Organize Your Google Classroom!

3 easy strategies to organize your Google Classroom

Brought to you by: 

Matt Miller 

Ditch That Textbook

1. Pick the organizational structure that works best for you

2. Organize more deeply with subtopics

3. Use emojis and/or parenthetical abbreviations as tags

Use one of those strategies. Use two or even all three! Then, watch as your Google Classroom falls in line with your organizational hopes and dreams!

See how to do it here!

70+ EdTech Tips from Fellow Educators!

Brought to you by: 

Matt Miller 

Ditch That Textbook

The #Ditchbook community came together in an epic Thursday night “Tech Tip Smackdown” chat where they shared over 70 (yes 70!) tips for utilizing these powerful tools in your classroom. The conversation was STILL going on the next morning!

Participants shared fantastic tips for using your favorite edtech tools like:

• using Google Drawings as a digital bookshelf
• links for helping students annotate on Google Docs
• utilizing the new “pixelation” filter to create a “Who Am I?” game in Flipgrid
• creating a grid for each kiddo to monitor reading progress throughout the year
• using Kahoot to introduce a topic
• finding alternate ways to play Quizlet Live
• playing Kahoot to review current events

     ... and SO many more! Find them here!

10 Can't-Miss Gmail Tips & Tricks That Will Change the Way You Email

From:

Time.com

 1. Smart Compose

 2. Schedule an Email to Send Later

 3. Cut Corners with Keyboard Shortcuts

 4. Un-send an Email

 5. This Email will Self-destruct in 3, 2, 1..

 6. Canned Responses

 7. Put Your Gmail on Snooze

 8.The Personal Assistant You Didn't Know You Needed

 9. Put It On Your Tab

10. Never Break the Chain

Details HERE!

Engage Students in Online Learning-3 Strategies

brought to you by:

TechSmith Blog

Dayna Amboy

• Engage students in online learning - know them by name
• Engage students in online learning - key videos
• Instructor "Welcome" video
• Course navigation video
• Short video lessons
• Add quizzes
• Record on-the-go
• Engage students in online learning - track performance with analytics
• Which students are watching videos
• How much of each video they've watched
• When they're watching (when assigned, or on the day of exam)
• Quiz results - individually and as a class

Find the original post here. This post is based on a webinar with Odessa College titled “Using Video to Drive Student Success.” Read more about how Odessa chose and implemented the flexible video creating and hosting platform TechSmith Relay in order to support their online student engagement initiatives. Download the full case study.

Collaboration in the Classroom with Quizlet - Start Your Game in 60 Seconds!

Want Your Students to Collaborate 

in a High-Energy, Fun Way?

Quizlet Live can create that electric atmosphere.

by Matt Miller at ditchthattextbook.com

1. It gets students the valuable repetitions they need to remember key content — the kind that will enable them to do bigger and deeper things later.
2. It’s easy on you as the teacher. You can start a game in a matter of seconds.
3. Plus, you can get unique games every time. A set as small as 20 flashcards can yield more than 125,000 12-card combinations needed for a Quizlet Live game.

Step 1: Pick a flashcard set

Step 2: Load up the game

Step 3: Students join the game

Get the details + tips & tricks from Matt HERE!

11 Types of Videos You Can Make Right Now

Getting started may be difficult, so here's a How-To 

by Lauren North from TechSmith Blog

It includes an Ultimate Guide to Easily Make Instruction Videos 

which would be useful for transitioning to Online Teaching 

Link to the overall How-To

Link to the Ultimate Guide to Easily Make Instruction Videos PDF

Google Forms Quizzes: Video Training

Brought to you by:

Eric Curts

ControlAltAchieve.com

How To: Essentials of a Good Tutorial Video

by Guy Larcom on February 26, 2019

7 ESSENTIALS:

1. CLARITY

Key Question: Is the instruction clear, easy to follow, and to-the-point?

2. Flow

Key question: Do the ideas flow smoothly from one to the next?

3. Pace

Key question: Is the instruction delivered at a comfortable and appropriate pace?

4. Cognitive Load

Key question: Does the cognitive load seem appropriate for the audience?

5. Appeal

Key question: Does the content speak to a broad audience?

6. Tone

Key question: Does the content have a neutral, friendly and inviting tone?

7. Presentation

Key question: Does the final piece have quality audio, video, and sufficient polish?

View the full Article:

The 7 Essentials of a Good Tutorial Video

Google Chrome Extension for Breached Passwords

"Password Checkup" Extension

By Catalin Cimpanu for Zero Day

It works every time you log into an online service. The extension takes the username and password entered in the login form and checks each one against a database of over four billion credentials that Google engineers have collected from public breaches in the past few years.

If the username and password combo are found in Google's internal database of unsafe credentials, the extension will show a popup alerting you that you need to change the credentials.

According to Google, they designed the extension with privacy in mind, so both Google and attackers can't abuse it to reveal or learn the user's passwords. 

The Password Checkup extension can be downloaded from the official Chrome Web Store, here. 

Screencasting: What is it? Here's the Ultimate Guide!

I found this great resource from TechSmith by Lauren North, Newsletter Editor

Screencasts can be called a screen capture video or screen recording. 
They are a great way to teach or share ideas.

The Ultimate Guide: What is Screencasting & Why Use It?

Google Keep: Record me!

from:

Computerworld

The power of Google Keep is amazing. I don't know how many times it's saved me when I've needed bits and pieces of information I can never remember - measurements, ring sizes, lists. I just whip out my phone and voila!

Computerworld's Contributing Editor JR Raphael sets you up for success with his 22 power tips. Though I use Keep on a regular basis, I learned a lot from JR's tips. I liked number 8 - Collecting your spoken thoughts. Once finished, Keep translates your words and then attaches a recording of your voice. 

22 Top Tips for Google Keep on Android

How to Save PowerPoint Objects as Pictures

from 
www.howtogeek.com

There may be a time where you'd like to save an object or an entire slide from your PowerPoint presentation to use in another program.  

How-to Geek tells you how!