How to Add Checkboxes to Tables in Google Docs
Earlier this week when I was looking back at The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators I noticed that Google Docs was still a beta product back when that book was written. Google Docs has come a long way since then. Today, Google Docs is packed with some many handy little features that it’s […]
How to Share Google Slides Without Sharing Speaker Notes
Earlier this week I answered an email from a reader who was looking for a way to share his Google Slides with his students without them being able to see his speaker notes. Unfortunately, there isn’t an add-on or extension that will do that for you. Instead you have to make a copy of your […]
A Short Overview of Google Sites Publishing and Sharing Settings
During a webinar that I hosted earlier today the topic of Google Sites access settings came up. That topic usually does come up whenever I talk about using Google Sites with students. It comes up because just as there is a difference between publishing and sharing Google Documents there is a difference between publishing and […]
Sharing vs. Publishing Google Documents
A couple of days ago I Tweeted my video about how to find public Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms. That Tweet prompted a couple of people to ask me about publishing Google Docs compared to sharing Google Docs and why you’d use one option versus another. To answer those questions I made this short […]
More Virtual Background Options in Google Meet
Last fall Google added options for blurring your background in Google Meet and using your own pictures as backgrounds in Google Meet. This week another background option was added to Google Meet. You can now use videos as virtual backgrounds in Google Meet. Right now the options are limited to just videos provided by Google. […]
How to Forward Google Workspaces Email to Personal Gmail
Now that the summer break is here for those in the northern hemisphere, hopefully you will have a bit less email in your school account. But if you want to keep up with the few emails that you do get during the summer, you can do so without having to log into your school Google […]
My Most-watched Tutorials in May
In May I didn’t publish as many videos on my YouTube channel as I wanted to, but still more people subscribed to the channel. There are now more than 36,000 people subscribed to get notified as soon as I publish a new video. My channel contains more than 1,000 tutorial videos covering everything from fundamental […]
Moving from OneDrive to Google Drive
On Monday I shared directions for moving from Google Drive to OneDrive. I did that to help people who are leaving a school district that uses Google Workspaces for one that is using Office 365. Of course, it also happens that at the end of the school year some people will leave an Office 365 […]
Games, Maps, and Pictures – The Month in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re ending the month with a cold and rainy day. It’s so chilly and damp that we have the heat on! Last week it was over 90F and I was turning getting all of our air conditioners out of winter storage. Such is life in northern New England. This month […]
An Easier Way to Share in Google Meet
Last week a new menu option appeared in Google Slides, Docs, and Sheets. That new menu appears just to the left of the share button in Slides, Docs, and Sheets. It’s icon resembles and upload icon, but it’s not an upload option. The new option is to present to a Google Meet meeting. With just […]
How to Move from Google Drive to OneDrive
It’s that time of year when some teachers and administrators will be leaving one school district for another. For some that means leaving a district that uses Google Workspaces (formerly known as G Suite for Education) for a district that uses Office 365 and all of the associated Microsoft tools including OneDrive. If that’s the […]
How to Overlay Text on Images in Google Docs
Earlier this week Google finally added the option to overlay text on top of images in Google Docs. Since then I’ve had a few people email me to ask for clarification about how that works. The most important “trick” of the process is to write your text before adding your image. Then when you insert […]
The Master View in Google Slides is Now the “Theme Builder”
If you logged into your Google Slides today, you may have noticed a new option in the “view” drop-down menu. Where there used to be a “master” option there is now a “theme builder” option. This change is purely cosmetic because nothing else changed. The functions of “theme builder” are exactly the same as “master […]
New Text Overlay Options in Google Docs
Google has finally added a feature to Google Docs that many of us have been waiting a long time to see. That feature is the ability to overlay text on top of images in Google Docs! For years the only way to work with text and images in Google Docs was to wrap the text […]
How to Find Public Google Docs, Slides, Forms, Sheets, and Drawings
Last week I published an animated GIF of how to search by domain to find publicly shared Google Workspaces files. Over the weekend I was asked if I had a video of the process. I didn’t have one, so I made this short one to demonstrate how to use Google’s advanced search function to find […]
Moving Files Between Google Workspaces Accounts
It’s that time of the year when some people are winding down their time in one school district in anticipation of a summer break before moving onto a new school district in the fall. For some people that means they have to figure out what to with the contents of their school-issued Google accounts. Just […]
My Ten Favorite “Hidden” Office 365 Features
Last week my most popular post on Free Technology for Teachers was this one highlighting my favorite features of Google Workspaces that are frequently overlooked. Based on the response to that post and video I decided to do the same thing for Office 365 users. I don’t use Office 365 products as much as I […]
