Weekly Tech Tips and News for December 21, 2017

2017 K.Szczytko 
William Peace University, Raleigh, NC

Here we are, the last day of school before Christmas break, and the final days before Christmas. The anticipation level keeps rising in the classrooms and hallways, culminating with the students bursting out of the school this afternoon, ready for their week and a half break. I'm sure the teachers will not be far behind. As you go forth, ready for family, fellowship and celebration, stay safe and find time for some relaxation, peace and rest. When the excitement of Christmas subsides, maybe you'll be ready to tackle some new tech tricks in the new year. Make sure you check out the Santa Tracker before Christmas, and the site for getting rid of all your junk snail mail. Peace and blessings to all of you!

• G Suite Updates:  Menu and Toolbar Changes in Docs and Slides
• Google's Santa Tracker is Back with More Holiday Goodies
• An "Ah-Ha!" Moment Using my Favorite Text to Speech for Emergent Readers in G Suite
• A Tip for Unorganized Google Drive Users
• Crash! Bang! Boom! How to add Google Drawings Comic Strips to Your Class
• Three Good Ways to Create Instructional Animations
• Say Goodbye to Paper Catalogs and Junk Mail

G Suite Updates:  Menu and Toolbar Changes in Docs and Slides

Changes have been made to the menus and toolbars in Docs and Slides to make them more consistent. According to the G Suite Updates blog, the following changes have been made:

• In Docs and Slides, “Lists” in the Format menu has been renamed “Bullets and numbering.”
• In Docs and Slides, “Show spelling suggestions” has been renamed “Spelling” and moved from the View menu to the Tools menu.
• In Docs, “Document outline” has been renamed “Show document outline” and moved from the Tools menu to the View menu.
• In Slides, “Import slides” has been removed from the Insert menu.

These changes are expected to appear shortly after the first of the new year.

Google's Santa Tracker is Back with More Holiday Goodies

Google's Santa Tracker is Back with More Holiday Goodies, from Chrome Unboxed by Gabriel Brangers
Think of the Santa Tracker as a digital Advent calendar, with a new interactive activity every day. On December 24th, it will track Santa's progress all night. Now there is also a Santa Tracker Chrome extension for your Chrome browser so you can defrost your screen and keep a count down going to Christmas. If you are out and about on Christmas eve, there's also a Santa Tracker app for Android.

An "Ah-Ha!" Moment Using my Favorite Text to Speech for Emergent Readers in G Suite

An "Ah-Ha!" Moment Using my Favorite Text to Speech for Emergent Readers in G Suite, from Teaching Little Techies by Robin Limpert

Continuing with her Text to Speech series, Ms. Limpert explains the usefulness of having words from websites read aloud. 

A Tip for Unorganized Google Drive Users

A Tip for Unorganized Google Drive Users, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

If organizing your files in folders doesn't come naturally to you, check out these search tips for finding them again. 

Crash! Bang! Boom! How to add Google Drawings Comic Strips to Your Class

Crash! Bang! Boom! How to add Google Drawings Comic Strips to Your Class, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Comics always catch kids' eyes, and they can be instructional too. They love reading them, and they love making them, so why not use them in both ways? Step by step instructions are included in this post.

Three Good Ways to Create Instructional Animations

Three Good Ways to Create Instructional Animations, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

Here are some free, simple tools when you need to quickly animate a concept - no artistic ability required.

Say Goodbye to Paper Catalogs and Junk Mail

I don't know about you, but I hate receiving paper catalogs - especially here at school. We receive multiple copies of the same catalog, none of which are ever read. The same goes for other unrequested junk mail. It's such a waste of money and natural resources, but trying to remove yourself from all these mailing lists is such a huge time commitment. Not anymore. I recently discovered the wonder of CatalogChoice.org. This is a free service, but you will need to create an account and sign in.  After your account is confirmed, start cancelling catalogs and other junk mail. It helps to have the mailer(s) in front of you so you have all the pertinent info ready. For each one you cancel, you will be directed to that company's opt out web page, and even provided with the text to copy/paste into the message. In the dashboard you can view your Opt-Out History and see how many natural resources CatalogChoice has saved.

Weekly Tech Tips and News for December 15, 2017

maxpixel.freegreatpictures.com

This week's post is arriving a couple days early, as I will be out of town for the rest of the week. My husband and I are putting our proud parent hats on and traveling to celebrate his youngest daughter receiving her Masters degree from North Carolina State. Hopefully our flight isn't delayed due to the snow storm that seems to be in full swing. As is fitting for advent, we are definitely in a state of anticipation:  preparing for travel, waiting to be reunited with family, anxious to celebrate such a hard-earned accomplishment, and looking forward to a brief break from the snow. Just like the preparations and waiting for Christmas and our family celebrations, most things that we accomplish take preparations, feeling anxious with the unfamiliar, waiting while we master it, and looking forward to using the newly learned skill. The same is true for advancing your technology knowledge and skills. See what you can learn from this week's post or any of the previous posts listed in the archives (in the right column).

• G Suite Updates:  Changing How You View Photos and Videos in Google Drive
• 9 Gmail Tips You Need to Know
• EDU in 90:  Quizzes in Google Forms
• Voice Typing in Google Slides
• How to Force a Docs Copy with Pre-Loaded Comments to Help your Students
• Take a Snapshot Alternative for Docs, Slides and Drawings
• Turn Your Phone into a Google Slides Remote Control with this Chrome Extension
• 20 Great Podcasts for Educators (and how to get them)

G Suite Updates:  Changing How You View Photos and Videos in Google Drive

Google Drive currently uses
a tab for Google Photos.

If you have integrated Google Photos with Drive, you see a Google Photos tab in the left column, like the image at right. In January, this tab will disappear. You will still be able to access your Google Photos in Drive by creating a Google Photos folder in My Drive. To create folder in My Drive, follow these steps from the Google Drive Help Center.
Create a Google Photos folder

1. You can move photos and videos into a folder, but the folders won’t become albums in Google Photos.
2. On your computer, open drive.google.com.
3. Click Settings  , then Settings.
4. Check Create a Google Photos folder.
5. Click Done.

You may not see this option in your Settings menu until January.

9 Gmail Tips You Need to Know

9 Gmail Tips You Need to Know, from Better Cloud Monitor
Do you know how to do an advanced search when looking for messages? Did you know you can undo a sent email or turn on Email Read Receipts? Enhance your Gmail skills and save yourself some time with these tips.

EDU in 90:  Quizzes in Google Forms

If you haven't yet discovered how easy it is to give and grade quizzes in Google Forms now, (without any add-ons) check it out now.

Voice Typing in Google Slides

Voice Typing in Google Slides, from Teaching Little Techies by Robin Limpert
Show your younger students how to use Slides, even if their writing and keyboarding skills are not yet developed.

How to Force a Docs Copy with Pre-Loaded Comments to Help your Students

How to Force a Docs Copy with Pre-Loaded Comments to Help your Students, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
Did you know you can force someone you've shared a doc with to make a copy when they open it? Yes? Great! Now it's also possible to force someone to automatically make a copy AND keep any comments that have been made in that document. Comments do not have to be something you add after a student submits work. You can pre-load comments to provide extra instructions and resources too.

Take a Snapshot Alternative for Docs, Slides and Drawings

Take a Snapshot Alternative for Docs, Slides and Drawings, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
You may not have noticed it, but a recent update has removed "Take a Snapshot" from the Insert Image menu. Here's a work around.

Turn Your Phone into a Google Slides Remote Control with this Chrome Extension

Turn Your Phone into a Google Slides Remote Control with this Chrome Extension, from The Next Web by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Tired of being tied to your computer when presenting with Google Slides, but don't want to spend money on a remote? Use your phone with the Remote for Google Slides Chrome extension.

20 Great Podcasts for Educators (and how to get them)

20 Great Podcasts for Educators (and how to get them), from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Podcasts are a great way to listen and learn while doing something else. I would add one more podcast to the list:  The Chromebook Classroom by John Sowash. If you aren't interested in downloading a podcatcher app, you can download or listen to any podcast directly from the web, iTunes and Google Music Play.

Weekly Tech Tips and News for December 8, 2017

Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette
St. Michael's Church, Ballinasloe, Ireland

Today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception, meaning the Blessed Virgin Mary was born with out the stain of original sin. This feast was not widely celebrated until the mid 19th century. Although the concept of the Immaculate Conception had been debated in the Church for centuries, it was after Mary appeared to St. Bernadette at Lourdes and proclaimed "I am the Immaculate Conception", that it acquired more significance. It was officially declared part of the Catholic Church dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854. There is your abbreviated Church history lesson for the day.

Returning to the technology theme of this blog, there are lots of tips for everyone this week. Learn how to speed up your Windows PC, personalize your Gmail, play holiday games and create cards. For math teachers, find out how you can create math quizzes, and other math games and resources. Check out the topics below and learn something new.

• How to Refresh and Maintain Your PC's Performance
• How to Use a Custom Background in Gmail
• Making Google Forms Quizzes with Math (Free, Easy and Quick)
• Seven Tips for Getting More Out of Google Slides
• Play "Mystery Animal" with Google
• Math Games and Resources
• Four Alternatives to YouTube Kids
• What's a Holiday Without Kahoot!?
• Holiday Greeting Card Creators for Kids

How to Refresh and Maintain Your PC's Performance

How to Use a Custom Background in Gmail

How to Use a Custom Background in Gmail, from How-To Geek by Michael Crider

So many of us love to customize our computer wallpapers and themes to reflect our personalities. Did you know you can do the same to your Gmail account? There are a wide variety of themes from which to choose - or you can use your own image. Mine is the colorful, blown glass by the artist Dale Chihuly. What will yours be?

Making Google Forms Quizzes with Math (Free, Easy and Quick)

Making Google Forms Quizzes with Math (Free, Easy and Quick), from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
Yes, Math teachers, you too can automate your quizzes!

Seven Tips for Getting More Out of Google Slides

Seven Tips for Getting More Out of Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
There are some really great tips here, such as adding fonts, masking or editing your image, getting help with Explore, and more.

Play "Mystery Animal" with Google

Play "Mystery Animal" with Google, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
Looking for a fun way to kill time, but also teach questioning skills and critical thinking skills? Mystery Animal by Google is a great choice.

Math Games and Resources

Math Games and Resources, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
There are 16 different sites listed in this post, for both Elementary and Middle School ages. Suggest them to kids and parents for drilling those skills, or have your students use them in class.

Four Alternatives to YouTube Kids

Four Alternatives to YouTube Kids, from How-To Geek by Justin Pot
Many complaints lately have highlighted that YouTube Kids is not completely kid-safe anymore. Here are four truly safe viewing options for your kids.

What's a Holiday Without Kahoot!?

With several holidays approaching, of course there's a Kahoot! for that. They'e outdone themselves this year with a calendar, where they will be adding a new holiday-themed Kahoot! each day during December. These games will cover all of this season's holidays:  Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year. There's even a contest to go with it. Check out the calendar and full details on the Kahoot! holiday page.

Holiday Greeting Card Creators for Kids

Holiday Greeting Card Creators for Kids, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
This year when your students are creating greeting cards, try making them digitally, using Storyboard That or Canva.

Weekly Tech Tips and News for December 1, 2017

Pixabay.com

I cannot believe it's already December! Snow will not be far behind thanks to the approaching Polar Vortex, with Christmas on its heels. Here's a pre-Christmas gift for math teachers:  the premium version of the EquatIO chrome extension is now FREE for teachers. See the post below for details. Other tech goodies to try include a Sheets add-on to help you make certificates, Classroom tips, help creating your own crossword puzzles and a game about ecosystems. In the learn something new category, did you ever wonder what the difference is between shutting down your PC, putting it to sleep (that sounds a bit harsh, doesn't it?) or hibernating it? Watch the short video below to find out.

• Should You Hibernate, Shut Down or Put Your PC to Sleep?
• Clean Up Email Addresses in your Gmail Auto-Complete List
• G Suite Updates:  Copy Comments and Suggestions in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
• Using the About Tab in Google Classroom
• Document Studio Google Sheets Add-on
• Hooray! Free Premium EquatIO for Teachers!
• Teaching With Crossword Puzzles from Read Write Think
• A Fun Game About Ecosystems

Should You Hibernate, Shut Down or Put Your PC to Sleep?

Clean Up Email Addresses in your Gmail Auto-Complete List

Clean Up Email Addresses in you Gmail Auto-Complete List, From Better Cloud Monitor
Isn't it irritating when you are composing a new email, and as you begin entering the email address, waiting for the full address to pop up, it's the wrong address, or an address that no longer exists? Here's how to fix that.

G Suite Updates:  Copy Comments and Suggestions in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

Previously, when making a copy of a document, sheet or slide, you could only make a copy of the file - not any comments or editing suggestions that may have been added to it. With this latest update, when making a copy of a file, you now have the option of copying the comments and suggestions along with it. There will be an additional checkbox in the Copy Document options box. You should start seeing this update now. Full details are available in the G Suite Update blog.

Using the About Tab in Google Classroom

Using the About Tab in Google Classroom, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
If you have information to share with students, that you don't want to get lost in the stream, put it in the About tab.

Document Studio Google Sheets Add-on

Document Studio Google Sheets Add-on, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Looking for a way to easily make certificates for your students? Here's a new add-on for Google Sheets to help you with that.

Hooray! Free Premium EquatIO for Teachers!

Hooray! Free Premium EquatIO for Teachers! from A Lever and a Place to Stand by Amy Roediger
There have been posts about the EquatIO Chrome extension for math before, but now the premium version is free for teachers.

Teaching With Crossword Puzzles from Read Write Think

Teaching With Crossword Puzzles from Read Write Think, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Looking for another way to test those vocabulary and language skills? Try the crossword puzzle generator from Read Write Think. You can customize it by grade level, and by adding your own words and descriptions. You can also print it out for students to complete.

A Fun Game About Ecosystems

A Fun Game About Ecosystems, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

If you are looking for an interesting way to teach your students about how all members of an ecosystem depend upon one another, or just an acceptable game for your students to play during free time, Feed the Dingo may be the answer.