JEFFCO ED TECH

Google Goodness: November 2018

11/29/2018

0 Comments

 

New: CLOSED CAPTIONING IN GOOGLE SLIDES

Presenters can now opt to show real-time automated closed captioning while presenting in Google Slides. Google uses your computer's microphone to detect your spoken presentation, much like using the voice-to-text option that is available within many G Suite tools. This feature can help make your presentation more effective for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, non-native speakers, visual learners, and in loud learning environments. 

Need to make a recording of your entire mini lesson or direct instruction while teaching? Enable the closed captioning feature and use a screencasting tool, wuch as Screencast-o-matic or Screencastify, to record the progression and pacing of the slides WITH the words you are speaking. This video can be distributed to students via Google Classroom or embedded on a website so that students who missed instruction or need reteaching can watch the video on an as-needed basis. 


For directions on using automated captions visit the Google Help Center


Tip of the Month: Create Smarter DOcuments With The Explore Feature

This Explore button was released last year, but not many people know it exists! You can find the explore button in the bottom right-hand corner of an opened Google Docs, Google Slides, or Google Sheets file. 

Google Docs: Find and add suggested content to documents in Google Docs. The suggested content is related to what’s in your document. You can also search your docs and the web from within a document. It will do a web search, suggest images and recommend files in your Drive related to the topics within the document you are typing! You can even cite related articles and add them to a footnote in your document - imagine the possibilities of supporting students with citing sources appropriately as they are researching and writing! 

Google Slides: Do your students (or you) struggle with making content on a Slides look visually appealing? The Explore button in slides will make suggestions for quick and easy slide layouts, based on the content you have added to your slide. Additionally, it allows the user to search for web images and google files related to what's on your slide deck. 


Google Sheets: Do you or your students have questions about data sets but struggle with using the proper function to determine their answer? Highlighting a set of data and then clicking the Explore button will suggest functions, formatting and more! Users can type in a question they have about their data and Google will use machine intelligence to answer their question. The Explore button will also suggest questions they might want to ask, as well as different formatting options to make their sheet easier to read and use. 
0 Comments

Chromebook Tips & Tricks

11/25/2018

1 Comment

 
Check out these helpful tips and tricks to make the most out of the mighty Chromebook for you and your students.  Open your Chromebook while you read and give them a try!

Keyboard shortcuts

​Many of us know keyboard shortcuts like ctrl+c for copy and ctrl+v for paste, but did you know that your Chromebook has many hidden shortcuts to make productivity even quicker?
Turn Caps Lock On/Off:  alt + search (magnifying glass)
Lock Screen: search (magnifying glass) + L
Open the Files App: alt + shift + m

Do you love how quickly Chromebooks turn on, but find them tedious to sign-out? 
Sign out of your Google Account:  ctrl + shift+ q + q
Learn all the keyboard shortcuts at your fingertips o
n your Chromebook: ctrl + alt + ?
Or visit this Chromebook help page: Keyboard Shortcuts

TouchPad Tips

Scroll: Place two fingers on the touchpad and move up or down to scroll vertically.
Right Click: Press or tap the touchpad with two fingers. You can also press Alt, then click with one finger.
Move Between Pages: To go back to a page you were just on, swipe left with two fingers. To go forward to a page you were just on, swipe right with two fingers.
​Learn More about your Chromebook touchpad.

Screen Capture

Do you need to take a screenshot? The ability is built right into the Chromebook.
Picture

Files App: Where do my downloads go?

Picture
Your screenshots, images and videos taken on the camera, downloads and other media are stored locally on the Chromebook in the Files app. 
Get quickly to your files using the shortcut alt+ shift+ m. 
Or open the app launcher and search Files.
The Chromebook has limited storage space and will delete files stored locally to save space. So keep your files safe by dragging them to your Google Drive for permanent storage.
Learn More.

Favicon: clean up your bookmarks bar

Picture
Your bookmarks bar automatically saves an image and title of the website when making a URL favorite. Save room and store more bookmarks by editing your bar to show only the  favicons (the shortcut icon). 
1. Right click on your bookmark (two finger tap on a Chromebook)
2. Edit
3. In the Name box, delete the text
4. Save​

Screen Reader

Hear text read aloud with the built-in accessibility feature ChromeVox.  Learn more about turning on features such as Select-to-speak, which reads aloud only the text you highlight. 

