Google – Coffee Nancy

Amazing Race with Google Maps

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022 nancy

I presented today at the Spring CUE Conference and had a great time. I was a little nervous because it was my first big conference since the pandemic, but it went well. I shared different ways to use Google tools to support world language and English language learners. You can see the slide deck here if you are so inclined.

One of the ideas I shared was an Amazing Race. If you aren’t familiar with it, here is a quick overview. Basically, students go to a map, click on a place marker, and see a challenge or task. They complete the challenge or task, then fill out and submit a form. When they submit the form, they receive a link to a new map with a new challenge. Want to give it a try? Here is a mini Amazing Race for you to play.

One of the participants asked for clarification about setting up the Amazing Race. Here you go, Gerardo!

It may seem complicated, but once you see how it all fits together, it makes more sense. I’ve tried to break it down into manageable steps. Having a planning document is key. Here is a template you can use. (Click on the blue Use template button to generate your own copy.)

Step 1: Decide on your content and identify places that are connected to that content. For example, my topic was Michelangelo, so in my example, I selected the Vatican, which contains the Sistine Chapel, and the Accademia, the museum in Florence where the statue of David is displayed. Additional locations I could have added include Bologna, where he worked for a time as a teenager, or places where his art is displayed, etc. Any type of tie in will work. On your planning document, note down each location.

Step 2: Identify what you want students to do at each location. You could ask them to explore the map, read an article, watch a video, or similar. What learning will take place at each location? Add this information to your planning document.

Step 3: Create a separate map for each place and add a marker to each one. The marker contains the challenge for each location. If you are asking students to look at an image or watch a video, you can embed them directly into the marker. If you want them to read an article or go to a website, you will need to type in that information and provide a link, if appropriate. Basically, each place marker has directions for the learning activity you identified in Step 2.Share your maps so anyone with the link can view. On your planning document, paste in a link to each map.

Step 4: Create a Google form for each place. Students will complete the form to submit their work. They may do this by simply answering questions on the form; you can use response validation to make sure that they can only proceed if they answer correctly. Another option would be to have students create something, for example, a slide deck or a Google Doc and ask them to submit the link on the form. On your planning document, paste in a link to each form. This is the link to where the students will go to complete the form, not the link you use to edit it, but you could include that too if you like.

Step 5: Tie it all together. Edit the place markers on your maps to include the link to the form for that location. Edit the confirmation message (under Presentation settings) on each form to give the students the link to the next map.

If you would like to see an example of a completed planning guide, you can visit this planning guide that I used to create the Amazing Race game linked above.

Pro tip: Create a folder in your Google Drive and save all the forms, maps, and planning documents in it so you have everything in one place.

Email Everyone with Group Labels

April 20, 2020April 20, 2020 nancy

In Google Classroom, it’s easy to email all the students and/or guardians at once if you have a single class, but if you are a teacher with multiple Classrooms who wants to contact more than one class, it’s doesn’t seem so simple.

Actually it is, if you create labels using Google Contacts. It looks like a lot of steps, but you only have to do them once.

Step 1: Get email addresses from Classroom

Go to the People tab.
Click box at the top of the Students section to select all students in your class.
Select all, then choose Email. You will not actually email them.
Click one one of the emails in the bcc area, then use Control (PC) or Command (Mac) + A to select all the addresses. Copy them, and delete the message.

Step 2: Create list in Contacts

Select Contacts from the waffle or go to contacts.google.com.
Select Create Contact.
Select Create Multiple Contacts.
Create a Label Name (how you will identify the group).
Paste the email addresses you copied earlier.
Click Create.
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to create additional groups or add more students to your existing groups.

Screenshot of adding addresses, creating a new label, and creating the group

Now you are ready to email the group(s) from Gmail.

Click Compose.
Click bcc (so people don’t see each other’s emails).
Start typing the name of the group (label name).
When it pops up, click it to add all group members.
Delete addresses or add more groups as needed.

Screenshot of the group label appearing in Gmail — Typing the beginning of the label causes it to appear. Clicking on it will add all group members to your email.

You can also create group labels for other groups, such as committee members, school teams, and more. Just copy and paste the email addresses into a label, and you are all set.

Keep on Keeping with Keep!

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020 nancy

Google Keep is a great way to get organized and stay that way. It’s a core GSuite service, but not many people know about it and all that it can do. I recently presented on Keep at the Spring CUE conference.

During that presentation, I promised a blog post with some image headers that people could use and/or edit. This is that post.

I have made several Google Slides that you can download as images and use as headers in Keep. To use the images in the slides as is, open the slide deck, go to the slide you want, and select File > Download as > png. You will get an image you can upload to your Keep note, where it will appear at the top. Use the color palette on your Keep note if you want the colors to match. Use File > Make a copy if you want to edit and personalize my Slides. Enjoy!

Infographic about the Classwork page on Google Classroom

Classwork Page Basics

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019 nancy

I have been taking the Classy Graphics online course by Tony Vincent, and I have really been enjoying it. This week’s assignment was to create an infographic. Here is the one of the two I made. I’ll share the other one soon.

This infographic is a modification of one that Tony made on how to use Google Classroom. Google being Google, things have changed since he authored his, so I remixed it and created something to share with my teachers, since we just adopted Classroom this week. I really like how it turned out. I hope you do, too!

And just in case Google changes again, here’s a link to the original Drawing file. You can make a copy, credit Tony and me, and remix it.

Screen shot of prompt to make a copy of the form

Share a copy of a Google Form

April 22, 2019June 15, 2020 nancy

Everyone who has used Google tools for a while knows that Google likes to change things up every now and again. I was recently contacted by someone who told me the directions I gave in a previous post for sharing a Google Form as “view only” were no longer working, and she was absolutely right. Now to share a copy of a form, you now need to follow these steps. At least until Google makes some new changes.

Create a folder and set the sharing so anyone with the link can view. You can also use an existing folder if you like.
Put the form in the folder, either by
1. Opening the folder and creating the form inside it, OR
2. Moving an existing form into the folder
Open the form as if you were going to edit it.
Copy the URL (the one that ends with “/edit”).
Change the word edit in the URL to copy.
Share the new URL with those who need to make a copy of the form. They will be prompted to make a copy when they open the link.

Want to see how it works? I made a sample for you. The URL to my example form is https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U-UUHh9iDmImDVhn1PEFxLXF3aKoPV7tZpZDMAG75Jk/edit, and if you click on it, you can see the form (it is in a folder that anyone with the link can view), but you can’t edit it or make a copy of it. With the word “copy” at the end, you are asked if you want to make a copy of the form, which you can then edit to your heart’s content. Give it a try: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U-UUHh9iDmImDVhn1PEFxLXF3aKoPV7tZpZDMAG75Jk/copy.

Add Pin to Map in Google My Maps

November 9, 2016November 9, 2016 nancy

Here is a quick video showing how to use the search feature to add and customize a pin in Google My Maps. By customizing a map with their own pins, students can show what they know in a variety of content areas. These can include places where historical figures were born, where events took place, where literary characters lived, where scientific or mathematical discoveries occurred, etc.

Uploading attachments in new Google Sites

August 31, 2016August 31, 2016 nancy

The new Google Sites are much easier to use than the old version, although they are still in a bare bones stage. Many of the teachers I support are using new Sites for their teacher websites.

One issue they have run into occurs when they want to add a file, usually a Word document (and they should be using Google Docs because we are a GAFE district, but I’m not going there now), to their website.

Here’s what typically happens. The teacher uploads the file from their computer to the site.

Word Doc Uploaded

They check in Preview mode and everything looks great.
Doc in preview

They publish their site and someone complains because they can’t see the document.

Where is doc?

This happens because, by default, uploaded documents are shared only with the editors of the site. They are not viewable by the general public. The file needs to be shared, just like something you add from Drive, but this isn’t immediately obvious.

Here’s the fix. Click on the document to select it. You will see the editing box appear; click the pop-out icon.

Pop out

Click the 3 dots (which always give you more options in the Googleverse) and choose Share.

3 Dots

Share the document either with Anyone with the link OR make it Public on the web. (You may have to click Advanced to see these options). Be sure to save your choice.

Anyone with the link

The document is now viewable by anyone with access to view the site.

Doc is viewable

Add Snapshot Image to Google Doc

May 17, 2016May 17, 2016 nancy

Insert an Image in a Google Doc via URL

May 16, 2016May 16, 2016 nancy

Custom logos: yet another reason to love Google Drawing

March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 nancy

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Google Drawing. Partly, it’s because it makes me look like I know what I’m doing when it comes to creating art. In real life, drawing anything more elaborate than a stick figure is challenging to me. I know what I want my result to look like, but I seem to lack the essential brain – eye – hand connection to make it actually happen. Mostly, though, it’s because of how versatile Google Drawing is and how many things you can use it for.

My friend Lisa Nowakowski (aka @NowaTechie) recently reached out to me about doing a podcast for teachers about classroom innovation and I eagerly jumped on board. Supercool domain name of TLC.ninja in hand, we needed to have a logo to go with it. My first thought? Let’s create it in Google Drawing! We used shapes to make the whole thing, with the exception of my glasses and a text box. Here’s how we did it.

We started with a transparent canvas 1000 pixels square (File > Page setup > Custom). In the step-by-step tutorial below, I have outlined the shapes in green so you can see them better. In our logo, the outlines are transparent.

Step 1: Insert Shape > Rounded rectangle. Use the yellow handle to adjust the curvature. Did you know you could do that? Neither did I, until very recently.

The yellow handle is available on many of the shapes in Google Drawing. Check it out!

Step 2: Duplicate and resize your original rounded rectangle to make arms and legs. Move them into position. Add 2 teardrops and stretch them a bit to create the knot at the top of the head.

Just because it says “teardrop” doesn’t mean it has to be a teardrop.

Step 3: Use a chord to make the face. Adjust size and shape with corners and yellow handles. Fill with an appropriate skin tone.

This shape has 2 yellow handles!

Step 4: Eyes. We used 3 circles/ovals to make them: colored iris, black pupil, white dot.

These eyes aren’t creepy at all.

Step 5: Belt. 1 rounded rectangle and 2 Flowchart: Punched tapes.

Because all ninjas need belts.

Step 6: Select all and duplicate to make the 2nd ninja. I moved it over and changed it slightly; the belt was reversed (Arrange > Rotate > Flip horizontally), the knot was moved, and the eye color was changed to match my baby blues.

If one is good, two must be better.

Step 7: Add other details. I can’t draw anything freehand (see above), so instead of using shapes for my glasses, I downloaded a pair from Pixabay.com, a terrific place to find free, high quality, public domain images, and added them to the drawing.

I couldn’t draw glasses.

Step 8: Give the logo a little character and depth. Place the shadow beneath the ninjas, and add in the tablet and the coffee cup. The shadow is a gray oval drawn over the top to get the right size, then moved behind the other items (Arrange > Order > Send to back). The coffee cup is a collection of trapezoids, while the tablet contains multiple shapes.

The gray rectangle gets placed on top of the rounded rectangle and under the triangle to create the tablet.

Step 9: Add the text box. If you want to use the logo somewhere the transparent background could be a problem, either download your image as a .jpg or right-click on the background and change it to white or another solid color.