Friday, August 30, 2013

Gmail Tip: Adding Groups of Contacts

I want to add a bunch of contacts at once in Gmail, such as large groups of students!

To import contacts to Gmail:
  1. Create a custom CSV file, or export the address book from your other webmail provider or email client as a CSV file.
  2. Sign in to Gmail.
  3. Click Gmail at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose Contacts.
  4. Click the More button above the contacts list and select Import....
  5. Click the Choose File button.
  6. Select the file you'd like to upload and click the Import button.
When it's done, Gmail will display the number of contacts imported.
If you receive any error messages during the import, you might need to edit your CSV file.

Note: These CSV files work with Outlook, Outlook Express, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, Eudora, and some other email providers. But the CSV files that these applications produce might not contain all of the supported contact fields. For example, when Outlook exports to a CSV file, it omits data including attachments, distribution lists, contact pictures, the "file as" field, the "alias" field, and text formatting in the "notes" field. Google Contacts doesn’t have a way to know what was omitted, so we suggest that you manually copy over any important information in these fields after you import your contacts.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Google Forms Self-Grading Quiz Tool!

education techology
Flubaroo does it for you and will even email scores to students!
Flubaroo is a free tool for Google Docs Forms that helps you quickly grade multiple-choice or fill-in-blank assignments.

That's not all! Flubaroo also:

  • Computes average assignment score.
  • Computes average score per question, and flags low-scoring questions.
  • Shows you a grade distribution graph.
  • Gives you the option to email each student their grade, and an answer key.
  • Lets you send individualized feedback to each student.


    Please note: Flubaroo will work with most browsers, but may not always be pretty. Suggest: Google Chrome


    Feel free to leave comments if you've tried it out!
    Important Disclaimer: Flubaroo is a tool offered for use in conjunction with Google Docs, but is not itself a Google product or service.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Google Fonts!

open source fonts
Little known Google Tools: Google Fonts

Google Fonts offers open source web fonts for all to use privately or commercially. As of now, there are 629 font families available. Filter fonts by thickness, slant, width and script.

Check it out here: http://www.google.com/fonts/

If you've used Google Fonts, leave a comment with your impression!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Gmail Tips: Saving a Message Template

Gmail Tips
How do I create a message template in Gmail for future use?

 Step 1 
To enable message templates in Gmail:

  • Click the Settings gear in your Gmail's toolbar.
  • Select Settings from the menu.
  • Go to the Labs tab.
  • Make sure Enable is selected for Canned Responses.
  • Click Save Changes
 Step 2 
To save an email for future use as a template in Gmail:
  • Make sure "Canned Responses" is enabled. (see above)
  • Compose your message in Gmail.
    • You may leave your signature in place if you want it to appear in messages sent using the template.
    • Leave both the Subject: and To: fields empty. They are not saved together with the template. (You can populate the Subject if you want to use it as your template's name)
  • At the bottom of the compose window next to the trash can, click on the little down arrow [MORE OPTIONS] and then select Canned responses.
  • Select New canned response... under Save.
  • Type the desired name for your template.
  • Click OK
When you are ready to use your template: 
  • Select COMPOSE
  • Enter your recipients and subject 
  • Click on the little arrow [MORE OPTIONS] at the bottom right of the compose window
  • Select Canned responses & then Insert the template name you just created.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE GOOGLE APPS TIPS AND INFO!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Coursera MOOC - Signature Track & Web Cam

signature track
Coursera MOOC Signature Track & the Web Cam Experience
Aloha everyone! Today I signed up for Signature Track using a web cam and Coursera's online secure identity verification process. Since I didn't have a web cam on my PC, I used a Mac with Safari.

It was a quick process from start to finish - 5 minutes at the most. 

First, I clicked on the Signature Track button on my course page. Then it took me to another page with a couple boxes where I typed the same sentence twice. That recorded my personal typing style, which will be verified throughout the course! Wow! 

Next I took a picture of myself with the webcam. Coursera walks you through the process. Then, I held up my driver's license to the webcam and took a picture of that, which Coursera saves to validate your identity. 

Last, I paid the $14.50 fee for Signature Track with my 1/2 off voucher. In case you missed my earlier post, here's the link: Signature Track Guidebook.

I received an email that takes me to a nice course page with the syllabus and all the other materials necessary to complete

If you're curious about the course, here's a PDF you can check out:  http://www.cte.hawaii.edu/blog/edsquared/Intro2Teaching4LearningAug2013.pdf

Please comment here if you've tried a Coursera or other Mooc!