ASA Tech Tips and News for February 19, 2021

Piggybacking on last week's cybersecurity message, there are a few articles in this week's post about how to avoid online security mistakes that may leave you vulnerable to attack. This is a career for too many, and no organization or user is too small to be at risk. Although it's a little more time consuming to be careful online, you wouldn't leave your home or car without taking a few extra minutes to lock up sould you? It's always good to review best practices every now and then to keep your online skills sharp and and your identity and information safe. Remember, staying safe online isn't just limited to your work email and files, it's also an important practice for your personal online accounts and social media. Humans are almost always the weakest link in any online breach. Don't let it be you!

• Top Cybersecurity Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
• How to Protect Your Mac from Ransomware
• Google Workspace Updates:  Email Aliases Now Included in Gmail Search Results
• How to Pin and Unpin Extensions from the Chrome Toolbar
• Right Click Menu in Gmail
• How to Add an Expiration Date to Emails in Gmail
• 20 Free Interactive Jamboard Ideas and Activities for Teachers at Every Grade Level
• An Easy Way to Loop Videos in Google Slides

Top Cybersecurity Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Which mistake are you making? It's so important to stay safe, and keep your information secure online.

How to Protect Your Mac from Ransomware

How to Protect Your Mac from Ransomware, from How-To Geek by Tim Brookes

In spite of the title, many of the tips are not Mac-specific.

Google Workspace Updates:  

Email Aliases Now Included in Gmail Search Results

What is an alias email? If you've changed your name, or have an old email or different version of your email associated with your current account, that's an alias. Now when you search for email from another user, messages from any aliases associated with their account will also be included in the search results. 

How to Pin and Unpin Extensions from the Chrome Toolbar

How to Pin and Unpin Extensions from the Chrome Toolbar, from How-To Geek by Khamosh Pathak

It's easy to get extension build up in your Chrome browser. Some extensions you need to see to use, and others you don't and can unpin. 

Right Click Menu in Gmail

Take action with a Gmail message without opening it. 

How to Add an Expiration Date to Emails in Gmail

How to Add an Expiration Date to Emails in Gmail, from How-To Geek by Marshall Gunnell

Did you know you can send a Gmail message and make it disappear after a specified amount of time? This is especially helpful when sending confidential messages. 

20 Free Interactive Jamboard Ideas and Activities for Teachers at Every Grade Level

20 Free Interactive Jamboard Ideas and Activities for Teachers at Every Grade Level, from We Are Teachers by Jill Staake

The Smartboard on the wall is so old school now. With so many schools now providing 1:1 (1 device per student) access, the whiteboard can now be in each student's hands. This post includes a tutorial for Google Jamboard, which is part of Google Workspace for Education apps.  

An Easy Way to Loop Videos in Google Slides

An Easy Way to Loop Videos in Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

There are many reasons you might want to have an embedded video play in a loop (over and over) on a slide. Once again, the handy right click menu comes to the rescue. 

ASA Tech Tips and News for February 12, 2021

 Happy Valentine's Day, for those who celebrate. If you love history, as I do, here's the history of St. Valentine and the traditions associated with Valentine's Day from the History Channel. Among other notable events this week, we have also seen multiple warnings about vulnerabilities in Chrome, Firefox Microsoft Office, and Windows. This means they are susceptible to malicious activity unless they are patched. Please show your devices some love and take the time to follow the instructions below to update them. You'll even have some spare time with mid-winter break next week! Enjoy the time off, and stay warm!

• Several Updates Need Your Attention ASAP
• Every Google Chrome User Should Click This Button Now
• Google Workspace Updates:  
• Drive:  Updates to Google Drive File Stream Coming
• How to Give Yourself a Grace Period in Gmail
• Tiled Layouts in Google Meet
• How to Change Your Windows 10 Lock Screen Background
• How to Create Posters and Embed Them Into Your Google Site
• 34 Black History Month Activites for February and Beyond

Several Updates Need Your Attention ASAP

There have been several vulnerabilities identified this week in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Office, and Windows. This means they can be unsafe to use unless they are upgraded, so please make this a priority. Chrome should be upgraded to v. 88.0.4324.150 or above, Firefox to v.85.0.1, and make sure you are running every Windows update your laptop suggests. I know this sounds like a lot of work. The browser updates go very quickly, but you may want to plan at least10-15 minutes for the Windows update(s). All these updates are important for your online safety. Would you continue to drive your car if it wasn't safe to drive? Your tech maintenance is just as important, if not more so. Performing routine updates to any device connected to the network also protects everyone else connected to the network, trust me, you don't want to be the weak link! 

How can you tell what version all of these are running, and how do you update them? Short instructional videos appear below:

• Check version and update Chrome
• Check version and update Firefox
• Check Version and update Windows

Usually you can just let Chrome, Firefox and Windows update themselves, or restart when they prompt you. But when an emergency patch is issued, as is the case now, it's important to know how to check the version and instigate an update. 

Every Google Chrome User Should Click This Button Now

Every Google Chrome User Should Click This Button Now, from ZDNet by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Turn on this easy safety check in Chrome to help you avoid security breaches, compromised passwords or bad extensions. Put a reminder on your calendar to do a quick security check on a regular basis. After checking, feel free to celebrate by doing the Safety Dance (for those of you who remember it...or even knew it existed).

Google Workspace Updates:  

Drive:  Updates to Google Drive File Stream Coming

If you use Drive Filestream for your ASA account or Back Up and Sync for your personal Gmail account to sync your online Drive files to your computer, there are changes coming. Google will be consolidating these services into one later this year. Their goal is to combine the best of these two services into one. The new name for this combined service will be Drive for Desktop. More details will be forthcoming later. 

How to Give Yourself a Grace Period in Gmail

How to Give Yourselfe a Grace Period in Gmail, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

There's a lovely feature in Gmail that allows you to undo sending that message you just accidentally hit reply all on, or sent to the wrong person. Turn it on to avoid senders remorse.

Tiled Layouts in Google Meet

No extensions needed anymore - it's baked in. 

How to Change Your Windows 10 Lock Screen Background

How to Change Your Windows 10 Lock Screen Background, from How-To Geek by Benj Edwards

Need a change of scenery from the standard Windows background? Use your own photo, or even set up a slide show.

How to Create Posters and Embed Them Into Your Google Site

How to Create Posters and Embed Them Into Your Google Site, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

This free site allows you to create wonderful posters, flyers, infographics and worksheets to print, display on your screen or embed in your classroom page.

34 Black History Month Activites for February and Beyond

34 Black History Month Activites for February and Beyond, from We Are Teachers

There are a wide variety of classroom activities here. 

ASA Tech Tips and News for February 5, 2021

 

There are some good maintenance tips this week, such as routinely deleting emails, checking quality of your Meet connection before a meeting, and separating out your personal and professional lives in Google Calendar. With winter fully kicking in this week, it's a good time for some tech maintenance. Maybe it will give you something to do while you're waiting for those funny Super Bowl commercials. The winter doldrums are also a good time to perk up your classroom routine with virtual museum trips or fun Valentine videos. Stay warm and safe this weekend, and hopefully your Super Bowl team wins!

• Why You Should Delete Emails Instead of Archiving Them
• Google Workspace Updates:  Check your Meet Quality Before Joining a Call
• Share Your Personal Google Calendar With Your Work Calendar Privately
• Saving Google Meet Chat and Captions Transcript
• 20 Tips for Using Canvas LMS
• Tour the World with 12 Months of Virtual Museum Trips
• Book Creator Now Offers More Templates and Themes
• 15 Sweet Educational Valentine's Day Videos That Kids Will Love

Why You Should Delete Emails Instead of Archiving Them

Why You Should Delete Emails Instead of Archiving Them, from How-To Geek by Chris Hoffman

Most emails only need to be saved for a short time. Make it a priority to weed those out at the end of each week so you don't have a huge job later.

Google Workspace Updates:  

Check your Meet Quality Before Joining a Call

You are now able to check your audio and video quality before you join that Meet call. Before you click Join, there will be a button to check your audio and video. Click on it, and you can select which microphone, speaker and camera to use (if you have more than one connected or installed). Next, you'll be prompted to record and play a short video sample of you talking to see what you look and sound like. If the sound and video quality aren't what you would prefer, there is a link to troubleshooting tips so you can improve the quality. 

Share Your Personal Google Calendar With Your Work Calendar Privately

Why not just have one calendar for both your personal and professional Life? It's helpful to share your work calendar with co-workers, and you may not want them to see every doctor appointment or date with friends you add to your personal calendar. Not to mention what happens when you put all your personal appointments in your work calendar, and then leave your job (hopefully because you've won the lottery). Google Calender makes it so easy for you to see all your calendars at one time, there's no need to put everything in one calendar. 

Saving Google Meet Chat and Captions Transcript

Saving Google Meet Chat and Captions Transcript, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts

If you need to save a full transcript of your Google Meet, including Chat and captions, here's a tutorial. 

20 Tips for Using Canvas LMS

20 Tips for Using Canvas LMS, from Ditch that Textbook by Matt Miller

These tips come from teachers who use Canvas, and include tutorials for each tip. 

Tour the World with 12 Months of Virtual Museum Trips

Tour the World with 12 Months of Virtual Museum Trips, from Lifesavvy by Amanda Prahl

Virtually visit famous world museums and explore major works of art and artifacts. 

Book Creator Now Offers More Templates and Themes

Book Creator Now Offers More Templates and Themes, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

There are many more options for creating books or magazines with your students. A free book creator account allows you one library with 40 books. 

15 Sweet Educational Valentine's Day Videos That Kids Will Love

15 Sweet Educational Valentine's Day Videos That Kids Will Love, from We Are Teachers by Jill Staake

Have you ever wondered how Valentine's Day got started, or how candy hearts are made? Maybe you need a Valentine song or lesson? Check these out.