An Interactive e-Library of Student Work Using Google Apps

This post describes a Google powered system to showcase digital student work. It allows a school to collect and display published student pieces for the whole community or for each class. The process is centralized, so students only have to submit once to publish in both places.

Awesome Table

This is an Awesome Table build. For step by step information on using Awesome Tables, you can reference one of my recent posts or use the official support site. In this workflow, submissions from the form directly feed the Awesome Table. The table is formatted by an HTML template stored on the “Template” page. The questions not used in the template (Teacher, Genre, and Topic) filter and sort the table. The HTML template requires three variables: a link to the published document, the document title, and a link to an image representing the document. The published document can be anything with a web address. I used Flipshack to publish our Google Docs and copied the shared URL from there. The image representing the document is less intuitive.

Batch Process PDF to JPGs

When my older students self-publish, they’ll screen capture the covers to make an image file.  I prepared eBooks for two grade levels (2nd and 3rd) and using a screen capture for each one would have been a laborious option. Instead, I used a tool named PDF to JPG to easily batch processed the book covers into JPG images. Once the images were ready I uploaded them to a Google Site so that they had a static web address.

Creating Multiple Tables for Different Classes

The main form response sheet is used for our library website, creating a sortable Awesome Table for all submitted work. When work is submitted, the student’s teacher question is used by the spreadsheet to organize student work into class pages via a query. The query is easily customized by anyone using the sheet, simply add your teacher’s names to the formRanger variables sheet. Then, click cell B1 of each class page to select the appropriate teacher for that page. Simply copy the class page to add classes. Don't forget to add these names to the teacher question in the form, I recommend using the formRanger addon it keep it updated ;).

Future Plans

As it's currently designed, this system is meant for teacher submissions. I can foresee using some kind of moderation, like the FormMule powered process used in the Book Review Site, to make student submission possible. I’m also impressed by the expanding cards on this Awesome Table demo. I would love students to use this feature to introduce their work. Like everything, this is an ongoing project and I’m excited to see what the next iteration looks like. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.

Turning Google Docs into eBooks with Flipsnack

Sue Luft, one of our ELA helping teachers, challenged me to find a way to improve the “ebookiness” of our Google Doc nonfiction books. I admit, Google docs are unsatisfying to read as an ebook. After some Saturday surfing, I stumbled upon Flipsnack.

Flipsnack’s edu version follows a freemium model and is easy to use.  I love the gratifying page flip and it presents a beautiful full screen view. Pages are represented as thumbnails at the bottom of the screen for easy navigation. The backgrounds are also configurable - I like the nice wood grain. All of our nonfiction books were saved into PDFs and processed with Flipsnack.

The edu version allows you to set up a classroom with student accounts. This isn’t a feature I’ve taken advantage of yet but I can see it being really useful with my older grades. I started with 2nd grade work so I publish the books for our digital library myself. However, I could see our 4th grade students doing this in the future.

When student self publish they will also be able to submit their books to our school’s digital work library themselves. This be more sustainable for me and will allow students to take advantage of Flipsnack’s hyperlink and button features - bringing hypertext into the ebook genre. This is something that I think is appropriate to introduce in 4th grade.

Next weekend I will blog about our ebook shelves and discuss how to make them. I’m excited by the publishing potential of the Docs, Flipsnack, and the digital book shelves combination. Students will be content producers to a real audience from start to finish. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments!

A 3-5 Non-Fiction Google Template with Text Features

This week I am rebuilding a 3rd grade non-fiction book Doc that I created last year. I've learned some important lessons and I think I've made it much easier for students to create killer books. The biggest lesson revolves around how Google Drawings are used.

Last year my template was simple and included a cover page, a copyright page, a dedication, and a Table of Contents. Non-fiction text features were supported with a Google Sites page that linked to Google Drawing templates. It worked fairly well. The students created beautiful books and were deservedly proud of their work. Using Google Drawings for Nonfiction text features was easy, except when it came to inserting them into Docs. Unfortunately, Docs doesn’t allow a student to insert a Google Drawing file created from Drive. Students needed to save the drawing as an image file and then insert the image into the Doc. Not only does this create an awkward step, it also makes revising the text feature a chore. I’m sure Google will smooth this out sooner or later, but for right now, I don’t want to relive the process.

My Non-Fiction file for 2015-16 is completely built in a Doc. The text feature templates are added at the end of the doc; no more sending students to the web page. When students need a text feature, they scroll to the bottom and copy/paste one of the templates (or create their own using the “insert -> drawing” menu.) As far as I can tell, the only difference between a Doc Drawing and a Drive Drawing are tables: Drive Drawings have them and Docs Drawings don’t (please let me know if there are other differences.) Other changes to the original template include a “Glossary” page and an “About the Author” page.

Students are instructed to start writing on the first chapter page (page 4, not including the cover) and create new chapters as necessary. The “Hand” graphic organizer at the top of the first chapter is also a Google Drawing and will help students with planning. This can be copy/pasted into each new chapter.

We have some time until this unit happens and I’m sure the file will be revised before it’s used. I’m looking forward to collaborting with my third grade team and our ELA Helping Teachers. Let me know if you use the Doc and please share it back out if you make it better!

Additional Resources for Google Drawings in the Classroom:

• Ditch that Text Book Resources
• John Sowash’s work
• Alice Keeler’s Infographic Tutorial
• The Google Drawing Infographic Toolbox

The Finished Book Igloo

Here is our finished book igloo! Our Stop motion video is posted below. I'm really proud of how the students at Quaker Ridge rallied to build the platform, prototype the igloo, and eventually put it together.  We've dedicated the igloo to Robyn Lane, our principal, who has retired after leading us for ten years. It will be a favorite book nook in our library for years to come! You can read more about the process here.

Building a Book Igloo

Miler Lagos' work "Home" and our inspiration

Our school’s library was in need of book weeding. There were encyclopedias that were twenty years old, books that hadn’t been checked out in thirty years, and some that were just plain falling apart. In fact, there were hundreds of books like this and it just didn’t seem right to throw them out.  It all became clear after our school librarian, Kate Byrnes, discovered this installation by Colombian artist Miler Lagos. This what we needed to do. We needed to mobilize our Young Maker’s club and build a book igloo.

Book Igloo prototype

Having never built such an igloo before, it was important to build a prototype. The Makers Club adeptly stacked books over the course of two afternoons (informed by lots of Minecraft practice) until the igloo began to show signs of structural failure. They did a great job and the prototyping process was really informative. When we started we focused on the width and length of the books. Our test made it clear that it was the thickness that was truly important: each row needed to be built with similarly thick books.

Maker Club building the igloo platform

Then the kids helped me build a platform for the igloo. We want the igloo to be movable in order to keep the library space flexible and for more practical reasons, like cleaning the rug. I was especially proud of one of our middle school helpers who figured out how to build a brace for the casters.

Students answering the question, "What does reading mean to me?"

Once the platform was ready we had students use sharpie markers to answer the question “What does reading mean to me?” Their answers are amazing and they add a warmth and personal feeling to the project. Our book igloo is becoming an art installation like Miler Lagos’ work. Unlike Lagos’ igloo, ours will be permanent. Each book will be glued into place by construction adhesive creating a book nook where students can enjoy reading. The igloo will be a centerpiece of the library next year and I’m looking forward to blogging about the finished project as soon as it’s done.

Student Book Review Database W/ formMule & formRanger

One of our teachers, +Shoshana Cooper, had a great idea during our summer Chromebook orientation day. She wanted to create a moderated book review site for students that was powered by a Google Form. This post is the result of that conversation.  With the help of +Andrew Stillman's add-ons and +Romain Vialard's Awesome Table, this project is able to do quite a lot. I’ll start by showing what it looks like, explain what the system actually does, and then explain how to use the demo files step by step.

How it looks

The book review site is based on Romain Vialard 's Awesome Table gadget. This aptly-named gadget creates a sortable list from a Google Sheet and looks really slick. I add the gadget and the review form to a stripped down Google Site and embed the site using an iframe on any teacher’s webpage.  This almost effortlessly enhances the web presence for the class site and increases teacher buy-in. The gadget and form can be added in the regular way if a teacher has a Google Site. This modularity is important and will allow us put the same form in multiple spots to power a book review database for each of the five elementary schools!

What it does

The form is set to record the user ID to keep submissions accountable (this has to be turned on if you copy the form, the demo files are in the wild and don’t have this option.) The system uses Andrew Stillman's formMule Add-On to email the classroom teacher and a designated point person for each building in a district (the point person in my building is our librarian.) The email includes a copy of the student’s review and a link to the moderation Google Sheet. The first column of the moderation sheet is the moderation column - adding a “1” moderates the review and adds it to the site. Each review can also be edited using the “Form Response” sheet before moderation.

The review keeps the child’s name concealed when a when a review is written, saying instead, “The reviewer is XX years old from XYZ building.” When a teacher reviews a book, the review declares the teacher’s name. Each review has those cool graphic stars indicating the rating and can also display the book cover. The book cover is optional and requires the moderator to add a link on the moderation site to the cover graphic. To make this easier, the moderation sheet automagically links to the book’s page on Librarything. The moderator can visit the link and copy/paste the book cover image URL.

Students can also recommend a book for a type or reader (such as Kids who like scary stories, etc.) The “Type of reader” list on the form is updated via another Andrew Stillman gift, the formRanger Add-On. When a student comes up with a new type of reader it is automatically added to the form.  More on that later.

How to set it up

Don’t let all the stuff going on in this project dissuade you from trying it yourself, the complicated parts are taken care of by the add-ons and functions prepared in the sheet.  What is left to do is list the variables unique to your school, install the add-ons, and add the interface to your website. Lets find out how.

Add the variables

Copy the Moderation Google Sheet and Form. The sheet is already prepared with protected ranges on the moderation page to keep teachers from accidentally deleting formulas.  All of the variables for the form (teacher names, buildings, emails, etc.) are controlled from the “fromRanger” sheet. Navigate to this sheet and add the teachers, teacher emails, and buildings for the participating classes (delete the demo names first!)

In addition to the classroom teacher, each building has a point person to help moderate reviews. The point person in my building is our librarian. Determine who the the point person is for each building and update the emails in the “Point person for moderation” column. Finally, add any genres that you wish to include on the form. Hold off on the “Who would like this book” column, we’ll get to that is a bit.

How to install the add-ons

Installing and configuring add-ons is a little easier than working with scripts on the old Google sheets. We are going to install two add-ons to make this project work: formMule and formRanger. We will install and configure formRanger first.

formRanger

FormRanger is a form add-on and requires you install from the form. Navigate to the “Edit Form” window (from the spreadsheet Form > Edit Form) and click on Add-ons > Get Add-ons. Search for “formRanger” by New Visions Cloud Lab and install. Now formRanger will appear when you click the “Add-ons” menu item. Do this and click “Start.”

The formRanger sidebar will display when you click “Start” and every question on the form will be represented there. Each column from the “formRanger List” sheet needs to be set to update the appropriate question on the form. For example, under “School:” in the sidebar, check the box next to “Populate from values list.” Then click the “Select” menu and choose “New Values List.” You need to point the add-on to the book review Google sheet and specify the “Building List” column of the “formRanger Lists” sheet.  Repeat this action for the “Genre” and “Who would you recommend this book to?” questions.

The "Who would you recommend this book to?" column is updated by student submissions. Submit the form yourself a few times to add a some choices in order to get the list started. Consider items such as "Kids who like funny books." or "Kids who like suspense."

formMule

Unlike formRanger, formMule is a spreadsheet add-on. Install formMule by clicking “Add-ons > Get Add-ons” from the Book Review Google Sheet and search for formMule.  Once installed, click “Add-ons > formMule > Set-up > Choose Source Data and Set Merge Type.” Set the “Moderation” sheet to contain your email addresses and merge source data. Then turn on the time-based trigger to fire every hour. Click next to build your email templates.

The current system has two emails. One is sent to the classroom teacher and the building point person when a student submits a review. Another is sent to the same stakeholders after a review has been moderated. Both of these templates are pre-set if you name the templates correctly. Template 1 should be named “Teacher Notification” and set to trigger when the Timestamp is “NOT NULL.” Template 2 should be named “Moderation Notification” and set to trigger when “Type 1 to Moderate…” equals “1.” You can see these templates and edit them when you click “Next: Edit Templates.” When the templates are edited to your satisfaction, click “Build / preview templates” and formMule is ready!

Using Awesome Table as an interface

The system is ready, all you need is an interface. The spreadsheet is pre-configured to work with the awesome table gadget from Romain Vialard. This gadget is easily embedded in any Google site, making the system highly extensible. The “Awesome Table” sheet must be published for the gadget to work. From the Google Sheet, click “File > Publish to the web” and select “Awesome Table” from the drop down menu. Then copy the link that appears. After you copy the published link, use this tutorial to help you install the Awesome Gadget into a Google Site. Romain Vialard has also composed a comprehensive guide.

Yup. That’s it.

Thanks for making it this far! I’m excited to see if this project gets traction with our students and teachers. Towards that effort, I am helping our fourth grade teachers install the system during their next grade-level meeting. Future plans include gamifying the review process and including a badge system. Please let me know if you use this project - especially if you think of a way to make it better!

Building an Elementary Maker Space

My colleague Peter McKenna started a Maker Space in his elementary school though our district’s unique and wonderful Innovation Grant process. His successes inspired a local movement to build spaces in each of our elementary schools. I set out to build a Space in my elementary school about three months ago and it’s been an interesting ride. The best part has been watching the excitement and curiosity of students in and around the space. I’m far from being an expert (did I mention that it’s been three months?) but I’ll share what I’ve done with the hopes that it could be helpful. This post is going to focus on the physical space.

The Physical Space

Very few actually have a choice about their space. Basically, you work with what you have. You actually don’t even need a space. +Gary Stager has talked about using large storage bins to organize tools so that the maker space could go to the classroom instead of the classroom coming to the space.  For me, I was able to adapt a computer lab that is also a music room two days out of every six. I moved the computers to the perimeter of half the room and was able to find two large wooden tables to be workbenches in the center.

I was lucky to get discarded classroom furniture from Mr. Mike the custodian, including a number of shelving units.The room also has decent cabinets and a sink (big bonus.)  

I’ve scrounged around for as much storage as possible but I’m already running out of places to put things.  Work space is also tight. The tables in the center are great, but some unused countertop would be nice. My big takeaways: get as much storage and counter space as you can.

The Maker Library

I’ve got a growing library to inspire teachers and students alike.  Some books, like the Make Component Encyclopedia and Make: Electronics are used during sessions. This is placed near the soldering station to identify components. Others are meant as idea references. I was able to get my hands on an old Make magazine collection and have subscribed for future issues. So far I’ve picked up the following books:

• LEO the Maker Prince
• Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 1: Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, Switches, Encoders, Relays, Transistors
• Make: Electronics (Learning by Discovery)
• The Best of Instructables Volume I: Do-It-Yourself Projects from the World's Biggest Show & Tell (v. 1)
• The Makerspace Workbench: Tools, Technologies, and Techniques for Making
• Sew Electric
• Robotics: DISCOVER THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE with 20 PROJECTS (Build It Yourself)

The Tools

As you can tell by the library, I decided to lean towards an electronics/robotics space. I invested in several Make:it - Soldering Starter Kits and a bunch of breadboards and multimeters. Radio Shack had a killer deal on Panavise Circuit Board vises so I was able to get two of those. I have a variety of standard tools, hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, power drill and bits. I also have a number of clamps, measuring tapes, combination squares, and a vise. The most intense piece of equipment in my shop is a MakerBot Replicator 5th Generation 3D Printer. It’s new and I don’t have a lot of experience with it, but I’m excited to start printing robot chassis!

What is Going On Right Now

My maker club has several projects in the works.  Students are designing a laptop cart to house the refurbished Linux MacBooks. They are un-making a broken laser printer and working on their soldering skills by desoldering components from it’s salvaged circuit boards. In between projects, students are creating some Paper Craft. It's been a whirlwind three months made possible by supportive parents and amazing kids. I’m looking forward to blogging more about these projects in the future. 

If you're interested in elementary school Maker Spaces, come and join our School Maker Space community!