Joel Barlow High School

How can I better organize my EMAILS?  Can I also create ALERTS so I have instant notification of new messages?

•  Checker Plus: Receive notifications when you receive an email (sound or visual).

How do I streamline my inbox by eliminating Google Classroom notifications?

• Turn off ‘Notifications’ to keep the Stream clean. (Example) If notifications are on, every time you post an assignment, a notification will appear in the stream. Consider using the Stream for important announcements and messages to your class.

How can I create quick “notes” for me to reference easily?

• Here is a Chrome Add-on: Permanent Clipboard, that allows you to jot down notes and keep them easily accessible, for simple copy-and-pasting.  

How can I organize my screen better, so I’m not always toggling between so many screens?

• Spectacle: (Video Tutorial) Arrange two applications (e.g. PowerSchool & Google Classroom) side-by-side for easy data entry.

How can I use keyboard shortcuts to speed up my workflow?

Hyperlinking:

If you don't know how to hyperlink text, now is the time to learn to use it. Copy a url you want linked to text, then select the text you want linked and press "Command (⌘)+k," paste the URL into the box that pops up, click return, and bam, you're done. Pro tip: before sending out a mass message, check ALL your URLs first to make sure they link to the right place, and use the description box for, you know, a description.

Keyboard shortcuts:

And command+k is just one of dozens of keyboard shortcuts you can use to speed up workflow. Click here to learn: 1. a bunch of shortcuts for the mac, 2. shortcuts on PC and a bunch of popular sites, and here are 3. a bunch of shortcuts that work in all the different apps within the google suite. Once you've used it a few times, you'll know it forever. My favorite new one is "⌘/Ctrl + Shift + v," paste without formatting. This allows me to quote content from other sites without having to mess with the fonts to get them to match the rest of my text. You can get the same results with the format painter tool, too.

More Useful Tools

Formative: Interact with students live without video as you walk them through a presentation/doc with comprehension questions. Upload materials you already have or start from scratch.

Formative Video Tutorials

Digital Templates for Jamboard, Slides, and Drawings: A collection of useful templates for Google Jamboard, Slides, and Drawings. From organizing ideas to social media inspired templates to games to interactive activities to Jamboard and more, these templates will get your students to work quickly.

Spectacle: Arrange two applications (e.g. PowerSchool & Google Classroom) side-by-side for easy data entry. Video Tutorial

Doodle.com: Schedule a common time to meet with groups of people. With Doodle, you can schedule time with anyone. On any calendar platform. Send a shareable Doodle URL to anyone and stop the back-and-forth emails.

Sign-up Genius: Organize time slots for individual meetings/presentations and then push out to students for them to sign up.

Permanent Clipboard: Keep and easily access text you type on a frequent basis, copy and then paste.

Kahoot.com: Online quiz game that students can take live or as a ‘Challenge’ (asynchronous) 

Airdrop

Turnitin.com: Has an audio feature in which a teacher can record his or her feedback.  Turn it in also runs in such a way that you will be alerted when a student has or has not accessed such feedback. You can also use “canned comments” as a part of turnitin.com grading (cf. #4, above). It lets you load your own into a bank you can drag onto the screen. *If you would like a Turnitin account, contact C. Angell.