Tech Tips and News for March 22, 2024

Google Gemini's Bracket Picks

Hopefully you are enjoying the surprise snow day today. In a winter that has been off and on, it's not surprising that we would have a winter storm a week before Easter. One might even say it is madness...March Madness. In keeping with a tech view of the annual NCAA March Madness tournament, I decided to use Google Gemini AI recommendations for my bracket picks this year. To be fair, Gemini's results from my inquiries provided who the favorite was to win in each match, as well as why each team might win. This would have allowed someone with more knowledge of the game to review all the info and make a gut decision. As I am definitely not a basketball fan and don't have more than a basic knowledge of the game, in this experiment I decided to go with the teams that Gemini indicated was the favorite, even if it was just a slight favorite. We'll see how it goes. It certainly can't be worse than my former method, which consisted of picking the cities I'd rather visit. Good luck with your brackets!

Safety and Security

• Browse Safely With Real-Time Protection on Chrome
• AI Tools & Student Data Privacy

News

• If the US Bans TikTok, Can YouTube Shorts Take Over?

Updates

Google Workspace Updates

• Google Calendar:  Appointment Slots Replaced With Appointment Schedules July 2024
• Google Drive:  Share a Link to a specific Time in a Video

Tips and Tutorials

• Mail Merge in Gmail (video)
• 10 Chromebook Features Teachers Will Love
• 5 Things You Might Not Know About Kahoot! (Video)
• Kahoot! Hacks:  Are Your Students Cheating?

Browse Safely With Real-Time Protection on Chrome

Browse Safely With Real-Time Protection on Chrome, from the Keyword by Jonathan Li and Jasika Bawa

Google has boosted Safe-Browsing in Chrome to have real-time protection against unsafe websites. 

AI Tools & Student Data Privacy

AI Tools & Student Data Privacy, From Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts

There are so many helpful AI tools for teachers, but we need to be very careful with protecting the privacy of our students when we use them. This post clearly outlines what is acceptable and not acceptable to share.

If the US Bans TikTok, Can YouTube Shorts Take Over?

If the US Bans TikTok, Can YouTube Shorts Take Over?, from How-To Geek by Joe Fedewa

If the US and China can't resolve their differences over TikTok, there is a possible alternative.

Google Workspace Updates

Google Calendar:  Appointment Slots Replaced With Appointment Schedules July 2024

If you use Appointment Slots in Google Calendar to have parents sign up for meetings with you, you'll want to switch over to using Appointment Schedules before July 2024. These are very similar products, but Appointment Schedules offer a few more features than the old appointment slots did. Not sure how to use Appointment Schedules? Read through this help article to find out. 

Google Drive:  Share a Link to a Specific Time in a Video

A new option has been added to Google Drive that allows you to share any video you have saved to Drive starting at a specific time stamp. Simply locate the video file in Drive, open it and play it to the point at which you want the shared video to start. Click the down arrow on the Share button, and select Copy link to this time. Send the link, and the recipient will be able to play the video starting at that point. Full instructions are available here. 

Mail Merge in Gmail

10 Chromebook Features Teachers Will Love

10 Chromebook Features Teachers Will Love, from The Keyword by Molly McHugh-Johnson

Chromebooks are much more affordable than PC or Mac laptops. Now with Chromebook Plus models, they are even more powerful and robust than the models our students use. Check out this article to see some of the features that are especially helpful for teachers.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Kahoot! (Video)

Kahoot! Hacks:  Are Your Students Cheating?

Kahoot! Hacks:  Are Your Students Cheating? from Jill Staake at We Are Teachers

There's always someone who wants to game the system either for their advantage or just for the sake of disrupting the class. Find out how students are cheating, and what you can do about it. On my end, I'll work on blocking the sites they might be using. 

Tech Tips and News for March 8, 2024

commons.wikimedia.org

Have you ever suddenly started seeing pop up ads on your laptop, and can't quite figure out how they started? Most likely you clicked on malicious link when you did a web search, or clicked on an ad or misleading link on a web page. Do you normally search for a website instead of just entering the site's web address (URL)? This practice can leave you vulnerable to those malicious sites. A better practice is to enter the actual website address and then bookmark it so you can easily find it again next time. That will prevent you accidentally clicking on a link to a site that looks similar to the one you the one you're trying to open, but is different and possibly contains malicious links. Read more online safety tips below. We can all use the reminders.

• 9 Tips to Safely Browse the Web
• How to Find Hidden Startup Programs Slowing Down Your Windows PC
• Stop Using ChatGPT as a Substitute for Web Search
• Free Resources to Teach Your Students About AI
• How to Personalize Your Calendar Events with Emojis (video)
• Don't Be a Tab-a-holic (5 Tips for Managing Tabs on a Chromebook) (video)
• Classroom AI 101:  Create Guided Notes for Videos With AI

9 Tips to Safely Browse the Web

9 Tips to Safely Browse the Web, from How-To Geek by Shan Abdul

Whether you're a seasoned web surfer, or still struggle to identify a safe link from from a malicious site, there are tips we can all use in this article.

How to Find Hidden Startup Programs Slowing Down Your Windows PC

How to Find Hidden Startup Programs Slowing Down Your Windows PC, from How-To Geek by Efam Harris

Does your laptop take forever to start up? Learn how to easily speed it up.

Stop Using ChatGPT as a Substitute for Web Search

Stop Using ChatGPT as a Substitute for Web Search, from How-To Geek by Tim Brookes

There are many ways to use ChatGPT, or any other AI chatbot such as Gemini (formerly Bard) or Copilot (formerly Bing Chat). Find out why searching the internet is not one of them.

Free Resources to Teach Your Students About AI

Free Resources to Teach Your Students About AI, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts

AI is so new, we are learning about artificial intelligence alongside our students. Here are some resources you can use to teach your students (and possibly yourself) about AI, the tools available and the appropriate way to use it. 

How to Personalize Your Calendar Events with Emojis (video)

Don't Be a Tab-a-holic (5 Tips for Managing Tabs on a Chromebook) (video)

Classroom AI 101:  Create Guided Notes for Videos With AI

Classroom AI 101:  Create Guided Notes for Videos With AI, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller

How do you know students have watched a video? Guided notes! Let Google Gemini create those guided notes for you.