The situation that we are in today requires that we all learn to use a different set of tools that will facilitate teaching and learning until we can all make it back to the actual classroom. Hopefully, that will happen sooner rather than later, but until then, we will be in the hybrid system in which some students will always work from home, and the rest will alternate between being in class physically and being in class virtually. No matter where you are, though, you will receive the same content, attention, and care.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
For some of you, these tools are familiar, so you might not need all of the information contained in each of these sections. If you are an old hand at this, please skim the material, however, and let me know if you think I should add something to help others learn how to use these applications.
- Terms to know: synchronous and semi-synchronous
- GOOGLE CLASSROOM on a computer
- GOOGLE CLASSROOM on an iPad
- GOOGLE HANGOUTS on an iPad
- GOOGLE HANGOUTS on a computer
- GOOGLE MEET Rules and Guidelines
- GOOGLE MEET on a computer
- GOOGLE MEET on an iPad
- GOOGLE DOCS Chat on Computer or iPad (only works via a browser)
- Adding a Margin Comment in GOOGLE DOCS
- Adding a Directed Comment in GOOGLE DOCS
Although our new website features a calendar where you can find your assignments, Classroom will be the tool you will use to find your assignments and submit your work. I will try to create a week's worth of assignments at a time and post these each weekend, but sometimes I will have to change things on a daily basis, so it is important that you check Classroom every day.
Each class will be a combination of SYNCHRONOUS and SEMI-SYNCHRONOUS activities. What do these words SYNCHRONOUS and SEMI-SYNCHRONOUS mean? Ah! Read on, good students!
SYNCHRONOUS
A synchronous activity is one for which must be present. That means if you are working from home, you are seated in a quiet spot, your camera is on, and your classmates and I can see your face. We don't need to see your ceiling, floor, or just your forehead – we need to see you. I will expect you to be as engaged in what we are doing in the classroom as you can be. During discussions, you should raise your hand and participate. You should respond to points or questions raised by your peers. You should also expect me to call on you. I will expect you to be fully present throughout a synchronous activity, and if you consistently fail to meet this expectation, I will contact Mr. Bynum and your parent (s). Every class will begin with a synchronous meeting.
SEMI-SYNCHRONOUS
A semi-synchronous assignment or activity is one in which you will be online during class, but you will work either independently or in a small group. Your camera does not necessarily need to be on, but you must be present. I will use Google Meet or Hangouts to check in with you throughout a semi-synchronous activity, and you can use these tools to ask me questions. Some examples of semi-synchronous activities are small-group reading discussions, peer-editing sessions, small-group collaborative projects, drafting sessions, small-group writing workshops, and independent reading periods. You are required to be present and available via Hangouts, but you don't need to participate unless I send you a message.
USING GOOGLE CLASSROOM
Many of you already have considerable experience using Classroom, and if you do, you may skip this section. Or, if you are new to PDS or just need a refresher, take a look at the following images.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM ON A COMPUTER
Most often, you will work in the Classwork screen. This is where you will find classwork
GOOGLE CLASSROOM ON AN IPAD
Now, let's look at some other tools and how we will use them.
Hangouts is a chat tool that many of you are already familiar with. It's basic purpose is to provide a way for you and I to communicate more quickly than we could through email. For my classes, if we are involved in a SEMI-SYNCHRONOUS class activity, like a writing period, you should have this app open and running in the background. You can still work in other windows. If you hear a chime-like alert, go back to Hangouts to see if I have written something to you.
GOOGLE HANGOUTS ON AN IPAD
If there is a number in a red circle, as you see in the image above, someone already wants to talk to you. Once you tap on this icon, the app will open, and on the left-hand side of your screen, you will see a list of your conversations organized with the most recent at the top. If the text of any conversation on this list is in bold typeface, it means that you have an unread message. This is where you will find an invitation from me to join the class Hangout. For this presentation, I had my brother send me an invitation to chat on Hangouts. When I opened my iPad, the Hangouts icon had a number over it, showing that I had an unread message. I opened the app, and in the left-hand column, I see Jonathan's message. All I need to do is tap that to accept his invitation, and then we will be able to chat over Hangouts.
The images that follow will provide an overview of what the icons on the iPad screen do and how to send a message to someone.
GOOGLE HANGOUTS ON A COMPUTER
If you are using Hangouts on a computer, you can easily find Hangouts by opening the Google Mail app. On the left-hand side of your screen, just below your profile picture and various mailboxes, you will see the Hangouts panel, and in the image below, you will see that my brother has sent me a new message. The font is bold because I have not yet opened it.
To start a chat with someone, all you need to do is click on the person's name. In this case, I want to chat with Mr. Scully, so I would click his name, and a chat window will open:
All I need to do in Hangouts on a PC is type my message in Send a message field, and then hit return on my keyboard.
For my classes, if we are involved in a SEMI-SYNCHRONOUS class activity, like a writing period, you should have this app open and running in the background. You can still work in other windows. If you hear a chime-like alert, go back to Hangouts to see if I have written something to you.
Another nice feature of Hangouts is that it can be used to launch a video chat window. On the iPad, you can do this by opening a chat in the same way as you would if you were typing. Then, in the top-right-hand corner of the screen, tap the video camera icon, and a Hangouts will initiate a video call. Once the person answers. a window will open, and you can talk with her or him.
Here's how to open a video chat on a computer:
GOOGLE MEET RULES AND GUIDELINES
If you are streaming our class, you will be using Google Meet every day. At the beginning of class, you MUST BE IN THE CLASS MEET. This is how I will take attendance, and it's when I will give you the overview of what we we will do and in that day's class. There are also some rules I will expect you to follow:
- Be on time. Don't make the class wait for you.
- Communicate. If there is a problem with Google Meet, like the video feed keeps freezing or your internet signal is down at your house, use Google Hangouts on your phone to send me message to let me know what's going on.
- Your camera must be on at all times unless you are doing something on your iPad, like taking notes or looking at a passage in an iBook, that automatically turns it off. What several students did last year was to use their phones for the Meet so they had free access to their iPads.
- Be in dress code, just like your classmates who are at school.
- Keep your full face in the frame. This was a challenge for some students last year.
GOOGLE MEET ON A COMPUTER
As I explained above, the link to the Meet for your class is always in Google Classroom. Open Classroom and click the video camera icon. This window will open:
GOOGLE MEET ON AN IPAD
Google Docs is almost ubiquitous in the culture of the PDS Upper School (look up "ubiquitous" if you don't know what it means!), and most of you are already more familiar with it than I am. However, there are a few tools that we will use that will prove useful in our remote learning environment.
GOOGLE DOCS CHAT
This only works if you are using Google Docs on a computer or have opened Docs in a browser on your iPads. If you don't know how to do this, please email me.
You've seen this icon before. Whenever you share a document with classmates, and all of you are looking at it at the same time, you will see that odd little icon that looks a little like person with three blocks hovering near her or his head. This icon means the chat feature is available.
Whenever we are doing a SYNCHRONOUS activity on Google Docs, you should open the chat window as soon as you are working on a document with a peer. That way, I can give you and your partner (s) general feedback or ask the group questions.
ADDING MARGIN COMMENTS IN GOOGLE DOCS
ADDING DIRECTED COMMENTS IN GOOGLE DOCS
You are probably familiar with how to select text in a peer's paper and then write a comment on it; however, there is a way to make sure that she or he sees what you wrote. Select a section of a document and choose the comment option, then type + followed by the email address of the person to whom you're directing the comment. As soon as you start typing the email address, a list of your contacts with similar spellings will open, and you can easily scroll down and pick the right one.
You'll notice that as soon as you start typing the email address, a list of your contacts with similar spellings will open, and you can easily scroll down and pick the right one. When you finish writing the comment, Google Docs will send an email to the recipient (s) that you specified.
This tool might not seem necessary when you are working one on one in class, but when you are collaborating with several people online, using this technique can make distance communication easier.