Rearrange pages, add a watermark, password protect your PDF, etc.

 PDFcandy is an outstanding tool when working with PDFs. Take a look below at all that you can do with the site.

The one that I focus on in the video below is the rearrange pages option. For those of us that have used Kami in the past, we know how helpful it is to have this option. Well, with PDFcandy you can do the same thing.  Once you upload your PDF you can remove pages as well as move them around as you would like. 

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 32 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Hour of Code - sign up as a teacher, sign up students, and additional resources.

Happy Computer Science Education week!

In this post we will take a brief look (and a brief video) at how you can quickly enroll as an educator, enroll your students to the proper course, as well as additional resources.

• Log onto Hour of Code
• In the upper-right select Sign in (in this example I am using Google)
• make sure to got through the rest of the sign-in process
• Scroll down to where it says Classroom sections
• if for some reason you do not see the Classroom sections make sure to select the My Dashboard in the upper left of your screen.
• Choose to create a section
• Choose how you want your students to sign-in (in this example a reminder that I am using Google Classroom).
• You will then need to choose a course.
• To choose the courses I recommend clicking here (Kindergarten is A, 1st is B, etc.)
• If you would like to show your students the course you chose - make sure to click the link above (also can click here) and choose view course.
• On the right hand side you can view as a student.
• Your students are all set. Just make sure to post in a link in your LMS so it is easy for them to go directly to their course. 
• https://studio.code.org/users/sign_in
• All progress is saved and you as a teacher can see your students progress.

• I would also recommend pasting this link in your LMS as well. As students will be able to have access to numerous activities.
• https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 16 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to create a contact group in Gmail

 If you would like to create a contact group in Gmail, follow the instruction below:

• enter into contacts.google.com
• on the left-hand side choose create Label
• name your label
• choose the individuals you would like to add to your label by clicking to the left of their name
• select the label icon at the top and choose apply

You can now enter into Gmail and type in the name of your label and email the individuals you would like to.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 9 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to add audio to Google Form responses using Mote. Can also use in documents, emails, presentations.

 If you would like to add audio to a Google Form (or documents, emails, presentations) try using the extension Mote. In this example we will be adding audio to a Google Form (new release).

Once you add the extension and go through the sign-up process make sure you open up a Google Form.

When you open up the form you will see the Mote icon built into your form. 

Now, when you add the specific audio you would like to add, you will notice it does not come directly into the form itself. You will need to enter back into the extension and choose My recent motes and select the share icon.

Once you select the share icon you can then copy the link and paste it next to where you would like it to appear. You will see the link and when you preview the form you will see the ability to play the audio.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 21 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Remove objects and defects from your pictures for free using cleanup pictures.

 If you would like to remove certain objects/defects from your pictures, try using the website cleanup.pictures.

Once you enter the site simply upload (or drag) the image and then choose the width of the brush and remove the object. 

To see the original picture, press down on where it says original and you will then see a fast scroll bar. 

This could be fun especially if you would like to compare one image with another with your students.

Embedded below are 2 pictures as well as a 1 minute and 31 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Alarms, World Clock, Timer, and a Stopwatch all available on your Dell Notebook

 If you have a Dell notebook and are in the need to set an alarm, see what time it is in places all over the world, a timer and a stopwatch - you are in luck!

• With the alarm you can set and name any number of alarms as you would like to. You can also change the sound of the alarm(s) as well.

• The World Clock is great because you can see the time where you are and see the time from any major city throughout the world as well. Pretty cool, especially if you are studying cities around the globe.

• The timer is great as you can set numerous timers and name them. You can also have the timer go full screen.

• The stopwatch you can start and have it go full screen. You can also use it for Laps/Splits.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 17 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

New features on your Chromebook (Dec 1, 2021) Create a video, scan a document, and a QR reader.

Good news for all you Chromebook users - you and your students have the ability to take a video, scan a document (and save as a PDF or photo), a timer for your camera (3 seconds), as well as a QR code reader.

To find the new features, choose the launcher on the bottom left of your device and choose the camera icon. From there you will see the options to shoot a video, choose a timer (left side), as well as scan a document and a QR code.

One thing to point out, for scanning the document - make sure you have plenty light. While not perfect, it is a nice feature to have.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 1 second video.

Take care,

Brad

How to create a translated copy of your original Google Doc to share easily with others.

A friend of mine today shared with me how she uses Google Docs to create her newsletters for school and then has a copy of it instantly translated.

To have your document translated:

• select Tools
• translate document
• choose the language desired

This will now create a copy of your document with the translation.

Embedded below is a 54 second YouTube tutorial.

Adios, Arrivederci,  Au Revoir, Adeus, Auf Wiedersehen, Sayōnara, Do svidaniya, Annyeong.

Brad

How to copy a specific part of an article and share that with others in Google Chrome.

