The EduGals Podcast

In this episode, we discuss the use of Google Classroom for remote learning. We also introduce ourselves and tell you a bit about who we are as educators. It is our hope that this podcast can help you learn amazing and useful ways to bring technology into your classroom.
We'll be honest... we were pretty nervous about hitting the record button and putting ourselves out there! So if you have any feedback for us, we'd love to hear it. Please leave us a rating or review in your favourite podcast app or visit our website at edugals.com to leave us a message.
Show Notes

Reasons why we love Google Classroom:

• Students know it and are comfortable with it
• For the most part, teachers are comfortable with the platform too
• It is easy to use and, while it may not be as robust as other online tools, it does a great job of creating a central online space for teachers to communicate and post materials for students.

Sections in Google Classroom:
4 different tabs or sections of a google classroom - Stream, Classwork, People and Marks:

• Stream - Great for posting announcements, fun activities, discussions, etc., can turn off classwork notifications using the settings/cog wheel
• Classwork - section with the most helpful features/use during remote learning. Can create
  • assignments
  • materials (lessons - slide decks, handouts, websites, etc.)
  • quizzes
  • questions for students to answer
  • topics (sort by topic, unit, week)
• People - can email all students, groups of students or individual students; single guardian or all guardians; click on a student and it will pull up a page showing all of their assignments, contact info, et

Tips for remote learning:

• Class settings – Here you can find guardian emails, notification settings and you can set up whether or not students can post or comment (or neither)
• Start fresh! Create a new classroom, and post this new code in your OLD classroom. This will help students as they are starting this new process of learning, and they won’t feel overwhelmed or be distracted by previous material posted during face to face instruction.
• Topics: Organize by week instead of unit!
  • When creating or posting new material, there is a section where it says “Topic” – default is no topic, but if you click on the arrow, you can create a new topic, or use another topic that exists – Create new, and label according to the week.
• Stream – This is the first page/screen that students see when they enter their classroom
  • Change settings to get rid of classwork posts: Default will be a post every time that you create material or assignments, and this will really clutter up the Stream. So change the settings so that it doesn’t post every time you add a lesson, etc.
  • Consider allowing students to post/comment on the Stream. This can also be changed in the settings. It will allow for more interaction and a feeling of community, despite the lack of face to face interactions.
• Ask questions not related to the curriculum! Sometimes a simple question about what they are doing, their favourite activity while being at home right now, etc. will create a sense of community and belonging, and helps to engage some of the students th

Support the show

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show

In this episode we are talking about helpful strategies to simplify and streamline instruction during remote learning.

Please share this episode with others and subscribe to our podcast using your favourite podcast app. Also be sure to visit our EduGals website for more detailed show notes.
Leave us feedback on our FLIPGRID!
Show Notes
Remote learning is not something that any of us were prepared for. And yet here we are. With limited time to prepare for the shift to remote teaching, educators have been scrambling to put together the best learning opportunities that they can for their students, and this has not been an easy task.

We have compiled a variety of strategies and/or best practices that we feel will help you through this difficult and challenging time:

• News
  • Google Meet Updates
  • Quizizz Question Types
• Hyperdocs
  • Learning is all contained in one document
  • Pedagogy links:
    • Hyperdocs website
    • Samples of Hyperdocs
    • Hyperdocs Handbook by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton & Sarah Landis
    • Force copy, template view etc.
  • Our advice: keep it simple, avoid hyperlink rabbit holes, schedule/differentiate, slides is better than docs, and keep accessibility in mind!
  • Quick tip: Keyboard shortcut for adding a hyperlink (PC: control + K, Mac: command + K)
• Scheduling feature in Google Classroom & Gmail
  • Schedule send in Gmail
  • Schedule posts in Google Classroom
• Wakelet
  • Educator's Guide to Wakelet
  • Pam Hubler's Wakelet Lesson Planning Template
• Google Drive organization
  • Create new folders for your distance learning resources (name them something like "Pandemic Planning" if you want to be like Katie!)
  • In those folders, create other folders labelled "Week 1", "Week 2", and so on
  • Add all resources for that week in your folder to keep yourself organized!
• Google Classroom tips
  • Get Emoji website
  • Adding Emojis to topics in Google Classroom
  • Other useful Google Classroom tips
• Google Sites
  • One stop shop for all things: embed videos, images, webpages, etc., can also use collapsible text boxes to help with visual clutter, accessible to students and parents, better accessibility and viewable on mobile device

Support the show

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show

In this episode we are talking about how you can use Screencastify, a chrome extension that captures the screen and audio, for remote learning. Please share this episode with others and subscribe to our podcast using your favourite podcast app so you don’t miss out on any of our new content.

Please visit the EduGals Website for detailed Show Notes

Show Notes
Screencastify is an extension for Chrome and interacts with you within your Chrome browser. It can be used to create videos of your screen as well as your voice, and can also embed your webcam in the video as well.
Getting Started With Screencastify

• Get the extension! Add it to your Chrome by clicking here.
• Once you’ve added it to Chrome, you'll need to give Screencastify permission to access your mic and camera, and access to your Google Drive (for saving your videos).
• During the pandemic, Screencastify is offering a free upgrade to unlimited recording times, etc. Click HERE for the company’s COVID-19 response.
  • Here is how you take advantage of this offer:
    Step 1: Go to this website, and click “Redeem coupon” under next billing date.
    Step 2: Entre code CAST_COVID
    Step 3: Click “Activate License”

Practical Tips For Use

• Keyboard shortcuts - The one for starting/stopping your recording is super useful to learn (Alt + Shift + R on PC or Option + Shift + R on Mac)
• Countdown setting - 3, 5, or 10 seconds; find it under Show More Options!
• Have a plan - create an outline BEFORE you hit record to avoid the sugar plum fairies!
• Know what type of recording to choose - tab, whole desktop, webcam? Determine the goal of your message to make your choice.
• Drawing Tools - use these to create focus in your video, enable them under the Show More Options menu - you'll find it right above the blue record button.

Practical Teaching Tips

• Virtual lessons (try app-smashing with Jamboard, Awwapp, and Google Slides)
• Explainer videos - student-created videos; take it further by integrating with Google Slides
• Lesson intro - record an overview for the week
• Feedback for assessment/eval - save yourself some time and typing pain
• Record with Google Slides and turn on Closed Captions - increases accessibility
• In place of presentations - individual or group

Additional Resources

• 50 ways to use Screencastify in the classroom
• 25 ways to use Screencastify with Google apps
• Screencastify Submit Beta program application
• Screencastify Teach

Support the show

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show

In this episode we discuss tips and strategies for using Google tools to get organized and, more importantly, stay organized! We focus on three main tools in G Suite: Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Gmail. We will give you a variety of tips and tricks with these tools to help you manage your time during remote learning.

Please share this episode with others and subscribe to our podcast using your favourite podcast app. Also be sure to visit our EduGals website for more detailed show notes.
Leave us feedback on our FLIPGRID!
Show Notes
News and Updates

• Screencastify - Upload a screen recording directly to EdPuzzle; new app-smashing opportunities awaits!
• Teach from Home from Google - a hub with various synchronous and asynchronous online or remote learning
• Google Arts and Culture app-smash with Google's Applied Digital Skills - no accounts or logins needed!

Featured Content

Are you struggling with staying organized online? There are a million things going on right now so we're here to give you some tips and strategies to get yourself more organized going forward.

• Google Drive - Organization Tips
  • Starred folders - put your most important files and folders here to reduce the number of clicks you are doing
  • Priority tab - top bar contains frequently accessed files, based on machine-learning
  • Workspaces - set up for courses or areas of your job to put the most important files in this space; max 25 files per workspace
  • Colour coding your folders - creates an easy visual organization system
  • Numbering folders - so they show up at the top of your Google Drive (i.e. 00, 01, 02, etc.)
• Google Calendar
  • Check off only calendars you want to view; turn off the ones you aren't using or, better yet, hide them from your list
  • Change the colour of your calendars - again, for a nice visualization of your events
  • Notifications in events in your calendar - you can choose between notification or email here
  • Global notifications - choices are off, desktop notifications, or alerts
  • Pin your calendar (and all your most important tabs) in Google Chrome
  • If all else fails, set alarms for yourself on your personal device!
• Gmail
  • Labels - add labels to your emails to help keep them organized into various categories. Labels also help y

Support the show

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show

This week was totally unplanned! We did not anticipate or plan to talk about the return to school, but since it is sounding more and more like a full/normal return to school, we thought it would be a good idea to share our thoughts, reflections and also some of our ideas for how to prepare for the school year.
If you like what you hear, we would love it if you could share this episode with a colleague or friend. And make sure you subscribe so that you don’t miss out on any new content!

We would love to hear from you – leave us a message on our FLIPGRID!

Featured Content
We share some thoughts on:

• Exposure for students to tech/building community first
• Using Jamboard for getting to know you activities
• Devices - 1:1 vs BYOD, ensuring all students have one
• No share policies - no common supplies can be shared
• Chromebooks - reshuffling/inventory
• Tech tools for staff - wacom tablets for example
• Common spaces issues - cafeteria, library, etc
• Library spaces - engage kids online; online tutorials for staff and students; centre for school community; badge system for learning - students, and perhaps staff as well! Students: google search, plagiarism, databases; THEN tools (GSuite) - prizes (swag? badges?)
• Google Certification for teachers
• Pandemic paralysis - the struggle is real!
• Use your PLN!

Do you run a badging system to train teachers, students or that you use in your library/school community? Would you like to hear an episode on BreakOutEDU? We'd love to hear from you on our FLIPGRID!

Our Best Tips for Preparing For the New School Year

• Tip 1: Flipped Classroom regardless of format
• Tip 2: Intro Unit on your LMS
• Tip 3: Teachers are people, too!
• Tip 4: BreakOutEDU for Brightspace
• Tip 5: Self Care is Important

Resources

• BreakOutEDU
• EdPuzzle - Flipped Classroom Certification
• Flip Learning - A community resource
• Ontario Teacher's Federation - Teacher Wellbeing resource
• 10 Mental Health Tips for Teachers During COVID-19
• Check out even more resources on our website: EduGals.com/13

Support the show

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show