Saturday, September 26, 2015

Ready for GOOGLE Madness in SAN DIEGO!

Let the EDTECH festivities begin!

I am so excited to announce that I have been selected to present not one BUT 3 sessions at the EdTech Summit Featuring GAFE in San Diego this October!  I can not believe it! This is a goal I have always wanted to accomplish...to be a presenter at a conference.  I remember attending sessions at CUE and telling my colleagues that I wanted to be a presenter.  I know it sounds silly, but I wanted and still do want to help people with technology.  Even if in my sessions, participants walk away with one thing that they could do differently that itself is worth it!  I just can not believe that it is happening and I am over the moon.  These next weeks will be intense and busy as I juggle work, home, EdTech, and Google!! I know it will be worth it and I am extremely happy to start this new journey! For those of you that are wondering what in the world I am talking about you need to visit and attend a GAFE (Google Apps For Education) summit hosted by EdTech; it is LIFE changing! Don't worry it is not a cult but you will become a #googlegroupie! You are exposed to new things to enhance your skills as an educator, so it is more like a backstage pass to all things techie! Wish me luck and I can not wait to post about my experience as an attendee and as a presenter.


Temecula Valley Summit

November 21 and 22, 2015

                                          



San Diego Summit

October 17 and 18, 2015

Sunday, September 6, 2015

The FOUR Sisters of Google Drive

The FOUR Sisters of Google Drive

  These are the 4 Sisters of Google Drive. They are the skillful siblings that can help us navigate, organize, and simplify our Drive.  I consider them sisters because as I have heard Google is considered to be a female since Google knows everything, therefore I consider these icons to uphold that ideal...LOL!  These icons are located to the right top corner of your screen under your profile picture.  These ladies can help you find a document to viewing details of a collaborative task.  Their talents are (in order from left to right):

1. List/Grid View:

As the first born, she is very practical and likes to keep everything in order.  She can change how you look at Drive from listing folders in order of how you last accessed them to showing you pictures/icons instead.  
   * In Grid View if you have a free floating document, PDF, or a file not sorted into a folder it will appear as a picture with its file name under it.

2. Sort Options:

This sister is the most helpful as second borns usually are (my opinion of course).  She will sort your files or folders 4 ways for you! Once selected you can choose from:
  • Name- It will sort everything alphabetically.
  • Last Modified- This option is tricky because if any file or folder is shared with you once selected it arrange everything that was last modified by either you or any collaborators.
  • Last Modified By Me- It does exactly what it means.  Any file or folder that you have modified will be arranged that way.
  • Last Opened By Me- I LOVE this option! I have a tendency to work on certain files then close them down and forget what folder I have saved them in! So this helps me so much! This will arrange all files and folders in order that you last accessed them NOT by when you modified them.

3. View Details

She is the most up to date sister you could use.  I consider her to be the know-it-all!  Sometimes she can be a pest and if that is the case just click the X on the top right under the icon and she will go away.  She will tell you in real time when files and folders have been accessed or modified and by whom.  

4. Settings

Last but not least the baby of them all! This sister sort of takes the back seat since her older sisters have already done the heavy lifting.  Don't get me wrong she is essential and provides additional help with the following 4 options:
  1. Settings:  In this option, you can view your storage on drive, converted uploads, change the language, and offline capabilities (which you should have SYNCed because it is a necessity). 
  2. Download Drive: If selected will take you to google web page informing you that you can download Drive on any mobile device, computer, or laptop...which is a great idea! Hint, Hint! I have linked it if you would like to view it. 
  3. Keyboard Shortcuts: THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS SISTER! I will have a blog post soon regarding keyboard shortcuts and how they can save your life. WELL, they can make you a bit more productive and less trackpad/mouse dependent. A black popup window will appear with shortcuts related to DRIVE! Super helpful! 
  4. Help: Still lost or not sure about something? Select help from her drop-down menu and a small window will appear for you to type in what you need help with.  It will list the closest response it can based on what you have entered OR you can view the most popular Help topics first.




The FOUR Sisters of Google Drive



Big Time!

San Diego Summit


Temecula Valley Summit


I am ready to play with the BIG kids!


 I have just submitted my application to be a presenter at TWO EdTech Summits (one in San Diego-my OLD hometown and in Temecula-my NEW hometown).  
Fingers crossed!!  I think I am more excited to meet others like myself than I am to present! I love networking and hearing other great ideas, tips, and tricks! I have always had a passion for teaching and my students, but technology is the NEW love of my life.  I am amazed by what others do and what I can do to lift the level of engagement in my classroom.  So hats off to those who had to use the "old" technology like overhead projectors and still made the classroom inviting and engaging! I hope I make those teachers proud! What am I working on today? Trying not to feel that I am behind in my classroom duties and get caught up with my classroom work.  In addition updating my website both classroom and professional one.  Thank goodness tomorrow is Labor Day so I can burn the midnight oil and sleep tomorrow if needed.  Stay tuned for some updates and changes!


 Register Today!


Interested in attending or hosting a GAFE summit? Visit their website at https://www.gafesummit.com/  the experience is life changing!