Google's Interview Warmup

Google released Interview Warmup this week as part of their Grow with Google programme.

The Interview Warmup is interesting. It poses interview questions, it then transcribes the responses and offers tool to highlight the most-used words, job-related terms etc.

Even if you are not looking for a new job the technologies here are worth a look.

If you still have classic Google Sites take action now!

Google has kept extending the related deadlines but if you still have 'classic' Google Sites now is the time to transition them to 'new' Sites.

The new timeline is:

• Starting December 1, 2022 (previously June 1, 2022): You will no longer be able to edit any remaining classic Sites in your domain.
• Starting January 1, 2023 (previously July 1, 2022): Classic Sites will no longer be viewable unless they are converted to new Google Sites.

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - Migrate your classic Google Sites before December 1, 2022 [16 May 2022]

Using mote STEM mode

mote enables you to easily leave audio comments/feedback within the Google Workspace for Education tools that we use. These comments can also be transcribed by mote.

For those of you appreciate any equations or compounds in your mote transcriptions to appear nicely formatted mote has 'STEM mode'.

Just enable the Enable STEM Mode and transcription sliders in the mote popup so all your new motes enjoy this feature. To access the mote popup, click on the extension icon in the upper right of your browser window.

If you are wondering about the syntax for equations and compounds is, it's a standard known as AsciiMath.

Read more here → support.mote.com - Using mote STEM mode

Top tips for talking to teenagers about online safety

A useful blog post worth reading titled → Top tips for talking to teenagers about online safety [23 September 2021]

A really good outline of ideas and starting points!

Childnet is a UK-based charity who empower children, young people, and those who support them in their online lives, and its mission is to work with others to make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people.

Their blog is certainly worth following for updates, ideas and resources. You could also follow them on Twitter →

How to use Google Sheets Filter Views

If you get shared a Google Sheets spreadsheet with loads and loads of data on it and decide to filter the view - you are doing that for everybody who visits that spreadsheet.

This situation is why 'Filter views' has been added to Google Sheets.

Watch this video →

or

Read more here → Chrome Unboxed - How to use Google Sheets Filter Views to analyze data without screwing it up for everyone else [15 April 2022]

Use new table templates and dropdown chips in Google Docs

You can use dropdown chips, in Google Docs, to easily indicate the status of your document or various project milestones outlined in your document. There are two default dropdown options:

• Project Status, which includes selections for “Not Started”, “Blocked”, “In Progress” and “Complete”
• Review Status, which includes selections for “Not Started”, “In Progress”, “Under Review” and “Approved”.

Additionally, you can create a dropdown chip with custom options and colours to best suit your needs.

Google has also adding table templates, which allow you to quickly insert building blocks for common workflows such as a:

• Launch content tracker
• Project asset
• Review tracker
• Product roadmap

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - Use new table templates and dropdown chips in Google Docs to create highly collaborative documents [2 May 2022]

Level up your padlet skills with a variety of keyboard shortcuts and editing tricks

Mouse shortcuts:

• Drag and drop a file: Open the post composer with content inside.
• Drag and drop multiple files: Open multiple post composers, each with one of the files. Click the icon on the right to publish all drafts.
• Double-click on padlet: Open post composer
• Double-click on post: Edit post
• Double-click on padlet title: Edit padlet settings

Keyboard shortcuts:

• C: Create a new post
• Cmd/Ctrl + Enter: Publish current post
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Enter: Publish current post and start a new post
• Esc: Close post composer

Read more here → padlet.blog - Triumphant tips and tricks [20 April 2022]

From @UNGeneva

New Chrome Web Store badges

Google has added to badges to extensions that are found on the Chrome Web Store.

The Established Publisher badge showcases publishers who have verified their identity and demonstrated compliance with the developer program policies.

The Featured badge is assigned to extensions that follow our technical best practices and meet a high standard of user experience and design.

Both these badges help when reviewing the implications of adding an extension to Chrome, something that teachers should discuss with their students.

