Tech Tuesday Tips

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 ...

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 ...

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 whic...

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...