💥 T𝗲𝗰𝗵 tips and more- Games, templates, new tech features, ideas and more in this first tech tip post of the school year!

 Some great free learning game sites worth looking at today! 

Toy Theater has a ton of educational games. (K-4)  I have mentioned this one in the past, it's a WINNER! (Note - They are also starting a new math site for older kids and a site for worksheets and printables called Class Playground. ) 

Funbrain - It's been around for a long time, and is still a great one! K-8 with a lot of reading and math games.  (Tip - Checkout the links at the top & bottom of the page to narrow by grade too.)

 

99math - Quick setup - 5 minute games. (Review here.)

Starfall - Grade pre-k-3 Math & reading games and resources. 

ABCya - pre-k-6+ games and educational resources. 

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Great new feature in Docs - It's about time!  In Google Docs, you can now choose to receive email notifications for document changes on a per-file basis. (You have always been able to do this in Google Sheets, now you can do it in Docs as well!)  Check it out here. This is great! 

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Congrats to these staff members for completing their Google Certifications this summer:

Level 1 only: (2 Total)

darian.carney@nsdtitans.org (Completed 5-21-22)

nicole.zvolanek@nsdtitans.org (Completed 7-1-22)

Level 2 only :  (2 Total)

melissa.wesch@nsdtitans.org (Completed 7-1-22)

sarah.harms@nsdtitans.org (Completed 7-15-22)

Level 1 & 2 : (1 Total)

caleb.sheets@nsdtitans.org (Completed Level 1 - 7-18-22) 

Certification renewals:

Level 1 renewal only: (1 Total) 

sarah.harms@nsdtitans.org (Completed 7-17-22)

Level 1 & 2 renewal: (1 Total) 

adam.kranz@nsdtitans.org (Completed Level 1 5-29-22)

Our complete list of Google Certified Educators can be found here. 

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Miscellaneous Tech Tips

7 Google Sheets Features to Boost Your Productivity - Some nice tips in this article. 

5 Best Free Meeting Scheduling Apps to Find a Common Time Slot -  These meeting scheduler apps make it easy to find a common time slot when everyone is free or share your free slots for others to agree to

Give parents a list of assignments in your Google Classes with this add-on. 

20 back to school templates to save you time - Check these out from Dith that Textbook. 

Send your speaker notes in Google Slides™ to a Google Doc™ with this simple add-on. 

Slides Translator add-on with voice typing in slides!:  Slides Translator automagically translates text in your Slides. Communicate across multiple languages with ease! Now includes Voice Typing in over 60+ language dialects! More info here. Add-on here. 

Google Drive tip:  "In Google Drive press V. Not Control, Not Alt, just V. Press the V key to toggle between Grid view and List view."  (Think V for view in Google Drive.) 

GoGuardian University! Teacher Training Course - Class uses interactive content and pages.

QUICK TIP OF THE WEEK (Insert a Watermark in Google Docs) - You can now add watermarks (text or image) in a Google Doc. This is great for adding your school logo, marking confidential, and more!  Watch this quick video to learn how!

Google Docs new feature update: Easily assign Tasks from Google Docs 

In Google Docs, you can now assign a checklist item to yourself or a colleague that will then show up in the assignee’s Tasks list. (Coming in the next few weeks.) 

Password Protect Your Google Forms - More how-to info here. 

Jamboard: Add a Background from Canva. Checkout this How-To here. 

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How to create media-rich, interactive maps for deeper learning - If you have not used "My Maps"  You need to.  Check out this how-to here. (It's great for planning personal trips too!) 

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Google Forms:

Multiple Versions and Retakes - Manage quizzes and tests with these tips. 

Add Google Form Sections - Seeing a lot of questions at once can be overwhelming. Divide up your Google Form into sections to help break up the length of the Google Form. Think pages! Each section is a page of your Google Form. More info here. 

Speaking of Sections in forms -- Checkout, Navigate Google Forms Sections, to learn more about using sections and navigating sections. 

FASTER! Create Rubrics for Google Classroom - "There are 3 options when you click on the Rubric button: Create rubric, Reuse rubric, Import from Sheets." - Use GC Rubric by Alice Keeler to make "Import from Sheets" the EASIEST option! 

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Google Classroom: 

How to Export Your Google Classroom Rubrics - More info here. 

Nice Google Classroom Tip's for student's Poster -  Located here. More info here.   This one and more Google Classroom tips are found on our Norris Google Classroom Tips Sheet. 

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Need to insert a math equation in Google Docs/Slides or forms - This is for you! 

The free Hypatia Create add-on allows you to easily insert math equations in docs, slides or forms.  Install it here.  Short video about it here. 

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More templates at your fingertips! With Google Docs Templates by cloudHQ, you can access hundreds of Google Docs templates that fit your needs with just a click of a button! Take a look  (Video here)

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Access over 3,000 digitized historical newspapers using the interactive map and timeline from the Library of Congress. Check it out! 

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Sneak Peek - WOW, some great features coming!  Chromebooks Get a Ton of New Features: Google Photos Video Editing, Light and Dark Themes, More. See what's coming soon! 

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Did someone say year-round LearnStorm? Yeah, we did.

Over the past five years, we here at Khan Academy heard from teachers like you about the need for a mastery-driven, year-round LearnStorm. Good news! It's now here. Plus, we added several other new features to the mix, including updated content for our most popular course ever — 6th grade math.

See all the new features

Beyond these game-changers, we’ve also rolled out

1.	An Individual Student Skills report that enables you to see each student’s mastery levels for every skill in a selected instructional area
2.	A new mastery view for students that shows them where they are on their learning journey (it’s located in the sidebar)
3.	Middle and High School Science

Checkout more OER resources in our tech doc here. 

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Checkout these tips for making your Chrome bookmarks easy-peasy!  

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"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin - American Politician (1706 - 1790)

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"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." - John Dewey - American Philosopher (1859 - 1952)

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Teamwork is a desirable job skill in today's economy. When we let students collaborate, we prepare them for the future! Here's how Google Slides can help. 10 collaborative Google Slides activities - Check them out!

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This free online video editor is one to add to your toolbox! ClipChamp is amazing for free!  Checkout this article for more info: How to use Clipchamp, Microsoft’s sleeper-hit video editor.   Pricing info here,  Unlimited video exports in 1080p exports with no watermark.

We have added it to our resource doc here as one of our top 2 choices! 

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Check them out here!  Some games, templates, ideas and more! 

💥 Tech items - An amazing G-suite resource, markup files on Chroembooks, a ton of class resources and more in this week tech tips.

 Did you know our 1-1 take home Chromebooks (Gr. 6-12) run android apps? If it's a free Android app, we can install it. One advantage of the Google Classroom Android app is that students can draw on PDF files or images. 

Above graphic complements of Tony Vincent.

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WOW - Check out our new spreadsheet for G Suite (Now call Google Workspace).  Check it out here. This one is a big winner.  Use it for personal learning or with students. You can easily make a copy and modify it for what you want to teach the students as well. 

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Did you know you (or your students) can markup PDF files right on a Chromebook without adding an extension?

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When creating custom headers, change the page or canvas size to the recommended dimensions in pixels. (In Google Slides go to File → Page Setup → Custom) (Another great tip from @tonyvincent) 

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Online Timers for the Classroom -  These 6 online timers will keep your students engaged. 

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Msc. Tech tips and tools:

Google Docs Quick Tip of the Week (New Citation Tool!) - There's a new citation tool in Google Docs.   Watch this quick video to learn how!

Free app! - PicCollage EDU Collage Maker - Reg. $1.99. Free until Nov. 30th.  (This is a good one!) (We have obtained a lot of licenses to deploy to our iPads as well.) 

Resources for teaching 4th grade electrical circuits - This Wakelet board has a variety of resources, videos and activities for teaching the basics of circuits. 

Solve Math Equations using Google Search - Get help solving equations by typing them into the Search bar or snapping a picture with Lens to get a step-by-step solution, live in English and coming soon to 70+ languages including French and Japanese.  (Teachers need to be aware of these capabilities (of our students) including the Google Lens feature. (Similar to the Photomath apps.) 

Norris Teachers - Are you ready for remote learning?  Not sure we will ever be back to remote learning, but you always want to be prepared!  Remember, here are a few great resources including parents:

• Our Parent's guide and tech help for remote learning doc. 
• Our Required Tech & Remote Learning Teacher Tools and Skills doc. 

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The Google Master Slide is powerful! - Save time creating Google Slides by editing the Master Slide! Change fonts, colors, and more on EVERY slide at once!   Watch this quick video to learn how!

TIP - want to lock words, shapes, or images in Google Slides? Put them in the master!!
Check it out here - https://youtu.be/5Z86V2O_5zc  

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Click here: How to create student blogs in Google Slides for FREE 

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This is what I looked like after finding out Google Expeditions and Tour Creator are going away! 

(Well, I guess I may take this look... he's got a full set of hair!)

Both of these tools were awesome for educators.  It's VR field trips are getting rolled into their Arts and Culture app, so I guess it's not a total loss.  More info on that here.   I am afraid you will not have the same functionality that expeditions had when it comes to seeing where your students are at in the VR trip, etc... 

They are hoping the creating tools in Google Earth for the web will fill the void for Tour Creator.  (More info here.)   Here is what Google sent out on this:  Three years ago we introduced Google Earth for modern browsers and devices, and last year, we launched creation tools in Google Earth for Web. With creation tools, anyone can create, collaborate, and share custom Google Earth projects, similar to the functionality of Tour Builder, but with compelling 3D perspectives. Furthermore, Google Earth Project integration with Google Drive allows for much more seamless collaboration when working with multiple project authors.  

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What free learning resource has 10.8 billion minutes learning so far this year? 

If you guessed Kahn Academy... you were correct. Khan Academy helps anyone, anywhere learn, 100% for free.  (It's a great resource for parents too.) They have so many features with so many subjects it's almost too good to be true.   If you have not checked it out... now might be a great time.  You can even use NWEA MAP Test scores (Math example here.) to generate personalized study recommendations. Checkout our OER resources document to get started with Kahn and a few other great OER resources with other subjects included. 

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Just thought I would share a success story! Just when we think we may be pushing too many security tips your way and flooding you with too many security reminders. 

This email is from a Norris teacher that I consider pretty tech savvy:

Just wanted to send you a thank you note. I'll explain below:

I am currently selling my macbook pro. Obviously, being a mac, it is worth a pretty penny. I am selling it on Facebook marketplace, where I have sold many things before. Somebody planned on buying it, and seemed very legit. Got some emails from paypal that looked VERY real, and almost left to ship the macbook. However, the constant reminders at school about cyber-security and scams made me look again. Luckily, I discovered the emails were fraudulent and I was able to cancel the entire thing. If I hadn't known what to look for, I would've easily been fooled as the scammers have gotten pretty good at making things look good.

I consider myself pretty tech savvy and am usually pretty good at sniffing out scams, as I've never been scammed before. I always felt like the constant barrage of information about security was overkill, but without it nagging at the back of my mind, I might be out a macbook pro.

Just wanted to pass along a huge thank you to all of you for what you do. Keep up the security tips!

You asked for it. so here it goes....  ... Here's another tip:  Be careful of text messaging scams. We are seeing a lot of these!  They often have a link to click on and may take you to a site that looks like your bank or other business. It's similar to vishing.  (No I didn't miss-spell phishing.) 

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Open Educational Resources (OER) may assist the 1to1 initiatives in schools.

As we look to eBooks and digital curriculum we often discuss 1to1 device initiatives. Having a similar and accessible device in every student's hands only makes sense in incorporating eBooks and digital curriculum across a district. As with any technology, costs start entering into the discussion as well.  After reading a recent article in Digital Directions, called "Open Educational Resources Surge", my response was "of course the are!"  With state standards prevalent across the nation and increased Internet availability, most districts see the eBooks and student digital devices coming.

I figured I would put together a quick list of some OER resources from this article as well as a few other sources that can assist districts with developing their own ebooks and digital curriculum.

GooruLearning  is a OER collection that also will tie into your Google Apps domain, for those schools that are Google Apps customers.  (Not sure why all schools are not!)  This is their self description: "Use Gooru to search, study and create. You can search for and study from individual resources, collections (teacher-vetted playlists of multimedia resources), and formative quizzes created by educators in the Gooru community. You can also share your knowledge on a topic you are passionate about by creating a collection. We celebrate and encourage authorship and sharing of Open Education Resources (OER), and are stringent about excluding inappropriate content from Gooru."


Curriki 
Curriki is an online community for creating and sharing curricula and teaching best practices. Curriki:
Provides High Quality Free Resources – Curriki contains over 46,000 free K-12 lessons, units, assessments, and multimedia learning resources across all subject areas.


MYOER http://www.myoer.org/  You do not have to be from Michigan to use this resoure! Join your fellow Michigan educators who are already part of the Michigan Online Resources for Educators (MORE) community. Registration is FREE! As a member, you will have access to over 60,000 high-quality, online resources. You will also have free access to convenient tools and applications to make you more efficient in planning for your classroom while meeting the Michigan Content Expectations. More details about these online tools are included below. Why not join?

OERcommons http://www.oercommons.org  ISKME created OER Commons, publicly launched in February 2007, to provide support for and build a knowledge base around the use and reuse of open educational resources (OER). As a network for teaching and learning materials, the web site offers engagement with resources in the form of social bookmarking, tagging, rating, and reviewing.

Khan http://www.khanacademy.org/ As described on their site: "The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere."

Thinkfinity http://www.thinkfinity.org/welcome  (Formally Marco Polo) has been around for a while.  Thinkfinity is the Verizon Foundation’s free online professional learning community, providing access to over 60,000 educators and experts in curriculum enhancement, along with thousands of award-winning digital resources for K-12 — aligned to state standards and the common core.

ck12.org http://www.ck12.org/  Their mission: CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to high quality educational materials for K-12 students all over the world. We offer free high-quality, standards-aligned, open content in the STEM subjects. By providing these free resources, CK-12 is working toward educational equity for all.


Other resources worth looking at:
Amazon's Wispercast for schools to manage Kindles and Kindle eBooks.