Drive Add - DocHub

I recently learned about an AMAZING Google Drive add-on called DocHub. There are plenty of extensions out there that allow you to edit a PDF, but this one is different. It is an "add-on" so it lives in Google Drive. You can add it by going to Google Drive, clicking the blue NEW button, clicking More, then clicking Add More Apps. Search for Doc Hub and then add it to Drive. (See image below.) 

Now when you open a PDF you have the option to open it using DocHub. You can edit and annotate the PDF using DocHub. You can also sign or initial it using a signature that you have created or you can have DocHub create a signature for you. There are so many options!

But wait, there's more! DocHub allows you to request signatures from multiple people. Imagine how nice it will be to use this on our checkout sheets at the end of the year! No more running around trying to track down different people to sign off on our forms! Instead we can request the signatures of all of the required people with one click! 

If you want to test out how the request signature feature works just send it to me and I will sign it for you so you can see how it works. Let me know if you have any questions! 

Two Extensions to Assist Dyslexics

I spent the weekend in Kansas City at a Google Summit. I was super excited to learn from Stacy Behmer who is not only one of my friends, but also a top-notch educator and Google Trainer. I attended one of her sessions which focused on using Google to support readers. She shared so many great ideas, but two stood out as ones I wanted to share with my teachers right away!

The first one is an extension called Open Dyslexic. This extension turns the text on any website into a font that is easier for people with dyslexia to read. It is free and incredibly useful. It works by weighting the bottom of the letters to help keep them from looking like they are floating off the page. Go to the app to learn more!



The other app is called Beeline Reader. This app uses a color gradient to guide your eyes from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. You can also use it to change the color of your screen to increase contrast.

Voice to Drive

Have you ever wished there was a super easy way to have students record a short verbal response and share it with you? Or have you ever wanted to send verbal instructions to your class but it was just too much of a hassle? There is an easy way to do this!

First you need to download a Chrome app called TwistedWave. Once you the app all you have to do is record your message then save it to Google Drive. In the free version your recordings are limited to 5 minutes each and a total of one hour of total recording time. Once you move your files over to Google you can change the privacy settings then share them or link to them. It is really that easy!

If you want to learn more about the technical side of editing audio clips you will want to read Richard Byrne's post on Twisted Wave and watch his tutorial video.

Docs to Forms Add On

Google Forms are just starting to catch on in my district. I have worked with several teachers to show them how to create a quiz from scratch using Google Forms and so far they think it is a great alternative to what they had been doing. They love it even more when they discover they can use an add on called Flubaroo to automagically grade the quizzes and send students their results. More about that in another post.

If you are like many teachers you have tests and quizzes already created and stored on your computer. You could copy and paste each question and each answer, but that would be tedious and time consuming. A much better alternative is to use the Docs to Forms Add On. This nifty feature allows you to select text and click one button to move it into a form. Moving the answers is pretty easy as well. The video above will walk you through the process. I hope this helps you as you begin to explore more ways that Google can make your life easier!

PDF's and Google Drive

I came across 10 Tips to Do More with Your PDF Files in Google Drive at the perfect time! I was working with a group of teachers yesterday who have some enormous PDF's they want to upload into Google Drive. We were trying to figure out how to break the file up so they could just use the pages that they really needed. PDF Split  is an app that does just that!

Many of the teachers in my district use Google Sites and they have the need to embed PDF's on them. If this is something you are interested in doing here is a short video that will walk you through the process.

Remind

Have you ever sent an email to a parent, student or colleague and wondered if they ever got it? Sometimes people don't always check their email, but they usually check their text messages. Maybe you have always wanted to text your students or their parents, but you didn't want to share your phone number. Remind (formerly Remind101) might be just the service you are looking for.

Remind allows you to set up classes and share a code with anyone who you want to put in that class. This might be students, parents, or other educators. People can sign up using their phones by sending a text with the code you share with them to your Remind number which is set up when you join. Alternatively, they can sign up online visiting a link that you share with them and enter the code there.

Once people join your class you can begin sending messages. You can include an attachment with your message as well. Your message can be a text or a voice recording. You can send messages from any device using the online version or the handy Remind app. You can schedule messages to be send in advance or you can send them at the moment you want them delivered. Keep in mind that people cannot reply to your message.

There are so many uses for Remind. I work with teachers in seven different buildings. I use Remind to push out messages about 30 minutes in advance to let them know when I will be in their building. Administrators can use Remind to communicate with their teachers regarding meetings. Teachers can use it to remind students about important things such as when projects are due. Teachers can use Remind to alert parents about important things happening at school. Remind is a and incredibly useful and versatile tool and it is FREE!

• Fifty Ways to Use Remind
• How to Use Remind in 9 Steps
• Remind 101- Safely Text Parents and Students

Creating a Safe and Secure Password

Lock by Bal Soora
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/photobal/

Over the past few weeks I have worked with lots of teachers and one of the things that frustrates them the most is having to remember lots of different passwords. Until about a year ago I had three or four different passwords that I used for everything. That all changed when I read an article that had tips for creating safe, secure, and unique passwords for every site that I access on the web. That is A LOT of passwords to remember!

Fear no more. I'm going to share some tips to help you configure a different password while preserving your sanity. No need to ever write down a password ever again!

First you need to think of some information that is relevant to you. Here are some fictitious examples:

• Childrens names: Sheldon, Penny, Leonard
• Birth year: 1975  Year Married: 1998
• Birth location: San Antonio, Texas
• First phone number: 629-6264
• Ideal vacation destination: Italy (It)

Begin by selecting some pieces of this information to create the base for your password. Here are some ideas: 

• shpele6264! - Used first 2 letters of each name with digits from phone number
• 1975tex! - Birth year combined with birth state
• 6264SAT!- Part of phone number combined with airport code for San Antonio

You get the idea. It doesn't matter what you select as long as it is relevant to YOU! Avoid stringing together letters that make up words that are longer than three letters. Some services will not allow you to use passwords that contain words that are 4 letters or longer. You can always substitute characters for letters and numbers. For example: loves would be !ove$. Play it safe and include a special character. Some services require it while others do not. It is easier to use it even if it is not needed then to try to recall multiple passwords. 

Whatever combination you choose will be used with each password you create. To customize it for each different account simply combine it with the first three letters of the service. To make it even safer and compliant with the password requirements make sure at least one letter is capitalized. 

Here is what this could look like for several services using shpele6264 as the base: 

• Facebook: Facshpele6264! 
• Twitter: Twishpele6264!
• Diigo: Diishpele6264!

If you use this method it is absolutely imperative that you do not ever share your password with anyone or leave it written down on a scrap of paper in your desk. If someone figures has your password to one site then they will be able to get into any of your accounts. The reason you create one that is relevant to you is so you do not have to write it down ever again! 

Force Chrome Update

The other day I went to add a screencasting app and I received a message that I did not have a version of Chrome that was compatible. Even though Chrome is constantly updating if you don't close your browser for a long time you might have to manually trigger an update. Hat tip to Zak Griffith for showing me how to do this.

Tech Tip Tuesday

Every Tuesday I will share tech tips and tricks! Stay tuned to learn some neat things!