Screen recording on your iOS device + how to easily delete recordings

If you would like to record your screen on your iOS device it is a relatively easy process. A few things to remember:

1. Make sure that if you would like audio that you see the Microphone on (will be red)
2. The easiest way to stop the recording is to touch the top red bar and then stop recording.
1. You could also swipe up from the bottom and select stop recording
3. If you would like to view the recording select Screen Recording video saved to Photos pop-up (hint it has not been stored yet).
1. This is where you can View the recording - or Delete
2. This is important because it takes out the steps of having to go into your photos later on and delete the one(s) you would like to.
4. If you are content with your recording, go ahead into photos and upload to YouTube or wherever you would like to store your video.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 14 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Important iPhone features - Medical Information + Emergency SOS

If you (or loved ones) have an iPhone there are a few important features to look into.

1. Add medical information in the Health app. This is important so first responders will have access to allergies and reactions, medications,  blood type, as well as an emergency contact. To find this feature, open your Health app and fill out the medical ID
2. Quickly call for emergency help by clicking the Sleep/Wake button at least 5 times to call for help. This will also send a message to all emergency contacts you entered in your Medical ID.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 44 second YouTube tutorial I created showing the information above.

Take care,

Brad

Past two weeks in Review (Augmented Reality, Kahoot!, Wakelet, GIFs in Google Search, Gmail, etc.)

Hello everyone,

Below you will see posts from the past two weeks.

As always any questions please let me know! Brad

• World Brush: Augmented Reality Painting
• How to make all questions required in Google Forms
• Google Translate App - use your camera to easily translate
• Augmented Reality Basketball - by AR Sports - play on your desk or real life size
• Extend your display so you can show a video on your projector and work on your computer
• Flipgrid fever has never been higher - in case you haven't heard it is now free
• How to quickly delete your deleted emails in Outlook
• Theme Customization Options in Google Forms
• Kahoot! Students and teachers can create Kahoots in the app version.
• Checker Plus Gmail - get notifications, read, listen, create, delete emails w/out opening Gmail
• Apple Maps - get detailed directions to select Malls and airports around the world.
• Wakelet - great site to share articles, videos, images, tweets, etc. with one link.
• Want to see GIFs animated in a Google Search? Use the Google GIFs extension in Chrome.
• Want to get your audience's attention? Try Google Sphere.

Upcoming changes to Google Classroom - changes coming August 2018. Sign up for early access

Some nice and needed updates to Google Classroom will be coming your way in August of 2018. Click here to be taken to the updates page. If you would like early access to the updates click here.

The updates include.

1. A New Classwork page - you can create and reuse assignments and questions in one location
2. Improved Stream page - you will see a collapsed view of classwork items so teachers and students can see more content on a page
3. Centralized People page - see all teachers, students, and guardians. View, add and remove students, co-teachers, and guardians. 
4. Settings page that is consolidated. Edit the class description, change the course code, manage guardian summaries, and set the class location. They can also control how students post and comment on the Stream page.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 14 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Want to get your audience's attention? Try Google Sphere.

Google Sphere will rotate the items in a Google search in a tag cloud (sphere). Fun to try to get your audience's attention.

To get to Google Sphere you can either click on the link above or Google Google Sphere I'M Feeling Lucky.

This effect is just what you see below - for me it would be a fun way to introduce a lesson or get your audience's attention!

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 30 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Want to see GIFs animated in a Google Search? Use the Google GIFs extension in Chrome.

If you have ever been frustrated looking up GIFs in a Google Search and are frustrated because you do not see the images animated - you are not alone. Good news - you can add the extension GoogleGIFs and you will see the images animated.

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

Go Birds!

Brad

Wakelet - great site to share articles, videos, images, tweets, etc. with one link.

Wakelet is an amazingly easy to use website that allows you to share articles, videos, images, tweets, etc with one link.
When you create the site you will see the ability to create a collection. In this collection (or wake), you can

1.  add websites from the link (URL)
2. edit the description
3.  name the collection
4.  add a picture,
5. change the visibility of the collection (public, private, unlisted)
6. easily share the collection with others (Facebook, Twitter, Google Classroom, etc.)
1. This is especially helpful in the classroom.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 2 minute and 15 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Apple Maps - get detailed directions to select Malls and airports around the world.

