Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

How to teach coding and robotics from home

When our school shut down in March, initially, it was for a two-week period. I thought, “Well, this isn’t too bad, we can do a few coding activities from Code.org or maybe put together some Google Slides presentations for when we return.”

Then, two weeks turned into the end of April and my plan had to change.

As the technology teacher in our district, I felt I was adept at communicating with my students online (we are a Google Apps for Education school, and I’ve been a Google Classroom user since its beginnings), but I knew others in our district weren’t quite as tech savvy. I put together a few tutorial videos on how to use Google Classroom, Google Meet, and Zoom for our staff members to use to reach out to their students.…Read More

A plan for teaching coding and robotics from home

When our school shut down in March, initially, it was for a two-week period. I thought, “Well, this isn’t too bad, we can do a few coding activities from Code.org or maybe put together some Google Slides presentations for when we return.”

Then, two weeks turned into the end of April and my plan had to change.

As the technology teacher in our district, I felt I was adept at communicating with my students online (we are a Google Apps for Education school, and I’ve been a Google Classroom user since its beginnings), but I knew others in our district weren’t quite as tech savvy. I put together a few tutorial videos on how to use Google Classroom, Google Meet, and Zoom for our staff members to use to reach out to their students.…Read More

Case Study: Read How Skaggs Schools Embrace BYOD with Google Apps

Skaggs Catholic Center in Utah comprises of a high school, middle school, elementary school, day center and church, all requiring fast, reliable and secure Wi-Fi to keep up with growing device density.

“We decided to embrace BYOD rather than resisting it”, explains Jim Duane, Director of Educational Resources.

Xirrus Wi-Fi empowers them to adopt Google Apps for Education. The Xirrus EasyPass solution enables their two-person IT team to simply and quickly enable single-sign-on (SSO) via Google login.…Read More

Curriculum Foundry integrates with Google Drive, Google Apps for Education

Growing number of schools using Google’s programs can now share learning resources created in Curriculum Foundry

Learning.com‘s Curriculum Foundry, a solution for seamlessly accessing, organizing and sharing digital content, is now fully integrated with Google Drive and Google Apps for Education.

The growing number of schools that use Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks will be able to share the learning objects, lessons, units and courses they have created in Curriculum Foundry through Google Drive.

According to Google, more than 50 million students and teachers around the world use Google programs and, according to Futuresource Consulting, more than 50 percent of the devices sold to U.S. schools in the third quarter of 2015 were Chromebooks. With Curriculum Foundry’s new integration with Google Drive and Google Apps for Education, thousands of schools and districts around the country now have a seamless end-to-end solution for digital learning.…Read More

12 ways to adopt Google Apps for Education

A new digital resource offers tips to safely use Google Apps for Education

google-appsA new resource from Gaggle and Amplified IT offers technology facilitators 12 tips to help ensure that Google Apps for Education safe for teachers and students to use.

In any implementation, it’s important that school and technology leaders identify benefits and value associated with the implementation.

“Without the right strategies in place, most software and web-based tools–whether free or paid–are under-used in education,” according to the guide.…Read More

Google Apps spur rise of new ed-tech market segment

Many companies now sell products aimed at making Google Apps even more useful for schools

Google
Some of these companies were on hand at CUE’s annual conference to demonstrate their products.

Student use of Google Apps is on the rise, and Google Chromebooks have exploded in popularity within K-12 education. In response to these trends, a new niche market has emerged in ed tech, as many companies now sell products aimed at making these tools even more useful for schools.

Some of these companies were on hand at CUE’s annual conference in Palm Springs, Calif., last week to demonstrate their products.

The Toronto-based company Synergyse offers what it calls an “interactive training system” for Google Apps. The product gives schools an easy way to improve the productivity of staff and students by delivering user-friendly, guided instruction in how to use these tools, said Synergyse founder and CEO Varun Malhotra.…Read More

The ten ‘Golden Rules’ of Google Apps for Education

Google Apps, and cloud solutions in general, are revolutionizing the way educators teach and students learn.

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Google Apps are revolutionizing how educators teach and students learn. Here are 10 ‘Golden Rules’ to consider when using them. (360b/Shutterstock.com)

Using the power of interactive, cloud-based technology, school administrators and teachers can connect with students in a meaningful way, enhancing the overall learning experience. That said, first approaching these platforms can be overwhelming.

For those of you embarking on the Google Apps journey, here are ten Golden Rules to consider:

1. Energize everyone in your school community with a compelling internal marketing plan. Help lead the charge to have everyone be a part of this exciting new technology. Get everyone on board.…Read More

Microsoft offers free cloud-based Office software for schools

With the announcement, Microsoft could strike a blow against Google, which has offered a similar suite of free online tools for schools.

In a back-to-school move that could be the large company equivalent of distinguishing who has the cooler Trapper Keeper, Microsoft has released a free version of Office 365 for education, a cloud-based suite of tools that includes Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, as well as Exchange Online for eMail, SharePoint Online for collaborating, and more—rivaling Google’s education cloud.

Office 365, which Microsoft introduced last year, now is available free of charge to students, teachers, and faculty, the company said. Upgraded packages are available for a fee, including unlimited eMail storage, archiving, and hosted voice mail support.

With the announcement, Microsoft likely aims to strike a blow against Google, which has offered a similar suite of free online tools for schools. Google Apps for Education have been adopted statewide in Oregon, Iowa, and Colorado, among other states, as a means of enabling students and teachers to share documents and collaborate on projects online.…Read More