Google Cast for Education: Project student work

Google Cast for Education allows students to cast their screen to their teacher's device connected to a projector.  It is free and available on all Chromebooks right now! Teachers can control who has casting privileges and works on any device using the Chrome web browser (laptops, desktops, Chromebooks). You can even use it in a BYOD environment. 
Learn more about setting up your teacher device and the simple two step process for students at our Ed Tech website. 
1 Comment

Building OPPORTUNITIES to Explore digital citizenship

11/5/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture

​How should you treat others online? How can you handle cyberbullying? How can you preserve your online reputation or “digital footprint” on both social media and elsewhere on the Internet? How should you handle unwanted attention or strangers online?  These questions and more are at the center of the Kids Safe Online MS-ISAC Poster Contest. Students from kindergarten through twelfth grade can demonstrate their understanding of these complicated issues for a national audience through the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analytics Center.

Updated Curriculum resources

Picture
Common Sense Media is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and an independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. For years, they Common Sense media has provided resources for teachers and families to tackle digital citizenship. This year, they are updating their curriculum and have already released new information for grades 3 through 5.  The new lessons are organized by grade level instead of units. Each grade includes six lessons, one for each of the key ideas: Media Balance & Well Being, Privacy & Security, Digital Footprint & Identity, Relationships & Communications, Cyberbullying, Digital Drama & Hate Speech, and News & Media Literacy.  Changes in curriculum also include slide decks for each lesson, Google Doc handouts, Google quizzes for each lesson, new family tip pages, family activity pages, and family engagement resources.

Digging In

Picture
Using the Cyberbullying grade 5 lesson as a case study,  the ease of implementing the new lessons is visible.  The lessons have a visual overview, which shows the sections of the lessons and the estimated amount of time for each section.  The bottom section includes links for lesson resources;   this  lesson has a lesson slide deck, case study, lesson quiz, and section for take-home resources. The digital resources can be assigned in Google Classroom and Schoology. The Family Tips section connects to a website that overviews K-12 Family Tips to Help Kids Fight Cyberbulling and other Mean Things Online.  The family activity lesson encourages families to spend time exploring digital sites like Minecraft & Fortnite.  These sites, and others, with chat features are an opportunity for families to work together to learn how to block people, set accounts to private, and use help features.  Finally, the Family Engagement Resources section is a toolkit for families and schools to use in navigating life in the digital age. All are great new additional resources to create a home-school connection.  

Going Deeper- Recognition

As students wade deeper into the learning around digital citizenship, and have access to technology in schools, teachers and schools can guide students towards making safe choices in the digital age. Teachers and schools can become Common Sense Educators .  As defined by Common Sense, “[These] educators are committed to helping kids and schools thrive in the digital age.  Anyone who is an educator -- whether a classroom teacher, administrator, tech coach, librarian...-- can become a Common Sense Educator.”  The process includes a personalized roadmap for professional growth in three steps: LEARN, DO, REFLECT. Criteria and resources can be found here and take between four and six hours. This honor is granted for a year at a time and can be submitted anytime before June 30, 2019.  Schools can follow a similar process and become Common Sense Schools (resources here).  Schools can then promote how they are preparing students with the skills to navigate the digital world.  
Picture
How do I become a Common Sense Educator?
Picture
How do I become Common Sense School?

Task OPPORTUNITY

PictureMS_IAC Contest Toolkit


  Using their learning from the Common Sense Media, Be Internet Awesome and other digital resources, students have an opportunity to create landscape posters illustrating the safe use of Internet and/or mobile devices for MS-ISAC, the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center. Students can create hand-drawn and electronic art in either a single full page or a 4-panel comic.  Winners from each age group (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) will be chosen and will have their artwork displayed in a calendar which is distributed throughout United States.  The artwork is used in campaigns to raise awareness among children of all ages about internet safety and computer safety.  The top four entries will also be produced as posters promoting cybersecurity practices. The contest is open now and runs through January 25th.  
​
  • Website:  https://www.cisecurity.org/ms-isac/ms-isac-toolkit/
  • Guidelines and Entry Form
  • Please direct any questions to contest@msisac.org, and they provide  more information on the contest. All submissions and forms can be sent to contest@msisac.org as a scanned image, or can be mailed to the address below:​

Picture

Resources

  • MS-ISAIC Contest Resources 
  • Common Sense Media Resources
  • Be Internet Awesome Curriculum Guide
  • Be Internet Awesome Pear Deck Lessons 

0 Comments
    Picture

    Connect:

    Ed Tech Website
    The Pulse Blog

    Categories

    All
    #BetterTogether
    Blended Learning
    Chromebooks
    Classroom Spotlight
    Computational Thinker
    Creative Communicator
    Digital Citizen
    Digital Teacher Librarian
    Digital Tools
    Empowered Learner
    Global Collaborator
    Google
    Innovative Designer
    Knowledge Constructor
    News & Events
    Professional Resources
    Schoology
    YouTube

    Tweets by @jeffcoedtech

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly