Google hangouts and Meet is the first thing to learn on the agenda, I haven't used this app at all but I can see the benefits once everyone gets used to the functionality of this program. tried it out with a group then with Maria and quickly getting used to this.
Google keep is something I will be using all the time for things like books to read, at the moment I use the file app on my phone but it takes a series of actions to open - one click is better and it has a truckload more functionality.
Covered a whole lot of things regarding tips and tricks when using gmail and calendar. The amount of stuff you can do is pretty overwhelming and I doubt you will remember it all unless you are using the programs a lot - there is definitely a few things we learnt today that I will use in the future and I finally managed to delete a recurring timetabled option subject that has been haunting me since 2015.:)
Toby mini is an add-on that allows you to manage tabs in google. You can save a set of tabs with one URL and share it or use a QR code. Great for when you are doing something like designing the new digital technology course and need to be able to look at the TKI, NZQA and other sites as a workspace that you use consistently.
Google hangouts was the mahi for this afternoon Cathy and I made a recording of our discussion about a student blog, we broke it down and analysed the work and did a fantastic job but unfortunately you will only have my word for it, as when we went to play the video back there was no voice recording which made the video pretty much redundant. The screen recording button also needs the audio record box ticked - now we know!
After some discussion we decided that we thought using the google hangout would be a great way to do some moderation with another teacher but we obviously realised that doing a test run before the video recording would be a great habit to get into so we decided to try again but yet again we were foiled by the technology and this time I clicked the stop button thinking it was the record button. Using a Mac and new software probably compounded the problem but these technical issues are the sort of thing that can easily be ironed out with a little bit of practice.
Looks like you've taken those 'Write that essay' tips to heart Robbie. Starting sentences with active verbs and prepositions! I've also downloaded keep onto my phone. Also, brevity! I must get better at that.
ReplyDeleteKia ora Robbie,
ReplyDeleteI really like your point about practice. I agree that having time to practice using a tool and to get proficent at it enables us to feel confident and choose to use it. Makes me think about the 'digital native' term. An interesting post about that here: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/millennials-digital-natives/
Maria
Yes interesting read Maria. We looked at the new literacy standards for NCEA this week and I can't help but feel it is a step backwards - although I am not 100% sure about that. I got some strong push back when I asked about voice to text. I think the ability to focus and think deeply, like reading an academic text is very important, but given the multimedia rich environment we are living in it is not a stretch to believe that literacy as defined traditionally may not be what our learners need. The jury is out on this one I guess.
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