Read more here → Google The Keyword - Find great extensions with new Chrome Web Store badges [20 April 2022]

Set up host controls and assign co-hosts ahead of a Meet

In addition to setting up Google Meet breakout rooms in advance in Google Calendar, meeting organizers can also: 

• Turn meeting safety features on or off, such as chat lock, present lock, and more. 
• Designate co-hosts before the meeting. 

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - Set up host controls and assign co-hosts ahead of meetings in Google Calendar [20 April 2022]

Improved editing experience in Chat on the web

Chat is a super useful of communicating, without increasing email, for things that need quick and short replies.

You can find Chat as part of your Gmail page or at chat.google.com.

You now can add rich formatting to Chat messages, such as bold, italics, or underlines. Rich text can also be accessed using standard keyboard shortcuts.

Simply press the "A" icon in the chat compose bar to expand the formatting toolbar.

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - Improved editing experience in Google Chat on the web [20 January 2022]

The Zoom 'Progressive Web App' for Chromebook gains blur and virtual backgrounds

PWAs are the future!

You can use Zoom on a Chromebook and the experience is getting better.

The Zoom PWA for Chromebook gained a new trick that brings it closer to a full desktop experience. You can now blur what’s behind you or use a virtual background in the Zoom web client.

Canopy magazine - for teachers using Google Workspace for Education

Canopy is a Google for Education partner based in the UK. They recently launched a magazine for teachers using Google Workspace for Education (like we do).

You browse the magazine here and sign up for magazine updates and access to download individual articles.

New email draft template in Google Docs

Google have added a new feature to the Smart Chip menu. In Docs type @ and you will now see the option to add an 'email draft' layout.

"You can mention people in the recipient fields using the @ menu without having to remember their email addresses, and collaborate on the message body using comments and suggestions. When ready to send, simply click the button that is shown alongside an email draft. A Gmail compose window will pop up, with email fields (subject, to, cc, bcc, and body) automatically populated based on the email draft in the document."

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - New email draft template in Google Docs [15 March 2022]

A 'byte sized' introduction to Mote during a departmental meeting

I used the presentation above to structure a 15 minute Essential PD byte session that I lead this week. The aim was to introduce some of the key features of Mote to a department at school - to get them interested in having a go.

If any other departments would like me to come into a meeting and lead a Essential PD byte session - please just ask!

Four conversations to have with older kids and teens about their screen time habits

Common Sense Media - 4 Conversations to Have with Older Kids and Teens About Their Screen Time Habits [15 March 2022] is a useful article focused upon students of secondary age.

The publishing of the article is linked to the release of the The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021. More about this in the near future.

Adding a keyboard shortcut or hotkey for a Chrome Extension

I use a range of Chrome extensions to add links/articles/resources to services such as Trello, Pocket and Raindrop.

Aiming your cursor at a tiny 16-by-16 pixel Chrome extension button amidst possibly 20 others in the extension tray can feel like trying to win a carnival game with the odds firmly stacked against you.

[Source]

It is possible to assign keyboard shortcuts to Chrome extensions.

Here are the steps for adding your own personalized shortcuts for Chrome extensions.

• In the top right corner of Google Chrome, click the 3-dot expansion menu
• Expand the More Tools menu
• Click Extensions
• Click on the 'burger' in the top left hand corner of the screen and choose 'Keyboard shortcuts'
• Scroll to the extension of interest and choose a combination of keys with either “Ctrl” or “Ctrl + Shift” and any available key

The extension developer may have added shortcut functionality for more actions within the app. 

Read more here → obie.ai - How to add and remove custom keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys for a Chrome Extension in 5 seconds flat [20 July 2020]

Heading charts from Google Form responses into Docs, Slides and Drawings

You can now embed linked response charts from Google Forms into a Google Doc, Google Slides presentation, or a Google Drawing. When new form responses are received, anyone with the proper permissions can refresh an embedded chart by simply clicking the "Update" button. This eliminates the need to re-copy the chart from the form.

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - Embed linked Google Forms charts into Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Drawings [1 March 2022]

Padlet - moderating posts

Padlet allows you to moderate all posts on padlet so they must be reviewed by the owner/teacher before they can be published.

Thinking about tags and hashtag literacy

Digital curation is a topic that really engages me at the minute. The effective organisation of all the things we find online that may (or may not) be useful in the future is a challenge and the tools available to help evolve.

Tags and Hashtag Literacy [14 February 2022], by Wesley Fryer, is worth a read to get you thinking about such things and how we should be integrating hashtags and tags into the research skills we teach.

Chrome Extension suggestion - Remote for Slides

This is a really interesting find by a colleague of mine.

Install the Chrome Extension, open a Google Slides deck, visit remoteforslides.com on your phone and then enter a 6 digit code. Now you have a remote for Google Slides. What I really like is that you can see your 'speaker notes' on your phone.

Google Documents - Pageless page setup

If you have no plans to print a Google Document you are creating - why do you need to have it set up with a page like appearance?

Google has recently introduced the ability to change the page setup to 'Pageless'.

Set up your Google Doc so that it continuously scrolls without page breaks. In this setting, images will adjust to your screen size, and you can create wide tables and view them by scrolling left and right. Line breaks for text will also adjust to your screen size, and as you zoom in and out.

support.google.com

1. On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
2. Go to File  Page setup.
3. At the top of the dialog window, select Pages or Pageless.
4. Click OK to confirm.

Read more here → support.google.com - Change a document’s page setup: pages or pageless

Turn an old laptop into a Chromebook

If you have an old computer that is struggling it may be possible to turn this device into a Chromebook using Chrome OS Flex.

If you have an old laptop and would like to give this a try - please let me know and we can explore the possibilities together.

Using Mote with Google Forms

Mote gives us the ability to easily leave audio based feedback. This ability isn't confined to Google Documents. Mote has capabilities in Google Slides, Gmail, Google Sites, Google Classroom and Google Forms.

Check out the video above for some ideas on how to use Mote with Google Forms. Basically you can use Mote to record audio questions and then any user, with Mote enabled, will be able to record an audio response.

If you are interested in using Mote as an educator or even broader with your class - please get in contact.

Read more here → support.mote.com - Help! How do I use Mote for Google Forms? Troubleshooting tips

.new

Not new but this could improve your ninja like Google Workspace skills.

Type doc.new into the Chrome 'Omnibox' and a new Google Doc will open ready for you to start using. Type sheet.new and guess what... a new Google Sheet is created.

cal.new or meeting.new opens a new Google Calendar event.

Other terms that work →

• Docs
  • docs.new
  • doc.new
  • document.new
• Sheets
  • sheets.new
  • sheet.new
  • spreadsheet.new
• Slides
  • slides.new
  • slide.new
  • presentation.new
• Forms
  • forms.new
  • form.new
• Sites
  • site.new
• Keep
  • keep.new

Check out more → https://goo.gle/Shortcuts

New Navigation bar functions in Google Drive

From the URL bar in Google Drive, you can now quickly access key pages and functions When navigating into the Google Drive web application from the URL bar by hitting the "Tab" key, you can access buttons like "Skip to main content", "Keyboard shortcuts", and "Accessibility feedback"from the bar at the top of the page

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - New Navigation bar functions in Google Drive

Using Padlet to collect, organise and share bookmarks

All Foundation teaching staff have access to full padlet accounts.

Padlet is super useful for collecting and organising ideas and resources. This could be done on an individual basis or working with a team of colleagues or class of students.

Installing the Padlet Mini Chrome Extension makes this process really easy. If you have a useful resource open in Chrome all you need to do is click on the extensions icon and a menu asking which of your padlets you would like to add the resource to.

Font choice to support reading

“Google publishing Lexend in August 2019 has really helped bring awareness and spread the message of [the importance of] making reading more accessible to a wider audience,” Shaver-Troup said.

An interesting read about the impact of font choice upon reading outcomes → Google Design - Clean and clear: making reading easier with Lexend [2 February 2022]

Calendar

Google Calendar is all that is needed here! I use a handful of different calendars - school, family etc - but all scheduled lessons, meetings and my daughter's football practices are here.

I use Fantastical on my iPhone and iPad to display my Google Calendar as I prefer the layout - but the Google Calendar iOS app is also very capable.

Task manager

I'm going to say it - your email inbox should not be your 'job list'. An app where you can 'capture' and then organise all the things that you need to do can be hugely beneficial for your well-being.

There is no shortage of task manager apps available! Within the Google Workspace sphere you have Google Tasks and Google Keep. These apps also display scheduled tasks in your Google Calendar. A recent update allows you to manage overdue tasks in Google Calendar.

Personally I use todoist - and have done for a number of years now. I particularly like how the Gmail add-on allows me to quickly turn emails into tasks, the web and iOS apps and the integration with Google Calendar, Fantastical etc.

Notes

Notes in that nice notebook you got for your birthday, others on the back of an envelope and even some in an email you sent to yourself. One place (app) is needed where you make, organise and can quickly find your notes and thoughts.

In Google Workspace you could use a Google Doc. Utilising H1, H2 to give things structure and the document outline to quickly move around. Smart chips will also help you tie various things together.

I have tried GoodNotes on my iPad, various physical Moleskine type notebooks, Bear, Notion and Trello and more. All of them have good bits - but not the coverage that I was looking for.

I am about two weeks into using Roam Research as my note taking app of choice. It is a little geekier than some of the other options and maybe not as pretty. The speed of use and the automatic generation of connections between notes, topics, ideas is what is making it the app I keep going back to. There are 'task manager' options here too - but I am sticking with todoist for that side of things, at the minute.

Read it later

You need somewhere to store links. That article that was shared by a colleague that you want to digest at a later date. The website you want to use next time to teach a certain topic to one of your classes. The website of that new restaurant you would like to try. All these links need to be stored and organised.

In Google Workspace you could use Chrome bookmarks and then use the Chrome Bookmark Manager to ensure links are organised into folders. Google Keep, and it's Chrome extension, can also be useful here.

I prefer a dedicated app for such things. I want an app that is 'cross platform' - I can use it on my school Chromebook, my personal iPad, my phone etc.

I use Pocket. There is a Chrome extension so that I can quickly add websites that I am viewing to Pocket - so that later on I can read them and sort them out. With tags etc you can use Pocket as an organised store of your links. I do not tend to do this. For me links get added to Pocket and then every so often I sort them out. Sites that I want to integrate into my teaching resources get added to Trello and things I want to read (in depth) are added to the iOS app Matter.

Google Meet Companion mode

Companion mode allows you to connect to a Google Meet without video and sound.

Why might this be useful?

You could connect a second device to a Google Meet - giving you more options in terms of presenting from one device and see all the participants on another. Using Companion mode means there is no chance of audio feedback.

If you had a group of students, in a classroom with their devices, but you wanted to use some of the tools that Meet offers such as the chat or rolls, you could get the students to connect to a Meet using Companion mode.

To join a Meet in Companion mode → In a Google Meet Invite, click Join → On the meeting landing page, under Other joining options, click Use Companion mode.

Read more here → Google Workspace Learning Center → Companion mode quick start guide

Text watermarks in Google Docs

You can now add a text watermark to your documents in Google Docs.

Text watermarks will repeat on every page on your document, making it useful for indicating file status, such as “Confidential” or “Draft” before sharing more broadly.

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - Create or import text watermarks in Google Docs [24 January 2022]

Changes coming to Gmail

Google are introducing a new, integrated view for Gmail, making it easy to move between applications like Gmail, Chat, and Meet in one unified location.

Beginning 8 February 2022 you should be able to opt-in to test the new experience.

By April 2022 users who have not opted-in will begin seeing the new experience by default, but can revert to classic Gmail via settings.

By the end of Q2 2022 this will become the standard experience for Gmail, with no option to revert back.

Read more here → Google Workspace Updates - New integrated view for Gmail features email, Google Meet, Google Chat, and Spaces in one place [31 January 2022]

EDU in 90