# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Google Apps & CCSS ELA - Google Apps for Education: a digital learning ecosystem

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using Google Apps for Education as a digital learning ecosystem

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This presentation was shown at the ICE Conference in February of 2013.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CCSS English Language Arts Resources - Common Core State Standards (CA Dept of Education)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Resources to support the teaching of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts (ELA).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free K - 12 Math Lesson Plans, Materials & and Ideas | BetterLesson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easy and effective math lesson plans across all grades including long division, algebra, geometry, and statistics with free resouces from world-class teachers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Achievethecore.org :: ELA / Literacy - ELA / Literacy Lessons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is an illustrated informational text that describes the many characteristics of butterflies. Through a poetic narrative, students ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We provide targeted solutions for use in every area of the literacy block, featuring a wide range of authentic text and research-based instruction. Our wide variety of programs can be used in conjunction with existing materials or together as an integrated literacy framework.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Common Core State Standards seeks to develop students who:

- Demonstrate independence

- Evaluate complex texts

- Possess strong content knowledge

- Communicate effectively

- Comprehend and critique

- Locate and use evidence effectively

- Feel confident solving real world problems

- Understand other perspectives and cultures

- Apply their existing knowledge to new situations

- Use technology and digital media strategically and capably

According to the Standards, teachers must teach and students must learn using relevant technology that students will need to succeed beyond high school.

English Language Arts Standards:

*Note: Educators can upgrade to an education account that has special premium account features provided specifically to K-12 & higher-ed educators. Once your Diigo Educator application is approved, your account will be upgraded to have these additional features:

3. Google "Advanced Search" - Teach students how to refine their online searches to find more relevant and reliable information. For 10 Tips to help your students search smarter, .

Math:

10. Khan Academy - Thousands of video tutorials explaining mathematical concepts and practice problems available to support students in developing their understanding of math.

Please post any questions and/or share any of your favorite online tools that you use to help you teach the Common Core!
*ISTE Workshop: Transitioning to the Common Core with Google Apps - Join me!
This entry was posted in Learning. Bookmark the permalink.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Tech Tools to Teach the Common Core Standards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ISTE Workshop: Transitioning to the Common Core with Google Apps - Join me! The Common Core State Standards initiative was state led and coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I am using Google documents for all writing assignments this year. The day I assign a formal essay topic, students must create a doc, title it properly and share it with me. This makes it possible for me to check their progress throughout the writing process. It creates opportunities to provide formative feedback instead of waiting until the final draft is submitted to provide comments.

The challenge? How can a single teacher with 170 students provide feedback to every student multiple times during a single writing assignment?

This is how...

Last week, I reserved the computer lab for two 90 minute class periods. During that time, I opened every document that had been shared with me and spent the entire period working synchronously on each document.

Click to watch a screencast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhxp1_5pruA

I asked students to use the instant chat feature on their document to send me questions or comments as they worked. It was ironic how much individual feedback I was able to give in 90 minutes with 30+ students working quietly at their computers.

I successfully edited every paper shared with me 2 times before the final draft was submitted. For those concerned about addressing the Common Core Standard that requires students "develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach ," this is a wonderful way to support students in this process. You are also using "technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others," which is another writing standard!

A new student to my class as of the semester break wrote me the following email:

I really want you to know how much I appreciate your constructive criticism and how much it helps me do my work. In the past, whenever I received a graded paper all I really got back was a bunch of red circles telling me what I did wrong. Not only do your comments help me from making these mistakes but they also make me feel like I am doing something right.

Thank you so much.

Using technology to create opportunities to collaborate in real time, meet students where they are at, and provide support during their work is an enormous benefit of integrating technology.

So many teachers worry about technology taking time, but this saved me so much time. It took place during our class period (not at home in the evening or on a weekend), and the final papers are exponentially stronger and require significantly less time to grade.
Preorder your copy of Creatively Teach the Common Core Literacy Standards with Technology. Just in time for summer reading!
This entry was posted in Learning. Bookmark the permalink.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Synchronous Editing with Google Docs to Teach the Common Core

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I am using Google documents for all writing assignments this year. The day I assign a formal essay topic, students must create a doc, title it properly and share it with me. This makes it possible for me to check

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As I mentioned in my previous post, today I spent the day working with teachers on using Google apps to address some Common Core standards. One of the things that I love about working with other teachers is the opportunity to learn from other teachers. During my afternoon workshop I talked with a Language Arts teacher who uses the commenting features in Google Docs and Google Presentations to have students identify and label bias and propaganda in examples that he shares with them.

Prior to today's workshops I identified some Common Core standards that you can address while using Google Documents.

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

In December and January I am offering a webinar series on Google Drive and the Common Core.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Google Documents and Common Core Standards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As I mentioned in my previous post, today I spent the day working with teachers on using Google apps to address some Common Core standards. One of the things that I love about working with other teachers is the opportunity to learn from other teachers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At ISTE, I had the pleasure of presenting in the Google theatre on Writing with Google Docs. It was a short presentation aimed at demonstrating how educators can use Google Docs to foster writing in its various stages. I wanted to share some of the my slides to inspire other teachers to explore how docs, spreadsheets, forms, drawing and presentation can be used in creative ways to foster writing.

Just some general info on Google Docs...

Google Documents is a great tool to facilitate collaboration. Group students together into writing groups working on a single document so they can research, brainstorm, and pre-write together.

This is an example of a shared Google Document where a group of students were collaborating on one document to research "Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England." They used the instant chat feature, comments and research tool inside Google Docs (Click: Tool>Research) to investigate and discuss the topic their group was assigned. Each group had a different topic related to Elizabethan England, which they had to research and discuss to create a presentation on for the class. This combines research and writing which are both stressed in the Common Core State Standards.

W.6-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products.

W.9-12.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem

Teachers can use Google Docs to facilitate synchronous or asynchronous debates on a topic in preparation for an argument essay. This provides students with an opportunity to articulate their position on a topic and read their peers' ideas and arguments. This exposes students to a variety of perspectives effectively broadening the scope of an argument and stimulating higher-order thinking about the topic. Reading opposing viewpoints also makes it easier to address counter arguments to strengthen an argument essay.

W.6-12.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.6-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Engage students in effective, focused peer editing using Google Forms. Teachers can create a rubric to be used during self, peer and/or instructor feedback that is tied to the writing standards listed in the Common Core State Standards.

When students evaluate their peers' writing using rubrics, they begin to think critically about the elements of writing. They also become familiar with the grade scale that the instructor will use to grade their writing. The process of involving students in editing, revising and providing feedback makes it possible to build in formative assessments throughout the writing process.

W.6-12.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

In credential school I fell in love with the copy-change poem assignment, which is basically a fill-in-the-blank poetry writing activity. It is a fun way to inspire reluctant writers to play with poetry. The trick is to find a poem that you like, then remove sections from each line leaving a skeleton of the original poem that students complete.

I decided to create a Google Form for our copy-change assignment and asked students to complete a copy-change of Robert Frost's "Road Less Traveled." Then all of the poems were collected neatly in a single spreadsheet where students could view and read the poems written by their peers. It was a fun way to engage students in poetry writing and allow them the opportunity to see what their peers had created.

W.6-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.6-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products.

For many students, the most challenging aspect of writing is getting started. The blank page is daunting, especially for younger writers who are not confident in their abilities. Google Drawing offers teachers a vehicle to engage students in dynamic prewriting activities, such as: brainstorming, mind mapping, creating a venn diagram and collaborating on a shared timeline.

For example, my students began a larger scale writing assignment on themes in The Grapes of Wrath by first identifying themes and representing them visually. Once they identified key themes and paired them with media, they began to analyze how those themes developed over the course of the novel.

RL.6-12.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail...

Using Google Drawing to create an essay map to break down the main points and brainstorm ideas is an easy way to begin a 5 paragraph essay.

Getting students to collaborate on a timeline for a character in a novel makes it easier to write an essay about a character's growth and development.

Venn diagrams are a great way to visually compare and contrast characters, themes, events, etc.

RL.9-12.3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Teaching students how to shift from summarizing to analyzing a literary or informational text can be a challenge. It is helpful to approach this task using a Google Spreadsheet that asks students to work together as a class to gather evidence (examples if you are working with younger students; quotes if you are working with students in 6-12th grade) and analyze that evidence.

Students benefit from seeing the evidence and analysis generated by their peers (embedded modeling). This also generates a neat collection of short writing samples a teacher can use to discuss strong examples as well as examples that needs to be developed further. This makes an essay less daunting if students have already engaged in this form of prewriting with their peers. They can also draw from this spreadsheet to help write their essays.

RL.6-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis...

W.9-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products

Google Presentations offers opportunities to get students publishing their writing in creative ways. Students can create a visual research paper to accompany an informative piece of research writing. This can easily be shared with the class or published to the web for a larger audience.

Students can also publish narrative pieces in a storybook format using Google Presentations by inserting text and media.

W.6-12.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

W.6-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.6-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products...

L.6-12.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Note: I have included language from the Common Core State Standards associated with each task. The language for each standard changes slightly at each grade level to reflect the increasing complexity of the standards. As a result, I have provided language from the standards take from the middle of the age range indicated.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Writing with Google Docs: Foster Collaboration & Creation (While Addressing Common Core)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At ISTE, I had the pleasure of presenting in the Google theatre on Writing with Google Docs. It was a short presentation aimed at demonstrating how educators can use Google Docs to foster writing in its various stages. I wanted