Author: edtechmrbrown

Topic Titles in Google Classroom

I discovered a very cool thing this week when poking around in Google Classrooms working on fixes. A couple of you wonderful teachers have little images as a part of your topic titles and I want to share that wondrous ability with everyone.


You simply visit an emoticon website like this one http://getemoji.com/
Then highlight the emoji you want to use, copy it, and paste it in your Google Classroom Topic Title! No tricks or secret codes. Just a simple Copy and Paste. You can rename existing topics to add images.

BIG Thanks to Mrs. Lafond and Mrs. Brown for bringing this to my attention.

Shared with me and Starred in Google Drive

You might be noticing that your “Shared with Me” section of Google Drive has gone crazy with copies of every thing you have assigned to students in Google Classroom and every Google Classroom you are a teacher on.
Once you locate that file you needed in there through the search bar, add it to your Starred files to find it faster in the future.
Check out the screen grabs below to preview that process.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-16-1024x813.png

Project Chronos Post

PISD
Download the project
Not PISD
Get the project here

This lesson includes explaining what a time capsule is with videos for both elementary and secondary levels. It includes class discussion about artifacts found in a time capsule. Included are ideas to collaborate the project cross curricular, student direction, as well as a rubric for grading and explaining student expectations.

GC Basics

https://youtu.be/TrF2m6neQKI
I am excited to present to you some short but very useful Google Classroom training videos.  There are 15 videos here that are mostly around 2 minutes long which will teach you everything you need to know to get started with Google classroom.  

When you get bored of summer in a few weeks and you are yearning to learn, Please explore these resources to prepare yourself to use Google Classroom next school year.   

Google Classroom

“Shall We Play A Game?”

Here is a link to an article from TCEA with some ideas of games you can play live in an online meeting with your students. https://blog.tcea.org/zoom-games/?utm_source=TCEA+Emails&utm_campaign=2e13991d66-TN-MAY12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f3a5bb651e-2e13991d66-68439791&ct=t(TN-MAY12)

A scavenger hunt and charades are two of my favorite ideas on this blog post.  A scavenger hunt would be easy to pull off.  Send students to find an object in their home.  Have several rounds and eliminate students each round maybe or award points.  

It also got me thinking about playing Boggle.  If you have a document camera or adjustable webcam you could share the Boggle letters with your students and have them write their list of words.  Great spelling practice.

I have also seen mention of teachers playing chess and checkers with their students.  This would involve labeling the boards columns and rows to communicate moves.  That’s practicing graphing concepts as well as critical thinking.  

Screencast-o-matic

Screencast-o-matic is a versatile tool that every teacher can use to create digital content for their students.   

Screencast-o-matic is an awesome tool for recording a video of what is happening on your computer screen. It can often be easier to make a quick little video to explain a concept than to try and explain something in writing or over the phone. Screencast-o-matic helps you record your screen to save a video that you can share with others.

I use this tool all the time to record walk through videos. I have used it to record a scene from a movie that I wanted to show my students. You can run a slide show and record narration of you explaining a lesson to your students.  You can make videos explaining steps of directions for an assignment or project.  You could make a video showing your students how to navigate your Google Classroom or how to find something in Google Classroom.  You could even eliminate the confusion on how to turn in assignments in Google Classroom by making a walk through video for your students.

What are some other ways you have used a screen recording software?  What are some ideas you have for how you could use this for the first time?  Please go to the FB page I to share your ideas with us as a comment on this post: 
https://www.facebook.com/edtechmrbrowntx/photos/rpp.102803048080059/125964932430537


Below is a quick video walk through of how Screencast-o-matic works.

Video in Google Meet

With a recent update you can finally play videos in Google Meet and have the sound broadcast through to your audience. When you go to present your screen you need to choose “tab” to present a video with sound. So make sure you have the video you want to play already open in a tab and ready to present.

Have you successfully used this new feature yet with your students? Please share you experience with us as a comment here:
https://www.facebook.com/edtechmrbrowntx/photos/rpp.102803048080059/125947245765639/

WeVideo

YOU can edit videos. It really is super easy with WeVideo.com . Check out this tutorial on how to upload your video clips and edit them together to produce a finished video in WeVideo.
We put together a cooking video in this tutorial. Below the WeVideo Tutorial you can also check out the video I made… IN THE VIDEO… on how to make low carb chips.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is a great communication tool for your team.

Google Hangouts lets you send text messages, images, make video calls, and more. Google Hangouts is already built into your Gmail page but you can use it on most any device and it syncs your conversations up across them all. Make sure you download the mobile app on your phone and the Google Chrome Extension on your Chrome browser. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-hangouts/nckgahadagoaajjgafhacjanaoiihapd

Check out this quick introduction video to learn a little more about it.

Adobe Spark Video Slide Show

Let’s take a look at how to create a video slideshow in Adobe Spark. We will add images and music to create our video. You can also add a voice over or text to slides if you need to as well. Please check out the video walk through below on how to create an Adobe Spark Video.

Google Login Issues

Are you or your students having trouble accessing Google Forms, Drive, or Classroom when it requires you to be logged into your school gmail account? Here is my guide to fixing/avoiding these issues.

The first and simplest method is to use a Chromebook if possible. Just have the student login to the Chromebook with their school account. That should eliminate other logins interfering (Unless you have multiple logins in that Chromebook browser. If so delete the extra account.).

The second way is to create a separate Chrome Browser login desktop icon on your PC. Check out the video below to be walked through that.

May the 4th Be With You

Monday will be May the 4th, Star Wars Day.Here is a Star Wars coding lesson you can assign to your students so that they can learn about coding and practice problem solving skills.  There are two different coding activities, one suitable ages 6+ and a more challenging activity for ages 11+. 

https://code.org/starwars?fbclid=IwAR2HzfR8LyFIqPGfPF7Z5sxiNFsdXBdffgNI49Pe52EwlDElUngRaKT3PWs

Google Meet Added Tile View

Google Meet recently pushed out a new update to include a Zoom like grid view feature called Tiled. You access the menu in the bottom right corner; select Change Layout; Click Tiled. Check out the super quick video below to learn more.

Windows Split Screen Multi Task

Here is a quick tip to hopefully make it easier when looking up grades in Edgenuity or Google Classroom (LMS) and entering them in Infinite Campus(Grade book software).  It is also helpful when making new activities for your students and you need to see the Doc or Slides you are working in and the resource you are using. 

Here is also a resource for accomplishing the same thing on a Chromebook: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/view-apps-and-tabs-side-by-side-on-your-chromebook/

Here is a little bonus info

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/all-the-windows-10-keyboard-shortcuts-you-need-to-know/

Google Slides Publish to the Web

If you have a slide show that you have created you can easily share it with your students, parents, or staff by simply publishing it to the web through Google Slides. You don’t have to create a website to host it online. Google slides will generate a link for you to share that presents your slide show in presentation mode. That’s what makes this different than just sharing it from your Google Drive. A published slideshow is presented to the viewer and not in edit mode.

What would you share?  Maybe photos of your students or their work.  Those cutesy slideshows of somebody holding cue cards to tell a story.

Check out my quick video walk through to see it in action. Also the steps are below the video.

To publish a slideshow to the web you simply go to “file” then “publish to the web”. Then set up the options the way you need them and select “Start Publishing”.

WDW Virtual Field Trip

The folks in Florida may have no idea when Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will open again but in the mean time we can take a virtual field trip there. I have created an exciting activity for your students to explore and as an example to inspire you to create a virtual field trip of your own. I created this in Google Drawings and Sites.

This is an educational field trip not just fun. This virtual field trip includes essential knowledge and skills from Reading, Math, Science, History, Geography, and more.

Check out my introduction video of how it works. Then explore the activity at the link below.

Here are the activities in Google Forms if you want to save a copy to assign to your students to get their responses.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wrGANv81d0kRwTmkZEDRzDlZue5_GYrn

https://sites.google.com/view/wdwvirtualfieldtrip/magic-kingdom

Snap Camera

Here is a quick video explanation of how to use the Snap Camera on your PC to activate filters for Google Meets.

Google Classroom Custom Banner Image

Did you know you can change the banner image at the top of your Google Classroom? There are quite a few stock images to select from built in to Google Classroom. You can also upload your own image. Here is a quick guide on how to create your own correctly sized (16.67″x4.17″) banner image and how to add it to your Google Classroom. Check out the video below for the walk through.

Gmail Schedule Send

Did you know you can schedule an email to go out at a later date and time? This can be a great feature for creating a regular routine or expectation with your students. It can also help you not send out emails at strange hours of the night. Here is a quick video walk through on how to set up a schedule send email.

Google Classroom Tips

https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/google-classroom-faq-your-most-common-questions-answered/?fbclid=IwAR0cIe3Q3UmsGNm4jxTNQ9wwimZMbkxAnvu2QnPwpk6oPBuzKf3J1C4bF5c

Here is a link to some FAQ’s and tips for using Google Classroom from Mrs. Kasey Bell. Kasey Bell’s Shake Up Learning is a great resource to follow.
One cool tip I learned from this page was that you can post assignments to all of your classes at the same time if you are not scheduling them ahead of time. This link will show you how.