Add a Super-Fast Entry to Your Google Calendar

In a hurry?  Do you need to add something to your Google calendar really fast?  Try this.  It is amazing!

1. Click the arrow next to the Create button in Google Calendar to Quick Add.
2. Type what you want to put on the calendar, just as you'd say it.    That's it!

Examples:

• Soccer tomorrow at 5pm
• Appointment Monday from 1-2pm
• Meeting at school with Robert Today at 12 for 15 minutes
• ACTEM Conference in Augusta 10/4-10/5

A few more tips:

• Quick Add defaults to 1 hour unless "until" is specified.
• If no date is added, the entry will go to the next possible date at the time specified, which may even be the same day.
• If no time is specified, Quick Add will assume an all day event.
• If your location contains a date, such as "TGI Friday's", use quotes around the location.

Copyright, Fair Use, and Public Domain Made Simple-r

I am often asked questions about what materials or media are OK for teachers and students to use for various purposes.  So, today I researched, and learned a lot about, Copyright, Fair Use, and Public Domain.  

The available information on this topic is voluminous and much of it is written in legal terms.   So,  I wanted to make a reference for myself and others that would be easy to understand.  

Here's what I found...

COPYRIGHT

Copyrighted material is any original content in fixed form.  Copyright gives the owner exclusive rights to the material and others must obtain permission from the author to use it.

Copyright does not include ideas in your head, government generated materials, titles, phrases, slogans, or other non-fixed materials.  It is not legal to use copyrighted material without the permission of the author.  Copyright is automatic upon creation of your original work in fixed, tangible form.  Registration with the US Copyright Office is not needed for protection, unless you want to take someone to court for infringement.  Exceptions to copyright use are Public Domain and Fair Use (see below)

Creative Commons License:  A creative commons license is a copyright license that gives credit to the author while allowing others to have creative use of the material.  There are several types of Creative Commons licences.   Here is an overview:

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Not covered by copyright law for one of three reasons:

1.  Copyright has expired.  See here for more detailed information.

2.  Author put them in public domain.

3.  Not copyrightable - Ideas, slogans, government documents, etc.

FAIR USE

Legal use of copyrighted material.  When courts decide whether a copyrighted work qualifies for “fair use”, there is no clear definition.  However, here are the general guidelines:

1.  Purpose and Character 

• Is money being made from using the work?  Is it being used for personal or educational purposes?
• Has the work been transformed or used as is?

2.  Nature of Work 

• Factual work is more often considered fair when re-used, than creative work

3.  Relative Amount of Work Used 

• Was all, almost all, or the heart of the work used?
• How much is too much depends on the purpose of the seconds use (See #1)

1.  Effect on the Market

• Is the use of the material a substitute for the original?
• Uses for a different audience or purpose may be considered more fair.

The above Fair Use guidelines are not definite rules.  In general, courts are most interested in whether the use of copyrighted work was in good faith.

CONTENT USE GUIDELINES:

Checklist when using someone’s content:

• Check who owns it
• Get permission to use it, if necessary
• Give credit to the creator
• Buy it (if necessary)
• Use it responsibly
• What might be the consequence of using it?
• How would the owner or creator of the content react?

Rules of Thumb:  This document has actual “safe minimums” for use of multimedia content for educational purposes. It is posted on INFOhio.org, which is Ohio’s PreK-12 Digital Library.  I was not able to find any such information on our own MARVEL- Maine’s Virtual Library.

Sources & More Information:

Teaching Copyright:  http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/, See FAQs on Copyright, Fair Use, and Public Domain

Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Common Sense Media: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence

How to Make a Long web Address (URL) Short

Do you have a website or a list of websites you want your students to visit?

Ideally, they might be posted on your website or printed as QR codes for students to simply click or scan for access.  Definitely BOOK ME if you are interested in these options.

In the event that students must type the URL into the browser, here is a VERY QUICK tip to get the URL as short as possible:

1. From the website you want to share with students, locate the web address (URL) and click on it once to highlight the whole thing.
   
   
   

2.  Hold down the Command key and press C to copy.

3.  Navigate to goo.gl

4.  Click in the "Enter Long URL Here:" window, hold down Control and press V to paste.

5.  Click the Shorten URL button.  That's it!

Extra Bonus:  Clicking on the "Details" Button just under your URL will also give you a QR Code that people can scan to get to your URL.

Viewing Websites That use Flash on the iPad

Viewing sites that use Flash on the iPad is a frequent frustration for some teachers, not just at RSU57, but all over Maine (at least).  Unfortunately, there are currently no awesome & free solutions.  

The only way to view Flash on the iPad is to use a "flash browser".  After much discussion and comparing notes with other Integrators, I have discovered that there are three, and ONLY three, viable flash browsers.  They are as follows:

Rover - Free, but limited to vendors who "partner" with them.  They pressure you (the user) to pressure the vendor (website owner) to "partner" with them.  So, many popular educational sites which use Flash, cannot be viewed via Rover.  Rover does filter content though.

Puffin - Free for 30 days and then $2.99.  It is eligible for the MLTI volume discount ($1.50).  Puffin does not filter content (but neither does Safari or Google).  Puffin can tend to get very slow when many students are using it at once.

Photon EDU - Currently on sale for $4.99 but not eligible for volume discount.  This one has no limitations that I have heard from anyone.  People using it say that they love it.  It has a back end that can black/white list certain sites.   

If it is not possible to budget for the needed apps, here are some possible workarounds:

1.  Check with the owner of the site you wish to use.  Many Companies are quickly realizing that they are going to lose huge numbers of users if they continue to use Flash, so they either create a html version of their site or develop an App.  It may be that the site owner will soon launch an App.

2.  Find financing from a donor.  some possible donors are donorschoose.org, Local Lions Clubs, or even Walmart may donate iTunes cards to a local school if asked.

3.  Research (or ask me to research) a similar site which does not use Flash.  

While I debated posting an article that does not provide a great solution, the question about Flash on the iPad regularly pops up.  Hopefully, it is helpful to at least have the facts.

Easy Peasy Parent Conference Scheduling

Use YouCanBook.Me to schedule your parent conferences.

All you have to do is log in with your RSU57 email, set your availability and other preferences, and provide parents with the link to your page.

Parents simply click your link, select an available time slot, fill out a little information that you specify, and...blam!  They are on your Google Calendar.  You will receive an email informing you that you have been booked.

Here's how...

1.  Go to https://youcanbook.me/

2.  Click "I already have a Google account."

3.  Choose your rsu57.org email account.

4.  Click "allow access' to allow YouCanBook.Me to access your Google Calendar.

5.  Once you are logged in, click on the "Manage Tab" and then "Launch Settings Editor".

Basics Tab:
Here you can set your customized URL, add a logo, and choose the text that parents will see when they click your link.

Times Tab:
Here is where you set what your available schedule is, what the smallest and largest time increment someone can book you for, if you want padding between appointments, and how far from right now you want to allow someone to book.

Booking Form Tab:
Here is where you specify what information you need to gather from the parent who is scheduling the appointment.  Possibly names of others attending, student name, concerns, or contact information.

You can click through other tabs and change settings as you like.  I didn't bother with much of the advanced stuff.

6.  Once you have made all desired changes, click on the Dashboard pull down and select Publish.

7.  Copy/Paste the displayed URL for your YouCanBook.Me to your parent communication.  You can put it in an email, on your website, or even make a QR code for people to simply scan with a mobile device.

I think you will LOVE how your calendar fills up in a way that is effortless to you.

My link is sarahglatzrsu57.youcanbook.me , so go ahead and book me!

iOS 7 Lock Screen Rotation, AirPlay, and Search

After upgrading to iOS 7, I promptly got stuck trying to figure out where to lock my screen rotation, use AirPlay to connect to a computer or Apple TV, and search my iPad.  These things are very simple, but not where they used to be.  Check it out!

In iOS 6, a double-click of the Home button would bring up the Control Center where I could lock the screen rotation or connect to another device.

Quick Classroom Data Collection

Here are three methods of quickly getting an opinion from your students.  These will all work in a 1:1 iPad classroom.  If you want to try one or all of these and you think it would be easier if I just showed it to you, give me a holler and I'll stop by.  It will only take a minute!

Note:  Socrative and PollEverywhere are anonymous response systems, which are great for quick student access and getting a pulse on how students REALLY feel about a topic.  However, if you have concerns about your students posting inappropriate comments, it may be wise to stick with multiple choice questions rather than open-ended.

Socrative

Website:  www.socrative.com
Student website:  m.socrative.com

 How it works:  Teacher creates an initial account (one time task).  Teacher simply chooses, from the menu, which type of question or quiz to use (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, etc.)  and GO!  Teacher screen will display a "room number".  Teacher asks a question verbally.

Students simply go to m.socrative.com.  No login is needed for students.  The screen says "room number" with a "Join Room" button.  Student joins the room, selects the answer and then results for all students are displayed on the teacher screen.

It is quick and easy to add more questions while students are already in the "room".

Features:

• Quick data collection.  
• Anonymous student response.
• Questions posed verbally.
• No student login.
• Easy to ask multiple consecutive questions.
• Students can respond from desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone, or other mobile device.

PollEverywhere

Website:  http://www.polleverywhere.com/

How it works:  Teacher creates an initial account (one time task).   Teacher creates a poll, selecting either "Open Ended" or "Multiple Choice".  For Open-Ended there are four choices on how to display the results and for Multiple Choice, any number of answers greater than one can be added.  Teacher writes the answer choices (if Multiple Choice).


Students read the question on the teacher's display.  To respond, students follow on screen directions.  They will either go to PollEv.com and type in the number corresponding to their selected answer or they will text message to a number with the number corresponding to their selected answer.

Features:

• Quick data collection.  
• Anonymous student response.
• Ability to save and re-use previous polls.
• Questions printed on the screen.
• No student login.
• Students can respond from desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone, or other mobile device.

Padlet

Website:  www.padlet.com

How it works:  Anyone can go to padlet.com and click "Create Wall".  A unique URL is generated for your "wall", which is like a bulletin board.  Simply share the URL and everyone can add sticky notes to the wall.  Walls can be named and the URL can be saved and shared, so the participants can add ideas to the wall at a later time.   Teacher may log in, if desired, so as to save, organize, and access all

of his or her previously created walls.

Features:

• Quick data collection.
• Participants can "vote" or add ideas more than once.
• Optional to add name or anonymous.
• No login necessary for anyone.
• Optional teacher login provides additional functionality.
• Ability to post links, upload files, or take photos.
• Can name board appropriately and save forever.
• Walls can be embedded on websites or linked from anywhere by URL
• Students can respond from desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone, or other mobile device.