Aim to Be Awesome, Not Perfect

So while some days I feel techie and organized, and then there are days where I am like "Why didn't I think of that?" Recently I presented with a couple other ITS about making your Gmail spark joy, not anger (yes, we had a KonMari theme)! We presented on themes, priority inbox, and labels. We discussed Inbox Zero (in my case Inbox 50) and how your email really shouldn't be your To-Do List. One of my colleagues mentioned that she "creates an event" for any email that is a "to-do". By doing so, it is on her calendar, and in our roles, almost all of us live and die by our calendars. Why didn't think of that?  I can schedule when I am going to take care of something, or if completed, put it out of sight! Since that training, I have been doing that, and man, has it made my professional Inbox (and me) a lot more organized. Now to work on my personal email... We also talked about some of my favorite Gmail tips - Canned Responses , Sm

I am really struggling to find time to read these days (or even the desire to do so). Luckily for me, professional development can come in a variety of ways.  These days, my favorite way to learn is with podcasts. Here are a few of my favorites: Google Teacher Tribe  -  I really enjoy this podcast each week. It is a great way to keep up with what is going on with Google updates. Another favorite part of mine is the listener questions - usually I have those questions too!  Shukes and Giff  - This is another favorite because of all the little "a-ha's" that they share. I have learned so much! EduDuctTape - a new fave! I love how Jake and his guests ask questions and then come up with solutions! House of Edtech   - I don't listen to this one weekly, but I make sure I listed to the App Smackdown each year.  My favorite part of the podcast is the EdTech Recommendation. Check This Out  - I don't listen to this one weekly, but my favorite part is the

One of my goals this year at school was to increase communication between the campus and the community.  I started an Instagram and a new Twitter account for my campus.  Since I feel like I am somewhat successful in this goal, I thought it might be time to document what is working for me. Tips for my School Social Media Accounts:  - Create them with a school master/generic account - that way if something happens to you, they can still be accessed by other school staff. - Run your social media through Instagram. Both Facebook and Twitter can be connected with Instagram, so you only have to post in one spot.  (I heard Buffer works with IG to schedule posts, but I haven't had time to look at that yet) - Use collages for fun colors, more pictures and more interest. Use  Adobe Spark , Canva , or Google Draw to create what you post. Tips: Adobe Spark is great if you don't have a photo for your post or you need a layout suggestion.  Canva is great if you have a p

I just spent last week learning at the TCEA Conference in San Antonio, TX.  I got to hear about tips and tricks from Leslie Fisher, 'new school' with Caitlyn Tucker, and future ready schools with Thomas Murray. Here are few of my "a-ha" moments! Use Remind not only as a reminder of due dates and tests, but use it as a way to show off the good things you are doing in your class!  Playlists are a great way to personalize learning! Here is a great blog post by Caitlyn Tucker.  Radio.garden - hear radio stations from around the world! Station Rotations in Google Classroom - that way students have all their information at their fingertips and they can reference it again. Things I had heard of and I need to look at again: Apple Clips , Flippity , Mentimeter , and Gimkit .

This week my Tech Treats Newsletter included a few Google Drive tips... check them out below! Take Pictures in Drive   Tired of taking photos on your phone and then having to upload them to Drive? I just discovered you can take photos from the Drive app! Open the app, click the + button on the bottom right, and an option is take a photo! It saves in whatever folder you have open in Drive! Only one negative - it only takes one photo at a time.  Shortcut .NEW   I heard about this first on the Google Teacher Tribe podcast, episode 62 . You can create a new Google Drive file simply by typing the following in the omnibox: docs.new slides.new sheets.new form.new sites.new Here is a full list of what you can type to quickly create something new! Searching Drive Tips   Check out this video for some helpful Drive search tips!  What other Google Drive Tips do you have? 

In my weekly newsletter, Tech Treats, I recently did a Google Slides Edition. Here are some of the great ideas I shared! Make videos  Google Slides now has Closed Captioning. It can now  provide a transcript as you narrate a slide deck. Screen-cast with your voice to create a video with closed captions! Check out the video explaining how to do it!  Create Graphics I use Google Slides to create graphics for our website and social media pages. Check out this example with instructions! Lesson Planner   Use Google Slides as a Lesson Planner. It’s a daily slide to share with students, an organizer for the whole year, or as one spot for all your ideas! Student Play of the Week   Use this Google Slides Template to highlight your class MVP’s! Check out this blog post from ShakeUpLearning for more information and ideas!

In my job, I am always looking for new ideas to share, whether it is a new activity or a new twist on an established one. Recently I got an email from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook with this idea -   an icon board for visual thinking.  I really got me thinking about how it could be used... and what other icon boards could be created. Since I am a former math teacher, that is where my mind heads - to math.  I started looking at the icons in the Insert Icons for Slides add-on, and sure enough, I found plenty that apply to math. So I started adding them, and thus creating my Math Icon Board My goal was to add icons that could be utilized in a variety of math and science classes. Obviously I do not have everything, partly because I couldn't find it or it didn't come to mind during my creation. When students use this, my suggestion is that they copy the icon (either by right-clicking and choosing copy OR hitting ctrl and C keys at the same time) and then pasting it

I get asked a lot about any tips or tricks that I use to be productive in my role as an Instructional Technology Specialist. I made a list and tried to group them... but it was hard to categorize some - so those are the ones I included. I use tons of keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Ctrl+Z (the undo shortcut) are some of my favorites, as is Ctrl+Shift+V (paste without formatting). My favorite is probably Ctrl+Shift+T, because I am constantly closing a tab and then realizing I need it again - and this opens it right back up! I have two extensions that I love and use all the time: Anyone can view by Alice Keeler  - makes my life so easy with the one-click change of sharing settings; and  Keep  - this is where I store all my to do lists and my 'for later' stuff My Favorites Bar - no (or very little) words Like it?  Here are instructions on how to do it. If you are in a GSuite school, learn how to use the chat feature