Tag Archives: google

Google Apps for Education: Aggregating Some Information

Google Apps for Education

Over the weekend I received a request from a colleague that our university adopt Google Apps for Education. There are significant arguments either side of the adoption debate, and I am starting (again) to aggregate some sources of information and data.

Google Apps customers list

Song Gao (Ph.D. student at Auburn University) has created a rather useful Google Apps customers list on GitHub. The ability to search and filter is helpful (but some entries in the list to not have an associated city or state).

Google Apps Lawsuit

Foremost on my mind is the current legal action where university students are suing Google because the company allegedly scanned their email without consent. According to Google, “Google Apps for Education services don’t collect or use student data for advertising purposes or to create ads profiles” (although my understanding is that this is a configuration setting). The EFF thinks differently, and in 2015 launched their “Spying on Students” project.

I have not looked to closely into the cost of moving to Google Apps for Education, but the University of Michigan does say this about their decision:

Except for some limited specialty features–such as enhanced security and archiving–Google Apps for Education is provided at no charge to U-M. The business case cost analysis and financial projections estimate that for an initial investment of $1.8 million the university will realize ongoing cost savings of approximately $750,000 annually. Savings are achieved through the elimination of non-productive, redundant services, some decrease in infrastructure expenditures, and by leveraging the delivery options of Google’s cloud computing services.

Ultimately Google marches on, with Chromebooks now outselling Macs for the first time in the U.S.

Google’s News LMS (Apps for Education)

A colleague at work alerted me to the news that Google has a new free LMS for schools. Google Classroom will be the new tool that adds a Learning Management System to Google Apps for Education.

Campus Technology has a brief piece of news here, and Google has a page where you can sign up for an invite.

There is a certain degree of déjà vu all over again with the news. Google has released, or announced, similar initiatives in the past:

Google is known for discontinuing great products and services (such as Lively, Wave, Google Reader), seemingly because a product manager leaves or moves on to another project. Whilst being a free option, there may be some risk in committing to the new Google Classroom.

Google Glass: Part 1

Google Glass

Google Glass

This is going to be a short post… I received my Google Glass a few weeks ago, and I although I set up the various Glassware applications and started wearing the device at work (but not in public), I have done little in the way of testing.

I am going to start to post observations and test from here on.

I was thinking of seeing how well the video camera would work for recording lectures, and have quickly discovered that this is not particularly feasible. After about 20 minutes of recording, Glass alerts me that the battery is running low. I had about 29% battery left at that point, and will see how long I can record with a fully charged device.

Voice command work largely well. Using the gestures is sometimes an easier way to accomplish a task though.

Overall, the device fees like a solution is search of a problem. The technology is extremely impressive, but needs developers to make Glass more than a novelty.

More later….

Burning Chromebook: Day 5

Chromebook and MacBook Air

Chromebook and MacBook Air

I doubt if I will have a huge need to use SFTP/SSH on the Chromebook, but I did spend some time taking a look. At the moment I believe there are two options available to me:

  1. Secure Shell Terminal emulator and SSH client.
  2. ShiftEdit.

There is also a Chrome Extension (FTP Client), but based upon the reviews this is not something I will pursue.

No issues with Chrome so far. I imported my old Safari bookmarks and plan to test Desire2Learn access over the weekend. This is where I think I might see some quirks, but D2L indicates that the browser is supported.

TweetDeck worked well. Unlike some of the early versions this version has spell check.

I don’t plan to integrate my work and home email accounts into Gmail. The webmail options are functional, albeit a little clunky. With home email I will have to decide which of the three options are best for me:

  1. Horde
  2. RoundCube
  3. SquirrelMail

MacBook Air

Chromebook

Notes

Office Word

Google Docs

No issues so far. Spell check does not seem to be available offline. This might be fixed by installing an extension.

Office Excel

Google Sheets

No issues so far.

Office PowerPoint

Google Slides

Some formatting issues with imported files. “Present” not an option unless using native slide format.

iWork Keynote

Google Slides

Files

Considerable formatting issues with imported slides. Downloaded QuickTime mov, m4v, and mp4 files playable in Files.

iBooks Author

No equivalent.

Was not expecting to find an equivalent.

Dreamweaver

ShiftEdit.

Works well. Did not see spell check as an option.

