Tag: google

Posted on in resources

Google Drive update: new mobile features

Google updated its Google Drive app for Android and iOS today. The 2 big new features are:

  1. the ability to edit Docs from within a mobile interface.
  2. the ability to upload video & photos to Drive from a mobile device.
For Google Apps for Education schools using mobile devices, students can now send and store media on Google Drive. This provides a way to share creations with family and friends that doesn’t require the use of email and yet stays in a school-controlled environment that is COPPA compliant (assuming your Acceptable/Responsible Use Agreement is current).

Posted on in tutorials

Gmail: Multiple Inboxes keep you informed

With a constant flow of email from teachers, parents and students, there is more than one time this year when I’ve been caught off-guard and/or let important communication fall through the cracks.

I’ve found it easier to stay informed since implementing Gmail’s multiple inboxes lab [editor note: George Polzer notes that this only works when Priority Inbox is switched off!!!], which uses filters to keep pertinent information “above the fold” when I’m online:

Multiple inboxes can be switched on from Gmail’s settings> Labs > Multiple Inboxes. Once enabled, you can set up inboxes using any search parameter you choose (or a combination using Boolean operators):

Operator Definition Example(s)
from: Used to specify the sender Example: from:amyMeaning: Messages from Amy
to: Used to specify a recipient Example: to:davidMeaning: All messages that were sent to David (by you or someone else)
subject: Search for words in the subject line Example: subject:dinnerMeaning: Messages that have the word “dinner” in the subject
OR Search for messages matching term A or term B*
*OR must be in all caps		 Example: from:amy OR from:davidMeaning: Messages from Amy or from David
– (hyphen) Used to exclude messages from your search Example: dinner -movieMeaning: Messages that contain the word “dinner” but do not contain the word “movie”
label: Search for messages by label**There isn’t a search operator for unlabeled messages Example: from:amy label:friendsMeaning: Messages from Amy that have the label “friends”

Example: from:david label:my-family
Meaning: Messages from David that have the label “My Family”
has:attachment Search for messages with an attachment Example: from:david has:attachment Meaning: Messages from David that have an attachment
list: Search for messages on mailing lists Example: list:info@example.com
Meaning: Messages with the words info@example.com in the headers, sent to or from this list
filename: Search for an attachment by name or type Example: filename:physicshomework.txt
Meaning: Messages with an attachment named “physicshomework.txt”Example: label:work filename:pdf
Meaning: Messages labeled “work” that also have a PDF file as an attachment
” ”
(quotes)		 Used to search for an exact phrase**Capitalization isn’t taken into consideration Example: “i’m feeling lucky”
Meaning: Messages containing the phrase “i’m feeling lucky” or “I’m feeling lucky”Example: subject:”dinner and a movie”
Meaning: Messages containing the phrase “dinner and a movie” in the subject
( ) Used to group wordsUsed to specify terms that shouldn’t be excluded Example: from:amy (dinner OR movie)
Meaning: Messages from Amy that contain either the word “dinner” or the word “movie”Example: subject:(dinner movie)
Meaning: Messages in which the subject contains both the word “dinner” and the word “movie”
in:anywhere Search for messages anywhere in Gmail**Messages in Spam and Trash are excluded from searches by default Example: in:anywhere movie Meaning: Messages in All Mail, Spam, and Trash that contain the word “movie”
in:inboxin:trash

in:spam

 Search for messages in Inbox, Trash, or Spam Example: in:trash from:amyMeaning: Messages from Amy that are in Trash
is:importantlabel:important Search within messages that Priority Inbox considers important. Example: is:important from:janetMeaning: Messages from Janet that were marked as important by Priority Inbox
is:starredis:unread

is:read

 Search for messages that are starred, unread or read Example: is:read is:starred from:DavidMeaning: Messages from David that have been read and are marked with a star
has:yellow-starhas:red-star

has:orange-star

has:green-star

has:blue-star

has:purple-star

has:red-bang

has:orange-guillemet

has:yellow-bang

has:green-check

has:blue-info

has:purple-question

 Search for messages with a particular star Example: has:purple-star from:DavidMeaning: Messages from David that are marked with a purple star
cc:bcc: Used to specify recipients in the cc: or bcc:fields**Search on bcc: cannot retrieve messages on which you were blind carbon copied Example: cc:david Meaning: Messages that were cc-ed to David
after:before: Search for messages sent during a certain period of time**Dates must be in yyyy/mm/dd format. Example: after:2004/04/16 before:2004/04/18 Meaning: Messages sent between April 16, 2004 and April 18, 2004.*

*More precisely: Messages sent after 12:00 AM (or 00:00) April 16, 2004 and before April 18, 2004.
is:chat Search for chat messages Example: is:chat monkeyMeaning: Any chat message including the word “monkey”.
deliveredto: Search for messages within a particular email address in the Delivered-To line of the message header Example: deliveredto:username@gmail.comMeaning: Any message with username@gmail.com in the Delivered-To: field of the message header (which can help you find messages forwarded from another account or ones sent to an alias).
Posted on in tutorials

Google Earth update for iPad: kmz & kml files

Google Earth has long been one of my favorite desktop applications. When studying current events, students can “see” the part of the world that we are discussing and make connections to familial history, previous vacations and proximity to Seattle. Layers can transform Google Earth into a tool to support any lesson from climate & weather to history & innovation to language arts & culture.

Google Earth for the iPad isn’t as robust as it is for laptops/desktops, but the March 2012 release does offer a step forward with the ability to overlay .kml and .kmz files. This means a teacher or student can create custom content and then share this media with other iPad users via email or web links. So far it doesn’t seem that embedded video will play. I put together a quick demo of the new features:

Posted on in tutorials

Connecting Khan Academy login to Google Apps for Edu

More and more educators are becoming comfortable with the idea of using technology to time-shift instructional lectures to allow more class time for differentiated instruction and project-based learning.

One of my clients is interested in using materials already available on the web as a compliment to classroom mathematics lessons and wanted to know how to connect their existing Google Apps for Education deployment to Khan Academy’s website.

Rather than individually walking each teacher through the set-up process, I decided to flip the lesson and provide a baseline procedure via video tutorial: