Digital Learning, Feedly, GoogleDocs

Convert text to/from All Caps on Chromebook

Sometimes it's the little things that make us happy. So, I was excited last week when I read on Brenham ISD's blog how to change text in Google Docs to/from all upper, all lower case, or title case. It's not a feature you may use daily, but if you've ever had a student type his/her entire essay in capital letters, it's a feature you'll be glad to access!

Use Feedly to Collect Blog Posts

Speaking of blog posts...one of the ways I try to keep up with professional reading is to follow blogs of movers and shakers in the educational technology and library worlds. Rather than subscribe to individual blog posts that wind up in a too-full email inbox, I use Feedly to collect the posts for me, and I read them when I have time.

There are movers and shakers in your areas, too. A cursory Google search for "top science teacher blogs to follow" or "best educational blogs to follow" or "top basketball coaching blogs" turns up great lists to start. If you've been to a conference this year, chances are that one of the presenters hosts a blog. Add him/her to your feed.

The key to success is to start small, and curate the content as you go. Like something? Save it to a Pinterest board or to Google Keep so you can find it later. Your process may seem a bit clunky at first until you get your rhythm down, but stick with it, and you'll be adding quality content to your professional toolbox all year round.

I have to admit, some months are better than others for professional reading. This time of year, I've got a lot of unread posts, but I know that when the hamster wheel slows down, I'll know just where to turn for the most current happenings in my profession.

BISD Digital Learning Website
Coming Soon

Last winter, several teachers at Alkek suggested that all the tech tips, technology training presentations, and links to technology tools be housed in one place. Tuesday Tech Tips will take a hiatus for a couple of weeks while that site is developed and the blog is moved to a searchable platform. Stay tuned for details. Thanks, AES, for the awesome idea!

Flippity, GoogleDocs

Flippity

Use: create games & study aides

Skill Level: Intermediate

Flippity.net allows users to turn Google Sheets into flashcards and other cool stuff like a random name picker, a quiz show, and madlibs. Thanks, Mallory Golsch at BMS, for telling me about the new Flippity Hangman. What a great way to review vocabulary or spelling words with your students! Simply follow the directions to add your terms to Column A of the template, select the number of guesses you want to allow, and click publish. Flippity will generate a link so that you can play with your students, add the game to your webpage, or share it in your Google Classroom.

Save as Doc: Turn those lengthy text answers from a Google Form into a Google Doc

Use: make grading text answers on Google Forms easier

Skill Level: beginner to intermediate

Using a Google Form as a quiz or to collect data certainly makes life easier, but reading the accompanying Google Sheet is sometimes not so fun at all. Enter the Save As Doc add on that can be applied to the Google Sheet that collects the form responses. Simply go to the Sheet, install and select the Save as Doc add-on, enter a file output name, customize the settings for your needs, and choose Save as Doc. My favorite customization setting is the option to insert a page break after each row. If I'd used a Form as a quiz, the Save as Doc add on would essentially create a page break after each student's response. How cool is that?

Tuesday Tech Tip Hiatus

Tuesday Tech Tips will be on hiatus for the first two weeks of February. Next week is the annual Texas Computer Educators Association convention in Austin, and the following week, I know from experience, my brain will still be processing the awesome tech integration ideas I'll be bringing home. When I first attended the conference seven years ago, an educator I respect told me that TCEA was THE BEST conference she had ever attended. And I wholeheartedly concur. There is something for everyone: core teachers, elective teachers, librarians, administrators, district technology personnel, elementary teachers, secondary teachers, iPad users, Chromebook users, PC users, G-Suite users, and more. It's geekfest meets curriculum conference.  If you are a Twitter user, follow #TCEA17 to get a taste of the excitement and to collect some great resources.