I feel like doing a spring jig, now that the warm weather is finally here! (In my head I see Snoopy doing his happy dance.) After one of the cloudiest Aprils on record, I don't even mind the instant summer temps. Fortunately for teachers, more seasonable temps are supposed to return next week, which should help the spring fever among your students. In true spring fashion, I'm starting to see more end of the year tips, and previews for what is coming over the summer in all of our resources, such as Canvas, Infinite Campus and Google. I'll share them as they come in, although I suspect teachers are also not really thinking about anything but squeezing every last bit of content into these next four weeks, and hanging on through the end of the year craziness. Hang in there, my friends, summer is coming soon, in the meantime, celebrate today by dancing your spring jig.
True story of how a 97-year old determined he was the target of a phishing scam. If a 97 year old can spot a scam, so can you! I love that this article explains what to look for in terms the average user can understand. Just a word of warning, the Diocese has repeatedly told me that multi-factor authentication for our network and Google accounts is coming soon.
We tend to keep our chargers until they no longer work, but is that the best practice? Is it safe? Are your devices charging as fast as they could? As a bonus, the article also lists
how to "roadie wrap" your cables to prolong their life. We can all relate to the over worked/under paid mantra mentioned in the video, can't we?
Instructure has acquired Concentric Sky, the makers of Badgr, which allows creating a digital badging system. Badging systems track achievements and award online badges. Badgr will be rebranded as Canvas Badges and will be included in Canvas LMS, so you'll be able to issue badges to your students when they achieve the goals of your choice. Detailed info will be coming later, but for now you can be thinking about how you might use them in your classroom.
There are certain procedures to follow to wrap up Canvas for the year. Of course, because we only do these things once a year, it's hard to remember everything. Fortunately,
Canvas has a list of resources and FAQs to help us out.
You can now set a different work location for each day, and you can set it right from the calendar view. You no longer need to open settings to change it. Your location appears right at the top of each day. Hovering your mouse over the location will change that day's location to "change". Clicking on Change will allow you to reset it. Unfortunately, it's not possible to change your location for part of the day - hopefully that will be a future update. Not sure how to even begin setting your working hours and locations?
This link will help you. We are already seeing this new feature in Calendar.
When you are using
Appointment Scheduling in Calendar, you can choose to require those signing up for an appointment to verify their email addresses. First, appointment scheduling is the new version of appointment slots. Second, if you are wondering why you would want to add an extra step for someone signing up for an appointment with you, it's a security measure to prevent hackers from using those appointment slots to access your calendar and account. This new feature would require those signing up for an appointment slot to verify their email with a PIN code that is sent to them. You will need to turn this feature on if you choose to use it. When you turn it on, it will affect all future appointments until you turn it back off.
Full details are available here. I'm not seeing this setting yet. It will be available in the next 2-4 weeks.
Infinite Campus began rolling out their new look in 2020 with the new Campus Instruction Tools. Last year they started allowing users to try the new look for the Campus Tools view as well. (That's the view we non-teachers use.) I switched over last fall, and I'll admit it wasn't all rosey while trying to determine where to find the tools I needed.
Recent tweaks have definitely made it easier and far more convenient to access various tools, and after using it for most of the school year, I can pretty much find the tools I need in a short amount of time... and without simply searching for them. One feature definitely made things easier. The ability to star the features I use most often, and access them from a "favorites" menu saved me a lot of time, so I could still get my job done in an acceptable amount of time while learning the new look. Each feature has a star next to the title. Click it to add it to your favorites list. Access your favorites list in the star menu. If you haven't tried the new look recently, you may want to give it another try. It will become the default at some point in the future, however I no longer see a definite date for that, and now it's being referred to as an "extended open beta". Looking for more info about the new look, including a video to see what it's like?
Here's an info page. Scroll down a little for the video.
These are quick, plug and play ways to help students reflect on what they have learned, their progress, and what they still need to work on.
This is an exciting breakthrough for Loom. We now have the ability in Loom to combine several videos into one video - even if the combined videos are recorded by different people. In true Loom fashion, it's an advanced feature, but still quick and easy to use. If you haven't yet embraced the wonderful world of Loom, it is probably the easiest screencasting and video recording program to learn and use, there's an extension to help you start a recording instantly, and you can share the video with anyone directly from Loom. You also have the option to download or share the video if you need to share it or use it a different way. Most of the tutorial videos I record are done in Loom. It's so handy to quickly show someone how to perform a task or grasp a concept. The best part? As educators we can use the pro version of Loom for free!
Click here to sign up for Loom for Education with your ASA Google email account, wait a few days while they verify that it's an education domain, and all the pro features will be unlocked for you. Hint: I've discovered there are even more features available on the desktop app than on the online version accessed with the extension.
Need a reminder to do something as soon as you get to work or home? Google Keep has location-based reminders for just that purpose. Back in the day, I would leave myself voice messages so I would remember the task I needed to do when I arrived. Now my phone reminds me when I arrive.
This used to be an annual question this time of year. Now, it just keeps getting easier and easier!
Planning on a road trip for Memorial Day Weekend, or this summer? Take advantage of these Google Maps tips, such as finding the best gas prices in the area, using the most fuel efficient route, how to avoid tolls, figure out the best time to leave, find the best time to visit restaurants and attractions, and widgets to quickly access your trip. You can even plan activities with a group, and access directions offline for those areas with little cell coverage.
