Lemon Tech Tidbits

I like to show students how to use the grid on Chrome to easily access their G Suite Apps. However, I have to admit that I don’t use it. Why? Because I have found that after using all of the apps over and over again, I can simply type in one or two letters into my Chrome browser search and it will insert the rest of the url making it easy to simply hit enter. For example, I type in d and it knows I want to go to drive.google.com. I type in do and it knows I want to go to docs.google.com. If you understand the system Google uses for all of its apps (app name first, period, google.com), than it makes it easy to use this shortcut.  Well now Google is making it even easier. If you want to create a new google doc, all you have to do is simply type in doc.new. If you want to create a new google slide, simply type in slide.new. If you want to create a new google sheet, type in sheet.new and so on. All of these little tricks really does save time. Give it a try yourself!

In this article by Richard Byrne, he explains a tech tool called Classtools Fake SMS Generato r. This tool allows the student to create text messages as they would appear between two people. So imagine having students creating a conversation between two important historical characters during a certain time frame. With this tool, they could create what they would imagine their text messages would look like between each other as a way to show an understanding of the characters lives. Now imagine the uses in other subject areas. Students can write fake messages between two fictional characters from a story or two science terms talking to each other. You can even have two people explaining a complex math term. There are many ways you can incorporate this tool into your curriculum. At the end of the article, Richard Bryne shows you step-by-step on how to use Classtools Fake SMS Generator with a quick youtube video .

It is important for students to read updated news articles for Social Studies as well as to increase their reading skills with new vocabulary. Reading Nonfiction text has its advantages. But where can you find quality articles for students to read for free? The answer is DOGO News. This site has fun articles for kids on current events, sports, science, and more. There are stories, pictures, and the occasional video as well. In addition, there is an integrated dictionary available for challenging words and maps for geographical context. As a student, you can read and comment on the articles without worry about signing in. Students can also watch the video of the week by simply typing in the word Video in the search box. As a teacher, you can create a class page where you can load a variety of articles, insert a calendar, favorite sites list, lesson plan instructions, and monitor students feedback. Take a look for yourself: https://www.dogonews.com/

For Elementary Students This website has tons of interactive educational materials to help students understand science. The Lawrence Hall of Science is public science center run by the University of California in Berkeley. Their mission is to help children learn more effectively by providing a comprehensive set of programs to help increase the quality and quantity of great science learning for kids both in and out of school. There are different activity collections to choose from. “These 24/7 Science activity collections and more let you learn and have fun with hands-on STEM anywhere, any time, whether you're on your own, at school or an out-of-school site, or with your friends and family. You’ll also find videos related to the activities, plus links to thousands of STEM activities from Howtosmile.org .” Take a look for yourself: http://static.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite/

One of my favorite tricks in Google Docs is to insert a table, adjust the size, and then hide the lines so the text and images are aligned in a nice fashion. However, I hate when I am adjusting the rows, I have to just guess if they are even or not. But not anymore! Soon, when you are using a table, on the left-hand side you will see your table structure highlighted in a vertical ruler on the screen that matches the horizontal ruler. This will make it easier for you to adjust the height of the rows in a table. This is a slow rollout meaning not everyone will see this new update at the same time. See the example from Google

Google recently announced a change to how Team Drives are set up. Shortly, there will be a “Content Manager” role added to all the Team Drives. Content Manager will be the default role for all new members added to a Team Drive. Users with the Content Manager role will be able to edit, reorganize, and delete Team Drive content. Content Managers will also be able to reorganize and delete files in a Team Drive. Content Managers will NOT be able to modify team drive membership or access. In addition, there are going to be changes to other names within the organization. They are: “Full access” will become known as “Manager.” “Edit access” will become “Contributor.” “Comment access” will now be “Commenter.” “View access” will now be “Viewer.” To see a list of all Team Drive access levels, click here: http://bit.ly/2RRQXkV

Flipgrid has recently announced the creation of a new feature called MixTapes. This allows you to select certain students or response videos and combine them into one playlist to share with others. How cool is this! For more information about this new feature, check out their very informative page located here: http://blog.flipgrid.com/news/mixtapes If you are new to Flipgrid or want to know everything there is about this cool and FREE video response program, you can check out the very informative Educator’s Guide to Flipgrid vol. 3 ebook. Learn about being a Gridpal, using the Discovery Library, Appsmashing and more. This ebook has it all including step-by-step instructions, links to already created rubrics, and many ideas of how you can incorporate FlipGrid into your own curriculum.

*This tool was recently shared by Richard Byrne on his blog FreeTech4Teachers . There are many wonderful youtube videos online that can enhance your curriculum. Unfortunately, some of them may be longer than you want or need. ytCropper is a free tool that allows you to trim down or cut out sections of video from Youtube for you to use. Best of all, it is very easy to use. The steps are: Paste in the url of the video you want to clip or trim. Adjust the handles to select only the section you want and click Crop. Embed or grab the direct link. With the embed code, you can easily add the video to your website (check for copyright first). With the direct link, you can share it on Google Classroom with your students.  Another way to crop a youtube video is to use Google Slides. See here for instructions: https://youtu.be/y2k9O52tEkY

A little bit of warning - If you look in the Stream tab in Google Classroom, you will see all of the assignments, questions, and materials mixed in with posts from students.  You might be tempted to clean this up by clicking on the three vertical dots and hitting delete without realizing if you delete an assignment, question, or material from the Stream tab, it disappears from the Classworks tab as well. And sadly, there is no easy way to undo what you just did. But don’t panic. Google Classroom is linked with Google Drive which means that nothing is truly gone, it’s just not where you want it to be.  You may be able to use the Reuse Assignment feature and have students re-submit their work from Google Drive using the Attach Items to your Assignment feature if you are lucky. If not, then the only option is to have a complete redo.

“With Bloomz , teachers, and schools save time by having all the tools they need to communicate with today's parents in one easy-to-use (and free) app.” (From website) Bloomz is free for parents and teachers and takes away from having to use multiple different platforms to connect with parents. It allows for: Class updates Sharing of photos and video Class calendars and reminders Signups for activities Parent/Teacher conferences 2-way messaging Student portfolios Behavior tracking All of this is done in a shared and secure environment so you can share with confidence. For more information, take a look at the Bloomz Q&A . To see an example of how Bloomz works, take a look at this short video: https://youtu.be/7yyObQ-g4K4