Collaboration - Team Drive vs Google Drive Folders

The ability to share and collaborate on files is what makes Google Drive such an incredible resource for teachers and students.

Google Classroom is a great way for a teacher to share files with students, but what about working with a collaborative team of co-workers or students working in collaborative teams? When Google Classroom does not meet your needs, what are the advantages/disadvantages of choosing a Team Drive Folder or a Google Drive Folder?

We've created a document to help users navigate sharing folders using G Suite. This document is a work in progress and will continue to evolve as Google Drive updates. If you have suggestions or comments about this document, please share them in the comments below. 

Folder Options in Google Drive Overview

Additional Details about Team Drive.

• Team Drive is great for sharing with a team of collaborators. Drive folders are better if you want to share view access to anyone with link or make them public.
• The greatest advantage to Team Drives is the fact that editors cannot delete or move files.
• The ability to quickly share files with viewers who are not part of the team drive is limited. You can not provide a View/Comment Link to folders in Team Drive. You can provide a view link to individual documents, but this needs to be set for each document. You cannot share files via email in Team Drive.
• Some add-ons and drive features do not currently function in Team Drive.
• In Team Drive the files and folders in trash are automatically deleted forever after 30 days. Only someone with Full Access can delete files permanently in trash.
• We recommend team drives for collaborative teacher teams and Google Drive Shared folders for student/parent shared resources. (View access)

Additional Exploration

• Advanced Sharing Settings in Docs

• Google Folder Sharing Help
• Team Drive Learning Center - More detailed description of team drive members and permissions.
• Google Essentials Website - Google Drive

Team Drive Sharing Setup

Sharing Individual Documents in Team Drive

Advanced Sharing Settings in a Team Drive Documents

Drive Folder Sharing Setup

Advanced Drive Folder Sharing Setup

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Exploring Additional Resources Connected to HyperDocs

If you know me, you know that I love all things HyperDoc. I share resources connected to HyperDocs whenever I have something new to share. Today, I want to focus on the incredible educators who are doing so much more with HyperDocs. The links below are connected to educators and resources that influenced my growth as a HyperDoc Learner. 

Getting Started with HyperDocs

Educators can start a new HyperDoc with one of a HyperDoc Template from Teachers Give Teachers. Karly Moura has created a great HyperDoc Handbook Template Companion connected to a HyperDoc Template.

Educators can also share and remix with credit an existing HyperDoc from one of these resources: 

• Google + HyperDocs Community (Searchable)
• HyperDoc Samples from Teachers Give Teachers (Categorized)
• Teachers Give Teachers Shared HyperDocs (Searchable)
• HyperDocs form the HyperDoc Online Course Padlet | DitchBook HyperDoc Folder
• HyperDoc Facebook Group (Searchable)
• HyperDocs Google Drive Folder
• HyperDocs Live Binder

I personally love both the Teachers Give Teachers Site and the HyperDoc Google + Community the most for a couple of reasons.

1. They are searchable and organized by categories.
2. They usually contain a view link that can be remixed to the live HyperDoc and not just a copy.

Diving Deeper Into HyperDoc Resources

• The HyperDoc Book
  The official HyperDoc book for educators.
• The “HyperDoc” HyperDoc
  Experience HyperDocs as a student-learner.
• HyperDoc Lesson Template
  Template connecting HyperDoc skills to EdTech resources.
• HyperDocs & Learner-Centered ClassroomsWicked EdTech resource page for HyperDocs.
• How to HyperDoc
  HyperDoc presentation for professional development.
• Franklin Township HyperDoc Resources
  Incredible collection of some beautifully designed HyperDocs.
• Checklist to Hack Your HyperDoc
  Connecting HyperDocs to the SAMR model.
• HyperDocs Padlet from the HyperDoc Online Course
  Includes sample HyperDocs and resources.
• HyperDocs! Need I say more????
  Blog post exploring the power of HyperDocs.
• HyperDocs Digital Lesson Plans on Pinterest
  Incredible Pinterest board with sample HyperDocs.
• HyperDoc Templates
  Collection of official HyperDoc templates.
• Teachers Give Teachers
  Give 1 Get 1 - Share and Explore HyperDocs.
• Mr. Fahey’s HyperDoc Tips
  Blog post with great tips for Hyperdocs in the classroom.
  

Please share additional HyperDoc Resources or Sample HyperDocs in the Google+ HyperDoc Community or in the comments below.

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Google Drive - Fast and Powerful Tips for Searching your Drive

Search Tools

Good Drive has search features similar to the full Google Search. Additionally, clicking on the down arrow in the search box of Google Drive will open up additional search features.

Clicking on “LEARN MORE” will open up a searchable help menu for drive search.

Searching the Drive

To find files more easily in Drive, you can narrow search results by filtering them.

1. Go to drive.google.com.
2. At the top, type a word or phrase into the search box.
3. To narrow your search, click the Down arrow .
4. Fill out any of the following sections:
• Type: File types such as documents, images, or PDFs.
• Date modified: The date a file was last edited.
• Item name: Searches only for the title of the file.
• Has the words: Searches for words and phrases within documents.
• Owner: The person the file belongs to.
• Shared with: Who can view, comment, or edit the file.
• Located in: Whether the file is in "Trash," or "Starred," for example.
• Follow up: If the file has action items assigned to you, or suggestions in files you own.
5. At the bottom, click Search.

Advanced Searching Options

Quotes - Find documents that contain an exact word or phrase. Example: "match this phrase exactly"

OR - Find files with at least one of the words. Example: tacos OR nachos

Minus sign - Find documents that exclude a particular word. If you want "salsa," but not "dancing"... Example: salsa -dancing

Owner: - Find documents owned or shared by a specific person. Examples: owner:bob@gmail.com      /       from:bob@gmail.com

To: - Find documents you shared with someone. Example: to:bob@gmail.com

Is:starred  - Find items marked with a star.

Is:unorganized owner:me - Find a file when you don’t know the name or location.

Is:trashed - Find items that are trashed.

Type: - Search by the type of document: folder, document, spreadsheet, presentation, PDF, image, video, drawing, form, script, or table. Example: type:spreadsheet

Before & after -  Find items that were edited before or after a certain day. Format the date as YYYY-MM-DD. Examples:    before:2014-05-01  / after:2014-05-01

Title: - Search by title Example: title:Conference 2014

App: - Search for items that can only be opened by a specific app. Example: app:"Google Docs"

Source:domain (Google for work or school) - Search for items that have been shared across your organization’s entire domain, instead of items created by you or your group. Example: To search for files related to domain, use source:domain

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Exploring FlashCard Factory by Pear Deck

I recently discovered Pear Deck FlashCard Factory and gave it a test run with my students. While not perfect, my students loved it and are begging me to use it again as soon as possible. (I have mostly High School Seniors in class this year.)

Our first experience with Pear Deck Vocabulary earns a thumbs up!

Long Story Short
In Flashcard Factory student pairs are randomly assigned a vocabulary term and definition. They then create a new flashcard that includes a written example and a digital sketch. They collaborate and when finished submit the flashcard. They are then assigned another term and repeat the process until the teacher ends this 'Production Phase. We then approve or reject the cards during a whole class discussion in the 'Quality Control Phase'. Finally, the approved cards are exported to Quizlet as a study set.

How To
Pear Deck has an incredible step by step tutorial to create your Flashcard Factory, so I won't bore you with the details of putting one together.

The Results

What we liked?

• It connects to Quizlet. You can copy a Quizlet set directly into the creation of the Flashcard Factory
• It exports the "approved cards" to Quizlet. Here is a sample exported Quizlet from our activity.
• The whole class discusses each submitted flashcard and we approve or reject the cards. We enjoyed the discussion. 
• The students enjoyed the competitive aspect connected to be on the day or the night shift. 
• The students liked the collaboration between pairs. They felt it helped them better understand and apply the vocabulary. 

What could be improved?

• Once the initial group page is passed, there is no way to I could see who was on which team. 
• Some students really struggled with drawing with the touchpad or a mouse. (We don't have touchscreens yet.)
• There is no data to connect students to the flashcards they created. You need to have students admit that they are the creators when the card is projected if you want to know who owns what. 
• Only the teacher can approve or reject. We would love to have the ability to let students vote on their screens. 
• A few student screens froze in the drawing phase during each class. We lost those drawings and the students had to start over. We did not master a solution to this yet. 

Have you tried out Pear Deck Vocabulary Factory? How did it go? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Additional Connections

• Quizlet Diagrams and Quizlet Learn
• Critical Thinking and Formative Assessment
• Pear Deck and Google Slides

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A New Google Secret - Poly: Browse, Discover, and Download 3D Objects

Google just released a new site (Poly) connected to 3D Images for AR and VR. These technologies have pushed into classrooms and I wanted to share this resource. At the very least the ability to download these as animated GIFS that can be incorporated into sites, docs, slides . . . 

I've also added this our Google Secrets Professional Development Interactive. 

How could you incorporate this resource into your classrooms? Please share below. 

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Web Resources to Support The Development of Critical Thinking Skills

Supporting the 4Cs in Learner-Centered Classrooms

Critical thinking - Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students will:

• Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
• Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
• Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
• Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

Source: Student Skills Connected to Critical Thinking

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France

I have long believed that my content should support the development of student skills connected to the 4 Cs or collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. 

This week, I am working on updating my list of Web Resources connected to Critical Thinking Skills for teachers, parents, and students. I have had a great deal of help from my PLN in the past and I am hoping you can help with this updated Google Doc.

Critical Thinking Resources on the Web

Have an additional resource or want to share how you use one of the tools? Visit this Critical Thinking Padlet to share or post a reply in the comments below.

Additional Critical Thinking Resources

• ISTE Standards for Students
• Developing a Future Ready Classroom with the 4 Cs
• The 4 Cs - EdTech & GSuiteEDU Resources for Learner-Centered Classrooms
• Critical Thinking and Formative Assessment

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Video Timer Options in Google Slides

Earlier today I was part of a Google + Discussion about countdown timers in slides.

I shared the idea of using a YouTube Video as a Countdown Timer. I totally dropped the ball on this post and forgot to share that you have some options when inserting a video from YouTube or Google Drive. 

Relevant to the timers in Google Slides is the fact that you can set a start and end time for the video. This means you can use the same countdown timer on multiple slides. If I insert a 20-minute video on a slide and want a 10-minute timer on the next slide, I can use the same countdown video and set the time to start at the 10-minute mark on the next slide using the "Video options..." in slides. 

Here is a quick overview of the process. 

1. In the Google Slides Insert menu. Click on the Insert Menu and then on Video.

2. Search for the length countdown timer you need.

3. Insert and resize the video and then right click on the video and choose click on "Video options..."

4. A sidebar will open and you can set the start time. 

What do you think?

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Visual Enhancements for HyperDocs

"Design is thinking made visual." - Saul Bass

If you are not new to my blog, you know that I am a big fan of HyperDocs.

In my classroom, HyperDocs are Powerful Frameworks for Student-Centered Exploration. I do my best to build HyperDoc activities that get students engaged in the 4 Cs of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. I also love the power of Hyperdocs to support student voice and choice.

I am working on updating our HyperDocs Mission Control Document and I am interested in resources that enhance the visual appeal of a HyperDocs. The templates on the HyperDoc Resources Page are a great place to start and I am exploring additional tools that can be used to enhance the visual appeal beyond Google Image Search and the Explore Tool in Docs/Slides. 

• The Noun Project - Quickly find the icon you want, change its color & size, then insert it right into your Google Slides and Docs. 
• Meme Generators - There are many incredible Meme Generators, but the challenge is finding one that is both appropriate and not blocked by your school's web filter. One of my current favorites is Imgflip.  Meredith Akers has created a Google Drawing Meme Generator. I've also created some blank Slides and Drawings Templates for meme creation in this folder. 
• Unsplash Add-ons - Insert free, HD photos from Unsplash easily in any slides presentation. 
• Bitmoji - Create an expressive cartoon avatar, choose from a growing library of moods and stickers. We've also created a list of Avatar Creation Resources. 
• Slide Carnival - Find free Google Slides themes and focuses on communicating your ideas in your HyperDocs. 
• Adobe Spark Posts - A free online and mobile graphic design app. Easily create beautiful images for your HyperDocs.
• ColorPick Eyedropper - An eye-dropper & color-picker tool that allows you to select color values from web pages. 
• Fonts - Match a font from a webpage with WhatFont or explore Google Fonts to find the perfect font for your Hyperdocs.
• A quick search in Add-ons can connect you to additional font generators like Magic Rainbow Unicorns.

We've also organized this Design Resources for Educators Doc with additional resources.

What other resources can you recommend to enhance the visual appeal of a HyperDoc?

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