Spreadsheets are terrific - we've all used them. I particularly like Google spreadsheets - I use them all the time to collect data, usually from students. Go to Google Drive Make a form Send the form out to the students Wait All the data gets dumped into a Google spreadsheet. The trouble is, what to do with it once it's in the spreadsheet. The other day, I wrote on a few basic stats for our upcoming SHIP program.

A few weeks ago, I noticed this Twitter conversation between Alfred Thompson and Steve Keinath I briefly considered proposing a session for the conference but it was just a day or two before the deadline, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to attend the conference, and besides, who said anything I proposed would be accepted. Still, I liked the idea - I’ve been an educator for 23 years, a Linux user for most of that time and an Unix user for longer.

Starting the new semester tomorrow and I've got a whole bunch of interesting topics to blog about. Some about pedagogy, some technical, and some that I can't really catagorize. For now, though, just a brief follow up on using Subversion for homework collection. The basic model used in New York City for teacher improvement and evaluation is the official "observation." Either your supervisor or the principal sits in on one of your classes.

Ok, not subversion, rather subversion, the version control system. I've used subversion as a way for students to hand in their projects for years. I haven't used it with my intro classes as I think the learning curve is a little steep and the benefits few, but for A.P. and beyond (juniors and seniors) it's worked very well as a method of collection and I think it's good to get the kids in the habit of using versioning systems.