7 Interesting Features You Can Add to Google Sites
Last week Google sent out a notice reminding domain administrators that the end of the classic version of Google Sites is near. That prompted me to publish directions for transition from the classic version of Google Sites to the current version. I also shared a set of tutorials for building your first website with the […]
How to Add Voice Recordings to Google Forms
Earlier this year I shared a series of videos about how to add voice comments to Google Documents, Google Slides, and Google Classroom. All of those videos featured the use of a free Chrome extension called Mote. Over the weekend Mote added support for use in Google Forms. With the Mote Chrome extension installed you […]
Ten Google Workspaces Features for Teachers You Might Be Overlooking
Google Workspaces (formerly known as G Suite, Google Apps, and just plain Google Drive) has a lot of great features for teachers and students. Some of them are obvious while others might be considered “hidden” features. Those hidden features are often little things that make using Google Workspaces a little easier than faster. In this […]
How to Identify Which Version of Google Sites You’re Using
A couple of days ago I wrote about the impending deprecation of the classic version of Google Sites and how to transition to the new version. A reader sent me a good follow-up question. That was, “is there an easy way to tell which version of Google Sites I’m using?” Yes, there is an easy […]
The Old Version of Google Sites is Finally Shutting Down – Here’s How to Use the Current Version
For nearly five years now Google has been saying that the old, “classic” version of Google Sites would be closing “soon.” It appears that they really mean it this time. In an email to Google Workspaces domain administrators and in this blog post, Google has announced that on May 15th the ability to create new […]
How to Quickly Duplicate and Sort Jamboard Pages
Jamboard has a lot of handy features and neat uses for in-person and online instruction. I recently outlined a bunch of them in this blog post. This afternoon someone emailed me looking for help with duplicating pages within a Jamboard. Like a lot of things, it’s easier to show how to do it than it […]
How to Score Google Forms Questions That Have Multiple Correct Responses
This afternoon I answered an email from a reader who was having a little trouble with Google Forms. She was trying to create a quiz in which some of the questions had multiple correct responses for students to select. For example, “select from this list the names of the people who have walked on the […]
How to Quickly Record Voice and Video Messages in Gmail
Sometimes it is easier, faster, and more effective to record a video or audio reply to an email than it is to type a response. For example, when I get asked for technical help it is often faster and more effective to create a screencast video than it is to write directions. Sending an audio […]
A Handful of Jamboard Tutorial Videos
Last week I posted a video that contained a quick overview of five Jamboard features that are helpful to teachers and students. That was just the latest in a series of videos that I have made about Jamboard over the last couple of years. To learn more about Jamboard and how you might use it […]
Two New Google Workspace Features for Students – Including Saving Google Forms in Progress!
This week Google announced two new Google Workspaces for Education features that are sure to be beneficial to students. Both of the new features are things that teachers and students have requested for years. The first is a new set of citation options in Google Documents. The second is a new “save in progress” option […]
Five Jamboard Features You Should Know How to Use
In the last year Jamboard has become one of my favorite tools for online and hybrid instruction. I often use it in place of Zoom’s whiteboard function because I can create multiple page whiteboards that I then share with my students via Google Classroom. My students can then take notes on their own copies of […]
My Most Popular Tutorials in March
As I mentioned in today’s episode of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff, my YouTube channel now has nearly 35,000 subscribers watching my tutorial videos. On my channel I cover everything from how to make a Google Form to how to make a green screen video to how to map spreadsheet […]
Google Meet Transcripts Automatically Saved as New Google Docs
For Google Meet users one of the easiest ways to improve the accessibility of your live online instruction is to enable captions during your meetings. A transcript of those captions can be quite helpful to students who miss the meeting and or those who want to revisit the highlights of the meeting. Google Meet Transcripts […]
5 Ideas for Using Threadit in School
This is an excerpt of my full article that I published on my other site, Practical Ed Tech. Threadit is Google’s new tool for recording webcam and screencast videos. The best way to think of it is as “Google Docs meets Flipgrid.” Here’s my preliminary list of five ways to use it in school. Group […]
Two Ways to Create Videos in Your Gmail Inbox
Last week Google introduced a new video recording tool called Threadit. A Chrome extension is one aspect of what Threadit offers. With the Threadit Chrome extension installed you can record a video without leaving your Gmail inbox. Threadit is now the second tool that I can recommend for recording screencast videos directly from your inbox. […]
A New Look for Presenting With Google Slides
On Monday Google announced a change to the presentation menu in Google Slides. Yesterday afternoon I got to try it for the first time. The new Google Slides presentation menu is a great improvement over the old one! Just like before you still need to click the “present” button in the Slides editor. You’ll notice […]
Jamboard Now Offers Version History
