ASA Tech Tips and News for April 25, 2020

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• The Best COVID-19 Tracking Apps and Websites
• Over 500 Million Zoom Accounts Found for Sale on the Dark Web
• Create a Consistent Communication Schedule by Using Gmail's Scheduling Feature - Here's How to Use It
• How To Teach From Home, Pain-Free
• G Suite Updates:  Present High-Quality Video and Audio in Google Meet
• Video Series: How to Use Google Hangouts Meet
• An Educator's Resource for Distance Learning, Remote Learning and eLearning
• Missing Your Whiteboard? How to Use Jamboard Without Owning a Jamboard
• Updated:  Google Jamboard Add Images
• Free Google Drive Workshop
• How to Create Annotated Screen Capture Images
• Screencastify for Remote Teaching

The Best COVID-19 Tracking Apps and Websites

The Best COVID-19 Tracking Apps and Websites, from How-To Geek by Joel Cornell
New apps and websites claiming to track Coronavirus are an opportunity for scammers, please make sure you get your information from valid sources.

Over 500 Million Zoom Accounts Found for Sale on the Dark Web

Over 500 Million Zoom Accounts Found for Sale on the Dark Web, from ReviewGeek by Josh Hendrickson
If you use Zoom for keeping in touch with friends and family during the Stay Home order, you NEED to read this article. At the very lease change your password, at best, read the article to find out how to adopt better password management practices.

Create a Consistent Communication Schedule by Using Gmail's Scheduling Feature - Here's How to Use It

Create a Consistent Communication Schedule by Using Gmail's Scheduling Feature - Here's How to Use It, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
If you use Gmail to communicate with students, and possibly parents, you can schedule your messages in advance. You can also do this in Infinite Campus by entering the date and time you want the message to send in your template.

How To Teach From Home, Pain-Free

How To Teach From Home, Pain-Free, from Tech & Learning by Brian Nadel
As painful as the stay home transition has been, it doesn't have to be physically painful.

G Suite Updates:  Present High-Quality Video and Audio in Google Meet

This will allow you to share video and audio in a Google Meet by sharing a tab. This new feature will be available anytime between now and May 1, 2020.  Full details can be found here, and a demonstration is available in the video below. 

Video Series: How to Use Google Hangouts Meet

Video Series: How to Use Google Hangouts Meet, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
Here is everything you may have wanted to know about Google Meet in bite size pieces. The basics are included, as well as some security features and whiteboard tools.

An Educator's Resource for Distance Learning, Remote Learning and eLearning

An Educator's Resource for Distance Learning, Remote Learning and eLearning, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Tools, lesson planning, assessments, videos for students, and more are available in this list.

Missing Your Whiteboard? How to Use Jamboard Without Owning a Jamboard

How to Use Jamboard Without Owning a Jamboard, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Are you missing your interactive or physical whiteboard? One of the G Suite for Education apps in your app "waffle" is Jamboard. Jamboard, without a physical board, becomes a virtual interactive whiteboard, and it works and interacts just like the rest of the Google apps. You and your students can collaborate in Jamboard, just like you could when you were together.

Updated:  Google Jamboard Add Images

Updated:  Google Jamboard Add Images, from Tom Mullaney
You can now upload images from your device into your Jam.

Free Google Drive Workshop

If you're new to Google Drive, or even if you are proficient,  you may find some time saving tips in this workshop, offered through Google Classroom by Alice Keeler. Navigate to classroom.google.com and join the class with code 3of4u5j.

How to Create Annotated Screen Capture Images

How to Create Annotated Screen Capture Images, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
A picture speaks a thousand words. Sometimes it's easier to make a point or give an instruction with an image that you can draw on - maybe with an arrow, or circle an area.

Screencastify for Remote Teaching

Screencastify for Remote Teaching, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
Sometimes it's both easier and quicker, for all involved, to demonstrate how to do something, than describe it. Maybe you want to read a story to students. Just because you are no longer in the same room with your students doesn't mean you can't still demonstrate something or give up storytime! Screencastify is a free Chrome extension.

ASA Tech Tips and News for April 10, 2020

I hope you were able to take a week to breathe, relax and rejuvenate during Spring Break. Although, being the dedicated educators that you are, I've heard from a few of you this week, so I know you are still working, and basically being there for your students and parents. The job you are doing is more difficult these days, but you have all risen to the occasion, and very quickly figured out how to switch to an online teaching format. So many parents have communicated their appreciation for all you do. Take a minute and look at all the tweets that have been posted nation-wide who feel the same way. Pat yourself on the back and gear up for finishing the school year strong together...apart. You've got this!

• 26 Tweets From Quarantined Parents That Prove How Underpaid Teachers Are
• What Miss Manners Might Recommend for Video-Chat Etiquette
• Some Great Add-ons for Hangouts Meet to Help Teachers
• Use Read Receipts to Make Sure Students Know They Have Google Classroom Assignments
• 6 Ways to Secure Your Zoom Chat and Why You Need To
• How to Create Simple Videos on a Chromebook - No Apps or Extensions Needed
• Three Ways to Make Whiteboard Videos on Your Chromebook
• 20 Virtual Field Trip Ideas and Activities for Your Classroom

26 Tweets From Quarantined Parents That Prove How Underpaid Teachers Are

26 Tweets From Quarantined Parents That Prove How Underpaid Teachers Are, from We Are Teachers by Jaime Santos
If you need some appreciation for all the hard work you are doing right now, read on! It's about time society started showing teachers some love.

What Miss Manners Might Recommend for Video-Chat Etiquette

I received this gem in an email newsletter from Ask Woody. It was written by Lincoln Specter.

You've been stuck in the house for weeks. You've lost any skills you might have had for talking to others — especially when they're not in the room. Follow these few rules so people won't think you're an idiot, slob, jerk, or troll.

• What are you wearing?! Sure, you're at home, but that doesn't mean others have to see you in stained sweats, a Power Rangers bathrobe, frayed pajamas, or something less. Business suits are not required, but do try to be presentable.
• What's in the background? If you let window light flood the room behind you, no one will see your face. In other words, check your lighting. Also, take down those potentially rude or offensive items within the webcam's view. The Zoom service lets you apply generic virtual backgrounds, but they might just make you look weird (see Figure 5).Figure 5. Zoom's virtual background can do really strange things to your image.
• Check, check. Is this thing on? Before the planned meeting, party, etc., make sure everything is working. Zoom, and undoubtedly other services, includes an AV test.
• Don your headphones. Depending on your room's acoustics and the volume of your speakers, you might get intolerable feedback. And if you have kids at home, you'll definitely get feedback. Dig out your headphones and test them. Better yet is a good pair of USB headphones with an attached mic.
• Hey! You're not paying attention. Place the video window as close to the camera as possible. That'll give others at least the impression you're following their conversation. And look into the camera when you talk!
• Introductions, please. If there are people in the virtual meeting who don't know each other, start with a round of introductions. And if someone comes late, call them out — and then do the intros again.
• Give me that number once more. If you need to give specific information such as an address or phone number, use text chat rather than speech. The info can be easily copied to somewhere more permanent.
• Let others get a word in edgewise. Sure, you like to hear yourself speak, but others … maybe not so much. And if Aunt Edna is droning on and on about her toy poodle, raise your hand. One family group reportedly agreed to signal a speaker timeout by moving themselves out of camera view.
• Beware of trolls! There have been numerous reports of unwanted "guests" crashing virtual parties — especially if the sign-in information was posted on public areas such as Facebook. Avoid this problem by sending invites via text messages, email, phone calls, or other private communication channels. You can also assign a participant as a co-host, so if trolls manage to get through, you'll have someone who can help block them. For more info, check out the PC Magazine article.

Staying in touch: As we've all discovered, it's a strange new world we're living in. Isolation is a real and significant problem that video-chat tools can help alleviate. But most of all, keep calm and stay healthy! We truly are all in this together.


Lincoln Spector writes about computers, home theater, and film and maintains the blog, Bayflicks.net. His articles have appeared in CNET, InfoWorld, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications.

