Thursday, January 28, 2021

ASA Tech Tips and News for January 29, 2021

 

As we wrap up another in-person school week (with the odd remote student sprinkled in for fun) we need to take a moment to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. Teachers have continued to quickly adjust to meet their students' needs, wherever they may be. If there's one thing we've continually demonstrated during 2020 and now 2021, it's our flexibility. Think about how you were doing things in your classroom a year ago, and how much your tech skills have grown and changed in the last year. As we prepare for Catholic Schools Week next week, take a moment to congratulate yourself, and enjoy the festivities!

G Suite/Google Workspace Updates:  

Enable Offline Google Calendar from Computer

You can now turn on the ability to access your Google Calendar when not connected to the internet. Events from four weeks prior, or anytime in the future will be visible and editable. You will need to turn this feature on by following the directions in this this Workspace Updates blog post. You may already be seeing this feature, if not it should be available in the next week. 

Muted Notifications When Screen Sharing

If you've ever forgotten to mute your email, chat or other notifications sharing your screen during a Meet, you'll enjoy this update. While you are sharing your screen, any notifications will pop up with no details. Instead, you'll see this:

This update should be arriving sometime this week. Full details are available in the Google Workspace blog. 

Out of Office Info Displays in Docs Comments

In the next few weeks, if you mention someone in a Docs comment, by using @ before their email address, you will be notified in the comment if they have Out of Office/Vacation Mode turned on. Of course we should always turn on Vacation mode in our Calendar when we are out of the office during normal working hours. Click here for screen shots and full details. 

How to Keep All Gmail Folders Visible in the Side Panel

If you are often looking for the Trash or Spam folders in Gmail, you know there's an extra click on "more" to see them. Save yourself that extra click with this setting change. 

Create an Agenda for a Video Conference from Google Calendar

What is the advantage of linking the meeting agenda right in the calendar link? Everyone can easily find the agenda.



Autofit Text in Slides

Autofit Text in Slides from G Suite Tips
This is a nice little time saver. You'll be able to either shrink the text to fit the box or resize the box to fit the text by clicking on the icon at the lower left corner of the text box. There's a handy demonstration in the post. 

25 Fantastic Free Google Slides Templates and Themes for Teachers

All the heavy lifting has already been done on these slide templates! They also include games that can be played in Slides. 

The Best Ways to Save Articles, Links, and Videos for Later

Why is it that the most interesting articles surface when you have the least amount of time. Use one of these solutions to save them for later. 

20 Teacher-Approved Educational YouTube Channels

20 Teacher-Approved Educational YouTube Channels, from We Are Teachers by Jill Staake
Remember to send me the channel or video URL to approve for student viewing. 

What is DuckDuckGo? Meet the Google Alternative for Privacy

If you're not comfortable with Google tracking your online presence, here's an alternative. 

Common Craft Explains Disinformation

Common Craft Explains Disinformation, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Find out how easy it is to spread incorrect or false information online. 
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