KEEP IT TOGETHER Discover the ins and outs of Google Keep and how you'll never look back.
INVENT|CREATE TINKER|CODE
ICTEDUMAG
DRIVER OR NAVIGATOR Download your free classroom poster to help your students collaborate on a shared iPad.
For Australian primary school leaders of technology News, updates, resources & lesson ideas ready to use today
September 2018
2019 WISHLIST Find out the best Chromebooks and laptops to purchase for your students.
#03
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Makey Makey
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PAGE 8 LWT Buyer's Guide The ultimate student device buyer's guide to help you get ready for 2019.
Google Keep
UPDATES
ARTICLES
PAGE 7 iPad Best Practice Teach students to be team players when working on shared iPads.
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ISSUE 3 / SEPTEMBER 2018
Rewordify.com
Cyber Safety
Competition
Leader Profile
PAGE 24 Join the Team - Guest Writer Join us in supporting DT leaders in Australia.
ipAD APP
15 16 20 25
LEARNING
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PAGE 6 iPad App - Tayasui Sketches An essential app for creativity & content creation.
PAGE 16 PD For You Webinars - A low cost, targeted, time efficient PD.
table of contents
Techie Brekkie
PAGE 4 G Suite Updates The most useful G Suite updates for teachers and students.
BUYER's GUIDE
Regulars
ADVERTISING Limited opportunities exist for sponsorship and advertising. Please email hello@ictedumag.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe, click here
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get in touch
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Term 3 is always considered the "getting stuff done" term. No distractions of reports, neither beginning or the end of a year, just a productive chunk of learning. Here's hoping you've had a super Term 3 and got stuff done! Speaking of getting stuff done, we have now launched our website (www.ictedumag.com) as well as our Twitter account (www.twitter.com/ictedumag). One aim of ICT EDU MAG is to have more interaction with our readers. We'd love to hear how you're using technology in your school. Whether it be something you picked up from our magazine or your own amazing ideas, please share through Twitter, tag us @ictedumag and use the hashtag #ictedumag. Check out page 24 for how you can have your work featured in our magazine pages. Keep fighting the good fight in your schools, evangelising quality teaching enhanced by technology. Grab a cup of coffee, tea or matcha latte and enjoy issue 3. Marty & Tser Lin
Martin McGauran ICT Edu martin@ictedu.com.au www.ictedu.com.au
EDITORS Tser Lin Hetherton Martin McGauran WORDSMITH Martin McGauran HEAD OF DESIGN Tser Lin Hetherton DESIGN CONSULTANT Stacey Hetherton COPYWRITER Melissa McGauran EDITOR'S OFFICE ICT Edu Magazine PO BOX 3035 Mentone East Victoria 3194
hello@ictedumag.com www.ictedumag.com
Tser Lin Hetherton Tserlin Pty Ltd mail@tserlin.com www.tserlin.com
FROM THE EDITORS
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Changes a plenty this month just in time for the new school year (if you're in the USA!) When you view students' work, it's now much easier to leave feedback, check out Chris Betcher's (@betchaboy) tips: The layout of the tabs and where content appears is the biggest change. So if you already had a Classroom created, it will now default to look like this, with all announcements and assignments mixed on the stream page: The new Classroom layout has 3 tabs, where only announcements are on the “Stream” and assignments/questions/materials are on the “Classwork” tab (organised by topics): To get the new layout you have to choose: To read about all the new features check out: Eric Curts: 9 Updates for Google Classroom (and 3 more to come) *NB. Update #5 where he mentions there is no place to add class materials has now been rectified by Google! Simply go to Classwork tab and Create>Materials
Classroom has had the biggest makeover since it's inception and Sites continues to get better. Always new features in Google tools!
G SUite updates
CLASSROOM
Calendar & KEEP
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More ways to make Sites look snappier (is that a word?). Navigation and hyperlinks can now be easily added with a simple, theme coloured button, rather than having to insert an image or just have a text hyperlink. The button can be used to link to an external URL or another page within your own site. Another improvement to help create quick, good looking sites is the addition of section layout templates you can simply drop onto a page:
G Suite updates
Side panel integration of Calendar, Keep & Tasks. It's now even easier to refer to your Keep notes or check a Calendar date whilst not having to leave the Doc you're working on. This feature is not only coming to Docs, but Sheets, Slides & Drawings.
