Are you familiar with Google Apps?

One of the sessions I attended at the recent Tennessee Educational Technology Conference in Nashville was "Open Source Mania".  The presenter, Scott Nash, was excellent!  He was a former instructor, so he knows what it's like not having funds for all the bells and whistles software there is for educators.  He always looks for free versions of the most popular software and other free programs and such he can share with teachers. 


Google Apps - I am not as familiar with Google Apps as I hope to be in the future.  If you go to the homepage, it states "Google Apps for Edudcation offers a free (and ad-free) set of customizable tools that enable faculty, staff and students to work together and learn more effectively."  There is a link at the top of the page for "How Schools Benefit" so you can read about ways educators can use different parts of the site, including "10 Reasons To Choose Apps".


The part I want to focus on for this week's Blog, though, is under the "Learning" menu.  Go to K-12 Lesson Plans.  On the bottom of the page you can find a link to the Training Center where you can get chapter-by-chapter instruction on using Apps in the classroom.  On the right-hand side, there is a Getting Started Guide and other downloadable documents.  There is a link, though, that says "K-12 Lesson Plans".  If you go to that page, you will see some currently spotlighted lessons, plus there is a search function at the top where you can search by product, by subject, and/or by grade level.  These lesson plans have been reviewed, so they should be safe for you and your students to use.  You also have the ability to submit a lesson plan for possible inclusion in the database. 


I believe that Google Apps was originally most used by colleges and universities, but there is so much out there now, there are lots of lesson plans and other items you can use for K-12 classrooms.  Over the winter break would be a great time to spend some moments searching for lesson plans that you might be able to use in the spring semester.  All you need is an Internet connection and the link to Google Apps!


I trust all of you had a productive "snow day" on Monday.  I was able to work on some ideas from the Infinite Campus Interchange that I attended in November.  I sent out a couple of e-mails that detailed two new Custom Tabs that I have created for the benefits of our teachers and students. It was nice to have a day like that where I could catch up slightly on items just like the Custom Tabs!


Here's hoping that the predicted ice, freezing rain, sleet, snow, etc. is not that bad for Wednesday and Thursday and we will be able to finish out the week at school.  It's always difficult to have everything planned for the week before school is out for the holidays and then have to miss school due to weather conditions.  So, let's hope that doesn't happen and we're able to get everything accomplished that we wish to by the end of the week.  I will probably not post a new entry on the Blog until we return on Monday, January 3rd.  Well, that is, . . . unless I find something exciting to share that can't wait!

Snow Day on Monday, December 13th!

We had a snow day in Caldwell County today (Monday, December 13th), so even though I worked on the abbreviated Central Office hours, I worked on other tasks and totally forgot to update my blog!  I'm so sorry!  I usually do so every Monday morning sometime before noon, but this was our first snow day and since it came on a Monday, I just didn't get into my normal routine.  I will try to do better and the next day we are in session for the full day, I will get the blog updated.  Hope all of you who were "off" today found exciting things to do!