Wednesday, May 25, 2016

New options in Flubaroo



Flubaroo is at it again making improvements on their add-on for grading student work that came in from a Google Form into Sheets.  Here's an overview of the new options: 



  • Autograde can now handle an unlimited number of submissions and run in the background
  • Checkbox questions have increased grading features for partial credit
  • Grading by hand will now auto advance to the next student once you enter a grade for that student
  • Custom formulas in the grade sheet for Power Users that want to control grading based on their own rules
  • "Ignore" a question so it doesn't show up in the grade sheet

If you want to read more about the new updates, you can go to Flubaroo's blog:

Flubaroo Blog Announcement

Happy Quizzing!


Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Using Google drawings to create interactive and visual images

Google drawings seems to be one of the google apps that most people do not know much about and is underutilized by almost as many. It's ease of use and sharing is something we can all appreciate as we work with it more often. 

I read a great post today on how to use Google drawings as an interactive and visual learning tool. I love incorporating drawings with my google slide presentations to spruce up "notes" for the classroom. I won't attempt to recreate what is already posted on the site, so I'll just send you there for the details. Check back soon for a how to video for those interested.

Check out the link below to learn more about how to create your interactive images for your class.



Googlink: Using Google Drawings like a Thinglink

Monday, May 16, 2016

Google announces Spaces for group sharing

Google announced a new tool - Spaces.  It is a mobile platform app designed to share anything with selected groups of people easily and quickly.  You can create a space for a study group, an event planning and more. You can invite friends via email, messaging and more. This is brand new and looks very easy to use.  I'm excited to see if it catches on.  

At this point, we cannot use it under our school domain, but we'll update you as soon as it is.  In the meantime, you can give it a try on your personal account and see what you think of it.  Share your ideas on how we might use this for the classroom.  I'm thinking it would be a great tool for group projects, brainstorming groups, and more. 

Download Spaces for Android and IOS

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Snagit chrome extension is being retired in August

ExtensionFor those of you that like to do quick screencasts on your desktop or chromebook using SnagIt please be aware that TechSmith has announce that they are retiring the chrome extension as of August this year.  

There are other options for capturing screen activity such as Screencastify for those that need a replacement.  

Read more on their site if you're interested. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Long awaited Classroom updates - scheduled posts and parent notifications

Google announced two updates for Google Classroom - scheduled posts and parent notifications!!!

I can't tell you how excited I am to hear this news confirmed on Google's blog today.  This past year, we were given the ability to save posts as a draft for later use.  Starting today, Google Classroom will feature the ability to schedule posts for a later date so that you could theoretically set up the week's assignments to open automatically or even an entire unit.  This is also nice for teachers that plan the day before and don't want to try to remember to open a draft and make it live right when class starts especially if it is a link to a quiz, review materials, etc. 

There will also be a few additional features released this week for Classroom, so keep your eyes open for more news.   

Preview the animation below from Google for scheduled posts: 



The second announcement was hinted about in the fall by the Google staff at a workshop
and it has finally been officially announced for the public:  parent notifications

It has been a common dilemma for both teachers and parents because the parents cannot access google classroom to see their child's work unless they use their child's login information.  Google has heard our pleas.  This fall, they will release parent notifications including email digests and upcoming class announcements.  Domain administrators will also be able to automatically link parents to the accounts.  Look for more information sometime this summer for this great addition to Google Classroom.

Stay up to date with Google's latest announcement by following their blog.
http://googleforeducation.blogspot.com/