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Google Sites

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Have you ever wanted to create a classroom website? I have always dreamed of having a website, but felt so overwhelmed when I thought about learning how to create a website. Not to mention all of the website creator tools I found were complicated and difficult to use. My dream became a reality when I learned about Google Sites . Google Sites is a simple way to effortlessly create a beautiful website. Check out this video with more information about how to use Google Sites from Teacher Cast Educational Network. You may be wondering what can I add to my Google Site. Well, I am so glad you asked. You can easy add any kind of Google file like a Slide, Doc, Calendar, Form, Sheet, etc. You can also add a photo album from Google, a YouTube video or links to websites. Check out this 8 minute video I created using Screen-o-Matic with information on some of my personal favorite Google Site features and a quick look at the Google Site I created for my classroom. Here is a link to
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Google Earth + Google Tour Builder

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Google Earth and Google Tour Builder will revolutionize the way you use maps in your classroom. Have you ever felt frustrated when using a 2D map of the world or region, feeling as though its difficult to see or underwhelming for your students. I cannot even begin to imagine how captivated my students will be when I show them Google Earth and Google Tour Builder. I have a feeling they will request daily to see various places. On this post, I will explain these two awesome Google tools, some tips and tricks and ways you can incorporate them into your classroom! Google Earth  is a computer program that creates 3D images based on satellite imagery. Unless you want to download the Google Earth program. It is highly recommend to use Google Chrome as your search engine for Google Earth. Check out this video about Google Earth. Here is what the main screen looks like after getting on Google Earth. The buttons on the left side will be the ones you use most often. The first
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YouTube + Google Tools

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YouTube can be such a daunting resource, especially for teachers. Often times I feel overwhelmed with the amount of videos available on YouTube and find myself nervous my students will see something inappropriate. My co-workers and I often have difficulties remembering which videos we used for a unit the previous year and find ourselves searching through e-mails trying to find a link. After spending some time researching YouTube, I found a couple of incredible resources that can help teachers more  efficiently  use YouTube to enhance their instruction. Safeshare.tv   is a free online resource to help the user safely watch and share YouTube videos without all of the ads and distractions. Simply copy and paste a YouTube video link into the   SafeShare.tv website . You can even edit the start and stop position of the video. I always worry about all of the other videos my students will see when showing them a YouTube video. Using Safeshare.tv is a simple way to guarantee they will only s
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Google Classroom + Google Calendar + Google Keep

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Have you ever felt stuck in your classroom? Unable to interact and connect with your students and struggling to figure out the best way to efficiently share documents and have your students turn in work electronically? Google Classroom is the perfect tool for you. Check out this video about Google Classroom from Flipped Classroom Tutorials. Google classroom is a great way to interact with students electronically. One of my favorite features of Google Classroom is the capability to add videos, documents and links under the about tab. Click on "add class materials" and you can add a variety of things. These materials will stay on the about page while the classroom is active. I was able to add some beginning of the year documents, a coin song we watch on a regular basis and a link to one of my favorite classroom social media sites Flip Grid. Another feature I love is the ability to add Google Forms to Google Classroom. Check out this video with more information
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Google Drive

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Google Drive is a simple way to share, collaborate, back up, and create files. These Drive features have revolutionized the Internet allowing people to work together to create some unbelievable products. Check out this  Google Drive website  with information about the storage features of Drive. Google Drive has a couple basic programs that are similar to your typical Microsoft programs. These include Docs , Sheets , Slides , Forms , and Drawings . This week we will touch on these five programs. To get us started, check out this video to learn the basics of Google Drive. Now check out this video with some advanced features of Google Drive. Google Docs is the word processing program for Google Drive. However, you can do more than you ever imagined when using Google Docs. Docs can be easily shared with students in your classroom. They can be given the ability to edit a document or only the ability to view the document. Google Drive has the capability to add add-ons s
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Google Search + Gmail Tips

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Gmail! According to Gmail there are over 1 billion people that use Gmail. That's quite a few people almost the population of India. Did you know there are so many improvements you can make to your Gmail account? Check out this video with more information about Gmail tips. Here are a couple of my favorite features you can easily change and make your life easier and more productive. 1. Google Chat This feature is Google Gmail Chat. This feature is available on the left side of the Gmail screen. You can add contacts and chat with them much like AOL Instant Messenger. This feature would be helpful if I needed to communicate with coworkers instead of calling them. I could also easily chat with my husband (who is also a teacher) during the day. The chat box can remain open while using Gmail. I could also see this being helpful if you lose your cell phone. You can use it much like a phone and call people. There is also a feature called groups, where you can create a group chat.
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Google Chrome and Google+

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When using my Mac at home my default browser has always been Safari. It has been known for years at our house that my husband uses Chrome and I use Safari. We never wanted to mess with logging in and out of all the websites and switching accounts, so we stuck with our plan. After researching Chrome I discovered many reasons why, I too should be using Chrome. Also, I discovered how I we could easily switch back and forth between our accounts. Who knew it could be so easy! This blog post is going to explore some features of Google Chrome and Google+. Google Chrome should be your web browser of choice. For so many reasons, but especially because of Google Extensions! Here are two videos about Google Extensions and some examples of Extensions you can download and use on Chrome. Extensions are a great way to improve your browsing experience. The Google Extensions store will look like this. When searching through the Extensions, I looked for the highest rated and most
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