TECH treats
2020 MONTHLY TREATS
JANUARY 2020
Perk up your GOOGLE CALENDAR for the NEW YEAR and the NEW DECADE with CALENDAR GRAPHICS!
TECH TREATS TIP: Since Google Calendar hasn't put out a list of all of the Calendar Graphics available, you can experiment with words to see if there is a graphic to go with them. For example, if you use the word "movie", there is no graphic, but if you use the word "cinema", you will see a graphic. Not all of the holidays have graphics - yet. Google is always updating so we could see some graphics added as time goes on. The advantage of using the Google Calendar app on your phone is being able to add the emojis. The other advantage is if you're in the Schedule view when using the app on your phone, you will easily see your graphics without having to click on the event.
TECH TREATS TIP: If you only want audio on the slide where you inserted it, you should select "Stop on slide change" in the Settings. Since your audio file has to be in Google Drive before you can insert it, make sure that you upload it before you go to insert audio. If you record your audio, simply save it to Google Drive. If you're looking for audio files online, there are lots of sites with free audio but I prefer YouTube Audio Library. It will download to your computer and then you can upload it to Google Drive. The awesome Google Slides theme that I used for this presentation is from SlidesMania. Check out their other fantastic free themes!
TECH TREATS TIP: A macro stays with the Google Sheets file where it was created. It can be used over and over again on any of the Sheets that are included with the Google Sheets file where it was created but it can't be used in another Google Sheets file. However, you can create the same macro in as many other Google Sheets files as you like. You can create up to 10 macros within a Google Sheets file. After you create a macro, you'll see the option to Manage macros and this is where you can delete a macro if you no longer need it.
TECH TREATS TIP: Besides clicking the Full-screen symbol with the shift key for a pop-out window, you can also click the Full-screen symbol alone. When you do this, it will open the Compose window larger and it will take up your full screen. This can be really helpful when you need more room to type or when you don't want the distraction of seeing other emails behind your Compose window.
TECH TREATS TIP: Since I love fonts so much, for me, More Fonts has always been about adding fonts (and I've added a lot!). Over time, I have come to appreciate being able to remove fonts, too. As I've experimented with so many fonts, it's wonderful to be able to remove some of the many fonts that I've added. When I realize that I don't like a font as much as I thought I would, I don't have to continually scroll past it in my long list. I can easily remove it from the font list.
TECH TREATS TIP: This is the way I set up all of my webinars. If I'm doing a webinar that's open for anyone to attend, I copy the Google Meet link and post the link as the word JOIN on my Online Learning page. Anyone who wants to join the webinar just has to click on the word JOIN and they are in the Google Meet webinar. If I have specific people attending a Google Meet webinar training, I invite them as guests and then they can easily join the training from their Google Calendar. Either way, all it takes is one click for people to join my Google Meet webinars.
TECH TREATS TIP: You can take notes with Google Keep in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Calendar, and Drawings and the notes will be linked. This makes it so easy for you to quickly take notes throughout Google. All you have to do is click on the link in the Google Keep note and you will see the email, Doc, Sheet, etc., that you typed the note about. You never have to worry about trying to remember what you were taking notes on. Just click on the link in the linked note!
AUGUST 2020
In GOOGLE MEET, you can easily RECORD A MEET and use the recording later. This is great for TEACHERS!
TECH TREATS TIP: Having a recording of a Google Meet can be so useful for those who missed the Google Meet or for those who need instruction or information afterwards. If you have any discussion in the Chat area when you record a Google Meet, you will also get a transcript of the Chat, in addition to the recording. You can access the transcript from the email you receive and it will also be in the Meet Recordings folder in your Google Drive. I've used this for taking attendance at my webinars. I record the Google Meet and have people type their name in the Chat. After the Google Meet, I get a transcript of the Chat with everyone's name.
TECH TREATS TIP: A Virtual Classroom or interactive activity created in Google Slides should always be viewed in Presentation mode, not Edit mode. It is created in Edit mode and all of the links are set up in Edit mode. In order to ensure that the Virtual Classroom or interactive activity is viewed in Presentation mode, you need to click on the File tab and click on Publish to the Web. You will then have the option to get a link or an embed code. The link can be given to anyone to view the Virtual Classroom or interactive activity in Presentation mode. The embed code allows it to be embedded and viewed in Presentation mode.
octoBER 2020
Are you HAUNTED by formulas in GOOGLE SHEETS? Use QUICK SUM DISPLAY and get a Sum (and more) without a formula!
TECH TREATS TIP: You really can't get much easier than Quick Sum Display! All you have to do is select some cells. That's all it takes to get information that you might normally have to use a formula to get. The cells don't even have to be all together like they are in the example. You can select random cells that are not together by holding down the CTRL key while you select the cells. Trying to get a Sum? Select the cells! Want to find an Average? Select the cells! Need a Count? Select the cells! It's so easy with Quick Sum Display!
NOVEMBER 2020
I'm so THANKFUL for SCHEDULE SEND in GMAIL so I don't have to remember to send that email at the right time!
TECH TREATS TIP: I know I'm not the only person who types emails late at night or on the weekend but I certainly don't send them at that time! With Schedule Send, I can select what day and time I want to send an email and it's done automatically for me! If you know you're going to be gone for any reason, with Schedule Send you can prepare emails ahead of time and have them sent while you're gone. It's amazing! No matter how you use it (and there are so many ways to use it), Schedule Send is a fantastic feature in Gmail!
TECH TREATS TIP: Voice Typing is so easy and it can really save you time or help with accessibility for those with disabilities. It truly lets you be hands-free and there are so many uses for it. I heard about someone who played a video recording and turned on Voice Typing while it was playing to have all of the dialogue typed in a Google Doc. I thought that was such a great idea! Just remember, if you want punctuation in your text, you need to say "period", "comma", "question mark", "exclamation point", or whatever punctuation you want. You can even say "new paragraph" or "new line". Have fun with Voice Typing by saying your name and see how it's typed. It was hilarious with my name!