Tech Tips and News for June 19, 2020

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<sigh> Of course, with any new disaster, comes new scams. This pandemic is no different. There has been a marked increase in COVID-19-related email phishing scams. Now that there is more testing for Corona virus, scammers have graduated to contact tracing text message scams. Contact tracing is important for understanding the spread of illness. Please take a moment to read about how to tell the difference between a legitimate contact tracing text message and a scam message. On another safety subject, please also take a minute to read the post about free education apps. Not all free apps are safe to use with children, nor do they comply with children's online safety and privacy. Find out how to tell if the one you want to use is OK to use with your students.

• Watch for COVID-19 Contact Tracing Text Message Scams
• 6 Tips to Ensure Free Education Apps Are Safe
• G Suite Updates:  
• Google Docs Assistive Writing Features Coming to G Suite for Education
• New Document Save Status and Offline Indicator
• Edit Calendar Events Directly from Gmail and Docs
• Improvements to Google Meet Layouts
• How to Share Your Screen in Google Meet
• 5 Ways to Edit Images in Google Slides
• 5 Things You Should Know About Using Video in Google Slides
• A Few Basic Settings to Know When Uploading to YouTube

Watch for COVID-19 Contact Tracing Text Message Scams

Watch for COVID-19 Contact Tracing Text Message Scams, from Rehman
Contact tracing is how the Health Department tracks the spread of disease by finding out who has been in contact with an infected person. Of course, scammers are taking advantage of this legitimate process. A true text from the Health Department will only inform you of the contact with an infected person and advise you to quarantine. It will NOT contain a link for you to click. Please read this article for all the ways you can identify and protect yourself from these scams.

6 Tips to Ensure Free Education Apps Are Safe

6 Tips to Ensure Free Education Apps Are Safe, from Tech & Learning by Carl Hooker
Many free apps for students do not comply with laws designed to protect children and their personal information. Any app or site you wish to use with your students must comply with FERPA, CIPA and COPPA laws. Tip number 4 in this article, really should be tip number 1 - if an app or site doesn't comply with children's protection and privacy laws there's no need to proceed to the other steps. Another good resource for vetting a children's app or site is commonsensemedia.org.

G Suite Updates:  

Google Docs Assistive Writing Features Coming to G Suite for Education

Smart Compose and Autocorrect will be added to Google Docs for education this by the end of June. At this time the user (meaning the students) will be able to turn this on or off, but there is no way to turn it off for all students at the administrative level. While this is a very helpful feature, it may interfere with the ability for teachers to assess a student's actual grammar comprehension. We are told there will be administrator controls by the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. Read full details here.

New Document Save Status and Offline Indicator

In Docs, Sheets and Slides files, take a look at the icons next to the title. There is now a new one that indicates the file has been saved to drive, and if the file is available for offline editing. It's also a good way to check if you are online. The message will say Saved to Drive if you are online, and Saved to Device if you are offline. This is also a handy shortcut to making a document available for offline editing. By clicking on the icon, you can turn on/off offline editing.  Full details and demonstrations are available here.

Edit Calendar Events Directly from Gmail and Docs

In Gmail and Docs, the Calendar app icon has been added to the task bar on the right, allowing you to edit calendar events without the need to switch over to Calendar. You can also use the find a time feature in Calendar from that side panel. You should already be seeing the calendar icon in the side panel.

Improvements to Google Meet Layouts

Google is improving the layouts in Google Meet to include the ability to see all participants when someone is presenting their screen. This choice is called Tiled View with Presentations. When you select it, Meet will automatically save it as your preferred layout. This update should be available now.

How to Share Your Screen in Google Meet

How to Share Your Screen in Google Meet, from How-To Geek by Khamosh Pathak
See how to share your entire screen, just a tab, or a window with others in a Google Meet.

5 Ways to Edit Images in Google Slides

5 Ways to Edit Images in Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Change the shape, add shadows, crop the image and more.

5 Things You Should Know About Using Video in Google Slides

5 Things You Should Know About Using Video in Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Did you know you don't have to play the entire video in a slide, or that you can make a video automatically start?

A Few Basic Settings to Know When Uploading to YouTube

A Few Basic Settings to Know When Uploading to YouTube, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Some settings are very important when sharing videos with students. You'll want to know how to keep videos unlisted, and how to turn off comments, among other helpful tips.