EduOnAir - Build Your Own eLearning Program

The fall rendition of #EduOnAir launched on Friday and I am excited to be sharing the eLearning work we have done at Palisades on Tuesday at 11am. This post is to help frame the conversation for the Hangout and provide some insight on how to start your own eLearning program. There are a number of popular eLearning solutions out there including blended, hybrid, flipped classrooms, and full online programs. No matter what flavor of eLearning you are interested in the following needs have to be met. I will share how we have done it at Palisades and also share some other Google related solutions.

Learning Management System
Palisades - We have chosen Blackboard through BlendedSchools.net. Blended Schools has wonderful support, keeps Blackboard updated, and provides customers with high quality K-12 course content. The content is often overlooked when deploying an online learning solution but it is critical. Blended Schools has over 100 PA approved courses that are fully editable once duplicated for our teachers. This has not only saved our teachers a lot of time but given them ideas, additional resources, and added insight into what a high quality online course design looks like.
Google Option - Haiku Learning is a beautiful, cloud based LMS with drag and drop editing features and a simple user interface. The engine is powerful giving users every bit of functionality as a traditional LMS. It has seamless Google Apps integration keeping usernames and passwords consistent and memorable. I love working in Haiku and I highly recommend it.  If you are bold, you can also take a shot at using Google Apps and Sites to deploy a complete eLearning program at no cost.

Productivity
Palisades and Google Option - No brainer, Google Apps for Education is the best office productivity suite available. We have deployed Apps for our students and given them Gmail accounts to use in conjunction with their Blackboard accounts. It keeps them mobile, allows for anytime/anywhere access, and is free for K-12 education institutions. Google Drive provides portable storage, students sync accounts with Android devices, Sites fills in as ePortfolios, and so much more.

Hardware
Palisades - We took the traditional route and provided students with Lenovo laptops. The solution was familiar and continues to provide students with a solid device that is rugged and multi-functional.
Google Option - Chromebooks have exploded in popularity and I admit that I am a bit jealous and a bit embarrassed that we have not deployed this solution. The solid state drive is reliable, the battery life is an eternity, and they boot in 8 seconds. Also, Chromebooks are always up to date and have security built in. When looking at the mobile factor, we all love tablets but they are hardly the complete solution needed for a fully functioning eLearning device. Chromebooks not only have great mobile features as I've mention but they come with a physical keyboard for productivity and the Chrome Web Store has grown to offer a range of great academic products. Even better, Google partners like Promevo are distributing Chromebooks but have also developed gPanel, the top rated administrative app in the Apps Marketplace. After the latest update to Chrome OS, we certainly will be revisiting the Chromebook option and I love this device as a complete eLearning tool.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how we started our eLearning program at Palisades Cyber Academy.  Reach out anytime, I am always happy to help others. I hope you can make the Hangout but I have also include an early version of my presentation below. After the Hangout is loaded to Youtube, I'll update this post with the embedded video as well. See you on Google+!

**UPDATE:
Here is the video from the #EduOnAir Hangout on 11/9/2012

Google Celebrates Edu: Must See Events

It is wonderful to see Google recognizing World Teacher's Day coming up this Friday. Education International and UNESCO have done a great job pulling this event together to celebrate teachers all over the globe. This whole week, Google will be honoring teachers by highlighting events, accomplishments, and other educational programs using Google tools. Tune into the Google in Education page and follow the #wtd2012 hashtag to stay informed. Here are some events being promoted and a few other education tools from Google.

• Have you used the Khan Academy to facilitate learning beyond the classroom? Join a live Google+ Hangout with Salman Khan of Khan Academy, as he takes your questions about his new book - The One World Schoolhouse: Education Re-imagined.
• The World Wonders Project lets you discover over one hundred world heritage sites using the StreetView technology, 3D modeling, and other Google technologies.
• Google in Education Curriculum: Understanding YouTube & Digital Citizenship is an interactive curriculum designed to support secondary students.
• Google Field Trip is a new Android app that runs in the background but alerts you when you get close to something interesting. It is a guided walking tour pre-built for you.
• The upcoming Google Code-In allows secondary students to explore the many facets of open source software.
• Register to Vote with Google.
• Even More - Visit the Google for Educators page and Happy World Teacher's Day! 

Update: Look for some great events being announced by Google on World Teacher Day!

