Noel Erskine, Technology Coordinator Norris Schools

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Showing posts with label Google Calendars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google Calendars. Show all posts

πŸ’₯ Tech tools - Map tools, see changes to our world via Google Earth, Gsuite tips and more in this weeks tech posting.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Misc web tools:

Watch videos together as a group - https://www.watch2gether.com/  (Create a free room and get started - no registration required.) Thanks to our very own James Myers for this one! 
31 of My Favorite Ed Tech Tools - By Richard Byrne Here is the video

AWESOME Math Drill site! - All grade levels- check it out+ https://www.math-drills.com/

Need a quick and easy password for student? - Check out https://www.dinopass.com/ (There is a button to generate a simple one or a strong one. (Do the strong one!) 

This one is a must for Teachers and YouTube.  I use to recommend Majic Actions for YouTube but now I recommend Improve YouTube.  This one has a lot of features and is simple to use.  (Go through the settings and slide one of the settings to stop YouTube ads.) 

The new kahoot creator makes game creation easier and 3x faster!  If you have not used kahoot or quizizz ... give it a try for a review game. 

Need to print a Calendar? - This site has a ton of different styles. They have them by year. 2019 is here. Find the ones at the bottom and select Google Sheet.  Example 2019 one here.





Our Tech Boot Camp is coming - August 6 & 7 - Be on the lookout for more info.
  • Great sessions!
  • Great lunch!
  • Stipends!
  • And more!
We would love for you to present (Contact Jason) as well. 

Free book reading app for the younger kids!
Better Reading Practice. - Reading practice has never been easier with Rivet, a reading app with over 2,000 FREE leveled books for kids. Check it out.  (It's really free!) 

GSuite Updates:
Check out the new G Suite Learning Center - Posted: 28 May 2019 - Visit the learning center.
Update all linked content with one click in Docs and Slides - Posted May 24, 2019, More info here. 

New features for Slides Present mode coming to Google Slides. 

Gradebook in Classroom now generally available - This new feature adds a tab in your Google Classroom with a grade book view. Coming next year - Looks like the grade book in Google Classroom may sync to our SIS (Student Information System) -PowerSchool. We have signed up for this beta to sync to PowerSchool but not sure if we will be accepted. 


See 35 years of change on Google Earth  -See the shirking Glaciers, expanding cities and more.   Meandering rivers, mining, and urban growth are just a few themes that you can explore in Google Earth Timelapse. A global, zoomable video that allows you to see anywhere in the world and witness Earth’s surface transform over the past 35 years.

Sign up to get Google for Education updates in your inbox. -  Sign up here

See Changes in Google Docs Over Time With Compare Documents
Via G Suite Updates | It’s now easier to compare two Google docs. This feature will show you the differences between the docs as “Suggested Edits” in a new document. NOTE - This will be rolling out soon.
Side note - This is a great extension for teachers to see the document history played back like a movie. Great for looking at student's docs. - Draftback

View the Edit History of a Cell in Sheets
Via G Suite Updates | “Show edit history” is a new feature in Sheets that will help you easily see the edit history of a cell, including who made the last edit, when that edit was made, and the cell’s previous value. NOTE - This will be rolling out soon. 

Two new formatting tools available in Docs - Posted: 30 May via GSuite updates.  More info here. 
  • Insert section breaks and view section breaks in Docs
  • Adjust margins per section - It’s now possible to use the ruler to adjust the left and right margins by section.

26 Incredibly Useful Things You Didn’t Know Google Calendar Could Do -  Checkout the article here.
#10 was great -  Switch your calendar view in an instant by tapping into one of Google Calendar’s super-handy hidden shortcuts: Press “1” or “d” for the day view, “2” or “w” for the week view, “3” or “m” for the month view, “4” or “x” for your custom view, “5” or “a” for the agenda view, and “6” or “y” for the year view.

18. Did you know you can add an attachment directly to an event within Calendar—something like a PDF, image file, or document that you want all the invitees to see? 

Find out more: Check out the article here.

How to Split Text in Google Sheets
Via How-To Geek | Often, you need to split the content of a cell in your spreadsheet that is separated by a comma or space, such as the first and last names of a contact. Luckily, Google Sheets provides a simple, straightforward approach to dealing with merged datasets. Short how-to article here. 

Remember - help in G Suite is only a click away for you and your students.
Quick tutorials, short videos and more are only a click away.  More info here

I love Google's MyMaps - Use it this summer for your vacation!
Take a road trip with Google MyMaps - There are many classroom uses and personal uses (Can we say vacation!) for Google's MyMaps.  Have students create maps of historical trips, battles, etc...  Check it out.  (Yes it is one of the 8 mentioned in the posting above- "8 Options for Making Digital Maps " 

Google Photos Will Stop Syncing to Drive on July 10, 2019
Via G Suite Updates | Starting on July 10, 2019, Google Photos will no longer sync to Google Drive. From that date forward, if you add or delete files in Photos, they won’t be automatically added or deleted in Drive.  (In settings for drive you had to click a checkbox for the photos to appear as a folder in drive-...so you may or may not see this folder or use it.) This will really only affect you as a user if you used this feature in drive.  More info here: Google Drive and Photos Are Splitting: What You Need to Know.  

πŸ’₯ Tech tools - Awesome new online video tool, New Google Classroom tools, Book Creator, Are you going to Boot Camp? ..and more!

Thursday, August 2, 2018


Have you registered for the Norris Tech Boot Camp? -I hope so, we have some exciting sessions from some great staff members!  Check your email for the info from Gault! 

Book Creator -  WOW  This is a great tool... in fact, Jason is doing a session on it at our Boot Camp!
15 Science Projects for Book Creator Classrooms (This also shows you what a book looks like that is created with Book Creator. 

Misc web tools and sites:


Docs365 GIFmaker is a free Google Slides add-on that you can use to turn your slides into a GIF.



Nice online video creation - WOW Free!  Headliner.  How to Create a Headliner Video 

Google Classroom:

Some changes are coming!  (You can apply to get them now - )  Read more about them here:  A Peek at the New Google Classroom and 5 things to know about the new Google Classroom. 


Kahn Academy for kids released (App): 
 Khan Academy is now available for young learners (Ages 2-5)! Recently, Kahn launched Khan Academy Kids—new, free educational program designed to inspire young children to become learners for life. It’s available today in the iTunes App Store and in Beta for Google Play and AmazonFire. 

Thousands of activities, aligned to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Common Core, delve deep into topics ranging from math to motor development. 

Propose a New Meeting Time in Google Calendar
Via G Suite Updates | Google is introducing a new feature that enables more efficient meeting scheduling. Now, each guest invited to a meeting can propose a new time and the organizer can easily review and accept time proposals.

Some Tech Tools and tips for your Christmas break.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Need an icon?  The Noun Project to the rescue. 




www.resumebeacon.com  is a free resource that students can use to create their own resumes or resumes for literary or historical figures.  Remember, Google Docs Home page has some resume templates too.  (The old templates gallery is still active, with a lot of templates for a variety of things.) 


Adobe Spark Now Lets You Insert Videos into Your Videos - The best keeps getting better.  I love this app for simplicity and ease of use! Both web and app based. 


Google Forms -- Don't get caught in this situation!  Google forms do not have revision history or undo options like most of the Google products. When you create a new Google Form, a spreadsheet is not automatically created, so the data is just stored in Google forms.  Make a spreadsheet right away to have all of your form data written too!  Without this, if you delete a question... all of the associated responses are deleted... since they were not written to a spreadsheet.  (This recently happened to one of our staff members, so I hate sharing this tip based on bad news.... but don't let it happen to you.) 



Kahn Acadamy -  NEW - We’re excited to bring you our newest subject — Grammar! We created Grammar to help both native and non-native English speakers at all levels. In the new course, our resident grammarian, David, and our team of grammar experts explain punctuation, parts of speech, style and usage, and Standard American English conventions. As with our other subjects, students can review topics and work on practice exercises if they need some extra help outside of class. We hope you’ll check out our new videos, articles, and exercises and share them with your students if you find them helpful. If you are not familiar with Kahn Acadamy... you need to be!  It's an amazing free resource for teachers, parents, and students! 

Math tools:
3D math modeling to go! Create solids, spheres, planes, cross sections and many more three-dimensional objects. Solve linear geometry problems, plot z = f(x,y) functions and more.... GeoGebra's tools are great for any mobile device and/or computer.  They are free too! 


YouTube tools:
Need to download a video from YouTube?  This online converter is awesome.  Tips: Make sure you select a video format for downloading. I recommend mp4.  If you upload your video to Google Drive, it will take some time for Google to process the video before it's ready for playback. 

I have mentioned this in the past... but it's currently my favorite Chrome Extension for YouTube. Magic Actions adds a lot of features that you will love. Enhance your YouTube watching experience! Auto HD, Ad Block, Cinema Mode, Mouse Wheel Volume Control, Screenshot... Check it Out! 



Weekly teacher tips from google:
(Notice how they use Google Slides to deliver this experience. Nice...) 

Google Expeditions - This week's tip - Use full-screen mode on your tablet. 
Google Forms - This week's tip - Convert points to percentage. 
Google Classroom - This week's tip - Inviting guardians. 




Google Docs:


Adding a Table of Contents to a Google Doc  (Short 2 min. video tutorial.)  - Via BetterCloud Monitor | A table of contents can be a super useful guide for readers. Best of all, Docs will automatically create links to each section.

Work Faster in Google Docs with These 10 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts - Via BetterCloud Monitor | One of the best ways to speed up your productivity is to use keyboard shortcuts. Here are ten useful shortcuts for common tasks in Google Docs.

Power Up Your Google Slides With the Lucidchart Integration - Via BetterCloud Monitor | To take your Google Slides presentation to the next level, you can add flowcharts, diagrams, and mockups to illustrate your point. Thanks to a new Slides API integration, you can export professional-looking charts right from Lucidchart into Google Slides. Short 2 min. video shows you how

Google Sheets:

How to Do a VLookup in Google Sheets - Via BetterCloud Monitor | The VLookup function in Google Sheets is used to find whether a value exists in multiple ranges. This tool has limitless uses for sorting through and making sense of large lists of data. This short 2 minute video will show you what you have been missing if you have not used the Vlookup function before. 

Share Individual Tabs in Google Sheets  -  Via BetterCloud Monitor | Sometimes, you might want to share a single tab of a Google Sheet without sharing the rest of it. As simple as it sounds, Google does not have a direct way to do this. That doesn't mean it's impossible--you just need to get creative.  This short 3 minute video shows you how. (It uses the import range function that you may use for many other things too!) 


Google Calendar:

Take Google Calendar to the Next Level with These 3 Extensions.  (I personally use the Event Merge Extension because several of our school calendars often contain duplicate events.) 


Apps:

Free-IOS App - Apple Award Winner for 2016:
Prisma (free, iPhone) burst on the scene this year as everybody’s favorite photo app, letting users transform their photos into images that look more like paintings and drawings, with dozens of different styles to choose from. 


Want to do a book reading looking like a ghost, or other creatures.... This is the app for you! Another 2016 Apple award winner: 

MSQRD (Free IOS) — Live Filters & Face Swap for Video Selfies 
Transform the way you look through amazing masks and effects! Turn into a panda, zombie or even face swap with your friends. Save and share photos and videos.  

Some great tools and tips for the start of the school year.

Thursday, August 11, 2016


Web sites and tools:

My Three Favorite Classroom Timer Tools - via Richard Byrne @rmbyrne

A Literacy Resource You Must See to Believe -  The aim [of The Literacy Shed] is to provide high-quality resources that can be used in stand-alone literacy lessons, can form the basis for a whole literacy unit, or can support literacy units that you already have in place.

Spiral Education promotes strong classroom collaboration for free!  IOS Android and Chrome app

Help 1-8 students learn more than 1,000 crucial math skills for free - Nice game based learning motivates students to work outside the classroom too! (Over 4 million users and growing.) 

The Write Stuff - Some great tech tools for creativity and writing in the classroom. 





4 Free Digital Storytelling Tools for the Classroom via SimpleK12 
--Blabberize (Talking Avatar)
--Befunky photo apps 
--Animoto 
My Animoto notes: 
Animoto  Is a great site for creating videos from pictures! Sign up for free edu account. First sign up for a free account, then visit this site to apply for the teacher account:
http://animoto.com/education/classroom  (You can easily embed the Animoto, or link to it on your website too!)  First, create a free account, then request the education version to get the pro features for free.)


Soundtrap - allows students to capture audio, edit, collaborate and publish their final podcast, radio show, etc...  Designed for creating and sharing music too!  (Works great on Chromebooks... since it's all through the web.) 


WOW! - I like this tool! Google's new Tour Builder is great for telling a story with maps! https://goo.gl/AzDnMj   Example Tour here. 

Need to manage events and registrations ... This Google Sheet add-on will manage it for you! 

This is my favorite new Chome Extention for Gmail!  --> The New and Improved Gmelius Extension. It adds some great features that I really like! 

Google Docs & Apps:

How to Make Columns in Google Docs -- Great tip via BetterCloud Monitor | If you’ve ever tried to create columns in Google Docs (for example, if you’re making a newsletter), you might have noticed that there’s no built-in feature for it. Don’t worry, though—the workaround is easy. Here’s a simple method for making columns.

Google Templates for Students - Great list from TCEA 

Advanced Tricks for Making Your Google Slides Better with Multimedia

If you ever have a Google Doc that’s tens or hundreds of pages long, it can be difficult to find a specific section of text that someone has asked you to reference. To save time, it can be valuable to provide a direct link to a specific paragraph in your document. (Hint... it's using the bookmark function.)

5 Google Sheets add-ons that supercharge your data! 


Google Apps Education Newsletter for June 2016

Chrome Extensions:

WOW- This is a great list.  I personally use every one of these!  The 8 Best Chrome Extensions As Chosen By Teachers

Google Calendar:


Google Drawing:

Google Slides:
Are you looking for tips to make your presentations more engaging and captivating? Check out this episode and learn more about some cool Google Slides advanced features, that will help you improve your presentation design and flow!

Google Sites - It's new and improved! 

Google sites have been updated, and they are great!  (There are some new features.... and a few things I hope they add... ) We are a rapid release domain, so this new feature is available for our users.  You access the new sites here

This cheat sheet should help get you started.  (I have also added it to our tech docs in drive.) 

Google Classroom:




CoolCat Teacher's 100+ Google classroom resources. 

Classroom now lets you plan ahead by scheduling announcements, assignments, and questions to post at a later date or a specific time

Just announced from Google -Coming this fall: keep parents and guardians in the loop
Later this year, we’ll launch email notifications from Classroom for guardians so they can stay involved and help to motivate their students. Guardians will be able to sign-up to receive daily or weekly email digests of their student’s progress, upcoming work and class announcements. Administrators will be able to invite guardians directly and set domain-wide policies for guardian linking and notifications.


IOS Apps:

Thanks to free mobile apps, creating flashcards with students has never been easier. IOS & Android - FREE Flashcards by Dictionary.com looks like a winner. 

Play review games or learning games in your classroom?  Turn your iPad into a game style buzzer with this free app - Game Buzzer Free -Which I had this one when I was still in the classroom. ☺

Want to create some excitement with projects?  These apps are great for the K-12 classroom! Animate with avatars, pics and more.  This presentation from the ISTE conference will get you started.  It has Chatterpix Kids (Which is awesome for the young kids... and you hear a lot from teachers that love it!) but it also includes a ton of other ones that look great.  Check it out. 

Google’s new Arts & Culture app brings the world’s art, virtual tours and more to your smartphone Experiencing the world’s art just got a little easier, thanks to Google’s newly launched Arts & Culture application which puts works of art from over a thousand museums across 70 countries into the palm of your hand.  

7 Favorite Apps to Use with Book Creator  - Did you know we have licenses for Book creator for use on our iPads?  It's an amazing tool!
This si a great list!  The Explain Everything app is one that we provide free to teachers!  Need a code... drop me an email. 


Android Apps:

Google makes working on mobile easier with new Android Add-ons for Docs & Sheets

Some free apps, free PowToons accounts, awesome web resources and more! Here is the list for this week.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014


Web sites and tools:
Awesome project - Smartphone as a microscope-this project could bring science to the masses http://goo.gl/0z7Hqe I hope this comes to market soon!

Google's Photo Sphere Camera App (Free) for IOS allows you to make your own 360 degree photos and post them on Google Maps. PhotoSphere Home page is here, and You can browse photo spheres on the Views community. More info on making them with your Android or DSLR camera's can be found here

10 Word Cloud Generators to try  -Wordle is awesome, but some of these other ones have some great features too. 



Once again!!! - Powtoon is giving away $5 million worth of free accounts to educators. You can sign up for your free educator account at http://www.powtoon.com/lp/toonup/ <---REGISTER NOW!  (Promo code: ToonUp5M)

If you have not tried Canva -- You need to give it a try!  It may be the best and simplest design program out there.  It's online and free... two of my favorite words. :) 






Online photo editing:

Online Photo Editing for staff and students - My quick tutorial and reference sheet. <---Just made this tutorial/info sheet- Check it out!



Google Apps:

How to add a file to multiple folders in Google Drive:
One of our favorite tricks in Google Drive is the ability to add a file to multiple folders. This 1 1/2 minute video will walk you through the process with both the new and old Google Drive. 

5 Time-Saving Ways Teachers Can Use Google Forms.

Lucid Charts and Lucid Press - Upload your own fonts!  Including DJ Inkers - and more. This how-to doc should help.  KUDOs out to the Elementary for using Lucid Press for their newsletter!  If you have not seen it yet, check it out here 


5 Tips to get Organized with Google Calendars5 Tips to get Organized with Google Calendars - Edudemic - (Personally, I think every Gr 3-12 teacher should be doing tip 1!) 


Chrome apps, extensions & tips:

Video Downloader professional - A great extension for downloading videos, works about everywhere, except YouTube.

Google sheet tip:
For vertical text in a Google Sheet, you can insert text as word art and rotate it 90 degrees. 
  Insert--> Drawing
  Click the T (text box)
  Type the text and adjust font
  Rotate the text box with the top handle
  Click Save and Close
  Move the text box to the right place on the sheet

10 best Chrome apps for students 

Snagit for Google Chrome is free; you can download the capture extension here and the editing app here (you will want both of them). Note - These are featured below in the Googel Classroom section. 

The Ultimate Chrome Sync Hacks For Swapping Between Desktops -Includes one of my favorites - LastPass For Swapping Between Desktops -Includes one of my favorites - LastPass. 

Google Classroom:

Mickie Mueller's livebinder of resources, now includes GGoogleClassroom resources

Make assignments more engaging when you use Snagit to attach images in GoogleClassroom. Features a nice Chrome App and Extention. 

YouTube:

New ViewPure for Distraction-free Viewing of YouTube Videos  ViewPure- Home Page 

IOS apps:

10 Powerful iPad Apps For English And History 


NumberStax for iOS is a new math game from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that is free as of 8/27; normally $1.99 - http://goo.gl/KNngSX

GET $49 WORTH OF PAID APPS FOR FREE: 8 more awesome paid iPhone apps you can download free right now.

Google Slides is now out for the iPad

Use a tablet to teach handwriting in the elementary classroom:

Kids Handwriting HWT: Teaching with Google Play for Education -Short 1 minute YouTube on the classroom uses.   featuring these free Android apps on Google Play. (Kids Handwriting HWT apps)

Some IOS apps that may work for this - since the above video is for Android apps  
Android Apps:


The best Android clipboard apps 

Some awesome sites, tools and tech tips to get the school year started!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Wow... Summer is about over, and school is around the corner.  Here are a few great tools, sites, and tips to get us started!


Web sites and tools:

Crunchzilla's Code Monster (ow.ly/yk472) teaches kids Javascript programming.

Online museums you can explore for free: ly.tcea.org/zjprh

Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2013 From -  American Association of School Librarians (AASL) (Notice links to other years at the bottom of the page.)

Attention music teachers! Acoustica is offering a free work@home Mixcraft 6 license for your evaluation. Mixcraft 6 is used in over 1500 schools worldwide. To receive your free Mixcraft 6 work@home license, please send your name, email address and school affiliation to education@acoustica.com.

10 Word Cloud Generators You Have Probably Never Tried -  Edudemic http://goo.gl/4pEVMi

81dash .com is a TodaysMeet for education, built by an educator.

Draw a video game on paper, snap a picture, & play it w/ free iOS app Pixel Press Floors: ly.tcea.org/nsufn  (Yes you read this one right... watch the short 3 min. video on their site to see how it works.)

Link to list of Smackdown websites & apps from #hacked14 bitly.com/1wSEhJH

Recommended websites and webtools from the summer ISTE goo.gl/RSPDi0

Have you seen quill.org ? Interactive grammar lessons. Great for bell ringers

10,000 Newspapers On Google Maps ow.ly/yAbKj

Google Maps now allows you to measure exact distances.

Cost Of Living Map” Is A Nice Interactive 

10 sites with stunning visual data that will change your world view Via PCWorld - A picture is worth a 1000 words!

5 Ways To Use Word Cloud Generators In The Classroom - via Edudemic

BioDigital Human: Anatomy and Health Conditions in Interactive 3D

Plickers - The Student Response System for Classrooms That Aren't 1:1 another alternative to clickers in your classroom. Uses QR codes too!

Desmos Graphing Calculator - Free online graphing calculator, worth checking out for the classroom. 

Want to make great-looking photo books for free? Do it with Lucidpress! Here's How.  You will see more on Lucid Press from me soon!  THIS BABY ROCKS! If you are missing Publisher... STOP! You can even upload your own fonts... can you say DJ Inkers. :)


Access and Use More Than 20,000 Historical Maps from the New York Public Library ow.ly/zC02s

TwistedWave - Create Audio Recordings and Save Them in Google Drive http://goo.gl/DtmpNK

Classtools.net has several great tools including randaom name slectors, timers, and more. An oldie... but still a goodie. 

eBooks:
eBooks are changing reading habits, and it's for the better: ly.tcea.org/lbqrj


Chrome and Chrome Extensions:
Daum Equation Editor - If you need additional Equations for Google Docs and Sheets, check it out!

 The “Cite This For Me” Chrome Extension is a nice Chrome Extension worth checking out for research papers and research. 


Google Apps:

New feature in Google Docs -  Suggested Edits in Google Docs - http://goo.gl/PYNiFB -Great for group writing projects! A must watch 3 min. video with great teacher tips on this new feature.

5 Google Drive Add-ons You Need To Use http://goo.gl/uOGnPf

Working with images in Google Docs, Slides & Drawings just got easier with two new features: reset & replace images goo.gl/Mxu7fL

OK, Google is adding the ability to edit Microsoft Docs inside of Google Drive... but please, just convert those to Google Docs.... but ... in case you do not, here is more about this new feature. 

The Google+ cheat sheet Google should have produced years ago - Nice visual graphic. 

50 quick Google tips for students and teachers - tons of info here!

10 Things Every Teacher Should Know How To Do With Google Docs ow.ly/zAaUo

Every Gmail Shortcut You Never Knew Existed. Best tip on Google Shortcuts - Hit the Ctrl + ? key to get a list of all of them! 

A Handful of Google Calendar Tutorials for Teachers - http://goo.gl/tKGs6q


YouTube:

How to Create Audio Slideshows in YouTube ow.ly/zzXGG

IOS and some Android apps:

Need a walkie talkie app... Push to Talk with these apps: Voxer and HeyTell have IOS and Android apps for this purpose. 

Nice math app for the younger kids ... Bitsboard Math - Cool Math Games For Kids By GrasshopperApps.com  is free and the in-app Pro features are free to unlock for a short time.  Get it while you can. (I have not personally tried this app, but it gets some good reviews.) 

Free Books - 23,469 Classics To Go - The Ultimate Ebooks And Audiobooks Library In Your Pocket  IOS App - Free  Android App - Free

Here is one for the Chemistry Teachers - NOVA Elements
By PBS is a Free App - IOS (iPad)  or WIndows 8.1 App

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has a bunch of great - Free Apps. Check them out here. http://goo.gl/03WNbL