Starting in iOS 11, Apple introduced support for indoor maps for select malls and airports around the world where you can get detailed directions inside major airports and shopping centers around the world
Apple offers indoor maps at 34 airports around the world, in countries that include the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the UK, and Canada.

Indoor maps for malls are more limited but are available in several locations around the United States including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, and Washington, DC.

Embedded below is a 51 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Checker Plus Gmail - get notifications, read, listen, create, delete emails w/out opening Gmail

The Checker Plus Gmail extension for Chrome allows you to get notifications, read, listen, create, and delete emails without opening Gmail.

I just had a conversation with one of my brothers the other day how we respond quickly to texts, but emails not as much. The reason why is because texts, for the most part, are personal, while emails can come from anywhere and emails can get buried. This extension could help with responding quickly to emails that you need to respond to.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 15 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

Kahoot! Students and teachers can create Kahoots in the app version.

Kahoot (free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn) has made it possible for users t create their own Kahoots right from the app itself. Creating a game looks almost exactly the same as it does on your notebook.

This is awesome on many levels! One idea that comes to mind is that students could work together in creating review games, be it during centers, or even at home. Talk about a fun way to see if kids are learning! Let them be the teacher.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 26 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Theme Customization Options in Google Forms

Google Forms has a nice new feature being rolled out over the next two weeks (date of post 6/21/18), Theme Customization.

In theme customization, users select what was formerly the color palette, and then select the options you see below (Header, Theme Color, Background Color, and Font Style (Basic, Decorative, Formal, and Playful).

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 7 second YouTube tutorial, as well as what the new options look like in Forms.

Take care,

Brad

How to quickly delete your deleted emails in Outlook

Today I was working with some teachers and they were talking about how much time it took to delete all their deleted emails in Outlook. They would delete a few at a time and come back to it at a later time. Once they saw that they could right click on their delete emails and choose Empty Folder - they could not stop smiling!

Embedded below is a 38 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Flipgrid fever has never been higher - in case you haven't heard it is now free

Flipgrid was recently purchased by Microsoft and is now 100% free for educators. You now have unlimited grids, longer video lengths (between 15 seconds and 15 minutes), as well as scheduled  launch and freeze dates.

This is huge news as Flipgrid's vision will now have the financial power to help to accomplish their goal,  to empower student voice. I just had a discussion today with some of my colleagues about FlipGrid. We were discussing how certain students tend to always be the ones that are heard and the shy, timid, etc ones are not heard. Thus, those students ideas are not heard and the ideas slowly burn out like an ember in a fire. However, with Flipgrid that ember can now get that oxygen it needs and be heard.

The winners here appear to be everyone, from Flipgrid and Microsoft, to teachers, and to that student in the back left corner who never shared that awesome story because he was too afraid/timid/shy to speak.

Embedded below is Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announcement of Flipgrid joining the Microsoft family.

Embedded below are three posts  I created showing the basics of Flipgrid as well as each individual video tutorial.

Flipgrid - How to get a grid up and running for your class in under 2 minutes.

Flipgrid - How to edit your topic to include videos, GIFs, photos, attachments, & Google Classroom

Flipgrid - what it looks like from a student point of view.

Take care,
Brad

Extend your display so you can show a video on your projector and work on your computer

If you would like to show a website, video, or something else on one screen while you work on your computer - try this.

• Select Fn F8 and select Extend 
• Then, grab the tab and drag it off the screen (to the right)
• You will now see the Tab on the projector
• To get it back - select Fn F8 and select Duplicate

Embedded below is a 42 second video tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Augmented Reality Basketball - by AR Sports - play on your desk or real life size

AR Sports Basketball allows you to shoot hoops anywhere and at any time. The app allows you to play basketball in the following ways:

• Normal Mode
• Select either Desk Size or Real Life Size and shoot some hoops
• Time Attack
• Choose Desk Size or Real Life Size
• You have 60 seconds to score as many as you can
• H.O.R.S.E. Mode
• Choose Desk or Real Life Size
• Can have up to 8 total players playing Horse
• Around the World
• Choose Desk or Real Life Size
• The app will place you around "the world" and you must shoot from the circle 

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 2 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Brad

Google Translate App - use your camera to easily translate

If you are ever in need of translating quickly and easily, try the Google Translate App (iOS and Google Play).

