Keep Integration with Google Docs

Google Keep is probably one of the most underrated apps in the Google Suite.  Basically, it is a digital post-it note.  Which sounds simple, but Keep is so much more robust and has so many more possible applications than most realize.

Here are some basic functions of Keep:
-color code your notes
-pin important notes to the top
-create labels for certain topics to organize your notes

Now for some more Keep features:
-voice notes (only on mobile version)
-annotations
-add collaborators
-add the Keep Chrome Extension from the Chrome Web Store to save items to Keep from web pages you are browsing

And recently Google has integrated Keep into Google Docs and has made it part of the productivity suite.  You can now add a bank of comments to Keep, then insert the comments into Google Docs instead of typing the same comments in over and over.

And even more exciting, check out this Blog to see how to use DocStickers to add motivational stickers (just like we used to use on paper copies) to student Docs.

The more I use Keep, the more impressed I become with it.

Google Classroom now Available for all

Google Classroom, a powerful LMS that many teachers use in their classes, is now available on personal Gmail accounts.  This is very exciting news.  Classroom has previously only been available to school districts who use Google's Education Suite.

Unfortunately, you can still only enroll in Classrooms that are within your same domain unless the domain administrator has whitelisted the domain you wish to enroll in.  Still, this is big news and Classroom has many possible uses in the private sector.

As a 7th grade teacher, I use Classroom exclusively to send out announcements and assignments to my students.  On a personal Gmail account, I can now use Classroom with anyone else who also has a Gmail account.  Keeping family members informed, distributing material to church groups or other civic organizations.  The possibilities with Classroom are limited only by the individual.

Google Sheets Update

Google Sheets has added 3 very cool new functions this week.  These updates are being rolled out domain by domain, so if you don't see these functions in your domain yet, they are coming soon.

The updates are:
1.  Text rotation feature
2.  Accounting number format
3.  Extra border options

Check out the video to see a brief overview of these features in action.

Google EDU Tuesday Tips

Google has been very quietly releasing Teacher Tips on some of its apps each Tuesday.  I say "quietly" because Google didn't announce this on their blog or in some other big fashion.  It was announced very low key.  I'm not sure why, because this is awesome.  Each Tuesday, Google is adding a "teacher tip" to a slide deck on Google Classroom, Google Forms, and Google Expedition.  These tips started back in November and are released each Tuesday.  And if you would like to see a particular "tip" featured, all you need to do is submit feedback (link provided in the slide deck) and you may just see your tip featured.

I am including links to the slide decks for Classroom, Forms, and Expeditions.   Check them out.  I have learned quite a bit by looking through them.

Google Classroom Tuesday Tip

Google Forms Tuesday Tip

Google Expeditions Tuesday Tip

Google Search Fun Facts

Yesterday, Google released fun fact trivia about living things that will show when you search for information about that item.  Right now, the fun facts will show for plants, animals, fruits, and vegetables.  When you refresh the page, you will get another fun fact about what you are searching for.

So in case you are itching to know that cats can't chew large chunks of food because their jaws cannot move sideways, or that the inside of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees colder than the outside, then this new little tidbit is for you.

Just think of how impressed all of your friends will be at dinner parties when you start spewing facts like how the venom of a black widow spider is 15 times more potent than the venom of a rattlesnake. Or maybe you can blow people's minds by imparting your knowledge of how radishes grow so fast that they can be ready to eat in as little as 3 weeks.

If you are a collector of random facts, then this new feature is for you.  For the rest of us, it is a cool little item that Google has added to spruce up our search results.  And, you never know, you may just learn something new.

New Update to Google Slides (and a cool new feature in Docs too)

I just love Google.  It seems that every update just makes their products better and better. I love that they listen to the people using their products and make updates to requests.  It sure does make my job as a classroom teacher easier when a feature that I would like to see (and submit feedback on; because how are they going to know I want it if I don't tell them?) is added to the apps I use.

The latest update to Google Slides is the ability to add video directly into a slide deck.  This is very useful, because it eliminates having to use YouTube as a "middle man" to get videos to play.  This is helpful in my division now because YouTube access has been blocked for students (it is a bandwidth issue).  Now, I can upload my video directly from Google Drive.

Here is how it works:

Update to Docs

I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to add columns in Docs.  This was a very useful feature in Microsoft Word that I have wished Docs would add for quite some time now.  There was a work around, but it involved creating a table, then changing the table properties to hide the lines.  Well, now you can insert columns into a Google Doc without having to go through creating a table first.  Just go to the "Format" menu and choose "Columns" from the drop down.

Very useful.  Thanks Google!

Updates to Google Classroom

Google Classroom has been my Learning Management System (LMS) for two years now.  I love it.  Period.  And now Google has given Classroom an update that makes me fall in love with it all over again.

For a while now, I have been able to copy assignments to multiple classes.  This saves me from going to each class individually and adding announcements or assignments.  I can go to one class, click the drop down and select multiple classes to add items to.

But now Google has created a way to not only add assignments to multiple classes, but I can also differentiate assignments as well.  Differentiation is a big buzz word in schools these days.  And, don't get me wrong, it is very important to give specific assignments to specific groups of students.  Students with accommodations, students who need extra practice, students who need enrichment.  All of this is part of the package of being an effective teacher and meeting each student's needs.

With the ability to create individualized assignments, Google has given teachers the flexibility to adapt assignments to meet the needs of each student.  And the best part, the students don't even know.  They open the assignment on their computer, work through it, turn it in, and are none the wiser that other students in their class may have been given a different form of the assignment.  Very cool, Google.

Here is how it works:
Open a class, then click the "+" sign in the lower right-hand corner.  Choose to add an assignment.  Then you can leave it as the default (assign to all students), or you can choose to add to individual students or to a group of selected students.

Another quick note about the folks at Google.  They actually listen to the people who use their products.  Obviously, this was a requested item so Google added it as a feature in Classroom.  If there is something you would like to see, just click the question mark in the lower left-hand corner of the screen in Classroom and you can send your feedback directly to them.  Isn't it nice to be listened to?