Wednesday, June 23, 2021

ASA Tech Tips and News for June 2021

Charlevoix, MI
I certainly hope everyone is enjoying their summer, whether you are still working or you are enjoying a well deserved break. You'd be surprised how many of us are in the Lower Campus building during the summer. The kids are having a blast, and the pleasant smell of sunscreen lingers in the hallways. There are lots of news and tips in this monthly summer post. Highlights include a video to help you create a formula for creating better passwords, and a required Gmail update for iPhone users before July 7th, but only if you are using the Gmail app on your iPhone. There are a couple updates to Google Meet, one being an assist for Meet hosts, making it easier to see who has their hand raised and the order in which the hands were raised. It should make answering questions a little easier. Also, I shared my recent experience renewing my Google Educator 1 certification, and let me tell you it covers 80% of tasks all of us are already using. Even if you aren't interested in having the certification yourself, taking the prep course at your own pace will definitely help you use Google tools in your classrooms, and reduce a lot of the tech struggle you may experience from time to time. This isn't a huge time commitment, but it will return significant rewards and ease some of your workload. Check out my experience and helpful links below. In the meantime, enjoy the most beautiful season Michigan has to offer.

Tech Tips:  How to Create a Strong Password



Update Gmail App on iPhones Before July 7, 2021

If you use the Gmail app on your iPhone be sure to update the app to at least versions 6.0.210221 or 6.0.210222 before July 7, 2021. If you don't update the app, your Gmail service will be interrupted until you update the app. If you don't use the Gmail app on your iPhone, and access your Gmail accounts through the native iPhone Mail app, you won't need to do anything. Not sure how to update your app? Here are instructions from the Apple support site. You should either set all of your apps to auto update, or check for updates manually on a monthly basis. 

How to Remove Weather and News from Windows 10's Taskbar

Have you noticed the weather now appears in your Windows 10 task bar (along the bottom of the screen)? When you hover over it, you see the latest news. If you like this, you can customize the news topics, but if you find it annoying, you can just get rid of it. 

I Just Took the Google Certified Educator Level 1 Exam and Had a Big Surprise

My Google Educator Level 1 certification expired last year, but with the crazy, busy year we all had, I didn't really have a chance to recertify. This spring I took advantage of a little down time to brush up on my Google skills and complete the Google Fundamentals Training course to prepare for the Level 1 exam. While a lot of the info was review for me, there were still some new things I learned and will use from that course. As a teacher, this course, which is free and you can take at your own pace, will only help ease some of the tech struggle you may experience from time to time, by making you much more familiar with the Google tools at your disposal. Because I was re-certifying, I received the short version of the exam. I remember the first time I sat the exam, I used most of the 180 minutes allowed, and was asked some very in-depth questions. This time I finished in 40 minutes, and panicked thinking I must've missed a section. I was only asked to demonstrate knowledge in the basic areas that we all use on a daily basis - there wasn't one single in-depth question this time around. For a first time exam taker, the test will be a bit longer than 40 minutes, but according to this video by John Sowash, the exam is much easier than it has been in the past. So now is the time to consider adding a Google Educator Level 1 certification to your credentials. Here are even more reasons why teachers should consider at least studying for the exam, and resources to help you. 

ASA Student Google Groups Updated in July

If you email your students at all during the summer, be advised the student Google Groups will be updated to the 2021-2022 grades in early July. I won't be updating the class groups for grades with two classes until those lists are finalized later this summer.

Google Workspace for Education Updates


Google Drive:  Customize the Color of Folders and Shortcuts to Folders



For a long time time you've been able to change the color of folders in My Drive, but now you'll also be able to change the color of folders in Shared Drives. For those of you who love organizing with color coding, this is a welcome addition. You should already be seeing this feature. Here are full details. Not sure how to color code your Drive folders? Here are instructions. 

Google Meet:  Replace Your Background With a Video

This feature is already available in Google Meet. Instead of a static image as your background, you can now use a video background, although be warned that these backgrounds use more of your device's resources and may slow it down or affect your Meet video quality. You also may need to update Chrome to use this feature if you are using a version that is older than 87. (The current version is 91, so hopefully you are updating Chrome more often than that.) The current selections are forest with squirrels and a fox, animated characters sitting in a classroom, and disco party with dancing characters. There will be more options in the future. Hopefully these options will include something a little more useful, like using your own instructional video, or the ability to present your screen as your background. Please find all the details here. If you aren't sure how to change the background of a Meet, follow these instructions. 

Google Meet:  Improvements to Raised Hands


Before the end of June, there will be several improvements to the raised hands feature in Google Meet. 
  • It will now be easier for meeting hosts to see who has their hand raised, and in what order the hands were raised. 
    • The tiles of people with raised hands will be moved to make them more visible in the grid.
    • There will be an audio notification for all participants when the first hand is raised.
    • A clickable notification will appear showing the number of raised hands. When the host clicks the notification, there will be a queue of all participants with raised hands in the order the hands were raised. 
  • Users will no longer have to remember to lower their raised hands, as it will automatically lower after the participant speaks. 
Here are all the details, as well as instructions for using the Raise Your Hand feature in your next Google Meet. 

New Approved for You Section in Google Workspace Marketplace

If you are unfamiliar with the Google Workspace Marketplace, this is where you get  add-ons and Chrome apps. You still get Chrome extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Although faculty and staff members can install any Chrome extension, unfortunately items from the Marketplace must be allowed by the DOGR Google admin before we can install them. This is easily accomplished by sending a request via email. However, until now there was no way to see which add-ons and apps were already approved. This latest update will add an Approved For You section in the Marketplace, so you can easily see which ones have already been approved. Any approved add-ons and apps can be installed. Any that aren't already approved will need to be requested by sending me an email. If you aren't seeing this yet, you should see it very soon. Here are the details. 

How to Forward Google Workspaces Email to Personal Gmail

How to Forward Google Workspaces Email to Personal Gmail from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
If it's easier for you to receive both your work and personal email in one place, follow these instructions. This may be especially handy over the summer.

How to Manage and Free Up Google Photos Storage Space

In case you've forgotten, Google is put storage limits on Google Photos on June 1, 2021. Any new photos added after June 1 will count toward the 15GB storage limit.

Five Features of Canva Presentations You Might be Overlooking

Five Features of Canva Presentations You Might be Overlooking, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Canva is a very versatile tool, that you may want to investigate over the summer. It's so useful for more than just presentations. It will also help you quickly whip up beautiful social media posts, posters, flyers, invitations, infographics, recorded presentations, videos and much more. 

A New Flippity Game Template - Connecto!

A New Flippity Game Template - Connecto! from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Flippity games are easy to create by adding your questions and answers in Google Sheets and using the Flippity template for the game you wish. Their latest game is a digital tic tac toe. 


Five Sources of Summer Math Activities for Elementary School Students

Five Sources of Summer Math Activities for Elementary School Students, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
These can help prevent summer slide, and also reinforce those skills during the school year. 
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