Chrome Spell Check

Did you know that not all web programs have spell check??  This includes Markbook and Google Sites.  However, you can enable spell check in your chrome browser and this will spell check anything that you type within Chrome.

Here is how to enable the Chrome Spell Check function:

1. Click on the "More Options" button in your chrome browser (3 does in the upper right corner)

2.  Click on "Settings"

3.  Click on "Advanced:

4. Make sure the Spell Check toggle is set to on.

    Click on the "Enhanced spell check" radio button

With the embedded chrome spell check turned on, any text that you type into any site will be checked for errors.

PD Opportunities for WECDSB Educators

 

The following sessions will be available for all WECDSB Eductors.  

Please note that these PD opportunities are optional.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at 1:00pm and 3:00pm 
Adding Curriculum Expectations to Brightspace Content

- In this session, you will learn how to import curriculum expectations into your Brightspace course.  Once imported, you have the ability to attach the expectations to course content.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 1:00pm and 3:00pmm
Using Google to Check the Authenticity of Student Work

-In this session, you will learn all about the Google originality report and how to implement this within Google Classroom as well as Brightspace.  This is a brand new functionality within the Brightsapce environment.   Since Turnitin is no longer available, Google originality reports can be used to ensure authentic student work.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, at 1:00pm and 3:00pm 
Using Weighted Rubrics in Google Classroom and Brightspace

-In this session, you will learn about weighted rubrics and how to implement them in Google Classroom and Brightspace.  Weighted rubrics will report a true mark to your students based on category weightings in your course.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at 1:00 and 3:00pm 
Assessment in Brightspace

-In this session, you will learn about creating quizzes in Brightspace.  Including how to create and use question banks.

Please visit the Continuity of Learning Website for Google Meet Links for this learning series.  Continuity of Learning Website

New Google Meet Breakout Room Features - Timers and Ask for Help

 

Breakout Rooms Timer Feature

You can set the length of time that breakout rooms will be open using the timer.  Before you start the breakout room, click on the timer icon.

Select the checkbox, and enter the desired length of time.  Press Ok.

Participants will be able to see the length of time remaining in the top left corner of the screen.

Asking for Help while in a Breakout Room

When participants are in a breakout room, they can get the attention of the host by “Asking for help”.

To do this, they should click on the text “Ask for Help” at the top of the screen.

In the main room, the host will see that this participant has asked for help on the Breakout Rooms tab.  The host will also know how much time has elapsed since the participant has requested help.

Google Meet - Raise Your Hand

 

Starting on November 14 Google will be rolling out the Raise Hand feature.  This will allow Google Meet participants to virtually Raise Your Hand.  It will take a week to roll out to everyone.

This will help maintain order in large meetings where you cannot have multiple participants using the mic at the same time.

To raise your hand in Meet on the web, click on the “Raise Hand” button on the bottom bar during the meeting. Once the button is pressed, it will change to a “Lower Hand” button, which can be clicked to lower your hand. 

When a participant raises their hand, the meeting’s moderator will see a hand icon in their video preview. If they’re presenting in another tab, they’ll get a sound notification when someone raises their hand.

The moderator will also be able to see all raised hands in the order they were raised in the meeting participant list panel to help them address questions accordingly.

Google Workspace - New features have been rolled out

 

 

Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) has rolled out some very useful features this week in Google Meet.

Breakout Rooms

• This new feature allows you to create small groups within your Google Meet.  You can easily customize how many breakout rooms you would like to use, as well as randomize the groups or create specific groupings of participants.  When you are ready to go back to large group discussions, you can call all your participants back to the main room with a simple click of a button.  When testing out this long-awaited feature, it did not disappoint!

Polls

• The polls feature allows you to pose 'multiple choice' type questions to the participants of your Google Meet.  You can easily manage when the polls are seen by your participants and if you would like your participants to see the results of the polls. What a great way to keep your participants engaged in the topic of conversation. 

Q and A

• This feature allows your participants to pose questions to the moderator of the Meet.  Other participants can then 'upvote' the posted questions, which indicates that they also have the same question.  Upvotes allows the moderator to prioritize the questions that are asked.  The moderator also has control of the Q and A board with the ability to hide, delete, or mark questions as 'answered'.  The moderator can also customize what questions are shown using the filter or change the order in which the questions are displayed.

Reports

At the end of the Meet, the moderator will get reports, including results from the polls and the 'Q and A' board. As well, if there are more than five participants in the meet, the moderator will get an attendance report which outlines the log-in and log-out time for each participant and the length of time that the participant was in the Meet.  All of these reports are automatically emailed to the moderator at the conclusion of the Meet.

For more information on these new Google Meet features, please read the following tutorial.

Google Meet Breakout Rooms Tutorial

Turnitin is Gone but now we have Google Originality Reports

Google Originality Reports  

    Google originality reports can be used in Google Classroom assignments.  If you want to use Originality Reports, simply click the checkbox next to "Check plagiarism(originality)".  This box is located on the bottom right-hand side of your screen when you are creating an assignment.  Below are some frequently asked questions.  

1.  What type of files do Originality Reports work with?

    Originality Reports only work with Google Docs.  

2.  Can students run Originality Reports on their own work?

        Students can run a report on their own work up to three times for each assignment.  If the teacher turns on Originality Reports before students submit their work, the students can run the reports prior to submission.  If the teacher turns on Originality Reports after student submission, the student will not be able to run the originality report until after the work is returned to them.  They can then resubmit the work if necessary. 

    Regardless of when the Originality Reports were checked off, the teacher will always be able to run the reports on student work.

3. How is an Originality Report created?

    The reports use Google Search to compare a student's Google Docs file against webpages and books on the internet.  Once teachers have access to G Suite Enterprise for Education account, the student's file will also be compared to other student work submitted in the board's domain. 

Originality Reports do not compare students' work against Google Scholar or students' work from external schools. 

4.  How long are Originality Reports kept?

    Google will automatically delete originality reports after 45 days, however, after this period, the teacher can run another originality report if desired.  Another option is to print the report to PDF and save it to Google drive. 

5.  What information is available in the Originality Report?

    The teacher has the ability to change the report from the number of flagged passages to the percentage of the student work that was flagged.  The teacher may also choose to highlight the flagged passages as well.  

        The teacher may also view the web content from which the passage was flagged by clicking on 'Web Matches'

  

If you would like more information on Google Originality Reports please visit Google's support page here

 Alphabetizing your responses from Google Forms

If you have ever used google forms for a test/quiz, and have exported the results to a google form, you may have noticed that the form created will include the students email address.  This makes it more time consuming to capture your students' marks because you cannot alphabetize based on last name.  

The Google sheet below has a script that can be used to help with this situation.

Alphabetized Google Sheet - first.last@mytools2go.ca

The script will take the mytools2go email address and convert it to the students name in the form of Last, First.  It will then sort the sheet based on last name.  

Here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Make your own copy of the Alphabetized Google sheet.

                

                Under 'File' - select 'Make a Copy'

Step 2: Copy the data from your Google sheet that contains the form data.

                Be sure that the first column selected is the student email address.

Step 3: Paste this data into the 'Alphabetize' Google sheet.

                NOTE:  The mytoools2go email addresses need to be in column A.

Step 4:  Press the big green button.  

                The script will run and convert the email addresses and sort your sheet.

When using the sheet again, all you have to do is paste in the new data and press the button again. 

The following sheet can be used to convert from (First Last) to (Last, First)  This is also helpful.  Same Steps apply.

Alphabatized Google Sheet - First Last

Google Meet Promised Changes Are Rolling Out!

 Google Meet Changes ROLL OUT!

How to See Your Entire Class in Google Meet 

Exciting News! Google Meet has now changed it’s layouts so you can now see up to 49 participants at once.

