Search results for

"google meet"

2021 Google Resource Roundup

by Diana Benner December 21, 2021

written by Diana Benner

Every year, I gather all the fabulous Google resources from our blog. This year, we have had so many amazing posts on topics ranging from Chrome Extensions to Google Jamboard. Check out this incredible list of Google blog posts from this past year categorized by topic/tool.

Arts and Culture

Coloring Book Resources to Benefit Children and Adults – Did you know the benefits of coloring include anxiety reduction, improved focus, and more? Check out coloring books from Google Arts and Culture.
Exploring STEAM Topics with Google Arts & Culture – Using art to explore science — and vice versa — is easy with Google Arts & Culture. Find inventive tools for STEAM education in this post.

Calendar

Google Calendar: A Powerful Tool for Back to School – Use Google Calendar with a new update and the Meetric add-on to increase efficiency.

Chrome Extensions

Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (March 2021) – Add to your tool belt with these eight great Chrome add-ons, extensions, and sites. At least one of them will be new to you!
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (April 2021) – Try these Chrome extensions and sites you may not know. From transferring grades to tracking sharks, there is at least one new idea to explore.
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (May 2021) – Learn a new language, highlight just the important stuff, and expand your bank of random facts with these Chrome extensions and must-visit websites.
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (June 2021) – Discover new, fun, and functional Google Chrome extensions, along with some playful websites to try out simply for enjoyment.
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (July 2021) – There are some real gems in this month’s collection of Chrome extensions and fun websites to try out.
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (August 2021) – Check out these must-have Chrome Extensions and must-see sites, sure to prove useful, bring you joy, and enhance your day.
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (September 2021) – We’re back for more Chrome extensions and must-visit websites! You’ll find everything from organizational tools to web tacos.
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (October 2021) – Interested in useful Chrome extensions? Looking for sites to brighten you and your students’ day? Check out October’s fun finds!
Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (November 2021) – Discover eight new extensions and websites with everything from cows and cursors to quotes and pianos.
Enhance the Canvas LMS with Chrome Add-Ons – Need to smooth over the rough edges in the Canvas LMS? You may want dark mode or quick access to student view. These Chrome browser extensions get it done.
Free Green Screen Solution for Chromebooks – Green screen is a powerful tool for students and adult learners alike. Previously, there’s been a cost to it. But now, there is Kapwing.
Use Chrome Extensions to Take Brain Breaks – Re-energize your day and be more productive with these Chrome extensions. They can help with movement, eye strain, and better brain function.

Drawings

Five Google-ly Mapping Tools for Thought Cartography – Find and use concept mapping tools that work well with Google Workspace, like Google Drawings and more.

Drive

Google Drive for Desktop Arrives – This blog entry will walk you through the new Drive for Desktop and how to make the most of it.
Google Drive Gets a New Name – Need a way to access Google Drive files, but don’t want to save gigabytes of data to your device? Use the re-branded Google Drive for desktop.

Earth

Explore the World and Catch Carmen Sandiego Using Google Earth – Solve mysteries and explore the world using Google Earth. Will your students be able to catch Carmen Sandiego and her V.I.L.E. operatives?

Jamboard

Free Jamboard Templates for Elementary Students – Jamboard is one of the best free tools available to use with elementary students. Grab some great templates and get started today!
Free Jamboard Templates for Secondary Students – Engage your secondary students in collaborative or individual learning with these free Google Jamboard templates.
Fun Icebreaker Jamboard Templates for Back to School – Try these fun back-to-school icebreaker Jamboard templates with your students. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll get to know them.
How to Make Interactive Maps with Google Slides and Jamboard – Learn how to have students create engaging interactive maps using online resources, Google Slides, and Google Jamboard.
Social Emotional Learning Activity Templates for Google Jamboard – Have you been looking for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) activities for your classroom? If so, check out these Google Jamboard templates.

Meet

Twitter Takeaways: Google Meet Breakouts Plus – Dig into Google Meet breakout ideas and other Twitter takeaways that will better engage your students and increase achievement.

Sites

New Features for Google Sites – Check out the new functions and features added for Google Sites. There are several that will make your site even more user-friendly.

Sheets

Seven Google Sheets Tips to Save You Time – Discover seven time-saving tricks for Google Sheets covering everything from QR codes and drop-down menus to shortcuts and filling cells.

Slides

Don’t Miss These Amazing Google Slide Add-Ons – While Google Slides is amazing by itself, putting Slide add-ons to work will take your teaching and learning to a whole new level.
Free Google Slides Templates for Your Classroom – Check out these great Google Slide templates to keep your classroom organized, whether virtual or face to face.
How to Make Interactive Maps with Google Slides and Jamboard – Learn how to have students create engaging interactive maps using online resources, Google Slides, and Google Jamboard.

Various Google Topics and Tools

Dynamic Lesson Plan Templates to Save You Time and Energy – If you’re looking for lesson plan templates to save you time and energy, look no further. This post is packed full of ideas and tips!
Five Tools for Leaving Audio Notes in Google – Learn all about these exciting tools to leave useful voice notes in the Google realm and do much, much more.
Google’s New Storage Policy: Avoid the Terror – Are you aware of Google’s new storage policy? Worried about losing files and valuable storage space? Decide if you need an exit strategy.
Google’s Note-Taking Tool: Cursive – Wish Google had a competing product to put up against Microsoft OneNote? Then take a look at Cursive. It has potential for notetaking.
Seasonal Fonts for Google Workspace – Don’t get caught spending hours searching for that perfect font. Save time with these curated, seasonal font lists for Google workspace.

In addition, don’t forget to check out our google resource roundups from previous years. Here’s to wishing you a happy holiday and a new year full of exploring more tools, tips, tricks, and resources that will work for you. Have a wonderful Winter Break!

December 21, 2021 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

Google Calendar: A Powerful Tool for Back to School

by Jennifer Bergland August 19, 2021

written by Jennifer Bergland

Google Calendar is one of those applications that we often take for granted. We see the word “calendar” and assume it’s just a place to record upcoming events, activities, and daily tasks. But let’s explore how Google Calendar can make us more efficient as we begin another school year. Today, I will point out one new feature of Google Calendar and highlight an add-on, Meetric. Both are worth exploring to help with streamlining work and increasing productivity.

Google Calendar Meetings: Attending In-Person or Virtually?

During 2020, almost all of our meetings were virtual. Consequently, it was understood that invitees wouldn’t attend meetings in person. While virtual attendance remains a viable option for most meetings, we can no longer assume everyone will attend virtually. There may now be a mixture of in-person and virtual attendees. In a recent update, Google Calendar made it easy to indicate how you will attend when accepting the meeting invitation.

When you open up the calendar invite in Google Calendar, you see a video icon next to the “Yes” response option.

When you click on the word “Yes,” you are given two options: “Yes, in a meeting room” or “Yes, joining virtually.”

Google Calendar "Yes, joining virtually" response

Now attendees can see who is attending virtually and who is attending in person by looking at the event details within Google Calendar.

Check out Google’s announcement for more information about the update to Google Calendar, enabling attendees to indicate if they are attending a meeting virtually or in person.

Meetric: A Google Calendar Add-On

Google add-ons are applications that others have created to work with and enhance specific Google tools. You may have used them in Google Docs or Sheets, but perhaps have never explored any that might assist you in Google Calendar. Meetric is a Google Calendar add-on that I think you might want to try. It can be instrumental in managing the workflow of the various meetings you conduct or attend.

To install Meetric, open up your Google Calendar and click on the settings gear. Then, click on “Get add-ons.”

Click on “Install” and follow the installation instructions. Once Meetric is installed, you will see a “Take notes” button when you open up a calendar event. Click on this link to open the Meetric notepad for the specific event.

You will have the ability to review your meeting notes in a window that opens to the side of your calendar, or you can open it up in a new window. If you want to view the meeting notes as a full page, click on the icon that has an arrow pointing out of a square in the top right corner. Then, click on the meeting you want to view or edit.

Meetric’s superpower is enabling the meeting attendees to take notes and assign tasks to individuals. You can set deadlines for these tasks, and it indicates when the task is complete. It is the perfect tool to use to track a team’s work using Google Calendar.

Let’s review how to insert a task, assign the task to an individual (with date and time), and easily email meeting notes to the attendees.

Insert a Task

There are two ways to insert a task. Usually, clicking return at the end of a sentence will create a greyed-out box. This box indicates that Meetric is ready for you to enter the task. If the box doesn’t appear, type [ and ] to add a task.

Either of these two options creates the box you need to begin the task. Note that you will now see a small box icon, an “@” sign, and a calendar icon. These are all the tools you’ll need.

Assign the Task

Begin by clicking on the “@” sign and choosing which attendee to assign the task. All the people who are attending the meeting will show on the list of options.

Next, type in the task you would like the individual to accomplish next to their name. When you finish, click on the calendar icon, and Meetric will give you some suggested dates. If none of the proposed dates are appropriate, add the exact date by clicking on the “Specific date” option at the bottom of the list. If the calendar icon is not visible, type in the word “by” at the task title’s end, which should bring up the suggested dates.

After selecting a date, you should see a red clock icon appear to the right of the date you chose. Click on the clock and enter the time by which the task needs to be completed.

Email the Notes

Once you have completed the meeting, you can easily send the contents of the meeting notes to the attendees. They will receive an email that gives them a list of all assigned tasks and another list of tasks specifically assigned to them.

