Did You Know? Must-Have Google Docs/Slides Skills

Google Docs and Slides are 2 of the most used Google apps.  Once you learn to do many things in these 2 apps, you'll find they work with other Google apps as well.  Kasey Bell from Shake Up Learning takes you through how to use both of these fantastic apps that are used by most school districts in Kentucky.  

Must-have Google Skills for Teachers (Part 4 Google Docs and Slides)

Google Docs Playlist from KATE

Google Slides Playlist from KATE

Do you want to become more proficient with Google?  Our Google for Education Level 1 Study Guide has videos and resources to help you build your skills at your own pace.  Whether you want to take the certification test or not, if you are working with Google, these skills are essential.  Ready to go beyond the basics?  Here's our Google for Education Level 2 Study Guide.  

Any time you have questions, KATE is here to help.

Did You Know? - Add more fonts to Google!

In recent years, fonts and sayings on signs have become very popular, along with cutout words to add to walls.  When looking at your choice of fonts in Google Doc, Slides, and other Google apps, you might be disappointed.  Don't be!  Here's how to add more fonts!!

Have fun playing with fonts!

Friday Matinee: Google Tips for Remote Learning

If you are using any of the Google apps you will find some great tips in the presentation from Kasey Bell of Shake Up Learning.  She presented this at the TCEA Conference in Austin, TX.  Kasey has presented at The Summit here at MSU.

Google Tips for Remote Learning

Not sure how some of these really work?  Just ask and we'll be glad to help.

Did You Know? Extract Text from Images and PDF Documents into Google Docs

Sometimes you need the text from an image or PDF and you just can't seem to copy and paste it.  Where here's a tip that may save you valuable time!

Google Drive Tip: Extract Text from Images and PDF Files

That was easy!  Check it out.  Need help?  Let us know.

Friday Matinee: Blended Learning With Google (Part 2: Storytelling)

No matter what you teach or what level your students are at, there are always stories to tell.  Using Google Docs and Slides, students are able to tell stories in ways they can't do on paper.  They can collaborate with others to tell their story, look back at their revision process, add images and links, do research collaboratively, and publish for a global audience.  Writing with technology also helps prepare students for their future.  By using the grammar and spelling checker, the built in dictionary, and comments and feedback between teachers and students, this takes the student beyond simply using technology to type a paper.

In Kasey Bell's second blog post on Blended Learning With Google, she discusses using Google Docs and Slides to help students tell stories, as well as other tools like Google Earth and Photos.  At KATE we are all big fans of Google Slides, because with Slides you can do so much more than just present information.  It can be used for discussions, stop motion animation, creating infographics, creating comic strips, writing digital books, and more (the common word here is "creating").  If you have joined any of the great Facebook education groups (here's Kasey's) or followed many educators on Twitter (@ShakeUpLearning), you will see how teachers are using these flexible tools.  Many are sharing their work for others to use in their classrooms.  I'm sure you've also seen the Bitmoji classrooms teachers have created in Slides.

Friday Matinee: Blended Learning With Google Part 1

Recently, Kasey Bell from Shake Up Learning published 2 posts on her blog about Blended Learning.  This week we are going to look at part 1.  

She keeps saying something the we at KATE say all the time, just in a slightly different way:

"It's not about Google, y'all!  It's about the learning."

We usually replace the word Google with technology and omit the y'all, but it is true.  The apps, extensions, web browsers and all of the other tech will change.  What's important is how you use it in your classroom to change how you teach and students learn.  

Kasey wrote a book entitled "Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning from Static to Dynamic.  In part 1 of her blog post, Kasey explores how Google tools can help create Dynamic Blended Learning experiences.  Don't have time to read the blog post?  You can listen to her podcast (same link).

Blended Learning With Google (Part 1)

As stated in her blog post:

"Dynamic Blended Learning:

Dynamic blended learning is characterized by constant change and activity, growing and evolving over time. This learning can take place anywhere, anytime, and it is personalized and differentiated. It is learner-centered, giving students choice and embedding communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity skills where they align with the learning goals.

Dynamic blended learning also extends beyond the traditional bounds of the school day, schedule, and physical walls, and beyond the physical notion of hard and fast due dates. Digital tools are used for more than substitution, to do and create previously unconceived of things. Dynamic learning is boundless, with limitless opportunities."

When you look at her "Do This, Not That With Google Tools", how can you change your teaching to be more dynamic?  This semester, try to make your teaching and student learning more dynamic.

Related post from Kasey: Do This, Not That - Dynamic v. Static Learning

Did You Know? You Can Add Multiple Page Orientations to Google Docs

Have you ever needed to turn a page in a document so that it is landscape versus portrait?  Now you can in Google Docs!   Google recently announced that you can now easily work with multiple page orientations in Docs.  You can change the orientation on a per section basis.  This allows you to add content that requires a wider format.

Image source: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2020/12/mixed-page-orientations-in-google-docs.html

Did You Know? Google Jamboard for Engagement

A great way to add engagement and student voice to your hybrid teaching it to use the Jamboard app from Google.  Like most Google apps, it is sharable and collaborative.  Go go jamboard.google.com or to the waffle (that box of 9 squares in the upper right corner in a new Chrome tab) and find Jamboard, or you can go to Drive and click the NEW button to open Jamboard.  Choice is good!

Here's a link to some Jamboard templates and another link with information on using Jamboard.

Both Wakelet collections were created for teachers of all levels but there are lots of ideas that would work in any classroom, and for those of you in teacher education, there are a lot of other ideas that work in K-12.

Don't forget to go back to the Remote Learning Resources website from KATE.  We're adding new ideas and resources to it all the time.

Did You Know? Quickly Add a Comment in Google

Quickly add a comment in Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drawings by using this quick shortcut (Ctrl + Alt + M) shown in this video.  

Did You Know? 3 Quick Google Tips

Here are 3 quick Google tips that will save you time!  Learn how to quickly create a new Google Doc (works for Slides, Sheets, and Forms too), how to force your students to make a copy of a document you are sharing with them, and use advanced search to find files in Google Drive.

Did You Know? Recover Last Closed Tab in Chrome

Have you ever been browsing the web and somehow you click and close a tab that you really need?  How do you quickly get it back?  There's a quick shortcut for that!

On a Windows computer - Control-Shift-T

On a Mac computer - Command-Shift-T

It's a life saver!  Here's a video on how to do it.

And use Control-T to open a new tab!  Command-T on the Mac.

Want to know more about how technology is infused into classrooms around the world?  Attend the Virtual FETC Conference in January for FREE!

Did You Know? Undo Send in Gmail

Have you ever clicked send and then realized that you forgot to add something to your email?  Gmail has an undo send that gives you 30 seconds to stop that email from sending.  You can then make the change or add additional information and click send again.

Here's how to set up undo send in Gmail.

Need help?  Want to know more?  Contact Patti to set up a 1:1 session via Zoom!

Did You Know? Version History in Google Docs, Slides, & Sheets

Did you know that you can name different versions of your Google Doc?  As you work in your Doc, it automatically saves different versions of the document.  It's kind of like "save as" in MS Word, and you can access those different versions at any time.  To view them, go to FILE>VERSION HISTORY (see attached image).  You can name previous versions or the current version - or all of them!  This allows you to quickly refer back to them.  Simply view the versions, click the 3 dots next to a version, and choose to name it.  Choose a name like first draft, 2nd draft, final draft, etc.  This doesn't change the name of the file.

Once in version history, click the date and time to view that version of your document.  To name it click the 3 dots and choose "Name this version" (image below).

⭐ Are you looking at a document that your student worked on as a group?  You'll see who did what in the document in the version history.  Each collaborator's input will be a different color.  Check out the image below:

Here's a video on how to check a document's version history to see what students did the work!

Did You Know? Easily Crop an Image in Google

Did you know that you can easily crop an image in Google Docs, Slides, or Drawings?  This is a feature we use a lot.  Here's how:

How to Crop an Image in Doc, Slides, or Drawings

Go ahead and get rid of that extra white space or background in your image quickly and easily!

Friday Matinee: Google Slides Discussion on Using Google Meet in the Classroom

As many of you know, I've been teaching our students how to use Google and one of the things I had them do this semester was to come up with a way to use Hangouts Meet in their future classroom.  The way I did this was to share a Google Slide deck with a directions slide and another slide that I called the student slide that was set up for them to add their name and their response.  We sometimes call this collaboration slides.  Here is the file that I shared and their responses:

Using Hangouts Meet in the Classroom

This activity can be used in any class and on pretty much any topic where you want students to discuss something and comment on each other's input.  It works very well as an online discussion board and can be easily changed as the topic changes. 

I'm adding a template that includes a basic set of directions and an additional student slide.  These are the only 2 slides available in the slide deck.

Discussion Slides

To use this, go to FILE then choose MAKE A COPY and copy the entire slide presentation.  This makes it yours to use.  I would keep this as your master and make a copy of it every time you use it for a discussion.

You can edit the slide with different backgrounds and text.  Here's a video on how to do that:

Using Collaborative Slides by Creating Master Slides