Top Science Tools Via Google

I was disappointed when Google announced that it was discontinuing the development of Google Body along with Google Labs. I felt like it was a perfect example for what the 20% time policy at Google could create and how autonomy and inquiry drive innovation. The good news for the all the power learners and science folks out there is that soon after the demise of Google Body the company announced that Google Body will live on as Zygote Body.

So I was thinking about other ways Google or Google related products can support science, teachers, and all power learners. Here is what I came up with.

Google Chrome users have the wonderful advantage of the Chrome Web Store and Chrome Apps. Here are some science related gems:

• BioDigital Human is an outrageous visual tour of the human body that includes includes annotated screenshots, a quiz engine, and a number custom options.  
• Spongelab is a great community of global science folks with engaging interactive games, multimedia, animations, visualizations, and teaching tools. 
• GeoGebra is a great tool for interactive worksheets helping both math and science educators.
• The Web Lab from Chrome Web Experiments is a collection sharing the magic of the web and how it works. Awesome for science, art, music and more!

A few more resources:

• Google Science Fair is an annual event and the 2012 winners can be seen here.
• Watch to prepare for the flu this year? Stay in tune with Google Flu Trends and stock up on tissues - maybe Google Offers will have a flu season deal.
• And of course there are endless learning options in the K-12 directory of YouTube EDU.

Please share any other Google tools in the comments!

Inside Search: Teaching How To Google It

Google it. Not quite - That is a great start but as I shared in the Advanced Image Search post there is much more to becoming steward of data. The web is overflowing with useless information that we have to plow through to get to the information we need. I am just as guilty, I can't remember the last time I did a Google search and progressed to the second results page. If the answer isn't in the first 10 results the I search again. But, if I have to search again, I will often refer to some power searching techniques to drill down into the data.  Below are some ideas, resources, and methods to help you do the same and share with students.

• Consider always having students start with the Advanced Search page. Have them complete at least two fields before starting the search.
• You still have time to join the Power Searching MOOC from Google - it is a free online course that started this week. Get in now!
• This great infographic from Mashable can help students "hone the art" of searching.
• Looking for classroom wall art? Print some of these free classroom search posters from Google - refer to them when students start research. While there, check out the Classroom Activities sections for a number of lessons and projects from Google. Lastly, visit Google's Search Education page for even more classroom resources.
• Try Google Insights (beta) and Google Trends to get results that present information with a global light and show what people are searching around the world. 
• View the Inside Search page from Google and follow its blog for the latest tips and tricks in Search.
• What Do You Love? Google will show you in all versions of it products - Check it out!
• Finally, be sure to check out the posts from fellow Google Certified Trainer and my man, Jeff Utecht - find him on Google+ and Twitter.
• K-2 Search Lesson
• 3-5 Search Lesson
• 6-8 Search Lesson
• 9-12 Search Lesson

The Many Layers Of Google Maps

Eric Schmidt mentioned today that Apple should have kept Google Maps for iOS services. I'm sure the opinions on this statement are intense but I am more interested in the other Maps announcement today that Maps for Indoors has now gone to France. And while using Maps to check out the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavor, take a walking tour of Downing Street, or just find your way home are all worthy experiences there is so much more to do with Google Maps. Start with a brief history of Google Maps here - The video and interactive infographic are great to get familiar with all the great features. Then check out these other great tools and projects:

• Google Art Project takes the StreetView technology and allows users to take walking tours of the world's great museums. The project also includes a library of information on pieces of art, artists, and user galleries. Check out the education page for more information on art styles, trends, and other topics in the art world. 
• Google Map Maker lets you submit information and locations to be added to Maps and Earth for the world to see. Want to promote your favorite coffee shop? Add the location with Map Maker to share around the globe. This getting started guide will help.
• Google Building Maker allows user to find buildings, churches, or other structures that need a 3D rendering for Google Maps and Earth. Users can find a building, design it using web based Sketchup modeling tools, and submit it for approval. Next thing you know, your 3D model in on Google Earth - A great project for students.   
• Business Photos - Business owners can have photos or virtual tours of their venue taken and added to their location in Google Maps and Earth, Google+, and other Google properties. While the photography work will cost a little money, you will be able to engage customers all over the world with a visual representation of your company.

