Monday, January 30, 2023

How to Convert Word to Google


You might be in a school that uses both Google and Microsoft or maybe you came from a Microsoft school and are now in a Google school.  Perhaps you downloaded some Microsoft documents and now want them as Google files.  Either way I made a short video to walk you through the process.
The short of it is that you can either convert files individually or set your Drive to automatically convert all documents to upload.  


 

Monday, January 23, 2023

Did you miss these top posts of 2022?

I always like looking back to see what posts people read the most.  It gives me a good idea of what things people are interested in.  In 2022 the three posts that were read the most were digital exit tickets, works cited, and google forms feedback.

Here's a brief summary of each and a link to read the whole post.


Digital Exit Tickets: 4 Ways to use digital exit tickets in your classroom

Creating an Easy Works Cited Page: 3 ways to create a works cited page

Individual Student Feedback: How to give individual feedback to students using Google Forms

Monday, January 16, 2023

5 Free Programs to create Screen recordings




If you are looking to make a screen recording, there are so many free programs about there that you can use.  Here are my top five.  They are roughly in order of my favorites (it's hard to pick a favorite!)  I've listed some features of each and will include links to more in depth tutorials on each. Let me know what your tool of choice is. 
  • Loom
    • web based and downloadable program
    • freemium (teachers can get the premium version for free)
    • camera and screen options
    • option to highlight cursor and annotate the screen
  • Screencastify
    • web based (extension for Chrome or Edge)
    • must have a Google account, option to connect to Google Classroom to accept video assignments
    • Free or paid options
    • 10 video limit for free version, 30 minutes per video
    • Ability to add interactive questions
    • option to annotate the screen, highlight the cursor and add stickers
    • camera and screen options
  • Powerpoint
    • desktop version only (paid)
    • unlimited time
    • no annotation options
  • Screencast -o- matic
    • web, tablet, and desktop versions (options to upgrade for premium features)
    • option for screenshots and annotations
    • 15 minute video limit
    • connects with variety of LMS
  • QuickTime
    • Mac only
    • Desktop only
    • option to connect iPhone or iPad to record that screen

Monday, January 9, 2023

6 Basic Formulas your Need in Excel


 I know not everyone loves Excel or Google Sheets as much as I do, but it's something that we use often.  Knowing these basic formulas will help you out and save you time as you do some basic analysis. 

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Ugh, break is over


 Well, it looks like break is over and we are back at school. It’s also a new calendar year, but if you are like me the year really starts when school starts. I’m not big on resolutions, but I do want to focus on sharing science resources with you more.

Hopefully, you’ll be hearing from me more so I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself. I’m a science and technology teacher. I have taught both middle school (7th and 8th grades) and high school (Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, and Technology). I also had a brief stint as an adjunct professor teaching at a community college.

I have an email list where I send a monthly recap of blog posts. If this is something you want to receive, you can sign up for my list here.

I hope that I can provide some tips and tricks that will help make your teaching a little bit easier (because we all know how hard it is).