Google Sites Security, Chromebook Shortcuts and Keyboard Customizations, TEKS Resource System STAAR Stems

Important Security for your Google Site

As you create or revise your Google Site, please keep in mind that Sites' default allows file uploads and comments on new pages. To keep your Site secure, please disable those features.

Chromebook Shortcuts and Keyboard Customizations

A great big thank you to Mr. David Brown for demonstrating the ultimate Chromebook shortcut resource at New Teacher Orientation. Click CTRL+ ALT+? to open a keyboard overlay that displays all the keyboard shortcuts. 

Hold down the CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, or SEARCH keys to see each key's shortcuts. (The SEARCH key is between the SHIFT key and the TAB key)

Click on the three dots in the upper corner of your Chrome toolbar, click SETTINGS, and scroll down to customize your track pad and your keyboard. For example, you can allow your track pad to respond to a tap rather than a click. That saves stress on your hands. If you're missing the CAPS LOCK key, you can turn the SEARCH key into a CAPS LOCK in keyboard setting. (However, that disables shortcuts that require the SEARCH key.)

TEKS Resource System Offers a Game-Changer for STAAR Prep

TEKS Resource System can be overwhelming because there are so many hyperlinks to follow. If you are new to TRS, the documents to access first are as follows:

1. Year at a Glance: What am I teaching?

2. Vertical Alignment: Where do my TEKS fall in relation to the grade above/below it? 

The interface is great because it displays only the TEKS for the grade above and the grade below, although you can click left or right to access other grades.

....drum roll, please! Here's the game changer!

3. Under Resources click on a topic to access the STAAR stems link which will download a pdf to your computer.

Do my classroom questions give my students daily practice using STAAR language?

You don't have to struggle to create STAAR practice questions. TRS has done the work for you, and you can customize/scaffold the questions to meet your students' needs and the content you are teaching.

Amp up the opportunity for STAAR practice by creating an Exit Ticket or a warm up in Google Forms using the STAAR stems. Your students will get frequent practice, and Google will grade the practice for you. Winner!

GoogleSlides, Chromebook, GoogleKeep

Google Slides Update

Skill Level: Beginner           Use: presentation tool

Google Slides got some updates last week that will make your job easier. You can now insert a video from your Google Drive into Slides. Hip Hip Hooray!  In the past, you could only insert YouTube videos.

Google Slides also offers some awesome video options. You can choose to have the video automatically start when you are in presentation mode. You can mute the audio on the video. And you can select a portion of the video to show by adjusting the start and stop times. Gotta love that!

Love Your Chromebook

Skill level: everyone     Use: customize keyboard

I love learning from other teachers! A great big thank you to BHS math department for showing me how to turn the search key on my Chromebook into a caps lock key. (Confession: I'd never even noticed the search key. Oops!) When you are in Chrome, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of your screen. Then click on Settings. Scroll down to Device and click on the gray box labeled Keyboard Settings. The first option is the Search Key. Toggle the arrow and select Caps Lock. That simple!

And thanks to the awesome AES teachers who showed me that pressing CTRL and the key above the 5 toggles the display from mirrored display to extended screen display. That will be a huge timesaver for me in the library!

Chromebooks don't have Delete keys either, but if you press the ALT key and the BACKSPACE key at the same time, you get delete. I know! It's the little things that matter!

For more keyboard shortcuts, click HERE.

Get rid of those sticky notes with
Google Keep

Skill Level: beginner     Use: organizational tool

Three smart phones ago, I used Google Keep, but after moving from Android to IOS, it's been off my radar for a few years. No more. Google Keep has gotten some upgrades over the last couple of years, and it's a great tool for everyone! You can access it from your computer or through the Google Play app or the IOS app on your personal device.

On your Chromebook, just open a new tab and type keep.google.com. You can create a digital sticky note, assign a label (tag), add collaborators, and turn the list into checkboxes. If you are working on a project with your team, department, or partner, you can keep track of the to-do list all in one place. When one person checks a box as completed, the item moves to the bottom of the list with a strike-through.

If you have a personal gmail account, Google Keep is a great way to share the grocery list with a spouse or the daunting to-do list with a senior applying to college, etc.

Dot Day, Feedly, Chromebook, Google Drive

Celebrate Dot Day 9/15/16

International Dot Day is next week. This year, help your students make their mark on the world by providing them with the opportunity to explore digital dots with a great project on scratch.mit.edu. Using only the arrow keys and space bar, even the youngest students can create a unique digital project. Middle and high school students can try their hands at some advanced coding by manipulating the code to create Picture Dots on Khan Academy. Or share the day with Peter Reynolds on Ready Set Draw-ish. Check out more ideas for Dot Day at Barrow Media Center's Expect the Miraculous blog. Dot Day offers great opportunities for our students to collaborate with students all over the world through Google Apps for Education or Skype. Let me know if I can help you and your students make their mark for Dot Day.

What's an easy way to follow several blogs?

Much of my continuing professional development comes from following blogs from educators all over the country. While many blogs offer you the opportunity to have their posts delivered to your email inbox, if your inbox is already an avalanche of emails, that option is less than ideal. The solution may be an rss feed reader.  A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I use Feedly on my computer and Newsify on my iPhone to manage the blogs I follow. I simply copy/paste the URL of the blog I follow into the search bar on Feedly, categorize the blog by topic (technology, library, etc.) and new posts are saved in one place. While Feedly has an iPhone app, I find that's it's faster for me to scroll through the posts on Newsify than it is using the Feedly app. But, to each his/her own! It's taken me a few attempts to find the rss feed reader that works for me, but I love that I get the information I want when I want it instead of having my inbox overloaded on somebody else's schedule. If you are an Android user, here is a comparison of RSS feed readers. Chrome also has an extension that might work for you. Although this comparison of RSS readers is a year old, it will give you an overview of the possibilities out there. If you are new to following blogs, choose one or two from experts in your field, and you'll get bite-sized doses of professional development all year long! Please let me know if you are currently blogging on educational topics so I can add you to my news feed!

Extended Display vs. Mirroring

There are times when you want the display on your Chromebook to be mirrored to your tv, but there may also be times when you want to display one tab on your Chromebook and another tab on your tv.  Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers offers great tips for when/how to use extended display.

Making Drive files accessible offline

Don't forget that you can make your Drive, Docs, Slides, and Sheets files available offline by adjusting your Drive settings. Offline access can come in handy if we lose internet connectivity at school or if you don't have internet access at home. Your files will be updated when you have wi-fi access. Android, IOS, and computer directions can be accessed HERE. Or Groff's Quick Start guide is HERE. (Caution: your Drive may house a lot of data. Activate this setting when you are on free wi-fi.)

BISD Technology Tutorials

Many of the teachers who attended the August 12 technology training have already signed up for the Technology Integration Google Classroom (Code: hp3kg5v). However, for those employees who don't have access to Classroom or who haven't joined Classroom yet, here's the link to our Technology Tutorials page. It's a "living" document, and is frequently updated. Whether you want to learn more about Chrome, about Google Forms, or about a Web 2.0 tool for your classroom, the Technology Tutorial document is a good place to start.

Tech Toolbox, Remind, Chromebook

Inspire Creativity With Ed Tech Apps

Looking for some new tech apps to inspire your students and refresh your own tech toolbox? Check out these thirty librarian-approved educational technology applications on the MindShift blog. If you use one of these apps with your students and make something awesome, consider sharing with our colleagues on the BISD Tech Integration Padlet.

Thinking of setting up a REMIND account for your class?

Remind is a communication tool that helps teachers communicate with parents. If you need a little help getting started with your Remind accounts, check out Richard Byrne's Remind playlist that includes video for adjusting chat settings, attaching documents, etc.

New to Chromebooks?

I'm a big fan of Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers. He is a prolific blogger who reviews a wide variety of educational apps, and his YouTube channel has an extensive playlist. He recently posted a video 5 Tips for New Chromebook Users.

Here's to a great 2016-2017

Just substitute the last word in the video with SCHOOL, CLASS, or TEAM. Have a great year.