Some Great Add-ons for Hangouts Meet to Help Teachers

Some Great Add-ons for Hangouts Meet to Help Teachers, from Educational Technology Guy by David Andrade
You may have already heard of Meet GridView, but have you tried Nod? This is a good way for muted students to quickly respond to a question without un-muting. If you would like me to push this out to students, please let me know.

Use Read Receipts to Make Sure Students Know They Have Google Classroom Assignments

Use Read Receipts to Make Sure Students Know They Have Google Classroom Assignments, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Read Receipts in Gmail can be used for any reason, not just Google Classroom. Not sure if your students received their assignments, or the latest Hangouts Meet invitation? Send the messages with Read Receipt and you know.

6 Ways to Secure Your Zoom Chat and Why You Need To

6 Ways to Secure Your Zoom Chat and Why You Need To, from Make Use Of by Gavin Phillips
Zoom has become a wonderful tool for connecting with friends and family, but it is not very secure or private. This is why we are not using it for students. There are a few precautions you can take to make it less hackable, if you are choosing to use it for your personal use, but it still won't be completely private.

How to Create Simple Videos on a Chromebook - No Apps or Extensions Needed

How to Create Simple Videos on a Chromebook - No Apps or Extensions Needed, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Easy to create and save the video as long as you don't need to edit it.

Three Ways to Make Whiteboard Videos on Your Chromebook

Three Ways to Make Whiteboard Videos on Your Chromebook, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Missing your white board in the classroom? Here are some ways to make videos with a virtual white board.

20 Virtual Field Trip Ideas and Activities for Your Classroom

20 Virtual Field Trip Ideas and Activities for Your Classroom, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Right now virtual field trips are the only field trips that will be happening. Visit National Parks, have a Hangouts Meet with someone from the community, or play a game together online.

ASA Tech Tips and News for April 3, 2020

OK, so here we are at Spring Break, which for most of you will probably not look much different from any other week lately, except you won't have to teach. Most likely your environment won't change to much, since most Americans are under a Stay Home order. I hope you are able to find new and creative ways to stay entertained and sane! Be sure to take a look at the Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions webinar below. It's an entertaining approach to giving you tips and introducing you to new tools to use both now, online, as well as after this crisis ends. I know it's hard right now to think about things finally getting back to normal, but your tech skills will be SO improved by then! Pat yourselves on the back again for the crash Ed Tech course you are nailing! I've long know you are able to do this, I'm glad you are seeing it now too. Enjoy your week off!

• How to Disinfect Your Mouse and Keyboard
• G Suite Updates:  Create Shortcuts in Google Drive for Files and Folders
• Create Video-Based Lessons a Little Faster With This Chrome Extension
• Webinar Recording - Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions
• Free Course - A Teacher's Guide to Creating Common Craft Style Videos

How to Disinfect Your Mouse and Keyboard

How to Disinfect Your Mouse and Keyboard, from How-To Geek by Tim Brookes
Good tech hygiene is so important right now.

G Suite Updates:  

Create Shortcuts in Google Drive for Files and Folders

This is designed to make it easier for files and folders to appear in more than one place. Store the file or folder in one place, and create a shortcut to it in another. You should be seeing this feature soon. Here are the full details.

Create Video-Based Lessons a Little Faster With This Chrome Extension

Create Video-Based Lessons a Little Faster With This Chrome Extension, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
This allows you to turn a video into a lesson, without creating your own videos, although you can use your won videos if you want to.

Webinar Recording - Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions

Webinar Recording - Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
This link will give you access to last week's webinar by Rushton Hurley and Richard Byrne. It's very entertaining, as well as informative. You can join it live every Friday (so you can ask questions) at 1pm ET. In addition to taking questions, they demonstrate new resources and tips. There are some great free resources in there, and they are not just limited to online learning resources. Here are the resources discussed in last week's episode.

Free Course - A Teacher's Guide to Creating Common Craft Style Videos

Free Course - A Teacher's Guide to Creating Common Craft Style Videos, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Common Craft style videos use cut outs to clearly and concisely explain a concept. This course is not usually free, so now is your opportunity to learn this new skill.