MCESC Tech Integration Team

We want a spot to help 'curate' some great and exciting new tech integration options. We would like to spotlight ONE new tech option each week. Our goal is to find and share 'Free' tech which fits any budget. This part of the site is for the current school year. Check out our archive for last year's material --MCESC Tech Team

Meet Our Tech Team!

We will continue to update this calendar with our tip schedule. We our past archived tips at the top of this page. Have a tip idea to share? Email j.yeagley@mahoningesc.org

Member districts Please visit MCESC to Register for course. Non-member Please email j.yeagley@mahoningesc.org with questions and cost info

Tip #26: Pear Deck

Looking for a fun and engaging way to check for understanding utilizing tools you probably already use? Pear Deck is an add-on to Google Slides that allows you to make slides interactive during a presentation. This can be used to collect assessment information before, during, and after a lesson taught utilizing a presentation in Slides.

TTOTW 2019-04-30.mp4

Make any Slide presentation interactive
Utilize as a formative assessment tool before, during, and after a lesson
Utilize a variety of slide types to collect data as you see fit
Personalize your

Tip #25: Unsharing or Transferring Ownership of a Doc

Unshare a document
Set an expiration date for how long a document is shared
Transfer ownership of a document
Transfer ownership of a document and unshare with original owner
Review ownership settings of a document

There are times where you may need to change the sharing settings on a Google doc (or sheet, slide, etc.). This includes not only who has rights to edit or view a document, but who can access it at all. In the event you need to change sharing settings, this tech tip reviews the basics and outlines some of the less common settings, such as how to unshare a document, how to set an expiration date on the sharing of a document, and how to transfer the ownership of a document to another collaborator.

TTOTW Unsharing.mp4

Tip #24 Slides Carnival

Do you want to make your Google Slide presentation shine? Are you tired of the limited options for your Google Slides themes. If you pay attention, you will notice the same 10 or so themes being used to nauseum during people's presentation; Enter Slides Carnival. SC is a free (with some additional paid options) collection of themes. Users can browse a huge list of free themes that have been professionally designed to spark creativity and garner balanced aesthetics for your next presentation.

You Can:

Bring Life to a presentation
Use the slide layout to add function to your message
Add and delete content to fit your needs

Tip #23 Ed Puzzle

Ed Puzzle is a great new website that gives teachers the opportunity to flip their classroom with great video options from some of the best resources on the web. Teachers can create classrooms to assign videos for preassessment purposes. There are also opportunities for teachers to add their own content and explore other created flipped videos.

With Ed Puzzle, you can

Create flipped lessons to share with your students
Integrate materials with Google Classroom
Add multimedia projects that introduce or extend on important classroom concepts.

Tip #22: Sending a Doc As a PDF

Creating a pdf is quick and easy
A pdf ensures changes can’t be made to a Google Doc
A pdf gives your recipient(s) a printable version

TTOTW 2019-03-19.mp4

Changing a Google Doc to a PDF is a quick and easy way to ensure that changes can’t be made to a document. Even if you share a Doc as “view only”, the recipient can still make a copy of the doc and change or edit the doc’s contents. A simple change to the doc’s link address is all you need to create a pdf and share copies of your documents that can not be edited!

Tip #21: Organizing Your Chrome Browser

Better organize your work in the Chrome browser by managing your bookmarks and pinning and unpinning tabs
Organize and keep the tabs you most often use open by pinning them to the front of your tab bar.
Organize your favorite bookmarked sites into folders for easy access

TTOTW Tabs and Bookmarks.mp4

Are you one of those people who always has a dozen or so tabs open in your Chrome browser? Have you ever accidentally closed a tab you needed to have open? Could your browser use a little organization so you can work more efficiently? If so, our tech tip this week covers two concepts to help you better organize your Chrome browser. First, we will show you how to pin and unpin tabs in your browser to help organize the tabs you use most often. Then, we will show you how to use folders in your bookmark bar to better organize the internet site you’ve saved as your favorites.

