Author: Jan Parker

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Google Classroom Add-Ons

Access more than 15 EdTech tools all with a single login with Classroom add-ons. Teachers can create engaging assignments, and even grade and review work from add-ons, while students can access the tools they need without having to worry about remembering extra passwords and navigating to external websites. Admins can set up each add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace for their district in just a few clicks, enabling teachers and students to use their favorite tools, without having to leave Classroom.

See more about Add-Ons here:

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Preview Anything Quickly

Google Drives are a fabulous tool. Access to all of your files on any device any time you need them is one of the best things about the 21st century, if you ask me. BUT… after you’ve used your Google Drive a while, things can get a bit cluttered, Even if you are a master of the advanced searching capabilities, you might find yourself staring at a list of 20 (or more) files all with the words “Unit Plan” in them. Just me?

Well, if it’s you too, I’ve got a great tip for you today.

To see what a document in your Drive contains without opening it up in a new tab, try this:

  1. Click on the file once to select it
  2. Click the “P” on your keyboard
  3. Behold the preview of the document in your same window!

Now you can find the document quickly and you won’t have to close the seven tabs that opened while you were looking for the correct file!

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Tab Grouping in Chrome

Do you often have 10+ tabs open in your browser? Open tabs can really suck the life out of your browser’s memory – and make everything run slower. But maybe you need those tabs open because you’ve got what seems like a million projects to work on…

Tab grouping in Chrome to the rescue!

Now you can group your tabs together in ways that makes sense to the work you are doing, give that group a name and a color, and then collapse the group when you’re not working on that particular project. De-clutters your view, makes it easier to find the particular tab you need, AND when tabs are grouped and collapsed, they don’t steal precious resources from your browser’s memory!

Here’s How:

  1. Right-click on a tab, choose “Add tab to new group”
  2. Create a group name that makes sense and choose a color
  3. Right-click another tab that belong in that group and choose “Add tab to group” and then choose the correct group name
  4. Once you’ve added all the tabs that belong in that group, click on the colored tab you created to collapse. Click on the tab again to expand.
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Tech Tip Tuesday: Quick Fix for “Dead” Chromebooks

When a Chromebook won’t turn on – even when plugged in – try this handy trick:

  1. unplug the Chromebook from power
  2. shut the lid of the Chromebook
  3. plug Chromebook back into power source
  4. open lid and wait 5 – 10 seconds without touching any keys

You’ll be surprised how many times this will result in the Chromebook rebooting and be completely back to normal!

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Improve Font Readability

Atkinson Hyperlegible is a font available in your Google fonts that you should consider adding to your font list. It was designed specifically to increase legibility for readers with low vision and to improve comprehension for all readers.

To add Atkinson Hyperlegible, select “More Fonts” from the Font Menu in a Google App and then type “Atkinson” in the search bar. Click on the name in the search to select.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Digital Citizenship Lessons

With the emphasis on everything and everyone being online these days, digital citizenship has never been more important. The wonderful folks at Common Sense Media make talking with your students about digital citizenship easy with their free, interactive, grade-leveled, and high-quality lesson plans. The topics are timely and high interest – everything from digital footprints to media literacy to relationships and cyberbullying. It’s everything any teacher would need – and talking about digital citizenship with students is something all teachers should be doing.

Check out their resources here: Digital Citizenship Lessons

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Chromebook Acting Wonky?

Chromebooks are generally very reliable, but as with any electronic device, they can occasionally need a reset. If you’ve tried logging out and logging back in, and shutting down and restarting and problems still remain, it’s possible the issue is with a setting. Watch the video below to see how to quickly and easily reset a Chromebook.

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