Noel Erskine, Technology Coordinator Norris Schools

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💥 Tech tools - TIPS - Google classroom, docs, Chroembooks, sites, add-ons, and more.

Monday, February 19, 2018


GoGuardian adds a lot of features - are you using them! 
With GoGuardian for Chromebooks - You can now feel comfortable as a teacher using the Chromebooks for testing and other activities in your classroom.

As one teacher stated, "I can now give them online tests without worrying about them opening up another tab and cheating."

Every classroom teacher that is using Chromebooks on a regular basis should be using this tool!  It's simple to use and easy to set up! 

If you need help getting started with GoGuardian - Contact Jason to help get you started.

This may be the simplest video recorder you will ever use!  (Great for Chromebooks and desktops with your webcam.  (Thanks to our very own Jason Cullison @cully11 for reminding me about this great tool.) 
Online video recorder right to Google Drive. - https://videorecorder.kwiius.com/
They also have a Chrome app - School Video Recorder for Google Drive. (And it is on our approved list for students already.)

Google Sites:

Are you using your staff Chromebooks to their fullest?

Google cast is a must!  Allow students (and yourself) to cast their Chromebooks to your desktop computer.  Our how-to sheet will get you started.  

You can walk around your classroom and control your computer from your Chromebook using Chrome Remote Desktop.


Google Keep is a tool every teacher should be using!  It's great with our new staff Chromebooks with stylus inputs.  Check out our help sheet on Google Keep to get started. 

If you need help to maximize the impact of your Chromebook - Drop Jason an email, he is awesome to work with or give this old dog (AKA ... Erskine) a shout out too!  We love working with staff! 

Misc. tech tools and sites:

If you're wanting to convert an image into text, Google Docs has a powerful Optical Character Recognition feature built right in. Here's how to make it work.



Google Classroom resources:


Check out these from the list above: 

cK-12 - CK-12 Foundation provides a library of free online textbooks, videos, exercises, flashcards, and real-world applications for over 5000 concepts from arithmetic to history.

 EdPuzzle - Make any video your lesson. Pick a video, add your magical touch and track your students’ understanding. With the EDpuzzle integration, teachers can automatically import all Classroom courses and students at sign up.

GeoGebra - GeoGebra’s K-12+ STEM curriculum materials can be inserted into Google Classroom as tasks with just a few clicks. More than 700,000 materials (plus more added daily!) are available to meet the STEM needs of students and teachers.

Go Guardian - GoGuardian Teacher allows teachers to mirror the classrooms they’ve set up in Classroom, syncing student enrollment, class period, and subject across platforms. Students and teachers can benefit even more from their Chromebooks with streamlined setup and use.

Google Cast for Education - Google Cast for Education is a free Chrome app that allows students and teachers to share their screens wirelessly from anywhere in the classroom. Cast for Education has built-in controls for teachers and seamlessly allows them to easily add students from Classroom.

Khan Academy - Khan Academy supports teachers with rigorous personalized learning tools and data-driven insights – all for free. Now, teachers can import their Google Classroom rosters into Khan Academy and directly assign Khan Academy content to their students through Classroom.

Quizizz - This integration makes it seamless for teachers to assign Quizizz games to their class. Students can join a Quizizz game with one click and all their performance data is sent back to Classroom.

PBS Learning Media - PBS LearningMedia™ is your destination for direct access to thousands of classroom-ready, curriculum-targeted digital resources. PBS LearningMedia builds on the strength of public media and is designed to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Resources are aligned to Common Core and national standards and include videos and interactives, as well as audio, documents, and in-depth lesson plans. You can browse by standards, grade level, subject area, and special collections. You can also favorite and share resources with your class and colleagues. Best of all, PBS LearningMedia’s basic service is free for PreK-12 educators. 

Quizlet - Quizlet makes simple learning tools that let you study anything. Start learning today with flashcards, games and learning tools — all for free.

Share to Classroom Chrome Extension - With the Share to Classroom Chrome extension, teachers and students using Chrome browsers can instantly share web pages with one another. In addition to sharing to students’ browsers, teachers can also attach a webpage to a Classroom post. (Check out these other Google Classroom Chrome Extensions.)


We LOVE Google Chrome and Chome Extensions - BUT ..... 

Only use the ones that you need! 

If you are an extension junkie - use this great extension for turning them on and off. (Works great for those extensions you only use a few times a year but still love.) 
The more you have actively running the more it may slow your computer/Chromebook down.
Only install trusted or common ones. We are starting to see more Malware extensions. 


Tip - Yes - Google classroom (And Google Photos) in the first-grade classroom!
Bringing Students around the World with Google Photos
I recently attended the FETC conference in Orlando and shared pictures and videos of the trip with my 1st graders using Google Classroom. This way, students who have never traveled outside of Nebraska could see what I was doing on a daily basis. When I returned, I showed them even more pictures from Google Photos.” - James Reed, Southern Valley Schools (@JamesReedsv)

Some Math apps/tips.  From our very own Lenny VerMaas @LennyVerMaas 

Great tips for parents. I would add http://bedtimemath.org/  for younger children and https://mathbeforebed.com/ 

Looking for some math games try some of these https://goo.gl/A1ORni


Google Docs add-ons.

Just like Chrome extensions add functionality to Chrome... Google Doc's add-ons add functionality to Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.   This website is a great resource for showcasing the new add-ons that are announced.  The new ShapeApp for slides along with many more are featured in this month's release. 

Create a List of Rubrics – Automagically with this Google Sheets add-on.  Alice Keller has created a lot of other great add-ons and classroom resources. Check out her home page for more.  

Google Docs Tips:

17 Google Docs Tips Everyone Should Know - Via Techworld | Google offers one of the best word processors in the market with its Docs app. But like most technology, it can also be infuriating, tricky to use, and sometimes limited. To make your overall editing experience a bit better, here are some tips on how to get the most from Google Docs.