The Purple Parade

Google Classroom Google Classroom is by far my favorite Educational Technology Tool of 2014.  Everyday I find another great way to use Google Classroom!  If you have a Google Apps for Education Domain, then you can use Google Classroom.  It was fully released to schools in late August 2014.  By October, Google already had updates to the tool because they listened to all of the teachers using the product and added features that were most requested. Google Classroom allows teachers to make announcements or assignments through an easy to use Google Drive Management Tool.  As, I was told at Google Headquarters this past July, Google Classroom is not meant to be Learning Management System such as Edmodo, Schoology, Moodle, or Blackboard.  It is supposed to help teachers manage their Google Drive assignments with students.  Teachers can make a template in their Google Drive and then through Google Classroom assign that template to the students by making a copy for each student.  Or,

I'm kind of in love with this new site I found called Zaption !  You can insert videos for students to watch and add comments or questions along the way for students to interact with.  It is simple to use.  Just insert your video and add question slides.  You can add multiple choice, open response, number response, check boxes, discussion, and more.  It is a great way to keep students engaged in the lesson and interacting with the content.

Wow!  It's been a long time since I've blogged on this site.  I've been so busy that I've neglected this blog.  The most excited things that have happened to me are becoming a Google for Education trainer and a Google Certified Teacher. Going to Mountain View, CA this past July to visit the Google Headquarters and participate in awesome collaboration activities with teachers from around the world was an absolutely amazing experience.  Keeping in touch with those teachers through Google+ and now Voxer is the best PLC imaginable. I truly feel that Google wants to help educators in any way possible.  I just attended a Google Symposium and the facilitators from Google really gave us things to think about and hopefully change.  We need to be thinking beyond the walls of the classroom and into the community and globally.  Through Google tools we can do that! Thank you Google for all you have done for me and for all educators worldwide!