Doc Stickers: Google Docs + Google Keep=Brilliant Feedback Idea! Guest Post by Stephanie Filardo

Stephanie Filardo: Photo credit
Valerie Callan Photography

Guest Blog Post by Stephanie Filardo, follow Stephanie's blog here and find her on Twitter here. 

Stephanie is currently a teacher in St. Louis, Missouri

I remember getting papers back with stickers and stamps as a kid.  While I may not remember the specific assignments and what I learned from them, but I remember how it made me feel when I saw a sticker or stamp on them.  While my teachers were just taking stickers from a page and adhering them to all of the student papers, it meant something because they took them time to do it.  They didn't have to do it, they cared enough to do it.  It meant something to read "Excellent!" "Great job!" "A+!" and even better when it was the coveted scratch-n-sniff sticker!

This idea is brought to you by the wonderful integration of Google Docs and Google Keep.  Enjoy!

Today, I'm excited to tell you about DocStickers! If you can give me 90 seconds of your time, this video is worth a watch! Otherwise, continue below.

One of my students asked for this sticker,
so I made it. I may have to provide grape 
bubblegum with it for the full effect though!

With most of my assignments having gone digital, I still want to be able to bring this joy to my students.  I've kicked this idea around for a while, but there really wasn't a seamless way to get images/digital stickers into a Doc...until the latest Google Keep update (in Docs).  So while I can't bring you a way to make your student papers smell like grapes, cherries, or bubble gum, I can show you a way to bring the joy of stickers to your students' digital assignments.  DocStickers was born!

Example of a DocSticker in a student assignment.  "Now you're flying!"

Check out the Original Post for some pre-made DocStickers, templates, and tutorials for you to get started (link opens in a new window):

FREE DOC STICKERS HERE: Original DocStickers Post on i3algebra.blotspot.com

One thing I want to make VERY clear.  This isn't about turning a worksheet into a digital assignment just to add a sticker to it.  It isn't about creating more work for you as a teacher.  It IS about helping you give feedback to students (and making your grading time a little bit cheerier).  It IS about making sure we aren't just "passing back" (returning on Google Classroom) assignments without some sort of feedback.  Much of the work my students do has gone digital.  This was true in my math classroom, and it is a reality in my computer science classes.

There are many forms of feedback I utilize and this is a complement to written and/or verbal feedback.  Can it be more than that?  I hope so.  The Google Keep integration lets you insert more than just images, and Keep is very much a lesser known tool despite its power for cross-device bookmarking, shared lists and notes, etc....the possibilities are seemingly endless.  I look forward to sharing more ways you can utilize this tool both as a teacher and with your students.

I have high school students who remember getting stickers and stamps on their work when it was handed back.  And although it may seem childish, they miss it.  They miss the way it made them feel; .I want to make sure that joy doesn't go the wayside as we go paperless.


Tweet me @i3algebra #DocStickers I'd love to know what you think!

If you would like to share this idea (edcamp, tips session, etc) I'd also love to collaborate with you to help you share this idea in the greater context of student feedback.

Quick-Start Flyer

Top 5 Reasons To Build Your Next Brochure With MyCreativeShop.com

By: Dustin Hodgson
Title: Co-Owner of MyCreativeShop

NOTE FROM AMY: I'm super excited about MyCreativeShop because they offer thousands of some of the highest quality templates available online. It’s important to note that MyCreativeShop is a paid service. However, If you’d like to avoid the membership fee, you can print your project with them during your trial, then they’ll waive the design fee and cover the cost of your stock images, thus making it a free design to print service. If are searching for a FREE solution, try Lucidpress or Canva (with your own images).

Consider this a warning… Not everyone is creative, but YOU can be!

Before I get into my top 5 list, I’d like to explain what I mean by my statement above. You see… I've been in graphic design for several years now and the number 1 thing I heard from co-workers regarding design was, “... but I’m not creative, so you do it”. There are plenty of designers documenting what not to say to a graphic designer, but that one stuck out to me the most.

NOTE FROM AMY: Keep reading to see an awesome poop graphic. Yes you heard me, poop.

In the early years I enjoyed hearing this, because it made me feel like I was a great asset to the team. Then I realized that the more I heard this, the more work I’d have to do. It's like when your wife tells you that you're so good at doing the laundry and many laundry loads later you realize she has again outsmarted you.

With my responsibilities increasing, I started finding myself using elements from my previous designs & researching existing layouts for inspiration, in order to save time. This typically resulted in a much better design and the production time was a fraction of what it used to be. Most designers get to this stage and they stay here, however, I didn't want to stay at this stage.

It was at this point that I teamed up with the founder of MyCreativeShop, Jason Frueh. Over the next 3 years we made it our mission to create a better way for people to design, manage and print their marketing material online.

Now 3 years later, we're happy to say MyCreativeShop.com is not just an online brochure maker. It's the next stage of graphic design and it allows anyone to be creative.



Here are my top 5 reasons to build your next brochure with MyCreativeShop

Speed

With 1000s of templates to choose from and multi frame editing tools like our color theme picker. You’ll find yourself flying through the stage that typically takes up 70% of a graphic designer's time. For an analogy… This is similar to pouring the foundation and framing the home.

See how quickly we transformed this blank layout into a dental brochure?



Consistency

Whether you're a small business owner producing your own marketing material or an agency managing multiple accounts, it’s important to have consistent branding. From the colors to the layout, we make it easy to keep your messaging consistent. Create a custom theme to match your brand colors or choose from our own themes. You can then apply this theme to any template you produce.

Organization

Never lose another project in the many black holes located on your computer. All of your designs are safely stored in your account located on our website.

Accessibility

Where there is wifi, there you will find your projects. This is great for people that have a computer at work and at home.

Perfect Print
Most graphic designers don’t understand the printing process. We simplify this process by building all of our templates to industry standards. The process gets even easier if you choose to print with us.


They say the best ideas come from solving problems that you recognize in your day to day tasks. We’ve solved a lot of the problems we’ve faced managing graphic design files and we’re passing those benefits on to you.

As of today, MyCreativeShop.com, has 1000s of unique templates for brochures, flyers, postcards & business cards. Start your free trial today at www.mycreativeshop.com.

Best Wireless Headphones EVER for under $60

I love these headphones so much that it would be wrong of me not to tell you about them. I'm not recommending them for work so much as for pleasure, though I love them in all settings. They connect to my phone via Bluetooth--no wires-- and work flawlessly with my iPhone 4s and Galaxy Note 2 (though I must admit I've never been able to get them to hold a connection to my MacBook Pro, that doesn't matter much for me) . I use them to hear something besides what's going on in my house all the time and they allow me to remain calm and composed when something loud and annoying is happening that would normally stress me out. I also wear them in the bathtub, though I'm sure this isn't safe, so don't try this at home. I'm an expert :-). And I wear them in the store so I don't have to talk to anyone unless I feel like it (think #introvertgift). After a few hours my ears start to hurt, but so far, I have never found a pair of headphones that stay on where this is not the case, and these are more comfortable than most.

I am a sound freak. I carry these speakers with me almost everywhere I do presentations because no one else's are ever good enough, and to me, these headphones sound just as great as the speakers. If you normally spend $500 on headphones, I can see how you would probably have higher expectations. I, however, do not, and for around $60, I am not sure unless I did a side-by-side I could tell the difference anyway. If you strongly disagree with me and would like to send me a truly great pair of headphones, please go right ahead!

I don't normally endorse products, and at this time, I do not make one dime off this blog, and I am sure Creative doesn't need my help, so don't feel compelled to buy these things unless you are just looking for a great set of bluetooth headphones.

I love them so much I'm thinking about buying another set so I never have to wait for these to charge, and also, what if they stop making them?!? Hmmmm. Anyone have the next step up with the micrpohone? If so, let me know how you like them.

Oh, one final thing, they use a mini-usb charger which is the same as my Galaxy Note 2 and old trusty Kindle. Handy!