Tired of constantly uploading your contact logs to all of your course sections? Tired of accessing wiki’s inside your courses to log contacts? Tired of trying to remember who you contacted throughout the day using your ‘recent calls’ option on your cell phone? Tired of just not making enough contact because logging the contact and finding the info is a pain? ME TOO!!So, here’s what we’re going to do about it: We’re going to create a process so that you’ll NEVER have to upload your contact logs to your course. We’ll also make it so you can log your contacts quickly no matter if you’re in front of your work computer, your home computer, your laptop, or you’re just hanging out with your smartphone. We’ll also make sure that there’s time and date information automatically provided… you know, one less thing. Last, we’ll give it a cool GUI (that’s Graphic User Interface), so you feel cool when you’re logging contacts. We’re going to make contacting students so easy you can look up the info, make the call, and log the contact while you’re out walking around this spring!! Check out this video, and tell me you love me in the comments.
Here is a link to a tutorial with more details on how to set this up!
Keep in mind that this is a two-part process. You should definitely still have your names and phone numbers in a google doc and link that doc in your smartphone too so that you have the contact info you need to make the calls. On my new iPhone, I can just tap the phone number in my google doc, and the phone says, “Oh, hi there! Would you like me to call this number for you automatically?” It’s pretty sweet. The bigger the text, the easier it is to tap the number on a touch pad phone -think large font. Again, it’s a good idea to highlight the names of failing students that’s who you’re going to focus on and call first and most often. -Shu
“Android [only]: Google Voice tracks all your calls in a searchable list. If you can’t get down with Voice, or want even more convenient tracking, CallTrack plots all your calls, or just particular calls, on a Google Calendar of your choosing.”
This is an interesting idea where one could conceivably use an android phone to log calls on a google calendar. I’m not certain how this would work with the contact log, but let me know if any of you play with it so that it’s a good process. Adding notes to the call might be a pain, and I’m not sure how you’d separate personal calls from student calls without getting a phone dedicated to just calling students. Let me know!
For years I’ve taught writing online just like I’ve taught writing face to face.
this is the slow way
Typical face to face run-through: A student turns a paper in while in a face to face class, and I write all over it in red ink, giving the student tons of valuable feedback. The student gets the paper back, looks at the grade on the top, and then crams it into the trans-dimensional black hole he carries around on his back. The time I’ve spent reviewing the paper -not satisfying. Typical virtual run-though: student turns in paper, and I use Word’s track changes function or the comments function to write all over it. I’ve also used screenjelly to give individual 3-minute feedback screencasts for individual papers. The student looks at the grade book to see how he did, and he ignores the feedback almost every time. I’ve even set up easy extra credit opportunities embedded in the feedback to see if they’re reviewing the feedback. They aren’t. As every English teacher knows, the value of the paper is in that feedback -it’s the learning that’s going to take place. How do we show them that consistent errors can be remedied, improving and maturing the writing process manually? That was the question I wrestled with when I came up with this new process using google docs.
Gotta Love Google!
Imagine using student work as the canvas from which they learn and collaborate. Imagine showing them, using their own writing, how to write better… then giving them work to show their learning… using their older writings! Imagine getting them to collaborate with people in the community like parents and other students! This is all possible. This will make the process relevant. First, remember that this is like coaching and evaluation -the google doc is where the coaching happens, but the evaluation is still happening in the LMS -in this case, blackboard. In short, students will still turn in their work like they always have through blackboard. Second, there are going to be some how-to’s. Here are the things students will have to be able to do. 1. They must get a google account. 2. The must open a google doc and make it a public document, editable by anyone. Then they must get the url for that doc and share it with their teacher. In all reality, this’ll take about 5 minutes to learn how to do. They probably already know how to do this. The concept is fairly basic. A student produces a paper in rough draft form, and then his teacher gives him feedback based on the paper. The student continues to work on it until it’s polished, and then he turns it in. Then, rather than coming up with a new document, he writes his next paper directly under the first one in the google doc. All the while, the teacher is leaving feedback. Personally, I’d use google sidewiki for this. It’s pretty awesome. Here is a quick explanation: It’s not entirely necessary to use sidewiki though; instructors can also use the ‘comments’ feature in google docs. If it were me, I’d make sure to include canned screenjelly presentations in my comments for direct instruction. As the course progresses, students begin to correct consistent errors in every paper, not just the current one. As their writing improves, so will each and every writing product. The instructor would naturally give credit where credit is due as old writing products improve. Students will see the relevance of feedback in this way. Below is a nuts and bolts tutorial on how this will work. How to share a google doc: Keep in mind, the feedback is the most important part of this process. Using google sidewiki, anyone can give feedback on the paper and the student can change the paper as a result of the feedback he’s given. Two ways a teacher might give feedback are using google sidewiki and also using the add comments feature of google docs. Here is a tutorial on these methods: Students might not be able to access google sidewiki via a toolbar link due to their technology departments protecting them from innovation, but that’s ok. They will be able to see comments using this tool after they enter their url: http://digitalinspiration.com/tools/google/sidewiki/ Last, there is also a tool you can use that’ll make this all work. Asking students to email you every time they update or revise their work is, in my opinion, asking too much. Instead, use this little tool to make any web page work like an rss feed. Every time it changes, you get an update in google reader… which, of course, is free with your google account! Here is
how it works: This process is still in development, so I’m looking forward to hearing developmental ideas and encouragement in the comments. Thanks everyone! shu
I’m a Virtual School teacher, and I’m also a f2f (tech-speak for face-to-face, or ‘regular’ teacher). For both, I use blackboard. I like blackboard for the most part, but it hasn’t changed much from its original version, published at the conclusion of WWII. It holds assignments well, but the gradebook is largely responsible for my lack of hair.
The good thing about blackboard’s gradebook is that students can access their grades, and they are thereby responsible for keeping up with their grades. Unfortunately, that’s the only good thing about blackboard’s gradebook. So I don’t lose myself in disparaging comments about blackboard though, I’m going to instead focus on the merits of my newly found friend, Google Docs.
First, get a Google account. You don’t have to get a google email address to do this. But for Pete’s sake, get a google account. There is much, much more to google than searching. I could spend a series of blogs explaining how educators can use google features… hmmm, good idea! But don’t wait for me to get to it! Check it out yourself.
With your Google account ready, check out my gradebook. It’s ok. I promise. It’s all confidential, because there are no names available. Instead, I ‘hide’ the names column unless someone else logs on, and I can see when someone else logs on.
I can make changes. Students can’t change anything or see hidden columns.
I can add comments that pop up when the mouse scrolls over their cells explaining assignments.
I can add different pages for different classes.
I can access the spreadsheet from my cell phone!
And I can create formulas that do all the calculations for me.
Students, administrators, teachers, parents… anyone can see the grades. But only people who actually have the students’ ID numbers know which grades belong to whom. This makes students’ grades, students’ responsibility. However, I edit the grades directly on the page, which makes this feature waaay faster than blackboard, Wise, or other cumbersome, expensive, outdated, central-office-mandated programs.
Check out google docs, and create your spreadsheet. If you’re learning how to replicate your courses consistently, then you should be able to recycle the Google Docs Spreadsheet year after year. Doing this gives me more time to contact students and parents, improve future instructions and assignments, and be a better teacher.
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