ASA Tech Tips and News for October 29, 2021

It's a short issue today, but then I suspect that most classroom staff are very busy with Halloween festivities anyway. I hope the tricks are few and the treats are many! Hopefully none of those tricks will be malware on any of your devices. This week's focus for Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Malware and Ransomware. Learn what it is and how to protect yourself against it. Have a festive Halloween weekend and keep the ghouls and goblins away. 

• Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Malware/Ransomware
• Insert Images from Google Search in Google Slides
• How to Sync Google Contacts with iPhone or iPad
• Teaching with Google Arts & Culture
• An Easy Way to Make an Animated Video in Canva
• 15 Parent-Teacher Conference Memes That Are All Too True

Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Malware/Ransomware

Malware can come in different forms and cause issues in different ways, but all malicous software is called malware. Here's a good description. Ransomware is malware that locks up your files until you pay a ransom. Paying a ransom doesn't always guarantee you'll get access to your files again, however, so it's important to back up your important files. 

Insert Images from Google Search in Google Slides

Insert Images from Google Search in Google Slides, from Workspace Tips

There's no need to open a new browser tab to search for an image for slide. 

How to Sync Google Contacts with iPhone or iPad

How to Sync Google Contacts with iPhone or iPad, from Workspace Tips

Your ASA account is just an education Google account. It's easy to add to your iPhone or iPad.

Teaching with Google Arts & Culture

Teaching with Google Arts & Culture, from The Keyword by Lucy Schwartz

You may recall that Google Arts & Culture is a resource for everything from dinosaurs to art selfies, giving access to over 2,000 of the world's great museums, galleries, and historic sites. Google Arts & Culture has released a new Teacher Guide to help teachers better understand how to use the platform, discover content, and engage their students. There are lessons and resources available there as well.

An Easy Way to Make an Animated Video in Canva

An Easy Way to Make an Animated Video in Canva, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne.

It's easy to do using the new video editor in Canva.

15 Parent-Teacher Conference Memes That Are All Too True

15 Parent-Teacher Converence Memes That Are All Too True, from We Are Teachers by Malia Bartek

Conferences will be here before you know it, and everyone needs a little comedy relief. 

ASA Tech Tips and News for October 22, 2021

This week for Cyber Security Awareness month is the topic everyone skips - backing up your files. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a hard drive or phone fail and the device owner is distraught because all their files and photos are gone. You often cannot get those baby pictures back, they're just gone forever. In addition, if you become the victim of a ransomware attack, you will not need to pay the demanded ransom if your files are backed up. You can wipe your device and and reinstall. Stop waiting to get around to it and make sure you are regularly backing up your files this week. In addition to the back up rant, there is also an upcoming change to the way we dial local numbers. Your cell phone carrier has probably already alerted you to the need to include the area code when placing local calls. Sunday it will start to be required everywhere in the 616 area code. Wondering why this is happening or what you need to do to prepare for it? Read the article below.

• Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Back Up
• New 10-Digit Phone Dialing Requirements
• Infinite Campus Maintenance Schedule
• Google's Applied Digital Skills:  150+ Free Tech Lessons
• Ten Skills Students Can Learn from Google's Applied Digital Skills Lessons
• How to Create a Folder in Google Docs
• How to Share Documents on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
• Five Helpful Google Keep Features for Students
• How to Place Images Behind or in Front of Text in Google Slides
• Halloween Choice Board
• Progressive Choice Boards:  Provide Choice Without Overwhelming

Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Back Up

It's so important to back up your key files. Ransomware demands are becoming so common, it's not a matter of if you'll be attacked, it's when. Backing up those key files means they remain safe in the case of malware, ransomware or even a simple hardware failure. It also means you won't need to pay the ransom! This isn't just limited to  your laptop. Your mobile device needs to be backed up as well. Think of all those photos you'd lose! Here's a helpful article from How-To Geek, by Chris Hoffman, to show you the best way to back up your computer. It covers many options and several devices. 

New 10-Digit Phone Dialing Requirements

Beginning on Sunday, October 24th, you will need to dial the area code + the 7-digit number when making local calls in the 616 area code. Some carriers may even require entering a 1 first, even though it's a local call. This will be the case for both land lines and mobile devices, but they may handle them differently. I've found my mobile device, which uses Verizon as the carrier, does not require a 1 first, but the school phone does, as it uses a different carrier. Test it with your phones to see what your carrier requires. You will want to take the time to update the phone numbers in your contacts list so your phone calls them the correct way. Why is this happening? It is being done to allow the use of 9-8-8 as a direct link to the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline, similar to how calling 9-1-1 is a direct link to emergency dispatchers. 

Infinite Campus Maintenance Schedule

Infinite Campus will be down for routine maintenance Saturday, October 30th, 11am - 3pm.

Google's Applied Digital Skills:  150+ Free Tech Lessons

Google's Applied Digital Skills:  150+ Free Tech Lessons, From Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts

This is important for adult educators as well as students. These lesson plans cover a wide range of tech tools, topics and grade levels. Search for courses by age level, by digital tool, by topic or theme. This is a great way to brush up on your Google training and help students develop theirs! There is a detailed video explaining how it works. The Start Teaching link will introduce you to the lesson plans and videos available to use. The Start Learning link is geared toward adult learners learning on their own, and will introduce you to free lessons, job-ready skills, project based lessons and videos for tech novices. If you are not familiar with Google Workspace tools (Docs, Drive, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, etc.) check out the Google Workspace Training.

Ten Skills Students Can Learn from Google's Applied Digital Skills Lessons

Ten Skills Students Can Learn from Google's Applied Digital Skills Lessons, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

There are over 150 free lesson plans for using Google Workspace tools with students. Richard focuses on 10 valuable skills for students to learn, such as building healthy digital habits, time management, evaluating the credibility of online sources, story planning, mind mapping, and more. 

How to Create a Folder in Google Docs

How to Create a Folder in Google Docs, from How-To Geek from Mahesh Makvana

Yes, my friends, you can create folders without opening Drive. 

How to Share Documents on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

How to Share Documents on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, from How-To Geek from Sandy Writtenhouse

Not only can you share documents instead of sending attachments, but there are also so many options for how you share. 

Five Helpful Google Keep Features for Students

How to Place Images Behind or in Front of Text in Google Slides

How to Place Images Behind or in Front of Text in Google Slides, from How-To Geek by Marshall Gunnell

Sometimes you just don't want the text and image side by side. 

Halloween Choice Board

I found this idea from the Chromebook Classroom podcast by John Sowash, specifically the 10 Links You Should Click (October 2021) episode. The choice board was created by @tcbnugent on Twitter. (Just trying to make sure everyone gets their due credit!) It's a Google Docs hyperdoc that contains links to lots of Halloween activities for your students to do in their spare time. 

Progressive Choice Boards:  Provide Choice Without Overwhelming

Progressive Choice Boards:  Provide Choice Without Overwhelming, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller

Create a choice board that doesn't overwhelm students with lots of new learning curves at once. It's also a great way to teach (and learn!) new digital skills. Templates are included.

ASA Tech Tips and News for October 15, 2021

flickr.com

This week during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the focus is on online shopping safety. It's no longer a novelty and we take it for granted, especially since the pandemic. Because we are making a financial transaction, the stakes are even higher than just browsing the internet. It's safe as long as we are aware of the danger areas and take steps to secure our accounts and device. This issue isn't all doom and gloom, though. In addition to these safety precautions, are several tips and ed tech ideas to use in the classroom, and to help you be more efficient. I hope you find something of interest.

• Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Online Shopping Safety
• How to Change Your Amazon Account Password
• Cybersecurity Awareness Month - Safety Tips Sheets, Posters, and Lesson Plans
• How to Insert a Handwritten Signature in Google Docs
• How to Create & Use Canned Responses in Gmail
• How to Use Speaker Notes in Google Slides
• How to Assign Document Tasks in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
• Turn a Spreadsheet Into Multimedia Flashcards
• Two Easy Ways to Blur Faces and Objects in Your Videos
• Canva Now Offers Free Video Creation and Editing Tools

Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Online Shopping Safety

With continued supply chain issues, it's nearly impossible to avoid shopping online. Learn how to do so safely. Beware of fake advertising, coupons, shopping sites, and make sure you are on a secure WiFi and site before entering banking info. 

How to Change Your Amazon Account Password

How to Change Your Amazon Account Password, from How-To Geek by Mahesh Makvana

In keeping with our online shopping safety theme this week, it's a good idea to know how to...and actually change your online account passwords periodically. While this article takes you through the steps on Amazon, most online shopping sites have this option in a similar "accounts" or "my account" place. 

Cybersecurity Awareness Month - Safety Tips Sheets, Posters, and Lesson Plans

Cybersecurity Awareness Month - Safety Tips Sheets, Posters, and Lesson Plans, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

Tools to help educate your students, and yourselves.

How to Insert a Handwritten Signature in Google Docs

How to Insert a Handwritten Signature in Google Docs, from How-To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse

Do you regularly send a newsletter or letter that you would like to sign? Use your phone, tablet or any device with a touchscreen to create your signature. 

How to Use Speaker Notes in Google Slides

How to Use Speaker Notes in Google Slides, from How-To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse

Speaker notes are a way to remind yourself of your talking points while running a slide presentation. Find out how to view and use them. 

>How to Create & Use Canned Responses in Gmail

Do you find yourself answering the same question over and over? Do you have a message that you send out every month or year? Using canned responses, now called Templates, in Gmail can save you time, and make sure you don't leave out any details. 

How to Assign Document Tasks in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

How to Assign Document Tasks in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, from How-To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse

Using comments is a great way to get your questions answered when working on a project in a Google shared file. Mentioning someone by name gets even faster answers, as they will receive a message when mentioned.  

Turn a Spreadsheet Into Multimedia Flashcards

Turn a Spreadsheet Into Multimedia Flashcards, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

Not only can you make your own flashcards, but you can also include audio, video, images and text.

Two Easy Ways to Blur Faces and Objects in Your Videos

Two Easy Ways to Blur Faces and Objects in Your Videos, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

You just took the perfect video of a class activity and you want to share it. Uh oh! The student in the middle of the video cannot have their picture published. What to do? YouTube will let you blur them. You can also blur objects that might convey personal or confidential information. 

Canva Now Offers Free Video Creation and Editing Tools

Canva Now Offers Free Video Creation and Editing Tools, from How-To Geek by Dave Leclair

These features are included at no cost. Educators can set up a free Canva account and get the benefits of Canva Pro! In addition to editing videos, anva can be used to create all kinds of media, such as posters, memes, infographics and so much more.

ASA Tech Tips and News for October 8, 2021

commons.wikimedia.org

October is not just for breast cancer and Halloween! It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Of course we should be keeping up with the latest cybersecurity news, and following best practices at all times. October is a great time to refresh your memory on what those practices are. I'll be including a different cybersecurity topic each week. This week's topic is Scams and Phishing. Those scammers are getting pretty sophisticated. It's too easy, especially when we are in a hurry, to accidentally click on a message or link that looks legit. It's so important to remain ever skeptical of anything online or in a text message. Next week will be Online Shopping Safety, followed by Back Ups, and just in time for Halloween, the scary topic of Malware and Ransomware. Stay tuned and stay safe. If you would like to learn the Cybersecurity basics, staysafeonline.org has an easy to follow program. 

• Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Scams and Phishing
• Should You Upgrade to Windows 11?
• Infinite Campus Updates:
• New Search Location
• New Look for Campus Tools
• Gradebook Updates
• Google Workspace Updates:
• Google Calendar:  Easily Chat with Meeting Participants from a Calendar Event
• Google Calendar/Docs:  Create Meeting Notes in Google Calendar
• Google Docs:  Add Image Watermarks in Google Docs
• Gmail:  Perform Refined Searches on the Web
• Google Slides:  Use the Slideshow Button in Slides
• How to Make a Google Doc View Only
• 14 Social Media-Inspired Google Slides Templates
• Five Google Calendar Features You Should Know How to Use
• How to Create Custom Coloring Maps
• Easy Way to Find Movie Clips to Include in Your Lessons

Cybersecurity Awareness Month:  Scams and Phishing

Clicking the wrong link in an email, text, a website or on social media can result in unknowingly downloading malicious software that could reveal passwords, banking information, or locking up  your computer, as well as the entire school or Diocese network. Protect yourself and co-workers by familiarizing yourself with the methods cybercriminals use. Here's the first video this month to familiarize yourself with Scams and Phishing. 

Should You Upgrade to Windows 11?

Should You Upgrade to Windows 11? from How-To Geek by Chris Hoffman

Windows 11 is expected to roll out this week, but it will not work on all laptops. Find out if it will work on yours. 

Infinite Campus Updates:

New Search Location

If you need to search for people, students, addresses, etc. in Infinite Campus, the search bar has disappeared. It has been replaced with a magnifying glass icon in the upper left corner. You can search for any of the following:

• Address
• All People
• Course/section
• Household
• Staff
• Student
• Tool
• User

This new search tool will also remember your last search so you can toggle between toolsin the main menu and the search results without losing your place. 

New Look for Campus Tools

Last year the instruction view for IC received its makeover with the new look. Teachers were able to get used to it last year, and this year it became the default look. This year the new look for the Campus Tools view is available as an option. Campus tools is the view that the administrative staff uses. You will want to get used to it at your leisure this year, as it will most likely become the only view at the beginning of next school year. Here is an introductory video to give you an overview of the new look. I'll warn you now, just like the teachers experienced, everything is in a different place, so it does take some getting used to. Using search to look for the tool you need definitely helps. I really like the ability to star the most used tools so they are in a condensed list for me. 

Gradebook Updates

Here are the updates to Gradebook. You can learn more about of them here.

• Updated the curriculum editor and the Copier so that the "All Assigned" indicator becomes a split button if the teacher has Student Groups created, allowing the teacher to easily select a group. Teachers can click the arrow to select a group, or the "# Assigned" button to see and modify the list of assigned students.
• Assignment comments are now correctly truncated on Campus Student/Parent and an occasional error has been resolved.
• Changing the grading alignment of an assignment no longer clears the selected Assignment Mark.
• Default values now correctly display on a new assignment when it includes a Scoring Rubric.
• Addressed an issue that occurred if a user attempted to copy assignments into a section with no Tasks/Standards.

Google Workspace Updates:

Google Calendar:  Easily Chat with Meeting Participants from a Calendar Event

Now in addition to email, members of a Calendar meeting can chat, from within the Calendar event. For example, if you are running late, you could open the calendar event, tap on the Chat icon next to the list of guests, and quickly let them know. Here are all the details of this new feature. It is expected to be available within the the next two weeks. 

Google Calendar/Docs:  Create Meeting Notes in Google Calendar

Previously to add an agenda or meeting notes document to your Calendar event, you needed to create a Doc, then attach it to the meeting in Calendar. Now you'll no longer need to go back and forth between Calendar and Docs. It will be possible to create the meeting notes right in Calendar when you are creating the event. If you add the meeting notes when creating the event, it will automatically be shared with all the event attendees. For already scheduled events, click the Take Meeting Notes button. For now this feature will only be available on the web version of Calendar, but it will probably become available for mobile soon. I am not yet seeing this feature, but it should become available in the next two weeks. Full details and instructions can be found here. 

Google Docs:  Add Image Watermarks in Google Docs

It is now possible to insert a watermark image into a Google Doc. Furthermore, when importing Microsoft Word files into Drive, any watermarks will be preserved. This feature is available now in the Insert > Watermark menu in Docs. Instructions for adding watermark to a Doc can be found here. 

Gmail:  Perform Refined Searches on the Web

Now when searching in Gmail, you will see more drop down options to help you apply additional filters. You'll have more options for searching, such as by multiple senders, or selecting senders from a list. Here are all the details. 

Google Slides:  Use the Slideshow Button in Slides

The Present button in Slides will be replaced with a Slideshow button. The Present/Slideshow button is what you use when you are running your slide presentation. You should already be seeing this change. 

How to Make a Google Doc View Only

How to Make a Google Doc View Only, from How-To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse

When you want to share a Google Doc but you don't want anyone to make any changes to it, make it View Only!

14 Social Media-Inspired Google Slides Templates

14 Social Media-Inspired Google Slides Templates, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller

Grab students' attention by making their assignments look like their favorite social media app. This article also includes instructions for using the templates. 

Five Google Calendar Features You Should Know How to Use

How to Create Custom Coloring Maps

How to Create Custom Coloring Maps, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

Create a free Mapbox Studio account and you'll be able to create a custom outline map of any city, town or neighborhood. 

Easy Way to Find Movie Clips to Include in Your Lessons