Thursday, January 30, 2020

Clicked on a link and lost where you were? Don't forget about right clicking on a link to open the link in a new tab!

If you have ever clicked on a link and then been frustrated because you lost the page you were on. Well, if you want to see the link, while also keeping the site you are on, try right clicking on a link to open the link in a new tab!

Embedded below is a 37 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

DAD JOKE πŸ‘¨πŸ˜Š
I stayed up all night trying to follow the sun… Then it dawned on me

Want an online multilingual dictionary?Try Lingro! Plus - it's free!

If you are searching for a website that allows users to read an article that allows for instant translation of any word, try Lingro.

Simply paste the url of the website into the open field at the top of the site, select the action (to right of where you pasted the url (there is a drop down that will allow you to select the language the article is written in plus the language you would like to have available.

When you select the blue arrow, you will then be taken to the article and when a word comes up that you would like to see the translation, simply click on the word. You can then close out the pop-up or move it to the side and continue reading.

A great feature is that the site will also have definitions available as well for users (it is the default setting). Users can paste in the url, select he blue arrow and when a word comes up they would like a definition of, just select the word!

Pretty cool - right?!

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 33 second YouTube tutorial. Thanks to my friend Christopher Case for sharing this with me the other day!


Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Check out these 60 inspirational quotes for teachers

I came across this article 60 INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOR TEACHERS



The following quotes were taken directly from the article (link above)

  1. “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.” –Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
  2. “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes. –Guy Kawasaki
  3. “When you study great teachers… you will learn much more from their caring and hard work than from their style.” –William Glasser
  4. “Wherever you find something extraordinary, you’ll find the fingerprints of a great teacher.” –Arne Duncan
  5. “Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges.” –Joyce Meyer
  6. “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” –Albert Einstein
  7. “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.” –Malala Yousafzai
  8. “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” –Brad Henry
  9. “Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students.” –Solomon Ortiz
  10. “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” –Bill Gates
  11. “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth’.” –Dan Rather
  12. “Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students.” –Charles Kuralt
  13. “They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even when you don’t know it” –Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
  14. “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” –Alexander the Great
  15. “The Master said, A true teacher is one who, keeping the past alive, is also able to understand the present.” (Analects 2.11)” –Confucius
  16. “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” –Mark Van Doren
  17. “I am a teacher. It’s how I define myself. A good teacher isn’t someone who gives the answers out to their kids but is understanding of needs and challenges and gives tools to help other people succeed. That’s the way I see myself, so whatever it is that I will do eventually after politics, it’ll have to do a lot with teaching.” –Justin Trudeau
  18. “The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” –Alexandra K.Trenfor
  19. “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” –Henry Adams
  20. “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” –C.S. Lewis
  21. “Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher’s help.” –Bodhidharma
  22. “If you don’t have a teacher you can’t have a disciple.” –Dallas Willard
  23. “Teach love, generosity, good manners and some of that will drift from the classroom to the home and who knows, the children will be educating the parents.” –Roger Moore
  24. “It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.” –Michael Morpurgo
  25. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” –William Arthur Ward
  26. “I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.” –John Wooden
  27. “I touch the future. I teach.” –Christa McAuliffe
  28. “Every great leader is a great teacher, and the greatest leaders seize every opportunity to teach well.” –Albert Mohler
  29. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. ” –Benjamin Franklin
  30. “Your best teacher is the person offering you your greatest challenge.” –Cheryl Richardson
  31. “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” –Deuteronomy 32:2
  32. “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” –Proverbs 9:9
  33. “Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.” –Aristotle
  34. “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” –Aristotle
  35. “A good teacher is like a good artist. They go right to the most difficult part of whatever’s going on.” –Bruce Nauman
  36. “A good teacher who can take the zero pay and help kids develop physically, emotionally, socially, is literally an angel.” –Eva Amurri
  37. “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.” –Karl A. Menninger
  38. “The older I got, the smarter my teachers became.” –Ally Carter.
  39. “Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.” –Paulo Coelho
  40. “A good teacher, like a good entertainer first must hold his audience’s attention, then he can teach his lesson.” –John Henrik Clarke
  41. “Great teachers emanate out of knowledge, passion and compassion.” –A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
  42. “Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” –Bob Talbert.
  43. “A teacher is never too smart to learn from his pupils.” –Bill Bowerman
  44. “We must become what we wish to teach.” –Nathaniel Branden, Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
  45. “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.” –Colleen Wilcox
  46. “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” –William Butler Yeats
  47. “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.”–Andy Rooney
  48. “Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.” –Nikos Kazantzakis
  49. “So what does a good teacher do? Create tension – but just the right amount.” –Donald Norman
  50. “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre.” –Gail Godwin
  51. “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.” –Khalil Gibran
  52. “The average teacher explains complexity; the gifted teacher reveals simplicity.” –Robert Brault
  53. “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” –B. F. Skinner
  54. “It is a greater work to educate a child, in the true and larger sense of the word, than to rule a state”. –Dr. William Ellery Channing
  55. “Teaching is the essential profession, the one that makes all other professions possible.” –David Haselkorn.
  56. “Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.” –Scott Hayden
  57. “Teaching is the highest art; before the doctor, there was a teacher.” –Steve Perry
  58. “The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’” –Maria Montessori
  59. “The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciples.” –Amos Bronson Alcott
  60. “The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.”–Alice Wellington Rollins
Take care,
Brad

Monday, January 27, 2020

Help your students surf the 6 C's and become official Wakelet Student Ambassadors! Must be 13+

Wakelet allows you to save, organize and share content from across the web with into stunning collections. It has become a site that I utilize every single day to share articles with fellow teachers as well as save content for the future (click here for the educator's guide to Wakelet). The ins and outs of the site I learned when I became a Wakelet ambassador. Through this I have been able to help others learn about the site, helped run some Twitter chats, helped run an ISTE session, and have met many of the community as well as those that work for Wakelet. It truly is a caring community!

The other day I saw that Wakelet is helping students surf the 6 C's by becoming Wakelet student ambassadors. 

To enroll click on the following link (students must be 13+) https://wakelet.typeform.com/to/jaAi4x. To learn more about Wakelet watch my friend Misbah talk about the Student Ambassador initiative.



Take care,
Brad

My toolbar/ribbon is missing in my Outlook email, how can I fix it?

Is your toolbar/ribbon is missing from the top of your Outlook email, try these two solutions.

  1. Ctrl + F1 - it is possible this was selected by mistake - just make sure to hold down Ctrl and the F1
  2. It is also possible the tabs and commands were hidden. Look in upper-right of screen for the 4 icons you see below. Select the far left on (looks like an up arrow in a box). Then select Show Tabs and Commands
Embedded below is a 49 second YouTube tutorial showing what was stated above.



Take care,
Brad

PS DAD JOKE πŸ‘¨πŸ€£

Q: What is the difference between a poorly dressed man on a bicycle and a nicely dressed man on a tricycle?

A: A tire. πŸš²πŸ˜€

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Looking to create, discover, customize, and share awesome content? Try Google Workbench!


As it says below Google Workbench (https://edu.workbencheducation.com/) allows for educators to search for awesome content as well as search lesson ideas by grade level, subject, standards, etc.

Google Workbench is a platform for educators to discover, create, customize, and share quality learning content. Teachers can easily filter lesson ideas by grade level, subject, project duration, and learning standards to find what they need and create assignments for their students with Google Classroom or Clever.



The best way to learn all about Workbench is to check out the Getting Started on Workbench. Included in the lessons are 4 tutorials:
  1. Searching for Lessons
  2. Your Dropdown Menu
  3. Google Classroom Sync Settings
  4. Assigning Lessons into Classroom
Take care,
Brad




Friday, January 24, 2020

Google Extensions How to enable a separate toolbar button and menu using Google Experiments

If you use Google Extensions, you know that at times the extensions seem to take over your address bar.
There are 2 quick ways to "solve" this.

  1. Drag the edge of the address bar to the right and extensions will be hidden. You can see them all by selecting the three dots (will be available at the top).
  2. You could enable the Experiment in Google Experiments 
    1. chrome://flags/
    2. enable Extensions Toolbar Menu
      1. This will add all extensions in one nice toolbar
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 6 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Tab tips and tricks Use Ctrl Shift D to instantly bookmark them into a folder Open all instantly with Ctrl Right click on tabs for options (close)

Yesterday I shared how you can instantly bookmark all your open tabs instantly by select Ctrl Shift D (or select three dots in the upper right and choose bookmark all tabs).

A few additional tips that some teachers liked seeing today are:
  • to see all tabs in your folder just click on the folder and you will see them
  • to open them all instantly hold down Ctrl and select Folder
  • to close tabs check out options by right clicking on the tab
Embedded below is a 57 second YouTube tutorial.


DAD JOKE πŸ‘¨πŸ€£
Try saying "rise up lights" without sounding like an Australian saying "razor blades". G'Day mate!

Take care,
Brad

Sites to share with families who may be asking for additional resources for a topic(s) for remediation or challenge

Ever have a family ask you if there are resources they can use at home to help reinforce a topic (or to challenge the student)?

Earlier today I shared the resources you see below in a Wakelet collection. Reminder these are ones that can be used if you see a student needing them, or sharing the sites with families so they can do the same.


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

End of the day and have a whole bunch of TABS open? Use Ctrl Shift D to instantly bookmark them into a folder.

If you have a whole bunch of open TABS at the end of the day and don't want to leave them? 
  • Try Ctrl Shift D
  • This will bookmark the open tabs into a folder in your bookmarks! πŸ˜€

Embedded below is a 33 second YouTube tutorial.





DAD JOKE! πŸ‘¨πŸ˜€

A slice of apple pie is $1.50 in Jamaica.

The same slice is $2.00 in the Bahamas.

These are the pie rates of the Caribbean! πŸ₯§πŸ–πŸ΄‍☠️

Take care,
Brad


Sunday, January 19, 2020

"What tastes better than it smells? A tongue!" + 100 other Funny Riddles and Brain Teasers for Kids

If you are anything like me you enjoy trying to make people feel at ease and comfortable. One way I try to do this is through humor and/or riddles. Sure, some groan, but more often than not - jokes/riddles make people either laugh or work together to solve a problem. This "hook" is crucial especially for children and makes them wanting more. So... here are 101 Funny Riddles and Brain Teasers for Kids (and Adult kids) shared by "The Dad".

101 Funny Riddles and Brain Teasers for Kids.



Large Printable Chromebook Keyboard Bulletin Board and Activities for the Classroom

Erin Flanagan has created some amazing resources (free) for you to use in your classroom - https://www.erintegration.com/2020/01/06/large-printable-chromebook-keyboard-bulletin-board-and-activities-for-the-classroom/



The site includes:

  • Full 9' x 4' keyboard
  • Games to play include:
    • keyboard fluency
    • sight & spelling words
    • coding
    • typing
    • usernames & passwords
    • letter recognition
    • following directions
Thanks for creating Erin!
Brad

Friday, January 17, 2020

Immersive Reader Magic in Office Lens

That's right - Immersive Reader is now available in the iOS Office Lens. Simply follow these directions:

  • Open Office Lens
  • Take a picture of the page
  • Select done (bottom right of screen)
  • Select Immersive Reader under Share to
  • You will then see all the options Immersive Reader provides! πŸ˜€
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 50 second YouTube tutorial.


DAD JOKE!

Did you hear about the magician that went bald? He got so mad he pulled his hare out? πŸ‡πŸ€£


Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Use FnF9 to quickly perform a web search

Every once-in-awhile a mouse may not work and you need to quickly search something. Try using the shortcut FnF9 and search away!

Embedded below is a 28 second YouTube tutorial.



πŸ‘¨πŸ˜Ž

DAD JOKE!
A new type of broom came out!
It's sweeping the nation!


Take care,
Brad

Screencastify 2020 ✂️Trim Videos πŸ’ƒExport animated GIF's 🎧Export mp3 πŸ“ΉExport mp4 Unlimited # of Recordings!!

That's right! All those options are available to you for free thanks to Screencastify!
You can enter into their Blog to read about it or you can instantly add the extension by clicking here.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 54 second YouTube tutorial.


DAD JOKE πŸ‘¨πŸ˜€

Q: What do you call a guy with a rubber toe?

A: Roberto

Take care,
Brad

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Use Google Calendar - remember there are shortcuts

If you use Google Calendar, just remember there are keyboard shortcuts that can save you some time. To see them - look below or select ?. Embedded below are the shortcuts, a 45 second YouTube tutorial, and a dad joke! πŸ‘¨πŸ˜€





Q: Did you know I can cut wood without touching it?

A: It's true! I saw it with my own eyes! πŸ‘€πŸ˜€

Monday, January 13, 2020

In Google Chrome and can't remember where you saved a file? Plus a dad joke.

Ever download a file/picture using Google Chrome and can't remember where you downloaded it? Try using Ctrl J on a Windows based device.

Embedded below is a 32 second YouTube tutorial.


Q: What do you call someone with no body and no nose?

A: Nobody knows! ⛔πŸ‘ƒπŸ˜€

Sunday, January 12, 2020

You can now edit the captions on any Flipgrid video! πŸ”₯πŸ˜€ Plus a joke about Captain Obvious.

Great new feature in Flipgrid - you can now edit captions on any video.

  • Log in to your Flipgrid Educator Admin
  • Select your Grid
  • Select the topic
  • click the Actions drop-down to edit the video's captions
Embedded below is a 47 second YouTube tutorial.



DAD JOKE
πŸ‘¨πŸ˜€

Why should Captain Obvious have kids?
Because his greatest skill is being apparent! 

Take care,
Brad

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Can't edit a photo in Google Photos? Maybe this is why.

Earlier today my dad called because he could not edit a photo in Google Photos. After a bit of investigating it turned out that he was trying to edit a photo that was in a shared album.

