Doctopus. Or How Do You Hand Things Out?

http://www.youpd.org/doctopus

So, how do you hand things out in a paperless class?

With the coming of the paperless classroom, that is soon going to be the question.  If you don't use a course management system like Moodle, you have a real issue.  My school district is moving slowly toward a Google Apps For Education approach.  Paper assignments should soon be rare.

The obvious way to handle paperless assignments in one of our traditionally paper classes would be to have the student share his work with the teacher.  This student ownership of the work does create problems.

For instance, I don't know how many different ways there are to spell my name, but I am sure there will be some new ones that come up when students HAVE to get it right to set up the sharing of the document.  Name the document something other than the teacher is expecting and there will be some problems as well.  Students have been know to delete files they shouldn't.  And how do you file all of the incoming work to evaluate it?  The 21st century version of the dog ate my homework has arrived.

Andrew Stillman has developed a Google script that turns this issue on its head.  It is called Doctopus.  Who should own the document?  The teacher should.  That way you know it was delivered.  You can also control how it gets shared.  You can send differentiated assignments.  You can see when it was worked on.  You can even turn off the editing to stop work so you can evaluate it.  Powerful stuff.

There is even a partner extension for embedding rubrics into the student document called Gobric.

You keep track of class work via a Google Spreadsheet.  Just follow the link the script generates to see the work.  Keeping track of where things are is automated.  All the teacher needs to keep track of is the spreadsheet.

Kid looses an assignment?  Just re-send the link.  Where is that dog now?

When I first read about Doctopus in my Twitter feed, I got excited.  I was just talking to our computer teacher who was complaining about how much time she was putting into sharing Google Docs with the student ownership plan.  Her estimate about how much time she is saving with the Doctopus approach is 10 minutes per assignment.  That can add up fast.

Look for Andrew's video walk through at youpd.org.  There are some other tutorials on YouTube.  If you don't use a course management tool, you need Doctopus.

Take the Train!

Spring Break and Easter, next thing you know the weather and calendar might actually align and we get Spring around here.

This blog is always about something tech-y and I think I can make the connection with vacation and technology.

First some old technology.  We took the train to Chicago.  Loved the train.  Wide seats, lots of leg room and power for all the devices.  The space is soooo much better on the train.  I am 6'3" and 250 pounds.  I know what good leg room looks like.

On the train you can hook the phone up to the computer and you have a rolling internet cafe.  Which was actually kind of handy for last minute trip planning and bird identification.  (The Sandhill Cranes are back for the season!)  Google Maps and Earth are good to help explain where we are to the kids too.  Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul is pretty scenic too.  Must have seen 50 Bald Eagles.

Yes, it may be slower than the airplane, but the train drops you off in the city.  No long ride into town.  It is cheaper than flying too.  We made the trip in about 7 or 8 hours.  Better than driving.

If you have the time, take the train.

MakeMusic This Week

www.makemusic.com

It was a busy week at MakeMusic.

The new pricing schedule for SmartMusic seems to have caused a ruckus with band directors.  Enough so, that the plan is on hold and will probably be revised.  

Hopefully, that moves quickly as the my school is asking what the band fee should be for next year.

We are using SmartMusic everywhere a kid can access the internet.  Including the home computer.  We have been getting a bulk-purchase price.  It is some work, but I think it is worth it.  Subscriptions for everyone!

The cheaper plan (but not nearly as comprehensive) is for the teacher to order enough to cover his practice rooms and send/receive his assignments through SmartMusic Grade Book.  Students do their work at school.

That might be too good a deal for the teacher and student side.  Server space does cost someone money.

So it will be interesting to see how this shakes out. There is a need to cover the costs AND a need to not tick-off the customer. What is the magic price? 

The other thing happening over at MakeMusic is the purchase of the company by LaunchEquity.  MakeMusic is going private.  Hopefully, that just means we can't follow the company as close as we have by watching the quarterly reports.  LaunchEquity is putting some money into the company, so it is hard to believe they would do anything drastic enough to upset the business.  That is probably another reason why the pricing is under review.  Hopefully, they remember that school music programs with big fat budgets aren't exactly commonplace.

MakeMusic is Bought Out

http://techinmusiced.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/launch-equity-acquires-makemusic/

Visit Tech In Music Ed for some analysis.

I really hope that MakeMusic can continue to deliver SmartMusic and the tools that support it.  It has really made a difference in my teaching practice.  I have no reason to believe they won't, but this kind of change always makes me nervous.

Copper Street Brass was Here Yesterday.

http://www.csbq.org/

Every once in a while something comes along and you remember why you got into teaching.

Yesterday was one of those days.

My teaching partner is constantly looking for listening opportunities for our students and has the energy to chase down grants to make those opportunities happen.  Thank you Westonka Foundation, Target Foundation and Band Boosters for your generosity.  Let me assure you it was money well spent.  Thanks, Gretchen for making it happen.

The Copper Street Brass Quintet has as varied a repertoire as any brass quintet that I have heard.  I was expecting baroque and got Brubeck and Adele too.

Virtuoso players and a great rapport with the young audience made for an enjoyable afternoon concert in our "gymnacafatorium."  It is hard to entertain and teach middle schoolers the day before a long weekend, but this group held their attention well.  We have pretty darn good kids here, but you have about 2 minutes to impress our kids before they check out on you on a day like this.

Performance-wise, I was impressed with the members of the group.  Frequently, brass quintets seem to be forums for show-casing trumpet players.  This group has the trumpets to do that, but the horn, trombone and tuba get their chance to shine too. (and BOY do they!)  It has been a while since I have heard masterful trombone, tuba and horn soloing.

Spreading things around like that will do wonders for my program, if for no other people than my low brass players.

Thanks again to everyone who made it happen.

If you get the chance, check out the CSBQ.  Visit their website.  Have them over.  It will be good.

You Probably Know What I Mean

NWEA
OLPA
NWEA(AGAIN)
OLPA (AGAIN)
MCA (Reading)
MCA (Math)
MCA (Science)
NWEA(Yet AGAIN)

Throw in on some years:
BST
ACT

If you understand all these initials, you probably know what I mean when I say, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?...."

I would say that we are getting a little obsessive-compulsive about testing, but not even the obsessive-compulsive are this obsessive.

I bet we give up 3 weeks of time a year to figure out what the school staff already knows.  I would rather the staff used that time to keep pushing ahead in their curricular areas instead of doing test prep and testing.

Another scary part of this is there are people at the state level that write and track this stuff.  Couldn't we just use someone else's tools?

Testing is not really teaching.  It may be what you remember about school, but it is not supposed to be the point of school.

Let's get some of this off our kids' and teachers' collective backs.

FileMaker and Common Core

http://www.filemaker.com/solutions/ios/demos/common-core-on-the-go/

FileMaker sent me a press release yesterday about some iOS templates that people are offering.

Maybe you didn't know that FileMaker Go is a great way to get custom tools made for your iPad, iPod, iPhone.  FileMaker Go is free and it uses FileMaker (a bargain in my mind) as its authoring tool and host.  This set of tools is flexible, powerful and easy to understand.

Anyway, browsing the offerings I saw some interesting things for sales, time management, events and things like that.  Good stuff and worth a look.

On the list of "Ouch! Why Didn't I Do That First?" was the template for tracking Common Core Standards.  Import your kids' info and away you go.  A nice little 1-3 rating scale that works just by clicking on the field makes it easy to use.  I'm not sure where I am at with Common Core, it looks to me like the next-big-deal-make-those-students-and-teachers-work-harder-but-I-could-be-wrong-fad.  If you are looking for an easy way to keep track, here you go.

If it is on paper making work for you, take a look at FileMaker and FileMaker Go.  That combo can make things easier.