NEW SITES
FEATURED ipad app
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Tayasui Sketches- kids may find it hard to pronounce but it'll be easy to use. Purpose: Drawing, sketching, being arty Price: Free Device: iPad/iPhone For: P-6 and Teacher Use Before reading on to hear about this super, one stop creative app for students I ask you to look at your school's iPads. Are they overcrowded with many apps that do the same thing? My advice is to declutter them and have one quality app for each function. Apps takes up space on the iPad and becomes visual clutter for students. Having essential ‘barebone’ apps that students use on a daily basis increases productivity and also fluency. Tayasui Sketches is your essential app for creativity and content creation. Sketches is one of the best free drawing apps available and is a tool for supporting and enhancing the creative side of your student work #minipicassos. The app includes a range of pens, brushes, fineliners, watercolour, oil pastels and much more. Features include: Fill tool - Draw outline of shapes and automatically fill with the selected effect and colour The layering function is important as it adds another dimension to the app. Layering is a fundamental skill in graphic design and drawing. We've gone ahead and used layering in Sketches in a different sense. We've used the layer technique to create a Jenny Baker inspired changing community work sample.
TAYASUI SKETCHES
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Consumption apps vs creation apps. Much student use is dominated by consumption apps that have a focus on things such as phonics, letter recognition, maths activities (Mathletics), reading digital books (RAZ Kids, Reading Eggs, Sunshine) etc. iPads become even more powerful when students are creating with apps like Explain Everything, 30 Hands, Book Creator, Clips, Scratch Jr and much more. When students are using creation apps, having students work in partners can be a necessity (not enough devices for 1:1) or by choice (to encourage collaboration and discussion). The challenge in partner work on an iPad lies in the lack of understanding about the role of each person: the student using the device vs the partner not in control. I’m sure you’ve all witnessed the partner (the one who’s watching his classmate) become totally disengaged, distracted and at worst disruptive! Here’s your solution. When students work in pairs they are assigned to be the “driver” or the “navigator”. These roles swap over throughout a session. I like to set a timer for 5 or 6 minutes to remind students when to swap. The crucial part of this arrangement is that students are explicitly aware of what each role entails. Rather than just being the partner who’s watching on or waiting for their turn, the title of navigator gives them purpose. It also ensures they stay engaged with the task whilst building teamwork and collaboration skills. We’ve created a poster for you to download and use in your room that will help introduce the roles as well as remind students each session.
stop, collaborate and listen
iPads are the preferred device for many junior grades. Yet not all classes are lucky to have 1:1, so how can we best teach students to be team players when working on a shared iPad?
Download and print the free poster - ideal for any classes with shared iPads
This guide is proudly brought to you by Learning with Technologies (LWT). Check out Learning with Technologies for their full range of technology solutions for your school.
STUDENT DEVICE BUYER'S GUIDE
LWT BUYER'S GUIDE
‘Tis the season for discussing your school’s next big purchases for 2019. With so many laptops and Chromebooks on the market, the question is... Which devices do we buy for our students? Buying the right device ensures your 2, 3 or even 4 year investment is well worth the money! We spent the day user testing devices at Learning with Technologies (LWT) - One of Australia’s largest IT suppliers to schools - so you don’t have to. We reviewed the units with a teacher’s lens, focusing on what really matters when it comes to student learning and not getting bogged down in tech specs. We reviewed: What can you plug in Screen size Camera Flexibility Look & feel Weight Keyboard Touchpad Performance Pricing If you’re in the market for either a: Budget Chromebook, High End Chromebook, Budget Windows Laptop & High End Windows Laptop then read on to find out which devices ICT Edu Mag recommends. If you don’t want nitty gritty details, skip to the good part; our recommendations. We colour coded our guide to help you see how each category rated. See below for the the colour guide. Winner On Par Functional Recommended
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FIND OUT MORE
ACER C731E
HP 11 G6
2 USB HDMI - Easy to connect to TVs SD card 3.5 Headphone jack
What can you plug in
2 USB-C (needing to purchase a dongle to connect to IWB/TV) 2 USB SD card 3.5 Headphone jack
11.6 Base model screen
Screen Size
Selfie Picture quality is average, just don’t enlarge
Camera
Approximately 201 degrees Sturdier hinge with a bit more flex
Flexibility
180 degrees
Chunkier, larger profile (due to the flexi hinge) Tough mudder Rubber grips to stop the slips
Look & Feel (build quality)
Aesthetically pleasing Slimmer profile In the looks department this wins, however is not as classroom friendly
Slightly heavier (100 grams)
Weigh In
Lighter
Clunkier Noisier
Keyboard
Softer feel Sleek
Bouncy touchpad Loose
Touchpad
Nice control Responsive
Both can handle the 10 tab test
Performance
From $331 ex
Pricing
From $385 ex
Best Budget Chromebook - Non Touch
The winner is *drum roll*: The Acer C731e as it’s more affordable ($54 a unit adds up when buying a fleet) and has the advantage in “ruggedness”. Its proven track record (schools have been using and abusing the device for over 18 months) gives you the assurance that you will have a reliable and high performance device for many years. Although the HP 11 G6 is our runner up, its performance well and truly matched the Acer C731e and by no means was out of its league. It is the new kid on the block and the USB C ports suggests it has been designed with the future in mind. So if you have a few more dollars in your budget, it is well worth your consideration.
ACER SPIN 11
LENOVO 500E
2 USB (3.0) 2 USB-C (needing to purchase a dongle to connect to IWB/TV) Micro SD card 3.5 Headphone jack
2 USB 2 USB-C (needing to purchase a dongle to connect to IWB/TV) Micro SD card 3.5 Headphone jack
11.6 Crystal clear
Selfie - Takes better pictures World facing (above keyboard)
Selfie World facing (above keyboard) - Takes better pictures
360 degrees Studier hinge
360 degrees
Tough mudder Sleek look Rubber grips to stop the slips
Tough mudder Screen wrap around plastic looks cheap, like a bad book contacting job Corners on the screen and keyboard are sharp; more susceptible to damage and to be used a classroom weapon (when the internet goes down)
Same same
Not much difference
Loosey goosey Airy
Firm Responsive
Not as responsive to using 1 finger to close tabs - had to repeat the action several times Able to select text easily Right click hard touch responsive
Touch
Responsive Able to select text easily Right click hard touch responsive
Nowhere to house the stylus - possibility of students misplacing it Stylus is larger and therefore replicates size and feel of a pencil The top of the stylus has an eraser function #efficient
Stylus
Stylus garage (a little slot to store the stylus) Stylus small and undersized compared to a pen/pencil Does not have an eraser function
From $469 ex
From $449 ex
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High End Chromebook - Touch & Stylus
Budget Windows Laptop - Non Touch
Editor’s note: although the added feature of a “world facing” camera on both these devices appears to be a big win, please note that the quality of the camera is not in any way comparable to an iPad. It will suffice for general photo taking, but does not have the quality to take high resolution pics of work samples for example. The winner is *drum roll*: Acer Spin 11 takes the gold medal due to its superior build quality and sturdiness. While both have excellent stylus and touch capabilities, we feel the larger (pencil-like) stylus of the Acer provides a more authentic writing and drawing experience. This superior stylus is slightly offset by the fact that there is no dedicated garage so it has to be stored separately. Our runner up, the Lenovo 500e, is a strong contender but appears a cheaper build around the edges particularly. With a $20 price saving and a stylus that is housed inside the Chromebook, you have got yourself a device that will indeed suit the needs of students.
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High End Chromebook - Touch & Stylus (Continued)
ACER B117
LENOVO 11E - 5TH GEN
2 USB (3.0 and 2.0) HDMI SD card 3.5 headphone jack No ethernet (can be a disadvantage when imaging devices...check with your tech)
2 USB (2.0) HDMI SD card 3.5 headphone jack Ethernet Dedicated volume rocker
11.6 Matte screen
Overall good picture
Photos taken are dark however are sharp
180 degrees Folds all the way to lie flat
180 degrees (sort of) Hinge does not fold all the way down touching the table, little bit of damage risk
The winner is *drum roll*: Acer B117 comes out on top mainly due to its superior keyboard (despite the less than brilliant touchpad), significant price difference and additional warranty. Lenovo 11E - 5th Gen, although similar in performance and having a more responsive touchpad, we find it hard to justify the additional $28 (with only 1 year warranty) for no tangible benefit. However, if an ethernet port rates highly for your school with quick imaging and hard wired internet use, this one is for you.
