Recently, I went to change what folders synced to my mac at home from google drive but it kept crashing before loading my lists of folders to select or deselect. I did some Googling and found out that the issue was that I had some Emojis in my folder names. I tried to be fancy and it bit me in the butt :) Deleted the emojis, reinstalled Drive and it finally didn't crash on me. Just though I would share.
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I don't know about you but I like a visual surprise to great me on my desktop everyday. Chrome OS does have a "surprise me" feature built in but it cycles through all the wallpapers that Google installs + any you have added. I have a folder of over 3000 wallpapers that I like to scroll through so I wanted a solution that would let me pick that folder and only see my wallpapers. A quick Google search later and I found "Wallpaper Rotator for ChromeOS". This great little chrome addon will allow you to choose any folder and set how often you would like the wallpaper to change. Works great for me!
Hope you enjoy! Mr. Mac I promised a robot round up and here it is. I have had enough time with these bots to feel able to give them a full run down for you. I will introduce each bot and talk about what I think are its strengths and weaknesses. Enjoy mBot is one of the first bots that I got. I was really impressed with the build quality and also the service that Makerblock offered me. I had some issues with the remote and they sent me a new one right away. mBot is arduino based, like most of the bots on this list, made of very strong aluminium and packed with tons of sensors. I really love that mBot is something that you build when it comes because I really think that building the bot helps students to understand how all the sensors, motors and control systems interact. Not to worry though, no soldering is involved. Makerblock has made it very easy to build with plug and click connectors. I also love the amazing apps that allow you to interact with mBot. Its app mBlock (for Mac/PC/Chomebook/iOS and Android) is amazing! I really like the story mode for its mobile apps where you progress through a little story while learning about the functions of mBot and how to program it. I am really happy to see the Chromebook app because many robot companies tie their bots either PC or Mac and forget that many schools are moving towards the lowcost and high return world of Chromebook adoption. I really love mBot and have personally recommended them to dozens of parents to buy for their children to learn about coding. mBot goes to show that you don't need something flashy or gimicky to reach students. Pros:
Ozobot is a bot that I have been working with a lot in the past month. This is because I am designing a summer coding camp for my school centered around this bot. One of the big reasons that we picked Ozobot for this is because of the low cost balanced with some great room for students to expand their learning of coding. Ozobot uses a basic line following system that is augmented by a color based coding system that allows students to control their Ozobot. Ozobot also has a great online blocks based (scratch like) at www.ozoblockly.com. Ozobot is great for very young kids to get into robots and see how they can actually code a bot to do what they want. They are tough, cute and best of all they work very very well. Pros:
Cons:
Sphero is by far one of the coolest robots on this list. Kids go crazy about this little robot inside a clear polycarbonate ball rolling around. I think that as a teacher one should seize on this WOW factor to draw kids in and then show them how programming makes Sphero SPRK+ so much fun. That being said, I have found that the complexity of Sphero makes it harder for young kids to master and therefore they lose interest in the coding side of it. The fact that Sphero SPRK+ is so advanced and forward thinking makes it harder to control and make do what you want. This is great for GROWTH MINDSET but is tricky to keep kids who are not confident engaged.
Pros:
Google is offering its Santa Tracking Website again this year but they have thrown in a very EDU twist. Everyday a new activity is released up until Christmas eve. The activities this year focus on coding, learning about world holiday traditions and translations of holiday sayings just to name a few.
What is really awesome is that Google has taken the time to create lesson plans for K-12 teachers that align with common core and help teachers to incorporate these fun games into their classes! This is a busy time of year and teachers have their old standbys when it comes to keeping the kids engaged but I challenge you to take a second and see what this site offers and show your kids something new! Mr. Mac! edpuzzle.comEdpuzzle.com has been around for awhile but I think it has been overlooked by many and deserves its time in the sun. At my school time is very precious because we are running two programs at the same time (a Korea curriculum and our English one) so our teacher have to do more with less! A great way to do this is using a flipped classroom where the students are tasked with watching a video before a certain class so they can be pre-loaded with the basics. This allows not only for the teacher to save time but also for the students to feel prepared for what they will be doing that day. A perfect tool for this is www.EDPUZZLE.com If you want to spice up your slides backgrounds and make them more dynamic the easiest way is to use HD backgrounds from Youtube and Instagiffer to create a looping gif that you can insert into your slideshow as a background. There is no play button to push and no buffering to slow down your presentation.
Simply, download the video from youtube (I use a Firefox plugin for this) and then load into Instagiffer to create a looping gif. Check it out below! |
AuthorRob is a K-12 educator and administrator with a passion for edtech and using it to make his students lives better and easier. Contact Rob!
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