Google has a ton of apps that you know of such as Docs, Slides, and Sheets. Google also has a lot you have never heard of like Tilt Brush and Google Scholar. Check out this tip of the week to be exposed to new apps that you might not have known existed. Google keeps growing for sure.

Tip #20 Google Apps Options

Find more about the Google Apps you use
Discover Google Apps that you didn't know existed
Keep up with new apps or apps that recently joined the Google Family
Read, research, and sample apps in order to digitally grow your world
Discover and than be the ambassador of new apps in your building

Tip #19 Google Live Transcribe

Google Live Transcribe is an app (and if you have a Pixel 3, a setting) that allows for super-quick transcription of any language you select. The app also recognizes basic sentence structure and grammar. As of now, it's only for Android devices.

Transcribe text on-the-fly
Quick access to the application allows for ease-of-use

***PRO TIP*** You can save the text by scrolling through the text and taking screenshots. Check out the video to see how to do that!

Sharing individual and groups of sheets within a workbook
Hiding and unhiding sheets
Keeping data confidential

Tip #18 Sharing Individual Mini-Sheets

2019-02-19 Sharing Mini Sheets.mp4

In today's data driven educational world, it's important to share data in an easy and efficient way. It is also important to keep certain data confidential. Google Sheets gives you the option to only share selected mini-sheets within a workbook by hiding and unhiding mini-sheets. By doing so, you can share only the information in a workbook that pertains to the person with whom you are sharing.

Tip #17 ControlAltAchieve.com

Google app tutorials and webinars
Content specific ideas and lessons
Monthly newsletter with Google updates

Controlaltachieve.com, a website developed by Eric Curts, is your one stop shop for everything Google. There are tutorials, resources, webinars, and a variety of lessons to guide you through your Google journey. This site will help you use all the Google apps to their fullest potential, as well as provide content specific ideas to utilize technology in your classroom.

ControlAltAchieve.com

Find out more about resources in Google from a local Google Guru from Northeast Ohio
All Google Apps are listed with classroom integration
Contains ways to use the apps in your classroom
Recorded Webinars/Live Webinars. 1 hour each.
Newsletter generated to you just by adding your email

2019-02-12 Control Alt Achieve.mp4

Tip #16 The Google Translate Mobile Trick

FYI: Above is a video of the translation option with Google Translate

Imagine taking words typed on a piece of paper and making them 'EDITABLE' in a digital word...on the go. Google Translate (app) does just that. On the surface, Google Translate Mobile was designed by Google to allow people to translate written and spoken word from one language to another. However, if you 'retool' the app to do you bidding...a user can SCAN and DIGITIZE words from a 'non-digital' resource in order to allow one to edit, adjust, or do any other. There are plenty of scanners out there that make 'static' and 'non-edible' images, but imagine being able to digitally lift words, phrases, and whole paragraphs right from the pages of newspapers, letters, and other typed info...

With Google Translate Mobile (App) you can...

Use your phone's camera to capture typed text
choose which text you want (paragraph, etc.) from the source.
copy the text from your phone's Google Translate app and paste it in an email to yourself (option #1)
copy and paste the text in a Google Doc (or any location) (option #2)
Text the data to yourself in any format (option #3)
take something that you would have had to type out into something you can spend time editing.

Tip #15 Media Literacy Clearninghouse

Teaching our students (and selves) media literacy is an essential component of their growth in a technology-driven schooling. In order to make a tech-savvy consumer, students need to know what information is real and what is . . .not real. Frank Baker's Media Literacy Clearinghouse helps to do that.

With the Media Literacy Clearinghouse you can...

Research multiple methods of discussing media literacy with your students
Analyze how media literacy effects modern interpretations of past events
Explore subject-related resources that integrate relevant material with media literacy

Tip #14: FiveThirtyEight.com

Fivethirtyeight.com is an analytic site that can be used to engage students with relevant, thought-provoking examples of how data can be used in the real world. Renowned writer and statistician Nate Silver is the founder and editor of the site, which contains original articles as well as several interactive components that can bring statistics and data to life for its readers. The site mainly focuses on statistics surrounding the worlds of sports and politics, but there are many articles about other topics, including science, economics, and culture. While the site is obviously applicable to math classes, it can also be used to bring data-driven evidence into conversations into any content area, including ELA, social studies, and science.

