Hello friends! I know – it has been a while…but that’s life.

I am so excited to share a great tool with you today that will make your teaching easier and more enjoyable while increasing the rigor in your classroom. It’s called Brisk for Teaching, and it’s an AI-powered platform that helps you create and deliver amazing and effective learning experiences for your students.

Brisk for Teaching is a Google Chrome add-on web-based tool that helps you create lessons and quizzes, deliver personalized feedback, and detect authenticity using AI. With Brisk, you can:

• Generate and customize content that matches your curriculum, standards, and objectives
• Create multiple choice, short response, and long response quizzes and assessments
• Provide instant and personalized feedback and guidance to your students based on their performance and progress
• Analyze and visualize your students’ data and insights to track their learning outcomes and identify their strengths and weaknesses
• Create questions based on the different levels of DOK

Brisk for Teaching is super easy to use and works with any device and browser. You can also integrate it with your existing tools and platforms, such as Google Docs, Google Forms, and more.

To show you how you can use Brisk for Teaching in your classroom, I have made a video that walks you through the main features and functions of the tool. You can watch the video below or click on this link to view it on YouTube:

Thank you for reading and watching. Happy teaching!

With the start of a new school year, there are a TON of new updates coming to Google Workspace. If you have a chance, I encourage you to check out of the Google Workspace Updates blog for all sorts of updates that could benefit you in the classroom this year.

One update that I am personally excited about is image placeholders in Google Slides. In this update, users can create placeholders that allow pictures to be easily added to the presentation while maintaining the size of the placeholder. As an A-type personality, I love this ability to add some organization to shared slides with students!

Below, I will share a YouTube video and GIF of how to use this new feature:

Using Image Placeholders Step-by-Step

Step #1: Setting it Up

• Create a Presentation.
• Go to “Slide”.
• Select “Slide Theme”.
  • Note: This section used to be titled “Edit Master” but has recently been updated to “Slide Theme”.

Step #2: Selecting the Placeholder

• Select a Slide Layout.
• Go to “Insert”.
• Select “Placeholder” then “Image Placeholder”.

Step #3: Edit, as Needed

• Add more placeholders and/or edit the current one.

Step #4: Add Slide & Image

• Go to the Main Presentation.
• Select the Slide Layout.
• Add Images.

If you would like to hear me walk you through this process, step-by-step, please watch the YouTube video below:

As always, feel free to drop any questions, comments, or thoughts in the comment section below!

Google has continued to release a TON of great, new updates for GSuite!

Below, I have created a short presentation to share with the staff members – which I am also sharing with you, too! If you are interested in learning about these updates, feel free to go through the slides below. Or, if you are providing professional development, please feel free to steal use this presentation at your own site/district.

From closed captions in Slides to new layouts in Sites, here are the top 6 updates to be released in GSuite in August through October:

Click HERE to make your own copy.

What is your favorite GSuite update? Share in the comments below!

Each week, myself and my fellow TTL (Team Technology Leader) send out an EdTech Tip to our staff members to assist with technology integration.  In this EdTech Tip, I was excited to share some amazing (but somewhat hidden) tips and tricks that are a part of Google Slides.

As you have probably realized from my posts, I am a HUGE fan of just about anything Google related.  For myself, I tend to use all the Google Apps on a regular basis but Google Slides and Google Forms are most likely the ones that I use every day.  Both of these apps support the environment that I create in my classroom, so I love when I find new tricks that I can use to support my students and to streamline the creation of lessons, activities, and projects.  Plus, some of these tricks are just too cool.

In the following presentation/video, I will cover how to:

1. Insert images into Google Slides without leaving your current tab.
2. Mask and modify images into specific and unique shapes from those images.
3. Link to slides within your slide (a little bit Inception-y, right?).
4. Edit the master slide (template) to change colors, fonts, etc.
5. Set up autoplay and trim YouTube videos from within Google Slides.

I have shared both the YouTube video and Google Slide presentation.  Just as our students learn differently, so do we!  If you are visual/auditory learner, I highly suggest that you check out the YouTube video.

If you do not have the patience for the entire video, feel free to check out the presentation below.  It contains the directions + gifs on how to use the tips and tricks.

Enjoy!

In case you have not realized, I am completely in love with all things Google.  Seriously…Everything Google creates is amazing and I love finding ways to utilize these products in my classroom.  (Or just in life in general – it’s just that amazing!)

My new Google obsession: Google Keep!

Google Keep is a note-taking and organizational platform that allows its users to create notes, checklists, and set reminders for upcoming tasks and events.  For myself, I have been using it as a way to keep track of the million things that I need to do each week.  Honestly, if I didn’t have Google Keep and Google Calendar, I’m not sure how I would remember to do anything.  In addition to this, I introduced my Math 7 Honors students to Google Keep today and they loved it!  The minute I showed them how it could be used for Math, they were already creating a checklist for each class with a list of “to-do” items for the week.  The interface of Google Keep is much friendlier to the students than Google Calendar, so I saw much more excitement and interest for using this platform.

Here are my five favorite things about Google Keep:

1.) Create Checklists

I am completely a “checklist” person.  I used to have a bunch of post-its in my classroom or at my home office for all of the things I needed to do and I loved the feeling of crossing off an item that had been completed.  In Google Keep, I can continue to create checklists but I don’t have to worry about a bunch of post-it notes that can become easily lost in my classroom.  Instead, I can organize and label all of my checklists in one, central location.  Again – it is also great for students!  Students have a lot of tasks each week and this is a user friendly way to stay organized.

2.) Sync with Devices

Like I mentioned before, I used to use post-its to keep track of all the things I needed to do.  There is just one problem – if I left work, my post-its usually stayed there.  If I wanted to work on anything at home, I had to remember what it was that I wanted to complete and/or accomplish.  With Google Keep, you can access your notes and checklists from any device, whether it is a computer, tablet or smartphone.

3.) Save Sites with Keep Extension

Google Keep has an extension that allows you to visit a site and, with a click of a button, save the site directly to your Google Keep.  It is very helpful for when you find a resource that you want to explore/read but don’t have the time at the moment.  Just click the extension and save it for later!

4.) Collaborate with Others

In true Google fashion, you can share your Google Keep lists with other Google users.  Personally, I find that this would be very helpful for both teachers AND students.  Teachers can use Google Keep to easily collaborate and brainstorm on projects or lessons that they have in their classroom.  For students, I could see them using it to keep track of jobs and duties on collaborative projects for each student in their group, which would increase accountability in group work.  The possibilities with this collaboration feature is endless and I can see it be a huge resource to teachers and students.

5.) Set Reminders

As you are creating your lists, you can also set reminders to remind you to complete a task by a certain date and/or time.  Again, this is a great tool for both teachers and students because everyone has deadlines for things that need to be completed.  Just set your reminder for these tasks/events and let Google Keep help you remember!

If you are interested in a “visual” overview of Google Keep, check out my tutorial video on YouTube: