Monthly Archives: October 2014

Getting Started in Google Drive

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I’ve written already about my school getting started with Google Apps for Education.

For a next step, I was thinking of what are basic skills that students need if they’re to make use of what’s on offer.  So I put this together to give students (and staff?) an idea of how to get started.  Is there anything I’m missing in this step?

When you sign into your Google Account you will see at the top right hand side of the screen the apps menu.  Click on the icon that looks like a grid.

apps toolbar

 

You will then see this drop down menu:

apps toolbar 2

Click on the Drive icon.  If you are using Chrome then Drive will open in a new tab.  Not sure about other browsers.

Once Drive is open, it’s time to learn how to create a document.

menu

At the right hand side of the screen, you will see the shiny red ‘New’ button.  Click on this.

menu 2

Once you get the drop-down menu, click on the option ‘Google Docs’

Again, if you’re using Chrome, a new tab will open.  This is your new document.  At the right hand side of the screen, click on ‘File’ and rename the document.

rename file

 

This will give you a small window where you can give the document a new name:

rename file 2

Once you have renamed the document, learn how to put in text, and format your work.

sample document

 

To create a table, simply point your mouse to the ‘Table’ heading in the toolbar and use the drop down options:

make a table

As with most computing skills, the only real way to learn this stuff is to try it out.  You can see the table I chose is 6 columns across by 4 rows down.  Simple to add!

Go on.  Give it a try.

 

The “f” word

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30 years since the famine in Ethiopia
Oh my God.
Interesting article on how the standards have changed and the ethics developed in reporting

campkid's avatarAistear

This week marks the 30 year anniversary of Michael Buerk and Mohammed Amin’s coverage of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia.  The report was first broadcast by the BBC on the 23rd of October, “A day that shook the world”, before spreading across the globe.  The footage was shot in Korem, a small town, 100km to the North of Woldia, my hometown.

I had never seen the report until my sister shared it with me on the anniversary this week.  I watched, stunned, as a scene of almost incomprehensible grief and human suffering played out on the screen before me; a man-made plague of biblical proportions, in the twentieth century.  My response was visceral; my skin seemed to crawl.

***Please note, this footage was shot in 1984 and does not conform to Dóchas’ Code of Conduct on Images and Messages 2007.  People may find it distressing***

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOj_6OYuJc

I’m sure most…

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F*m*n*sm – a dirty word?

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As Anne-Marie says: feminism – ‘it boils down to this: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities”’

ancailinrua's avatarAn Cailín Rua

Some light-hearted thoughts on feminsim I wrote for the Mayo News a few weeks back.

Readers of my online rantings will know that on my twitter biography, I describe myself as follows: “Trying to figure it all out, secretly hoping I never succeed. Researcher, feminist, dreamer, Mayo GAA nut, Mayo Club admin team, Mayo News columnist.” That pretty much sums up most of my existence in less than 140 characters, which is actually a bit alarming when you think about it.

But regardless of my Mayo and GAA allegiances, it’s the “feminist” part of my bio that seems to provoke the most reactions. Recently, before a game in Croke Park, the real world collided with the virtual and I was approached in by a beaming jersey-clad gentleman with an outstretched hand. “Howya Anne-Marie”, he said. “You probably don’t know me, but I follow you on twitter. I’m @MayoMan5000.” I’m always…

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Google in school

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This year we decided to take on a new project in school – adapting Google Apps for Education.

Wha?

It works like this.  Google offer schools the facility to have a corporate email structure with cloud storage, shared calendars, internal websites and other bits & pieces.  And, if you’re a school, the cost is free.  Obviously, this is a big plus for any school – I don’t know of any that complain of having too many resources.

And what’s on offer?

  • Each user gets a gmail account (for us, student@mayfieldcs.net)
  • Create groups so that you can share resources or email them.
  • Each account comes with 30GB of cloud storage via Google Drive
  • Each account comes with Google docs (the ability to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms)
  • Google Classroom (it’s new & I haven’t figured out its potential or pitfalls yet)
  • Google Sites (the ability to create websites internally or viewable externally)

So.  How do you actually tap into this resource?

If you go to this link, you can apply to Google to take on their Apps for Education suite.

Step 1 was to get registered.  This can be done using the existing domain for the school.  Google can then move your email to a gmail account.  The alternative is to create a new domain, but you need to jump through an extra hoop or two while Google verifies that you are acting on behalf of your school.

Step 2 is to get accounts set up within the school.  If you have a lot of students then what you do is to get the names of the students on a CSV file and allocate them all email identities and passwords.  This does take a bit of time – but that’s nothing compared to step 3

Step 3: take students to the computer room and get them all to open up their accounts.  this is best described as bedlam.  Chaos is a good alternative word at this point.

Step 4: get students to accomplish basic tasks such as opening drive, creating a document, or uploading files and sending an email.

Step 5: email the group you just signed up giving them instructions on how to add their account to their phone/tablet. (they like this bit)

A few teachers have started using the Classroom app, and seem to be happy with the ability to email notes and assignments to groups of students.

It’s early days yet, but there’s a lot of potential.

There’s a lot o resources out there from people who are a lot more experienced than I – but hopefully this will help someone get a start!

 

Now You See It…

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If you’re anything like me, you love Derren Brown.  He’s a bit of a genius, illusionist, mentalist, clever and challenging.

