Friday, January 21, 2022

ASA Tech Tips and News for January 21, 2022

Breakout Box Kit
Want to connect with students from another country, or do you have a parent who doesn't speak English? Now Google Meet will translate captions on the fly. It's just like watching a movie with subtitles. That's the only significant update for this week. The rest are helpful or fun tips. The Science of Olympics is one that appears every 4 years when the Winter Olympics roll around again, although the videos are the same, the science behind them doesn't age. I also like to highlight breakout games whenever those articles surface, so I can remind teachers that we have a couple of breakout box kits if you want to experiment. It's a fun way to promote critical thinking in any subject and for any grade. 

Infinite Campus Update Sunday

If you notice any difficulty with Infinite Campus this Sunday, January 23, between the hours of 2 am and 9 am, it is because it is being updated to version 2203. This update includes some minor changes to the student and parent views, reporting and security, but nothing noticeable for most end users. 

Who is "Potential Spam" and Why Do They Keep Calling?

Potential Spam is Verizon's term, but this article applies to those "Scam Likely" or "Spam Risk" calls as well, or whatever your mobile carrier calls calls from unknown callers.

How to Resist the Vortex of Click-Bait

How to Resist the Vortex of Click-Bait, from Screenagers by Delaney Ruston, MD
Important tips for all of us to stay focused.

Google Workspace for Education Updates


Google Meet:  Live Translated Captions Now Available

Holding a Meet with someone who speaks a different language? You (and they) will be able to turn on captions and Meet can translate them to/from French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. You can enable this feature by going to Settings > Captions > Translated captions or on mobile by going to Settings > Captions > Live Captions > Translation Language. Click here to find out how to use translated captions in a Meet. This update is already available for our domain.

How to Change Your Google Profile Picture

How to Change Your Google Profile Picture, from How-To Geek by Marshall Gunnell
Learn how to change or add a Google Profile picture on either a desktop or mobile device. If you haven't yet set a profile picture, you can follow these instructions to do so now.

How to Respond to Google Calendar Events That You'll Join Virtually

It's very simple to let an event organizer know if you'll be attending in person, or virtually.

Google's Buried Treasure:  20 Hidden Tricks & Tools

Google's Buried Treasure:  20 Hidden Tricks & Tools, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
What new Google tool will you learn about? This list includes voice typing, Augmented Reality in Google Search, time lapse, quick draw, quick timer, reverse image search and more.

The Science of Winter Olympics Sports

The Science of Winter Olympics Sports, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
There is a playlist of 16 videos on the physics and engineering of Winter Olympic events, offered by the National Science Foundation. These are old videos, but the science behind them is still relevant. Also featured is a SciShow video showing how snow is made.

Five Fun Breakout Games for Online and In-Person Classrooms

Five Fun Breakout Games for Online and In-Person Classrooms, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Just a reminder that ASA does have a breakout box kit or two you can borrow. The links here have games for all grade levels. 
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Friday, January 14, 2022

ASA Tech Tips & News for January 14, 2022


 ...and just like that, break is over and we're back in the normal routine. Seems like we never left! There was definitely no easing into Winter this year, it returned with a vengeance, although it was nice to have a couple bonus snow days our first week back from break. This a great indoor time to take a look at tutorials, tips, and learn new tech. Please let me know if you want to try any new tech in your classroom, I'd love to help. 

New Quizzes in Canvas

New Quizzes are now available in Canvas LMS. This will be an entirely new quizzing engine in Canvas. Right now you have the option to continue using the old Quiz feature, but it will be replaced by the new version, so you'll want to plan on learning the new version, and migrating your old quizzes to the new platform. Here is what is new: 
  • Student Quiz Accomodations for the whole course (not just quiz by quiz!)
  • Shuffle Answers by Question
  • Printing Quizzes
  • Require Waiting Period Between Attempts
  • Stimulus, Ordering, and Hot Spot Question Types
There are a number of tools to help you learn the new Quiz platform:

What is Spam, and Why Do We Call it That

What is Spam, and Why Do We Call it That, from How-To Geek from Benj Edwards
Monty Python fans will get a chuckle out of this trivia tidbit.

How to Create Templates in Gmail

Do you answer the same questions over and over, or send out the same info? Create a template to speed up the reply process.



How to Use Google Keep as a Comment Bank

How to Use Google Keep as a Comment Bank, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Looking for a way to keep your often used comments to paste into student work instead of retyping them over and over?

How to Add Videos and Customize Playback in Google Slides

How to Add Videos and Customize Playback in Google Slides, from How To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse
Embedding YouTube videos in Google Slides is the only way your students will be able to view them with Google's recent Under 18 rule. This article also elaborates on how you can show just a portion of the video. 
How to Rotate Text in Google Sheets, from How-To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse
Sometimes it's necessary to save space in Google Sheets. A good way to do that is to rotate your text. For example you can fit more columns in if you rotate the titles 90 degrees to read vertically instead of horizontally. 

How to Prefill Google Forms with Certain Answers

How to Prefill Google Forms with Certain Answers, from How-To Geek by Sandy Writtenhouse
If there's a field that most respondents will answer the same, such as State in a mailing address, you can preset that answer.

Adobe Spark Becomes Adobe Creative Cloud Express

If you've been using Adobe Spark, here is the next generation. Adobe Creative Cloud Express contains the tools formerly in Spark:  Post (creating images), Page (webpage creation), and Video (video creation), plus Premiere Rush to create videos, Photoshop Express to edit images, free stock photography with safe search, and free education templates and libraries. This is a great tool for you or your students to use to create posters, flyers, videos, book covers, etc. It's hard to believe this is a FREE RESOURCE. Adobe does require parental permission to use it with students, and teachers can create their own classroom and accounts to protect student privacy. There are also lots of lessons, activities and projects for your class to use. It can be accessed either via an app or website, so it's easier for students to access on their chromebooks. Watch this session from the Ditch That Summit to see how your students can be creative on their chromebooks. It provides photo and video creation and editing on one website, and although it sounds complicated and complex, it's actually very easy and intuitive to use.

30 Sites for Students With Free Time on Their Hands

30 Sites for Students With Free Time on Their Hands, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Looking to round out your arsenal of things for students to do when they're "done"? Here are 30 suggestions. 

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