For even more, add Google Maps to your Google+ Circles and follow the hashtag #gmapstip on Google+.

Google For Good: Entrepreneurship And Other Endeavors

Google officially launched the Google for Entrepreneurs program today. It is a wonderful opportunity for thought leaders to get involved with the creative spirit that Google embodies. According to the official release, Google is looking for startups and entrepreneurs that focus on:

1. Partnerships with strong organizations that serve entrepreneurs in local communities
2. Google-led programs to bring our teams and our tools directly to entrepreneurs
3. Placing relevant Google tools in the hands of startups as they are getting off the ground and ready to scale

It is inspiring to see some of the initiatives that Google is already working with like Women 2.0 and 1871. This made me think about other projects Google is involved in outside of its core business.  Here are some more philanthropic, educational, and other purposeful endeavors led by Google.

• Google Code-in Contest for high school students starts this November. The goal is to give students the opportunity to explore and work with open source software projects. Check out the contest site for more.
• Sticking with the education theme, Google hosts a number of other educational competitions, programs, and awards for students of all ages at the Google in Education -Students page.
• Google.org provides "tech driven philanthropy" with world changing projects like Crisis Response, Flu/Dengue Trends, and the Google for Nonprofits Community. 

To learn more and stay on top of other Google endeavors, check out the Google blog directory to subscribe to some of its many feeds.

Inside Search: Legal Use of Google Images

It is easy to search Google Images and simply copy and paste an image result onto to report, presentation, or some other type of reuse. Even in academic settings, this practice could be a violation of copyright or fair use. While I don't think the police will be knocking on your classroom door anytime soon, this situation does provide an opportunity to teach media literacy and promote appropriate use at all age levels.

Google makes this process simple for all user by taking advantage of the Advance Image Search feature in Google Images. There are several helpful search features available here including filtering results by color, size, and aspect ratio (square, wide, panoramic, etc.). Any of these tools would be valuable alone but when you combine this tool set with the Usage Rights section at the bottom you begin to hone your search skills. There are five setting here ranging from not filtered to completely free to use, share or modify - even commercially. Each of the five categories is explained in detail by Google on the Usage Rights page. Encouraging this practice in the classroom will promote a higher level of digital citizenship and keep students in compliance with acceptable use policies.

Even more, the Advanced Image Search page allows Googlers to change the SafeSearch settings. SafeSearch can be adjusted to the strict filtering setting making the image results much more likely to be educationally appropriate. See a brief tutorial on Advanced Image Search below.

More on Digital and Media Literacy

• The Center for Media Literacy is an educational organization that provides leadership, public education, professional development and educational resources nationally and internationally.
• The Digital Information Fluency Model from 21cif.com
• Technology in Education - Why? from @21stCenturyTch
• 10 Steps to Strengthen Digital and Media Literacy from @reportertanya
• Building Good Search Skills: What Students Need to Know

Using Google News In The Classroom

Google News turns 10 years old today so this anniversary inspired me to share how I use this tool in my daily practice. We all know that web 1.0 was a time long ago when we had to go out and work hard to find information - Scouring search engines and individual news sites until we found what we were looking for. For me, one of the greatest advantages of web 2.0 has been that I can put in a little up front effort and tools like Google News and Reader will bring me what I like. It is the real life edition of the Harry Potter newspaper. I typically will use Reader to subscribe to blog posts and Google News for official news but the combination can make anyone a power consumer.

Transferring this idea to the classroom, it is easy to see how educators can have custom news consistently delivered for discussion starters, fact checking, special news pieces on content, etc. I always referred to one of these articles or videos to gather ideas for a class discussion that started every class. Often the topic was technology-based but sometimes one of these tools brought me news so compelling (but off content) that I started with it to simply engage the class to learn something new. Content didn't matter to me if I could help learners become global citizens. I would also design connected projects where students would tailor their own news feeds as part of the 20% projects that I frequently presented. I'll often hear from former students that this was the activity they remember most from my classes. So I thought I'd take some time today to build a quick video of how to customize Google News and share some other resources. I hope it adds value to your classroom as it did mine.

More About Google News
Personalization Basics - Google News

Course Builder - An Open Source Tool For Building Online Courses From Google

I'm not the only one who had a feeling that the Power Searching MOOC that Google gave us this summer was the start of something big. Now, Google has released Course Builder - the open source online course building tool that the Power Search developers used to create the first Google MOOC. The eLearning world continues to embrace open and web based LMS solutions as big players like Blackboard struggle to maintain market share and Google is looking to add to the growing list options for online educators.

