How to Make a Timeline Using Google Spreadsheets and Timeline JS

I stumbled across this tutorial yesterday on my Google+ stream. Apparently, it is quite easy for students to create interactive digital timelines! Students use this Google spreadsheet template to chart the progression of an event, including event start and end dates/times, event headings, descriptions of each piece of the event, and links to images or videos that go along with the event. Once the template is filled out, the student publishes it to the web (under "File"), and then copies and pastes the published link into a box on this website created by Northwestern University (IL).

Voila! Interactive digital timeline created!

Here is a small example timeline that I made using Act I of Romeo and Juliet. (I took some liberties with the date and times...)

Bonus: Students don't have to go through the publishing step each time they update their spreadsheets. The default settings make it so the timeline is updated any time the spreadsheets is altered.

Turn In?
There are many ways students could turn in their finished products. Here are a few:
*Post an assignment to your Google Classroom, and have students share the timeline link via the assignment. (This option would keep the link sharing private between teacher and student.)
*Create an announcement on your Google Classroom stream, and have students paste the timeline link into a comment box. (This option would allow students to view each other's timelines.)
*Create a Google Form asking for two things: Student Name and Timeline Link. (Perhaps the easiest for grading?)
*Have students post their timelines to a Padlet page.
*Have students email you the timeline link.

Possible Uses?
Have students create a timeline...
*for a short story, novel, or play
*for a famous person's life story
*to brainstorm for or draft a personal narrative
*to outline an event in history

Overall, this combination of tools has the possibility to be quite powerful in not only helping students visually see an event's progression, but also showing their understanding of the event. Why not let them chart it out?!

Goobric Now Offers Voice Comments

It looks like I may have been a little eager to share the Goobric updates! Another update was released this weekend that allows users to leave voice comments on a Google Doc via the Goobric app. Yippee! The 10-minute tutorial (posted just today!) walks users through the Goobric steps for leaving feedback. If you are familiar with Goobric, you can skip to 5:43 to view the steps regarding how to leave voice comments.

Doctopus, Goobric, and Docappender...Oh My!

There has been an upswing in the number of teachers utilizing Google Classroom this semester, and a common concern I've heard is one regarding losing the ability to run various scripts and add-ons with student Google Docs. Thankfully, there are a number of fantastic tools connected to Google Drive that you can still access for assignments created through Google Classroom, specifically Doctopus and Goobric.

Andrew Stillman recently posted on Google+ regarding some improvements to the Doctopus and Goobric partnership and improvements to how they interact with assignments created through Google Classroom, and he should know because he helped designed them. After searching YouTube, I came across the video below regarding how to make use of Doctopus and Goobric through Google Classroom. (Posted just a week ago on January 9, 2015, it is the most up-to-date explanation I could find.) It is about 17 minutes, but it contains great information on how to utilize the two to give students feedback using an online rubric. (Disclaimer: It is more of an explanation and overview than an actual tutorial, but it does cover some of the basics.) If you are crunched for time, the first ~11 minutes covers Doctopus and Goobric. One nice piece about using Goobric is that you can provide your students with digital rubric-based feedback and still easily enter comments on the student's Google Doc as it is all viewed in the same window.

If you do have the time to watch the entire 17 minutes, please do! The last segment is focused on a tool called Docappender. I was unfamiliar with Docappender until viewing this video, and I am intrigued. Docappender gives you the ability to add a student self-assessment piece to the feedback process. And, due to some Googly magic, these three tools combine their powers and record all of the feedback on the student's original document. The student's document ends up with the teacher's rubric-based feedback and comments, and the student's self-assessment added to the end.

If you would like a tutorial on how to do the entire process of using Doctopus and Goobric through the Google Classroom platform, the following video is a great place to start. It is ~7 minutes and walks you through each step. It was posted in early December, 2014, so it is fairly recent.

Whew! Anyone else tired from just thinking about all of those feedback opportunities? If you give these pieces a try, I'd love to hear about your experience. And, if you'd like to look at these pieces together, just send me an email and we'll find a time.

Go forth and give effective feedback!

Semester Two Test Viewings

Although we have only just begun second semester, there have been many questions regarding the in-building viewings of the semester two tests. Here are the dates, times, and locations per Dr. Raeder's September email. Remember that you are welcome to attend the viewing at a building other than your own or at ATI if your buildng's date doesn't work for you.

You are invited to preview the District 2nd semester tests at the following locations, dates, and times:

·         March 3rd –Roosevelt  High School – 3:15  - 4:30 p.m. – Library

·         March 31st – Washington High School – 3:15 – 4:30 p.m. -- A116/A117

·         April 7th – Lincoln High School – 3:15 – 4:30 p.m. – Library

The test preview provides you with an opportunity to see the kinds of questions that are attached to the content standards and how they are worded. . .

If you are unable to attend any of these previews, you may call ATI (367-6112) to set up a time to view the test.  

Research Resources via Virginia Tech and Google

Spring semester often means the start of research paper season around here. If you're looking for a new approach, here are three resources you might want to peruse.

Virginia Tech Library's "How Do I..." Research Resources

Virginia Tech's library website has a "How Do I..." page that offers a variety of research tools and resources regarding topics such as "Conduct Research" and "Find and Use Articles." Some tools are geared specifically for their library, but a number of them can be tweaked to assist our students.

Using "A Google A Day" to Build Research Skills

Google has started offering daily mini-research challenges. Each day, Google posts a research topic through their "A Google A Day" for students to practice their researching skills. Google's challenge topics fall into four categories: culture, geography, history, and science. Each challenge question comes with a few Google slides for the teacher. The slides include the challenge question, hints to get started, the challenge answer, at least one explanation of how to research the answer, and other pages like background information and/or further discussion/follow-up questions.

Google Lesson Plans
Google has also published a few lesson plans for research: 

*Picking the right search term
*Understanding research results
*Narrowing a search to get the best results
*Searching for evidence for research tasks
*Evaluating credibility of sources

Each lesson comes in three levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) so that you can select what best fits your students' knowledge level.

Happy researching!

Google Classroom Updates

Google Classroom has released a few updates this week, including both Android and iOS (iPhone/iPod) mobile apps! Keep sending them feedback and suggestions for improvement via the little question mark icon in the lower right hand corner of your Classroom pages!

Mobile Apps

The app was just release today, January 14. You can download it to either your Android phone or iPhone/iPad. The apps are geared to be tools for both teachers and students. As with any new product, there is room for growth. (Click here to read a short article.) Here are the main features at the moment. Teachers can view all of their classes via their on-the-go technology. They can create announcements and communicate with their students, however there is not the option (yet?) to create new assignments. Teachers can view previous assignments and student work via the app. Students are able to view class announcements and access their assignments through the app. They can also upload photos from their phone to their assignments.

Teacher's Assignment Page

Teachers can now view all assignments in one spot. From within a class, click on the three lines in the top left corner of the page. Select "Assignments" from the list. The default page will list assignments from all of your classes. You can sort the list to view assignments specific to one class via the drop down box labeled "All Classes."

Archive Old Classes

If you want to start with a clean slate for each semester, you now have the ability to archive old classes and keep your Classroom dashboard clean. From the teacher dashboard page, click on the three dots in the top right corner of the class you wish to archive. (This is the same place you would click to edit the class name.) Select "Archive," and you are finished.

Take a Seat - Make a Friend?

When was the last time you sat in a ball pit? I know for me, it has been quite a while, and I would be hesitant to do it again with all of the icky stories out there regarding what could potentially be in that ball pit. However, if I came across the ball pit featured in the video clip below, I think I would be much more inclined to jump in!

With an awkward first week due to weather, I hope you are feeling more settled in to the new semester. If you are facing a new mix of students and still looking for some ways to help them get to know each other, this video may provide a little inspiration. It can be easy to assume that differences can keep us apart; perhaps this video can inspire your students to search for the connections hidden beneath those differences.

And if you end up literally creating a ball pit in your classroom, let me know! I'd love to stop by to take a seat and make a friend.