Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Tech Tips and News for April 21, 2023

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BETT is the largest annual expo for Education Technology. It was held in London in late March, and this is the platform that Google often uses to announce new upcoming products and features they are working on releasing. If you'd like to keep an eye on the new features that are coming soon for you and your students, I've included several announcements that may interest you. Since our main productivity platform is Google based, and students use Chromebooks for school work, it's important to keep up on what new tools you and students have available. This will help you teach your students the most effective and efficient way to use their digital tools. There are some pretty exciting updates expected in the months to come. 

Overpayment Scams - Wham! Bam! - That's a SCAM! #6



How to Use Public Wi-Fi Safely:  5 Tips You Need to Know Before You Connect

Read this before you connect to WiFi in a hotel, airport, store, restaurant, etc. 

5 Chromebook Updates for Students and Teachers

5 Chromebook Updates for Students and Teachers, from The Keyword by Andy Russell
Topics of interes for you may include:  
  • Updates to Screencast - Screencast is now a feature that is built in to Chrome on Chromebooks - no 3rd party app, such as Screencast-o-matic or Loom needed anymore. If you use a Windows or Mac laptop, you can still take advantage of the Screencast feature by using the classroom loaner chromebook. 
  • New Reading Mode Feature in the Chrome Browser - This will be available in a couple months, and allows users to remove distractions, such as images and videos, from the screen.

New Teaching and Learning Features in Google Workspace for Education

As these features become available, more instruction and demos on how to use them will be available. This article is a forecast of what's coming. The Keyword article includes screenshots and more information than what I've summarized here.
  • Practice Sets - These will be available in Google Classroom by the end of April, and allow you to quickly set up interactive quizzes, which include immediate feedback, easy to set up resources for lesson reinforcement, and automatic grading. You can even take queestions from existing PDF files so you don't have to recreate practice sets from scratch. Unfortunately it's only available via Google Classroom.
  • Add Interactive Questions to YouTube Videos - This is currently in beta, which means it could be six months to a year before it's available - and it's only available through Google Classroom. There is a similar feature in Canvas.
  • Custom Building Blocks in Docs with the @ Menu - By typing @ in a Doc, you will be able to access the "building block" menu, and select from saved templates. This will save you time when creating new docs. 
  • Keep Track of Class Activities with Timer and Stopwatch Chips in a Doc - Typing @timer or @stopwatch in a Google Doc will display a timer or stopwatch right in your Doc, so you and your students can keep track of how long an activity took or how much time is left. 
  • Get Feedback with Voting Chips in a Doc:  By typing @voting in a Google Doc, you'll be able to quickly gather feedback.
  • See Your Slides and Speaker Notes While Presenting in Meet - With recent updates, you can now control your slides (advance slides, play video) and see your speaker notes from within Meet. No split screen or second monitor needed. 
  • Manage Slides with a Co-Presenter - Two or more people will be able to manage slides together within a Meet.

18 BIG Updates To Your Favorite Google Tools - Video Demos

John Sowash has put together a video summary of the aforementioned, upcoming Google updates for Education and learning.


2023 Google Product Training Live or On-Demand

Google is offering a 12-part product training series, that you can either participate in live or watch on-demaind after the live event. Register using the link above, and add the events that interest you to your calendar. After the webinar runs live, the calendar event will include the recording link. You can also access all the sessions at the link above. Events that may interest you include:
  • Chromebooks:  Not Just for Students! Challenge Your Chromebook Conceptions (on demand)
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Bye Worksheets, Hello Skill Building (on demand)
  • Mission Accessible:  Make Sure Learning is Maximally Accessible with the Google Tools (on demand)
  • Google Workspace WORKS for Learning (on demand)
  • Personalize the Learning Path with Google Screencast (Live 4/25/23 1:00 pm EDT, or on-demand after)
  • Google Gathering:  Tips, Tricks and Faves from Your Googley Friends (Live 5/2/23 1:00 pm EDT, or on-demand after)
  • All About Our Newest Features (Live 5/9/23 1:00 pm EDT, on-demand after)
Of course, there is always free, on-demand training courses offered by Google Skillshop and Google Workspac Learning Center for every Google tool, as well as education specific tools. Highlights include:

For Everyone:

For Teachers:


5 Reasons Why Chromebooks are the Perfect Laptop for Most People

Don't discount a simple and relatively inexpensive solution because it's not what you're used to. 90% of the time in my personal life, I use a chromebook.This has made me even more impatient as I wait for my work Windows laptop to boot up, or finally display a login prompt. Chromebooks will boot up in about 8 seconds and don't slow down as they age. I've been using my convertible HP chromebook for close to 5 years now.

10 Chromebook Features You Should Be Using

10 Chromebook Features You Should Be Using, from How-To Geek by Joe Fedewa
I love finding ways to make my tech devices more efficient! Lost a tab or window? Find it quickly. Don't have a second monitor? Snap windows side by side. Curb those notifications with Do Not Disturb. Easily send files between your Android phone and chromebook. Pin those often used files and folders to your taskbar.

5 Chrome Tips to Organize Your Browser

5 Chrome Tips to Organize Your Browser, from The Keyword by Yana Yushkina
Organize your digital workspace (Chrome browser) like you do your physical workspace. This is a great way to take control so you can find everything you need and no longer be at the mercy of your technology. Learn how to manage your bookmarks, organize your tabs, hide distracting sites, update old passwords and mute site notifications. 

See the Planet Change with New Imagery in Google Earth Timelapse

Looking to show your students how climate change has impacted the earth? Google Earth now has timelapse images from 1984 to 2022. You can download or embed the videos via YouTube, and there are 300 locations to see. 

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