Friday, December 11, 2020

ASA Tech Tips and News for December 11, 2020

Courtesy of Pixabay
So many new Google Meet features have been released. Google has clearly committed to making this a better tool for education. Just remember to keep using those nicknames when creating Meets, and don't set up Meets with students in Calendar. With such promising news of a COVID-19 vaccine about to be approved, hopefully this will be the last school year where we are doing so much quarantining and remote learning. The skills we've learned in the last nine months can only improve our digital skills in everything we do. 

G Suite/Workspace Updates

Google Assignments:  Improved Originality Reports to Better Detect Plaigiarism

Google Assignments is available through Canvas, and better able to detect potential plagiarism in student work by recognizing symbols. Read the details here. 

Comments:  New Interface in All Apps

The comment interface in Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides has been updated. The interface is larger and clearer, and it's easier to reference a name and reply across all devices. Here are full details. 

Google Docs:  Improvements When Importing PDFs

Now when you import PDFs as Google Docs, images and text wrapping will be preserved, as well as tet styles and formatting, support for columns, tables with borders, custom page sizes and improved ordered lists. Read all about it.

Google Meet:  Accept Knocks in Bulk

This update should arrive by the end of November. The Meeting organizer will be able see a list of all those asking to join the Meet, and admit them all at once. Full details and screenshots can be found here. 

Google Meet:  Virtually Raise Your Hand

No add-ons necessary any more to raise your hand during a Google Meet. This option appears along the bottom bar during a meeting. When a participant raises their hand, the moderator will hear a sound and see all raised hands in the order they were raised. Here are all the details. 

Google Meet:  Additional Features for Breakout Rooms

Breakout room participants can now ask for help, and the moderator will see those requests. The moderator can now also set a timer/countdown that room participants can see. At the end of the countdown, room participants are prompted to return to the main session. Read more here. 

How To Create a New Folder in Gmail

How To Create a New Folder in Gmail, from How-To Geek by Marshall Gunnell
It's so hard to keep track of those messages you need to reference later. Easiest solution? Create folders to organize them. 


How to Share Videos Through Google Drive




How to Use Virtual Backgrounds in Google Meet

How to Use Virtual Backgrounds in Google Meet, from How-To Geek by Joe Fedewa
Need to hide your background during a Google Meet? Change the background! Right now this is only working on the web, not with mobile devices. 

Ten Google Meet Features for Teachers - Fall 2020 Update




Three Ways to Conduct Polls in Google Slides

Three Ways to Conduct Polls in Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Sometimes you just need to quickly find out how your students are feeling about a particular topic. Poll Everywhere, Slido, and the Slides Q&A function will all get the job done. 

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



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