Weekly Tech Tips and News for July 14, 2016

Here are some ideas to keep your mind off the craziness in the news lately. There are some new ideas to try in your classroom, some to help you organize and accomplish tasks, as well as a clue to what your students may be talking about when they return from summer break. Here at school, the summer maintenance continues, the MS lab has moved to a new space and the garden is growing, the ES lab is being transformed and the child care students are keeping cool in the sprinklers. Hopefully you are also finding ways to keep cool and relax.

• Project Naptha
• Manage your To Dos with Google Apps
• Comparing Countries with Google Maps
• 5 Ways to Make Writing More Accessible in Google Docs
• Exploring Tangrams with Google Drawings
• Keep Drive Organized With These Tips
• Pixar in a Box | Khan Academy
• What the Heck is Pokemon Go?

Project Naptha

Although it has an odd name, Project Naptha is a truly helpful Chrome extension, available in the Chrome Web Store, that you do not have to activate or click on to use. It's just always in the background waiting to be helpful, and allows you to copy text from any image to either paste into another file, erase/edit the words on the image, or translate the text into a different language. You can now customize your favorite meme or copy that great inspirational text. These GIFs below demonstrate the three basic functions:

Copy-Paste

Translate

Edit Text

Manage Your To Dos with Google Apps

Keep track of all you to do lists , reminders and tasks across all your devices (laptop, phone, iPad, etc.). Never forget another errand or duty.

Comparing Countries With Google Maps

Comparing Countries With Google Maps from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts

Using the website thetruesize.com students can overcome flat map distortions and compare the true sizes of countries, states, etc. There are excellent tips on how to use the site.

5 Ways to Make Writing More Accessible in Google Docs

5 Ways to Make Writing More Accessible in Google Docs, from Learn Lead Grow by Matt Bergman
Have you ever been frustrated trying to find specific information in a large Google Doc? Do your students struggle with all that typing? Here are some great tips for making those longer docs easier to navigate, including voice typing, table of contents, document outline, research tools, and add-ons.

Exploring Tangrams with Google Drawings

Exploring Tangrams with Google Drawings from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
Do you wish you had more tangram sets so all of your students could use them at once? Maybe you'd just like them to have a good problem solving activity when they have free time. Now your students can work with tangrams on the Chromebooks together or separately. Eric's blog article explains exactly how to use blank templates, pre-made puzzles to solve, and detailed directions how to make your own tangram puzzles.

Keep Drive Organized With These Tips!

Are you still having trouble finding files you created in Google, or those that have been shared with you? It's time to organize, just like you would your paper files.

Pixar in a Box | Khan Academy

Pixar has teamed up with Khan Academy to present Pixar in a Box. This is a way to show students in grades 5 and up how the content they learn in school is applied to making Pixar movies. Who doesn't enjoy a Pixar movie? There's an educator's guide to show you what concepts are introduced and at which grade level for each lesson, as it progresses through the design process. Students can log in using their ASA Google accounts, and earn points as they go.

What the Heck is Pokemon Go?

You are probably hearing a lot about Pokemon Go in the last week or so, it seems to have taken over. People of all ages are running around with their smartphones trying to "catch" little Pokemon critters they can only see on their phones. Then they join forces with others in their area who are also playing Pokemon Go. You can be sure when you reunite with your students, they will be talking about Pokemon Go, so it will be helpful if you have some idea of what they're talking about. This is an example of Augmented Reality - where images or messages are superimposed over what is really there when looking through a smart phone, tablet, Google Glass, or other devices.  Here's a video that gives you an idea of what Pokemon Go is like so you'll have some idea of what your students are talking about.