He’s also a bit of a trickster.

He has one particular move I like, he gets the unsuspecting victim to willingly hand over his wallet.  Just like this:

Which brings me to this RTE headline yesterday.  On the face of it, things look great.  1,700 new teachers and SNAs (Special Needs Assistants) to be employed in Irish Schools.  All good, yes?

Well, as always, it’s a little more complicated.  While the headline does grab your attention, the details of the article take a lot of the shine away:

  • 10,000 new students entering primary level each year
  • 4,000 new students entering second level each year
  • The cost of college registration to increase.  Again.
  • The budget for new schools (needed for the extra numbers) is to be cut by €10,000,000
  • Funding for second level schools (Capitation, the grant per student in school) is being reduced again.  This time by 1%
  • Funding for third level colleges also to be reduced by 1%

That’s the new cuts.

There’s still no reverse on the reprehensible decision to remove guidance counsellors from secondary schools.  No decision to restore middle management in schools.

For years now the budget for education has been cut. The new posts in the headline don’t do anything to change the pupil/teacher ratio – it only maintains the current crazy level.  Schools have been forced to cut subjects, options, programmes and supports for students.

These are not cuts in education. They are attacks on education.

Minister Joan Burton was on Matt Cooper’s show a few weeks ago and said something like ‘Austerity is over’.

Austerity is not over.  Certainly not if you’re in education.  And just like Derren Brown, the government has managed to dip into the pocket of the education sector once more.

Lets discuss the Teaching Council

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I’m conflicted.

The Teaching Council is the body that is charged with overseeing the profession of teaching in Ireland.  So, you would imagine that I would be all in favour of this.  After all, I’m a School Chaplain.  I spend my working days in schools and I witness the professionalism of my colleagues on a daily basis.  I see their hard work, dedication, inspiration.  I should be glad of anything that promotes that professionalism and recognises the hard work of so many teachers.

The Teaching Council is tasked with protecting the integrity of teaching.  It regulates “the teaching profession and promotes professional standards in teaching”.  Why then are so many of us angry with it?

My first taste of disillusionment with the Teaching Council came a few years ago, when the attacks on education (AKA the austerity budgets) were slashing resources and pay across the sector.  Many teachers wrote to the council asking them to speak up on their behalf.  In response we got the response that the council was all for protecting standards, yes.  But had no role in budget discussions.  I never kept a copy of the letter, but I’d love to be able to show it to you.

As the past few years have advanced, the Teaching Council has flexed its muscles more and more.

First, teachers who didn’t pay the €65 per annum registration would not be paid by the Department of Education & Skills.  This became an open threat with this press release stating that over 1,000 teachers could lose their pay.

Then we hear that the council has the power to investigate teachers.  Have our registration fees added up to become a war chest?  On what basis would teachers be investigated?

Most recently, the idea was proposed that teachers would have to engage in CPD in order to maintain their registration.  Admittedly CPD is very, very important.  But when technology changes so fast, and there are so many different ways in which to learn, who decides what is valid CPD, and who certifies it?  My interaction on Monday evenings #edchatie over on the tweet machine is something that is incredibly valuable.  I have learnt a lot by looking at what so, so many other teachers do.

My fears are not new, and they are not unique to me.  Have  a look here and here to see others’ concerns regarding the Teaching Council.

One problem is that many teachers have no faith in the Teaching Council, or see it as irrelevant.  If you do a twitter search for #teaching council you get one screen of results.  One screen for a body that has been in existence since March 2006.

So what is to be done?

  1. Be more flexible in recognising qualifications.  Engineers are good, very good, at maths.  People who qualified as teachers in other countries are teachers.  Don’t make it impossible for them to register here.
  2. Look at the registration fee.  Currently the Teaching Council is running a surplus of millions of Euro.  Use it or don’t charge it.
  3. Provide more courses that people want to engage in (or need to engage in, or would benefit from engaging in)
  4. Talk to the DES about getting course days and subject association days covered for substitution.
  5. Trust teachers.  Allow teachers to work together to create their own CPD.  Online interactions are very fruitful, but difficult to quantify for certification purposes.
  6. Do more to engage with teachers and see what we want for the development of our profession. There is little engagement at the moment.
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The day my son went viral

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Parents, think twice before posting to much about your kids online
This is worth a read

Pete Williams's avatarPut the book back on the shelf

UntitledA couple of months ago my son, who is six years old, performed a solo routine at his school talent competition. I couldn’t attend but my wife filmed it on her mobile phone so I could watch it later. She also put it on Facebook for friends and relatives to see. Unfortunately, we hadn’t given any thought to the privacy settings and it was ‘shared’ amongst people we didn’t know. When we became aware of this we quickly changed the permissions and forgot all about it.

However, one morning, a few days later, we received a text from a friend telling us that the video was ‘trending’ on Buzzfeed and, as we hastily conducted some Google searches, it became apparent that we had a problem. There were bizarre stories about it on sites such as Huffington Post and Mail Online and these were being replicated around the world. Additionally, the…

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Potrait

Image

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Last Friday night we had a retirement party for a number of the staff in my school.  We had a great time, and I’m not going putting up photos here!

Except for this one.

IMG_3821

 

This is Soraya, one of our SNAs.  She kindly gave permission to publish this photo.