Tech Tip Tuesday #30

Today's Tip:

Schedule your emails in Gmail to be sent at a later date and time.

This feature has recently been added to Gmail and has shown up in our Gmail within the last week. If you are interested, there is more info on the G Suite Updates blog.

Instructions:

- Open Gmail and compose an email.

- Click the arrow next to the Send button.

- Click Schedule send.

- Pick the date and time to send the email, choose from the recommendations or click pick date & time to customize.

When would I ever use this?

I use this feature most when sending a reminder or announcement for a particular day. Perhaps you want to remind staff of the Art Show on Friday but are thinking of it while planning now. You can compose an email, schedule send for Thursday pm or Friday am, and staff receive the reminder at the perfect time!

5 Benefits of Scheduling Email

1. Send emails when they’re most likely to be opened.

2. Never hesitate when clicking send.

3. Work on your own schedule, communicate on your recipient’s.

4. Scheduling emails can improve morale.

5. Enjoy more flexibility.

How will you use Schedule send?

Tech Tip Tuesday #29

Today's Tip: 

Use keyboard shortcuts in Google Forms to streamline creating quizzes, surveys, exit tickets, and more for your students!

Instructions:

Use the keyboard shortcut Control + Slash to see a list of all the keyboard shortcuts in Google Forms! Use Control + Shift + Enter to easily add a new question to the Form!

Want More?

     

This "easter egg" is from Alice Keeler's 10 G Suite Easter Eggs blog post, check it out for more nifty things to do with Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more! 

 

If you would like more Google Forms tips/tricks/templates, check out my Google Forms for the Win presentation from our EPIC PD Day at bit.ly/FormsWin.

From the Archives...

Getting Started with Keyboard Shortcuts

Ninja Keyboard Tricks

YouTube Keyboard Shortcuts

Tech Tip Tuesday #28

Today's Tip:

Use templates to create engaging materials for students!

Matt Miller recently shared 12 Must Have Templates for Teachers and Students on his blog. I've included a five of my favorites below, feel free to explore his blog post for more ideas!

1. Google's Templates

Did you know that Google has many ready-to-use templates for Docs and Slides available? In addition to templates for education, there are lots of others for work or even for your personal life. Just go to docs.google.com/document or docs.google.com/presentation and click on “template gallery”. There are some great ones to use as a teacher (flashcards, certificates, etc.) and some great ones to have students use (resume, sample letters, etc.).

2. Caption This

Caption This can be used in any subject area to add an extra layer of critical thinking, there are examples for History, Language Arts, and Math on the website. Use one of the templates linked on the website or create your own simple template in Google Drawings or Slides and share with your students for a fun, deep thinking activity.

3. Daily Check-In

This daily check-in Google Form template gives students an opportunity to share how they are doing and answer some warm-up questions on the same form. You can share a link to this form in Schoology and reuse as many times as you would like. Read more about this form on the accompanying blog post here.

4. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are helpful tools in any subject. Eric Curts has created 30 Google Drawing graphic organizers for you to use and adapt for your students. Including the word diagram above, Frayer models, and lots of simple organizers.

5. Canva

Canva has a huge directory of templates available to use for free on their website. Think posters, presentations, magazine covers, newsletters, and so much more! Looking for ideas to use in the classroom? Karly Moura wrote a blog post sharing 20 Ways to Use Canva’s Templates With Your Students.

What do you wish you had a template for?

Tech Tip Tuesday #27

Today's Tip

Use online tools to make classroom materials more accessible for all students.

Ambient Sounds: For some students, having ambient sounds in the background can help them focus better. Check out 8 Ambient Sound Websites to Help Students Focus, my personal favorite is Noisli. I will also use YouTube videos, I am currently digging this one where we can watch the snow melt. 

Chromebook Accessibility Features: In Chromebook settings, you can turn on accessibility features. You can turn on text-to-speech, high-contrast mode, on-screen keyboard, play all sounds together through speakers, and more features. Click settings from the bar with the time, click advanced, and scroll to the Accessibility section, and click manage accessibility features. 

Read Online: Clear away the ads and distractions from an article using the Chrome extension Mercury Reader. Then use a text-to-speech reader like Read Aloud or Read & Write (free for educators by filling out this form) to have the article read to you.

Visual Aids: Change the size of what's on your screen by using Ctrl and + to zoom in, Ctrl and - to zoom out, and Ctrl and 0 (zero) to return to the original zoom level.

Voice Typing: Use the microphone and enable the feature to use voice typing in Docs and Slides to write and edit without a keyboard. I've tried this and it's pretty neat, I would recommend checking out Matt Miller's Voice Typing Challenge if you are interested in giving voice typing a try.

Want More?

Tools that aim to reach all types of learners, wherever they are

Accommodation Resources which includes an amazing list of Google Tools for Struggling Students

Tech Tip Tuesday #26

Today's Tip:

Use Google Slides or Docs to create a daily/weekly agenda.

Schoology Pro Tip:

Embed your agenda into a page at the top of your Schoology course! Students will have access to a detailed overview of each day's lesson, no more "What are we doing today?"! Absent students will also be kept up-to-date with the lessons.

Weekly Agenda Using Google Docs:

Check out this Template I created after reading about a similar one on this technology blog. 

Daily Agenda Using Google Slides:

Check out this Template I created based on one of the options on this blog and read more about creating interactive agendas with Google Slides on this technology blog.

What Works for Me:

My Google Slide Deck

I put all my classes on the same set of Slides so I only have to open the one thing every day (and it's bookmarked for easy access). I present this slide deck on the screen in my room at the beginning of class every day so students can read it as they are coming into the room. I leave it open all day and switch back to it as needed throughout the class period. I have slides "skipped" when they are not needed for that day so I can "save" them for another day. I embedded YouTube timers to help keep students on track. I use Bitmojis to make it more engaging for the students, I switch out the main one every couple of days (or weeks) and the rest have been the same all year. I also included expectations, I feel like my 7th graders definitely need the daily reminders.

How do you share the daily/weekly/unit plan with your students?

What works for you?