Automation is happening, and it will bring substantial benefits to businesses and economies worldwide, but it won’t arrive overnight. A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds realizing automation’s full potential requires people and technology to work hand in hand. Source: Harnessing automation for a future that works | McKinsey & Company An eye-opening account into…
Microsoft has been trying to keep PC makers away from Chrome OS for years, and consumers far away from Apple’s iPad alternative. While Windows RT largely failed at going mainstream, and Windows 8.1 with Bing was never widely used, the software giant is experimenting with another low-cost version of its popular Windows operating system: Windows…
We now know how to create Google documents quickly, and can even create the new documents in a particular folder. But, what if we have multiple Google accounts? To select the account, we can use the trick we learned on linking to a particular Gmail account. But first, lets review the links to quickly create…
Things that make me scowly is too many clicks and inefficient workflows. As teachers, we usually have to repeat our actions 30-150 times depending on how many students we have. While doing something once may be no big deal, does it scale? I found most of the screenshot tools required multiple steps to get the…
With new mobile apps and technology tools popping up constantly, schools have a variety of options when it comes to picking something that might work in a class. But, is there an easy way to make sure the tool will be good for students? Last year, the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology requested…
Yesterday I showed the special links you can use to create Google documents. But what if you want to create new documents in a particular folder? I create a new folder for every school year. For example, this year I have a folder named 16-17. Anything I re-use from last year I make a copy of…
As an English teacher, I’ve had numerous conversations with college professors who lament the writing skills of their first year students. But not all writing. Most students are capable of solid expository writing. It’s their skill with persuasive writing that’s the problem. Specifically, they’re weak at writing a thesis statement that can be argued. I…
I like to think that I’m really really good with using Google Apps. I know that when you create a new document it is by default private. You have to click on the blue Share button and change the sharing permissions to “Anyone with the link can view.” This takes several steps. If you want…
Previously I wrote about creating bookmarks that can easily create Google documents, but since that was almost two years ago, it is time to revisit the solution. Google has special URLs (web addresses) that will create a Google document when you click on them. For the five main types of documents, the links are: Google…
One of the most exciting trends in education today is the integration of technology to enhance instruction and learning. Schools have only scratched the surface when it comes to learning technology, and this knowledge-action-resource gap further exacerbates the overwhelming “kid in a candy store” mentality. Source: End Your Fixation on Tech Tools | EdTech Magazine…