I just returned from the Midwest Google Summit where I spent the last three days learning about all things google/technology. I have attended tech conferences in the past, but I always went into them with the mindset of "How can this benefit me and my science class." Now going as a tech integrator, I had a totally different outlook. I tried to pick up on anything that I felt could help someone else. I have a lot of "big" things to share with you such as certain apps/extensions/add-ons that will help make your life easier, but today I am going to share the little things that I picked up that I thought could make an immediate impact on your use of technology.
Pinned Tabs
If you are like me, you have a few tabs that you want open almost all the time. Maybe it is your email, or Powerschool. Maybe it is fantasy football or Target's Black Friday deals.... Whatever it is, there is an easy feature to save it as a tab on your Chrome browser.
Here's how it works:
- Open a tab and go to your desired site.
- Right-click on the tab and choose "Pin Tab"
When you do this, the tab shrinks and slides to the left of your browser. You cannot "x" out of this tab unless you right-click and "unpin tab." Even if you close your browser, it will be there when you open it back up. (Note: having pinned tabs slows down how fast your browser opens as it has to open multiple tabs). Look at this before and after of a pinned tab.
Chrome Zooming
Sometimes (especially when using a projector that affects your resolution), it is necessary to zoom in or zoom out quickly. Here are three keyboard shortcuts that allow you to do this.
"cmd +" = Zoom in (Ctrl + for PC/Chromebook)
"cmd -" = Zoom out
"cmd 0" = Return to normal.
"Awesome Tables" (and our staff directory)
I spent a lot of time learning about google sheets and more efficient ways to use spreadsheets. One of the classes I went to was on "Awesome Tables." These are pretty advanced and I am not sure if there are a whole lot of classroom uses for them, but I transferred what I learned to make an interactive staff directory. You can find it by going to the BASD website --> Staff Access--> Your School--> Staff Directory. CLICK HERE to go right there and check it out(must be logged in to berlin.k12.wi.us)!
I entered all the data into a spreadsheet, and then with a little magic I learned from a wizard at google, I created a searchable staff directory. Bookmark for easy access.
"Vitamin Strings"
This isn't really tech related, but before one of the sessions a presenter was playing some instrumental music from a group called "Vitamin Strings." They are a string quartet that plays popular songs. I play music in my class almost every day, and I know many of you do as well. I put it on in class today, and the kids first started groaning that they were listening to "Beethoven junk....". However, when they started to recognize the tunes, they kind of got into it. When the song changed, my class looked a little like "Name that Tune" as it was a race to name the song. Just thought I would share as a good way to incorporate the arts (I paid $130,000 to Ripon College so they could tell me why that is important). CLICK HERE to check out a playlist of "Vitamin Strings."
I am going to be gone the rest of this week, so I will utilize the short week next week to send out a "Tech This Out".
Thanks and Safe Hunting!!
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