Incorporating Google Tools in Elementary Classrooms

Utilizing G Suite for Education fits naturally into many middle and high school classrooms. Due to the age of students in the elementary schools as well as a previously low number of compatible devices, these tools have not been used as widely at this level. However, if there was ever a time to begin incorporating them into elementary classrooms, the time is now! Chromebooks are becoming readily available in all elementary buildings and computer labs and some classrooms may still have desktops available too. Along with this is the fact that students in the elementary schools are being taught how to log into their district Google accounts and are being introduced to the basics of various tools during keyboarding class. Homeroom teachers can take advantage of students' new knowledge of these tools by incorporating them into their classrooms!

What types of basic activities might elementary students use G Suite for Education for?

These tools are a great way to go paperless by taking notes, writing reports and stories with Google Docs, creating presentations and journaling with Google Slides, graphing and documenting data with Google Sheets, and taking quizzes with Google Forms. Additionally GSuite tools make it easy for students to collaborate with each other and to share their work with teachers.

Check out some "outside-the-box" ideas from Eric Curts with 23 GSuite Ideas to Excite Kids About Learning! This is a transcript of Eric's podcast and includes links to specific details and tutorials on how to set-up each of the activities, like writing emoji stories and making motivational posters. 

There are also many elementary-level digital activities for use with Google Drive and Google Classroom that teachers have already created. A wide variety can be found on TeachersPayTeachers, these activities cover subjects across the curriculum, and some are even free if you want to check them out! Some examples include digital interactive reading and math notebooks, writing choice boards, and investigating simple machines. 

If you need a refresher on some of the basics of Google Drive and Google Classroom, check out some of our previous blog posts. When you visit the blog, you can search the archives by using the search bar in the top left corner of the screen, or by using the index tab. 

Google's tools are a great way to help students practice their digital skills, increase productivity, save time, and engage them in learning. If you need help getting started, let a tech coach know!

Throwback Thursday with BreakoutEDU

With the holiday season fast approaching, starting with Halloween at the end of the month, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone about BreakoutEDU. 

According to Jen's original post, BreakoutEDU is a great tool that:

• Gets students out of their seats
• Has them motivated & engaged with the content
• Promotes collaboration
• Allows the teacher to become a facilitator instead of a lecturer
• Values the learning process as much as the learning objective

Check out her original post here. Since last year, the BreakoutEDU site has received a makeover to make it even more user friendly!

BreakoutEDU is a tool that can be used across content areas and grade levels and the team at BreakoutEDU is always creating new games (with a few new ones for Halloween released recently!). Most of the buildings have at least one Breakout Box, and if not, let a tech coach know and we can find you one to borrow.

In addition to the physical Breakout games, there are also now a ton of Digital Breakout games available. These games do not require a physical box and locks, and the game is played on devices (whatever you have available) instead. The Digital Breakouts are great because they require virtually no prep work and are just as engaging and challenging as the physical Breakouts. You can easily search the site for physical, digital, and hybrid options.

There are lots of free physical and digital Breakouts available, but there is also an option to purchase platform access for even more resources. I created a DonorsChoose.org project for a new Breakout box and Platform access and recently received these resources! With the platform access you can:

• Create classes and have your students design their own Breakout EDU digital games! This is perfect for a new assignment option. As their teacher, you’ll be able to review their games and make them available for their peers to play in the classroom game library.
• Access collections of subject-aligned digital games. New games are being added to the platform each week.
• Access the Breakout EDU game library of more than 750 games.
• Create your own custom Breakout EDU digital games for an engaging classroom activity.

If you need help getting started, let us know! Additionally, if you think you'd like to write a project for a Breakout box and/or platform access, Angie or I can help with that too! 

What's New with iOS 12?

It was about this same time last year that our blog featured details about the latest version of iOS. You may have noticed some new changes that have come along again with the recent update to iOS 12. With a large number of iPads at the elementary level and a variety of devices in the other schools here are my top 5 notable changes with iOS 12 that may impact teachers and students in the classroom. 

1.  Access  to the Control Center: I know I had a little bit of a panic moment right after the new update when I could not access the control panel by swiping up. A quick Google search that day let me know that with the new update you now need to swipe down from the top right side of the screen to access the control panel. This gives you quick access to mute sounds, adjust brightness, set timers, mirror the screen, access the camera, and more!


2. Swipe Up: So if swiping up on the screen does not bring up the Control Center, what does it do? A short swipe up will still bring up the App Dock, just as it did before; however, if you keep swiping up, you'll be returned to your Home screen (like pressing the Home button). I've read some speculation that this may be in preparation for future devices that don't have a Home button!

3. Updated QR Code Reader: The QR code reader was already part of the camera app brought to us with iOS 11. With this update though, instead of pointing the camera at the code, the code will be highlighted so you know it's been recognized. Additionally, you can add the QR code reader to the Control Center for easy access!

To add additional features to your Control Center, Go to Settings and click on Control Center, which can be found right under General. From there you can add a variety of different controls, including the QR code reader.

4. Redesign of Voice Memos: There are lots of apps out there that allow students to record their voices, however, with the new update, students can record and edit right within the Voice Memos app. Students could use this to respond to a prompt, record themselves reading orally, record a musical composition or record an interview with a fellow student. Students can AirDrop the recording to the teacher, upload it to Drive, copy it into iMovie, and more!

5. Measure App: This cool feature is not supported by most of the iPads we have in the elementary schools, but many of you may have noticed it on your iPhones with the recent update. This tool gives you the ability to use your phone to measure and/or level and it is actually using Augmented Reality (AR) to make this happen! The app will prompt you to add a point if you are measuring a straight line and then you can stretch the line to measure your object. You can also measure rectangular objects and the app will calculate the area! This could be a great feature to show students when you're working on these concepts in math.

Have you tried any of these new features? Are there features with the new iOS that you love or hate? Drop us a comment below. Need help with a new feature? Please contact a tech coach and we'd be happy to help!

Tips to Keep it Tidy in Drive and Mail

September was a whirlwind of a beginning.  Now,  as fall is settling in we may find ourselves getting in a routine, yet left with the aftermath of another crazy school year start.

In today's post we are going to take a few minutes of  "prevention" to cure ourselves of non-essential stress & wasted time searching for files and emails.

I know what you are thinking... "I don't have time to organize my files and emails!".  But actually (and I am guilty of it too) we don't have time to NOT organize at least part of our digital world.  If you are like me, you have grown super dependent on search features, wishing there was a search bar in all aspects of your life!  Searching is a great backup, but organizing is a time-saver!



Let's talk Labels! 

Labels are these guys on the side of your inbox at mail.google.com .  We can add emails to these labels by dragging them in or using the toolbar at the top.


When we migrated from Outlook, we may have gotten some unnecessary labels that are cluttering up our sidebar.

To remove a label from the sidebar you can click the three dots, then choose remove or hide. 

Some labels are default system labels set by Gmail.  You cannot remove those but they can be hidden.  After clicking the Gear icon > Settings> Labels  > Show / Hide 

• To create new labels, choose the label icon at the top of your inbox.  (If you don't see it, you may have to choose an email first to have the toolbar appear.)
• Type in a label name > Create new 
• Then you will have the option of "nesting" the label under an existing one.  If you are uninterested, ignore this option. 

Other tips & tricks for labels:

Color code the labels! Click the three dots to choose!


If you want the label to appear first, consider adding an asterisk * or another symbol so it comes first alphabetically.  Click the three dots > Edit to change the name.

The little arrows make a label expand to view sub-labels. Hit the arrow again to collapse the list.






Next up is Google Drive...

Many of the same rules of labels apply for Google Drive folders.

• Color Code
• Put important folders first by using symbols to alphabetize. 
• Expand your list with the small down arrow. 

Know that there are two views to your Google Drive.  List View & Grid View.  Easily toggle back and forth with the button in the upper right.   Grid view is great for seeing a thumbnail preview, while list view is optimal for seeing more files at once.

Lastly, by default your Google Drive comes with some "Quick Link" thumbnails at the top that allow you easy access to the most recent files. For me, they took up too much space and were in the way. 

You can remove these quick access files by going to

Settings > uncheck Suggestions to make relevant files handy. 

Remember!  When creating Google Files such as Docs, Forms & Slides, it is best practice to go to your DRIVE FIRST!  Open the folder where you want the new document to exist then create the file by choosing the "New" button.  Then your file is safely stored where you can find it.   It is truly opposite thinking from Microsoft tools.  There you would create, then file.  With Google you can open the folder, then create.

Looking for a one-on-one approach to getting Gmail and Drive organized?  Set up a time!

jtamburlin.youcanbook.me
avollmer@smasd.org
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