5-Computers

So we are a Google Education establishment & with that we get a whole host of Google wizardry at your fingertips, just by logging in to your xxxx@MagdalenCourtSchool.co.uk e-mail account. So lots of the software I'm going to point you towards is Google based. It's free, does not require you to install anything on your computer/phone/laptop/tablet - works on any web enabled device, your work is accessible on all of them. I frequently have one piece of work open on multiple devices at multiple locations. All of them are up-to-date, I don't have to think about saving it or finding it, it just follows me, by logging in to my e-mail account. No need to run backups. It just makes working on a computer a breeze.

Of course there is a downside - it's a safe as your password, leave a device open with you logged into your e-mail account & anyone who accesses that device has access to everything!

Google updates & adds new applications every 6 weeks, so keeping abreast of all that is on offer is a challenge. Just click on that 9 square cube in the top right of your gmail window when you login, remember to click on the more to see what is available to you.

  • Internet Safety
  • On-line learning
  • Bubble diagram/topic webs/brain storm/etc:
  • Photo Editing:
    • Pixir on-line - a very powerful photo editing program, free & on-line
  • Photo management
  • Google Photo - will automatically transfer photos from your phone/tablet etc to your online photo album & so much more
  • Word Processing
  • Google Docs - Powerful word processor, but only very simple image adding facilities
  • Spreadsheets
  • Google Sheets - Do most of Excel will
  • File Management
  • Google Drive - will hold any electronic file
  • Questionnaires
  • Google Forms - send out questionnaires, automatically graphs results, e-mails you when they are completed
  • Digital fill keeping:
    • Google Keep - allows you to take notes, add photos, videos, audio notes to each note that you take. All held on-line, meaning you can access it from any web-enabled device & it's free. Surely everyone needs to use this!
    • Evernote - initially free, very similar to Google Keep, but will search photos for words, so if you scan or photograph a document, it will then find that document by any combination of words in the image. It's real strength is in replacing a paper filing system. We use it extensively in the office.
  • Powerpoint:
  • Google Slides - a simplified version of Microsoft's Powerpoint, I also use it as a DTP (Desktop Publisher) enabling you to mix pictures & text in a document to print
  • Web sites:
  • Google Sites - only available through our xxx@MagdalenCourtSchool.co.uk google accounts. Lets you create website easily. This page is a Google Sites page
  • Teaching
  • Google Classroom - All teachers should be using this, it's amazing, allows you to set work, set due dates, send out handouts, collect finished work in, keep marking records & so much more. Just makes teaching paperwork so much easier!
  • Contacts
  • Google Contacts - save a contact on your phone & have access to it on all your devices or vice versa
  • E-mail
  • Google E-mail - start an e-mail on your phone, edit it on your tablet & send it on your desktop computer, without thinking about where the e-mail is

Filtering & Monitoring Systems

  • OPEN DNS - basic filter for anything that connects to the school network
  • Login into any device with xxxx@MagdalenCourtSchool.co.uk & these filter comes into play
    • Google Safe Search - very simple filter that takes out some of the silly stuff children might search for
    • Youtube Safe Search - very simple filter that takes out some of the silly stuff children might search for
    • GoGuardian - very detailed filtering & logging program that only works when you log into a device with xxxx@MagdalenCourtSchool.co.uk
      • Admin
        • White & Black lists
          • Block any web site or enable access
      • Logs all websites accessed
      • Logs all e-mails sent, Google Apps documents
      • We can search back through
      • Teacher
        • Classrooms