Want a countdown timer? Use Google Search

If you need a quick countdown timer simply type the amount of time you would like the timer to be and hit enter. An alarm will go off when the timer has counted down. Nice and easy.

Below you will see a GIF followed by the same YouTube video with audio.

Have a nice day!

Brad

Want to record your iPhone or iPad screen?

One way to record what you see on your iPhone or iPad to send that video to someone else is to use the Quicktime player on your Mac (it is free).

Simply connect your device to your Mac with a USB and you are good to go.

Not only can it record your iPhone or iPad, it can also record the screen of your Mac.

Below you will see a GIF with a 19 second YouTube video embedded below (same as GIF but with audio).

Any questions - please let me know. I would be more than happy to provide you with more information.


Brad

Not sure what song you're listening to and have an iPhone? Siri can tell you.

Listening to a song and not sure what the name of it is...

Ask Siri, "What song is this?"

Siri will say, "Let me listen..."

After about 5 seconds or so Siri's suggestion comes up.

This update (partnership with the app Shazam) came out in 2014 with iOS 8.

Enjoy listening!

Brad

Want your Google Calendar to come up in Gmail?

If you would like your Google Calendar to be in your Gmail as well, please watch the GIF below followed by the same video with sound (19 seconds).

Any questions, let me know!

Brad

How to insert tables in Google Docs

One question that continues to come up is - "Can I put a table in a Google Doc?" The answer is yes - and it is easy.

Take a look at the GIF and embedded YouTube video below.

Used Engrade for your grading but bummed it is no longer free? Give Learnboost a shot. **Update **

For years I used Excel and  Google Spreadsheets for a gradebook until a friend of mine told me about Engrade. It was simple to use, weighted assignments, printed out nice reports, and was well... free. Well Engrade is no longer available (take a look at the screenshot below).

So, I did a little research and while there are numerous free gradebooks out there - it looks like Learnboost is a nice alternative. When you log on to the site you can view the site through the eyes of a teacher, parent, or student who is currently using the site.

Image Source 

Embedded below is a helpful video created by Learnboost to showcase their site. 

Should you have any questions, or other free gradebooks that you currently use, please let me know.

** Update ** Click here for Richard Byrne's suggestions for grade books.


Thanks!
Brad

Great post for new Chromebook Users - by Richard Byrne

Richard Byrne's post today dealt with 5 tips for Chromebook Users. Please check out his blog (Free Technology for Teachers) by clicking here. 

Richard is an amazing follow on Twitter (click here to follow him) as well as Facebook - click here. 

Embedded below you will see his 5 tips for new Chromebook Users video - enjoy!

Feel free to share this video with any new Chromebook users out there. 

Brad

Fantasy Football & Google Extensions! The draft may never be the same.

It is that time of year - Fantasy Football and "The DRAFT"! The league I belong to changed over to an on-line draft years ago (we still have a party - but no more BIG BOARD). I do miss the BIG BOARD and placing the names on the board, but I digress.

While I love an on-line draft and having all the information at my fingertips, I have always been frustrated when trying to do some research (getting a sleeper in the later rounds) and keeping an eye on the progress of the draft. 

Well, like most things, extensions in Google may just help out. The 2 extensions I discuss below will be able to take your screen and split it into 2 (or more) working webpages on the screen at the same time.
**The other way to do this would be to resize your screen, open up a new tab and drag it over (GIF at the bottom).

One extension is called Side-by-side by Alice Keeler (great follow on Twitter for all you educators out there) .  Below you will find a 20 second GIF as well as a 20 second YouTube video embedded below. It is very straight forward and easy to use.

Another extension is called Tab Resize. What this extension will do is split your screen into what we see below (4 screens or 2 screens) . I have included a 20 second GIF and embedded YouTube video clip below. 

Of course these extensions have a ton more uses than for just Fantasy sports - but man do they sure help!

** One last GIF showing how to do this without an extension.

Just be sure to resize your tab and drag over new tab.

Enjoy the draft.

Brad

Planning a Fantasy Football Draft (or a party) - use a Google Spreadsheet

For years the guys in my Fantasy Football league have used a Google Spreadsheet to enter in when they are available to draft. A Google Spreadsheet is great for a number of reasons:

1. The spreadsheet updates in real-time so no need to send the spreadsheet back and forth (can even go back and change information in the sheet).

2. You can easily see when everyone can draft if you use something called Conditional Formatting.


You will see below a GIF on how to use Conditional Formatting followed by a more detailed (but still short) 1 minute 20 second video tutorial on how to use conditional formatting.

GIF on how to use Conditional Formatting

Looking forward to tomorrow and sharing two extensions that just may help you in the draft! Oh, there are many more uses for these extensions - but the draft is sure one of them!

Brad

Nearpod - an amazing presentation tool that can include Quiz's, Polls, Videos, Images & Virtual Field Trips!

Nearpod is an amazing site for education. It includes pre-made presentations for all subject areas and grade levels. They are interactive and full of information. The ability to not only do what you see below, but to be able to take students on "virtual field trips" throughout the world is awesome. If you are new to the site, I recommend you take their 20-30 minute Self-Paced Webinar to see what Nearpod is all about by clicking here. 

Here is 1 minute and 13 second embedded video to show a teacher discussing Nearpod and why it is so beneficial.

The lessons that you have either created, downloaded for free, or purchased are easy to present to students or shared with them through e-mail , Socially (Facebook, Twitter), a Link, or through Google Classroom:

This lesson about Ancient Egypt by Steven Bambury was downloaded for free. I have included some screenshots so you can see what a lesson looks like. 

