Lemon Tech Tidbits

Google has undergone a few changes recently with some being good and a few being just plain annoying. NEW Name: yes, Google is changing the name for G Suite for Education yet again. You might be seeing the term Google Workspace in blog post and websites. This will be the new term for G Suite for Education in the future and is already being used on the business side. LOGO’s Changing: Much to many people’s annoyance, the logos for Sheets, Slides, etc. are changing. Take a look at this post for more information. This means all of those tutorials will need to be updated. Ugghhh… ACCESS Request: In the past, if someone asks for permission to access a document or file in Google Drive, you would have to open it up to change the permissions. Now, you can do it all in GMail. SMART FILL in Sheets: Using Machine-learning, you can autofill more cells in Google Sheets. Click here for more information. PLAY VIDEO in Slides: Before, you had to set this option up. Now, all videos will be s...

There is a very active GEG (Google Education Group) in Ohio and every few months, they get together and release a ton of information. You can access all of it from the blog by Eric Curtis titled Control Alt Achieve. I wanted to share with you one of the resources I found that I believe every student and parent should have access to and that is their Google Jr. Training Series. This website contains so many helpful (and very short) videos showing how to do all of the simple things we ask students to do in G Suite every day. For example, make a copy of a Google Doc , use the Explore tool in Google Slides , how to write an Email , and much much more.

  GOOGLE KEEP Google Keep is a life-saver for a busy teacher. It is one of the G Suite apps I use ALL the time. What is it? It is a simple note-taking service that is available as a Chrome extension, website, and app on a phone that works seamlessly with other G Suite tools. How do I use it? For a nice overview of how you can use Google Keep in your classroom, take a look at this post by Tessa Maguire . She is an elementary teacher and explains how she uses Google Keep every day.  How do I start using it? I created a short video over Google Keep and how I use it. You can access it here.   In addition, I have created a site that lists everything you need to know about Google Keep. It includes a link to a step-by-step tutorial from Google Learning Center, 7 Ninja Tricks from Matt Miller, Tips and tricks from Hello Teacher, and even a way to have students use Google Keep for research. You can access all of it here.   Want even more ideas? Alice Keeler shares ...

There has been a lot of discussions lately about accessibility issues concerning Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Sites, etc. How can we ensure what we use is readable and accessible for everyone, including our students? Google does have tools available to help you ensure you are meeting the needs of everyone. We just have to use them. In an article posted by Diane Benner titled Make Your Google Docs More Accessible ( click to access the entire blog article) are many best practices to use when creating a Google Doc. Many of these practices can carry over to other G Suite tools as well. These include: Use Headings Insert Alt Text when using pictures Clearly Describe Hyperdocs Use Color and Contrast Appropriately Google does have built-in accessibility tools and features. Click on this link to see a short video explaining a few of these features. In addition, Google has created a User Accessibility Guide as well over the different G Suite tool is available for all.

We have all been there. You know you created a wonderful presentation or document last year for the unit you will be teaching but you can’t find it in your Google Drive. You end up spending way too much valuable time looking through all of your folders and files with no luck. You do a search in the Google Drive search box and still can not find out. A new update will now give you more options to easily and quickly find exactly what you are looking for. Now, when you type in a query in the search box, you will see a new range of options including: Suggested search queries: Click on a term to search for it.  Your top collaborators: Click on a person to search for files that you’ve collaborated with them on.  File types, edit history, priority items, and more: Click to show files that match the highlighted criteria.

Did you know you can now access Google Maps directly in your Google Drive? This blog post walks you through how easy it is to open up Google Maps and customize it to fit exactly what you need. Google Maps is one of those G Suite apps that doesn’t get that much attention. This app is a fun way for students to understand how to read a map, investigate the world, practice math skills such as figuring out the distance between two points of interest and so much more. On DitchThatTextbook, Matt Miller has a blog post over 20 Ways of incorporating this app into your curriculum. Richard Byrne also has a few blog posts as well. You can find them here and here . Finally, on TeachersPayTeachers , there are many lessons over using Google Maps. Some of them are even free such as these for Spanish teachers. If you would like to know more about using Google Maps in your curriculum, please check out this site from Google: https://www.google.com/help/maps/education/

Jake Miller had an excellent Twitter post about how easy it is to incorporate a Google Drawing into a Google Doc to make the assignment come alive. If you don’t use Twitter, you can see the same information on his blog located here: https://jakemiller.net/insert-drawings-into-docs-being-assigned-in-classroom/ Jake Miller explains how easy it is to have students annotate a Google Drawing that has been incorporated into a Google Doc. There is no need for them to use an add-on such as Dochub. All they have to do is to simply double-click on the image. Take a look at his gif to see how easy this can be:

Did you know you can have real-time captions displayed when you show a Google Slide presentation? And the best part is it is super easy to do. All you have to do is go to View - Present and then click on the Caption button located on the bottom left-hand side of your screen. When you have the captions feature turned on, Google Slides will use the microphone on your computer to automatically create captions of what you say. For more information, click here . Go a step further…. Earlier, I talked about how you can record Google Slide presentations using Screencastify . Well, with this change, it will record your presentation as well as the captions! How cool is that! It gets even better. Screencastify recently announced a Google Slide Add-on that allows you to insert a Screencastify video directly into the Slide! So now, you can create a Screencastify video of your presentation with captions. Then, open up a new Google Slide and insert that video on the first slide. Select Format Opti...

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!

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

Google Sites Update Google Sites is web-page creation tool that is very simple to use, especially if you are a G Suite for Education school. Recently, Google announced the addition of Section Layouts . Now, it will be even easier to design a professional looking website and page. You will have the option of using up to six different design layouts. One thing I did notice as I was exploring this new feature is you must use the media depicted in the layout. In other words, if the layout has a picture icon and you would like to use text instead, it doesn’t allow you to do so. But….I do like how simple it is to use and the suggestions it gives is great advice. This will be on a slow-rollout meaning not everyone will access to section layouts right away. Some may have to wait up to two-weeks time. By then, Google promises it will be available to all. For more information, please visit this link .

GOOGLE SHEETS UPDATE: Checkmarks! With the end of the year fast approaching, the need to create and manage lists of items is more important than ever. If you have a lot of information or data, a Google Sheet that can be shared with multiple people is ideal. To help make things easier, you can now make check marks in Google Sheets to help keep track of your data. In this blog post by Alice Keeler, http://bit.ly/2qX0r1u , she walks you through step-by-step on how to use this new feature. Be sure to check it out! Image from Alice Keeler

Goo.gl Is Going Away Google has recently announced plans to shut down the Goo.gl url shortener. According to Google, this move was needed as more people rely on apps and content available on phones than on websites. They would like everyone to move to Firebase Dynamic Links . After April 13th, you will no longer be able to create any new url short links and any link you have used with Goo.gl will no longer work after May 30, 2019. What can you do?: You can continue to use Bitly or Ow.ly . Or you can be brave and start using Firebase Dynamic Links . (hopefully, there will soon be a chrome extension) Next, take a look at your websites and documents and see if you have any Goo.gl redirections. If you do, you will need to mitigate them to another url shortener service. Read The Original Article

TEAM DRIVE UPDATE You can now (or will soon be able to) email all the members of a TeamDrive without leaving the site. You can send the email either from the folder or from a specific file. This will be a gradual rollout over the next few weeks so some people will have this function earlier than others. Here are the instructions from the G Suite Update Blog: From the Team Drive: Navigate to the Team Drive, click the drop-down menu next to the Team Drive name, and click “Email members.”  From within a file that is in the Team Drive: While editing or viewing the document, open the File menu, and click “Email Collaborators.”   

SLIDESCARNIVAL: Google Slide Templates While we are on the subject of Google Slide presentations, are you tired of always seeing the same templates being used and want something different? Well, a website called SlidesCarnival has come to your rescue. This site has hundreds of free templates ready to be downloaded into Powerpoint and/or Google Slides.  Their motto is: “ The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And more importantly, they will remember you.”   To see how SlidesCarnival works, click on this short video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1msnRC1LXhKANRXkxHTJJKGaFpQd8ysE7/view?usp=sharing

REMOTE FOR SLIDES You have been asked to do a presentation in front of the entire staff at your school. You spent all week preparing your Google Slide presentation and are ready to go. But there is a problem. You would like to have the ability to walk around while giving your presentation instead of being glued down to your computer. You don’t have a remote or any hardware that will allow you to advance the slides so what do you do? You download Remote for Slides - a Chrome extension and web app that allows you to use any device such as your SmartPhone to control your slides. How do you use Remote for Slides? Open a presentation in Google Slides. On the top right, click the " Present with Remote" button. Wait until the presentation is fully loaded. Click on the "Show ID & Start Remote" button to view the 6-digits code. Open http://s.limhenry.xyz on another device and enter the code on the page. (this website doesn’t change so bookmark it to make it ...

MENU UPDATES IN GOOGLE DOCS & SLIDES Google just announced a slight change in the menu or toolbar for both Google Docs and Slides. The goal is to make finding and using certain tools easier to use. Many of the changes reflect nothing more than a name change. In other cases, Google has changed where items are locating trying to make the drop-down menu more streamlined. Below is a list of some of the changes. 1. Adding in a page or column break: Before: Insert > Page break or Column break. After: Insert > Break > Page break or Column break 2. To change a shape or use an alt text in slides: Before: Select shape > Format > Change shape. After: Right-click on the shape and make a selection. (Right-click on Mac and on Chromebooks is 2 fingers on touchpad at the same time).

LESS IS MORE - GOOGLE SLIDE STYLE Every person in education understands there is a need to compile, use and share data. This can easily be done with Google Sheets or Excel. However, many times the data in Sheets or Excel can be hard to understand with a quick glance. A quick slideshow, created by Darkhorse Analytics, shows easy steps to take the data and make is easier to understand in a clear visualization format. Take a look: http://i.imgur.com/ZY8dKpA.gifv

VISIT SPACE WITH GOOGLE MAPS We all know about Google Maps and how easy it is to use to find our way to a location. But did you know it can also be used to “travel” through space? Each planet, moon, and location is available in a 3D model perfect for viewing. Like other Google Maps, you can zoom in close to certain features or expand the view. Many of images come from the spacecraft Cassini as it traveled across space to record images of Saturn over 20 years ago. Others, such as images of Pluto, Venus and other moons were put together with the help of NASA. For more information, click here: https://goo.gl/WHNwSR To visit Google Maps in Space, click here: https://www.google.com/maps/space/earth