blog.opensourceteacher.ca
Open Source Teacher: April 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_04_01_archive.html
Tuesday, April 22, 2014. Conditionally Formatting Entire Rows. A few weeks ago at the Ontario Google Apps for Education Summit. I lamented that there currently is no way to apply the conditional formatting to an entire row based on the contents of one cell within the row. If that's a bunch of gibberish to you, picture this menu in your spreadsheet:. Basically, you set up rules and you can change the cell's background colour or text colour based on the contents of the cell. It took some time, since I had ...
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Open Source Teacher: Award or Recognition?
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2015/06/award-or-recognition.html
Friday, June 5, 2015. This post contains abundant opinion not backed up by research or fact. It's just how I happen to feel. On Twitter, I caught an interaction. Two educators whom I respect and admire. They were discussing the idea of awards, and how we simultaneously ask our students to ignore them while at the same time, celebrate them in popular culture. Oddwe don't want kids to have awards assemblies but we are completely behind all sorts of adult awards. Shouldn't those end too? There have been sit...
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Open Source Teacher: November 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_11_01_archive.html
Monday, November 17, 2014. Changing Things for the Better. In both situations, I looked at the problem and the solution that was proposed, and felt like I could make things better. And I feel like that's been the motivation behind why I became an educator: because I honestly believe that I can make things better than they are right now. It's going to take time, work, and a good measure of frustration, but in the end it'll be worth it. My friend Michelle Cordy. Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom ).
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Open Source Teacher: Why I Don't Rehearse
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2015/06/why-i-dont-rehearse.html
Sunday, June 14, 2015. Why I Don't Rehearse. The big turning point in my anxiety came during high school, when I performed in a jazz band. We had to improvise, on stage, and there was an entirely different preparation process. Instead of practicing, note by note, I had to take a different approach. Improvisation isn't just "making things up". Build a solid foundation. Allow the experience to happen. This one took a long time to learn. I still get nervous. I still shake sometimes. But instead ...Rehearsal...
blog.opensourceteacher.ca
Open Source Teacher: August 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_08_01_archive.html
Tuesday, August 12, 2014. Images in Calendar Events. I recently tried to figure out how to get an image to be a part of a calendar event. In the course of doing some research, I discovered that developers can use the Calendar API to create events gadgets. With custom icons and images attached to them. However, this would probably require writing some code, and I didn't have the time or energy to devote to doing it properly. I was looking more for a quick and easy solution. That happened to me today.
blog.opensourceteacher.ca
Open Source Teacher: June 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_06_01_archive.html
Monday, June 30, 2014. Why I'm a Google Fan (but it's okay that you're not). A while ago, I wrote a three-part blog entry about why I'm not an Apple fan. But it's okay that you are. After the past couple of days, I wanted to follow it up with why I'm a Google fan, but it's okay that you're not. The work that other people have put into it (and published on sites like steegle.com) can help me, too. Give a little, get a lot. But it's not always easy. So if you're not as excited as I am about something new, ...
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Open Source Teacher: December 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_12_01_archive.html
Thursday, December 4, 2014. On Becoming a Google Certified Teacher. Image courtesy of Kasey Bell. I had the opportunity to go to Austin, Texas this week to attend the Google Teacher Academy. It was an intense experience, to say the least. Two long days of learning, sharing, and problem-solving, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. Trying to put it in words is like trying to keep a cat in the bathtub - it's difficult. It can be frightening to attempt something new that is untested. I want to tackle...
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Open Source Teacher: January 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_01_01_archive.html
Friday, January 10, 2014. The Wisdom of Classrooms. I have begun reading a fantastic book called "The Wisdom of Crowds," by James Surowiecki. In it, the author states that the conclusions arrived at collectively by a group are more reliable than those made by individuals, even expert individuals. This has inspired me to apply what I'm learning to my teaching practice. My mind immediately raced to a Google Form, and a script called formRanger. Using the script, and the instructions John Calvert. That mean...
blog.opensourceteacher.ca
Open Source Teacher: September 2014
http://blog.opensourceteacher.ca/2014_09_01_archive.html
Thursday, September 25, 2014. I wrote a blog post! I wrote a blog post for Learning Bird. Check it out at http:/ blog.learningbird.com/alternative-education/. Saturday, September 13, 2014. Trick Out Your Google Site. Read Sites Tips and Hacks. My first version was, admittedly, pretty basic. Nothing fancy, maybe too many colours, things weren't as organized as I'd wanted. I had a plan in mind, but I was having some trouble figuring out how to get to where I wanted to be. Her comments were incredibly posit...
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