Publishing Google Slides to the web

Sometimes you might want to share a slide deck outside a typical presentation format...maybe you want to embed one into a website...like this:



Here is how:

1. Create a slide deck.
2. Select all the slides on the left-hand side of the slide deck (you know they are selected when they are outlined in blue)
3. Go to "File" --> "Publish to the web"
4. A box will pop up. There will be two options (1) "Publish to Web" or (2) "Embed" (in a website, like above)
5. Under "Auto Advance Slides" select how long you want each slide to display 
6. Click both check boxes ("Start slideshow as soon as the player loads" & "Restart the slideshow after the last Slide")
7. From the drop down menu select how long you want each slide to display (3 seconds is the default)
8. Press "Publish"
9. A link or embedding code will show up for you to copy.
10. To stop publishing, click the "Published Content and Settings" and select "Stop Publishing" (a dialogue box will pop up to confirm)

Note: Any changes you make to the slide deck will automatically change in the published version (just hit refresh on the browser on which you are watching the slide show.)

Need a visual? 
Check this screencast I created:

Fun (but sort of useless) tip from T-Dub

Today at work my colleague Trevor showed me two neat-o tricks I wanted to share.

1) Google Docs formatting - in fairness this is Sultan's trick but since Trevor taught me he gets credit.

If you copy and paste something into a Google Doc using CMD+V (on a mac) it imports with the original source's formatting.  To adjust the formatting to match the formatting in your document hold down CMD+Shift+V.  Voilá - formatting matched.

2) Sending iMessages with effects

image from: https://www.imobie.com/support/send-imessages-with-bubble-effects-in-ios-10.htm

Did you know you can spice up your iMessages with lasers, balloons, and other fun features?   How you ask? Compose a message and instead of hitting the blue up arrow, hold it.  A list of features will appear!  You can change the background to fireworks or make the message appear gently.  The whole list is here.

Happy formatting!  :)

Coding Across the Curriculum

When I was in the 10th grade my parents insisted I take a computer class in school.  I resisted saying I had no interest but they were relentless.  They were sure computers were going to be essential in my future.  Little did they know!

One of my new hobbies is coding.

In September, Apple launched a new app called Swift Playground.  My son and I quickly became addicted.  (Pokémon talk went silent for about a week and it was blissful!)  We loved watching the little alien walk around collecting gems and toggling switches.  I watched as my 6 year old patiently thought through the steps needed to solve each puzzle.  I was amazed.  This is a kid whose teachers tell me he needs to slow down and not rush through his work.  I knew instantly that we were on to something.  

Two weeks ago I brought home a Dash and Dot robotic kit.  All three of my kids took turns using the iPad to come up with the right path to manoeuvre Dash around a couple of boxes we had set out.  Again, my six year old patiently clipped together code to make the robot perform a set of instructions.  His eyes would light up with excitement once he played his code to see if he had succeeded in the task.  Moreover, when his code failed, he didn't pitch a fit (as I was expecting) but came back and reviewed his coding.

I began to think about how this "playing" was such rich teaching.  It involved problem solving, collaboration, reflection, and critical thought.  For a minute I wished I was a Computer Science teacher. then I realised the power of coding across disciplines.

Since most of my background is in English Language and Literature, I began to think about coding and storytelling.  Imagine the power of having students write a story about Little Dash and Dots journey.  It could work either way.  A student could write a story about the journey or a student could code the robot based on a story.  They could pair up and switch.  Students could reflect on challenges and successes in coding.  Why not dress a robot up like a character and set up a course which mirrors the events of a story or novel.  The list in my head went on and on.  This was only for one robot!  I was pumped.

As I continue to explore this new hobby, I am going to an apple workshop next week and helping some schools plan some Hour of Code activities.  I am pumped.  Stay tuned!

#NaBloWriMo

Image licensed under Creative Commons

Reflection is so important in education.  As a teacher, I always felt I never had my students do it enough.  I myself did it daily - but not formally.  I had fleeting moments or thought.  I had short (or sometimes long) conversations with colleagues.  In my new job at Digital Literacy Resource Teacher (DLRT), I am not doing it enough.  I am so caught up in the learning and doing that I am not taking the time to reflect and digest my day to day.

In November a few years ago, a colleague (Elise Abram) challenged the students at the school to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) wherein one commits to writing a certain number of words each day that would essentially yield writing a novel in a month.  Ambitious.  While I have no intentions of novel writing right now, I have decided, to ensure I am more reflective (and/or sharing more), to write a blog post every work day in November.  Ambitious.  I am calling it #NaBloWriMo.

I have had a lot of people tell me they admire my intent.  They say they would not have time.  I have two responses:

1) You make time for what you feel is important.  I learned this when my middle son was in the hospital last December for a week.  I never thought I could miss a week of school, or be away from my two other kids for a week...but I did...and it was fine.  I found a way to make it work.  (Willy is fine by the way.)

2) I know time is going to be an issue.  New, full-time job with a learning curve so steep it is inverted.  Three kids under 7. Active social life.  Desire to make time for treadmill (easily solved by #TreadmillPD) Yep.  All barriers, but I listened to the most recent EdSurge on Air podcast today sharing Jim Shelton's keynote at iNACOL conference and he said something that struck me: "[barriers present] problems to solve, not reasons for inaction".  I love this.  I don't want to throw my hand up in the air...I want to reflect and I am going to make it happen.   I think it will make me a better educator.

Maybe you'll join me.  Maybe your goal will be to blog once a week..maybe once this month.  Maybe your goal will be different in nature but similar in commitment level.  Make it you...but reflect on what you need and do it.

Public Learning Goals

Every year in Ontario, teachers need to complete an Annual Learning Plan (ALP).  We need to set professional goals for ourselves and we were encouraged to  set these goals to align with our Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (BIPSA).  I used to really follow this rule.  I would fill the form with educational jargon, set goals that only somewhat mattered to me, and submitted it because that's what someone wanted me to do.

Then, a few years ago, I realised (almost certainly #mydoglikesbones) that nobody ever read my ALP.  Moreover, I realised that the goals I had been setting didn't really matter to me. This bothered me.  A lot.  I think goal setting is very important.  I wanted to have MY goals.  Not ones I thought others (who didn't even read the thing) wanted me to have.  So a few years ago I started writing my ALP goals around things I wanted to do to support my students and my practice.  I stuck to them, mostly.

When I reflected this year I realised that while I have my own goals now, I still don't have that audience.  There is something about being held accountable.  So, here I share.  I will post some of the goals I have this year for the world to see...and when you see me, ask me how they are going...voila!  Accountability.

Some Goals (This list might grow - I do not think goal setting should only be done once a year)

• BLOG MORE.  November is NaNoWriMo...authors are encouraged to write a set number of words every day to get a novel written in a month. I don't want to write a novel but I do want to share and reflect more.  I want to write a blog post - no matter how small or big, shallow or deep, every work day in November.  It is ambitious.  But I will try.
• TRY SKETCHNOTING: I am not an artist.  I am OK with this.  I do love pretty looking notes.  I want to try my hand at sketchnoting...I think it will help me concentrate and really train my brain in a new, challenging way.
• LEARN TO CODE: I want to learn to code.  Not like wizard coding, but just a bit.  Maybe write a simple game or script.
• SPREADSHEETS:  Excel/Google sheets have so much power.  I totally underuse them.  I want to find a course or something to teach me more..problem I forsee is that unless I learn about them in authentic and relevant way, I am not going to understand or retain...must keep that in mind when I look for learning opportunities.

I will add to the list as I think of (or really am inspired by) more.  Stay tuned for updates.

As dicated by the Universe: My Manifesto

 I often find the universe sends me loud and clear messages about my learning path.  What I mean is that I will be haunted (for lack of a better word) by books or ideas.  I will be walking through Indigo and a book will catch my eye, the next day a friend will recommend the same book, that night the book will be referenced by someone in one of my Twitter PLNs.  Right now I am being haunted not by a book but by Manifestos.

I've seen books, heard podcasts, seen Pins, overheard conversations at baseball games (!) about writing a Manifesto.

So, I finally decided it is time for me to learn about, explore, and write my own manifesto. A quick Google search led me to the image to the right.  Turns out I have been carrying around a manifesto without even realising it.  I have about a dozen LuluLemon bags.  I love them.  They are the right size and sturdy.  I have also always loved their inspirational sayings.  I visited this life hack website which gave me more inspiration.  I think I am ready.  My mentor Mary Kooy often cites the Dutch proverb: What the heart is full of, the mouth runs over with.  That is where a true manifesto comes from.  I think a manifesto needs to be organic; it needs to come from your gut...you can't reflect for a while - it needs to be what your heart is full of. 

Here goes.

My Work(ing) Manifesto:

1. Ask for Help
2. You don't need to know all the answer.
3. Don't Do.  Teach to empower.
4. Learn & Laugh
5. Take Risks
6. Make Mistakes and learn from them
7. Innovate - no matter how small (even though it is a big word)
8. Listen
9. Focus on the task at hand (see the value in monotasking)
10. Don't overthink
11. Take care of you.

I would like to thank Gretchen Ruben and Elizabeth Craft and Happier Podcast #87 for the final push to write this.

#TreadmillPD

Last Boxing Day weekend, after months of feeling bloated, I decided to take action.  I wasn't motivated to go to the gym anymore, so I bought a treadmill for my home.  And, much to the surprise of all those who said it would be a clothes hanger in two months, I have been diligently using it ever since.  The mill (as I affectionately call it) was especially wonderful in our long Ontario winter.

The first few months I binged watched some TV shows and listened to music.  I quickly got bored; moreover, I started to feel like I didn't have time to do everything I wanted to do professionally.  Then one night it hit me: why did these activities have to be mutually exclusive? And thus #TreadmillPD was born. (Little did I know the great Matt Miller had already coined the phrase and created the hashtag on Twitter as explain in this blog post.)

I began using my time on the treadmill to learn.  It was great for the body and mind.  During the day I would pin article and videos I came across but did not have time to explore in depth to a professional Pinterest board (my board is here if you want to follow me).  In the evening, I would go back and explore what I had posted.  If I hadn't pinned something I would explore Twitter (such a rich resource for PD), or listen to a podcast (which I have blogged about before here).  I was learning so much and loving it.  I looked forward to my learning time every night.  I felt mentally healthy since I no longer felt pulled to get exercise or learn - I could do both.


When I tell people about my #TreadmillPD they are often in awe..."How can you run and read?!"  Let's be clear....I am a brisk walker.  I am sure with practice I could do both - I have run two 5km races in the past, and I would LOVE to be a "real" runner, but for now, this is what works.

Also, don't get me wrong, some days I still binge some TV, or watch the Toronto Blue Jays games, but most of my time is on PD and I find it so fulfilling.