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We're introducing an improved comments experience in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to help you find and take action on comments easier than ever before. While you will continue to see and interact with the comments experience you're familiar with, you'll also notice updates to our comment cards, icons, and more.

You can explore new and familiar ways to interact with comments by going to View > Comments and selecting:

Show all comments: opens up a full-length view to deep dive into multiple comments more easily in Docs, Sheets or Slides. Now you can use updated search and filter functionality to focus on the most relevant comments. You will also notice a curated 'For you' list, which surfaces all the comments you need to take action on.

Expand comments (in Google Docs and Slides): shows comments next to the document or presentation content so you can review comments and content together.

Minimize comments (in Google Docs and Sheets): reduces comments to icons so you can have a more focused view of your work in Docs and Sheets. This setting provides a quick preview with high level information about who is commenting when you hover over the minimized icons.

Hide comments: hides comments from view when you want to focus solely on the content in Docs, Sheets or Slides.

Who's impacted

With this update, you can now find and organize comments more easily, enabling seamless collaboration with others on Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: This feature will be ON by default and cannot be disabled. To open the full-length panel, go to View > Comments > Show all comments. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using comments, action items, & emoji reactions

Rollout pace

Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts

Resources

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This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.

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See Ms Mercord for the codes for GC 101 and 201

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Welcome! This tour is to help familiarize you with the Enhanced Teacher Portal.. When you access your Enhanced Teacher Portal, you’ll find yourself on your Resouces page, which contains: • Favorited apps • District apps • Links or Apps that you’ve added You can add an app to favorites by clicking the heart icon. Try it with Newsela.. You can see that the Newsela link has been added to your favorites. Now let’s check out the Clever Library! Click on Library in the menu.. The Clever Library is a great resource for you to find applications to add to your Teacher Pages and see reviews from other teachers. Next, click Pages and we’ll check out your Teacher Pages.. This is where your Teacher Pages live. You can add applications and links to share with students, and even share your Teacher Page with other teachers! Learn more about Teacher Pages at the end of this tutorial. Let’s check out your District Page. . The District Page contains all of your school district-added applications. The Shared With Me Pages contains any Teacher Pages that have been shared with you by your colleagues. Click My Students to view student information.. Your Student Roster lists all of your students for a selected class. From here you can use your class tools to help your students. You can find out more at the end of this tutorial. Click on Messages.. Your Messages tab is where you’ll be able to send announcements and messages to your students and their parent/guardians. Let’s click on a student’s name to send a message.. Once you’ve clicked on the student’s name, you’ll see the chat box at the bottom of the screen and the student’s name at the top. After typing a message (example as shown), all you need to do is click send.. You can also send announcements to a particular class, all of your students, or all of their parent/guardians. In this example we can select Mr. Emard’s Global History class. Click on the class. . Announcements can be sent to a particular class, all of your students, or all of their parent/guardians. Choose who you want to send the announcement to, type it out and send. Next, we’ll look at analytics. . On your Analytics page, you can view student activity and the resources they’ve used. As an example, notice that Joanne used the Do Now resource last week, and William used Field Trip Resources. Next we’ll look at the weekly overview.. The Weekly overview tab shows us a snapshot student edtech usage throughout the week. Next stop, support!. If you need help, you have support one click away! Easily access our Help Center, Clever Academy, or the handy Teacher Checklist! Click anywhere to continue.. That concludes our tour of your Enhanced Teacher Portal, but if you want a little more info about the Enhanced Teacher Portal, please click on the links in the window. This will open tutorials specifically about these topics in a new tab.

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Access Lexia's help center to search for answers to program questions, read setup and troubleshooting guides, check system requirements, and contact our support team.

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Teacher Engagement in BL Environments-easily transferable to other environments as well

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Teacher Engagement in BL Environments-easily transferable to other environments as well

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Essential Conditions for Effective Tech Use

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Essential Conditions for Effective Tech Use

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The Essential Conditions are seven critical elements necessary for effectively leveraging technology to support learning. They offer educators and school leaders a research-backed framework to guide implementation of the ISTE Standards, technology planning and systemwide change.

These conditions reflect a deepening body of research in the field of educational technology, as well as ISTE's nearly 50 years of experience guiding districts, schools and educators as they work to support student learning.

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Essential Conditions for Effective Tech Use in Schools

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ISTE's Essential Conditions provide a research-backed framework for implementing the ISTE Standards and effectively leveraging technology to support learning.

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All of Caitlyn Tucker Articles by Topic-super easy to find resources based on your question/need!

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All of Caitlyn Tucker Articles by Topic-super easy to find resources based on your question/need!

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Scroll down to browse all of my articles by date and title. Articles are listed in reverse chronological order with my newest articles at the top and my oldest posts at the bottom.

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Screencastify University | Certifications, Training, and Tips

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Learn everything you need to create, edit, and share amazing instructional videos.

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Boxlight offers free on-demand teacher training to help you become a pro using our innovative technology products in your class. Learn More.

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Flipgrid (NOW JUST CALLED GRID)-Students can explain their thinking-metacognition

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Flipgrid (NOW JUST CALLED GRID)-Students can explain their thinking-metacognition

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How to Teach with Flipgrid: New Updates!

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The evidence is in the practice

ESSA Level 3 correlation evidence in math and ELA, earned by teachers running frequent formative assessments.

When teachers run 30+ formative questions a week, the research is clear: they get more data-driven, their students get more engaged. Wayground is built to make that practice enjoyable ot run, attainable to fit a class period, and habitual enough to last past September.

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Quizizz is now Wayground | Teacher AI and Resources

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Find standards-aligned resources that engage every student. Wayground (formerly Quizizz) helps teachers differentiate instruction with AI and track student progress.

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Padlet Tutorial - How to Get Started Guide

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EquatIO is a math extension that allows you to insert, edit, and interact with digital math in the Google Chrome environment, including Google Docs and Google Forms. (Note: Windows and Mac OS users see our EquatIO Desktop guide here)

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Need

Zearn in more than one class?

Paid accounts provide the flexibility and support to implement Zearn Math across a school or district. Compare accounts and check out our pricing below.

Accounts

Teachers & individual classrooms
Always free. Access to our top-rated math platform and all Zearn Math instructional materials for up to 35 students and 1 teacher.

School Account
‍$2,500 per year. Includes materials access for all of the students, teachers and administrators within one school, plus premium features and content to support implementation.

Professional Development

Included with School Accounts
‍Access to Getting Started with Zearn Math, a 1-hour orientation to your Zearn account. Each session explores instructional materials and reports, as well as shares guidance for implementing Zearn Math in your daily schedule.
‍
Curriculum Study PD
‍$2,500 per year. Includes access to on-demand Curriculum Study PD for all teachers and administrators within one school. School Account required.
‍
Dedicated PD
‍Contact our team to learn more.

Printed Materials

Teacher Edition: $110 per teacher. Includes Course Guide, Mission books, and assessments to support teachers to implement daily instruction that meets the needs of each student.

Student Edition: $20 per student. Consumable student curriculum workbook, including application and practice problems, templates, and exit tickets for students to use alongside instruction, as well as Student Notes for Independent Digital Lessons.

Student Notes Book: $12 per student. Includes all student-facing materials needed for using Zearn Math digital lessons. Adhesive binding, 3-hole punched, and perforated pages.

Manipulative Kits

Pricing varies by grade level. Everything classrooms need to conduct rich, hands-on learning. Available for purchase through Hand2Mind.

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Zearn Math is a free, top-rated math learning platform used by 1 in 4 elementary-school students and by more than 1 million middle-school students nationwide. Sign up & get started with Zearn Math!

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Become inspired and discover new ideas for using Gizmos in your classroom Videos Resources Meeting Backgrounds Social Videos Click below to watch short

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Music is for everyone. Play with simple experiments that let anyone, of any age, explore how music works.

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Sign in to your Zoom account to join a meeting, update your profile, change your settings, and more!

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Log in to i-Ready®, online assessment and instruction that helps teachers provide all students a path to proficiency and growth in reading and mathematics.

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Fast drawing for everyone. AutoDraw pairs machine learning with drawings from talented artists to help you draw stuff fast.

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Learn at your own pace and get certified!

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On Clever

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"When we were considering various platforms to use, we were won over by the spirit of Kumu's manifesto and their focus on helping social sector leaders make sense of the networks in which they are working for change. Kumu's thoughtful regard for the nuances of mapping, along with their whatever it takes customer service ethic have brought us squarely into their corner!"

Daniel Stid, Director of the Madison Initiative, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

One platform. Endless possibilities.

Whether you are mapping people, systems, or concepts in general, if you are focused on relationships we've got you covered.

Stakeholder mapping

Explore the complex web of loyalties, interests, influence, and alignment of key players around important issues.

Systems mapping

Understand and engage complex systems more effectively using systems maps and causal loop diagrams.

Social network mapping

Capture the structure of personal networks and reveal key players. Visualize the informal networks within your organization and see how work really gets done.

Community asset mapping

Keep track of the evolving relationships among community members and resources.

Concept mapping

Brainstorm complex ideas and relate individual concepts to the bigger picture. Unfold convoluted series of events using Lombardi diagrams.

Explore the gallery

The art of mapping is to create a context in which others can think.

Simple to get started,
packed with powerful features.

With Kumu you'll be up and running in seconds, no technical background required or software to install.

And once your maps are finished, our built-in presentation builder and publishing platform make it easy to share your work with the world.

Take a tour

We help the world's top organizations overcome complexity.

Looking for something simpler?

Check out Sticky Studio, our collaborative whiteboard for untangling complexity together.

Explore Sticky Studio

Discover the power of mapping.

Join for free, no credit card required

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"When we were considering various platforms to use, we were won over by the spirit of Kumu's manifesto and their focus on helping social sector leaders make sense of the networks in which they are working for change. Kumu's thoughtful regard for the nuances of mapping, along with their whatever it takes customer service ethic have brought us squarely into their corner!"

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Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

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Mystery Science offers open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science. The hook, visuals, and activity have all been prepared for you. Less prep, more learning.

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Blended Learning: What It Is and What It Is Not – Dr. Catlin Tucker

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The pandemic has elevated the phrase “blended learning.” When schools closed or shifted to hybrid schedules, many institutions turned to blended learning to navigate the new demands placed on teachers and educational institutions. As an outspoken advocate for blended learning over the last 10 years,…

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Ready made template to ADDIE design

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Analysis > Design > Development > Implementation > Evaluation The ADDIE is a step-by-step framework to creating any part of curriculum Use this model template and methodology to evaluate the process and the results. More info here. For the Analysis phase you need to identify: The problem The learnin…

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A Flipped Learning Flow for Blended or Online Classes - Dr. Catlin Tucker

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Want more support? Check out my self-paced online courses Getting Started with Blended & Online Learning and Advancing with Blended & Online Learning. As teachers prepare for a new school year, many are brushing up on their video production skills. Teachers know there will be times when they will need to lean on videos to [...]

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Great Ideas of Lessons, Nikole used the Instagram template and the students had fun

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No matter the age -- kindergarten to high school senior -- students are pretty familiar with social media. In fact, many of them can think in terms of tweets, snaps, pins and videos. They know what they have to say, and they have an idea of how to say it with a certain kind of post.

If they can think in terms of social media posts, can we let them demonstrate their learning in that way, too?

In many cases, the answer is yes!

And, thankfully, they don't need the app to create the experience! In each of the examples below, students can do an activity that feels like posting on social media without actually signing up for or using the app.

This concept is a big part of the social media chapter in my book, Tech Like a PIRAT E, which is all about making learning memorable with technology. In this post, each of these social media experiences is recreated with a tool that so many students DO have access to -- Google Slides.

How to assign these templates to students

1. Click the "Get the template" button for the template you want. Here, you'll make a copy of the template into your own Google Drive.

2. Create an assignment for your students in Google Classroom or your learning management system (LMS) like Canvas or Schoology.

3. If Google Classroom: attach the copy you made of the social media template and choose "Make a copy for each student" in the three dots menu button for the attachment.
If you can't do this in your LMS: Click the "Share" button in the top right of Google Slides. Under "Get link", click "Change to anyone with the link". Make the link "Anyone with the link" is a viewer. Copy the link. Paste the link in your assignment instructions. In the link, delete the word "edit" and everything else after it at the end of the link. Type the word "copy" right at the end of the link.

4. Students get their own copies of the template and get to work!

14 FREE social media-inspired Google Slides templates

N E W T E M P L A T E !

Get the book on this subject!

Tech Like a PIRATE shares seven key ways to make learning with tech UNFORGETTABLE! You'll get practical ideas, downloadable templates, step-by-step tutorials and more. Your students will be engaged and begging for more!

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links:

Are you looking for quality, meaningful professional learning that both equips and inspires teachers?

Matt provides in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops and breakout sessions that equip, inspire and encourage teachers to create change in their classrooms. Teachers leave with loads of resources. They participate. They laugh. They see tech use and teaching in a new light. Click the link below to contact us and learn how you can bring Matt to your school or district!

FREE teaching ideas and templates in your inbox every week!

Subscribe to Ditch That Textbook

©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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14 social media-inspired Google Slides templates

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Students use social media all the time. Let's put those skills to use! In these social media-inspired Google Slides templates, they can show what they

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Top Tech for Digital Annotation | Common Sense Education

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Mark up media to give students a digital voice. Explore this Top Tech for Digital Annotation Top Picks list of 20 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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Best Classroom Tools for Presentations and Slideshows | Common Sense Education

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Slideshow apps and websites that let student work shine. Explore this Best Classroom Tools for Presentations and Slideshows Top Picks list of 23 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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Content across the curriculum

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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Put your students at the centre of their learning experience

Give your students the tools to create their own learning experiences. Through student choice, autonomy, and collaboration, your students can create, present, and study lesson content on topics of interest in their own words and at their own pace.
Empower students to create with Kahoot! for:

In-class knowledge sharing

Lesson review and test prep

Collaborative learning

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Kahoot! for schools | Make learning awesome at school

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Make learning awesome together! Kahoot! for schools helps teachers collaborate, save time and create more engaging games.

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Some grade levels are finding this a great resource! PBS Learn

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Some grade levels are finding this a great resource! PBS Learn

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Converting Paper to Google Docs-1 option

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Converting Paper to Google Docs-1 option

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Converting Paper Worksheets to Editable Google Docs

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Ready to Blend | Blended Learning | Austin, TX

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Providing professional development to teachers and leaders to help them create student-centered environments using blended learning.

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July 2023 Google Workplace for Education Update

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July 2023 Google Workplace for Education Update

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New teaching and learning features in Google Workspace for Education

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Check out Google Workspace for Education's new teaching and learning features in Google Classroom, Drive, Meet and more.

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3 ways technology can empower language arts teachers
Thomas Arnett

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Improving the world through disruptive innovation.

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Discover an approach that meets every student's needs.

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A Student-Centered Model of Blended Learning

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When educators at a Washington, DC, high school ditched their lectures and devised a self-paced blended learning model, their students thrived.

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Back Channel Chat-Use with teacher supervision in the chat

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Back Channel Chat-Use with teacher supervision in the chat

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Create Drag and Drop on Slides (one of many instructional videos)

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Create Drag and Drop on Slides (one of many instructional videos)

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How to Create Drag and Drop Activities with Google Slides

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Great channel to get videos on almost anything EdTech

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Empowering teachers to reach a new generation. With a combined 20+ years of classroom teaching experience and a combined 10+ years creating YouTube content for teachers, expert lesson designers Sam Kary and Thom Gibson create videos to help you learn what it takes to create engaging learning experi…

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"alice keeler" google googleedu edtech "google classroom" microsoftedu teaching teacher

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I am a wife, mother of 5, teacher, speaker, and author. Named the "Queen of Spreadsheets" by Google, I am an expert in EdTech integration. However, no amount of technology can replace a great teacher. With that in mind, I help teachers learn to use today's tech tools to enhance instruction and build relationships with their students.

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edtech teaching technology google "google apps" "google drive" gafe "google apps for education" education tutorials "instructional technology" "free resources for teachers"

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Educational Technology and Learning Resources for Teachers and Educators.

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Using Google Forms as a formative assessment

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Using Google Forms as a formative assessment

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Using Google Forms to innovate your assessment practices | Michigan Virtual

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Google Forms is not a new tool. It’s been around for quite some time; however, a number of recent updates have made this tool one you will want to use in your classroom. In this article, we will walk you through some innovative ways to use Google Form for student surveys, quizzes, and assessments.

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Using Google Forms to innovate your assessment practices

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Book Creator - Love Learning - Book Creator app

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Teachers love it. Students love it. Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.

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Top Picks

RELATED

Print | Save as PDF

Pinna

Subscribe for access to quality kids' podcasts, audiobooks, and shows

Bottom line: For engaging, thought-provoking, ad-free content, it's tough to beat Pinna's classroom-friendly offerings for the price.

Grades: Pre-K–6 Price: Free to try, Paid

Podcasts

Search, access, and organize podcasts from iTunes' free library

Bottom line: This valuable tool helps teachers and students find educational podcasts that can supplement or replace the use of traditional textbooks.

GarageBand

Amazingly powerful audio workstation unleashes creativity

Bottom line: There's exceptional functionality in this solid, all-inclusive audio workstation that's fantastic for high-quality, anytime, and anywhere audio recording and sharing.

Science Friday

A weekly dose of curiosity for teachers and students alike

Bottom line: For a weekly rejuvenation of scientific learning, Science Friday is a source of inspiration for both teachers and students.

Synth

Asynchronous audio response tool encourages all students to speak up

Bottom line: This tool offers classrooms a space for short, impactful voice-based discussions, but it's lacking some key ways to modify the experience.

Listenwise

Bring real-world stories from public radio into the classroom

Bottom line: A fantastic resource that brings both historical and current event public radio stories into the classroom.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free to try, Paid

StoryCorps

From the everyday to the extraordinary, personal interviews get kids listening

Bottom line: It's a great resource to help demonstrate the value of listening and the importance of storytelling and interviewing skills.

Soundtrap

Powerful online audio production with built-in collaboration features

Bottom line: Soundtrap is a uniquely collaborative sound-production environment, but if you want the top-quality EDU version, you have to pay top dollar.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid

Anchor

Podcasting app is super easy to use, if you can do it all in one take

Bottom line: There are few easier ways to publish a podcast, but that ease of use comes at the cost of one-take creation and few tools for post-production.

Radio Rookies

Teens share enthusiastic voices on serious topics

Bottom line: Radio Rookies could use a few content updates, but its heart is in the right place and it shows.

YR Media

Dynamic site harnesses creative young talent to speak truth to power

Bottom line: This fresh and socially aware website will draw students in with catchy -- often controversial -- topics, but keep them there with quality content.

NPR: Borderland

Illuminating, up-close-and-personal visit to the U.S.-Mexico border

Bottom line: As a truly unique resource that's worth using, teachers will need to create lessons that scaffold students' understanding of the complex issues found within.

NPR News

Top-notch digital content takes students beyond the airwaves

Bottom line: Provides an easy, fun, and effective way to engage students with radio.

NPR One

Trusty podcast app has quality content but lacks learning supports

Bottom line: An enticing free option for connecting current events to content through podcasts, but student engagement hinges on how you incorporate it.

Science Update

60-second podcasts spark kids' interest with daily fix of science news

Bottom line: Amidst some fun, these audio clips provide a regular dose of news about current scientific research.

Get tips for using these tools in the classroom

See related resources

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Best Podcast Apps and Websites for Students | Common Sense Education

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Awesome audio to inspire ideas, and tools to make those ideas into great podcasts. Explore this Best Podcast Apps and Websites for Students Top Picks list of 16 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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Short Video on Making Effective Videos for Students

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Short Video on Making Effective Videos for Students

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How to Make Effective Videos for Learning

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Instructional videos can help students learn at their own pace and free up time for teachers to support students individually.

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Writing, Journaling, and Blogging Websites for Students | Common Sense Education

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Encourage students to express themselves through their writing. Explore this Writing, Journaling, and Blogging Websites for Students Top Picks list of 19 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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View the research behind our ESSA Tier IV evidence

XtraMath worked with LeanLab Education to document the connections between using XtraMath and improving outcomes for students primarily in grades K-6.

Download our Logic Model to discover the research and evidence that demonstrates how using XtraMath enhances students' learning and performance, leading to better outcomes for both students and teachers.XtraMath worked with LeanLab Education to document the connections between using XtraMath and improving outcomes for students primarily in grades K-6.
Download our Logic Model

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XtraMath - 10 minutes a day for math fact fluency

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XtraMath is a free program that helps students master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.

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Don't know what to do with all those Chromebooks?
Or laptops? Or digital devices?

The apps in Google's G Suite can unlock creative, collaborative learning.

We have TONS of resources you can use in class TOMORROW.

"Wow. I didn't know Google could do THAT."
Stop-motion animation. Infographics. Choose your own adventure stories. Combine Google's powerful tools with a little outside-the-box thinking. Students can create some dynamic products to show what they've learned -- and take their learning to the next level.

"I can't come up with creative ideas like that, though."
Don't worry. Sometimes, it just takes seeing what others are doing to get inspired. We're full of ideas to spark your thinking -- AND templates you can easily copy and adjust to fit your needs. We're generous to a fault, providing how-to's and FREE downloadable templates that sometimes teachers pay other teachers for.

Browse Google ideas

There's more Google goodness where that came from ...

Upcoming Speaking

There are no upcoming events.

©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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Google Ideas Don't know what to do with all those Chromebooks? Or laptops? Or digital devices? The apps in Google's G Suite can unlock creative,

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In the first few years of my teaching career, I relied on worksheets a lot. In fact, when I switched professions to become a teacher, creating my own worksheets kind of excited me.

After those first few years and lots of lessons with worksheets, workbooks and end-of-chapter questions, I came to a scary realization.
The students in my high school Spanish classes couldn't speak Spanish.
Plus, they were so bored with my lessons that I wasn't making any sort of connection with them. Nor was my content.

Something had to change.

I realized that I had to break myself of my worksheet addiction. When done poorly, worksheets are drill-and-kill tools of boredom, frustration and shallow learning.

We can do better, and sometimes, doing better doesn't take much extra effort - if any at all.

If you want to break the habit, assign fewer worksheets and engage students like never before, check out these ideas to ditch those worksheets (and please add your own ideas in the comments below!):

1. Use manipulatives instead - Some cut-out sheets of paper, blocks or something else students can touch can engage the brain in different ways than a sheet of paper.

2. Go deep with one question - So many worksheets repeat the same activity over and over and over again (i.e. addition problems, verb conjugation). A deeper explanation of the answer or concept with one question may be more worthwhile than lots of lower-level questions.

3. Draw on paper - There's power in making concepts visual. Our brain processes pictures differently than words. A simple piece of printer paper can let students see the idea instead of envisioning the idea. (And sometimes, envisioning an abstract concept can be harder than we as teachers think it should!)

4. Draw on Paper - When I draw, I love to use the Paper app. It's an iPad/iPhone app by FiftyThree. You can use lots of tools (fountain pen, watercolor paintbrush, marker, etc.). My art looks much better when I draw on the Paper app.

5. Screencast videos - Recording audio and video of students explaining a new concept may take just as long as filling in blanks in a worksheet. Tools like Snagit (Google Chrome), Screencast-O-Matic (web) and Educreations ( iTunes: free) get students recording in no time.

6. Record answers via AudioBoom - Explanation or reflection might be easiest if students can just talk through it. AudioBoom lets students record to a channel (much like a YouTube channel) and share with others (including the teacher!). Students could record solo or record a conversation with another student.

7. Call in to Google Voice - If students don't have tablets/laptops/Chromebooks/etc. or an Internet connection, they probably have access to a phone. When you create a free Google Voice account, it gives you a phone number. That number lets students (among other things) leave digital voice mail. You can listen to student responses in the Google Voice inbox, which manages those voice mails simply - much like email.

8. Create a video - Use a smart phone or a tablet. Or use the upload button on YouTube to record with your laptop/Chromebook's embedded camera. It can be a talking head video or something more elaborate, like a skit or a news program.

9. Annotate a PDF or webpage on Diigo - If you must do worksheets, doing them differently or more efficiently with digital means may be a better option. Annotating (writing on top of) a PDF document is one option with an app like Notability. So is saving a webpage to a list on Diigo and sharing it with students so they can annotate on it as a group. (Students can save to their own Diigo lists and annotate if you prefer.) Be careful not to go digital here just for the sake of going digital! As Alice Keeler says in this post, "Annotating PDFs is a Bad Lesson Plan," "Technology allows us to do things differently, so we do things differently."

10. Create a digital game like Kahoot! or Quizizz - If you want to ask lots of questions and see how students perform, a game show-style site does the same thing in a much more engaging format. With both Kahoot! and Quizizz, you can write your own questions and choose the correct answers (so the site grades it for you!). Plus, both sites will let you view and download results for each question for each student.

11. Let students create a Kahoot! or Quizizz - Creating questions with plausible incorrect answers is much higher-order thinking than just answering questions. When students create questions and try to stump their peers, they're using more brain power.

12. Play a physical game - Review games have been one of the highlights of my classes during my teaching career. One of my students' favorites is trashketball. Students are in groups and answer questions. When they get it correct, they can shoot a ball into an empty trashcan from lines with various point values. (Over time, our rules have gotten more and more complex and crazy, like bouncing the ball in for double points or having "life lines" like a re-shoot or taking a step!)

13. Stop the video and talk - The "do this worksheet while/after watching a video" is such a common practice. Processing a video can be pretty cognitively taxing, especially when the words or ideas are brand new to you. Writing answers to a worksheet while watching a video can cause students to miss important concepts. Instead of showing comprehension of a video with a worksheet, stopping the video to reinforce, explain or reflect may be a better option.

14. Do independent research on the web - Students know their way around a Google search very well. Instead of having them fill in blanks from a chapter in a book, let them do some search engine digging and find additional facts. They may find something more interesting or relevant that way!

15. Use a backchannel - In classes I've observed over the last couple years, I've started to notice how little students get to share their opinions, views or takeaways. A backchannel like TodaysMeet gives students a text-based place to discuss, almost like a private chat room for your class. Many students are used to this kind of communication from texting and commenting/posting on social media. Bring those skills into the classroom with a backchannel discussion! (Here's a post with 20 ways to use backchannel in the classroom.)

16. Ask quick assessment questions online - So many options are available here. My favorite right now is Formative (goformative.com), which lets you create fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice and true-false questions. Students can even draw their answers in a "show your work" question. Teachers can see student responses instantly and share comments and grades, which students can see instantly.

17. Let students choose - You might be surprised at what students suggest if you ask them how they'd like to demonstrate their learning. Some ideas aren't the best and are far from pedagogically sound, but students bring a fresh perspective when given the opportunity.

18. Write a song - Some of the most memorable student activities from my teaching career have been connected to music. Students can create their own songs, write lyrics to familiar tunes or even write parodies of their favorite songs. I always think of two girls who were crazy about their choir class who wrote a song in Spanish about going to the mall! (I still have the CD somewhere. If I find it, I'll try to post the song!)

19. Create an ad campaign - Advertising professionals must persuade buyers in their work. They need all the facts and need to make a quick, easily understood and compelling pitch. Transferring those skills to the classroom lets students show their understanding in a fun way.

20. Create an ebook - This isn't as hard as you might think! I've done this with a very simple-to-use tool - Google Slides! Change the dimensions of the slide to the standard 8.5″x11″. Design each page and then click File > Download as ... > PDF. Voila - your students have created a PDF ebook that they can share with others!

[reminder]What other ways can you ditch worksheets to engage students? [/reminder]
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In the first few years of my teaching career, I relied on worksheets a lot. In fact, when I switched professions to become a teacher, creating my own worksheets kind of excited me. After those first few years and lots of lessons with worksheets, workbooks and end-of-chapter questions, I came to a scary realization.

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Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.

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Playlists that you can use to differentiate

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Playlists that you can use to differentiate

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Blended Learning: Building a Playlist - Dr. Catlin Tucker

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A playlist presents a strategy teachers can use to structure learning experiences that are more personalized to specific learners' needs.

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In this blog post and podcast episode, you will learn 13 Tips to Organize Your Google Drive.

Google Drive is the heart of G Suite. Google Drive allows you to store your files securely and access them from any device, as well as create, open, and edit your files.

I have thousands of files stored in my My Drive and struggle with keeping them all organized.

Luckily, Google Drive has an amazing search capability that saves me loads of time.

But did you know that you can do things like color-code your folders, add emojis, hashtags, or add the same file to multiple folders?

There are so many great features of Google Drive that can save you time and help you and your students work more efficiently.

If your Google Drive is a hot mess, I have 13 tips to help you!

This post is available also available as an audio podcast below. Feel free to listen, read, or both!

. ..

Shoutout

Kim Christman is a new Level 2 Google Certified Educator! Congrats! Kim is also a graduate of my Level 2 Academy.

Here's what Kim had to say about the course, "I felt very prepared for some of the items that I don't often use as a Tech Coordinator of my school - Google Scholar, Google Books, YouTube (since it is blocked at my school). I took my time with the course and then went back and reviewed some of the lessons before taking the test. There wasn't really anything that I had to do that I wasn't prepared for after taking this course. Thanks Kasey for putting this awesome course together."
Learn more about the courses: GetGoogleCertified.com
Do you have a question or idea to share on the podcast? Leave me a message here.

Keeping things organized in Google Drive helps save me time and sanity.

Google Drive is where I store EVERYTHING, including not only my Google file types like Docs and Slides, but I also upload and backup other files like my podcasts and images.

Teachers love to organize, so here are 13 Tips to Organize Your Google Drive!

(Please note, these tips refer to the desktop version of Google Drive, but most tips will work similarly on mobile.)

1. Use Consistent Naming Conventions

A naming convention is the way you name your files.

This is an old school recommendation, but still handy. Even though Google Drive will let you name your files however you like, it's important to be consistent.

Keep file names short but meaningful to you and your students. A consistent naming convention will help clean up our Google Drive.

For instance, when naming lesson plan documents, use the same naming conventions to make life easier.

Example:

Notice, I didn't include "and," not because it is wrong, but to keep it short and simple. Extraneous words are not necessary.

In most cases, there isn't any reason to include the name of the file type because Google Drive will allow you to see the file icon and filter by file types, like Docs, Slides, etc.

If you need to add a date, include month, day, and year. However, remember Google Drive will allow you to see the last time you opened or edited a file, so adding a date may not be necessary. I added it above as a note to myself of the date I was delivering the lesson.

If you need to abbreviate, I recommend using CAPITAL letters to help you remember.

Google defaults to display your files in alpha order, so this also helps you see things more clearly as opposed to naming them with different versions of the same title.

Of course, keep this in mind when you assign files in Google Classroom since Google Classroom will name each student's file the same and append their name to the end of the title.

Bottom line, choose the system that works for you and stick with it!

2. Organize into Folders and Subfolders

Once you have determined your naming conventions, you will want to organize things into folders and subfolders.

To see your current folder list, click on the drop-down arrow next to "My Drive." From here, you can easily click-and-drag files into folders.

If you are organizing as you go, you can also just click on the folder icon from the application to move the file to a folder.

To create a new folder from Google Drive, click on the "New" button, and then select "Folder."

You will then be prompted to name your folder. Remember to use your consistent naming convention.

Be sure to pay attention to what you have selected BEFORE you create the folder.

If you want it at the top-level (as seen above), select "My Drive," then create the folder.

If you want to create a subfolder (a folder within a folder), select the parent folder first. This will save you time clicking-and-dragging things around.

3. Use File and Folder Descriptions

Did you know that Google Drive allows you to add even more information to your files and folders?

You can view the details and activity related to a file or folder by first selecting the file/folder, then click on the "View Details" icon near the top-right.

Here you add additional information, a more detailed description, a note to yourself, or whatever you need. This also makes your file more searchable.

4. Create a Master Folder for Each School Year

Many teachers like to create master folders for each school year. As most teachers are on a school year cycle, this helps you organize each year's files and folders.

You can then add subfolders for other topics, lessons, etc.

5. Color-Code Your Folders

Adding color to your folders can help you visually recognize files faster and give you additional ways to organize your Google Drive.

As you can see in the screenshot above and below, the folders are colored. Not only is this more visually appealing than plain old grey, but you can assign meaning to specific colors.

To change the color of the folder from Drive.

1. Right-click (or control-click) on the folder

2. Go to "Change Color"

3. Select the color from the palette

You may really love color coding and color all of your folders, or you may be more like me and just add color to your most important folders, so they stand out.

Again, choose the style and method that works for you.

6. Try a Numbering System

Numbering my files and folders has helped me keep my most important folders at the top of My Drive, no matter what they are named.

Now compare this screenshot to the one above where I only used words. By adding the number, I can now see my classes in order (and the rainbow pattern I assigned ;)).

I also used numbers to help me get my most important folders at the top of My Drive so I can get there is just one click.

7. Add Emoji and Special Characters

Adding emojis ? and special characters ✿ can add a little extra fun to your files and folders, and your students will love this too!

Emojis can give you and your students a visual cue, and help emerging and struggling readers and well as English Language Learners process the information.

There are lots of ways to find and copy emojis into your file and folder titles. One of my favorite resources for this is Emojipedia, where I can search and copy emojis quickly on the desktop. There are also many Chrome extensions and other places you can find emojis.

Another great resource that I learned about from Jen Giffen is copypastecharacter.com, where you can find symbols, emoji, and other special characters to spice up your organization. (Highlight the character you want, and copy and paste where you want it to go.)

Tip: You can use this idea in Google Classroom as well! Try adding emoji to your assignment titles and directions ?.

8. Try Hashtags

Another way to help organize your files and folders is to use hashtags as we use on social media. These could be words or numbers, like #msbell or #001.

This strategy could be overkill if you use it for everything, but it could be a way to personalize your files. I have used hashtags for event files that have hashtags, like #edcamp.

You may find this handy for numbering your assignments. Adding the # symbol helps group the numbers in a unique way, so when you search, you don't get EVERYTHING that has the number one in it, just #001. This is a strategy I recommend for naming assignments in Google Classroom, which in turn, will name your related Google files and folders.

See also: 6 Tips for Getting Started with Google Classroom.

9. Try Google Drive Workspaces

Take advantage of the new Google Drive Priority Page and custom Workspaces to better organize your Google Drive as your work.

Look for "Priority" to appear above "My Drive."

You can make the Priority page your default home by going to your Google Drive settings.

Priority is using machine learning to try to predict what files you will need next and making those available at the top of the page.

Below Priority, you will also see Workspaces. Workspaces allows you to create a collection of files in one location.

"The Priority page also organizes files into workspaces. These let you gather a private set of working files for ongoing easy access. Adding files to a workspace doesn't affect their storage location or permissions -it just aggregates files to help you find them faster. Our studies show most users only work with around 10-20 files at any given time. Workspaces help make sure you can get to those files more efficiently. To build your workspace, you can use Drive's intelligent file suggestions or add files manually." (G Suite Updates Blog)

In Workspaces, you'll be able to see intelligent suggestions of related content to group together for easier access- like multiple files related to the same project. You can also create your own personalized Workspaces collecting any files you have access to, including content stored in your My Drive and various Team Drives.

Create a new workspace from the Priority page.

Alternatively, you can right-click on any file and select "Add to Workspace" to dynamically group files as you work.

10. Add Files to Multiple Folders

When organizing your Google Drive into folders, it can be difficult to decide exactly where to save certain files. For instance, would the draft of this blog post go in my "Blog" folder or my "Google Tips" folder?
Use workspaces to organize files without moving them.
Digital file folders typically imitate the old, paper-based way of doing things. With folders in Google Drive, you can do more!

You can add files to multiple folders without having to make copies. This allows folders to act more like tags or categories, which is much more useful.

1. Single-click the file in Google Drive

2. Then use the keyboard shortcut, "Shift + Z."

3. A pop-up will open and allow you to "add that file to another folder.

11. Use the Advanced Search to Find Anything in Your Google Drive

Even when you aren't the most organized Google Drive use, you can rely on the search capabilities to find anything!

You can do a simple search, or click the drop-down arrow from the search box for more advanced search options. You can filter by file type, owner, keywords, dates, and more!

To learn how to make the most of thes features, see this post: 8 Ways to Find Anything in Your Google Drive.
To add a file to multiple folders from Google Drive,
12. Leave "Shared with Me" Alone

The "Shared with Me" section of Google Drive is just an aggregation of files that have been shared with you in some way.

Many users want to clean up this section, but I advise teachers to just leave "Shared with Me" alone. These are not your files. Think of it like a feed showing you what files you have access to that are not your own.

If you begin deleting files, it can often cause problems for you or other users, so the best advice is just to accept it for what it is.

However, there is a way to add these files to your own folders. (See the tip below.)

13. Use "Add to Drive" to Organize Shared Files and Folders

Even though "Shared with Me" may not be pretty and organized as you like, there is a way to add these files to your own drive and organize files into your own folders.

When you have the shared file open, you will see a Drive icon near the top left.

Once you click that icon, the file will be added to your Google Drive, and you can organize it into a folder. (Note: This is not making a copy. It is just giving you access to the file in your Drive.)

You can also add the files from the "Shared with Me" section of Google Drive by right-clicking on the file and choosing "Add to Drive." Or select the file and click on the "Add to Drive" icon from the menu.

I hope these tips help you keep your Google Drive more organized, and be sure to share these tips with your students! Do you have a tip to share? Leave a comment or voicemail with your favorite Google Drive tips!

Podcast Question of the Week

How can creative organization skills help you and your students in the classroom?

Post your answer to your favorite social media platform using the hashtag #ShakeUpLearning, or share it in the Shake Up Learning Community on Facebook!

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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Google Drive is the heart of G Suite and allows you to store your files and access them from any device. Keeping your Google Drive organized can be a struggle, so in this episode and blog post, I am going to share 13 tips to help you organize your Google Drive.

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Digital File Organization for Teachers | EDTech Made Easy - ORGANIZING YOUR GOOGLE DRIVE

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Good technology integration isn't about using the fanciest tool, it's about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy-or strategies-for the lesson at hand.

The biggest obstacle to teaching online probably isn't the technology. Teachers seek out educational technology, in fact, because it "can have considerable positive impacts on student performance," according to a 2016 study -improving test scores and allowing teachers to assess student achievement more efficiently. The big problem is how to integrate it: Beyond the sheer number of tech tools available, the same researchers identified "inadequate professional development and training" as the primary obstacle to using technology productively in classrooms.

Understandably, the emergence of the coronavirus has dramatically accelerated the process of integrating edtech, as educators around the country race to get online as fast as they can. But as many of our teachers have noted, the current state of K-12 online learning is more like triage-a form of crisis management-and not at all like skillfully managed distance education.

What's missing from the conversation right now, which makes sense given the immediacy of the need, is a focus on the bigger question of what the highest quality technology integration actually looks like. That's an important conversation to have, because in a post-coronavirus world there's likely to be a greater emphasis on digital learning, even as we return to physical schools and take advantage of face-to-face opportunities.

A Hierarchy of Tech Uses

A powerful conceptual tool to think about technology integration-and edtech's best uses-is the SAMR model, developed in 2010 by education researcher Ruben Puentedura, who was the 1991 recipient of a Phi Beta Kappa teaching award.

The SAMR model lays out four tiers of online learning, presented roughly in order of their sophistication and transformative power: substitution, augmentation, modification, and r edefinition. When switching to an online format, teachers often focus on the first two levels, which involve replacing traditional materials with digital ones: converting lessons and worksheets into PDFs and posting them online, or recording lectures on video and making them available for asynchronous learning, for example.
Creative Commons
Those are important steps, especially when teaching online for the first time, but in classrooms where tech integration has moved to the mastery level, the last two levels of the SAMR model-modification and redefinition-should also be in the mix. Students in classes where this kind of mastery is embedded find more novel and immersive uses for technology. They are creators and publishers of their own work across multiple forms of media, for example, or they are inviting professionals to provide feedback on their work products, or participating in digital forums with other peers around the world.

It's tempting to think of SAMR as a mountain to be summited. But good technology integration isn't about living at the top of the SAMR model; it's about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy-or strategies-for the lesson at hand.

Here's a closer look at good classroom practices at each level in the model:

Substitution

"Substitution" means replacing traditional activities and materials-like in-class lectures or paper worksheets-with digital versions. There is no substantial change to the content, just the way that it is delivered.

The goal here is to keep things simple: there's no need to reinvent the wheel. Scan your lessons and worksheets, convert them into PDFs, and post them online using Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, or a similar file-sharing service. Think about the information you have on your walls, such as the classroom norms, the daily schedule, or vocabulary lists, and convert them into digital formats that students can easily reference.

It may also help to provide synchronous as well as asynchronous versions of your lectures. If you're holding class meetings over a videoconferencing service like Zoom or Skype, provide a recording for students who can't attend. You can also create your own instructional videos for students to view at their own pace.

Augmentation

This level involves incorporating interactive digital enhancements and elements like comments, hyperlinks, or multimedia. The content remains unchanged, but students can now take advantage of digital features to enhance the lesson.

For example, students can create digital portfolios to create multimedia presentations, giving them more options to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. And instead of handing out paper quizzes, you can gamify your quizzes with tools like Socrative and Kahoot.

Teachers can also create virtual bulletin boards-using an app like Padlet -where students can post questions, links, and pictures.

Modification

At this level, teachers can think about using a learning management system like Google Classroom, Moodle, Schoology, or Canvas to handle the logistical aspects of running a classroom, like tracking grades, messaging students, creating a calendar, and posting assignments.

Teaching online opens up new channels of communication, many of which can help students who have traditionally been marginalized. Research shows that girls may be less likely to speak up in class, for example, so they may benefit from backchannels -alternative conversations that can run alongside instruction-that encourage participation.

Zoom's text chat feature, meanwhile, gives students an opportunity to write their questions out, which can feel less intrusive if there are dozens of students participating in the call. Also, students who prefer to collect their thoughts may benefit from slower-paced, asynchronous discussions in an online forum or email threads.

Redefinition

Learning is fundamentally transformed at the "redefinition" level, enabling activities that were previously impossible in the classroom.

For example, virtual pen pals can connect students to other parts of the world, whether it's with other students or experts in a field. Virtual field trips enable students to visit locations like the Amazon rainforest, the Louvre, or the Egyptian pyramids. After reading a book in class, you can invite the author to chat about their work and answer questions.

Technology also provides an opportunity to bring authentic audiences into your virtual classroom, and can make publishers out of your students. Kids can write their own wikis or blogs for public consumption and feedback-and platforms like Quadblogging can connect distant classrooms together so students both write and respond. Students can tackle local problems-like investigating the water quality of a nearby river-and invite members of the community to assess their digital proposals.

Going Beyond SAMR

Finally, consider how technology can be used not just as a way to deliver content, but also to strengthen relationships with your students. For elementary school teacher John Thomas, Seesaw and Flipgrid allow him to share a daily greeting, which his students then respond to-or to each other-with a typed or voiced comment. It's a good way to provide some stability while they're isolated.

How can my lesson be improved using technology?

How can I engage and empower students through technology?

How can online learning more closely resemble authentic, real-world learning?

Remember, again, that SAMR is sometimes thought of as a mountain to summit, but it's really more like a toolbox. The goal isn't to use the most sophisticated tool, but to find the right one for the job. More importantly, however, it's a way to reflect on your technology integration by thinking about a few key questions:

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A Powerful Model for Understanding Good Tech Integration

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Good technology integration isn't about using the fanciest tool, it's about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy-or strategies-for the lesson at hand.

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StudySync is an award-winning educational publisher, developing products that leverage forward-thinking designs and technology to engage students while providing teachers and administrators with a relevant, easy-to-use platform that delivers adaptable, dynamic educational solutions.

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Great News Websites for Students | Common Sense Education

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Which news sites can students trust? These great, classroom-friendly news apps and sites can give students different perspectives on key current events. Find options for students of all grade levels -- all un-biased, well-researched, and guaranteed to pique students' interest.

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Shorter Video on Creating Bitmoji Classroom

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How to make an INTERACTIVE Bitmoji Classroom. ✨ Use Google Slides to create your own VIRTUAL ROOM.

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Is your Google classroom a mess? Wish it could be more organized? there are a couple simple strategies you can use to take control! Your students will thank you when they can find what they need quickly.

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ditch that textbook podcast :: education

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‎Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPod: 121: Organize your Google Classroom on Apple Podcasts

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Is your Google classroom a mess? Wish it could be more organized? there are a couple simple strategies you can use to take control! Your students will thank you when they can find what they need quickly.

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Engaging activities keep the students focused on the work rather than straying away from the assignments. Here are 6 alternatives to worksheets to use in 2022.

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You can use keyboard shortcuts to complete some tasks more quickly. To find shortcuts on this page, press Ctrl + f and enter what you want to find. To find ke

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Welcome to the world of keyboard shortcuts, the single greatest timesaving computer trick you can learn! Thanks to the pandemic, teachers are spending even more of our precious time online, switching between various programs - word processors, web browsers, spreadsheets, online classroom interfaces like Canvas and Google Classroom, Zoom, and graphic design sites. With this much time spent on the computer, it's prudent to learn every trick of the trade to save yourself unnecessary mouse clicks.

Keyboard shortcuts allow users to perform normal program tasks with just the stroke of a few keys. We've put together a list of 101 keyboard shortcuts you can start using right now.
Note: if you are using an Apple device, you will substitute the Apple key/Command key (⌘) for Ctrl.
Top Fifteen Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Select all text in a document, on a webpage, or in an email (A stands for all) - Ctrl A

2. Cut selected text - Ctrl X

3. Copy selected text - Ctrl C

4. Paste selected text - Ctrl V

5. Undo previous action (you'll use this a lot!) - Ctrl Z

6. Print open page or document - Ctrl P

7. Save file - Ctrl S

8. Find (This is so handy on webpages.) - Ctrl F

9. Zoom out - Ctrl -

10. Zoom in - Ctrl +

11. Display page at 100% zoom/normal view (in case you've zoomed in or out, this restores things to normal) - Ctrl 0

12. Bold selected text - Ctrl B

13. Italicize selected text - Ctrl I

14. Underline selected text - Ctrl U

15. Open new file in same program - Ctrl N

Other Handy Word Processing Shortcuts

1. Ctrl D: Open font formatting dialogue box

2. Ctrl M: Tab in

3. Ctrl Y: Redo

4. Ctrl 1: Single space selected text

5. Ctrl 5: Space selected text 0.5

6. Ctrl 2: Double space selected text

7. Alt tab: Shift between open applications

8. Ctrl Alt Del: Reboot

9. Ctrl K: Insert hyperlink

10. Ctrl J: Justify text

11. Ctrl L: Left align selected text

12. Ctrl R: Right align selected text

13. Ctrl E: Center selected text

14. Ctrl G: Go to

15. Ctrl Shift G: Open word count dialogue box

16. Ctrl H: Replace (opens the Find and Replace text dialogue box)

17. Ctrl O: Open

18. Ctrl ]: Increase font size plus one

19. Ctrl [: Decrease font size minus one

20. Ctrl Home: Moves cursor to the top of the document

21. Ctrl End: Moves cursor to the bottom of the document

22. Alt Shift D: Insert current date

23. Alt Shift T: Insert current time

24. Ctrl W: Close program (warning: the program will not ask if you're sure you want to quit; it will just shut down, so make sure you've saved your work first!)

25. Alt Print Screen: Take a screenshot, just like on your phone. You can then use Ctrl V to paste that screenshot wherever you want it.

F Keys

Ever wonder what those function keys do at the top of your keyboard? Here's a quick list.

