Google Tips for You!

This will be a short one ... but one that I hope has a lot of impact. One of the pieces to my job is to provide support to the staff in my district. This year, my counterpart & I have planned to do monthly sessions in each of our buildings and I suggested we start off with a slew of Google tips - Google is always a highly requested learning session that often gets pushed off because of curricular program learning. So we brainstormed a list of tips, tricks, and shortcuts to go through with the staff.

Since I prefer to walk away with something in my hands, I created this PDF for the staff and it can now be yours, too! I hope you find some things that help you work a bit more efficiently. The items with a yellow asterisk at the end are hyperlinks to a support link with more detail. 

Enjoy! Click on the image to open as a PDF.

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Digital Challenge You Can Do

We are doing it wrong and I want to issue a challenge. Let's use tech for what it has proven to be good at, and let's use the other resources and tools do what they are good at doing when it comes to educating (and dare I say, raising) our kids.

I don't say this lightly. I've written numerous blogs over the last few years trying to help myself wrap my head around everything that is happening right now in education. I feel like we are on a hamster wheel and even though we are doing a great job of running faster and faster, it's not something we can keep doing. 

I believe Jonathan Haidt has started the ball rolling with his book "Anxious Generation" and I don't believe too many believe are really going to put up a fight against social media needing to be postponed. Now we need to shift the conversation to doing what is right with technology in the classrooms. 

I have recently finished the book "Digital Delusions"  by Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath. Dr. Horvath shares a compelling argument that we need to pull back on the heavy use of technology. One of my most favorite lines in this book is "Not anti-tech. Pro-learning." When I read that, I thought, "YES! This is the exact shift we need to work towards! Let's do what is best for our students to learn."

Here's my challenge ... let's cut out the use of devices at indoor recess and aim for zero "free time" on the devices. I know there are a lot of teachers out there doing this and I hope they share how it is going in their rooms. We can do this! 

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Tech Conversations You Can Do

How often do you & your colleagues talk about technology? Is it more of a gripe session? Is anyone excited about a tool or program? Lately I've been having quite a few conversations involving technology. And most have had an element of frustration to them. 

Listen, I love technology. I think it can do some pretty awesome stuff, but I feel like we are moving away from using tech to enhance learning and toward using tech because it's available. Why? There is so much more pressure on schools and teachers than ever before. I also believe there is a growing misconception that technology has some sort of magical powers. But that simply is not true.

Here's a recap of the recent conversations I've been part of ... have you had any of them, too?

• One conversation revolved around kids finding ways around our filter.
• Another conversation revolved around upgrading our Google accounts. 
• Another conversation was about what LMS should each grade use and why.
• Yet another was about how old should the kids be when they take their chromebook home. 

None of these conversations are earth shattering. Nor are they "new". But I do feel like we are looking at it all with a different lense right now. We know that shoving tech at our kids is not the answer. We even know that tech can have some negative effects on our kids. But I feel like we are "resigned" to the idea that kids HAVE to have tech all the time. 

I'd like to start moving the conversation in the direction of when is tech appropriate and purposeful rather than just accepting it. I want to engage with our teachers that while the kids have a device, that doesn't mean everything must be done with tech. I want to ensure that our kids know we are putting every effort into structuring their education in a way that maximizes their opportunities.

I know one person can't move the needle, but one person can strike up a conversation and encourage others to give thought to these questions. Once the conversations start & keep flowing, you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

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INFOhio: Decodable and Phonics eBooks for Early Readers

WEBSITE ↬ INFOhio: Decodable and Phonics eBooks for Early Readers

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ ELA, early reading

GRADE LEVELS ↬ preK-3

I am an INFOhio Coach and I love their resources. I believe it is a very under used resource and I wanted to be sure to share this one out. With the focus on early literacy, these books and resources can go a long way to help your students (and yourself!) with supporting their early reading.

Not only does this share books for your early readers, it also shares professional learning ebooks to support YOU in teaching.  

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers sharing the books with their students but also the ability to create collections to share with other teachers can be super helpful when you work as a team to support each other. While reading with physical books is super important, having access to quality ebooks is also a great classroom activity (or to share with home for times when parents ask what digital resources are available). 

Teachers can also take advantage of the professional resources included in this article.

*** Interested in more resources like this? Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. Interested? Sign up here!  ***

Supporting Each Other You Can Do

I'm writing this in the quiet morning of snow day #2. It's also brutally cold outside. There is a LOT going on right now, both in my little world and the bigger world beyond. And I'm not just talking about the weather. Politics, education, family life, social media, health, aging, etc. I was inspired today to write from a more personal perspective. We are ALL struggling in one way or another. You may not see it in others and you may not want to admit it about yourself. But we are. I am.

