A Smoother Ride in Drive Part 2: Getting Media Off of a Phone

There are three solid options for transferring files from a smart phone to a Chromebook or laptop.

1.  If you have the cord handy, you can always connect from the phone to the device.

2.  Email is great option for photos, but doesn't always work for sound and video files, due to their larger file size.

3.  We recommend downloading the Google Drive App.  Google Drive is available for Android devices in the Google Play Store and for iOS.

Simply sign-in to Google Drive app on your phone and upload your files.  They will sync and appear on any device when you are logged into Google Drive.

A Smoother Ride in Drive Part 1: Save to Google Drive Extension

Our next few posts will focus on how to improve your experience in Google Drive.  These are great tips to share with your students as well!

One of the struggles of working in the cloud, especially on a Chromebook, is storing your media files.  With the Save to Google Drive Extension, it is easy to save images, sound files, websites, and PDFs directly into Google Drive directly from a tab in Google Chrome.

Get the Save to Google Drive Extension from the Chrome Webstore here.  After adding to Chrome, it will automatically appear in your extensions bar.  It looks strikingly similar to the Google Docs Quick Create Extension, for those of you that have both.

After installing the extension be sure to change set your destination folder in Drive and change your options to save as either a Google Doc or image file (JPG or PNG).  Please see the screenshot below for directions.

You are now ready to use the extension!  If you are on a website that you would like to save, simply click on the extension and boom!  If you see an image that you would like to save, just right-click on the image and choose "Save Image to Google Drive".  Enjoy your new extension!

Google Sites Refresher: Adding Pages

Adding new pages to your Google Site is not an easy process, and if you don't do it frequently it's easy to forget all of the steps.  Many teachers have asked for a refresher as they add new unit pages to their sites.  Laura Olson has put together some step-by-step directions and pictures and given us permission to share it with you!  I added a few directions on how to embed Docs and Folders into pages.

If you're looking for a quick reference guide for Google Sites, click here to check out the document. You may want to bookmark the Doc or add it to your Drive so it's easy to find when you start your next unit!

Tech Divas Blog Again!

Every few weeks, we hope to share some of the amazing ways the York staff is using technology to educate, challenge and enrich our students. Here's a quick run-through of some of the great learning happening so far:

• Students in Invite to Teach & Food and Restaurant Management are creating portfolios showcasing skills and evidence they are developing through these classes. 

• Advanced Sewing students are creating instructional tutorials using WeVideo

• American Government students are creating visual representations of the Path to the Presidency using Google Slides and Screencastify 

• Criminology students are creating PSAs to bring awareness to factors that contribute to crime using WeVideo 

• Research Methods students are creating PSAs using WeVideo about digital citizenship topics such as cyberbullying and identity theft. 

• Math students are using Snagit to capture images from Desmos and embedding them in Google Documents. 

• Biology students are researching threats to biodiversity and creating collaborative reports using Google Slides. 

• Spanish III and IV students are blogging about their perspective on different ideas and reviewing the writing of their peers. 

• Band students are using Screencastify to record videos of themselves playing, and receiving video feedback from their teachers. 

• Counselors and teachers are digitizing their feedback for 504s, Blue Forms, and failures/incompletes to enable them to deliver more targeted and timely support.

• Individual Relationships and Parenting class is creating infographics on how dating progresses.

In addition, teachers are using Google Classroom, Sites, Blogger, and Hapara in powerful ways to manage the daily workflow in their classes.

Keep up the good work, and as always, remember that it’s not about how much you use the Chromebooks …. it’s about improving the quality of learning your students are able to demonstrate as a result of having access to technology!