Once again Alice Keeler shares a great post about Unsubmiting work turned in via Google Classroom.

Below is a copy of her post.  You can find the original post at: http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/12/10/google-classroom-unsubmit-work/ 

When students “Turn In” work in Google Classroom the ownership of the document switches from the student to the teacher. The document becomes “View only.”

If a student accidentally submitted or they need editing access back at a later point thestudent can click on the “Unsubmit” button in Google Classroom. If the student has the document already open, they will need to refresh the document to be able to edit the document again.

Submission History

When a student submits work, unsubmits work or resubmits work this is documented for the teacher. In the assignment grading screen, choose “See submission history” beneath the students name in the right-hand panel.

Return Student Work

The teacher is able to return student work. Check the checkbox next to the student’s name and click the “Return” button at the top of the student list on the grading screen. It is my recommendation to not do this for students who accidentally submitted. When students request access to their own documents, I indicate that they can click on “Unsubmit” to regain access to the document.

 Keeler, Alice. "Google Classroom: Unsubmit Work." Teacher Tech. N.p., 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Remind now can translate your texts

Remind excited to announce outgoing Translate on the Web and App: You now have the ability to send translated announcements and chats in over 90 languages via the Remind app and on remind.com! We are super excited about this as we know this was a highly requested feature from you. To learn more please read this FAQ.

3 Tricks to Try in Google Slides

Today's Google Tips are about slides.  The website below gives some tips for:

1. Deleting pre-made layouts
2. Inserting clipart
3. Changing the background


You can find the full details at:
http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/10/06/3-tricks-in-google-slides-to-try/

3 Tricks to Try in Google Sheets

1. Set Word Wrapping

All the contents of once cell to overflow into the adjacent cell (if empty)

2. Protect Range

Stop another person from editing certain cells in a shared sheet

3. Hide Columns

See the full description of each, with pictures by going to:
http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/10/07/3-tricks-in-google-sheets-to-try/

3 Tricks to Try in Google Docs

The site below will show you 3 tricks to try in Google Docs to increase your Google ability.  You will be shown how to: insert images in boxes, use suggested edits and how to insert drawings into your document.

http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/10/05/3-tricks-in-google-docs-to-try/

3 Tricks in Google Drive to Try

The link below will walk you through 3 Google Drive Tricks to try.  They include: converting your files to the Google format upon upload, locating files that you worked on previously, and easily deleting large files

http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/10/08/3-tricks-in-google-drive-to-try/

Attaching notes to assignments in esd

Now that we have the parent portal open you can attach notes to various assignments for the students.  Parents can these assignments and they are assignment and students specific.

Tony has made us a video to walk us through this purpose.

Organizing and Effectively Using your Mac

TEQ has a great video that is an intro to using your mac computer.  This video can be found here.  If you have not yet created a TEQ account you'll need to do so.  You can find our previous blog post about how to do so here.

Multi-Owner Classes in Remind

Remind just launched a new feature that allows for multi-owner classes.  This is great for those who coteach classes or who have two advisors or coaches for a sport.  If you aren't familiar with Remind it's a way to send text messages and/or e-mails to students in a safe way.  There is also a feature, that you can enable, to allow students to send you messages as well.

Here's an overview of Remind, plus some handy quick-start guides and fact sheets -- and this video of a principal talking about how he uses Remind. 

Increasing parental engagement and satisfaction:

Principal Adam Welcome uses Remind schoolwide and surveys parents re: engagement and satisfaction: on his last survey, 99% of parents agreed that his Remind messages were helpful and useful. One teacher Remind to ping parents about end-of-year conferences, and had 100% of families show up for the first time ever. See here for a case study.

A Google Challenge

If you are looking to take your Google knowledge to the next level take a visit to the site below. It will give you a few things to try to help you learn more about using Google.

http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/09/03/5-advanced-google-docs-challenges/

Using Google Drive as a Backup

As Jean mentioned in her e-mail, you may want to back up your files before you hand in your laptop.  There are a number of options you can choose from.  Being that we now have access to unlimited storage in Google, you may want to use Drive as a place to backup your files.  Below is a visual set of directions for this process.  If you have any questions, please contact a Tech Team member.  If you need addition support, you can contact Cristina and she can help out.  With Google, we have a feature to be able to work and see other computers even if we aren't in the same room or building.

Step 1

Go to Google Drive and sign in with your school account.  UPDATE: Use Google Chrome to ensure everything transfers correctly.

Step 2

Create a new folder.  To do this click on the red NEW button and then click Folder.

Step 3

A window will pop up asking you to name the folder.  Give it any name you want.  Something like 2014-2015 School year might be good.

Step 4

Double Click on the new folder that you just created.  This will open it up. 

Step 5

Next you'll want to open up finder to the folder you want to backup.  Many of you will be backing up your documents folder so that is the one you want to open, but some might have things stored elsewhere. 

It is suggested that you resize the windows so that they both fit on the screen without overlapping. 

Step 6

To copy your documents into Google Drive, you will have to select them all and drag them into the Google Drive window.  Note: You aren't removing them from your computer, just creating a copy in Google.  

While the finder window is selected, you can press "command" and "A" at the same time and this will select all of the folder and documents in that window.  You can also drag the folders and files one by one.

It may take a few minutes depending on how many files you have, but after that you are all done!

An easy way to group your students

This spreadsheet will help you create groups for your classes very quickly. Watch the tutorial video below to learn how to get the most out of this spreadsheet.

To get a copy of the spreadsheet, use the link below.
http://www.mrmatera.com/2014/03/google-spreadsheet-magic-part-1-super-grouper/

Super Grouper Tutorial from Michael Matera on Vimeo.

Creating a e-mail distribution group

If you are looking to create an e-mail distribution group in Outlook below are the directions (with and without pictures).

1. Click on the contacts button
2. Click on the arrow next to New and choose group from the drop down menu
3. Give your group a name
4. Enter an e-mail address and press add to group
5. Repeat step 4 until all e-mail addresses are added
6. Click save and close

Canva - a graphic design program for the design challenged

Canva has premade templates that allow to make designs for flyers, posters, invitations, Facebook covers, business cards and so much more.  It's basically drag and drop, so it couldn't be easier!  For the most part Canva is free, but if you want to use any of their premium elements you'll have to pay $1 for each one you want to use.  You can also upload your own images to really personalize your designs.

Canva has just announced that are launching a Canva for Work branch of their website.  Right now I'm still not clear how it's going to be different, but who doesn't like to get in things first, so I signed up to be on the list for the beta release (you should too!)

You can use this program to make posters and decorations for your classroom or students can use it for presentations. You do need to log in, so if students don't have their own e-mail addresses I would suggest you make a generic e-mail address that you can sign up for a an account with.  This way students can log in with that account and you always have access to what they have created.  I have done that for my classes with a simple Outlook e-mail address. 

Internet Safety - Hover before you click

If you hover your mouse over a hyperlink you can see what website the link goes to in the bottom left of your window.  It’s a great way to check to make sure a link is legitimate before you click on it.

Alice Keeler has a great post on her blog about this and I suggest that you check it out! 

http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/05/14/internet-safety-hover-before-you-click/

Previous tip can be found at: http://valhallatechtips.blogspot.com/

Combine multiple files into one PDF

Thank you Lauren Rossi for today's tech tip.

PDFMerge! is a site that allows you to upload several files (of any time) and merge them all together into one PDF.  This would be great to use when you have multiple files and want the copy center to turn them into one document.  You can merge them all into one PDF and then send that to them!

TEQ - online pd videos

If you are interested in watching an technology pd videos (either live or on demand) you can sign up by going to: http://onlinepd.teq.com/signup

The codes for the buildings are:

Virginia		ab0283
Kensico		c583ec
Middle		81c4e7
HS		d7b642

If you have any questions, just ask a member of the tech team!

How to Right Click on the Mac

If you are a Windows user who has moved over to Mac, you may have noticed that you can no longer right click.  There are two easy ways to right click.  The first is to hold down the Control key and then click.

If you want to set up your trackpad to have right click there are a few options for you.  To set this up first open up System Preferences and then click on Trackpad.  From there click on "Point and Click" and set your preferences under Secondary Click.  Secondary Click is Mac speak for right click.

Here is a quick screencast to show you what to do.

Updating your Network Password

To update your Network Password follow the following steps (the video also shows the same thing):

1. open up System Preferences
2. click on Users and Groups
3. click on Change Password
4. type in your old password and what you would like the new password to be

Your new Google Account!

If you have changed your network password you are ready to sign into Google (if you want to).  This link will take you to a video that shows you what to do.  The sign up process is very simple. 

Things to note: 

1. If you just changed your password you may have to wait 24 hours before it syncs up with Google
2. If you had created a previous Google account with your school e-mail address there will be one more step for you to go through.  It will prompt you through the steps, but basically it will ask if you want to merge your two accounts.

If you have any questions, just ask!

Changing your Outlook (program) password

For those of you who have set up the Outlook program on your computer (not the web version) you will need to change your password after you change your computer password.  Below is a short video on how to do that.

Spotlight to search your Mac

Have you ever went to look for a file but couldn't remember what you called it or where you saved it?  You are going to love the Spotlight feature.  Searching the spotlight will search your computer for apps, documents, images and other files.  In addition, it also gives your suggestions based on other things, such as e-mail and your dictionary.

You find the spotlight in the top right corner of your mac.  It looks like a magnifying glass.

Below is a screenshot that shows what it looks like when I searched for "periodic table".

How to temporarily make your Mac dock smaller

If there is ever a time when the Mac dock is getting in your way then this tip is going to going to help you out!

On your dock look for the vertical line separating your dock.  It is usually near your documents folder.

When you hover over it, your mouse turns into a line with arrows on each end.  You can then click in drag your mouse up or down to enlarge or shrink your dock.

Share My Lesson Virtual Conference

If you are a classroom teacher, paraprofessional, parent or work to help children learn and develop, Share My Lesson has something for you.

Share My Lesson’s Ideas & Innovations Virtual Conference has 29 free professional development sessions addressing topics from across the curriculum, customized for K-12 educators.

What will you learn?

• How to bring new, fresh, innovative ideas effectively into the classroom and your work with students;
• The inside scoop on upcoming education trends and how they will affect your community; and
• How to implement techniques based on the Common Core State Standards.

Now’s the time to save your spot in the session(s) of your choice. Sessions will run from 5 p.m.–10 p.m. Eastern time, Mon.–Wed., March 23-25. Each session will run about 45 minutes, including time for questions

Flobabulary

Brett Erenberg has invited you to use Flocabulary at Valhalla Union Free School District. Flocabulary is an online library of educational hip-hop songs and videos for grades K-12. You'll have unlimited access to Flocabulary's videos and lessons through 05/24/15. Click the link below to finish setting up your account: http://flocabulary.com/access-group-activation/valhalla-union-free-school-district Enjoy! The Flocabulary Team

Setting up the Outlook program on your computer

Some of you are interested in setting up the Outlook mail app on your computer.  It has some more robust functions than the web-based versions.  Below are some screen shots if you are interested in setting it up.

1. Find the Outlook App.  An easy way to search for it is to use the magnifying glass on the top right of the screen and type in Outlook.

2. Once the program is open click on the word Outlook at the top and then preferences.  You will see the screen below.  From here click on Accounts.

3. On the next screen click on Exchange Account. 

4. You will now need to fill in some information.  Fill in the information as seen below.  E-mail address is your e-mail address.  Username is valhallaschools\username.    Password is your password.
Once completed click on Add Account.

 5. You should be all set now.  Give it a few minutes and all of your e-mails should arrive.  At this point you may want to add the Outlook icon to your dock so that it's easy to open up every morning (you no longer need to use web based e-mail anymore).

6. One thing you may want to do is to change the various notification and sounds that are set as a default.  To do this go back to preferences (as you did in step 2) and click on notifications and sounds.

7. You will see the various options.  You can choose to get or not get a variety of visual and auditory notifications each time an e-mail comes in.

Valhalla e-mail on your phone or tablet

Many of you have asked how to set up Valhalla e-mail on your cell phone or tablet.  When you go into the mail app on your device it will ask for some information.  The information below should help you complete those field.


service type: Exchange 2007 or Exchange

email address: your email address (ie. cconciatori@valhallaschools.org)

password: your password

domain: valhallaschools

user name: your account name (ie. cconciatori)

On some Android devices the domain and user name are combined into one field (ie. valhallaschools\cconciatori)

server address: vsdmail.valhallaschools.org

State Standards Reference Apps

State Standards Reference Apps

Mastery Connect has developed an app for each of the 50 states.  With this app you are able to easily have all of the standards for your state at your fingertips.  

You can easily find these apps in your app store by searching "Mastery Connect" or by going to the Mastery Connect App Site.