Okay Google and Google Tone

Tech Tip Tuesday

Here are two more Google products that make it easier to use Chrome in the classroom.

Okay Google lets students use their voice to search.

Make sure students are signed into their chrome account. Check that the Chromebook or iPad microphone is enabled and on. Go to google.com, look for the picture of the microphone in the search box and say, "Okay, Google" and whatever the student needs to search. This is a great tool for younger students.
Visit Google Help Center for directions on how to enable Okay Google Voice Search for an iPad or Android.

Okay Google on a Chromebook: 

Google Tone is an extension that once enabled it turns on your computer's or chromebook's microphone and broadcasts a URL(web address) to other computers in the room.  Click here to see how to add the extension and how Google Tone works.

Capture, Communicate and Share

Mobile App Monday

Today's devices make it so easy for students to take or download a picture, write or draw on it, and then share with others. Here are some terrific tools that can be used in the classroom that get students capturing information, communicating what they know, and then share that knowledge with others. 

Skitch is a free annotation app that uses text, shapes and drawing tools. It gives you the option to annotate on photos from your photo album, a picture you take with a camera, a map, website or PDF file. 

Paper by 53 is a free app. Students can sketch and write on a photo they take or download.  Another great feature is that students can have more than one page and share it as a presentation. 

Chrome Extension and App

Awesome Screenshot can capture or clip a screen area or the entire screen, can annotate using shapes and text and can be sent to your Google Drive. 

These are great tool for students to draw out a process, show their work on math problems, draw pictures to illustrate a book, label a diagram, draw on maps,and so much more. 

Insert Non-YouTube videos into Google Slides

Tech Tip Tuesday

You can now insert non-YouTube videos onto slides in Google Slides. Here's how: 

1. Open Google Slides

2. Click Insert>Video>Google Drive

3. Search for the video that you saved on your Google Drive. 

4. Click on the Video>Select.

It's that easy. 

Don't Forget: 

Day #9 Twitter Challenge: 

You have some rock star colleagues! Tweet out something a colleague is doing in teaching that you want to know more about or you think should be shared!

Tag it with the person's Twitter handle and also use #sanangeloisdtweets17.

Digital Learning Day: 

Add your digital learning event or activity at Digital Learning Day. 

Be sure to check out their digital tools, resources, and activity ideas

Scanning Apps

Mobile App Monday

I found myself needing to take a photo of a paragraph from a book, convert it to a PDF, annotate, and then share. And I did not want to spend any money to do it. Here's what I found this weekend: 

Tiny Scanner: Free to install to iphone or android. I took a picture of a page from my book, but would have to upgrade to pro ($4.99) to add to my Google Drive. 

CamScanner: Free to install to iphone or android. I took a picture of a page from my book. For free, I was able to quickly and easily install InNote which gave me the capability to annotate, highlight, and add watermark text. The InNote annotations instantly saved in the CamScanner app. For free, I was able to share either as a PDF or image (JPG) into my Google Drive. 

Office Lens: Free to install to iphone or android. I again took a picture of a page from a book. I opened in the OneNote App and was able to annotate, save to my Microsoft OneDrive, and share with others. 

If you have another app that you use, please post it in the comment box below. 

It's Not Too Late...

There's still time to...

#1: Join the San Angelo ISD Twitter Challenge

Challenge Day 5: Tweet about 3 people to follow on twitter so we can all build our PLNs. Be sure to tag them by using their twitter handle and include #sanangeloisdtweets17 and #FF (follow Friday).

#2: Share your classroom activity or school event on the map at digitallearningday.org. Showcase how you are integrating technology into your classroom and at your school to improve student learning experiences and outcomes. Not sure about which digital tool to showcase? Go to the Digital Learning Day Website and check out the activities, online resources, and lesson ideas. 

Promote your School

Twitter Challenge Day 4

There are great things going on at your campus. Tweet a picture to promote your school. Include #sanangeloisdtweets17 and your campus hashtag if you have one.

Oh, the People You'll Meet

Twitter Challenge Day 3: Add your name & Twitter handle to the Google Sheet:

  https://goo.gl/zW0twA Follow 4 people from the Google Sheet above & send them a welcome tweet! Include their @username & #sanangeloisdtweets17

Website Wednesday

In Monday's Mobile App, we recommended a few educators/instructional techies to follow on Twitter. Below are links to their websites that are full of wonderful ideas, strategies, and resources to be used in the classroom.

😁Alice Keeler - http://alicekeeler.com

😎Ditch that Textbook with Matt Miller - http://ditchthattextbook.com

😃 Eric Curts - http://ericcurts.com

😀 Shake up Learning with Kasey Bell - http://shakeuplearning.com

If you have an educator/instructional techie that you follow, please share their name, website, and twitter handle in the comment box below. 

Emojis in Google Docs

Happy Valentine's Day

Twitter Challenge Day 2: Reply to someone who used #sanangeloisdtweets17 in a tweet yesterday & introduce yourself. Include #sanangeloisdtweets17 in your reply.

Tech Tip Tuesday: 

Emojis are a fun way for students to retell a story, design a pictograph, create a visual summary for a science experiment or historical event, or create a word problem with visual variables . 

To insert an emoji: Open a Google Doc>Insert>Special Characters>Choose Emoji from the drop down menu> 

Choose the Type of Emoji>

Click on the emojis you would like to insert.

Working with Emojis: An emoji in Google Docs is not an image, so you can't crop, rotate, or drag the handles to resize. Since an emoji is considered text, you must use the text tool features. Copy, cut, and paste or drag and drop to move the emoji in the document. To resize the emoji, select it and choose a font size from the font toolbar. 

Emojis are easy and fun to use in Google Docs.

And who knew that using this tool could also help prepare your students for a future job. I recently read an article in which a firm is seeking to hire an emoji translator. That's right an emoji translator. It seems that the emoji is the fastest growing language in some places. 

Take the Challenge

Mobile App Monday

San Angelo ISD Twitter Challenge 2017

Today's Challenge:

Send a tweet with your name, grade level(s)/subject(s) & school. Include a selfie if you like. Don’t forget the hashtag #sanangeloisdtweets17.

This social media tool is designed to find and share ideas and resources quickly and easily. The twitter app can be accessed from any device: iphone/ipad or android. It's easy to use. In minutes, you can be viewing post from other educators or tweeting your top 10 resources to others. Educators that EdTech with Howard and Feck recommend following on Twitter is Alice Keeler @alicekeeler, Kasey Bell @ShakeUpLearning, Matt Miller @jmattmiller, Eric Curts @ericcurts, and of course SAISD Instr. Tech. @saisdtechtrain. Need help getting started? Click this link. 

Discover More with Discovery Education

Website Wednesday

Discovery Education provides many resources and activities for teachers, parents, and students. 

If you are interested in accessing and using all that Discovery Education has to offer, contact us at techtraining@saisd.org We'll send you a campus code to get your started. When your ready to add your students, contact us once again, and we'll get them set up.  

Teachers can download and use videos, images, audio files, lesson plans, interactive activities, and much more. Using the Builder Tools, teachers can create assignments, quizzes, boards, and writing prompts. With the classroom management, teachers can assign assignments, quizzes, interactive games, writing prompts, and resources to their students. Teachers can also share links of any video, image, quiz, writing prompt, or interactive game to their Google Classroom. 

Once you add your students, they can have access to all the information that Discovery Education offers, plus work on anything a teacher assigns, play educational interactive games, participate in programs and contests or create a board to show their learning of a certain topic or objective.

In the DEN, Discovery Education Network, teachers have access to Puzzlemaker, Virtual Trips, Discovery Now programs, and much, much more. 

Don't wait! Discover More at Discovery Education.