Weekly Tech Tips and News for October 14, 2016

Fall definitely seems to be upon us now. The school year is well underway, and we are moving on with classroom plans and activities. It's a great time to infuse some new technology ideas into your routine to insert some excitement.  As always if you see an idea you'd like to try, or are having trouble with, please let me know and I'll help you out. If there are topics you find interesting... or not... make a comment in the section below.

• How to Insert Columns into Google Docs
• 5 More Overlooked Google Slides Options
• A Foolproof Solutions to Tech Breakdowns in Class
• A Creative Approach to Project Based Learning
• Who'd Have Thought? Sporcle to the Rescue!
• 5 Neat Things Students can do with Google Drawings

How to Insert Columns into Google Docs

from Free Tech 4 Teachers, by Richard Byrne

We've been waiting for this feature for a long time. I touched on it in last week's blog with the rest of the Google updates. Here is a video showing you how to insert them into your document.

5 More Overlooked Google Slides Options

from Free Tech 4 Teachers, by Richard Byrne
This is a follow up to last week's post. These five options include importing slides from PowerPoint, rotating images, including charts in your slides, custom personal dictionary, and making comic templates.

A Foolproof Solution to Tech Breakdowns in Class

A Foolproof Solution to Tech Breakdowns in Class from Ditch That Textbook, by Matt Miller
It happens. We've all experienced it at one point or another. The website that crawls, the app that eats up too much bandwidth and won't load for everyone, the internet goes out...  It's always good to have a plan B, but sometimes how we handle it is more important than what we end up doing instead.

A Creative Approach to Project Based Learning

I Made My Classroom Look Like the Real World - and Test Scores Soared, by Anthony Johnson, from eSchool News

I was fascinated by this teacher's account of how he simulates real life in his classroom to promote learning to which all students can relate. Because it is something that resonates with their lives, they are more likely to retain what they have learned. An added benefit is that his test scores have been boosted as well. See what you think.

Who'd Have Thought? Sporcle to the Rescue!

Who'd Have Thought? Sporcle to the Rescue! from A Lever and a Place to Stand by Amy Roediger
Do you have facts you want your kids to memorize? Maybe some terms they need to be able to recall at a moments notice? States? Addition or Multiplication tables? Sporcle takes flashcards to a whole new level. Students try to get as many answers correct from a visual hint (images or words) in a timed period. You can either create your own quizzes or use some of the million quizzes already created by others.

5 Neat Things Students can do with Google Drawings

from Free Tech 4 Teachers, by Richard Byrne

Did you even remember Google Drawings existed? Have you ever used it? It's actually a very useful tool for things like cropping or changing the shape of images, applying an image filter, having students label an image or diagram, word art, and creating charts. In addition to these suggestions, I've also seen teachers use Drawings to create thinking maps with students.