Google Drive trash items will be automatically deleted after 30 days starting on October 13, 2020 This will match Gmail's deletion policy. So, if you have something just sitting in the trash and think it will always be there....that is changing.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channels? -If not, you are missing out! What an exciting game tonight watching the Norris and Waverly Volleyball game! Great win Titans! Subscribe to all of our channels and get notifications when the broadcasts occur. We had almost 400 tuned into the game tonight and almost 3500 views of the Bennington vs. Norris football game from last Friday.
Pickup a couple free movies to add to your Amazon account! - You can pick up Patriot Games & Deathgrip free for a limited time on Amazon.com Add them to your account now while they are free.
Here is a great freebie for some Google Classroom Data Analytics for your classes!
Schoolanalytics.com -Teacher accounts are free. (With premium options coming soon.) Click here to sign in. (You will need to accept their permissions.) Get some insights into your Google Classes including student engagement, Assignment distribution, and more.
Here's a great one from one of our staff! Mentimeter.
Thanks to Kyle Steinkuhler for reminding me about this one! He loves using this one almost daily. Pose a question and within a minute or two, have aggregated responses from every student. Last week we mentioned AnswerGarden and Mentimeter is another great one to have in your toolbelt of tech tools. They have paid and free plans. (The free EDU version works great.) Mentimeter has apps to! IOS and Android. (Apps are not required since you can do it via the web as well.) Mentimeter has been around for a long time and is here to stay.
Did you know you can customize your Google Classroom Banner for a custom feel for each of your classes? Checkout this section in our Google Classroom tips document.
Who doesn't love a good template? Dive into these 5 GSuite templates to help you and your students do some creative projects, have fun, and learn even more.
Having an issue with video conferencing on your Chromebook???
Video conferencing (Meet or Zoom) takes some resources. (If I can use my desktop... I always do.) Here are some tips:
Fully power down/restart your Chromebook. (Shutting the lid just suspends it.)
Shut off extensions you do not need OR temporarily shut them off prior to video conferencing. Article on managing extensions. You can run the Extensity extension to easily turn them on and off.
Use the Chrome task manager to help show you what tabs, extensions or processes are taking up memory and CPU. (How to use the Chrome task manager.)
Note, if you are not at school... you will need a decent Internet connection.
You can test your camera operation on your device by going to this site: https://www.onlinemictest.com/
webcam-test/ (Follow the instructions to allow camera access so you can complete the test.) You can also test your microphone on this site: https://online-voice-recorder.
com/ You may have to allow the Mic on sites via a pop-up on your browser.
If your camera and microphone work and you are still having video/microphone issues when videoconferencing then you may have a setting in Zoom or Meet that has that device muted.
Normally this is not an issue, but it’s also worth checking: “How to manage the microphone and camera privacy settings on your Chromebook.”
Our Logitech desktop webcams at school sometimes do not start the video… so you may need to refresh the browser window that you are doing Meet or Zoom in for the camera to kick in.
Have you been waiting to use tech until you have to? -Well now might be a good time to start integrating! If you need help with any of your tech needs... let us know. Don't hesitate... don't wait.... now is the time!
Another great tip from Tony Vincent @tonyvincent -
🦒 Enter text into http://TextGiraffe.com to see it stylized in dozens of different ways. Download a style and insert it into a document to make it stand out.
Misc. tech tips and news:
- Coming soon: See read receipts on direct messages in Google Chat (like iMessage).
- Adding present and chat Meet moderator capabilities for education users - We’re giving hosts (meeting creators and calendar owners) of G Suite for Education meetings new meeting safety controls to manage who can share their screen and who can send chat messages within the meeting. (I noticed those controls are already in my account.)
- 30+ FREE digital escape rooms (plus a step by step guide for creating your own)
- Caption This! A fun, deep-thinking Google Drawings activity
- Quick Tip of the Week (NEW Feature in Google Classroom) You can now invite students to join your class in Google Classroom with a link!
Watch this short 2-minute video to learn how!
- Quick Tip of the Week (Add a Co-Teacher in Google Classroom) - Let's get back to basics! It's super easy to add a co-teacher to your class in Google Classroom.
FALL INTO ELEMENTARY AUTUMN RESOURCES - Checkout these resources.
We are in remote learning! Are you ready?None of us hope this happens... but it easily could sometime during this school year. How are you coming on our required list of tech skills for staff? I know it's hard to think about these when we are not remote, but the sun shines on those that are ready!
- SeeSaw (K-2) and Google Classroom (3-12)
- Screen recording (Loom)
- Zoom and Google Meet
- OER and curriculum resources
- Flipgrid
- Edpuzzle
- GoGuardian
- Clever
- Hyperdocs, shared docs, slides, and more...
WOW - This is a game-changer for classroom whiteboard tools! Whiteboard.fi – This is a winner for in-class or remote learning tools! This online whiteboard tool that is different than all the others! Each student has their own board and the teacher will see each board as a tile as the students work. A ton of features - waiting room, kick student, lock room, save boards, students see your board, etc... and all FREE. We have added this one to our list of top whiteboarding tools for teachers. This would be great for in class work! (As well as remote.)
Check out these AMAZING & QUICK Google tips and tutorials! - Resource here. Notice how they also use Google slides as the menu to take you to other slides with resources. One more way that Google Slides rock!
Google Meet updates:
You can now share higher-quality video with audio content in a Meet video call. You can do this through a new present a Chrome tab feature (We have added this new feature and more tips to our video conference doc.)
This one is Cool! - Check it out. -ClassroomScreen
Great for a touch screen (Mimio's in the EL) or casting your Chromebook to the projector. (Their free plan is still very useful.)
Another couple great tips from Tony Vincent - @tonyvincent
WheelofNames.com is a GREAT random name picker. After a name is chosen, you have the option to remove the name from the wheel. You can put text and or images on a wheel, and you can save wheels to Google Drive.
⏱ How about inserting a video of a timer on a slide? That way you can display instructions, links, objectives, etc. AND a countdown clock. P.S. You can find a variety of timers on YouTube.
P.P.S. Another way to show a timer + instructions is http://classroomscreen.com (
P.P.S. Another way to show a timer + instructions is http://classroomscreen.com (
Breakout Rooms! -We finished our in-services last week and here are our resources. There are a couple of great tools for doing breakout rooms in your video conferences... check them out. https://bit.ly/
We also showed everyone how easy it is to cast your Chromebook to your projector. If you have not tried this... here is our doc to get you up and going in less than 5 Minutes. https://bit.ly/
Quick Tip of the Week via Kasey Bell (Tag Students in Google Classroom Comments) - 2-minute how-to video. Did you know you can tag students in Google Classroom comments? Yes. If you allow class comments, you can tag students, so they know you are responding to them.
Quick Tip of the Week via Kasey Bell (Google Classroom)
When you leave feedback in private comments for students, don't just tell students what to revise or edit; give them a resource link so they can review the skill! 2-minute how-to video.
Visit the Flipgrid Discovery Library! 
Whether you’re new to Flipgrid or celebrating years’ worth of empowering #StudentVoice, our Discovery Library is the place to be! We have new Partners and Collections and we’ll have new Partner pages coming up in September, too!
Whether you’re new to Flipgrid or celebrating years’ worth of empowering #StudentVoice, our Discovery Library is the place to be! We have new Partners and Collections and we’ll have new Partner pages coming up in September, too!
Remember - Do not use hand sanitizer or other cleaners on screens, keyboards, electronics, etc.. We recommend a 70% isopropyl alcohol in a fine misting bottle. (You can wipe off the mist with a soft cloth.)
25 Things You Didn’t Know Google Slides Could Do - The possibilities for Slides just keep growing. Check out this list and some tips here. Here's another idea:
Cast Google Meet to your TV or Chromecast device. This could be helpful if we go to remote learning. If you have a Chromecast device or a TV at home that supports cast... you can now cast your Google Meet conference to your TV. Check out the details here.
Misc. resources and tips:
- THE BIG LIST OF REMOTE LEARNING STEAM RESOURCES
- Band – Remind on steroids (May be helpful for your after school activities, etc..)
One of your students does not have Internet at home... no problem. Enable Offline Google Doc's & Gmail may be the answer.
Seeing AI app (Free) – good for sight-impaired; describes what it “sees” and a very useful app for the sight-impaired. Try it out to see what I am talking about. This is just cool!
AnswerGarden is a new minimalistic feedback tool. Plant a question and invite participants to your AnswerGarden. Their answers will instantly form a growing word cloud!
Use AnswerGarden for real-time audience participation, online brainstorming, and classroom feedback. It's free! AnswerGarden has many different users: classroom, conference and corporate audiences, creative teams, online crowds, mindmappers, and more!
