Why do I need a website?

For many teachers, the idea of creating a website is infuriating. Teachers have enough to do, and most teachers find Google Classroom meets their needs when it comes to organizing digital content for their students. Why then should teachers take the time to create a website? Here are three reasons you should consider creating a class website.

1. A website saves time and resources. Even if you are a teacher that is fortunate enough to have a great textbook, there are still dozens of supplemental materials that need to be printed, and copied, and distributed to students, and redistributed when the student loses them. I'm sure you get my point. Printing materials takes time and money that could better be used somewhere else. You might be asking yourself, "Can't I distribute those resources through Google Classroom?" The answer to that is, "Yes." However, there are some limitations to Google Classroom, which leads me to my second point.
2. A website brings all your content together. You can organize content in Google Classroom, but you and your students will need to jump back and forth between content in different tabs. With a website you can have all the content on one page making it easier for you to present and students to follow. Using traditional terms, think of Google Classroom as a workbook, and a website as your textbook. 
3. A website reaches a larger audience. Students and parents can keep up with what is happening in your class by logging into Google Classroom or PowerSchool. What about grandparents, people in the community, or other teachers? How can they keep up with what's going on in your class? Posting student work or information about what your students are doing is a great way to motivate students to do their best, and shows that our schools are doing incredible things. Just remember that anyone can access your website, so get parent permission before posting pictures of students, and never post information that should be kept private. 

Here are a few ideas of how you can use a website: 

• Replace the paper version of your class newsletter. 
• Post student work for people to see
• Create an online "textbook" for your class
• Embed a blog to post updates on your class. 
• Show progress towards a class goal such as a fundraiser or improved class attendance. 
• Or, do all the above!

There is so much you can do with a class website. If you decide that a class website is something that you want to do, click here for a video showing you how to create a Google Site, or click here if you want more ideas on how you could use Google Sites in your classroom.

In the comments below post a link if you have already created a class website, and if not tell us how you would like to use a website for your classroom!

Capture Your Class Digitally

   Your class is brimming with sights and sounds. Don't you wish you could share some the excitement of your classroom with students, parents, and colleagues? Well, if you have a cell phone or tablet, you can!


Before You Get Started: You will need Google Drive, Google Photos, and an Audio Recording app to add images and audio to your Google account. Check you phone's/ tablet's App Store to download these apps if you don't already have them.


Pictures and Videos 

Step One: Sync your district account to Google Photos. Just open the app and it will prompt you to log in. Make sure to use your District Google Account.  IMPORTANT: When you first set up Google Photos it will ask if you want high quality or original quality. Choose high quality. This will give you unlimited storage for your photos.


Step Two: Check your settings in Google Photos. In the app go to settings and make sure that sync is turned on. If you don't have a lot of memory on your phone you might want Google Photos to delete the images from your phone once they have been synced. You should also check the Cellular Data options. Unless you have Unlimited data, make sure this is turned off.


Step Three: Start taking pictures and videos.


Step Four: Upload your images. Depending on your sync settings you might need to connect to a wireless network and open the app to make sure your photos and videos are being backed up. There will be a small notification icon that tells you it is backing up or if it's already up to date.

Step Five: Use your images/Videos. Now that your images are in Google Photos, you can access them from any computer that is connected to the internet by going to photos.google.com and logging in.

Audio

Step One: Open the audio recorder on your phone/tablet and record your audio. Remember the microphone on your phone is meant to be used close up. If you are recording students, try not to have the phone more than a few feet away. If you want better quality recordings, you can purchase a microphone for your phone/ tablet. Just make sure to get one that is compatible for your phone.

Step Two: Save the audio recording to your phone. (If your app let's you upload to Google Drive skip this step and Save to Google Drive).

Step Three: Open Google Drive and upload the audio recording from your phone.

Step Four: Use your recordings. Log into drive.google.com and access your recordings.


Now that you have pictures, videos, and audio recordings of your class you can easily share them with parents via email or students with Google Classroom. You can also use the audio/video files to assess and document student progress.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you have permission to publish 
students' images before sharing them with others.

In the comments below tell about what classroom 

activities you would love to share online. 

Email Drab to Fab Part 4: Formatting in Gmail

There is nothing wrong with using a small simple font for writing an email, but there is nothing exciting about it either. Changing the formatting of your email is one of the easiest things you can do to give your emails a professional look, and make them stand out.

Option 1: Change your format in a specific email. This is great if you have single email for which you want to use special formatting. 

Steps: 

1. Log into your Gmail account and click compose. 
2. At the bottom on of the email you have options to change the font like you would in any word processor.
3. Choose your settings before you start typing to change the formatting for your entire email, or type your email, highlight the text you want to change, and then change the settings. 

Option 2: Change the default formatting. This is great option if you want all of your emails to have a specific and consistent format. 

Steps: 

1. Log into your Gmail account and click on the settings icon in the top right. 
2. Click settings 
3. Find the Default Text Style: 
4. Change the Font, Size, and Color to look the way you want it. 
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes 
6. Click Compose and start Typing. The formatting should  match your changes. 

In the comments below, tell about how you have turned your emails from Drab to Fab