Google Calendar Enhancing the Home/School Connection

Since the dawn of time teachers and parents have been trying to make better connections between home and school.  When parents ask their child "What do you have for homework tonight" the child either can't remember, or gives the default answer that they don't have any.  Google Calendar can help solve this problem.  


Google Calendar is a free online calendar website where you can keep your personal calendar, a shared calendar with a group of people who can all add to it, or a shared calendar with people where online one person can add to it.  


As a teacher with a Google Calendar you could create a calendar where you enter assignments and then share this calendar with students and parents.  You could also embed the calendar with assignments into a classroom website.  Below are the steps for creating a Google Calendar, steps for sharing the calendar with students and parents, and the steps to embed the calendar into a blog or website.  In order to create and share a Google Calendar you need to have a Google account already set up.  If you don't have one, follow these directions.     

Steps 1 & 2

Creating A Google Calendar

To create a new calendar, just follow these steps:1) Click the drop-down arrow to the right of My calendars
2) Select Create new calendar
3) Enter information about your new calendar
4) Click the Create calendar button

Steps 3 & 4

All of the calendars you create will be listed under My Calendars on the left side of your page. For each of the calendars, you can add, delete, and edit events any time you like.

Please note that there's a limit to the number of calendars you can create at one time. If you're receiving an error message when creating additional calendars, please wait 24 hours before trying again.

Sharing Your Google Calendar

Setps 1 & 2

1) Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the calendar that you want to share

2) Select Share this Calendar

Steps 3 & 4

3) Check the box to make the calendar public

4) Click Calendar Details

Step 5

5) In the Calendar Address area select the way the user of the shared calendar user will view the calendar.  

• Select iCal if the user is going to view it in Apples program iCal.  
• Select XML if the user is going to view the calendar in another calendar program.
• Select HMTL if the user is going to put the address into an internet browser to view the calendar.  

6) Copy the address in the box that pops up and share this with the people you want to share the calendar with.  

Step 6

Embed the Calendar In A Blog or Website

Steps 1 & 2

1) Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the calendar that you want to embed

2) Click on Calendar Settings

Steps 3 & 4

3) Select and copy the code 

4) Paste the HTML code into your blog or website

Emerging and Sharing

I am proud to admit that I am a technology geek.  If there is a new technology product, website, or tool on the market I love to learn how it works and figure out how to include it in my daily life.  As a classroom teacher it is my goal to incorporate as many technology applications as I can effectively.  When selecting technology for the classroom it is important to find tools that are appropriate as well as useful for all students.  It is important to not expose my students to tools that will require them to pay any fees, while also keep their identity safe on the internet.

Tools that live in a cloud are one of my newest technologies that I try to share with as many people as possible.  Cloud computing is an amazingly powerful tool since it is often free - thanks Google, as well as available from any location.  Cloud computing meets the requirements of being gender, culturally, and socioeconomically sensitive.  There are no fees associated with cloud computing, as long as a person has access to a computer their cloud is at their fingertips.

For my final project in EDUC 8841 I created a video on how to utilize the power of the cloud.



Enjoy ~SJ 

Living In A Material (Digital) World

In 1985 Madonna was right in her song Material Girl, it was a material world.  If she were to release that song today the lyrics would be that we are "living in a digital world".  To be an active learner in the digital age you learn through a variety of channels.  In the new learning learning theory called connectivism, networks and connections are critical to learners ability to learn.  Wikiversity defines connectivism as "a learning theory advocated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes, among others, which emphasizes the importance and role of networks and connections between people (and things?) as prominent (central) to the learning process".  Below is a mind map some of the many of the networks that I learn through. (You can click on the image to view it larger)

 

There are a plethora of digital tools available for learning, and I try to utilize as many of them as I can.  The number one digital tool in my 21st century toolbox is my MacBook Pro.  Without my laptop I would not be able to connect as easily to many of my other digital tools.  I have been reading and writing blogs for several years now.  I write two blogs, one professional (this one), as well as a personal blog.  I also read over 50 blogs, many of which are technology or education related.  Another digital tool that I utilize for learning is magazine websites.  Edutopia is one magazine website that allows you to connect with the material on more interactive level.  Through the groups, blogs, videos, and community section I haven't found an educational topic not covered.  The countless peer reviewed journal articles also add depth to my digital learning network.

My digital network has only enhanced the ways that I can learn.  The instant discoveries of new information only a fingertip way allows for constant learning.  I am almost always on my computer looking and reading about any given variety of topics.

When there is a new topic that I want to learn about I always start with Google.  If I am looking for more academic focused results and Google doesn't give me the answers that I want I then check Google Scholar.  If I am looking for less academic results then Wikipedia, an online public editing encyclopedia,  YouTube, a collection of public submitted videos, or Google Reader, a blog search engine can be helpful.  My newest discovery for answering burning questions is Wikiversity, which like Wikipedia allows users to collectively edit encyclopedia entries, but all of the topics are focused on education.   



This is how I am "living in a digital world", how do you live?

Enjoy ~SJ