AnswerGarden fits educational, professional, and creative purposes is standalone and embeddable, and shows thousands of answers in a glance!
AnswerGarden is a digital scribble space. It makes a great tool for brainstorming in the classroom or workplace.
AnswerGarden fits educational, professional, and creative purposes is standalone and embeddable, and shows thousands of answers in a glance!
AnswerGarden is a digital scribble space. It makes a great tool for brainstorming in the classroom or workplace.
Here's one form the National Archives.
“Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended.”
Seventy-five years ago, on September 2, General Douglas MacArthur made these remarks aboard the USS Missouri when the formal surrender documents were signed. This marked the end of World War II and what's now known as Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day).
Just ten days after the Japanese Instrument of Sur
News of the war's end spread quickly, and celebrations erupted throughout the country. Yet, while the day is often associated with images of patriotic pride and jubilation, it was bittersweet for the families of some 400,000 Americans who gave their lives during the war.
This week, we remember all those Americans who defended our freedom during World War II at home and abroad.
As part of our commemoration, the National Archives and National Archives Foundation are hosting a virtual exhibit to mark this anniversary.
SeeSaw Tip: In SeeSaw - Use the spacebar to take a picture. Thanks to Kris Szajner @KSzajner on Twitter for this tip:
Here’s a Seesaw tip for those that have both in person and virtual students. Edit their name and put a * in front of the virtual students. When assigning Activities it will automatically bump them to the top.
Looking for Elementary digital reading resources? Check out this collection of #digital reading rooms!
Original folder here. Norris Teachers - We have added this entire folder to our Google Templates folder (It's the reading rooms folder.)
How to Increase the Chances of Your Students Actually Watching Your Instructional Videos - Checkout these tips. (We love EdPuzzle too, as noted in one tip.) (I would also recommend keeping them relevant and less than 7 minutes if possible.)
Need a Soundboard to SPICE UP your mini lessons? Well here you go https://bit.ly/32oYH56 You can now make sound effects throughout the day to keep students engaged. (Would work well for remote learners as well. (It's really cool, check it out!)
Google & ISTE's Teach from anywhere site - Is giving teachers and families the tools and tips they need to help keep students learning.
Checkout this short slide deck with some killer tips and resources. What a great resource! (The Soundboard above comes from this set.)
Some great new Google Meet features!
See up to 49 people, including yourself, in Google Meet - Go to the 3-drips and change layout to see the new tiled view option with adjustable # of tiles.
The new Meeting Safety button adds several new features.
They are adding Whiteboarding to Google Meet. (Basically Jamboard is being integrated right inside of Meet.) Coming in a few days! (As of 9-28-20)
Many you can easily make a copy to modify for your own use!
Quick Tip of the Week (Via Kasey Bell at Shakeup Up Learning.) (Crop Images in Docs, Slides, and Drawings) Did you know you can crop images in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings? It’s super easy! Watch this quick 1 minute video to learn how!
How to Alternate Row or Column Shading in Google Sheets
Easily Add and Manage Citations in Google Docs - Via G Suite Updates | Google is launching a new feature to help you add, manage, and format academic citations in Google Docs. This will make writing academic papers easier since you won’t have to use add-ons, or copy citations from other tools. Feature is rolling out starting 9-23-20.
Using YouTube to Share Lessons? - Settings and Tools You Need to Know About. (Also, the Improve YouTube extension is one of our favorites if you are showing YouTube videos in class to kids.
This is a nice tool for Google Classroom! - Classwork Zoom. Visit their website and check this one out! There is a short 1 1/2 minute video that will show you about it. You will also need to install the extension and The free version is very usable but will only display 1 student at a time, but they offer a couple extra features with their paid plan .
Google Ngram Viewer - Text Analysis Tool - When you enter phrases into the Google Books Ngram Viewer, it displays a graph showing how those phrases have occurred in a corpus of books (e.g., "British English", "English Fiction", "French") over the selected years. (Google Ngram Viewer's corpus is made up of the scanned books available in Google Books.) You can hover over the line plot for an ngram, which highlights it. Ngrams can be a very useful tool when trying to figure out which words and phrases are used in English. They can help show when certain phrases entered into the vernacular, and when they fell out of favor. (For example, put a few of these outdated disease names in to see when they fell out of use.)
Google trends - this is not a new one... but worth looking at again. Very interesting to see what is trending for news/searches.
