Using ICT in Further Education

Using Google Spreadsheet , you can easily import any RSS feed into your blog or website.

Using the attached spreadsheet example, the steps are as follows:

1. Enter the RSS URL in cell A3. 
http://feeds.feedburner.com/FreeResourcesForEducation
2. Enter the following formula in cell D3.
=importfeed(A3, “Items title”, False, 4)
3. Enter the following formula in cell E3.
=importfeed(A3, “Items URL”, False, 4)
4. Enter the following formula in cell C3 and replicate it in the next 3 cells.
=D3
5. Enter the following formula in cell B3 and replicate it in the next 3 cells.
=HyperLink(E3, C3)
6. Select Share, Publish as a web page, Start publishing
7. Select HTML to embed in a page
8. Select Sheet1
9. Enter the cell range.
B2:B6
10. Copy the <iframe> code and select Close
11. Paste the <iframe> code into your blog or website

NB: Set widget=false and add gridlines=false to remove extra unwanted features. Adjust the height and width to suit your site.

Original Spreadsheet:

Resulting RSS feed:

The whole collaborative nature of Google Docs provides a great way for students to keep track of their own progress in completing tasks for any subject area.

It is fairly straightforward to set up a colour coded spreadsheet that will allow students to change the appearance of the document by simply pressing one key.

Just select ‘Format, Change colors with rules…’ and decide on the rules you want to use. If you are not sure how this works then have a look at the settings on this shared document or just select a cell and ‘press the delete key’ to see how easily it works!

I am using the above template with my classes this year and the students have been enthusiastically updating their progress as they go along, without having to be constantly reminded to do so!!

This is also a great way of enabling parents to keep track of their own child’s progress as a non-editable version of the document can be published to the web, as shown below.

First came across this idea looking at Dan Stucke’s own version for his Y11 GCSE class. Many thanks Dan

Exhibit lets you easily “create web pages with advanced text search and filtering functionalities, with interactive maps, timelines, and other visualizations“.

With Exhibit you can create dynamic visualizations of your data collections without having to resort to complex database and server-side technologies. Your data can be searched and browsed using faceted browsing. Various different views including tiles, maps, etc can also be provided.

To keep things really simple, the data can easily be created and accessed from a google spreadsheet.

Although not necessary, a rudimentary knowledge of HTML and CSS is beneficial and will enable you to enhance the basic appearance of the webpage. Several examples are provided to help you get started.

Exhibit would be an excellent tool to support an integrated project involving spreadsheet/database and web design modules.

This website was created with a little data from the International Edubloggers Directory.

NB: Best viewed in Firefox or Chrome. Some formats appear to be lost when viewing in Internet Explorer and sometimes the page is redirected!!