I love Google #1

Submitted by Fiona Beal
Just looking through all the Google posts that were shared to my various subscriptions this week, these were the ten that caught my eye. I think these could be useful to teachers.

1. ‘Google Chrome Remote Desktop for iOS: Remotely control your computers’ from http://goo.gl/BoZiGA

Google has released Chrome Remote Desktop for iOS, a free app for Apple mobile devices allowing remote control of any Mac or PC running the Chrome Remote Desktop app. Like many other remote control apps, Chrome Remote Desktop can be used to either control your own Macs or PCs at home or work while your at another location, or to provide technical support to friends or relatives while you're on the road.

2. ‘5 Unusual Ways To Use Google Presentations’ from Edudemic http://goo.gl/9vdQoF

While slides can be a tremendous presentation tool, it can be even more useful for in other areas of learning from scaffolding projects to collaborating with peers.

3. ‘How to easily record video of your classes online (step-by-step)’ from Ditch that textbook http://goo.gl/E0qHn0

Using Google Hangouts on Air can enable teachers to create an online repository of videos of their classes. Students can watch them as needed.

4. ‘40 Ways to Use Google Apps in the Classroom’ from the Promevo blog http://goo.gl/vmHE9j

Are you new to Google Apps and unsure how they can help and what they can do? Or, maybe you have been using Google Apps for awhile, but could use some ideas and tips? This resource will help you and fellow educators get the most out of Google Apps.

5. "Play a trivia game called Smarty Pins on Google maps!"  https://smartypins.withgoogle.com/

Great for Social Sciences!

6. 'Prevent Google Drive for Mac & PC from slowing down your internet connection' from Synergyse http://goo.gl/jJQAVu

In the past there has been a problem when Google Drive synchronizes large files or a large number of files it had the tendency to use up all your bandwidth and slow down your internet connection. Those days are over, with the latest version of Google Drive for Mac & PC you can finally limit the amount of bandwidth it uses and prevent it from slowing you down!

7. ‘A bunch of stuff you can do with Google - #GoogleTips’ http://goo.gl/lcG9Eh

‘Have you seen Google's lovely safety and security tips page forlooking after your devices? I love the way it is set.

8. ‘12 great ways to start using Google Classroom now’ from Ditch That Textbook. http://goo.gl/D1Oct7

Google’s venture into the world of learning management systems seems to be a pretty solid one. It looks and feels like a Google product (which it should and which is a good thing). It’s clean and simple (which hopefully will make it easy to use). It provides a home base for everything you do in Drive. Check out the Ditch That Textbook Google Classroom Quick-Star Guide!

9. ‘6 things I learned in 3 hours at Google Teacher Academy’  by Ditch That Textbook http://goo.gl/d4x39K

“The Google Teacher Academy in Austin, Texas, was the best two-day professional development experience I’ve had in my teaching career,”says Matt Miller.

10. ‘How to Easily Find the Biggest Files in your Google Drive’ from Digital Inspiration http://goo.gl/b5msYB

What do you do when your Google Drive is running out of storage space? You either add more storage or the inexpensive option is that you clean up your Drive and delete the large files that are hogging up the bulk of space. But how do know where these big files are hiding in your Drive?

Invitations all round to join Google Communities!

This post talks about GEG groups (Google Educator Groups). This is something new in South Africa.

It is quite interesting... I live in South Africa but I have been invited to join two overseas GEG groups as well as our South African one! I thought I would accept all the invitations to get the gist of how they operate. Exciting!


An Edchat Moderator community
I also had an invitation from William Jenkins to join the Edchat Moderators community. I think this is because I sometimes moderate one of the Twitter chats in South Africa.  So I have joined that as well.

Let the learning begin!

iPad #2: How to back up an iPad 2 and transfer the contents to an iPad Mini 3

As mentioned in my previous post I have just bought an Ipad Mini 3! So now I need to make sure my current iPad 2 is backed up to iTunes so that I can transfer everything to my new iPad.  I found a great post on how to do this on Wikihow http://www.wikihow.com/Back-Up-an-iPad. There are two ways of doing this

• wirelessly using iCloud backup (which is my preferred method)
• using the iTunes application installed on your computer

Wirelessly using iCloud backup

Step 1. Click on Settings

Step 2: Select iCloud and then Backup

Step 3: Select Back up now

The result? It is all happening! I took a long, long time let me add!

These are two tips from the Wikihow article

• You can set what information is backed up from the Storage & Backup screen in the settings app.
• Wireless iCloud backups will only be performed when your iPad is charging and not in use.

Using the iTunes application installed on your computer

If wireless connectivity had been a problem I could have used this method. Here is a video showing the process through the alternate method – namely using iTunes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdfwNW_qSpo

This video tutorial shows you how to create a backup image of your Apple iPhone, iPad, iPad 2 and iPod Touch. By creating a backup of your iOS device, you can simply plug-in your phone and restore it - along with your contacts, apps, music, movies and more. If you have recently upgraded from an Apple iPad 1 to an Apple iPad 2, you can also move your information quickly and easily to a new device.



So, in summary, the whole process happened seamlessly and easily.  Of course, new questions have sprung to mind, which need answering,  but in the meantime I will enjoy my Ipad Mini 3

iPad #1: How to set up your new Apple iPad from an iCloud device

I have just purchased a new Apple iPad Mini 3 – SO exciting! The first step of course is how to set it up so that I can use it.  I need to be able to transfer the data from my iPad 2 to my new iPad Mini 3.

1.  First I did some reading and gleaned info from Apple posts

Set up a new device from an iCloud backup

1. Turn on your iOS device.
   
2. In the Setup Assistant, proceed to “Set up your device,” tap Restore from a Backup, then sign in to iCloud.
   
3. Proceed to “Choose backup,” then choose from a list of available backups in iCloud.

After using an iCloud backup to restore or set up a device:

• Your settings and accounts are restored from the iCloud backup you chose. Your device restarts and begins downloading your purchased music, movies, TV shows, apps, books, photos, and other content. If your device can’t download the version of an app that was backed up, it downloads the latest version.
  Your purchased content is automatically downloaded from the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store based on iTunes in the Cloud availability by country. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they have been refunded or are no longer available in the store.
  
• You may be asked to enter passwords for iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store accounts to restore purchased items.
  
• Progress bars appear below Home screen icons for apps being downloaded.
  To make an app a priority for downloading, tap its icon.
  

Check up

To check if the information on your device is fully restored, go to Settings: iCloud Storage: Storage: Backup on an iOS 7 device.

If you subscribe to iTunes Match, you can download your songs, albums, and playlists from iCloud after other information on your device is fully restored.

For information about messages that may appear while restoring information from an iCloud backup, see the Apple Support article If you need help restoring an iCloud backup.
Note:   You can restore information on your iOS device from an iTunes backup instead of an iCloud backup. For information, see the iTunes Help topic Back up your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad.

2. Then I watched a great video on YouTube
 
Video ‘iPad Air - How to Setup From iCloud Backup’ http://goo.gl/gOXIHA 



Now to just do it!

Further reading
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph12521

Becoming Google Certified #1 How to get started

One of my proudest moments was being recognised as a Google Certified Teacher (GCT) at the New York Google Teacher Academy in 2012. I was the only person from Africa who attended and it was a WOW experience through and through.

But now I want to do all the Google Certifications and eventually become a Google Certified trainer. This page https://www.google.com/edu/training/get-certified/ shows all the steps that one needs to go through to get the Google Trainer Certification.

Google Basics
You start with the Basics and write the online exam. You have many chances to redo this I aam told and you need to get 80% to pass. Then you go on to the Advanced training and write the Google Educator Exams.  If you pass that you can try for the Google Certified Trainer.

Getting Started
To get started I visited https://www.google.com/edu/training/get-trained/ to see what was on offer.  You’ll see that nearly every Google application mentioned (and there are many) has three parts – Introduction/Basics/Advanced. Any time you want to understand a Google product this is the place to go.

For example I looked at Gmail. The Introduction includes a great video (http://goo.gl/Ppfgii)  given by Jenny Magiera who was at the Google Teacher Academy with me. She has since become a world-renowned speaker and presenter, one of my favourites. After watching that video which covers labels versus folders, filters and canned responses plus Google groups you are taken to the Google Basics training in Gmail (https://www.google.com/edu/training/get-trained/gmail/advanced.html)  This Gmail Basics has nine lessons with a self-checking quizz at the end.  From there it will take you to the Google Basics Curriculum for Gmail. After that you have several options one of which is to go on to the Advanced Gmail page and do the nine lessons for that.

Getting Certified
However the option that I am interested in is the getting certified option.  What this would require is doing all the required modules in the Basics curriculum and then writing the Basics exam online before proceeding to the next stage of Google Educator which requires writing more advanced exams. Finally one could go for the Google Certified Trainer which has its own requirements.

The lessons would be as follows:

One would then proceed to taking the online Google Basics exam which is a mixture of all these lessons.

Well, I’m pleased to announce that I  achieved my Google Basics Certificate in 2014 and am now working on the next level which is the Google Educator level which embraces the advanced tutorials.

What can you do with Google? A great infographic from GCFLearnFree

I have seen this infographic on quite a number of blogs recently including Edudemic and Educational Technology Guy and several others. It stems from that wonderful site GCLearn Free http://www.gcflearnfree.org/googleaccount/1.2 (GCFLearnFree is a program of Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC and provides quality online learning courses for free.) I would like to include this infographic on my blog as well because it sums up at least 27 things that can be done with 9 of Google’s free products.

 

One word for 2015 - 'Reimagine' (and step out!)

This Listly list of blogs based on selecting one word for 2015 to shape one’s life rather than a bunch of New Year's resolutions caught my eye and really got me thinking. http://goo.gl/5PnmxR

This set me thinking. What could my word be? What would I like it to be? The question is – how will I work out all the challenges and opportunities of this New Year around the one word I choose so that it can in fact shape my path. A few words are flying through my mind, hovering for a while and then flying around – write, gratitude, involvement, courage, fearless, growth, adventure, confidence, step-out, unfold, enjoy … What will it be? This word needs to inspire, encourage and motivate me throughout my 2015 journey. By exercising --- (my word) I want to be able to enjoy an incredible year, make bold decisions and do things that embrace this word and contribute to my personal growth.

The word that keeps coming to me is RISK! Help! That is something I tend to avoid usually! Let’s think about it…

• Do I want to experience RISK in my various relationships
• Do I want to make RISK part of my character so to speak 
• Will I embrace RISK in my job and take steps I have never taken before?
• Will I make RISK count in my church activities?
• Will I make RISK an integral part of my day?

Perhaps my word should have a hyphen CALCULATED-RISK! That doesn’t sound as frightening!  Well, maybe all risk is calculated – so maybe I should leave it as plain RISK. It is a huge step for me! I saw this quote on another blogpost about a one word for 2015  http://goo.gl/W1UDF... and it seems to fit my word RISK so well!



Oh no! After looking up the online dictionary  definition  of RISK it implies danger and more. No, it is not quite the right word.  Perhaps RE-IMAGINE is better. I like that word re-imagine. How can I re-magine my spiritual life, my work life, my family life, my day to day life. Yes, that is the much better word.

The Oxford dictionary says, "Reinterpret (an event, work of art, etc.) imaginatively; rethink. See something in anew way adding imagination, rethink it in a way that makes it work better.

But actually the word is incomplete. I think I need two words or a little phrase. The word needs to add something that shows that action follows.

What about ‘reimagine fearlessly?’ Or ‘reimagine and step out’, ‘reimagine and take the chance’, ‘reimagine and just do it!’ Oh my the thoughts are coming fast and furious. I like that last one because sometimes I can see something imaginatively and just leave it there to be snatched away by indecision, fear, doubt.

YES! Reimagine is my word! I'll follow it with (and step out). "

"Reimagine (and step out)!

Email to fax – it can be done without using a fax machine

This was a great discovery today. I need to send a fax and wondered where I could go to do this since I don't own a fax machine.

Free online services
I came across a few posts suggesting free online services to use amongst which were:
‘5 Free Online Services to Send an Email to a Fax Machine’ http://goo.gl/w2xG
‘How to Fax Without Using a Fax Machine’ http://goo.gl/0Hxh75

However, before trying these out I noticed that my regular ADSL provider, MWEB, also has a free service for email to fax for their regular customers. http://www.mweb.co.za/small-bussiness-online-tools/fax-to-email/faxmail-standard.aspx  Hooray!

I am just noting what they say here so I can refer to it when I try it out:

1. What do I need?

2.  How does it work?

3. Do I need special software to use faxmail?


4. How many fax numbers will I receive?


5. Limitations



Well, it seems that it is all go for me. So let’s try it out!