Learning Communities You Can Do

Do you have a good support circle? I'm not talking about social friends - yes, they are important - I'm asking about your "professional learning network", or your PLN. People you can reach out to when you need help with your job. Maybe to bounce ideas around with, help you solve a problem, share resources with, remind you to give yourself grace, and more.

If you don't have a PLN, and I'm referring to the bigger world - DO IT. Create a professional account on a platform of your choice. (I like Twitter and Facebook.) Keep it professional. Find others that are like you - your grade level, your content, your teaching style, etc. Follow them. Join some groups. Don't feel required to interact until you are ready. Use these groups and people to do what we always tell our students ... ASK FOR HELP. 

Why am I focusing on this right now? I am lucky to be part of several great learning communities and I want to encourage you to join them. Here's a great example of the power of my PLN ...

The story:

A teacher texts me and asks about an extension to "shade" part of her computer screen. Yep, I know there was one. I couldn't remember the name, so I did some looking. Couldn't find it. Looked in the Chrome Web Store. Nothing. Searched on Google. Nothing. Looked in a book that I thought had it. Nope. I was striking out - I the teacher know I couldn't think of it.

Then, just before I put my phone down for the night, I threw it out on Twitter. I tagged a couple of people in my PLN and sent it out. I had confidence at least one of them would chime in with help. And that they did. I've linked the Tweet thread on the screenshot below. Just my simple question.

I received responses from more that the people I tagged. 11 suggestions were made. And I think several of them will work ... and I didn't know about them before I asked. See what happened was, people were not only answering my question, they were broadening my questions reach by tagging others - people and companies in a couple of instances - they thought might be helpful. I am SUPER excited!

Here are the top three four I'm going look into:

• using the "Stickies" tool on Macs (it's built in, nothing to download or install, I can re-size as much as necessary, even change color & type on them)
• the extension Annotate.net (which is packed with a TON more features than a screen shade)
• the extension Helperbird (which has 38 other features - the company chimed in on this)
• just before I published, I looked back at the Tweet and found Texthelp chimed in, too, so this is definitely on the list!

Here's something to note about these ideas - I don't know the people who suggested them. I am super grateful they chose to respond. When you use a platform like Twitter, not only can you reach out to your PLN, you can reach out to the wider world.

Can you add to this? That would be awesome! See, it's not going to just help me ... anyone who reads the Tweet will learn everything I just did. How cool is that? 

Have you used any of these? Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments or on the socials. 

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!  ***

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!  ***

Tech-infused Valentine's activities You Can Do

I was inspired last Monday to create an activity for a group of kindergarteners for Groundhog's Day. I had just watched a video about a new extension called Mote. (Website - https://www.justmote.me/) I thought it would be perfect to use, if it worked the way that had been explained. It absolutely did what it said - easily inserted audio onto Google Slides.

 I shared the activity via Google Classroom and I got to see first-hand these kiddos doing the activities I had designed. For the most part I was thrilled! But I also saw some things I had not anticipated. I knew I could do better and I wanted to do better! So this week, I sat down and took all of that in and created what I am sharing below.

One of the things I realized very quickly is including audio is a VERY important step, especially if we want to encourage independence. Adding audio in short snippets and locating it in strategic spots is also important. Something else I realized is these kiddos like choice. I try to use a variety of activities that use different skills. I also wanted to make sure there was several activities so the kiddos who can do more have more to do. Keeping each slide simple is also important.

Finally, more than ever, I see how valuable the master slide is for this age group. Being able to put text or visuals on a slide with little ability for students to accidentally delete is critical. I have been intimidated by the master slide for awhile, but I'm embracing it now and loving the benefits!

And ... if you've not yet checked out Mote, don't waste another minute! I cannot tell you how easy it is to use!!! (And it saves directly to your Google Drive - but not in a specific folder, so make sure to organize the recordings right away.)

The slides below are created for kindergartners, but you are welcome to make your own copy and modify it to better fit your students! The links are below.

If you want your own copy, here is a link for a template view: Valentine's Day

Looking for more - or different activities - for Valentine's Day? I've got an entire Valentine's Wakelet collection for them! 

I hope you (& your students) enjoy this or any of the other activities! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below!

You can also find me on:

Twitter - @kiefersj

Facebook - Sarah Kiefer

email - sarah@TechYouCanDo.com

Organizing Extensions You Can Do

Google is good at many things ... one being change. One change you may or may not have even noticed is dealing with extensions on your Chrome account. I know I noticed it for awhile, but didn't pay much attention to it. [Could that be because of the pandemic, one might ask???]

Now that I've explored it, I've found it to be an excellent addition to the extensions area. I went from an extension tool bar that looked like this:

To an extension tool bar that now looks like this:

So much better! I choose to "unpin" extensions I do not frequently use. I didn't delete them, I just don't have to see them all the time. Yes! To better explain and demonstrate this, here's a video:

Take 5 minutes and clean up your extension toolbar. It's 5 minutes you won't regret! And if you are looking for additional ideas on extensions or Chrome tips, check out the two Wakelet collections below.

Google Chrome Extensions, Apps & Add-ons Wakelet collection

Google Chrome Wakelet collection

Have a question or comment? Feel free to leave it below ... or connect with me on Twitter (@kiefersj) or Facebook (Sarah Kiefer) ... or email me (Sarah@TechYouCanDo.com).

4 Top Chrome Extensions You Can ... and should ... Do

Extensions are "small software programs that customize the browsing experience" according to this article from Google. Basically this means it provides you with the ability to amp up your web experience for a lot of different reasons. 

To me, extensions are really awesome tools that allow you to do things quickly and easily. They allow for specific actions to happen with very little effort on your part. Below are some of my favorites. 

*** Note: you might have to ask your Google Administrator to enable these extensions ***

**Updated - Feb 20, 2023 **

CraftyText:

CraftyText won't sound like a powerful extension, but it truly is! How many times to you need to (or want to) display a shortened URL, or short phrase, or specific wording. Game codes or codes to join digital classes are other popular ways I have used this extension.

Simply click on this extension, and type in your code, phrase, or link, and then click enter. Instantly it overtakes your screen in large letters making it super easy to see when projecting. Love, love, love this when I'm projecting. I hated repeating myself, and to just pop it up on the screen made it super easy! When you are done, click the extension and it goes away. Poof!

Screencastify:

Screencastify is probably the easiest Screencasting tool I've come across - especially if you are wanting to do this with students. Screencastify is especially awesome because you can automatically save to your Google Drive! WOW! From there, you can share the same way you do with other Google Apps and files. 

This is a very easy way for teachers to give a very personal bit of feedback on digital student work. Rather than typing your feedback - which students might not even read - record yourself as you grade it. How powerful can this feedback be? To actually see AND hear the teacher. 

***NOTE*** Screencastify is no longer a fully free tool. It's still awesome & I use it regularly, but there are limits to what you and your students can do with the free version.

The best way to see this in action is to go to the Video Tutorial page for Screencastify.

Cite This For Me:

Cite This For Me was introduced to my by the 8th grade ELA teacher on my team a couple years back. She made a comment about how easy citations were and I was kind of shocked. She said "Yes, we just use this extension." WOW! Mind blown! Once installed, click the extension and it gives you the CHOICE between the four top citations styles: APA, Chicago, Harvard, and MLA.

All I can say is where was this when I was a kid?? 

Now, I know some of you are cringing ... is this something we no longer need to teach? While I'm not the be-all-end-all for academic decision making, I say let's focus more on teaching our students TO cite their sources instead of nit-picking the mechanics of the citations. Isn't that to more important concept? If it's not your work, giving credit to the creator is important. With this extension, there is absolutely no reason your students (or YOU!) don't give credit where credit its due ... and you can choose between which of the 4 styles you like best!

Read Aloud:

I am updating my suggested extension for a read aloud tool to Read Aloud. It works great for our students at school and it provides the support many of our students need. You can select specific text (a word, phrase, paragraph, or more) and then click on the the extension to hear it read out loud. It's easy to use and reliable. Give it a go today!

Do you have a favorite that I don't have on this list? I'd be interested to know!