This school year Google’s Jamboard has become one of my go-to tools for hybrid instruction. Yesterday, Google added a feature to Jamboard that I’m excited to finally see. That feature is version history. Version history in Jamboard works just like version history in Google Docs and Google Slides. To access it simply open the little […]
How to Download Google Meet Video Call Recordings
A few months ago Google introduced the option for teachers to record Google Meet video calls in some versions Google Workspaces. If you have that option and your school allows it, recording a Google Meet is a good way to save a lesson and publish it for students who missed the first time to go […]
How to Quickly Find the Sum of a Spreadsheet Column
Right now some of my students are designing their own Arduino projects. I have money for them to spend on materials, but they have to stay within the budget allotted to them. I’m having them use Google Sheets to keep track of materials and budget. Last week I noticed one student tallying her materials cost […]
How to Change Your Google Account Profile Image & Why You Should Change It
When your school issues you a Google Workspaces for Education account your profile picture will just be a simple letter icon featuring your initials. Many people leave it that way only because they don’t know how easy it is to change it. In the video below I demonstrate how to change your Google profile image. […]
Why My Dogs Have Email Addresses and Your Dog or Cat Should Too
People often get a kick out of learning that my dogs have their own email addresses. You can send them email at Mason or Fionn (at) freetech4teachers.com and they’ll get back to you as soon as they learn to type. My dogs have email addresses because I conduct a lot of workshops throughout the year […]
How to Make a Copy of a Google Doc That Isn’t Directly Shared With You
From time to time I publish charts and other digital hand-outs that I have created in Google Documents. For example, I recently shared this chart comparing student blogging tools and this chart comparing multimedia timeline creation tools. When I share those charts I publish them as Google Documents marked as “view only.” If you want […]
How to Make Sure Students Aren’t Unsupervised in Google Meet Video Calls
Google Workspace for Education users finally have a way to make sure that students aren’t hanging out in a Google Meet without a teacher. Yesterday afternoon Google announced that teachers can now end Google Meet calls for all participants at once. Now when hosts leave a Google Meet call they will see an option to […]
What’s New in G Suite for Education – It’s Not Called That Anymore!
Last week was a vacation week for my school and many others in New England. If you were on vacation or you just don’t obsessively follow all things Google like I do, you may have missed that Google has changed the name of G Suite for Education to Google Workspaces for Education. For the most […]
How to Edit Master Slides in Google Slides
Twice in the last week I’ve received questions from readers about Google Slides. In both cases the questions were related to using fonts and color schemes without having to manually change them for every new slide added to a presentation. The solution in both cases was to change the master slides in the presentation. Editing […]
Ten Time-savers for G Suite for Education Users
Do you have a New Year’s resolution to exercise more, read more, or just spend more time doing something fun? If you’re a G Suite for Education user, you might make more time for your New Year’s resolution by handling routine tasks more efficiently. To that end, here are some of my favorite time-saving tips […]
Google Docs Comments Now Include Autocorrect and Smart Compose
Smart Compose is a feature of Gmail and Google Docs that some people dislike, but I love it. I know that it saves me time when writing responses to emails. I also use it in Google Docs when I’m writing lesson outlines and find that it’s helpful there, most of the time. That’s why I […]
How to Add a Dynamic “Latest News” Section to Google Sites
A couple of weeks ago a reader emailed me with a question about creating a Google Site that her colleagues could comment on. She wanted to have a section in her site that had tips and news for colleagues who could then ask her questions about those tips. The old version of Google Sites had […]
How to Find “Lost” Items in Google Drive
In my previous post I shared directions for uploading files and folders into Google Drive. In that post I also described how I loosely organize my files in Google Drive. If you’re like me and also have a very broad interpretation of “organize,” you’ll want to use search function in Google Drive to find your […]
How to Move Desktop Files and Folders Into Google Drive
Last week I received a question from a reader who was looking for a little help organizing all of the files that she had created and stored on her computer. My suggestion was to organize the files into folders then upload those folders into Google Drive. Once the folders are in Google Drive they can […]
Mix Landscape and Portrait Layouts in Google Docs
If you have ever wanted to use landscape and portrait layouts in the same Google Document, you’re going to like the latest announcement from the Google Workspaces blog (Google’s official place to announce updates to Google Docs). Starting today and by the end of January all Google Docs users will be able to mix and […]
Write on PDFs in Google Classroom – Good Tool for Math
Earlier this week one of my colleagues asked me if there was a way that her students can do free-hand writing on documents that she shares in Google Classroom. She teaches mathematics and was looking for a better option to having students take pictures of handwritten work and uploading it to Google Classroom assignments. My […]
Three G Suite/ Google Workspaces Updates to Note
In the last week Google has announced three new features for G Suite for Education/ Google Workspaces tools that are frequently used by teachers and students. Here’s a quick overview of those new features. More Text Style and Appearance Options in Google Sites This is a welcome and long overdue update to Google Sites. You […]
