Google Forms + Mote You Can Do

 Happy Sunday! This one is going to be pretty short & to the point. I totally forget about how Mote can work with Google Forms. (And all 3 of my daughters have sporting events this weekend keeping us busy!)

Earlier this month, I shared how you can use Mote - an audio feedback extension - with Docs, Sheets, Slides & Classroom in "Easy Audio You Can Do (& love!)". I didn't think about it at the time, but I had forgotten about Forms. That thought dawned on me this week and as with a couple of the ways I shared previously, using Mote with Google Forms isn't in the form Mote was developed for, but that doesn't make it any less useful. In fact, it might just give you the added ability in Forms you were previously looking for.

How about using Mote in Forms to provide an audio of the question &/or as an answer? I'll admit, it's not perfect, but it's possible and does work. I'll share a video below. And maybe ... once you see how I thought to use it, maybe you'll think of another way and share it, too!

***After thought, before publishing***

After I recorded the video below, I had a thought ... as the teacher, create questions that allow for students to submit a link to a Mote as an answer. It would be just like I recorded the questions and pasted the link in the description, but the student adds it as an answer. How awesome would that be? (Please make sure having students use Mote is approved in your district first!)

I encourage you to explore Mote and be creative on the many different ways you can use it with the Google applications. Interested in signing up? If I've persuaded you, be sure to click on this link that will give you 60 days FREE on the Unlimited tier. And as always, if you have comment or question, be sure to leave it below ⤵.

Or connect & follow me on social media - all of my links are in the top right corner of my blog under my picture.

P.S. I have Wakelet collections full of tips, tricks, and other resources for Forms & Mote:

• Google Forms Wakelet
• Mote Wakelet

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***

Personal Gmail Clean Up You Can Do

I have a couple of confessions to make: I'm a bit of a pack-rat and I love storage. I love of boxes and I love organizing. 

One of the things I absolutely LOVE about Google is the amount of storage I have (17 GB in my personal account & unlimited in my school account). But one of the things I struggle with is when Google makes changes. Now, I'm not worried about my school storage - and I feel like I'm pretty organized. But, I've not been as neat & tidy in my personal account. 

I have been creeping closer and closer to the max storage on my personal account for the past couple of years and I knew I'd have to do something. I believe I have plenty of storage but I see a need to do a better job organizing and prioritizing what I decide to keep. I am going to do this in chunks. I am going to tackle my Gmail first. Trying to tackle it all at once is both overwhelming and not feasible. (I'm a teacher and a mom, remember!) 

Everyone has a method of organizing, even if they don't know it. I could show you how I like to organize, but that doesn't mean it will work for you. I might have different categories than you or I might have a different comfort level in the length of time I hold on to items. It's ALL ok ... as long as it works for you. That means it's a system you actually use and like. And stick to. That's always the key - you have to stick with it.

This weekend I'm focusing on organizing my personal Gmail. I really need to do some purging. I've known this for awhile. Here is my plan of attack:

Before I published this, I got wrapped up in the purging. It felt good! My timer went off and I kept purging! I picked it back up today and I got through all of my folders. (Seriously, how many emails from 2013 did I really need to hold on to? Yes, I kept reminding myself of that!) I'm not quite done. I have one category to go through and clean up, but it's a biggie! It has close to 6,000 emails. I'm not looking forward to it. But I know it'll feel good to tackle it. One step at a time.

I do have additional tips & tricks for Gmail if you are interested. I save them in my Gmail Wakelet collection ➜ https://wke.lt/w/s/z-FYRE

Next up, cleaning & organizing my Google Drive!

I am also super excited to share I have TWO upcoming events you can join me in:

• Saturday, April 17 - I will be presenting at the Power Up Conference. You can register at this link.

• June & July 2021 - I will be teaming up with Dr. Desiree Alexander (of EducatorAlexander) for a 6 part series "Leveling Up with Google Tools"! All of the info & registration can be found at this website: edalex.net/levelup

If you have a question about this blog (or any of my other shares), please feel free to comment below ⤵.

You can also send me an email - sarah@techyoucando.com

Or find me on social media - all my links are above under my photo on the right side.

Have a great week!

Easy Audio You Can Do (& LOVE!)

I am super pumped to share this today! I was crazy excited about a year ago when we could start inserting audio in Google Slides. I was pumped! I shared out "Insert Audio (... for kids!) You Can Do" a little more than one year ago. It's not super complicate, and it's definitely doable for both you and students, BUT ... today makes inserting audio CRAZY SIMPLE!

Today ... if you are sitting down ... get ready to jump for joy! I'm going to share something that I absolutely adore and it's many uses! Mote. This tool is my new favorite tool and I can't stop sharing it and finding new ways to use it.

I. Absolutely. Love. It!

Here's the general overview of Mote. It's an extension. Add it to your Chrome profile and it then shows up in your extensions bar, yes, AND inside Google Slides as well as in your comment box in Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Classroom. Now you can easily - and quickly - record your voice in all of these areas! And the voice notes all save to your Google Drive with the correct share settings so they are ready to be listened to! Voilá!

If you are interested ... Mote can do far more than record voice comments. You can also provide transcriptions (in over 20 languages) and edit the transcriptions. And you can record "Motes" to be shared in places outside of the Google Apps listed above. (That's a topic for another day - of go to their website https://www.justmote.me/ and learn about their other capabilities.)

Have I convinced you to give Mote a try? If so, I can offer you the chance to have a 60 day FREE trial of the Unlimited tier. Yep - that's right ... click on this link and you get 60 days FREE on the Unlimited tier. Woot!

I thought it would be best to demo each of the ways you can use Mote in the following short videos. While these are ALL awesome ways to use Mote to share audio feedback, I'll give you a tip - I saved the BEST for last ... promise!

Using Mote in Google Docs Comments

Using Mote in Google Sheets ... TWO different ways

Using Mote in Google Slides Comments

Using Mote ON Google Slides

Using Mote in Google Classroom Comments

Using Mote in Google Classroom's Comment Bank

If I've persuaded you, be sure to click on this link that will give you 60 days FREE on the Unlimited tier. And as always, if you have comment or question, be sure to leave it below ⤵.

Or connect & follow me on any of the socials - it's all linked under my photo above.

P.S. I have Wakelet collections full of tips, tricks, and other resources for many of the applications I shared in these videos. 

• Google Classroom Wakelet
• Google Docs Wakelet
• Google Sheets Wakelet
• Google Slides Wakelet
• Mote Wakelet

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***