The trick to edit the photo is simply this:

  • select the photo
  • in the upper right select the info icon and see when the photo was taken (important for a future step)
  • select Save (the photo will now be in your own library)
  • go to the date the photo was taken
  • select the photo and now look for the edit icon and edit as you see fit
Embedded below is a 53 second YouTube tutorial.



Dad Joke:

Q: Whats's orange and sounds like a parrot? 

A: A carrot! πŸ₯•

Take care,
Brad

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Flipgrid updates - edit videoπŸŽ₯ captions, new cameraπŸ“· design enhanced πŸ’ͺAR, Immersive Reader in more areas

Some awesome updates that you can read about here - http://blog.flipgrid.com/news/yawljan20


  • You can edit those captions instantly in Flipgrid. This is huge as sometimes those transcriptions are not 100% perfect.
  • The new camera is sleeker and easier to use

  • Augmented reality loads faster 
  • Immersive Reader is now available in student feedback as well as Educator Admin.



Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

How do you show kindness? Doodle for Google 2020 - $30,000 scholarship

Doodle for Google is back for 2020 asking "How do you show kindness?"

Students in grades K-12 can enter a Doodle  online as well as mailing in your entry, by March 13, 2020 at 8:00pm PST. Download instructions and entry form here.

This year’s national winner will have their artwork featured on the Google homepage for a day and receive a $30,000 college scholarship. The winner’s school will also receive a $50,000 technology package.


Take care,
Brad



Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Two ways to insert images directly in Google Docs that are labeled for reuse.

The other day I was working with a class about inserting images in a Google Doc that will not violate any copyright rules.


  • The first way is to enter into a search in Google


    1. type in your search term (dog)
    2. select images
    3. tools
    4. select labeled for reuse

  • The second way is to use the Explore button (bottom right in a Google Doc)
    • type in your search term (dog)
    • select Images
    • select the image you like (check label at bottom of screen)
    • select the + to add the image in your Doc
 Check at bottom of image for label

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 22 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad



Monday, January 6, 2020

Google Drive training at your fingertips. Plus how to print out the guides as a PDF.

Yesterday I shared a Google Drive cheat sheet -

If you would like to have this cheat sheet as well as many others and then print them out as a PDF simply follow these steps:
  • enter into your Google Drive
  • select the support (question mark upper right next to settings gear)
  • choose training - https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282958
  • choose your training (I chose Cheat sheets)
  • I selected Shared drives cheat sheet
  • to print this out in the form of a PDF you can then select print 
    • next to printer change the destination from a specific printer to Save as PDF and select Save
Embedded below is a 1 minute and 21 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Google Drive Cheat Sheet - quick reference guide for Google Drive basics

Google has created numerous training guides to help users. One reference guide (aka Cheat Sheet) is one revolving around the basics of Google Drive.

The information can be accessed online here - https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9300017 or here (Google Drive file) or  embedded below.





Take care,
Brad

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Emojis! All Google Emojis available in a shared Google Doc (great for creative writing)

Emojis are fun for a number of reasons, especially in the form of rebus writing. However, the issue with using emojis is that they are available online.

What I have created is a shareable Google Doc that allows you to have all Google's emojis available for you to print out and share as you see fit.


The file is a View Only file, so be sure to select File> Make a copy. This will allow you to adjust the emojis as you see fit.

Please note there is an outline available for you on the left side of the Doc so you can see all emojis by category.

Embedded below is a GIF showing the Doc.



Take care,
Brad

Friday, January 3, 2020

How to use the Document Outline in Google Docs

Google Docs has the ability to have an Outline available for your use. To access this simply select
  • Format > Paragraph Style > Title > Add text
    • can also use Headings 1-6 
      • another shortcut is to use Ctrl+Alt+1 or 2,3,4,5,6
Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 1 minute and 22 second YouTube tutorial.





Take care,
Brad

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Have a video in Twitter go to picture-in-picture and still scroll through your feed (mobile)

Ever have a video playing on your mobile device and still want to scroll though your feed? Look in the upper right of your screen and select what looks like a square with an arrow going diagonally from the upper left corner. Select it and the video can now be moved around the screen and you can scroll through your feed.

Embedded below is a 28 second YouTube tutorial.



Take care,
Brad

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

One little word + 10-1-10 activity - great for recapping break and New Years Resolution

Sarah Landis  shared a great activity - One Little Word in a Google Slide. In a nutshell students are asked to choose a word that will inspire them and create a graphic to make their word visible.

To have access to the Google Slide presentation that will guide you through the process click on the image below (to make it your own remember to select File>Make a copy).


Another one that can be done anytime is the 10-1-10 activity shared by Alexandra Larson in which students draw something they did over break in 10 seconds, 1 minute, and 10 minutes. This is great for students to make a decision, quickly sketch, add details, and then complete in a specific time.
Embedded below is the original tweet.

Happy New Year!
Brad