#121 Google in education this week

November 21, 2017
A few days ago, we shared with you this collection of pre-designed templates to help you create professionally looking forms  using Google Forms. In today’s post we curated for you this list of some  practical Google Sheets templates you can use to design different types of spreadsheets. More specifically, we included templates for recording class attendance, creating to-do lists, tracking assignments, and creating grade books. To use any of these templates, head over to Google Sheets Template Gallery, scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find them located under the label ‘Education’. Click on the template you want to use and it will open in your Google Sheets where you can type in your data and customize it the way you want.

June 2, 2017
Below are 9 good Google Docs add-ons we pulled out from the popular visual ’24 Google Doc Hacks to Make Your Life Easier’ which was created and shared by GetVoip. These are applications that will enable you to : check for mistakes in your documents (e.g., inconsistent hyphenation, spelling and grammar, inconsistent abbreviations and numerals..etc), create conference calls with your Google document viewers, easily fax your Google documents, securely e-sign your documents, generate shortened URLs to share with others, encrypt sensitive information in your document, and integrate Google Fonts in your document.

1- Consistency Checker
'Check consistency of formal documents to help get articles and reports accepted and deliver winning proposals and bid documents.'
2- UberConference'Create an UberConference easily from a Google Doc. Quickly create a conference call with all document viewers!'
3- HelloFax
'HelloFax makes faxing a Google Doc easy! Just add the fax number, fill out your cover sheet and hit, "Send". That's it.'
4- PandaDoc
'Electronic signatures and document analytics for Google Docs. Track recipient opens and views. Esign securely with PandaDoc.'
5- Lucidchart Diagrams
'Quickly create and insert flowchart, UML, wireframe, mind map, and more diagrams directly into a Google document.'
6- Make changes 
'Make changes to the case of text in block selections: uppercase, lowercase, first letter capitals, invert, sentence and title case.'
7- URL Shortener
'Make long URLs smaller and generate a short URL for your current document!'
8- DocSecrets
'Encrypt and hide sensitive information, store passwords, share censored documents or collaborate securely.'
9- Extensis Fonts
'Upgrade your font game. Quickly access and use thousands of fonts from the Google Fonts collection in your documents.'

An app called Keynote Tweet has been around (in various working and non-working states) since the late 2000's and let users auto-tweet images of their Keynote slides during a presentation to a hashtag or stream. Google released the Slides API this year and one of the API methods allows you to get a thumbnail of the image which can then be sent to other applications. You can see an example of this in a slideshow now by going to View > HTML View. It opens a tab with slide images embedded in plain HTML formatting. Since we can now get the image, we can start to push them out to other platforms with Google Apps Script.

Google Keep is like digital sticky notes. Learn about ways it can simplify and organize your life in the classroom. This video is created by Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) from the Ditch That Textbook blog (DitchThatTextbook.com).

Google tools like Google Keep, Google Now and Google Calendar can help teachers to be their most organized, focused selves.. From time to time, I try to find tools and techniques that will try to lighten the load of responsibility on my wife for her fourth child (yes, that would be me). I’m a huge Google fanatic, and I’ve recently found some Google gadgets that help me stay on top of things.

"20 Questions" has been a tried and true game for my family to pass the time on long road trips or rainy afternoons. Over the years my kids have asked and answered many questions about a mystery animal, person, place, food, or such. In addition to being a fun way to pass time, "20 Questions" actually helps build important skills including making good questions, communicating clearly, and critical thinking to narrow down the possibilities.

In the age of technology, schools need to ensure that students become fluent in computer skills. Google, the company of choice for most school districts, continues to provide educators and students with tools that allow for collaboration and quality design work. Google Slides, an application used in many classrooms, is a great platform to create engaging student presentations and projects thanks to its versatility and design features. Below, teachers, administrators, and parents can find 10 project ideas that incorporate the use of Google Slides in the elementary school classrooms.

The foundation for all professional learning should revolve around adult learning best practices and good andragogy. According to Google dictionary, andragogy is defined as, “the method and practice of teaching adult learners; adult education.” It’s the other, “gogy,” that we don’t hear as much as pedagogy, but is a critical piece of the pie. If you are in a position of trainer or professional developer, you should spend some exploring adult learning strategies. Here are a few tips:
Respect their time: start and finish on time!
Don’t assume they are doing things wrong in their classrooms.
Modeling! Put the teacher in the seat of a student.
Build relationships.
Listen to their needs.
Be open to questions and ideas from participants.
Encourage collaboration and connections within the group.
Demonstrate a lesson.
Make it personal.
Differentiate whenever possible.
Empower teachers to share what they are doing in their classrooms during the session.

Did you know that YouTube works seamlessly with Google Classroom? What a fantastic way to integrate video clips, tutorials, and get students creating! Let’s dig into some strategies that will help you make the most of Google Classroom and YouTube. I always say YouTube equals learning at your fingertips. It is so easy to add a YouTube video in Google Classroom. It’s a no-brainer! There are so many valuable channels, resources, tips, tricks, lions, and tigers and bears, oh my!