If you are looking for a clean, modern LMS that is already integrated with Google Apps, I would highly recommend Haiku. Haiku has a beautiful interface with simple drag and drop features. It feels great, is web-based, and is just what a LMS should be. Haiku is a high end LMS at a very small price.

If free and simple is what you are looking for then check out Edmodo or Schoology.  Both have a Facebook-like feel and are perfect for teachers looking for an online space to post projects, have student collaborate, and develop a foundation of digital literacy in the classroom. Lastly, both platforms have developed apps  for Android and Apple mobile devices.

Still looking? More LMS resources can be found here to help you learn more.

Bonus: The next Power Searching MOOC with Google is starting on September 24th - Check it out!

Recommended YouTube Channels For Your New iPad/iPhone App

I can only imagine how many iOS users are spinning in their desk chairs now that Google has released the new YouTube app for Apple users. It makes sense considering that the recent Drive (also with new updates for iOS) and Chrome apps were hits and that YouTube is second largest search engine in the world behind big brother Google. Now what? Sure, you can search aimlessly through the 8 years of new content uploaded each day with hopes of discovering something good.  And while your chances of success may be better using the YouTube EDU page, you really want to move into the power user category by setting up an account and subscribing to some Youtube channels. Here are some of my favorites:

MIT + K12 - A collaboration with Khan Academy (another great pick) to bring high quality content to the K-12 classroom.

TED-Ed - Of course, the TED Talks channel is a winner but TED-Ed does a great job with animation and videos for learning.

NatGeo - National Geographic has wonderful content in many categories and the videos are always high quality.

PBS - How do you go wrong here? Check out PBS Kids for little ones, too.

YouTube Teachers - Want to learn more and connect with other educators passionate about blended learning, media rich classrooms, and engaging kids?  Help to build the world's largest classroom here.

What did I miss?  Please leave your favorites in the comments!

Behind the Scenes - Google Maps

Ground Truth - A Google project adding human touch to impact the accuracy of Google Maps.

The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal wrote a great piece this week on the world of Google Maps. It turns out that the engineers behind the tool that let's us use Street View to navigate Manhattan's thoroughfares and the Google Earth plugin to survey the Sahara use an a lot of interpretation, ingenuity, and complex problem solving. I'll admit that I thought most of this information came from satellite imagery that was stitched and reproduced for us.

This supports a common point that education reformers consistently support. Collecting and reproducing data simply doesn't cut it and is not a valuable skill now nor will it be in the future of a connected, global economy. It is far more valuable to think on your feet, interpret, adapt, and resolve. I haven't seen these skills measured on a test yet.

Google Maps for EDU

• Explore the Google World Wonders project with your students
• Let students create,design, and submit buildings to be used on Google Maps using the Google Building Maker
• Official Google Earth for Educators page with featured lesson plans

More Cool Google Maps Technology

• Google Earth YouTube Channel
• Google Maps YouTube Channel
• The Next Dimension in Google Maps
• Follow the Google LatLong blog
• 10 Amazing Google Earth and Maps Discoveries

Connect, Collaborate, Create

I had the pleasure of leading a Google course this week for an outstanding group of educators.  It is typical for these courses to have a group of co-learners with varying technical skill sets but they all shared the desire to learn and push themselves to new levels. Additionally, I often express the adoption of social media in three stages - connect, collaborate, and create. This week I realized that same model applies when adopting Google technologies for the classroom.  I wanted to share the growth of my class and explain some of their successes.

Connect
The opportunities seem endless in this category but a few favorites emerged this week. Many teachers chose iGoogle and were excited to see how this tool would allow them to bring the world of web information to one place.  The diversity of news sources, blogs, and other gadgets proved to be of high value when selecting iGoogle as a course project for them.  Even more, the ability to share individual tabs from iGoogle with a community of learners, parents, departments, etc. as an information portal filled a need for many of the course participants.  Other winners in the Connect category include Gmail for personal mail and Picasa for curating pictures and editing with Picnik.
Bonus: The Google Educators community and newsletter.

Collaborate
Google Groups proved to have high value for teachers this week as well.  The idea that information can be posted to a group, allow for commenting, and that information would then be delivered via email to the group members made sense. Another standout has been Google Docs.  The full range of sharing and privacy features adds functionality and fluidity to school projects plus the new discussions feature kicks the collaboration potential up a notch. 
Bonus: Flubaroo for self grading quizzes in Google Docs

Create
Google Maps and Earth are always big winners in this category - for obvious reasons.  I am excited to see that more teachers are exploring and building blogs.  Six years ago when I started running professional development courses there was a fear of these tools.  It has been a pleasure to see teachers adapt and grow with technology. While they are aware of the implications, they are not afraid to use Blogger because it can model positive technology use and communication for their students.
Bonus: The Google Earth Sightseer newsletter for new ideas.


A final thanks to the all the great educators in the course this week, here are a few who are on Twitter: @squenzer @lilrachel27 @csheidy1397 @lapcsreeze

You can read more about the courses at courses.kikerlearning.com

Why The Google Cloud Is Secure For Education

Google Plus looks like it already hit 20 million users in under a month and the chatter about it coming to Google Apps is loud.  I have heard the security conversation catching up in volume as we revisit whether cloud computing can offer the security we want for our students and schools. Knowledge is power so if you still are learning about Google Plus see Steve Anderson's collection of Google Plus goodies. If you are ready for the security truth then here it is: Google's cloud storage is more secure than anything you are doing.

To begin, let's get the ugly out of the way about what is legal for student access - see my man Wes Fryer's wiki on Unmasking Digital Truth to learn more about CIPA, FERPA, COPPA, and other legal issues. Then let's start with these security basics:

• Make passwords a minimum of 8 characters and mix letters, numbers, case, and special characters.
• Change your password at least once a month.
• Enable Advanced Sign-In Security for your Google account for a secondary layer of protection.
• Log out of your account every time you step away - if you can't remember if you logged out at school or work use the Google remote log out feature to be sure.
• Most important - TEACH these steps to your students and follow up to be sure they are doing it! It is evidence of high technical literacy and we have to teach them these skills.

Now that we have what you can do, let's see what Google is doing in addition to the offerings shared above. The video below from Google reviews everything from physical security of Google data centers with 24/7 guards to the absolute demolition of old hard drives.  It is well worth a few minutes.  Furthermore, Dan Rowinski from ReadWriteWeb shared this gem of an article this week on all things Google and security. Lastly the Google Apps security page expressly lays out that your data is owned by you and Google employees will never access it unless you grant them access.  Also, your data is yours to own, manage, and take with you freely if you leave the Google realm. Watch the video and let this happen in our schools.

The Best Google Maps/Earth Education Mashups

Mashups are not new to the web but I have found recently that some great integrated tools are rising as a result of Google Maps and Earth. We know that Google's distributed presence has been reshaping the web for some time now.  But it feels like organizations and individuals are getting better at using this data.  Here are some of my new found favorites for education.

Stratalogica

The complete geography package comes to us in a Google Earth mashup from Herff Jones. The Stratalogica team is doing their part to get us out of the 1987 classroom from Summer School by offering a wide range of interactive maps, atlases, charts, globes, and more using the Earth API.  These resources are up to date and relative so you don't have to tell your students that it isn't called the Soviet Union anymore.  In fact, they have already updated the system to show the new Republic of South Sudan which is only a little over a week old at the time of this post. Sure it costs money but a lot less than one of those pull down maps for the front of the room and if you bought one of those 3 weeks ago it would be outdated. And the springs probably broke already. And try putting a digital overlay of the Silk Road on one of those. Seriously, stop buying those, Kotter. Even better, the social media team was the coolest crew at ISTE and they love Twitter so message them at @Stratalogica, @DonRescigno, and @kirstaw.

Historical County Boundary Maps

I believe that authentic global competence includes a strong command of the local community as well.  This resource allows you to select a decade to view historical borders of the counties around your area.  Zoom in for more detail to have powerful geography discussion with students.  Bonus: There is also the world boundaries map that offers the same features on a global scale. 

Greg's Cable Map

I have always been fascinated by the size of the cable ships that lay oceanic communication lines. When I was in the classroom I often shared this process and its painstakingly slow process with Media Technology students - this map would have been a big help.  Here you can not only see all of the underwater lines but also see the bandwidth, length, names, and more data on each of the lines.  Discussion could range from how financial transactions happen in seconds between Europe and the US to how French Polynesia gets internet connectivity. Share this with every tech geek you know.

