Tag:

features

A Fresh, New Look for Google Classroom

by Diana Benner January 24, 2019

written by Diana Benner

A few weeks ago, Google rolled out a fresh new look for Google Classroom. Many teachers want to keep their Google Classroom organized and clean and the new updates will help accomplish this.

A Cleaner Look

When teachers log into Google Classroom, they will notice that Classroom has a new look and feel. At first, notice the new white background. Then, when you get into one of your classes, an obvious change you will see is that the class code is now located at the top on the header. There is also a new display icon next to the class code. When you click on it, the class code will appear largely and clearly. This makes is a lot easier to project your class code so new students can join your class.

Drag and Drop Assignments and Topics on the Classwork Page

The Classwork page allows teachers to post assignments and questions. To better organize your classwork page, you can even group those assignments and questions into topics. For additional flexibility, Google has now added the ability for you to drag individual items within and between topics. You can even drag an entire topic to another location on the Classwork page. This will make rearranging and organizing your classroom even easier.

Personalize Your Google Classroom with New Themes

Google has introduced 78 new themes so teachers can now personalize their Google Classroom. The themes come with custom illustrations, ranging from history to math to photography. It’s now even easier to customize your Classroom than ever before. All you have to do is click on Select Theme and choose one of the nice new backgrounds. Of course, you still have the option to upload your own photo.

Hopefully, these are some changes that will be beneficial to you. Stay tuned to our blog for new updates to Google as they come out.

January 24, 2019 3 comments

The Latest Google Update

by Lori Gracey March 3, 2017

written by Lori Gracey

Google announced a number of very nice updates to their products in February 2017, and you’ll definitely want to start using them. Here’s a quick look at what’s now available:

Android apps are now easily available on all Chromebooks launched from this point on (source).
Administrators will soon be able to manage Android apps on Chrome devices (source).
New features for the mobile app versions of Docs and Sheets are now available, including headers and footers; drag-and-drop text; resizing, moving, and rotating images; and more (source).
Insert videos into Slides from Google Drive (source).
Administrators now have privileges for managing custom templates in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms (source).
Google Arts and Culture now includes a comprehensive U. S. presidential history (source).
Google Sites now supports dividers (source).
Meet by Google Hangouts, a new video conferencing app for business, has been launched (source).

If you want to learn more about Google, be sure to check out our other blogs on the topic by typing “Google” in the search box at the top of this page. Or join us for an in-depth, free-to-members monthly webinar that will really help to ramp up your Google skills. And take a look at our other Google-icious resources available here.

March 3, 2017 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Forms Smackdown: Google vs Microsoft

by Miguel Guhlin January 25, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

Collecting data via online forms has never been easier. New web-based form tools have revolutionized how we gather and analyze data, making arcane database-backed web tools obsolete.

Even the next generation of database-backed web tools (e.g. Airtable, Obvibase, more solutions) find themselves catering to power users, rather than teachers and students. These descendants of venerable desktop database tools (e.g. Filemaker Pro, Microsoft Access, Alpha IV, Paradox) require some knowledge of databases and how they work. Google Forms and Microsoft Forms drop database complexity and make it easier for K-12 and adult learners to focus on the task rather than the method.

Practical Uses of Forms in K-12 Schools

The uses of forms to support teaching, learning and leading are legion. While you can see 81 Interesting Ways to Use Forms in the Classroom, here are a few of my favorite uses:

Gather data about a particular phenomena or event and then use the data for analysis by staff and/or students.
Conduct climate surveys to get insights into staff perspectives about the work place.
Enable participants to craft self-assessments for appraisal or growth purposes.
Get insights from staff/students/community into home technology and/or social media use.
Employ forms for formative assessment activities, such as exit tickets.
Set up a help desk system to track requests for support.

You can find even more uses online in these TCEA TechNotes articles on the use of forms. Remember, you can easily adapt the uses of forms across the tools available. Find the one that works best in your environment (e.g. Google or Office 365).

Are you a Texas educator using Office 365 in your District? Join the free, open to members and non-members TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Facebook group!

Feature Comparison

Both Microsoft and Google Forms have a wealth of features. Let’s explore some of those features, keeping in mind that they are rapidly changing.

Update 05/2019: Special thanks to Karyn Filhart (@Filibuster3) for updating the chart below. See her updated version online.

Excerpt from Karyn Filhart’s Revised Chart

ORIGINAL CHART

Feature	Microsoft Forms	Google Forms
Web link	View Microsoft Forms	View Google Forms
Account required	Free Office 365 account or School Office 365 account	Personal Google account^ or Google Suites for Education account
Multiple question types	Includes: Choice (multiple choice and checkboxes) Quiz Text (short and long answer) Rating (linear scale and star choice up to 10) Date	Includes: Choice (multiple choice and checkboxes) Multiple choice grid Quiz Text (short and long answer) Rating (linear scale and star choice up to 10) Date Time File upload^
Embed media such as videos/images	Images YouTube	Images YouTube
Add subtitle description	Yes	Yes^
Option to shuffle responses	Yes	Yes for any questions containing multiple responses^
Add question to quiz computation	Yes, add any question to a quiz	Yes, create a self-grading quiz
Add other option to available responses	Yes	Yes
Organize form elements in sections	No	Yes
Adjust theme to reflect color of choice or available background image	Yes	Yes, and includes option to insert one’s own image
Preview form using built-in desktop or mobile	Yes	No, but features responsive web design
Re-order questions at any time	Yes, with up/down arrows	Yes, drag-and-drop
Copy/duplicate question	Yes	Yes
Delete or trash question	Yes	Yes
Organize question into multiple pages	No	Yes, insert page breaks after questions
Branching responses	Yes, dependent upon response chosen	Yes, with the ability to send to a different page.
Share form online	Yes, includes the following: Link provided for copying Embed into OneNote Notebook Page Email link QR code download Web page embedding	Yes, includes the following: Link provided for copying Share form link via email Web page embedding Social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) link sharing
Tracking form completion	Yes, tracking is possible if user is required to login to access the form	Yes, tracking is possible if user is required to login to access the form
Export results as a spreadsheet	Yes, results can be exported to Excel sheet (and other formats from there) and saved for further analysis or placed online	Yes, results can be exported in various formats
Form data at rest can be interacted with (Google Sheets tab is similar to an Excel Workbook sheet)	No, form data can be printed or deleted but not create a live workbook sheet that can be used, interacted with on another sheet	Yes, form data on one Google Sheets tab can be linked and interacted with another tab
Set start and end dates at specific times for when the form is open or closed for access	Yes, by date and time	No, form must be manually shut down to stop receiving responses. FormLimiter add-on can be enabled, however^.
When form is NOT accepting responses, create a custom message as to why	Yes	Yes^
Handling of individual or summary responses	Yes, options to form creator include viewing, deleting, printing individual and/or summary responses. In summary view, responses are aggregated and appear with graphs when appropriate.	Yes, options include viewing of individual and summary responses. Summary view includes aggregate results with graphs. Removing individual responses may require accessing the Google Sheet where Form responses are archived.
View average completion time for the form	Yes	No

^Special thanks to Eric Curts (@ericcurts; Ctrl-Alt-Achieve) for his feedback and corrections indicated with this symbol.

Update 01/26/2017: Microsoft Forms Enhancements

Microsoft Forms is in the process of rolling out enhancements, as reported by Brandon Cornwell (@CornwellEdTech; Tacoma, WA schools), that include the following NEW features not included in the chart above:

Print summaries of MS Forms charts are now possible.
Individual quizzes featuring student responses, scores and feedback are printable by the teacher.
Extra credit points can now be alloted.
Teachers can post scores, enabling students to to view their quiz score and obtain feedback.
Students can be provided feedback regarding their form responses.
Individual items can now be scored.
Specific value formats (e.g. number) can now feature data entry restrictions.
Math symbols and equation creator are available in quiz mode.
Form creators are prompted as to whether Form or Quiz is planned.

Reflections

Microsoft Forms features have expanded (e.g. a recent addition is collaborative form editing, a feature Google Forms also enjoys) since a preview launch in the summer of 2016. In important ways, it has achieved parity with Google Forms. In other ways, it may have outpaced Google Forms. For educators in Office 365 districts, Microsoft Forms represents a fantastic tool. Given the prompt development of both products, the feature gap will not endure long!

*This post was updated January 25, 2017.

January 25, 2017 1 comment

iOS Tips and Tricks Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Improved Teaching with Microsoft

by Miguel Guhlin January 19, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

“We sure wish Class Notebook worked in OneNote Online,” several teachers remarked to me at a Fall Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) session. Microsoft was listening. On January 18, 2017, Microsoft improved teaching and learning with OneNote! These new features expand integration for OneNote’s most popular add-ins, Class Notebook and Learning Tools.

Big Announcements

Today, in the announcement, Microsoft shared their two popular add-ins are now available for OneNote Online, as well as OneNote for Windows 10 (the free version that comes installed with Windows 10). Some additional enhancements were also covered.

OneNote Enhancements

You already knew that YouTube, Vimeo, Slideshare, Sway, Docs.com, MS Forms, and Office Mix could be embedded into a OneNote page for easy student access. As of today, you can also embed Quizlet, ThingLink, GeoGebra, Wizer and Sketchfab 3D! Check out Marjolein Hoekstra’s (@OneNoteC) example OneNote Notebook (as well as her demo of Padlet embedding!). OneNote has also been enhanced to include stickers for student feedback. These stickers won’t peel off!

improved

Class Notebook

For teachers, Class Notebook for OneNote Online and OneNote for Windows 10 means easier distribution of content to all students in a class. It also empowers teachers to review student work sequentially (click and grade your way through a class roster with ease). This is phenomenal since it adds class management functionality the online and app versions of OneNote 2016 (the cadillac version). These features are rolling out on January 18 for OneNote Online. A new version of the Win 10 OneNote app will allow you to enable the feature via the settings in the Options menu.

Learning Tools

Learning Tools, which provides access to the Immersive Reader, dictation, and more, has now been expanded. It works on Word Desktop, Word Online, OneNote Online and Office Lens for the iPhone. A great dictation feature translates you when you say “period” or “question mark” and inserts respective “.” or “?” inline. Other new features include six new languages, as well as the addition of three dictation languages.

Office Lens Adds Immersive Reader

Image Source: Microsoft Blog

You may have missed the message that Office Lens for iPad and iPhone now includes Immersive Reader, which “lets you hear text from a scanned page read back to you as words are highlighted,” functionality. This is an incredible addition!

Microsoftastic Updates!

Thanks to Microsoft for modeling continuous improvement, listening to teachers AND students, and implementing these changes.

January 19, 2017 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks Uncategorized

Two New Features in Google Classroom

by Lori Gracey January 12, 2017

written by Lori Gracey

On January 11, 2017, Google announced some powerful new features for Classroom for both teachers and administrators. Both of these features really focus on providing the ability to personalize learning.

For Teachers

For teachers, the program provides for more differentiation. A teacher can now decide which student/s should receive a specific assignment or question, allowing her to personalize the learning more. To make this feature work best, the teacher should create subsets of students based on their unique needs. This is perfect for allowing struggling students to practice more or to provide an extension activity to students who have already mastered the content. And, with the update, teachers will also receive two new Classroom notifications: one when students submit late work after the due date and the other when students re-submit work.

Google Classroom

For Google Administrators

Google administrators will now see Classroom data included in the Admin Console Reports. You will be able to see the amount of time being spent on Classroom and how many posts are being created. You can also view this data schoolwide, on a class-by-class basis, or by individual user. This will make it easier to target professional development for staff who may be struggling with how best to use Classroom.

Thanks to Google for continually listening to educators about the needs for this wonderful tool!

January 12, 2017 0 comment

iOS Tips and Tricks

iOS 10 Features You’ll Want to Use

by Lori Gracey September 14, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

(New content was added to this blog on September 23, 2016.)

Apple released their latest software update, iOS 10, on September 13. Like most of their updates, it has some new features that you will definitely want to take advantage of. Here are some of my favorites.

Get Rid of Those Annoying Apple Apps! – We can finally delete the apps that Apple has forced on us for years. This includes Contacts, Maps, Podcasts, and Stocks. Once deleted, if you want them back (?), then you can just download them again from iTunes. There are still some Apple apps, however, that cannot be deleted, including Health, Messages, Safari, and the Clock app.

View Two Screens in Safari – If you want your students to compare two websites and so need to have two Safari windows open at the same time, you can now do that with iOS 10. There are several ways to enable Safari Split View once you have the app open:

Drag a tab to the side of the Safari screen.
Tap and hold a link from a website and select Open in Split View.
Use Command and N on the keyboard to open a new screen.
Tap and hold the Tabs button and select Open in Split View.

Find Your Car – If your car has Bluetooth or CarPlay, the Maps app will now automatically display its location, along with notes you make to yourself about where you parked (like garage level). You can also ask Siri “Where’s my car?” and she’ll give you directions to it.

Sort Your Mail – It’s now easier to sort the email that comes into your mailbox. Go into Settings — Mail — Swipe Options and select Move Message as your Swipe Left option. Now, in your inbox, swipe left on any email and be presented with the option to move it to another folder, archive it, or six other choices. After you’ve moved a few, Mail will start to offer suggestions on where you should file the message, which will save you even more time.

Magnify Your World – For people like me whose eyesight is not quite as good as it used to be, the new Magnifier setting in Settings — Accessibility is fantastic. When turned on, it uses your device’s camera to magnify things. To access it quickly, just triple-click the Home button.

Get Rid of Unwanted Email Subscriptions – iOS 10 attempts to identify emails for which you have subscribed and now gives you an unsubscribe banner that’s easy to see (no more searching for the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email). Just tap the banner to automatically unsubscribe. (Of course, you wouldn’t want to do that with any email coming from TCEA!)

Mark Up Your Photos – Ever wanted to draw on a photo you’ve taken to illustrate a point? Now you can. The Photos app uses the same Markup extension as Mail does (which lets you annotate or draw on an image in any email), allowing you to draw on your screenshots or images, add callouts, and more. If you don’t like what you’ve drawn, you can erase it with no changes made to the photo and try again.

Get More Sleep – Inside the Clock app, there’s now a Bedtime button that will help you get more sleep. Answer a few simple questions about how much sleep you think you need and what time you have to get up in the morning, and your device will now remind you when to go to bed to get enough zzz’s. It features a nice selection of reminder tones and a good, but basic, sleep analysis of whether you are going to bed on time regularly. I can see this being really handy for young children and teens.

Help for Those with Special Needs – The new update includes some very nice accessibility additions, which is amazing, considering that Apple is known for accessibility features on all of its devices. You can read an explanation of them here.

Use Third-Party Apps Inside Maps – Now you can use third-party apps, like OpenTable for reservations, inside the Maps app. To turn this feature on, go to Settings — Maps and toggle the switch to On for any apps that you want.

Access Street View – The free Google Street View app will now work on your iOS devices.

Have Your Voicemail Transcribed – Once you receive a voicemail message, the system will take a few minutes to try and transcribe it. Once it’s finished, just tap the message to expand it and you’ll find the transcription.

Empower Siri – Siri is now stronger than ever with apps that integrate inside it. This makes it even easier to have Siri call you a cab, leave a message, or make a reservation for you.

There are a lot of other new features in iOS 10, especially for the Messages app. But this list should give you enough to get started with. And remember that the update is always free from Apple. So what are you waiting for?

September 14, 2016 0 comment

Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Eight Things Windows 10 Can Do to Make Your Life Easier

by Dr. Bruce Ellis December 11, 2015

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

We’re all looking for ways to make things easier, to make us more productive, and to let us use our time more wisely. The Windows 10 operating system can help, especially for teachers.

1. Write on a Web Page – Ever find a great resource and wish you could annotate it? With the new Microsoft Edge Browser and the Web Notes feature, you can write, draw, or even doodle on any web page. It also allows you to email the web page to colleagues or your students.

2. Start Menu – Say hello to the re-apperance of the start menu. That’s right, the start menu that you grew up with is back for easy navigation.

3. Oh Snap! – Do you find yourself switching between two programs? Having a rough time adjusting each window so they fit perfectly next to each other? With the snap feature, click on the programs and drag to the left or right. It will fit the window to a split view and offer suggestions for the window to fill the other side.

4. Continuum – Is it a laptop or a tablet? Continuum optimizes your experience on the Surface or 2-in-1 laptop from desktop mode to tablet mode.

5. Free – Windows 10 is a free upgrade. Download the Windows 10 app from the Windows Store.

6. OneNote Classroom Creator – Finding it hard to stay organized with your class? Use OneNote Classroom Creator to organize content for your class and yourself.

7. Remove the Clutter – Reading View is another feature from the new Microsoft Edge browser. It lets you click a button and clean up a web page so that there are no ads, sidebars, or other distracting elements. In short, it gives you just the text of an article. To activate it, simply click the open book icon in the address bar of Microsoft Edge.You can adjust the font size and view in the Settings menu for Edge.

8. Get an Assistant! – In Windows 10, Microsoft includes Cortana, a virtual assistant that is very comparable with Siri or Google Now. You can access Cortana via the search bar at the bottom of your screen or by pressing the Windows key + S. You can even launch her with the “Hey, Cortana” voice command if you enable it in your Cortana settings.

December 11, 2015 0 comment

iOS Tips and Tricks

Apple Device Updates You’ll Want to Use

by Dr. Bruce Ellis November 20, 2015

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Knowing about and using all the newest features of Apple’s latest update on iOS (9) and OS X (El Capitan) can be difficult. But luckily, we’ve got you covered. Here are a few of my favorite new tools to try.

Apple: Handoff – Ever pull up a website on an iPad that you would like to finish reading or using on your Mac? With Apple’s handoff feature, you can now easily pick up where you left off on any connected Apple device.
iPad: Picture in Picture Mode – Multitask much? Millennials (and busy educators) are noted for splitting attention between music, movies, and work. Instead of using another device to watch your favorite shows or educational media, use the new PiP in iOS 9.
iPad: Low Power Mode – Turn this feature on in Settings–Battery and it will ask you at 20% and again at 10% if you want to go into Low Power Mode to conserve battery life. Say “yes” and mail fetch, background app refresh, automatic downloads, and some visual effects will be reduced or disabled. But everything else will still work fine.
iPad: Sharing Content in Notes – The ability to embed websites, maps, and photos in a to-do list in Notes is wonderful. The next text formatting options such as titles, headings, lists, and more are also game-changing.
iPad: Easy Editing of Big Chunks of Text – With the update, you can now place two fingers down on the keyboard and it instantly becomes a trackpad, letting you select large chunks of text with one swipe. This makes it much easier to edit.
Mac El Capitan: Missing Cursor – Do you constantly lose where your cursor is on the screen? On the latest update of the Mac OS, you can now “shake” or “wiggle” one finger on the trackpad and your cursor will grow BIG.
Mac El Capitan Safari: Pin Tabs – Are you a fan of pinned tabs in Chrome or a Pinterest lover? You can now pin tabs in your favorite Safari Browser.
Mac El Capitan Safari: Whoa, That’s Loud! – Quickly mute a browser window from the address bar. Move your curser to the right side of the address bar. An audio icon will appear and you can click to mute/unmute.
Mac El Capitan: Split View – Are you constantly resizing your windows to fit two programs? That’s no longer necessary with the new Split View. Just click and drag the green maximize button on the left or right side of the screen. It will automatically fit and suggest another window for the other half.

November 20, 2015 0 comment