Background Information 

Telling students be ready to go on a "Field Trip"

 

Virtual Experience

Great question about inferencing.

If you have any questions please let me know. I hope you will give Nearpod a try.

Brad

Teaching a skill like multiplication? Try a GIF and a YouTube video. Post them in Google Classroom.

The way we learn math is different for us all. Some get it right away, many need manipulatives, while others just need to see the problem and the solution over and over and over again.

For the students previously mentioned (or me as a student), a GIF and a YouTube video of the same GIF can be of tremendous help.

Below you will see a GIF that was created using Google Drawings and Snagit to capture the video. Snagit is helpful as it can make any video you capture (20 seconds or less) into a GIF as well as send it to Google Drive and or YouTube.

The video below is the same as the GIF - but it has sound.

Take care,

Brad

Want to protect your Google Account? Use 2 step verification.

Strongly recommend does not do this post justice. If you do not already use Google's 2-step verification - click on this link and either follow the directions on the site - or watch the short 1 minute 16 second video embedded below.

The 2-step verification will even protect your account when someone tries to enter your correct credentials but on a device that you have not used before. So, if you try to get into your Google account from a device that you have not used in the past, be sure to have your phone handy for the 6 digit security code they send you. You can then decide to either add that device to your "trusted devices" or not.

There are many sites that offer 2-step verification (Facebook, Yahoo!, Dropbox). Always good to be on the safe side!

Image Source

As always, any questions let me know!
Brad

Think there is suspicious activity on your Gmail account? Select details on the bottom right.

Have you ever thought that there was someone else checking your Gmail account? In inbox view, scroll down to the bottom right and you will see Last account activity and details.

If you select details, it will let you know the IP address that accessed your account plus what type of device was being used.

Please look at the GIF and 18 second video below.

Take care,

Brad

Gmail - want to take back or change a sent e-mail?

Have you ever sent an e-mail and realized that you spelled a word incorrectly or maybe that you really should not have sent it at all? Well the 2 GIFs and 2 videos below (they are exactly the same but the videos have audio) will show you how to do just that.


Here is the kicker though - at most you only have 30 seconds. No sending an e-mail before bed and then waking up with regret and being able to "undo" it.

GIF showing how to enable Undo send and adjust time to 30 seconds.

18 second video detailing the same as the GIF above 

GIF showing how the undo send option works in Gmail.

20 second video detailing the same as the GIF above 

As always, any questions let me know!
Thanks,
Brad

Windows 10 - video and reference guide.

With the district where I work moving to Windows 10, a number of people are a bit anxious about the change. If you would like to see a quick reference guide (you will see 1 of the three pages below) as well as a Beginners guide video tutorial - please look below.

Image Source

Windows 10 Beginners Guide - (1.5 million views) (36 minutes)

Very informative.

More posts will be made in the future with helpful hints.

Thanks!

Brad

Try Goformative to create an assessment that will give live results. What an amazing tool!

Goformative is a an amazing free website where you can create assessments (M/C, T/F, open-ended, drawing) and will show you instantly how the users are doing. The users do not need to be part of a class (does make it easier) as they just need to type in the unique code that is created when you create the assessment.

Below you will two embedded videos that I created. These videos are purely a small little peak into the Goformative site and what it can do. More information will be posted throughout the year.

The 1st one is a little over 2 minutes showing what an assessment looks like for a student as well as what the results look like as a teacher.

The 2nd video is a little over 6 minutes and shows how to create and assign an assessment. 

Click here for a link to some outstanding resources (see picture below of what is included). The  "Learn Formative in a Giffy" is well done.

Image Source

Bitmoji Extension

If you have created a Bitmoji, you can now use it in Google Drive or in Gmail. Kind of fun!

Below is a GIF as well as an embedded 17 second YouTube clip (with audio).

As always, any questions please let me know. Thanks for watching!

Brad

Mind mapping made easy @ saves to Google Drive

Mindmapping is a great tool to use for any number of reasons. In this post I will be be using the site Mindmup. Mindmup also has a Blog that is very helpful and keeps you up-to-date on new updates.

Below I will show a 19 second GIF to show quickly what the site can do followed by a 5 minutes and 36 second YouTube video with more information.

Take care,

Brad

Reverse Image Search

If you have a picture of something but not sure what it is - try Google's reverse image search by going into Google Images.

Follow the GIF below or listen to the same video but with audio embedded below.

Thanks for watching!

Saved the best extension for last - Side by Side (can have two pages open at once)

A friend of mine that I have taught with for a number of years (Russ) sent me a text yesterday about wishing there was a projector that could project two screens at once. I thought that was a great idea. Well, fast forward to today. I was on Alice Keeler's  website (great follow on Twitter by the way) and saw her Extension that she created called Side by Side. This extension allows you to right-click on any link and open up the URL on the right-hand side of the screen.


This extension could be used in so many ways. A few quick ways:

1. Grading students work. Have their work on one side and the gradebook open on the other side.

2. Writing a paper and need to do some research? Now you can have both open at the same time.

3. Last one - my favorite.... drafting for Fantasy Football but need your precious website up (you know that you tell no-one about and has helped you draft that sleeper in the 8th round). Well now you can have up that site plus ESPN or whatever website you use for fantasy sports.

Look below for a GIF and embedded YouTube clip.