Waffle Bytes

I've been asked a couple time how to get the new features as soon as Google releases them when part of a Google Apps for Education account.  First, know that only Super Administrators in the GAFE account are able to set this.  Second, I encourage you to consider strongly the pro & cons to turning this on if you have kids on your GAFE account. That being said, I do enjoy being able to try out new features as they appear so get why others don't like to wait :-) Here is how to turn on automatic Rapid Release of new features: Once logged in to the Admin Dashboard, click on Company Profile Then click on Profile: Look about 2/3rds of the way down the options for the New User Features and New Products options.  Rapid release enables new features as they are available.  Scheduled release is on a delayed schedule. Automatic provides new services to users as they are released Manual requires site Admin to add new services

Registration is open for the MI Moodle Moot 2015, hosted at Mid Michigan Community College in Mount Pleasant on Thursday, January 8 (preconference workshops) and Friday, January 9 (Moot).  Sessions are available for Moodle users of all levels - those new to teaching online and blending instruction with Moodle, veteran Moodle using instructors, and Moodle administrators.  Registration is $40 per day. On-site registration will be an additional $10.  SCECHs are available for additional cost.  Go to  http://mimoodlemoot.org  for more information.  Follow MI Moodle Moot 2015 on Twitter @ #mimoodlemoot ! Registration can be found here       Highlights Sessions for both K-12 and higher education 8 different half day hands-on preconference workshops including workshops for new Moodle users, experienced Moodle users and Moodle administrators 28 different hour long breakout sessions at the Moot, with many sessions providing...

Calling All School Leaders! The Digital Leadership for Learning Day will be held Thursday, August 14 at Parma-Wstern High School.  The day is designed for Principals, Curriculum Directors, Superintendents, Technology Directors and Teacher Leaders. Learn what it means to be a digital leader and bring back new techniques and strategies to effectively establish a vision and implement a strategic process that creates a teaching and learning culture that provides students with essential skill sets. The day's keynote speaker is Eric Sheninger .  Eric is the award-winning Principal at New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ. His work focuses on leading and learning in the digital age as a model for moving schools and districts forward.  Check out his blog:  A Principal's Reflection s.

What:  High Efficiency Administrator PD  - a professional development opportunity for administrators to learn about and practice implementing using technology to more efficiently communicate with stakeholders and save time. When : You choose between two options for the face-to-face kick-off: Face-to-Face Kick-Off (only attend one) August 6 11:30-1:30 at Calhoun ISD (Registration  link here .) August 11 9:00-11:00 at Branch Area Career Center (Registration  link here .) Google Hangout Online - August 20 4:00-5:00 Goggle Hangout Online - September 3 4:00-5:00 Face-to-Face Celebration Showcase - September 17 8:00-10:00 Attend at either Calhoun ISD OR Branch Area Career Center Cost:  FREE to administrators in Calhoun and Branch counties Please note that this is a blended course - you will be completing many activities at times which are convenient to you.  These will be shared with your cohort both within the course and at the last face-to-fac...

  Unbeknownst to many, there are various question types that can be added to Moodle to make quizzes more flexible - and more like some of the question types students may see elsewhere (read that - national testing...).  I'm going to demonstrate various question types over the next several weeks. Open University has created a whole host of question types.  Today we are looking at the "Drag and Drop Into Text" question.   Here is a video overview of how to set it up and use it: (This question types working on Moodle 2.1 forward; I am showing it running on Moodle 2.4. This addition must be added to your Moodle server by a Moodle Administrator.) Moodle Plugins - Drag & Drop into Text   Drag & Drop into Text   Documentation

Isn't it great?  With Moodle 2 people can now submit customizable themes!  Now (if I have one of these themes) I might be able to: easily change my logo, change some of the color choices, or even some additional changes.  What is available depends on the theme. Here's the video (if you prefer written instructions, they are below): Suggestions of actions to take first if you are planning on experimenting with this: Turn ON "Theme designer mode" in the Theme Settings Make the theme you are experimenting with the set them in the "Theme Selector" so you can see your changes (of course, if your site is live, so will everyone else) Click on the name of the Theme you wish to customize (here I'm picking Afterburner... because it is at the top, not because it's any better/worse than any of the other themes) Make the desired changes, "Save changes" at the bottom.  Refresh the site to see the changes. Some notes: If...

Another easy customization that can be added to your Moodle 2 site is header/footer information specific to your site.  Again, prior to Moodle 2 you had to hack into a theme and add this information (requiring knowledge of PHP, HTML, and CSS).  Now, it is a customization that can be added to any of your themes using the web browser and logging in as the Moodle Administrator.  Unlike creating a custom site menu, if you do want to "pretty it up" you do need to know (or lookup) some HTML. Here's the video (if you prefer written instructions, they are below): To add a custom header and/or footer to your site, login as the Moodle Administrator.  In the Site Administration area, click on the Appearance link, then select Additional HTML. This will give you and area to type in the information you want in the header, body and/or footer area on your Moodle site.  (For most if not all themes, the BODY information is displayed immediately after the HEAD informa...