Photoshop

pixlr

Tested with some basic cropping and resizing. Need to test more extensively.

Cyberduck

  1. Secure Shell Terminal emulator and SSH client.
  2. ShiftEdit.

No issues so far.

Safari

Chrome

No issues so far.

Twitter

TweetDeck

No issues so far.

Email

Gmail and Webmail

No issues with Gmail so far. Have to configure webmail.

Screenflow

  • Google Hangouts

  • Screenr

  • Screencastle

Have not tested.

iTunes

Google Play Music

Working well. Music Manager has uploaded the majority of my library.

Evernote

Evernote Web

No issues so far.

Dropbox

Dropbox

No issues so far.

Burning Chromebook: Day 4

I had not expected to find an equivalent to iBooks Author, but have installed a couple of epub readers. I don’t really anticipate having a great need for these, as I will be reading ebook predominantly on the smartphone.

Epub Readers

Today I concentrated on finding a Chromebook alternative to Dreamweaver. I had assumed that there might be a version of Amaya or KompoZer, but that was not the case within the Chrome Web Store. The best alternatives that I found were:

ShiftEdit

ShiftEdit

ShiftEdit looks like it will work for me. There is a Chromebook app which connects to the web service. The only thing that I did not find during my cursory testing was spell check, so I will have to use Google Docs to work around this.

MacBook Air

Chromebook

Notes

Office Word

Google Docs

No issues so far. Spell check does not seem to be available offline. This might be fixed by installing an extension.

Office Excel

Google Sheets

No issues so far.

Office PowerPoint

Google Slides

Some formatting issues with imported files. “Present” not an option unless using native slide format.

iWork Keynote

Google Slides

Files

Considerable formatting issues with imported slides. Downloaded QuickTime mov, m4v, and mp4 files playable in Files.

iBooks Author

No equivalent.

Was not expecting to find an equivalent.

Dreamweaver

ShiftEdit.

Works well. Did not see spell check as an option.

Photoshop

pixlr

Tested with some basic cropping and resizing. Need to test more extensively.

Cyberduck

Have not found solution yet. I might be able just using Secure Shell Terminal emulator and SSH client.

Have not tested.

Safari

Chrome

No issues so far.

Twitter

TweetDeck

No issues so far.

Email

Gmail and Webmail

No issues with Gmail so far. Have to configure webmail.

Screenflow

  • Google Hangouts

  • Screenr

  • Screencastle

Have not tested.

iTunes

Google Play Music

Working well. MUsic Manager has uploaded the majority of my library.

Evernote

Evernote Web

No issues so far.

Dropbox

Dropbox

No issues so far.

Burning Chromebook: Day 3

Native PowerPoint files don't "Present"

Native PowerPoint files don’t “Present”

Day 3 of testing moved onto using Google Slides. I was able to open up existing PowerPoint presentations, and was impressed that Chrome discreetly placed a link to other apps that would interact with the file. However, Google Slides did not allow me to present the slideshow (although it would for presentations created in Google Slides). The way round this was to import the existing PowerPoint presentation into a new Google Slide file. Importing created some formatting issues which were not there when I opened up the original PowerPoint file, so in future I would have to factor in time to make minor adjustments.

Imported PowerPoint files will "Present"

Imported PowerPoint files will “Present”

Unsurprisingly the Chromebook did not like native Keynote files. My options here would be to export from Keynote to PowerPoint and then display using Google Slides (or a cloud service like SlideRocket). Here, the export process created more formatting errors (and the rather nifty transitions and visual effects are lost). Sadly using iWork.com to present is no longer an option, with the service being shut down in 2012, but if I wanted to preserve all the features of the original Keynote file then playing an exported QuickTime file might be an aceptable workaround (providing I did not need to see presenter notes).

MacBook Air

Chromebook

Notes

Office Word

Google Docs

No issues so far. Spell check does not seem to be available offline. This might be fixed by installing an extension.

Office Excel

Google Sheets

No issues so far.

Office PowerPoint

Google Slides

Some formatting issues with imported files. “Present” not an option unless using native slide format.

iWork Keynote

Google Slides

Files

Considerable formatting issues with imported slides. Downloaded QuickTime mov, m4v, and mp4 files playable in Files.

iBooks Author

No equivalent.