1. Once you are in a Google Meet, proceed to the 3 dots menu at the bottom right corner of the screen, and then select change layout

2. Choose tiled view

3. At the bottom of this box, you now have the ability to change how many participants are in your view by moving the circle along the bottom. 49 is currently the maximum number of participants that you can see at once. 

*Note: You can set the number to less than 49 by moving the circle accordingly if you have fewer participants joining.

A video tutorial of this process can be accessed by clicking here

Google added HOST CONTROLS

Located at the bottom LEFT of the screen the FIRST PERSON in will now see a Shield icon with a lock on it.  This means you are the first person in the meeting.  The first person in the meeting has Host Control.  For now, you can:

*  Turn off screen sharing

* Disable Chat messages

* Mute Students

* Remove Students

* Start the Recording

If you do not see the Blue Shield Icon exit the meet and RESET your Google Meet Link.

Applied Digital Skills

 Applied Digital Skills Now Fully Integrated with Google Classroom

Applied Digital Skills offers many ready-made lessons that you can use with students of all grade levels.  This is a great place to go if you are looking for some great 'Back to School' lessons that will help your students to learn some digital skills. 

Now, this site is fully integrated with Google Classroom.  This means that you can select a lesson from the repository of lessons and have it automatically post as an assignment to your Google Classroom!  

Google Forms Tips & Tricks

Click the frames in the slide below to learn some Google Form tips & tricks 

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE LINK

Google Drive Shortcuts!

Google Drive now allows you to create SHORTCUTS!

This feature is rolling out as we speak.

Shortcuts allow you to access all of your google docs in one place or even better, more than one place.

If you have a document in folder A such as a phone directory.  But you would also like it in Folder B You could move the file.  The problem is if you move the file from folder A to folder B you don't have the file in folder A anymore.

The short cut option lets you house the file in folder A and place a shortcut in folder B.  The main document has all the user permissions in folder A and the shortcut has in Folder B.

The GIF below shows the process.

BreakoutEDU

Are you ready to think INSIDE the box?

Breakout EDU is a physical game kit and platform where students work together to solve various puzzles to open a locked box, similar to an escape room. You can use Breakout kits in every subject area and grade level. ... The online format allows teachers to track progress and set time limits for students.

Breakout EDU has put together a collection of their free online games (K-12).  You can check them out at this LINK. 

Some examples include (NOTE: visit the website link above to access these activities)

15 Ways To Maximize Your Use Of Google Slides

I came across this amazing resource with 15 tips on how to maximize your use of Google Slides.  

There are 15 tips and endless resources on each one.  Shout out to all who contributed to this comprehensive resource and to Amanda Sandoval @historysandoval for sharing it.

CLICK HERE  GOOGLE SLIDES to access this resource 

Search Your Google Drive right from Chrome!

Search Google Drive from Chrome

Drive file suggestions in Chrome allows users to search their Google Drive files directly from the Chrome URL bar, instead of drive.google.com. Currently, this functionality is limited to files that users have previously opened in Chrome. Starting on December 16, 2019, users who restart their browsers will be able to search for any Drive files that they have access to, including ones they haven’t previously opened in Chrome.

Getting to Know G Suite Better

Getting to Know G Suite Better

Here are a few tools for the new and experienced user.

• The G Suite Welcome Center: The Welcome Center offers resources and a roadmap for users to get to know G Suite. This Center contains details on the Learning Center, help guides for each app, switching guides, our new Sheets Coursera course, and more.
• G Suite for Power Users: This page contains resources specifically curated for advanced users so they can get even more out of G Suite.
• G Suite Hack for power users: This training has five challenge tasks employees can complete at their own pace, giving them a fun way to learn about G Suite.

Google Sheets New Feature - Exploded Pie Graphs

Google Sheets New Feature - Exploded Pie Graphs


You can now “pull out” and highlight a slice from a pie or donut chart in Google Sheets. This feature gives you more ways to control the look of your charts and better display the most important data in Sheets.

This feature will be available by the end of the month.