1. F1: Help

2. F2: Rename

3. F3: Find all files

4. F4: Open file list drop down menu

5. F5: Refresh

6. F6: Move cursor to address bar in web browser

7. F7: Spellcheck

8. F8: Access safe mode

9. F9: Refresh document in Word

10. F10: Activate menu bar

11. F11: Enter fullscreen mode

12. F12: Open new document or file

Zoom Shortcuts

Zoom has shortcuts particularly helpful for online teaching. For example, students can quickly mute or unmute themselves (Ctrl A) or raise their hand (Alt Y) in a class meeting.

1. Alt A: Mute/unmute audio

2. Alt M: Mute/unmute audio for everyone except host (only the meeting host can do this)

3. Alt F1: Switch to active speaker view in video meeting

4. Alt F2: Switch to gallery video view in video meeting

5. Alt F4: Close window

6. Alt V: Start/stop video

7. Alt R: Start/stop local recording

8. Alt C: Start/stop cloud recording

9. Alt P: Pause or resume recording

10. Alt N: Switch camera

11. Alt F: Enter or exit fullscreen

12. Alt H: Display/hide chat panel

13. Alt U: Display/hide participants panel

14. Alt I: Open invite window

15. Alt Y: Raise/lower hand

16. Alt Shift R: Gain remote control

17. Alt Shift G: Stop remote control

18. Ctrl 2: Read active speaker name

19. Ctrl Alt Shift H: Show/hide floating meeting controls

Get more Zoom hacks HERE.

Google Meet Shortcuts

1. Ctrl E: Turn camera on or off

2. Ctrl D: Mute/unmute microphone

3. Ctrl + Alt + C: Hide/Unhide the chat in a meeting

4. Ctrl + Alt + P: Hide/Unhide people in a meeting

5. Shift ?: Pulls up keyboard shortcut menu in case you forget one

Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Microsoft Excel is a powerful program, and keyboard shortcuts can help you quickly navigate through spreadsheets and their various cells, columns, and rows.

1. Alt H: Go to home tab

2. Alt N: Go to insert tab

3. Alt P: Go to page layout tab

4. Alt A: Go to data tab

5. Alt W: Go to view tab

6. Alt M: Go to formula tab

7. Alt H, H (hit H twice in a row with Alt held down): Choose fill color for cell

8. Alt H, B: Add border to cell

9. Alt H,D,C: Delete column

10. Ctrl 9: Hide selected row

11. Ctrl 0: Hide selected column

Powerpoint Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Ctrl M: Add a new slide

2. Alt N,P: Insert a picture

3. Alt G,H: Select a theme

4. Alt H,L: Select a slide layout

5. F5: Start presenting slideshow

6. Page down: Go to next slide

7. Page up: Go to previous slide

8. Alt H: Go to home tab

9. Alt N: Go to insert tab

10. Esc: End slide show

11. Ctrl Q: Close program

12. Ctrl Spacebar: Play/pause media

13. Ctrl Shift ]: Bring to front

14. Ctrl Shift [: Send to back

This list of keyboard shortcuts barely scratches the surface. They take a little getting used to, but once you start using these consistently, you will notice your fingers flying across the keyboard, completing tasks in no time flat. Teach them to your students, too!

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101 Best Keyboard Shortcuts Every Teacher Needs to Know

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Welcome to the world of keyboard shortcuts, the single greatest timesaving computer trick you can learn! Thanks to the pandemic, teachers are spending even more of our precious time online, switching between various programs - word processors, web browsers, spreadsheets, online classroom interfaces like Canvas and Google Classroom, Zoom, and graphic design sites.

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Hunting and clicking is so slow.

If you're navigating your computer, laptop or Chromebook primarily by using your mouse or touchpad, you're squandering valuable minutes every day.

The antidote: keyboard shortcuts.

In a simple experiment, TheKeyCuts blog found that more than 10 minutes a day can be saved with keyboard shortcuts. Over a year, that can add up to more than 40 hours - an entire week!

Whenever I do workshops and we talk about roadblocks to their goals, teachers almost always cite "time" as their biggest barrier. If I had more time, I could ...

It's time to reclaim some of that lost time!

Here's your challenge:

1. Check out these keyboard shortcuts. Some are common (but you might not use them). Some are obscure. Some fit only to certain devices and operating systems.

2. Find the ones you don't currently use that fit commands you use all the time.

3. Print out the keyboard shortcut reminder strip at the bottom of this post.
4. Tape it to your monitor or laptop.
5. Pick one shortcut at a time and start forcing yourself to use it.
6. When you get good at one shortcut, move on to the next one.
If you take the challenge, take a picture of your shortcut reminder strip on your laptop/monitor and tweet it, including @jmattmiller and #DitchBook in your tweet!

Now, on to the keyboard shortcuts!
Note: Often in shortcuts, the Control key for Windows/Chromebooks is used interchangeably with the Command key on a Mac. You'll see "Ctrl/Cmd" in a lot of these. So use Control with Windows/Chromebooks and Command with Macs.
The basics

If these weapons aren't in your arsenal already, then let's stock up! These are the most common ones that I use:
Ctrl/Cmd + C = Copy Ctrl/Cmd + X = Cut Ctrl/Cmd + V = Paste Ctrl/Cmd + A = Select All
If you're not using these, let's just say that you're catching up to speed. I won't put these on the keyboard shortcut reminder strip, so if you need them, use an additional sticky note (of the color of your choosing!) and put it on your monitor.
Ctrl/Cmd + F = Find
Use this one all the time to find a specific word or phrase in a long document or web page.

I thought everyone knew about and used this one until I saw a quote that my friend Wanda Terral shared - 90 percent of American Internet users don't know it! (Granted, this stat is from a blog post from 2010 by a researcher who has asked thousands of people about Ctrl/Cmd + F. So take that stat for what you will, but it's very telling!)

Wanda has shared LOTS of beautiful sketches (like the one above) of similar tips for Chromebooks in this slide presentation (click here). Check it out!

The undo shortcut could have been included with cut, copy, paste and select all. But the lesser known shortcut is its fraternal twin, redo. If you undo something just a little too far, go back a character to Y to redo it!

Navigation shortcuts
Alt/Cmd + Tab = Switch windows
Switch quickly back and forth between programs (Mac) and windows (Windows and Chromebook). Hold in Alt/Cmd and keep pushing Tab to cycle through them.
Cmd + number = Switch tabs (Mac)
Let's say you have five tabs open in your web browser. You're in the fifth one (the one on the far right) and you want to quickly switch to the second one (second from the left). Command + 2 will do it in a snap. Use Command + the number of the tab open in your browser to make the quick switch!
Three-finger swipe = Switch tabs (Chromebook)
When I'm working with students or teachers who are new to Chromebooks, this one is sure to blow their minds. Put three fingers on the touchpad and slide them right or left to switch tabs effortlessly.
Ctrl/Cmd + W = Close a tab
Done with that tab? This shortcut closes it. Hold Ctrl/Cmd and click W multiple times to close lots of them out.
Ctrl + two-finger touchpad scroll = Zoom in on screen (Mac)
This shortcut was almost enough for me to want to buy a Mac. Place your pointer arrow where you want to zoom. Hold the Ctrl key and drag two fingers up your touchpad from the bottom slowly. You'll zoom in on your pointer arrow. Drag them back down to zoom back out.
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T = Reopen a tab
This is one that gets gasps when I demonstrate to teachers. Ever close a tab accidentally and think, "Noooooo! What was I thinking?!?" Use this shortcut to resurrect closed tabs from the dead! It'll even keep the back history (i.e. you'll be able to click back to get to the pages you were on before).

BONUS USE: Do you have students with fast fingers, who close tabs before you can see what they're doing? If you have to see what they were working on, get your fingers on their keyboard and hit Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT ... lots of T's over and over to reopen all of the tabs they've closed. Brilliant!

Text editing shortcuts
Ctrl/Cmd + K = Insert link
I use this one ALL. THE. TIME. (In fact, I didn't have it on my original list and caught myself using it to create this blog post and thought, "Hmm ... better include it!") Highlight some text and use this shortcut to make it a clickable link.
Ctrl/Cmd + L = Highlight the URL of the site you're on
For this one, think L = LINK. If you want to copy the link to the page you're on, use this shortcut.

NINJA TRICK: SHORTCUT CHAINS. If you want to really, really save time, link several shortcuts together in chains. The link one above reminds me of a very powerful one ...

Ctrl/Cmd + L + C + (highlight some text) + K + V = Highlight the link. Copy the link. Highlight some text and create a clickable link. Paste the link. Think of all of the mousing (is that a word?) and clicking and time you just saved yourself.

Ctrl/Option + right/left arrow keys = Jump from word to word
Ctrl/Option + up/down arrow keys = Jump from paragraph to paragraph
Ctrl/Option + backspace/delete = Delete words (instead of individual characters)
Ctrl/Option + Shift + right/left arrow keys = Highlight words
Ctrl/Option + Shift + up/down arrow keys = Highlight paragraphs

When you can move, delete and highlight words and paragraphs at a time, now you're in massive time-saver mode. Now, highlighting an entire sentence can happen in two seconds (shortcut) instead of six or seven (mouse or touchpad). Once you master this one, you'll use it without even realizing it!
Ctrl/Cmd + Enter = Submit/send
Sending an email? Submitting a comment or a form? This one doesn't always work everywhere (i.e. comments in Google Docs), but it does work a LOT of places. I always try it because it takes less than a second to do, and if it doesn't work, I'll use my mouse or touchpad.
Ctrl + Shift + V = Paste as plain text
Isn't it annoying when you copy something from a webpage and paste it, only to find that all of the formatting came with it? Your new text has a background color and a different font (with a different size and color). This is where adding the "shift" key to your shortcut is so valuable. You'll paste your new text as plain text. Bonus: If you've already formatted your text the way you want it, pasting it this way will make your new text match what you already have!

What shortcuts do YOU rely on?

This is just my summary, and we're only scratching the surface. There are TONS of valuable keyboard shortcuts. Would you add one (or more) in the comments below that I didn't include? Thanks!

Keyboard shortcuts reminder strip

Print out this PDF. Cut out the keyboard shortcut reminder stripe and tape it to your laptop or monitor. (I designed it to fit below the screen of all of my devices - MacBook, Windows laptop, Chromebook - in hopes that it would fit yours too!) It has most of the shortcuts but not all. Feel free to use a sticky note to add your own!
There are two strips per page. Cut out the other one and share it with someone else ... encourage them to go on the keyboard shortcut challenge with you! Note: I used Ctrl in the strip to save space. Remember that if you use a Mac, you'll use Cmd (the Command key) for all of these.
Use this as a reminder, and remember - pick one or two shortcuts. Force yourself to use them until they become automatic. Then add new ones to your memorized shortcuts.

Memory is magic. Don't rely on the strip - memorize! Then you'll use them when you're not even thinking about them!
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:
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Check out our summer bundle. 9 GREAT COURSES ONE LOW PRICE!

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22 killer keyboard shortcuts (and a challenge!) for busy educators

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Hunting and clicking is so slow. If you're navigating your computer, laptop or Chromebook primarily by using your mouse or touchpad, you're squandering valuable minutes every day. The antidote: keyboard shortcuts. In a simple experiment, TheKeyCuts blog found that more than 10 minutes a day can be saved with keyboard shortcuts.

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StudySync appreciates the challenges you are facing to guarantee that your students have meaningful learning opportunities apart from classroom-based instruction. We know that planning for ongoing learning activities, communicating expectations to students, and following up with them to ensure their progress are amongst your highest priorities. The StudySync team is committed to sharing this responsibility with you.

Contact us at implementation@studysync.com for help designing a distance learning plan to meet your needs.

Contact us anytime for more information, free trials, or a custom webinar designed to meet your district's needs with the fastest-growing ELA curriculum.

In this introductory video, Dr. Catlin Tucker provides an overview of the teacher's roles and responsibilities in an online course. The teaching presence in an online environment is critical to the success of an online course.

Explore our 5-Day Mini Units that provide guidance on using StudySync to support continuous learning outside of the classroom. And, watch our Facebook Live presentation about the 5-Day Mini Units.

10-Day Standards-Based Units

Built from resources found at each grade level, these abbreviated units feature a "Big Idea" Blast, a Close Reading selection, and a "Current Connections" write assignment. To find these units, open your Library tab, select Units in the gray menu bar, then type "mini unit" in the search bar.

Intuitive and Easy. Build your own customized units from StudySync's extensive Library of resources.

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StudySync appreciates the challenges educators are facing to guarantee that students have meaningful learning opportunities apart from classroom-based instruction. Our remote resources page provides comprehensive support for distance learning.

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Facilitation Strategies for Online Discussion-or even in person

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Facilitation Strategies for Online Discussion-or even in person

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Playlists: A Path to Personalizing Learning - Dr. Catlin Tucker

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One reason I am such a big advocate for blended learning is that using the various models allow me to spend more time on the aspects of my job that I enjoy and feel are most valuable for students. I don't want to waste precious class time talking at my students.

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VRAIN WAVES-so much great content addressing what we are experiencing in the classroom!  As well as a piece on BL

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VRAIN WAVES-so much great content addressing what we are experiencing in the classroom!  As well as a piece on BL

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Connect with Catlin Tucker
Twitter: @catlin_tucker | Website: catlintucker.com

Connect with Vrain Waves
Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb
Links & Show Notes

Out of Our Heads and Into the Classroom:

Timesaving hack: Ctrl + Cmd + Shift + 4 = copy screenshot to clipboard instead of desktop

The Box of Awesome

Metaphorical Fashion - another great one from Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom - Design us a t-shirt!!

Catlin Tucker - Power Up Blended Learning (06:52)

Catlin's definition of Blended learning: active, engaged learning in the classroom + active, engaged learning online; + more control over time, place, pace, and path of their learning experience; shift of control from teacher to student

Catlin's journey to blended learning (08:40)

Fear of amount of time taken to move into blended learning (10:26)
"Everybody is experimenting, taking risks, and learning [in a classroom]." (10:44)

Students handling the extra work (13:17)
More challenging to be a student in a student-centered classroom, but the decision-making / agency trade off pays off

Assessment for learning (15:38)

Her latest book: Power Up Blended Learning
10 learning targets per unit (21:34)

Station Rotations (22:49)

Hosting Online discussions (31:04)

Shifting role of the teacher in the classroom (39:52)
Students bring the meaning to the activities that she designs / then she is the coach

Planning horizontally = turn your vertical agenda horizontal and break it into station rotations (41:43) (presentation, video)

Tucker Time (46:33) = teacher-led station

Power Up Blended Learning (47:35)

Sustainable Infrastructure for Professional Learning

Coaching / modeling / co-teaching / small Professional Learning Communities in buildings

Catlin's requests to leaders (55:40)

Wrap Up (56:32)

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Episode 020: Blended Learning with Catlin Tucker

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Connect with Catlin Tucker Twitter: @catlin_tucker | Website: catlintucker.com Connect with Vrain Waves Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb Links & Show Notes Out of Our Heads and Into the Classroom: Timesaving hack: Ctrl + Cmd + Shift + 4 = copy screenshot to clipboard instead of desktop The Box of Awesome Metaphorical Fashion - another great one from Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom - Design us a t-shirt!!

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Free for educators! Give students unlimited in-class access to the best books & videos on Epic

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Educators around the world are entering digital lesson design with varying experiences and expertise. Our HyperDocs Online Academy is your source for learning about designing and delivering the engagement-driving digital lessons we call HyperDocs. Our course instruction method is what we call 'just in time teaching' so that you can take on new learning when you are ready, and explore the Academy at your own pace.

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GoFormative allows you to create your own formatives

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GoFormative allows you to create your own formatives

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HMH Classcraft pairs ELA and math content with research-based lesson plans resulting in reduced educator planning time and increased student engagement.

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Adobe Express for Education is everything students and teachers need to create graphics, photos, and videos. Free for K12 schools and districts.

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Classroom Software for Teachers | Video Learning Platform | WeVideo

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All-in-one classroom software for teachers. Create video lessons, assign projects, and track student engagement with interactive learning tools.

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Save, organize and share content from across the web with Wakelet. Find out how Wakelet can transform the classroom for teachers and students

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Review student understanding at the class, individual student, or question-level.