Tuesday Tech Tidbit

This week I am presenting you with a challenge.  For many years we have been using Google Docs for all of our word processing needs.  Since moving to the iPad, though, we have discovered that the Google Docs mobile app is severely lacking in formatting options and advanced word processing features.   Hiding in plain site is an app called Pages.  This app, made by Apple, is installed on all of our iPads.  Pages is a robust word processor with an intuitive interface and all the advanced word processing features we miss.  Since Pages is designed specifically for the iPad by the same company that made the iPad, it is a seamless experience. Some folks are afraid to use Pages because they feel it doesn't offer features such as collaborative editing, footnotes, and version history.  These features are absolutely included in Pages!  Plus, Pages offers a lot of multimedia options.  Inserting images on Pages is a smooth experience compared to Goog...

Artificial Intelligence resources are being developed at break-neck speed.  My head spins as I try to keep up with AI.  Dan Niessen, a technology integration specialist at NEOnet, recently released these AI resources to help teachers understand and evaluate classroom applications for AI.  While the reputations of resources like ChatGPT have been tarnished due to the capability of students to use AI for academic dishonesty, there are actually a lot of practical and useful applications of AI in the classroom.  It's definitely worth a look. Futurepedia is a collection of AI tools that is updated daily.  Within Futurepedia you can browse 700+ AI tools in 40+ categories like copywriting, image generation and video editing.  Prepare to have your mind blown!  I bet if you take a few minutes to browse through categories that interest you, you will stumble upon a new tool that will improve your workflow significantly. Futurepedia offers both paid and free re...

Classroomscreen is a website that allows teachers to project a home screen with a variety of widgets that help to organize and manage the flow of their classrooms. Classroomscreen provides 19 widgets that you can customize.  These widgets include: Random name generator (for choosing a name of a student in your class) Timer Poll Text box Drawing box Sound level meter QR code generator Dice Stop watch Clock Group maker You can use Classroomscreen.com for free with no need to register.  You won't be able to save your screens or your widget orientations with the free account, but that's not much of a burden if you ask me.  This resource is extremely easy to use.  To check it out, visit  https://classroomscreen.com .

Gmail has a nifty feature called templates, which allows you to compose and save an email message that you anticipate sending to various recipients over a span of time.  If you find yourself composing similar email messages and sending them to various people, this feature might save you some time. I use Gmail templates to send acknowledgements to students who complete an interest form for the Makerspace club.  I never know when a student will fill out the form.  Nonetheless, I have a template email ready to go so I can send them information about the club. You need to activate Templates in your Gmail settings before this feature shows up. To do this, select the gear icon at the top of Gmail. Then select See All Settings > Advanced > Enable Templates . To save a template, you should first type a draft email message.  Then select the More button at the bottom of a new composition window (the "snowman" button).  You can then open the Templates menu and sav...

Students often ask us in the media center how to print slide show presentations.  Often we discover that the slides have been formatted in a way that makes them look wonky when printing full page.  This is easy to fix ... if the presentation is formatted correctly at the very beginning.   By default, Google presentations are formatted to play in a widescreen format (16:9 ratio).  This size does not correspond to the size of a piece of paper.  Printing a widescreen presentation will squash the slides and will not fill the page.  If you want to make your presentation print-friendly, you must change the page margins before designing your slide show.  Here's how: Changing slide size on desktop computer: Select File > Page setup . Change the page size from widescreen to Custom . Type 11" x 8.5" Changing slide size on iPad: Open Safari. Type the address slides.google.com Start a new presentation. Select  File  >  Page setup . Cha...

Puzzlemaker is a free puzzle generation tool for teachers and students.  It is provided by Discovery Education.  It is a completely web-based and super easy to use.   With Puzzlemaker you (or students) can generate a wide variety of puzzles, including word search, cross-cross, math squares, number blocks, mazes, and more.  Simply provide the requested information about building the puzzle parameters.  Then supply the words, letters or numbers. Voila!   Puzzlemaker will churn out a puzzle that can be printed easily.  You can also create PDFs of the puzzles that can be shared in Google Classroom.  Students can use their styluses to complete PDF puzzles on their iPads.  Puzzlemaker is a great vocabulary builder and math resource.  (And it’s fun to use!) https://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/

For your next presentation project, I encourage you to consider having your students create their very own ebook.  Creating ebooks is very easy on the iPad.  Students use the Pages app to create the book.  E-books can contain all kinds of multimedia, including videos and voice-overs.  The resulting ebooks are easy to share with others.  They open in the Books app on your iPad.  Students feel like accomplished authors, and the results are stunning. Please reach out to me if you would plan an ebook project with your students.  I would love to demonstrate to your students how to create an ebook, and I can lend technical support throughout the project.   This video demonstrates how to create and share an ebook.