Halloween Spook-Tech-ular

Create an invite

Read more »

Old School Videos

Do you remember the old "Schoolhouse Rock" videos? There is a whole channel on YouTube that features these videos! Featuring your old favorites like "I'm Just a Bill", "Conjunction Junction", and "Multiplication Rock".

Find these and lots more at http://www.youtube.com/user/SchoolHouseRockKids

Read more »

No More Flash Drives!

Do you constantly have kids who forgot a flash drive? Do you hate the sound of sobbing when your students find out all the library's flash drives have already been checked out? Did you know...that Google Docs can act as a flash drive?!?!?! It's true! Every one of your kids has a flash drive on hand, online, and it will hold 1Gig of stuff. That is roughly 4 times as much as they can fit on their H drive!

To use this function, they need to open their Google Docs accounts and click Upload under the FISD logo. Then they choose the file they need to carry home with them (any type file can be uploaded!!!) and they should choose to not let Google Docs convert the file into the corresponding Google file type.

When they get home, they can open their Google Docs, and download the file to their home computer. Of course, if it is a Microsoft Word file and they don't have Microsoft Word at home, there may be an issue. in that case, tehy should just convert the file to the Google format, which will then be editable at home. They can always export the file back to a Word Doc when they return to school the next day.

This works for teachers too- you might give it a shot! I personally hate to hear teachers crying when they can't find a flash drive...

Read more »

Free Google Webinars

Free Google Apps Webinars   

Connect with Google's Education team, their partners, and other  educational institutions using Apps in these free live and recorded webinars. TCEA's Monica Martinez will be conducting the "Teaching History with Google Sites" webinar on Oct. 12 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. CST. In this webinar, participants will learn how to use the calendar, form, charts, maps, gadgets, and more to create a collaborative interactive classroom environment while making history come to life. Many other topics are also available in the webinars. 

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/webinars.html

Here is just a taste of what is offered!

Read more »

Wonderful Workshops

The Fall Technology workshops have been posted! Take a moment to check out the Workshops page at the top of the screen for the selection. If you plan on taking the ExamView class, please make an appointment with me well in advance so I can come help you set up your classes and settings on your computer. This will save us time in the workshop so we can get to the good stuff!

If you were really hoping I would offer something different, please come see me! I will be happy to meet with individuals or departments to do training during the day. I will even do extra team meetings if you are interested!

Read more »

What's Up With The Goog?????

It's true, the Goog is changing it's look. Never one to be out of style, The Goog likes to be on the cutting edge of fashion. You may soon see a message at the top of your screen when you access your Google Accounts asking if you want to try out the new look. You can say yes or no at this point. I advise saying YES so you can get used to the new facade before the change becomes permanent. You might also look at the top right of your screen to see if you have a "Try the New Look" option. If you do try the new look, you can always go back by choosing "Use the Classic Look".  If you haven't seen a difference yet, no worries. This kind of thing isn't always rolled out to all users at the same time. We have seen the new look popping up in Sites as well as Docs, so keep an eye out!

Read more »

"The Goog" Organization Tip#1

I have been uploading a million documents to "The Goog" and sharing with you guys. You may have noticed that your list of documents is huge now and it is getting difficult to find anything. Here is a tip that will save your life!

First of all, if you choose "Owned by Me" from the menu on the left of your Google Docs list, then only the documents you created yourself will show up. That can be VERY helpful. 

Second, for documents that have been shared with you in folders (like the whole mess that I shared in the Technology folder) you can do the following:

• Check all the little boxes next to documents that are showing up in home, and that ALSO appear in a folder
• Look over at the right hand side. When you have selected documents, you will see an option appear that says "Don't Show in Home"
• Select that option and all of those docs will henceforth appear only in their folder!

This little tidbit can help you use your collections to their fullest potential. Happy Googling!

Read more »

What is Interwrite Workspace?

Interwrite Workspace is software you already have on your school computer! I made you a video (using Interwrite Workspace, of course!) and you can see it here. For the training videos and webinars mentioned in the video, visit http://www.einstruction.com/programs/product-training.

With Interwrite Workspace you can:
capture screenshots
capture screen video (with or without sound)
create Interactive presentations

The lesson examples shown in the video (plus LOTS more) can be downloaded to your computer from Google Docs. You can find the Workspace document in your Equipment folder.

I would recommend saving the examples to your desktop and not your H drive, as that file as about 53 examples and is very large!

Read more »