Google Presentation Photo Slideshow Exemplar

In my grade 11 Communications Technology class I've asked each of my students to look at the "Explore" pages in Flickr and then mark at least 10 photos as their favourites. I've then asked them to create a Presentation using Google Docs and share those favourites with their classmates.

Here is a quick presentation I created that my students can use as an exemplar. As I explain in the presentation, these are not actually my favourites; they are just my own top flickr photos, rated in terms of their "interestingness".

This presentation is also available for download or sharing here.

Uploading Files to a Google Group

This is quick tutorial for uploading files to a Google Group. Feel free to share this information with others.

If you spot any errors, please notify me at pbeens@gmail.com, and if you learned about this tutorial via twitter, please RT! Thanks!

Note: this tutorial is also available as a PDF copy for printing.

@pbeens

1. Log In, Step 1

First, go to the address of the Google Groupand log in using your Google ID. If you are not a member, select "Sign in and apply for membership".

2. Log In, Step 2

Enter your login details, then click "Sign in". Do not check "Stay signed in" unless you are on a private computer.

3. Enter Files Area

Click on "Files", near the top right corner of the screen.

4. Upload File, Step 1

Click on "upload new file".

5. Upload File, Step 2

Click on "Choose File".

6. Upload File, Step 3

Browse to the file you want to upload, then click "Open". (repeat these last two steps to upload more files)

7. Upload File, Step 4

Click on "I'm done uploading files", and that's it! Your file will have been uploaded to your Google Group.

8. Sharing Your File

Note that you can right-click on the file you uploaded to get the file URL to share with others. Even if you post the URL in a public place, others cannot open or download the file unless they are a member of the group (assuming it is a private group, with all permissions set correctly).

New Mail List for Animation Teachers

As part of the provincial training for the new Ontario Technological Education and Computer Studies curricula, I created a number of subject-based mail lists that the teachers could use to share resources, ask questions, etc. Most of the mail lists became quite popular, particularly when the the teachers went back to their school boards and encouraged others to join.

These lists are:

• Communications Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tgj-teachers
• Computer Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tej-teachers
• Construction Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tcj-teachers
• Green Industries Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/thj-teachers
• Hairstyling and Aesthetics Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/txj-teachers
• Health Care Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tpj-teachers
• Hospitality & Tourism Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tfj-teachers
• Manufacturing Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tmj-teachers
• Tech Design Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tdj-teachers
• Transportation Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/ttj-teachers

It also made sense to create mail lists for just the consultants of these subjects, to give them a private area where they could discuss school board-level, non-curricular issues. These lists aren't as popular as the subject-based lists, but that may be because they haven't been advertised as much.

• CS Consultants and Coordinators of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/cs-coordinators-ontario
• Tech Ed Consultants and Coordinators of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tech-ed-ontario

As time went on, it became apparent in a few of the groups that some of the conversations became very specialized. It then made sense to create some new groups, just for those specializations:

• Animation Teachers - http://groups.google.ca/group/animation-teachers
• Cisco Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.com/group/cisco-teachers
• TIJ Exploring Technologies Teachers - http://groups.google.ca/group/tij-teachers
• Yearbook Teachers - http://groups.google.ca/group/yearbook-teachers

The reason I'm posting this now is because the Animation Teachers mail list is brand new, and I'm hoping others can spread the word about it. What's different about it (and the Yearbook Teachers list) is that it is not closed to Ontario teachers, and we're hoping that teachers from many jurisdictions take part in it.

So spread the word! Please forward the link of this blog (or the link to the mail list home page) to anyone teaching animation that may be interested in joining. If you have a curriculum consultant in your jurisdiction, please also send this information to them so they can forward it to any interested teachers.

And for the twtterers out there, please RT any tweets you've received about this.

Thanks everyone!

@pbeens

Note: all the mail lists mentioned here are private mail lists. Members must be approved, and all emails to the groups are moderated to keep the lists professional and spam-free.