Rubberised edges Clean look Flat thin lid/monitor Well built Student interactivity
Feels sturdy Clean design Clam shell hard lid Wifi light indicator on the lid to see when laptop is connected to the internet Well built
Responsive Keys are quite low and flat
Relatively noisy Well spaced and raised keys Keyboard looks old fashioned slightly comical
Clunky and not overly responsive Had to use two hands to drive the touchpad as it did not respond the first time, happened several times
Firm Responsive Different functionality based on where you are clicking; it’s about finding the sweet spot
Both can handle the 10 tab test Running Windows 10 - bit slow when loading different programs
3 year onsite warranty included in the price
Warranty
1 year onsite warranty Ability to purchase more
From $490 ex
From $518 ex
Budget Windows Laptop - Non Touch (Continued)
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ACER SPIN B118
LENOVO YOGA 11E - 5TH GEN
2 USB (3.0 and 2.0) HDMI SD card 3.5 headphone jack
2 USB (3.0) USB-C - future proof 3.5 Headphone jack SD card 3.5 headphone jack Ethernet
Selfie
360 degrees Sturdy hinges
Rounded, rubberised corners on the lid to protect the screen
Smooth and fluid typing
Relatively noisy Well spaced and raised keys Keyboard looks old fashioned & slightly comical
Able to select text easily Right click hard touch responsive
High End Windows Laptop - Touch & Stylus
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FIND OUT MORE Acer C371e Acer Spin 11 Acer B117 Lenovo Yoga 11E - 5th Gen
High End Windows Laptop - Touch & Stylus (Continued)
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Garage stylus Does not have an eraser Self charging in the garage Two function buttons on the stylus
From $575 ex + $40 stylus
From $662 ex
Budget Chromebook High End Chromebook Budget Windows Laptop High End Windows Laptop
ICTEDUMAG Recommends:
The winner is *drum roll*: Lenovo 11e Yoga - 5th Gen comes out on top mainly due to its innovation and functionality. With a designated garage for the stylus and two cameras - selfie and world facing, the Lenovo wins based on the extras it brings. Acer B118 Spin, although similar in performance and having a premium build with a low price point, we find it hard to award it the winner due to its lack of world facing camera and rogue stylus that could very well go missing without a garage.
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Lorinda is also a Google Certified Innovator (#SYD17) and her project has taken shape in the form of edtechmix. This is a site chock-a-block full of resources for all things Digital Technologies across the curriculum...from coding to cyber safety. Check it out!
LEADER PROFILE
LORINDA FERRY
techie brekkie
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Your quickest and easiest way to get your staff excited about tech. Particularly when you mention you can now add music to Google Slides! This issue is our best Techie Brekkie yet. Three super practical tools that can be utilised in the classroom the same day. Remember, Techie Brekkies should be informal, free of curriculum jargon and best of all... actually provide real coffee (not out of a jar!). If you're new to the concept of Techie Brekkies, check out this blog post by EdGalaxy.
PD for you
As a low cost, targeted, time efficient PD, may we suggest webinars. You can catch them when they’re broadcast live or far more conveniently, just watch them when you want. Make yourself a coffee, lock yourself in your office, whack the headphones on and get relevant, up to date PD delivered to you desk. Here’s 2 top notch webinars: The mecca for all things digital technologies and webinars is something they do well. Topics range from broad overviews of the curriculum (which you could show parts of to your staff), to specific content like Makey Makeys, Scratch, Girls in Tech, CS Unplugged and even building staff competencies in DT. Do yourself a favour and check them out! A smaller but very useful collection that, although are Victorian, are directly transferable for any DT curriculum. I used this site to find out what the heck “binary” was all about. I needed to know as it is fair and square in the curriculum.
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So you’re ready to go beyond coding on a screen, making games on Scratch or learning via code.org? You want to have your students inventing and creating 'hands on'? Your school is wanting to increase its focus on STEAM? Not sure what to invest your precious budget on that will actually be used beyond the initial 'wow' stage? Then read on... When deciding what 'hands on coding' resource to spend your STEAM/ICT/DT budget on… can I suggest you evaluate a tool based upon: Then let me introduce Makey Makeys. Makey Makeys answer Yes, Yes & Yes. What are they? In simple terms they are a keyboard input for your computer (connected via a USB cable). But because of the fact that they are a circuit board- with the addition of some alligator clips, copper wire and/or any household/classroom materials - they become an instant invention kit!
MAKEY MAKEYS
Does it have a low floor? (easy setup/starting point) Does it have a high ceiling? (can it be made complex and suitable for senior students?) Does it have wide walls? (a wide range of cross-curricular applications?)
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What devices are they compatible with? Any laptop, Chromebook or Macbook with a USB port. So basically, as long as it’s not an iPad or tablet, you’re good to go. Introducing Makey Makeys (Day 1) You can always have students start by tinkering (often a great starting point with new tools). But experience with Makey Makeys suggests you are best placed to start with some explicit whole class learning: Inputs vs Outputs (parts of a system) Conductors vs Insulators (circuits) Once students have these fundamental understandings, then yes, let them free for tinker time. One simple challenge I set students is: What can you invent so that the earth wire doesn’t have to be gripped between the user’s fingers?
How does it interact with Scratch? As Makey Makeys are just keyboard inputs, anything you code in Scratch that uses the “when ???? key pressed” block, you can effectively integrate with Makey Makeys. In short, you can start using Scratch with Makey Makeys with the simplest of coding: What sort of projects could I embark on? The ideas are infinite, so I suggest you check out the user generated ideas in the dashboard section of the Makey Makey site: Where to for more info? Makey Makey’s own website has a dedicated area full of teaching ideas, lessons and more Follow the Facebook group: Makey Makey For Educators Webinar by Digital Technologies Hub: Scratch & Makey Makeys Buying Makey Makeys for your school: Single Makey Makey + accessories $79.00 inc GST Class set (12 Makey Makeys + lots of accessories) $1159 inc GST Exclusive offer for ICT EDU MAG readers thanks to our friends at Education Technology Specialists: 10% off any STEM or robotics purchases (including Makey Makeys) Simply quote: ICTEDUMAG with your purchase order.
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BOOK YOUR PARENT CYBER SAFETY WORKSHOP FOR 2019 PRESENTATIONS PRESENTATIONS
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Get the jump on the new year by booking in a parent information night to ensure your school is supporting parents to be cyber safe. Our unique session features two presenters approaching the topic from different angles. Marty seeks to inform parents about the current landscape of social media, apps, gaming and more. Whilst experienced psychologist and mother of three, Carley, shares anecdotes, tips and tricks to help manage the "tech infused" home life. For full details check out our information flyer. Contact Marty for more details or to enquire about availability: martin@ictedu.com.au
CYBER safety for your school newsletter
One easy way to build parent capacity, understanding and knowledge in the cyber safety space is to use your school newsletter to educate them. This issue we share the very comprehensive and useful resource that is the Office of the eSafety Commisioner, otherwise known as www.esafety.gov.au. As well as a handy hint to follow the Cyber Safety Lady on Facebook for up-to-date parental updates direct to their newsfeed. Simply download the PDF and submit it to be added to your school's newsletter.
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GOOGLE KEEP
Google Keep is a note taking app that, if used efficiently, will transform your workflow, productivity, collaboration and organisation.
If you love checklists and being more organised (#newyearsresolution), Google Keep is definitely for you. If that’s not you, read on anyway as Google Keep has some nice features that extends the app beyond just note taking and lists. Here are some quick facts about Google Keep: Found in the waffle when using Chrome Available to all with a Google account (school, work and personal) Available on all devices and platforms (yes, even plays nicely with iOS!) Excellent mobile app It’s a visual delight of coloured sticky notes At its core, Google Keep is a note taking app. What makes it brilliant is that you can create sticky notes (note or checklist form) and share it with your level team, staff, leadership or students. This means you and anyone you have shared it with is always working towards the same goal and you have the updated version. You tick any item off the list and your team sees it ticked off on their device #efficiency. It just keeps getting better as Keep is integrated (side panel) into other GSuite for Education apps such as Google Docs, Slides and Gmail so you can be working on a document or email and quickly add an item to a note/checklist. # newyearsresolution Google Keep also has a Chrome extension that easily allows you to add content while you are online. Quickly save URLs, images, websites and add content to a Keep note. If organising and checklists aren’t your thing, here are some creative ways Google Keep is being used in classrooms and schools across the board: Principal/Teacher creates and shares a note with each member of staff/student. Both parties enter information such as discussion points for their next meeting, learning, jobs and as a communication check in tool. Screenshot and annotation tool Drawing function to hand draw pictures and diagrams (tablet/iPad) Taking photos of an article, using the OCR function to remove the text from an image Students working on group projects have a shared Keep note to ensure tasks are being completed on time Want to introduce Keep to your staff? Here’s a concise set of Slides you can make a copy and use: We’d love to hear how you use Google Keep. Our aim is to get interactive with our readers, so tweet a reply here.
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Changing technical vocabulary, highlighting parts of speech or just working on building up students’ vocabulary; Rewordify.com provides an easy launchpad for purposeful and personalised learning. In a Primary setting, Rewordify.com is great for simplifying more complex online texts so that students can not only understand it, but they can learn the meanings of the technical vocabulary along the way. When students cut and paste their own work into Rewordify.com, they can see the parts of speech that they have used and edit accordingly, making editing time targeted and meaningful. Rewordify.com is a handy tool for providing access to new information for all students, as well as creating follow-up vocabulary based activities. Rewording complex text Copy and paste any text from a website and paste it into Rewordify.com. The site re-words the text, substituting difficult or technical words for a synonym that is more accessible to your students. Analyse writing Cut and paste your own work into Rewordify.com and allow it to break your writing into the parts of speech. This can be a real game changer when getting students to look for or add things like adjectives, adverbs and prepositions to their writing. It can also be used to analyse good writing from other authors. Create lessons Rewordify.com can instantly create quizzes and vocabulary tasks based on the words that have been reworded from the original text. Cloze procedures also give the students a chance to test their new found vocabulary in the context of the topic.
REWORDIFY
Unleash the three prong attack that is Rewordify. A free web app to help students and teachers explore and break down text.
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Written by Guest Writer - Ben Sandison
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Last issue's competition prize was an Acer Spin 11 Chromebook. Our lucky winner was Victor from St Michael's College in Queensland who, judging by the photos he sent us, was a rather happy chap! Check out the next page for Issue #03's giveaway.
JOIN THE TEAM: gUEST WRITER
If you have a great idea, passion or innovative use of technology, we'd love you to write about it. Like Ben Sandison (see previous page article Rewordify.com), you too could be included as an ICTEDUMAG Guest Writer. We're looking for thought leaders in the EdTech space to be official Guest Writers for the magazine. If you are selected, your writing will be read by hundreds of educators across Australia (& beyond) and you'll be part of an innovative team and community. You will be rewarded with the official ICTEDUMAG Guest Writer badge to recognise your role as a thought leader in the education technology space. What's more is that you'll be working with a group of innovators striving to support fellow Digital Technology leaders in Australia. If you're interested, simply send your article or reach out to us at hello@ictedumag.com and we will be in touch.
WINNER WINNER
Would you like to win a UE Wonderboom? Listen to your music anywhere, in the classroom, out in the yard or on holidays. 360 Degree Sound Pair up to 8 Bluetooth® enabled source devices Up to 10 hours of battery life
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RECEIVE YOUR PD CERTIFICATE
COMPLETE FEEDBACK & ENTER THE DRAW
ISSUE #4 OUT IN NOVEMBER
GET YOUR PD CERTIFICATE HOURS
win A wonderboom
How to Enter: Simply complete our 2 minute feedback form and you're in the draw. Simple. Easy. No catches. Winner drawn on 1/11/18 and will be announced in the next issue.
If you've read this far you've clearly taken the time to read this amazing publication and filled your head with boundless professional learning. To reward yourself and satisfy those teacher PD hours, click below to receive your very own certificate for the hours spent learning.
