Google Calendar

• What did you create, and why? 
• I created a classroom calendar that includes not only important classroom dates but also all school/district events.
• What went well for you? 
• I love google calendar and use it daily for personal events so this was a really easy transition to apply to a classroom setting.
• What was challenging? 
• Honestly, the most challenging part was just getting logged in! I am not currently teaching (subbing here and there) so remembering all my passwords was the most challenging!
• What did you enjoy? 
• As a parent of two ESD students, I feel that having as much information as far in advance as possible is essential to keeping families "in the know". There is nothing worse than finding out TONIGHT IS CURRICULUM NIGHT (and yes, that did happen to us one year)!

Classroom Calendar

Challenge: Google Drawing

Google Drawing

     Google Drawing can have the potential to add graphics to google docs and slides.  This opens up a potential in the math classroom, allowing students to draw their answers.  This was one of the pieces I found missing last year, the ability for my students to draw their responses.  

      I found that moving a picture from Draw to Docs is not a simple process.  It took a few extra steps getting the pictures into the document.  After using the EDIT

     I am looking forward to teaching the students how to integrate the Drawing app with Docs and Slides.  This will help personalize the student's communication.  

Google Docs

Google Docs

     I have been using Google Docs for a while, but I am just beginning to use them in my classroom.  As a Math teacher, I have had a tough time finding ways to integrate Google Docs into my everyday teaching.  This year, I want to change that.  I have begun integrating Google docs with other tools, like Google Drawing and graphing tools like Desmos, to allow students to more fully articulate their understanding within the google world.  

     I am currently thinking of using this type of activity once a week or so as a way to pull together the understanding from the recent lessons.  Everyday work will still need to be done paper and pencil - until math equations become more user friendly on line.  Although, the ability to upload pictures from phones or cameras will help bring both worlds together when necessary.  

Classroom Website

I updated my Classroom Website (Swift). I enjoyed  learning how to manipulate the site more efficiently and will continue to use the document to apply more skills to make my site more parent and student friendly.  Over the years I have heard feedback that more and more parents and students are using my site to find information, access websites, and/or contact me so I know that it is beneficial to have it "up", updated and "attractive" for users.
I am having difficulty embedding my Google Calendar - I spend a large amount of time trying to do this and searching different ways.  The one that appears is not the one that has all the information that I entered.  It is just a blank calendar.  I tried several different ways: one that was shown in the document and one that I found while searching on the web.

Challenge: Google Calendar

What did you create and why?
I created a google calendar and I linked it to my SWIFT page.  I think this will make it easier for parents to be informed abut what's happening in our classroom.

What went well for you?
Everything went pretty well.  It was easy to add events to the calendar and create a link in SWIFT.

What was challenging?
The most difficult part for me was remembering to deselect video chat and also select the right calendar.  I am going to continue to play around with it and see if I can make it default to what I want.

What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed playing around with google calendar.  I like it better than the events page in SWIFT.  If I make a change in my calendar, it automatically updates in SWIFT.  Now I don't have to write myself notes to update my events!

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?
I think this will be an easy way to keep parents informed about upcoming important dates.  I think it could also be used by students for things like due dates, etc, but I'm not quite sure how to incorporate that into my daily classroom routine yet.

Here is the link to my website, which is still under construction!
http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/beverly/ccaesar/calendar

Seondary Online Databases: TeachingBooks.net

I tried Teaching Books (http://www.teachingbooks.net/). This will be a great resource when I am looking for books that will interest my Special Education students. Finding reading books that are at an appropriate reading level, but with material that will interest a middle school student, can be tough. This looks to be a great resource that I can put in several search criteria, including reading levels and topics and it brings up a list of appropriate books. I am really excited to try using this resource in my support of students this year.

Swift

Swift Site

• What did you create, and why?

I created a website including sections for each of my classes.  Each class includes a calendar which is synced to my Google Calendar, documents, and a blog for updating information as needed. 

• What went well for you?

It tood a bit of work, but getting the Google Calendar to sync works great.  The rest of the pages were easy to set up.  It took longer to decide what I wanted to name everything, than to actually create the webpage.

• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?

I will use this as a communication tool for parents. My students will have their own Google Calendars and our Google Classroom. I don't forsee their need to use this much. This will, however, be a great resource for parents to access information they will want/need about my classroom. I especially like how they can see day by day what is happening in my classroom, including in-class activities and homework.

http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/maplewood/mrs-frary-class/welcome