Add More Fonts to Google

Wish you had more font options in your Google Apps, Web Fonts is the solution  

When you first begin to use G-Suite tools like Google Docs, you may be frustrated by the font choices you have available.  But fear not, there is an easy way for you to add hundreds of different fonts to be used in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings.  

What Fonts are available?
The easies way to see what is available is to go to the Google Fonts page (https://fonts.google.com/). From this page you can filter by Categories of fonts (Serif, Sans Serif, Display, Handwriting, and Monospace).  You can also sort the fonts (Trending, Popular, Date Added, Alphabetical). You can also look at the fonts in terms of number of styles, thickness, slant and width.  Each font has a display of what it looks like to make it easy for you to see if it will work for your needs.

Adding the font
Once you have identified the font(s) you would like to add, it is easy to include them to your font list.

• Go into one of the G-Suite apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides or Drawing)
• Click on the “Fonts” dropdown 

• At the bottom of this list you will see “More fonts…”
• From the fonts window that opens search/filter  for the font name you want to add
• Click on the font you want to add
• Click “Ok”

Since these fonts are “Web Fonts”  they are stored in the cloud and as such will be available anytime the document is opened.  This means that the font will be available for ANYONE who looks at the document. This is very different from what you may have experienced using different fonts in Office apps.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools
Tech Integration Team

Embed Video into Docs

Three ways to Embed Video into a Google Doc.  

First let me give credit where credit is due.  I picked up these tips from our friend Eric Curts on his Blog at Control Alt Achieve (this site can keep you busy with ideas for the whole school year!).  But I did think it would be helpful to break these down in a quick “Check This Out!” format, so here we go!  By default you can’t insert a video into a Google doc like you can in other apps (i.e. Sheets), so you have to cheat to get them into a document.  This can be a helpful thing for you students - be able to have a video they need to watch and then respond to directly in the document in which you want them to respond.

CHEAT NUMBER 1 - Add Hyperlinks
This really doesn’t put the video in the doc, but will let them click on the link to open the video.

1. Type the text that will be a link
2. Select the text
3. Click “Insert” in the top menu
4. Add the link address in the pop-up box
5. Click “Apply”

If the video is in your Drive, be sure to change the permissions to “Anyone with the link can view”.

My Example - Watch this video

CHEAT NUMBER 2 - Use DocuTube Add-on
If you are unfamiliar with how to use Add-ons, please refer to the October Check This Out. The DocuTube add-on will scan through a document looking for links to videos to play.

1. Add a video link to your document (see Cheat #1)
2. You and your students add the DocuTube Add-on
3. Run the DocuTube Add-on
4. Choose the video source (document if you added the link in the document)
5. Choose where the video will play (sidebar or pop-up window)

This is a nice feature because the student doesn’t leave the document.  Videos must be a YouTube video for this to work (no Vimeo, or links to video in your drive).  Also the student needs edit rights for the document to run the DocuTube add-on.

CHEAT NUMBER 3 - Embed a Google Drawing with a Video
This cheat involves copying a video that has been added to a Google Slide and pasting it into a Google Drawing and then using that Google Drawing in your Doc.  WHAT?! Here are the steps.

1. Create a Google Slides document
2. Insert a the video you want to use in one of the slides
3. Click on it then copy it
4. Open a Google Doc
5. Choose Insert...Drawing
6. In the blank Canvas that opens, paste the copied video
7. To play the video - double click on the video (try it below in my example) then double click the video when it opens in Drawing.

Hopefully one of these methods will give you the results you need.  Eric offers a fourth method that is rather complicated and results in no sound, but does actually embed a playing video into the document.  I am thinking if you want a video in a document you probably want sound, so I am leaving this cheat off my list. If you want to see Eric’s full explanation of each cheat, it can be viewed here.
For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to

http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Classroom Bridges

Making classroom connections with other classes around the world.  

Have you been looking for a way to connect with other classrooms around the world but never really knew how to get started?  Classroom Bridges (CB) helps put classrooms in touch with each other.  CB is Katie Siemer’s Google Innovator project and is designed to help develop global and cultural awareness along with collaboration skills.

How to use the Classroom Bridge

1. Fill out the form on the Sign Up page to let other teachers know you are willing to connect.
2. Go to the Find a Classroom page once you have signed up to find another classroom to start connecting. On this page, you can filter your search by location, grade level, subject area and more.
3. Contact the other teacher with information they provided (email, social media, etc.). Together, the two (or more) of you will work together outside of this website to develop your classroom connection activity/project.

That is all you need to do to begin to make connections.  If you are looking for ideas of what to do once you make the connection, CB has a Resource page that has a few suggestions.  I know we have a lot of creative teachers in this district so coming up with ideas should not be difficult.

Listen to a short one minute video explanation of the project by Katie Siemer [watch video]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools
Tech Integration Team

Great Add-ons for Docs

Are you ready to make Google Docs work smarter for you and your students?.  

Last year I presented you with an article about the differences between Google Apps, and Extensions   [view it here].  A third option to use in Google are Add-ons.  Add-ons are something you can add to Google products that work from within the application.  In this edition of “Check This Out! Tech Digest”, I would like to focus on Add-ons that you can use in Google Docs.

How do I get an add-on to use in Google Docs?

1. Open any Google Doc (a blank one will work just fine)
2. From the “Add-on” menu choose “Get Add-Ons”
3. The Add-ons store opens that has a search box at the top
4. Type the name of the Add-on you would like to add
5. Click the “+Free” to install the add-on

That is all you have to do.  Now that add-on will be available in EVERY doc you use when you are logged in on your account.

Here is a list of Add-ons for Google Docs that you may want to try.

• Grackle Marks - Convenient tools for reading and sharing documents, including highlighting, bookmarking, text and image redaction, etc.
• GradeProof AI - Artificially intelligent proofreading for Google Docs. Instantly correct spelling, grammar and phrasing with GradeProof.  It's intelligent algorithms instantly correct and improve your writing.
• MLA Formatting - A simple addon that can insert a MLA Heading into your document and make your text in MLA Format
• Mindmeister - The MindMeister add-on for Google Docs turns any bullet-point list into a mind map, and automatically inserts it into your document. The first point of your list becomes the root topic of the mind map, while the rest of the first-level points are turned into first-level topics. Second-level points are turned into the equivalent second-level topics and so on.
• Word Cloud Generator - Use this add-on to quickly assess what your emerging theme is, how to best categorize your document, or if it is someone's else's document - find out the theme of the document without reading it.
• URL Shortener - Tired of long URLs in your paper or report? Want to send your friends a link to your document that isn't 80 characters long? Use URL Shortener to easily make URLs smaller and more manageable.
• DocuTube - Stop leaving your document to watch a video. This add-on grabs any YouTube link and embeds it in a popup in your Google Doc.  
• DocAssist - Create a rubric and give quick audio or text feedback on students' writing. Supports student revisions and Google Classroom.
• Template Gallery - Browse a large gallery of professionally designed templates, including calendars, schedules, invoices, time sheets, budgeting tools, letters, resumes, financial calculators, and more.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools
Tech Integration Team

Chrome Sign-in Features

Have all of your bookmarks and passwords follow you on any device.  

“I don’t remember what my password is, on my computer it just automatically shows up”.  Have you ever said this? Or hear anyone say something like this? Three is a very easy solution to this dilemma.  By signing in to your Chrome browser it is possible to sync your information to your account making it available on any device you use.  This will enable all of your bookmarks and passwords to follow you as well. This will save you time signing into accounts you use everyday here at school if you end up using a different device.  This is more than just signing in to your Google Account.

Signing into the Chrome Browser

1. Look for the little person icon in the upper right corner of your browser window and click on it. 
2. Click the “Sign in to Chrome” button”
3. Sign in with your Google account
4. Link your Chrome data to this account?  Click “Link Data”
5. You are now signed into Google Chrome.  Click “Ok Got, It”

Once you do this you should see your name appear in the upper right corner where the person icon was previously.  When you go to a new computer simply follow these steps and your info will follow you to the new device.

If you are concerned about signing out of a device, this article from Google should answer your questions. [read article here].

This video demonstrates signing into Chrome.  [Watch it]

Other cool things Google has added over the past three months

• Google launches new “What’s New in G Suite” page - Resource Link
• Google Earth gets new Education category with classroom activities - Resource Link
• Watch the live “Bear Cams” in Google Earth - Resource Link
• Google Forms gets updates including suggested response validations, cross-domain file uploads, save preferences, checkbox grid question type, and section reordering - Resource Link
• Google Meet gets text chat feature - Resource Link
• Google Expeditions gets solo mode and annotation tool - Resource Link
• YouTube shutting down its video editor and photo slideshow tools on September 20 - Resource Link
• Duplicate Sections in Google Sites - Resource Link
• Revision History becomes Version History and gets option to name version - Resource Link
• Easier option to preview and accepts Suggested Edits in Doc - Resource Link

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools
Tech Integration Team

Google Classroom Updates

This issue focus on all the updates that have happened in Google Classroom while you were on Summer Break.  

Google is continually adding features and making updates to its products.  There have been several updates made to Google Classroom. Below is a description of the changes:   

Google Classroom Updates

1. Single View of Student Work: This change will help both teachers and students by providing a page that lists all of a student’s work for that class as well as the status of that work. To access this page, click on the “Students” area, then click on a name of a student to see a page listing all of the student’s work.
2. Reorder Class Cards: Both teachers and students can reorder the classes on the Classroom homepage.   Now you can put your classes in order by period, subject, or what ever order you want.  To move the order, login to your classroom account and you will then be able to click and drag your classroom tiles in the order you desire.
3. Decimal Grades: Teachers can now use decimal grades to award partial points on student work. These grades are added just like you did in the past, but now you have the option to include the decimal portion of the grade.
4. Display the Class Code: At the beginning of the year, teachers can make the class code to join display in full screen making it easier to see.  Go to the “students” area, on the left side next to “Class code” you will see a drop down menu option. From this menu choose “display” and the code will be displayed in a new larger window.
5. Transfer Ownership: Do you need to give someone else a class that you taught in the past?  Teachers can now transfer ownership to another teacher. To do this the first thing you need to do is invite the teacher to the class to be a “co-teacher”.  Once they are a co-teacher you can transfer ownership by clicking on the three dots by their profile and choose “Make class owner”

Just in case you missed it, I am adding the info from the May Check This Out! Google Classroom Tips.   This issue talked about how to deal with the Google Classrooms you created last year.

What to do with all my Google Classrooms from last year?
If you have spent a lot of time this year building assignments in your Google Classrooms, you don’t want to lose all that work.  Here are some recommendations to continue what you have done next year.

1. Start the school year with a new blank Google Classroom for each class/period:  You could just remove all the students from the Google Classroom and add next years students, but having all the content for the whole year/semester visible at the start can be overwhelming.  Plus the newest content is at the top, so moving things around can be time consuming for the teacher. Another issue is that due dates and other interactions are no longer valid for this new group, so we recommend always starting with a fresh new Google Classroom.
2. Archive old Classrooms: Go to Google Classroom main page and click on the three dots.  You will see the option to “archive” the classroom. This will move the classroom out of the main area to help clean up your Google Classroom area.  You can still access the old Google Classrooms and use your old assignments even if the Classroom is in the Archive area.
3. Pull assignments from previous classrooms: As mentioned in number 6 above.  You can pull in assignments from old Google Classrooms into your new fresh classroom.  This allows you to use assignments and posts from the previous school year in your new Google Classroom.
4. DON’T DELETE YOUR OLD CLASSROOMS: unless you never want the content in that classroom ever again in your future teaching career.  Once deleted it can’t be recovered.

As you begin to wrap things up for this year and plan for next year, keep these tips in mind!

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Google Classroom Tips

If you used Google Classroom this year or not, these tips will help get you ready for NEXT year.  

It was great to see so many of you embracing Google Classroom this year.   We have had students in Google Classrooms from First Grade through Twelfth Grade.  Students are becoming more and more familiar with how to work from within this tool, so if you did not use Google Classroom this year, consider giving it a try next year.  In this edition of the Check This Out! Digital Digest, I would like to give you some Google Classroom tips to think about for next year as well as a recommendation on how to deal with all the Google Classrooms you made this year.   

