Safety and Security
- Don’t use a single password for every site, here’s why
- Beware the 'Hi, how are you?' text. It's a scam - here's how it works
- This Windows Update Screen is Actually a Hacker's Trap
- Is That Holiday Deal Too Good to Be True? Here's How to Tell If It's a Scam
- Don't Get Tricked by Fake Amazon Reviews This Black Friday. Here's How to Spot the Real Ones
- Safe Online Holiday Shopping
News
Updates
Tips and Tutorials
- Unlock the Power of Google Drive Across All Your Devices
- Teachers: Guided Learning for Gemini Won't Complete Homework for Students
- Gemini for Teachers - Essential Classroom Guide
- Using, Creating & Sharing Gems in Google Gemini
- 7 Ways I Use NotebookLM to Make My Life Easier
- Getting Started w/NotebookLM Infographics and Slide Decks!
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Don’t use a single password for every site, here’s why
Don’t use a single password for every site, here’s why, from How-To Geek by Sydney Butler
If hackers have your password for one site, will they have the password for all of them? Hopefully not, because they're going to try them on every possible site.
Beware the 'Hi, how are you?' text. It's a scam - here's how it works
Beware the 'Hi, how are you?' text. It's a scam - here's how it works, from ZDNet by Lance Whitney
Don't be tempted to be friendly or helpful if someone you don't know texts you.
This Windows Update Screen is Actually a Hacker's Trap
This Windows Update Screen is Actually a Hacker's Trap, from PC Magazine by Michael Kan
Beware of any screen that looks like a Windows update, but asks you to do anything other than restart your computer. True updates never need you to perform any keyboard commands to complete. The screen you are seeing in that case is usually just a website. Closing that tab in your browser can remove it.
Is That Holiday Deal Too Good to Be True? Here's How to Tell If It's a Scam
Is That Holiday Deal Too Good to Be True? Here's How to Tell If It's a Scam, from PC Magazine by Kim Key
Shopping scams are expecially prevalent during the holidays. Find out how not to fall for the new "fake seller" or any of the other scams they run.
Don't Get Tricked by Fake Amazon Reviews This Black Friday. Here's How to Spot the Real Ones
Don't Get Tricked by Fake Amazon Reviews This Black Friday. Here's How to Spot the Real Ones, from PC Magazine by Jason Cohen
Now that Fakespot is going away, how can you spot those fake reviews? Here are some telltale signs.
Safe Online Holiday Shopping
Safe Online Holiday Shopping, from National Cybersecurity Alliance
Check out this quick list of things to watch out for when doing your holiday shopping online. Beware of those Grinch Bots!
10th Annual Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit
This annual series of webinars is a free online conference for educators, available on-demand from December 15, 2025 until January 11, 2026. You can get free certificates for professional development credits from the comfort of your couch. Register here and receive each webinar in your emailbox. This year there are eight new featured speaker sessions, which are 45-60 minutes long. There will also be 30-minute spotlight sponsor sessions. In addition to this year's offerings, you are usually able to access webinars from previous years as well. I learn something new every year from this summit.
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Google Calendar: Block Off Time to Work on a Task in Calendar
Do you use Google Tasks to keep track of your to-do list? If so, you can block out time in Google Calendar to work on those tasks. When you create a new appointment on your calendar, just select task, and choose the task from your task list. You should be seeing this new feature now. Learn more about reserving time for Tasks on Calendar in this help article.
;">Google Drive: AI-Powered Audio Overviews for PDFs
This update will allow you to convertlong, text-heavy PDFs—such as industry reports, contracts, or lengthy meeting transcripts—into a conversational, podcast-style audio summary. With just one click, a new audio file is saved directly to your Drive. Users can listen to the summaries from anywhere they can access their Drive files, whether they’re commuting, working out, or doing chores. Once the audio overview is generated on a desktop, the user receives an email notification that the file is ready. The audio file is automatically saved to a new "Audio overviews" folder in their Drive, which they can then access from any mobile or desktop device. Learn more about audio overviews for PDFs in Drive here. This update started rolling out on November 12, 2025. We should see it before the end of November.
;">Gemini: Generate Presentations with a Text Prompt
This is now available to all Google users! Simply provide an idea with a simple text prompt or upload a source, and Gemini will generate a set of slides — complete with a theme and relevant images. Then, you'll export the presentation from the Gemini app directly to Google Slides to continue to refine or collaborate with others. You'll start by opening Gemini (it's available in the waffle-app switcher) and selecting Canvas in the toolbar. Then ask Gemini to “create a presentation.” You can specify a topic or upload your own source with the prompt. Learn more about using Canvas in Gemini here. This update is available now.
Google Vids: Create Short Videos from Images
Teachers and admins who have the Teaching and Learning Google license can now use Veo 3.1 in Google Vids to create eight second video clips from images. Provide a few images and write a prompt for the video you want to create and voila! Your video will automatically be created. Learn how to create your custom video from images from this help center article. You can also watch this video for instruction. This update may still be rolling out. Everyone should see it by mid-December. Read the update annoucement here.
Unlock the Power of Google Drive Across All Your Devices
Take control of your Google files! This is a great tutorial for making the most of, and understanding Google Drive.
Teachers: Guided Learning for Gemini Won't Complete Homework for Students
We have not yet turned on Gemini for students yet, but this is a compelling reason to think about it!
Gemini for Teachers - Essential Classroom Guide
Using, Creating & Sharing Gems in Google Gemini
Using, Creating & Sharing Gems in Google Gemini, from Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
If you've spent much time using Gemini or Chat GPT, you know there's an art to creating a good prompt that gives you the results you're looking for. There's usually a lot of trial and error involved before you get what you want. Gems take all that guesswork out of the equation and provides you with a prompt to do a certain task - that you can usen over and over again. In addition, Eric Curts has curated quite a collection of Gems for teachers to use.
7 Ways I Use NotebookLM to Make My Life Easier
7 Ways I Use NotebookLM to Make My Life Easier, from How To Geek by Jorge A. Aguilar
I've used NotebookLM so many times to teach me a new process or summarize a long article. I've even used it to compare two different products/services to work through a pros and cons list. Now you can completely interact with it and ask questions as it goes. This tool is quickly becoming the swiss army knife of my life.
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