October 28 Learning Plan
Google Drive Add-ons
Google Chrome Browser: Apps and Extensions
Digital Storytelling
Benefits
Uses
Resources
Copyright and Fair Use
Photo Story 3 for Windows - learn how to use
Tips and Tricks
GOOGLE DRIVE ADD-ONS
The free applications in Google Drive are not as robust as Microsoft Office applications but a variety of add-on applications have been created to provide many of the beloved, yet missing functions. Add-ons are typically free and increase your ability to work with files that are created and stored in Google Drive. The best way to get add-ons is to click the Add-Ons menu in any Drive document, spreadsheet, or presentation and then click Get Add-ons.
Educators will find the following add-ons useful:
Flubaroo - automatically grades assignments created with Google Drive Form
Doctopus and Goobric - provide distribution, management, and rubric style grading functionality
AutoCrat - merge of data from Google Drive Spreadsheet into Google Drive Documents
Merge - send email directly from a Google Drive Document using email addresses from a Drive Spreadsheet
Avery Label Maker - create labels, name tags, etc. from spreadsheet data
Students will find these add-ons useful:
MindMeister - create concept maps from a bullet list in a Google Drive Document
Consistency Checker picks up where the spell checker leaves off (hyphenation, abbreviations, numerals...)
Thesaurus
Table of Contents
EasyBib - cite works (3 different formats) while working in a Google Drive Document and alphabetize them
GOOGLE CHROME APPS & EXTENSIONS
Chrome is a browser created by Google to compete with the Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari browsers. Google applications such as Drive (documents, sheets, & slides) and website design often work better when using the Google Chrome browser. You can personalize and improve the functionality of your Google Chrome browser by adding apps and extensions.
Go to the Chrome Web Store
Start by finding some helpful Apps - search through the Education & Productivity areas
Education: GeoGebra, BrainPop, Socrative, NearPod, TypingClub, FlashCards, ClassDojo, Translator, Blendspace, Apps for Common Core, Newsela
Productivity: Dropbox, Evernote, Prezi, MindMeister, Weebly, SummarizeThis, OneTab, CleanPrint, EDpuzzle
Next click on Extensions and browse the categories, especially Accessibility & Productivity
Accessibility: Read & Write for Google
Productivity: CiteThis For Me, Diigo Web Collector, Pinterest, Symbaloo Bookmarker, Goobric, Goo.gl URL Shortener, OpenDyslexic, Ginger SpellChecker & Grammar Checker
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Through digital storytelling, the ancient art of storytelling merges with powerful technology to propel critical and creative thinking in students. There are many educational uses of digital storytelling.
When students develop digital stories they participate in a process that includes brainstorming, researching, organizing, developing, and publishing. Additional benefits include:
Improved student engagement
Improved analysis and synthesis of content
Utilization of creative talents
Improvement in reading, writing, & communication skills
Development of students' compelling and competitive voice
Collaboration when students work together
Improved work quality because the audience is authentic (more than just the teacher)
Acceptance of suggestions which fosters a desire to revise and rewrite
Development of visual, media, & information literacy
DIGITAL STORYTELLING RESOURCES:
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling - resources, sample stories and more from the University of Houston
Center for Digital Storytelling - committed to promoting the value of story as a means for compassionate community action
Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything – DigitalStorytelling
Common Core State Standards - Tech by grade level
Word Cloud generators: Wordle, Tagul, Tagxedo, and Word It Out
Using Animation and Digital Storytelling to Support Common Core
Telling Digi-tales - deepen learning through digital storytelling by Dr. Ellen Maddin
Media resources - links to sites with images, sounds, sound effects
COPYRIGHT, FAIR USE, & PROCURING MEDIA:
All content in a digital story (images, music, sound effects, etc.) must be copyright free if the digital story will be uploaded to a website that is NOT password protected.
How do you obtain copyright free materials?
Use a camera to take photos
Digitally create your own images and save as JPG files:
In PowerPoint
FILE menu --> SAVE AS --> SAVE AS TYPE --> JPEG FILE INTERCHANGE FORMAT
In Google Presentation
FILE menu --> DOWNLOAD AS --> JPEG IMAGE
In Microsoft Paint
FILE menu --> SAVE AS --> JPEG PICTURE
Locate images, audio, and video using Wikimedia Commons, a media repository for public domain and freely licensed media content.
Three Creative Commons license types are acceptable for use in digital stories:
A – Attribution - must credit the author
NC – Non-commercial – cannot make money from what you make with the item
SA – Share Alike – must assign the same license to whatever work you create
Search for content from copyright free sites. Anything from a government or military site is copyright free.
In either the Google or Bing search bar type the following:
site:.gov keyword (replace keyword with the term being searched)
How do you save images found online? Media for digital stories must be saved, NOT copied!
Click on the image until the mouse pointer is no longer a hand. The URL should end in either JPG or GIF. The newer PNG image file types cannot be used in many digital storytelling applications. It's best to avoid them.
Right click the image
Left click Save Image As
Save the image to a folder where you are storing content for the digital story
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION RESOURCES:
Cyberbee Interactive Q & A on Copyright - fun way to learn about copyright law
Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers - from Technology & Learning magazine
Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers - a more detailed list compiled by Hall Davidson
Creative Commons - general information about Creative Commons licensing
Wikimedia Commons - repository for images, sounds, and videos
DIGITAL STORYTELLING TIPS & TRICKS:
Plan story components (graphic, text, audio, motion, & transition) that contribute to the story’s emotion & purpose.
Show instead of tell!
Create a catchy title – click here to find out how
Economize! Keep it simple and brief. Less is often more (text & graphics).
Use only sans serif fonts (without feet).
Avoid italics & underlining.
Pay attention to timing. It can make or break your story.
How and where will the story be shared? Face-to-face or online? The answer to this question determines resources that can be used. Be mindful of copyright & fair use.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING APPLICATIONS:
Numerous applications are available for digital storytelling. They are difficult to compare because none of them do exactly the same thing. The following list contains free applications with a range of features. In some cases, a paid subscription provides more features.
Images for Practice Activity (This folder contains a set of images you can use during the session. All images have been retrieved from Pics4Learning and Wikimedia Commons.)
Choose a poem/excerpt for your digital story.
Click on the Images for Practice Activity link to access the folder.
Click on a thumbnail to preview it. If you'd like to use the image, click on the download icon.
Include the black and white background files in your image collection.
Navigate to your Download folder to retrieve your images. (You may want to move the images to your digital story folder before you begin your project.)
Please complete the session evaluation on the Co-Lab 3.2 Integrating Tech site. Thank you!