Chrome Tips

Since the Chromebooks are coming and a lot of us have been using the Chrome browser, I thought I'd share this article that has 100 Awesome Tips for using Chrome.   One of the coolest features of Chrome in my opinion is the Chrome Web Store.  Here you can add different features and function to your Google Chrome Browser.   Check out this great tutorial below to see exactly what an extension is.    If you want to know some of my favorite extensions, just ask (hint hint, I'd love to share it with you in person)!  I'd be happy to share and help you get them installed for your Google Chrome browser.  An added bonus is when you sign into Chrome, these new features will already be there.   Awesome, right?

   

Great Google Tip: Set Timer

Did you know that you can use Google Chrome to set a timer extremely easily?  Check out my screencast below to learn more.   Let me know if I can help you with this trick!

New Google Forms Feature

Enjoy using Google Forms? Now you can add date and time questions to those questionnaires you’ve been creating. You’ll see the option for these under “Question type” the next time you create or edit a form.   This would work great for scheduling conferences, parent volunteers, etc.  Check it out!

Voice Comments On Google Docs

Wouldn't it be great if you could leave your students feed back on their Google Docs - but not have to write it?   They could listen to your suggestions while you read their essays that they read with you?  You could highlight while talking about suggestions and comments.  That is now possible!   Today I watched a cool screencast about using an app for Crome called, Voice Comments.  Simply highlight and speak - the Voice Comments app for Google Drive is the fastest way to give high quality feedback on a document.

Here is a great tutorial made by a teacher who uses Voice Comments with her students.

There is also a great step by step on getting stated once you install the app into your chrome browser.   You must be using chrome for this feature to work.   Currently, the Voice Comments feature only works with Google Docs, not presentations or spreadsheets.  Hopefully we'll see that in the future!

Does this sound like something that could be helpful for you and your students?   Let me know and I can walk through how to set this up for you and your students.   

GMail Compose Tip

Try holding down the shift key while clicking compose - it opens a brand new compose window in the center of your screen, perfect for those who like a little extra space!

Happy Birthday to Gmail... did you know Gmail is celebrating it's 9th birthday?  Check out the evolution of Gmail!

GMail Compose Tip

Attachments be gone! You can insert files up to 5 GB in size directly using Google Drive.  And because your document is stored in the cloud, everyone you share it with will have the most recent version all the time.  Gmail will also remind you to change your sharing settings if you email a link to a Google document that isn’t shared with the recipients of the message.  

GMail Compose Tip

Here’s a time-saver: you can drag-and-drop the address chips in the compose and replies in your GMail.  So if you accidentally cc someone you meant to bcc, or want to move someone to cc from the to category,  you can just drag-and-drop - no retyping needed!

Have a great weekend!

Google Art Project - How it works

I know I've posted about Google Art Project before, however, check out this cool video about how it works!