TTOTW 538.mp4

Represents data on a variety of interesting and engaging topics
Can be used to model real-world applications for use of math concepts and use of data in making decisions and answering questions
Has articles and interactive pages that show how data can be represented in multiple ways
Is applicable in any MS/HS classroom

TTOTW 2019-01-14.mp4

Tip #13 QR Codes

***Suggested by the MCESC Elementary ELA Team

The ways in which QR codes can be used in the classroom are limited only by the imagination of the teacher. QR codes can be generated and scanned from nearly any device with a camera (phone, tablet, most laptops, etc.) and can help teachers share virtually any online information they wish to share with their students in a very simple way.

With QR Codes you can...

Engage students with fun and easy-to-use technology
Share any online information with individual students or groups of students in an easy way
Differentiate for pacing, content, learning style, or student interest

Also, because QR codes can be used alongside any device with a camera, teachers can utilize whatever technology they can access.

Tip #12 Genius Scan

***Suggested by Patti Hockensmith from Canfield Schools

Genius Scan is one of many little scanners for your smartphone that turn an image into a PDF. Genius Scan is really easy to use and provides the user with many great options including editing and combining PDFs. Genius Scan is an app for your iPhone or Android devices and uses your phone's camera to capture the image. This product has a pretty solid free version with additional cost-based upgrades. I am using the free version in the demo video on the left.

Genius Scan allows you to:

Quickly digitize your images for your courses
Scan documents with useful autocorrections and editing features
Give a digital second-life to 'still useful' worksheets (PDF)
Combine your new multiple PDFs you've collected into one
Share your scanned material with others
Add scans to your Google Drive for use with Docs, Slides, Google Classroom
Scan work samples, notes, and other learning artifacts

Tip #11 CommonLit

CommonLit is a wonderful site that gives teachers and students free access to texts to help them excel in any subject area. Users of CommonLit can read and answer questions based on reading passages that can be leveled to their own reading capability. CommonLit also provides teachers the ability to track students' progress and assign them appropriate readings based on topics and skill level. The site also provides text-to-speech for struggling readers.

CommonLit provides:

Text-based learning supports for students in all subjects.
A free and easy to use website that offers teachers the opportunity to assign appropriate texts based on students' reading level.
Common Core aligned texts for grasping important ELA concepts
A way to track student's individual progress for discreet differentiated instruction

TTOTW Kerri 2018-12-11.mp4

Tip #10 Google Doc Updated Activity Dashboard

Google's latest collaborative tool is the "View History Arrow". This feature allows you to see who's viewed a document, slide, or sheet. It also allows for easy correspondence between collaborators on the document.

With Activity Dashboard you can...

View who is on the document with editing vs viewing
Analyze unique views and trends in viewing patterns
Looks for data trends for student usage/distribution
Manage what others users can see
Gain insight on student group work
Set settings across all docs

TTOTW 2018-12-04.mp4

With Scribble Maps you can...

Show distances between various map points
Attach photos, timelines, and other content specific assets
Embed links to other sites
Create a virtual field trip
Link to Google assets that is teacher created

Tip #9 Scribble Maps

Scribble Maps (https://www.scribblemaps.com) is a really cool site you can use to create interactive maps and map-based lessons for your classroom. The site has both a free and a "pro" version that requires a subscription, and there are limitless options at your disposal to bring maps to life not just in a social studies classroom, but across all contents.

Tip #8 VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a free and open-source media player. It plays all types of media, whether it is a video file, audio file, or DVD. The program has a simple format for ease of use when playing various media types. VLC Media Player can be played on any operating system. Included with the program are free tools to allow for recording of audio and video directly from your computer.

With VLC Media Player you can...

Play almost media format with no need to download additional software
Use VLC on any operating system seamlessly
Record audio through your laptop's microphone
Record video through your webcam
Record screen casts
Convert audio and video files to multiple formats
Customize the player design and output

Autodraw is a neat little browser-based program that allows users to start to 'sketch' something on a canvas while 'Autodraw' tries to figure out what the user is trying to draw. Using algorithms, the program begins offering suggestion-images to pick from. Once an images is chosen, the user can edit the stock image and/or create another one to create more of a composition. This is a Google Experiment.

Tip # 7 Bringing ideas to life with Autodraw

You can use Autodraw to:

Create scenes from novels
Create Logos
Create ICONs
Add artwork/illustrations to Presentations
Show students a 'partial' drawing to have them finish it or label it (think science)
Display/Solve Math problems (distance/rate/time).

Tip #6 Making Memes with Google Slides

Our students see and enjoy memes every day, so why not incorporate them into our lessons? This tech tip shows you how to create memes using Google Slides as a way for students to show what they know, or don't know, after a lesson.

You can use Google Memes to:

Show what you know on a topic for content
Highlight a key point about a person, place, or thing.
Ask a key question about a specific content
Screenshot or export and a JPG to share
Make a point about a character in a novel
ETC.

You can even use Google Drawings

Tip #5

Ohio Means Jobs

Our tech integration tip for the week is the usefulness of OhioMeansJobs K-12 website. This is a great tool that can be utilized in a variety of classrooms to assist students in nearly all aspects of becoming college and career ready. Linked with Monster.com, the OMJ site provides all Ohioans with job, career, and education/training information, with special elements for school-aged children. There are a variety of activities available on the OMJ site, and the best advice we can give is to sign up, create a backpack, and check out all of the opportunities the OMJ site can provide your students.

You can use the OMJ site to help students with:

Creating a career profile to help students determine their career options.
Career planning, including college searches, scholarship opportunities, and budgeting.
Job searches, including resume building, interview preparation, in-demand jobs, etc.
Preparing for WorkKeys, ACT, ASVAB, AP exams, and many other exams.

Tip #4 Librivox

Librivox is a site for free and open source audio-books that have been released to the public domain. Considering that a lot of world renowned classics are public domain, many of those classics can be found here. There's even an option to volunteer to read some of the public domain books for the site. Anyone can use the site and the books can be used on any electronic device.

There's so much to see. Check it out!

You can:

Make Lessons using resources (free)
Organize Activities around a theme
Use great Videos (designed for student )
Surveys (to extend learning)
Nice lesson builder (again, lots of resources baked in)

Visit the website

Tip #3

Google Applied Digital Skills

Greetings. This tip was shared with the Tech Team by Julie Pagnotta from MCCTC. Sean Sich and I attended a STARK PD last year to take a look at this new/free Google program. Basically, this helps educators create unique activity-based units/lessons in order to help students grow and improve digital skills. With the workforce in mind, Applied Digital Skills compliments lesson plans and student goals. Check out...the 'Getting Started Video' (really helps and well done). This is student-centric. (visit Site)

Tip #2

Google Classroom Updates

Google is always busy making changes. Sometimes the changes are quick and easy. Other times the changes are a bit drastic. The recent update to Google Classroom is closer to the drastics side. Most of the changes are great1

By Jayson Yeagley

Google Classroom Update Overview:

User Interface Changes (UI)
New tab called 'Classwork' is now after the 'Stream' tab
Ability to adjust classwork position + Ability to use comment banks in assignments + Switch between assignments

Google Classroom Updates

This video gives you an overview on what is new and what works. The author points out what she likes and doesn't like with this update

5 new Google Classroom Updates

This quick video shows you and different take on some of the new updates for Google Classroom.

By Sean Sich

Tip #1

Alice Keeler's Teacher Tech

Alice Keeler is an educator from California who has taken her collected knowledge of all things tech and teaching and combined it into a one-stop shop for educators. As a Google Certified Innovator, she created her site to help educators infuse G-Suite for Education and sound pedagogy.

Here's a link to her Youtube page

There's so much to see. Check it out!

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