HistoryPin

If you are creating genealogy projects with students then you have to use this.  HistoryPin allows you to "pin" your old photos to places and locations in a Maps mashup.  You can contribute the historical image archiving of the world and give others a chance to see it, comment on it, and share it.  This gem is developed and delivered by the non-profit organization We Are What We Do.  This team can be found on Twitter at @HistoryPin.

Additional Resource

For more on Google Maps mashups you have to check out the Google Maps Mania Blog and 50 Things To Do With Google Mashups.

Google+ Hangout to the Rescue!

I recently started an online program through Johns Hopkins University to obtain a graduate certificate in School Administration and Supervision with a focus on instructional technology. It’s a one year program that’s partnered with ISTE. In each of the five courses, there is a strong emphasis on teamwork. This week, my team has the task of comparing/contrasting two theorists and arranging a presentation.

How does a team of five people go about accomplishing this?

Although we have access to an electronic learning community provided by Johns Hopkins, it’s difficult to make decisions through text alone. My group decided that we needed to meet ‘face to face’ in order to plan for our assignment. We sent messages back and forth trying to decide on a tool that would allow five people to see and hear each other. Both Skype and ooVoo charge a fee for the number of people we wanted on the call. Someone suggested a ‘hangout’ in Google+. BINGO! A magic wand for group video calling!

Prior to our hangout (love that term by the way), we made sure that everyone downloaded the necessary Google Voice and Video plugin. I expected that the first 20 minutes of our hangout would consist of troubleshooting. We had some noise problems as a result of not everyone having a headset, but other than that, the call was smooth and uninterrupted. We utilized the chat window for sharing links and adding comments when someone was talking. I thought we would need to devise a plan for taking turns to speak, but the conversation seemed so natural that that thought never entered my mind once we started.

Prior to our hangout, I had only communicated with my group through email and discussion threads. Thanks to Google+, we now have a sense of unity among us. We plan to meet weekly in Google+ to plan our assignments and make decisions as a group. I could see the value of a screensharing tool in a hangout, especially for educational purposes. We could have used one last night when I was trying to show my team members how to add pages on our wiki. I’m looking forward to seeing how Google develops this product. To think that it’s only the beginning!

Additional Resource
Battle of the Video Chat Applications: Google Chat vs. Skype vs. iChat

A special thanks to Brooke Mulartrick for this post! Brooke is an Instructional Technology Specialist, DEN Star, Thinkfinity Trainer, and a member of the 11-12 Johns Hopkins-ISTE Administrative Cohort. She is also a K-4 Technology Specialist at Methacton School District in PA. Find her on Twitter too!

Google+ and Teaching Social Media

I want to thank Kristen Swanson for crafting this informative post! Kristen is the Technology Director for Springfield Township School District in PA. She is also a talented Google Certified Teacher, a Keystones Technology Integrator, and a good friend of mine who has a wonderful understanding of what students need. See her blog here.

My journey as an educator has led me down many paths. One of those paths has been helping students with special needs understand the nuances of social media. Many students with autism or pervasive development disorder (PDD) have trouble identifying social cues in real life contexts. For these students, identifying cues in social media can be virtually mind boggling! The best way to prepare students for the lives that they are living outside of your classroom is to explicitly teach these skills in safe environments.
In the past, I’ve used NING to teach these skills in conjunction with some excellent teachers, however Google + has all the components necessary to make it a great tool to use with students with special needs.

• You can teach students to build circles, similar to the way they do in normal life. This feature cannot be replicated in a NING. Teaching students to sort their connections in a visual manner is a skill that can easily be transferred to real-life situations.

• You can teach students how to share selectively to keep themselves safe and socially appropriate. Showing students which types of content are appropriate to share with different groups of people can be really tough. Graphic organizers and T charts can help students acquire these skills. If students continue to struggle, model this for them. It fits in well when sharing “weekend news.”

• You can teach students that someone who does not follow you back is uncomfortable sharing with you. Many students who try to “follow” or “friend” their typical peers do not deal with rejection well. They often try again and again to “follow” or “friend” them. Google + allows these students to follow without a reciprocal action. Teaching students what this means could allow them to function in this social space.