Bulk Acceptance of “Knocks” in Google Meet
Some Google Meet users may have noticed a handy little update that was rolled-out yesterday. You can now accept “knocks” in bulk in Google Meet. This means that when students knock to join a class in Meet you can accept all of them at once instead of having to manually accept each individual student. While […]
Three Ways to Conduct Polls in Google Slides
I have one group of freshmen this fall that is quiet and will rarely speak unless directly called upon. This is true of them when they’re in my classroom and when they’re on Zoom. So I call on them directly and I have them complete exit tickets in Flipgrid. Recently, I’ve started polling them at […]
An Easy Way to Search in Google Classroom
Twice this week I’ve had people ask me if there is a search function in Google Classroom. Unless, I’ve been overlooking something obvious, there isn’t a native search function built into Google Classroom. What I have been telling people to do is use Control+F on Windows computers or Command+F on Mac computers to search within […]
13 Google Forms Tutorials for Beginners and Experienced Users
For the last six or seven months whenever I open my YouTube analytics the top two videos are almost always How to Host an Online Meeting With Zoom and The Basics of Creating a Quiz in Google Forms. And based on the response to the Google Forms video that I posted on Monday, there are […]
How to Create Self-grading, Timed Quizzes in Google Classroom
This morning my freshmen students took a quiz that I created and distributed through Google Forms. The quiz was self-grading because I used the answer key option in Google Forms. The quiz was also a timed activity because I used assignment scheduling combined with Form Limiter. With that combination I was able to give my […]
How to Specify Video Playback Settings in Google Slides
Last week Google announced a small, but potentially annoying change to the default video playback settings in Google Slides. Fortunately, you can override the default playback setting for the videos that you use in Google Slides. This applies to videos that you add from YouTube as well as videos that you insert from your Google […]
How to Change Google Classroom Mobile Notifications
It’s the weekend and your phone is blowing up with notifications from Google Classroom while you’re playing with your kids, watching Netflix with your spouse, or finally finishing that house project. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can take a break from “teacher mode.” In fact, it’s good for you and your students […]
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from rainy Maine. It looks like it’s going to be the perfect kind of day to stay inside to watch movies and read a good book. But I won’t be doing that because I have toddlers, dogs, and an old house that always needs something fixed. We’ll be putting on our wellies and […]
A Small, Potentially Annoying Change to Google Slides
From improved meeting controls to an easier way to add citations in Google Docs, there have been a bunch of positive changes to Google Workspaces (formerly G Suite) this fall. Now Google has made a change to Google Slides that could prove to be quite annoying to some of us. That change applies to how […]
Create and Conduct Polls in Google Slides
Poll Everywhere is a polling tool that I’ve used off and on throughout the past decade. It’s a great tool for gathering questions from an audience, polling an audience, and seeing word clouds of sentiment from an audience. People can respond to your poll questions from their laptops, tablets, and phones. You can use Poll […]
The Week in Review – Maps, Docs, and Games
Good morning from Maine where it is cold, but clear. The leaves are rapidly changing color and falling to the ground. There is a significant amount of raking time in my near future. The only good thing about having to rake leaves is that my daughters love to jump in leaf piles. Earlier this week […]
The Easiest Way to Use Jamboard in Google Meet
A few weeks ago Google announced that Jamboard would be integrated into Google Meet. Earlier this week that finally happened in all of my Google accounts. This makes it easier than ever to use Jamboard in Google Meet. The old method that I used was fine, but the new integration is so much easier. In […]
Two New Helpful Features in Google Meet
Since the summer Google has been teasing us with announcements of new features “coming soon” to Google Meet. Some of those features are finally starting to arrive. Two of them that I recently got access to are background blurring and meeting controls. With background blurring enabled everything behind me is blurred. With the meeting controls […]
How to Share Sections of Google Docs in Google Classroom – And Why You Might Do That
Yesterday a reader sent me an interesting question about Google Docs and Google Classroom. She wanted to know if there was a way to share just one of a few pages of a Google Doc with her students via Google Classroom. One solution would be to copy the content of that one page and paste […]
How to Create Citations and Bibliographies in Google Docs – No Add-ons Required
For years I used the Easy Bib add-on to add citations and create bibliographies in Google Docs. A couple of weeks ago Google added an updated citation tool to Google Docs that makes the Easy Bib add-on redundant. With the latest update to Google Docs you can now create MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations […]
G Suite Becomes Google Workspaces – What’s That Mean for You?
Yesterday, Google announced a rebranding of G Suite. G Suite will now be called Google Workspaces. That change is happening now for some domains, but won’t happen until months from now for G Suite for Education users. The change from G Suite to Google Workspaces appears to be designed entirely for business users and doesn’t […]