Was not expecting to find an equivalent.

Dreamweaver

ShiftEdit (Cloud9 IDE might be an option too)

Have not tested.

Photoshop

pixlr

Tested with some basic cropping and resizing. Need to test more extensively.

Cyberduck

Have not found solution yet. I might be able just using Secure Shell Terminal emulator and SSH client.

Have not tested.

Safari

Chrome

No issues so far.

Twitter

TweetDeck

No issues so far.

Email

Gmail and Webmail

No issues with Gmail so far. Have to configure webmail.

Screenflow

  • Google Hangouts

  • Screenr

  • Screencastle

Have not tested.

iTunes

Google Play Music

Working well. MUsic Manager has uploaded the majority of my library.

Evernote

Evernote Web

No issues so far.

Dropbox

Dropbox

No issues so far.

Burning Chromebook: Day 2

Day 2 of the my adhoc testing of the Chromebook. I still like the keyboard, but the clicking on the trackpad feels uncomfortable – whilst at a desk using a regular mouse is a much more pleasant experience. Coming from the MacBook Air I have tendency to click on “Alt” rather than “Ctrl” when I copy and paste. These though are minor issues.

What I wanted to do was to find ways that I could match 80% of what I do on the MacBook Air. Here is what I have found so far:

MacBook Air

Chromebook

Notes

Office Word

Google Docs

No issues so far. Spell check does not seem to be available offline. This might be fixed by installing an extension.

Office Excel

Google Sheets

No issues so far.

Office PowerPoint

Google Slides

Have not tested.

iWork Keynote

Google Slides

Have not tested.

iBooks Author

No equivalent.

Was not expecting to find an equivalent.

Dreamweaver

ShiftEdit (Cloud9 IDE might be an option too)

Have not tested.

Photoshop

pixlr

Tested with some basic cropping and resizing. Need to test more extensively.

Cyberduck

Have not found solution yet. I might be able just using Secure Shell Terminal emulator and SSH client.

Have not tested.

Safari

Chrome

No issues so far.

Twitter

TweetDeck

No issues so far.

Email

Gmail and Webmail

No issues with Gmail so far. Have to configure webmail.

Screenflow

  • Google Hangouts

  • Screenr

  • Screencastle

Have not tested.

iTunes

Google Play Music

Working well. Music Manager has uploaded the majority of my library.

Evernote

Evernote Web

No issues so far.

Dropbox

Dropbox

No issues so far.

 

 

My MOOC Life (So Far)

I have cautiously been circling MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) recently. The educational media has been all over the trend to create an appropriate platform and populate with courses, and “mainstream media” has started to pay attention too. My fear is that MOOCs will be viewed as a silver bullet to the plethora of problems that education in general faces. Most likely there will be a MOOC bubble. 
However, MOOCs are moving education in the right direction. Faculty, instructional designers, software engineers, and students are generously donating their time and attention to craft courses and reusable learning objects that are intended to be easily understood and utilized in a scalable fashion. Things could of course become too commoditized and homogenous, but MOOCs are starting to deliver the promise that opencourseware failed to deliver.

Anyway, my firm belief is that you only truly learn from doing (and making mistakes), so I signed up for some MOOCs. 

I started with Instructional Ideas and Technology Tools for Online Success. Here I really appreciated and enjoyed the content (from Curt Bonk), but met some frustration with the delivery system. In working through the material I felt that my view that Desire2Learn is a superior LMS to Blackboard was validated. I felt that Blackboard constrained navigation and communication. I felt that Blackboard was more of a document repository than a system that facilitated teaching and Learning.

Instructional Ideas and Technology Tools for Online Success

Instructional Ideas and Technology Tools for Online Success

The course had an accelerated schedule, a five-week duration rather than eleven weeks or longer. This was to be my undoing as I got really, really ill twice during the course. I lost two weeks, and with other commitments I could not catch up. However, the course is still open, and I will endeavor to finish all of the assignments. The content and readings in the course were very helpful. I also made some new contacts via Twitter and Google+ along the way.

Power Searching With Google

Power Searching With Google

My next MOOC was Google’s “Power Searching With Google.” Google is a company that I like and admire, but it sometimes frustrates me immensely. My frustration in this situation was that the course was unnecessarily ugly. The content, videos, transcripts and exercises were great, but the aesthetic was like an out-of-town factory store -a functional big box that was effective and efficient, but depressing to view. Google’s relentlessly puritan view of engineered effectiveness depresses me. I wish that the company would sometimes make their products look beautiful.

As with many other MOOCs, entering into the discussion area had a tendency to be overwhelming – just keeping track of the conversations was impossible. However, judicious use of search and tags was of use.

Internet History, Technology, and Security

Internet History, Technology, and Security

My current MOOC is Coursera’sInternet History, Technology, and Security,” taught by Charles Severance (@drchuck). This is a seven-week course, one in which I arrived late (but not too late). This is a course in which the professor is (by his own admission) inventing along the way, but the structure and material works very well. I have not taken any other Coursera courses, so I don’t know if the instructional design of this course is used in other Coursera courses, but here are a few of the things that have impressed me:

  • The LMS used supports the vast number of students exceedingly well. Video is streamed  and downloaded without a hitch. The navigational scheme is well designed, I have not experienced any disorientation looking for materials.
  • Video is available in both streaming and downloadable versions.
  • Video is generally short, and has embedded quizzes.
  • Students are collaborating on providing transcripts (in multiple languages).
  • The course looks nice. This might sound like a trivial statement, but many online courses are ugly. A pleasant environment is, to my mind, helpful in learning.
  • There are physical office hours. The instructor is travelling around the U.S., and posts office hours for various coffee shops along the way. This is an excellent way for students to actually get to meet each other and their instructor. Luckily Chicago was one of the destinations, and I got to participate.
Cousera Office Hours

Cousera Office Hours

Like other MOOCS there is the inherent issue of assessing learning. So far there have been two strategies employed:

  1.  Automatically graded quizzes. Ten questions are posed for each assessment, which are based on the week’s materials. The questions are drawn randomly from a larger pool of questions, and students can take the quiz multiple times (highest score is preserved). However, students have to wait ten minutes after taking a quiz to retake.
  2. Peer assessment. So far there has been one written assignment. After submitting the written assignment, students are provided with five assignments to grade via a structured rubric. The rubric is largely binary, which simplifies grading. Students are able to provide written feedback and suggestions to their peers. The system works well. There has been at least one instance of a student plagiarizing extensively from Wikipedia – I am interested to see if a plagiarism detection system (like Turn-it-In) could be added.
Next and Continue

Next and Continue

There is one minor flaw that I have encountered in the MOOC, and that is the “Continue” and “Next” buttons in the videos. The videos have embedded quizzes – these pause the video and present the student with questions. After successfully answering the question the student can proceed by clicking on “Continue.” However, the “Continue” button is very close to the “Next” button…. The “Next” button is part of the video player, and Fits Law being what it is, I have a tendency to click on this rather than “Continue.” This results in me navigating to the next video in that week’s content, rather than continuing through the video that I was watching. I silently curse and backtrack when this happens (I think others have encountered the same issue, so the “Continue” button is in green).

Charles Severance has thoughtfully provided some statistics on student participation. I found this information to be very interesting:

  • Enrolled: 42935
  • Watched at least one lecture: 22651
  • Took Quiz 1: 11402
  • Submitted the Peer-Graded Assignment: 5808

My views on MOOCs at the moment are that they are here to stay. A business model has not been established, but I am sure one will evolve. I don’t think traditional universities are going to be hurt by MOOCs, but this may hurt the publishing industry. A MOOC is essentially an interactive book, so why buy a textbook or manual when you can take a MOOC that covers the topic for free?

Power Searching with Google

Power Searching With Google

Power Searching With Google

I received my certificate for successfully completing the “Power Searching with Google” online course. I decided to upload to the site rather than following Google’s suggestion to print out the certificate and affix to my wall.

I was impressed with what Google put together. Essentially this was a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) with short video presentations/tutorials immediately followed by short exercises to demonstrate learning. The element that I found less impressive was the use of Google Groups discussion boards – meaningful conversation was drowned out by the sheer number of participants. However, this criticism is endemic to MOOCS.

Also, Google did a great job at transcribing the videos. In some ways the written elements are an easier method to learn. Printing these out (or viewing them on a second screen) whilst watching the videos was a good way to learn.