Tuesday, November 30, 2021

12 Days of Christmas - Guided Math Activity in Google Sheets

The "12 Days of Christmas" is a famous Christmas carol that most everyone sings, but not everyone finishes! In addition to being a classic wintertime song, it also contains a lot of opportunities for exploring math concepts.

Some of the math concepts that could be covered include addition, number patterns, number series, representing numbers in a chart, drawing conclusions from a chart, and more.

To help students explore these ideas, I have created a Google Sheets template that guides them through several tasks and questions about the "12 Days of Christmas". Since this is a Google Sheet, the activity also helps students learn about spreadsheet skills such as entering data, creating formulas, making and editing charts, and more.

See below to get your own copy of this Google Sheet template, along with a short tutorial video and some written directions to get you and your students started. And apologies in advance if the tune gets stuck in your head!

Monday, November 15, 2021

What's New in Google - November 2021

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from November 2021, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our November 2021 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:
  • Connect Google-using educators
  • Share the latest Google Workspace news and features
  • Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
  • Share best practices of how Google Workspace is being used within schools
  • Ask questions and get answers
The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the November 2021 meeting:

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Build a "What I Am Thankful For" Turkey with Google Slides

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now is a great time for all of us to pause and think about what we are thankful for.

To help out with this I have created a Google Slides activity for your students. With this template your students will build a turkey where each of the feathers will display things that the student is thankful for.

Optionally the students can also use the Mote Chrome extension to record themselves explaining what they are thankful for, and adding that audio to their digital turkey.

See below to get your free copy of the "What I Am Thankful For" Turkey template, as well as a short video and detailed directions on how to use it.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

My 2021 Midwest Ed Tech Summit Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the Midwest Ed Tech Summit (METS 2021) in Wisconsin Dells, WI on November 9th, 2021.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can see all of the details for the Midwest Ed Tech Summit at:

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at METS 2021, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Google Docs Calendar Templates for the 2022-2023 School Year

Last year I created some Google Docs templates for a colleague who was looking for a simple one-page document to show important calendar dates for an entire school year. The templates were a big hit and many people found them to be helpful.

Although it still feels like the school year has just gotten started, I have received several emails lately from folks asking if I have made a version for next year ... the 2022-2023 school year.

So for all of you super organized people who are already planning for the next school year, I am happy to say, yes, I have versions for 2022-2023. See below for the links to get your own copies of these templates, as well as some basic directions on how to edit them for your own use.