Out Googling Google

by | Sep 8, 2017 | Student Blog, Teacher Blog

Google is obviously the best search engine out there (sorry Internet Explorer). However, Google can get really frustrating, especially when you just can’t seem to get the right results. So down below are some symbols that will help you make the best out of Google.

 

Quick Tricks
Asterisk

Use an asterisk in place of a word to help find different variations of a phrase. Ex. * into the sunset, this would populate titles that have “into the sunset” in the results and the first word will vary

Minus

Put a minus sign in front of a word that you do not want in your search results Ex. how to groom a dog -cats, this would include only results on how to groom dogs, and no results will pop up about cats.

Pictures

When searching for specific types of pictures, you can filter out the ones you don’t want by clicking the “tools” option directly under the search bar. Some of the characteristics you can filter by are size, color, and type.

Quotes

Phrases put into quotes will populate strictly the phrase within the quotes. Ex. “Goat Yoga,” googling goat yoga will show results only pertaining to goat yoga.

In addition to the tips above, there are also simple tricks that making Googling easier. On the right-hand side of the search bar, there is a microphone that allows you to search by your voice. All you have to do is click the microphone, and whatever you say will pop up in the search bar. This tool is great for when you don’t know how to spell certain words. And if you’re just bad with words in general, then this next tip will help as well. By typing a number into the search bar, and put “=english,” it will transform the number into word form.  If you need a timer simply type the amount of time that you need, and a timer will appear. Likewise, if you search stopwatch, a stopwatch will be the first result.

Hopefully, these tricks will help you have better results when using Google, and maybe they’ll even help you out Google, Google.

New Changes to Google Classroom

by | Sep 8, 2017 | Student Blog, Teacher Blog

Every few months, Google makes changes to its products to improve their functionality and performance. As of August 2017, Google has made six new modifications to the app Google Classroom.

Google Classroom is an app that students and teachers alike use throughout the school year. Google Classroom is the foundation for a satisfactory classroom dynamic; likewise it is imperative that teachers keep informed about the updates put out every month. The six updates to Google Classroom precede as follows:

Display Classroom Code

The first change that Classroom has undergone is the ability for teachers to display their classroom code. This makes it easy and painless for teachers to give students their classroom code. This feature is accessible through the STUDENT tab on Classroom- on the left side of the page the code is displayed with a drop down arrow with the options display, copy, reset, and disable. Click on display to enlarge the code. (This can be helpful when displaying the code on a projector screen)

Transfer Classroom Ownership

A feature in Classroom is the transfer of classroom ownership. With this new update teachers that are leaving the school or changing subjects they teach can transfer the class ownership to another teacher. This allows the other teacher to be the co-teacher of the class. If the co-teacher accepts the transfer they become the primary owner of the class and the first teacher becomes the co-teacher.

Use the Google Bar

The google bar is a tool that has been recently added to Google Classroom. The bar allows you to switch between google apps, manage notifications, and manage google accounts. This new innovation makes it easier than ever for teachers to use other google apps along with Classroom.

Student’s Can See Their Work

On the homepage of Classroom where all the classes are displayed students can click on an icon (clipboard) to show their individual work in that class. Here you can filter your work for the class into three categories: assigned, returned with grade, and missing. This feature makes it easier for students to stay on top of their work and organize the assignments they have and haven’t done.

Decimal Grades

As of the August update teachers can now input decimal grades. To do so first you must click on the assignment you are trying to grade. Next to the student’s name click “Add Grade” to enter the grade. Google supports two decimal places and if you choose to do more than that it will automatically round to 2 decimal places.

Reorder Class Cards

With this new update Google Classroom allows you to rearrange class cards. To do so you need to go to the homepage for Classroom. You have several options for moving class cards. The easiest way to do this is to drag the class card to the spot you want it to be. You also have the option to click on the icon of three vertical dots – this will bring up the option ‘MOVE’. This allows you to place it after a certain class, to the beginning of the list, and to the end of the list.

Behind the Scenes: Tech Tips Team

Behind the Scenes: Tech Tips Team

by | Feb 2, 2017 | Student Blog, Teacher Blog

What is the Tech Tips Team?

The Tech Tips Team, along with all of the other teams within our Chrome Squad, plays a vital role in operating our system.  Have you ever stopped and noticed those helpful and oh-so-informational posters throughout the hallways of our school?  Well, those posters have been hung up for your convenience by the two members of the Tech Tips Team.  This branch of C4L is here to provide all of the basics and quick, helpful facts about everything regarding your Chromebook.  The Tech Tips Team also sometimes pairs up with the Google Classroom Team to provide some of these tidbits through the Chrome Squad’s google classroom account, so be sure to be added to the class!  Overall, the Tech Tips Team is able to answer most questions that a lot of Chromebook users might have.

Meeting the Members Behind the Tech Tips Team

The job of the Tech Tips Team is distributed between two of our Chrome Squad’s members–Robert and Vilma.  Robert, the team lead, is a junior this year.  When he isn’t printing Tech Tip posters for the students and staff, you can find him slaying his opponents on his X Box or playing soccer.  Since Robert wishes to become a computer engineer, his work that he accomplishes and his background that he will have acquired will definitely help him achieve that dream in the near future.  Vilma, on the other hand, is a sophomore.  When she isn’t brainstorming new ideas for tips to help answer any Chromebook questions, you can find her marching her little heart out on the football field playing her clarinet, performing in our musical theater program, and dreaming about Broadway…literally.  Aside from her musical performances, Vilma also has the desire to become an astrophysicist.  Without a doubt, both Robert and Vilma have more than what it takes to be successful Tech Tips helpers and do more than what is required of them to give anyone the answers to their questions.

Impact of the Tech Tips Team

The Tech Tips Team plays more to the customer service aspect of our Chrome Squad.  They provide the solutions to the problems that you may not have even encountered yet!  You might not think to take a second glance at those “hidden” posters throughout the hallways, but they just might come in handy someday.  One of the Chrome Squad’s purposes, as a whole, is to teach the students and staff how to fix their own problems and how to answer their own questions.  The Tech Tips Team definitely plays to that strength of ours by providing resources for Chromebook users to do just that.  Overall, the Tech Tips Team helps consumers help themselves, although whenever you have a problem, the Chrome Squad is always delighted to help you in any way we can!

Robert

Robert

Tech Tips Team Lead

Vilma

Vilma

Tech Tips Artist

You’ll Go Totally Bananas For Picmonkey!

by | Dec 16, 2016 | How To, Student Blog, Teacher Blog

Picmonkey is an app for chrome and desktop that allows you to edit photos and make collages using unique graphic design features. The best part of Picmonkey is that it is completely free to use! (Some features are locked, but you can upgrade to Royale Membership for full access to them) Some key features that Picmonkey offers is that you can add frames, themes, overlays, and touch up your original photo.

 

Downloading & Accessing Picmonkey

To download Picmonkey you need to go to the chrome web store. Once you have accessed the chrome web store, type in the search bar “pic monkey”. Click on the first option under “Apps”. Click on the button “add to chrome” and you are ready to start using Picmonkey. To access Picmonkey, go to the page where all your apps are listed. The Picmonkey app icon should be towards the top of your list (it looks like a monkey so it shouldn’t be too hard to find)

 

I Downloaded Picmonkey…Now, what?

Once you have opened the app, click on the button that says ‘edit a photo’. This will bring you to the main interface of Picmonkey. This page is where you can begin editing your photo to perfection!

 

How do I Upload My Photo Into the Editor?

To upload a photo to Picmonkey click on the drop down arrow on the button titled “Open” at the top left of your screen. A drop down menu should appear with many options as to where to upload your picture from (Facebook, Pixlr, OneDrive, etc) Once you have selected a photo and successfully uploaded it to the Picmonkey you are ready to proceed with editing.

 

What Can I do With Picmonkey?

Picmonkey offers many different options when editing photos.  In the toolbar to the left of the screen, there are several tools to use such as Basic Edits, Effects, Touchup, Text, Overlay, Frames, Textures, Themes, and Templates.

 

  • Basic Edits –  this tool is used to do basic editing such as cropping, resizing, or rotating photos. Some more options in this tab are to sharpen photos or add color to them.
  • Effects – this tool is used to add gorgeous effects to your photos that make them stand out above the rest.
  • Touchup –  the purpose of this tool is touch up any blemishes when editing a photo that has a human face in it.
  • Text –  the text tool can be used to add text boxes to your uploaded image; also found within this part of Picmonkey is different font types.
  • Overlay – the overlay tool is used to add more elements to your photo. You can either add your own or choose one of the ready-made overlays.
  • Frames –  the frames tab is where you will find several different types of frames to add to photos.
  • Textures – this tool is used to add different textures to your pictures such as space, burst, and light trails.
  • Themes – the theme tool is where you can choose a theme (these consist mostly of festive themes) and add elements of that theme to your chosen picture.
  • Templates – this tool is used to create posters, diagrams, invitations, and cards (most templates are only available for Royale)

 

Saving Photos On Picmonkey

To save your design, click on the Save button in the top left corner of your screen (to the right of the ‘open’ button). Once you have clicked this button, you can customize the name of the file and resolution. Click “Save to my computer” to save it Onedrive or Dropbox. If you don’t have either application you can simply download your image.

 

Sharing Images From Picmonkey

To share an image/photo click on the “Share” button to the right of the Save button. When you click this, Picmonkey will allow you to choose what platform you would like to share it on (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc). You also have the option to caption your photo before sharing. Click on the button titled “Do it” once you have selected where you want to share the image to. Your photo has now been shared on the app of your choice.
Happy editing everyone!

Five Apps That Will Help You Survive High School

by | Dec 15, 2016 | Student Blog

High school is tough; we are always busy working on homework, playing sports, and participating in clubs. We don’t always have time to open up a laptop and study for tests, so here are five apps every student should have on their phone to survive high school. 

  • Quizlet

Quizlet is great for studying on the go, plus it saves paper that would’ve been used for notecards, and a lot of teachers make Quizlets for studying. Of course there is the flashcard option with basic word on one side of the card and the definition on the back, but Quizlet is more than just flashcards; in fact, you can play matching games and complete practice tests to enhance your studying. The matching games work well for quick memorization for a simple vocabulary test. The practice tests are beneficial when you want to focus on spelling.   

  • Google Classroom

Almost every teacher uses Google Classroom daily. Teachers post important information on there from bellringers and assignments to test reviews and homework. When you have the app, it is much easier to check for assignments due that day. The app also comes in handy when you’re absent and want to see what you missed. For more information about Google Classroom visit the “All You Need to Know About…” tab.

  • Remind

Remind is exactly what it sounds like, a reminder. Teachers use this app to send out informative messages about homework and tests. Lots of organizations like NHS and Student Council use Remind as well for meetings and service hour opportunities. Having this app will keep you on track with what’s going on at school

  • Spotify

School causes lots of stress, and by that, I mean Milicent from Suite Life of Zack and Cody stress levels. Spotify serves as an antidepressant from school. Whether you’re on the go studying or trying to finish an essay at home, listening to music helps you focus on completing the assignment by blocking out other distractions. I would suggest making playlists that you can jam to while working.

  • Alarm Clock

Alarm clocks are a student’s best friend. They can be set for anything, anytime, and anywhere. The most common use is setting an alarm (10 alarms) for waking up. They can also be used as reminders to get off Netflix and start working on that project that is due tomorrow. Alarm clocks help you manage your time better and more efficiently.   

Ace English Class – Get Grammarly!

by | Dec 5, 2016 | Student Blog, Teacher Blog

What on Earth Is Grammarly?

You guessed it! Grammarly is an extension that is used to better improve your writing by correcting mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. This extension is super easy to use, so don’t worry! Let’s get down to business.

How do I Get Grammarly?

To get Grammarly you must first go to the Chrome Webstore. Once there, enter “Grammarly” into the search bar and hit enter. Grammarly will be the first option in the ‘extensions’ section. Click add to Chrome and Grammarly will install.

Accessing Grammarly

To access Grammarly, you must first on the all apps button at the bottom left of your screen. Click on the icon for Grammarly and the document editor will open.

How Does Grammarly Work?

Grammarly is an extension that corrects your mistakes in apps such as Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, and basically any other place on the web that you can write. In these applications, if you spell something wrong or there is a grammatical error then a red line will appear. If you hover over it then Grammarly will pull show suggestions as to how to fix it.

Uploading Documents

Grammarly allows you to upload a wide variety of documents; these consist of .doc, .docx, .odt, .rtf, .txt files. To do this click on the icon on the toolbar that looks like a page (right under the home icon) and select upload. Choose what file you would like to upload and click open. You are now ready to edit your document!

Editing Documents

Once you have uploaded the document of your choice, you can edit it to fix the mistakes found within its contents. Grammarly will automatically highlight any mistakes and will give you helpful solutions to the problems.

Grammarly Toolbar

The Grammarly toolbar is found on the far right of the screen and consists of five buttons.

  1. The first button you will see is closest to the top of the page and looks like a house. This is your home button, titled “My Grammarly”. By clicking this icon, you can access any previously saved documents or add new ones.
  2. The second icon has the silhouette of a person and is titled “Profile”; this is where you can find all the details involving your profile.
  3. The third button found in this toolbar is “Apps”. Grammarly Apps is where you can see what Grammarly is installed on ( Google Chrome or Microsoft Word)
  4. The fourth icon is the star-shaped image named “Premium”. Premium is where you can upgrade Grammarly to get new features. Some of these features include vocabulary expanding and a plagiarism filter.
  5. The last icon on the toolbar is a power button. This is where you can sign out if you want to log into another account.

Downloading Edited Documents

If you are using Grammarly on Google Chrome to download a document to your Google Drive first click “My Grammarly”. Then, click the document you wish to download. To the right, there will be a toolbar with four icons. Click on the icon that looks like a square with a downward arrow bring up a little bar. Click on the words “Download” for the document to be downloaded to your drive.