Give Google + a try in your classroom by creating a circle for you and your students to share! Social media is a life skill that we must share with our students!

How GPlus Can Become The Social Network For Education

We have been faced with the dilemma of not having a social network purely for education.  Sure we have select Nings, Twitter-ish sites, and Facebook fan pages for the robotics club.  These are very useful but we are pushing the square peg in a round hole for our classrooms so our students can benefit the way we do from our PLN. These are not native nor are they seamless options for education.  It is not that we are elitists who demand a social network of our own but rather we have a special clientele. We have to protect students and no matter how much we want to bring unlimited social media into the classroom we will always be conflicted with this balancing act.  Not anymore if Google plays this correctly.  What if we could provide all the collaboration and digital ability that we develop with social media to our students in a secured network? By no means to intend to make this blog a "Top 3" of everything.  However, just as in my first post, I have three ideas that Google should leverage to make this go down.

Google Apps Integration
The obvious choice.  Right now there is a Google Apps for EDU marketplace where Apps schools can choose third party vendors to integrate with Apps.  Many of these are very useful but I wonder how many we would need if Apps and Plus came together in an single package. Editing Google Docs, updating Calendars, using Sites as a collaborative wiki tool  - all to be shared with the community in Plus the same way our students are using Facebook.  Sure we can do this in Gmail now but it is the fluidity and feel for the social networking platform that I am interested in.  It has become our responsibility to teach students proper netiquette and web behavior.  This is a life skill and a learning standard that we have to own.  Making this literacy an inherent component of the learning process is something I have been hoping for.

Circles Within Apps for Edu Domains
Circles are beautiful.  Then I start thinking of how they can become classes if they are protected within a districts domain.  Even more, Circles can become our classes, our departments, our schools, and our entire district.  This hierarchy is perfectly designed for education and the needs of a school.  We can choose to share with all class sections, have a live meeting with only our teams, or share with the entire district.  Furthermore, if we are given the ability for open sharing with other districts, we can build local and global PLCs in minutes.

Disable Student Private Messaging
There is one piece that is crucial and that is disabling the ability for students to private message each other.  If the Apps integration is done correctly this would be simple setting for the student group in the control panel. In an era where cyber-bullying has become a difficult problem to solve, I prefer to take this opportunity off the table.  Edmodo is a web-based LMS and microblogging platform that has mastered this concept by making all student posts publicly viewable by all members in the class.  Also, teachers must be allowed to manage posts in their classes so that they can delete inappropriate posts if such an issue arises.

I see Google Plus poised to provide this opportunity that we have been hoping for.  Please share your comments on what you think Google Plus can do to make this happen. I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas.  Now it's your turn GPlus.  CC: Google on that, too.

Top 3 Google Plus Utilities So Far

With millions of users registered in the first weeks of operation, the Google Plus project is on its way to becoming a major player in the social networking world.  I started using Plus on day one and love the clean interface, refreshing Circles concept, and the all around functionality of the platform. Even more, the word from Google that Plus is coming to Google Apps could make this a game changer in education. I can't think of a better way to start this new blog about Google in education and social media than with the utilities I have found the most useful so far. If you are new to Google Plus start by checking out The Complete Guide to Google Plus or visiting Google's videos over on YouTube. If you are ready to go deeper with your use, you have to try these tools.

1. Plus One Anything
I have been using Chrome as my primary browser for a long time now and I value the Chrome Web Store a great deal for its great collection of utilities. This extension allows Chrome users to add the +1 button to the browser bar and store any webpage to my collection.  The value for me is that it adds to my list of great things  I want to share with my Plus community.  Then next time I am in Google Plus, I can check my profile page and see all of my +1 sites to share.  Then I can share with my network.

2. GPlus.to
One problem with Google Plus is that it is difficult to share your profile in a format that identifies you.  The default page from Google has a string of digits that is difficult to share let alone tell someone about.  GPlus.to changes that by allowing users to shrink their profile address with a friendly look like gplus.to/rkiker.

3. Start GPlus
This is another Chrome extension that solved my biggest problem in the early days: How can I share to Twitter and Facebook simultaneously while I post to Google Plus?  This little beauty allows you to turn on posts to both networks as well as give you the option to see your Twitter and Facebook streams in the Google Plus window.