I read quite a bit. Not always books, but articles, emails, and blogs. I tend to be focused on educational resources. I enjoy them. I also try to share out when I find good articles and resources. This morning, as I was snuggled on my couch, I read "The #1 Reason My First Years of Teaching Were So Hard" from the We Are Teachers daily email I receive. The author, Kelly Treleaven, wrote this about 2 years ago, but what she shares is true today. It's a hard truth. And an ugly truth. Really ugly.

Reading this article where Kelly shares how hard her first several years of teaching were, has reminded me of how I felt my first years and also how I felt each time I stepped into a new teaching position over the last 20+ years. Overwhelmed. Scared. Nervous. Unsure. And the ultimate realization that I was reinventing myself. I was becoming a newer version of myself. Something so super scary at the beginning, but now looking back, necessary for me to be who I am today. I wasn't told or taught anything like this. I also didn't have all of the pressures that exist in 2026. Technology was vastly different. Support was wildly different, both inside and outside of school. Rules and requirements looked different. I could never have dreamed of being a district Technology Integration Specialist when I began teaching 5th grade at a little Catholic school in August, 2021. 

Reading Kelly's article, I feel my passion to support our newest teachers being reignited. I've already jotted down ideas I will take to my integration colleague in the hopes of building out a support structure for our district's new teachers ... not just our 1st years, but all new-to-us teachers. I want to delete the "assumptions" that "someone" is helping them. I am guilty of that quite often. Are you? 

Here are a few of my thoughts right now:

• assign every new-to-us teacher to either myself or my colleague
• identify a couple of staff in their building who've agreed to support them
• set up regular in-person meetings with them to help acclimate & ask questions
• prepare a notebook or collection of specific "helps" for the newbie in their position
• what programs are provided
• who is who in their building & district
• login information for our "stuff"
• links to our already built Staff Help Hub, highlighting key pieces of info
• an FAQ section
• place to write down questions or needs
• identify things we can do to help welcome them (work with building principals & Sunshine committee)
• reach out right now to our new teachers from this year to identify pain points they experienced & how we can help next years' newbie

Can you help me? What other things might YOU have wanted as a new teacher? What areas do we need to focus on specifically for our newbies - insurance? retirement? class management? Please help!

Teaching isn't easy. It never was. It still isn't. It's tougher than ever before. We can't keep losing those brave enough to choose teaching because they lack the support. We are teachers. At our core, we care. Not just for our students. We care for each other. Let's make it visible. Reach out to the newbies in your building. Check on them. I didn't make it this far on my own ... I have had so many wonderful people help me along the way. Let's return the favor. We will all be better for it.

P.S. I share out a lot of resources. Ones I create, ones others create, how to's, people I follow, etc. PLEASE share these. Time is a HUGE problem. Let's cut down the time we spend searching and instead spend out time supporting.

*** 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!  ***

New & Stressful Adventures You Can Do

I recently had a very "nerdy" and stressful learning adventure! Our middle school had decided to host a career day and I was asked for "spreadsheet" help. Little did I know what all that would entail! This is a true testament to having a PLN, confidence in my own knowledge, and quite a leap of faith.

I don't exactly remember thinking I knew the "answer" to figuring out how to schedule the kids, but I did offer to help make it happen. Weird, right?

Here was the situation - 569 students. 31 presenters. 4 sessions each. No more than 20 students per session. The students were going to be given a Google Form to request what presentations they see. How was I going to do this? Ultimately, we settled on assigning the presenters to one of 7 career categories, and allowing students to choose 4 of them. Then the real work began.

I turned to Google Sheets. I believed this was the only way to make the schedules. I researched but wasn't coming up with anything other than a manual assignment ... ugh! THEN, I turned to my PLN. I threw the question out. And I got THE response that confirmed an idea ... throw this scenario into Gemini! It worked!

I am still very much in the camp where AI isn't the answer to everything - only some things. And this is definitely one of them! I put the following prompt into Gemini: "I need to create a career fair schedule for 600 students. We will have 30 presenters who each have 4 sessions. The presenters are labeled into 7 themes and students will be allowed to select 4 themes total. Write me a Google Apps Script to schedule the students after they complete the Google Form with their selections. There can only be 20 students in each session."

It gave me back exactly what I needed to do to the Sheet that resulted from the students making their selections and it gave me the Google Apps Script to copy & paste into the Sheet to create the schedules. It was scary and wild. I wouldn't know if it worked until we had all the students fill out the Form. The afternoon we felt confident we had the vast majority of our students, I hit the "run script" button. And waited. And waited. It took roughly 10 minutes - and voliá! Two new tabs appeared - one with 4 sessions assigned to each student and one with the students who would be in each of the 4 sessions for the presenters. Holy cow! Mind blown!!!!

From there, I took a deep breath! It worked! And, because we actually had more spots that we did students, every student received their 4 choices. Now I just needed to make a schedule each student could read and a roster for each of the 4 sessions for our presenters. (Thanks, Google Docs + Auto-crat!)

Then came the next twist ... one presenter had to cancel and 3 more volunteered to come! Whaaaaat? We also found about 7 students that hadn't filled out the form, so we got them to do it ASAP and I had no other choice but to re-run the script. Yikes! I should have had more faith in the process, but I was incredibly nervous it wouldn't work. But it did! I just pushed the run script button and it overwrote the initial schedules and rosters. 

I am still amazed that it worked so nicely! This is the kind of problem I believe AI is built to help solve. 

Do you have a daunting challenge ahead of you? I strongly recommend trying out Gemini. I do believe the prompt is key ... knowing the parameters of the output your are looking for as well as asking for a Google Apps Script. And don't be afraid to adjust the prompt. Still need a little reassurance? Reach out! I'd be happy to help.

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Reflection: My year limiting my phone & watch

This one is going to feel a little different. It has literally taken me months to write this blog, not because it's difficult. It's because it almost feels silly. And it all starts with a law the state of Ohio passed last year. Thanks to House Bill 250, by July 2025, all Ohio school districts had to "establish an official policy governing cellphone usage during school hours and seeks to minimize student use of cell phones in K-12 schools." (link to article)

Each district needed to have a policy. A policy. Something showing how they were going to limit cellphones during the school day. My district chose to go with a no phone & no smartwatch during the school day policy. I was overjoyed! Phones and watches are a huge distraction. I knew that. I lived that the year prior when I was back in the classroom after 8 years. I read "The Anxious Generation" (Jonathan Haidt) and I agree with the research he has collected ... phones are harming our kids. Yes - I was pumped to see how this policy impacted our kids. I was worried not all of the teachers would follow it.

Then I started thinking ... I was in a unique position. I was the technology teacher, for peke's sake! I was newly back in the classroom and it was only in my 2nd year at this district. I did my best to balance offline and online activities in my room. I brought in the local police department to talk with the kids about being safe online. Everything I did had some kind of technology component to it. My whole job was about using tech better/safer/well.

I also saw my colleagues, friends, family, and myself. I saw how we all interact with our devices. As adults, WE can't help ourselves. Not allowing phones & smartwatches in the classroom was exciting! But then I thought about MY phone and MY watch. 

Sure - I'm an adult.

Sure - I "think" I'm good about managing my time on my phone.

Uhhh, well - I put a time limit on social media for myself.

... and - I'm still drawn to notifications ... so much so I didn't turn them back on after my last summer vacation so I DIDN'T feel that "need" to look at that red bubble. (It HELPS!)

Sure - I'm a good example.

AM I a good example? I thought long and hard about this. 

Does being an adult give me a "pass"? 

Right?

I thought about it for a looooooong time and I decided I was going to follow the policy, too. By choice. I decided I would live the same ban as the kids. I also thought it would be a great conversation piece with them and my colleagues. 

With each group of students, I started with the same statement. "You have to leave your phone & watch in your locker by district policy, per the state of Ohio. I am choosing to follow this same policy." I did clarify I would be putting them in my desk drawer because I don't have a locker, and I would check it at lunch and my plan period.

There was very little pushback and questioning. The #1 question they had for me was, "Mrs. Kiefer, what if your family needs to get ahold of you?" Easy, I responded, I gave them all the office phone number to call. The office can get ahold of me. (Plus, my 2 youngest daughters also had a phone ban at their school.)

It was shocking. Shockingly GOOD! Yes, it was hard at first. I had all the thoughts I'm sure the kids did. "What if someone texts me?" "What if I miss a phone call?" "My wrist feels naked." "Will I still close my exercise rings?" "What if there is an emergency?"

Guess how many phone calls I missed from my family? A couple. 

Guess how many were urgent. None. 

Did I miss text messages? Yep! I would check it at lunch and sometimes there were a shocking amount. 

How many of them meant I missed out on something? Not a single one. 

I survived. And I loved it!!! I had a new appreciation of being able TO TEACH. I didn't have buzzing on dinging on my wrist or in my pocket. I taught. I interacted with the kids. It was great! I believe my students were far less distracted. I did have to take a few phones and watches, but it wasn't anything like the year before. 

After a full school year of this, I find that it's a lot easier for me to put my phone down while I'm at home and walk away. I don't feel like I have to be glued to it. I have very few notifications on my watch. It has gone back being more of a watch than anything. (Ok, I'm a runner, so it tracks that for me and it's pretty awesome at setting timers when I need to remember something in 5 or 10 minutes.)

I share this because I know I'm not alone in feeling the same addiction to devices as our kids. I share this because being mindful of how we used devices is the greatest example our kids see. I share this because I'm 46 and I survived a year in the classroom without my phone in my pocket or my watch on my wrist. I share this because YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO! And I hope you see and feel the impact on YOU, so that you can work towards the same positive impact with our kids.

I hope you read this and try it. Give it a week. I promise you'll notice a difference. And then I hope you share a message here. How'd it go? How did you feel? Let me know below, or reach out on social media. I'd love to hear from you.

And if you are interested, I've written more on this topic. You can find it here: Phones + School ... What Do We Do?

*** 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!  ***

My Next Chapter ...

I have been keeping a secret for a few months.

I am closing my Madeira Middle School Technology Teacher chapter. I am returning to my previous district ... and I am pumped! Elated!

Two years ago, I made the decision to leave Ross and start a new chapter at Madeira. That decision came with a lot of heartache and tears. It was the right move for me at the time and I do not regret it. This time, my job change comes without tears or heartache.

I am leaving a great district and a great building. I reunited with a great friend and met lots of wonderful educators. I was challenged to teach a variety of classes and connect with lots of students. I saw first-hand the challenges of being a "newbie", a classroom teacher, and a special area teacher. I had a lot fewer responsibilities.

I am going back to do the same job I left, this time with a colleague in the same role. I am going to see a lot of familiar faces and some new ones. I am going to miss seeing some faces that have also moved on in the past two years. 

I am going back to a new administration with a reinvented vision. 

I am going back home and I will get to write my Ross 2.0 chapter. I know this is the right move and I look forward to each new page.

*** 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!  ***

Professional Learning I've been doing ... and You Can Do, too!

I'm returning to the same role as last year as a middle school technology teacher and I am feeling good about it. My first year in a new district and school was all about figuring things out and taking it all in. Being back in the classroom after 8 years in a TOSA (teacher on special assignment) role showed me I needed to recalibrate a bit. It also reaffirmed my belief in "less is more" for both myself and my students. 

I have been checking off some professional learning this summer that is related to my role and I'm excited to share them with you. I'll also share the links and reasoning for my "why" for each.

First up - I renewed my Google Educator Level 1 certification. (You can find the learning modules on the Google for Education Teacher Center website.) I completed my first Google Educator Level 1 back in the summer of 2015 and it was literally the beginning of the new direction of my teaching career. It's good for 3 years and this is the 3rd time for me. I strongly recommend any teacher who uses Google in their classroom take this professional learning and test for certification. The test costs $10 and is well worth it.

Next, I will be renewing my Google Educator Level 2 certification this week. (You can find it at the Google for Education Teacher Center website.) I completed this one right after I did Level 1 in 2015 and have zero regrets. I was hungry for more and I was excited to continue my Google learning. Completing Level 2 really confirmed I knew what I was doing. The learning modules are 100% free and worth the time investment. The cost for the Level 2 test is $25 and again, I'm happy to pay it for the 3rd time to renew.

A big goal for me this summer has been to put time in learning about AI. I have been taking a pretty slow approach to AI. But I do believe AI is here to stay and I have a responsibility in understanding it and helping to form how it's being used with students. I also want to be sure I understand what everyone is super excited about ... it's not going anywhere. Other than reading a LOT of articles from other educators, I've completed two courses and if you are wanting to learn more, both are great starter places. 

The Generative AI for Educators course is found on the Grow with Google website. It had a nice balance of theory and learning about AI paired with scenarios to practice using AI. It's important to note that while it recommends Google's AI tool, Gemini, you are welcome to use your AI tool of choice. What I really appreciated in this course was all of the resource materials provided. I know I will keep coming back to them over the coming school year. There is no cost to the modules or the final assessment.

The second AI course I completed was Code.org's AI 101 Self-paced Professional Learning for Educators. You can find it Code.org's Professional Learning landing page. This course also provided quite a bit of theory and thinking around AI, which helped me get a better understanding and increased my comfort with AI. I have used Code.org for years with my students and I've recently found their professional learning to be quite helpful, too. There is no cost to this professional learning.

This upcoming year, I will be co-teaching a brand new class with the art teacher in my school. We are hoping to use Adobe with our students, so I decided to do some professional learning. You can find the learning on the Adobe Education Exchange page. I have not used Adobe much and this course was my way of "dipping my toes" in. I will be following this up with my Level 2. I've completed the learning for it and I'm working on finishing up the portfolio before I submit. There is a LOT packed into Adobe! There is no cost to either level of Adobe learning.

Do you love Canva? I do and I was shocked to see they had a teacher certification course this summer. It wasn't on my radar ... and I'm pretty sure the day after I noticed it, I jumped on it. The Canva Teacher Essentials course is found on their Design School page. It is video based, which I love and it just makes me love Canva even more! I also went on to complete the Graphic design essentials course, too! All Canva learning is 100% free.

My final professional learning goal this summer is the Modern Classroom Project. Coming back to the classroom after being out for 8 years was hard. I know I need to put time and energy into this area. Teaching isn't an easy profession, but I've always said the I don't back down from a challenge. I believe school is a place for ALL and I want to be sure I'm doing what I can to ensure the students that walk into my class learn in a way that works for them. You can find the FREE course I will taking on Modern Classroom's website.

I hope I've shared some professional learning that you might be interested in or that might support you in your role. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like more information about any of these learnings.

