New templates in Google Docs

You may have noticed that Google Docs has brought back templates!  While precise formatting is not Google Docs' strong point, they keep improving and these templates are a good step along the way.

To see the templates, open Google Docs (not Google Drive) from your Student or Faculty & Staff login page or-- if you're already in Google-- as shown:

You will see the templates at the top.

If you are already in Google Docs (or in Drive), you can also create a new doc from a template as shown:

One thing I noticed while trying these out is that it helps to understand how styles work in a word processor.  Rather than simply re-sizing and changing the color of text, if you use the built-in styles for a theme, the elements of your document will match. For example, in this theme, all text formatted as Heading 1 will look like the word "INTRODUCTION," all Heading 3 will be teal-colored, etc.

As I've mentioned this before, you can insert of tables of contents in your docs (which can be really handy!)-- but only if you've used paragraph formatting.

I'd love to hear what people think of the templates.  Please comment below!

Removing cvuhs.org addresses

Now that we at CVU have joined the cssu.org Google domain, it's a good idea to get rid of cvuhs.org addresses.  Here's how to do that:

On the computer:

1. In GMail, click on Mail and change it to Contacts.
   
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2. Enter @cvuhs.org in the search box and search.
   
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3. Check the box at the top to select all the results.
Go to More..Delete Contacts.

4. If you still see results from the search, repeat until they're all gone (Google may do them in batches).
5. That's it! Now, when you go back to Mail and compose a message, Google won't offer the old cvuhs.org addresses as options.

Here's a brief screencast on how to do it.

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 Purging CVU Contacts.mp4

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On your iPhone/iPad:

Your iPhone remembers email addresses you've contacted in the past, whether or not you add them to your Contacts.

When you get set to send an email and start typing an address, a list of options may appear.
1. If you see a cvuhs.org address, click the blue i to the right (if there is no i, it's because the person is in your Contacts and needs to be edited there).

2. Click Remove From Recents

3. Now when you go to compose a new email, the cvuhs.org address won't pop up.

On your Android device:

I could use some help here...anyone use an Android device who can tell us how it's done? Please comment below! Thanks.

A new year!

Welcome back to a new school year!

The first big thing you'll notice in tech this year is that we have joined the cssu.org domain.  This will allow students to carry their work forward all the way from K through 12.  It will also improve communication between CVU and the K-8 schools in the SU.

We are also instituting a 1-to-1 program in the 9th grade.  All freshmen are receiving an HP Stream laptop that is their's to use.

One focus for the tech committee this year will be examining our learning management system (Moodle) and determining how we can use it more effectively-- or if there is another system that may serve the need better.  If you are a teacher, staff, or student who is interested in having a voice in these kinds of discussions, please let me know.

Best wishes for a great year and I look forward to helping you integrate technology into learning.

Customizing Google Sites

What's the best tool for making a web site?  Weebly?  Wix? DreamWeaver? WordPress?  There are many options out there, but one of the easiest to use is Google Sites.  Google Sites also makes it easy to embed content from other Google Apps, such as Docs, Maps, and YouTube videos.

One concern I've heard about Google Sites is that "they all look the same."  In response to this, I've created a site that explains how to customize the look and feel of a Google Site.
Check it out here.

Here's a Google site that a CVU student made in Eleanor Marsh's class, as an example:

"Refrigerator Magnets" in Microsoft Word

Kathleen Gibbs' class was creating "found poems" and wanted a way to manipulate text.  This is a perfect application of technology.  I created a template in Microsoft Word that is comprised of text boxes that have no borders, can be moved and placed on top of one another, and can be re-sized and rotated (somewhat like those refrigerator magnets that people arrange into poems).

Here is what one student did with it (using text from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest):

Would you like to try this with your students?  I can't attach the template file here, but I will do so in a post to the faculty & staff forum.