use something like @Home the @ sign will cause it to be near the top if you arrange you icons in alphabetical order. On a Mac you will control-click the shortcut and choose info. There will be a field where you can change the name.

This would work for a student organizer - just change the column headings to something like assignment, due date, teacher/professor, class period, notes/resources.

A couple of modifications and you can share and collaborate so now you have an online project management system.

You can also click publish - this gives you an embeddable link and an RSS feed so you can subscribe to your own list.
Choose more publishing options and click in the drop down box and choose HTML to embed in a webpage. You can also choose which sheets and even which cells to show. The will generate some HTML that you can paste into your blog. Pay attention to the sizes shown in the HTML. If you paste it and find it is bigger than the space provided in the webpage you can usually adjust those numbers to make it fit.

I hope this is useful to you!

Let’s make a quick guide for someone planning to visit Paris soon. there is more that could be included but this will be enough to get you started! The instructions came from the Google Docs Blog which is a wonderful resource!

First, determine the sites you will use and open a Google docs spreadsheet

In the first column put the addresses

In the second column put the names and a short description (you can include a link)

Click and drag to highlight both columns

Click Insert on the toolbar and choose gadget

Select Google Maps

You can add a title but you now have a list of sites with their addresses and links and a map to boot! Cool and simple.

Save it, click publish and check the box - republish changes and you can continue to add to it and you can email a link to it to your friends and family!

Here is a link to mine:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgVdUefx1CH0V_U5tumJrHw

Here is a screenshot:

To add a column of numbers in Google docs spreadsheets relax and just follow a few easy steps.

type a column of numbers

when you are finished place your cursor in the cell you want the sum to appear in

At the top right side of the spreadsheet window is a row of functions - click sum, then place your cursor in the cell with the first number and hold and drag to cover the column of numbers. The range will appear in your formula cell

If you have this the way you want it click enter (until you click enter nothing will happen)

the same process works for average and the other functions listed there.

If you click “more” you will see a list of available functions

If you are done click save and give your spreadsheet a title

Yay you! You have created your first Google doc spreadsheet!

I have been spending a lot of time playing with Google Docs and I am very impressed. There are a lot of resources for help but no single tutorials. I can understand why since the applications are constantly being changed and improved but this makes it a bit hard on someone who is trying it out for the first time.

I’m going to start sharing some of the information I find on this blog.

Today we are going to learn about Google Spreadsheets and Forms.

You can create a spreadsheet from scratch in Google Docs or you can upload one from your computer. There is a list of functions available for Google Spreadsheets. I will spend more time on that later. Today I want to tell you how to create a form than can be shared. When folks fill out the form and click the submit button, the data automatically populates the spreadsheet you create before you send it out. Here are the basic steps (courtesy of Google)

Features: Creating forms

You can create a form from any spreadsheet. Just follow these instructions:

1. Open a new spreadsheet.
2. Save the spreadsheet.
3. Click the Share tab.

1. Under ‘Invite people:’ choose the radio button to fill out a form.

1. Click Start editing your form…

In the form template that opens, you can add any questions and options you’d like.

1. Click the Next, choose recipients tab. Here, you can add email addresses, a custom confirmation message, and choose whether you want people to see the responses.
2. When you’re finished, click Send.

There is so much more you can do but this is good way to try things out.

Some uses for this feature?

1. Planning an event - check schedules or compile a list of who can bring what

2. Create a poll

3. Give a quiz

4. Send out field trip parent forms

5. Collect addresses and phone numbers for a club

I know there are more - can you think of some??

My very environmentally conscious friend Frances submitted a bag design in the Kroger(R) Design a Reusable Shopping Bag contest.

PLEASE!!! Vote for her Kroger reusable bag design at kroger.com!!! You can
vote once a day - thanks!!

View design and vote

http://www.designagreenbag.com/vote-for-designs/bag.aspx?BagId=9662

Hurray! I haven’t checked the new features in Google Docs in awhile, but tonight I was uploading some documents and decided to peak at the presentation piece.  When I last tried to use it I got frustrated because you couldn’t download the presentations into PowerPoint.  They have fixed that and now your presentations can swing either way!  I was sure it was just a matter of time and now it’s here!

You still can’t have all the functionality as far as animations and themes but you can create your basic slides and get all your text set up.  You can also share with a team and track changes.

If you have a student who doesn’t have Microsoft Office on their home computer this is a way for them to get a bit ahead as long as they have access to the internet.

I didn’t get to attend this presentation - it was one of those time-slots when I needed a few clones to attend several sessions at the same time. Through the magic of technology I can still hear and “see” the presentation! After “attending” online I am very excited about the real event!

If you will go to Mrs. Alsup’s web presence there is a link on the sidebar to 2008 TCEA Presentation which will let you download the entire PowerPoint. You can view the PowerPoint and listen to the presentation at the same time -there is also a Podcast online - just click this link and put on your headphones - the Podcast lasts about 40 minutes. Writing Safari Podcast

There were only five presentations up at Conference Connections from TCEA so kudos to some of our own for being up there!

If you go to TCEA 2008 and click on Sessions and Workshops, list free sessions you will see the entire list and the session I attend will have the session number in the post as well. You will be able to look for handouts there in a few weeks.

I like Patrick Crispen’s presenting style. He starts on time, tells you what he will cover, moves through the presentation like an east Texas wind. Before you know it he is saying we have to hurry because there are only three minutes left, ties is all up and sends you out as the next group comes in. He must have an incredible amount of energy or sleep for a week after a conference like this.

His website is NetSquirrel and if you go there and click on PowerPoint Presentations on the side you will have access to all his handouts. They are licensed under Creative Commons (he was the first person I heard even mention Creative Commons yesterday) so you are free to download his material. The presentation for this session will be udated in a few days.
Some new things I learned yesterday:

• Google free business directory assistance 1 - 800 - 466 - 4411
  • Voice, directions, maps on your cell phone. Google wants to do voice search - this is there start at getting voices saying words
• Google Notebook now datestamps your entries
• Google.com/educators has added discovery videos

This morning I found a new little snippet in my reader about Google docs - they have added a new little tool. When you share a spreadsheet you now have three choices - collaborator, viewer, and now “to fill out a form”. You can create a form in Google spreadsheets, share it with people and as they respond to the form, the data is automatically added to your spreadsheet.

posted at Thoughts Have Wings

Next week I am planning on attending TCEA 2008 in Austin. Dale is doing well and I will be a cell phone call away. I am looking forward to learning some new things and meeting some folks that I have till now known only through blogging.

I plan, as I did last year, to blog my notes. If you do not blog and are going to be attending this year from PISD, I would love to have you as a “guest blogger”! Just let me know if you are interested and we can arrange for your notes/reflections on the conference to appear as a guest post by you to share with the rest of the district.

If you are a blogger I have a few tips for you. Take good notes making sure you have the session name, presenter name, and school district if applicable. Check out HitchHikr - a site that will aggregate posts that are tagged for specific conferences. There is no tag yet so you might want to check back - it will be something like TCEA08. If you tag our post with the HitchHikr tag it will make it easier for people who didn’t attend the same sessions to find your notes. As conference attendees start posting and tagging, the posts will show up on the HitchHikr site and there will be an RSS link so you can subscribe if you like and read other posts. This is a great way for all of us to get the most out of the conference and share the information with folks in the district who couldn’t attend.

There is a great post at Lunch Over IP on tips for conference blogging with links to other articles if you are interested in reading more about this. They have even created a PDF booklet you can download. There are two versions and I have included one here.

conferenceblogging_zuckerman-giussani_a4_color_booklet.pdf

Stop by Lunch Over IP blog and leave a thank you comment if you find this useful. I’m excited about the conference and can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Also posted at Thoughts Have Wings

I love Google Earth - to me it has this magic carpet feel to it. I can visit anywhere on earth in moments and often when I get there I will find that someone has taken photos of interesting sites there or I can add overlays that tell me everything there is to know about the area. I’m a Google fan anyway.

Right now a friend of mine and I are making some slides for a praise service using Google docs. I type or copy and paste lyrics onto slides and then “share” with him (which sends him an email with a click-able link to the presentation) which he then adds a background to and maybe tweaks the text a bit. When he is through he shares it back with me. We can work on it at different times, in different places and even add collaborators if we want. The slides can be downloaded and used in Powerpoint, Keynote, OpenOffice Impress, and even SlideShare.

I have not been so in love with Twitter. Twitter is an application that lets you constantly add a few words about what you are doing at the moment. I see how it might have it’s uses (sort of) for people who have a shared interest but mine would bore people to tears. Maybe I could make it a paid subscription for insomniacs? I signed up for a free account trying to see if I could “get it”. I have even subscribed via RSS to several of my favorite education/technology/blogger “tweets”

This morning I read how several teachers are using it and was once again reminded of how creative and resourceful teachers are.

Langwitches have started a Teachable Moments Shoutout Twitter account that you can that you can subscribe to and if you have a Twitter account you can join in. You can help other teachers with teachable moment ideas or get help yourself. If you are not familiar with Twitter, this does not mean a huge lesson plan with rubrics and worksheets - these are short messages. You can even subscribe via cell phone and get “tweets” as text messages. If you are curious you can find out more on the Twitter FAQ page or the Twitter Lingo/Help page.

This Shoutout idea was inspired by Tom Barrett and his use of Google Earth and Twitter. Tom got his Twitter network people to participate in his students’ Google Earth lesson. The students had to find these people based on a few clues on Twitter.

I asked my network to challenge the children to find them in Google Earth, to search and discover their location from a few scraps of info via Twitter. Well the challenges rolled in and in a couple of hours we had 25 different people to track down.

Some of the Tweets were longitude and latitude. Others were addresses or well-known geographical sites. As the students found the locations the sent back messages via twitter to let them know they had been found. The students got experience searching and using the different layers and even the three-D buildings feature. Because they had a real purpose the focus of the class became finding real people in real places and the technology became the tool instead of the lesson.

When I was in elementary school I had a Japanese PenPal. That was our Web 2.0.