Thursday, August 31, 2017

In Remind - how to edit messaging and office hours

In Remind it is simple to adjust your messaging from 1-way to 2-way. These are great options that are available to suit your needs.

If you leave open the 2-way messaging you can set your office hours for families to see as well.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 51 second YouTube tutorial.




Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Want to create a photo slideshow in YouTube

Creating a photo slideshow is very simple - especially if you use Google Photos.

Simply select the upload arrow (upper right)
Under create videos select Photo Slideshow
Add the photos you would like
Add audio if desired
Change slide duration, slide effect, and transition between slides.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 1 minute and 19 second YouTube tutorial I created.




Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Classroomscreen update - duo widget - 1 classroom 2 groups working on different tasks

Classroomscreen has added a new feature "Duo Widget -  which allows the user to have two groups working on different tasks on the same screen.

All you need to do to get the Duo to come up is select the yellow +1 when you select the item you would like to add.

I created a blog post in May about classroomscreen - you can access it by clicking here.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 41 second YouTube tutorial I created.





Hope you enjoy!
Brad

Monday, August 28, 2017

Want to share a "live" moment - but not with everyone? Try YouTube Live

Today my 5 year old son Jack started Kindergarten today - he was so excited! My wife started teaching today and was not able to be at the bus stop. Thankfully, I used YouTube's "Live" feature on my iPhone, selected "unlisted", and share the link with her. While she was not able to talk to him directly like with FaceTime - she could watch it as it was happening.

The link is also saved for future viewing as well. 

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a second YouTube tutorial.





There is also a feature where you can broadcast to the Public as well.

Facebook, Instagram, and others have a "Live" feature as well; however, the ease of which to create the video and share it as unlisted was a great feature.

Take care,
Brad




Sunday, August 27, 2017

In YouTube you can save videos to watch later


Ever seen YouTube videos you wished you could bookmark for later? Maybe you aren't able to watch at this particular moment - you can save videos to a "Watch Later" playlist to access whenever you want.

YouTube has made it very simple by just "hovering" over the video and looking for what looks like a clock. Select that and bam! - you have added the video to watch later.

To access the videos - scroll over to Home and then under library is Watch Later.

What I like is you can even access the videos and arrange them how you would like.

An embedded GIF and 46 second YouTube video tutorial is below.






Any questions please let me know!

Brad

Saturday, August 26, 2017

4 "key"board shortcuts on YouTube

Here are 4 helpful keyboard shortcuts to try out on YouTube.

  1. k = Pause/play
  2. j = Rewind the video 10 seconds
  3. l = Fast forward the video 10 seconds
  4. m = Mute the vide
Embedded below is a GIF followed by a second YouTube tutorial I created.





Take care,
Brad


Friday, August 25, 2017

Cool YouTube tip - use numbers on your keyboard

YouTube has a number of easy to use features. One of them I am sharing deals with using the numbers on your keyboard.

Using 0 will go to the beginning of the video you are watching.

Using numbers 1 to 9 will jump the video to 10%, 20%, 30%.... of the video you are watching.

An embedded GIF and 34 second YouTube tutorial of new Disney World experiences is below.





Take care,
Brad

Thursday, August 24, 2017

One of my favorite sites/app for communication with families - Remind!

Probably my favorite site for communicating with families is Remind. Remind (formerly Remind 101) is a communication tool that helps teachers reach students and parents where they are.

This tool is especially helpful as families can choose to receive the communication you send out either by text or by e-mail. Remind is great for sending out reminders about school activities, tests, as well as a picture of your assignment board. It takes a minute to create your class (you can sign-up trough Google if you choose) and then you will have information ready to share with families to join your class.
I also used the app to update parents on our ETA coming back from a field trip to the state capitol, as well as taking a picture of my assignment board everyday. Many parents would tell me how much they appreciated the daily remind text message as they would know what was going on at school before their child would even come home.

While it is great for the classroom teachers out there, it is also great for after school activities, clubs, etc.


Should you have any questions, please send me a message through Facebook, or comment below.

An embedded GIF and YouTube tutorial is embedded below (apologies for the audio in the video I created - it does go in and out).





Take care,
Brad


Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Want to go fullscreen - or go out of fullscreen on your computer?

A number of times recently, friends of mine have contacted me stating their Windows based computer is full-screen and they can not access their tabs, bookmarks, etc.

The solution - select F11 and you will exit full-screen.

Knowing this - if you ever want to go full-screen just select F11 as well.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a second YouTube tutorial I created.





Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Want YouTube to look more like Netflix?

If you would like to view YouTube a bit differently, almost a Netflix type feel, try typing in leanback after Youtube - www.youtube.com/leanback.

An embedded GIF and 26 second YouTube video is below.





Take care,
Brad

Monday, August 21, 2017

Monitor the web for interesting new content with Google Alerts

If you would like to set up alerts for a topic you are interested in, try sing Google Alerts.

In Google alerts you can enter in what you are interested in as well as set up options for how frequently you would like to be alerted, source types, language region, etc.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 54 second YouTube tutorial I created.





Take care,
Brad


Sunday, August 20, 2017

Want some nice recipes? Try using the Tasty app

Many people (especially my wife) have sent me "Tasty" recipes on Facebook. Recently, Buzzfeed has released a very clean and simple to use Tasty app.

What I really like is the ease of searching, the videos that instantly come up on how to create the recipe, how to share the recipe in an email or text, and the ease of which you can save the recipe for later.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 59 second YouTube tutorial I created.




Take care,
Brad

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Want to jump ahead or back 10 seconds in a YouTube video?

If you are watching a YouTube video and want to quickly jump ahead in the video by 10 seconds click on the letter l.

If you are watching a YouTube video and want to quickly jump back in the video by 10 seconds click on the letter j.

Thanks to Tony Vincent for sharing this tip the other day.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 34 second YouTube tutorial.




Take care,
Brad

Friday, August 18, 2017

Find key words or terms in an article on Safari

If you are on an iOS device and reading an article on Safari and can not find a certain word easily, try this simple solution. Thank you Tony Vincent for the tip - great follow!

At the bottom of the screen is the share a page (square with arrow).
Once selected you will need to scroll the grey icons over and look for the magnifying glass that says 'Find on Page".

Embedded below is a GIF and a 43 second YouTube tutorial of how I used it to find terms on ESPN.com.




Take care,
Brad

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Want to be inspired - or inspire your students? Log on to Tedtalks and fuel that inspiration.

If you are looking for inspiration - try watching a Tedtalk. Find just the right one by filtering topics, languages, and duration. There are over 2,500 talks available to you.

Embedded below is a GIF of the site followed by a 42 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Google Forms - try a template

If you would like to create a Google form but would like to see if there is a template already made for you - take a look at the embedded GIF or 1 minute second YouTube tutorial embedded below.

Remember that you can edit the form and make the changes that you would like.

If you have any questions, please let me know.






Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Google Forms - make questions required, assign default point value, & collect e-mail addresses

If you have created Google Forms in the past the fact that you always had to select make questions required and assign point values to each question was frustrating.

Now, Google makes it very simple by changing default settings for all your future forms. Of course change can be made as you see fit.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 44 second YouTube tutorial I created.






Take care,
Brad

Monday, August 14, 2017

How to create a GIF quickly and send in a text or iMessage

The Gboard app allows you to send a 3 second or less GIF easily. Previously (June of 2016) I posted about the Gboard app here.

This is a nice feature that can be useful and fun!

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 1 minute and 16 second YouTube tutorial I created.





Take care,
Brad

Sunday, August 13, 2017

How to search for publicly shared Google Docs

If you would like to search for lesson plans, templates, etc on a certain topic try using Google's publicly shared docs.

In order to access the files type in your search and then site:docs.google.com

Example - Revolutionary War lesson plans site:docs.google.com

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 37 second YouTube video.





Take care,
Brad

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Share information with families with a QR code at Open House

A simple (and techy) way to share information with families at an Open House is to use a QR code.

I searched for a publicly shared file (show you how to do that tomorrow) for a simple teacher contact form and found what you will see in the video below. You can also access it by clicking here.

I then made sure to share the link with anyone who has the link but made sure they can just view it.

It is a nice and quick way for families to have the information that you would like to share with them.

An embedded GIF followed by a 1 minute and 13 second video is below.





Take care,
Brad



Friday, August 11, 2017

Google Classroom - single view of student work

In Google Classroom teachers can now see a page that is dedicated for each student that shows all their work in that class. All assignments can be viewed and will be able to see if any work is missing, as well as what work was graded and returned.


Thursday, August 10, 2017

New Google Classroom feature - transfer class ownership

If you would like to transfer ownership of a particular classroom, Google Classroom makes it very easy.

Enter into the About section, select the three dots next to your fellow teacher and then select transfer ownership and will see a complete view of past student work and resources in Drive

What is nice about this is that the new teacher will not need to recreate the class.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 22 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad



Wednesday, August 9, 2017

How to share a file in Google for others to view without the clutter

Tony Vincent shared a brilliant way to share a file in Google (Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Drawings) without others seeing clutter try changing the end of the link from edit to preview.

To see a preview "pun intended" see the embedded GIF and 22 second YouTube video below.




Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

See history of websites visited on Google Chrome by using Ctrl H

If you want to see the history of websites visited on Google Chrome - use Ctrl H to see all sites visited by date and time.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 21 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad

Monday, August 7, 2017

New Google Classroom feature - reorder classes as you want to see them

A nice new feature in Google Classroom allows you to easily move your classes around easily - just click and drag. This is a nice feature available to students as well.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 19 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad

Sunday, August 6, 2017

GLOBE Observer Eclipse App - help NASA find out how much cooler the Earth gets

If you will be in North America on August 21st you can take part in assisting NASA collect data on how much cooler the Earth is due to the eclipse and clouds.

Embedded below is the GLOBE app YouTube video.

The app is free and you will need to create an account. The app for the eclipse will be unlocked on the 18th of August.


Take care,
Brad

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Google Earth is available for download on your iPhone or iPad

If you have an iOS device (iPhone / iPad) and would like to download Google Earth - you now can. Simply click here for the app and watch the embedded GIF or 1 minute YouTube video I created (it is what you will see when you download the app).




Take care,
Brad

Friday, August 4, 2017

Want to draw, highlight, underline on a PDF? Try Kami

Kami is a site that allows you to draw, write notes, highlight on your PDF for free. While there is a paid subscription available to the user (allows many helpful additions like being able to annotate on a Word or PowerPoint file), if all you would like to be able to do is highlight, write notes, and circle important parts in your PDF the free version would work quite nicely.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 2 minute and 34 second YouTube tutorial.




Take care,
Brad

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

How much of the sun will be blocked in your zip code during the eclipse?

With the eclipse being a few weeks away (August 21st) many people are wondering how much of the sun will be blocked where they live. If you click here you will be taken to an article written a few days ago by Vox.

One place that will experience a full eclipse is Salem, Oregon.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 49 second YouTube video I created.






Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

First week of school idea - have your students send n e-mail to their future selves with Futureme.org

Once students have written a letter on Futureme.org, you can set the date for it to be sent to their inbox. What a great way for students to reflect on items from the first week  of school, or possibly send themselves reminders of items that need to be taken care of.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 57 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad