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Update to Google Voice Typing: You can not only dictate words to be typed but also commands including selecting text and formatting the text in Google Docs now. Here is a quick video that show this in action.  Lenovo N21 Chromebooks: This model chromebook has a camera that rotates and can take picture behind the screen. One example of how you could use this tool would be for students to take pictures of their work and then upload it into Google Classroom.  Apple Text Substitutions: You can create your very own text substitutions that sync across your Apple devices. You create a shortcut phrase or letters and when typed will automatically be replaced with the text you have chosen. For example if I type "pstt" it is automatically with "please submit a tech ticket". To set this up go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Text. This works similar to the word prediction on iPhone and iPad. 
Posted by Guest  On Mar 03, 2016 at 11:41 AM
  
Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts: Ctrl + L or Command + L: highlights the website address so you can quickly copy & paste to send it to someone Ctrl + Shift + T or Command + Shift + T: reopen a closed tab, can be used to open multiple closed tabs even after the window has been closed.  Custom Google Search: Create a custom search that only takes students to the sites you have selected. This is great for student research projects, you can limit them to only credible websites that you have selected. Directions InstaGrok: Research any topic with an interactive concept map, that you can customize and share. It only searches safe websites. Here is an intro video that shows how the tool can be used. 
Posted by Guest  On Feb 11, 2016 at 11:34 AM
  
Chromebook Login Issues: If you ever go to login to a chromebook and it doesn't appear to be able to connect to the wifi or just spins on the sign in screen. The most likely reason is that the date and/or time is set incorrectly. You don't have to be login to fix this issue, just click on the time in the lower right-hand corner and you will be able to correctly set the date and time. This should resolve your issue, if not restart the chromebook after the setting the date & time. New Search in Drive: You may have noticed that the search within Drive has expanded, for example you are now able to search by creator, words within, or who the document is shared with.  Quizizz: looking for an alternative instead of Kahoot! Quizizz is another tool that is an interactive review game. They also have a new Homework mode so students can practice on their own. 
Posted by Guest  On Feb 01, 2016 at 12:35 PM
  
Grammarly: This chrome extension will spell check and grammar check for you anywhere you are typing. It is not perfect but it is still helpful.  One Tab: Having over 10 tabs open at a given time can seriously slow down your computer. If you are like some of us and often have 20 or more tabs open at once, then everything seems to slow to a crawl. OneTab adds a button to your chrome window that will close all your tabs at once and save their URLs to a list for you to access later. This means you can open the few tabs you need right now without losing track of the others you may need later. Your computers CPU will thank you for using this one.  The Great Suspender: This is another Extension that helps serial tab openers. Rather than close all your open tabs like OneTab, The Great Suspender will suspend tabs when they are not used for a set amount of time (this amount of time is customizable). The benefit of this is that the tabs will all remain visible but since they are suspended they will not take up memory and slow down your browsing.
Posted by Guest  On Feb 01, 2016 at 12:34 PM
  
Drag & Drop files directly into folders in Google Drive: you can now drag a file from your desktop directly into Drive folders or subfolders Add to-do's to Google Calendar using Reminders: This currently only works on smartphones but it allows you to keep track of your to-do or reminders directly within Google Calendar.  Google Keep: create lists that can be shared with other google accounts. Items can be time or location sensitive. For example you could create a list of activities for students to complete and share it with them. There are also apps available for your smart phones.  GradeCam: allows you to scan a paper test with your laptop or a document camera and it automatically scores. The free account allows you to have up to 10 multiple choice questions. 
Posted by Guest  On Feb 01, 2016 at 12:34 PM
  
Here is another set of Technology Tips, a shoutout to the members of the Technology Committee as they are also creating tech tips for me to share with you.  Tech Tickets: We recently added a link to a short 3 question survey in the response you receive when we close your tech tickets, please take the time to provide us with feedback. Don't forget to submit a techticket you can just send an email to help ([email protected]). Create and Save Printer/Copier Settings: Did you know you create custom printing settings and save them to use in the future? This really makes it easy to print how you want every time. Here is a shortvideo on how to do this on the Mac side.  ModMath: Free app for the iPad that allows students to solve math problems because it keeps the numbers lined up. 
Posted by Guest  On Feb 01, 2016 at 12:33 PM
  
Bcc email feature: Did you know you can send emails without the email recipient seeing who else the email was sent to? Bcc allows you to blind carbon copy emails, which sends to all people in the bcc area but doesn't allow them to see the other email addresses. This is extremely useful when sending mass parent emails because then parents can't see each other's addresses. Just click on bcc on the right side of the recipients area of your email.  GoNoodle: Great website filled with brain breaks and indoor recess videos. Sign up for free and then you can save your favorites for easy playing later. They are always releasing new videos but one of my favorite channel is Maximo.  Plickers: This is a great alternative to clickers or other instant response tools that require all students to have a device. Plickers uses printed cards for students to share their response so only the teacher needs to have a device with a camera to scan their responses. It supports multiple choice or true/false questions. Google Sheets Explore Feature: Google Sheets now automatically analyzes your data and builds charts. Just look for the Explore button in the lower right.  Google Share to Classroom Extension: If you are already using Google Classroom this extension on Chrome allows you to instantly share links to student devices. 
Posted by Guest  On Dec 03, 2015 at 11:02 AM