Each individual can click on their task, and it will link them to the meeting notes. When they complete the task, they can click the box to the left of their name to mark it completed, and it will then update the Meetric note.

As you can see, this add-on to Google Calendar has the potential to assign and track a group’s work. Since the note is attached to the calendar event, it is easy to find and review the actions assigned. If the meeting is a standing meeting, Meetric gathers all of the notes together to make it easy to refer to past actions taken.

Currently, Meetric is free, so now is an excellent time to try it out. You can learn more about Meetric on their website.

Additional Information

I hope you find this Google Calendar update and Meetric add-on useful as you plan meetings, tasks, and projects with your team(s). If you’re interested in learning even more about Google, check out our TCEA Google Workspace for Education Courses and previous blog posts about Google Calendar.

August 19, 2021 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

Don’t Miss These Amazing Google Slide Add-Ons

by Diana Benner July 27, 2021

written by Diana Benner

Are you wondering what Google Slide add-ons you need to add to your teacher toolbox? If so, look no further. The must-have add-ons listed below will make your life a lot easier and engage your students in learning as well. But first, let’s look at what Google Slide add-ons are and how you can get them.

What Are Google Slide Add-Ons?

Just as the name suggests, add-ons are tools that you can add on to help you do something in Google that normally you would not be able to do. They provide you with extended features not built into Google products by default. To add on a particular extension, go to your Google Slide and then click on the Add-Ons tab on the menu bar and select Get Add-ons. You can then search the Google Workspace Marketplace for the add-on you want to install.

Some Great Educational Add-Ons to Try

Insert Icons

What’s a Google Slide without icons? I love to use icons in my Google Slide presentations. With the Insert Icons add-on, you have options for more than 1,800 icons to choose from. You can select any color you want, and the icons are imported in your slides with a transparent background. It also has an edit option that allows you to add texture to those icons, as well as shadows and outlines. The best part is that you can use all these icons for free. Insert Icons also exists for Google Docs and Google Sheets.

Paletti

The color of your Google Slides plays a major role in developing an engaging presentation. Selecting a proper color for the topic and theme of your lesson is vital. With the Paletti add-on, you can change the slide color in a minute. Once Paletti is added, you scroll through the more than 200 different shades of colors and then apply the one you want to your slide with just one click. You can apply the color to a particular slide or you can apply it to the entire Google Slide presentation. If you have a color that is not available in the palettes, you can customize it.

Pear Deck

The Pear Deck add-on is a powerful tool for getting your students engaged in the lesson by adding interactive questions. It’s also a good way to check for understanding during your lesson. As Tracey Smith mentioned in her blog post, Increase Student Engagement with Pear Deck, your students will be begging for more. The basic version of Pear Deck is free for teachers.

Pear Deck also teamed up with Google to help students become confident digital citizens. The Be Internet Awesome curriculum now includes 35 Pear Deck lessons and other interactive activities. On top of that, Pear Deck has a free Social-Emotional Skills Template developed in conjunction with Newsela that can be used in your lessons.

Slido

Slido is another way to engage your students. With the Slido add-on, you can poll your students or ask them questions without ever leaving your slides. As I pointed out in my blog post, Make Your Next Lesson, Presentation, or Meeting More Interactive, one of my favorite features of Slido is the ability to make a word cloud out of the answers to a poll question. I have always been a fan of word clouds, so I was excited when I saw this as a feature. The basic version is free for teachers.

Slip-in-Slide

With the Slip-in-Slide add-on, you can effortlessly insert slides into multiple student presentations at one time. You can choose to send one or many slides from your presentation to an assignment folder in Google Classroom. This makes distribution of new material quick and easy. It integrates with the folder structure of Google Classroom to send your slides directly into student’s existing presentations. There is a great tutorial on how to use Slip-in-Slide here.

Summing It Up

These Google Slide add-ons are extremely useful and can save you time. Whether you are giving a presentation or teaching a lesson, you will want to make use of them. Let us know in the comments which add-ons you use or want to take advantage of.

In addition, if you are wanting to learn even more about Google Workspace for Education, be sure to check out our online courses.

July 27, 2021 0 comment

image of woman with a laptop computer promoting google summer camp

Announcements/Important Dates Google Tips and Tricks

Scout Out Fresh Ideas at TCEA’s Google Summer Camp

by Andrew Roush June 14, 2021

written by Andrew Roush

With the approach of summer, many people are thinking about summer activities, especially for children, and even more especially as public events, gatherings, and programs begin to re-open. So it’s natural that thoughts turn to that staple of summer learning: the summer camp.

This year, TCEA is putting a twist on this all-American summer tradition by hosting a virtual Google Summer Camp. Rather than stitching together wallets and friendship bracelets, our friendly and experienced camp counselors will help campers weave together the various and ever-changing strands of Google apps and services, from Sheets and Slides to social-emotional learning and search strategies.

No matter your role in education, we’re confident that exploring the back trails and shortcuts through the thick forest of Google-icious products can improve your work.

About the Google Summer Camp

Intrigued by the opportunity to goose up your game? TCEA’s professional development experts have designed a program with multiple sessions each day of camp, letting you explore across topics — no bug spray, sunscreen, or hiking boots required! We’ll help you blaze a trail to the new school year with up to 18 professional learning credit hours.

Here are the details:

When: June 22-24 from 8:30 a.m. – noon, Central (so you have the afternoons off to practice what you’ve learned or take a nap!)
Where: Online
Topics: Getting Going with Google Sites, Google Tools and Social Emotional Learning, Make the Most of YouTube, Collaboration and Creativity with Jamboard, Digital Literacy and Google Tools, Secret Gmail Tips, To Infinity and Beyond with Forms, Teaching Vocabulary with Google Tools, and more
Price: $119
All registrants receive one year of complimentary TCEA membership

All sessions will be recorded so that you can watch the ones you don’t attend live for up to a month. That’s a lot of learning and something that regular summer camp doesn’t include!

Ready to have some summer fun and give a boost to your teaching? Meet us at Google Summer Camp, and we’ll help you find the right path to professional learning.

More From TechNotes

June 14, 2021 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

Updates to Google Workspace

by Miguel Guhlin December 24, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

Powerful new updates for Google Workspace are now available. In this blog entry, you will find out about a few of those that impact how you interact with Workspace tools.

Google Classroom Rosters and Flipgrid

Before we jump into Google Workspace’s updates, let’s take a moment to celebrate. Flipgrid has a new feature to add class rosters directly from Classroom. That’s right; you can now add Google Classroom rosters to Flipgrid discussions. This facilitates student access and saves time for busy teachers. Click the image below to watch Flipgrid’s video introduction.

Another Flipgrid update is the ability for students to be able to record video AND audio. Flipgrid keeps making astounding additions to their product. Not only do you have closed captioning possible in Flipgrid videos, but now there’s more. You can take advantage of microphone-only mode, which makes audio recordings easy.

Two other neat features include Flipgrid shorts camera updates and nametag cover images. One feature I find exciting is how you can create a mixtape of student videos recorded in Flipgrid. Imagine how easy it is to create a summary of exciting learning happening in your learning space.

As amazing as Flipgrid’s new integration is for Google Classroom teachers, there’s more.

Did You Know?

Explore Google Classroom in more detail via TCEA’s online, self-paced course. The purpose of this course is to assist educators in becoming more comfortable with Google Classroom. Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a TCEA Google Classroom digital badge and completion certificate.

Google Workspace Updates

There have been a host of updates for Google Meet recently, as well as other nifty editing features. Let’s take these updates one at a time.

Google Meet

If you blinked, you may have missed Google Meet video call link’s appearance in a classic space. That space? Google Hangouts.

According to Google, face-to-face video calls have these limits:

10 people for Gmail and Google Workspace Basics
25 people for Business and Education

Google Meet settings are now changing, gaining a “sticky” feel. That is, if you turn off certain features in your settings, Meet will remember those and they will appear in future meetings. Of course, those sticky settings will only appear for meetings that use the same meeting code. Sticky settings are associated with specific meeting codes, not people. That means you can set custom settings for each meeting you are in.

Editing Office Files in Google Workspace

Are you a Microsoft Office fanatic, but are stuck in a Google world? Then Google Workspace has taken a few steps to make your life easier. Those new features include the following:

Edit MS Office files with Google tools on open
Multi-page orientation now possible in Google Docs
Macro converter for MS Excel to Google Sheets

Let’s dig into these new features.

Feature #1: Default Editing of MS Office

Editing Microsoft Office files is now set by default in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This new feature may save you a double-click. In the past, you had to double-click to take a quick peek at the document. Now, you can click and open, going straight to edit mode.

Image Source: Google

Feature #2: Multi-Page Orientation

If you haven’t tried to put a portrait and landscape series of pages in Google Docs, you’ve missed out. Now you can insert section breaks that change page orientation. For example, maybe your first 10 pages are portrait, but for pages 11 through 15, you want to switch to landscape. What do you do? Rely on Google’s new multiple page orientations option.

Image Source: Google

Feature #3: Macro Converter

Oh, I can hear the Microsoft Excel advocates now. They aren’t ready to make the switch from Microsoft Excel to Google Sheets. “The macros never make it from an Excel workbook into Google Sheets,” they cry. Well, those days are coming to an end.

You now have a macro converter for Microsoft Excel. The macro converter does its thing with Excel files as it converts macros to Google Sheets format. Microsoft’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code gets turned into Apps Script code. The Apps Script code works in Google Sheets.

Stay tuned for more updates from Google Workspace.

Feature Image Source

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

December 24, 2020 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

Our 2020 Google Resource Roundup

by Diana Benner December 21, 2020

written by Diana Benner

Every year, I gather all the fabulous Google resources from our blog. This year, we have had so many amazing posts on topics ranging from Google Meet to Google Classroom. Check out this incredible list of Google blog posts from this past year categorized by topic/tool.

Accessibility

Assistive Writing Features in Google Docs – Take a look at two assistive writing features in Google Docs that are sure to help your students.
Grackle Your Google Docs – Are you sure the Google Docs you create are accessible by all your students? If not, find out how easy it is to check with Grackle Docs.
Make Audio More Accessible with YouTube Playback Tools – Tired of listening to slow YouTube videos? Discover how to speed them up (or slow them down) using an audio accessibility Chrome extension.
Planning G Suite EDU Use for Special Needs Children – Get help navigating the challenges of remote special education using by G Suite EDU and Chromebooks with this guide from Google.

Apps

Celebrate Notable Women with Google’s AR App – Learn about Google Creative Labs’ app, Notable Women.
Come Read with Me: Google’s Read Along App – Wish you had a free app with fresh stories your students could read with some digital assistance? Look no further than Google’s Read Along app.
Google’s AI to the Rescue: Ask Socratic – If you’re a secondary student (or parent!) who needs help with assignments, check out Socratic. This free AI app can help you solve any school problem.

Chrome Tablets

Chrome Tablets in Your Future, Part One – Are Chrome tablets in your future? They may be if you are looking for a less expensive tablet solution for younger students.
Chrome Tablets in Your Future, Part Two – Check out some of the amazing educational apps that work great on Chrome tablets.

Classroom

Five Amazing Add-Ons for Google Classroom – Make Google Classroom even more amazing with these five add-ons.
TCEA Responds: Keep Parents in the Loop with Google Classroom – Need to keep parents in the loop? In this TCEA Responds, we cover a few approaches teachers are using, including Google Classroom.
Video Sharing in Google Classroom and Seesaw – Video sharing is a critical need for both teachers and students. Here’s the latest roundup of tools that make that easy.

Contacts

TCEA Responds: Exploring Google Contacts – Keeping your Google Contacts up to date without duplicates might seem a chore. Explore these steps to help you keep it clean and organized.

Docs

Cite Your References in Seven Easy Steps – Learn about a new feature in Google Docs that makes it so much easier to add citations and bibliographies into your documents.
TCEA Responds: Making Copies of Google Docs – There are tons of great Google templates available online. In this TCEA Responds, learn how to make a copy of those Google documents for your own use.

Drive

TCEA Responds: Organizing Google Drive for Others – Explore a few tips on how you can better organize content in Google Drive.
TCEA Responds: Printing Google Drive Documents – Even today, printing documents is still required sometimes. Learn how to print a large group of Google Drive files.

Gmail

Declutter Your Inbox the Easy Way – Is your email inbox a mess, filled with emails you really don’t want? Fear not. We have four useful methods to declutter your inbox.
Gmail Tips and Tricks – Gmail is more powerful than you realize. Learning how to filter emails and create an event within an email saves time. If efficiency is your aim, read this!

HyperDocs

Hypertext Docs: Teaching the Bonus March – Hyperdocs can increase engagement and encourage self-directed learning. Look at how you can use hyperdocs to teach about the Bonus March of 1932.

Meet

Google Meet Add-Ons and Updates – Explore a few Chrome extensions that can improve your Google Meet experience, especially for classroom learning.
Google Meet or Zoom Transcription – Need to keep a record of the content of a Google Meet or Zoom call? If so, come learn about audio transcription.
Virtual Backgrounds for Google Meet – Wish you had an easy way to cover up that home office mess with a virtual background for Google Meet? Come learn how.

Sites

Google Sites Bells and Whistles – See what Google Sites can do now with the new tools and features that have been added.
Templates for Google Sites – Discover templates for Google Sites that can be used to create a website for a classroom, extracurricular activity, or portfolio.

Slides

Recording Video into Google Slides – Need to share some quick instructions with students and avoid big screen recording tools? Record to Slide is your new go-to tool.

Various Google Topics and Tools

Adding Webcam Video to Google Slides with Screencastify – Learn how to make your Screencastify video recordings look better and be easier for students to follow.
Amazing G Suite Templates – These five G Suite templates will help both you and your students do some creative projects, have fun, and learn even more.
Crafting Spoken Feedback in G Suite EDU – Need to provide spoken feedback for G Suite EDU documents? Look no further than this new tool, mote.
Google Play Store Labels Teacher-Approved Apps – In search of teacher-approved apps for children using Android devices like tablets and phones? Then look no further. The Google Play Store now labels them.
Teaching Math with G Suite EDU – Wish you had a way to draw, capture, and share diagrams and equations for math in the G Suite EDU classroom? This blog entry provides you with solutions.

Voice

Maintain Teacher Privacy with Google Voice – Explore how to safeguard your personal phone number with a Google Voice number of your own.

YouTube

Translate YouTube Captions and Audio – Learn how to translate YouTube video subtitles, captions, or audio.

In addition, don’t forget to check out the 2019 Google Resource Roundup, 2018 Google Resource Roundup, 2017 Google Resource Roundup, and the 2016 Google Resource Roundup for even more phenomenal Google blog posts. As we move into 2021, stay tuned for more fabulous posts by joining our email list to ensure the latest content gets delivered right to your inbox and you never miss any of these wonderful resources.

December 21, 2020 0 comment

female working on math problem in notebook

Google Tips and Tricks Math

Teaching Math with Google Workspace EDU

by Miguel Guhlin June 18, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

It was only a week ago that a teacher reached out to me about typing mathematical symbols. Lonnie, a math teacher, expressed the challenge:

I’ve avoided using Docs for a long time because it does not allow me to take a snapshot. As a math teacher, I often need to take a snapshot. It’s less tedious than trying to find all the mathematical symbols to type something out. And another thing…I’m not sure why I would use Google Sites or YouTube.

In this blog entry, we’ll explore a few responses to these questions.

Mathematical Symbols

Solution #1: Lightshot

You can use several tools to take snapshots and then copy-and-paste or insert them into Google Docs. I rely on Lightshot, a Chrome extension and/or program you can load on your computer. It makes it easy to snap pictures of my screen and annotate them. You can see it reviewed in this video. It’s also mentioned in my TCEA Remote Learning support page for the video. Find it online.

math

Solution #2: Equatio

Equatio is a Chrome extension that takes the pain out of making equations or math expressions. You can dictate equations as well. Teachers can use Google Forms to create quizzes and students can add diagrams, sketches, and more to make their thinking visible.

Get Equatio in a free or premium version. Want to see more math tools? See this blog post.

Digital Whiteboards

Need a digital whiteboard? Most of us do when we’re trying to explain mathematical concepts. One way to do that is with a digital whiteboard that makes connecting with students easier.

Here are three digital whiteboard solutions you can take advantage of. The question is, which one does what you need?

Tool #1: Google Meet Plus

If you’re looking for the Swiss army knife of Chrome extensions for Google Meet, then this is it. Google Meet Plus has a built-in whiteboard that offers a few extra features that come in handy during a Google Meet. One of them is showing you a running record of who added what to the whiteboard.

math

Google Meet Plus makes it simple for participants to do the following:

Share and collaborate on a whiteboard in the meeting
See the drawing in real-time

Get simple and powerful tools in a Google Meet session with Google Meet Plus.

Tool #2: JamBoard

Jamboard is a great whiteboard solution, and it’s collaborative. Since it’s a G Suite solution, which means you can use it with your students. But you will still need math tools for typing. “You can also write on it with your mouse/touchpad,” says Shari Hiltbrand. She goes on to say:

Access it by going to your 9 dots/waffle. That is at the top right of your Gmail or Drive page. Scroll through the apps and you’ll find JamBoard.

You may find Sarah Kiefer’s Wakelet Collection about JamBoard worth exploring:

If in Google Classroom, you can assign a JamBoard to each student. You can use a laser pointer, and create an unlimited series of blank pages (whiteboard screens) that can be saved. You can also embed GIFs in JamBoard (video). Unlike Google Meet Plus’ whiteboard, there is no revision history. Here’s how one teacher reported using it in her classroom with two remote learning students:

Eric Curts (Control Alt Achieve Blog) has put together an amazing video on using JamBoard and Google Meets:

Tool #3: Whiteboard.fi

math Another nifty solution is Whiteboard.fi. From their website:

Whiteboard.fi is a simple tool that you can put into instant use. Create a class and invite your students. When they join, all will get a digital whiteboard.

As their teacher, you see all your students’ whiteboards in real time, so you can follow their progress. The students only see their own whiteboard and the teacher’s.

Imagine your students creating a concept map while you are sharing a new idea or concept. Whiteboard.fi makes it easy for students to make their thinking visible while you provide live feedback.

Virtual Online Space

One of the tough problems we encounter in teaching math is finding ONE place to put everything we want to share with students. A great tool for that is Google Sites. I put all my stuff that I share with others in Google Sites like a simple bulletin board. Here’s an example or two you may find of interest:

As wonderful as Google Docs is, having a space you can refer to online like Google Sites can be a lifesaver.

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Sharing Video Playlists

One of the reasons you would use YouTube is to share playlists of educational videos with students (or colleagues/parents). For example, you could make a playlist of supplemental videos for a particular math lesson. Watchinga video can assist learners in visualizing concepts from a different perspective.

For example, check out this YouTube playlist Algebra Made Simple. Imagine using it to reinforce algebraic concepts covered in class today.

Equations, Whiteboards, and More

When you consider how many tools are available, it can be overwhelming. That’s why I like to have two or three to refer to when working. I hope this blog entry has provided you with a few ideas you can build on. If not, here are some more ways to Empower Your Math Lessons with G Suite for Education.

June 18, 2020 1 comment

Android

Google Play Store Labels Teacher-Approved Apps

by Miguel Guhlin May 21, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for Teacher Approved apps for your children? Wish you could align Google Play store apps to a teacher-approved checklist? The Google Play store has made them easier to find. In this blog entry, we’ll peek at what you will find in their new section.

Did You Know?
TCEA provides you with a list of student-friendly apps online. Be sure to check out the Must Have List of Android Apps. TCEA helps educators find the best apps for their students and their curriculum. Our professional development team tests and reviews apps, sharing recommendations in curated lists that are helpfully categorized by subject and purpose, so you can find exactly what you need. See more apps for your device.

Finding Kid-Friendly Apps

Are you at your wit’s end, keeping your children engaged? You are not alone. Some parents toss their children an Android tablet to buy time while they try to prepare a meal, care for another child, or get a moment of peace and quiet. But how do you know that what you are encouraging children to “play” is educational? That’s where Google Play Store has taken some steps.

Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Teacher Approved

For parents, seeing a badge stating “Teacher Approved” may make all the difference. Google certifies that apps sporting this label are “enriching and entertaining.” They’ve even contracted with educators to make the decision:

To share the best apps for kids on the Play Store, we’ve teamed up with academic experts and teachers across the country, including our lead advisors, Joe Blatt (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and Dr. Sandra Calvert (Georgetown University). Apps that have been rated by teachers and meet our quality standards receive a “Teacher approved” badge. (Source)

Each app sports a simple badge.

How to Find the Teacher-Approved Apps

While it would have been cool for Google to create a “Teacher-Approved Apps” button, they instead did this:

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Store.
Tap Games or Apps.
At the top, tap Kids. All apps in this section are teacher approved.
1. For Movies and TV, tap Family.
2. For Books, tap Children’s Books.

When you tap on Kids, you will see only the apps that are teacher approved. Go to the Kids tab to see “Teacher approved” content. Google Play Pass subscribers can find it at “Apps and games for kids.” If you are scratching your head and wondering, “Is this that easy to find?” you are not alone. Google could have done a better job for students and parents to locate content.

Selection Process

Wondering how Google decided what is “teacher approved” and what is not? They asked trained teachers to rate apps based on a framework that evaluated things like:

Design quality
Appeal to children
Enrichment potential
Ads and in-app purchases
Age-appropriateness

Teacher-approved apps appear in the Kids section on Google Play, are featured in banners or collections, and display the badge. Most important, they show what teachers found valuable in the app details page. Don’t be afraid to give this app a try with your young reader. It may be the type of engagement your child needs. Read along with your child to improve engagement.

May 21, 2020 0 comment

Android Content Areas Google Tips and Tricks iOS Tips and Tricks

Google’s AI to the Rescue: Ask Socratic

by Miguel Guhlin May 19, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

Ready to step into the future? You may find this new iteration of an app worth exploring. It will be even more useful if you are a high school or college student and need help studying. Google for Education announced February 12, 2020 that they have a new tool to assist you. What’s amazing is that it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to work. The updated app that Google acquired and revamped is Socratic.

Let’s take a moment to explore the new app.

Image Credit: Google Play Store

What Socratic Offers

Socratic makes over one thousand high school and college-level subject guides available, relying on artificial intelligence to find and simplify answers to questions. The questions answered come from subjects like Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, History, and Literature. Believe it or not, it can also answer questions about Physics and Trigonometry.

Socratic’s main features include the following:

Get problems into Socratic via camera, voice, or typed search
View online resources, including diagrams and videos, to solve the problem
Self-paced instructions and videos with explanations
A growing library of content

Getting started is as easy as getting the app and using it. Android users can get the app via the Google Play store. Need the iOS version? Get it here. (If you are clicking on this link to the app via your Chromebook or computer browser, log in with a personal account. The Google Play store doesn’t play well with G Suite EDU accounts and will give you an error.)

How Socratic Works

Wondering how Google’s AI works in Socratic? Google designed the app to assist students who may be studying on their own. You can use the voice search to ask a question. Another way involves students snapping a photo of a problem. Then Socratic will do its best to find an answer.

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

When you first load Socratic on your device, you’ll have to sign in. You can try to sign in with a G Suite EDU account. If that does not work, try a personal Gmail account.

