Tech Tidbit - Color Coding Folders and using Stars in Google Drive

Neat and Tidy Google Drive

Now that we have EVERYTHING in our Google Drive it can seem quite messy. How you organize your files is kind of a personal preference, but I have a few tips and suggestions that may be helpful. 

1. Make a plan for your folders.  Make a "miscellaneous" or "extra" folder to house all of those things that do not belong.

2. Plan to only have one level of sub-folders.  If you put a folder inside a folder, inside a folder, inside a folder,.......that can get ugly quick!

3. Remember that you can search Google Drive.  That is one of the best features in Drive.

4. When you create a new doc or file stick to a consistent naming convention.  I recommend starting with the date since Google does not let you sort by "date created."  For example 9.18.15 Math Quiz Fractions.

5. Here is my example folder structure:

Elementary:

Math - lessons, quizzes, tests, study guides, class work etc.
Reading 
Science
History
School Info
Extra

Secondary:

School Year  - Block 1, Block 2, etc
Subject
School Info
Extra

As always contact your ITRT if you have questions!

Two on Tuesdays : More Website Ideas

I'm sneaking this in just before I have to rename my Two on Tuesdays to, I don't know, Website Wednesdays???  Here are a few more ideas, building on my videos from last week, of ways to maximize the effectiveness of your webpages while minimizing the time you spend keeping it updated.

1. Here is a short video showing how to share documents with students and parents in four different ways (handing them to students in class is not one of them): email, Remind, your website, and your announcements blog.

https://youtu.be/K3lirP4DtPw

Sharing Documents w/ the World - YouTube Watch now...

2. Are you sending out weekly emails that automatically publish to your website AND using the Remind App to send texts to keep your students and their families informed?  If you are, here is a way to combine them both together to really get your information out there. If you are not, be sure to check out my videos from last week to learn how to use these great communication tools. 

https://youtu.be/vs6qDx_shZ8

Combining Weekly Emails with Remind - YouTube Watch now...

Contact your ITRT if you need help with any of this!

The Lowdown on Google Drive

Choose Your Own Adventure with Google Drive

Google Drive Cheat Sheet

100 Important Google Drive Tips

15 Best Google Drive Add-ons

20 Expert Tricks & Shortcuts

Sharing in Google Drive

With the roll-out of our new LCPS website, most of our teachers have created new Google websites! And with this new Google knowledge has come the challenge of learning how to share Google 'stuff' like Google Pages and Google Docs. In fact, the #1 challenge our teachers are faced with seems to be understanding exactly how 'sharing' works in Google. There are some great resources available through a simple Google search, such as: Google's How To Share page in their help section and the GCFLearnFree.org's Google Docs & Drive Sharing & Collaborating. My favorite help pages usually include info-graphics with links like this one from ShakeUpLearning, The Magic Button: Share.

Chromebook Classrooms PLC: Google Forms

A small group of LCPS teachers are piloting the use of Google Chromebooks in their classrooms this year. This blog post is the first in a series of resources aimed at these Chromebook Classrooms. We encourage you to learn along with us by using the same resources in your classroom.

Google Forms

Google Forms are web-based forms and surveys that allow teachers to poll students for data. Images and videos can be included in the forms along with multiple different question types. All the data from each form is neatly dumped into a spreadsheet. Try out this one below.

Here is the form:




Here is the data:

Timestamp	First Name	Last Name	What is the capital of Virginia?	Choose one:	How many counties are in the state of VA?
8/1/2014 13:12:44	Zinnia	Flowers	Charlottesville	George Washington	59
8/1/2014 13:13:12	Oscar	Meyer	Richmond	Thomas Jefferson	95

12 Days of Tech Tools

                                                                                       

Welcome to the first of the 12 Days of Tech Tools.  As we approach Christmas break, our goal is that you will take 1, 2, or even all 12 of these tools and begin using them to help you and your students in 2014. 

_______________________________________________

On the 12th Day of Tech Tools my ITRT gave to me.......Backing up to the Cloud so I won't worry about a broken flash drive again!

The first set of tools will give you the ability to access your files anywhere you have Internet access.  Gone are the days of leaving your flash drive at school or in your pocket before you wash clothes.  I know of at least two teachers that have had their flash drives “give up the ghost” in the last two weeks.  Don’t let that be you! “The cloud” has remedied our flash drive issues. 

"The cloud" is a term that is thrown around a lot these days.  In simple terms it just means you are not storing things on your local computer.  It is a great option for backing up your files. There are four options listed.  Make sure you look into the details before deciding what is best for you.  Each one has a different amount of storage.  Some of the sites have apps so you can access files on your phone or tablet.  There is not a one size fits all solution. Here are 4 free options.

1. DropBox – 2GB of storage

2. Box – 10GB storage

3. Google Drive – This is available with any Google account, even the county 'gtest' accounts.  

4. SkyDrive - That's right, right here in your school e-mail you have access to cloud backup.  Just click on SkyDrive in the blue bar at the top of the screen.  Then you click the blue addition sign where it says new document.  Choose a file to upload and you have backed up to the cloud!

HAPPY SAVING (backing up)!!!