The app has a lot of great features including voice translation; however, the one I want to show you today is how the app uses an AR type approach when using your camera.

When you select camera, you will be prompted to download an offline translation file (good idea especially if you do not have a connection) and then you align the text you would like to be translated with your camera. Presto!!

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 8 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

How to make all questions required in Google Forms

If you have made a form in Google Forms and would like to make all questions required; however, you keep forgetting to require them - try the All Questions Required Add-on.

Once you add the Add-on you will need to make sure you sign in and allow permission for it to run, make sure to select the Add-on (looks like a puzzle piece), Set all questions as required and you are good to go!

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 8 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

World Brush: Augmented Reality Painting

World Brush is an augmented reality app that lets users paint on the world for others to discover. Every painting is anonymous and only visible where it was created. Users have the ability to like, dislike and report paintings which helps hide inappropriate paintings and showcases the good ones!

When you want to start painting select the plus inside the circle (bottom right) and then select the color of your brush and the width of the brush stroke. When you are content with your drawing (you can delete a drawing if you like as well) you can select the check mark on the left side. This will save your drawing for others to find. Please note that all drawings can be edited as well as all drawings are anonymous!

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 10 second YouTube video I created.

Take care,

Brad

Figment - Augment reality with objects, portals, and different effects!

Figmant is an app that allows you to bring objects to life, augment your world, add effects, as well as use portals to transform to what appears to be another dimension!

Create fun scenes and capture them. Place 3D emoji, animals, and other objects around you. Step into another world by using portals and walk into a new dimension.

If interested, embedded below is a 2 minute and 3 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

A new look for Google sign-in screens starts June 14th

The typical log-in to your G Suite account is embedded below.

Starting June 14th of 2018 you may see what is embedded below. The change isn't huge (outline around the text field and center alignment of items on the screen.

If you do not see the change right away, it will apparently be rolled out gradually over 15 days.

Take care,

Brad

In YouTube - How to easily blur faces by individual

In the past, YouTube made it possible to blur faces as well as custom blurring and I made 2 tutorials on those topics that are available by clicking on this link http://www.timetotalktech.com/2016/08/how-to-blur-faces-in-video.html

Tony Vincent the other day posted that you can blur by individuals.

The process is very similar to before, however, you can now select the individual faces you would like to blur and is very simple. Just give the processing of the video a bit of time to capture all of the faces in the video.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 28 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

Catchy - Augmented Reality Word Game

Catchy is an Augmented Reality Word Tile App (free).  In this brief tutorial, I will show you how to start the game (pop the bubble), grab a tile, place it in the appropriate spot, as well as rearrange the letters to create the word.

** Please note that at the date of this post (6/10/2018) devices that are compatible with this app are iPhones 6S or above. I am not sure of the iPad versions that are compatible.**

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 17 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

Learn in 3D with JigSpace

 JigSpace provides users with interactive objects for their lessons.  Options include history, science and more by exploring objects on a flat surface. Students can virtually break apart the objects and identify specific parts or learn how each item functions.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 27 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Try this AR Ruler and 20 other tools

If you ever need to measure something and do not have a tape measure or ruler, try using the AirMeasure App (free).

I have included a 1 minute and 47 second YouTube tutorial that shows how to use the AR Ruler as well as Air Brush (that one was just kind of fun).

The other tools include:

• Point + Shoot Ruler
• Air Mode
• Surface Measure
• Painting
• Floor Plan
• Plan Library
• TV Sizer
• Laser Level
• Bubble Level
• Stud Finder
• Person's Height
• Virtual Furniture
• Triangulation Measure
• Laser Distance
• 3D Cube
• Field Stencils
• Air Brush
• On-screen Ruler
• Vertical Height
• Wall Draw

Take care,

Brad

Try the Google Classroom App to write on assignments

The app for Google Classroom (iOS click here) (Google Play click here) allows you to write on assignments in different colors as well as write with text for students to see. When completed this will create a PDF that is automatically be shared with the student as well.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 45 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

WallaMe - leave an AR message in a photo

WallaME is an AR app allows the user to hide and share messages in the real world using augmented reality. Users take a picture and then add text, drawing, or a sticker on it and share with others.

While there are many uses for this site, one that comes to mind is a seek and find. Users could leave clues along the path to the ultimate goal.

To download the free app click on the following links: iOS link Google Play link.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 24 second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,
Brad

Convert your classic Google Site to the new Google Sites

If you have created a Google Site previously and have not created a new site in Google Sites, take a look at the top of your site when editing and you may see the ability to convert to the new Google Sites. If you do not see this option, be patient as I only saw this today on my personal Google Site, not my work one.

Also, please note that a new draft of your site will be created in the new Google Sites. This new draft site will have the same content, but a different look. Your original site will not be affected.

Click on What to expect when you convert a site to learn about:

• Site customization
• Images, embeds, and gadgets
• Site structure and page types
• Comments, subscriptions & revision history
• Sharing & publishing

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 11second YouTube tutorial I created.

Take care,

Brad

How to make a duplicate of your Google Site

That's right - you can now make a duplicate of your Google Site. This is great for numerous reasons, including being able to experiment with a feature on your own site and see what the results are. Another reason that comes to mind right away is being able to share your site with someone so they can see the ins and out of your site and how you created it.

Embedded below is a 55 second YouTube tutorial showing how to duplicate your site.

Please note that this feature is being rolled out, so if you do not see the ability to duplicate, please be patient. My personal account has this feature while my work one does not.

Take care,
Brad

How to forward multiple emails at once in Outlook

The other day a colleague asked me how to forward multiple emails at one time. If you would like to forward multiple emails to a colleague, friend, or even to yourself here is how you can do it.

Go ahead and select your first email and then hold down Ctrl and select the other emails you would like to forward or Shift to select all emails between the first email and the one you have selected. Finally, select Forward. This will take you to the compose email window and you can send the emails to whomever you would like.

Embedded below is a 37 second YouTube tutorial.

If you have any questions please let me know.
Brad

Chrome Music Lab: Voice Spinner, Harmonics, Piano Roll, Oscillators, and Strings

This post is the third one in a series of posts about Google's Chrome Music Lab.

• The first post dealt with making songs, listening to and making rhythms, spectrogram, and chords and is available by clicking here. 
• The second post dealt with Sound Waves, Arpeggios, Kandinsky, and Melody Maker and is available by clicking here.

Google's Chrome Music Lab is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun.

The site is free and allows for users to experiment with Voice Spinner, Harmonics, Piano Roll, Oscillators, and Strings.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 37 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

2 years, 754 posts, positives, frustrations, tips, + why I do it

It all started when I shared with a colleague a video I created for teachers in our district to use (I think it was dealing with how to use Quizlet).

He asked me, "So... that's great but how will teachers find this?"I said that I sent out an email and he looked at me and said, "They may never see this because unless this is something earth shattering, it will go to the bottom of their email and may never be opened. How can you solve this problem?" So... 2 years later here we are!

What that colleague did for me, I can not thank him enough. He gave me the push I needed to get started; however, it was up to me to keep the train going. So that's what I did. I thought if I do 7 posts over the next week of sites and apps that I use currently it could help someone. Once I did that week, I thought that maybe I could do 1 every day for a month. That's when it really hit me.

If I do one of these posts a day, every day, I will have a bank of information to share with the teachers I work with in my district. This will in turn help students and that is why we are all here! Plus, if someone asks me a question about something I have already created a post about, I can just share that.

Now, don't get me wrong sometimes the posts come in spurts while other times it is the 11th hour and I am struggling to come up with one. But that's the thing - I have kept with it.

There are times I think I have found the coolest "techy" thing and everyone will think it is equally cool. So, the first person I share it with is my wife and she is always positive but I can read her when something strikes her and hen it doesn't. I will say, when she thinks it is cool - people in my district do as well. So, Leah is my "cool" meter.


I will say a few quick tips I have learned over the past 2 years.

1. Make your videos short. I try to shoot for under 1 minute. The stats show that the shorter it is the more people will actually even consider looking at your video.
2. Add tags to your YouTube videos this makes it easier to find.
3. Add closed captioning to your YouTube videos. This actually will get you many more views - as a matter of fact, over the last 1 1/2 months the number of views in my channel has increased by 25,000 views!
4. Share on Twitter. Even if you don't think it is that great - someone may!
5. Share what interests you!

I want to thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope that over the past two years you have found something beneficial.