Sign-In Screen

G Suite EDU Account Not Found,

Use Personal Account Instead

Snap a Picture of a Problem

Once you have logged in, you will grant Socratic camera access. After that, you can snap a picture of a worksheet with a word problem or type it in, as shown above. Here’s what a solution response will look like:

Some teachers may express concern about an app that can assist students for self-paced learning. Those few detractors aside, this is a boon to independent learners. Take a few steps into the future of artificial intelligence with Socratic.

May 19, 2020 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

Templates for Google Sites

by Peggy Reimers May 14, 2020

written by Peggy Reimers

Google just added a new feature for Google Sites. Drum roll please . . . templates!

These templates were created to give users a quick and easy instrument to create a high-quality site. The templates have a preselected theme, populated pages, and a wide array of prepositioned spaces for text, images, and layouts for your content.

If you don’t have the time or desire to start from scratch, a template is a way to go.

How to Locate the Google Sites Template Gallery

From your “waffle” (apps launcher)

Choose Sites
Select New Google Sites
Select Templates shown at the top

From the omnibox (Google URL search box)

Type sites.google.com
Select New Google Sites
Select Templates shown at the top

Sure-Fire Tips

sites.new

if you are using the time-saving trick of going directly to sites.new, you will not have the option to choose a template as you will instantly create a new Google Site. The template gallery will not be visible.

Bookmark

Be sure to bookmark this url <https://sites.google.com/u/0/new/?authuser=0&tgif=c&ftv=1> and you will have access and another option to access the templates.

Hide the Gallery

You have the ability to hide the gallery by clicking on the “skinny snowman” drop-down menu. The Skinny snowman is the three dots in your upper right-hand corner.

Unhide the Gallery

What happens if you hide the templates and then want the gallery back? This was the tricky part. Go to the three vertical lines in the upper left-hand corner,

Select Settings
Check the box “Display recent templates on home screens”

Template Gallery

For the Site template launch, Google released nine templates in 16 languages. Each template has a specific purpose with a professional look and feel. Google will build more templates as time goes by.

The gallery is divided into three main categories: Education, Personal, and Work. The Education options of Class, Club, and Student Portfolio are amazing. These templates will give teachers a jump start on creating a website and, even better news, a solid framework for students to begin a portfolio. Remember that the creator is not limited to the template framework; modification and changes are simply made. The template allows for the groundwork to be laid and the users get to jump in and create the content.

My first inclination was to jump into each template and see the information Google had supplied. It was a bit time consuming, so I hope the breakdown of each template and the pages and potential sections within each will be helpful to teachers and students.

Education

Class

Home: class name, class overview, about me, resources
Schedule: calendar, daily schedule
Newsletter: monthly newsletter and layout includes space for more

Club

Home: name of club, purpose, what we’ve done, space for video/presentation
Events: calendar, upcoming events, past events
About: history, a place for general content

Student Portfolio

Home: about me, achievements, strengths, goals, get in touch at
Classes: school year, highlights and layout includes images, videos and presentations
Activities: two examples and layout space for activities

Personal

Portfolio

Home: “Hi, I’m ____,” selected work, space for presentation, project and video, contact information
About: an impactful statement, clients, work experience, education
Project Page: project name with description and images, room for role, achievement, outcome of the project, next project button

Restaurant

Home: restaurant name, tagline, reservation button, space for food photos, welcome, press coverage,
Contact Us: location map, reservation button, contact us, hours of operation, customer experience in detail, image space
Chef: meet the chef, image, chef bio, style of cooking, chef’s team bios and images
Menu: reservation button, divided into sections for appetizer, main course and dessert, catering information

Work Templates for Google Sites

Event

Home: event name, rsvp button, day 1-3 descriptions, images, speaker space includes image, name and about section, venue and map
Schedule: date with 14 time slots
Speakers: eight sections for speakers with image and bio space
Venue – name, image, transportation

Help Center

Home: six topics with space for images and topic names, jump to section links with collapsable text, live chat button
Documentation: library of help resources, “Still need help?” section and help button, live chat button

Project

Home: project name, mission, efforts, questions, take action button
History: brief history, image, where we are today with space for images,
Team: goal statement, leadership section, “Meet the Team” section with images, apply now (to join the team) button
FAQ: jump to section links with text sections, live chat button

Team

Home: welcome, learn more button, core value with image and information space, “Subscribe to Our Mailing List” section
Projects: 1-4 images and information space
Project page: project goal with resources and links, stakeholders and names, impact
Contact: team introduction, “Meet the Team” space with name, job title and email

Drop me a comment and let me know how you plan on using a new template for your club, class, or campus. The initial rollout of templates is a great addition to Google Sites. I still think teaching how to create a Google Site is best from scratch, but if you are not focused on the how-to, a template is a great place to start.

Featured Image by 200 Degrees from Pixabay

May 14, 2020 19 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts