Saturday, March 31, 2018

Padlet as an exit ticket - students share what they know and have questions about

Padlet can provide your students with a place to share what they know about a topic as well as what questions they still have.

As always, you have the option to require students to put their name on the ticket. I did not require names in my example (just an FYI). Below are the steps I used to create the Padlet.

  • I created a Padlet and selected Grid. 
  • Changed my title and added a description
  • Chose my wallpaper (remember you can choose your own)
  • Selected the profanity filter on as well as Comments and Reactions (area for students to state that they had the same question, that they could help the student, as well as like the post)
  • Kept the Padlet as Secret and selected next
  • I then grabbed the Padlet URL and embedded it in my Google Site so it is easy to fin.
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 39 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,



Brad

Friday, March 30, 2018

Padlet as a place for students to find peer-reviewed books they may be interested in

Book reports serve many uses; however, how about adding this feature? Taking the information such as Title, Author, Introduction, Summary, Characters, and Plot typed in a Google Doc and then sharing the information with the class in a Padlet. For a ready-made Google Doc please click here.

Your students will just need to access the Padlet (possibly embedded in your class website). Just to let you know I left open the ability to comment in my example.

I am hoping this will lead to students taking their time on reports as they know their peers will be able to see them. This could also lead to a great place for students to find books that may interest them.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 10 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad




Thursday, March 29, 2018

Padlet - a way to send notes/pictures/videos from the whole class to a student who is absent for a time or leaving

If you have a student that is leaving or maybe has been absent for an extended amount of time, try using Padlet as a way to share notes, videos, pictures, etc from your class. This way the student will know they are being thought of and missed. This is also great for students that are leaving so they will always have that connection with their class.

To start you will need to log on to Padlet and then take these steps:

  • Select Make a Padlet
  • Select Grid
  • Alter the Title and Description
  • Choose a new wallpaper
    • Enable profanity filter (optional)
    • Allow Comments and Reactions (optional but nice)
  • Alter the Privacy as you see fit (I left mine as Secret)
  • Have students add text, photos, voice, video, etc.
  • Copy the link and share with the student
Embedded below is a 2 minute and 12 second YouTube tutorial I created.


Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Try using Padlet as a Blog and embed in Google Sites

Padlet is an amazing online bulletin board that you can use to display information for any topic. In this post I will show how to use Padlet as a blog and embed in your Google site.

The reason I chose Padlet was due to the ease of creation as well as the ability to add all types of files, links, videos, etc. Plus you can password protect the padlet before placing in your Site.

Below are the steps to create your "blog" Padlet.


  • Select Make a Padlet
  • Select Stream
  • Give your Padlet a title and description
  • Choose your Wallpaper
    • Scroll down and see more options
    • Under collaboration select Comments and Reactions
  • Select Next and the choose your Privacy (Public, Secret, Password Protected, and Private)
  • Select what those with access can do
  • Select Next and Start Posting
  • Select the URL link and then embed it in your Google Site
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 58 second YouTube tutorial I created.


Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

How to add a GIF to your Google Classroom Header

If you would like to spruce up your Google Classroom header photo - try adding a GIF. Here are the steps to finding a GIF on Google and loading it to your header.


  • Perform a Google search for you GIF
  • Select Images
  • Select Tools
    • Type - Animated
    • Select the proper usage rights
  • Size - select Larger than... 800 x 600
  • Find the appropriate GIF 
  • Right click on the image and select Save image as...
  • Go to your Google Classroom and select Upload Photo
  • Select your GIF
  • Crop the GIF and select Class Theme
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 46 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Monday, March 26, 2018

Add your own personal GIFs in your Google Classroom Header

If you would like to add GIFs to your Classroom Header it can be done. In the example I will be sharing I will be showing how to add your own personal images to the header. Tomorrow's post will show how to add a GIF from a Google search to your Google Classroom Header.

Bitmoji's, personal scaled down photos, and themes are fun to add to a classroom header; however, I thought it would be more fun to make the header a little more classroom specific. Actually, my wife asked me the other day if this could be done for students in her 4th grade class. An example would be a picture of each child in your classroom.

In this example we will use the following:
  • Google Photos (to create the GIFs / animations)
  • Website - ezgif.com (changes the speed of the GIF / animations)
  • Google Drawings (access through Google Drive as well) - where we will change the dimensions and post GIFs
    •  FYI - I changed the dimensions of the Drawing to Google specs - (800x200 pixels)
  • Video recording site (in the examples I used Screencastify free and Camtasia ($).

You can also see the YouTube video (embedded below)


Embedded below is a 4 minute and 23 second YouTube tutorial I created showing how to use your GIFs and load them to Google Drawings and then load to Google Classroom.
** Please not that the images may not appear crystal clear **



You will also see the step-by-step directions for the whole process I used to create the classroom header with GIFs. 
  • Select the photos you would like to use and create your animation / GIF
  • Download the animation and upload it to EZgif.com to slow down the speed as Google Photos uses a fast animation
  • In Google Drawings - I created a template with a blue background. To access the template click here and select File & Make a copy to make this your own Drawing.elect Insert - Image to find and insert your GIF(s)
    • Resize if needed
    • Add additional GIFs (if needed)
  • Open a site such as Camtasia or Screencastify (extension) to record your screen
  • You will need to crop / trim to show the header
  • Export the file as an animated GIF file
  • Make sure if using Screencastify you make the dimensions a bit larger than the 800x200. This is so you can trim later in Google Classroom.
  • Open Google Classroom and select upload file and find your file
  • Make sure to trim the photo 
  • Just a reminder that your photos may not be crystal clear - but hey - it's a start!
Take care!
Brad


Sunday, March 25, 2018

How to change the speed of GIFs / animations

If you would like to change the speed of a GIF / animation - try using the site ezgif.com.

When you access the site select the following:

  • GIF Optimizer
  • Choose your file (or paste URL)
  • Select Upload
  • Select Speed (5th option at the top of your GIF)
  • Change your speed by % (or hundredths of second between frames)
  • Select Change Speed
  • Select Save
Embedded below is a GIF (had to) as well as a 1 minute and 18 second YouTube tutorial.




Take care,
Brad

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Share Kahoot! challenges in Google Classroom as well as Remind

Kahoot! offers challenges that allows students to take the Kahoot! outside of the classroom.

To use the challenge feature follow these steps:

  • Create a Kahoot! or find an already created one
  • Select Challenge
  • Select the number of days (and time) you would like the Kahoot! to be active
  • You will then see the screen that allows you to copy the Challenge Link, Challenge Pin, as well as the ability to post to Google Classroom as well as Remind.
Embedded below is a 2 minute and 13 second YouTube tutorial.


Take care,
Brad

Friday, March 23, 2018

Kahoot! You can duplicate Kahoots! to fit your needs

Kahoot! allows you to duplicate and alter questions to fit your needs. All you need to do is:

  • Search for and find your Kahoot!
  • Select the three dots on the right side
  • Select duplicate
  • Select continue editing 
  • Edit the description if you would like to (it will state copy of... if you do not edit the description)
  • Edit any questions you would like to
    • Can change time anywhere from 5 seconds to 2 minutes
    • Take off possible points
    • Change answer choices as well as alter pictures as well
  • You can also add questions if you would like to
  • When finished select Save
  • You can always find all your Kahoots by selecting My Kahoots!
  • Go ahead and share as you like
Embedded below is a 1 minute ad 3 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Nice feature in Google Photos - Select Free up space to delete your items

A nice newer (as of 3/21/2018) feature in Google Photos is the ability to select remove items from device. This is a great feature and such a time saver since you will not need to go in an go through all your photos and videos to delete them.

Embedded below is a 57 second YouTube tutorial.


Please note that at the end of the Free up space, you will then be reminded how to permanently delete your items.



Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Open up a chat with others inside of a Google Doc, Sheets, Slide.

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides has a great feature built in that will allow the user to open up a chat with another user. This is available by selecting the gray circle to the right of the user profile picture. Once selected the chat opens and you can send the user a message. Please note that this chat can not be deleted, so whatever you type you can not take back.

This is especially helpful for communicating with others quickly and easily without having to comment within the file itself.

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





Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Text color and highlight tools are now separate in GSuite

Nice new feature in GSuite is the separation of text color and highlight tools.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 33 second YouTube tutorial.




Take care,
Brad

Monday, March 19, 2018

How to easily access your Facebook profile in QR form

If you would like to access your Facebook profile in QR form follow these simple steps on your mobile device.
  • Select the three lines (bottom right)
  • Scroll down to options under Explore
  • Select QR code
  • You will see a QR code scanner - select QR Code at the top
  • Share on Timeline or save to device

Click here for a blog post on how to find your Twitter QR code as well.
Embedded below is a 30 second YouTube tutorial.


Take care,
Brad

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Embed a Google file on the Web

You can embed a Google Doc on the web. To do so Go to File>Publish To The Web and then grab the embed code and paste the code where you would like to.

Embedded below is a 40 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Users adding apps on your iPad? Enable restrictions

If users (students or children) are adding apps on an iPad try enabling restrictions. This will require you to add a passcode and then if you toggle the Installing Apps it will remove the App Store from appearing on the Ipad screen. Click here for a guide from Apple as well.
  • Settings Gear
  • General
  • Restrictions
    • Set/ enter passcode
    • Scroll down to Installing Apps and toggle to gray/off
  • The App Store will no longer appear

If you would like to add apps simply reverse the steps.
  • Settings Gear
  • General
  • Restrictions
    • Set/ enter passcode
    • Scroll down to Installing Apps and toggle to green/on
  • The App Store will now appear

Embedded below is a 1 minute YouTube tutorial I created.


Of course you could also just sign-out of your device as well (might be best idea if in a school setting). To sign out just select Settings > iTunes & App Store > Select Apple ID > Sign Out.

Any questions or tips you have please let me know!
Brad

Friday, March 16, 2018

How to create a poll in Facebook

A fun feature in Facebook is the ability to create a poll. To create a poll:

  • Click into where you typically post 
  • Scroll down the options and you will see Poll (5th option down on the left side).
  • Type in your poll question.
  • Type in your 2 options (add an image or GIF)
  • Select the amount of time you would like the poll to be active.
  • Poll is defaulted to Public (change if you would like)
  • Post
Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 1 minute long YouTube tutorial I created.





Any questions please let me know!
Brad

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Program freezing and want to close it? Try Alt-F4 (Windows) Command-W (or Q) on a Mac

If you would like to close out a program you are running on your Windows machine, try using Alt-F4.  The equivalent on a Mac is Command-W. But that only closes the open window, not the entire app. If you need to close the entire app, you hit Command-Q.

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






Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

How to find out what version of Google Chrome you are running

To find out what version of Google Chrome you are running (and possibly update) simply follow these steps:
  1. Select the three dots (upper right corner)
  2. Select Help
  3. Select About Google Chrome
  4. You will then see what version you are running and any updates that need to be made.
Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 27 second YouTube tutorial I created.





Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Control+F (Command+F on a Mac) to find certain text on a website or document

One of the great keyboard shortcuts is Control+F, or Command+F on a Mac, to find certain text on a website or document.

If you're in a web browser and want to search text on a web page, pressing Control+F will bring up a search box. Just type in that search box and it'll locate the text you're typing on the page.

Control+F may work in other applications, too, such as Microsoft Word and other word processing applications.

Embedded below is a 33 second YouTube tutorial I created.



Take care,
Brad

Monday, March 12, 2018

How to see the most recent posts in Facebook

If you would like to see the most recent posts (instead of Top Stories) here are the steps to follow.

  1. Select Home
  2. Hover over News Feed
  3. Change to Most Recent instead of Top Stories
Please note that the default is Top Stories and in time it will default back.

Embedded below is a 33 second YouTube tutorial.


Take care,
Brad

Sunday, March 11, 2018

How to create a meme set and see what it looks like in Quizizz.

One more awesome feature built in to Quizizz is the ability to use and create your own Meme sets. It is very straightforward and simple to create.

  1. Select Memes on the  left side of the webpage. 
  2. Select Create New Meme Set and name your set (select Public or Private).
  3. You will then need to create Correct and Incorrect Memes in your set (as many as you would like).
  4. You can select images within Quizizz or upload your own images.
  5. Type in some fun text (can do the top and bottom of the image). Name the meme if you would like to.
  6. Select done.
To use your Meme set in your quiz, take a look at the bottom of the settings screen (after you select Play Live or assign as Homework).You will then be able to select the Meme set you would like to use.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 4 minute and 12 second YouTube tutorial I created showing all the steps to create a set and to see what it looks like from a student point of view.





Take care,
Brad

Saturday, March 10, 2018

How to group text to images using Google Drawings

If you would like to group text to images in Google - try using Google Drawings. The sample I show below is using Google Slides.

  1. Copy your image and paste in a new Google Drawing. 
  2. Insert a text box.
  3. Type in your desired text.
  4. Now the trick is to go above the image and with your mouse select the image and text.
  5. Right click and select Group.
  6. Boom! Your image and text are grouped.
  7. Copy the creation and paste where you desire.
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 20 second YouTube tutorial I created.



Take care,



Brad

Friday, March 9, 2018

How to have a quiz in Quizizz read aloud to the user

Wow - just when I think Quizizz can not get better - I find out that on an iOS device (iPad / iPhone) a quiz in Quizizz will read aloud any text available. When an option is an image it will state "image".

First you will need to download the student Quizizz app here.

The students will then need to enter in their quiz code and then select the three lines (upper left corner). There the students will see settings. The third one down is the read aloud option.

Once this option is toggled on - when the student would like the question read aloud they would need to simply select the icon that looks like a student (upper left).

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 21 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Quizizz - How to copy a quiz as well as edit and add additional questions to a quiz

Quizizz allows users to duplicate public quizzes as well as edit and add additional questions. The steps are listed below:

  1. Select the quiz you would like to duplicate and select duplicate.
  2. Select edit
  3. Select edit above each question that you would like to edit.
    1. Reminder you can add a 5th answer option as well as add images for answers
    2. You can also have multiple answers be correct as well.
  4. Select if you would like to make it public or private (public is the default)
  5. Select Finish Quiz (upper right).
  6. The quiz is all ready to be used.
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 29 second YouTube tutorial I created.



Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

How to update apps and music automatically on your iOS device

A great feature in iPhones and iPads is that they can even keep themselves relatively up-to-date for you. They can automatically patch apps and install the latest version of your apps and games. The automatic app update feature is also a great way to eliminate the need to download dozens of new updates at once.

Once you turn the feature on, new versions of your apps will be automatically downloaded and installed for you as they become available.

How to Turn On the Automatic App Updates Feature

  1. First, go into your settings. 
  2. Choose iTunes & App Store from the left-side menu. 
  3. Automatically updating apps is the last setting under Automatic Downloads. Tap the button to the right of Updates to turn the feature on or off.
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 13 second YouTube tutorial I created.



Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

YouTube - See, clear, pause, and search your watch history + see your comments.

In YouTube, if you would like to see, clear, pause, and search your watch history + see your comments simply select History on the left side of your screen. Once you select History you will see all the options.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 38 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad

Monday, March 5, 2018

Share a YouTube video and have it start at a specific time

When sharing a YouTube video - sharing at the exact time you would like to share it makes it even better. When you find the time you would like to share, simply right click on the video and paste the link into an email, a new tab, or wherever you would like to share it.

Embedded below is a 33 second YouTube tutorial I created.



Take care,
Brad

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Use an extension to easily create a Google Slides presentation out of images in a Google Drive folder

A great and easy to use extension is Drive Slides by Alice Keeler and Matt Miller. This extension will create a Slides presentation out of images in a Google Drive folder. The ability to take the pictures ( JPG, PNG or GIF) you would like and place in a Slide saves you so much time.

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





Take care,
Brad

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Bummed that Drive no longer includes a Photos view? Try adding as a folder.

If you have noticed that Google Photos no longer "lives" in Google Drive, you can add it as a folder. Here are the steps to add a Google Photos folder to your Google Drive.

  • Open Google Drive
  • Select the settings gear
  • Select settings
  • Scroll down to 
    • Create a Google Photos folder
    • Automatically put your Google Photos into a folder in My Drive
If you would like more information, click here for the Google support page.

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





Take care,
Brad

Friday, March 2, 2018

Updates to Classroomscreen - upload own background - webcam background - plain background - line paper at drawing tool

Classroomscreen.com  has added a number of new features to make this great tool even better. In this update you will see:
- webcam background
- plain color background
- 5 new photo's (delete cookies if they don't show up)
- line paper at drawing tool
- improvement sensibility of the voice level

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 13 second YouTube tutorial.




Take care,
Brad

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Great new feature in Google Drive Comment on a PDF or Microsoft File

One of the amazing features in Google Drive is the ability to comment within a Google file (Docs,  Sheets, Slides, etc). However, you could not comment within a file such as a PDF or a Microsoft file - but now you can!

When you open your file (my example below is a PDF) in the upper right you will see the actions button, download, print, and now the comment button.




Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 35 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad