How to Change your Default Font in Google Docs

If you are anything like me you are constantly changing colour and font to better express yourself or sometimes just so I can visually remember something more easily. Font is important and not everything needs to be in Arial 11. Especially as I do not always wear my reading glasses. 👓

So here is how you can change your default font in google docs to something you prefer.

1. Type some text
2. Change the text to the font and size you prefer.
3. Click on normal text click on the arrow to the right.
4. Click update normal text to match
5. Click on Normal Text again and scroll to the bottom where options are and save it as your default style.

Now whenever you open up a Google doc it will be in that font choice.

End of the Year TELP

Here is the link to the June TELP newsletter. Want to receive this as an email every month? Just drop me a line at Melissa.Dent@lkdsb.net

FEBRUARY TELP

Here is the link to the February TELP newsletter. Want to receive this as an email every month? Just drop me a line at Melissa.Dent@lkdsb.net.

January TELP, Google Slides and Gif yourself

Here is the link to the January TELP newsletter. Want to receive this as an email every month? Just drop me a line at Melissa.Dent@lkdsb.net

I began to start studying for the Google Certification Course this week. It has exposed me to some of the awesome things you can do in Google. This week I thought I would focus on slides. There are many amazing things you can do in slides. Here are just a few that I have borrowed from Kasey Bell and Eric Curtis.

You can build ebooks
http://www.shakeuplearning.com/blog/how-to-create-an-ebook-with-google-slides/

Do interactive poetry
http://www.shakeuplearning.com/blog/winter-magnetic-poetry-with-google-slides/

Do a collaborative writing/art prompt
http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2016/12/build-snowman.html

You can even build a stop motion
http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2017/04/stop-motion-slides.html


Looking for a new template? Check out all of the free ones available at Slides Carnival

Want to present from a remote control?
Add the Chrome Extension Remote

• Open a presentation in Google Slides
• On the top right, click the "Present with Remote" button.

• Wait until the presentation is fully loaded
• Click on the "Show ID & Start Remote" button to view the 6 digit code.
• Open s.limhenry.xyz on another device and enter the code on the page.
• You are ready to go.

Want to have a video in a slide deck start and end at a specific time?

• Right click the VEid

• Choose VIDEO OPTIONS

• In the sidebar, enter the START and END time you want

Note: clicking the auto-play checkbox will automatically start the video. You can also mute the video so the audio will not play.

Here is a fun trick for those of you who enjoy gifs.

Go to https://andtheniwaslike.co/gifs/new

Here you can create your own gifs to amuse yourself and your students.

Chromebook Shortcuts

Chromebook Crash Course: What You NEED 

This past December I spent part of my Christmas break participating in the Ditch that Textbook Summit put on by Matt Miller. I have to say that it was some of the most useful and thought provoking PD I have taken online.

So much so that it inspired me to try to create some of my own online PD this year. (Stay Tuned)

I had a difficult time deciding which one I should focus on for the engage blog but opted to include something you can put into immediate practice!   I decided to share some of what I learned from Matt Miller's Chromebook Crash Course. Below find a copy of his chart of useful shortcuts for Chromebooks.

For you visual learners I have a link to a google doc that has a kind teacher (Mrs. Dale) created.  It includes graphics you can print out for your students or yourself. Page 2 and Page 3.

12 Days of Tech-mas via Eric Curts

Happy Holidays

I found a real treat for you from another educator that I have been taking some PD from via the Ditch the Textbook Summit which offers some awesome FREE PD.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1D2xstdi1c3lCxrOHM27XihVSVu-HgIAlzAYqcEinRsA/preview

Enjoy!

SafeShare.tv

Tired of those youtube ads whenever you go to show something to your students.

Todays tip is SafeShare.tv it allows you to safely watch  and even trim youtube videos without ads or distractions.

To use SafeShare.tv simply copy the url of a YouTube video and paste it into SafeShare.tv. 

I discovered this cool tip when Tony Vincent shared it on Twitter.

Session Buddy

One of the quick tips that I can share that has really changed my browsing life is ....

Session Buddy
I discovered this Google Chrome extension thanks to a slam by Jenn Giffen
What it does is saves all of your open tabs so you can name them and return to them later.
I know I often have way too many open at a time. You can get it in the Google Chrome Web Store or just click the link below.

Session Buddy

New Feature! Publish online with Book Creator!

We have written about Book Creator in the past, as it's one of our apps that are "Worth the $". They have just come out with a great update that allows you to publish books online!

You can click on this example to see how it works:

New Book Creator Features!

Click to read this book, made with Book Creator

https://read.bookcreator.com

Tips and Tricks: Creating QR Codes

We use QR Codes all the time in sessions, and teachers often tell us how useful they are in the classroom.  One of the most common questions we get is "How do I make my own QR codes?", so we thought it would be a great tip to share.

Use Safari to go to the website you want to share.  Copy the URL at the top of the screen.

Use Safari to navigate to http://www.qrstuff.com. Paste the URL you just copied into the "Website URL" bar you see. On the keyboard hit "Go".

Select "Download QR Code".  The QR Code will appear in a new tab.  Long Press on the QR Code and select "Save Image".

The QR Code will now be in your Camera Roll.  You can put it up on a screen or send it to a computer to print.   Please note you can also complete all of these steps from a computer so you can print directly from there if needed.

Your students will need a QR code reader.  We use i-nigma but there are others available.

Tips & Tricks: Reader View

Have you ever used a webpage that was cluttered with ads and images? In Safari you can use a feature called "Reader View" to present information without ads, navigation of other distracting items. You can change the font, font size, background colour and zoom!

How To:

1. Open Safari and navigate to the to the website with your article.

2. Click on the article you want to read.

3. Tap on the "Reader View" icon located in the URL bar.

4. Now you will see your article in Reader View. You can change the font and background options by tapping the two letter AAs in the URL bar. To exit Reader View,  tap the Reader View icon again. 

Tips & Tricks

We're starting a new feature called Tips & Tricks. These are often small things that make a BIG difference. Our first tip is adding a frequently visited Safari link to your home screen. This can be a helpful timesaver when students are frequently accessing the same website.

How To:

1. Open the Safari app on your iPad

2. Navigate to the website you want to create a short cut for.

3. Tap on the "Share" icon in the top right corner. The Share icon is a square with an arrow pointing upwards.  

4. Tap the "Add to Home Screen"icon.

5. Rename your link, if you wish.

6. Tap the word "Add" in the top right corner.

7. Look for your link button on your home screen.