Twiducate.com is a site that allows teachers to use a twitter style environment in their classrooms with the security of password protected access. Teachers create an account and a classroom. They then create a class and add their students. The students must know their classroom code and personal password (which can be changed by the student but is visible to the teacher in case the student forgets). Teachers can pin their posts to the top of the feed and students can edit or delete their own posts and comment on others’ posts.
Please post a comment with how you can see this working in your classroom, limitations you find, or ideas for improvements!
Follow Twiducate on Twitter for updates: http://twitter.com/twiducate
The Google Reader is a great way to take websites that you would visit if you had 3 extra hours in your day and allows you to see the updates at a glance! Setting up Google Reader to track websites and blogs is super simple and saves so much time. I am able to take 2 minutes out of my day to run through new posts and get great information that I never would have found if I actually had to go to each site.
VIDEO: Google Reader in Plain English
There is a whole youtube channel dedicated to helping you get set up with google reader at http://youtube.com/googlereaderhelp
Here are some tips and trick I have learned along the way:
Subscription Names: At times, the subscription name is long and with the small amount of space given, you may not have a clue as to what the site even is. To rename the subscription, hover your mouse over the feed name in the left side pane; you will see a little arrow appear to the right. Click the arrow and you will see an option to rename.
List View: In the upper right hand corner of the main window, you will see the SHOW options. Expanded will give you a small portion of the post and List View will give you the title of the post.
Starring items: Starring an item will create a bookmark of that item in the reader. You can utilize this feature to visit an item you really like and think you may want to read again. What I do most often is star the items that look interesting, but maybe I don’t have time to read it now. After starring items, I mark all as read. Then later, I go to my starred items and read them in full when I have time.
Google Reader Resources:
http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/12/18/tips-and-tricks-making-the-most-of-google-reader/
http://www.googletutor.com/2008/06/18/5-excellent-productivity-tips-for-google-reader/
http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2007/02/quick-tips-for-google-reader-power-users/
#gwevegas # in reply to ElaineReads #Escobedo MS now has access to a School edition of the Google Apps Suite. This version allows staff and students to access apps like Google Docs, Google Sites, and more! The site can be accessed from any school computer or at home.
Our tasks for today:
Docs Activities:
Some Quick Start Guides:
There are some amazing search tools offered by google. We all know about using AND, OR, and quotes, but Google has blown these basic searching tools out of the water! Visit our EscoWeb Google site to get comfortable with a few of the Advanced Search Tools!
Visit the EscoWeb Google Search Page for more!
Here is a sneak peak: