Weekly Tech Tips and News for December 15, 2017

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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.