Google Offline Mode, GSuite Clean Up, Google Takeout

Google Offline Mode

Google is making it easier for those who have no or low internet connectivity to access documents offline. According to Wednesday's Google updates blog "It’s now possible for users to work on Docs, Sheets, and Slides files when your device is offline or have a bad internet connection within Google Drive. You can also preview which files are available offline with a new offline preview mode." Check out Google's full post HERE.

End-of-the-Year Clean up For Your G-Suite

Thank you, Lisa Gherman, for sharing Alice Keeler's post on cleaning up your G-Suite at the end of the year. This post shares tips for archiving classes, returning and deleting student work from your Drive, deleting calendars, etc. Think how good it's going to feel to see that Drive file shrink with a good cleaning! But before you start removing files, be sure to read Keeler's post on Unlinking Documents from Google Classroom. If you need to transfer ownership of files, click here for the process.

Leaving BISD? Google Takeout Can Help You Transfer Drive and Gmail Data

Teaching Forward has put together a great tutorial for migrating your GSuite for Education data to another Google account. Have documents that you own but need to leave behind for a colleague, team, or department? Click here for help.

G-Suite Updates, Art Contests, Spotlight on Blended Learning

G-Suite Updates

Google Drawings can now be embedded in Google Docs. So that may not seem like a big deal, but it truly is. Google Drawings is like the old Microsoft Paint, but on steroids. Imagine your students creating a Book Snap in Drawings and adding it as textual evidence on a larger writing in Docs. Or imagine a science student illustrating a process in Drawings and embedding it as part of a lab report in Docs. Or imagine one of our youngest students creating an illustration for a story he/she is writing in Docs. Pretty useful stuff! See what I'm talking about HERE. New to Google Drawings? Check out Alice Keeler's introduction HERE.

Google Classroom has also gotten a bit of a tune-up. If you're like me and want a bit more control of what  students see in their digital classroom you, too, can hear the choir singing, "Alleluia!" We can now drag and drop topics and items on the Classwork page. That makes me happy! 

You will also notice that Classroom has a new look. One of my students today described it as "clean." Read more about the new look HERE. If you've got a little over a minute to spare today, check out this great little video that highlights features in Google Classroom. 

https://youtu.be/DeOVe2YV2Io

Two Great Contests: Doodle for Google & Bulldog Mobile Logo 

https://youtu.be/HShq9R9lR1Q

If you visited Google on Tuesday, you saw the 2018 national Doodle for Google winner's artwork. Pretty amazing feat for a second grader. Wouldn't it be cool if one of our BISD students was recognized in the Doodle for Google contest? Here are the contest rules, and the link includes teacher resources, as well. The contest deadline is March 18, 2019.

If you want your students to participate in something a little closer to home, the Bulldog Mobile Logo Contest opens this week. After five years, the magnets that we affix to the district's truck have worn out and will need to be replaced. Here is a flyer that you can use to promote the contest to your students and parents. The deadline is March 7, 2019.

Spotlight on Blended Learning 

As we roll out 18 classrooms of Chromebooks this week, check out some of the ways that digital learning can impact instruction and student collaboration.

From my Twitter feed: What offering choice looks like in science, ELA, and social studies...

I have #PrideIn5 watching teachers begin to plan a #blendedlearning lesson. Teachers looked at several different models and posted wonderings and noticings. Thanks to all who participated! @CarolCLunsford #FabuDIS5 pic.twitter.com/GgWe8zVBmu

— Kat Degar (@MsDeeegar) January 8, 2019 

From a text message from one of our awesome science teachers:  what collaboration and "publishing" to an authentic audience does for elevating the thinking...

Purposeful use of digital tools can make a difference in how our students learn and can positively impact their work products.