Tech Tuesday Tips

Well, you may not rule the world but you are in absolute control of the content in your Google account. You can copy the content in your account to use elsewhere or use the archive tool as a simple backup. This works great if you want to backup your YouTube videos or a specific folder in g Drive.  To accomplish this, follow the below instructions: Visit https://myaccount.google.com/ From the Personal Info & Privacy area, click on CONTROL YOUR CONTENT Click on CREATE ARCHIVE The next screen allows you to select what data you want to include. By default, all options are selected. If you want to archive one specific folder in gDrive and/or YouTube files, it is easiest to click on the SELECT NONE button. After clicking on the SELECT NONE button, you will need to select which ones to include in archive by clicking on the white square next to the X. The green square with a white checkmark indicates that this data will be included in archive. If you s

One of the most powerful elements of Google Classroom is the private comments feature, which works with assignments only.  Comments become conversations with students, allowing for more back and forth discussion than can happen with verbal feedback. Every student can have a voice and communicate their ideas or struggles with a task. To use private comments, open an assignment in Classroom, and there you will find a space for private comments. Any comments left here will be seen only by you and the individual student. One of the challenges to using private comments is knowing who the comments belong to. Here’s a workaround from Alice Keeler : Students start all comments to you with your last name You start all comments to students with your initials This helps in filtering those comments in Gmail, or searching. It also lets you quickly see who responded last in the roster: You can also use links in private comments to give students more information, shar

When creating a new Google Sheet, by default, it will have one sheet tab at the bottom of the page. The program is designed so that you can have a maximum of 200 sheets. To add additional sheets, you can click on the plus sign in the sheets toolbar. One sheet will be added. To rename the sheet, click on the dropdown arrow next to the Sheet, and select RENAME. You may want to explore other sheet tab options available from the menu. There may be times when you want your Google Sheet to open to a specific tab. To accomplish this, copy the URL of the specific sheet tab. For example, if you want the Google Sheet to immediately open to the second sheet tab named Chart, copy the Chart sheet tab URL. You will notice that the information to the right of the / changes: Google Sheet URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hivDhrInFjmhl-AFB_frFOvpsyuY541hxn6ShQuo7I8/ edit?usp=sharing Chart Sheet Tab: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hivDhrInFjmhl-A

OK so now I have your attention! If we re-arrange the words a bit "I want to take a shot of my screen" aah yes screen shots but what are they good for? Many websites while allowing students to do drill and practice and take quizzes, they lack the ability to save or record scores or results. Have the students take a screenshot of their results and submit via google classroom as an attached image. Screenshots are a way of capturing a picture of your screen, be it your chromebook, a desktop computer or even your cell phone. The secret to unlocking this feature is to know the magic key combinations or button presses for your particular device. Windows - The old standby is Alt + PrnScn which copies the entire screen to the clipboard. You can then paste it into your favorite editor to save as an image file. Windows 7 and above - Included in your list of apps is one called the Snipping Tool . Add a shortcut to your toolbar and when invoked this app lets you take a scree

By: Kristie Hughes Do you have to constantly tell your students or other people to make a copy of your document so that they can edit their own copy?  Well, you can force this to happen just by changing the link of the file. Go up to the top of your file (google doc, slides, etc) and go to the end of the URL.  Delete the word "edit" and everything after it. Type the word "copy" in it's place. Then click return. When you give this link to other people, it will automatically prompt them to make a copy of your file. In fact, they won't even be able to see your file, until they click on the Make a Copy button. Now, you don't have to worry about anyone changing your original file, or reminding people with view only rights to make a copy to edit. 

I just LOVE the Sign in with Google buttons that you find all over the web. They are great because they use a protocol called OAUTH to securely log you in using your Google account. This means you don’t have to remember yet another username and password. We get so used to clicking these buttons to log in to sites and that means we’re racking up a bunch of sites that have access to our Google accounts. Today, I’m going to show you how to manage the connected apps and sites that you’ve authorized with your Google account. We can use this tip to review these apps and sites to see if we really use them and if we want them to have access to our Google account. Just follow these steps: Click your photo at the top right of any Google window, and select My Account. On the left side of the My Account window, click Connected apps & sites Then under the Apps connected to your account section, choose Manage apps. This will give you a list of a

I see a lot of teachers and students using iPhone’s Calculator tool in class.  Just like with any calculator, it is easy to hit the wrong number key.  Rather than clearing the entire calculation and starting over  [sigh!], there is a quick way to backup. To clear the last digit entered, simply swipe left or right on the calculation window. If you need to backup a few more spaces, swipe the number of digits you want to erase.

One of the best features of Gmail is the built-in keyboard shortcuts. They allow you to do everything from composing a message to quickly archiving messages. In order to use keyboard shortcuts, they must be enabled in Gmail settings. To do this, first hit the gear icon at the top right of the Gmail screen, and then go to the Settings.  Scroll midway down the Settings, and make sure that Keyboard Shortcuts are turned ON. Be sure and scroll to the bottom and SAVE your settings. Now, the keyboard shortcuts will be enabled for you. Try them out... hit the C on your keyboard to begin composing a new message. When you are done, hit Control-Enter to send your message. On a Mac, you'll use the Command key instead of Control. To see a full list of keyboard shortcuts, you can hit the ? (question mark) at any time. This will bring up a keyboard overlay as shown below.  This Google help link also has more info on the keyboard shortcuts:  https://support.google.com/mail/answ

Google Classroom stream can become cluttered and often, it can be difficult for both students and teacher to locate posts. By adding a topic label to a post, it is easy to locate announcements and assignments by filtering by topic. From Classroom stream, you will notice a TOPICS area located in a white rectangle to the left of screen. If the instructor has not created topics, it will read “NO TOPICS”. If topics have been created, you can click on a topic to filter the stream. After viewing filtered list, click on the arrow in the top left of screen. You will be returned to the unfiltered stream. Below is an instructional gif that shows how to filter the Classroom stream by topic: Let’s get organized by adding Classroom labels!  When adding an announcement, assignment, or question, you will notice a field to create or select an existing topic.  The topic could be the name of the unit or chapter or it could be specific like “Proper Nouns”. Below is an instructional g

Our Instructional Services team can provide PD for your district!  If you are a full member, all training is included at no additional cost.  If you're not a full member, we have competitive rates for our training. Not sure if you're a member? Check here .   Join us during the 2017-18 school year for our Google Certified Educator (GCE) Level 1 Online Cohort . This cohort will take an educator through all the preparation they will need for the Google Certified Educator Level 1 exam. The cohort will take place beginning in October, 2017 and will run through the first week in June, 2018. The course will be blended, consisting of online and in-person meetings, as well as work on participants’ own.  It will be facilitated by Google Certified Trainers Kristie Hughes and Chris Malanga using Google Classroom. There is no additional cost for the cohort for teachers and staff from the 40 NWOCA member and 5 full service non-member districts.  Click here to see if your district is el

By: Kristie Hughes What is Nearpod? Nearpod is an awesome tool for the classroom! You can create lessons using a slide deck format and allow your students to join the lesson with a code. They will follow along on their own device, and you can even insert questions into the presentation. Nearpod will collect all the student responses and put them into a report at the very end of the lesson. The lessons can be live (teacher directed/paced) or student paced. How can I create an account?  Go to Nearpod.com and create an account. You can even use your Google Account to get signed in.  There is a free version and an upgraded version. This Tech Tip highlights the FREE version. Navigating Nearpod:  My Library  holds the lessons you have saved. You can use already created lessons, and also create your own. Explore is where you can go to see the lessons that are already created. You can save the ones you like in your library. Join is how your students join your Nearpod sessio

Have you ever accidentally closed a Chrome browser tab? You know, the tab that contains precious research information or maybe Slides you are presenting to a class. Eeek!! Fortunately, Chrome browser has a pinning feature that removes the X or close button on a tab. A pinned tab will be smaller and it will be relocated to the left of other tabs that are not pinned. Even when Chrome is closed and reopened, the pinned tab will remain.  To pin a tab: Click on the tab using your shortcut menu (Windows: Right-Click | Macs: Control/Click  From the menu, select PIN TAB  Tab will become smaller and will no longer contain the X or close button. The tab will be moved to the far left  When you no longer need quick access to a Chrome tab, you can easily unpin the tab. To unpin a tab:  Click on the pinned tab using your shortcut menu (Windows: Right-Click | Macs: Control/Click  From the menu, select UNPIN TAB  Tab will become full-size and the X or close button will appear

Did you know that since Google Classroom launched three years ago, students have submitted more than 1 billion assignments? As the school year is quickly approaching, Google has announced 10 updates to Classroom and Forms designed to make teachers’ lives easier this school year. Here are six of the updates that make us here at NWOCA most excited. 1.  Single view of student work: To help teachers track individual student progress, Classroom now has a dedicated page for each student that shows all of their work in a class. More on this feature . 2.  Reorder classes: Teachers (and students) can now order their classes to organize them however they want. Learn More . 3.  Decimal grading: As teachers know, grading is often more complicated than a simple point value. So, educators can now use decimal points when grading assignments in Google Classroom. 4.  Transfer class ownership: Things can change a lot over the summer, including who’s teaching which class. Now, admins and

It's hard to believe that today is August 1st already! In just a few short weeks, your students will be returning to the classroom. Today's Tuesday Tech Tips email has to do with Google Classroom. Whether you're a seasoned user or a teacher who is planning to use Google Classroom for the first time, we've got you covered. For those new to Google Classroom , be sure and visit our NWOCA Training website . There, you will find lots of information – two pieces stand out for new Google Classroom users. First, you can watch this archived webinar  (and accompanying  presentation ) that will provide an overview of the Google Classroom product. Then, use this handy checklist to build your skills. Each item on the checklist is linked to a very short tutorial video. The best advice we can give is just to dive right in! For those more experienced with Google Classroom , use the checklist to see what skills you can improve on. Have you cleaned up your Classroom to get it ready fo