Want to learn about Artificial Intelligence? Try Finland's 6 Week Crash Course

Finland is offering Elements of AI free online course - https://www.elementsofai.com/

To read more about this - click here on the link below.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/finland-makes-6-week-crash-course-on-ai-available-to-world/

Take care,

Brad

Use the paint roller to apply formatting from one area of text to another

If you have different formatting from one area of text compared to another in a Google Doc here is a simple solution to copy it entirely.

• Select the area of text that has the formatting that you like.
• Select the paintbrush (upper left near the print and zoom icon)
• Highlight the text you would like to have the same formatting - done!

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 33 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Simple shortcut to increase the size of your text in Google Docs. (ctrl/cmd + Shift + .)

If you are looking for a shortcut to increase the size of your text in Google Docs try the following:

• Hold down ctrl or cmd (depends if on a Windows or Mac)
• Hold down Shift
• select the period (.) as many times as you would like and watch the size increase

Embedded below is a GIF followed by a 16 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Skip cutting and pasting in Docs - highlight the paragraph and drag with your mouse or...

If you use Google Docs a lot, shortcuts will save you time and you will soon be editing like a pro.

One tip I found to be very beneficial is the ability to highlight a whole paragraph, click and drag the paragraph to where you want it to be placed (you will see a blue cursor).

Another tip is to highlight the paragraph, hold down Alt and Shift together and use you arrow keys to move the paragraph where you would like.

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

Take care,
Brad

Getting a ton of email from mailing lists? Don't just delete - click to unsubscribe if you do not want to see that sender again.

If you are getting a ton of emails in your inbox don't forget to select the Unsubscribe option. Many will have this at the top of your email on your phone, on device, or scroll to the bottom of the email and select unsubscribe.

Embedded below is a GIF showing the process in Gmail.

Take care,
Brad

How to share your ETA in both Apple and Google Maps

Happy Holidays everyone!

With the holidays a lot of travel is happening. A solid way to share your estimated time of arrival is to use either Apple or Google Maps.

In Apple Maps, make sure to select your destination, select Go and then share your ETA.

In Google Maps select your destination, select start, from the bottom (see the estimated time) make sure to pull the lighter area up, you can then share trip progress.

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 5 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Learn about Holiday Traditions (as well as coding lesson plans, family guide, etc) using Google's Santa Tracker

Google's Santa Tracker has so much more than just tracking Santa includes coding, traditions, lesson plans, etc (see blog post here).

A fun part of the site that people of all ages can enjoy is that of learning about traditions from all over the world.

Embedded below is a GIF showing you a brief look at the traditions from around the world.

Merry Christmas!

Brad

How to share an article from your phone on Facebook to people who do not use Facebook

If you want to share an article directly from your phone (in this example I am using an iPhone) to someone who does not have Facebook you will need to:

• select the article
• select three dots in the upper right
• select open in Safari 
• you can then select the share icon (square with up arrow)
• share in the app of your choosing

Embedded below is a 35 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Probability of a White Christmas

Curious if you are in store for a white Christmas? Check out NOAA's Probability of a White Christmas. Thanks to Richard Byrne for posting about this website.

The map is covered in tiles that you can click on to see your chanced of having a white Christmas (based on historical data).

Sadly, we will not have a white Christmas here in southeastern, Pennsylvania.

Embedded below is an example of the map.

Take care,

Brad

See instantly in a Google Doc when changes have been made in a shared document.

A nice newer feature in Google Docs is the instant "alert" when changes have been made in a shared Google Doc. When you open the shared Doc you will notice a blue See new changes to the right of Help (see below)

When you select See new changes you will be able to see all new changes to the document as well as an option to see the version history.

Embedded below is a 47 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

On FaceTime - choose Animoji or Memoji so the caller will see that effect! 🐷🦒🐭🐶🐱

The other day I was talking to my wife on FaceTime and tapped the screen and to my surprise found a whole bunch of options. The two I want to point on are the Animoji and Memoji (in the example below I used the Animoji).

All you need to do during your call is tap the screen and then choose Animoji and choose your selection and your Animoji will do the talking!

Take care,

Brad

Free logo/text generator with great fonts - try textgiraffe.com

If you are looking for a simple free logo or text generator - check out the website textgiraffe.com  Below is an image from the site as well as a 1 minute and 14 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,
Brad

Star Wars, Minecraft, Frozen, 3D Snowflakes! ❄❄ + Snowflake Bentley

Click below for the post revolving around 25 creative snowflakes:

 https://thejoysofboys.com/25-creative-snowflakes/

You can also find the links by clicking on the picture below (opens up a collection in Wakelet).

As many of us spend time with family this week and may need a fun activity to create - here is an option that I did every year with my 4th grade classes.

I read the 1999 Caldecott Medal winning book - Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Below you will see a nice summary of the book on Amazon.com.

From the time he was a small boy in Vermont, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. 

If you would like to see the story on YouTube please click on the embedded 7 minute and 7 second YouTube video below.

After I read the story to them - the students would then pick out a snowflake design that I had for them.

• These 12 snowflake templates can be found by clicking here. You can see 2 examples of what the snowflakes templates look like below.

A friend of mine shared this site where you can create your own snowflake on the computer and choose to share it with the world (or not), as well as download a copy for yourself. . The site is available by clicking here. http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/

Embedded below is a GIF showing what the site looks like.

I hope you enjoy!
Brad

Want a distraction-free reader mode in Google Chrome - enable Reader Mode

If you want to read an article with no distractions, make sure to enable Reader Mode in Google Chrome.

To do this make sure to follow these steps:

• chrome://flags/
• search for enable reader mode
• select disable and make it enabled
• relaunch Chrome (bottom right of screen)
• select what looks like three dark grey lines next to the website's URL
• enjoy the article

Embedded below is a 38 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

Emojis!!!! 😀😝🎄🎅 Right-click inside any text box in Chrome and have emojis available for use. Bonus - where to find emojis in a Google Doc.

Want to insert an emoji quickly while you are using Google Chrome? All you need to do is right-click inside any text box in Chrome and you will have access to a gallery of emojis (if using a Windows device you can also select the Windows icon and then a period).

If writing in a Google Doc simply follow these directions:

• select Insert
• Special Characters
• Click on where it says Symbol and change to Emoji

Embedded below is a 47 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to look up your saved passwords in Google Chrome.

Just yesterday I could not recall a password to a specific website. In order to find it

•  open the Chrome menu (three dots upper right)
•  choose Settings 
•  Passwords
•  click the eye icon to reveal the password

One thing I want to remind you is to also make sure you is to make sure you also use 2 step verification. Click here for a short blog post from a few years ago.

Embedded below is a 39 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

You can now add captions to your images in Google Sites

A nice update in Google Sites is the ability to add captions to your images (image carousel).

In order to do this simply

• select image carousel from the insert menu 
• add at least two images 
• hover over an image and select the add text icon
• add the text you would like to add

Embedded below is a 1 minute and 46 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

How to start or stop certain apps from running upon startup on your Windows device.

This was one of those minor irritants that I just kept pushing off. My Skype for Business kept launching automatically when I turned on my Windows machine.

I finally stopped it from launching by doing the following:

• select the Window (startup)
• select the gear
• select apps
• select Startup
• Toggle off the app

Embedded below is a 32 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad

New font (Lexend) developed in Google Docs designed to boost reading fluency and comprehension.

In a recent Google EDU in 90 video (see below) they discussed a new font (Lexend)
that has been developed to boost reading fluency and comprehension. In fact, in a
recent focus group with third graders, students showed a nearly 20% improvement in
WCPM (words correct per minute) when reading in Lexend versus Time New Roman.

To add the Lexend family, select font>more fonts>search Lexend> add the ones from the
Lexend family you would like to add (there are 7).

Embedded below is a 59 second YouTube tutorial as well as Google's EDU in 90: Keeping up with Docs. The segment about Lexend begins at the 2 minute mark.

Take care,

Brad

Google Doc Update - See the number of words in a Google Doc while typing.

In the past you could see the number of words in your Google Doc by using Ctrl + Shift + C - this also shows the number of Pages, Characters, as well as Character excluding spaces.

A new feature is the ability to display the word count while typing. Just make sure to check the box to display the number of words (see below).

Embedded below is a GIF as well as a 48 second YouTube tutorial.

Take care,

Brad