Lemon Tech Tidbits

  (Not the drink!). Brisk AI is a chrome extension created by educators for educators. What makes it unique is the ability to use it directly in a Google Doc or Google Classroom (will soon be able to use it within a Google Slide. It also works within Schoology, Canvas, and Blackboard). This is a Freemium site so it is free to use but if you want more features, you will need to pay for a school subscription. Once you have it installed, an icon will appear in the lower right corner when you open up a Google Doc. You can then select it and put in a prompt to create an activity, a quiz, or a lesson plan over any topic by grade level. You can use it with existing documents by prompting it to provide feedback, checking for AI plagiarism , or changing the reading level. It also works in different languages.  To see a short tutorial, watch this TikTok video: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicam.reid/video/7280636109200067846

  There is no coding involved and is pretty easy to use. There are many game templates to choose from. After you sign in to the program (you can do so with your Google account at the bottom), you will scroll down to pick the template you want to use such as a puzzle, matchmaking, maze craze racing and many more. When you select a template, there is a video tutorial to guide you in setting up the game. When you are finished, you can preview the game and finally publish it for students to play. If you don’t have time to build your own game, you can browse through games already created at the bottom. Check it out yourself at Breshna.io

  Earlier this past week, I was asked by Mr. Morris to find resources for his class over Ancient Africa. The first place I started was not with a Google search. Instead, I turned to ChatGPT . My first query was pretty straightforward. I simply stated I wanted 6th grade resources for Ancient Africa. It did provide some links to a few websites but it was pretty underwhelming. I tried a few more queries before I decided to try the search with Perplexity AI . Not only did Perplexity show six different websites to use but it broke it down better than ChatGPT. In fact, it recommended a new search query under Related that showed some activities I could use as well. Finally, I tried the Bard AI (I had to use my personal G account to access Bard). I found the results on Bard to be pretty much the same as on ChatGPT. Just goes to show why I like Perplexity AI so much! For more information on AI tools teachers need to be aware of, take a look at Matt Miller’s article titled 30 AI tools for t...

  “ Fight burnout and join thousands of teachers saving hours of time using MagicSchool to help lesson plan, differentiate, write assessments, write IEPs, communicate clearly, and more.” MagicSchool.ai offers more than 40 tools for teachers that are searchable by keyword and categorized for planning, student support, community, productivity, and community tools. There is even a Teacher Joke Generator! It can help you easily create a rubric, write a lesson plan, give student work feedback, provide questions from a youtube video  and a lot more. Watch this video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pIlOX_V25Q Here is a link to a quick PDF Teacher’s Guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nLXIZRnA_V96zErxJ90c0fowZURPyeOn/view?pli=1 Here is a link to a Google Slides Teacher’s Guide presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17PHg3OiNmYjwnGmMKR0x0-BNKMAskMd46nhv7LRmiFM/edit?usp=drive_link *Special thanks to Ms. Wright for sharing this new tech ...

  Have you ever found yourself wanting to quickly zoom into a feature in Google Slides so you can adjust it or see it better? I know I have, especially when I want to move an object or text slightly to the left or right. In the past, to zoom in, you had to either go to View or use the Toolbar. Now, all you have to do is press down on the Command (or Control) key on your keyboard and then use the trackpad to slide in or out. Try it out and see how easy it is! If you want to enlarge a Google Doc, simply hold down the Command (or Control) key and then press + If you want to shrink a Google Doc, simply hold down the Command (or Control) key and then press -

  Google has announced that very shortly, you will be able to lock a file in Google Drive. What this means is if you share a file with someone and then decide there needs to be no more changes, you can chose to lock the file. This allows the people you had previously shared the file with to still access it if needed but they would not be able to make any edit changes or leave comments.  To lock a file, you will need to select it and then do a right-click (two fingers on the touchpad). Next, go to File Information and click Lock. This update will be rolling out starting on September 5th so if you don’t have the ability to lock a file yet, it will soon appear.

You probably have heard about Book Creator before but I wanted to share it with you in case you forgot. Book Creator is a WONDERFUL site for students to create interactive content showing their knowledge of a topic in your classroom. It can be used from Kindergarten all the way up to Seniors. Teachers can use it too to creatively share interactive content with their students. It is a Freemium site (free but has additional features for a price) but there is so much you can do with the free version. When you sign up, you will notice there are plenty of tutorials to help you get started and to learn how to use the site. However, I have found the best way to learn is to simply sign up and click around on the site. Click on New Book and name it Sample. Take a look at what you can do if you click on the Plus sign in the upper right-hand corner. What happens if you click on the I symbol next to it? Click on the arrow and then click on the three vertical dots (menu). If you would rather wat...

  “ answergarden is a digital scribble space. It makes a great tool for brainstorming in the classroom or workplace.” It is very easy to use. All you have to do is to ask a question, share it with others, and wait for your “garden to grow” with the answers. It can be used on an iPad, Chromebook, or any other device. There is no need to login or create an account to use this FREE site. Here are the steps: Go to answergarden.ch At the top, click on the Plus sign Type in your question or topic.  Scroll down and select the mode. It can be classroom (participants answer once), brainstorm (participants can answer multiple times), moderator (participants answers need approval), and locked (participants can no longer answer). Set the answer length to either 20 or 40 characters. Give it a password so you can go back and edit it later if needed Type in your email. It will send you an email with your password and link to the AnswerGarden. (Make sure to check the spam folder if you don’t...