The Perennially-Under-Construction Instructional Technology Website

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mailto:dave.basener@net.elmhurst.edu         https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DaveBasener          http://elmhurstcollegeinsttech.blogspot.com/         http://calendly.com/dave-basener-ec/30min

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Current Workshop Resources
(or most recent if I am not actually doing a workshop now)
Excel and Google Sheets: Comparison and Contrast

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Focus and Rationale for the Structure and Contents of This Site
The information and instruction that I provide can be viewed either by the function you wish to perform or by the product type, so I have organized this website to reflect that.  Many items will occur under both areas.

There is a heavy focus on Google Apps for Education (GAFE) tools in the products which I recommend and for which I create instruction.  There are two reasons for this.  Firstly, this set of tools is an incredible resource.  With it you can create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations that are universally viewable.  You can upload and do simple editing on videos.  You can make video calls and hold video conferences.  You can share and record your desktop. You can create sites.  You can collaborate with students and faculty here at Elmhurst or across the globe with.  The collaboration aspect is built into most of the Google tools from the ground up, a philosophy which underlies the social overlay, Google+.   And, of course, there is Gmail, the glue that connects it all.  There is no need for any specialized software.  All browsers, even Internet Explorer and Safari, deficient as they are, can access these materials.  

The second reason that I focus on Google Apps for Education is that this incredibly useful set of tools is nearly unknown here at the college.  The students all use their Gmail accounts, but most know little beyond that.  All faculty have Google Apps accounts, but most do not realize it.  If they do, most are in the same position as the students.  To allow this free set of tools to go unused and unknown would be irresponsible.  Did I mention that all of these capabilities are completely free?

In addition to GAFE there are a variety of other tools that have general appeal, many of them interact with the Apps, but not all.  Many of these, but not all, are more specialized tools and receive less attention.
  Goal Oriented List


Documents



Presentations

Websites

Video Creation

Scheduling Meetings and Office Hours
Email
  • Unifying your Exchange Email and your Google Apps Email
  • Unifying multiple Gmail accounts

Collaboration using Video Conferencing

Teaching Online

  Tool Oriented List








Helpful Information on the Web

Workshop Information
Pretty much everything from here on was not created by me, but I have found helpful and I hope you do as well.


Temporary Additional Resources
Below here you may find some useful information from external sources, but there is no guarantee that it will remain around in its current format.  These tend to be either outside information that looks interesting, but I haven't gone over it yet, or, outside information that I am incorporating into instructional material and it will disappear from here, either completely or to a continued existence as a reference in the instructional material.

Links to session at the 2013 GAFE Summit in Northbrook, Illinois

This presentation used a very creative, real-world exercise to explain the uses of, and differences between, Circles and Communities

Use the power of Google Maps, Street View, your own audio, and other resources to enhance understanding of literature and, perhaps, other art.

Project Based Learning

A set of presentations around forms, sheets and templates


Intro to Google Earth - Benjamin Friesen






Google Sites in Action - Gregory Regalado

Unleash the Power of Gmail - Gregory Regalado




Google Drawings: Making the Complex Simple - Henry Thiele