Google Classroom Tips to Try

1. Number your Assignments: Adding a number in the title of the assignment will help you in two ways.   First, it will make it easy for you to refer to the assignment to your students,  “Be sure you have finished assignment number 1 in classroom”. Second it will keep your assignment folders in order in the Google Classroom Folder in your Google Drive, making it easier for you to find what you are looking for in the Classroom folder.
2. Add Descriptions to Assignments: As students continue to realize that all of your materials are in the Google Classroom for your class, it will become a reference point for students that are absent.  Spelling out the details will make it easier for them to complete make-up work.
3. Distribute Notes: Give each student a copy of your notes, this will allow them to focus on discussion of the material rather than writing notes.
4. Make a Copy for Each Student: Help save paper, use this feature of Google Classroom to give each student their own digital copy of work.
5. Google Classroom Routine: Get your students into a routine by starting each class in Google Classroom to look for tasks to begin.  This practice will help you maximize class time - student don’t need to wait for you to tell them what to do.
6. Re-Use Posts: If you have created some assignments in classroom that really worked, you can reuse these assignments in your new Google Classroom for  the new school year (more below).

What to do with all my Google Classrooms from this year?
If you have spent a lot of time this year building assignments in your Google Classrooms, you don’t want to lose all that work.  Here are some recommendations to continue what you have done next year.

1. Start the school year with a new blank Google Classroom for each class/period:  You could just remove all the students from the Google Classroom and add next years students, but having all the content for the whole year/semester visible at the start can be overwhelming.  Plus the newest content is at the top, so moving things around can be time consuming for the teacher. Another issue is that due dates and other interactions are no longer valid for this new group, so we recommend always starting with a fresh new Google Classroom.
2. Archive old Classrooms: Go to Google Classroom main page and click on the three dots.  You will see the option to “archive” the classroom. This will move the classroom out of the main area to help clean up your Google Classroom area.  You can still access the old Google Classrooms and use your old assignments even if the Classroom is in the Archive area.
3. Pull assignments from previous classrooms: As mentioned in number 6 above.  You can pull in assignments from old Google Classrooms into your new fresh classroom.  This allows you to use assignments and posts from the previous school year in your new Google Classroom.
4. DON’T DELETE YOUR OLD CLASSROOMS: unless you never want the content in that classroom ever again in your future teaching career.  Once deleted it can’t be recovered.

As you begin to wrap things up for this year and plan for next year, keep these tips in mind!

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Google Tour Builder

Virtual field trips created by you or your students.  

Are you looking for a creative way for your students to show what they are learning in your classroom?   Google Tour Builder may be the solution that allows your students to do just that. With Tour Builder you or your students will be able to plot out locations on Google Earth and then provide descriptions of that location including video and images.  These are extremely easy to put together. Simply login with your Google account and start looking for places to drop pins. Tour Builder allows you to create a digital story of locations that can then be presented in the order you specify.

Example Ideas of how a classroom teacher may use Tour Builder

• Social Studies - Create a tour of all the major battle sites of World War II.
• Language Arts - Mapping Fogg's Trip in “Around the World in Eighty Days”
• Science - A timeline of the significant scientific discoveries of the 20th century mapped geographically
• Mathematics - Virtual tour of various architecture that possess unique geometric characteristics.
• Foreign Language - Explore the culturally significant locations of countries in which Spanish is the native language.
• Physical Education - Create a tour of the last ten Summer Olympic venues.
• Art - Map out the birthplaces of the ten most influential artists in history

I am sure you can come up with different ways your students can tell digital stories with this tool.   Here is a short video that provides a  teacher's perspective of Tour Builder.

How do I access Tour Builder

1. Go to https://tourbuilder.withgoogle.com/
2. Signin with your Google Account
3. Click “Create a Tour”
4. Give the tour a name and put your name in as the author, click “Create Tour”
5. Add your content

The first slide is the introduction slide.  To add new slides which are new locations, simply click the “Add Location” button.  You can use the “Search for a location” search box to help you get to a location to drop a pin.

View a sample tour I made of Green.

If you need help creating a tour, just put in a help desk ticket and choose “Tech Integration” as the category.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx