5 Google Doc Tips for the Classroom

Google Docs is the Google Apps for Education word processor.  It can do nearly everything Microsoft Word (or any other word processing program) can do, PLUS it allows you to share our documents with other teachers, students, or anyone.

By using Docs, group teaching and close communication with students becomes easier, as does collaboration among students.

• Tip #1 – Takes notes at your next department and share them with the other members of your department.
   
• Tip #2 – Develop and share collaborative lesson plans with other teachers. When any of the teachers sharing the Doc makes a change, it will be available to the rest of the group.
   
• Tip #3 - Keep track of which student made which edits using the See Revision History command in Docs (File ->See Revision History).  Every edit that is made by a student is saved and can be later retrieved.  This can help you to determine who did what or if everyone did equal work.  It can also be used to find lost content that may have been accidentally deleted.
   
• Tip #4 – Encourage students to work on group projects using Google Docs, so that each student can independently provide their contribution and instantly integrate it into the whole.
   
• Tip #5 - Use shared Docs for student writing assignments to provide quick feedback to help guide them during the process.

How to get notified of events on your Google Calendar

Did you know that you can get text message notifications of events on your Google calendar?

Setup is quick and easy.  

Register your phone

First, you need to register your mobile phone with Google Calendar.  This is a one-time setup.  Google Calendar will send you a verification code on your phone.  

1. Open Google Calendar.
2. Click the settings gear in the top right .
3. Select Settings.
4. Open the Mobile Setup tab at the top.
5. Add your country and phone number.
6. Click the Send Verification Code button.
7. Once you get the text message, enter the code you received in the Verification code field and click the Finish setup button.
8. Click Save.

Set a reminder

Second, add the reminder to the event in your calendar.  This is done by selecting the calendar event and clicking the Edit event link (see right).

At the bottom of the event screen, you will see the Reminders settings.  Once your mobile phone is activated on your account, you will have the option to add SMS (Short Message Service) reminders.  These SMS messages are the messages that are sent to your mobile phone.

** Please keep in mind that your mobile service provider's standard rate for receiving text messages may apply. If you have any questions about the rate, please contact your service provider for more information.

You can find more help at Google SMS Nofitications Help.

Be Careful When Downloading

Please be careful when downloading any software from the internet.  

• Watch for “freebies”  that are sometimes included as you download and install.  
• Uncheck any boxes if you are unsure.  

Being aware of what you are clicking on reduces possible malware and viruses.

While not all “freebies” are malware, in this case the extra software is a second anti-virus program which you don’t need.  Kaspersky takes care of viruses on your computer and installing a second anti-virus program will not help.  

Below is a link about the possible problems with running multiple anti-virus programs:

Why Using Multiple Antivirus Programs is a Bad Idea