Reading Ruler - Google Chrome extension that helps you to read long texts on web pages

Reading Ruler is a Google Chrome extension that helps you to read long texts on web pages. This tool can be especially beneficial to assist dyslexic readers to keep their place on the page they are reading.
The extension will highlight current reading line, move the current line with arrow keys, and  automatically jump to next/previous page.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 47 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to create a quiz in Quizizz

To create a quiz/assessment in Quizizz you will need to log on (I prefer using Google) to the site and then select create a quiz (left side). You will then be asked to

•  enter a quiz name
•  add an image (optional) 
• select the language 
• state if quiz is public or private
• type in your question (options above for scripts and text color)
• add image (optional)
• select at least 2 possible answers
• select the one that is correct
• to add another question select new question (left side)
• if finished - select Finish (upper right)
• select grade range
• subjects
• tag(s) 

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 4 minute and 56 second YouTube tutorial that takes you through the steps and shows what it looks like from a student perspective as well.

Take care,

Brad

Quizizz - How to find reports and see what they look like, as well as email results to families

Quizizz's reports allows you to:

• see live reports while students are answering questions 
• find reports from the admin/teacher side (you are in admin as soon as you sign-in to your account)
• this report is the 4th one down under search, create a quiz, my quizzes
• a % accuracy will be shown for the average of your class
• you can download your file to an Excel spreadsheet, rename the file, and delete the file
• When you select the quiz you will then be taken to the details of your report (see picture below)
• You will see if quiz is still Live, % accuracy, how many questions in quiz, how many players, report for each player, detailed report for each question, as well as an overview of all questions with % for each player.
• You can also delete, print, or download to Excel
• By individuals you will see how many questions correct an incorrect, score, ability to email parent, print individual report, delete quiz for individual student, and expand to see all details.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 2 minute and 2 second YouTube tutorial. To see an introductory post I created about Quizizz please click here.

Take care,

Brad

Quizizz - student-paced formative assessments in a fun and engaging way for students of all ages.

Quizizz is a  "self-paced review tools that help every child celebrate their achievements". If you have ever used Kahoot!, it has a lot of similarities (one HUGE difference is that Quizizz integrates with Google Classroom). To read a well written blog post comparing the two by Common Sense Education - please click here.

A few of the awesome features that exists in Quizizz are below (click here for Quizizz's Help Center).

1. Student-paced: questions appear on each student's screen, so they can answer questions at their own pace.
2. BYOD: Can be played by students using any kind of device with a browser, including PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
3. Thousands of public quizzes created by users.
4. Reports - detailed class-level and student-level insights for every quiz Reports can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. 
5. Quiz Customization: Teachers have multiple options to customize their quiz session to change the level of competition and speed.

Embedded below is a GIF, a 5 minute and 35 second YouTube tutorial, as well as a link to a 1 page PDF as to the why and how to Quizizz.

I will be creating a few more posts about Quizizz as well.

Take care,

Brad

Right click on a tab in Chrome and see all the options available

There are numerous options available to you when you right click on a Tab in Chrome.
The options available to are as follows:

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

As always, any questions please let me know!
Brad

Want to see the number of emails sent, number of, google searches, Youtube videos viewed today, etc

On Internetlivestats.com you will be able to "Watch the Internet as it grows in real time and monitor social media usage: Internet users, websites, blog posts, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest users. Visualize the total number of emails, Google searches, YouTube videos, Tumblr posts, Instagram photos, in 1 second."

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 46 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Want to see Real time Twitter Activity? Try tweetping.

Tweetping is a website that displays tweets as they're posted in realtime across the world.

How it works - "public geolocated tweets are streamed in using Twitter's Streaming APIs, and a dot is placed on the map. These dots accumulate while you keep your browser window open, and charts on the bottom of the screen provide some information on how many tweets have come and gone in each region during that period."

Embedded below is a GIF to show you what the site looks like.

A big shout-out to Joe Sanfelippo  for sharing this site during his awesome Keynote at Pete&C.

Take care,

Brad

How to post your podcast to iTunes & Google Play

If you would like your podcast available on iTunes and Google Play please click see the embedded video below. Just an FYI the sample you see below is originally stored in SoundCloud. If interested on how to post to SoundCloud please see this post I created previously.

Take care,

Brad

Quickest way to create new Docs, Spreadsheets, Slides, etc

The other day I shared that you can create a new file in Google by typing in docs.google.com to start a new Doc.

A friend on Twitter Marlene Harris shared with me the great extension Google Docs Quick Create. Once added to your browser bar all you need to do is select the extension and then what type of file you would like to open. Great extension!

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

Take care,
Brad

How to add text, checkmark, initials, and a signature to a PDF

If you have a PDF file that you would like to add text, a checkmark, initials,or a signature - try the following steps:

1. Select Fill and Sign (upper-right)
2. From there you will have the options to "Add Text" "Add Checkmark" "Place Initials" "Place Signature"
1. "Add Text" make sure to place the cursor where you would like the text to be placed and then select your font style and font size.
2. "Add Checkmark" simply select where you would like the checkmark to be placed.
3. "Place Initials" select where you would like the initials to be placed enter the initials and then choose the style.
4. "Place Signature" 
1. You can type your signature and select the style. 
2. Use a webcam to capture a signature.
3. Draw your own signature.
4. Use an image.
5. Use a certificate.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 2 minute and 31 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Quickly create a file in Google without having to go in to Drive

If you would like to instantly create a file in Google but do not want to always have to go into Google Drive to create your file - you are in luck. Simply type in the file type (docs, sheets, slides, etc.) then .google.com

You will instantly be able to create your file.Embedded below is a GIF.

Docs - docs.google.com

Sheets - sheets.google.com or https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/

Slides - slides.google.com or docs.google.com/presentation/u/0/

Forms - forms.google.com or docs.google.com/forms/u/0/

Drawings - drawings.google.com/

Sites - sites.google.com

Take care,
Brad

Send a link to an instant downloaded PDF of a file in Google

If you would like to share a link to an instantly downloaded PDF file try this:

• Right click on your file and select share- or select the share icon (looks like a person with a +)
• Click - Get shareable link
• Select 'Copy link'
• Paste the link wherever you would like
• At the end of the link change
• edit?usp=sharing to:
• export?format=pdf
• My example - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2ixUR5mpib4epxaMnZUbrJ_wl7WcEA6HP5MwaM5QlA/export?format=pdf

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 58 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Grid view in Google Slides

A nice feature that was added back in October of 2017 is the ability to see slides in your presentation in a grid view. These slides can easily be moved around as well within the grid.

In order to see the grid view you can either select View - Grid View or select Ctrl + Alt + 1.

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 46 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Twitter night mode and Twitter profile QR code on mobile device

If you would like to use night mode when looking on Twitter or access a QR code that includes your Twitter profile follow these simple instructions.

On your mobile device access your account settings (select profile pic in upper left) and then you will see on the bottom left a moon (night mode) and a QR code on the right. The QR code color can be changed (just touch on the QR code to change it and you can copy or share the code (upper right).

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 49 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

How to import mail and contacts from another account to your Gmail account

If you would like to import mail and contacts from another email account (Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL, etc) try the following steps:

• Enter into your Gmail account and select the gear (right)
• Select settings
• Accounts and Import
• Select import from address
• Follow instructions

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 1 minute and 52 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Facts about Eagles! Fly Eagles Fly!!!!

If you are in need of information about eagles - check out Onekindplanet. Onekindanimal provides you with Animals (A-Z) - Biggest, Fastest, and Smallest, animal behavior, etc.

On a side note - click here for additional facts about eagles from Philadelphia! Embedded below is a 26 minute and 51 second YouTube video about how the Eagles beat the Patriots last night (2/4/18).

FLY EAGLES FLY!!!!
Brad

On an iOS device use the Notes app to scan a document

If you would like to scan a document with your phone, try using the Notes app on your iOS device. Once you open the Notes app select the square with pencil (bottom right of screen) and then select the circle with a plus in it. You can then scan your document and save it to your camera roll, send in a text, as well as many other options.

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

Take care,

Brad

How to Add Voice Comments to Google Docs with an Add-on

A great feature built in to Google Docs is the ability to comment directly in the doc itself. Sometimes you may find the words that you are writing down in the comment are not conveying exactly what you would like. This is where the Add-on Kaizena can come into play.

The first time you use it, you'll need to enter your school, classes, and name, but there's no account information to remember (no passwords!). Students don't need to sign up for an account at all, they just need to add the Add-on one time and say they're a student.  and open Kaizena in their Doc and they are good to go.

When ready, simply highlight the section you would like to add a voice comment to and then open Kaizena in Add-ons. You will then see the options to add a Voice Message, Track a Skill, Attach a Lesson, or Text Message. The tracking of a Skill and Attach a Lesson are available in the Kaizena App - if interested in those features please click here for how-to guides.

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

Take care,

Brad

Update to Classroomscreen.com - create an exit poll

A fan favorite of many teachers is Classroomscreen.com. Classroomscreen has numerous features including ability to add a text box with directions, QR code, timer, traffic light, etc. A new feature that came out this week is the ability to create an exit poll. For a blog post I created about classroomscreen click here.

In the bottom right of the screen you will see the green and yellow icon for the exit poll. When you select the icon a second screen will come up with a sample poll already created. Simply enter in your poll question and allow the students to select out of the 5 face choices. A simple idea for more anonymity, it to place either a mobile device or notebook in a certain place in your room. 

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

Take care,

Brad

Nice quick way to text with your voice on your iPhone

If you would like to text with your voice, try selecting the microphone to the left of the space bar.

When you select the microphone you will then see a gray box come up and start talking. Just remember to add punctuation.

If you would like to pause your typing - select the gray box and then tap to continue.

If you have finished saying what you would like to add - simply select the keyboard and then send your message to the desired person.

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

Take care,
Brad