 If you would like to send a certain section of an article in Google Chrome you can now highlight the text and then right-click and choose Copy link to highlight (see image below).

Embedded below is a 49 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Change text wrapping to "In front of text" or Behind text" in Google Docs

In the past when you added pictures to a Google Doc you had to be creative to have the text "appear" to be in front of the image. Well now you officially can change the text wrapping of an image to "In front of text" or "Behind text" to layer images above and underneath text in Docs. If you would like to learn more about how to position and edit images in Docs.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 9 second YouTube video.

Take care,

Brad

Three ways to get to Google Drive Shortcuts - 2 are actual shortcuts 😀

 If you would like to have the available shortcuts for Google Drive available for you while in Drive, you can have them pop-up two ways (of course you can always select the setting gear and then Keyboard Shortcuts - but hey - that really isn't a shortcut is it?)

1. Shift ?
2. Ctrl /

Embedded below is a 25 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

10 YouTube tips in under 1 minute

The embedded YouTube video below will take you through 10 YouTube tips followed by the tips themselves.

1. To go to full screen press the letter F.
1. To exit full screen press the Esc or the letter F again.
2. To Play/Pause your video press the letter K or the Spacebar.
3. To jump ahead 10 seconds press the letter L to jump back 10 seconds press the letter J.
4. To jump ahead 5 seconds press the right arrow key - to jump back 5 seconds press the left arrow key.
5. Super SloMo - press the period. Keep press the period to move the video ahead frame by frame.
6. Press the up arrow key to increase 5% in volume. Press the down arrow key to decrease the volume by 5%.
7. Press Tab to gain control of the media player. To choose an action (like mute) press Enter.
8. Press C for closed captioning.
9. To move your video to a specific spot press the number 1 for 10% 2 for 20 20% and so on.
10. To start your video over again press the number 0.

Take care,

Brad

How to use group maker in Classroomscreen.com

 Classroomscreen is an amazing online tool that allows you to "display the instructions for your lesson in a clear and visual way. Choose from over 13 widgets to support your class activities and help students get to work."

A new tool available to you is Group Maker (you can make 3 lists for free). Each list has the ability to have up to 100 names.

When you select Group Maker and choose your list you can then adjust how many groups or how many students in each group. 

Once your groups are created you have the option to move student names from one group to another as well as the ability to create exclusions in which certain students will not be grouped with other ones.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 12 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to create captions for any video (using Google Chrome)

 If you are playing a video and would like to see captions appear on your device you can now enable that with a solution already built into Chrome.

If you are playing a video, look into the upper right of your screen (next to extensions) and you will see something that looks like the image below (looks like a musical note with three lines).

Once selected you will see a snip of the video you are watching and at the bottom you will see Live Caption. Make sure to toggle icon to the right of it.

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

Take care,

Brad

How to remove news and interests on Windows-based machine

 If you have the news and interests popup keep coming up (especially teachers) and would like to remove it - simply right click on the weather and remove.

Embedded below is a 23 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to add a Watermark in Microsoft Word

With Google recently adding the Watermark feature to Google Docs - click here for tutorial  - I thought it would be a nice reminder on how to add a watermark in Microsoft Word. 

This is a nice feature as you can send home a document to families with a watermark of your choice, you can send docs to others with your watermark on it, etc.

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

Take care,

Brad

How to add a Watermark to a Google Doc

Google recently added the Watermark feature to Google Docs. This is a nice feature as you can send home a document to families with a watermark of your choice, you can send docs to others with your watermark on it, etc.

Embedded below is a 2 minute and 23 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to change the size of the cursor if you use the extension - Custom Cursor

 If you / your child / your students would like to adjust the size of the cursor when using the extension Custom Cursor - simply choose the extension and top right choose cursor size (looks like a paper airplane). My friend's daughter showed me this yesterday. Thank you Felicity!!! 😃

Embedded below is a 49 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

To learn more about your Chromebook, try the step by step interactive tutorials on Chromebook Simulator.

 If you would like to learn more about a Chromebook or a few tips, check out Google Chromebook Simulator.  This is a great tool if you are thinking about purchasing a Chromebook or have a few questions about a Chromebook.

You can see the different categories in the embedded picture below.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 39 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Office 365 email OWA - how to remove emails from being sorted into Focused and Other.

 In the district where I work we have recently moved to Office 365. One of the most commonly asked questions is how to remove emails from being sorted into Focused and Other.

While there are other ways to solve the issue at hand - here is one.

• enter into the settings gear (upper right)
• in the screen scroll down and choose View All Outlook Settings 
• you will now see all the settings
• make sure you have selected Mail (on the left) then Layout - then under Focused Inbox
• choose Don't sort my messages
• Choose save 

Embedded below is a 42 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad