Tech Tip Tuesday #10

Today's Tip:

With the end of the quarter coming up, it is a great time to check student's grades. 

For any staff on Schoology 

How to look up students and see grades in all classes:

- Click on "TOOLS" in the menu bar on the top of the screen

- Choose "Advisor Dashboard" in the drop-down menu

- Begin to type in a student name, wait for the name to come up, and click on the student

- The summary tab will show you the student's classes and grades.

If you want to see more detail about grades and assignments,

- Click on the grades tab

- You will see a list of all their classes but no grades

- Click on the classes, quarter, and categories and grades will appear

For admin of courses (teachers) on Schoology

When students view grades in Schoology, they see a lot of information and it can be confusing or overwhelming. Students are able to see their grade for the year (or semester, depending on the course) and their quarter grades. They see their quarter grade sorted by categories. It might be helpful for you to view your course grades as your students view them occasionally. This might help you in choosing and organizing your materials in Schoology and having discussions with your students regarding their grades.

One Way to See the "Student View" of Grades:

- Log in to Schoology and choose a course

- Click on "Gradebook" from the menu on the left side of the screen

- Click on the bar graph after a student's name to view their grades

- Click the arrows to expand (or hide) a section

- Log in to Schoology and choose a course
- Click on "Gradebook" from the menu on the left side of the screen
- Click on the bar graph after a student's name to view their grades
- Click the arrows to expand (or hide) a section

What questions do you have about grading and the end of the quarter?

Tech Tip Tuesday #9

Today's Tip:

In honor of National Cybersecurity Month, change your password!

Password Resources:

Passwords and Positive Self-Talk - Such an awesome way to work affirmations into our day!

Random Passphrase Generator

How Secure Is My Password?

The best password managers of 2019 and how to use them

Resources for Educators: 

Stay Safe Online

STOP. THINK. CONNECT. ™ Toolkit from Homeland Security

Digital Citizenship Curriculum from Common Sense Media, includes a lesson on Strong Passwords

Cybersecurity Curriculum from Code HS

9 resources for teaching digital citizenship

As a treat for reading all the way to the end, check out this hilarious Social Media Privacy video! 

How will you work cybersecurity into your lessons with students?

Tech Tip Tuesday #8

Today's Tip:

Use Chrome Extensions, and your students can too, to enhance your Chrome experience!

First, what's an extension?

According to the Chrome page, "Extensions are small software programs that can modify and enhance the functionality of the Chrome browser." To install extensions: While in Chrome, go to the Chrome Web Store, find an extension, and click on the blue "Add to Chrome" button. Just like with everything on the Internet, please use caution when installing extensions. (See: Browser Extensions: How to Stay Safe) 

Wait, can students install extensions?

Yes and no. Students can install extensions that have been allowed by Bill Groskreutz through the Google Admin console. If there is a specific extension you would like students to use, please let Bill know ahead of time.

Five NEW Favorites:

Grammarly

This extension will check spelling and grammar when you are typing in Chrome on any website. This extension has a fun new update with Gmail that will even tell you the tone you are using in an email, my tone right now is "Optimistic."

Save to Google Drive

This extension allows you to save web content to Google Drive. You can save articles, images, videos, and more by clicking this extension when browsing. This is awesome for curating resources. 

Screen Shader

This is good for anyone working on the computer at night. This extension uses a soothing orange color to reduce blue light. You have full control over color and darkness settings and there are keyboard shortcuts to make adjusting on the fly super easy. I have this set up to match the sunrise and sunset automatically each day.

Event Merge for Google Calendar

This is for the Google Calendar lovers out there! If you have an event on multiple calendars, this extension will merge them into one event when viewing your calendars. No more duplicate events cluttering up your calendar! 

Keep Awake

Warning: I would not recommend this extension to students and I would use it with caution. This extension overrides system power-saving settings. This is a game-changer if you are presenting from Chrome during class, your Chromebook will no longer turn off while in the middle of displaying something. However, this also leaves your device vulnerable if you do not manually power off or close your Chromebook.

From the Archives:

Two Favorite Extensions

More Extensions for Managing Tabs

Five Favorite Extensions

What are your favorite extensions?

Tech Tip Tuesday #7

This week is all about Bitmojis! 

New to Bitmojis? 

Bitmoji is a cartoon character that looks like you. Use your Bitmoji images on slides, on papers, and on student work as feedback. They're great for emails too! To get started with Bitmojis, check out this Tech Tip Tuesday post from the archives.

Why Bitmoji?

Here are a few reasons from 10 Reasons To Like Bitmoji:

- Creating your avatar is simple and easy.

- It brings joy and smiles all around.

- We live in a visually-enhanced world.

- It's a great way to connect with your teens.

 

Using Bitmojis in the Classroom:

- Give student feedback. Check out 5 Ways to Use Bitmoji in the Classroom for a tutorial video on using Bitmojis to give feedback in Google Docs.

- Print posters with Bitmojis to encourage students or reinforce concepts. Check out 8 Super Creative Ways to Use Bitmojis in Your Classroom for more printable ideas. 

- Send quick emails to students to give reminders or to check-in. Check out Bitmojis, Gifs, and Snaps in the Classroom? Oh My! for more examples.

- Have students make a comic book with Bitmojis and Google Slides to show understanding of a concept. Check out this Making Comics with Bitmojis & Google Slides presentation for examples and tutorials.

 

Not finding the Bitmoji you want? 

Create custom Bitmojis in Google Drawings. Jeff Tuckner created his own for Schoology and they are so awesome! Check out Custom Bitmoji Feedback to see how it's done. 

How will you use Bitmojis?

Amazing Scholarship Opportunity

As a two-time ISTE attendee, ECMECC has asked me to share the details about this year's scholarship with all the wonderful folks here at East Central. If you are curious, please let me know. I would love to chat with anyone and everyone about this amazing opportunity!

Alice Keeler and Matt Miller getting ready to present in the Expo Area!

This conference is amazing! There are so many presenters that there is truly something for everyone - every level (beginner to advanced) and every content/grade level area. I have learned so much from attending and have been so inspired by what other schools, educators, and students are sharing! The Expo Floor has so many vendors and it is fun to see what is available for schools and classrooms. It is also an opportunity to talk face-to-face with vendors to ask questions and learn about how their products apply to your specific setting. And while it's not the main reason for attending a conference, the swag from the Expo Floor and the vendor-hosted after parties are pretty awesome too! 

In 2018, I won free tickets to Hamilton from Newsela!

If you are even just a teeny bit interested, I strongly encourage you to apply for an ECMECC Scholarship. ECMECC takes care of all of the travel arrangements and helps you prepare for the conference. Since ECMECC travels as a group, you get to meet many wonderful educators from area schools. It truly is an awesome way to attend a conference.

Some of the ECMECC crew at the Flipgrid after-party with Peary from Peardeck.

A little more background information, ISTE stands for the International Society for Technology in Education. This organization hosts a four-day conference every summer. People travel from all over the world to attend. The registration includes a year-long membership which gives you access to webinars, electronic copies of publications, access to member forums, and more. While that is a lot, you can pick and choose what interests you and what meets your needs. Also, there are options to earn graduate credits for participating in the conference and other events.

A fun way to present Google Tools.

I have attached the details from ECMECC. Again, if you are at all interested, I would love to chat and you should definitely apply! 

This is an amazing opportunity and I hope to see some East Central staff represented in Anaheim! 

Tech Tip Tuesday #6

Today's Tip:

Try a new-to-you feature in Gmail.

It might be my "24-karat gold" status, but I  all the features Gmail has built in to help keep you organized and work efficiently. Below is a list of the features that I use almost daily. 

Five Favorite Features:

 Add a background theme to your inbox. I have a blue glitter theme that helps me distinguish my work Gmail account from my personal Gmail account (which of course has a hot pink theme). 

Get your daily agenda in your inbox. This email comes around 5 am every morning and is the first email I read every day. It has everything on my calendar, and any other calendars I choose to subscribe to, for the day. 

Schedule email to send later. I use schedule send to send out these Tech Tip Tuesday emails on Tuesdays when I finish them up on Monday. I use the schedule send feature to schedule reminders and announcements and to write emails at night that send during the workday. 

Snooze email or reminders until later. This is an awesome feature! If you have an email that contains information you need, but maybe not right now, you can snooze it to arrive at the perfect time for you. For example: Maybe you're reading all these Gmail tips and thinking this is great but I'm a little overwhelmed this week. You can snooze this email until Thursday, October 17th at 8 am and make trying the features one of your projects for the long weekend. 

Label and sort messages with filters. Warning: This is an advanced feature and is great for those who wish we could file email by folders as we can paper in a desk drawer. I have filters for "Work to Grade" from Schoology, different teams/committees I am on, and different listservs. 

Want More?

The G Suite Learning Center has a Gmail Cheat Sheet, Gmail: Beginner Tips, Gmail: Intermediate Tips, Gmail: Advanced Tips, and more to provide you with whatever training and support you need to become a Gmail Master. 

From the Archives:

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

Use Gmail's vacation responder feature.

Save attachments from Gmail directly to your Google Drive and organize the file.

Set up your email signature.

​What are some of your favorite Gmail features?