Sunday, June 28, 2020

Google Sheets & Docs You Can Do

I am on an epic learning adventure this summer! To make a long story short, I did a short appearance on the GEG Ohio meeting in April and now I've got quite a few virtual sessions lined up. I'm super excited! To check out what I will be presenting & the registration information, please check out the "My Presentations" page.

The first BIG learning adventure I am embarking on is what I want to share today. Together with my #NYC19 Google Innovator coach, Dr. Desiree Alexander, I will be doing an intro class for the Google Apps. Two have already happened, and if you weren't able to tune in, no worries! Desiree shares them on her YouTube Channel. I wanted to also share them here, too, along with the resources.

I do my best to make any presentation I do worthwhile, so I format it to make it a "play along". The first session was about Google Sheets and the second session was on Google Docs. Google Slides is coming up on Tuesday and Forms on Thursday. 

There's still time to join in! Check out the registration doc here, Tech You Can Do: An Intro to Google Apps. And if you can't make the day/time, I highly recommend you register anyway ... Desiree will send the recording out afterwards. 


Google Sheets You Can Do
Google Sheets can be intimidating, but they don't have to be. I even formatted my presentation IN a Google Sheet so you can see that it is far more than a spreadsheet. (It IS a pretty amazing spreadsheet, too.)

I have 2 versions of the resource:

1. This link is what it looked like prior to the recording. (If you want to "play along", make a copy of this one so you can do it authentically on your own.)

2. This link is the after version with all the changes made during the presentation. (Feel free to view/make a copy of what mine looked like afterwards.)

Here is the video:



Google Docs You Can Do
Google Docs is probably the first & easiest of the Google Apps to get going with. It is a word processor, but like ALL of the Google Apps, don't limit them to "only" being their basic format. Docs is much MORE than word processor, as we will see when we dig in.

Here is a link to Google Docs You Can Do. I shared two pretty powerful tools with Docs: one is voice typing. This is awesome for your students with specific learning needs, but ALSO for everyone - yourself included! Another powerful tools is "version history". PLEASE put this in your "teacher bag of tricks" and use it ... not just with your rascals, but also to help all when things gets deleted. It can be a huge help.

Here is the video:


I hope these two encourage you to look at Sheets & Docs in a different light. They are both incredible tools for you and your students. Do you need additional help? Do you have other questions? Feel free to reach out in the comments below ... or email me: sarah@techyoucando.com ... or reach out on Twitter - @kiefersj.

I hope to connect with you soon!

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Google Photos for Space & Savings You Can Do

I'd hoped to have this out last week, but I've been busy trying to get a few home projects done and spending time outside with my husband and girls. I'm hoping you enjoy this - it's an easy one ... and one that will pay off long term!

Today's share is directed to you as a person, more than you as a teacher. During the school year, I focus far more on academic shares, so today is meant to help you in your life outside of school.

Have you ever received the message on your phone you are out of storage and you need to:
  • purchase more?
  • delete things?
It's quite the bummer! An alternative is purchase a new phone with additional memory ... but really?

No need! It's easier than any of these. All you need is a Google account & one specific app - Google Photos. It's free and has massive storage.

I learned this several years ago when I needed to create space on my phone, but still wanted to be able to see my photos. I learned about Google Photos ... and then I found out I could set it up to AUTOMATICALLY back up all my photos! Mind-blown! Now, I never worry about losing my photos and I can go all the way back to 2006 when I took my first digital photos and enjoy the walk down memory lane.

I've posted some Slides below to help you navigate through setting it up -it's super easy, I promise. I have an iPhone, so Android users, I apologize ... your screen might look slightly different, but I do not think it will be too far off.

As always, feel free to share & reach out if you have any questions!

*** And a side note before you jump in ... I will be doing a series of 8 FREE webinars soon where each one focuses on an introduction to a single Google app. 

I've also been asked to make a second appearance with the GEG Louisiana in July (yay!). 

To help share these, I've added the page "My Presentations" to the header row in my blog and I've embedded a calendar for quick access to these presentations & their registration links.

I'd love to "see" you there! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! ***
 


Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions, or you'd like help with this - or any of the items I share. You can comment below, reach out on Twitter (@kiefersj), or email me (Sarah@techyoucando.com).