Friday Matinee: 21 Google Docs Features You Should Know How to Use

Google Docs has a lot of great features that you may not be aware of.  Check out this article and videos to learn how to use features like smart compose, headers and footers, adding text to images, page orientation, publishing and sharing documents, version history, and more.

21 Google Docs Features You Should Know How to Use

If you have questions, feel free to contact someone on the KATE team.  Remember that you can always access previous posts on the KATE blog.

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? 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? There's a NEW Citation Tool in Google Docs

There's a new citation tool that is built into Google Docs and it looks like it is pretty awesome!  Go to the TOOLS menu and choose CITATIONS to check it out.  You can add sources, parenthetical citations, and create a bibliography.

Watch this video from Kasey Bell to learn how to use this new tool.

Don't forget to go back and look at our Remote Learning Resources site.  We are always adding new things!

Did You Know? Adding Images to Docs and Slides

Sometimes you need an image in your Google Doc (or Slides) to help tell your story.  In both Docs and Slides you can use the Explore Tool or choose insert image from the insert menu.  

Here's how to add images in Google Docs.  

It works the same in Slides!

Did You Know? Getting Started With Google Docs

Have you never used Google Docs before?  Are you not sure how to get started?  Docs is great because you can access your files no matter what computer you are on since your documents live in Google Drive in the cloud.  You can even pull them up on your phone or tablet.  

Do you need your document to be a Word file?  No problem.  You can download Google Docs as Word files or PDFs.  Watch the videos to get started!

Friday Matinee: Creating a Backchannel With Google Docs

Having a discussion is an important part of a class but it can be difficult when you are teaching either totally online or using the hybrid model.  Fortunately there are digital tools that can be used for backchannel discussions, including a shared Google Doc that everyone in class has the right to edit.

Use this Google Doc that you can copy (FILE>MAKE A COPY) for classroom discussions.  I like this document rather than just using a Doc without any added guidelines because you can see not only who asked the question, but also who responded and what their response was.  It also keeps the questions and answers together for easy viewing.  Multiple people can also answer the same question.  

A suggestion is to have one student per week or class period who would be in charge of the backchannel document.  They would monitor the questions and answers, and bring up questions in class that might need clarification.

I would keep the original document as a master and then make a copy of it and rename it every time you use it.  All you need to do is change the title and date at the top.

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!