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Showing posts from December, 2018

Assigning Quizzes in Scholastic News

Scholastic News is an awesome resource for teaching current events, nonfiction text, and reading strategies. But now, there's even more! Scholastic has created quizzes using Google Forms that you can send to your Google Classroom for students to complete! Follow these steps to have your students completing the online quizzes. 1. Sign into your Scholastic News account. 2. Click on the thumbnail image of the issue you'd like to use for the quiz. 3. Scroll down to see the 'Quizzes' icon. 4. Click on the icon, and when prompted, click 'OK'. 5. If this is your first time, you'll be prompted to give Scholastic access to your Google Account. Do it! It's okay! 6. You can view and edit the quiz by clicking the View/Edit button or just straight up assign it by clicking 'Assign'. Don't worry, you'll be able to assign it if you view and edit it first. 7. After you click 'Assign&

Convert a Word Document to a PDF

Need to convert a Microsoft Word document to a PDF? Look no further than here! 1. Open the Word document you want to convert. 2. Click the 'File' menu. 3. Select 'Print'. Keyboard shortcut fans can click Ctrl+P. 4. Click the drop-down menu under the word 'Printer'. 5. Select 'Microsoft Print to PDF'. 6. Click the 'Print' button. 7. Give the file a name a choose a location to save it where you'll remember to find it. 8. All done.

Convert a Google Doc to a PDF

Need to convert a Google Doc to a PDF? Follow these steps: 1. Open the doc you want to convert. 2. Click on the File menu and select Print. If you're a keyboard shortcut fan, press Ctrl + P. 3. Your destination is probably set to a printer, below the printer, click the 'Change...' button. 4. Click 'Save as PDF' 5. The blue 'Print' button will have changed to a blue 'Save' button. Click it! 6. Choose the location you'd like to save your PDF and you're off and running!

Using the Snipping Tool

In the midst of the holiday season, I'm sure everyone is wondering the same thing. How in the world am I going to share tech directions with all my friends and family? Sharing spoken tech tips through mouthfuls of roast beast just hasn't worked for everyone in the past and folks just seem to get lost and confused when you hand them a set of 137 complex directions. Well, we've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but how can all those ever-so-important images be captured. Why, by using the Snipping Tool, of course! To access the Snipping Tool: 1. Open your start menu at the bottom left of your screen. 2. Either start typing the words 'Snipping Tool' or look for the tile that's already there. 3. After the program opens, navigate to the image you want to snip. 4. Click 'New'. 5. The screen will turn a little gray, don't worry, everything's going to be all right. Click and drag over the image y

Paste Without Formatting

Ever had a need for an awesome quote, searched the Internet and found the perfect one, but when you went to paste it in your document/email/slideshow/etc. some nasty background residue left over from the website where you discovered the quote is hanging onto the text like pet fur on your favorite sweater? If so, you're not alone and here's what you can do about it. 1. Copy the quote the same way you always would have by highlighting, then right-clicking and selecting 'Copy' or pressing Ctrl-C on your keyboard. 2. Open the document/email/slideshow where you want to paste the text. 3. Right-click and select 'Paste without formatting' or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+V. 4. Presto! You'll have nice, clean text free of any residual website formatting no one wants anywhere near their document/email/slideshow. 5. Since you are borrowing this marvelous quote, don't forget to cite it!

Got a window hanging out beyond your desktop? Pull it back!

Every now and then, some things with technology can go a little awry. One thing I've noticed are windows that decide to migrate beyond the fair pastures of your desktop and just kind of partially hang out in the unexplored regions beyond your screen. The big dilemma is you may not be able to access the feature you need in that window and it seems like there's no way to pull it back in. If you've experienced, or are experiencing, this maddening situation, here's what to do. 1. Right-click anywhere on your desktop to bring up this menu. 2. Select 'Display settings' 3. Scroll down until you see 'Resolution'. 4. Click the drop-down menu and select any other resolution . 5. You should now see the entire window that was hanging out in the regions beyond and you will be able to drag it to the center of your desktop. 6. After you guide your window safely back to the safe confines of your desktop, return to 'Display setting

How To Turn Off Student Comments in Google Classroom

I'm going to start this post off with a disclaimer. I strongly believe students learn better when they are allowed to communicate with each other, talk about problem-solving methods, and openly share ideas. Student-to-student interaction is essential for promoting an environment of learning and discovery. However, that culture must be carefully established with masterful teaching and allowing students to write comments in Google Classroom without teaching how to comment respectfully and responsibly can lead to frustration and tears - sometimes at best. Here are the steps for turning student comments off in Google Classroom. Please note, you can follow the same steps for turning them back on. 1. Go to classroom.google.com and open the Classroom you use with your students. 2. Near the top right-hand corner of the screen, click the little cog-shaped icon. 3. Click the drop-down menu that says, 'Students can post and comment'. 4. Select, 'Only

No calculator? No problem! Google those math problems!

If you're like me, you constantly have math problems rolling around in your head. I have to admit, this isn't a joke! Sometimes I have nifty little shortcuts to solve them, but other times, I struggle to use mental math to close the deal. Of course, I love cranking through multi-digit multiplication and lengthy long division as much as the next person, but sometimes I just don't have the hours to justify it and that's when I reach for my handy-dandy Google search engine! Here's how: 1. Open a new tab in your web browser and go to google.com . 2. In the box where you'd normally run a Google search, type the problem. Or - for bonus points - use the voice feature by clicking the microphone icon and just say it! 3. Hit 'Enter' on your keyboard and, "Voila!" You've got yourself an answer! Super Extra Credit Bonus Info: You can do the same thing through the Omnibox (Google's name for the address bar

Create a List with Bullets in Google Docs

Creating bulleted lists can be great for organizing information or having students make an outline for writing assignments. Here are directions for getting started. 1. Open a new Google Doc and give it a title. 2. To start your list, type an asterisk - * - by holding the Shift key and pressing the number 8. 3. Press the spacebar. 4. Press Enter to create a bullet on the next line. 5. To indent, press Tab. 6. To decrease the indent, click this icon: 7. For more information, please watch the short video above!

Edit Class Sections in Code.org

Sometimes section details need to be edited in Code.org 's CS Fundamentals curriculum. Here are the steps to find where to edit. 1. Log into Code.org . If you set up your class section with Google, be sure to sign in with Google. If you used Clever , please log in through the Clever Portal . 2. Scroll down to view the class sections. 3. On the right-hand side of the table, there is a dropdown arrow. Click it! 4. Select 'Edit Section Details'. 5. This will allow you to edit any of the details about the section. 6. For a more comprehensive look, please view the short video above.

Accessing Resources in Code.org

If you're looking to start Code.org 's CS Fundamentals curriculum, you'll probably want to look over some of the resources before you get started. Code.org is resource-rich, so there is a lot to go through. This post will show where to find the resources, but be sure to watch the brief video for a comprehensive overview. 1. Log into Code.org . If you set up your roster with Google Classroom, be sure to log in with Google. If you used Clever , access Code.org through the Clever Portal . 2. Scroll down to your class section. 3. Click on the course you are teaching. This will either be Course A-F, depending on your grade-level. 4. When you click that link, you will see a course overview where you can find lesson plans, solutions to problems, blackline masters, videos for students and teachers, and you can try the activities yourself! 5. For a more comprehensive look, please view the video above.

Check Student Progress in Code.org

As your students plug away through Code.org 's CS Fundamentals curriculum, you may wish to view their progress. Here are the steps for doing that. 1. Log into Code.org . If you set it up with Google Classroom, sign in with Google. If you set it up through Clever , be sure to sign in through the Clever Portal . 2. Scroll down so you can see your class section. 3. Click the name of the class section. 4. Click the lesson number to view the activities completed for that specific lesson. 5. For a comprehensive look at how to do this, view the brief video above.