*** 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!  ***

Phones + School ... What Do We Do?

Heads up ... this blog is somewhat a departure from my usual. I promise it 100% has to do with tech and education. Here's the back story:

I have 3 daughters - ages 18, 14, and 12. They all have phones. I have been reluctant to allow them social media, but my oldest does have Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. My middle daughter has Tik Tok and Pinterest. And my youngest doesn't have any. This year I went back into the classroom, teaching technology to grades 6-7-8, but in a new district. 

I've been doing a lot of learning about how devices are impacting our kids. Books, articles, podcasts, etc. This past week, the topic of phones in schools came up in one of my PLN's. I believe the person who began the conversation was asking about other district policies on phones in schools. I love reading others opinions and learning how other districts - across the country - are handling devices in schools. 

I chimed in with links to some of the resources I've come across regarding this topic. I received several positive responses and thank you's for the information, so I thought I'd share them with you, too. 

Before I share, please know that while I have my own opinions, I'm sharing these resources so you can develop your own. I ask that you do your own learning and share with others and keep learning. This topic will constantly be evolving. You have to do what is best for the kids in your life - whether that's at school or in your own home. 

I will be the first to admit I was in the camp of using devices (iPods/phones) back before we were 1-to-1. Having multiple devices in a classroom opened my eyes to the power technology can have in education. The accessibility and creation that is possible was awesome. But then my district went 1-to-1 with chromebooks. Every student was given a device. And around that time, phones became more and more common, and with younger and younger students, and the problems really began. Phones are not built to be tools of instruction. Have you ever tried to write an essay on your phone? Possible, yes, but not great.

The book, Screen Kids, by Gary Chapman & Arlene Pellicane, is such an incredible read. It is not long but it is packed with research and solid thinking. It truly helped me put some specifics to the thoughts and feelings I'd been having regarding devices. If you are a parent, read this. If you are an educator, read this. If you are a grandparent, check out Grandparenting Screen Kids: How to Help, What to Say, and Where to Begin, by the same authors. This book helped me have better - and MORE - conversations with my own daughters. 

Here are additional resources I've been learning from on this topic that might be of interest to you:

• Does banning phones in school improve students’ mental health? from Angela Watson - this is a link to her blog. In it, it contains a link to this also as a podcast. Angela interviews psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge and get hers profession opinion.

• Cell phone policy leads to school of distinction from the Wektumpka Herald. This story shares how a local high school has changed their policy regarding cell phones and the impact it has had ... and the award they've received as a result. 
  
  
• How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time from the Pew Research Center. This article digs into the research behind the difference in how parents and teenagers differ in their handlings of screens. Fact shared that caught my eye, "72% of U.S. teens say they often or sometimes feel peaceful when they don’t have their smartphone; 44% say it makes them feel anxious." Wow!
  
  
• How to Talk to Your School District about Removing Smartphones from Protect Young Eyes, a group who focuses on helping "Families, Schools, And Churches Create Safer Digital Environments". This article focuses on the school aspect.


• Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use from Common Sense Media. Fully disclosure - I've not gotten all the way through this massive resource yet. There is a 64 page report along with several other resources to check out. Common Sense Media is a fantastic resource for so many tech related needs. 
  
  Added May, 2024:
  
  
• Cincinnati Country Day students reflect on year without phones in school - a local news report regarding a K-12 school that banned phones and the impact they are seeing at the end of the school year. It's awesome to hear that students are changing their opinions and seeing the benefits of putting the phones away.
  
  
• The Anxious Generation (book) - this impressively written book contains all the data and fact finding and myth-debunking information you could want about this topic. The author, Jonathan Haidt, does a fabulous job of looking at this topic from many different angles and clearly outlining his own research as well as the research of others. I don't think you will find a more comprehensive book on the effects of phones, social media, and video games on our youth than this book.
  
  Added August, 2024:
  
  
• 3 Schools, 3 Principals, 3 Cell Phone Bans - this article shared via Edutopia shares the story of just what the title says: 3 different schools and their approach to banning phones. 
  
  
• Cell Phones in Ohio Schools - the state of Ohio (where I live and work) has even gone the extra step to require schools have policies around cell phones where they are to be as limited as possible. I LOVE IT! Best part ... Ohio also provides some models for what your districts policy could be as well as support for administrators. 

Added November, 2024:

• Ep 6: Are Smartphones Stealing Childhood? - this podcast episode is phenomenal! Emily Oster, an economist, shares a lot of data and research regarding kids having smartphones and the effect it is having. 
  
  Added January, 2026:
  
  
• Many states tried to create phone-free learning spaces this year. Here's how it went - great article sharing how phone-free schools are going in various parts of the US. It's not perfect, but it's helping.

Finally, I always try to remind others when I have conversations, use the tool that is appropriate for the task.  If it's task that is best on paper, use paper. If a computer is what is needed, use it. If it's a face-to-face conversation, do it in person. And if it's phone, use a phone. 

Do you have a resource that is related to this topic? Please share! I'd love to read it. 

*** 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!  ***

New Adventures + old email You Can Do

Last week I shared my plan for what to do with your Google Drive if you are moving from one district to another in New Adventures + old files You Can Do . I do NOT recommend using Takeout or Transfer as I firmly believe we are all digital hoarders. If you are making a move, use this as an opportunity to go through your Drive and take what will benefit you, not what will weigh you down - and if your Drive was a mess then, it's not like it's going to clean itself up by moving to a new account!

Something else that you might need or want to look at as you move from one district to another is your Gmail. This one is a bit trickier. You can't really "export" emails. You can export your contacts.  But honestly ... stop and ask yourself ... which ones do you really need? And if you are brutally honest with yourself, I don't think you find there are all that many.

I'm going to share my thoughts - but this is all based on the idea that you have NOT tangled your personal emails with your school emails - meaning you don't handle bills or personal accounts through your school email address. If you DO, PLEASE STOP. I think of it as "multiple identities". Anything to do with home gets done with my personal Gmail. Anything related to my job, through school email. I don't cross these lines. Period.

Just with my Drive, I'm a big user of labels in my Gmail. Here's also where knowing some searching tips comes in really handy. When you find the ones you want to preserve, forward them to the newly created - or personal account - you are using to house the files you are taking with you.

Here are some things to think about:

• Looking for an email(s) from a specific person? Search their name at the top ... and comb through the ones that appear.
• Looking for an email(s) about a specific topic? Search the topic at the top ... and go through those.
• If you use labels, think about which labels are worth even looking at - and go through JUST those.
• Want to have email addresses for certain people? Search for one of their emails and forward that. Their email will show up for you.

You might just find there aren't a whole lot of emails you really need to keep. 

Good luck! Making changes is always hard - even when it's a really good change. 

Also, do NOT wait! Some districts are very strict about shutting off accounts. And once you are locked out, you could be locked out forever. 

FINAL tip: in the future, create in your personal account and share it to your school account. Then make a copy to use at school. Making it in your personal account will prevent the above 'song and dance' in the future.

*** 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!  ***

New Adventures + old files You Can Do

How's your summer going? It's still the early part of July, and I am fully enjoying the slower pace, the sunshine, and the over all relaxed atmosphere in my house. I'm writing this in one of my most favorite spots at my house ... the front porch.

One of the pieces of my job at the end of the year is to help those who are retiring or leaving our district decide what to do with items in their Google Drive. I know, based on the conversations in the Google Trainer group, many districts struggle with this. There really isn't any one perfect method. I'm not the biggest fan of Takeout or Transfer - too often you are taking a bunch of "crap" that you will never look at or use again.

Instead, I always recommend making 2 folders - "Keepers" and "I don't need". (Some of you may need a 3rd folder "Transfer ownership".) Create these, then go through your Drive and make FAST decisions. Don't open everything, don't stress about it, just decide. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you go through your Drive:

• did I use this file/folder THIS school year?
• will it help me in my future position?
• should I digitally "give" this to someone who is staying here?

You could also use the "Last modified" date to help you decide if you are unsure. If it wasn't modified in the pas 2 years or so, I'd say you most likely won't miss it. You might be surprised at what you REALLY end up taking with you.

Once you've done this clean up, don't worry about the "I don't need" folder. Just leave it alone. For the "Keepers", it gets a little tricky. You CAN share it with a personal or other school domain account, but that doesn't transfer ownership. You CAN make copies in your personal account ... but this takes a TON of time.

INSTEAD:

• right click on your "Keepers" folder & select download
• note where it downloads - it'll become a "zip" file
• click ONCE on the zip file - THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT ... ONCE. ONLY ONCE.
• you should now see a file folder named "Keepers". DO NOT OPEN IT.
• Open the Google account you want to move it to
• MAKE sure you have the setting turned on to "Convert uploads to Google Docs editor format" 
• drag & drop the "Keepers" folder in

VOILÁ!!!

You have just saved what YOU choose to take with you to your new adventure! It might even be smart to create a brand new Google account to keep your brain straight, or depending on how much you decide to keep, you might need it for storage purposes. 

Transferring ownership is a wonderful ability within Google Drive. If you are good with it and you don't have 1,000 files, rather than sharing or making others to make copies of files you own, you can transfer ownership. Yes, it must be done to each individual file - ugh - but it IS easy. OR ... share the folder with those who need/want these files and they can make their copies for themselves. One final option - if you have the ability, you could create a shared drive and drop files in there, adding on those who need/want them, and they can pull the files out and become the owners. This all depends on the sheer number and the comfort level of you and those you are sharing with.

ONE MORE THOUGHT ... have you thought about your email??? Let's tackle that next week!

