Tis the Season for Scripts

Time is our most valuable commodity. We often forget that in the push for creative lessons, there is much creativity to be found in efficiency. If we become creative leaves us more valuable time to invest in improving how we teach and how we learn.

After attending Jennie Magiera’s (Teaching like its 2999) Google Scripts session at IntegratED SF, I found myself realizing how many of the actions we do each and every day that could be automated in order to give us time to delve deeper into our passions.

As the district technology coach, I meet with teachers throughout the day. This poses a scheduling nightmare, with long email chains back and forth figuring out times that work for both parties. Therefore, I wanted to automate setting up meetings. My first attempt looked something like this: every time a person wanted to meet with me, I they filled out a form with three possible meetings times.  Then, I would email them back, add the event to my calendar and confirm with them.

As you can see, this was still taking a considerable amount of time even with some automation. So, inspired by Jennie’s session, I created a form, ran Andrew Stillman’s Formmule script on it to create a calendar merge as well as an automated email. I embedded the form into a Google Site with my calendar next to it, set to busy/free view. This way people would be able to look at my calendar to see when I was busy or free, and then fill out the form to set up an appointment with me. Additionally, I wanted the email to cc the principal of the school the teacher selected. However, I didn’t want them to have to type in the principal’s email. Therefore, I learned, through extensive YouTube video watching, how to perform a vLookup function nested in an array function so that it would work in the Google form spreadsheet (check out my how to video!)

Bottom line, it took me a while to automate, but now it works like a dream. My meetings are automatically added to my calendar. Principals are in better communication with their staff so they can follow up with people who have met with me on a variety of topics. Finally,  it is easier for those setting up the meetings because they simply choose a time they’d like to have.

Take a look at the following ideas that came to me as I extrapolated application of scripts in other areas of improving efficiency. Two great sites to check out for scripts are Jay Atwood’s and Andrew Stillman’s:

Administrators scheduling meetings with staff:

Taking this further, I thought about administrators and how they spend a needless amount of time bouncing emails back and forth with teachers to set up meetings. Why not use the format I just talked about for scheduling meetings with staff?

Administrators giving authentic feedback:

Another big issues for administrators is giving authentic and timely feedback to teachers. Many administrators drop by rooms and want a quick and seamless way to provide quality feedback. I worked with an administrator to create a simple form on Google forms linked with autocrat. She and I developed a quick certificate with call out fields that corresponded to the form. Autocrat is able to fill in the fields on the certificate based on the principal’s answers to the form. Then, there is a quick personalized email sent out via autocrat as well as a nifty PDF certificate, the spreadsheet contains the email template and links to certificates.

Signing up for multi use spaces

With many teachers at school sites and quite a few events, scheduling the use of multi use spaces at a campus can be daunting. Rather than good old paper and pencil, by using Formmule, we can do a calendar event merge. Couple that with a Google form where teachers or administrators fill out the date and time while cross checking with the space calendar, and you now have an automated way to take care of scheduling. Formmule will add the event to a shared calendar for that space as well as email the person in charge of managing that space that someone has requested to use it.

Professional Development Choices

Running a professional development session? Need to limit the number of people who can sign up for certain choices? Try using Formranger and a simple script that will allow you to close choices on a form when enough people have signed up.

Document Ownership and Organization

Have kids who accidentally delete items or forget to share them with you? Check out Doctopus which is a virtual copier that allows you to choose who get a copy of a document while keeping you as the owner.

Doctopus add on for inserting rubrics and grading work--Goobric

Working with Doctopus is fun and exciting, but grading is also an important aspect that would be great to add onto this. Goobric works seamlessly with Doctopus as a way to insert a pre-made spreadsheet rubric into a Google Doc.

Grading a form with conditional formatting

Fubaroo is a quick way to grade multiple choice google forms, but another nifty way to grade them as well is with conditional formating. Check out Jennie Magiera’s YouTube video on grading forms with simple color rules.

Spice up your resaerach projects

What skills are important?

• Determining high quality online sites
• Collecting information from a variety of sources
• Learning how to “Google”  and strategic searching
• Copyright laws (creative commons); A Creator’s Rights
• Citing your sources
• Google Advanced Search
• Sharing research in creative ways
• Applying the information you’ve collected to something new; understanding remixing

Digital Literacy lessons folded into research:

• Determining high quality online sites
• Strategic searching
• Citing your sources
• Understanding remixing
• A Creator’s Rights

Research Project Documents (Thanks to Julie Presant at Springer as well)

Project	Details/Skills	Tools	Resources
Newscast, history channel episode, documentary	Create a movie detailing the historic events in the form of a documentary or interview or breaking news story Movie making skills Writing a script Copyright Laws Sound editing	iMovie Popplet iThink	iMovie Guidelines Rock Your World, guide to producing documentaries
Podcast, interview with researcher	Interviewing skills Writing a script Writing insightful questions Sound editing Voice changes	Garageband	Author Interview Project
Research Paper		Google Docs	Research paper folder
Infographic	Using graphic design to convey information, teach copyright laws, explaining information succinctly, determining what really matters	Infogr Blog post on tools to create infographics	Amazing resource on infographics. Infographic Rubric
Website	Creating a website How to convey research in a user friendly way	Google sites
Create an app	Design an app that is based upon your research
Create a company	Pitch a start-up company idea based on your research and what need you are trying to fill, create a pitch to a venture capital company, create a prototype, utilize public speaking skills
Build a model	Create a 3d or 2d model based on your research and screencast yourself discussing it Do a fly through on Minecraft or a simple discussion on Screenchomp	Minecraft Screenr, jing, screenchomp	Article on Minecraft in Edu Minecraft and student learning Civics and Minecraft
Screencast	Create a video series explaining your topic to a younger child	Explain everything Educreations Screenchomp	Resource page on screencasting
Multi touch Book	Create a digital, interactive book about your research	iBooks Author	Example research project by a third grade class on the pioneers Pinterest page on iBooks Author in School
Blog	Blog as if you are the researcher finding and discovering information for the first time	Blogger
Comic Strip	Put together an account of the historical figure’s research in a comic told as a series of events	Comic Life Go Animate 4 Schools	Historical Novel example, but could be adapted to a more research based activity.
Social Media Profiles	Create a Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus account for a historic figure	PPT Google Presentation	Blog post about templates

Using Google Drawing to Plan a Prototype

Students are working on creating a floating raft out of recycled materials that will support one person. Rather than hand draw, my students, of their own accord, decided to use Google Drawing to construct a plan of their raft. At the end of a school year, the most amazing learning happens from a teacher’s perspective because the students are so independent and so capable. I think to myself at this moment that this is why I teach, to essentially let go of my students. They are utilising collaborative skills, prototyping skills, as well as user testing. Design thinking is apparent n this activity even without specific labels. 

My amazement at all my kids have accomplished this year is wonderful. I am continuously impressed by their adaptable nature, desire to create, and capacity for critical thinking. 

An impressed and thankful teacher’s quick reflection. 

Edmodo, lets read something together!

Currently, I am undertaking developing a trans-pacific book club with Springer Elementary’s 6th grade class in Los Altos California. Being at a global international school, my students in Korea need to be able to learn how to interact with people in other countries using technology.

With a husband who freelances for US companies doing programming, I am well aware that no longer do you need to work in the same location as your colleagues. Thus, I want to prepare my students with the understanding that they can communicate with people who are very far away.

The other teacher in California and I have put together small discussion groups using the small group feature on Edmodo as a way for students to post their literature discussion questions and have multiple people respond to them.

In addition to Edmodo, we have created a Google doc where all members of a book club group will add information as they read. Information will relate to the main events, inferences, vocabulary, discussion questions, theme and more. Using the comment feature, which both she and I have taught our students how to use in a constructive way, students will be able to add onto what others say as well. 

Today, students took time to use Google spread sheets to create a rubric on which they will grade themselves. By allowing students to be able to self assess, they will take more ownership over their own work since they know exactly what they will be assessed on. Normally, I would give this rubric out, but having students create one gives them a deeper understanding of the purpose of using them. 

During this time, my students will be blogging about their novel as well. We will then take their blog content and create a digital newspaper as one of our final projects using paper.li. Additionally, we plan to have two to three Skype, face time or Google hangout sessions so groups can discuss their novel face to face.