Tech Tip Tuesday: New Google Keep Integration

Google recently updated its Google Keep app and integrated it into Google Docs. If you don’t know what Google Keep is- Keep is a note-taking app built as part of the Google Suite. Unfortunately, it often goes unused as most do not know it is even there, let alone what they can do with it. Users can use keep to take notes, built “to-do” lists, find and save sources/links, archive information, and transfer little notes between your cell phone and your desktop using the Keep App for IOS or Android. 

Tech Tip Tuesday: Insert Google Drive Videos into Slides

One of the cool features wth Google Slides, is the ease with which you can insert and embed video into a presentation from Youtube. Google has now taken it a step further and allows you to insert and embed video from your Google Drive! Here’s how to do this:

Tech Tip Tuesday: Autograde Google Forms with Flubaroo

This tip is brought to you by Josephine Kelly as I forgot about this tool and the possibilities it offers until she asked whether or not there is a way to auto-grade short answer responses, spelling questions, or fill-ins using Google Forms. You can do all of this with a Google add-on called Flubaroo!

Tech Tip Tuesday: Shorten URL’s with Google’s URL Shortener

Have a long link and want to shorten it? Wish there was a really REALLY quick way to do that? Similar to Bit.ly, Google has its own URL shortener that can be added as an extension to your Chrome Web Browser and can shorten the URL to anything on the web with the click of a button. These links can be sent out, pasted on top of a presentation or document, or made accessible via a QR code. Here’s how to do this:

Tech Tip Tuesday: Taking Advantage of the Chrome Web Store

You need to take advantage of the Google Chrome Web Store. This nifty website is the place to go to install extensions to your Chrome Web Browser or apps and add-ons to the existing Google Suite.

To access the Google Chrome Web Store: Go to chrome.google.com/webstore OR if you are using the Chrome Web Browser click the “apps” bookmark in your bookmarks tool bar –> then “Web Store.”

To search for apps/extensions: Scroll under the ‘Get Started” section and begin browsing (it’s that simple) OR use the search bar to type in something you are looking for. A quick Google Search for “best chrome extensions” yields a lot of results!

To install the app/extension: Once you find something you like, click on the app/extension –> then select “Add to Chrome.” Next, accept/approve the install and allow the app/extension to connect to your Google account. The app/extension will then be added. If it is an extension, it will attach itself to the right of your URL search bar. To use it, just click on it!

FYI: Chrome Apps are simply short-cuts to a webpage. Chrome Extensions add functionality to the Chrome web browser.

Hope this helps! Happy hunting!

Tech Tip Tuesday: 4 Great Google Doc Add-ons

Looking to differentiate and do a little more with Google Docs? Here are 4 tools to help you, and help your students.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Advanced Google Search in Google Docs

Keeping everything students do within 1-2 big platforms helps mitigate student distractions. Google offers a host of add-ons, features, and tools within their suite of apps, as well as a number of key tools already built within. Google affords you the ability to do research right within a Google Doc. With this tool (found by clicking “tools” –> “research”) you can perform a basic Google search, search images, access Google Scholar (which is an awesome feature), find quotes, and look up words in the dictionary.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Sync Google Drive to Schoology

Did you know that you can sync and attach Google Drive to Schoology? This way, students can submit their work right from their Google Drive and you can upload/attach/embed  files to your Schoology assignments. Here is how you and your students can sync Google Drive to your Schoology account.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Organize Your Google Drive

Our new “tech tip” covers a better way to stay organized with student work and how students share documents with you from their Google Drive. If you are like me, you like everything to be compartmentalized and organized. But, with so much going on, and things being shared left and right, stuff often gets disorganized and goes “missing” in our Google Drives. Here is how to best go about staying organized and creating and sharing Google Drive folders with other staff and students. I’m going to use the teachers perspective with this one and show you how I would do this, but feel free to apply this approach to any job description.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Doing More with Gmail Labs

Today’s tech tip features some of the amazing tools found in Gmail labs. The “labs” can be found by clicking on the settings “gear” icon –> “settings.” Across the top are tabs in blue. Select “labs” to enter the menu.