Here's the link: New Adventures + old email You Can Do

*** 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!  ***

End of Year Tech You Can Do: Tip #4 Plan Your Summer Activities

I love lists.

I love being able to check things off said lists.

I love how organized I feel.

I love seeing what I've accomplished.

I love having a plan in place.

This week, I suggest you carve out a little time and create yourself a summer to do list. 

It doesn't need to be fancy ... but you can make it fancy. It doesn't need to any length ... you can always add to it or subtract from it. There is NO requirement. It's summer. I like to get a lot of home projects done during the summer. 

I started to create mine this weekend. I used the page in my notebook where I am planning each month's big picture to do's. It's the page right between June & July. So far, I've only added a few things - family pictures, family vacation, my oldest daughters - gasp! - senior pictures, and a couple of professional activities that are already scheduled. 

This week, I am going to add three categories that I know will have things I want to complete: home DIY projects, professional learning, and items to get done for school. My list will not be complete until summer is over; I'll add and subtract from it.

My goal is to check everything off, but plans change and somethings things aren't meant to get done. Ultimately, I do the things I CHOOSE to do - summer is my time. I WANT to do the things I put on my list. And believe me ... I get in plenty of rest and relaxation and sunshine, too!

For my summer professional learning, I'm planning to do a variety of activities: 

• A couple of books I want to read
• A certification or two I want to work towards
• Podcasts to catch up on
• Templates and activities to create and share on my blogs

If you are interested in starting to plan your list, be sure to check out the Professional Learning page here on my blog. I have been collecting free & low-cost ways for teachers to continue learning for quite some time. Many are in the "on-demand" style so you pick and choose and do them in your own time. I've begun adding some books that I have found valuable as an educator - these can be found by choosing "Book" in the secondary focus filter on the table. I plan to add podcasts, too.

What's on your agenda? Have you started thinking about it? I'd love to know what you are planning - whether it's school related or not.

*** 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!  ***

Google icon names You Can Do

How many times have you heard someone stress the importance of your words? I think about this often whether I am working with a group of students, teachers, or with individuals. 

I think about this when I refer to tools or files or actions and most definitely icons. Working with our youngest learners often forces me to describe icons or logos or "things" in order to get students to the correct spot. (And teachers find such humor in the names!) If you spend any time in a classroom - of any age - you quickly find you simply HAVE to be able to direct students to where you want them with your words.

After one of my recent classroom visits, I really thought about how I use words to describe. Probably the best way I can share this is with a video. I use these references with adults and kindergarteners ... and I honestly couldn't tell you who I get more giggles from, the adults or the students!

Additionally, I do my best to NOT be the "driver" in the lesson. For example, if a teacher asks for help cleaning up their drive, or how to clear their cache & cookies, I will walk them through it - but I do NOT touch their device. When I'm in classrooms working with students, I do my absolute BEST to NOT touch any of their devices ... I want THEM to do the clicking and moving. I often catch students (& teachers!) "helping" others by doing it FOR them. When that happens, I remind them to "Cheer them on! Point to the screen ... use your words."

After all, the person/people doing the "driving" is the person doing the learning. 

Now, go find those shark tooth's and pancakes and snowmen ... and listen for the giggles!

*** 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!  ***

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. 

2 more Sheets Skills You Can Do

I'm back with two more skills you can master with Google Sheets! 

I am confident that you've been in a situation where you've been given a list of names. I'm going to guess you've felt the frustration of the list having the names in a single cell (probably lastname, firstname OR firstname lastname) but you really wanted them in separate cells. Or what about the reverse ... the list you've been given has the names in separate cells but you want them in the same (maybe separated by a comma?). Ugh. No need to retype the list! You can make your list be exactly what you want ... with very little effort!

I've made a video to demonstrate. It's right at 5 minutes. (Play it in 1.5 speed and will only take about 3 minutes). I've also tucked in a little *bonus* tip at the end ... did you know you can now specify the number of pixels tall you want your rows? Yep! I sneak that in, too! 

As much as I love Google Sheets, I am NOT a Sheets expert. I have a lot to learn. I hope you take these nuggets and add to your learning adventure, too. Sheets really is a very versatile tool. Is there something you wish you knew how to do? Comment below or reach out on social media. All my links are just below my photo near the top right. I'd love to hear from you!

Looking to do more with Google Sheets? Check out:

• Google Sheets Wakelet
  
  
• Google Sheets: Ready-to-go Activities
  
  
• Level Up with Google Sheets (Summer 2021 webinar)

2 Sheets Skills You Can Do

Sheets are one of those tools that I get a lot of questions about and most of the time, teachers don't feel confident in their use of Sheets. I haven't always used Google Sheets, but when I began heavily using Google Forms, I had to learn Sheets. And once I started learning Sheets, I found so many easy ways to make Sheets work for me. (And I actually enjoyed learning it!)

Today, I want to help you become more comfortable with Sheets. I am not an expert - I still have so much to learn. I don't do fancy formulas or complicated graphs. But I do use Google Sheets on a very regular basis ... and I love using them.

Learning a skill - or two - at a time, will pay off. 

Today, I'm sharing two of my favorite tips: freezing and sorting. Freezing is quite possibly the best skill to learn in Sheets. Freezing allows you to keep the rows and columns of your choice in view while moving through your data. Knowing how to sort your data is another crucial skill to master. Being able to organize and reorganize your data is incredibly powerful. Interested? Here's a short how to video demonstrating both! And I've tucked some Sheets resources below.

Would it help to have a copy of Sheet I used in the video? Here you go: "2 Sheets Skills You Can Do (public copy)." Click on the "Use Template" button in the upper right corner to make your own copy to play with and try out sorting and freezing. 

Google Sheets Wakelet

Google Sheets: Ready-to-go Activities

Level Up with Google Sheets (Summer 2021 webinar)

Stay tuned! Next week I'll return with a couple more skills to master in Google Sheets. But in the meantime ... what is your favorite way to use Google Sheets? Reach out and let me know in the comments below or reach out on social media!

Summer Learning I did, and You Still Can Do

Before the new school year kicks in, I wanted to recap the learning I've done and shared this past summer. I'll be starting back to school in about 2 weeks. How has time has gone by so quickly?

This past summer wasn't as busy for me as the summer before, but I didn't sit around either! I needed a break more than I thought I did and I was grateful my family was able to go on our COVID-delayed vacation in June.

I know many of us are STILL taking a much deserved break, but some are busily preparing for the upcoming school year and looking for some learning. Rest assured, these learning opportunities aren't going anywhere and plenty of others will join them.

The first item I want to point out is the "Professional Learning" tab at the top of my site. I have been collecting free &/or low cost professional development for awhile now and have it all here on this page. There are filters at the top you can use to better guide your search along with the ability to do a keyword search. There is a TON out there ... so be sure to take a look. And come back in a week or so, I'm sure I'll be adding to it.

Next, I want to share the summer series I did with Dr. Desiree Alexander, of Educator Alexander. She is my Google Innovator Coach and who I also did an Intro to Google Series with during the summer of 2020. BOTH of these series and their resources can be found on our site, "Level Up with Google". The Level Up series is at the top and the intro series is at the bottom. There are 6 two hour webinars in the Level Up, covering Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drawings & Jamboard, and Sites. The Intro series has 10 two hour webinars covering Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drive, Classroom, Forms as Assessments, collection of Google Apps, Chrome, and Sites. 

AND I was able to do my first in-person presentations last week at a great conference here in Cincinnati called "High AIMs". Wow! Did it feel both great and weird at the same time! I presented twice - once solo, and once with a colleague. For my solo session, I share numerous ways you can use Google Sheets in the classroom (including pre-made templates you can go ahead and share). For the joint session, Brittney Priore and I share our brand new project, Tech With Littles. Brittney is a 1st grade teacher and she and I teamed up to create Tech with Littles to further help and promote the "purposeful integration of technology" in your classroom, with a focus on the littlest learners. I'm SUPER excited about this ... it's not just activities you can do, but also the thinking behind them and the WHY we need to purposefully integrate technology into our classrooms. Both sessions and their resources are on "My Presentations" tab. (You will need to search for earlier events, as they are over.)

My summer isn't over, yet, and I still have some presentations to go. The next will be at the G-Tech Summit this Wednesday, August 4. I will do 3 presentations. You can still sign up for this awesome, FREE, and virtual summit and join in all the goodies! Jon Corippo and Jake Miller will be doing keynotes so you definitely do NOT want to miss out! You can sign up - for FREE - on their website, G-Tech Summit. All of my sessions are showing on "My Presentations" tab already.

This week on Friday, I will present twice at the SPARCC Conference, hosted by Eric Curts and friends. One session is a pre-recorded session "Start Your Digital Year on the Right Foot" and one live - virtual - session "Start Google Classroom on the Right Foot". This, too, is FREE, and you can still sign up on the main SPARRC Conference site. You will find links to both the live and prerecorded sessions here. I'd love to "see" you!

And finally, to wrap it up, before summer wraps up, I will also be recording my presentations for Kasey Bell's "Shake Up Learning Back to School Conference". It's not until later in September, but being pre-recorded sessions, so I need to get mine done before school kicks into gear. As Kasey would say, I'm #SuperExcited for this! YOU can register - it's FREE, all on-line, and you can watch and re-watch as many of them as you'd like. There is the ability to upgrade your access with her "All Access Pass" and hold onto access to these videos AND so many more of her wonderful classes, if you are interested.

Bottom line - as much as I needed and wanted a break, my break didn't happen by turning my brain off. I keep learning everyday and I've enjoyed doing so. I hope you are interested in at least one of the above learnings - let me know which one helps you the most!

Reach out with comments below or any of the social media links above. I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy!