Google Cast Integrated into Chrome – What does this mean for educators?

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Oct 272016
 

Google ChromecastGoogle announced recently that they have fully integrated Google Cast (formerly known as Chromecast) into the Chrome web browser. Is this good news for teachers? If you have access to, or have a classroom set of Chromebooks, then the resounding answer is YES!

In the past, you needed a $40’ish piece of hardware that you could plug directly into a newer TV or projector which you could then send or “cast” any Chrome browser page to that device to show the video and audio. It was a great solution for the home, but it never really caught on with any teachers that I knew of – probably because the majority of teachers have, shall we say, “Vintage” projectors in their classrooms which didn’t have the proper HDMI connections.

On the iOS side, many schools have tried really hard to get Apple TV’s working. They work amazingly well in the home environment, but for some technical reasons that I’ll spare you today, they didn’t work very well in large scale school wireless networks. And, each Apple TV set you back $99.

Now, back to why this announcement is great news for teachers, especially those teachers integrating Chromebooks into their classrooms.  Google has also released a new Chrome app called Google Cast for Education. Once you install this app for your Chrome browser, your computer will act as the Chromecast device. Since Google Cast is now integrated into Chrome, any of your students with a Chromebook can now request to share their screen with you, to show you the great work they are doing, or the amazing video or page that they found while researching online.

Since your classroom computer is probably already hooked up to your classroom projector &/or interactive whiteboard, students that ‘Cast’ their screens to you will also be sharing to the entire class! No extra things to buy, no extra configurations, it just works. If you are worried about students hijacking your screen, fear not! Google has built in some pretty clever settings for this reason. No one can see your screen to share unless you have shared this privilege with them. Also, when they attempt to share their screen, depending on the user you can set it so that you must approve it before it shows on your screen, or it will just show up. They have also integrated Google Classroom so that you can invite a whole class at a time to share to your screen. It’s pretty cool!

Learn more about Google Cast for Education here:

Using Google Classroom and Chromebooks? Two New Tools To Make Life Better

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Jul 012016
 

At the ISTE 2016 Conference in Denver this week, Google announced a few new tools for teachers using Google Classroom and Chromebooks that will make life much easier and better.

First, Google has added a new Chrome app for teachers called Google Cast for Education, which allows students to broadcast their Chromebook screens to the teacher’s computer, WITHOUT the need for any extra hardware or stuff to buy. No more trying in vein to get a Chromecast or Apple TV to work in your classroom! If your computer is hooked up to your projector/interactive white board, then any student’s screen can be shared with you and the rest of the class! Alternatively, you can “cast” your screen to an individual student for some one-on-one help (if the student is running the Google Cast for Education app).

  • To get started, teachers need the Google Cast for Education Chrome app. GAFE Admins can pre-install this for all of the teachers in their domain.
  • Your students need the Google Cast extension. GAFE Admins can do the same for this student extension.
  • If you are trying this out before school starts in August/September, make sure to get the Google Cast (Beta) extension.

Second, a feature that I have been telling teachers was coming for a while (my bets have paid off!). Google has added the ability to create quizzes with grading and feedback features in Google Forms. No more messing with add-ons to do quick quizzes! It’s completely supported in Classroom, so you can now build your quizzes in Forms and assign them in Classroom. When students submit the form, it’s automatically graded and turned in. Learn how to make quizzes now (YouTube).

If you’d like to keep up with what Google is doing for Education, make sure to follow the Google for Education blog.

Let me know @sedcclint on Twitter, or leave a comment below, if you have tried either of these new tools and how they are (or will be) helping you in your Google-ified classroom. I’ve been using both of these tools today, and they are terrific!

Doceri Rebate Program for Teachers

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Nov 202013
 

Doceri Teacher Rebate Program is a great thing for teachers who have spent their own money on this excellent teaching tool. If a school or organization purchases at least 30+ Doceri licenses, Doceri will (through this page) let a teacher request a rebate for the money they personally spent on Doceri.

When you request a rebate, they’ll deactivate the old licence key, refund your personal credit card, and then re-activate your copy with your new institutional licence key.

Thanks for keeping our hard working educators in mind Doceri!

Project Based Learning on the iPad

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Jul 122013
 
Permalink: http://goo.gl/4ngaF

Here’s the plan for our session today. We’ll learn about:

  • Presenting from your iPad: How to control and project your classroom computer, and how to project your iPad screen to your classroom computer & projector
  • Screencasting – creating learning objects with some cool interactive white board type apps
  • Creating rich media projects like narrated slide shows, picture- and full blown eBooks, and full movies.
  • Classroom quizzing and formative assessment with free web-based tools
  • Finding good places for educational iPad apps

Here’s the presentation from today’s session, using Google+ Hangout On-Air (YouTube Video). You can also get ‘hard copies’ of the presentation below:

Apps, links and resources for each area above: