Noel Erskine, Technology Coordinator Norris Schools

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💥 Tech items - Some Christmas tech goodies in this list. Just in time for the Holiday break!

Thursday, December 19, 2019


 Wow... we hit the mother lode in this one! Some great K-12 resources in ...this weeks EdTech Awesomeness newsletter.  Notice how they use Google Slides for their newsletter. 
 
This one is a repeat - But we are starting to see more staff having these issues. JUST SAY NO to the Allow Show Notifications popup.  ---Are you getting annoying reminders in Windows 10 that look like spam? If so, you are allowing notifications from certain websites and they are popping up in Windows 10.  These can be bad... if you allow them from sites that are not that great.  In other words... the website can continue to spam you with notifications. 

Go into your Chrome settings here: (Paste this in your URL) --->   chrome://settings/content/notifications

Under your Allow - Remove most sites.  (You may still want a few from Google Drive, etc... but most should be removed.)  If you can not remove them via a 3-drop menu, then they are an app or extension you have installed. 



When you go to a website and it asks you this.... say no! 



New Feature in GSuite: Send emails as attachments in Gmail.  More info here. 

Better feedback with Google Classroom -reuse rubrics!
A Norris staff member was just telling me how they needed to add this feature to rubrics. Wll now you can! You can now reuse rubrics from any of your classes if you're in the beta program. (Which we are!)  
Pro tip: add other teachers to your classes to use their rubrics too. More info here


Teaching the 50 states... Free 50 States Digital Interactive Notebook on Google Slides  Remember to use the YouTube Tour the states song and video.  Your kids will remember the states and capitals for years! 

Virtual Field Trip Apps and Websites - These great games, apps, and websites can bring the places and experiences fostered by field trips into the classroom. While not an outright replacement, these field trip tools can offer inspiring and intriguing experiences for students. Checkout the list here.   (Remember - WE have a VR cart/set in the IS & MS, with another one coming to the HS via a foundation grant!) 

Well, I know we all worry about phishing email and being hacked... It could be worse: "Hackers Trick Venture Capital Firm Into Sending Them $1 Million" - There are probably more of these things happening than companies want to admit.  Article can be found here.  

20 sites for students with free time on their hands - Great list from Ditch That Textbook. 



20 end-of-semester video project ideas - Great list from Ditch That Textbook Some of their projects include Flipgride - WE LOVE FLIPGRID.!  Check out Catch the Flipgrid Fever! 30+ ways to use Flipgrid with your class for more resources.


Did you Know.... if you right click on a slide in Google Slides, you can copy it then go into a Google Doc and paste the slide as an image. This is handy when trying to create visuals and graphics inside of a Google Doc. (You can still Insert > Drawing to make visuals within Docs. using the drawing tools.) 


K-2 Creation Apps 
Collection of creation-based early learner (K-2) apps shared by teachers on Twitter. 

Google Sites as Digital Portfolios
I know we have several teachers already doing this... if not, here is a great how-to article to get you started. 

12 video tutorials, strategies and lesson ideas for educators from Ditch Channel.  


Another great tip from Tony Vincent   @tonyvincent


iMovie for iPhone and iPad has does have a green screen option. It's kind of hidden, so I hope this graphic helps you find it. 




Built in accessibility tools
Chromebooks and G Suite have accessibility tools built in, along with many apps and extensions. Learn about how educators use them and find training resources. More info here. 

Tell your story in Google Earth
New creation tools in Google Earth allow you to easily create and share maps and stories about our world with friends, students or coworkers that they can view anywhere on their phone, tablet or laptop. Better yet, you can invite others to collaborate and co-author custom projects with you. https://earth.google.com/web/ 



💥 Tech items - Hour of Code, New Google Earth tools, great updates, new apps & extensions and more! In this weeks tech email.

Friday, December 6, 2019

Starting Dec.16th Drive file suggestions in Google Chrome will be available for all files. 
Drive file suggestions in Chrome allow users to search their Google Drive files directly from the Chrome URL bar, instead of drive.google.com. Currently, this functionality is limited to files that users have previously opened in Chrome. Starting on December 16, 2019, users who restart their browsers will be able to search for any Drive files that they have access to, including ones they haven’t previously opened in Chrome.


It's coming! The Hour of Code starts next week! 
Dec. 9-15 2019 is the week for hour of code
Click here: 20+ ways to celebrate the Hour of Code in any class  - From Ditch that Textbook. 

Our Computer Science & Coding Resources doc <--- check it out! has a wealth of info and resources for you.  (If there are others we need to add to this list - let us know~) 

"I hope my teacher sends me home with a packet of worksheets!" ...said NO STUDENT EVER.
Ditch those packets with family choice boards.  A great way to engage students in learning -- and include families -- without a packet of worksheets.  Check out this great idea from Ditch That Textbook. 


Need to have students take a simple picture with their Chromebook (webcam) - Check out this site- https://www.turncameraon.com/ Just allow camera access and shoot away! (I have added this resource to our Creating Audio, Video and/or Video Slideshows doc. )

Google Earth gets new creation tools -
Here's how it works:
  1. Students create a new Google Earth project.
  2. They add pins to different locations.
  3. On each pin, they can add images, videos, links, text and more.
  4. When they're done, they can present the project or share it with a link.
Click here: Creating with Google Earth: 10 ideas to try - From Ditch that Textbook. 

How to use Chromebooks offline for eLearning day activities, homework. - Check out this resource from Ditch That Textbook. 

Another great Chrome extension for Accessibility 
Use Immersive Reader on Websites [unofficial]  is another great extension that will read web pages to students as well as increase the page readability by increasing fonts size, removing page clutter etc...  Similar to  Easy Reader, Mercury Reader,  Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader, and Announcify.   Each of these have different feature sets to fit your needs. Note: All of these are on our approved list for student installs. 

A Google Slides Add-On ALL teachers need: OK, this is someone else's title for their article... so I am not sure EVERY teacher needs it... ☺  But I can certainly see where it can be handy for many of you. Check it out here.  (This short article will also give you some ideas on using slide deck assignments and then adding to those assignments/projects/portfolios along the way with ease!) 

Add Different Page Numbers to Different Sections in Google Docs
G Suite Updates | You can now customize which sections to add page numbers to and which number to start counting from in Google Docs. This new feature will be rolling out soon. More info here. 

24 Google Docs Templates That Will Make Your Life Easier - Check them out here. 

Great digital citizenship site for classroom talking points with your students. (K-12)  (The website looks like an app on a phone.)  Use this on your classroom projector for some great talking points on a variety of topics. https://digcit.glideapp.io/ I have added this to our "Digital Citizenship Resources - Norris School District" doc. (Doc is available to all Norris staff.) 

Gameshow Classroom: Comparing Kahoot!, Quizizz, Quizlet Live and Gimkit - Check out the comparison here. 

Great Tools for Making Mind Maps and Flowcharts Article and ideas here. (Includes how-to videos.) 

How to Add Audio to Google Slides – And an Updated Tool for Easy RecordingArticle and ideas here. (Includes how-to videos.) 

20 Google Sites tips and tricks - A nice list of uses and ideas from educators like you!  
New Feature - Google SItes.  Review the latest changes to a new Google Site before publishing. Coming in the next few weeks!
Before publishing changes to your new Google Sites, you can now compare the currently published site with the soon-to-be-published draft site in an annotated, side-by-side view. More info here. 



The Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit is a FREE online conference for teachers, starting on December 21 and closing on January 8, 2020.
It brings together some of the brightest minds in education to discuss technology, pedagogy and more.  More info and registration is here. 
  • All new videos: FREE
  • All previous years' videos: FREE
  • All certificates for PD credit: FREE
Great coding activity for the KG hat gets kids up and moving and unplugged. Kind of a cool idea!