TLC.ninja – Coffee Nancy

Google Energizer

In response to feedback from Certified Innovators, Google organized several Energizer events where we could get together to learn, connect, and get re-energized. One of these events was in Chicago, the day before ISTE, and it was a wonderful day. Over 100 of us came to spend the day at the Google Chicago offices, where we shared, worked together, and talked about how to change the world. I was also lucky enough to meet two previous TLC Ninja podcast guests in real life: Sarah Stuhr and Lisa Berghoff. I came away completely re-energized. Thank you to Google and to all my fellow Innovators for making this such a fabulous event! I can’t wait until the next one!

Top to bottom, left to right: Google Chicago sign, Swiss Army Knife team, view from rooftop, group photo, mini #TOR16 reunion, Sarah, Nancy, & Lisa

ISTE

It would be impossible to share everything that happened at ISTE. I’m still processing and reflecting on the four days of the conference. In no particular order, here are a few highlights:

Winning a ticket to see Hamilton (thank you, Newsela!)

Getting to introduce my podcast partner Lisa to Eric Curts

Sharing #eduprotocols with Kristy Kimball, a teacher from my district

Joining the Google Innovator Micro-Kitchen poster session to share the TLC Ninja podcast

Having a sneak peek at so many new technologies coming this fall

Representing Common Sense Education as an Ambassador at their booth

Making new connections and renewing old ones – my favorite part of any conference

Becoming better acquainted with the beautiful – and delicious – city of Chicago

Friends old and new: Brandi Miller, Lisa Nowakowski, Joe Marquez, Lisa N (again), Meredith Jones, Wanda Terral, Kim Voge, Chris Tenbarge, Trevor Knowlton, Lisa N (yet again), Eric Curts, CoffeeCUE meet-up

Sarah Thomas, Susan Stewart, Chris Tenbarge, Kat Goyette, Adam Juarez, Jody Green, Tara Linney, Sandra Chow, all #ninjateachers. Visit tlc.ninja to see their episodes.

So many beautiful places to see.

Blogging Buddies

In an effort to post more frequently, I have joined the ISTE Ed Tech Coaches Blogging Buddies network. This group is designed so that coaches and others who help teachers integrate technology can connect and learn from each other through our blogs. Members commit to posting at least once a month, in addition to reading and commenting on each other’s blogs and sharing the blogs with our PLN. To learn more about blogging buddies, or to sign up, visit this site.

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.