10 helpful links you should visit!

As part of my daily routine, I scan dozens of blogs, visit a handful of Facebook groups and skim through Twitter. The goal: find the most helpful resources, tools, and articles that I can share with my teacher friends (that’s you!)

Here are my top 10 links for September 2019!

1.  Send2Contacts Google Sheet – The new address book for your Gmail account makes it really difficult to create a contact group. This Google Sheet by Scott Wolz makes it easy to add a group of emails to your address book without typing them in.
2.  A Parent’s Guide to Chromebooks – this is a nice PDF created by Google to help parents understand how schools use Chromebooks for learning.
3.  Google created a new font to improve reading fluency – I shared this update on my Facebook page and it was quite popular! The new font is called “Lexend” which you can find in Google Docs.
4.  Originality Reports in Google Classroom – Google opened up beta testing for a new plagiarism checker for Google Classroom. I just received early access and will share a detailed overview in September.
5.  Google targets higher education with “Assignments” – Google opened up beta testing for a new product that adds elements of Google classroom into learning management tools like Blackboard and Canvas.
6.  Create file shortcuts in Google Drive – Google is testing a new feature that would allow file shortcuts to be added to shared drives, making it possible for files to cross between My Drive and Shared Drive folders.
7.  The Chromebook Camera App gets an update! – The default camera app on your Chromebook has been pretty lousy…until now!  The updated app is very similar to the camera app on Android phones and includes a square mode, timer, grid, and resolution options.
8. What is machine learning? – You have probably heard lots of things about “machine learning.” Educate yourself by reading this easy to understand explanation of this important technology which will shape our future.
9.  Turn your Google Classroom header into a class project! – This is a fun tip from Sarah Kiefer who suggests letting students design your class header.
10.  A Chromebook is better than a Macbook (change my mind) – This was a lively conversation that I instigated over on Instagram. Change my mind!